M-113 Species

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

M-113 Species


Four Letter Code	M113
Federation Status	N/A
Planet of Origin	M-113
Encountered	TOS: The Man Trap
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	AAA
List of Named M-113 Speciess

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REV 239807.27

DEPARTMENT of XENOLOGY

"Salt, do you have any salt."

a M-113 question.

The M-113 are a species of intelligent humanoid predators that used a highly developed form of telepathy to trick and mesmerise its prey before attacking and killing it. Their primary method of killing is by sucking out all of the salt in the victim’s body through specialized suckers on the tips of their three fingers.

Home System

Quadrant: Beta
Location: Abin Zak Sector (coordinates B24-0004-1296)
Proper Name: M-113 system
Star: It orbits a class G (Yellow) dwarf star
Distance from Star: Orbit is approximately 44 million km
Companions: It is the 4th of 7 planets in the system
Moons: it has 2 moons

Home World

Proper Name: Federation designation M-113. (Fotialla)
Diameter: 18,961 km (11,782 miles)
Gravity: 0.97 standard gravity with a density of 3.6
Axial Tilt: 6.3%, with minimal seasonal changes
Orbital Period: 413 days
Rotational Period: 25.2 hours
Classification: M
Surface Water: 22%
Atmosphere: 0.98% is a standard pressure with 74% nitrogen, 26% oxygen, 2% trace chemicals
Climate: Mainly a hot, dry planet.
Terrain: It has plenty of deserts and barren, arid regions with scrub brush.
Population: Native species believed to be extinct

History

Federation researchers have examined all of the data available and have come to the following conclusions in regards to the civilization that once existed on the planet designated as M-113.

The natives evidently called their world Fotialla and at the height of their civilization had a network of large cities, a complex infrastructure and an obviously well-developed culture.

What still seems to confuse and elude the experts ability to understand is the all-important question, was the M-113 creature the same species that built the cities and civilization on Fotialla or was it some other species. And if they were two distinctly different species did they both develop and evolve on this world or did the M-113 creature come later, from some other world?

This brings up the further question of did the M-113 creatures hunt down and exterminate the ancient species that built the cities and civilization on Fotialla or did they merely die out over time as their supply of salt was slowly used up. And if they were the cause of the extinction of the native inhabitants then how were they able to do it? How long did it take? And was the native species able to understand what was happening and did they fight back?

Having examined the extensive research data compiled by Professor Robert Crater during his contact with the only remaining M-113 creature most experts believe that if the creature was a member of the species that built the cities and civilization on Fotialla then they must have regressed drastically with the slow depletion of the planets supply of salt. More research is clearly required.

Regardless by the 23rd century, the civilization had long-died out and only ancient ruins remained on the planet. The planet had turned into a hot and arid wasteland. The only plant life that survived on the planet was a type of dry bush and the poisonous Borgia plant. Because of the hot and arid environment, anyone who visited the planet needed to bring a large supply of salt so that they could survive.

In 2261, archaeologist Robert Crater and his wife Nancy began an expedition on M-113 to conduct a survey of the planet's many ruins. They moved into a large deserted ruin on the planet surface and began their archaeological research. During the first four years, they shipped out large amounts of artifacts, gathered from several digging sites on the planet, made numerous reports and were visited by a number of ships. A large drop in shipments was noted in the fifth year, however.

Unknown at the time of the Crater expedition, a single surviving member of the M-113 creatures species continued to live on the planet. In 2264 or 2265, it murdered the real Nancy Crater, an act that almost drove Crater to destroy it. In the end, the fact that it was the last of its kind, or perhaps its ability to assume any form, stayed his hand, and he lived with it for a year or more. Crater buried his wife on a hill on the planet, but was no longer as efficient in his archaeological work, causing the drop in shipments.

In 2266, the USS Enterprise visited M-113 for routine medical checks of the two scientists working there. At that time, they encountered what was, according to Professor Robert Crater, the last of the M-113 creatures. This particular creature evidently saw Humans chiefly as food. As there was no opportunity to question it, it is unclear if this attitude arose from desperation or if it was the natural outlook of the species. Either way, the creature proved highly dangerous.

At the time the landing party arrived in 2266, the Crater expedition was dangerously low on salt, the creature's natural food. During the investigation by the crew of the USS Enterprise, it murdered several officers, and only by chance saved a few others. It nearly killed Captain Kirk but was killed. As far as is known, this was the last sighting of the creature.

At some time prior to 2329, a second expedition was authorized by the Federation to visit the planet and to conduct further archeological research. This team was made up primarily of Vulcans and led by T'Sera.

Government

At this time most experts would tend to agree that there was some form of unified planetary government on Fotialla (M-113). However based on the level of technological achievement found among the various archeological digs, those same experts believe it would have taken months for information and government orders to reach every part of their civilization.

Description

The surviving creature as observed in 2266 stood a little over one and a half meters tall. It had brownish skin with purple highlights. The face had a series of sagging folds that, together with the cast of the yellowish eyes, gave it a saddened appearance. The mouth was a kind of inverted snout, within which were several extremely sharp teeth.

The body was covered with string-like, whitish hair. This creature also wore a brown, net-like garment and had the proportions of a typical humanoid with two arms and two legs, each hand having three thick fingers.

Each of the three fingers had three sucker-like feeding organs. The creature used these to extract salt from its prey; a process that was painful and left a reddish, ring-like mottling on the skin. The creature could also ingest pure salt through its mouth.

Physiology

As with most intelligent humanoid species they have a very complex system with specialized organs, and unique hormones, chemicals and enzymes. They are typical humanoids with most of the physical, mental and biological medical problems that seem to plague most humanoids.

The creatures were a highly intelligent species that used telepathy to draw in prey by extracting an image from their minds and taking that form. Once the prey was completely drawn they then used to draw salt from a prey's body through suckers that were on the creature's hands. They also possessed tremendous strength and an ability to survive several phaser shots at short range.

M-113 creatures were very strong, stronger even than Vulcans. A single backhanded slap from one was sufficient to throw Spock across the room; by contrast, he hit the creature several times with double-handed punches, without any observable effect.

Psychology

Based on the observations of the crew of the USS Enterprise and the research data compiled by Professor Robert Crater most experts have concluded that the M-113 creature had evolved into a very dangerous predator.

This seems to be confirmed by its use of humanoids as a food source. Instead of asking for salt, it concealed its presence and used its special form of telepathy to attack and kill multiple individuals.

Nothing more is known about its mental health or that of its species.

ESP Abilities

M-113 creatures were also highly intelligent, capable of carrying on conversations with other intelligent beings. A form of telepathy enabled them to draw an image from the mind of someone near; this image was usually of someone trustworthy or appealing. This image, in turn, enabled the creature to approach prey easily. Furthermore, the M-113 creature could even simultaneously appear as a different image to each individual who stood in the same room: when the USS Enterprise's landing party first encountered it, each member saw a different woman even though they were looking at it at the same time.

This fact seems to suggest that the camouflage was not a physical transformation, but rather a mental projection to people nearby.

At very close range, the creature could fascinate or mentally paralyze its prey, preventing it from escaping even if it saw the creature's actual form. The creature could feed equally well in its natural form, or while projecting one of these images.