Starbound

The year is 7772, stardate December 9th.

In the setting of the story, it is the universe of the game Starbound (Specifically with the Frackin Universe mod intact, so its planet types also exist). The universe is home to dozens or perhaps hundreds of Sapient races, though seven are united in a unique origin, being descendants of an ancient near Omnipotent race, the Precursors. None of these species know they are genetically related, with it being a secret lost to time, just as the fate of the precursors was. These species are united in their general body plan, two legs, two arms, one head, two eyes, etc. These species are-

Humans - the inhabitants of Earth, humans have a mixed reputation throughout the galaxy. Though innovative and hardy, humans have a reputation for sometimes being less level headed and more prone to violence than other species, whether or not this reputation is deserved.

Humans were torn apart by war for hundreds of years even after becoming a space-faring species, with the USMC (United Systems Military Command), an autocratic Junta, having occupied Earth and most of the inner colonies for centuries before their defeat by the URF (United Rebel Front), with the URF calling a meeting to discuss terms of an official Earth government the other colonies would be happy with.

The solution, with the help from Florans, Apex, Glitch, Hylotl, Avians, and Novakid, was to form the Terrene Protectorate, a unified Earth government that overseas all human (and multirace) colonies, while accepting members of all races into their government and Protector program.

What is the Terrene Protectorate's Protector Program? A system whereby people of the seven member races can sign up to get an education and combat training, and becoming a Protector in an official capacity. Protectors fill many roles, from offering help to those in need, to serving as a kind of space police against bandits and murderers, to overseeing the necessary steps to ensure the peace between all seven races isn't broken. By uniting under the Terrene Protectorate, all seven races descended of the Precursors unknowingly got back together.

Floran - Carnivorous plant-humanoids, Florans are a Matriarchal and primitive society, where those who have the power to take what they want simply take it, with women grabbing mates with or without their permission by force. Florans have a reputation for being technologically primitive though also cunning and violent. Florans were initially hostile to all other races as they simply viewed all non-plant life as food - though eventually a Floran wisewoman Greenfinger studied the Galaxy and taught Florans empathy for other beings. By this point Florans had almost driven another species, the Hylotl, to extinction.

Florans are now no longer all hostile, but they maintain a reputation for still often being opportunistic hunters, primitive, and primal. Florans often speak in simple sentences and in third person.

The few Florans who are traveling space generally do it in stolen ships or 'bioships' that are pieces of different spacecraft sewn together by a near-magical way of growing plants into intentional ships and patterns that only the Floran have truly mastered, being nearly one with the plant life.

Floran villages are primitive, often built of unrefined wood, reeds, thatching, bamboo, whatever plant matter they can widdle down for their huts. What is truly impressive though is the heart of all Floran villages - the Wisewoman's tower. The village Wisewoman will live in an opulent home that is quite literally a tree that their mastery of nature has allowed them to manipulate into growing a house. Floran wisewomen's houses are expertly built, spiral stairways of enormous tree trunks, woven branches and reeds just perfectly to make rooms in the canopy of the trees.

Apex - The Apex were once almost identical to humans, thousands of years ago. However, when a virus begn eradicating their species, the vaccine they came up with to defeat it has resulted in all Apex bearing a more gorilla-like appearance, with fullbody hair and more primate features. Despite this, Apex are extremely intelligent and some of the finest scientists in the galaxy. Apex society's homeworld and many of their systems are currently run by an Orwellian totalitarian state called the Ministry of Knowledge (though they shorten their name to Miniknog and this is how all common Apex refer to them). For this reason, Apex often join starship crews or take up mercenary work to get out of their home territory and escape the grip of the Miniknog.

Apex ships and gear is high-tech and sleek and often features white and cyan coloring, sharp edges and sleek visors.

Apex infrastructure is brutalist and bleak, with the Miniknog's goal to expanding to as many worlds as possible meaning that cheap brick and mortar apartment buildings with cheap mass-produced furniture and tacky wallpaper and wooden paneling to 'uplift' the depressing aesthetic being the norm.

