Dionae

Overview
The Dionae (singular Diona) that most people will see will come in two forms: a small, stout nymph, and a working form that is best put as "a moving, bipedal bush". Regardless of their appearance - they are not truly plants, instead seeming like a true meld of plant and animal life. As a result, they have quite a unique language, composed of an almost melodic combination of rattling, rustling, branch rubbing and other vocalizations.

Legally, they are complicated - due to their nature, a nymph is considered an animal - and thus technically have rights, mostly in the realm of animal abuse if harmed/killed with no purpose. However, if someone kills a nymph within a working form, it may end up being a charge of multiple, or even mass, murder - one charge for every nymph killed, directly or indirectly, plus a charge if the gestalt, in total, does not survive.

They are omnivorous - being capable of quickly assimilating any organic matter to grow - but generally do not eat, as sources of radiation (electromagnetic or otherwise) are sufficient to sustain them. While they are highly intelligent - and even quick to think, in some cases - their physical speed is extremely low, having evolved with no urgency of anything.

A Diona nymph, through means still not fully understood, can assimilate information - knowledge of language, most notably - through genetic material, most often being a minuscule blood sample.

History
While their origin are still wildly debated, as Dionae do not have much common knowledge of their time pre-discovery, xenoarcheologic study and genetic analysis point to a likely origin.

Originally, the Dionae may have been a species of small animals (possibly similar to a reptile or orthoptera in nature; specimens found noted as Diona Originalis) that roamed a now-missing planet in the Altair system. Due to unknown events, the Diona O. species may have developed a symbiotic relationship with local plant life approximately six billion years ago. This started a whole phase referred to as Diona Mutatio, a point where the plant and animal species slowly co-evolved until their very genetics amalgamated into something that is neither animal nor plant; something that truly defies our understanding of genetics and biochemistry. Roughly three billion years later, the Dionae adapted a very interesting trait: networked intelligence.

Most likely due to some radical changes in Altair II (which is suspected to have been 175% larger in the past), the final phases of Diona M. adapted a series of antennae-like limbs that allowed them to connect to one another for communication, through chemical and electrical means. It is at this point that most xenohistorians agree the Diona Primo species, the last step in their evolution, began.

This adaptation lead to incredible hardiness - allowing them to specialize themselves to work as a composite, and eventually allowing them to survive on nothing but energy (most notably sunlight and thunder), and to grow on nothing but inorganic materials such as carbon and metallic composites, which were abundant on their planet. Due to a lack of contestation - food and space was abundant, and communication was too clear to allow conflict - the species rapidly grew entirely pacifist, outgrowing and eventually dominating all other forms of life. Some xenohistorians even believe that at the peak of Dionae growth, they may even have blanketed the planet, learning from one another in one gigantic intelligent membrane, most likely at which point the Dionae learned to make nymphs that were pure processing nodes, giving the Dionae their sapience.

However, this was not the end of their development. With the processing nodes also came curiosity. And so the early Diona civilization became to form, most likely, exploring the peculiarities of existence. One such day, an incident lead to a group of Dionae being separated from the main group - enough to survive on its own, but isolated. It thought, alone, on how to proceed - trying things, attempting to return to the gestalt. In that process was the birth of the work form we all know - the bipedal mass of what seemed to be shrubbery. Once the form had returned, the information was disseminated - and they agreed that while network thinking was ideal for developing, that new form was far better for actually doing. This did leave, however, a major problem: communication. Having evolved, for the most part, as a connected species - they were not used to communicating without. It is theorized that this is when "Rootspeak", as it is called today, took birth - in an effort to avoid anchoring the work bodies, they learned to turn the sounds of nature into a coherent language.

And so they flourished. And they learned. Technology naturally came - not in the form we know, with metals and fire, but through their own self-development - one after the other, they learned how to more effectively collect nutrients and light. Some of them developed an affinity for obtaining energy from other sources - heat, radiation, even the organic debris left by the other, dead species. Learned the peculiarities of weather, and how to control it. And eventually they owned their whole planet. But they saw further. Observing, they knew of Space. How the Sun and Stars moved. And so they kept learning. Reaching higher. Dying, a little - but learning from the death. Accepting it. And sooner than one would think, Altair II was a rock covered in a thick forest-like structure reaching beyond its atmosphere - the Dionae learned how to grow to protect themselves from the harm of beyond.

