Biomatter Swarms



Sporecast

The BioMatter hordes are a highly aggressive parasitic species of largely forgotten origin. They do not have any technology, instead relying on tooth, claw, and sheer numbers to overwhelm their prey. Despite having no technology, they do seem to possess the ability to learn, albeit, this is limited. This has allowed them to hijack starships belonging to sentient races, giving them the ability to travel the stars and find new targets for infestation.

Once the Biomatter land on a planet, they spread like a cancer, converting all biological material into biomass that is used to spread the infestation and make more Biomatter. If not halted, they will eventually consume the entire planet, absorbing all biological material and killing all non-Biomatter life. Once the planet has been fully converted, the Biomatter will use any means available to spread to other planets, repeating the cycle once again.

One of the most peculiar abilities of the Biomatter is their ability to adapt and evolve. Within just a few weeks of encountering a foe, the Biomatter will have already begun showing new adaptations and breeds designed to counter the enemy; within a few months, the hive will typically have changed its entire anatomy around in order to defeat its enemies. This adaptability is one of the most dangerous traits of the Biomatter, but is also one of their weaknesses. Biomatter hives typically become so specialized towards certain threats that they can't adequately combat new races or technology, at least temporarily. If this is taken advantage of, the Biomatter hive can experience catastrophic losses, or worse, complete destruction.

First Contact
Encounter Codename: Outbreak

A BioMatter Spore crash-landed on Mitacen, the location of Research Base 738 of the Mardle Empire. The scientists took a sample of the BioMatter, only to have it mutate and wipe out the whole research staff. Although the creature was terminated by Security forces, there was no time for the base to prepare itself for the sudden attack of an enormous BioMatter force. The base was unable to enter lockdown, and was quickly overrun, with the nearby city falling a short time later. Data on this attack was recieved from the only survivor of the attack, a notable captain who had beamed down only a few hours prior to the attack.

Encounter Codename: Gauntlet

A colony on Qualiot had just been established by the Flewrits when a BioMatter Spore crashed down on the planet. Luckily, a captain on a pitstop was tasked with surveying the crash site. When the captain arrived at the impact crater, it had already been filled with BioMatter Birthers, still growing into maturity. The hive immediately began producing BioMatter orgaisms, and the captain barely escaped to inform the colonial governor. The colonists were then evacuated down a narrow canyon that led to the spaceport, fighting constant BioMatter attack as the Hive grew in strength. Data on this attack was recieved from the surviving colonists, who managed to escape on a shuttle just before the planet was toatlly overwhelmed.

Encounter Codename: Assault

What would become the first major engagement between Peacekeeper forces and the Biomatter occurred on Ozelion, a sparesly populated world belonging to the minomits. A large cruiser infected with the creatures crashed near the equator in a rich jungle environment. The nearby Biomass allowed a large hive to develop extremely quickly. The planet was evacuated by a Warbot fleet in the area, which beamed down all its ground troops for a last-ditch effort to save the planet while more reinforcements were called in. After an enormous battle, where the Warbot defense line was pushed back nearly to the command center, air support arrived, enabling the hive to be cordonned off. An orbital strike was then used to annihilate the hive and end Ozelion's infection. Data on this attack was recieved from the Minomit commanders of the Warbot forces.

Encounter Codename: Laboratory

The world of Phrytaurs was the location of a large Salatran Science Center that specialized in genetic research. They decided to take some sample BioMatter creatures from Qualiot, a previously infected planet. However, there was a security breach and several organisms escaped. The escape creatures were Mutarior, organisms that possess and mutate their enemies. The Salatran scientists were quickly killed and possessed, while the rest of the lab containment systems were destroyed by the escaped creatures. Fortunately, a single captain who had arrived at the lab earlier managed to initiate a lockdown, before escaping through a vent. The planet is now under quarantine, to be left uninhabited until the BioMatter organisms left inside the lab have all died. This is the first recorded sighting of BioMatter's ability to possess and mutate other creatures. Data on this attack was recieved from the science center's security cameras, the few cameras still functioning are now used to monitor the BioMatter organisms that remain in the complex.

Era of Fallen Worlds
After the Phrysaurs incident, 13 inhabited worlds have fallen to the BioMatter hordes. On 11 of these planets, there were no survivors. These planet's fates were only discovered when spacecraft from other worlds arrived in-system, only to find a destroyed planet. The following two encounters are the accounts of survivors of the two other planets.

