Skrill

The Skrill are an alien species.

History
The Skrills were actually a sentient alien race that existed on their own world until the arrival of the Taelons. First contact between the two was disastrous as the creatures attacked the Companions in a never ceasing end of combat. Once encountering them, they were subjugated and transformed into living organic weapons for use by the Companions. (Episode: Scorpions Dream) At some unknown point, the Taelons also managed to acquire the Skrill Queen. (Episode: Emancipation) After arriving on Earth, the Companions began to delegate the bio-engineering work to Humans. (Episode: Scorpions Dream) To support this process, the Skrill Development Center was established in New Capetown in South Africa which was responsible for the birthing of Skrills and the re-engineering of the species into weapon implants. The Skrill Queen was later placed in this facility with all Skrill implants being descended from her as they were her offspring. In order to continue the production of the implants, the bioengineers on the project kept the Queen in a permnant pregnant state. (Episode: Emancipation) Another notable facility for the research in Skrills was Comtech where one of these bioengineers was Dr. Larry Clark who was given the initial Alpha type Skrills in order to develop as well as tame the species. Through his study of them, he developed the Gamma breed which were much more docile and assigned to Companion Protectors as well as drones. (Episode: Scorpions Dream)

Despite the creation of the Gammas, Clark continued work in working on the aggressive instincts of the Alpha and to engineer a means to remove their self-preservation instincts. However, they Alphas remained aggressive and the project was cancelled with Dr. Clark's position terminated. The Taelons later began to take steps to remove the Alphas and place them in cryogenic storage but whilst in the process, one of the creatures attached itself to Dr. Clark's hands and influenced him into committing dangerous actions. As a result of his actions, the entirety of the Alpha breed Skrill were terminated under orders from the Taelon Synod. (Episode: Scorpions Dream) Later, the scientists at the Skrill Development Center were responsible for creating a new prototype Skrill that did not require an implant to control them. However, this specimen was later stolen and used by a rogue resistance cell. What was even more shocking and surprising was that the thieves had also stolen the Skrill Queen and placed a hologram behind in order to fool the Skrill Development Center personnel. During the course of events, it was revealed that the extremist Liberation cell known as Black Wednesday was responsible for the act. When most of the group was captured, Renee Palmer attempted to rescue the last survivor who had sheltered the Skrill Queen in an effort to use the implants as weapons against the Taelons. This was stopped when Liam Kincaid arrived who had two options presented to him; either return the Skrill Queen to the Companions or leave it in the hands of the resistance. However, Major Kincaid instead bonded with the Queen and experienced "her" memories and of how the species had been abused. Thus, he intended to save the Skrill Queen from a life of subjugation and moved her to the South American rainforest in order to live her life in peace. Its final moments was uttering a prayer in its native language as it accepted its new hope that was the closest to its natural environment and adjusted its bio-energy to the lands. Shortly afterwards, the Skrill Queen shedded its corporeal body and became a being of energy that took flight. (Episode: Emancipation) The disappearance of the Skrill Queen was a huge loss for the Taelons as it meant that what was once an unlimited resource had now become a finite one which they now needed to conserve. This was partly because the Skrill homeworld was no longer accessible to the Companions as it was now in Jaridian territory. (Episode: Emancipation)
 * According to a possible future from Trammel a time displaced astronaut, shortly after the Taelons were defeated - Skrill implants were banned on Earth. (Episode: Trapped by Time)

Background
Skrills were a genetically altered lifeform that was not electrical in nature. (Episode: The Cloister) They were an organic breed of weapons that lived as an appendage of the central nervous system of a host body which were controlled through the CVI. (Episode: Decision) As such, only Companion Protectors or high ranking Volunteer officers were provided the mans to control a Skrill. (Episode: Emancipation) They possessed what was termed by the Taelons as an "apocalyptic" power and were even capable of killing the Companions with their potent energy blasts. (Episode: Scorpion's Dream) These creatures were ultimately implants that were kept in storage until they were bonded to a host body namely those that took on the title of Protectors. (Episode: Decision) Once with the implant, they were described as being true symbiotes as they fed off their hosts food intake, drew on their energy to radiate their fields and provided their hosts with their destructive energy blasts. Furthermore, they also communicated to their hosts in a biochemical level by providing them with dreams which were deemed irrational as well as primitive but intensely vivid. Each Skrill had its own distinctive personality though their hosts did not experience this until sometime after the bonding process. The symbiosis between host and Skrill was described as being similar as a knight riding a warhorse with the two needing to communicate with one another in order to work together. Those that did not possess a CVI tended to be influenced by those Skrills that bonded to them. (Episode: Scorpion's Dream) The creatures typically possessed a high body temperature which meant scanners were capable of identifying them unless they were bonded with a host body. It was also mostly believed that a cerebral implant was needed to control the Skrill's body temperature. However, in one case, an Alpha type Skrill was able to bond with a Human host and continued to function though its user was incapable of properly controlling it. The creature itself had willed its own body to match the bio-rhythm of its host in order to escape captivity as they were a sentient species capable of their own thoughts. The Alpha strain were even capable of communicating to their host's mind. (Episode: Scorpions Dream) Skrills communicated with one another through a purring type of soundOutside this, the Skrills, make hissing noises as well as exhibit bioluminescene and it was believed that an inherent memory bonding was involved when two Skrills were near each other or near a queen. In fact, they had their own language as such which certain individuals were capable of giving rough translations. Bonding with a Skrill also allowed for certain members of the species to pass on their knowledge, memories and experiences to their host. The raceresponded to gentle massage, particularly to its lower extremities. A gentle massage was necessary as anything else would lead to the subject experiencing a shock to its system. Skrills were birthed by a queen who was capable of producing a number of offspring across her lifespan. According to Da'an, the nature of the race was more complex than what was determined at a first glance. Another notable factor was that the Skrill were seemingly able to shed their corporeal form and become a winged energy being. (Episode: Emancipation) Skrill energy blasts were variable in their output. They had the potential of disintegrating targets such as human beings. (Episode: Lost Generation) Alternatively, they could kill a person with an energy blast without disintegrating them. (Episode: Emancipation) Their power could also be adjusted to fire a light blast that would not harm another individual. (Episode: The Secret of Strand Hill) However, constant use of a Skrills energy blasts led to the host getting excessively tired from the strain of commanding the implant which drew nourishment from the host. (Episode: Float Like A Butterfly) A blast from a Skrill had the power of killing a Taelon. (Episode: Dark Horizon) One capability available to Skrill hosts was to command the implant to detach and hide within their clothing. When a command was given, the Skrill re-emerged and re-attached itself to the host thus allowing people to believe that the Skrill was removed when in fact it was a deception. (Episode: Trapped by Time) Through genetic engineering, the species was divided into numerous breeds which included the Alpha original type that contained a greater sense of self-awareness. and the Gamma versions were a more docile breed. (Episode: Scorpion's Dream) Despite this being the case, Human bioengineers were later able to create a new prototype Skrill that did not require the use of a CVI to operate them. However, the scientists involved were unable to solve the neural problem that afflicted such hosts as whilst this Skrill was able to operate without an implant, the use of it led to an enormous strain on the hosts nervous system. (Episode: Emancipation)

Members

 * Condor - a Gamma Skrill given to Protector Boone.
 * Raven - a Gamma Skrill given to Protector Sandoval.
 * Mother - an Alpha Skrill which bonded to Dr. Larry Clark.

Appearances

 * Earth: Final Conflict