Deep Space

Charted and uninhabited space in the Orion Spur is referred to as Deep Space, and it is here where the most wonderful oddities known reside. Contrary to uncharted deadspace, the dangers and obstacles are mostly logged and pose little hazard to civilian vessels exploring known territories. As one begins to enter this Deep Space, or anomalous areas such as the Romanovich Cloud, things get quite strange - from the mysterious, randomly appearing biohazards known as “blobs” to the elegant and delicious space carp, anything is possible. These are a few recurring anomalies seen in Deep Space, and anomalous territories.

Blobs

The level-seven biohazards known as “Blobs” are mysterious and highly dangerous organic growths which appear at random in anomalous areas across Deep Space. Somehow growing spontaneously from a tiny core into a ship-splitting, bulging mass, Blobs are a common threat that trained engineering personnel on NanoTrasen facilities deal with routinely. Though common, they often threaten the stability of facilities they appear upon, forcing their crews to diverge on and cut out the core as soon as possible before irreparable damage occurs. When the core is eliminated, the blob’s entire mass simply falls apart and disintegrates into nothingness, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake. This makes study of them nigh impossible, with only what is apparent available. Without knowing more, NanoTrasen can only hope something to contain a Blob can be created.

Space Fauna

A space carp.

The space-bound Cyprinidae carpio is the scientific name given to the space-faring creature known as the space carp. They are omnivorous craniates whose origins can not be traced to known space that are closely tied to unknown means of warp travel, permitting migrations over extreme distances and appearances in seemingly random locations. Generally attracted to whatever generates large radio interference or light in the void and dissuaded from large gravity wells, they are most commonly found in deep space or areas with excessive bluespace activity. The common space carp typically has no definitive lifespan, and feeds primarily on valuable metals and any organic matter when able. Space carp are known to many as a destructive, invasive species due to their large gatherings in the Romanovich Cloud and billions of credits of damage to property there. The space carp itself is quite hostile when encountering any form of organic matter, showing little care for obstacles and frequently smashing windows to get to light and anything else they detect with their bulbous six eyes.

A space shark.

Space carp meat is edible to most sophonts after being processed and cleansed of their inherent toxin. Their raw flesh can only be safely eaten by Unathi under most circumstances. These fish have an upper limit to size when encountered, but are believed to grow as long as they are alive. Given that their lifespan is functionally indefinite, the largest Space Carp could be gargantuan - but the biggest ever recorded was a passive, reclusive and solemn entity documented in the Frontier. Referred to as a “space whale,” it wasn’t the only one to reach such a size class at nearly twenty-two meters long. "Space sharks" are a larger variant of cyprinidae carpio that, over the course of several years, have grown even larger and remain equally aggressive.

Space carp possess an inherent biochemical substance known as “Carpotoxin,” that is used in a wide variety of high-end medications such as Rezadone. It’s unknown exactly how the common Space Carp comes to reproduce, but large carp nests have been located in known space where migrations centralize.

Hivebots

SDARs (Self-Replicating Destructive Automated Robotics), better known as Hivebots are a self replicating group of simple robots with a central “hive” intelligence. Appearing from a bluespace rift in the Romanovich Cloud in 2433, they have since settled in the core worlds as a very minor looming hazard. While the specifics of their past are yet unknown, carbon dating draws their creation as some two million years prior to modern time. As a force, they are negligible, attacking nearby vessels indiscriminately with low-powered and primitive weaponry. Most civilian vessels are able to dispatch of Hivebot parties with inbuilt point defense systems, causing them to be little more than a nuisance wherever they are found. They possess mismatching technology - some advanced teleportation technology utilizing bluespace beacons for precise unhindered force projection, yet at the same time making use of the cheapest available materials to piece themselves together. Encountered to this day are manufacturing facilities dotting known space, some derelict and others dispensing rudimentary Hivebots by the thousands daily. Study into Hivebots has proven worthwhile, fielding many discoveries related to bluespace teleportation.

The term “Hivebots” was earned as a result of their hivemind intelligence, with central “beacons” controlling vast swaths of them in unison. The actual capabilities of these beacons are demonstrated by a typical Hivebot - as the numbers of Hivebots grow, the intellectual capacity of these beacons do as well. While requiring extreme numbers to manifest any basic comprehension beyond simplistic pathfinding and targeting, they nonetheless have demonstrated obvious compound intelligence in their hivemind nature. How far this can go exactly is unknown, as no known Hivebot collectives have grown in sizes beyond the tens of thousands.

