[Race] Daragons

[TheBlackSoul]

((This is one heck of a read! Just a warning.))

Basic Stats

Species Name: Daragons

Type: Cybernetic Cetaceans/Reptilians

Place of Origin: Earth (presumed), although they can be found on a wide variety of planets.

Natural Abilities: Depends on the subspecies, but all are telepathic.

Diseases Prone To: Daragons have advanced and extremely powerful immune systems, rendering them immune to all "organic" diseases caused by pathogens. However, they can contract mental diseases (especially assimilated daragons), and computer viruses, which overwrite the parts of the brain that control the mechanical parts of the daragon and causes them to malfunction, more often than not this results in death.

Technological Status: Advanced, although they make little use of it.

Diet: Depends on the subspecies.

Detailed Description

The term "Daragon" refers to 6 warlike subspecies of cyborg reptile-whales. In general, from the outside view they have both robotic and organic parts, although where these are vary.

Physiology

On the outside, the daragons show a great deal of flesh. On the inside, they are mostly mechanical.

Most of their organs, except for the brain and heart, both of which are organic, and the skin, muscles, and eyes, which are a mix of machine and flesh, all the organs are specialized machines.

Tongue-The tongue is a metal tube with various wires within it, which act as nerve endings.

Eyes[The main parts of the eye are organic, but in place of a cornea there is a small video camera. How the eye actually works is unknown.

Lungs-The lungs function very much like a bellows. They resemble boxes with accordion tubing in between the two metal ends.
When the two ends separate, they draw air in from the breathing tubes, which are pretty much everywhere in the daragon, where the blood and "power fluid" (a substance similar to motor oil), take the air inside and then return to the heart. When they contract, they force waste gas (nitrogen) out the breathing tubes.
Other than nitrogen, all gases are able to be used to by the daragons' systems.
All of the openings for the breathing tubes (except the nostrils) are microscopic.
However, daragons are capable of drowning, save for the submar daragons.

Stomach and Intestines-The stomach resembles a lung, except its ends are half-spheres instead of boxes.
When food enters the stomach, it expands and contracts, mixing the food throughly with their stomach acid, which turns it into chyme. From there, it goes into their small intestine, which is nothing but a flexible, metal tube with various microscopic tubes leading into the bloodstream. After that, wastes and water are forced into the large intestine, again a metal tube, where all water is absorbed. Finally, the wastes are disposed of in a typical, organic manner.
Notable is the stomach acid-it is very strong, and if it escaped the stomach, it would burn through nearly any material quickly. In spite of the use it would have as a weapon, most daragons are unable to use it in such a way.

Nervous system-The brain is one of two of the purely organic organs in a daragon's body. Living nerve cells stemming from the brain control the daragon body's involuntary actions, while wires control the daragon's voluntary acts.

Circulatory/Immune System-The heart is the other purely orgainic organ in the daragon body. Unlike the human heart, the daragon heart has 8 chambers. 4 of these pump actual, orgainic blood to the orgainic parts of the daragon and receive gas-depleted blood from other parts of the body. The other 4 chambers perform a similar function, but they handle the power fluid, which supplies gases to the mechanical parts of a daragon's body.
The immune system is similar to a human's, however, the white blood cells are mechanical, thereby rendering them immune to attack by organic pathogens, and making them extremely effective infection stoppers.

Muscular System-The muscles that control breathing and such are all organic in a daragon. However, muscles controlling motion are actually hydraulic pistons.

Culture and Society

Daragon culture isn't much. It revolves around war and conquest, and preparing for them. They spend very little time on practicing the arts, or doing leisure activities-After training to receive decent language skills, daragons learn the ways of the fight from their fathers (or sometimes the Leader), and once reaching a certain age, they join the hordes in conquest.
In their society, a daragon's subspecies (or "caste," as they call them) determines your social standing. See "Caste Description for more info on this.

The Role of the Heart-To a daragon, his/her heart is the most important organ in their body, and hold it in the highest reverence. To them, the heart gives them their life, their power, and without it they are nothing.
Strangely enough for such a war-like race, daragons are compassionate towards each other, and they attribute this to their heart as well. Daragons usually cannot stand to see another in pain. Only in the heat of battle do daragons disregard their own species' loss of life, but memorials are always held to mourn the deaths of their comrades. No daragon kills another (except for the Leader, who does so for punishment only).
About the only daragons that aren't loving towards other daragons are Assimilators.

