Vor'Pa

This is a Vor'Pa, a semi-amphibious triped from the swampy world of Nero. The Vor'Pa's anatomy is fairly easy to understand. Many of the vital organs are stored in the torso, the brain in the head. The brain extends back through the center of the crest, shielded by rubbery flesh and a bony disc. What makes a Vor'Pa peculiar is that on the underside of the crest, extensions of the brain project in fleshy tendrils that cling to the underside of the crest. Tests have shown that damage to these tendrils does not affect the rest of the brain, nor do they grow back if severed. The removal/damage sustained will cause near-unbearable pain, which is why a Vor'Pa custom with criminals is to amputate their tendrils. This renders them unable to manifest their peculiar ability: Vor'Pa are capable of mind control through the engulfing and gradual absorption of a victim's consciousness through a method not fully understood. This is enough of a problem by itself, but the Vor'Pa have also developed an extremist religion that requires them to subjugate all other races to their influence. This has led to near-constant warring with neighboring races, in particular the Anthricids and Humans. All members of the Vor'Pa race observed so far have been devoted followers of this religion, with the exception of the criminals. Vor'Pa prefer to take prisoners alive, for obvious reasons, with the exception of Anthricids. Due to the unique nature of the Anthricids, Vor'Pa warships fire on ships bearing Anthricid design patterns or symbols without provocation or warning. The generally accepted hypothesis is that Vor'Pa religion dictates that they destroy anything they cannot take control of.