Encounter Codename: Survival

The planet Rotunin was a free port, a privately owned world controlled by a powerful Flytal trading company CEO. Though the planet had a multitude of planetary defences, these systems were designed to destroy enemy spaceships, not BioMatter spores. The major cities quickly became warzones between the few ground-based military units and the BioMatter forces. However, the city provided cover for the civilian survivors, some of whom were able to evade the BioMatter hordes and make it to the various landing pads in the cities. Data on this attack was recieved from the 23 survivors, who managed to flee to rescue points.

Encounter Codename: World Eater

The second account of survivors of an infected world is from the planet Dralix, a colony of the Dragonetera. The colony was totally destroyed by a BioMatter assault, and the planet was covered by BioMatter hives and creatures. A survey and salvage team from an orbiting Dragonetera fllet unfortunately flew too low, and was attacked by a set of enormous tendrils, which pierced the ship's exterior and dragged it down to the surface. Though the crew survived, their communicator was damaged in the crash. After successfully repairing the system and sending a distress signal, the Dragonetera crew was able to escape the consumed planet. This was the first record of a planet after its destruction by BioMatter. Data on this attack was received from the surviving crew members of Dragonetera Survey Ship 17.

Encounter Codename: Bio-Disaster

A Santix Supership aws surveying an icy planet when a party of Santix drones came accross several BioMatter Spores, frozen in the ice. A scientific race with no prior knowledge of BioMatter, the drones delivered samples to their masters on board the ship. Soon, however, the Santix were mutated, and the infection quickly spread. As the drones used by the Santix are biological in nature, nearly the entire drone crew was mutated or killed. With the ship's systems failing, a single drone managed to initiate a self destruct of the ship, destroying the BioMatter aboard and letting the rest of the Santix know of the horror that is BioMatter.

The Task-Force
Following the Era of Fallen Worlds, a peacekeeper summit decided that immdiate action to oppose BioMatter was necessary. To this end, an Anti-BioMatter Task Force was created, a force that would respond to any and all BioMatter attacks on allied worlds. The force is comprised mainly of Diabloian, Aeverians, and Murderos troops, while other races, such as the Dragonetera, the Salatrans, and the Flytals fund and arm the force. So far, the Task Force has been successful on five of the six attacks it has responded to. The Force is trained and maintained on the Diablos-held world of Telinchov.

Encounter Codename: Judgement Day

After the first four victories of the Task Force, peacekeeper spirits were high. But when a BioMatter spore landed deep inside Diabloian territory, the sense of calm was shattered. A nearby Diabloian contingent rushed to the planet, but by then the infection had taken root. With the primary units of the Task Force out on the edges of the peacekeepers empires, the small group of Diabloian bio-troopers were the planet's only hope. Luckily, the intervention of Diabloian Specialist Heimdall saved the planet from destruction. Heimdall set off a powerful explosive inside the hive, ending the infection.

Encounter Codename: Sentience Part1

The Flytal world of Yintil was hit by a BioMatter Spore near its north pole. Realizing the danger, the Flytal governor sent a distress signal to the Task Force. The Force arrived in time to stop the colony from being overwhelmed, and began a long, pitched battle against the BioMatter hordes. As the battle raged, a peacekeeper captain who entered the fray made a horrifying discovery. While on a routine mission to rendevous with a Task Force outpost, the captain was captured by IAE and Necraal troops, who had secretly landed on the far side of the planet.

Part 2 When the captain managed to escape captivity with a Flytal special forces operative, the two discovered that the IAE and Necraal had found a way to contain the Biomatter and were using them as weapons. Realizing the danger, the captain and operative rushed back to the Task Force, only to find that they were under attack by the IAE and Biomatter from two separate fronts. The Task Force was quickly overwhelmed, and a short respite at the Command Bunker ended with the Biomatter breaking through. Only the Flytal operative and captain managed to escape, while the Diabloian captain Varth and his subordinates were taken prisoner.

The incident has since been named 'sentience' due to the fact that during the ensuing chaos of the combined assault, some believed that the IAE and Biomatter had somehow become allies. It would take a few days for the confusion to clear and for the Peacekeepers to discover that it was in fact a weapons test.

The Spreading Menace
Encounter Codename: The Horror

The first planet hit by BioMatter's newest offensive was Taldrin, a small Acropolan colony near the edge of their great empire. Far away from the battles between the Acropolans and their mortal enemies, the Conkirites, the colony was unprepared for the terrifying assault of BioMatter. None of the planet's inhabitants survived.