Weaponry and Technology

Daragons sport a wide variety of weapons and other equipment built into their bodies, thereby reliving them of the burden to carry such things.

Fire Launchers-This is a standard weapon on all known daragon castes, except possibly burrowers. It resembles a tube with the forward-facing end open on a daragon's side. Some castes have launchers that are concealed in non-combat positions.
When triggered, it launches a ball of energy, which explodes on contact with a target.

missile Launcher-These weapons are similar to the fire launchers, but instead of energy balls these release flying torpedoes. The warheads on the torpedo varies with the mission.
missile launchers are found only on certain daragons, such as battlers or the Leader.

Stun Cannons-These weapons are found only on the wrists of assimilators. 6 of them surround each wrist, and resemble miniture fire launchers.
They launch low-power beams of energy, which send a shock throughout a target's body, rendering them unconscious long enough for the assimilators to perform their work.

Knife Arms-Of the Daragon castes, only the burrowers and the Leader have these built into them. Usually, they are concealed and extended for use.
As their name suggests, these are indeed arms, built of metal, with a hinge joint about halfway. Usually, they are about twice the length of the daragon's actual arms, but are more slender. Instead of hands, the arms have a serrated blade.
In burrowers, a pair of the arms are set behind the head, near the creature's top. Their blades have long, straight serrations that point backwards very slightly. Their use is to help the burrowers dig faster, aiding their actual arms.
The leader has four Knife Arms. One pair is very close to and directly in front of his first pair of wings, the other pair is directly beneath the top pair, but are very close to his arms.
The blades are triangular, with short, backwards-pointing serrations. The purpose of the Leader's arms is to function as an additional melee weapon.

Sonic Emitters-These weapons are found on Submar daragons alone. They resemble a 2 foot harpoon with a conical tip coming out of a rectangular box, red in color, mounted underneath the base of the lower jaw.
These are deadly weapons, capable of releasing sonic booms capable of destroying buildings and vehicles, and killing large amounts of people. They can also be used for echolocation.

Flame Thrower-This is only found on the forehead of a burrower daragon, resembling a reddish tube.
They spew wide sheets of flame, which are used for defense of the otherwise lightly armed burrowers.

Jets-These are found on assimilator, battler, submar, and the Leader daragon. They resemble cones with the wide end facing towards the back, and a smaller opening facing forwards. Their purpose is to force air (or water, on Submars) through them, either allowing the Daragon to fly (Assimilators and Submars) or increase their attack speed (Battlers and the Leader).

Caste Descriptions

Swarmer-The swarmer daragons resemble long-legged, shell-less turtles, with two large fire launchers mounted on their backs and another, smaller pair on their heads.
From knee down, their legs are robotic. The foot resembles a circular pad with 4 flaps extending from it at 90 degree angles to each other.
Individually, swarmer daragons aren't very powerful. But when they horde together, they can easily level anything in their path. They also make excellent scouts within daragon territory.
In their society, they are the lowest, and therefore must listen to every order another daragon of a higher caste tells them.

Assimilator-Only 6 assimilators are in existence, which is just as well.
On the whole, they resemble upright lizards, with fearsome ridges going down the center of their backs, 2 very large jets mounted in between their shoulder blades, one behind the other. Their hind legs are similar to the swarmers, except longer. They also have an extra pair of fire launchers on their heads. Around their wrists they have stun cannons.
The assimilators' job is to hunt down other species, stun them, and then perform a complicated process that transforms the victim into a daragon, usually a swarmer. How they manage to do such a thing is unknown, although it is known that they use a brainwashing chemical to alter the mind of the victim to make them think they were daragons to begin with.
It is also known it is possible to overcome the effects of the chemical, thus making the transformed daragon remember what he/she/it was originally, and attempt to undo the transformation. More often than not, this results in the daragon going insane. To prevent them hurting other daragons, the leader has ordered any assimilated daragons showing signs of this killed upon sight.
Assimilators are second from the bottom in daragon society, although they don't think that, seeing as the only 2 daragons they obey is the Leader, or the Lackey.

