NationStates Jolt Archive

On the planet Muse in the Musean system, there has been an outbreak of giant bugs, so far it has been impossible to communicate with them, but they appear to be well organized and capable of both individual and group cooperation, they are most likely, the local dominant lifeform. Muse was colonized because of the presence of something called the "Daystar", an orbiting ball of energy of unknown origin which bathes the planet below in a radiation that accelerates growth and mutation in plants and animals. Any attempt to approach the energy has simply shutdown approaching ships. Weapons fired at it disappear into a "vortex" like energy field.

Needless to say, the lifeforms on Muse are quite vigorous and larger than normal size. Also plants and animals brought from other worlds grow larger and healther than normal. There are varieties of plants and animals found nowhere else in the known galaxy. Among these is Stroonus an anti-agapic that can extend a humanoid lifetime by up to 30 years. It does not seem to be able to be grown anywhere else. This is quite valuable and the only known source for the substance. There are other drugs and substances of plant origin found on Muse that are unique. Stroonus is only one of the first substances discovered.

Muse is dominated by reptiles, insects, and plants of disproportionate size. There are also mirror dna large amoeboids, and semi-intelligent fungoids.

The planet is a hothouse world the size of Venus mostly covered by a canopy or jungle. The canopy or jungle is as high as three mile upwards with the average height being one mile, with several different layers forming different ecosystems. At the ground level, there is near total darkness seathing with life.

Muse was originally thought to be inhabited by a machine civilization because of a giant swathe of massive phosphorescent trees on the central continent of Eros. This proved to not be so when probes arrived.

Several companies have opened research labs to produce lucrative drugs and organics for export to other worlds. However, there have been increasing attacks by the local life forms. None of them had been able to penetrate our energy shields, or dig through the enzyme bonded rockcrete into our bases until now. Several of the labs and farms have been overrun. We have sent in the space marines but this has only been partially successful in recovering some of the research and farms. We are not sure what has happened to a few of the farms, we have arrived and found them emptied of all humans, humanoids and equipment.

We need help finding the disposition of our lost people, recovering research materials and equipment, and establishing beachheads to do this. We are willing to pay mercenaries, offer treaties, and other means for help.

Regards,

Strategos Sharp

OOC: Confusing! Thread marked as OOC... intentional?

Sorry: It should read Signup and Discussion: Ground War Against the Buggers

Interested, as a merc group.

Are these pseudo-canon insectoids(zerg, tyranid, Alien, Ender-verse ect) or just generic insectoids?

I am going to leave this open in a way. The idea is that you can take a common insect, arachnid, or hive creature, make it bigger stronger and smarter, and use it as a base. Everything from intelligent ants, slime critters, spine throwing worms, acid spitting bugs, stink bugs, big spiders, mantis people, giant dragonflys giant moths, giant wasps, megacentipedes, armored pill bugs the size of rhinoceroses and other critters.

These are the normal insect population, they are smart but not supersmart like a dog or monkey. Murray Leinster, Planet of Adventure has an excellent description of this type of setting. No birds, no mammals, in his setting, just vast myconid, giant tree, and fern jungles teaming with killer insects and arachnids. I wanted to add reptiles to make it interesting.

There is some kind of controlling intelligence (or group of intelligences) that has showed up or been in the background, that organizes the other insectoids-- this might be something like the zerg, tyranids, or aliens to take out the bases, the strange warmblooded invaders. They have been hiding and watching the invaders for awhile looking for ways to get rid of us.

I would prefer that there be advanced biotechnoloy, genetic manipulation on the part of the locals, but limited space and high technology. The locals might want to learn how to use and understand it.

Here is a bit on Leinsters setting:

http://www.baen.com/library/0743471628/0743471628.htm

So more bio/gene-tech than non-bio/gene tech, even amongst the mercs/foreign groups?

Also, just to see if I understand it correctly, the colonists/scientists/humans who've settled/occupy the planet are getting attacked and raided by bugs/lizards/ect and sent a general call for aid? Which is where the various peoples/groups come in?

Sorry: It should read Signup and Discussion: Ground War Against the Buggers

Ah, I see. Well it sounds great, well written (also good name for the planet! ROCK ON!), but I don't think I can sign-up right now. I'll certainly be reading along though.

Yes, the insectoids want to get the colonists/scientists technology and drive them off their world.

Outsiders have access to all kinds of technology.

The scientists/colonists are asking for help. The colonial marines/asteroid legions have evacuated who they could, but lots of the equipment and people have disappeared into the jungle.

A large number of the pharmaceutical farms also served as penal colonies, you couldn't go outside that easily, and the prisoners grew stroonus-- the anti-agapics.

Corporations, private individuals as well as some government are asking for help. There are a few holdouts as well, stroon is very valuable, also the marines didn't do that good rescuing the prisoners...

Currently, the government is debating what to do after the initial fiasco of having the farms/research labs overrun.

I'm interested as a merc group.

Any restrictions, beside the no portable nuke class weaponry types?

im joining this
can i be the prisoners?

Sure, Joe the Sandwich, you can be the prisoners.

No restrictions.

If you can give a specific reason to use a nuke class weapon, like bringing a portable nuke deep inside one of the main hives and blowing it up, I would allow it. Just not indiscriminate battlefield use. Same goes for any kind of WMD OOC: and give a reason. Blockbuster type weapons might be allowed in some cases as well.

If you did use a portable nuke without warning, it would be assumed you get captured, court martialed, and executed by existing interspace treaties.

So anti-bunker or anti-tank being the heaviest portable without permission weaponry levels, gotcha.

Also any restrictions(save IC justification) on power armour/light/medium tank-esq vehicles?

Otherwise, and unless you want brief bios, I'm generally good to go.

A tank type vehicle generally has real trouble in jungles. You could bring it, but it might get stuck have maneuverability problems. A hovertank, or one man tank might work, if you had some way to keep it off the ground so it wouldn't sink. There is pretty heavy forestation in areas which would be impassable unless it was cleared. Hoverbikes might work as well. Artillery is acceptable.

Power armor would be expected in a way. These are after all bugs. a la John Steakley Armor, and Heinleins Starshp Troopers.

Gotcha, and sorry 'bout the delay lost the thread due to name change.

I'd be very interested in this. I am thinking of deploying a battalion or so of Marines, so they have some armor and artillery suppport, but not too much. My Marines are well armed and armored. They have powered armor and rapid-fire railguns, as well as jumpacks and the like. My artilley is pretty standard, the battalion has 155mm and 175mm artilley, that are railguns, so they do have a large range. The battlion will have a company of armored tanks, around 16, most of which will be MBT's but there will be two SHBT's for the hell of it. Finally, the troops can walk, jump, run, or travel via Crisis armored car and six ton trucks. My Navy will be able to fly them around, but the navy will have no fire support and the dropships will be only lightly armed.

