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DECRYPTION OF AN UR-QUAN TRANSMISSION: AN
ESTIMATION OF THE CAPABILITIES OF ALLIANCE WARSHIPS
June 2612.
Ur-Quan Dreadnought Report, Talking Pet Transcription
A review of the abilities of Ships of the Alliance of
Free Stars demonstrate an inferior capability — underpowered
vessels of primitive technology lacking in armor, and
commanded by specimens of inferior races.
Of all the Alliance races, only the crystal-based culture of
the Chenjesu Broodhome offers a serious test to Hierarchy
commanders. Dreadnoughts are hereby instructed to obliterate
the upstarts at every opportunity, sparing none. Associated
Hierarchy members: Your well-being depends upon the faithful
execution of Ur-Quan directives. Failure to eliminate
Alliance ships will result in severe and immediate
censure!
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C h e n j
e s u
"Great Crystal One's" - ZoqFotPik
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Name: Chenjesu
Homeworld: Procyon II
Co-ordinates:
74.2:226.8
Status: Extinct. Now merged with Mmrnmhrm to
become Chmmr.
Sphere of Influence: Non-existant Formerly
large...
Formal Affiliations: Old Alliance of Free Stars
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Religion: Probably spiritualistic
Ship name: Broodhome
Primary Weapon: Crystal Shard
Secondary Ability: D.O.G.I.
(De-Energizing Offensive
Guided Interceptors)
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Commander Hayes on the Chenjesu
The Chenjesu were the leaders of the Alliance, even
though they refused to accept formally the title.
If odn't know if their silicon-based biology is
just plain superior to our carbon models of if
their fantastic intellects were the product of an
ancient, peaceful culture. Whatever the reason,
I'd rather be taking orders form a Chenjesu than
any other life-form, absolutely. One of the more
amazing things about them was that they never used
Hyperwave communicators. They could send messages
naturally and their natural HyperWave receptors
were much more sensitive than even our best units.
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The Ur-Quan on the Chenjesu:
The Chenjesu are the most potent of the
Alliance races. Crystalline in substance, existing
on electric energy, they control both electrical
and crystalline life forms. The Chenjesu is a
philosopher-race; their highest achievement is “The
Book of Bzzbezzu Kzaaz,” no better than a
fourth-eon Ur-Quan Quardmaster’s ruminations. The
Chenjesu operate a marginal defense establishment
by Ur-Quan standards..
Summary: A race of rudimentary accomplishments, by
the standards of Ur-Quan society. Still, Chenjesu
Broodhomes may pose some threat to lesser Hierarchy
vessels.
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From the SC2 Manual
This race is the only known form of silicon-based
life-form to have achieved intelligence naturally.
The Chenjesu are the oldest, most technologically
advanced species in the Alliance, and while all
members in the Alliance are officially equal, the
Chenjesu are a bit more equal. Since this species
evolved as a photo/chemo-vore (it derives its
nourishment from light and ambient minerals) with
no natural predators, the Chenjesu are entirely
non-aggressive, preferring calm philosophical
discourse above all other activities.
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Ur-Quan on the Chenjesu:
In Alliance terms, the crystal-producing
creatures are wizards, their Broodhome warship the
proof of an advanced society. The Broodhome fires
large crystalline life forms, a large crystal which
fragments upon Chenjesu command and the D.O.G.I.,
which home in on a target and endeavor to steal its
energy by sucking it out through the hull.
Broodhome crew manufacture D.O.G.I.’s on board.
Though its maneuverability is limited, the vessel
is relatively powerful. The Chenjesu Broodhome
carries a sizable crew and a plentiful supply of
fuel
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From the SC2 Manual
The main weapon of the Chenjesu, the photon crystal
shard, is versatile for both offense and defense.
As long as the fire button is pressed, the shard
continues on its way. If you hit an enemy with the
whole crystal, it does a great deal of damage. If
the crystal misses, release the fire button while
it is still near the enemy ship and the shard will
explode into smaller pieces. Since the crystals do
not harm the Chenjesu, they can be exploded at
point blank range to create a kind of ack-ack. One
powerful ability of the Chenjesu is to launch
self-directed DOGIs (De-energizing Offensive Guided
Interceptor). These little drones can steal the
energy from ships, or just pester the enemy until
they are ready to give up (which is extremely
effective against the Jugger). The best
strategy for a Chenjesu is to keep a good distance
between itself and the enemy ship.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC2 Evaluation of the
Chenjesu:
The Chenjesu were greater than the Ur-Quan gave
them credit for. They cracked the Slave-Shield, and
could have come out and made a surprise attack on
the Ur-Quan. The Chenjesu, however, chose to merge
with the Mmrnmhrm and as such, are extinct and are
now the Chmmr.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC3 Evaluation of the
Chenjesu:
Actually, I'm surprised. The Syreen were able
to make mind contact with the Chenjesu, thus making
the Chenjesu - almost certainly - have a thinking
brain, not just crystilline, that the Syreen could
get 'in touch' with. Sorry guys - but the Chenjesu
are still extinct. Except in FanFic...
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Y e h a
t
"A Queen without honour is no Queen at all!"
- Zeep-Zeep Revolutionaries
Star-Faring Clans
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Name: Yehat
Homeworld: Gamma Serpantis I
Co-ordinates:
492.3:29.4
Status: Just merged with the Pkunk.
Sphere of Influence: Unknown due to unknown
results with merging Yehat & Pkunk.
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Formal Affiliations: Old Alliance of Free Stars,
Hierarchy of Battle Thralls, New Alliance of Free
Stars
Religion: Yehat Ancestor Worship (possibly
the Pkunk religion)
Ship name: Terminator
Primary Weapon: Double-Barrel Pulse
Cannons
Secondary Ability: Magnetic Shield
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Commander Hayes on the Yehat
The Yehat are a race of ancient warrior clans
who have been travelling the stars for many
centuries. The clans are highly competitive and
sometimes even wage war on each other; but the
clans are all loyal to the Queen and her royal
family, known as the Veep-Zeeps. The Veep-Zeeps
have been in power for over 2,000 years, and it is
said that during their rule the Yehat have never
lost a battle.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Yehat (SC1
Manual)
The Yehat are peculiar arboreal creatures who
pride themselves on their association with the wild
Shofixti. Yehats operate out of energized nebula
which Dreadnoughts have rarely entered. Unlike most
of the cowards of the Alliance, Yehats will not
unilaterally flee at the sight of a Hierarchy
vessel.
Summary: Primitive but proud, the Yehat violates
the basic rule of the Alliance: turn tail when a
worthy Hierarchy vessel blips onto a laser display.
Beware of the Terminator’s pulse cannon.
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From the SC2 Manual
The Yehat are a race of avian creatures who
live their lives in the pursuit of honor for their
clan, their Queen, and themselves through combat.
Physically, these creatures resemble a 3 meter high
hybrid between an old Earth pterosaur and a
bumble-bee. To succeed on their world, against
larger, faster competitors, they evolved a complex,
programmable neural control system – a thinking
brain – which allowed them to adapt to new
situations with lightning speed. Like Earthlings,
the Yehat entered space without the assistance of a
more advanced race. It is not surprising that they
grant Earthlings such high honor and status for the
same achievement. The Yehat have great pride that
they did not go through this uplift process, and
that their culture is totally intact. In fact, the
same ruling family has been leading the Yehat
people for over 2000 years, dating back far beyond
their Industrial Age. Given their intensely martial
society and advanced weapons technology, the Yehat
became the backbone of the Alliance Starfleet.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Yehat Terminator
(SC1 Manual)
Yehats fly a strange, darting ship, the
Terminator, carrying a high-energy force shield to
pro-vide immunity against enemy attack. The
Terminators’ shield derives from the race’s
electro-nebular origins. When activated, the shield
reduces the effectiveness of the ship’s main weapon
— an energy missile released from a pulse cannon.
Astonished Dreadnought commanders have reported the
absorption of moderate damage from the
vine-climbing-Yehats’ vessel. The Terminator is
usually dispatched by the actions of a pair of
Dreadnought fighters on special mission.
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The powerful and direct Yehat Terminator is the
earliest of all Star Control ships. The ship is
equipped with extremely powerful medium-range dual
cannons, as well as a shield that, when activated,
protects it from any weapon. Avoid the temptation
of exhausting all of your energy with your guns,
saving some for your shields. Also remember that
energy genera-tion on the Yehat ship is not
sufficient to maintain constant shield-ing. Lastly,
since Yehats are not particularly fast, they can
often benefit from a ‘Gravity Whip’ from the
planet. This allows them to strafe an opponent as
they go sailing past.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC2 Evaluation of the
Yehat
The Yehat are kind of in a stage of limbo. They
merged with the Pkunk, the Pkunk now represent them
in all discussions. The Yehat have virtually
been destroyed as a race - they are now the
Pkunk. In my eyes, the Yehat are, or might as
well be, extinct.
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M m r n m
h r m
Precursor Robots
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Name: Mmrnmhrm
Homeworld: Virginis Constellation.
(Delta?)
Co-ordinates:
290.8:26.9
Status: Merged with Chenjesu to become
Chmmr
Sphere of Influence: Non-existant (merged
with Chenjesu to become Chmmr). Formerly
medium-sized.
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Formal Affiliations: Old Alliance of Free Stars
Religion: Mother Ark worship
Ship name: X-Form (also called the
'Transformer')
Primary Weapon - Gun Form: Disecting
Laser
Primary Weapon - Jet Form: Fire-and-Forget
Missiles
Secondary Ability: Transformation (between
Gun and Jet Forms)
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Commander Hayes on the Mmrnmhrm
We didn't really get much of a chance to learn
about these mechanical beings, but I'll tell you
what I know. They are the product of a distant,
unknown culture who sent a great Factory Ark into
our region of space many centuries ago. The
Mother-Ark (that's what the Earth Press called it)
churned out thousands of robots, and then finally
broke down. I don't know why the Mmrnmhrm didn't
repair the Mother-Ark, maybe they can't. My
personal guess as to why they were sent here is
that they are the leaing edge of a colonization
profect and once the Mmrnmhrm have tamed enough new
worlds, the genuine colonists - whoever they are -
will arrive to claim their due.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Mmrnmrhm (SC1
Manual)
The Mmrnmhrm are a consonantal, robotic race
with an almost admirable level of technological
attainment — for a member of the Alliance, anyway.
These fragments of metal disks fear vowels nearly
as much as they do a Dreadnought closing in at
full-bore. ProtoQuotoSynthetic assembly of a
captured, splattered Mmrnmhrm indicates evolution
from a technologically competent progenitor. This
ancestral imprint may explain why a member of an
essentially laggard confederation has developed a
nearly clever ship.
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From the SC2 Manual
The Mmrnmhrm’s origin is mysterious. Less than
a thousand years ago, the first Mmrnmhrm awakened,
alone, on the surface of a dark, airless moon.
Looking up, the conical, segmented robot saw the
huge factory-starship which had just finished
manufacturing it by stripping the surface of the
moon for raw materials and then refining these
crude ores into final parts within its cavernous
interior. Within a few years, the star system
teemed with millions of intelligent, self-aware
robots who called themselves the Mmrnmhrm. These
non-hostile mechanical beings were assembled for
some kind of mis-sion by a distant alien race. When
born/built, each Mmrnmhrm awakens filled with
knowledge and purpose, though to date the Mmrnmhrm
have not revealed the exact nature of their
long-term mission. Within a century after the first
Mmrnmhrm was built, they had established peaceful
relations with the nearby Chenjesu and colonized
the adjacent stars in the Virginis constellation.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Mmrnmhrm X-Form
(SC1 Manual)
The “X-Form” appears in one of two guises: a
blocky, slow vessel which fires a laser, and a
quick, fighter-profile form which tries to counter
Hierarchy weapons with a missile. Mmrnmhrm captains
switch forms to save their craft, or, occasionally,
to mount a surprise charge.
Summary: An almost interesting robot race offering
a modest technological challenge. Still, Mmrnmhrm
X-Forms are fodder to Dreadnought comman-ders who
observe carefully their metamorphic tricks.
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The X-form is actually two ships in one. Its
special power allows it to transform from one form
into the other. The Y-Wing form of this ship is
fast but not very maneuverable, and it fires long
range homing missiles that do only a small amount
of damage. The X-Wing form is slow, but has good
turning capability, and fires a powerful
double-lance, convergent laser. One very effective
way to take advantage of this ship is to stay
mostly in the faster Y-wing form, transforming into
the X-Wing form only to make quick turns or ward
off would-be attackers when they get too close.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC2 Evaluation of the
Mmrnmhrm:
Well, the Mmrnmhrm are robots that merged with the
Chenjesu to become the Chmmr because the Mother Ark
borke down. That's pretty much it, short chapter
this time folks.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC3 Evaluation of the
Mmrnmrhm:
The Mmrnmhrm's involvement in SC3 was limited. We
discovered that the Chmmr CAN be bifurcated, that
the Mmrnmhrm are products of the Precursors that
the Daktaklakpak was supposed to scrub-up every now
and then.
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A
r i l o u . L a
l e e ' L a y
"...you could say we knew the first human."
Arilou
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Name: Arilou Lalee'Lay. (Arilou for
one)
Homeworld: Falayalaralfali
Co-ordinates:
Quasispace 613.4:590.0
Status: Dying by genetic anomalies caused by
Quasispace
Sphere of Influence: Hyperspace - small.
Only race in Quasispace.
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Formal Affiliations: Old Alliance of Free Stars, New
Alliance of Free Stars
Religion: Unknown. (any
suggestions?)
Ship name: Arilou Lalee'lay Skiff
Primary Weapon: Auto-tracking Laser
Secondary Ability: Teleportation
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Commander Hayes on the Arilou Lalee'Lay
I'd like to think I'm not a bigoted person,
Captain, especially when it comes to allies but
there is something about the Arilou that jsut gives
me the creeps. One thing I'll say for them,
though. They possess some technique for moving
REALLY fast through Hyperspace. They never let us
know what it was, but it sure beat the pants off
our fastest ships.
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Trade Master Greenish on the Arilou
Lalee'Lay
The Ariloulaleelay are a mysterious race of IDF
beings...IDF meaning, Inter-Dimensional
Fatigue...who do not reside in this galaxy, or in
fact, anywhere in this universe. While it is true
that the Arilou are rarely seen far from the
Columbae star group they do make regular, secret
visits to your world, and have done so for
centuries. Ever since Earth was slave-shielded,
they have focused their attention on the humans
aboard the starbase, many of whom are now members
of your crew. Thought the Ariloulaleelay always
smile and are never overtly hostile we believe that
they have a secret agenda which somehow involves
your planet, Earth. These secret plans may or may
not cause grief and woe to you Earthlings.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Arilou Lalee'Lay
(SC1 Manual)
A race of space elves, the Ariloulaleelay are
mischievous creatures. Previously tormentors of the
human race.