Battler-Battlers are the tanks of the daragons-with baleen whale-like jaws (without the wrinkled chin and teeth instead of baleen), a streamlined body, two powerful legs supporting their weight (again, these are similar to swarmer legs, except much bulkier), and 4 fire launchers and a missile launcher on each side of their bodies, they are a force to be reckoned with.
They have a pair of bat like wings, but these are too small to allow them to fly. Instead, they act as stabilizers for quick attacks, which are made possible by a pair of small jets 6 feet from the end of their bodies.
They seem to have a pair of very small arms, completely mechanical and grey in color. These sport claw like "shockers," which emit bolts of electricity to disable vehicles or stun organic targets. They are too small to be of use otherwise, so they are folded up against the curve of their bodies.
Battlers command the swarmers and assimilators.

Burrowers-The body of a Burrower Daragon is shaped something like a lemon: At one end there is a whale-like face, and at the other end there is a short, pointed tail.
Their hind limbs are entirely organic, and have 4 toes-3 point forwards, 1 points backwards. Their front limbs are entirely mechanical, and are white in color. In place of hands, they have sharp, pickax-like appendages. These are useful in the burrowers' primary function: Digging. Accompanied by a pair of knife-arms, they dig tunnels beneath defensive structures, knocking them down. Only rarely do the tunnels serve as pathways for other daragons.
The only weapon on a burrower is a flamethrower on their forehead. This make them very lightly armed, and therefore they rarely attack enemies-after they've done their jobs, they let the other castes do the work for them.
Burrowers are 4th from the top, beneath Submars, the Lackey, and the Leader.

Submar-The Submars serve as the submarines of the daragon forces. Underwater, they take in water through a plate-like intake valve between their 2 fire launchers on each side, and expel it through their modified jets. This allows them to move very fast through water, and also enables them to fly. Commonly, they launch themselves directly into the air from the water.
Their most formidable weapon is the sonic launcher beneath their chins. This is used for causing vast destruction on land, underwater weaponry, or echolocation.
Appearance-wise, their heads resemble a baleen whale's, but are otherwise very serpent-like.
In the field, they command all the daragon forces besides the Leader, although they still have to listen to the Leader and his aid, the Lackey.

Lackey-There is only one lackey daragon. He resembles a cross between an assimilator and a swarmer-he has the long hindlimbs (which are built the same way as the swarmer, assimilator, and battler legs) and nimble hands of a assimilator, and walks on two legs like an assimilator, but has the head shape and short tail of a swarmer.
He lacks weapons of any kind built into him. Therefore, alone amongst daragons, he relies on a handheld "fire pistol" to defend himself.
He serves as the aid to the Leader, and is Second-in-Command of the Daragon forces.

Dracona-The word Dracona is not a caste of daragons, instead it is a name of one in particular-the Leader, easily the most powerful of all the daragon forces.
He has the whale-like face of the battlers, burrowers, and submars, a broad chest, and a long, lithe, whip-like tail.
His hind legs are organic like the burrowers, and his toes are organized in much the same way. His front limbs are entirely mechanical like a burrower's, although he has 3 fingers set at 60 degrees to each other on each arm instead of a pickax, which are able to spin. While these allow him to pick up objects, they are useless for writing.
He has 3 pairs of massive, bat like wings, giving him the ability of flight. He also has a pair of jets above each leg, but these are used for quick attacks much like the Battlers' jets.
The only weaponry he has visible on his body is a missile launcher, situated underneath his middle pair of wings. But, he has 6 concealed fire launchers, all arranged near the top of his body. In addition, four knife-arms are concealed near his front, which he uses as melee weapons.
Alone among daragons, he can spit his stomach acid at foes. The acid is very strong, able to burn through just about anything.
The armor underneath his skin is unusual-instead of being an ordinary, solid, plate, it is formed from strange pieces of square-shaped machinery, all with strange wiring within them. These are electrical cells, enabling him to emit a single bolt of electricity to kill a single foe, or to allow him to release a massive burst in all directions.
The Leader is, obviously, the top dog of the Daragon forces. He commands all the daragon forces from his lair, or out on the battlefield.
Dracona's heart contains a chip that gives all other daragons life. If his heart is destroyed, his forces will all perish were they stand.