I might join as a merc group with a Yautja/Predator hunting party tagging along for the ride. I probably won't use anything land based that's larger than a Red Faction 2 battlearmour, and I think the most advanced weapon I'll use is a seismic bomb to level entire hives, and if I have the Yautja hunting party, we'll also have their self-destruct bombs available (refer to AvP the Movie for the explosive power of these bombs). I'll also have air support available in the form of ADF-01B Falken 2s, X-02C Wyvern 2 Kais, and ADFX-02B Morgan 2s, although they may or may not be used, depending on how thick the foliage of the planet is the farther it goes down. My thoughts on using the main gun on a Macross-class ship are pending, although their main gun is quite the ass-kicker when used for orbital bombardment strikes (refer to their Zentradi counterparts in the Robotech/Macross television series).

Right now, I am writing up the initial bugger assault that drives the Commonii off the planet.

I have a pretty wide assortment of critters so far in the making:
Two of the standard critters are:

A large climbing arthropod that shoots webbing and has a poisonous bite.

Spined wingless insectile wyrms (not worms) that can tunnel and chew through rockcrete and shred metal.

Two of the standard bioweapons:
Spore mines.
Spore Pods.

These are just a few things. I look forward to the RP.

Right now, I am writing up the initial bugger assault that drives the Commonii off the planet.

I have a pretty wide assortment of critters so far in the making:
Two of the standard critters are:

A large climbing arthropod that shoots webbing and has a poisonous bite.

Spined wingless insectile wyrms (not worms) that can tunnel and chew through rockcrete and shred metal.

Two of the standard bioweapons:
Spore mines.
Spore Pods.

These are just a few things. I look forward to the RP.

Bump

This is a link to the starting thread for the ground war against the buggers.
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=525159

I would like to use some of the bugs from the CGI animated series.
Roughnecks: Starship Troopers, with some of my own thrown in as well as some bioweapons.

Here is a nice little collection of pictures from the show of some of the bugs which might be encountered. This comes from Trooper PX

http://www.trooperpx.com/RSTC/RSTCbugs.html

To add some variety, I would add some plant based bioweapons, spore bombs, spore clouds, spore mines, sentry flowers, and others.

One quick last question, any restrictions on low/mid-level psionics?

The only restriction, I would put in place is that, the bugs would also have some low level psionics to match the game up a bit, if psionics are to be used. Maybe as a medium of communication other than just pheromone and ultrasound communication. If there were psionics, I'd put in a few psi items, a thorny worm control collars for human chattel, and a minor crystalline amplification item to improve communication between bugs.

My main concern is how things add to the story making the characters more interesting or entertaining, not that a specific thing is too powerful or this or that.

Is this still to late to join? i would like to send elements from a nearby hunter cadre, say a 2-3 of teams of Pathfinders and a team of stealthsuits.

Mind you i should introduce myself, I play a Tau sect from Warhammer 40000, i was on this site before under other names about one to two years ago so i aint no noob. If you want to know anything bout my technology just ask, i will have my factbook up soon with history, technology, society and all that.

Hope for a positive response

Thank you for your time

No, it is not too late to join. The numbers are about right. Enough troops for special operations and special missions.

This is a sample of the contract: It pays a lot. It is for heavily armored and armed troops-- power armor, light artillery, drop ships, or highly equipped and trained specialists.

The Commonalitarianism registers all privateers and mercenaries to act against the buggers under space law Section 35, special circumstances acknowledged by the Peoples Assembly on March 5, Paradisian Year, 365.

Under this registered offering:

An initial signon bonus based on personnel of 20,000 real time credits per person under command of the commanding offer.

An ammunition and weaponry allowance of 10,000 real time credits per crew members to buy all necessary equipment and weapons.

Real time pay at a flat rate of 500 time credits per person per day.

Special dispensation for returned bugs or buggers killed in combat.
1000 time credits per confirmed killed body returned.
10000 time credits for live capture of buggers.
100,000 time credits for capture of plasma bugs


For pinpointing the exact location of bugger bases and queen bugs.
1,000,000 time credits.

Additional pay will be made available for special missions. Capture of specialized equipment will be rewarded on the basis of patent evaluation.

By order of the Commonarch, Amara Cruon under special dispensation.

Appendage Print, Organ Scan,


Noted On:

IC: On the back of the contract is a bunch of legalese written in High Eternal, a language magnitudes more complex than Sanskrit, it makes the standard translator turn off in about three seconds after the first two words.

OOC: The cost of a mercenary in Africa for a 26 week contract is $300 per week per person according to Time magazine. The figure for guarding oil wells is about $4000 a month. I think Blackwater at its absolute top makes about $1000 a day.

My Firewarriors dont require pay as all their equipment is provided and everything the Tau do is for the Greater Good so no money required. i will put up a post soon showing a Kass'l gunship class escort showing up in system in reply to your message for help

Still as it is a general consideration for other players, we would probably donate the equipment or monies to some worthy cause in your name of your choice. Whether this be specialized food production for barren planets, disaster relief and transportation for planets in systems about to go nova, or educational uplift for primitive sophonts, it is your choice.

Mercantile General, a leading corporation in Moorington, has been quite interested with Muse and especially the benefits the planet has to offer for its pharmaceutical branch, which had taken note of several 'magical' drugs displayed by some of its smaller rivals.

Mercantile General, and Moorington as well for that matter, have a saying: both feet or not a finger; Mercantile General, once decided, hits the ground running and hits its opponents with both barrels. "Half-done" is the only adjective you cannot use for this massive conglomerate.

Once decided, late last week, to launch a branch on Muse, their installations on Moorington when into overdrive. Hover copters, jet tanks, scientists, infrastructure, all started readying to land on this planet to take it by storm.

End of Semi-IC

Mercantile General is what would happen, in a crazy future, if corporations were allowed to do everything but act against the government or kill people (slave labor, sure). It has its own military, its own embassies, and garners much political support in many governments around the universe, due to its deep pockets.

I hope this sounds good, because I'm ready to go.

We are willing to offer a land grant in exchange for supporting our initiative against the bugs. Muse is claimed by the Commonalitarianism. Muse is the size of Jupiter, 11x times as big as earth. We are willing to offer a 200 mile by 200 mille block of land in the jungles of Muse for participating. This will be designated as sovereign territory for you. The only thing we ask is that you try to maintain a stewardship philosophy for the land.


The main city New Shimizu originally had 10 million inhabitants. The city is gone currently. There was originally a large garrison at the New Hope military base of 100,000 soldiers. A secondary base, Spartacus Mountain is currently holding 1 million people, most originally from New Shimizu. Many more than originally intended. 1 million people have successfully been removed from Spartacus Mountain. There are numerous smaller research facilities, pharmaceutical farms, and some settlements. We have lost contact with the other settlements. There is interference with our orbital satellites, most in low muse orbit have been destroyed by plasma fire from the bugs. Communications have broken down. We are not sure why our sensor equipment is not working properly, it has experienced continuous small breakdowns and malfunctions making it nonoperational.

To make things interesting I am going to add the Roman holiday bit to the beginning of the RP. Why more troops weren't sent immediately, is because the attack fell on two consecutive days, Founders Day, and Ownership Day, both national holidays.

