Ice Kreelies
Description
Adult Ice Kreelies have sky blue skin, four legs, a humanoid torso and two arms. The head sits on a long neck and features a long, pointed, hanging nose, two antenna and large black eyes. Adult Kreelies are about the same size as humans, but their slender, forward-bowing tails reach up to about 3 meters in height. 2004-06-02 Life expectancy of Ice Kreelies is up to a hundred years.
Kreelies reproduce by laying eggs in cold places, which are subsequently fertilized by the male. Typical litter size is about 15, but only few of the hatchlings survive to become sapient juveniles 2004-06-03. The baby Kreelies are only about 5 inches long, six-legged and already have the long nose, tail and antennas. They are often sold as exotic pets or - if especially unlucky - end up as delicacies 2000-08-27. Sergeant Schlock, unfortunately, finds them delicious; see 2000-08-27, and 2004-05-31.
In order to attain human level intelligence the juvenile Kreelies need to be infected with specific microbes by their parents during their second growth spurt, otherwise they only develop an intelligence level comparable to a dog. 2004-06-24
Notable Members
Corporal T'Beki and Private Iiki serve in the crew of Captain Tagon in The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance 2004-05-31.
Notable Organizations
The home world of the Ice Kreely is Absn'te Prime. Part of their exports are young non-sapient Ice Kreelies sold as pets or delicacies. The government aggressively defends its monopoly on this trade against other traders, including Kreelies. 2004-07-30.
Appearances
Ice Kreelies make their first appearance in The Tub of Happiness 2000-08-27 as exotic pet and snack. Attempts to breed mutant Ice Kreelies on Europa were abandoned by World of Sidney after Tom McSony, then manager of the program, was eaten by one. 2001-09-30 Ice Kreelies appear again in a story arc in The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance 2004-05-31, where Tagon's Toughs take on the job of busting an Ice Kreely breeding farm.
Author's Note
[This space is reserved exclusively for Howard!]
Speculation
Given the high mobility of the noses of Ice Kreelies they are possibly prehensile.