Pubbo

"The world in which they live is very unlike that of the Thekars, of whom they share a planet with."

- Antenocte

Pubbos (singular: Pubbo) are a race of aliens residing on their homeworld of Planet Cold 03 (formerly Planet Thekar). They are LC, or least concern on the endangered species scale.

Origins
Pubbos originated on planet Thekar long before the Thekar did. They were first recorded at around the 20 Million Before Age, a good 6 million years before the Thekar. However, seeing as these creatures were not at first deemed sentient, nor were noticed by anybody, they were not given the honor of having the planet named after them. They originated primarily in the deep southern ocean until its drying up in 10 Million Before Age. After that, much of their population dwindled, yielding the Pubbos to evolve in a rather drastic way. Over the next eight million years, the Pubbos who survived gained air-based lungs and also partial wings on their ears.

Early Thekar hunted Pubbo for food, causing the latter species to take to the skies, and eventually become atmospheric-based creatures. They lived primarily in the upper atmosphere thereafter, where helium was rich and the pressure was less (to only about 30 MPa). In the high atmosphere, helium would often briefly form into a solid, floating state, letting Pubbos build colonies and rest on them. Thus, they were able to live up in the high air, feeding on vapor and floating with their wings and nitrogen sacks, completely unaware of the other sentient species below them. As time wore on, the Pubbos developed more intricate brains, and the came into power, and began to take interest in their planet.

Intergalactic Usage
Planet Thekar was an early site for kin-strife between Cooler and his younger brother Nitro. As the space-maps were drawn, Thekar was right on the line bordering their empires; yet both claimed it as their own. Nitro got there first, and in his haste, took to the Thekars, the more seen race, and they became his soldiers. When Cooler learned of this, as he put it, "most vile mistake", he set out with an army to burn the planet and kill his brother Nitro.

After a short battle with remnant forces around the planet's atmosphere, Cooler left his ship and entered the atmosphere to destroy the planet. Doing so, he caught a glimpse of flying Pubbos. Curious as to who they were, for they were not the creatures Nitro had been using, he instead took some back with him, and studied them. Their unique, non-biped shape was extremely desirable for attacking, as Pubbo's teardrop shaped bodies made them hard targets. Though rarely did Pubbos possess energy on their own (without training), they could easily be equipped with energy blasters all over their bodies, making them legitimately formidable.

Cooler then used Pubbos to attack Nitro, and the two fought in a rather bloody feud over the planet; Nitro wanting to use his precious and valuable Thekar warriors, and Cooler wanting access to the Pubbos. However, before the battle could get too heated, their father, interfered and grounded both of his sons. When their punishment was up, he made it clear that both Cooler and Nitro could get soldiers from the planet, seeing as it was dual-sentient. However, the planet itself was thence owned by King Cold, because giving it to either son would reignite hostilities. This was extremely rare, as King Cold usually did not take specific planets for himself.

Cooler used Pubbos for a variety of situations in his army. They could be equipped with tons of energy weapons and be used as floating turrets. They could also be added into shock trooper squads and used for interplanetary stealth missions. As can be seen by how frail Pubbos are, however, they are needed to be in large numbers. They can train and gain the ability to use energy, but their endurance is something which will always be low. They can be killed with very little effort. It's a good thing, then, that Cooler uses them in large groups. They are not exactly used in a lot of engagements, but when they are used, they are used a lot.

All Pubbos must be acclimated in pressure chambers for several hours before being shipped off planet. Simply plucking one up and taking it away will otherwise kill it. Still, the acclimation process is quick due to the adaptive skin of their species.

They account for about 2.1% of all of Cooler's forces. Their current population since the empire's collapse has been sustained (even if it looks to be small), at currently 2,050,445.

Appearance
Pubbos are amorphous gelatinous-like blobs of purple (sometimes crimson or light yellow) mass. As they age, they gain light colored spots on their body. They have multiple tentacles coming out from all over their bodies, which can extend over six feet. These tentacles have multiple suckers which are extremely strong and can suck not just the blood, but the energy out of a person. This is significant because Pubbos have a body size of only that of a regular pillow. They have six eyes peppered around their face, and can have hair - though it is rare and only produced in old age. Near where their ears would be, Pubbos have extended fleshy wings with which to fly. On their underside, they have sacks filled with nitrogen, which is a byproduct of their exhale, and this helps them float. They have small beaks for mouths, which they can extend out in the air to get food. Newborn Pubbos are born in air, and float through the wind via hyper-advanced nitrogen sacks grown since conception. Gestation is about 3 weeks.

Mental Traits
Most Pubbos are nothing but herbivores as consequence to living in an atmosphere devoid of other creatures. Given the opportunity, they will eat flesh. In the old times before they evolved, they were omnivores, and their tooth structure still allows for hunting. Pubbos are social creatures and prefer to move about in great pods of several hundred. They are not overly aggressive between species, but have been known to fight. They have the mental capacity to speak, if they are taught. Most of them do not fight for Cooler for any reason. He simply took them and they didn't have the power to fight back, but also, they didn't care much either way. Mullpy in particular was an example of a soldier who really didn't know what he was doing or why, yet was still effective at it.

Lifespan
Pubbos have no gender differences in lifespan. They usually live to be about 400 years old, making them one of the longest living creatures in the universe. Childhood and adolescence lasts about 60 years, and then adult hood remains for the next years. Pubbos have a very short old age, due to the deterioration of their nitrogen sacks. This causes them to fall out of the sky and die earlier than they would if they didn't have to fly.

Technology
Pubbos have no technology. The extent of their creations is their communes they make on solid helium masses (which they exhale) which float in the upper atmosphere. They excrete a green mass from their mouths to create brittle pillars of rock-like structures on the helium masses, and live inside them. Once the helium dissipates, the structures are destroyed, and the Pubbo have to start again.