A giant, chitinous, cold-blooded insectoid creature native to (or inhabiting) Terra. Roughly the size of a small car. Resembles a warrior bug from Starship Troopers in general form.

Observations

• Habitat: Lives in underground nests accessed through three-foot-diameter tunnel entrances bored into hillsides and flat ground.
• Diet: Carnivorous — observed gnawing on a human femur (likely from Hernandez or another member of the lost recon team).
• Weak points: Sammy’s suit scan identified potential weak points in the creature’s carapace.
• Numbers: A swarm of 200-300 individuals was observed from a distance, digging methodically across the landscape north of the ruined city.
• Behaviour: Methodical digging activity observed. Whether this is burrowing, foraging, or something else is unknown.

Possible Earth Presence (Session 05)

As of May 2019, eyewitness reports from the Nevada desert (80 miles NW of Las Vegas) describe creatures matching Terran Insectoid descriptions:

• Multi-legged, fast-moving, pale coloring
• Reflective eyes, clicking sounds
• Sizes from “dog-sized” to “larger than a car”
• Active primarily at night
• Three-foot-diameter holes bored into the ground (17+ discovered) — matching nesting tunnel dimensions from Terra

Three abandoned vehicles found with extensive underbody damage. One truck dragged sideways through sand. Camper RV struck hard enough to shake.

The discovery site is near where Meteor Fragments were recovered and relatively close to Las Vegas, where Jens Hartmann opened a portal to Terra during Session 03.

Federal authorities deny any connection to the meteor event. BLM and state wildlife agencies are investigating — apparently without awareness of Terran Insectoid intelligence.

Open Questions

• Are they native to Terra or invasive?
• Did they destroy the three-armed civilisation, or did they arrive after its fall?
• Are they intelligent or purely instinctual?
• What are they digging for?
• How did they reach Earth? Jens’s unsealed portal? A fragment-created portal? Some other mechanism?
• Are they breeding on Earth? The range of sizes (dog-sized to car-sized) may suggest juveniles and adults.
• Is this an isolated incursion or the beginning of a larger invasion?

Appearances

• [Session 02 - Terra-ble First Impressions](…/chapters/Chapter 1 - Living Bomb/Sessions/session-02-terra-ble-first-impressions.html) — Discovered during Terra recon
• [Session 03 - What Happens in Vegas](…/chapters/Chapter 1 - Living Bomb/Sessions/session-03-what-happens-in-vegas.html) — One specimen emerged through Jens’s portal; killed a cleaning lady at The Bellagio; destroyed by Jens
• Las Vegas Review-Journal - 2019-05-XX - Desert Holes — Eyewitness reports strongly consistent with Terran Insectoids; 80 miles NW of Las Vegas