Hygian Flesher

**Hygian Fleshers** are a species of horrific, snake-like insects that live deep in the subterranean caverns of the planet **Hyge.** They are predatory creatures, notable around the Milky Way Galaxy for the disturbing methods by which they consume their prey.

## Biology

Fleshers have large and thin bodies, measuring an average of 6 ft (1.8 m) in total length. Their bodies have a dark grey coloring and are rather smooth and featureless. They constantly excrete an extremely slippery goo from their body that almost completely negates all friction they encounter on solid surfaces. They have multiple long "legs" that are also covered in this goo, which they can move at rapid rates to slide at blazing speeds across the ground. Though Fleshers are not very strong, and can easily be killed if they are caught, this frictionless goo ensures that they can evade almost all potential predators, keeping them at the top of the food chain on Hyge. Fleshers have no eyes, detecting their prey solely through movement, which they are extremely sensitive to as they can use the vibrations detected in their goo to sense motion from several dozen meters away, even through solid ground.

Hygian Fleshers acquired their name through the unique way they feed. They are carnivorous organisms, but they lack the gnashing teeth or claws necessary to carve into hard-bodied animals and eat them. Instead, Fleshers have a pair of long, but extremely thin tentacles that they keep coiled up inside of their bodies. When a Flesher encounters prey, they rapidly extend these tentacles to restrain the creature. Their goo, in addition to improving their locomotion, also contains powerful chemicals that can paralyze even large creatures in under a minute upon contact. Once their prey is paralyzed, the Flesher excretes small amounts of extremely strong acid from the tips of their tentacles, which they use to burrow inside of their prey. This is usually done through the eyes, mouth or genitals of the prey, as these parts of an animal's body are often the softest, which makes it easy for the Flesher to burrow through and access their innards. Once a Flesher's tentacles are inside the body of its prey, they rapidly release large amounts of acid and digestive enzymes, allowing the Flesher to eat its prey from the inside out. Vital organs, followed by muscle tissue and blood, are the first things Fleshers digest inside of their prey. After they are finished, all that is left is usually a discarded husk containing hollowed-out bones and skin. Fleshers can also suck their prey's vital fluids out and store them inside of their own bodies to digest later, averting starvation if they fail to find something else to eat. A Flesher can store a considerable amount of blood and other vital fluids inside of their bodies, which can stretch extensively to accommodate the liquid. Despite their small size, a Flesher's feeding tentacles are extremely difficult to break, possessing an almost unnaturally dense amount of muscle tissue. This is also what allows them to move their feeding tentacles at incredibly fast speeds, making it hard for prey to attack these tentacles.

Hygian Fleshers primarily feed on various small to medium sized creatures found inside of Hyge's habitable caverns. They attack herbivores and carnivores alike, able to extract nutrients from almost any kind of creature. When not hunting, Fleshers spend their time curled up inside of tiny holes that they dig for themselves using their stomach acid. These holes are too small for most other creatures to get into, preventing Fleshers from being attacked while resting. Fleshers are asexual creatures, automatically creating several self-fertilizing eggs near the end of their lifespan that will grow inside of the Flesher's body. To feed its spawn, a Flesher will consume up to three times as much biological material, spending considerably more time hunting. Eventually, the Flesher's eggs will hatch inside of its body, after which its spawn will eat their parent from the inside out and then each other, before slithering away to look for a hiding space. Fleshers are occasionally picked on by larger carnivores located on Hyge, but their sheer speed prevent them from having any natural predators.

## Exploitation

Despite their hideous appearance and terrifying nature, Fleshers were cherished by rare creature collectors from the Coalition of Intelligent Organisms. People were amazed at their speed and dexterity, and they were highly prized in alien zoos and creature collections. Scientists were also extremely interested in the creatures, as their natural lubricant was a fascinating material that helped foster new developments in Coalition material science. Outside of these situations, however, Fleshers were widely feared by the Coalition populace. They couldn't be thwarted with most conventional weapons due to their small size and speed, and their acid could melt through most low-grade armor materials. These traits made them dangerous even to well-equipped Coalition law enforcement, who often needed specialists to deal with such creatures. Many elements of the criminal underground used Fleshers as weapons to kill off the crew of police ships or assassination targets. Since they feed solely on living matter, a Flesher aboard a ship can quickly kill off the crew while leaving the ship completely intact, a beneficial aspect of their feeding habits that salvagers learned to exploit.