Summary: The Arilous will attempt to avert
inevitable doom by utilizing inertial-less drive
and multiple teleporting. Hierarchy commanders,
eliminate Skiffs before they resort to these
devices.
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From the SC2 Manual
Arilou (as individuals of this species are called)
are pale, about 1.5 meters tall, and have large,
childlike heads with dark, soulful eyes. Although
Arilou never talk (communicating through direct
telepathic link), they almost always wear a wide,
innocent smile. The Arilou may have visited Earth
often in the past, especially in the period between
1950 and the year 2000, during which they are
suspected of having been responsible for flying
saucer sightings, cropfield circles, alien
abductions and similar prankish behavior. The
Ariloulaleelay maintain great secrecy about
themselves and their motivations. The location of
their home-world, or even their native region of
space, is unknown, as is much else about these
beings. In fact, the very existence of the
Ariloulaleelay was not certain until the year 2116
when they appeared without warning on Earth’s moon
and asked to be inducted into the Alliance.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Arilou visited Earth frequently in the last
half of the 20th century, when they were
responsible for many flying-saucer sightings, crop
circles, alien abductions, and similar prankish
behavior. The Arilou are pale-skinned humanoids,
about 1.5 meters tall, with large, childlike heads
and dark, soulful eyes. While the Arilou do not
speak (they communicate through a direct telepathic
link), they have mouths, which are almost always
stretched in a wide, innocent-looking smile. The
Arilou Lalee'lay maintain great secrecy about
themselves and their motivations. In fact, their
very existence was not certain until the year 2116
when they appeared without warn-ing on Earth's moon
and asked to be inducted into the original Alliance
of Free Stars. After the last war the Arilou
disappeared and so they were never officially
offered membership in the League.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Skiff is best utilized by averting contact
through use of the inertia-less drive and
teleportation device. The Skiff's strategy is to
get in quickly while making effective use of its
swivel-mounted, auto-fire lasers, followed by a
hyper-jump away from the target before the enemy
can respond. If in direct conflict with a Skiff,
maintain your distance and attack the Skiff with
long-range weapons. Do not let the Skiff get into
close quarters with your craft!
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Arilou Skiff (SC1
Manual)
They fly the Skiff, a small vessel with
respectable turning speed. The Skiff’s propulsion
system features a novelty among Alliance crafts,
inertia-less drive. Skiffs accelerate with infinite
thrust, and cease forward motion upon command. The
Arilou ships fire auto-aim lasers, and can teleport
out of danger. The resulting hyper-jump whisks a
threatened Skiff randomly out of contact with an
enemy. Occasionally, the hyper-jumps result in the
spectacle of a Skiff’s instant destruction upon
collision with an unexpected astral body.
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From the SC2 Manual
An Arilou Skiff, when flown skillfully, can be
one of the most effective spacecraft. It’s speed
and inertia-less drive make it the most
maneuverable of all ships, and its special ability
to teleport can help it escape from fatal
situations. The Arilou Skiff has an auto-targeting,
swivel-mounted, short-range laser that pumps out
damage quickly. Unfortunately, the Arilou ship can
sustain only a minimal amount of damage itself. A
successful captain will use the teleport function,
as well as an opponent’s inertia, to move in
quickly along the rear or flank of the enemy ship,
unload from a full store of energy, and then fly or
teleport quickly away to recharge.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC2 Evaluation of the
Arilou Lalee'Lay:
Well, the Arilou Lalee'Lay is a race that is rather
fanatical over humans. This is basically a
parent-child relationship between the two -
partially because the Arilou know more, partially
because the Humans are rather self-genocidal. Right
now, the Arilou have a hidden agenda that they are
not about to share with Humans.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC3 Evaluation of the
Arilou Lalee'Lay:
The Arilou, as we all know, live in a Truespace
spot in Quasispace. Quasispace is rather damaging
to Arilou, because they are not native to
Quasispace. They moved there out of necessity - the
Eternal Ones feeding frenzy had started. They chose
to stay, they chose to perish. The Arilou had hoped
that humans could provide the gene necessary.
Humans told the Arilou where to go - the
parent-child relationship is over.
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S y r e e
n
"...then let us begin with the fundamentals of
basic Syreen psysiology..." - Commander Talana,
lights out
Warm, breathing pin-up's
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Name: Syreen
Former Homeworld: Syra
Co-ordinates:
Beta Copernicus I 600.8:263.1
Current Homeworld: Gaia
Co-ordinates:
Betelgeuse I 412.0:377.0
Kessari Homeworld: Astarte I
Status: Just released from slave shield.
Sphere of Influence: Unknown
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Formal Affiliations: Old Alliance of Free Stars
(unofficially), New Alliance of Free Stars, League
of Sentient Races
Religion: Unknown. (Any
suggestions?)
Ship name: Penetrator
Joke about the Ship's name:
Suggestion on what Earthling males would like to do
to the Syreen 'pin-ups'?
Primary Weapon: Punt gun
Secondary Ability: "Syreen Song" (A hypnotic
field)
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Commander Hayes on the Syreen
Most recruits see the Syreen as nothing more
than warm, breathing pin-up's. Warm, they are, and
yes, they do breathe most magnificently but
Captain, they are more than simple joy units.
Their history shows that the Syreen established and
maintained a peaceful sulture from their Bronze Age
through their discovery of starflight. Before their
planet was destroyed in a horrible cataclysm, their
world was an Eden.
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Trade Master Greenish on the Syreen
Like you Earthlings, when the war with the Ur-Quan
was lost the Syreen chose to be slave-shielded.
Their new world is at Betelgeuse. The Syreen's
starbase is crewed by the starship commanders and
crew who were decommissioned at the end of the war.
Though the Syreen hate the Ur-Quan with a
vengeance, they are unlikely to offer you
assistance unless you reveal to them the truth
behind the tragedy of their original homeworld,
Syra which was destroyed by the birth of a Mycon
'Deep Child' a century ago.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Syreen (SC1
Manual)
This race of humanoid females lacks a home
world and resorts to the cultivation of garden-like
starbases scattered through-out space. Since
Syreens are barred from recruiting from colonies,
they resort to seizing “volunteers” from colony
worlds which they conquer. Syreens rely upon
weapons of allure and hypnosis to achieve their
wicked Alliance aims.
Summary: Commanders, you are hereby instructed to
reject the melodic inducements of the Syreens. Keep
a reasonable distance from the Penetrator and
destroy.
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The Syreen people evolved on a paradise world in
the Arianni constellation where they built a great
artistic civilization in harmony with their
environment. No citizen of Syrea suffered want or
ignorance. Then, in 2035, a cataclysm of tectonic
upheavals tore lava-filled chasms across the
planet’s surface and irrevocably poisoned their
atmosphere. The disas-ter killed off almost all the
Syreen population – only those in the Syreen Space
Patrol were untouched. The male population, who
were rare in the Patrol, were virtually eliminated.
The Syreen Space Patrol collected what few
survivors could be found on the surface and
transformed their many orbital space platforms into
huge starships. In the following decades before the
War, the Syreen became wandering space-gypsies,
navigating their fleet of Habitats through the
starways, searching for a new planet of such
surpassing beauty that it would forever wash away
the pain of losing Syrea, their Eden. The Syreen
became unofficial members of the Alliance in 2120,
after suffering repeated Ur-Quan attacks on their
fleets of slow-moving Habitats. Adapting their
remaining Patrol vessels for combat, the Syreen
became a potent force in the fight against the
Ur-Quan. The single greatest weakness of the Syreen
star fleet, its severe shortage of trained
crew-members, was alleviated by Syreen scientists
who developed a psionic amplifier which could
compel even the most hostile alien to serve a
Syreen ship captain with perfect faithfulness.
Crews on board Syreen ships became a surreal
pastiche of alien races, with Ilwrath, VUX, Spathi
and others working dutifully side by side with
human volunteers under the command of beautiful
Syreen officers.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Syreen are bipedal humanoids,
physiologically quite similar to humans from Earth.
Their original homeworld was destroyed when a Mycon
Deep Child caused tectonic upheavals that
irrevocably poisoned their atmosphere. The
survivors in the Space Patrol (mostly female)
transformed orbital space platforms into huge
starships and began the search for a new homeworld.
The Syreen were unofficial members of the first
Alliance of Free Stars. To make up for their
depleted population, Syreen scientists developed a
psionic amplifier to compel even the most hostile
alien crew to serve a Syreen ship captain with
perfect faithfulness. Syreen crews can be a surreal
pastiche of alien races. When the first Alliance
was defeated by the Hierarchy, the Syreen opted to
be put under a Slave Shield on a home world chosen
for them by the Kzer-Za. In the last war, many
Syreen fought valiantly against the Hierarchy and
after the victory of the new Alliance, the new
Syreen homeworld was freed and they accepted
membership in the League of Sentient Races.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Syreen Penetrator
(SC1 Manual)
Syreens fly a rocket ship, the “Penetrator”,
powerful by Alliance standards, and rated QT1+ by
the Hierarchy’s Offense Analysts. The Penetrator
carries a full complement of wily Syreens; though
the Penetrator fires a puny missile, it prefers the
Syreen Song. A Penetrator’s Captain activates the
Song at close range, setting up a hypnosis field
designed to lure enemy crew from their ships via
airlocks. When successful, this nefarious ploy
depletes nearly all an enemy’s crew — but for a
sole holdout. The Syreens then attempt to kill the
undermanned ship with a rapid missile strike.
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From the SC2 Manual
This space vessel has the unique potential to leave
a battle much stronger than it enters it. The goal
of a Syreen ship is always to get close to the
opposing ship and use the Syreen call. This causes
the enemy crew from the opponent’s craft to jump
ship and drift through space towards the Syreen
ship. The Syreen can then pick them up and use them
as her own crew. One very effective trick is to use
the Syreen call and fire simultaneously. This way,
when your opponent has only one or two crew members
left, the Syreen can destroy them before they have
a chance to pick any of the crew back up again.
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From the SC3 Manual
A Penetrator forced to use its forward missiles
is made nearly ineffective. In order to gain the
advantage, the Penetrator must move in at
close-range, and engage its Syreen song. By coaxing
enemy crew from its vessel and picking up the
refugees the Penetrator can actually exit a battle
with more strength than it had when entering the
con- flict. The Syreen Song cannot pull the last
crew member from its craft, but a ship so badly
damaged is easily destroyed by a head-on attack
with the Penetrator's forward missiles. A
Penetrator is best engaged at a long distance, with
no short to medium range contact.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC2 Evaluation of the
Syreen:
The Syreen were put under a slave-shield, now they
are released. They hate and despise the Mycon for
wrecking their world, they have elevated humans
slightly, they still haven't implemented
Touch-o-Vision on all craft.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Post-SC3 Evaluation of the
Syreen
The Syreen are the same. They have proved that
they can work with the Mycon, though their liking
of the Mycon seems to have not changed. They have
proved their hypnotic skills by helping the
Chenjesu mentally. It's a GOOD thing that they
haven't implemented Touch-o-Vision.
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E a r t
h l i n g s
"!!!? -- WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SHIP IS THAT!?" -
Commander Hayes
Humans
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Name: Earthlings. (Recently promoted to
'Humans' - yay.)
Original Homeworld: Earth
Co-ordinates:
Sol III 290.8:26.9
Kessari Homeworld: Helios III
Status: Just released from slave-shield.
Sphere of Influence: Unknown
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Formal Affiliations: Old Alliance of Free Stars, New
Alliance of Free Stars, League of Sentient
Races
Religion: Various (Most recently "Homo Deus"
or 'Godly Men')
Ship name: Cruiser
Primary Weapon: MX Missiles
Secondary Ability: Point-Defense Lasers
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Earthlings (SC1
Manual)
Ur-Quan ProtoQuotoSynthetic reconstruction enjoyed
the process of assembling a profile of this amusing
creature. Earthlings are erect humanoids who
believe themselves to be technologically advanced.
In fact, the human race is mired in the mentality
and tools of the early post-Atomic age. Its
representatives alternate between threat and
appeasement. Its art is post-primitive, its system
of government a model of inefficiency featuring an
archaic system of organization — “bureaucracy,”
believed to induce submission in defiant
individuals. The Alliance commanders keep Star
Control under close watch, having witnessed
disasters such as the Earthling-Syreen crew
exchange and the accidental detonation of a
tactical “nuke” near an unsuspecting fleet of
Arilou Skiffs.
Summary: Hierarchy commanders, dispense with
Earthling Cruisers without mercy and without delay.
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SC3 Manual
Bipedal humanoids with two eyes and ears, plus one
nose and mouth. Humans vary in eye, hair, and skin
coloring from very light to very dark and range
between 1.75 and 2 meters tall. Humans, in general,
seem to be governed by a mixture of instinct,
emotion, and logic, with the latter influence
frequently being overcome by the first two and
varying greatly with personal beliefs. Humans can
be thoroughly good, thoroughly evil, or anything
between. Humans came late to the original Alliance
of Free Stars, but were the originators of the New
Alliance that defeated the Hierarchy and won the
last war. Star Control was a Human insti-tution
even before the first Alliance, and later formed
the basis of the space forces of the League of
Sentient Races.
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From the SC2 Manual
The Cruiser is the pride of the human fleet. It
is best utilized at a distance from the target
while firing its auto-tracking long-range tactical
nuclear missiles. It is also very effective at
close range with its point defense; however, at
medium ranges, just outside of thye reach of the
point defense lasers, the Cruiser's missiles may
not lock on in time to intercept the enemy. Vessels
with powerful medium-range weaponry will be
extremely effective at exploiting this.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Earthling Cruiser
(SC1 Manual)
The human ship, the Earthling Cruiser, is a
ponderous vessel. The Cruisers are a product of
20th Century American technology. Still
manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, in Middle
America, the Cruisers are one part Soviet booster,
one part Star Wars gadgets, and one part discarded
automobile parts. Powered by sur-plus Proton
boosters, the Cruisers are slow and vulnerable
(Androsynths enjoy picking them off for sport). The
Earthling Cruiser employs heat-seeking tactical
nuclear weapons. Its crew is multinational and
operates under the direct control of Star Control,
Earth’s military defense organization. The Cruiser
favors its Point Defense Laser, adapted from
antiquated U.S.A. Star Wars tech-nology. The P.D.L.
auto-targets and destroys incoming missiles at
short range; our missiles should evade this
primitive laser easily.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Earthling Cruiser is a vessel designed
primarily for hit-and-run long-range attacks. Stay
away from the enemy ship, and fire your seeking
nukes constantly! Use a Gravity Whip off of the
planet, if necessary to keep your distance, but be
careful not to collide with the planet. The only
reason ever to get close to an enemy ves-sel is to
make an honorable, point-defense laser “coup de
grace”, to eliminate the opponent’s last crew
member.