Diona

Majestic and chaotic, the untamed Diona, or Stellar Dionaea Primo, fly through space with no knowledge of civilization or culture - only the desire to feed and grow. Ranging from a single small, cat-sized nymph to the size of a station, the roaming tendrils fly like blobs of jellyfish searching for radiation or nutrients. There aren't too many documented untamed Diona in space anymore due to over-hunting and the fact that many have been integrated into society to become intelligent, however, some are tagged and studied by researchers aiming to understand Diona's natural instincts better. They swim through space, only reacting when something gets close enough for them to detect the radiation of engines or the biomass of organisms. These "Wild Ones" are not legally allowed to be killed in Sol Alliance and Nralakk Federation space unless they pose significant threat - but Frontier laws vary depending on system. Poachers will hunt these "Wild Ones" for the massive quantities of metals, minerals and gasses that build up in the center of larger Diona gestalts.

There are intelligent Diona out there, with strange ideals - some intelligent and fervent. Stories of a cluster becoming organized across multiple systems with this new era of technology, spreading an ideology of an ancient All-Being known as the Divine Eternal. Although intelligent, these Diona are not seen as a civilization and instead more as nomads.

Phoron Worm

While closely resembling the earthworm, the scientifically classified Vacuum Vermis has very little to do with the earth animal. These worms are space fairing, majorly carnivorous and have a specialized element in their diet, phoron. This unique addition to their diet is not only the origin of their nickname, but also the source of their speedy space travel. It was previously theorized that these worms spend the majority of their life inside asteroids they inhabit, only resurfacing to feed and spread their young onto other astral bodies. Thanks to new more dedicated observations, this theory has been proven false as it's been discovered that phoron is instead necessary to their propulsion. Through ingestion and throughout digestion, the unique physiology of the worm allows it to safely absorb and dispense phoron as energy. Allowing it to repeatedly phase in and out of bluespace, "surfing it". Thus, consumption of phoron is necessary to its procreation and population dispersion process. As a result, these worms are capable of detecting phoron over extreme distances, distances so extreme that even the most sophisticated equipment does not measure up.

In the past Phoron Worms have been a rarity, but with the brutal increase in phoron mining and scarcity in the known space, they've become a common sight. On arrival, they will immediately start attacking the crew and mining equipment, agitated by the tremors caused by their movement. After enough phoron is consumed, they will lay eggs on the asteroid which are wrapped in a form of phoron and nutrient rich resin, which will serve as a new start for their young. Finished with procreation and consumption of phoron, they will launch themselves to seek more phoron.

Attempts have been made to capture these creatures, but they've proven impossible to capture. Immune to all known forms of sedation within known space, hunters have to rely on capturing them via lures and cages. Yet containment is near impossible, the worms often bashing themselves to death against the walls or trying to propel themselves out, resulting in a violent explosion and the worm's death.

Large phoron worms were sighted in major deposits across the Republic of Biesel recently, and attacked the NSS Aurora as part of the KING OF THE WORLD event arc. This particular species was noted to be a "black trident" worm, a type growing ever more endangered due to the developing scarcity.

Categorising Deep Space Threats

The Interstellar Biohazard Level Index (IBLI) is a measure of the danger posed by biological entities, both in scale and severity. It was initially developed by Professor Charles Holt, a Lunarian xenobiologist, in 2410. By 2420, It was adopted by most corporations, as well as the main powers of the Spur, and is now considered the norm when measuring the severity of biohazards across the Orion Spur.

The IBLI is a logarithmic scale. Thus, each level is not twice, but ten times larger than the previous ones. These levels are found by calculating the base size and energy of a biohazard once it is found, the rate at which it expands, and its immediate danger (as in how harmful/deadly it is to the people around it.) To this is subtracted the limits of its environment (a room, a ship, a planet, and so on), how hard it is for the hazard to pass through these limits if it even can, as well as how resilient to the hazard the potential victims can prove (for instance, slimes prove more dangerous to a human population than a Skrell one.)

