Mynock/Legends

"Mynocks. Probably chewing on the power cables."

- Han Solo

A mynock was a silicon-based parastical organism found across the Galaxy that was often seen leeching power from spacecraft. In addition, they could absorb matter from a ship's hull causing hull breach, and if not caught in time, catastrophic failure.

Anatomy


They were considered parasites by pilots and starport personnel, and failure to properly shake them off in orbit before landing could result in quarantine.

Mynocks were one of the few species that could live in the vacuum of space. They had bat-like wings which they could use to fly in atmospheres. However, they were often limited to the vacuum of space due to an allergy to helium found in the atmosphere of many planets. This allergic reaction would cause them to inflate and nearly explode before dying. Many spacewalking sport hunters would kill mynocks by attaching helium-based grenades to them in what was called "Mynock Puffing".



They fed on electrical, stellar, and electromagnetic energy, and thus could become stuck to power cables or ion ports on ships and structures. The energy was absorbed through a big sucker-like mouth located between their eye stalks. Some Mynocks had legs, while others were legless. In atmospheres, a mynock produced a loud, piercing screech. As they lacked any major organs, they reproduced by mitosis, but only after they had consumed enough material required for replication. A few subspecies appear to have existed, including one that had a normal mouth, rather than a sucker-like one, and another that had blue skin and gave birth to live young.



They were commonly eaten by another silicon-based creature, the space slug. Swarms of mynocks could be found alive, flying around a space slug's innards for a long time before they start to become digested. While living in a slug, they could obtain sustenance by feeding on its veins and intestinal lining. Despite being a silicon-based lifeform, a properly prepared mynock could also be ingested by carbon-based life forms; they were sometimes used in Twi'lek cuisine, such as Mynock Coronet City.

Mynocks tended to flock together, generally in a pack of ten, however could migrate annually in large groups. The most notable of these migrations were the famed migrations of Roon, where the sky could literally become darkened from swarms of these creatures. They tended to protect territory in which they resided and would attack in larger numbers if they felt threatened. It is possible that they communicated using pheromones, telepathy, or even through a hive mind.

Subspecies of mynocks included the salt mynock and sulfur mynock of Lok.

The Mynock in culture


Because mynocks were generally considered to be loathsome pests, the word "mynock" was used as a disparaging term. However, in recognition of the mynock's skill at evading attack, the Jedi Order named a form of lightsaber combat after the beast: Soresu.