Shade

What are the Shade?
The Shade are a silicon based life-form that feeds on Silicon and different types of acid in the same way humans feed on Carbon and Water, they use it in the same way humans do. Not only do they feed on Silicon though, they also feed on Naquadah, Trinium, Neutronium as well as other highly conductive metals and gases.

As a silicon based life-form, they are crystalline in structure. They reproduce asexually by planting "eggs" which resemble small shards of crystal, into the ground on a "nursery planet" which has been seeded with a large amount of naquadah and other highly conductive metals. The Shade egg grows in the same way a crystal does, taking on the properties of the minerals around it. Gestation time is currently unknown.

Despite their strange appearance, the Shade are confirmed to have a type of Hyperspace Technology, as well as a "freeze ray" type of weapon which may in fact be a natural ability and necessary for their survival.

The largest shade observed, the "Giant" Shade, are also confirmed as being able to draw enough energy out of an O Class Star and control its supernova. Several Dozen can absorb all the energy of such a Star.

What sets the Shade apart from most other species is the the diversity among the single Genus. At the moment, 6 different types of Shade have been seen, from small dog sized creatures, to Earth Moon sized creatures capable of opening up in a butterfly shape.

Class 1 Shade Creature (Sparkies)
Named Sparkies for their dog like behavior, they sport tough forelimbs and can rapidly move along uneven terrain. Roughly shaped like a spider with 6 legs (4 of them are small and hardly noticeable), its tough crystalline exoskeleton allows it to take a significant amount of punishment before attempting retreat.

Their primary goal appears to be digging exploratory tunnels in the ground to gauge how much and what type of raw minerals are in the ground, as well as serving as a front line unit against any potential resistance. The Olim Database comments that these creatures have little regard for their own health and often leap straight into fire if there’s a chance they can succeed.

Extreme caution should be taken if you see one as more than likely there are another two if not ten of them along with their larger cousins.

Class 2 Shade Creature (Gremlins)
Named Gremlins for their inherent tendency of latching onto ships, buildings, and any other man made structure, these Shade are the most dangerous unit of the Shade evolved specifically to protect the larger craft.

Variously sized from that of a large desk to a jumper, it uses a form of Naquadah to power an organic thrust system to give it flight capabilities. A trio of short tentacles act as thrust vectoring and it clearly outclasses any man made flight vessel. Added to this are two large fore arm spikes that it uses to dig in the ground to get to the Naquadah it needs to fly… or to tear a Jumper open like a can of sardines.

First encountered by the Traveler ship Hylea, the Olim database states that this is often the most dangerous form of the Shade encountered as well as the most commonly encountered on its own. It requires combined large rifle caliber fire (At least 7.62mm), Railgun fire, or heavy armor piercing explosives in order to defeat.

Unless heavy weapons are available, retreat and regrouping is the best option.

Class 3 Shade Creature (SchoolBus)
Named a school bus because when they arrive to a planet, swarms of Sparkies and Gremlins burst forth onto the scene. Designed almost specifically as a troop carrier of sorts, it uses an unknown system of hyperdrive to move from star to star. It is the equivalent of a Small Aircraft carrier in Earth terms. Relies on its complement for food and hydration collection. Shaped like a fat cigar, it is a true show of function over form. Requires fighter craft to engage or several anti-air/tank weapons.

One of these was seen by AR-1 on the Shade Nursery planet acting as a sort of caretaker, feeding and promoting growth of the 'unborn' Shade. It evidently had a "heat ray" as well the "freeze ray"

Class 4 Shade Creature (Tinmen)
First seen by yours truly, they are nothing like the Star Trek Counterparts they are named after beyond being an organic life form that lives in space. Their primary role seems to be to sift through the remains of shattered planets for raw materials and the heat from the exposed cores. Also known as “Resource Nodes” they can ‘piggyback’ other Shade and serve as a Cruiser of sorts.

Their only long range weapon is a heat/energy sink beam that seems to negate our shield technology. However at the size of a Wraith Cruiser and much stronger materials, it will physically latch onto ships to drain their energy and consume the raw materials. First encountered by the Expedition by Lt. Col. Marks and the Daedalus during our initial recon mission.

They are shaped roughly beetle like and the large appendages can be used to latch onto materials or ships for consumption. Only ship based weapons stand a chance of defeating it, though a single Tinman was destroyed by Daedalus engaging in the "Fratboy" Manuever.

