Neila

The Neila are a species of aliens hailing from a faraway world, currently inhabiting Titan. Capable of surviving on any planet with some amount of methane, the species developed unique shape-shifting abilities allowing their bodies to withstand the gravity on the planet while also absorbing methane at higher rates to survive. Titan has the highest methane levels in the solar system, which is why the Neila Confederation calls it their headquarters. They are the main threat to humanity in the Solar War.
The species main source of nourishment and fuel is methane: a secondary objective of attacking Earth is to harness its methane resources. Each Neila are able to shape shift into any physical being they desire so long as they have have touched that being. They can also recall memories of the being they are inhabiting, allowing them to perfectly impersonate a person (see also the record: Veritas) They are unable to shape shift into robots because they are not organically living beings. Scientists on Earth soon discovered this following the initial Neila invasion, creating Rehabilitative Service Cyborgs built to fight the war against the Neila. The robots have the ability to detect the presence of the Neila no matter their current physical appearance.

Appearance

The Neila have two unique forms: a true form and a shapeshifted form.

True Form

The true form of the Neila is only known because the RSC 936.7 during the First Invasion of Titan was able to capture video of one infant Neila right before it shapeshifted into another form. The following is from the notes written the head scientist of the institute in charge of studying the Neila:

“The true form of the Neila bears a striking resemblance to that of its homeland Saturn. It has a main body that is a glowing, white sphere that is surrounded by space dust particles that likely contain the chemicals that it needs to survive such as methane. The approximate diameter of the main body seems to be around 5 inches (about the length of the human heart). These particles are suspended around the Neila by a mysterious, gravity-like force (see figure at right).
However, this main body is very fragile as it seems that it can only be exposed for the short periods of time between shapeshifts. This fragility is likely due to the fact that the Neila cannot handle the gravitational force of Earth for long periods of time. Further knowledge and theories would require more research material... ”

Shapeshifted Form

The appearance of a shapeshifted Neila is completely dependant on what organism it shapeshifts into. However, despite the differences in outer appearance, the inner anatomy of a post-shapeshifted Neila follows the same structure. This structure was discovered by humans with the help of the same video that revealed the Neila’s true form. The following is from the notes written by the head scientist:

“The anatomy of the post-shapeshift Neila is much simpler than we anticipated. During the shapeshifting process, the Neila creates a shell that resembles the organism that it shapeshifts into using the various compounds and chemicals stored within the dust cloud around its true form and other chemicals and compounds that it seemingly creates with its main body.
It likely chooses what chemicals to use and create based on the information it gathers from touching the organism it transforms into. From there, it fills the shell with the chemicals from its dust cloud, mainly methane, and settles its main body at the core of the shell that is usually around the upper-center of the shell. (See figure at right, of a Neila pretending to be a human)
Through the manipulation of the methane that flows throughout the inside of the shell, the Neila is able to move and control the shell in a way that mimics how the real organism would move and behave. Knowing these basics of the shapeshifting process has led us to theorize that the way to kill the Naila is to identify the location of the main body or core and destroy it. To fully solidify this theory, however, more samples need to be collected and more research needs to be done…”

Name
The Neila
Homeland
Titan
Type
Shapeshifter