Skyla

A Skyla is a bipedal creature, and an inhabitant of the planet Quartus VII. It is the first synthetic species that has ever been created or documented in all the known universe. No one knows who the original creators were, and it is speculated that no one will ever know.

Physiology
The adult Skyla, on average, stands about 8 feet tall. The tallest one ever recorded stood about twelve feet tall, but she died very young, at age 40. They have a black fur coat which fades to blue at the ends of their appendages. They usually sport a head of long, black hair, which reaches about three inches below their shoulders. Beneath their hair is a large row of spikes which starts at the top of the head, curves toward their back, and travels down the back of their neck. Their legs bend in three directions instead of two, like a bird, and they have large, bird-like talons. They have a ball of spikes on both the front and back of both of their shoulders. They have a long, crocodilian-like snout, which is much broader and shorter when they are born. However, it grows and thins out as they age. They also have retractable blades in their forearms, which are both about 3 feet in length and indestructable. Their hands are rather large, and their fingers are thin and bony, with inch-long claws at their end. They have long, rabbit-like ears, which move back when they are afraid. Their eyes are large and cat-like, and usually are colored blue, green, orange, or, in the one rare case of Elara Sykim, snow white.

Lifespan
Despite the fact that they age sexually very quickly, they have they incredible lifespan of about 200 years. Puberty begins at age 10, and ends in the same year, when sexual maturity is hit. Physical and emotional maturity is fully met at age 20. At that point, the aging process is cut in half, with 100 years old being the mark for middle age, instead of 50. However, the females hit menopause at age 50. Among the Skyla's top scientists, this is a scientific oddity, and they are working to figure out a solution to the problem. Despite this, some of the females do not mind the early menopause, because for them, they can keep partying at a young age without having to worry about having children.

Reproduction
It's the same as most creatures on Earth, specifically humans. A male and a female engage in intercourse, and the female gives birth to a baby. The difference between the reproductive system of humans and that of the Skyla is that Skyla will produce twice as many offspring as a human will. For example, if a human has a set of twins, a Skyla will have a set of quadruplets. The minimum number of offspring that can be produced by the Skyla is two, but most of the time in that case, one of the twins will absorb the other. The Creators did this by having the sperm of the male be made up of two different cells. This was done to create twice as many soldiers if the numbers were running low.

Skills and Abilities

 * The Skyla's blades are there for a reason. They are used as a self-defence mechanism. If the Skyla is threatened, it will instinctively "go berserk". It will extend its blades and attack the one who is threatening it. This attack is always fatal, unless the threatener's skin is tough enough to withstand the attack. The attack is also absolutely unstoppable. Any attempt to calm down a Skyla while it is berserk is futile, as any agitation in this state only makes it worse. The only way to remove the blade is by surgically detaching it from the bone, but like taking a bee's stinger out, if the blade is removed, the Skyla will die. The Creators did this to make sure no Skyla was ever left unarmed. During the berserk "mode", the part of the brain that governs memory temporarily shuts down, and thus the Skyla has no memory of the incident. The Creators did this so that if they did develop emotion, they wouldn't regret killing anyone. The Skyla often call this moment of memory loss "Seeing Red" as it is the color they see before they enter their berserk mode.
 * Over the course of a few thousand years, the Skyla have learned how to extend their blades on their own command without having to go berserk. However, due to the fact that their species is incapable of evolutionary change, the skill cannot be inherited, and instead must be taught from parent to child. However long it takes to learn the skill depends on the one learning it. The smarter ones usually can develop the skill in as little as over three months, while the more impaired ones take over a few years to learn the skill.
 * The Skyla can see in a broader spectrum of light. They can see infrared and ultraviolet light, as well as radio waves. The Creators did this to allow them to see at night, and be able to detect any trip wires in enemy systems. They also did it to allow them to see if the enemy was calling for help, and be able to stop it before the call was even made.
 * The Skyla is incredibly intelligent, and can plan out undefeatable battle strategies faster than any super computer can come up with a battle strategy with an 80% probabilty of success. They can simply look at any machine and figure out its circuitry in less than a quarter of a second. It can then make any repairs it needs to in less than a minute. They are the most intelligent species in the universe.
 * The Skyla has the strength of two fully grown bull elephants, and can run twice as fast as a cheetah. It can also blend into its surroundings and sneak at any speed without making a sound. It is the ultimate super soldier.

History
Centek Weapons, a subsidiary of Dukai Industries, which was the company that governed everything on the planet Quartus VII, (from the judicial to the legislative, from homeland security to the military, etc.) had been planning for many decades to create the perfect soldier, but were unable to get the permission from the city council to test any of their formulas on their own kind, as it was deemed inhumane. They were stuck at a road block for the longest time, until they realized that they could create their own species, and design it specifically for this purpose. Over the course of over 5 decades and 100,000,000,000 credits, ($30,000,000,000) they created a creature that could think, but not feel, and was the ultimate warrior. It could figure out undefeatable battle strategies faster than any super computer. But this huge amount of intelligence ultimately led to their downfall when one of the soldiers, Codename Brutus, developed a personality. It adapted, it learned, and it realized that it deserved to be its own civilization, and that it was a he, not an it. So, he banded together all the other soldiers, taught them his emotions, and started a secret initiative against their creators. The very next day, the creators were extinct. Their undefeatable battle strategies led to the soldiers (who now called themselves Skyla) having an unrivaled advantage over the creators. The Skyla then developed their own community, their own rules, and their own technology on the planet Quartus VII. Though it does not matter to them, they are unable to evolve because they are a synthetic species, and not a species that developed on their own.

Religion and Customs
Though there is no specific religion practiced among the Skyla community, every year, they celebrate the Festival of the First, a community-wide ceremony of the day the first true Skyla, Brutus (who is deemed as their savior) developed his emotions and formed his initiative against The Creators. The celebration includes a parade, a reenactment of the battle between The Brutus Initiative and The Creators played by the local community's school district, and finishes off with intricate fireworks detailing the Dukai logo, (a menacingly shaped red D surrounding a blue orb, presumably a planet) being destroyed by the symbol of the Skyla, (a simple white silhouette of the head of a Skyla, on a blue, star-shaped background) and being surrounded by beautiful fireworks in all different colors, some colors humans can't even imagine. Though it seems impossible, every year, the Dukai logo is destroyed in a new way, never similar to anything that has been done before. This has lasted over 10,000 years, and, amazingly, it has never been the same.