Class 5 Shade Creature (Unnamed as of Yet)
Not seen very frequently by even the Olim, these creatures are the by far strongest of the Shade. At the roughly the size of the province of Ontario (I kid you not, the Olim are very specific that these things are ridiculously huge), their primary role is planetary strip mining as far as the Olim have been able to deduce.

Shaped like a crumpled up paper ball with a giant spike on one end, they can unfurl into large almost butterfly like shapes that span thousands of miles. We have found out that they expand in such a way in order to absorb the energy released by a Supernova. A single Giant Shade is nowhere near large enough to do it alone, but dozens can absorb an entire O Class Star.

Unknown Class of Shade
Observed on the Shade Nursery planet, AR-1 reported that it was similar it size and shape to a "Gremlin", but had four large legs that it used to walk around. It also "laid" eggs and drew the heat out of recently activated Stargate.

Chuck's Coles Notes on the Shade
''The following information has been collated and organized by Lieutenant Charles “Chuck” Campbell, new head of Atlantis Human Resources, based on recorded information recovered from the Jumper on Magna Secundus, Shared Olim Intelligence, as well as first hand accounts from various expedition members. Make sure to reply to this forwarded collated e-mail with a confirmation of receipt.''

From: Lieutenant Chuck Campbell

To: Atlantis Personnel 

Re: The Shade (Origins)

While their real name for themselves in unknown, the “Shade’ is a colloquial term given to these creatures by the Olim as when they arrive over a planet, typically their numbers are so great that it blocks out the majority of the light from the sun/stars. (If you’ve watched 300, you know what I’m talking about)

Curious little buggers as he'd say, Carson has some theories as to how they could have come into existence.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Doctor Carson Beckett

To: Lieutenant Charles Campbell 

Re: The Shade (Origins)

Yes, while it is true we do not as of yet know precisely where the Shade have come from examination of their remains have brought us a rudimentary understanding of their physiology.

Silicon based life is not all that dissimilar to carbon based life, but due to limitations of the element itself, its actually very unusual for this to have happened naturally.

Which is why after testing, I and Reyna are both convinced that the Ancients had a hand in helping this species along. On closer examination, there are aspects to the genome of the creatures themselves which defies reason.

One of the most obvious things that seem to defy explanation, would be the genetic structure or “handedness” of the material itself. Without going into a very technical explanation, Carbon has both “left” and “right” handedness in it’s protein chain combinations. This allows a variety of life and many different kinds of proteins necessary for life.

Silicon is only one “handed” in this sense, but examinations of the Shade remains we’ve brought back shows both ‘handed’ proteins. There actually appears to be a splicing of Naquadah joining the proteins together, not unlike the Goa’uld protein marker in some respects.

Their physical properties are quite unique. Instead of skin, the creature forms a hardened silicon exoskeleton. Between each individual section, a softer membrane resembling Kevlar allows for a significant range of motion while remaining air tight.

The different creatures we’ve encountered seem to be different genus of the same species. For a relatable analogy, think of a small dog compared to some larger dogs.

In lieu of an inner skeleton and other proportioned organs, the creature seems to use a system of bladders that act as each type of organ needed for life, as well as support for movements. I’ve been able to identify organs that function like lungs, stomachs, and even one particularly powerful one that acts like a heart that pumps it’s hydration.

Speaking of which, should anyone encounter a wounded Shade, stay away. All Shade we’ve encountered use some form of acid as hydration. I’ve theorized that this is to keep the Silicon the creatures are made of from oxidizing. Unlike Carbon life, which when oxidizes creates Carbon Dioxide (what we breath out) the Shade instead produce Silicon Dioxide, which is a solid sand-like crystalline material. While not directly, a similar silicon/carbon hybrid creature we encountered expunged this waste in both an acid paste form, and a blowhole of sorts.

One very important thing we’ve discovered. The larger Shade Creatures appear to have a projectable heat sink that draws in heat energy from the targeted area. For sake of simplicity, we’re calling it a “Freeze Ray” even though it’s technically inaccurate. Colonel Carter can explain in more detail.

Much more research needs to be done and with the Shade creature that came through the stargate during the evacuation of the Olim colony, I hope to learn much more.

From: Lieutenant Chuck Campbell

To: Atlantis Personnel 

Re: The Shade (First Hand experiences)

From my own experience aboard the Daedalus last month. I can tell you that it’s not pleasant to fight these things (even under the Daedalus’s shields.)

It was much faster than we expected, and from what I could see, the ship sized creature actually healed its injuries from our railgun and missile attacks as it fell back.

