The Spiders
Crystalline-organic creatures found in the deep systems of planet Athena. They do not attack like animals. They advance like a tide. Slow. Patient. Absolute.
Physical Description
Multi-limbed organisms. Partially translucent. Body composition: crystalline structures in teal, purple, and blue coloration, fused with chitinous organic matter. Mouth structure is radial and inverted — consistent in form with certain deep-ocean organisms in the terrestrial record, but not with anything previously catalogued on Athena.
Size range at initial contact: hand-sized to human-sized. The mines go deeper. Size range beyond current survey depth is unknown.
Full biological composition analysis:
Behavioural Profile
They do not attack like animals. They advance like a tide. Slow. Patient. Absolute.
Primary attractor: energy sources. Crystal-powered equipment, active suit systems, and crystal-format power cells concentrate organism activity. The tactical implications of this for a squad in full Praetorian MK1 deployment are significant and have not been fully resolved.
Lethality: high. Extreme resilience to standard weapons fire — sustained concentrated fire is required to neutralise a single organism. Individual engagement without fire support is not recommended.
Communication
Crystal resonance. Organisms communicate through vibration — detected as a physical sensation in the chest cavity and teeth of personnel in proximity, prior to any visible movement. When this sensation is present, the organisms are already coordinating.
Before you hear them, you feel them.
Physical Trace — The Bloom
Organisms leave crystal formations in their wake. These formations — designated the bloom in field reporting — are visible from aerial observation and mark all areas of prior organism passage and concentration. Can be used for route assessment and threat mapping.
The Dead
Terminated organisms and terminated personnel do not remain inactive. Organisms interface with dead nervous systems via electrical impulse, reactivating muscle memory and motor function. Personnel killed in engagement have been observed fighting alongside live organisms in subsequent contact.
Current countermeasures for this: none on record.
Field Report Addendum — Unverified
This section is appended from field reporting. It has not been reviewed or verified at command level.
The designation "The Spiders" was assigned in the field. Personnel on the surface report the organisms respond differently to different suit configurations — more aggressive around high-draw systems, less reactive near powered-down equipment. This has tactical implications that have not been formally assessed.
The mines below the current survey depth continue to produce sounds. Not the crystal resonance. Something else. Personnel with the longest surface time report the sounds changed after the fracturing of Pallas became visible from the ground.
No one has been sent to the lower mine levels since. This is not documented as a decision. It is documented as a fact.
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The field designation "The Spiders" was not assigned by CARG. It predates USP arrival. It appears in colony communications dating back to approximately 2325 — two years before the deployment. Someone in the colony knew what was in the mine. The colony did not report this to USP authorities. What they knew, and why they did not report it, is not documented at any accessible clearance level.