Encounter Codename: Total War

A Diabloian-held world was next to find itself within BioMatter's crosshairs. Luckily for the civilians on-planet, the Aeveria Confederation had a battlegroup orbiting a nearby star system. The Confederation's troops established a base on the planet, and managed to evacuate a sizeable portion of the civilian population. Sadly, BioMatter had tunneled deep into the planet's crust, and while the Aeveria forces had managed to hold their own against the BioMatter Hiveships and infantry, a swift attack from below their own base crushed all ground-based resistance, leaving only a few remnants of the Aeveria force alive.

Encounter Codename: Hunted

A sizeable Nepharian colony was destroyed from inside by BioMatter, in little over five hours. The BioMatter Hordes tunnelled into the planet and grew in power rapidly, all without the planet's population knowing. Even more terrifying, small BioMatter parasites infected leading officials of the colony, only revealing their true nature after gathering all un-infected Nepharians together. This systematic slaughter is the first, but probably not the last, time BioMatter infiltrates a planet's occupants.



The Hives
The Biomatter, unlike the sentient races of the galaxy, do not have a single, unified leadership. Likewise, they are also not centered in one vast region of territory. Instead, individual hives of Biomatter exist in different regions of the galaxy, each under the control of a different hive mind. No hive is exactly like the other, each has different mutations, unique breeds, and particular physical traits, all derived from the biomass they have absorbed or evolved to defeat their foes.

The inner workings of the hives and the hive minds are a topic of constant debate, theories, and conjecture. It is known that once a swarm of Biomatter have left the influence of one hive, that they will then attempt to form a new hive and hive mind. While it is obvious how the hive is formed, the process of creating the leader of the hive is unknown, and the few attempts to learn how have been unsuccessful. Likewise, how the hive mind is able to project its influence across light years of space is also unknown. Given that a live hive mind has never been captured, it is unlikely that these questions will have answers anytime soon.

There are currently five known active hives: Fafnir, Piru, Asag, Orthrus, and Ammit.

Fafnir
The most infamous of the hives, Fafnir has been active in the region for at least a century and has been involved in the Great War for as long as it has been going. They played a role in some of the largest battles against the Biomatter, such as the 'sentience' incident. They are believed to be the largest hive, with a few hundred worlds having been infected over their history. Currently, Fafnir is attacking the Empire of Diablos, IAE, and Karahotdoum, with occasional incursions into nearby races.

The most notable physical characteristic of Fafnir Biomatter is their large, muscular forms. Each organism, from the smallest to the largest, is notable bigger and stronger than those of other hives. This is believed to be an adaptation developed to combat Diabloians and IAE Genen Infantry such as the Doomtrooper. Their sheer weight and strength allows larger organisms to overpower most any foe, though this comes at the cost of mobility. Fafnir is notably slower than other hives, moving more as a slow wall rather than a tsunami of flesh.

Unlike the other Biomatter hives where one can find out the 'genetic heritage' of the hive with relative ease, it is incredibly difficult to do the same with Fafnir. Fafnir has consumed so much genetic material from so many different sources that it is nearly impossible to pin-point exactly where a trait is derived from. Much of the genetic material has also been broken up and re-arranged as the hive consumes more. It may never be known just how much Fafnir will have consumed in its lifetime.

Fafnir is notably aggressive towards other hives. Whereas most hives seem content with guarding their own territory and typically run into each other by chance, Fafnir seems to sometimes deliberately attack other hives. Reports of Fafnir invading a planet owned by another hive are not unheard of, and they will always go after another hive if they both land on the same planet. The reason why the hive is so aggressive is not entirely clear, though some theories suggest it's either some sort of mutation of their base genome or are trying to absorb an absurd amount of genetic material all at once, something another hive could provide.

The battle between Fafnir and the races of the Great War is as old as the Great War itself. Numerous efforts have been made to eradicate Fafnir, but for one reason or another, they have been unsuccessful in completely eradicating it. For every planet cleansed, another will inevitably fall. The fact that the IAE utilizes the hive as a biological weapon only complicates the matter. Some believe that the hive will only be completely destroyed once the Great War concludes.

Piru
Appearing on records a little over forty years ago, Piru is a large hive that has become a menace to many of the neutral nations. Mainly the Holy Nepharian Empire, Transmetallic Confederation, and to a lesser extent, the Gronian Imperium. Reports of engagements with the Wingle have also come to light, but this is believed to be due to the Phyla Kran conflict rather than an incursion into Wingle territory. Relatively little information exist on the Gronian's encounters with Piru due to their isolationist nature, but it is assumed that the Gronians do not consider them anything more than a nuisance. The Biomatter, having no way of hiding their vessels, are more likely than not caught by the Gronian's extensive sensor relay and destroyed long before they hit an inhabited world.