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S h o f i
x t i
"the sheer mass of your ship indicates that you
are nothing but a Ur-Quan slimewad!" Captain
Tanaka
The Makers of the 'Bomb with Thrusters'
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Name: Shofixti
Homeworld: Delta Gorno I
Co-ordinates:
290.8:26.9
Status: Newly Revitalized, genetic defects
probable.
Sphere of Influence: Small. Growth is
inevitable.
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Formal Affiliations: Old Alliance of Free Stars, New
Alliance of Free Stars
Religion: Yehat Ancestor Worship
Ship name: Scout
Primary Weapon: Mendokusai Dart
Secondary Ability:Glory Device
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Commander Hayes on the Shofixti
The Shofixti are a race of intelligent
marsupials who had been civilised for only a few
decades when the War began. They were discovered
in the Delta Gorno star system by the Yehat who
adopted and then 'uplifted' the Shofixti, giving
them advanced technology and cultural definition.
Shofixti are noble and fearless Warriors, Caption.
In addition, their incredible fecundity and rapid
maturation rate kept the Alliance ranks solid even
at the worst part of the War. You know, I once
flew as an observer aboard one of their ships on a
routine patrol; we never even saw the enemy bit I
could never stop thinking about the 'Glory Device'
it had strapped to the bottom of it's hull.
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Trade Master Greenish on the Shofixti
Just under 20 years ago, the brave and suicidal
Shofixti annihilated their species by exploding a
Precursor device - some kind of bomb - in the
interior of their sun.
The resulting storm of solar flares cooked the life
off the Shofixti homeworld and incinerated over a
hundred Ur-Quan Dreadnoughts which had just entered
the system to conquer the Shofixti.
In actuality, there are still at least a dozen
Shofixti left alive in the galaxy.
One or two are at Delta Gorno, guarding the dead
hulk of their once beautiful world.
Others can be found in VUX space
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Shofixti (SC1
Manual)
This primitive species of marsupial samurais
has been raised from the bottom by Yehat tutor-ing.
The Yehats, out of perceived kinship for a wild
race, transmitted some basic technologies to the
Shofixti — enough to make them worthy of Alliance
membership. The Shofixti practice Yehat Ancestor
Worship. The Shofixti possess a quality noticeably
lacking in much of the Alliance: bravery. Whether
the Yehats imprinted this attribute on the Shofixti
per-sonality — or whether it is a result of the
beasts’ inherent state — it serves them well in
bat-tle.
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From the SC2 Manual
A Shofixti resembles a large marsupial
carni-vore – sort of a killer shrew – who exhibits
furious aggressive behavior contained within a
strong ethical framework. When the Yehat first
found them in 2075, the Shofixti were living in
fortified mud castles in a feu-dal society similar
to medieval Japan. The Yehat had such admiration
for these feisty little warriors that they
immediately “adopted” them and took responsibility
for the Shofixti’s uplift, swearing that no
“peace-loving” race would be allowed to dilute the
Shofixti’s noble warlike tendencies. During the war
the primary responsibility of the Shofixti
star-ships was to act as advanced scouts,
establishing mines, colonies, and for-tifications
throughout the stars.
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The Ur-Quan's view on the Shofixti Scout (SC1
Manual):
Shofixti captains reveal a fearless samurai
attitude in combat, zipping in and out of action
like an Ur-quan in a sky full of Syreens. The
Shofixti fly Scouts, tiny vessels which deliver an
energy dart capable of inflicting minor damage at a
reasonable range. When faced with failure, Shofixti
frequently activate a “Glory” self-destruct weapon
which may destroy an enemy vessel when activated at
close range.
Summary: Do not underestimate the Shofixti Scout.
Loyal creatures willing to pay the ulti-mate price
for the Alliance.
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From the SC2 Manual
Shofixti Scout ships are small and very quick. They
have a limited num-ber of crew, and a relatively
weak forward fir-ing gun with a moderate range. The
special capability of this ship is that it can
detonate itself like a big bomb, and cause great
damage to an opponent’s ship. Of course, this
requires that the Shofixti ship get itself close
enough before detonating. Shofixti captains who are
patient may find that their little gun can be quite
effective when fighting slow, or short-ranged enemy
vessels.
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C h m m r
The Hybrids
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Name: Chmmr
Original Homeworld: Procyon II
Co-ordinates:
Kessari Homeworld: Hypnus II
Status: Newly Emerged, Powerful
Sphere of Influence: Unknown. Probably large
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Formal Affiliations: New Alliance of Free
Stars, League of Sentient Races
Religion: Probably Spiritualistic
Ship name: Avatar
Primary Weapon: Terawatt Laser
Secondary Ability: Tractor Beam
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Trade Master Greenish on the Chmmr
(unmerged)
After the war, the Chenjesu and the Mmrnmhrm chose
to be slave-shielded on the Chenjesu's homeworld at
Procyon. We suspect that they are melfing their two
species to form some kind of new, hybrid race...a
race which may well be powerful enough to destroy
the Ur-Quan single-handedly. However, by our
calculations, this process will take many decades,
if not centuries. Should you wish to talk to them,
we recommend you invest in a HyperWave broadcasting
system which is powerful enough to penetrate the
shield around their world.
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From the SC2 Resource Guide
Half living crystal, half machine, the Chmmr are a
new hybrid of two Old Alliance races, the Chenjesu
and the Mmrnmhrm. This synthesis, when complete,
will produce the most powerful race in the known
region of the galaxy. The two races’ reasons for
engaging in this hybridization are largely unknown,
but some researchers surmise that for the Chenjesu,
it was a matter of evolution. Having long since
established a stable technology and philosophy, the
crys-talline Chenjesu may have felt a need for “new
blood” to promote radical change and growth. The
Mmrnmhrm’s reasons were probably much more
pragmatic. Their creator, a huge alien
factory-ves-sel known as the Mother Ark, was
failing and, without a new system for reproduction,
the robotic Mmrnmhrm faced gradual but inevitable
extinction. The Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm made the
final decision to begin the hybrid synthesis,
called The Process, after the two races were
defeated by the Ur-Quan Hierarchy in 2134. They
both chose to be imprisoned under a slave shield on
the Chenjesu’s homeworld, Procyon 2. Not knowing
what the two races planned, the Ur-Quan agreed to
this situa-tion, and for the past twenty years, The
Process has continued. Estimates for The Process’
completion date range from 90-110 Earth years,
depending on the precise solar energy output of the
slightly vari-able star Procyon. If an additional
source of solar energy could be found, the Process
would be completed much sooner.
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From the SC3 Manual
Half living crystal, half machine, the Chmmr are a
hybrid of two Old Alliance races, the Chenjesu and
the Mmrnmhrm. The crystalline Chenjesu joined the
hybrid as a way to defeat the Ur-Quan. The robotic
Mmrnmhrm joined the hybrid because their creator,
the Mother Ark, was failing, and without a new
system for reproduction, they were bound for
extinction. The Chenjesu and the Mmrnmhrm began
their hybridization after their defeat by the
Kzer-Za's Hierarchy of Battle Thralls. Both races
were imprisoned under a slave shield on the
Chenjesu's homeworld where they began "The
Process". The hybridization should have taken
decades, but a human commander utilized the energy
from a Sun Device to complete The Process in a
matter of seconds. The synthesis created the Chmmr,
the most powerful race in the home quadrant of the
galaxy. The Chmmr are one of the founders of the
League of Sentient Races.
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From the SC2 Manual
Chmmr Avatar – The Chmmr Avatar may be the most
powerful ship in space with a laser so dangerous
that when fired, it ionizes the solar wind. The
laser strikes an enemy vessel’s hull with twice the
destructive force of the feared VUX laser. Orbiting
around the Avatar are three ZapSats – sturdy
satellites that automatically fire their own laser
weapons at incoming ships and missiles. The Chmmr
Avatar’s special power is a tractor beam which
generates a focused beam of artificial gravity,
pulling in an enemy vessel like a fish on a line.
The effect of the tractor depends on the size and
speed of the opposing ship. The biggest threat to
the Avatar is the Kohr-Ah Marauder’s fiery gas ring
which will instantly destroy any satellites it
touches.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Chmmr Avatar's forward-firing laser is so
powerful that it ionizes the solar wind when
engaged; however, the Avatar's most effective
weapons are its tractor beams and ZapSats. Used in
conjunction, the Commander can pull an enemy
directly into the path of the Avatar's ZapSats
(satel- lites that automatically fire their own
laser weapons at incoming ships and missiles).
Also, by pulling enemies towards its front, and
making judicious use of the forward laser, an
Avatar Commander can summarily end a battle with
one blow. Anyone forced into a planet by the
combined pull of gravity and the Avatar's tractor
beam can attest to the insidiousness of this
weapon. If faced with the daunting task of
defeating an Avatar, use the tractor beam against
your enemy. Use the Avatar's tractor beam to pull
it towards a planet, or use the force of the
tractor beam to accelerate your craft to a more
advanta- geous position. At the same time, retain
an effective stand- off distance and use ranged
weapons to attack. Fighting at short range with an
Avatar is extremely dangerous!
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O r z
They who are Fishy.
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Name: Orz
Original Homeworld: Gamma Velpeculae
Co-ordinates:
Kessari Homeworld: Muhifain VII
Status: Stable, Strong
Sphere of Influence: For some strange
reason, really small.
Formal Affiliations: New Alliance of Free
Stars, League of
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Sentient Races
Religion: Unknown. (Any
suggestions?)
Ship name: Nemesis
Primary Weapon: Mortar Cannon
Sub-Primary Weapon: Cannon Rotation
Secondary Ability: Orzine Space Marines
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From the SC2 Resource Guide
The Orz are newcomers to the nearby region of
space, having somehow displaced the Androsynth in
the Vulpeculae constella-tion during only the last
few years. The fate of the Androsynth is unknown.
Physiologically, the Orz seem straightfor-ward gill
breathers, gathering dissolved gases from a strong
ethanol solution. However, in terms of mental
processes, the Orz are well... different. No known
current technological device can accurately
trans-late their language. The little that has been
divined from contact with this race leads to a
disturbing conclusion: they are not from this
dimension. The Orz have somehow pushed through
from... else-where. Although the natives of the Orz
remain a mystery, there is a sug-gestion that the
Ariloulaleelay may have some knowledge on the
nature of this species.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Orz are newcomers to the home quadrant.
Physiologically, the Orz seem to be gill breathers,
gathering dissolved gases from a strong ethanol
solution. In terms of mental processes, the Orz
are... different. No device can accurately
translate their language. The origin of the Orz is
unknown. The Orz themselves have said the Arilou
Lalee'lay, who they do not like, are from "above"
and that they are from "below". The Arilou
confirmed that the Orz are from a dimension unknown
to us and warned us not to trust them. However,
because of their help in fighting the Kzer-Za, the
Orz accepted membership in the League of Sentient
Races.
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From the SC2 Manual
This menacing manta craft was built for combat!
Atop the swift Nemesis is a rotating howitzer,
which can pump out shells at a high rate of fire
over medium range. Unlike vessels whose weapons are
fixed forward, the Nemesis captain can swivel his
gun fore, aft, port, star-board, or anywhere
in-between. To swivel the gun, the player must hold
down the Special key and then press the Rotate
keys. This ship’s most exciting feature is its
Space Marines! Encased in vacuum-fitted
exo-skele-tons, these relentless soldiers use their
jet packs to chase down enemy ships, and then burn
entry holes through their hulls. When launched (by
pressing the Special key and the Fire key
simultaneously), each departing Marine decreases
the Nemesis’ crew by one. Once inside the enemy
ship, the Space Marines employ basic search-and-
destroy tactics, wreaking havoc on the soft targets
within. When an enemy ship is destroyed, any
Marines onboard will jet out of the exploding hulk,
and return to the Nemesis for more fuel and
ammunition. Opponents would be wise to remember
that Space Marines receive special training in
using the Leyland Whip maneuver, and are
exceptionally adept using a planet’s gravity to
speed them toward their target.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Nemesis appears to have been built for combat.
The rotating cannon and Marines make it an
effective stand-off ship. The Nemesis is at its
best while using the cannon to fire from the rear
(the cannon is rotated by pressing the Primary and
Secondary fire buttons plus the left or right
movement keys all at the same time) while at the
same time launching Marines. The Human Cruiser
should avoid following directly in line with the
Orz cannon maintain stand off range and launch
missiles while saving enough energy to zap Marines
with the Cruiser's point defense laser.
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P k u n k
"Nasty alien gonna tell birdy Pkunky big
secret?"
Hobgoblins of Joy...and other neat stuff like that.
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Name: Pkunk
Original Homeworld: Gamma Krueger
Co-ordinates:
52.2:52.5
Kessari Homeworld: Arcadia VI
Status: Newly Merged, regarded as
'crazy'
Sphere of Influence: Unknown due to unknown
results with merging Yehat & Pkunk
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Formal Affiliations: New Alliance of Free
Stars, League of Sentient Races
Religion: Definitly Spiritualism.
Ship name: Fury
Primary Weapon: Tri-sectional, super-heated
metal minigun
Secondary Ability: Recover Fuel (through the
fierce mental emanations - insults - from the
captain)
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Trade Master Greenish on the Pkunk
The Pkunk are a mystical off-shoot of the Yehat
species who left their bird-brothers long ago to
found a peaceful enclave in the Krueger and Giclas
stars. At the present time, the Pkunk are
defending themselves against the Ilwrath who have
been commanded to attack the happy birds by Dogar
and Kazon. The Pkunk may be unwilling to make a
formal alliance with you but we have confidence
that if you explain yourself honestly they will
help your efforts against the Ur-Quan.
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From the SC2 Resource Guide
The Pkunk are a mystical off-shoot of the Yehat
species who left their violent brethren long ago to
found a peaceful enclave in the Krueger and Giclas
constella-tions. The Pkunk claim to be in contact
with a “higher consciousness”, a “more pure truth”,
a “realer reality”. Indeed, quite often Pkunk will
offer profound statements regarding the peculiar
relevance of obscure events in the distant past, or
ominous por-tents of the near future. The relevance
of the Pkunks’ “wisdom” is highly variable and
somewhat up to interpretation. Nonetheless, the
Pkunk are a kind and help-ful race whose friendship
should not be spurned. Although the Pkunk are
inherently peaceful, they currently find
them-selves at war with the Ilwrath who have
attacked them on the basis of commands from the
dark Ilwrath deities, Dogar and Kazon.
