A Re'tak is a very nasty predator which is commonly found through
out the Galaxy's jungles, although its planet of origin is unknown.
The snakelike Re'tak has a pair of hind legs positioned
approximately a third of the way up its cylindrical body. These legs
propel the Re'tak at an incredible speed allowing it to strike
without warning. Its head is roughly triangular in shape with a pair
of forward facing hazel eyes and a pair of sensitive nostrils. The
Re'tak's head and back are covered in tough green scales, while its
light brown belly is unarmoured. They have a limited ability to
regenerate wounds that they suffer, making them very difficult to
kill. The Re'tak primary weapon is its sharp triangular teeth which
can tear its prey apart in moments.
Re'taks tend to operate independently, only coming together to mate
each year. Like most reptiles they lay eggs after mating and are
reared by the mother. A typical nest usually comprises of two or
three eggs, and when hatched the mother looks after the hatchlings
for the first six months of their lives. Re'tak eggs are a delicacy
on many planets, and it is thought that this why they were spread
throughout the Galaxy.
Type: Jungle Predator
DEXTERITY 4D
PERCEPTION 3D+2
STRENGTH 3D
Special Abilities:
Teeth: STR+2D
Natural Armour: +1D to resist all types of damage when hit on
its head and back.
Regenerate: A Re'tak ignores the effects off being Stunned,
Wounded, Incapacitated or Mortally Wounded. Although they still
counts as being Stunned, Wounded, Incapacitated or Mortally Wounded.
In addition, every five rounds the Re'tak heals one 'Wound Level'
(i.e. from Incapacitated to Wounded). The Re'tak may not regenerate
from the Killed level.
Move: 17
Size: 2-2.5 meters long
An extract from the Imperial
Science Ministry concerning the autopsy of a Re'tak
DRF: "OK, this is a recording of our first autopsy on
the lifeform designated NIHL-554/F/333. This creature is named,
oh, what was it Doctor?"
DCT: "Re'Tak, Bob."
DRF: "Oh yes, Re' Tak. Present are myself, Doctor Robert
Fal-soolian, Doctor Crail Torg and Senior Technician Farhad
Irvani. Right. The creature appears to be a reptilian biped, ah,
two hundred and eighteen centimeters in length. From the teeth,
by the stars!"
TFI: "Damn. Those are some teeth!"
DCT: "Heh, Ok, I count fifty-four teeth, each a good,
five centimeters in length, serrated, triangular, and from those
tendons, I'd say they were at least partially retractable."
DRF: "I concur. They'd have to be in any case, the pallet
is not deep enough to allow the mouth to close in any case.
Certainly a predator,"
DRF: "Yes. I'm intrigued. According to the acquiring
source, this creature was extremely robust,"
TFI: "I quote; 'We hit it and hit it and hit it, and it
just wouldn't die!', Sir."
DRF: "Thank you technician. I think we can do without the
vernacular. It doesn't seem large enough to pose a serious
threat to a squad of Imperial Army troopers though."
DCT: "The tendons, musculature, and ligaments of the legs
would seem to support the estimation of the top speed. I'm
surprised that it took this much damage to stop it as well.
There's a good thirty percent of its body mass missing."
DRF: "I think we'll have to assume that much of the
damage was caused posthumously."
DCT: "Yes. Trigger happy squaddies always make our job
difficult."
DRF: "OK, lets open him up. Technician, would you pass
that scalpel? Thank you. Right."
DCT: "It's not getting anywhere."
DRF: "No. Technician, that saw looks about right, thank
you."
[High pitched screaming sound covers voices for a few
seconds,,,]
DRF: "Ah, that's doing the trick. How fascinating! Look
at this Crail,"
DCT: "It appears to be extruding some kind of material.
Um. The third layer of the epidermis is releasing some kind of
liquid that appears to be hardening very quickly into a brown
resin. Some kind of sealant perhaps?"
DRF: "I'd say so, yes. If this is a product of the
epidermis that manifests whilst the creature is alive, then it
would be able to 'weld' cuts together. That would be handy."
DCT: "Lets take a look at the skin under the meson
telescope."
[Some time passes, with the sounds of scuffling, more sawing,
and then an electronic whirring...]
DRF: "Stars above, there are not pain receptors!"
