Bring Out Your Dead

[Ametheliana]

What do we do with the bodies of dead soldiers while on a mission? Say the soldier has an ST backup waiting for them, have been killed, and the combat/mission is underway with no close base camp, etc. What do we do with them? In some species' cases, the body falling into enemy hands seems like it should be avoided.

 

[Andrew]

Don't quote me on this, because I've never seen it handled this way but - I'd like to think in terms of Nekovalkyrja that the post-mortem hemosynth in the body would turn on its internal defense mechanisms to recycle the body, enabling some kind of rapid decomposition (the same way the fluid on ships breaks down waste) and finally the self-defending femtomachines would annihilate themselves to prevent unauthorized access to their technology. I've never seen it handled, but this is an assumption based on the properties of hemosynth/femtomachinery in associated technologies.

In terms of other species, I suppose it might be suitable for some kind of in-field cremation, though I'm unsure, to be honest. Some species like the Senti seem to have some pretty serious burial practices.

 

[Wes]

Bringing the body home is preferable but if it's not feasible you can destroy the body with an aether saber, incendiary grenade, or something suitably destructive to prevent the enemy from using it for propaganda, research, or whatever.

Nekovalkyrja bodies can self-destruct when they die, which is a good idea in some cases. They just dissolve into hemosynth goop.

Finally, and this is weird, but if you have the dead person's prior permission, you can legally eat the corpse.

 

[Ametheliana]

WOW! Just.... wow!

 

[demibear]

"Soylent Purple is people!!"

 

[Commissar Farzi]

Nah-all the meat in those MRE's had to come from somewhere.

 

[Soresu]

Funfact: The HSCS-3 fluid running through pipes in SAoY ships which is used for repairs and such can be turned into a fleshy mass and eaten. Yum!