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From the SC2 Manual
Though small and holding few crew, the deft
Pkunk Fury sports miraculous features. The Fury’s
main (and only) weapon is a rapid-fire, very
short-range mini-gun that launches streams of
dense, superheat-ed metals forward and to the
sides. This unusual weapon configuration allows the
Fury to engage in certain non-traditional combat
moves, such as running broadside. The popular Death
Blossom attack is performed by fly-ing adjacent to
an enemy ship, and then simulta-neously rotating
and firing to create a beautiful spiral of
destructive force. The vessel’s energy is generated
directly from the Pkunk captain’s fierce mental
emanations. By hold-ing down the Special key, the
player instructs the captain to radiate these
psionic energies. Accompanying the regeneration are
various insults and jibes spewed forth by the Pkunk
captain toward his opponent. When a Pkunk ship is
destroyed in combat it will frequently reappear –
instantly, and with no visible signs of damage. The
Pkunk claim that this resurrection is due to a
trace of the blood of the gods, which flows through
each Pkunk as the result of some divine
indiscretion on their home world several thousand
years ago. Other alien races believe that the
“res-urrected” vessels are in fact a mere
projection generated by Pkunk vessels which are
cloaked with some kind of invisibility field. To
date, no one has explained why a “projection’s”
weapons are genuinely destructive.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Pkunk are a mystical avian species that
left their violent brethren to found a peaceful
enclave. In fact, "Pkunk" means 'Peace' in their
language. The Pkunk claim to be in contact with a
"higher consciousness". Often, a Pkunk will offer
profound statements regarding obscure events, or
ominous portents of the future. The relevance of
the Pkunk's "wisdom" is open to interpretation.
While the Pkunk are by nature peaceful, they are
founding members in the League and engage fully in
League defensive actions. Most of the Pkunk have
rejoined their ancient brethren the Yehat, but some
have remained on the Pkunk homeworld. These
homeworld Pkunk are represented on the Kessari
Quadrant expedition.
The Fury's main weapon is a rapid-fire short-range
mini-gun that launches a stream of dense
superheated metals for- ward and to the sides. The
Fury is most effective at running in against an
enemy's rear or side flanks, attacking with a full
barrage, then exiting the target area as quickly as
possi- ble. A less reliable tactic is the Death
Blossom maneuver which is accomplished by flying
adjacent to an enemy ship, and then simultaneously
rotating and firing to create a spiral of
destructive force.
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S u p o x
"Many of our people regard this as proof of our
devine origin."
The Plant Creatures
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Name: Supox Utricularia
Original Homeworld: Vlik (Earth). "Perfectly
Good and Nutricious Dirt"
Co-ordinates: Beta
Librae I
Status: Stable
Sphere of Influence: Small-to-medium sized
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Formal Affiliations: New Alliance of Free
Stars, League of Sentient Races
Religion: Dirt Worship
Ship name: Blade
Primary Weapon: Plant Seeds
Secondary Ability: Direction Change
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From the SC2 Resource Guide
The Supox are a race of kind, sentient plant
creatures who evolved from a species of semi-mobile
symbionts. The Supox are quite aware of how
unlikely their evolutionary path appears, and they
use this fact as proof of their favored status with
the “Higher Powers.” The Supox’s biological
foundation as a sym-biont is reflected in their
present relationship with the Utwig. The Supox look
to the Utwig for guidance, and use the Utwig
cul-ture as a model for their own. In exchange, the
Supox provide the Utwig with emotion-al support and
sage advice, both of which the Utwig sorely need.
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From the SC2 Manual
The Supox Blade is another effective ship. In
combat situ-ations, any ship that can get another
ship to chase it is in an advantageous position.
The Supox, with its ability to reverse direction,
is well suit-ed to this strategy. This is done by
approaching a ship head-on. As soon as that ship is
in range, the Supox reverses the direction of its
thrust and flies backwards, shoot-ing at the ship
that is all of a sudden following it. To travel
backwards, press the Thrust key and the Special key
simultaneously. Another capability of the Supox
ship is to move laterally. To perform this
maneuver, press the Special key and a Turn key
simultaneously. This should only be attempted by
the most gifted of Supox commanders, as it more
often than not results in victory for your very
happy opponent.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Supox Utricularia - commonly known as
simply the Supox - are a race of kind, sentient
plant creatures who evolved from semi-mobile
symbionts. They know how unlikely their
evolutionary path appears, and one Supox even said,
"Many of our people regard this inconsistency as
proof of our divine origin." The symbiotic origin
of the Supox is reflected in their present
relationship with the Utwig. The Supox look to the
Utwig for guidance, and use the Utwig culture as a
model for their own.
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U t w i g
"We broke the Ultron..."
Wearers of the Masks
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Name: Utwig
Original Homeworld: Fahz
Co-ordinates: Beta
Aquarii
Status: Stable (if they don't break that
f...umm, funny Ultron)
Sphere of Influence: Small-to-medium sized
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Formal Affiliations: New Alliance of Free
Stars, League of Sentient Races
Religion: Worship of the Ultron
Ship name: Jugger
Primary Weapon: Dart Spread
Secondary Ability: Fuel-Regaining Shield
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From the SC2 Resource Guide
The Utwig are a race of sophisticated humanoids
who inhabit the Aquarii constel-lation. Their
culture is ancient and elabo-rate, as evidenced by
their complex “Mask Etiquette” which dictates which
of the eigh-teen hundred standard “facial
appliances” should be worn under what
circumstances. The Utwig empire was a vibrant,
exciting place to be during recent years because of
the acquisition of a supreme mystic device, the
”Ultron“, which was sold to the Utwig by the
Druuge. Regardless of the true pow-ers (if any) of
the Ultron, the Utwig felt that its presence
guaranteed their fulfillment. Unfortunately, during
a recent ritual, the Ultron was dropped and
bro-ken, resulting in a planetwide suicidal
depression. The Utwig handed the broken Ultron over
to their good friends and allies, the Supox, and
now all the Utwig can manage to do is brood, spin
regrets, and consider using their “super weapon” to
end their misery.
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From the SC2 Manual
This slow, tubby craft is only a mod-erately
powerful ship. However, it is particularly well
suited to facing the Kohr-Ah and the Mycon. The
Utwig, in addition to its forward facing, wide area
guns, has the special capability of shielding
itself. This shielding, however, uses up energy
which cannot be regenerated, so the trick for Utwig
commanders is to acquire more than they use.
Against ships that fire rapidly and continually,
the Utwig commander can find himself being tricked
into shielding unnecessarily and wasting his
energy. The best strategy for the Utwig is to close
with the opponent’s ship using a Gravity Whip when
necessary, and time the shielding to catch any
incom-ing shots. DOGI’s from the Chenjesu are an
Utwig commander’s greatest fear, as they quickly
turn his ship into a sitting duck.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Utwig are a race of sophisticated humanoids
with an ancient and elaborate culture. This is
evidenced by their complex "Mask Etiquette", which
dictates which of the eighteen hundred standard
"facial appliances" should be worn under which
circumstances. Utwig society relies heavily on a
mysterious device called the "Ultron". They believe
it guarantees them a highly positive future.
The Jugger appears to be a slow, tubby hunk of
junk, but like the Utwig, its appearance is
deceiving. The Jugger's combina- tion of mid-range,
wide-area guns and absorbing shield give it unique
fighting abilities. A competent Jugger Commander
welcomes enemy fire, as this simply adds to his
energy reserves. The trick is to force the Jugger
to shield unneces- sarily by intentionally missing
the Jugger. Once the Jugger has depleted its energy
reserves, it can still fire, but can no longer
shield against enemy attacks. While this is not a
fool- proof method for defeating the Jugger, it
limits the Jugger's advantage on the battlefield.
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Z o q F o t P i k
"...they assumed that he had just gone to 'a
better place'." - Green member
"Preferably one without any 'lethal, flaming
wheels'." - Grey member
The Threesome
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Name: Zoq, Fot & Pik
Original Homeworld: Alpha Tucannae
Co-ordinates
Status: Recovering
Sphere of Influence: Tiny
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Formal Affilations: ZFP Alliance, New Alliance
of Free Stars
Religion: Looking to a place without 'lethal
flaming wheels'.
Ship name: Stinger
Primary Weapon: Anti-Matter Spray
Secondary Weapon: Plasma Stream
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Trade Master Greenish on the
ZoqFotPik
The Zoq-Fot-Pik are a friendly co-op of three alien
species all native to the same world. They are
presently suffering sever collateral damage from
the ritual combat between the Ur-Quan and the
Kohr-Ah While this is unfortunate for the
Zoq-Fot-Pik - they have been forced to abandon many
of their worlds - this close proximity to the
Inter-Ur-Quan war will give them insights into the
conflict which will be of great use to you. In
addition, the Zoq-Fot-Pik met the Chenjesu early on
in the war, and are eager to make allies who can
protect them from their enemies.
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The Zoq-Fot-Pik are a cooperative union of three
separate, intelligent alien races, who all evolved
simultaneously on the same world. There was a
fourth intelligent species, the Zebranky, who
preyed cruelly on the other three races, but in
their equiva-lent of the Stone Age, the Zoq, Fot,
and Pik banded together and annihilated the
Zebranky. The three races found that they were much
stronger and happier together than apart, and as a
result have maintained their union ever since. At
the present time, the Zoq-Fot-Pik have found
themselves in the unpleasant position of being in
the middle of the doctrinal conflict between the
Ur-Quan and the Kohr-Ah, whose ferocious battles
have wreaked havoc on the Zoq-Fot-Pik worlds. As a
result, the Zoq-Fot-Pik are in great danger (and
could use an ally, quickly) but are also in a good
situation to provide intelligence on the progress
of the war.
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Zoq-Fot-Pik Stinger – The Zoq-Fot-Pik Stinger is
a flimsy ship whose main weapon is a spray of
minute anti-matter particles which annihilate a
tiny portion of the enemy ship’s hull, releasing
colossal amounts of heat and light. The
Zoq-Fot-Pik’s special power is a point- blank range
attack. Should the Stinger maneuver adjacent to an
enemy vessel, it can quickly extend a rigid, alloy
tube from the front of the ship, similar to an
insect’s proboscis. If the tube strikes the enemy
ship’s exterior, it bores a tiny hole through the
hull metal and injects a high-pressure stream of
hot plasma into the interior of the vessel.
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ENEMY VESSEL SPECIFICATIONS SYNTHESIZED FROM
GATHERED SPACE DEBRIS.
Priority One Alpha, Eyes Only: Star Control
General Staff and Earthling Cruiser Captains.
Retrodigestive Data Disposal strongly urged.
Issued by Division of Synthetic Special Reconstruction,
Intergalactic Intelligence (“SSRII”)
Star Control Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland.
May 14, 2612.
In the wake of the special request by Star Control
Commander-in-Chief Karen Chin Singh, received by SSRII in
the wake of the fateful meeting between the Cruiser
SpaceDuster and the Chenjesu envoys, we have compiled this
report (#1232.3.3.55.1/2A), detailing the find-ings of
SSRII’s computer synthesis squad. Operating under sealed
conditions in a security lab somewhere in Europe, the
reconstructionists meticulously examined assembled space
debris from near and far galaxies. The object: Identify and
analyze likely spaceships of the Ur-Quan Hierarchy. Each
team was assigned the reconstruction of a particular
Hierarchy race and its vessel. Their members relied upon a
set of networked computers running state-of-the-art graphics
and post-animation software. Working in consort, they
painstakingly gathered fragmentary evidence of Hierarchy
beings and their ships.
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U r - Q u a n . K z e r - Z
a
"WHAT?! A human in a Precursor Service
Vessel?"
Sub-Species of the Original (though extinct)
Ur-Quan
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Name: Ur-Quan Kzer-Za
Base of Operations: Sa-Matra
Co-ordinates: Delta
Crateris
Status: Re-Doctrinating
Sphere of Influence: Huge (at least, before
the Chmmr decimated it...)
Formal Affiliations: Sentient Milieu,
Dnyarri Slave Empire,
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Hierarchy of Battle Thralls, League of Sentient
Races
Religion: The Various Doctrines (most
recently, "The Path of Ceaseless Vigilance")
Ship name: Dreadnought
Primary Weapon: Fusion Bolt
Secondary Ability: Fighters
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SSRII on the Ur-Quan (SC1 Manual)
The Ur-Quan race is the oldest in known space.
Ur-Quans are a slaving race with a rigid social
order that includes the numbering of each Ur-Quan
unit. Such structured classification reveals the
hierar-chical essence of this ancient species.
SSRII’s attempts to quantify the specifics of
Ur-Quan ranking were in vain. Ur-Quan technology is
very advanced, and the Ur-Quan tempera-ment is
expressed in the careful cultivation and
exploitation of squads of interstellar agents
funnelling intelligence to their masters. The
Ur-Quans’ appearance is interesting, given the
race’s essentially predatory disposition.
Resembling a giant caterpillar, a fully-grown
Ur-Quan is formed of a segmented body-tube ten
meters long and two meters in diameter. The Ur-Quan
equivalent of a face is rich in sensory organs. The
tubed creatures are clawed, which allows them to
cling tenaciously to the roped ceilings of their
dreaded Dreadnought craft. The Ur-Quan uses a
particularly striking means of trans-species
communi-cation. The “Talking Pets”, an Ur-Quan
invention genetically engineered for the purpose,
telepathically interpret Ur-Quan commands into the
spo-ken languages of subordinate species, and
reverse the procedure when receiving extra-special
transmissions. The Ur-Quan live to subjugate lower
species; war is their raison d’etre and their
inspiration. They treat the other members of the
Hierarchy as serf-races, bowed to the master’s will
and fearing his predictable wrath.
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From the SC2 Manual
Physically, Ur-Quan resemble the predatory
caterpillar native to Earth’s Hawaiian Islands,
only grown to over ten meters in length. The
Ur-Quan equivalent of a face is rich in sensory
organs, and its expressions are varied and
horrific. Aboard ship, these creatures cling to
webbed ceilings with their back legs, dangling down
over their controls and their slave-crew like
hungry spiders. Ur-Quan are extremely territorial
and aggressive, having evolved as non-social,
hunter-killers. Their territorial instincts are so
strong that only one Ur-Quan is present on each
Dreadnought. When Ur-Quan meet, they keep several
meters between themselves, lest their instincts
drive them to engage in an unarmed battle to the
death. A simple, linear dominance structure
dictates power within the Ur-Quan species. Each
member of the species has a number, indicating its
relative power and authority. Ur-Quan Master #1 is
the ultimate lord of the entire Hierarchy. The
Ur-Quan are unwilling to communicate directly with
other species because to do so would be demeaning.
