Grenademole

Grenademoles are a species of small mammals, native to the planet Torrna.

Biology and appearance

Grenademoles are small, mole-like creatures that closely resemble landmines. Their bodies are covered on all sides by tough, solid shells, the grooves of which resemble those of pineapple grenades, and they have bright red noses. Their heads are covered in the antennaed hard plates responsible for their mine-like appearances when they are buried in the dirt, and also have fuse-shaped whiskers and beady red eyes. Their hands and feet are large, relative to their miniature body size, and they have sharp, prominent claws.

They are a self-sacrificing species, capable of detonating at any moment and exploding into sharp fragments, devastating their enemies. Because they seem to detonate themselves with such eager willingness, nobody actually knows for certain how long their natural lifespan is, though it’s estimated to be around three years. They breed rapidly and produce many young, with their species’ survival on the battle-scarred planet Torrna being ironically dependent on their explosive nature.

Natural abilities

Grenademoles’ main form of attack comes in the shape of burrowing themselves below ground, where they lie in wait for their enemies to inadvertently step on them. When this happens, the grenademole detonates instantly. Using their antennae, they can also detect movement above the ground in order to position themselves directly in their enemy’s path. Despite this, they rarely attack lone targets, but instead await larger groups, preferring to use their one chance of attack in order to take out as many targets as possible.

Using their large, sharp claws, grenademoles are excellent diggers. Their whiskers act like burning fuses, signalling their impending detonation – but not for long. Collectively, they have no fear of death, and they cannot understand why other species do. All they fear is failing to go out with a proper bang.

Weaknesses

One weakness of a grenademole is its high risk of friendly fire, as even with their tough shells grenademoles are not immune to the explosive detonations of their own kind. They are also partially blind – this is not a problem for them below ground, but it puts them at a serious disadvantage above it. Finally, and most critically, they only get one chance to unleash their primary weapon, for their self-detonation is always fatal whether it harms anyone else or not.