We are willing to offer a land grant in exchange for supporting our initiative against the bugs. Muse is claimed by the Commonalitarianism. Muse is the size of Jupiter, 11x times as big as earth. We are willing to offer a 200 mile by 200 mille block of land in the jungles of Muse for participating. This will be designated as sovereign territory for you. The only thing we ask is that you try to maintain a stewardship philosophy for the land.

Sounds excellent, our convoys are reaching the system now...

OOC: Where's the main thread linky again?

Here is the link to the startup thread:

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=525159&page=2

Also here is a link to a picture of one of the buggers allies which are doing the tunneling attacks:

Purple Worm

http://www.legendgames.co.uk/acatalog/PurpleWorm%5B1%5D.jpg

I'd like to sign up with a mercenary unit. They are reasonably well equipped and well trained. All of them ex-military. They will be using a single heavily modified ex-Navy cruiser, with a ground contignent organized as a Rapid Reaction element. A detailed list of the Order of Battle and equipment can be provided if needed.

Clairmont, I think with your signup, the game would be filled. If you want to for the record, it might be interesting to give a brief description of your group. Not necessarily the whole thing, but enough so the other players know what you are about.

Clairmont, I think with your signup, the game would be filled. If you want to for the record, it might be interesting to give a brief description of your group. Not necessarily the whole thing, but enough so the other players know what you are about.

Ofcourse. Shall I provide the background in the actual story thread or this one?

Put most of the background here. Add a bit to the story to add a little flavor.

IC:

"Why the hell did I choose this job..." The man muttered as he threw down another card from his hand, watching his counter players closely as he did so.

"Money?" A petite looking young woman retorted from across the table, setting down one of her own cards.

"There's that, but seriously, I didnt exactly sign on to hunt bugs if you catch my drift." The man sighed and threw down his last card, he really needed to learn not to play cards with these two.

"Like any of us did, but from what I hear the pay is quite nice from this one." The third person of the group replied, striking down his last card like a jackhammer and clearing the table of the credits accumulated at its center.

"Still, hunting bugs? Seriously..."

"Quit whining. You will be going in inside a damn suit, my ass will be far more vulnerable." The young woman retorted.

"And such a nice ass it is..." The oldest murmured.

"Still not getting any Fred." She replied back, smiling like a shark.

Just as the trio was about to launch into a full-blown war of witty vocal exchange, the shipwide intercom blared and the voice of one annoyed and old SOB echoed through it. Or the Captain for the uninformed or those he wasnt too fond of, Skipper or Skippy to the very few friends the old bastard had.

"All hands, man your duty stations. Translation to n-space in ten minutes."

As the trio of Operators gathered their belongings from the mostly silent mess hall of the Light Cruiser Switchblade, a bustle of activity began all over the ship as men and women left their free-time activities to prepare to go to work.

The Switchblade, or formerly FNS Shillelagh, was one of the now mostly decommissioned Artemis-class Light Stealth Cruisers. Formerly utilized by the Navy as a Reconnaissance in Force vessel, Special Forces Insertion Vessel and Light Screening Vessel, the Switchblade had been bought by the Aegis Creek Security Contractor Office. It was one of five ships owned by the Private Company, which was one of the largest in the entirety of the Freehold.

Despite being an old class, the ship was in top shape. Refurbished and upgraded and thanks to close ties with the Freehold Government, the Switchblade boasted the latest generation NEMESIS Battlespace Array system, military grade drives, battlescreens and armaments. It would give any run of the mill pirate a spanking, and its Captain would take the vessel against any Navy ship of equivalent class at any time. It was a massive investment, and for it to be deployed on this contract meant that Aegis Creek took the job seriously, very seriously.

The ship had originally carried a crew of 300, plus an additional Marine Ground Combat Contignent of 120. After Aegis Creek bought the vessel, they had modified it to carry two Heavy Assault Companies and necessary equipment, transforming the Marine County section of the vessel into a much larger space, space that was now bustling with activity.

Although not at full capacity, the Switchblade now carried a significant portion of Aegis Creek's available Operators. 180 troops all in all, most of them light infantry with attached Armored Combat Suit, Armored Cavalry and Fire Support units. Armed with the latest in Freehold manufactured weapons and equipment, they were all well trained fighters who had seen their own shares of action and were about to see more of it.

There was a noticeable jolt as the vessel dropped back to normal space to the edge of the Star System they had been dispatched to.

Warren Cosforth, formerly of the Freehold Armed Forces, NAVSPECWAR (Navy Special Warfare) gazed the holographic representation of the target planet, hovering two feet off the floor of the briefing room, with dispassionate eyes. His platoon leaders would be joining him momentarily, and he could begin the briefing.

It was just another job he tried telling himself, but the little honesty he had left forced him to accept the fact that this was perhaps the most screwed up contract he had ever taken part in. It was one thing to fight an enemy such as the long gone Imperium. It had been an enemy he could understand, but this, most certainly was not. Atleast not yet.

He tapped his foot down on the battlesteel plating and checked his chrono. As he waited, he allowed himself to contemplate the events that had lead him to this point.

There had, ofcourse been the War. Everybody in the Freehold still remembered the War. Who could not remember something that had killed close to three billion people and forced the then Star Protectorate of Clairmont to commence a mass exodus from their Earthly domain to space and take over the worlds they had conquered from their enemies. Twenty years ago from now, and the memory was still bright in his mind.

The aftermath of the war had brought about the need for Private Security Companies. Problems on the conquered worlds and especially among the former Imperial population that had refused to leave their homes. The military had been hit hard in the war, they couldnt be everywhere at the same time. Private Contractors had stepped in. A lucrative form of business had formed as Security firms popped up like mushrooms after a hard rain. They had been keen to hire anyone with training in the Military, or better yet Combat Experience. And many had joined those ventures, for the need for good income in the Post-War Economy had been critical.

Today, many of the problems that had brought about those Private Contractors still existed, and the business was as lucrative as ever and many of the oldest Contractors had their own small, but well armed, trained and experienced Armies. Armies that only fought for the money. Some of the more liberal portions of the Freehold's populace hated their guts, as a matter of fact, only those who never had been saved by the disgusting "Mercenaries" mostly hated their guts.

Major Warren Cosforth couldnt care less, after all, he was only after the credits.

OOC: I'll provide more detailed background on my key characters, the company, equipment etc. as the story progresses if that's ok.

From: Rufus Ohyes's Tidbits on Strange Places of the Galaxy, A Planetary Anecdotal Adventure, Neo-Commonii Press, 340 S.C., 2 Page extract, printed with special permission, INN-- Interspace News Network.

A bit of history on the Planet Muse. The planet Muse is a giant forest with some areas of forest. It consists of giant trees some as high as three miles tall. The trees get smaller as they approach the ocean. The trees form an interlacing canopy up to five layers thick. The deeper in the canopy the more active and thriving life becomes. There is a truly astounding variety of insect and plant life. There are even some creatures that are a cross between insect and plants. It is said you could fit a small village or town inside one of the larger tree trunks.