Contrary to non-biohazardous threats, like a solar flare or an asteroid, biohazards have the ability to develop and grow if left unattended, and the threat they pose is often based on projections, were these not to be dealt with quickly enough. This is where the true danger lies, thus a low-scale biohazard can still prove just as dangerous as a higher-level one if not dealt with for too long. While some seemingly powerful threats can be initially impressive, they may be hampered by a lack of potential in their ability to expand, and vice-versa. For instance, a Lii’dra invasion force is counted as Level 9 Biohazard (Stellar-Level Threat) and not a Level 10 (Interstellar-Level Threat), for while it is initially powerful, this invasion force lacks the ability to expand in scale and energy, and replace eventual losses fast enough to reach this scale. The ten levels are as follows:

Interstellar Biohazard Level Index

Magnitude	Description	Examples
Less than 1	Lifeless Environment. This not only denotes the absence of life but also the absence of any kind of environment compatible with most forms of life, reducing the chances of a Biohazard even appearing on its own to near-0.	- Vacuum
1	Life-Compatible Environment. This denotes the absence of life, but not the inability of the local environment to bear it. It is counted as a Biohazard level, as low and inconsequential as it may be, for its ability to bear life has a small chance of bearing biohazardous forms of life	- Life-compatible atmosphere
2	Ambient-Life. This does not denote the presence of an actual Biohazard, though the presence of life makes it much more likely for a Biohazard to appear than on level 1, where life has yet to develop.	Life-bearing worlds
3-4	Common Biohazards. These Biohazards are common (and in truth, normal) in any life-bearing world. Some can prove much more dangerous than others, hence why this category encompasses two levels. These may also prove much more dangerous in different environments, for instance, a common benign disease in one population has the potential to be quite deadly in a totally alien one. Level 3 is often found on worlds where the local climate makes it generally harder for life to develop, examples being Adhomai or Modern Moroz. Level 4 is instead found on worlds brimming with life, such as Earth, or Pre-Contact War Moghes.	- Common diseases - Toxins from biological sources
5	Threats. From this level, the IBLI becomes truly relevant. These Biohazards are not overwhelmingly dangerous in their own right, but if left unchecked for too long, can cause disastrous damage to populations and materials alike. From this level on, Biohazards can no longer be ignored.	- “Wallrot” fungi - Virulent/lethal diseases - Some recorded anomalies
6	Major Threats. Level 6 Biohazards are recorded regularly across the entire spur but are generally not a source of worries for people on a local, planetary scale, and who live far from the possible source of some of these Biohazards (A xenobiological laboratory for instance.)	- Uncontained slimes (among a non-Skrellian population) - Highly-virulent/lethal epidemic diseases
7	Critical Threats. Level 7 Biohazards, just like level 6 Biohazards, can be common depending on the location. Biohazard-rich areas thus often require professionals like trained engineers, scientists and the like to deal with these as swiftly as possible, for Critical Threats can not only prove incredibly deadly if left unattended, but exponentially harder to deal with as well if allowed to grow for too long.	- Blobs - Shipbound vine sprouts - K’ois outbreak
8	Planetary Threats. Level 8 Biohazards, also called “Bio-extinction events” in some circles, are apocalyptic events that can destroy all or almost all forms of life in an inhabited world.	- Chemical weapons of mass Destructions - Black k’ois
9	Stellar Threats. Level 9 Biohazards are extremely rare but have been recorded on multiple occasions. These can compromise an entire solar system if not dealt with immediately, and if left unchecked for too long, have the potential to expand to other stars as well. No non-sentient Biohazard has ever been recorded on this level and the level of intelligence of these entities plays a large role in the immediate danger they pose.	- Lii’dra invasion force - (Hostile) Cetus diona form
10	Interstellar Threats. No level 10 Biohazard has ever been recorded, the scale still exists purely for theory’s sake. A level 10 Biohazard would have the power to destroy or take over entire worlds, and its ability to expand would make it night unstoppable considering modern technological levels. The only way to stop a level 10 Biohazard would be immediate response and the use of overwhelming means. What makes them most dangerous, however, is that due to their sheer scale, it’s quite possible that level 10 Biohazards would achieve some kind of singularity, depending on their level of intelligence.	- Titan diona form (theorized)

There is also theorising of an 11th biohazard level in some circles. A Level 11 Biohazard would be a Galactic Threat, able to encompass an entire galaxy the size of the Milky Way if not dealt with immediately. The entire Spur would not be able to deal with a level 11 Biohazard if it were to appear, but thankfully most scientists assume that it never will. Indeed, not only would a level 11 biohazard require impossible amounts of initial mass and energy, but the expansion rate to fit within this category would be literally physics-breaking. Not only that, but a biohazard of this scale, one that can cover up and outgrow an entire galaxy, should be visible all the way from the Milky Way. Yet, none have ever witnessed anything of this sort in known history.

The IBLI has been adopted by all companies within the SCC and is used as a scale for its alerts. Its workers are expected to have at least a rough idea of the level of threat each level describes; especially those that are most often in contact with biohazards such as scientists and medical workers.