Between this point in history and their discovery, no hypothesis is commonly accepted - some think that the Dionae eventually learned to produce ships, engines and all, out of their bodies, while others think that they did almost nothing until what xenohistorians refer to as the "Tidal Cracking".

The Tidal Cracking
An uncontested event is the Tidal Cracking, an immense cataclysm caused by an amalgam of tidal forces on the planet, ripping it apart - sending large chunks of itself (along with the Dionae that were on it) into the star, while another major chunk left the star system completely, to drift onto deep space (a chunk of which was found in Epsilon Ursae Minoris). The only traces of the planet left in the system being the planet known today as Doha, which is theorized to be the core of the previous planet, and the various asteroids still present.

The surviving Dionae, in isolated groups or riding on chunks of planet, eventually went into hibernation to preserve themselves.

Discovery, Part One - The Conglomerate
The Dionae are considered to have been discovered three times.

The first discovery - the one that proved their existence - was an immense pod-like gestalt. It is theorized to have contained upwards of a thousand nymphs, protected in a thick, haphazard organic shell that took the shape around whatever body it hit and integrated within itself.

The entity was put into observation by its Skrell discoverers, being labeled as a simple organic anomaly - the lack of atmosphere and contact making communication not even a thought. Interaction did not happen until much later.

Discovery, Part Two - The Organic Craft
The Dionae were found, the second time, in 2426. An anomalous reading tipped off a scout ship - part of a Human-Skrell joint practice operation. A low-intensity yet high-frequency energy signature in the middle of seemingly nowhere, far in deep space.

Upon investigation, a large mass - now known to be the result of six hundred nymphs being overgrown - was present. It was definitely organic - yet it showed readings similar to a space craft, including a simple (and empty) supermatter reactor and some sort of rudimentary drive. It seemed inactive.

However, upon approach - the craft took life, quickly dashing towards one of the human frigates, shrugging off the firepower and attaching itself to the ship. It moved like nothing they had ever seen - a captain of the nearby frigate even provided this description: "Like a fish moving as if space was an ocean".

It quickly infiltrated it, bending hull and causing breeches, eventually reaching the ship's own power plant, siphoning power off. The ship saw no further damage - however it was already done, all the engineering decks were breached and the ship no longer had enough power for the engines.

Under the orders of the Skrell Fleet Admiral (at least the equivalent of it) and with the approval of the incapacitated ship's captain, the exercise was canceled and the ships returned home, requesting a few science vessels and a rescue shuttle to be sent to them. Unfortunately, when they did arrive roughly a week later, no life was found aboard - not even bodies. The ship was considered derelict - and the vessels returned home, with a warning being placed on both of their star maps about a possibly hostile lifeform there. This event also caused a rigorous security increase in the observation of the first structure, causing the Dionae to be officially labeled as "potentially hostile to Humans and Skrell"

Discovery, Part Three - The Dead Planet
The final time the Dionae were found was in Epsilon Ursae Minoris - where a large piece of their home planet had crashed into another world. The world in question was found by Skrell Captain Weriu Tup - who had been exploring stars on the behalf of the Jargon Empire, in order to find new habitable planets for expansion. That particular world had attracted attention due to two main factors, which conflicted with one another: the readings were highly unusual, yet all of the planet's landmass was covered in greenery.

Of course, such a thing was exceptional, and warranted more investigation. And so, over time, several more vessels - under the guise of a 'scientific fleet' lead by Captain Tup - investigated it, took readings, analyzed it. And with that came more and more strangeness - organic structures, strangely coherent signals, and so on. It was not until much later - after a scientist applied a cryptoanalytic AI (before the widespread cessation of research occurred) that they realized that the planet seemed sentient. It is during this time that the first attempted communications with Dionae were made successfully, albeit primitively - the Dionae only had rudimentary radio communication devices. Bolstered by such a discovery, Captain Tup managed a landing, an AI interface translating between the Rootsong and him.

The Captain stayed, at first, for a few weeks - learning much about the Dionae, and helping make a complete translation guide between the two. But time went by, and soon Captain Tup was forced to make a decision. A permanent agent was requested - he could either resign as a Captain and become the official ambassador of the Skrell with the Diona, or leave the planet. He chose the former - and stayed nine more years, until toxic flora ended his life.

Eventually, an agreement was made - the Dionae would get Skrell genetic samples (which allowed them to understand Skrellian - although their limited physiology prevented them from speaking it) and an information trade deal would be signed in favor of the Dionae - and in exchange, they would allow the collection of their seeds in the goal of creating more nymphs for research, and the Dionae would assist them in tasks, being a relatively inexpensive (and unrestricted) labor force.