Therefore, when giving orders or interrogating
enemies, the Ur-Quan use “Talking Pets,”
large-brained, frog-like creatures which are
non-sentient, but possess the telepathic/empathic
ability to translate all languages.
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Physically, Kzer-Za resemble huge ten meter long
caterpillars. The green-bodied Kzer-Za are
sub-species of the original brown Ur-Quan, now
extinct. The green Ur-Quan adopted their name over
20,000 years ago after Kzer-Za, a scientist, who
discovered the key to winning their freedom from
mental slavery. After winning their freedom, the
subspecies of Ur-Quan adopted competing doctrines,
each designed to guarantee the Ur-Quan would never
again be made slaves. The Kzer-Za adopt-ed the
"Path of Now and Forever" Every sentient species
would be conquered and given a choice: be trapped
forever under an impenetrable slave-shield or take
up arms with the Kzer-Za as part of their Hierarchy
of Battle Thralls. The Kohr-Ah adopted their own
"Eternal Doctrine", which dictated the total
annihilation of all non Ur-Quan sentient life. In
the last war, the Kohr-Ah were on the verge of
defeating the Kzer-Za. But the Kohr-Ah were in turn
defeated by the clever human use of priceless
Precursor artifacts to destroy the otherwise
indestructible battle platform, the Sa-Matra. With
the threat of the Sa-Matra elimi-nated, the
combined forces of the expanded New Alliance of
Free Stars defeated the Kzer-Za and the Kohr-Ah.
Following the war, all Battle Thralls were freed,
and Ur-Quan fleets reduced to subsistence levels.
The Kzer-Za represented the now united Ur-Quan in
all negotiations. The Ur-Quan were admitted as
probationary members of the League of Sentient
Races. They participate in this mission to prove
their loyalty to the League.
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The Dreadnought is an aggressive attack
platform. Formerly known as "Planetary Siege
Units", these massive ships once set out to conquer
entire worlds without backup support. It is
possible for a Dreadnought Commander to win an
entire battle by doing nothing more than launching
its autonomous laser fighters. The Dreadnought is
fast, has a decent turn rate, and wields powerful
fusion bolt missiles. Historically, there has been
no easy solution for a Human Cruiser paired against
a Dreadnought. The skill and efficiency of the
ship's Commander are paramount in maintaining an
acceptable loss ratio against the Dreadnought.
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The Ur-Quan Dreadnought is the single most
devastating ship in known space. Alternately termed
“Planetary Siege Units”, a single specimen of this
feared ship has succeeded in subduing and enslaving
entire worlds. A sole Ur-Quan commands each
Dreadnought, manipulating heteroge-neous crews
assembled from the Hierarchy’s slave races. The
central Dreadnought weapon is a long-range fusion
bolt of immense destructive capability. A ship may
fall to a single well-aimed bolt. The Dreadnought
can also launch a small squadron of self-motivated
fighters, which sys-tematically seek out enemy
vessels and autonomously fire short-range lasers.
These special fighters are of limited range,
however, and return to the mother ship after each
sortie. Left in space, they expire. The
Dreadnought’s chief liability is its mediocre
turning speed - a chink, not a fatal flaw, in its
awesome armor.
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From the SC2 Manual
Most experienced players would probably say that
either the Ur-Quan Dreadnought or the Kohr-Ah
Marauder is the most powerful ship in the game. The
Ur-Quan has an immensely powerful medium-long range
weapon that fires rapid fusion plas-ma blasts. It
also has the capability of launching pairs of
autonomous, laser-equipped fighters. Remember that
each fighter represents a depart-ing crew member.
So if you are wounded to start out with, don’t send
off all but the last few of your crew and risk
defeat through a single lucky enemy shot. Also,
fighters expire if you don’t let them return to
your ship. Avoid high speed chases or your fighters
will be left far behind. Use fight-ers at short
range and in conjunction with your main weapon. For
best results, chase an opponent in one direction
while you head off in the opposite direction to
meet him as he wraps around.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Commentary on the Kzer-Za
(Post-SC2)
The Kzer-Za are a shattered race. Their
doctrine is proved to be badly-founded, their ships
proved inferior, they are now without a foundation.
Once again, the Kzer-Za struggle to refind
themselves.
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Cyborg/Psytron's Commentary on the Kzer-Za
(Post SC3)
The Kzer-Za are now stablized, but the bite has
been taken off them. Their ships are still a force
to be reckoned with, but the Kzer-Za piloting them
is now a lot more subdued. They have still yet to
recapture the former spark that made the Kzer-Za so
great.
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M y c o n
"Juffo-Wup fills my fibers and I grow turgid.
Violent action begins."
Precursor planetary manipulation device
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Name: Mycon
Original Homeworld: The Source
Co-Ordinates: Epsilon Scorpii
Kessari Homeworld: Janus VIII
Status: Stable
Sphere of Influence: Medium
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Formal Affilations: Hierarchy of Battle Thralls,
League of Sentient Races
Religion: Juffo-Wup.
Ship Name: Podship
Primary Weapon: Plasmoids
Secondary Weapon: Regeneration
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Trade Master Greenish on the Mycon
The Mycon are using this time while the Ur-Quan
hace their attention elsewhere to expand their
sphere of influence as fast as possible. The Mycon
colonize planets by launching tough spore-pods from
orbit and injecting them under the planet's
surface. Months later, after the spores have grown
hundreds of thick, fibrous tendrils under the
planet's crust the tendrils suddenly thrust up out
of the planet and create huge calderas not
incidentally filling the planet's atmosphere with
the Mycon's preferred gases clouds of super-heated
steam and sulphuric acid.
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SSRII on the Mycon:
Our researchers were partially baffled when
confronting the frag-mentary remains of Mycons. The
Mycons are bright fungus men possessing an obscure
set of behavioral aesthetics and motivated by
unknown factors. Mycons reproduce by belching
clouds of minute spore particles into the
atmosphere; when the particles come to rest on a
living being, they affix themselves and start to
grow. When the DNA dust lands on a Mycon, the
genetic materials are mixed; otherwise, a clone of
the Mycon sporer is created. By bathing themselves
in concentrat-ed radiations, the creatures induce
collective budding and the replacement of lost crew
members. Hence the term: Mycon Regeneration. No
doubt exists as to the slavish loyalty of the
Mycons to their Ur-Quan masters. Having joined the
Hierarchy in an act of free will, the Mycons show
fungal fanaticism in their wholesale adoption of
Ur-Quan aims.
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The Mycons are neither plant nor animal, having
evolved from something more closely resembling an
ambulatory fungus. Mycons are asexual and reproduce
by budding their own flesh into a separate
off-spring. They exchange genetic material by
exhaling and inhaling DNA-rich spores. Mycons are
most comfortable in a hellish envi-ronment of hot
rock and poisonous vapors which would kill most
other species in seconds. Culturally, the Mycon are
baffling. They appear to be born adult, instantly
able to assume responsibilities. In addition, all
Mycons occasionally undergo temporary but dramatic
personality transformation, as though they were
“possessed” by a different Mycon personality.
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The Mycon are fungus-like beings obsessed with
"Juffo-Wup" - the spreading of their species
throughout the universe. They exchange genetic
material by exhaling and inhaling DNA-rich spores
and reproduce by budding. Mycon appear to be born
adult, instantly able to assume responsibilities.
However, they occasionally undergo dramatic
personality shifts, as though possessed by a
different personality. Mycon are comfortable in
hellish environments of molten rock and poisonous
vapors which would kill most other species in
seconds. Unconfirmed alien reports suggest the
Mycon are constructs and not the product of any
natural evolutionary process. These reports claim
the Mycon appear to be some kind of multi-purpose
biological tool of unbelievably advanced design.
After the Kzer-Za's Hierarchy of Battle Thralls
were defeated in the last war, the Mycon were freed
and accepted membership in the League of Sentient
Races.
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SSRII on the Podship (SC1 Manual):
Mycon Podships rely upon a tracking Plasmoid, a
ball of coalesced energy which uses a
highly-developed tracking system to lock on to, and
home in on, a target. Deadly at close range, the
Mycon Plasmoid is diffused as it travels longer
distances. The Mycons have the amazing ability to
regenerate their crew. A podship must have full
power to begin regenerating crew, however;
completion of the regenerating act adds four
furious fungal fighters to a podship’s crew.
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From the SC2 Manual
Mycon Podships rely upon a tracking Plasmoid, a
ball of coalesced energy which uses a
highly-developed tracking system to lock on to, and
home in on, a target. Deadly at close range, the
Mycon Plasmoid is diffused as it travels longer
distances. The Mycons have the amazing ability to
regenerate their crew. A podship must have full
power to begin regenerating crew, however;
completion of the regenerating act adds four
furious fungal fighters to a podship’s crew.
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From the SC3 Manual:
Mycon Podships use a tracking Plasmoid as its
primary weapon--a ball of coalesced, semi-sentient
energy--which is diffused at long distances. The
Podship is extremely slow, and without effective
use of forward acceleration and Gravity Whips
around a planet it is defenseless against its
enemies. If given enough time, the Podship can
completely regenerate its crew, so the best
strategy for the Podship Commander is to alternate
rounds of attacking and fleeing so as to heal its
crew. The Podship is most effective moving at
maximum speed while firing backwards at its target.
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S p a t h i
"Oh Lord, please don't let me die today!
Tomorrow would be so much better!" - the Spathi
Prayer
Cowardice Culture
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Name: Spathi
Homeworld: Spathiwa
Co-Ordinates: Epsilon Gruis I
Status: Stable (though always retreating)
Sphere of Influence: Medium-to-large (before they
put themselves under a master-shield)
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Formal Affilation: Hierarchy of Battle Thralls,
New Alliance of Free Stars, League of Sentient
Races, Hegemonic Crux (temp.)
Religion: One exists, though the name is
unknown.
Ship Name: Eluder (formerly known as a
Discriminator)
Primary Weapon: Punt Gun
Secondary Weapon: B.U.T.T. Missiles
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Trade Master Greenish on the Spathi
The cowardly Spathi live at the single planet
orbiting Epsilon Gruis. They do not actually live
on their world, rather they reside on its solitary
moon. The reason? A xenomorphic species, which
craves the sweet-flavoured flesh of the Spathi has
been transported to the surface of their planet and
makes every attempt to devour the poor Spathi. I am
certain that the Spathi would be forever in your
debt if you were to eliminate these creatures from
their planet. What? You fear the alien creatures
will find you a treat also? Fear not. Our data
reveals the beasts are not interested in your
species. Should you wish to consult with the Spathi
Ruling Council you will need to know the Secret
Spathi Cypher - a password, which is
'Huffi-Muffi-Guffi'.
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The Spathi is an odd creature, resembling a
panicked mollusk. These naked space clams have
leathery skin, and a slimy interior which is known
to ooze through their pores when a Spathi is
alarmed (a fre-quent occurrence). Stubby pincers
and bulging, unblinking eyeballs mounted on
multiple stalks complete the makeup of this timid
creature. Socioanthropsychs frame a stark portrait
of the Spathi outlook: creative, committed
cow-ardice. The Spathis joined the Hierarchy only
to escape the Ur-Quans chilling threat of
annihilation. The Spathis’ aversion to combat may
explain why their spacecraft are so crowded with
crew members. Our combat experts assure us that a
Spathi perishes from fright for each slain in
combat.
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The Spathi are all abject cowards and have built
quite a successful civilization around this basic
characteristic. The Spathi physique is slight and
soft, with the vital organs being covered by a hard
shell surface. Spathi have large, humanoid eyes
atop stiff thick stalks that protrude from their
central body mass at odd angles. When alarmed
Spathi ooze copious amounts of unpleasant fluid
from their pores. It is somewhat confusing why the
Spathi chose to fight with the Ur-Quan, since they
certainly didn’t fight very hard against them
(having surrendered after less than 6 hours of
combat).
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The Spathi have built a successful civilization
around basic characteristic of cowardice. They are
slight and soft skinned, with vital organs covered
by a hard shell. Spathi have a single large eye
atop a thick, stiff stalk that protrudes from the
main body. The most recent source of fear for the
Spathi is the Ultimate Evil, the nature and
intentions of which the Spathi have not been able
to identify. They claim it lies just beyond the
range of their most sensitive detectors, which they
say "gives conclusive evidence as to The Ultimate
Evil's nefarious intent". A cruel hoax led the
Spathi to become Battle Thralls in the Kzer-Za
Hierarchy, but they were never very aggressive
fighters. After the war, the Spathi were freed and
quickly erected their own version of the Kzer-Za
"Slave Shield" to protect Spathiwa from contact
with all other races. However, they have emerged
from their shielded homeworld to assist in the
current galactic crisis and are now (reluctantly)
active members of the League.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Spathi Eluder is designed for
intimidation--when the Spathi are intimidated, the
Eluder allows them to flee with abandon. The Eluder
is at its best while running from a vic- tim, and
firing BUTT missiles at medium range. The Eluder is
an agile target, and can outrun most enemy weapons.
Colliding head on with this vessel while launching
short-range weapons is an effective counter to its
fire-and- flight tactics.
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SSRII on the Discriminator (as it was called
then) (SC1 Manual):
The Spathi spacecraft, the Discriminator, is
designed with fear in mind — Spathi fear, that is.
The vessel is heavily-armored, and built to decoy
enemy fire away from the crew-containing sections.
The latter swarm with frightened Spathis.
Nonetheless, the Discriminator is fast and agile, a
characteristic which led one Earthling crew to
nickname the craft the “space jit-terbug.”
Discriminators dodge most enemy weapons. The Spathi
crew fires a small missile when flying towards an
opponent. The Discriminator preference is the
worthy B.U.T.T. (Backwards Utilizing Tracking
Torpedo), a powerful missile that fires directly
backwards.
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From the SC2 Manual
The Spathi ship is very fast and maneuverable with
a moderately ranged and relatively weak forward
firing gun. This ship is most dangerous when
running from the enemy and launching BUTT (Backward
Utilized Tracking Torpedo) missiles directly into
its pursuer’s path. The Spathi commander’s main job
is to entice his opponent into chasing him. Taunts
and jeers work well. Another effective strategy for
a Spathi com-mander is to circle his opponent’s
ship, just out of range, bobbing in to launch BUTT
missiles, and then out again. The otherwise
ineffectual forward guns can become quite deadly
with practice. If you need to kill only a few more
crew for a victory, as when fighting an undamaged
Arilou, don’t shoot your wad in a single facing.
