LF-106 (Life form No. 106)

By Ian Ward (I.J.Ward@dcs.hull.ac.uk)

Introduction

The aliens described here are based on the creatures in the Alien film trilogy and also on the Genestealers by Games Workshop (which are also based on the Aliens films). They are not the actual aliens from the films, but a lot of ideas have been taken from them, so please don't write to me saying that you've studied the films and you think that my rules are wrong. These aliens can be used in any WoD game, but will probably fit best into a mage game 'cos mages like this sort of thing. I know there are other stats for aliens, and mine are fairly similar, but I am more concerned here with the abilities of the aliens and the implications for the Progenitors and Void Engineers, rather than the actual stats for the creatures.

Prelude

-- Perimeter secured. 1st unit sent in.

-- Initial scans show area clear.

Sergeant Collins led the first unit through the corridors of the outpost. Everything seemed quiet. Too quiet. His personal life form scanner showed absolutely no signs of life nearby, even though the research station should have a permanent staff of 45. The rooms of the complex were neat and tidy and showed no signs of any attack. It was as though everyone had suddenly disappeared into thin air. They hadn't even sent out a distress signal; the only reason anyone knew that something was wrong was when no weekly report was received from the outpost.
-- No signs of disturbance. Moving into inner complex area.

Collins continued deeper into the complex, feeling more and more apprehensive with each passing moment.

-- Second unit reporting in. We've found something.

-- Location ?

-- Medical lab.

-- On my way.

Collins stepped in to the medical lab, "What is it corporal ?"

"Over here. We were hoping you could tell us what it is." Corporal Jones pulled back the cover on the dissection table, revealing the body underneath.

-- Life form 106 discovered. Body being returned to drop ship for further examination. Awaiting further orders.

-- Message received. Continue search of complex.

Collins slumped in to a chair, trying hard not to show any fear. He didn't want any of his men getting alarmed. None of the other marines had seen a 106 before, but Collins had. It was something he had hoped he would never have to see again. It had been one of his first missions in the deep universe; they were to investigate a beaten up ship drifting through the Wolf-359 system. Life scans had been unable to pierce the ship's extremely thick hull and so they were going in blind, not knowing what creatures they might be facing. Out of fifty marines that were sent in, only 4 survived. They escaped back to the mother ship expecting to be told to nuke the ship but instead they were ordered back to Earth, leaving the ship alone. The last thing Collins had heard about it were rumours that some elite troops were being sent in to the ship to try and recover some of the creatures for study, and that meant the Progenitors were interested. The thought of what the Progenitors could do with a creature like that made Collins shudder.

"Are you all right?"

The sudden noise made Collins jump, "Oh.. yes. I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

All Collins wanted to do now was to run back to the drop ship and get the hell out of there, but he couldn't.

He had orders.

-- Continuing search of inner complex area. No other life forms detected.

He wondered why they were not picking up any life readings from other 106's. Could it be possible that they were not many on the planet and that they all died off. But if that was the case then where were all the colonists. It didn't make sense, but then suddenly he had his answers. Entering one of the rooms he discovered a huge hole in the middle of the floor. The 106's must live underground and if they were a long way down then the rock would be too thick for the life form scanners to pick up any signals.
-- Discovered underground passage. Awaiting orders.

-- Make brief search of passage. Return to drop ship if any LF-106 detected.

Collins slowly led his unit down into the passage. Suddenly the life scanners started showing multiple life forms heading towards them from various passages at an inhuman speed. Collins quickly estimated that they had less than one minute before the creatures arrived. Shouting back up the passage he order his men in to standard defence formation, with heavy weapons up front. There was no need for the men to take cover as the 106's had no weapons and relied only on hand to hand combat.
-- LF-106's converging on our position. No time to run.

-- Acknowledged. Return once first wave destroyed.

The first wave would be quite easy to take down. The marines were in a good tactical position with a long corridor of fire. This would, however, be their downfall. Without warning, laser weapons started firing at the marines, taking many of the front row down. Then the hideous creatures poured down the passage shooting and clawing at anything in their way. There was mass panic from the marines as they ran back up the passage towards the light. None made it out alive. The last thing Sergeant Collins saw was a three armed monstrosity bearing down on him, holding what was obviously a VE weapon in its hands.
-- Test site one reporting in. Test was a complete success. Hybrids performing as planned. Hybrid casualties 5%. Marine casualties 100%.

Life Form No. 106

In the early 1970's, a VE scout ship crashed on a remote planet while on a standard recon mission. The crew of 5 was not badly injured, but their ship needed several hours repair before they would be able to leave. The planet had previously been scanned for life and only simple life forms had been detected, but then about an hour after the crash the scanners suddenly started showing about 20 unknown humanoid life forms approaching the ship from all directions. The crew quickly set up life disruption fields around the ship when the creatures suddenly attacked. The ferocity of the creatures was amazing . At first they were just throwing themselves wildly against the disruption fields, but then suddenly they all stopped and seemed to be looking for something. Then, as if by some unspoken command, they all started to attack the disruption field projector. The Void Engineers were amazed by this sudden display of intelligence and assumed, correctly, that there must be some kind of hive mind in operation. They managed to send out a distress call, but it was far too late. Within minutes the creatures had destroyed the field and killed the helpless Humans. When a VE rescue ship finally reached the crash site, all they found was the deserted scout ship.

