The Caesar Crab is the tentative name of a species native to the oceanic depths of Challenger.
Biology[]
An eight-legged creature that was blue in color. It had two big claws with jagged edges that when shut, resembled giant spears that could easily pierce the hull of a combat rover. It had mandibles shaped like little spider legs, and four-inch eye stalks.
When it’s legs were elevated its it was the size of a quarter horse or rover with a body that was as wide as an infantry personnel carrier, its weight at least eight hundred pounds.
Though smaller in size to some of the biggest creatures in Challenger’s seas, the crabs demonstrated superior strength.
They are deep-dwelling crustaceans, used to harsher water pressures. Their claws are evolved to kill other crustaceans and dig through hard rock to chase prey from their burrows. In combination with their pincers these creatures could tear through three-inch steel. And their armored bodies make them living tanks, enabling them to shrug off bombardment of plasma blasts and even explosions from grenades.
The hawk eel is one of the few and perhaps predatory animal that is capable of penetrating its armor.
History[]
In the distant future humanity has reached the stars and begun colonizing different planets across the galaxy, under the banner of a single government known as the United Assembly.
The planet RP-275 or Challenger was discovered seven years ago. Challenger was an ocean world with several scattered island throughout. The United Assembly sought to claim Challenger as another colony world, not simply with Challenger’s potential as a vacation spot and retirement home but for the potential resources beneath the crust.
An science outpost, Smith Station, was established on an island in the sea of Challenger to study its marine life and geology. There scientists discovered that between the crust and mantle is a radioactive geothermal reservoir. Not magma, but a hot fluid similar to the Titanus-mons fluid humans use in their power cells to fuel their starships. Except, a single cannister of this stuff would outlast fifty standard power cells.
Challenger’s fate would have been similar to all worlds under the Assembly. It’s preindustrial waters would be laid to waste and the planet strip mined for resources until a sick city structure replaced it. Would have until the indigenous crabs of Challenger rose from the seas after being disturbed by the volcanic eruptions that wracked caused seismic activity causing islands to form and collapse on a periodic basis.
To escape the thermal activity of the deep, four crabs, which were nicked by their human victims as Lance, Cliff, Klin and Caesar were driven to the surface where they encountered the humans of the outpost. The crabs attacked the humans, killing all but four scientists who fled in a submersible.
A team of marines were sent to investigate the distress call from the outpost. Having found the battered remains of the site and no surviving scientists, the soldiers were about to depart before one of their men located the submersible and called his colleagues to assist him in getting it out of the water.
The crabs Cliff and Kiln attacked the marines guarding the shuttle that they came down on Challenger in. Whilst Caesar and Lance attacked the ones at the submersible and beach. After seeing how ineffective their weapons were the surviving scientists used the fuel cells
Lance found the marines attempting to use the downed space shuttle of the outpost and destroyed it, killing another marine. In the commotion Lance got into a territory altercation with the resident hawk eel, which proceeded to disable the crab, legs and claws before ripping its underbelly.
In order to increase their chances of survival the marines and scientists, concocted a plan to kill the crabs. After noticing Caesar kill a cephalopod and carefully extract its poison sacs before eating, they decided that poison was the best course of action. Using the discarded poison sacs, which were injected into worms the humans left them out as bait for the two crabs Cliff and Kiln. Cliff though had eaten all of the worms, though the effects were immediate as the poison drove it made enough to attack its partner. Kiln having no other recourse was forced to kill Cliff. The crabs duel causes Kiln to be greatly weaken, enough for the marines to finally kill it.
Caesar being alone attacked the survivors before being driven off when a marine stabbed its eye stalk with the cephalopod poison. Only four managed to survive when a shuttle from a ship came down to retrieve them, having received the message from the down shuttle destroyed by Lance. However before all of them could board, Caesar returned intent to avenge itself. One marine chose to stay behind to draw its attention, leading it back into the sea where the territory of the hawk eel was. The two creatures dukes it out, causing Caesar to be wounded but emerged as the victor. Caesar ever so determined tried to eat the human, but was attacked by a swarm of sea-mantids who were attracted by the crab’s blood. The crab’s shell being open and exposed was ripe for the picking for the smaller crustaceans which proceeded to eat the larger predator alive.
Despite the danger of Challenger, aside from the seismic activity, the dangerous wildlife, it was predicted that more visits to the planet would happen in the future as the Assembly was not one to give up on a potential fuel source.
Culture[]
The crustaceans, who usually lurked in the deeper regions of the ocean.
These crabs were hunters and often disguised themselves as rocks using scraps of their food as bait. When they caught their prey, they were void of empathy or compassion, and did not care that their actions caused intense pain and suffering. In fact, the struggles of their victims only spurred the crabs to act more cruelly which to them was a display of dominance, as being the dominant species on their planet feared by even the largest of whales and fish. That need to display dominance rivaled their need to feed. The crabs preferred eating their prey alive if they could and dined on nearly anything that they came across.
During their first contact with humans, the crabs found the aliens meat to be tender and juicy, vastly superior to the tough meat of the fish, whales, and other species they were used to. Due to humanity, for the first time, the crustaceans experienced true pleasure in the simple act of eating, and learned the joy of taste, finding nothing tasted better than humans.
The crabs are quite intelligent, organizing themselves as a unit with a definite leader on top and several subordinates that offer food to the leader as a form of submission. They also show personal awareness and seem not just motivated by hunger but also revenge. More than that these creatures do not merely rely on instinct but are capable of learning from their mistakes.
Source[]
- Caesar: A Military Sci-Fi Thriller by Michael Cole