Nest

The Nest was a Necromorph form found only in zero gravity, where it anchored itself to a surface and stood sentinel over large open spaces. Closely related in function to the Guardian, it could not move from where it had taken root, and it defended its area by hurling swarms of small, exploding Necromorphs at anything that came near.

Form and biology#

A Nest was formed from a female host fused back to back with at least one other body. Three fleshy, bulbous arms sprouted from the shoulders of the joined bodies, while their lower sections merged into a mass of flesh that anchored the creature to a surface, making it a sessile Necromorph much like the Guardian. To kill a Nest, those arms had to be severed; the rest of its form could not be harmed. When no threat was near, or when gravity was present, the Nest drew its bodies back inside its lower section to shield itself.

Nests grew only in the absence of gravity. They were known to develop on the Corruption or within larger Necromorphs such as the Nexus. The head of a Nest was notably larger than a human's, though the reason for its size was never established.

Behavior#

The Nest served as a sentinel, an area denial form adapted to guard large open areas without gravity. When an intruder entered its range, it emerged from its lower section and began thrashing its arms, releasing swarms of small, red-glowing Necromorphs that homed in on the target and detonated on contact. After each swarm it entered a brief refractory period of a few seconds before thrashing again. It had no close range attack of its own; when a threat came within a meter or two it simply withdrew into its lower section, invulnerable again until the threat moved away, whereupon it resumed its assault. Subjecting an active Nest to significant gravity forced it to retract and remain inert until zero gravity returned.