Life Form No. 106 (or LF-106) is the official name for these creatures, identifying them as the 106th intelligent extra terrestrial creatures discovered by the Void Engineers. Most technocrats know very little about LF-106, although they are aware of their existence. The people that know the most are top ranking members of the Void Engineers and Progenitors, and for reasons known only to them they are keeping things very much to themselves. This has made members of the other conventions, especially the NWO, very concerned about what they might be planning. There are various rumours being spread around about the Progenitors and VE's creating a human/LF-106 hybrid, which will have the amazing strength of LF-106 and the dexterity and intelligence of humans which should enable the hybrids to use weapons.

The Progenitors have in fact created several successful 106 hybrids, but are keeping them very quiet. The hybrids aren't quite as strong as the truebreeds, but the Progenitors have managed to increase their intelligence and have taught them some basic skills. The hybrids obviously can't be used on Earth, so they are mainly being used in remote areas of the deep universe, well away from the prying eyes of the NWO. Several NWO operatives have been sent out to try and discover what the VE's and Progenitors are up to, but they have all either disappeared or died in some mysterious accident, all of which has been blamed on the Nephandi.

LF-106 normally live in deep underground passages, but in later years they have been found living in various man made labyrinths as well. There have even been reports of LF-106 living in derelict space craft, some of Human design and some not. No one is sure how they control the ships, but some scientists have suggested that they don't. Most of the Human ships have automated life support systems, and it is believed that the LF-106 just float around in the space craft waiting for someone to discover them. It is not known if the LF-106 have a particular mission, but if they have then it does not involve communicating with Humans.

LF-106 Warrior

Physical Strength ***** Dexterity ***** Stamina *****	Mental Perception ***** Intelligence * Wits *****
Talents Alertness ***** Athletics ***** Awareness ** Brawl ***** Dodge **** Intimidation *****	Skills Stealth ***** Survival *****

Willpower: 8

Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -5, Dead

Appearance: Height ranges between 8ft and 9ft, although they are usually stooped so their true height is actually about 11ft. Although tall, they are amazingly flexible and are capable of squeezing into spaces only a few feet wide. They have 4 arms, each ending in a 3 clawed hand. The skin is very hard and thick (gives an extra 2 dice for soaking damage (the stamina score shown is for endurance) ) and also protects against harsh environmental conditions. It is also a vary dark colour, and as the LF-106 are usually most active at night this acts as perfect camouflage. Under the skin is a layer of acid which is capable of melting through almost all known substances (in fact, the LF-106 skin is the only known substance the acid does not effect), but the corrosiveness of the acid is reduced after repeated reactions with various substances (one drop of acid can melt through a block about 10cm thick, but this varies depending on the substance being corroded). The legs are very powerful and are capable of propelling the LF-106 up to 50mph for short periods of time.

Notes: All LF-106 function as one by using a hive mind. This hive mind is controlled by the LF-106 Queen (see below). The hive mind allows each LF-106 in the tribe to be aware of where all the other LF-106's are and to experience what they experience. This means that all LF-106 learn new things at the same time as each other. The hive mind has a radius of about 2 to 3 miles, and so most LF-106 don't stray too far from the Queen.

LF-106 Queen

Stats: As above, but with int 5 instead of 2 and willpower 9 instead of 8.

Appearance: Same as for warrior, except that the Queen is usually more battle scared and has a larger body.

Notes: The Queen is the controller of the hive mind. All things sensed by all the LF-106 in the tribe are felt by the Queen, who processes the information and then sends the relevant bits out to all the other LF-106. The mind can be sensed by any mages using mind magic, but the amount of information involved can easily overwhelm even the most powerful mage. As the Queen is the most important LF-106, it is normally very heavily guarded by other LF-106 whose sole job is to protect the Queen. If the Queen is killed, then after a few days another LF-106 in the tribe somehow evolves very quickly to replace the lost Queen. Until that time the tribe is disorganised and very vulnerable to attack. The Queen is also the only egg layer in the whole tribe, and so usually stays in one place. About the only physical movement the Queen ever does is lay eggs. That is unless the eggs are under attack in which case see will fight ferociously to the death.

LF-106/Human Hybrid

Physical Strength **** Dexterity **** Stamina *****	Mental Perception **** Intelligence *** Wits ****
Talents Alertness ***** Athletics **** Awareness *** Brawl **** Dodge **** Intimidation *****	Skills Stealth ***** Survival **** +Firearms *** +Melee *** +Technology **	Knowledges +Computer ** +Science ** +Cosmology **

Willpower: 7

Health levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Dead

Appearance: Hybrids are smaller than true LF-106, but they are still over 6ft. They usually have only 2 arms, but sometimes they can have 3 or 4. The 2 arms have humanoid hands on the end which are capable of holding and using weapons. The other 2 arms (if they are there), have the standard 3 claws on the end. The skin is not as thick as a truebreed (only gives 1 extra soak dice), but hybrids still have the corrosive acid. Hybrids are nowhere near as fast as their truebreed cousins, and are only slightly faster than humans.

Notes: Hybrids are less influenced by the hive mind and so are capable of more independent actions which is what the Progenitors currently want. However, if they are allowed too near to a Queen then the hive mind can take over. For this reason, hybrids are kept well away from any other LF-106. Some hybrids have unfortunately come close to a Queen and there are now several LF-106 tribes roaming the deep universe containing quite a few hybrids. The hybrids knowledge of human technology makes these tribes very dangerous indeed. Hybrids are also capable of very crude speech, and so can communicate with humans.

The stats marked with a + will vary between hybrids depending on what they have been trained for. All other stats are the physical abilities of the hybrids and will not vary unless the Progenitors have made any modifications. The stats above are for a standard Border Corps Division hybrid. Most variations will have at least very basic training in computers and technology, due to the amount of VE technology they will be using.