Zyn

Zyn: The Zyn are an insect race of aliens ranging from 1/2" to over 6" in height. They're divided into a Corps system, which decides what their jobs will be in the hive, and are genetically bred for their assigned functions. They generally have 4 arms, 2 legs and one head, but there have been variants to this template based upon the needs of the hive. They have an exoskeleton protecting them from harm, to which they attach extra plating or equipment, depending on their caste assignment or mission needs. Those who have encountered the Zyn on Earth have noted that they are deceptively strong. This is due to the increased gravity on their home world. 

Lifespan: Unimpeded, the Zyn can live up to 30+ years, with the longer-lived ones generally being in the ruling/leadership castes, although it isn't unheard of for lower caste members to live longer lives given the right conditions. 

Homeworld: Zyn, an M-class planet on the far side of the universe, past the furthest reaches of known space. It is 3/5ths the size of Earth, with gravity over three times that of our world. It has three moons (G'Rek, Tha'lyl and V'Rism) that orbit the planet in a pattern similar to those of electrons circling an atom. 

History: The Zyn that exist today are the result of millions of years of "intelligent evolution." They come from humble origins, starting out as many separate species of what would be insects on their planet. They were far from the dominant life form, but as they slowly developed intelligence, they set about to change that. As their intellectual abilities grew, they realized that if they wished to not only survive, but to rule at the top of the food chain, they would need to develop methods to "force" evolutionary changes in themselves. Understanding that this would require all species to cooperate, the smartest hives reached out for alliances. Once agreements were reached, and super-hives started to form, any species opposed to the alliance were either destroyed outright or subjugated into a labor caste. Once the species were aligned as the Zyn Collective, they began to tinker with the genetics of future castes, creating the basis of the system that is now currently in place. They combined the best traits of each species, and applied them to each necessary function in the hive, making the first specialist castes. As technology got more advanced, they would fine-tune the genetic makeup of the assigned caste to increase their efficiency with it. In addition, they developed a subliminal teaching system to train the new members of each caste while still in the Grubz phase of their development. This ensured that members were ready upon gestating into their adult forms to assume their roles in the hive. This system has made the Zyn the top life form on their world, as well as dozens of conquered planets. This has also been what's created the homogeneous look of the Zyn, as all elements of the prior species have been bred out over the millions of years since the Zyn Collective formed. Over time, the caste system has since been worked into a Corps System, where each type of Zyn has a respective Corps that they are a part of, like the Sergeantz’ Corps, the Heavy Machine-gunnerz Corps, etc. This was due, in large part, to the more militaristic role the Zyn Collective started to take once they began interplanetary exploration and domination. The Zyn have traveled to our planet looking to conquer us and gain control of our resources, as they tend to burn through them at a rather fast pace. Upon their arrival on Earth, they realized they had received some incorrect information from faulty probes as to our exact size. After landing earth-side, they established a beachhead in the basement of a Chinese restaurant in the Midwest, and began using the restaurant’s take-out deliveries to spread combat teams out to gather intelligence. Once they had a full measure of what awaited them, approximately half the fleet decided that they wanted no part of an invasion that seemed doomed from the get-go! They began to unofficially call themselves Sav'm (as in "Savin' our butts"), and working toward the goal of a peaceful, non-confrontational integration on our world. The remainder of the fleet, now calling themselves Kyll'al (as in "Kill 'em all, let Zred'Gaz sort 'em out!"), refuse to back-off the original plan; to subjugate and/or destroy the human race and loot the goodies after. This has led to both sides engaging in armed actions against one another, with both looking to gain total control over the fleet to determine the next official course of action. Each combat team is comprised of a Leader, a Support and a Scout class warrior. The Leaderz are usually the rank of Sergeant, but Captainz and Commanderz are known to run ops, as well. Each brings their own unique Talentz or abilities to the field and all are well-qualified for their mission. Support warriors do exactly that; they support. Using heavy weapons, such as machine guns or rocket pods, or other needed functions like Medicz, they back up the members of their team. Scoutz are the light and quick members of the team and are often specialists in a field, such as Sniperz, Swordzmen or even Recon troopers. They're often picked based upon the type of mission being conducted, using Sniperz for long-range target elimination, Swordzmen for stealthy, up-close ops and Recon to help locate vital targets.