Sard

to Table of Contents or species

physiology
"'thin, spindly shadows. Back-canted lower legs, elastic limbed, they did not walk across the deck, they flowed like water. Many-eyed heads turned their way, inset mandibles flickering. Creepy as hell, to human eyes.' (R-3)" "'Sard bled red, just like humans. They didn’t look like they ought to, with long, skinny-straight arms, clawed feet and multiple glazed eyes. A complex series of throat-parts extended down to the chest, where serrated edges vibrated in place of a vocal box. Some sard races made that noise from vestigial wings on their back. These wore no armour, but their rifles were powerful enough to hole even marine armour at close range.' (DL-5)"
 * "sard nightvision was pretty awful” (KV-17)
 * Vulnerabilities: “Lower torso and hip,” Aristan said calmly. “Upper arm, shoulder, neck. Avoid the forearms, they have serrated edges and armour that may capture a sword. Strike the lower back from behind, not the upper, which has natural armour.” (KV-24)
 * taller than humans, though not as strong, even augmented. (DL-3)
 * insectoid, multiple glazed eyes, mandibles
 * humans call them bugs because they resemble spiders but with two legs — thin, shadowy, black
 * description:

culture, characteristics
"'Brilliant mathematicians, their societies were ruled by numbers. The only emotions they appeared to feel were toward those numerical arrangements, not to the individuals who comprised them. Sard had compassion for patterns, not people.' (R-3)"
 * six hundred billion of them (DL-2)
 * disgusting, vicious
 * hive-minded; fight better in large groups; a few sard become confused, panic, or retreat
 * "Individually, marines handled them comfortably, but the larger their numbers, the more sophisticated and clever their tactics became" (DL-3)
 * "Sard socialised in groups" (R-3)
 * ”But the sard seemed to have vanished, whether psychologically discouraged in that way sard could become after large setbacks” (KV-31)
 * followers; they obeyed tavalai cuz they were the alpha dogs, but what now, since tavalai surrendered? (DL-2)
 * numerical inclination
 * "they’re brilliant at maths but stink at technology, if that makes any sense" (DL-2)
 * tavalai allies, when it suits, for a price
 * deepynine / alo allies

"“The sard are bad,” said Romki. “The krim were worse. The reeh are worse again, and many times more powerful than the krim and sard at their very height combined.” (D-32)"