Xenomorph

**Xenomorphs** (*Internecivus raptus*), also referred to as **Species XX121**, and known to the Yautja as **Kiande Amedha**, are an endoparasitic species supposedly native to Xenomorph Prime.

## Etymology

The term *xenomorph* (lit. "alien form"—from Greek *xeno-*, which translates as either "other" or "strange", and *-morph*, which denotes shape) is accredited to USCMC personnel, originally a catchall term for hostile extraterrestrial life. Usage by Lieutenant Scott Gorman during the Acheron Incident spiraled into the term being applied solely for Species XX121.

Most researchers agree on *Internecivus raptus*as the species' binomial nomenclature, though some staunchly use the *nomen nudum* of *Linguafoeda acheronsis* or *Manumala noxhydria*. Others classify *M. noxhydria* and *Plagiarus praepotens* as separate symbiotic species.

## Description

Xenomorph morphology varies drastically on numerous factors, but primarily life stage and host during incubation.

Xenomorphs are intrinsically tied to the highly mutagenic pathogen Chemical A0-3959X.91 – 15, or "Black Liquid".

## Biology

There is much debate on whether Xenomorphs evolved naturally, or were created as a bioweapon, although most scientists agree on the latter hypothesis. Xenomorph biology is utterly unique, incomparable to any other known creature in the galaxy.

### Reproduction

Xenomorphs are obligate parasites, requiring a sufficiently large animal host to gestate within. In a process similar to some groups of plants, such as ferns, there are two separate adult forms, which generate more of the other form.

### Life cycle

A Xenomorph undergoes several metamorphoses throughout its life. In most scenarios, it will metamorphose three times, but can do upwards of five in certain scenarios.

#### Stage I - Egg

The first form is the "Ovomorph", an "egg" containing a Facehugger within, lain by a Queen, or created from living or dead beings of sufficient biomass collected by a Drone by inducing a metamorphosis via exposure to enzymes and hormones from the Drone's tail barb.

#### Stage II - Facehugger

The Stage I form, the "Facehugger", is an arachnid-like stage released from an Ovomorph upon sensing a suitable host nearby. As the name implies, it will attach itself to a host's skull and implant "black liquid" down its throat.

#### Stage III - Chestburster

The Stage II form, the "Chestburster", is a serpentine form created by the facehugger's "impregnation" of a host. While previously believed to simply implant an embryo, further research has revealed the liquid compound released by the facehugger actually triggers the host's body into creating a tumor which develops into the infant chestburster. Via a "gene reflex", a process akin to horizontal gene transfer, said chestburster inherits morphological traits of the host, usually in the cranial area. Upon reaching sufficient size, the creature will break out of the host's chest cavity, hence the name, and rapidly attempt to consume as many nutrients as possible to reach adult size, often in a matter of hours.

#### Stage IV - Drone

The Stage III form, or "basic" adult form, is referred to as a Drone. The Drone is the standard worker of a hive, constructing and performing maintenance of hive structures, as well as procuring materials for it, including hosts for Facehugger implantation.

#### Stage V - Advanced Adult

Upon reaching Stage V, the "advanced" adult forms, individual drones are split into the different castes, operating in a similar fashion to insect groups such as bees and ants, and may alter their morphology further.

##### Warrior

The Warrior fills a similar role to the Drone, but in hostile environments, will act as the primary attacking group rather than the defensive role of the Drone. Warriors resemble Drones, but are slightly larger and have distinctive ridges on their craniums. Warriors can either be formed directly from Chestbursters, or metamorphosed from Drones.

##### Worker

The Worker is the sole non-aggressive form of Xenomorph - it focuses all its energy on the maintenance and expansion of the hive, and the caring of the Queen. They secrete resin from their proboscises to create the ideal environment for the hive.

#### Stage VI - "Super"

##### Praetorian

The Praetorian is a highly specialized role, acting as a "royal guard" of sorts to the Queen, as well as replacements if the Queen dies. They begin as either Drones or Warriors which feed on sufficient Royal Jelly to perform a metamorphosis halfway between their current form and a true Queen.

##### Queen

In most circumstances, the Queen is the final stage of a Xenomorph life cycle. Completely dwarfing all previous forms, the Queen will usually remain immobile producing eggs, but have been known to become active when faced with a sufficient threat.