The Ming Corporation pharmaceutical farms are on the deepest levels, not because these are particularly safe, but this is where the anti-agapics and rejuvenative drugs which grow only on Muse are in their most potent form. It is also the most dangerous level of the canopy. Because it is so dangerous, it is where the prison farms are built, it is thought escaping and living off the land on Muse is well nigh impossible.


Despite this there are rumors that there is a colony of escaped prisoners somewhere in the jungles of Muse. The prisoners have a legend of it called Xanadu, and some are willing to risk their lives to get there even if it is only a legend.

The cities on Muse are protected shelters with forcefields and reinforced rockcrete bases. It was assumed no native bugs could get into the cities.

The largest city on the planet is New Shimizu, a giant pyramid arcology based on the design of the Shimizu arcology prefecture built on Tokyo Bay on old Terra in the island nation of Japan. It is said to be completely self supporting and is a major hub for intersystem botanical and pharmaceutical trade. New Shimizu is powered by a megaproject called the Krakatoa Deep Core Power Tap.

Muse is 11x the size of old terra. It is a truly huge unexplored world. Four expeditions have been sent out to explore the planet, only two have returned. None of them have completed their originally planned itinerary. The last mission and most successful explored the upper canopy of Muse. It was quite successful, they brought back several insect plant hybrid species including the green balloon plant a unique floating helium filled plant.

Mine If I join... I think a small injection of Dark biomech cells would make this a interesting story.

O.O.C - I think I should tell you a bit about my peoples tech.

Heres O'Vaus's modified XV 89 Battlesuit - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/xv89.htm
Modified with Iridium Armour plating to increase the overall armour rating of his battlesuit

Heres the stealthsuits - http://uk.games-workshop.com/tau/gallery/4/
They generally dont walk but use their jetpacks to silently hover and move slowly across land. The jetpacks dont consume fuel so they dont make emmisions. The only way youd notice is a downward breeze moving across the land

These are my pathfinders - http://uk.games-workshop.com/tau/gallery/9/
Team One and Team six has three Rail Rifles each and Team four are using these - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/tetra.htm

This is the Barracuda supiriority fighter - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/bara.htm
It works in both air and space.

And finally this is the Warden Class escort currently orbiting muse (The smaller ship) - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/warden.htm

Viorla would something like an ant or insect with extreme chemical sensitivity for communication pick up the presence of the stealth suits. They communicate by scent markers, pheromones, smells, and marking objects in addition to sound. Basically a touched object, or a smell would be picked up, most smells or unscrubbed chemicals would be picked up very acutely, artificial machine smells, etc. The stealth suit wouldn't be seen or heard though.

Right now, I am waiting for a few other posters to put up messages. In a couple of days, if they don't post, I would let other posters in. Right now no. Joethesandwich, Moorington, and Copenhagenkaufenlaff haven't posted yet in the main thread.

Well like i said the jetpacks do prodce downwards thrust so the plant-sensors would detect the unual movement of air, being six same shaped columns of downwards air moving past them at a set and regular speed, they could also detect slight E.M fields coming off the stealth field itself

I think the plant would pick up things which gave off an aura electromagnetism, bioelectricity in a living being, heat, brainwaves. Alien senses. So it would scream.

The bugs might have seen the pattern of thrusters, but because they are low level bugs-- designed for horde fighting, it would confuse them. The thoughts would be grass, moving grass, huh. Move around randomly.

This is the Commonalitarianism answer to why the buggers hate us. It all started on the planet Rubicon, a minor colony world. A totalitarian society based on the utopian vision of one Harbringer Rose II was created. A small group of buggers lived on the planet deep underground and paid no attention to us. We were at best considered a nuisance.

Then Harbringer Rose II died and his sons all fifteen of them tried to claim the throne. One of them decided he needed a scapegoat to blame for the planets troubles. He blamed the buggers. His followers armed themselves and attacked the buggers. The buggers responded with a one sided slaughter of the colonists.

The colonists appealed for help claiming that they were attacked by the "demonic" bugs and the asteroid legions were called in. The fight was taken to the bugs and won. The bugs were prepared to flee from the humans and leave the world. They even sent a psychic message ceding the planet.

A few of the fanatical followers of Harbringer Rose II remained. They acquired a nuclear weapon and went on a suicide mission against the bugger queen. It succeeded. The buggers lost all trust in humanity, generalized it to all humanoids, and decided we needed to be exterminated.

The resulting war lasted for ten years, the buggers lost the last round. That was fifty years ago.

The Terraforming of Muse, Two Million Years Ago:

Muse was originally a giant barren ball of rock a million and a half years ago. The Hegemon Overmind an archilect-- transhumanoid artificial intellect, laid claim to muse and started terraforming muse, it got as far as insects, plants, and arthropods.

Then another archilect, Great Light of the Arisen Appendage, an arisen arthropod biocomputer, also tried to claim Muse for its own, this resulted in a battle, strange energies raged throughout the muse system. The planet was bombarded with unusual radiations, biochemical mutagens, and tailored mindless lifeforms. This caused the plants to grow huge, mutate, and change. No mammal life would ever arise here, and even reptilian life would fill the smallest niches. However, other forms were created half insect, half plant.

The biocomputer and the archilect fought neither gaining the upper hand, eventually they fused forming the Daystar, a bright green energy field which hovers over muse giving off unusual radiations which cause animals and plants to grow vigorously.

OOC: I just finished watching Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation. It was really bad. The possession bugs were really gross. However, I liked the concrete barriers, bug zapper towers, and canister weapons which dropped from the towers. I'll pass on using possession bugs, it is too much of a ripoff of alien.

I think I like the original novel the best. I only got to see the CGI animated series once while I was in a hotel room in Boston. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully, I can get some copies of the episodes. I found a site with a nice guide to the cartoon series.

http://misterhook.net/roughnecks/guide.htm

Does anybody know a good site for the starship troopers miniatures game. There are a couple interesting critters there, specifically, the overseer bug -- field commander which I would like to use as part of the RP.

Does anybody know a good site for the starship troopers miniatures game. There are a couple interesting critters there, specifically, the overseer bug -- field commander which I would like to use as part of the RP.

Sorry, no. But have you checked out the Roughnecks Animation series? Its rather good, and a more accurate portrayal of the Federation than the movies. And I agree, Starship Troopers 2 sucked bad.

After looking at different worlds, I am beginning to think that Muse looks like the the Wookie homeworld Kashyyk from orbit. Also the giant trees are somewhat similar. I am thinking that the escaped prisoners will have built a giant tree structure.

Some of the nastier local wildlife in the ecology of the planet Muse:

The Wolf Spider, a giant burrowing spider-- this spider jumps on its prey, it also will wait in its burrow, run out and grab passing creatures retreating into its burrow. It spits webbing and has a poisonous bite.

The horned pill bug: This buffalo sized bug wanders around eating the local vegetation. It has three horns on the front much like a triceratops. It is armored with very heavy chitin plates. Dangerous when aroused, it moves quickly spearing its enemies.

