Day 1 of Combat Information Training
Lecture by Senior Master Sergeant Daniel "Deathlord" Klipswrin, Training Command
"Listen up, recruits. This briefing is to prepare you for the
enemy you'll most commonly 'interact' with--the various kinds of Reavers. You probably
know some basics about these lizards, but we're going to give you the detailed information
you need to identify and destroy whatever you meet. The lizards are listed in order of
tactical importance--if nothing else, remember the ones on the top of the list, so you'll
know to shoot 'em.
"Now for my one-minute science lecture. The scientist-types in
MilIntel call these freaks of nature 'phenotypes.' Do any of you greenies know what
'phenotype' means? Can any of you even pronounce 'phenotype?' Eh, schools today are doing
just as poorly as they were when I was a kid. Sad. A phenotype is any organism that has,
roughly, the same genetic code as another yet has a radical variation in appearance. It's
like redheads and brunettes, or white people and black people--essentially the same but
they look different. Reaver Phenotypes are exactly like this, taken to the extreme.
This'll boggle you, but all of these Scalies have the dame DNA. Counterintuitive, isn't
it? The thing is that these phenotypes only have certain sections of DNA turned on.
Workers have every possible testosterone and muscle gene turned on and all the thinking
genes off. This wouldn't work with Technicians, who have every possible wiry-build and
dexterity gene as well as complex spatial reasoning genes turned on. They even have a
midget gene turned on so they fit into tighter spaces.
"Hey you, the Volanti punk who's probably learned most of cellular
biology by now and so is extremely bored by my interesting and informative lecture, wake
up! Now for the fun stuff...
Mind Queen
The Mind Queen is the dominant phenotype of the Reaver Biological
Collective. Mind Queens are always female (hence the name) and are primarily responsible
for commanding and expanding the RBC. They are the only phenotype which can procreate new
Queens and Warriors, the two phenotypes absolutely necessary for the RBC's existence and
expansion.
The average Mind Queen usually stands about 3.5 - 4 meters tall. She
has a thick, scaly hide which is usually purple with yellow highlights. Brown and red
coloration, although less prevalant, is by no means rare. Her eye sockets have noticable
points to them, distinguishing them from the sockets of other phenotypes. She has four
nostrils that lead to a relatively small nasal cavity, the centerpiece of which is a
Jacobsens organ capable of detecting heat. Some Queens have only three nostrils, an
innocuous genetic defect. The large braincase is protected by bony yellow plates that
begin between the eyes and create a characteristic ridge that runs up her forehead and
ends just behind the top of the head. Similar bony plates protect her backside. She has
two long arms protruding from her shoulders that end in hands of five fingers and an
opposable thumb. The central arm extending from between the shoulderblades is extremely
muscular and capable of near 180° movement. The hand of the central arm has three thick,
powerful fingers that are all mutually opposing. She has three radially symmetrical legs,
wide and muscular to support her mass, ending in prehensile feet with five straight toes
and one opposable toe, except for the rear leg, which has six nonopposable toes. The ends
of the fingers and toes are akin to claws, and while sharp, are also quite pliable, making
her digits much more dextrous than would be expected.
Mind Queens often wear flowing robes of varying colors as a notation of
status. The relatively small robes of the pictured Mind Queen shows her to be a
low-ranking world Queen with few resources and little territory to her name.
Psychologically, there are two kinds of Mind Queen: Misguided and
Miswired. Misguided Queens have been duped, born, or drugged into buying into the Reaver
"worship-the-High-Mind-Empress" system. They are usually militarily conservative
and more willing to negotiate. They aren't obnoxious and don't see themselves as
goddesses-incarnate. Miswired Queens are the type we like to capitalize on in propaganda.
They're the old Queens who have no respect for anything under them, which is everything
except higher Mind Queens. They're fanatical, militarily insane, and extremely dangerous
to meet in person. The closer we get to the Reaver homeworld, the more Miswired Queens
we'll meet. Keep your eyes peeled. If she isn't belligerent, force her to surrender. If
she's charging with a glazed look in her eyes, get out of the way and vape her.
Warrior
Warriors are the fighters of the RBC. You will see these in every
campaign against the Reavers you fight. They are the shock troops, the infantry forces,
the security details. Anything even remotely combat-concerned will have its fair share of
Warriors. They propagate either through Mind Queens or, in times of desperation,
parthenogenesis. Parthenogenetic reproduction tends to damage the complex Reaver genetic
code and cause Warriors to have dehabilitating physical and mental defects around the
third generation.
Warriors stand about 2 meters tall even when extremely hunched over.
