Turbofox

Brought over by Quintessons, both intentionally as sight hunters and as stowaways on board their space ships, Turbofoxes are assumed to be an alien cyber-fauna native to Quintessa, their home planet. Turbofoxes come in two known configurations, though one has been established as primarily being brought over as tools, while the other comprised small stowaways.
Several which escaped Quintesson captivity or were let loose in the world were caught by humans and subsequently ‘tamed’ to become sentryhounds and scouts.
After the war, the remaining population of them were rounded up to serve as guards and high-class pets, though small pockets of ‘wild’ packs and individuals still roam mountains, caves and and volcanic fields rich with ore and materials.
The first configuration, known as Maned (due to their resemblance to maned wolves), were the ones most utilised as sentry and sight hunters by Quintessons to seek runaway human slaves. These days, wild packs of them roam secluded spots far away from civilisation. They are not easy to tame, owing to remnants of the programming Quintessons gave them that sees them displaying violence to humans, who they instinctively hunt. However, they can be ‘reprogrammed’ to hunt for humans instead, the hunting instinct cannot be overrided all cases.

The second, known as Fennec (due to the resemblance of their massive ears to Fennec foxes) are more commonplace and have taken to living as tech scavengers in urban areas. They are tamer due to their exposure to humans on their feeding grounds and as such, many have been adopted or caught to be sold as expensivs pets.

There have been cases where they are hunted in droves due to the pervasive belief from some quarters that they are an invasive, ‘unnatural’ species that carry the stigma of being introduced by much-reviled Quintessons.
Famous Turbofoxes include Lelaps and Boudicca, former sentry hounds freed from the Quintessons and adopted by the Thirteen Primes. With the supposed deaths of almost all of the Primes, they now reside with Aillard Toussaint, also known as Alpha Trion.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Turbofoxes are genderless and propagate asexually. This reproduction depends on the abundance of their food source, where excess energy and material is stored in a chamber attached to their spine which resembles a tail. The chamber grows as larger as more material and excess energy is accumulated, and after a certain threshold, they create a new Turbofox to avoid a potentially deadly overload on the carrier as well as slow-down due to the weight. The tail falls off to form a pinecone-like ‘pod’ comprised of metal sheets connected by a synthetic nannite-based material that stretches as the new Turbofox inside is assembled by the new neural network which has detached and become independent from the carrier. A new Turbofox emerges from the pod after ninety days; they enter the world approximately three-quarters the size of an adult (they molt thrice before reaching full adult size) and are fully-functional and able to hunt and scavenge on their own. The tail of the carrier regrows to continue serving as its excess energy reservoir and the process repeats itself.

Ecology and Habitats

Turbofoxes are most commonly found in areas with large ore and metal deposits, which make up a large chunk of their diet. Maned Turbofoxes prefer areas of isolated wilderness and often lurk in mountain ranges, caves and abandoned mining complexes.  Fennec Turbofoxes are mostly found in urban areas, where they scavenge steel from scrapyards, garbage and building sites. In the wild, they can be found sharing residence with Maned Turbofoxes in mining shafts and complexes. The presence of Turbofoxes are a welcome indicator of a good location for mining companies.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Turbofoxes are able to recharge under sunlight, however they require ores and minerals to rebuild their bodies when injured of suffering burnout during long chases. They feed on rocks and metals, with teeth hard enough to reduce rocks to rubble which the ‘forge’ in their bellies will smelt down to an alloy funneled out to the surface of their bodies. They seek out metals and ores using an electromagnetic wave emitted from the vents above their eyes, and in the wild, use their claws to dig out metal from underground. In urbans settings, Fennec Turbofoxes have been known to consume cement and chip away at the walls and pillars of abandoned structures to get to the steel support rods inside, leading to them being called 'metal termites'.  Carnivorous turbofoxes are only seen in places which are poor in ores or minerals, in which they seek out iron and calcium, among others, from living creatures instead.
Turbofoxes have been observed to engage in cannibalism of other foxes and gestation pods in times of scarcity and as a show of dominance in violent territorial disputes.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Maned Turbofoxes are primarily solitary, but can coexist peacefully in the same territory provided ample food supply. In this situation, they will come together temporarily to store their gestation pods in a communal den and take turns guarding the ‘nursery’. Once the new turbofoxes have ‘hatched’, they will return to a solitary lifestyle. However, some new turbofoxes hatched in this communal setting have been observed to form close relationships with their ‘batch mates’, akin to siblings.
Fennec turbofoxes are social, forming small groups of between five to ten individuals and sharing energy and scavenged materials to ensure pack survival. Due to their smaller size and this social setting, they more easily accumulate excess energy and have designated ‘sitters’ for their pods, thus being more commonplace than the Maned variant. Fennec turbofoxes rarely engage in aggressive cannibalism, but commonly consume ‘offline’ Turbofox remnants to recycle the material into new turbofoxes, which are immediately accepted as a part of the pack.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Russia in wild and mountainous areas

Average Intelligence

Canine intelligence with a rudimentary understanding of language cues. Has been recorded to communicate simple words ie. "Yes", "No", "Pain", "Food", etc. in morse code.

Scientific Name

Machinavulpes Extraterrestris

Origin/Ancestry

Alien

Lifespan

130-150 years in the wild, unknown variable in captivity

Conservation Status

Threatened (Maned Turbofoxes), Vulnerable (Fennec Turbofoxes)

Average Height

3’5 to 4’0 at withers (Maned), 1’0 to 2’0 at withers (Fennec)

Average Weight

150lbs to 250lbs (Maned), 50lbs to 100lbs (Fennec)

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Steel and Iron (Common); Copper, Bronze, Patina and Silver (Uncommon); Mixed Metals (Uncommon); Gold, Rose Gold, Platinum (Rare)