The glow bug: This is a giant glowing bug about a foot long. It doesn't do much, but it looks interesting.

The Centiscorpion: A one foot long cross between a centipede and a scorpion. Four pincer claws, dozens of legs, a nasty bite and sting.

The carrion bug: This bug eats carrion, it has a paralytic bite.

The chameleon bug: This is a mantis like insect, it can naturally change its colors to its surroundings. It is the size of a small cat.

The wing wasp: This is a giant wasp. It has a paralytic sting which it uses then plants its eggs in the host to let its grubs grow.

The giant fire ant: These two foot long insects build hives in the trees. They lay claim to a single tree, swarming any creature that approaches too close.

The mega cockroach: What would life be like without a giant poisonous cockroach. This thing will eat anything.

Plants:

The giant venus flytrap: Half plant, half animal, this creature has wide sticky leaves which insects land on and the leaves close.

The carnivorous popper tree: This tree throws its seeds out in a cloud. The seeds are sharp and will embed themselves in animals growing new popper trees.

The death flower: This looks like a sun flower on a fleshy stalk. It is slightly mobile. It spits poisonous seeds at creatures. The seeds embed themselves and grow new death flowers.

The screamer: This is a plant that grows near the death flowers. It looks like the death flower, but it screams. It is inedible.

The Adam Tree: This is the name for the giant trees that grow on Muse.

The underground pitcher plant: This is a plant with a sticky acidic gel which large insects can fall into. Most of it is below the surface.

The Ya-Te-Veo: The tentacle tree. This is a smaller tree with tentacles, it grabs its prey and pulls it into its maw.

The Audrey Plant: This is exactly what it says, a big flytrap with whiplike tentacles that pull its prey into its maw.

The burner bush: This bush is coated with a blistering agent. It is bright red.

The giant four leaf clover: one big lucky clover.

Fungi:

Popper balls: These release clouds of spores which infect the skins and lungs growing more popper balls.

Popper mushrooms: These mushrooms grow on exposed flesh similar to the popper balls.

Worms:

The borer worm. This bores into another insect and lays eggs. It will bore into other things as well.

I just finished reading Starship Troopers by Heinlein again to see if there was anything I could use. There are a few things which are interesting. It wasn't quite the same the second time around.

The Death Grove:

The death grove is a cultivated area created by sentient omnivorous hybrid plant/animals. It is a cultivation pattern designed to protect and catch bugs. We think the plants are sentient all attempts at communicating with these creatures has failed utterly. It is not even certain how their senses work.

The outer ring consists of tentacle plants evenly spaced. Past the tentacle plants, there are underground pitcher plants in random patterns under the ground. Toward the center there are death flowers which throw needle like seeds, and screamers with a horrible ear splitting scream. Growing above them is the canopy of the giant popper tree. Audrey plants usually are near the base of the popper trees. The audrey plants tend the other plants, spreading and planting seeds in the carcasses of dead animals. The seeds germinate then spread their roots into the ground. The Audrey plants carry off the skeletons which are dumped into a central pit. The grouncover consists of a variety of edible plants. Mixed in them are a variety of pheromone based plants that smell very tasty or indicate that there is a mate available to bugs wandering outside the grove.

Human Experimentation and Slavery

It was believed that there were attempts by the buggers in the last war to combine human and bugger dna to create new species of bugs. There were examples of a short lived species of buggers which could wear captured human power armor, but this was eventually countered. There were also some captured human bugger hybrid experments which were a miserable failure, the Xander bug was an example of this. *

An example of a bug which could pass for human was attempted as well, however this was easily detected, it had small antennae, too large teeth, green chitinous fingernails, and many other bug features which gave it away, the internal mix of organs was also not quite right, so it did not live very long.

There were incidences towards the end of the last bugger war of buggers capturing humans for food as well. People were treated like livestock. It seemed that the warrior bugs fighting humans had acquired a taste for people.

The CGI cartoon-- Roughnecks had a bug which could pass as human-- I don't think this would work at all. They also had a few bugger experiments with people.

I just started John Steakley's Armor, this is another variation of Heinlein. The bugs are not arachnids, they are humanoid ants, with two massive upper arms with pincers, two smaller arms with pincers for delicate work, and tree trunk like legs. They function by swarming.

The difference in this stories is that it is about the psychology of the prepared soldier, what makes an achilles or ajax, how to identify or prepare a man to become a fighter who will do anything to survive and fight nonstop. In a way it is not about heroes but the psychology of the surviving soldier.

History of the Neo-Canid

The first neo-canids were developed as a way to deal with the plague zombies. They were cloned and specially selected police and military dogs trained to point out and locate plague zombies and vampires. This is they way they started. Eventually they were vaccinated, made larger, and trained for close combat with plague zombies. Some of the changes caused some of the neo-canids to develop a strong empathy with their handlers.

Some of the neo-canid handlers asked for greater rights for neo-canids, and there were a series of sentient rights trials around the right to manipulate the abilities of the new breed. Strong laws were put in force to limit genetic manipulation, however these were not followed, neither by secret military operations, or other clandestine groups. (PMT)

As the future took hold, a second variation of the plague zombie came against the Commonalitarianism, the Flood, a new type of alien disease. Humanity was losing. In response, a new breed of soldier was developed enhancing neo-canids into fully humanoid creatures designed for close combat. A form of super soldier and super detector for the Commonii forces.

Also in their desperation, the first Franks-- or Frankensteins, humans with spliced animal dna and specially engineered abilities were introduced to turn the tide against the alien flood.

The war was eventually won. At this point there was a period of peace with second class citizenship for the Neoc-canids. This changed with the first bugger war...

An interesting novel which uses human animal hybrids is Forests of the Night by S. Andrew Swann-- the main character is a tiger human moreau.
http://www.sff.net/people/SASwann/books/fotn.htm

A Plant/Animal Hybrid Race:

The plant/animal hybrid plants are not remotely human or in most cases even able to communicate with humans. They form groves with giant central trees. The trees are the center of their grove structure.

The trees are incredibly tall. They use pressure to eject seeds from their pods spreading the seeds over the landscape. Each tree when fully grown is a complete ecology unto itself. Different plants, slime molds and oozes, insects, and plant/animal hybrids live on different parts of the giant trees.

At the 4-6 kilometer height they can eject seeds through the upper atmosphere into space where they float for millions of years until they reach a new world. No one really understands how the seeds navigate the depths of space to find new worlds, but they do. Lodged in the outer hulls are various eggs from insects and other seeds, enough to start a new grove on a new world if it is hospitable.

A change of the seasons:

Muse has two different seasons, a hot dry season where the insects and plants come out and dominate, and a rainy season where many of the worms and slimey creatures come out in the damp season.

A bit more on the terraforming of Muse:

About two million years ago, Muse was partially terraformed. The reptiles and mammals never came. The forerunner creatures which the planet was being terraformed for died off in an interstellar war.