Picture. While this isn't the most accurate representation of him, it does give you a general impression of what he looked like. I did NOT draw this! The artist credited herself in the picture.

[TheBlackSoul]

The Daragons of Hell's Desert

The daragons have many worlds under their control. However, the one they've held the longest is a earth-like planet called Sylon Prime, better known as Hell's Desert.

It is a harsh place-covered in miles of desert, with only 1 oasis. There are no oceans or lakes, and mountains dot the landscape.

Because of the lack of civilization, the daragons took over the world, and used (and still use) it as a temporary base until they conquer another suitable world.

Being on the planet so long, however, has led the Daragons inhabiting Hell's Desert most of the time to become much different in appearance and abilities than their constantly roaming cousins. In general, they are all black in color, with their mechanical parts a slightly different shade from their organic parts. They use heat to power themselves, and utilize the excess as a terrible weapon, channeling it into "bomb casings" formed from solidified mucus, and stored in a specialized. These heat bombs then are released through a chute during battle. The dried mucus is black and hard, but brittle. When it breaks, the hot air emerging from it can melt many types of metal and set objects ablaze.

They have the same castes as normal daragons (except for the assimilators, burrowers, and the lackey), except that they are markedly different from the regulars.

Swarmer-Hell's Desert swarmers resemble their normal cousins. However, they look less like turtles and more like geckos, being more slender. In place of the fire launchers on their heads, they have the heat bomb chute in the middle of the forehead. They walk with their legs underneath their bodies (as opposed to the regular kind, who sprawl out. The legs themselves are similar to regular swarmers, but the foot is rectangular with one end attached to the leg, with flexible toes of metal terminating in sharp points on the other, as opposed to a circular, metal foot with four flaps. Like regular swarmers, they carry two fire launchers on their backs.
The Hell's Desert swarmers can indeed attack in massive formation, but they also act as scouts.

Battler-Hell's Desert battlers, like all the Hell's Desert daragons, resemble a more slender version of a normal battler. Unlike a normal battler, however, these have four legs, all well developed. Their hind limbs are a more massive version of the Hell's Desert swarmer. Their front limbs are organic from elbow up, mechanical from elbow down, and have 5, slender, sharp-tipped fingers positioned in a similar manner to a humans on a main, rectangular hand.
Their heat bomb chutes are positioned under the base of the lower jaw.
They lack wings, sacrificing them for improved jets. Their fire launchers and missile launchers are in the same places they are an a regular battler.

Submar-Hell's Desert Submars have lost the ability to breathe underwater, due to the lack of it on their homeworld. In appearance, they are basically black-colored, slimmer versions of a normal submar. The only thing markedly different is the heat bomb chute mounted underneath the submar's sonic emitter.

Blaze Rider-The Blaze Rider is the Hell's Desert Daragon leader, who's only resemblance to Dracona is the head shape. His arms and legs are short, and taper towards the tip. His hands and feet have become fan-like wings. The toes are connected by organic webbing, which is what allows him to fly, but the toes themselves are metal with very sharp points. Because of his leg shape, he is an awkward walker. Because of this, he only does it when nessecary.
He has 20 heat bomb chutes, all arranged in 2 lines along his underside. They do not protrude, and are usually sealed shut by extensions of his skin.
His back is decorated with sharp, straight spines running down his back in a straight line, stopping above his hind limbs. His tail is long, lithe, and whip-like, and slightly flattened from side to side.
His head is decorated by 4 horns, two on his head, two directly below these on the lower jaw.
Like Dracona, the Blaze Rider can spit acid, but his primary weapon is his highly developed electrical cells. He can launch bolts from the tips of his wings, and unleash a powerful blast from his horns. Like Dracona, he can also release an all-around blast from all of his cells.
His other weaponry is a group of four fire launchers arranged in a diamond shape along each side.
He also has an unique use for excess heat not used to feed him or making bombs. It is channeled into his long fingers and toes, and released through openings on their undersides. It warms the air, causing it to rise. His wide wings then catch this warm air, pushing him upward with minimal effort.

Like all daragons, the Hell's Desert Daragons are connected to Dracona via the chip within his heart, and will similarly perish if Dracona's heart is destroyed.[/i]