Instead, rotate as you fire to increase your chance
of a lucky hit.
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A n d r o s y n t h
The Inspiration for Clone Fever
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Name: Androsynth
Homeworld: Eta Velpeculae
Co-Ordinates:
Status: Probably Extinct (?)
Sphere of Influence: Small to Medium Sized
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Formal Affilations: Slaves of Earth, Hierarchy
of Battle Thralls
Religion: Unknown (Any
Suggestions?)
Ship Name: Guardian
Primary Weapon: Molecular Acid Spheres (Chaos™
tracking)
Secondary Weapon: Blazer Form
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Trade Master Greenish on the
Androsynth
Following the end of the War, the Androsynth began
experimenting with Inter-Dimensional Fatigue, a
process which is related to your faster-than-light
(Hyperspace) drive but involves dimensions far more
alien than Hyperspace. They had just made a major
breakthrough when they were suddenly wiped out by a
race called the Orz who appeared seemingly out of
nowhere.
Actually, we don't know what the Orz did to the
Androsynth - they're just all gone.
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SSRII on the Androsynth (SC1 Manual)
SSRII employed a special team of Socioanthropsychs
to analyze the Androsynths, which are humanoid
clones. This race of renegade clones has been a
thorn in the side of Star Control since it
“emigrated” in the year 2535, shortly after physics
experiments in which a team of Eurasian scientists
subjected the clones to a series of cruel
experiments. The resul-tant Hamburg revolt — in
which the captive clones seized effective con-trol
of the Baltic port for a time — collapsed, spurring
the Androsynths to seek haven in space. Androsynth
“animosity” towards Earthlings is well-documented;
the clones’ wellspring of emotion has fueled
seventy-seven years of hostility. They adhere to
Ur-Quan discipline glad-ly, as the Hierarchy’s
warmongering sates the Androsynth’s lust for
revenge. Many an Earthling cruiser with an
uncluttered laser display has flown on full-alert
in regions where Androsynth Guardians have
occasionally been sighted. The thought of an
undetect-ed, glittering Guardian in the
neighborhood has spurred some cruiser captains to
pulverize asteroids in hallucinations known in the
flying fraternity as ‘clone fever’.
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From the SC2 Manual
These human clones established a fledgling colony
in the Vulpecular constellation after fleeing from
Earth in the year 2085. During the following three
decades, the Androsynths focused their energies on
reproduction and armament. The Androsynths were
totally unaware of the Ur-Quan invasion until the
aliens were on top of them, capturing their home
star system in a few short weeks of intense
interplanetary combat. Androsynths now fight for
the Ur-Quan and many Earthlings fear that should
the Alliance lose the War with the Ur-Quan, the
Androsynth’s hostility toward Humanity could result
in great suffering for Earth.
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From the SC2 Manual:
The Androsynth vessel is normally very slow, and
it’s weapon fires auto-homing molecular acid
bubbles. These tend to be most effec-tive when
fired en masse to create a dense cloud of bubbles
that can serve as a haven for the Androsynth ship,
or to create a cloud of bubbles in the opponent’s
path. The Guardian can transform itself into a
blazing comet-like ball of energy. When it does
this it travels at high speed, until all of its
energy is used up. When the Androsynth is in this
comet-like “Blazer” form, it can ram an opponent’s
ship and do a large amount of damage. Another use
of the Blazer form is for escape.
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SSRII on the Guardian (SC1 Manual):
The Androsynth Guardian consists of a strange
layering of blue glass and platinum metal alloys.
Its structure reflects the clones’ obsession with
aesthetics; in the words of one of the SSRII team,
the Androsynths are the “fashion design engineers
of space warfare.” The ship’s design may be
intended to lull an opponent into fatal
complacency. The ship’s main weapon is a molecular
acid-based blob, which is released in multiples and
follows an erratic homing pattern to an enemy
vessel. The chaotic tracking path baffles
opponents’ defen-sive measures. Guardian commanders
can give orders in battle to collapse a ship into a
solid ball, simultaneously engaging a set of
powerful thrusters. The trans-formed vessel then
hurls itself at an enemy at terrifying speeds,
causing enormous damage if impact occurs. An
Androsynth vessel in ‘comet’ form and carrying full
fuel can hold its curled shape for a substantial
period; a Guardian low on fuel returns to its
normal shape more quickly. The principle Guardian
flaw is its slothful speed in normal configuration.
The ship cannot easily escape a fleet pursuer; this
defect probably explains the evolution of the
Androsynth’s special power.
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V U X
"Salutations, and may your sense of
self-preservation always be so dim."
Squid-like Banana-Slugs
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Name: VUX
Nickname: Very Ugly Xenoform
Homeworld: Beta Luyten
Co-Ordinates
Status: Just merged with the Vyro-Ingo
Sphere of Influence: Medium-sized
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Formal Affilations: Hierarchy of Battle Thralls,
League of Sentient Races
Religion: One may be the Oowee religion. (meet the
VUX two times...)
Ship Name: Intruder
Primary Weapon: Gigawatt Laser
Secondary Weapon: Limpets
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SSRII on the VUX (SC1 Manual)
The process of synthetic reconstruction of the VUX
produced evi-dence of a plodding, homely race whose
dedication to duty is matched only by its
temperamental outlook. The VUX is a bipedal
assemblage of an octopus and a slug, and has
inherited the least appealing features of both.
With its single, unblinking eye, the VUX is
sensitive to wide-spectrum EMR, and well-adapted to
the low-light environment of its home world. The
VUX’s physical repulsiveness is matched by
technological advances and enormous
linguistic-perceptive powers. This lan-guage
translation ability allowed one VUX ship to
intercept the communications of one Cruiser’s
commander, who had just sighted the VUX on his
laser display. The Captain’s offhand remark about
VUXian looks led to a severe Xenoform backlash. The
offended VUX, nursing a sense of collective insult,
soon attached itself to the Hierarchy. To this day,
the VUX find pleasure in repaying the Earthling
insult; their crews’ unblinking eyes glisten in
unison at the sight of a sizzling Cruiser which has
taken the force of a VUX laser full-bore.
Nonetheless, SSRII’s resident Socioanthropsychs
claim that the VUX’s hostility may not be engraved
in duralloy. They urge future overtures towards the
VUX once the Alliance smash-es the Hierarchy
threat.
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From the SC2 Manual
The VUX are bipedal, and would be considered
humanoid were it not for their heads, which look
like a tragic combination of a squid and a banana
slug. The VUX are very sensitive about their looks.
Indeed, in the VUX culture, physical appearance is
of tantamount importance, and the VUX spend a great
deal of their time on clothing, jewelry and useless
finery. The VUX’s repulsiveness to most other races
is matched by their technological achievement in
linguistic transla-tion devices. This combination
led to the unfortunate incident in 2126, when the
Earthling Cruiser Miwok made first contact with the
VUX near the Beta Luyten star system. The Miwok’s
Captain Rand, upon first seeing the VUX commander
on his view screen, remarked to his officers,
“That’s the ugliest freak-face I’ve ever seen!”
Rand was unaware that his every word was being
relayed to the VUX captian with perfect clarity.
This griev-ous insult, and the subsequent ill-will
between Earth and the VUX delayed the VUX’s entry
into the Alliance long enough for the Ur-Quan to
enslave them.
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From the SC3 Manual
The Vux resemble one eyed humanoid Earth squids.
While they are very sensitive about their own
appearance, most Vux find it difficult to stomach
the sight of other races, espe-cially Humans. The
Vux fought effectively as Battle Thralls, joyously
attacking every other race the Kzer-Za pointed them
at. After the last war, the Vux were freed from the
Hierarchy and offered membership in the League of
Sentient Races. They postponed joining the League
for as long as possible, but finally agreed to join
so that they could participate in this mission.
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The VUX Intruder carries a sole, monstrous
optical laser that burns through several meters of
duralloy in a few sec-onds. The craft’s
stasis-pulse battery, with its enor-mous capacity,
powers the optical laser. The Intruders are capable
of appearing in Truespace adjacent to any enemy
vessel; the crews’ navigational abil-ities make the
sneak attack a favorite tactic of these bipedal
nasties. An additional Intruder offensive weapon is
the “Limpet”, which launches inside a protective
cocoon which automatically targets enemy vessels.
Upon nearing a target, the cocoon cracks, releasing
the limpet to clamp down upon the enemy vessel’s
hull. The combination of inflicted damage and added
mass decreases a starship’s maneuverability. Only
after battle can a damaged ship remove the
offending limpets.
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Rather than building a faster ship, the VUX have
taken the approach of slowing the other ships down.
They do this by means of homing limpets which cling
to the hull of an enemy ship, making it less and
less maneuverable. In addition to this, the VUX
ship comes equipped with a very powerful
medium-range laser, and a large store of energy to
power it. The VUX is one of the slowest and least
maneuverable ships in the game. Helping to offset
this, the Intruder has the advantage of always
appear-ing near an enemy vessel when combat begins.
The VUX commander must be ready to fire instantly,
and make course adjust- ments to keep his laser on
target. If the enemy escapes and possesses any long
or intermediate range weapons, the VUX must
immediately seek out a planet and engage in a
Gravity Whip. If the enemy launches a seeking
weapon, don’t forget to shoot at it as it
approaches. When the VUX nears its target, it
should slow by rotating to face the enemy and
thrusting. Never engage your enemy unless you have
lots of fuel! To make effective use of your
limpets, deploy them in a curtain, then turn and
thrust ahead of where your enemy must flee to avoid
them. When the enemy is really gunked-up, and you
are fully recharged, use your laser to blast the
enemy ship’s hull. Remember, though the Yehat’s
shield is proof against your laser, your limpets
pass through its defenses unaffected.
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The Intruder is the only ship capable of
appearing adjacent to an enemy vessel at the start
of battle. As the Intruder is painfully slow, this
is its one chance to even the playing field. Rather
than making a ship capable of catching the enemy,
the VUX design strategy is to slow all other ships
down to their own speed. The Intruder accomplishes
this task by launching cocooned, biological limpets
which latch on to the enemy, adding mass and
destroying the vehicle's control planes. As long as
the Intruder can train its optical laser on an
enemy, it stands a good chance of destroying the
enemy vessel; however, there are very few ships
that cannot out- run the Intruder and its limpets.
If an enemy vessel can escape from the initial
Intruder attack without incurring limpets, the
enemy vessel stands a high probability of win- ning
the battle.
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I l w r a t h
"And Now, YOU DIE!!!" - A very wrong Ilwrath
Dill-Rats
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Name: Ilwrath (name was changed to
Dill-Rats)
Homeworld: Alpha Tauri
Co-Ordinates:
Status: Decimated and destroyed
Sphere of Influence: Smaller than the Arilou (he he
he)
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Formal Affilations: Hierarchy of Battle
Thralls
Religion: 'Warshipping' the Twin Gods of Darkness,
Dogar and Kazon
Ship name: Avenger
Primary weapon: Hellfire Blast
Secondary Weapon: Cloak
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Trade Master Greenish on the Ilwrath
The Ilwrath are presently attacking the Pkunk in
the Lacille and Krueger constellations. These
beings have slavish devotion to their dark gods
Dogar and Kazon which in the past has been used
against them by the Umgah. If you ever need to
manipulate the Ilwrath, we suggest you discover the
Umgah's technique and duplicate it.
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SSRII on the Ilwrath:
This Hierarchy race epitomizes evil. The Ilwrath
are spiderlike creatures committed to an absolute
religion. Ilwrath piety dictates a devotion to a
frightening higher calling. An Ilwrath crew
receives spiritual endorse-ment in the
accomplishment of vicious surprise attacks.
Moreover, Ilwrathian faith opposes the taking of
prisoners. Given the race’s devotion to war, the
alliance with the Ur-Quans is entirely natural.
However, fragmentary reconstruction of one Ur-Quan
-Ilwrath summit dialogue shows that even Ur-Quans
show restraint in the face of a belligerent faith.
One multilingual Ur-Quan Talking Pet inscribed the
follow-ing note in shorthand, deciphered by SSRII’s
interstellar linguist:
"Ilwrath hospitality best accepted in small
doses. Dinner fit for a spider. Entertainment a
grisly TELEVDR recap of annihilation of Chenjesus.
Most enjoyable."
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From the SC2 Manual:
Before the arrival of the Ur-Quan, these violent,
religious insectoids were of little consequence to
their neighbors, the Chenjesu and the Mmrnmhrm,
because they possessed little in the way of
advanced technology or raw resources. However, when
the Ur-Quan conquered their species, the spider-ish
Ilwrath became dangerous indeed. Now, with modern
weapons and drive systems, the Ilwrath revel in
their opportunities to deceive and destroy other
forms of life, as is required by their twin gods of
evil, Dogar and Kazon.
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The Ilwrath Avenger maneuvers effortlessly. The
Avenger relies upon the deadly HellFire Blast,
which is potent at short range. The Avenger’s
unique cloaking powers render the ship invisible.
Combined with the Avenger’s aggressive instincts,
this stealth capability makes the Avenger the ideal
attack weapon. The Avenger’s maximum speed doesn’t
match that of the Alliance’s best ships. This
weak-ness is concealed, however, unless enemy
vessels remove themselves from the Hellfire Blast’s
effective range. Rumors suggest that Avenger crews
chant a death spell after successful battle,
contorting their spi-dery forms into joyful
frenzies and paroxysms of unearthly pleasure.
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The Ilwrath ships are only moderately powerful
because they are not very fast, and their weapon is
only effective at short range. In order to
compensate for their weapon’s shortcomings, the
Ilwrath ship has a special cloaking capabili-ty.
Learn where the Ilwrath Avenger is when it is
invisible. Since the screen always centers on the
midpoint between the two ships, the Ilwrath is
always diagonally opposite its opponent. When your
enemy gets near the center of the screen, you must
be there too. So open fire, literally! Be aware
that when you uncloak by firing your hellblast,
your ship is automatically oriented to point at
your opponent’s ship. If your enemy has maneuvered
around behind you, you can turn around instantly by
cloaking and immediately firing your hellblast.
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U m g a h
"We pretty crazy blobbies, huh?"
The Agoraphobic ones
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Name: Umgah
Homeworld: Beta Orionis
Co-Ordinates:
Status: Stable
Sphere of Influence: Small-to-medium sized
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Formal Affilations: Hierarchy of Battle Thralls,
New Alliance of Free Stars (briefly)
Religion: Unknown (Any
Suggestions?)