Their legs are turned 180° to standard Reaver configuration, meaning they have a front
leg and two rear legs. They can stand on their rear legs, pop the joints, bring their
front leg up to their chest and quickly run bipedally. When standing up like this they are
about 2.2 meters tall. Warriors have blue plates for skin. These interlocking plates are
still quite supple and are very strong for biological armor. Variation in coloring ranges
mostly in shade, from light sky blue to dark cornflower blue.. Warriors have three
nostrils on their reptilian head that lead to a large nasal cavity and a very sensitive
heat-detecting organ. Their torsos are better armored than other Reavers, giving them a
roach-like appearance. Their manipulator arms have spiky forearms and end in three
fingered hands with an opposable thumb. Their lifting arm has no spikes but ends in a hand
of three bony, mutually opposing claws. The feet are made up of three mutually opposing
toes. The fingers and toes end in sharp, bony talons.
Warriors usually wear light combat armor made up of armored plates
strapped on to their flesh. The metal they use isn't much better than their natural armor,
but it helps. They wear shallow helmets with long, transparent metal visors to protect
their heads. The orange-glowing hemisphere they wear behind their central arm is a
low-yield energy shield generator. Elite warriors often wear a bright cloth sash over
their shoulders. Warriors are armed with energized melee weapons and graviton rifles or
pistols, but will fight with teeth, hands, claws and feet if pressed. Try not to get too
close to them--they are naturally stronger than a Human in MPCA. If they do get close,
uppercut them with your energized battle fists through the center of their torsos up to
the base of their neck. That usually creams their innards enough that they cease to be a
threat.
Psychologically, all Warriors are logical fanatics. Left to their own
ends they are willing and would be proud to die for the Collective but will not commit
virtual suicide. They die only when their death could be beneficial to the cause. This
becomes less and less the case as Mind Queens urge them on to suicidal charges. Try to
take them at range. If they stumble around as if drunk, capture them. Their psychic link
to the Collective has been disrupted (usually by the death of their Queen), making them a
minimal threat.
Technician
Technicians are the fine-detail workers of the RBC. Highly
intelligent and devious, they are all proficient scavengers and jury-riggers. Like the
other lower castes, they come in male and female genders (unlike the totally female Mind
Queen caste and the genetically male but physically androgenous Warrior caste) and
reproduce sexually. The females of lower castes lay small numbers of eggs; technician eggs
are usually a beige ovoid about the size of a small eggplant with a leathery texture.
Sexual reproduction maintains their genetic diversity without the attention of a Mind
Queen, but the expansive Reaver genome causes populations of less than 150 pairs to
inbreed with disasterous consequences over the generations.
Technicians rarely grow over 1 meter in height. If they stretch out
their long legs, they can stand 1.5 meters tall. They are very lightly built, with
tightly-stretched skin that varies from dull eggshell yellow to bright lemon in color.
Bright orange or green plates protect their front torsos from steam, electrical arcs, and
other mechanical or electronic dangers. Their long, thin limbs are perfect for crawling
and reaching around in tight places. The arms that extend from their shoulders are about
.7 meters long and end in a five-fingered hand with an opposable thumb. Unlike most other
phenotypes, the Technician's central arm is identical to the shoulder arms, except that
the hand has four fingers and two thumbs. A Technician's feet are each made up of four
toes with two opposable toes. Technicians have three nostrils on their snouts that lead to
intricate sensing organs that can detect electromagnetic variations in the area around
them. This makes it easier for them to trace intricate electronics.
Technicians wear long loincloths for ceremonial occasions, but usually
only wear briefs (or nothing) when at work. Sexuality is a minimal concern among Reavers,
so such skimpy (or nonexistent) attire is commonplace. Technicians are often equipped with
self-made tool harnesses made of discarded material. The better the Technician, the more
intricate and better designed the harness.
Technicians are crafty and generally timid. They are a minor threat in
combat, but their EM sensing capabilities make them dangerous to the modern power-armored
trooper. In shooting-range tests, Technicians have superb aim but are often too distracted
in combat to take the time to aim, making them generally poor shots. Eliminate any
Technicians in sniper positions, however. Technicians are horrid in hand-to-hand combat,
although surprisingly strong for their small, wiry frame. It is not suggested to take them
if unarmored but they will quickly acquiesce to power-armored troopers. Always look after
them; they are very sneaky and can escape easily.
If Warrior commanders fall in battle, Technicians are often appointed
in their place as tacticians. Although their tactics are more conventional and predictable
than your average Warrior commander, they are still rather effective. Eliminate any
Technicians that seem to be engaging in command and control duties.
Pilot
The Pilot phenotype is the RBC's vehicle, fighter, and space vessel
operator class. They are very rarely seen in the field as they are hidden behind the
tanks, walkers, and planes they operate. They seem to be a cross-breed between Warriors
and Technicians, adept at piloting but poor in fighting. They are genetically-male neuters
produced by Mind Queens.
