Monstrous Mondays: Lunar Rock Aliens

In the early pre-diasporic period of space exploration, Rock-Spider/Crab aliens were discovered on the Moon.  These discoveries occurred in great secrecy in the 1970s. The first encounter occurred during a Soviet mission to the Moon using an advanced model of the LK Proton Lander. This 2-man landing ended with a complete crew loss under highly disturbing circumstances. It opened up an era of covert cooperation between the US and Soviet Union's military and space agencies.

The ill-fated Soviet mission was followed-up by Apollo 18's covert Moon landing (N.B., Apollo 18 was officially cancelled as part of the public termination of the Apollo Program at the end of 1972). Apollo 18's LEM excursion proved as equally disastrous as the earlier Soviet mission.

The Lunar rock aliens take two forms: they appear as Moon rocks until disturbed. The exact cause of disturbance is unclear, but is probably multicausal, including light, movement, heat, and psychic radiation from living creatures. The lunar creatures also seem to be disturbed by the presence of alien materials and machines, as one surmises from their acts of destruction against both the Soviet and U.S. flags raised on the moon, as well as from their vandalism directed at the Lunar Rover.

Once disturbed, however, they take the form of deadly crab-spider creatures with extremely sharp pincer-like legs. The majority of Lunar rock creatures encountered were the size of rats. However, boulder-sized versions of the creatures were also observed.

http://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Rock_Aliens_(Apollo_18)

In this video, you can see the Lunar rock creatures in action, including their grisly helmet-swarm attack:

This discovery provided further evidence for the existence of several forms bi-phased quantum-locked rock creatures. These creatures generally have two states: a fixed-in-stone form, and a more fluid, animal-like predatory state. Known terrestrial forms include the so-called gargoyles known as the Lonely Assassins, and North American brick-to-monkey cryptids which are common in cellars in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. What the several varieties rock creatures also have in common are stealth-to-swarm predation modalities, as well as a high risk profile for contamination/contagion. In the case of the Lunar rock creatures, contagion takes the form of a violent psychosis. Whether contagion is a common characteristic of all quantum-locked rock creatures or simply a case of convergent evolution is unknown.

The Lunar form seems particularly  prolific and potentially ubiquitous. It was undoubtedly a potent deterrent to Lunar settlement.

References: 

• http://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Rock_Aliens_(Apollo_18)
• www.lunartruth.com

OGL MECHANICS

Skills:

• Super (+5): Pincer-stab
• Great (+4): Flesh-burrow, Intimidation
• Good (+3): Agility, Survival (Lunar Surface), Survival (Hard Vacuum) 
• Decent (+2): Alertness,  Intimidation, Resolve, Survival (Weightlessness) 
• Average (+1): Might, Stamina, Stealth, Strength, Tactics

Stress Tracks: Health 3, Composure 5

Stunts:

• Quantum Lock: The Lunar Rock creature may change state from Rock to Spider-Crab or from Spider-Crab to Rock by spending 1 Fate Point.
• Swarm Attack: Lunar Rock creatures attack in swarms of 3-30. Roll 1 d10 x3 to determine how many appear in an active Spider-Crab state. The number rolled on the d10 also determines how many Fate Points the swarm possesses for the period of the attack. At the end of a scene, the entire swarm will return to quantum-locked rock state with the loss of 1 Fate Point. 
• Induce Psychosis: Each Lunar rock creature can spread contagion inducing a violent psychosis in humans. Treat this as a +5 attack vs. Composure.

ASPECTS

• There's never just one of us
• You won't notice until it's too late
• There's always one more of us