Elysion
Cobalt Pseudowasp
- Elysion (origin)
The cobalt pseudowasp is a solitary predator bearing some resemblance to the Terran wasp. Roughly the size of a beagle, the cobalt pseudowasp is an aggressive eight-legged, four-winged predator identified by its bright orange wings and metallic blue body. The pseudowasp's sting is painful and poisonous - effects include hallucinations, uncontrollable seizures, paralysis, and eventually death. The pseudowasp lays its eggs in the corpses of victims; the larvae use the remains (and other larvae) as a food source prior to metamorphosis into the adult form. Pseudowasps are found in Elysion's jungle mountain ranges; their dwellings are usually situated in isolated rocky outcroppings and are made of a paper-like substance.
Nova Miratia
Ceiling Cat
- Nova Miratia (origin)
A climbing cat that has adapted to an urban environment over thousands of years.
Electromagnetic Cat
An agitated electrocat.
- Nova Miratia (origin)
The electromagnetic cat technically isn't actually a feline, but closely resembles one. They have electrical organs like an electric eel and use them to paralyze small animals in their grip. Fossil record indicates a number of self-electrocution incidents in the electromagnetic cat's past; this species may have had some trouble being adapted to operate in wild conditions.
Field Troll
- Nova Miratia (origin)
Bipedal lizard-like creature that is so named for its propensity to throw feces at prey in order to provoke it into chasing the field troll into a trap. Field trolls are notoriously intelligent creatures, possessing the intellectual capacity to fashion simple flint tools, create pit traps, and build palisade walls from sharpened sticks.
Ginormous Shitbird
- Nova Miratia (origin)
An enormous winged creature with lizard-like skin capable of spitting a napalm-like substance. So named because it was a right bitch to do away with when it was first discovered.
Miratian Army Ant
- Nova Terra (origin)
- Nova Miratia
A remarkably resilient species of ant that somehow survived the interstellar journey to Nova Miratia. Much to the dismay of biologists everywhere, it is known for building above ground nests in the shape of inverted pyramids. Of all species of ant on either Earth or Nova Terra, the Miratian Army Ant is one of the fastest nest-builders, an evolved response to the inevitable destruction of its nests whenever the wind kicks up.
Monorail Cat
- Nova Terra (origin)
- Nova Miratia
An adorable little cat often found near railways and almost as often found as a little red smear on the underside of a railcar. Biologists assert that the species survives because of its incredibly high birth rate.
Motherfucking Snake
- Nova Miratia (origin)
A python-sized species that is strangely attracted to baggage compartments of vehicles of all types.
Shitbat
- Nova Terra (origin)
Not to be confused with "the batshit", a small beetle that imitates shitbat shit.
Shitbear
- Nova Terra (origin)
Shitbird
- Nova Terra (origin)
Sniveling Cockgoblin
- Nova Miratia (origin)
A hairless primate possessed of an unfortunate ability to communicate through incredibly obnoxious whining sounds. Like a parrot, it can mimic human speech, but this is almost inevitably discouraged.
Steam Cat
- Nova Miratia (origin)
Time Fly
- Nova Terra (origin)
Otherwise identical to a terran gnat, the Time Fly's internal clock operates on a 12-hour cycle regardless of latitude or time of year. Thus, it can be used as a rudimentary indicator of the time, since swarms of them can always be found at approximately 6 AM and 6 PM.
United Solarian Sovereignty
SmartWolf
"They show extraordinary intelligence, even problem-solving. Especially the big one. We bred eight originally, but when she came in she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others. That one... when she looks at you, you can tell she's working things out." - Commissar Robercik Voldovn, during the Bragulan occupation of Kimanjano (shortly before being eaten alive)
An early attempt at gengineering gone wrong, SmartWolves are a seeded uplift species native to Kimanjano on the Solarian mid-rim. The precise origin of their kind is, as all pre-unification Sovereignty history, exceedingly fuzzy, but it is likely that the wolves were an attempt by early settlers to drive off or contain some of Kimanjano's more ferocious wildlife using an artificially enhanced seed population of gray wolves imported from Earth. The attempt backfired most spectacularly, and for centuries the SmartWolf population was the most dangerous threat to human (indeed any) life on Kimanjano.
Extremely intelligent apex predators, SmartWolves possess a near-human (though indubitably very alien) intellect and owing to an overly enthusiastic feat of genetic engineering have a rudimentary opposable 'thumb' on their paws that makes them, consequently, capable of tool use. SmartWolves are social predators who live in packs or 'tribes'. Owing to their natural superhuman senses and boosted intelligence they are exceedingly dangerous predators that will feint, flank and use other tactics most commonly associated with human militaries, as well as rapidly adapt to any strategies their prey may choose to adopt. Many SmartWolf populations share a symbiotic relationship with rogue nanite colonies left over from the colonial terraforming of Kimanjano.