However, the planet was quickly nicknamed "The Dead Planet" for two reasons - first, animal life seemed completely absent. As a matter of fact, except for the Dionae and a few select species of tough plants, the biodiversity was almost nil. Second, the thick coverage of Dionae growth meant that there could be no building potential - and so it meant that it was, technically, inhospitable for life, as no permanent settlements could be made.

A third reason, however, quickly found its way into the name: a few deaths occurred, and no body was ever found.

Aftermath of Contact
With this new-found information, the large object - the first sighting of Dionae - was finally contacted. They were informed of, and agreed to, the deal made in Epsilon Ursae Minoris. The contact delivered a wealth of information - about star movement, physics behaviors, material properties, and so on. In the end, the "Original Conglomerate" was towed, with their glee, in orbit of Nralakk, where it remains to this day the main source of dionae pods, nymphs, and seeds.

A second attempt was also made at contacting the "Diona Craft" - with success. Data was exchanged - valuable, in fact, as they had additional information about the phenomenon known to humans as the Bhowmick-Mukherji Effect, and helped improve efficiency in supermatter energy collection. Unfortunately, a piece of information given by this gestalt permanently damaged Dionae public opinion.

Of course, with the current status, the question was asked: where is the crew?

Correlated with the logs acquired later, the scenario became clear. The Diona's infiltration of the power plant not only caused the engines to fail, but life support. With all the breeches present, it did not take long for the crew to suffocate and die. And once that was done, the Diona (and it is quoted) "simply assimilated their form to learn about your species and conserve matter".

This information, while held "classified" for a long time, eventually leaked to the public - on both human and skrell sides - earning them the nickname, among humans, of "Gravemind" in reference to a 21st century videogame. The Skrell were more keen in calling them "Saapimaa Rakhomm", or "Deathflower". In general, it made a lot of people quite wary of them.

Integration in Society
Their value, however - along with general helpfulness, high curiosity and impressive intelligence, even to the Skrell - gave the Dionae enough going for them that they were not phased out, and are commonly seen aboard space stations and spacecraft, especially human-owned. The Skrell have, however, started a new program to find and appropriate any other Dionae groups to ensure proper incorporation - or destruction, should the group be too dangerous.

Culture
The Dionae have surprisingly little culture - so little, in fact, that it can be shortened to a few sentences, most of them being ingrained in the very subconscious of the species:


 * 1) Curiosity and self-improvement is of the essence
 * 2) Death is but a passing - assimilate, learn and progress from them
 * 3) Do not cause undue harm to anything that you can perceive.
 * 4) Waste nothing, use or recycle everything
 * 5) The words uttered by a person are more important than the name given to them

Due to their history, they do not truly own any planet (the Epsilon Ursae Minor planet being part of the Jargon Federation), and do not have any form of government/hierarchy, preferring communication to anything else.

They do, however, quite enjoy some forms of music, most notably due to their language.

Language
While they can understand all languages, if exposed to the genes of a speaker, their physical limitations only allow them to speak a handful; most Dionae that work aboard human facilities only know Common and their language - however they are capable, due to their biological flexibility, to emulate most other languages - Gutter and Tradeband are easily talked (if a little slow), while Sinta'Unathi is spoken perfectly. Their slowness, however, makes it difficult to talk Sik'Maas, the meaning sometimes being lost in the slowness of their "ear" and "tail" limbs when grown. And Skrellian is simply out of their range - the speed and pitch variance needed for it is simply impossible to match.

Their language, named "Rootsong" (as translated), uses various limbs and membranes to imitate what most would see as "natural" sounds - leaves whisking in the wind, branches rubbing - and even some instrumental sounds, at times (flute-like sounds and drumming being common). However, to those who can discern it - Rootsong is a true orchestra of language. Syntax and grammar are simply part of the song, reflected in tempo and beats, while emotions are conveyed through pitch and the imitation of weather effects, such as wind and moisture. Most interestingly - the sound itself is only a byproduct of their body structure, as some humans have successfully learned Rootspeak (without the emotional intonations) through violin and calliope organs.

Biology
The Dionae, by virtue of being an amalgam of plant and an animal, feature an anatomy seen almost nowhere else.

