Ripper

One of the most terrifying aspects of a Tyranid hive fleet is the speed and scale of its operations in stripping a planet. Even while the Tyranids are overrunning a world’s defences, they are in the process of rapidly assimilating the genetic imprint and biomass of every living thing on the planet. Eventually, once all resistance has been eliminated and everything consumed, the world will be stripped down to its bedrock, as all of its moisture, atmosphere and nutrients are absorbed by the hive ships. By the time the hive fleet moves on, nothing but a lifeless ball of rock will be left in their wake. In the initial phases, billions of voracious Tyranid organisms are released all over the planet. Vast waves of these creatures move across the surface of the world, constantly multiplying and consuming everything in their path. The empty deserts left behind are devoid of even the bones of their former inhabitants, thanks to the relentless efforts of the ravenous hordes. Eventually these organisms will be reabsorbed by the Hive Mind and in some cases evolved to perform higher functions depending on the genetic material they have absorbed. The majority become biomass to be rendered down to their base cells and reshaped by the Norn Queens to fulfill the hive fleet’s needs. Tyranid-held worlds have been reported to feature “digestion pools” at the base of impossibly tall capillary towers that project beyond the atmosphere. Endless streams of Tyranid creatures have been seen sacrificing themselves in the searing acids of the pools so that their biomass can be sucked up in to the hive ships orbiting high above. These small harvesting organisms are extremely varied but the most numerous are those known to Adepts as the Tyranicus Omniphagea, more commonly known to Imperial forces as Rippers. Rippers have serpentine bodies, around half a metre long, that terminate in a broad head above a set of vestigial gripping claws. The head is split by a wide maw filled with rows of exceedingly sharp ripping hooks and razor-edged boney ridges. The Ripper’s powerful jaws can bite through flesh and bone with alarming ease, and they have been known to gnaw their way through plasteel to reach food. Rippers are energetic and fearless organisms, quite capable of pulling down creatures many times their own size, from a rampaging Grox to an armed man. Huge swarms of Rippers are often seen on the battlefield, advancing behind Tyranid assault forces. These gorge themselves on the fallen, tearing apart the wounded and cannibalising the dead. It might appear that an armoured Space Marine would be safe from the attacks of individual Rippers, but en masse they can immobilise and drag down even the strongest Battle-Brother. In certain instances, hive ships have been driven away from a world, leaving Tyranid ground forces isolated. Rippers appear to respond to such circumstances by burrowing below ground and metamorphosing into higher life forms. This has led many among the Magos Biologis to believe that Rippers are an immature form of the prime Tyrancii genus. This would mean they are theoretically capable of gestating into any kind of Tyranid creature with the right impetus from the Hive Mind, from Hive Tyrants to Hormagaunts. The wonder that Tyranids routinely produce and sacrifice their young so prodigiously serves only to reinforce how inhuman they truly are.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Tyranides