Hive Fleet Celaeno

 

Celaeno, 

a minor hive fleet active in a cluster of dim stars, 

emerging from dark waters in the half-light of day, 

twisting and coiling in frail gravity.

 

 

...a perfect biological laboratory...

 ...a unique set of forces converge here... 

...creating a major biological alliance...

...any waste is recycled...

...the tentacles draw the victim into the central mouth...

 ...as they evolve, each new branch represents a new species, diverging and growing evermore separate from its ancestors...

...can create colonies by cloning exact replicas of themselves...

...their strategy is mass production...

...millions of eggs, so that enough survive to drift across...

 ...the predators gorge themselves, but the mass-spawners will succeed...

...a clean slate never stays clean for long...

...can spawn all year round, because there are no seasons...

 

...its maze-like structure... a three-dimensional puzzle...

...but mass spawning creates plenty of chances to create hybrids...

...a hybrid makes an unusual addition to the family tree...

...whenever species interbreed, the branches reconnect...

...hiding away, they can feed and grow safe from predators...

...much about this relationship remains a mystery...

(the army is complete, at last)

(quotes from an old Terran preacher)