Red Queens

The name Red Queen was a name given to a failed experiment by Lone Star to create a Human Ant Hybrid/Chimera. The official name of the subjects was Polyergus, but once they were socialized into the Coalition's forces, their particular idiosyncrasies earned them the name Red Queens, and it stuck.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Each Red Queen has different characteristics, but they all have a few things in common. Their chitin is a very glossy rusty red color and they have shiny red hair.
All Red Queens have six limbs. They are human-ant chimeras in the form of a centaur, with the upper thorax and front legs taking on the form of an upright torso. How human-like the torso is varies among them from fully-fleshed with human arms and hands to full chitin with segmented arms. One red queen with full chitin torso also has the head of an ant, complete with mandibles and compound eyes. Two Red Queens have compound eyes on human-looking heads. All of the Red Queens have antennae, and their eyes are predominantly larger than those of a normal human. Should a player want to play as a Red Queen character, she can choose how ant-like or human-like she wants it to appear.
The Red Queens have a gland on their backs above their rearmost legs which can be used to synthesize chemicals. The chemicals are pheromones and can be used to make them appear less threatening, increasing positive results from coercion and persuasion attempts.
Their Chitin is quite tough and provides the equivalent of +2 armor toughness.

Genetics and Reproduction

This was not the first attempt at an arthropod human hybrid, but it was the first successful one, if you define success as creating a viable creature. Several attempts were made before to create a fully humanoid morph but the differences between the phyla has proven to be too great to bridge. Only after they relaxed the requirements and considered a chimera did they achieve success. In this case the chimera took the form of a centaur.
While the polyergus project was cancelled due to the personalities of the subjects, it did prove the success of chimeras. Dr. Bradford and the scientists of Lone Star are using this as a stepping stone for future projects, with the eventual goal to provide a true counter to not only the Xiticix threat, but to breed soldiers who grow their own armor and have superhuman strength. The perfect super soldiers who don't question orders and have no personal ambitions of their own except to serve the community in their given role.
As far as reproduction is concerned, Lone Star shut down the Polyergus project before anyone tested the ability of the subjects to reproduce. Whether or not they can, or even how it could be done is undetermined. One might think they would be unable to have children with humans just as no other mutant animal can. And since all red queens are female there are no other members of the polyergus project to mate with, their genetic line stops with them. However, being chimeras and not actual hybrids, they have both a full set of human DNA and ant DNA. Both strands exist side by side in every cell nucleus, equipped with triggers to turn portions on and off. Some scientists have therefore theorized it could be possible for a human zygote to successfully fertilize a Red Queen Zygote. But the actual practical means of copulation seem to make this an unlikely event, at the very least.

Growth Rate & Stages

All Red Queens are mature adults. Their physical maturation took from two to four years, depending on the extent of their human characteristics. Their emotional maturation, such as it was, took another four years. This puts them on par with dog boys.

Ecology and Habitats

Any.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Red Queens will not hunt, forage or even protect their food sources. Their only industry is in dominating others to do it for them.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The failure of the Polyergus project was directly related to the strength of the Polyergus project. The polyergus lucidus species of ants is known as one of the most successful slave-making species of ants found in North America.
The scientists were impressed by the aggressiveness and sheer dominance of the females of the species and wanted to create an asset who would fearlessly assault enemy strongholds and capture key enemy personnel in the same way the female ants of the polyergus genus could completely conquer and dominate other ant colonies all by themselves. Their ultimate goal was to be able to turn one Xiticix hive upon another.
The project succeeded in incorporating these characteristics. The downside of the characteristics are that when the species are not actively engaging with the enemy, they refuse to do any work other than eat and sleep. They won't even bathe themselves. It was not long before this earned them the enmity of the other members of the coalition and the moniker Red Queens. Their conviction that everyone around them should serve them, their ability to coerce compliance through chemical means, and their reluctance to look after even their own wellbeing were the torpedoes that sunk the project. Should the Xiticix become a more immediate threat, the Polyergus project may be resurrected.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The Red Queens escaped from the Coalition forces in Missouri. They scattered and might be found anywhere outside of coalition territory.

Average Intelligence

Great

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Red Queens have the ability to detect traces of chemicals and can use them for tracking and identification.
Their antennae are their chemical receptors. This means that chemical traces on surfaces must be touched by their antennae, but aerosol chemicals can be detected through the air just by waving the antennae about.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Through the ability to synthesize chemical compounds and through sheer force of will, the Red Queens establish a cadre of supporters who fulfill their every need; even bathing.  Note that the chemicals only serve to reduce resistance and increase positive reception of ideas.  The actual coercion is performed by their manipulative nature.
For example, a Red Queen could not walk up to a guard and tell him to open a gate for her and expect the order to be carried out.  But a Red Queen could walk up to a guard and convince him that he loves her or respects her or even that she belongs here and that he really should let her get to the other side of the gate.  The most capable Red Queens are so good at mental manipulation as to rarely need to use their chemicals at all.  One of the benefits of using the chemicals is the continued thralldom of the victim for hours even after she has passed.  Imagine how you felt and what you thought about after you kissed someone for the very first time.  How the sensation on your lips remained for hours or days and your mind kept wandering.  This is the effect the Red Queens can create with their chemicals and pheremones.  They can't actually mind control, but they can make someone very susceptible to suggestion and manipulation.  In game terms, this gives them a bonus to their reaction rolls, nearly guaranteeing a non-hostile interaction with even the most hated of enemies.
(Author's note: I've restricted the above discussion to the abilities and limitations of the chemical enhancement that Red Queens possess.  Since Red Queens also possess powerful psionic abilities, they actually do have other means to control minds that way.)

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

After gaining their independence from the Coalition, the Red Queens chose their own names.

Common Dress Code

Red Queens are only concerned with style insofar as it serves their goals of dominance and satisfies their egos.

History

Through their ability to dominate the people around them, the Red Queens got wind of the Coalition's intent to euthanize them and cancel the Polyergus project. They escaped easily and brought many of their dominated subjects with them.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

The Red Queens will view all other sentient species as subservient beings whose sole purpose is serve them.

Scientific Name

Homo Sapiens Formicini Polyergus

Origin/Ancestry

A coalition Lone Star experiment splicing Ants of the species Polyergus Lucidus with human DNA.

Conservation Status

There are only a dozen live specimens in the world.

Average Height

1.6 - 1.8 meters (5'3"- 5'10")

Average Weight

80 - 100 kg (170 - 200 lbs)

Average Length

1.8 - 2.2 m (6 - 7 ft)

Average Physique

Slender

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Chitin is glossy rusty red. Hair is bright shiny orange-red. Other human characteristics vary with the source human DNA

If used as a player character, this race could potentially result in a PC who is disruptive to the party and the game. There is also potential for some fun role playing opportunities as well, but care must be taken with respect to a Red Queen's desire to control and dominate the other characters.
One way would be to allow the other characters to build up an immunity to the Red Queen's pheromones and watching as she deals with her inability to get them to do her bidding. It would make sense that her pride would not let her admit failure and so she stays and works with the party, learning interpersonal relations of the sort she never had to before.
Another would be allowing the Red Queen to undergo a character arc in which she grows to respect the other characters or gains some humility (even if she refuses to admit it by keeping up a charade of aloof dominance), or other such examples that will temper the disruptive nature of this race.