Propaganda about obeying 'Big Ape' is found all over their cities, and statues of the eponymous 'Big Ape', depicted as a huge Apex general, are a mainstay. Nobody knows if Big Ape is a real Apex or a propaganda figure made up by the Miniknog, but either way the term brings fear in all dissidents and pride in all Mininkog loyalists.

Miniknog society is orderly and regular, with Apex expected to live a 'normal life', go to school, work a job, marry, have kids. All for the good of their society, and under the watchful guiding hand of 'Big Ape'. The Ape like genetic changes accidentally brought on by the vaccine against Ape Flu (The semi-humorous ironic nickname given to the plague that almost wiped out the Apex before they were 'Apeified') also making Apex enjoy things like bananas and sex more.

Apex society is very hierarchal and structured.

There is an ongoing to this day civil war between the Miniknog and the People's Reclamation Army, an Anarcho-Communist guerilla group that is spread out over dozens of planets they secretly control, where they wage a guerilla war on the Miniknog to save Apex kind.

Glitch - Glitch are Androids, they appear humanoid, but instead of a face they have a flat panel with an LCD that features expressive eyes. Glitch are an artificial race created by the Precursors as one avenue of exploration of potential immortality (though this ultimately failed, the Glitch were kept around).

Glitch need to do all the same things organics do, (breathe, eat, sleep) because of their odd programming given to them by the lost race known as the Precursors aeons and aeons ago.

The Glitch were meant to simulate a society's development, but due to a glitch (Hence their self-given race name, the Glitch), the Glitch are stuck at a level of development coinciding with medieval humanity. They live around castles with kings, they have feudal lords and knights. They fight with swords and bows. And they are all robots.

Most Glitch seem unaware of the fact this is abnormal and will refuse to admit it as a flaw in casual discussion, this is believed to be a programming backup. However, some Glitch break free of this programming, these 'free Glitch' can no longer as easily relate to their Brethren stuck in the mannerisms and tech of the medieval era and their seeming lack of self-awareness to how banormal it is for a whole race to have been stuck with this tech for millenia, and will often leave to live among the other races instead, where they are known as skilled and dedicated warriors with a surprising capacity for compassion and bravery.

Glitch speak by prefacing their sentence with their emotion, i.e. (Angry. That isn't yours! Put it down at once!) if you steal from them, or something like (Polite. Hello there, my good fellow.)

Free Glitch fly a variety of ships, from corporate to homemade, though sometimes they steal the only space-capable craft their non-free Brethren field, the Royal Palace, which is a fancy name for what is essentially an entire flying castle owned by the 'King' of Glitch on a planet. The Kings often have both an actual castle built on the ground and their Royal Palace as a backup in case for some reason fleeing the planet is necessary.

Hylotl - The Hylotl are an interesting race. Three-eyed (being the only race not to have two eyes in the seven descendants of the precursors, their eyes take a triangle shape upon their heads. Hylotl bodies are aquatic in nature. Ancient Hylotl were once amphibious, but when their species was invaded by the Florans, the Hylotl sunk their cities under the water, and over aeons the once only semi-aquatic species became fully aquatic, though retaining both gills and lungs for breathing on air and in sea, Hylotl arms are webbed and their fingers are too. Hylotl have excellent flipper-like feet that makes them swift swimmers and masters of the sea. Hylotl come in all colors, with their smooth amphibious body ranging in color from blue, to green, to silver, to orange. Hylotl eyes are red and arranged symmetrically centered on their face. Like some fish, the underside of a Hylotl (being the stomach and inner thighs) are a different color than the rest of their body.

Hylotl fell in love with human culture when they met humanity in 2920, specifically Japanese culture. Hylotl had always been a culture that preferred peace and art, with librarians and artists being some of the highest regarded jobs in Hylotl society - but learning of the Japanese concept of Bushido changed the whole trajectory of their species.

Hylotl began emulating what they called a 'Hylotl Revival of Bushido', a doctrine that preached of honorable samurai who only drew their sword in defense. Hylotl city guards and warriors still swear by these codes, training their minds as much as their bodies - Hylotl warriors are expected to be just as well-read and cultured as their artists.

