Horta

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SPECIES
United Federation of Planets logo.png HortaUnited Federation of Planets logo.png
Homeworld:
Janus VI
Quadrant:
Beta
Affiliation:
United Federation of Planets
Biology
Average Male Height:
163 cm (5 ft. 4 in.) to 193 cm (6 ft. 4 in.)
Average Male Weight:
59 kg (130 lb.) to 113.4 kg (250 lb.)
Average Female Height:
163 cm (5 ft. 4 in.) to 193 cm (6 ft. 4 in.)
Average Female Weight:
59 kg (130 lb.) to 113.4 kg (250 lb.)
Minimum Academy Age:
Life Expectancy:
50,000
Distinctive Features:
Playability
PRC Rated:
No
NPC Rated:
Yes
BetaQuadrant.jpg


Not to be confused with the Vorta, one of the members of the Dominion.


Note: This species is rated for NPC use only.


Horta


A Horta is a silicon-based lifeform from Janus VI. It is composed of a material similar to fibrous asbestos.


Horta physiology is very different from the carbon-based norm more commonly found in the galaxy. They are noted to be hard to find with tricorders, and are also invulnerable to type 1 phaser fire, though they can be injured with an adjusted type 2 phaser. They feed on rock, and thus they are nourished just by tunneling. Horta tunnel through rock like most humanoids walk through air, moving with the aid of an extremely corrosive acid. They leave perfectly round tunnels in their wake. This acid is so corrosive that it only leaves fragments of bone and teeth if used on a Human. Although Hortas did not evolve in an oxygen environment, they seem to be able to exist in it for extended periods of time.


The Horta species possesses [by the terms of carbon-based life forms] an unusually long life cycle. Every 50,000 years all of the Horta die out except for one, the so-called mother Horta, who then watches the eggs until they hatch, and mothers and protects them. Horta eggs resemble spheres, and they seem to mostly consist of silicon, aside from a few trace elements. They are stored in the "Vault of Tomorrow" in the "Chamber of the Ages". This type of life cycle has an incredible risk of extinction, unless there is some as-of-yet unknown means of new mothers being created and distributed through space.


It was in the midst of one of these temporary phases of extinction that the Federation colonized Janus VI in the 2210s. The mother Horta tolerated the Federation presence until the miners established a new, lower level in 2267 where they first encountered Horta eggs. Thinking them nothing more than a ball of useless silicon, the miners' automated equipment destroyed thousands of them. The mother Horta retaliated by carrying out actions of sabotage and murder against the Janus VI colony.


It was only when Commander Spock of the Enterprise was called in to catch the dangerous "creature" and mind-meld with the mother Horta that he was able to determine that the Horta was actually an intelligent life-form. In fact, before the discovery of the Horta, silicon-based life had been thought a fantasy by Federation scientists.


The mother Horta reached an accord with the miners, who were distressed at the destruction they had caused.
The miners would leave the Horta alone on the lower levels once they began hatching, while the Horta would use their abilities to locate and construct access to choice mineral deposits for the miners.


Just as the Enterprise departed the planet, the first baby Horta hatched and began tunneling.


Horta eggs
A Horta-created tunnel