Piru's adaptations are largely a response to the Nepharians and the TmC. Much of its brood wield incredibly sharp claws that, while ineffective against armor, are perfect for slicing through rank-and-file Nepharian infantry. They may also wield large spikes capable of piercing the thicker armor present on TmC infantry. The most notable mutation of Piru is the number of arms each creature possesses. Likely due to fighting TmC melee infantry, most of Piru's brood have at least four arms on average, if not more. Piru has developed no notable defensive mutations, likely due to the energy weapons that are so prevalent in the region. Flesh or carapace, it does not matter; plasma will melt it.

When observing its genetic code, Piru seems to show a preference towards using material derived from TmC sources over others. Many traits from Chromium, Aumpnuuk, and others have been found in increasing number whereas hardly any Nepharian traits are to be found. This has resulted in worrisome adaptations, such as the development of thermal vision and and an, albeit still primitive, version of the electrical organs found inside Aumpnuuk.

With most of the neutral races preoccupied with infighting and foreign affairs, little effort has been made to eliminating Piru. However, with the Nepharian's conflict with Kran over and the Nepharian main territory sending them up-to-date equipment, they stand a much better chance against Piru, at least for the time being. Whether or not the Nepharians will push their advantage remains to be seen.

Asag
First reported by the korvar a few months before their entry into the Great War, Asag is a young, rapidly expanding hive that developed somewhere in a largely unexplored region of space. Since its discovery, Asag has quickly become a menace to a number of races, most notably the korvar. They have also attacked the betel, xeverra, and zorock, though currently these conflicts are sporadic and minor by comparison. Many believe that they will eventually begin fighting the khasii as well.

With much of its weight being thrown at the korvar, Asag's mutations have developed almost exclusively to counter them. Like hive Piru, Asag Biomatter have large spikes capable of piercing thick, heavy armor. In rare cases, these spikes can go straight the thinner parts of a battlesuit. Much of Asag's brood is partially covered in a carapace that gives it protection against ballistics, with the exception of explosive rounds. The hive is also noted to liberally use the massive strains of Biomatter such as the Gargantual and Jentrillion in order to break through heavy armor lines and fortifications.

Upon viewing Asag's genetic material, one would find that it is mostly filled with things derived from the korvar and various animals from their planets. This is because of how easy it is to acquire material from there than it is other host. Betel worlds have relatively little biomass and the Xeverra live in a nomadic fleet, using their robotic proxies and heavy armor do most of the fighting. Meanwhile they have not made much progress against the Zorock, who they have not adapted to yet and only engage rarely.

What will ultimately come of Asag is still up in the air. Their fight with the korvar has been very back-and-forth, with both sides making progress. Scales have begun to tip in the korvar's favor now that they have a dedicated task force, but the korvar's inexperience with fighting such a foe means ground assaults can go either way. Currently, the best bet to destroying Asag is for another race to blitz through the hive's territory. It has adapted so much to fighting the Korvar that it has spent little time adapting to anything else, leaving them vulnerable.

Destroyed Hives
The Biomatter are far from invulnerable. Over the centuries they have existed, a number of hives have been completely wiped out. Below is a record of those hives who have been destroyed over the course of the Great War.

Basic Warriors
Warriors come in a multitude of forms, from the lowly Ramorphinds to the powerful Gaularins. They all share a common purpose, kill anything that moves, so that the Feeders can consume it. The general types of BioMatter Warriors are, in order of power: Click on any creature for more information.

Mutants
The BioMatter hordes also contain a variety of creatures mutated by the Mutarior organism. These various creatures belong to a variety of Epic War races, yet all share one thing, they serve BioMatter unflinchingly, under control of the Mutarior embedded inside their brains.

Special Creatures
Aside from their basic troops, BioMatter forces contain several creatures with more specific roles. There are the shooters, who attack enemies at range from behind the main horde; Feeders, who collect organic matter from behind the frontlines; and Epics, who provide the horde with seige engine capabilities.

Birthers
The most common sign of an infection, Birthers are akin to gigantic fungi. They are large, stationary mounds of biological material connected to each other by tendrils. These interconnected birthers form the 'bases' where feeders deposit their collected biomass. This biomass is used to make more warriors, birthers, and feeders, all of which are released through large pores that dot the surface of a birther.