The human settlers of Kimanjano repeatedly tried to exterminate the SmartWolves (and the SmartWolves tried to exterminate the humans right back) for over two centuries until the Bragulan invasion in the early 31st century. During the subsequent siege humans and wolves alike found themselves under threat of genocide from the aliens, resulting in an uneasy truce between the settlers and the SmartWolf tribes. Combining forces, the two species jointly retreated into Kimanjano's dense and impenetrable forests, from which they fought a protracted guerilla war against the Bragulan occuppiers that caused the invaders so much trouble humans and wolves alike managed to survive until the USMC liberated the planet in 3112.
In the aftermath of the war, the fledgling Sovereignty signed treaties with the SmartWolf tribes, ceeding large parts of Kimanjano to them in exchange for a permanent peace. The only humans killed by SmartWolves since are those stupid enough to belligerently stray into their territory without prior permission. In the centuries since, several SmartWolf tribes have emigrated off-world, popping up on several Sovereignty worlds as well as on planets in Wild Space and beyond.
In the USS, SmartWolves have a status as sentient citizens, although there is no record of a SmartWolf ever participating in elections or otherwise sharing in wider Sovereignty culture. Tribes of wolves tend to keep to themselves, and are considered somewhat of a fluke of technology and a curiosity, though not one that would attract special attention amidst the teeming masses of genemods, cybrids and ARNists that populate the Sovereignty.
Other
Auroran Dropbear
A highly carnivorous arboreal creature that bears a striking resemblance to a terrestrial koala bear, native to the planet Aurore in sector W-5. So named for its favored hunting tactic: the dropbear drops from trees, knocking out the prey long enough to open the jugular.
Shadow Dragon
An endangered species, on their planet the Shadow Dragons are considered living fossils and are the last surviving members of a long-extinct order of dragonoid-creatures - like the Coelacanth and Tuatara of Old Earth. On their home planet, the Shadow Dragons live on an isolated island devoid of any major predators, and thus they have lost their ability to fly - like the dodos of Old Earth. Due to the abundance of easy-to-kill prey, the Shadow Dragons' organs that allow them to breathe fire have also atrophied and instead of producing a spray of highly flammable substances, the Shadow Dragons can only belch out a very foul-smelling methane gas. The arrival of off-world colonizers to their home planet has caused a marked decline of native Shadow Dragon populations, due to over-hunting and the introduction of foreign species, and presently there are only a few thousand Shadow Dragons alive on their home planet and in off-world conservatories. Shadow Dragons are tagged and usually have pre-designated numbers following their given name.
Slavering Gaoogabeast
You don't want to know. You really don't want to know...
Shriekbat
Native to the planet Urtraghus, known for highly counter-Darwinian habit of launching suicide dive-bombing attacks against intruders. Their name in the native language of the planet's inhabitants can also be translated as "Bizarre Grraaah! Kamikaze Death Flier," where "Grraaah!" is an untranslateable obscenity directed at fate, with an overtone of "WHY, GOD? WHY!?"
Shitwolf
The Shitwolf is notable for crapping everywhere, especially on your front porch. The feces is known to be pyrophoric, spontaneously igniting after a short time. It is also known for the whining sound it makes, usually when constipated. The flesh has been described as "tastes like shit", and is generally considered inedible to anything with tastebuds.
Stormduck
A predatory bird native to the tropics of one of the Centralist core worlds, this highly water-resistant avian prefers to stalk other birds for prolonged periods, then wait for the chaotic winds and heavy rains of an intense storm to actually catch them, when they are unable to fly away. The stormduck is a slow but determined flyer, and can navigate almost anything short of hurricane-force winds
Veldtchomper
A species of vicious yet passive-aggressive predator native to one of the Centrality's core worlds. Known for a nasty habit of lying concealed in tall grass, then leaping up and biting your leg off.
The veldtchompers' conduct led to an unique fashion sense for humans on its native planet: many have taken to wearing shin armor to deter its attacks. This has proven ineffective at deterring the veldtchomper, but very effective at placing them in urgent need of dental surgery.
Thought-Beast
Large omnivore native to the Rao system. These psyonic creatures have the ability to sense and amplify fear in their prey. Attempts to expand the population beyond the Kryptonian Empire in the mid 2400s were met with hostility, and these populations were eventually killed by Shepistani expiditionary groups.