Ship Name: Drone
Primary Weapon: Anti-Matter Cone
Secondary Weapon: Retro-Propulsion System
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The Umgah are blobbish creatures consisting of
three main body parts: mouths, eyes and tentacles.
Their heightened sensory appendages do not
compensate for an appearance which, in the words of
a tired SSRII syntho-reconstructionist, “gives the
VUX a run for their starbucks.” The Umgah are
marked by an unusual sense of humor, a cosmic
wittiness fitted to their bizarre appearance.
Umgahs regard their participation in the Ur-Quan
Hierarchy with bemusement, and the conflict between
the Hierarchy and the Alliance as an ongoing
intergalactic prank. Boredom, as ever, motivates
all creatures to feats of deadly purpose.
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The Umgah are blobbish creatures consisting of
four main attributes; eyes, mouths, tentacles and a
strong sense of humor. The Umgah make use of
bio-logical forms in their technology and must
often rely on biomechanical hybridization. The
Umgah prefer warm, moist subterranean dwellings,
sheathing the interior of their ships with a thick,
wet skin, and suffer from agoraphobia – the fear of
open spaces. Before they were enslaved by the
Ur-Quan, the Umgah culture was rela-tively
peaceful, content to expand slowly through the
surrounding Orionis constellation. The most serious
conflicts caused by the Umgah are the result of
their incessant practical jokes, such as clogging a
fleet of Spathi Eluders’ life-support systems with
fast-growing foul-smelling goo.
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The Umgah fly an anti-matter cone whose profile,
when analyzed, projects forward. The Drone’s
navigational attitude can be main-tained
indefinitely without loss of power, and lets the
ship be both weapon and shield against incoming
missiles. Enemy vessels entering the Umgah Drone’s
anti-matter cone take immediate, often fatal,
damage. The Umgah rely on a phenomenal
retro-propulsion system which hurls the ship
backwards with terrific force, endangering any
enemy vessels sucked into the anti-matter cone.
Retro-propulsion drains great amounts of energy;
however, the Drone’s power is unilaterally restored
after a prolonged delay in which the Umgah are
noticeably vulnerable.
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The Umgah Drone can defeat any other ship, given
just a few seconds at close range. A favorite Umgah
tactic is to zip backwards right up next to its
enemy. If the anti-matter cone is up through the
maneuver, there is a chance of it grazing the enemy
as you zip past for a few bonus points of damage –
especially important against the Arilou. Another
way to use the retro-movement is to thrust at the
same time you zip backwards. This results in a
jerky, half-speed maneu-ver which opponents often
find difficult to deal with. The Umgah’s
anti-matter cone also makes an effective shield
against most incoming missiles. Notable exceptions
are the Chenjesu’s whole pho-ton crystal and the
Ur-Quan’s fusion blast, which pass through the
conical field unharmed. The Umgah receives all its
power in one big whack after a considerable delay.
Each time the Umgah uses its anti-matter cone, this
delay is reset to maximum. So if you keep the cone
up, you will never regain fuel.
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T h r a d d a s h
"YAK YAK YAK - YAMMER YAMMER YAMMER!"
of the 19th Culture (If you call it a
culture...)
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Name: Thraddash
Homeworld: Delta Draconis
Co-Ordinates:
Status: Devastated, probably will emerge as the
20th Culture
Sphere of Influence: Non-existant
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Formal Affilations: Hierarchy of Battle Thralls,
New Alliance of Free Stars (briefly, if at all)
Religion: Unknown.
(Any
Suggestions?)
Ship Name: Torch
Primary Weapon: Mark 6 Guns
Secondary Weapon: Reeunk Afterburners
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Trade Master Greenish on the
Thraddash
The Thraddash are an arrogant, stubborn and
thick-skinned species who reside in the Draconis
and Apodis star systems. They have little or no
respect for anything but force, which they admire
greatly. To make the Thraddash your friends, you
should consider killing most, but not all of them.
In addition, they guard some kind of sacred relic
at the star system Zeta Draconis though we do not
know the true nature of this artifact. The
Thraddash homeworld is at Delta Draconis.
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From the SC2 Resource Guide:
The Thraddash are an arrogant, stubborn, and
thick-skinned species who reside in the Draconis
and Apodis star systems. They have little or no
respect for anything but force, which they admire
greatly. There is an old Melnorme proverb about the
Thraddash which goes something like this: “To make
a Thraddash your friend, kill him — but then of
course, he’s dead, so what’s the point?” Thraddash
history includes the rise and fall of nineteen
planetwide cultures. Tradition dictates that for a
new culture to emerge and assume dominance, it must
defeat the previous culture in battle. As a
consequence, the Thraddash are constantly blasting
themselves back into savagery — all in the name of
progress. When the Ur-Quan entered the local region
of space, the first race they conquered was the
Thraddash, who eagerly chose the role of battle
thrall. However, due to the Thraddash’s arrogance
and relatively weak starships (a model previous to
the one now in service), the Ur-Quan left them
behind in the Draconis star system to “guard the
rear”.
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From the SC2 Manual:
The Torch is a difficult ship to master, but can be
quite potent when it is flown well. The normal
weapon of this ship is a simple long range weapon
that does a small amount of damage. The special
capability of this ship is to eject ultra high
pressure bursts of plasma out the rear of the
craft. These propel the ship forward at great speed
and act as an effective turbo boost. Commanders
must learn to use this as their primary means of
propulsion rather than their engines, which
actually slow the vessel down. By using the rear
‘Torch’, commanders can stay far away from shorter
range ships, and hit enemies with its long range
weapon. When these Torch bursts are laid down in a
wall in the path of an oppo-nent that is moving a
lot, they can be a powerful offense. These bursts
can also be used defensively to block incoming
shots. This technique requires the Torch captain to
keep the rear of the ship facing the opponent
whenever it is not advantageous to be firing.
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U r - Q u a n . Ko h r - A h
"Make whatever rituals are necessary for your
species."
Sub-Species of the Original (though extinct)
Ur-Quan
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Name: Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah
Homeworld: None. They have been wanderers for
20,000 years.
Co-Ordinates:
Status: Re-Doctrinating
Sphere of Influence: Huge. (At least, before the
Chmmr decimated it...)
Formal Affilations: Sentient Milieu, Dnyarri Slave
Empire, Hierarchy
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of Battle Thralls (kinda...), League of Sentient
Races
Religion: The Various Doctrines (most recently, the
Path of Ceaseless Vigilence), though they do
believe in re-incarnation.
Ship Name: Marauder
Primary Weapon: Shurikens
Secondary Weapon: The F.R.I.E.D Corona
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Trade Master Greenish on the Kohr-Ah
The creatures presently fighting the Ur-Quan are
called the Kohr-Ah. They are an Ur-Quan sub-species
that split off from the main species many thousands
of years ago. Their present fight is a ritual
reenactment of a major difference of opinion
between rival Ur-Quan leaders after the Ur-Quan
overwhelmed their slave-masters, the Dnyarri. The
Kohr-Ah are immune to reason, having long ago lost
the ability to see their situation objectively.
They live in a self-maintained paradox: to ensure
their safety and security, the Kohr-Ah fight an
endless battle against all other sentient species.
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The Kohr-Ah are a variant strain of the Ur-Quan
race, synthetically split off from the main species
to become the “muscle” of the Dnyarri slave empire
— the physical laborers and soldiers. In
appearance, the Kohr-Ah resemble the Ur-Quan,
except that they have a black body sheath, while
the Ur-Quans have a brilliant green exterior. When
the Dnyarri were defeated over 20,000 years ago,
both the Ur-Quan and the Kohr-Ah agreed that they
had to do something to ensure that they would never
again be made slaves. The green Ur-Quan devised the
“Path of Now and Forever”, a doctrine which
dictated that all other races must be either
permanent slaves to the Ur-Quan, or be forever
trapped on their own world under an impenetrable
force shield. This plan was not sufficient for the
black Ur-Quan. Nothing less than the complete
destruction of all non-Ur-Quan sentient life was
acceptable, and this was defined to be the “Eternal
Doctrine” by a new leader named Kohr-Ah. The
conflict between the Kohr-Ah and the Ur-Quan led to
a bloody war. The Kohr-Ah lost, and were exiled by
the Ur-Quan. The Kohr-Ah slowly rebuilt their
strength and now pursue their “Eternal Doctrine” of
geno-cide.
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Physically, Ur-Quan resemble huge ten meter long
caterpillars. The black bodied Kohr-Ah are
sub-species of the original brown Ur-Quan, now
extinct. After winning their freedom, the
subspecies of Ur-Quan adopted competing doctrines,
each designed to guarantee the Ur-Quan would never
again be made slaves. The Kohr-Ah adopted their own
"Eternal Doctrine", which dictated the total
annihilation of all non Ur-Quan sentient life. In
the last war, the Kohr-Ah were on the verge of
defeating the Kzer-Za. But the Kohr-Ah were in turn
defeated by the clever human use of priceless
Precursor artifacts to destroy the otherwise
indestructible battle platform, the Sa-Matra. With
the threat of the Sa-Matra elimi-nated, the
combined forces of the expanded New Alliance of
Free Stars defeated the Kohr-Ah. The Kzer-Za
represented the now united Ur-Quan in all
negotiations. The Ur-Quan were admitted as
probationary members of the League of Sentient
Races. They participate in this mission to prove
their loyalty to the League.
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The Kohr-Ah ship is one of the few ships that is
a good match for an Ur-Quan Dreadnought. The two
ships are comparable in speed, maneuverability,
crew, and energy regeneration. However, instead of
firing plasma blasts, the Kohr-Ah vessel fires
missiles which continue to move away from the ship
until the Fire Button is released. Once the Fire
Button is released, these spinning, metal
blade-disks remain where they are placed. When an
enemy vessel draws near, it tracks on the vessel
and closes with it. A Kohr-Ah commander will often
first lay down a defensive wall of blades around
his ship, then litter an opponent’s path with the
spinning weapons. Only eight blades may be present
on the screen at any given time. When a ninth is
fired, the first one disappears. The other
capability of the Kohr-Ah ship is known by the
other alien races as “the Fiery Ring of Inevitable
and Eternal Destruction” or F.R.I.E.D. This is
actually an expanding ring of super-heated gases
that can be used both for defense and close range
offense. When facing the Ur-Quan, the Kohr-Ah is
better off staying farther away, and the Ur-Quan is
better off closing.
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Because of their history, Kohr-Ah loyalty should
continually be placed under close scrutiny. The
Marauders were a unique ship that in many ways were
not properly suited to the Kohr-Ah temperament.
This vessel fired a spinning metal razor disk that
continued to travel in a straight path as long as
the commander held down the primary fire button.
When the fire button was release, the razor disks
held their posi- tion in space, and acted as mines.
A Marauder holding a defensive position inside a
ring of razor disks would prove a daunting
opponent. As the razor disks effectively had an
unlimited range, the Marauder's enemy would
eventually be pressed into an attack or lose the
battle through attrition. In the past, the Human
Cruiser's best tactics were to hold out a
long-distance position and hope to launch enough
missiles and destroy the Marauder before being
ripped to shred by its razor disks.
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Commence Retrodigestive Data Disposal — Security
Experts, Division of Special Synthetic Reconstruction,
Intergalactic Intelligence.
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The Burvixese race evolved on the planet Arcturus 1,
progressing from turtle-like swamp dwellers to a benevolent,
highly technological society in just over fifteen million
Earth years. Although the Burvixese had the wherewithal to
build crude interplanetary vessels, they preferred to remain
on the comfortable damp surface of their world and explore
the galaxy through HyperWave communication. Using this
method, the Burvixese made contact with several neighboring
alien cultures, includ-ing the Utwig, the Gg, and
unfortunately, the Druuge, whom the Burvixese would have
been much better off never finding. For many decades, the
Burvixese exchanged information with these races, trading
technological, historical and philosophical facts and
theories, until the fateful year 2142. It was then that the
Gg announced that they had come under attack by a unknown
alien race, who appeared to want nothing less than their
complete annihilation. The Gg surmised that the hostile
race, the Kohr-Ah, had located them using the Gg’s HyperWave
transmissions. Knowing that they had little chance of
survival, the Gg warned the Burvixese that, unless they
restricted their own transmis-sions, they too might face a
gruesome fate. Being a charitable race, before the Burvixese
turned off their HyperWave transmitters, they shared the
Gg’s warning with the Druuge. But it was too late. The
Druuge’s powerful advertising beacons had already attract-ed
the attention of the murderous Kohr-Ah, who, having finished
with the Gg, began moving in the general direction of the
Persei constella-tion, home of the Druuge. Realizing their
peril, the Druuge took imme-diate action. They ceased all
transmissions and sent a task force of their fastest ships
to the moon of the Burvixese world. Once there, the task
force assembled a huge HyperWave broadcaster on the moon’s
surface. When it was complete, the Druuge activated the unit
which began emit-ting powerful HyperWave signals, focused
directly toward the oncoming Kohr-Ah fleet. The Druuge hoped
that the hostile aliens would change course toward the
Burvixese planet and fail to find their own worlds.
Unfortunately, this ruse was all too effective: the Kohr-Ah
changed course, attacked the poor Burvixese and, sadly,
destroyed them all in three days of orbital bombardment.
Trade Master Greenish on the Burvixese
The Burvixese race evolved on the planet Arcturus I. They
lived there in a relatively benevolent manner until the
Kohr-Ah came and destroyed them during the course fo 2 or 3
unfortunate days. The Druuge were largely responsible for
the Kohr-Ah's finding the Burvixese. You see, the Burvixese
were in long-distance HyperWave contact with a race known
simply as the Gg. For decades the Gg and the Burvixese
traded much valuable information until the Gg came under
attack by an invading race who you may know as the Kohr-Ah.
The Gg warned the Burvixese that the Kohr-Ah located races
by their HyperWave transmissions and they had already
discovered the radiations from the Druuge. When the
Burvixese were kind enough to warn the Druuge shut down all
their transmitters and erected a powerful HyperWave beacon
on the surface of the Burvixese moon. The Kohr-Ah changed
course, attacked the poor Burvixese and sadly, destroyed
them all.
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This evil alien race consists of small, grayish creatures
resembling a cross between a toad and an unhealthy mushroom.
The Dnyarri’s unassuming aspect belies its true nature as
one of the most hostile and dan-gerous species in the
galaxy, because each Dnyarri possesses psychic compulsion
men-tal powers. With these powers, a single Dnyarri can hold
an entire planet enthralled. A Dnyarri mental command is so
strong that only one race, the extinct Taalo, had been able
to resist its power.