What was left was the plants, insects, and worms. The plants were essentially biological terraforming machines programmed to reproduce and cover the entire planet with vegetation, collect insect eggs and release them for maximum coverage of the continents. With the loss of their primary programmers, they went haywire and mutated considerably under the Daystar creating self perpetuating warring ecologies. There is little if any ground which is not covered with vegetation and plant life because of this.

The hybrid/plant animals were not the prevalent alien form, however, the daystar mutated several of the ecological machines into forms which became slightly more intelligent and capable of spreading their groves than other species.


The worms job was as caretakers of the soil and preparers of the way for the now dead race. Until recently they weren't aware that their creators had died off, they had been programmed to be obedient. They prepared the soil and monitored the planet. But under the daystar they too changed slowly, not as much as the plants and insects, because of their life underground, but enough to break their programming recently.

Treehome and the Beginnings of An Insurgency:

A number of prisoners had escaped from the pharmaceutical farms into the jungle. Living in the prisons was a harsh combination of forced therapy and ten hour workdays. Most of the escaping prisoners didn't survive. However, eventually a few prisoners managed to stay alive in the swamps in a giant dead tree. After many years they learned enough to live off the land somewhat.

They helped other prisoners escape. The Ming Syndicate found this to be a minor nuisance assuming that anyone escaped died. Then they noticed too many people were escaping an impossible situation. They sent the second expedition out supposedly to explore the wilderness. The prisoners led the second expedition into a death grove where most of them were slaughtered.

The prisoners eventually were able to cobble together a transmitter, they attracted a small enterprising company which landed in the swamps, starting an illegal trade where the prisoners provided stroonus and other products from the jungle in exchange for goods. The company both refused to provide transport off world and destroyed the transmitter seeing them as a source for goods.

This eventually attracted the attention of the Department of Economic and Special Warfare, who sought a way to supplement their black budget. This is why Sargent Smithers and Marcus Ohyes are currently at New Spartacus Mountain.

Some notes on the Commonalitarianism Services:

This is going to be a rather odd idea. The Commonalitarianism does not have a huge military presence. It has a much larger police presence than military presence. What ends up happening is the special police forces have the best weapons in many cases and in some cases the police and prisons are better armed than the military.

The best weapons and capabilities are in the hands of the Office of Economic and Special Warfare which licenses privateers and handles brush fire incidents.

The military presence is based on brute force weaponry-- Carriers for fighters and bombers, asteroid missile platforms, asteroid beam and kinetic platforms, and asteroid assault ships. There are a few specialized ships like the two new super destroyers, one of which just died. The OESW has some specialized ships as well.

As the bug war progresses, our scientists, armourers, and technicians are thinking about new ways to meet the bugger menace. On board the Asteroid Legion ship Achilles, our weapons engineer is displaying some of the new ordinance to fight the bugs:

1) Bug repellent, this is made from marigolds, and other natural substances from Muse that seem to keep away bugs. It smells awful.

2) Ultrasound speakers, these will temporarily disable the bugs, making them disoriented. We think the effect could last up to one hour before individual bugs readjust. Some bugs are immune to this.

3) Monomolecular electrified stun sword. Going up against a giant insect with a knife just didn't seem like enough.

4) Multiple charge mines-- these mines go off repeatedly. There are two varieties, electrical and kinetic.

5) Burrow bombs, a bomb delivery system attached to ground penetrating radar, which burrows into the ground exploding.

6) High Explosive Armor Piercing impeller gun rounds .

I am thinking of how to describe the mosaic found by Theao. The theme is the worm Ouroboros-- a giant red worm with tentacles, clawed feet, and hundreds of eyes biting its tale in a circle surrounding a giant grey tree. This would be a round mosaic. Surrounding the mosaic would be fallen menhir with stylized worms and insects on it.

I am also thinking of the classic poem, the Conqueror Worm by Poe.

http://worldebooklibrary.com/eBooks/Alex_Collection/poe-conqueror-676.htm

Why the worms hate us:

It is fairly simple, the Commonalitarianism built deep geothermal core taps right through their habitat without even knowing it to power the pharmaceutical farms and New Shimizu Megapyramid. These taps were considered both sacrilegious and invasive by the worms. It made them angry enough to attack us and ally with the buggers.

This is a pretty neat thing. They are going to attempt to use a mustard seed plant spliced with the genes of a jellyfish to test growing plants on mars. The first experimental terraforming plant animal hybrids....

http://www.astrobio.net/news/article55.html

Theao, Viorla, Clairmont, -- comments, criticism, thoughts. I would like a bit of feedback so I can make things a bit better. Am I making things too hard? What would make it better? I would also like to reopen the game to new players for the second third. Push to New Tree Home, and liberation of New Shimizu.

Theao, Viorla, Clairmont, -- comments, criticism, thoughts. I would like a bit of feedback so I can make things a bit better. Am I making things too hard? What would make it better? I would also like to reopen the game to new players for the second third. Push to New Tree Home, and liberation of New Shimizu.

Sorry about not replying for a bit, had a couple of hectic days, will try to catch up sometime later today.

As to adding people, sure.

I know you said no one else could join in but maybe I could do something. You've got a wicked RP here.






Long live the Peoples Republic of Mussleburgh!

I would like to reopen the game to new players Musselbergh. You can join. I think that the first part is coming to a head and the second part is starting.

On the philosophy of the buggers:

It may be surprising, but there is a distinct philosophy played out by the buggers, it is one of absolute nature, tooth and claw taken to an extreme. The bugs and worms objective is to create an environment where the most capable organism survives. The buggers manipulate the genetics of their species and others to create a challenging environment.

For the buggers, they mostly focused on insect species which existed within their sphere of influence. However, after the first interstellar war with humanity, the surviving bugs absorbed human knowledge of biology increasing their ability to manipulate the genetics of other creatures. It also allowed them to grasp alien biological concepts, the ability to manipulate plants which they had ignored as nothing but a source of food. Also the buggers began to gain the first inklings of an understanding of biomechanics.

The worms when they met the bugs found their species ideals compatible and joined with the bugs. The worms only manipulated their own species and created plant/animal hybrids as well as introducing their environment onto other worlds in the form of a kind of ecological warfare.

The buggers brains find the human tendency to develop tools from dead things appalling, as well as their use of dead things to house themselves in. Humans look like and act like overinquisitive grubs. Most human philosophy goes against their outlook.

Initially when humanity met the bugs, they were invaders and the buggers sought to wipe them out as a threat to their species. However, they found that the human mind and hand was more adaptable than theirs in some ways. They began to see humans as a possible source of brains if they could be made to fit the bugger philosophy.

Wicked!

A coverup of epic proportions:

When Muse was first discovered by a probe, it was a commercial exploration expedition that sponsored the probe.

The first to arrive were two companies and a private institute. They formed an expedition to explore the planet. Early on the Ecotechnic institute discovered that the planet housed unique plant life, potential anti-agapics, and a variety of potentially useful and lucrative products. They began to suspect that the plants and animals might have other functions than normal.

