Overview

Small, furry, ball-shaped creatures native to Thides III that roll through the underbrush and home in on electromagnetic emissions. Alone they are little threat, but they gather fast — each one seems to draw dozens more — and in numbers they are lethal, their acidic saliva eating through glass and metal on contact. On the maintenance run, a handful reliably appeared beneath every relay platform within thirty to forty-five minutes of the ship’s arrival, and after the crash they came out of the jungle toward the wreck in a converging swarm, one launching itself at the cockpit windshield and beginning to dissolve it.

Abilities & Weaknesses

• Acidic saliva — dissolves metal and glass; a single creature can breach a windshield.
• EM homing — drawn to any electromagnetic source; the ship’s signature pulls them in, and the relay platforms’ diffusers mask/repel them.
• Swarming — one draws many; the danger scales with time-on-the-ground.
• Fragile individually — energy fire incinerates them easily.
• Soothed by stun/EM — Rock Lavey found the omni rifle’s stun setting made one purr contentedly rather than drop, apparently enjoying the discharge (a live, exploitable quirk).

Relationships

• Located at Thides III — Native EM-drawn wildlife of the restricted world.