Pentapod (Attitude)

Pentapods are a mysterious species of sapient, land-based echinoderm-like creatures. Their homeworld is unknown, but they have an outpost on an Earth-like planet in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Biology
Pentapods evolved from radially-symmetrical starfish-like ancestors. Like their name indicates, they have five limbs: three legs and two arms, all protruding from a nearly spherical body with no head. They have a legspan of about 8 ft (~ 2.43 m), and their limbs are flexible enough to allow them to easily reach objects 8 ft above the ground. However, their flexibility is limited in that their arms can't move sideways to the same degree as they can move up and down. Each of their limbs terminates in a cluster of pencil-thick tendrils, which are short and stubby on the legs, and long and slender on the arms. They have a central mouth and five eyes, which are placed between their five limbs. Each eye has a double pupil. The Pentapods' entire bodies, with the exception of the mouth, eyes and tendrils, are covered in a mat of inches-long mobile spines.

Pentapods are strong and physically tough creatures which can easily overpower Humans in hand-to-hand combat. Their only notable disadvantage is that they cannot run as fast as Humans. They require the same atmospheric conditions as Humans and Vegans.

Pentapods are voiceless, and communicate by the complex movement of their spines. They communicate much faster than Humans and Vegans, and find it easy to comprehend the gestures of other species after a brief period of observation, since gestural language is so trivial and intuitive to them.

Culture and society
Pentapods wear no clothes, as it would presumably interfere with their communication. However, they wear metal belts on their legs to carry tools, and their technology includes spacesuits. They fight without weapons, confident in their ability to overpower other beings in physical combat.

Pentapod ships have been known to operate in the outskirts of the Milky Way Galaxy and the space between the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. They capture the ships of other species and keep them in captivity while allowing the captives access to their ships' materials and resources. Their goal is to learn about the technology of other species by observing their prisoners' attempts to build weapons, communication devices and others, which are confiscated only at the last possible moment.

Appearances

 * "Attitude", by Hal Clement (1943)