Below are the first hand experiences of our people who have encountered Shade.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Alicia

To: Chuckles

Re: The Shade (First Hand Accounts)

The first ones we engaged were on the ground, little nasty buggers that acted with a pack mentality. Our heavier weapons (SCAR’s) were enough to hold them back and even kill quite a few of them, but there were just so many that it was impossible for us to take them all down.

Personally, I found aiming for the joint between the forearms was a good tactic. Once it had lost an arm, it couldn’t move nearly as fast and was easier to aim for. They didn’t seem too interested in actually fighting us though. It was almost as if we were just an annoyance compared to what they were trying to do.

Stick together with your teammates, aim low, and hold the trigger. That’s the best advice I can give about these guys.

With the larger Shade, I think I should just mention that seeing as I have the most experience fighting them (That’s 4 kills mind you. Do I get an Ace pin when I kill another since they were all in a Jumper?) I can say that you will need heavy weapons. Drones seem to work best as they’re quite fast and maneuverable in the air despite their size, but an AT-4 or Javelin will do the trick quite well.

Given our experience on Magna Secundus, I don’t recommend using Stingers as the heat tracking system won’t properly target them. I’m sure Drake will be more than happy to tell you about his ‘almost’ kill.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Dan

To: Chucky Cheese

Re: The Shade (First hand experiences)

Well to start, I’ve killed 3 of the big ones, and around 5 or 6 of the smaller ones. I second Lisa’s suggestions on dealing with the larger ones as both times I had to use anti-tank weaponry.

With the smaller ones, I suggest aiming in between their forearms. It seemed to stun them when i hit them there and under combined fire they went down. I do agree about them not really paying too much attention to us unless we were directly threatening them.

About the “almost” kill, I do not recommend using the Stinger Launchers we have. The heat tracking failed miserably and the damn missile ended up nailing some burning bush. Talk about a waste of ordinance. I do have the second most number of kills for those big boys though. 3 of em using an AT-4 twice and a Javelin launcher.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

Fwd: Chucky Cheese

From: Major Alicia Vega

To: Lieutenant Dan Drake

Re: The Shade (First Hand Experiences)

Dan, don’t call me Lisa. I hated it in school and I hate it now. First and only warning. In fact, pass this to Chuck so everyone knows.

And we’re still on for Brawl, don’t think just because we’re faced with some unknown enemy of a completely different element I’m not going to take 20 minutes out of my life to kick your ass with Kirby.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Call me Dusty

To: Chucky 

Re: The Shade (First Hand Experiences)

Nasty motherfuckers. That first one we took out during the Sylek incident was an eye opener. It took about half a clip to take out one of the smaller ones and I don’t even think my bullets did any real damage to the big boys.

The acid thing Carson talked about is real. A lot of us got a ton of tiny burns from how close those little fuckers got before we could kill them.(I think I saw Colonel Sheppard with a bandage around his arm. I got a little slice on my cheek.)

If we’re going to meet these things again I think we should really work out some kind of trade with the Olim even though they’re dicks. Those Gauss Rifles looked pretty tasty and I want one.

Can we get some Colonel Carter? Please? Pretty please? I’ve got a crate of gum I’d be willing to trade!

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

Fwd: Chucky

From: Colonel Samantha Carter (Transcribed by Lt. Col. John Sheppard)

To: Sergeant “Dusty” Mehra

Re: The Shade (First Hand Experiences)

We’ll have to see Sergeant. There are a lot of things we’ll need to negotiate with the Olim over the coming weeks, so what I suggest you do if you’re willing to part with some things is to add your inventory to the manifest in the computer so we know.

I wouldn’t expect much in the way of weapons technology though. While their Gauss Technology is impressive, it’s nothing that we can’t achieve on our own or even improve upon.

As far as the Shade, Yes, they are very resistant to bullet fire and even seem to have instinctual predator traits. I only faced a few while on Magna Secundus but from what their Governor “Aulus” told me of them, they are highly intelligent and will adapt to your fighting style.

Colonel Sheppard has the most experience with the Shade as well as Olim Technology, I’ve asked him to write a small report and send it to Chuck. If you could do the same with this one?

Sincerely, Colonel Carter.

(Note from Sheppard: She’s watching me now. No more notes ;

(Note from Carter: He knows not to incite my wrath.)

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Sheppard

To: Chucknician 

Re: The Shade (First Hand Experiences)

Well since Colonel Carter is threatening me with a crutch, I don’t have much choice but to sit out of reach of her and type this out. (Note, She’s still threatening me).