The expedition was well armed and equipped, despite this they suffered several casualties because they did not know the terrain. Then the Ecotechnic Institute discovered an ancient alien artifact, a perfectly smooth dome with airholes at the top etched in geometric patterns. There were no aliens, but this was a clearly alien artifact. The Commonalitarianism exploratory charter specifically forbade colonizing worlds with recognizable alien intelligences.

The Ming Corporation and the Cruon Corporation decided that they wanted to colonize the world whether or not there were alien artifacts. The four members from the Ming Syndicate and Cruon Syndicate murdered the expedition members from Ecotechnic Institute and attempted to get back to the ship. By the end of the expedition only one person from the Ming Syndicate and the Cruon Syndicate survived.

They erased the records of the alien finds and recommended the planet be exploited for its pharmaceuticals and plants there was no sign of alien intelligence. They Ming Syndicate asked for exclusive charter to build prison farms, and the Cruon Syndicate built the first settlement which would later become New Shimizu to exploit the animal and plant wealth.

As part of the coverup, they built high walls around the cities and prison farms claiming the world was too dangerous to explore. They further created a false exploratory group and foundation called the Muse Foundation. Whatever the Ming Corporation or Cruon Corporation uncovered in the four expeditions, it barely provided a shadow of what it had found.

Alright, you've got insects, plants, and molds. What happens in two million years of mutation with no mammals or birds. Do some new critters come into existence to fill some open ecological niches?

1) Mobile slimes and jellies mostly carrion eaters. (Middle canopy and near water).

2) Hybrid plant/animals (Jungle floor mostly)

3) Floating spore plants, balloon plants, and floating jellyfish with tentacles. (upper canopy)

4) Tentacle monsters (Near water)

News Flash:

Massive protests in Liberty Square in the Paradise System. Pensioners demand access to regenerative drugs from Muse. A close up shot of a man holding a placard which reads, Smash the Bugs, Give Us Our Medicine, "I will go to war to get my treatments if necessary," says 90 year old Benny Goodman, looking a spry 30 years old, "You know I don't deserve to grow a day over 40. Lets stomp those bugs."

"Muse Foundation raided," heavily armed Citizens Intelligence teams burst into the offices of the Muse Foundation in the early dawn hours. Files, data pads, and computers are being carried out to waiting trucks. Several people and canids are being marched into waiting hover vans.

The Citizens Assembly Floor, this morning the Citizens Assembly authorized full mobilization of the second and third carrier group to be sent to Muse along with 1st Asteroid Legion.

Two more worm pictures for your eddification.


Mongolian Death Worm-- Capable of spitting a powerful corrosive poisonous yellow fluid, or generating a powerful electrical shock.

http://www.forteantimes.com/articles/182/death.jpg

Spiny Worm-- capable of ejecting its spines a considerable distance as well as using them in close combat.

http://tea.armadaproject.org/Images/pennycook/pennycook_use_spiny_worms.JPG.jpg

A thing which crawled out of the river...

http://craphound.com/images/shoggoth.jpg

A catalog of horrors:

Bug:

Warrior Bug-- Your standard big bug with big jaws.

Warrior Ant-- A smaller two foot swarming red antlike creature.

Jungle Spider-- A fast moving spider which can hop, spit webbing, and has a poisonous bite.

Chameleon Bug-- Small two foot long chameleon bug. Has a mental link to the overseer bug and brain bug. Used for psychic rangefinding, spying on the enemy.

Dug-- A dog bug hybrid used to track humans, very strong viselike jaws, enhanced hearing, smell, armored plating.

Bug Tank-- A giant heavily armored bug with huge ceramic plates, hundreds of sharp pointy legs, tentacles, and a scoop like serrated jaw.

Tanker Bug-- Delivers a flamethrower stream at troops.

Blister Bug-- Vomits acid onto troops.

Hopper-- Armored flying bugs with stingers and very sharp jaws.

Bee-- A one foot exploding flying bug, has an organic explosive inside it. When maddened it explodes when it hits targets.

Ripper-- Like a giant dragonfly, can move very fast, hover, and spit a stream of poisonous darts.

Firefry (different than Starship Troopers)-- A big biological battery on wings that can suck energy out of shields, absorb energy through its shell, and delivery a plasma cutting arc charge.

Plasma Bug -- Small 10 meter-- tank variant shoots a ball of plasma capable of destroying unshielded IFVs and Tanks.

Large 30 Meter-- Shoots balls of plasma into orbit capable of taking down starships.

Arc Light Bug-- (New) A big flying bug capable of delivering an electrically charged plasma ball at ground or air targets. Takes time to recharge.

Overseer Bug-- A field commander bug which reports back telepathically to the brain bugs, allowing greater flexibility of command in the field.

Hybrid Brain Bug-- A new type of brain which has alien dna mixed in it allowing greater flexibility of thought.

Nurse Scientist Bug-- A nurse bug with a grasp of basic genetics so it can improve its ability to mutate creatures. Has absorbed the basics of human biological science and started developing a bug science of biomechanics.

Queen Bug-- The egg layer of the hive.

Bug Transport: An interstellar sleeper ship that uses biological charged plasma to liftoff into space and hibernation to make the voyage.

Worms:

Purple-- Burrowing bug which can eat through concrete and melt steel will get through the foundations of most buildings.

White-- Huge worms capable of transporting bugs and other worms in their stomachs, very fast moving.

Thorny Worm-- A worm with huge thorns on it. These can be expelled in clusters at creatures or used in close combat to pin people and light vehicles.

Death Worm-- Capable of spitting a noxious poisonous yellow contact poison, or a bioelectric charge.

Red Worm-- Conqueror Worm-- The leader worm.

Jellies and Slimes--

Green jelly-- blackish green jellylike creature that roars. It has sticky tentacles and tries to absorb its prey.

Plant Defenders--

Screamer Plant-- Detects the aura of passing creatures-- bioelectricity, electromagnetism, heavy metals, metals, motion and screams.

Deathflower-- spits venomous paralytic seeds at intruders. These seeds grow into new deathflowers.

Living Hedge-- a thorny hedge which protects the entrances to the bugger hives.

Living mines-- like a bee buried in the ground.

Some of the local wildlife in the ecology of the planet Muse-- This is the first thing which comes as an invader before the bugs and worms. Usually several Eve seeds land.:

The Wolf Spider, a giant burrowing spider-- this spider jumps on its prey, it also will wait in its burrow, run out and grab passing creatures retreating into its burrow. It spits webbing and has a poisonous bite.

The horned pill bug: This buffalo sized bug wanders around eating the local vegetation. It has three horns on the front much like a triceratops. It is armored with very heavy chitin plates. Dangerous when aroused, it moves quickly spearing its enemies.

The giant dragonfly:-- Capable of carrying off a man in flight.

The giant bloodfly-- These flies like to drink the fluids inside creatures. They inject their digestive enzymes into bodies then suck them out.

The glow bug: This is a giant glowing bug about a foot long. It doesn't do much, but it looks interesting.

The ankheg: A giant acid spitting insect. It burrows and helps turnover the soil to make it more fertile.

The Centiscorpion: A one foot long cross between a centipede and a scorpion. Four pincer claws, dozens of legs, a nasty bite and sting.