DCT: "None?"
DRF: "None at all. This thing couldn't feel pain!"
DCT: "That could explain it's tenacity. OK let's
summarize, the skin is divided into five layers, the first is a
covering of very strong dentine scales, directly below that is a
flexible moist layer, presumably to allow for flexibility. The
third layer has dozens of capillaries suspended in a spongy
tissue bed. The capillaries are filled with a brown liquid that
seems to harden very rapidly when exposed to the air. We'll run
tests later to determine the exact gas responsible."
DRF: "Could be heat related."
DCT: "No, this things well below normal temperature, and
it's still liquid in the capillaries."
DRF: "Point."
DCT: "Below that there is another layer of tissue
containing the blood supplies, and I can see, now what's that?"
DRF: "It's a sphincter. A microscopic sphincter around a
main artery."
DCT: "There are dozens of them. My first guess would be
that the blood flow from a major wound could be stopped almost
instantly."
DRF: "We'll save that debate for later, but if that's
true it might start to explain how difficult to kill they are."
DCT: "Yes. The last layer is a fatty padding, presumably
cushioning."
DRF: "We're going to take a brief break now, Technician,
will you prepare the cadaver for an anatomological scan?"
[The sounds of movement follow, ending with a click as the
recorder is turned off.]
[There's a brief hiss of static that resolves itself into]
DRF: "We're back. Autopsy resumed. Oh excellent Farhad,
good work. OK, the cadaver is prepared for an anatomy scan.
Doctor Torg, if you would be so kind?"
DCT: "The skeletal structure is interesting. I count, of,
say four hundred vertebrae. Each seems to have three spinal
canals, and what looks like a vestigial pelvic arrangement. That
pelvic arrangement is only developed fully in the section with
the legs. The others seem to mostly have very small bones that
could be the remnants of an earlier form of the creature with
many legs."
DRF: "They seem to have the same resin stuff in the
marrow."
DCT: "Oh yes, well, that would make any open fracture
heal rather quickly, wouldn't you say?"
DRF: "I would indeed. Let's leave that for now, and
concentrate on the tissue though."
DCT: "Right. There's an awful lot of muscle mass, but I
can't make out any distinct organs, except for the stomach. That
is remarkably high up the body wouldn't you say?"
DRF: "Yes, but that's probably nothing too important.
What is more interesting are these tubes coming off it. There
would seem to be a huge quantity of intestinal tracts, none
greater in diameter than five millimeters. I'd guess over a
hundred."
DCT: "Dedicated tracts for different food types. There
are some gizzard stones there too."
DRF: "In the tracts?"
DCT: "No, no, in the stomach, see there?"
DRF: "Oh yes, I see."
DCT: "There is something there, Farhad, can you turn up
the contrast, please? That's better. Look at that! That's
incredible!"
DRF: "I've never seen anything like it!"
DCT: "It's a little like the Amanin. There appears to be
a very large number of very small organs distributed throughout
the body. These look like lungs. There must be over a hundred!"
DRF: "We can get the droid to count them later. Suffice
it to say, this thing would be very difficult to kill. Oooh!
What's that thing?"
DCT: "There's a huge quantity of enzymes in that mass.
The proto-plasmic reading if off the scale."
DRF: "It reminds me of an early embryo."
DCT: "No way that could be true. If this were a female,
who had just conceived when it died, the sheer volume of the
litter would dwarf the creature even if it only harbored them
for a few days. No, it must be something different."
DRF: "By the stars, it could be a repair facility!"
DCT: "What do you mean?"
DRF: "Well, zygotes grow exceedingly quickly, right?"
DCT: "Of course."
DRF: "And it cannot be a litter?"
DCT: "I'd say no way."
DRF: "But it still could grow at a frightening rate.
Could it be a supply of material to facilitate tissue repairs?"
DCT: "That'd be interesting. There would be some of this
stuff at the wound site, wouldn't there?"
DRF: "Yes, there should be. Farhad, take a sample!"
[Some time passes]
DRF: "That's it. There's the enzyme, and it looks like
it was already starting to repair the tissue."
DCT: "Emperor's toes, this would be one hell of a
survivor."
[The conversation at this point quickly degrades into complex
analyses of the specific enzymes...]