To start, I agree with what everyone’s said so far. Tough. Little. Bastards. On more than one occasion during the evacuation, I fired what would have normally killed even a Wraith at one of the Shade and inflicted only superficial damage. It seemed that a kill only occured when we either got a lucky shot, or literally tore away a section of its exoskeleton.

The little dog like ones had the tendency to get close in and try and swipe at us with their forearms. At that range though, it was hard to miss and we got plenty of good shots in.

Dusty, i did slice my arm up pretty bad. Carson says it would probably scar but Rey brought some wacky cream out that should get rid of most of it. Burned like hell when it happened.

Both Drake and Alicia are correct. Aim for the exposed joints or the “face” as we’re agreeing to call it in order to get better shots. The exoskeleton is a lot tougher than it looks and will either reflect or just get chipped away by weapons fire.

I’ve already written about the Olim Armor, so you might want to go back and read that again. I will say that it gave me a significant edge over the smaller Shade, but against the larger ones I still had a hard fight. (Note from Carter: Just remembered, During my experience on Magna Secundus, Aulus explained that the Shade use a form of heat drawing organ to absorb heat from the surrounding area. The space ship sized Shade appear to have a larger form I witnessed that froze the area around the Olim Colony. More information will be released on a need to know basis.)

Like Carter just said, the bigger ones seems to have the ability to freeze things so it’s not just their sharp pincer things you need to be worried about. If they’re strong enough to tear a jumper open like a can of sardines, then I think our standard Kevlar or even Naquadah laced ceramic plates won’t hold up well.

I’ve agreed with Colonel Carter that information about directly engaging Shade from now on will be classified to a need to know basis. If you need to know, you will.

From: Chuck

To: Atlantis Personnel

Re: The Shade (Types)

So far we’ve been able to ascertain 5 different types of Shade, each type differing in size one to the other. I personally have only seen the large ship sized ones.

Based on the first hand experiences by our people, as well as intelligence the Olim have provided regarding the Shade. I’ve created a small list for easy referencing when discussing the different Shade. The Olim Material was rather long and obfuscating (love that word) so I’ve taken the liberty of making a “layman’s” version below for our own use.

- Small Sized Creatures / Olim Class 1 Shade '(Sparkies)' Creature: Named Sparkies for their dog like behavior, they sport tough forelimbs and can rapidly move along uneven terrain. Roughly shaped like a spider with 6 legs (4 of them are small and hardly noticeable), its tough crystalline exoskeleton allows it to take a significant amount of punishment before attempting retreat.

Their primary goal appears to be digging exploratory tunnels in the ground to gauge how much and what type of raw minerals are in the ground, as well as serving as a front line unit against any potential resistance. The Olim Database comments that these creatures have little regard for their own health and often leap straight into fire if there’s a chance they can succeed.

Extreme caution should be taken if you see one as more than likely there are another 2 if not 10 of them along with their larger cousins.

- Medium sized Creatures / Olim Class 2 Shade Creature (Gremlins): Named Gremlins for their inherent tendency of latching onto ships, buildings, and any other man made structure, these Shade are the most dangerous unit of the Shade evolved specifically to protect the larger craft.

Variously sized from that of a large desk to a jumper, it uses a form of Naquadah to power an organic thrust system to give it flight capabilities. A trio of short tentacles act as thrust vectoring and it clearly outclasses any man made flight vessel. Added to this are 2 large fore arm spikes that it uses to dig in the ground to get to the Naquadah it needs to fly… or to tear a Jumper open like a can of sardines.

First encountered by the Traveler ship Hylea, the Olim database states that this is often the most dangerous form of the Shade encountered as well as the most commonly encountered on its own. It requires combined large rifle caliber fire (At least 7.62mm), Railgun fire, or heavy armor piercing explosives in order to defeat.

Unless heavy weapons are available, retreat and regrouping is the best option.

- Medium-Large Creatures: / Olim Class 3 Shade Creature' (SchoolBuses)': Named a school bus because when they arrive to a planet, swarms of Sparkies and Gremlins burst forth onto the scene. Designed almost specifically as a troop carrier of sorts, it uses an unknown system of hyperdrive to move from star to star. It is the equivalent of a Small Aircraft carrier in Earth terms. Relies on its complement for food and hydration collection. Shaped like a fat cigar, it is a true show of function over form. Requires fighter craft to engage or several anti-air/tank weapons.

We have yet to see one of these up close, but judging from the information in the Olim Database (Which the above information is gleaned from) we won’t like it if we do see one.