For this reason, Hylotl culture has taken on a Japanese revivalist-chic, with katanas and elaborate samurai armors (though with space age tech, they still do things like have large colorful pauldrons, crests etc) being common among their warriors, with all firearms being for defense only and generally only using pistols, a love of both traditional and 21st century Japanese architecture and culture, Hylotl society is an interesting place. Knowledge, wisdom and compassion are valued above all else, with beauty and order being close seconds.

Hylotl culture is considered very open-minded with things like polyamory or varying gender identities and sexualities having always been an integral part of Hylotl culture dating back to even before their contact with other species.

Hylotl spaceships tend to take on aquatic ship-inspired curvy designs with sleek wings that almost look like fins.

Hylotl have a reputation for being serious and somewhat nerdy, with their societal focus on things like poetry, honor, pacifism, and scholarship having some of the more warrior races like the Avians to see them as kind of a joke militarily. Despite this, the Hylotl did win their ancient war against the Florans in the end, so it's up in the air whether this reputation for ineptitude is deserved, or if Hylotl warrior blades are just as sharp as their poetic wit. Few have dared try to find out.

Avians - Avian are bird-like humanoids, who have a history of being very friendly with humanity, with them being each other's first contact with other sapients. Avians are deeply religious, building temples and shrines dedicated to praying to their God Kluex, who is said will one day grant Avians the ability to fly when they are worthy. Avian warriors are buried in elaborate tombs with offerings and weapons and armor because it is said that they go to join Kluex's eternal army when they die.

Avians enjoy terracotta and wooden veneers alot in their construction, and use of color, with Avian banners featuring various symbols and pictures being some of the most highly sough after decorative goods in the galaxy.

Avians are such good friends with humans that many Avians are buried with their human friends, it is not uncommon to see right next to a golden Avian sarcophagus an equally elaborate one in a more familiar man-shape, belonging to a human friend, or lover, in the hopes that by being entombed together they would reunite in the Afterlife.

Novakid - The Novakid are a truly unique race, being beings made completely of a stabilized plasma-like substance contained into a humanoid shape. Novakid are odd, with a very wild-west type culture full of bandits and renegades and cowboys and lawmen, but they are known to be hospitable to other races and excellent shots with a pistol. Unlike the Glitch, Novakid technology isn't actually restrictedt o wild-west level, they just emulate the aesthetic. I.e, while Novakid may go to a saloon or ride a horse, their homes generally all have running water and electricity and various conveniences, though all aesthetically wild-west style.

The Galaxy is home to hundreds of worlds with life as it turns out, as the Precursors had seeded it many places. And then even further out, in some places it had evolved independently.

Some Minor Races:

---

The Aegi - The Aegi are a human-like race that are the head of the Elithian Alliance. The Aegi are descendants from an Earth plan B, when the USCM was deep in its war in the 2900s, a group from the United Rebel Front sent out a colony ship to a nearly identical planet to Earth some fifty lightyears away - Elithia. And since arriving there in the 3000s due to FTL, they have thrived, evolving their own culture and customs distinct from humanity, and even having some genetic evolution. Aegi are mildly taller, stronger, and longer-lived than humans.

Aegi have turned Elithia in an economic and technological powerhouse, having formed their own multi-species alliance called the Elithian Alliance between themselves, a squat robotic race called the Trink, and a raptor-like desert dwelling race of nomadic merchants and warriors known as the Avikan.

Aegi are known for being intelligent and compassionate, with their circumstances of having to rebuild society from scratch with only a few million of them after the colony ship landed, means that over the past few thousand years, Aegi evolved for cooperation and diplomacy above all.

Aegi are exceptionally beautiful and forward-thinking, with their society being a sort of Socialist Republic, with a representative Democratic government and a robust welfare state. Aegi are prideful of their heritage.

Aegi were of course surprised when in the 4000s they recontacted humanity and learned that humanity was not only alive, but had united into this 'Terrene Protectorate'. The Aegi pledged military and economic alliance with their parent race, and the Elithian Alliance's races all officially enjoy observer status in the Protectorate.

---

Fennerox - Fox like humanoids with angular heads and a tribal lifestyle, Fennerox are known for being robust and hard laborers.