Their base form, the nymph, has very few organs (which have no set structure): the neuralias, which behaves like a cluster of neurons, the chlorodermates which attach together to form a light-sensitive skin that produces usable energy, the optical organs, the glucose sacs that process the sugars made by the chlorodermates, the "motor organs" which allow them (and their growths) to move, and the circulating system - which is equivalent to our heart, veins and arteries combined. While they usually only have a single circulation system and optical organs, the others can find themselves in almost combination of numbers as they dedicate themselves to a task - processing nymphs would have a higher count of neuralias, while those who dedicate to motion would have a higher number of glucose sacs and motor organs.

However, it is to be noted that because they dedicate themselves to a task, they all require at least one of each organ to survive, and as such even a nymph has rudimentary intelligence, equivalent to a very young human child.

The work form that you all know are actually an amalgam of various nymphs - usually from three to six, and most often with one thought-dedicated linked to an energy-decidated and one to three motion-dedicated nymphs, all working together. Furthermore, this symbiosis means that if a nymph becomes sick - or even dead - it must be treated/removed for the Diona body to be healthy. Fortunately, they structure themselves (generally) in a manner that almost emulates most other sapient organismssapients, and as such surgery is not too complicated.

Even so, very little is actually known about the function of their larger gestalts.

Reproduction
The Dionae follow a more plant-like reproduction cycle; they are asexual, and approximately once per year, large amounts of nymphs will group up to grow in a shape not unlike a tree, with all the actual nymphs at the top. After preparation, the nymphs will release a large amount of seeds, which will grow into a Diona replicant pod - which is, in most manners, very similar to an egg. The pod will obtain nutrients from any sources available - soil, water and air - and grow, before hatching and producing an almost mature nymph.

Once this is done, all nymphs separate from either their pod or the tree-like structure, leaving the remnants in place, and continuing on with their daily lives.

Metabolism
As mentioned, the Dionae can obtain nutrients from any source - including ambient air, to grow. Furthermore, they only need a source of energy - light is by far the safest and most common, but direct electricity has been observed, and one particular case was found of a "Flaming Diona" which self-fed by absorbing nutrients and matter for the fire to burn to provide its energy.

However, it is noted that radiation - lethal to most other forms of life - is EXTREMELY beneficial to Diona, accelerating their growth geometrically, especially if given organic matter to process.

On Electrical Feeding
Some studies in electrical Dionae feeding has, recently, shown a very interesting (and, according to the Skrell, quite worrying) trait. As electrical impulses are both food and language to Diona nymphs, a trained gestalt can, and has, interfaced with synthetic materials. Further studies are required to fully understand the process, level and implications - but some scientists see the Diona as the gate to the pinnacle of biomechanical integration.

Forms
The Dionae, being by its very nature a compound creature, comes in several forms with several characteristics:

Nymph
The default form tackled above. Medium intelligence, extremely curious, extreme learning potential.

Worker
The most commonly seen form, this occurs when three to six nymphs link together and grow a humanoid body. Highly intelligent.

Colossus
A rare form, the Diona Colossus is a large network - often upward of a dozen - of nymphs inter-connected, forming a veritable physical and information net. The Skrell are looking into inducing this form and using it as a controlled organic processor for facilities. Very high intelligence, low learning potential.

Shell
An even rarer form, a Diona Shell is a large-scale structure - the ones found were made of more than hundreds of nymphs - exhibiting advanced intelligence and isolationist tendencies. One particular example was found growing around a derelict space station - it is also believed that the "Organic Craft" that attached itself to the human cruiser reached at least this state. The Skrell are attempting to use this form to interface with systems, in hopes that they could create living, thinking ships out of Dionae. Extreme intelligence, assumed low learning potential.

Satellite
Only one such form was ever observed (that being the gestalt above Mralakk), a Diona Satellite is just that - a mass of Diona so immense, in the orders of a million nymphs, that it can be considered a stellar body. The specimen observed seems reluctant to communicate despite showing they are capable, and show a natural (but weak) magnetic field and radiation emission. Unknown capabilities - theorized to be more intelligent than most other forms of intelligences, organic or synthetic. The original Diona world may have been covered in this, if not the form below.

Singularity
A theoretical form of the Diona - a planet, or even star-sized diona form consisting of maybe more nymphs than is currently known to exist, may be the pinnacle of organic processing and thought. Uncharted intelligence. The Skrell has an order to destroy any Diona structure that could reach, or has reached, this size due to the inherent risk of intelligence singularity.