A Pilot shares the blue-toned plate armor of a Warrior and the 1 meter
tall stature of a Technician. Its head is dominated by its large, bulbous eyes which
contort its brain into a strange shape. The visual cortex of the brain is wedged between
the eyes sockets while the rest of the brain lies in the torso just in front of the
central arm. A nerve ganglion passes through the top the neck to connect the two. The
Pilot's cerebellum is extremely large and intricate, giving the Pilot exceptional balance
and coordination. All of the pilot's arms are manipulators, sharing the Technician's
arrangement (shoulder arms: 5 fingers 1 thumb, central arm: 4 fingers 2 thumbs). The feet
are rudimentarily prehensile, curling up to operate throttles. In a departure from
biology-based systems, the Pilot has an electrical cyber implant at the base of its neck.
This implant allows the Pilot to interface more efficiently with his machine, much like
the feedback helmets our Panzermensch pilots and tank crews use except much more invasive.
A Pilot is as brave as a Warrior but has the common-sense of a
Technician. Although better in hand-to-hand than Technicians, their giant eyes are a
liability. If ever in non-vehicular combat, they will probably acting as snipers. Pilot
snipers are extremely dangerous. Either eliminate them or avoid them, depending on the
situation. A sniper Pilot is actually more important tactically than a Technician, but
most Pilots seen on the battlefield have escaped the wreckage of their vehicles and are
more dazed than dangerous. They will resist capture but cannot make much resistance due to
their small size (nothing resists too well if picked up off of the ground and held there).
Thinker (Brain)
Why the Brain phenotype was named that is obvious. This phenotype is
only slightly taller than a Warrior but has a braincase the size of a Queen's. Their
duties never really go past thinking and designing equipment. They reproduce sexually;
females lay large reddish eggs with a shiny and smooth exterior.
Thinkers stand 2.2 meters tall, with a more erect stance than other
castes. Thinkers seem to have more activated Human genes than any other phenotype. This is
appearant by the shape of the skull, lack of a Jacobsen's organ, and the shape of the
limbs, the feet in particular. The average Brain has moderately-built arms extending from
its shoulders that end in a five-fingered hand with an opposable thumb. The central
lifting arm is poorly built (relatively) and ends in three mutually-opposing fingers. The
Thinker has Human-like skin that ranges from grass green to olive drab and yellow-orange
plates protecting their torsos and brainpans. Some earlier (i.e. older) Brains have skin
colorations that match Human colorations. As said earlier, the Thinker's skull looks like
an upsized distortion of a Human skull. The eyes are forward set but still bulbous; there
are two nostrils that lead to a small naval cavity with no energy sensing organ; the jaw
is much smaller and the Thinker's lips are more mobile than other Reavers'.
Brains wear long loincloths like Technicians. They are often covered in
paint smears or pencil grease from their furious creativity. A common fad among Brains is
wearing a sort of bandolier that supports, among other things, a notepad, pencils,
palm-computers and various other things.
Psychologically, Brains are concerned only with their own protection.
They will shoot while retreating but will quickly surrender if captured. It is believed
that Brains are much more psychic than other phenotypes and it is suggested that
psychic-dampening bands be placed on captured Thinkers. They are a minimal threat on the
field and do not require the infantryman's attention, but Military Command has requested
that as many Brains as possible be captured. Capture if you can, but don't risk yourself
too much over it.
Workers
Workers are the bottom rung of Reaver society, lacking even basic
sentience. They are used for repetitive, heavy lifting chores that are beneath other
castes and not worth robots. They reproduce sexually; females lay round ball-like blue
eggs.
Workers are the most muscular caste. They are as tall as the average
Human, but stand on three stocky, well-built legs. The legs have two-toed feet with
thickly-callused soles and horny red or yellow toenails. All three of a Worker's arms are
powerful lifting arms that end in three thick fingers with yellowish claws. These claws
are useless against armored troopers as they are only as hard as fingernails. However,
they are dangerous against unarmored targets. A Warrior has a low-slung head with two
large nostrils and smallish eyes. The nasal cavity contains no energy sensing organs but
still takes up most of the head. Workers range from blood to iron red in color, and their
armor plates are usually a shade of brown.
Workers are no threat whatsoever if they are simply ignored. They are
naturally timid but fight fiercely if pressed. The best strategy is to wait until the end
of the battle and then round up Workers with kind words. They are about as intelligent as
a domesticated dog and respond about the same way to stimuli. If fed, they will quickly
bond to whomever feeds them. This has caused the strange situation of some troopers
accidentally 'adopting' a Worker for a pet. The emotional attachment can be quite strong,
equal to the "a man and his dog" feeling. Workers adopted this way often become
mascots of platoons and batallions.
Weirdo Zone Military Services: Training Command
netdoc 341.06.291
Uplinked on 03.01.3001