The non-technological Dnyarri were discov-ered over 20,000
years ago by the Ur-Quan, then a peaceful member of the
Sentient Milieu. The Ur-Quan brain was particularly
susceptible to the Dnyarri’s psychic compulsion, and the
Dnyarri used this weakness to force the Ur-Quan to transport
them off their planet and distribute them throughout Milieu
space. The ensuing slave war lasted only a few months as
race after race was quickly enslaved by the Dnyarri’s’
powers. Only the Taalo could resist, and they were destroyed
by the other, now-enslaved races.
The reign of the Dnyarri lasted several thousand years.
During this time, they ruled the ex-milieu races with
uniquely perverse cruelty, even caus-ing two of the species
to be utterly destroyed. This period of time was a living
nightmare for the races who survived.
Like all slave masters, the Dnyarri were eventually
defeated. The hatred of their freed slaves was so extreme
that the Dnyarri were not eliminat-ed. Instead, their
genetic structures were modified so that their offspring
were born non-sentient — dumb animals, who the Ur-Quan took
as pets. The immense telepathic powers remained in the
Dnyarri, but with-out intelligence they could use these
abilities only for interspecies trans-lation at the command
of their masters. Over the following millennia the Dnyarri
became known as the “Talking Pets”.
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Druuge
"Die, Child, DIE!!!"
The Slave Traders (don't deny it!)
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Name: Druuge
Main Trading World: Zeta Persei I
Co-Ordinates:
Status: Business is dropping...
Sphere of Influence: Large
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Formal Affilations: No outside affilations are
known at present.
Religion: Unknown. (Any
Suggestions?)
Ship Name: Mauler
Primary Weapon: High-Velocity Cannon
Secondary Weapon: Matter-to-energy Furnace
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Trade Master Greenish on the Druuge
I must warn you about some very bad people. "Is
this worth so many credits?" you ask yourself. I
assure you, it is! The creatures called the Druuge
and they are a callous and evil race. They care for
nothing but profit and personal gain through unfair
mercantile exchanges... Why are you looking at me
like that, Captain? It is not appropriate. As I
was saying, these wicked creatures will try to sell
you commodities at unreasonably low prices. Hoy! -
they almost gave away fuel! Do not fall for their
tricks! There are hidden costs - secret tariffs!
So that you may avoid them, I will tell you that
their major homeworld is Zeta Persei I. Why are you
smiling, Captain?
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From the SC2 Resource Guide
The Druuge are a callous, amoral and per-haps even
genuinely evil race who care for nothing but profit
and personal gain, usual-ly through devious
mercantile exchange. Physiologically, the Druuge
are humanoid, but they possess certain
characteristics which make them less than
attractive to people from Earth. Chief among these
traits are body odor, constant oozing from the
mouth, nose and ears, and breath best described as
putrid.
Druuge history bears strong similarity to that of
Earth, however. Having evolved from solitary
hunter-gatherers, rather than tribes, the
individualization of the Druuge is much greater
than that of most humans. Sentiment, and more
specifically the con-cepts of Love, Honor and
Charity, are totally foreign. Druuge “families” are
profit-making undertakings. Mutually acceptable
males and fe-males meet at “Repro Mixers”,
negotiate terms, sign the necessary forms, and
engage in the requisite carnality. Any offspring
are instantly made part of this business
arrangement, and typically accept terms which give
their parents a 12-18% lifetime royalty on their
income. Since the parents’ take is directly
proportional to their offsprings’ occupation,
families usual-ly spend considerable funds in
education and specific training to further the
return on their investment.
At present, all living Druuge are employed by a
single entity, the Crimson Corporation. In the past
there were other businesses, but with the
relaxation of anti-monopoly laws, the formation of
a single, mono-lithic company was inevitable. Using
leverage buyout tactics, the Crimson Corporation
has purchased all land on all Druuge planets, and
the atmosphere as well. Breathing, as such, is
considered a perq of working for the Corporation,
and consequently there is limited job turnover.
Retirement benefits most often include continued
breath provi-sions, though at reduced levels.
Not more than fifty years ago, the Druuge were
informed by the now-extinct Burvixese race (whose
sad death can be blamed directly on the Druuge) of
a powerful alien nation called the Utwig. The Utwig
pos-sessed some kind of gigantic bomb. The Druuge
recognized the description of the bomb as a
Precursor planeteering tool, and they set out to
make it their own. Traveling from Zeta Persei (the
location of their central trade world), the Druuge
met the Utwig at Beta Aquarii. Their plan was to
entice them with useless but genuine Precursor
arti- facts and take the bomb in exchange. The
Utwig fell for the Druuge’s foul ruse, and snapped
up the artifacts. But instead of giving the Druuge
their desired price, the Utwig traded a collection
of `historical oddments and genuine artifacts’,
which to this day the Druuge are trying to unload
on unwary buyers. Specifically, these include
Wimbli’s Trident and the Glowing Rod which are
worthless, as well as the Rosy Sphere which is
useful.
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This ship is perfect for sharp-shooters since
its only weapon is a high-velocity, very long-range
cannon. When fired, the recoil of the massive
discharge will send the Mauler sailing backwards.
Should the heavy projectile strike its target, the
enemy vessel gets a similar shove. The experi-enced
Druuge commander can use this recoil effect as a
super-thruster. The Druuge Mauler has pitifully
slow energy regeneration and when unable to shoot
the ship is a sitting duck. To compensate for this
weak-ness, the Druuge has a matter-to-energy
converter that transforms crew members into instant
bursts of power. Each time the special power is
acti-vated, one crew will be “tossed into the
furnace.”
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Exquivan Enigma
Formal Affiliation: none - defensive recluses
Primary Weapon: weak, but rapid and smart guardian
missiles
Secondary Ability: teleport opponent
Although the Enigma has no conventional offensive
weaponry, it is deceptively powerful, and is one of the most
dangerous ships in the Kessari Quadrant. At first glance,
the Enigma appears only suited for defense; however, if
allowed time to deploy its entire array of blocker missiles,
the Enigma can lit-erally roll over its enemy by launching a
surprise attack with the teleporter then quickly advancing
to the target. The Enigma's blockers will attempt to
intercept enemy missiles; this tendency can be used to your
advantage.
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The Gg were known only by the now-extinct Burvixese race
who com-municated with the Gg via long range HyperWave
broadcast. It was the Gg who warned the Burvixese of the
approach of the hostile Kohr-Ah, as well as the accurate
conjecture that the Kohr-Ah used HyperWave trans-missions to
locate their prey. Since the Gg were loath to engage in
visual transmissions, their appearance must remain an
eternal mystery for their world was incinerated by the
Kohr-Ah in 2142.
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Herald Eradicator
Formal Affiliation: Bound to the Eternal Ones
Primary Weapon: moderately powerful, fairly rapid small
forward missiles with very long range
Secondary Ability: cloak
The Eradicator holds the advantage in battle as long as
its enemy is confused as to the ship's position and heading.
For faster ships, the Eradicator is best suited to stay far
out, uncloak for a brief shot, then cloak again while
changing position. Against a ship with a slow turning
radius, the Eradicator is very effective at moving in for a
sneak attack on the ship's rear flank, then opening up with
a barrage of fire. The cloaking feature effectively acts as
a shield to the Human Cruiser's weapons as they cannot track
on a cloaked ship, so the Captain is advised to monitor his
energy reserves, and time his attack for when the Eradicator
is uncloaked.
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LK Sanctorum
Formal Affiliation: none
Primary Weapon: weak, but rapid oscillating forward bullets
with long range
Secondary Ability: phase shift
The Sanctorum is a relatively simple ship, and its only
advantage is that it is virtually impossible to engage a
Sanctorum without suffering damage. The Sanctorum has a
restricted range where it can maintain an effective attack
but still have enough time to maneuver away from or shift
through enemy missiles. Rapid damage at close range may
effectively nullify the Sanctorum's few advantages.
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Melnorme
"In our culture, the transmission of information
without fair and proper exchange of goods, is
considered vulgar."
The Mael-Num
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Name:
Homeworld: Unknown.
Where the Melnorme can be found: Any
supergiant star system
Status: Stable, more prosperous than the
Druuge...
Sphere of Influence: No official sphere of
influence.
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Formal Affilations:
Religion: Unknown. (Any
Suggestions?)
Ship Name: Trader (How appropriate...)
Primary Weapon: Keel-Veresy Power Blaster
Secondary Weapon: Confusion Ray
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The Melnorme are interstellar traders who deal
primarily in information. Since they enjoy somewhat
of a monopoly on HyperSpace trading, the Melnorme
never haggle over a price. Their first offer is
their one and only offer. The Melnorme are
espe-cially interested in data on alien life forms,
as well as the locations of “Rainbow Worlds”, rare
planets whose strange radia-tions confuse starship
scanning systems.
The history of the Melnorme is poorly understood,
not because they are unwilling to reveal details,
but because they will only do so for vast sums of
credits. Even the location of their homeworlds is
unknown.
Regardless of the details, the depth and breadth of
this species’ knowl-edge makes it obvious that the
Melnorme are an old and widely traveled race.
Since the Melnorme have only one eye, they have no
depth perception, but their singular ocular organ
is rich in complex-cone cells, affording them
sensitivity to light far outside the range of human
perception. Perhaps as a consequence, the Melnorme
take great care and concern with color.
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The primary weapon aboard the Melnorme
(pro-nounced Mehl-nor-may) Trader is a long-range,
variable power blaster, fired by holding down the
Fire key and then releasing it. The Melnorme’s
pro-jectile becomes larger and more destructive
while the Fire key is held. The weapon has 4
degrees of power, reflected in the color of the
pulsating mis-sile. A green weapon is weakest, next
comes blue, pur-ple, and finally red. Each color
change represents a dou-bling in the strength of
the weapon. The Melnorme ship will not regenerate
energy while “holding” the weapon; however, at
these times the weapon acts as a front shield for
the ship. The special power of the Melnorme Trader
is a long-range confusion ray which scrambles the
enemy vessel control systems, causing the enemy to
tumble out of control. The effect lasts only a few
sec-onds, so the Melnorme must follow-up the attack
with a powerful blaster strike, or an additional
whack with another confusion ray. Note that in
order to penetrate an enemy ship’s hardened control
system, the Melnorme confusion weapon drains almost
half of its maximum supply of energy.
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Owa Voyager
Formal Affiliation: none
Primary Weapon: powerful long-range tracking cluster
missile
Secondary Ability: non-damaging control inhibition missiles
(rear)
The Owa's cluster missile must have enough distance from
the target for its cluster missiles to break and spread. If
the Owa strikes its opponent with an inhibition missile, a
follow-up with cluster missiles is likely to end the battle.
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All over the galaxy, there can be found ruins and
artifacts left by the race we know as the Precursors. Even
with all these artifacts, we know little about them. We do
know the Precursors were apparently giant non-bipedal beings
with great intelligence. Most of the Precursor items that
have been discovered seem to be technological in nature.
Unconfirmed alien reports indicate the Precursors either
discovered or manufactured the Rainbow Worlds, but we didn't
know how or why. The ten Rainbow Worlds in the home quadrant
seem to form an arrow pointing toward the Kessari quadrant
and the galactic core. Those same reports say the Precursors
had found an answer to some great secret mystery just before
their departure about 235,000 years ago.
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Slylandro
"Great. Now look what you've done. You've made
Sullen Plummet so nervous that she can't even
regulate her ballast."
The Gas-Bags
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Name: Slylandro
Homeworld: Beta Corvi V
Co-Ordinates:
Status: Stable, though unable to expand.
Sphere of Influence: Non-existant. They own a
planet - that's it.
Formal Affilations: None.
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Religion: Cloud Religion
Ship Name: Probe
Classification Number: 2418-B
Primary Weapon: Lightening Strike
Secondary Weapon: Asteroid-to-Energy Converter
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Slylandro are a mostly non-solid, sentient race
who live in a gas giant at Beta Corvi. We recently
sold them a self-replicating exploration probe
which has somehow turned hostile and attacks
everything it detects. If such encounters have
angered you, Captain, please do NOT address your
concerns to us. We possess a formal Waiver of
Damages, authorized by a Slylandro Speaker and are
in no way responsible for the situation.
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The Slylandro are an ancient race of gasbag
people who live in the upper reaches of a gas
giant’s atmosphere. Their insubstantial physiology
has made it difficult for the Slylandro to
construct starships or other physical
paraphernalia, and indeed they are incapable of
surviving the rigors of space travel. However, the
Slylandro are interested in exploration and new
knowledge, and were frustrated in this regard until
the Melnorme happened by a few decades ago. The
Melnorme, who are always interested in barter for
new knowledge, offered to sell the Slylandro
robotic probe ships with which they could explore
the galaxy in a remote fashion.
Unfortunately, the Slylandro made a slight error in
programming the probes resulting in unanticipated
behavior; instead of making friendly contact with
alien life forms, the probes attack anything that
moves.
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The Slylandro Probe tumbles through space
devouring asteroids and zapping anything it can
catch with massive electrical dis-charges. Like a
shark, the Probe must continually move, constantly
twist-ing its invisible magnetic scoops to scavenge
interstellar hydrogen for its internal fusion
generator. While the player cannot cause the Probe
to stop, the rotational controls will cause a
change in its trajectory, and the thrust control
will make the Probe reverse direction instantly.
Gravity has no effect on this vessel; however,
impacting the planet will be severely damaging. The
Probe’s best combat strategy is to first energize
its lightning batteries by moving close to an
asteroid and use its special power to pulverize the
rock and absorb it as energy. Then the Probe must
move toward its opponent, dodging all incoming
missiles. When it has gotten close enough for the
screen to zoom it to the most magnified view, the
Probe should unleash its auto-fire lightning until
its batteries are exhausted, all the while
maneuvering to stay behind its opponent.
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Vyro-Ingo Invader
Formal Affiliation: none
Primary Weapon: weak surrounding shield
Secondary Ability: drop weak wakes
This ship is one of the least effective fighters, but if
used correctly it can prove an annoyance. Wakes placed
around planets serve a dual purpose to the Invader by
directly harm-ing its enemies and making their escape from a
planet's gravity more difficult. The Invader's shield is not
particularly effective, and most ships can get in enough
shots to destroy this vessel before the Invader is able to
ram with its shields up.
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Xchagger Exclave
Formal Affiliation: League
Primary Weapon: weak, but rapid dual forward bullets
Secondary Ability: non-damaging rotation reversal missiles
(rear)
The Exclave's rapid firing rate can prove devastating.
Effective use of the paralysis missiles minimizes the
Exclave's disadvantageous slow turning radius. As long as
you stay clear of the Exclave and launch stand-off attacks,
combat with the Exclave is relatively safe.
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