Meek
The Meek are a race of eusocial, subterranean organisms.
Physiology
There are several different kinds of Meek, but they all share some defining features. They have long limbs, armour plates on their backs, and six eyes. Limbs usually end in a broad claw, used for walking on, digging, and other such activities. The armour plates are very thick and seem bulletproof, though other parts of their bodies too are resistant to gunfire even from multi-km/s weapons.
The tendrils on their necks are for implanting embryos.
Of their internal physiology nothing is known. However, they do not have mouths.
Workers
Meek workers are the most common caste. They are approximately 1.3m long and mass around 40kg. Their claws are well adapted for running, climbing and digging, as well as being versatile weapons.
Workers have a hooked head, sometimes used in clearing debris and attacking foes. There are two tendrils below this.
Gunners
Gunners are a common variety of Meek. Their front limbs are fused, with a barrel-like protrusion coming out. Inside this are very large numbers of spikes, each containing a small quantity of powerful paralytics. The gunner is capable of launching these spikes at several hundred feet per second.
Brawlers
The brawler caste is characterised by greater size, up to 2.3m long and massing up to 150kg, and the front claws being divided into several, thicker parts. Brawlers tend to charge into enemies, using their weight to knock them down, and then kill or stun them.
Sharpshooters
Sharpshooters are the least often seen caste, both due to their comparative rarity and their ability to camouflage. Chromatophores in their skin and armour allow them to change colour, fitting in with the background. They possess a ranged weapon similar to the gunner's, except with a longer barrel and firing fewer, larger spikes.
Diet
What the Meek eat is currently unknown. They remove body parts for consumption, and have been observed scraping fungi from cave walls, but these two things could not supply their dietary requirements.
Reproduction
For the Meek to reproduce, animals which either produce eggs or have wombs must be present. Meek use their tendrils to insert embryos into them, and the embryos produce powerful sedatives and a variety of chemicals which seem to adapt to the being's internal conditions and chemistry.
Once this is done, workers transport the females into living, biomechanical, egg-shaped pods. These are designed to keep the females subdued and to keep inserting embryos.
Intelligence
The degree to which individual Meek are intelligent is not well understood. However, the co-ordination of individuals displays signs of using strategy and pre-empting events.
