Mmrnmhrm

The Mmrnmhrm (pronounced ma-murn-muherm) are a fictional race of aliens from the sci-fi computer game Star Control.

Origins

The Mmrnmhrm were an entirely robotic, though sentient, race of unknown origin. It was later revealed that a "Mother Ark" mothership (possibly a Precursor artifact) had appeared within the vicinity of Procyon, began manufacturing numerous Mmrnmhrm and then either stopped by design or malfunctioned. Not much else is known, although the Mmrnmhrm may share an origin in common with the Daktaklakpak.

Physiology

Physically, the Mmrnmhrm are robotic beings that resemble a series of metal disks. A sensor device of some sorts inhabits the top disk, probably acting as "eyes" to the Mmrnmhrm.

Language

The entire Mmrnmhrm language consists of what humans would consider consonants.

Culture

Little is known about the Mmrnmhrm culture. The common belief is that the Mmrnmhrm are terraforming advance group preceding a colonizing alien race. Whether or not that is actually true may never be known. The Mmrnmhrm were peaceful in their expansion, as noted by the cowardly Spathi high council: "They have attempted to colonize a planet within our sphere of influence. When we requested that they kindly leave, they did and never bothered us again". Seeing how the cowardly Spathi wouldn't have used force or even issued threats, the Mmrnmhrm withdrawal indicates their inhostility.

Aftermath

After the Alliance of Free Stars lost the war to the Ur-Quan, the Mmrnmhrm began a process by which they merged with the Chenjesu to form the Chmmr. It is believed that no "pure blooded" Mmrnmhrm or Chenjesu existed after the Process has been complete.

Mmrnmhrm Transformer

General Description: Commonly referred to as the X-form or X-former, the Mmrnmhrm Transformer's greatest power lies in its versatility. While most ships are vulnerable either to quick hit-and-runs attacks by fast ships or cannot hope to match the bigger ships' firepower and large crew complements, The Mmrnmhrm is one of merely three ships that can always do something against the enemy, regardless of which ship they are flying against. In competent hands, the Transformer is more than a match to nearly any ship.

• Crew Complement: Fair
• Battery Size: Poor

Special System: Transformation Linkages: At the power cost of its entire battery the Mmrnmhrm switches from the slow but agile wings-to-the-side configuration (henceforth referred to as Laser-form) to a swift, slow-turning wings-pulled-back configuration (henceforth referred to as Jet-form). In this transformation mechanism lies the entire power of the Transformer, in effect introducing two different ships into one. As seen in the following description, the linkages give the Transformer a very good speed, good turning rate, good acceleration, long-ranged standoff weapons and the ability to inflict massive damage. When correctly twined, the combination of both configurations turn the Transformer into one the finest ships you'll ever fly.

• Battery Cost: Full Battery
• Damage: None

Description: Laser-form: The standard Laser-form, reminiscent of our own Earth fighter jets, is very slow but can turn on a dime to bring its dual cone-shape-firing lasers to bear. Extremely useful against small ships that rely on evasiveness to bring their short-ranged weapons to bear such as the Arilou Skiff and Pkunk Fury. The massive damage the Lasers do allows an experienced pilot to use the Jet-form's immense speed to close in quickly, transform to Laser-form, inflict a short but harmful burst of lasers and then sail away quickly, returning to the Jet-form.

• Acceleration: Good
• Speed: Very poor
• Turning Rate: Superb
• Battery Regeneration: Superb
• Weapon: Dual lasers, firing in a cone shape.
• Weapon Range: Very short
• Weapon Power: Extreme
• Battery Cost: Extreme

Description: Jet-form: The Jet-form is the complete anti-thesis to the Laser-form. Sacrificing the turning rate and massive damage, The wings-back configuration uses an afterburner to achieve great speeds and uses twin missile launchers in a slow attrition battle against the bigger, stronger ships like the Ur-Quan Dreadnought. The Jet-form is very ineffective against fast ships that can match its speed and is only useful at standoff range. Evading long-ranged shots with the Jet-form is an art difficult to master.

• Acceleration: Superb
• Speed: Very Good
• Turing Rate: Very Poor
• Battery Regeneration: Fair
• Weapon: Twin Guided Missile Launchers
• Weapon Range: Very Long
• Weapon Power: Each missile does one point of damage
• Battery Cost: Low
• Missile Turning Rate: Poor