### Morphology

Significant variation in body plan exists, primarily depending on the Chestburster host. An Adult form will display varying traits from the host from their "gene reflex" - for example, forms incubated in bipedal species will generally follow that form of locomotion due to their leg anatomy. More specific examples also occur - Xenomorphs formed in a Yautja or a Sangheili will exhibit their mandibular structure, and ones birthed from a horned species such as goats will display said trait as well.

### Senses

Lacking traditional eyes, Xenomorphs perceive the world mostly through sound, smell, a form of sonar, and sensing thermal radiation. Some more fringe scientists believe they have some sort of psychic senses, but most disregard these claims.

## Ecology and behavior

Xenomorphs hives function in a caste system. Drones are subordinate to Warriors, Warriors are subordinate to Praetorians, and Praetorians are subordinate only to the Queen. There are rumors of higher castes, yet are so far unsubstantiated.

### Intelligence

Xenomorphs in the Drone stage or higher are capable of complex problem-solving, exceeding that of nearly all other semi-sapient lifeforms, but still below true sapients. Queens have exhibited possible signs of true sapience.

### Behavior

Practically all known Xenomorph interactions with all other lifeforms outside their hive are purely aggressive, including other Xenomorphs, and related creatures like Neomorphs and Praetomorphs.

## History

### Early history

The early history of Xenomorphs is almost entirely unknown. Whether the result of natural selection on Xenomorph Prime, a creation of the Mala'kak, or a combination of the two, what is known is that the latter race is known to have transported them across the galaxy, presumably for use as a bioweapon.

### Encountered by the Yautja

It was as a result of this seeding that the Yautja encountered them, and came to place them in an important role within their culture, as the preferred prey for rites of passage into adulthood for thousands of years. It was as a result of this that further seeding occurred, including on Earth. The Yautja used native humans, who worshipped them as gods, as hosts for their Xenomorph prey in elaborate rituals held at pyramids, though the custom fell out of practice following an uncontrolled outbreak in Mesoamerica.

### Encounters with humanity

The first encounter between Xenomorphs and humanity since ancient times is referred to as the Nostromo Incident. In 2122, the crew of the USCSS *Nostromo*, investigating what appeared to be a distress call on the moon Acheron (then-designated LV-426), encountered the wreckage of a Mala'kak craft, within which one crew member was impregnated by a Facehugger. The release of the ensuing Xenomorph aboard the ship led to events which spiraled into the ship being scuttled, leaving one Ellen Ripley as the sole survivor.

The events of the Nostromo Incident led to the far more destructive Acheron Incident. Ripley, awakening from hypersleep over half a century later in 2179, relayed her story to her Weyland-Yutani employers, but was met with skepticism. After the contact was lost with Acheron following colonists sent to ascertain the veracity of her claims, she was sent to accompany a detachment of Colonial Marines aboard the USS *Sephora* to investigate. As they found out, the colony had been wiped out by the ensuing Xenomorph outbreak, and they had constructed a hive large enough to support the creation of a Queen. Most were wiped out in the ensuing conflict, and the colony was destroyed via explosion from the colony's power plant.

Ripley's final encounter with the aliens was on the prison colony Fiorina 161, where one birthed from a stowaway facehugger aboard, killed most of the population before being encased in molten lead. Weyland-Yutani personnel arrived on site attempting to procure the specimen or Ripley herself, who had a Queen chestburster gestating inside her, but she committed suicide rather than allowing that, knowing full well they would use it as a bioweapon. These events were chronicled in the banned book *Space Beast* by sole Fury 161 survivor Robert Morse, further substantiated by later Wey-Yu whistleblowers and hacking of classified files.

Weyland-Yutani higher-ups became practically obsessed with the acquisition and usage of the Xenomorphs, resulting in the late 2100s and early 2200s continuing to have a number of incidents resulting from outbreaks.

### Modern day

As of the 26th century, knowledge of Xenomorphs among humanity is still nearly completely restricted to scientific personnel and ONI, besides remaining rumors and stories among Frontier peoples.

## Trivia

With the release of *Alien: Covenant*, much of the *Alien* series' lore was subject to retconning. Universum Eodem operates under the fan theory that the Xenomorphs created by David are a recreation. The theory is supported by the fact that there is what appears to be a Xenomorph in a mural in *Prometheus*, as well as the presence of a number of differences from the Xenos portrayed in other media.