Large Creatures / Olim Class 4 Shade Creature' (Tinmen)': First seen by yours truly, they are nothing like the Star Trek Counterparts they are named after beyond being an organic life form that lives in space. Their primary role seems to be to sift through the remains of shattered planets for raw materials and the heat from the exposed cores. Also known as “Resource Nodes” they can ‘piggyback’ other Shade and serve as a Cruiser of sorts.

Their only long range weapon is a heat/energy sink beam that seems to negate our shield technology. However at the size of a Wraith Cruiser and much stronger materials, it will physically latch onto ships to drain their energy and consume the raw materials. First encountered by the Expedition by Lt. Col. Marks and the Daedalus during our initial recon mission.

They are shaped roughly beetle like and the large appendages can be used to latch onto materials or ships for consumption. Only ship based weapons stand a chance of defeating it.

Giant Shade Creatures / Olim Class 5 Shade Creature' (Unnamed as of Yet)': Not seen very frequently by even the Olim, these creatures are the by far strongest of the Shade. At the roughly the size of the province of Ontario (I kid you not, the Olim are very specific that these things are ridiculously huge), their primary role is planetary strip mining as far as the Olim have been able to deduce.

Shaped like a crumpled up paper ball with a giant spike on one end, they can unfurl into large almost butterfly like shapes that span thousands of miles. It is as of yet unknown why they can do this

It can’t be confirmed, but we suspect one of these was the craft observed over Magna Secundus.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Call me Dusty

To: Chucky 

Re: The Shade (Types)

Great list, but you’ve got too much time on your hands Chuck. You should call the big ones “Death Stars”.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Alicia

To: Chuckles

Re: The Shade (Types)

That’s actually not bad. I feel bad that I lol’ed at Gremlins. (It’s a good thing nothing bad happens if these get wet.)

I think you should post that up as a memo or something to everyone. Might wanna ask Carter first though.

Are we taking votes on what to call the big ones? I say we stay away from another Star Wars joke.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Colonel Samantha Carter (Transcribed by Lt. Col. John Sheppard)

To: Chuck 

Re: The Shade (Types)

Great work Chuck! Feel free to post it up but keep any classified information out of it. I want everyone knowledgeable, but let’s wait till we have more facts before starting a panic.

And no, we’ll name the big ones when the time comes. Hopefully something people who haven’t watched the Star Wars Trilogy can understand.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Sheppard

To: Chucknician

Re: The Shade (Types)

I laughed for longer than I’d like to admit.

Make sure to get Marks to send you his report on the “Tinman” you guys encountered.

And I agree with Sam, let’s leave anymore naming till we come to that point.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Lt. Col. Kevin Marks

To: Lt. Chuck Campbell

Re: The Shade (Types)

Good Job with that Chuck. Although the Sci-Fi references may fly over the Traveler’s heads, most of it is understandable.

The “Tinman” as you put it, was a lesson for us all. Do NOT underestimate these creatures. They are completely immune to our energy weapons but seem sensitive to railgun fire.

As of this moment, 3 of the Traveler Ships, the Amenko, the Karyan, and the Udlex have been refitted with railgun technology. We are very low on proper ammunition though so most of the fleet is scavenging worlds nearby.

At this moment, Daedalus and Atlantis itself are the only weapons we have with enough strength to take on these larger Shade. They don’t seem to be openly aggressive though so we may have that advantage.

Fwd: Atlantis Personnel

From: Larrin

To: Chucky

Re: The Shade (Types)

Continuing what Marky Mark was talking about, our technical staff has been able to reverse engineer your railgun technology (not like it was difficult) to match our power sources and hardware. As he said though, ammunition is a problem besides some other issues with the ships themselves.

Anyone with any welding experience or who wants to learn to weld and refit our ships should come see me right away. With Atlantis pretty much back to normal except a few key systems, I think it’s time we diverted our attention to reverse engineering as much advanced technology as we can as well as refitting our ships so they’re effective in this galaxy.

Fwd: Atlantis Command Staff

Fwd: Chucky

From: Sam (Transcribed by Lt. Col. John Sheppard.)

To: Larrin

Re: The Shade (Types)

Agreed, I’m going to be holding a general conference in a few days (Note from Sheppard: We’ll see what Carson has to say about that) to go over our plan for the next few months in all aspects of the city. Give this to Chuck and make sure he gets it to all the command staff please. There’s a lot more we need to discuss about the Shade and it’s going to take us awhile.