The carrion bug: This bug eats carrion, it has a paralytic bite.

The click beetle: These are big beetles that travel in packs. They make loud clicking noises.

The wing wasp: This is a giant wasp. It has a paralytic sting which it uses then plants its eggs in the host to let its grubs grow.

The giant fire ant: These two foot long insects build hives in the trees. They lay claim to a single tree, swarming any creature that approaches too close.

The mega cockroach: What would life be like without a giant poisonous cockroach. This thing will eat anything.

The breeder bug-- A very fast breeding beetle that eats almost anything.

The swarmer bugs-- a bug which swarms over a person or object releasing a minor irritating foul smelling liquid to keep it away from the fur tree.

Plants:
The Eve Tree: This is the name for the giant trees that grow on Muse. They are the central terraformers of Muse. They are capable of sending their seeds to other worlds. The seeds carry many of the seeds and eggs from local flora and fauna.

The tangle bush-- a bush that is a tangly mass of vines that grows in the jungle. It makes it hard to move through the jungle without using machetes or ground clearing vehicles.

The black thorn vine-- This is a very thick vine with a yellow flower, that is very fibrous and tough. It takes a while with a steel blade to cut through it. It has similar properites to barbed wire.

The giant venus flytrap: Half plant, half animal, this creature has wide sticky leaves which insects land on and the leaves close.

The sweet smelling honey vine-- a plant which emits pheromones to attract insects into the death groves.

The stroonus bush, a bush which contains anti-agapic berries.

The glowing mustard flower. This glows giving a faint blue radiance at night.

The sucking thorny strangler vine: This is a vine covered with hollow thorns that drain the juices from nearby animals and plants.

The purple thorny cactus: This grows near the strangler vine. It collects sweet water in its trunk and has a succulent furit.

The porcupine bush: A bush with spines and a poison that causes creatures to go to sleep.

The carnivorous popper tree: This tree throws its seeds out in a cloud. The seeds are sharp and will embed themselves in animals growing new popper trees. The bigger ones form the center of the death groves.

The death flower: This looks like a sun flower on a fleshy stalk. It is slightly mobile. It spits poisonous seeds at creatures. The seeds embed themselves and grow new death flowers.

The screamer: This is a plant that grows near the death flowers. It looks like the death flower, but it screams. It is inedible.


The underground pitcher plant: This is a plant with a sticky acidic gel which large insects can fall into. Most of it is below the surface.

The Ya-Te-Veo: The tentacle tree. This is a smaller tree with tentacles, it grabs its prey and pulls it into its maw.

The Audrey Plant: This is exactly what it says, a big flytrap with whiplike tentacles that pull its prey into its maw.

The burner bush: This bush is coated with a blistering agent. It is bright red.

The giant four leaf clover: one big lucky clover.

Red Super Kudzu-- A kind of vine which grows very fast and covers everything. It has regenerative properties as well as anti-clotting properties for blood.

Red prairie grass-- A two foot tall serrated grass.

The fur tree-- A big tree which looks like it has fur growing on it, a kind of fibrous material. The fur is actually soft and warm to the touch.

The five leafed rainbow flower-- it looks pretty it also gives whatever tries to eat it hallucinogenic nightmares.

Fungi:
White plate mushroom-- this has immune boosting properties, helping the body fight disease.

Soft moss-- this moss has a very soft quality almost like velvet, it grows in big round clumps.

Blue algae-- This is a plant which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. It is part of the terraforming process used by the Eve Tree.

Popper balls: These release clouds of spores which infect the skins and lungs growing more popper balls.

Popper mushrooms: These mushrooms grow on exposed flesh similar to the popper balls.

Worms:

The small borer worm. This bores into another insect and lays eggs. It will bore into other things as well.

Balloon Plants:
These plant/animal hybrids are capable of extracting helium and hydrogen from the air. They float around picking seeds and plants off the trees. They are omnivorous and a possible proto-intelligence, having simple tools and living high in the Eve Trees where there are less carnivores.

A background story:

A million years ago, there was a vast interstellar war. It was between the first people and the ouroboros. The first people and ouroboros annhilated each other. They left nothing but remnants and ruins.

One of these remnants was a race of terraforming creatures the worms. The ouroboros had programmed trees to send life from world to world and create a proper environment for them when they were ready to colonize.

This process never stopped, even with the ouroboros gone, the trees continued sending out new seeds to other worlds. The trees would slowly release plants, insects, and worms to colonize other worlds. The worms helped build the foundations for the ouroboros deep cities. They were genetically engineered slaves, the equivalent of underpeople.

The worms did not stop building for the ouroboros until 100,000 years ago when they realized that the Ouroboros were never coming back. Ruins still dot many worlds which were prepared for the Ouroboros.

The worms retreated underground living their lives of simple purpose to garden, to build, to do what they were programmed to do for themselves.

Then the buggers came, it was easy for the worms to conquer the buggers, they could burrow directly into the queens chamber and seize control. It was not hard to add a new race for the terraforming process. In the scheme of things, they were the inheritors of the Ouroboros.

There was no communication between planets, just a knowledge in their genes that they lived on different worlds. With the bugger ships, the worms could now travel and see the far flung network of terraformed worlds they had created.

Then the humans came to Muse. They were a nuisance, a pest to the worms, but they did not do anything particularly dangerous if they stayed in their cities. This changed when New Shimizu built a geothermal core tap burrowing through the mantle of the planet to the lava flows beneath. This infuriated the worms, the humans and canids had no right to burrow deep near their homes. They decided to get rid of the human invaders...

Having fun with the environment on Muse. These are a couple of articles which I found fascinating which might make things just a little bit more alien for Muse.

This is a rather interesting concept. There may be different colors for photosynthesis. I would think that there are several different colors for plants on Muse, primarily being, red, grey, and green.

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/happenings/20070411/

Some of the fungi absorb the radiation from the Daystar creating giant strange looking red and yellow radioactive mushrooms. These are poisonous and radioactive at the same time and occur in the deep jungle.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/duncan/17611/

I'd like to use future tech Genetically Engineered Anti-Material Weapons. These would be a mix of bacteria and slime molds. The slime molds would get into things fouling weapons and causing them to rust and not function well. It would take a while for the rusting to take effect, but the fouling would happen fairly quickly within hours. The bacteria would eat carbon products, plastic, paints, and similar materials causing pitting then eventual decomposition. Also some of there might be a couple of critters designed to rust metal or decompose plastic. They might spit out the slime molds on top of things, or release something like a cloud of gas. I could also use a kind of fungi spore that might eat plastic or metal. I am not sure. I would like some kind of feedback before I did this. It could be combined with other bioweapons... I already tried blister spores, but these could be easily filtered out by basic protection.

Blowing Up New Spartacus Mountain:

The worms with patience tunneled under the base. They built large deep chamber. Then they marched many of the remaining giant plasma bugs into the chamber. They sealed them in then they ordered them to release their plasma. The bugs died in the volatile explosion. This created a massive enough explosion to tear a hole directly through the base.