Acers

"Acers (singular: 'Ace', plural bastardized to 'Aces'); military symbol is the Ansuz."Hegemony epoch development of a new subservient race; developed on Oskopnir. The central concept, among a plethora of improvements commissioned from experience with Grunts, was a complete redesign for entire lifespans in zero-gravity.

Morphologically, they have an anterior limb pair much larger, longer and stronger than posterior limbs proximal to vent; so much longer that at full extension the spine can be vertical and the posterior legs (for which at rest the joints are acute) are held off the ground. Their heads internally resemble Pachycephalosaurian skulls, and are designed to protect against shrapnel and impact damage taken in the nude, as is the impact resistant brain housing, similar to that found in woodpeckers. Bone is not calcified, but is a matrix of long, unbroken carbon fibres reinforced with collagen, giving great rigidity against all directions of force without being brittle. The bone strength is such that an attempt to pull off an Acer's limb would sooner strip the muscle and flesh off the bone than break at the joint. Blood haemoglobin has binding sites for sulphides and reduced nitrogen.

A greatly enlarged appendix with large surface area containing symbiotic bacteria species fixes both sulphides and nitrogen, although the ancestral gut remains capable of dealing with solid food. Eyes show extremes of maximum and minimum pupil dilation; capable of seeing ultraviolet. Infra-red photoreceptive pits below tear ducts double as emergency vision where lens eyes must be closed against a vacuum. Efficient multi-chambered lungs similar to those used by birds. They also have a throat capable of breathing and swallowing simultaneously, plus specialist sphincters (in both throat and cloaca) to prevent air and liquid escape in the event of environment depressurization.

Feathers covering body have overall shape, microscopic structure and pigmentation to absorb maximum amount of light of a maximum range of wavelengths and reflect what cannot be absorbed away from the angle of incidence. The downside of this is that it causes the feathers to convert almost all radiation to heat, which is extremely dangerous for heat exhaustion in atmospheres, and susceptible to cooking the Acer alive in the case of unshielded solar radiation. Hence homeostatic mechanisms can cause extreme vasodilation and feather errection to maximize heat sink loss. The superficial appearance of the head bears resemblance to that of an Adelie penguin.