Octanian

Octanians are a member-species of Mental's Horde originating from the Sigma Octantis system, notable for their symbiotic relationship with Protopolyps and religious reverence of Mental and his war with all civilisation.Octanian society is governed by the Cult of the Eightfold Manifestation, a religious order whose beliefs tie closely with Mental's goal of eradicating galactic civilisation. Recognising this comparison, the Octanians quickly pledged their allegiance to Mental and represented a significant portion of his forces during the early stages of his invasion of Earth.

Octanian soldiers are typically armed with Gamma-ray laser weapons, connected to their bodies through their symbiotic Protopolyps. Octanian field commanders also tend to come equipped with personal energy shields for additional defence. Their ranks also include the hulking Octanian Zealots, brutish Octanians equipped with medieval-looking armour and giant hammers as their primary weapon. Bred for iconoclasm, Octanian Zealots are obsessed with smashing any and all who oppose Mental, and have been known to torture themselves outside of combat as punishment for not actively smashing anyone. Due to their religious motivations in 'purifying the universe', Octanian soldiers seem to demonstrate a religious reverence for their weapons as holy instruments of their crusade.

Octanian technology tends to be a combination of organic and technological components, with Protopolyps making up the organic parts. Some machines of Octanian design, such as their sentry towers, exhibit tendril-like growths emerging from the structure, while Octanian capital ships more closely resemble a gargantuan creature with mechanical implants than an actual starship. Even Octanian fighters are piloted by Protopolyps instead of Octanians, and their infantry's weapons are bonded to their bodies by the Protopolyps.

Little is known about the anatomy of Octanians, other than their humanoid body structure and presence of Protopolyps within their bodies. They are reliant on air filtration masks in order to survive in Earth's atmosphere, and have been described by at least one Human as smelling like seafood.