Trong Star Control I Yehat là xương sống của Liên minh Starfleet, do công nghệ vũ khí tiên tiến của họ và xã hội võ thuật mạnh mẽ của họ. ^[12] Sự cai trị của Nữ hoàng Veep-Neep dựa trên Yehat không bao giờ bị đánh bại dưới một Veep-Neep, vì vậy để giữ thể diện, Nữ hoàng ra lệnh cho họ đào tẩu sang phe Ur-Quan vào cuối cuộc chiến. Đây là một nguồn xấu hổ lớn đối với nhiều người Yehat, gộp chung khi những người bạn của họ, Shofixti chọn cách tiêu diệt loài của họ trong một vinh quang rực rỡ hơn là đầu hàng.

Như vậy, vào đầu Star Control II Yehat là những người chiến đấu Ur-Quan, và trong khi thông cảm với Thuyền trưởng con người, họ sẽ không viện trợ. Một khi Thuyền trưởng mang đến cho họ bằng chứng rằng những đứa con nuôi của họ, Shofixti, vẫn còn sống, nó gây ra một cuộc nội chiến giữa các Yehat. Cuối cùng, phiến quân chiến thắng và Nữ hoàng Veep-Neep bị phế truất và Yehat gia nhập Liên minh mới.

The LOLunk là một nhánh của chủng tộc Yehat. Trong Star Control II họ quyết định đoàn tụ với anh em Yehat của mình, mặc dù thực tế là Yehat coi thường họ. Thuyền trưởng loài người cố gắng can ngăn họ, nhưng cuối cùng, lũ chó đốm đã liên lạc với Yehat và Yehat dường như tiêu diệt chúng. Trong trận chiến cuối cùng chống lại Sa-Matra, một hạm đội kết hợp giữa người Do Thái và Yehat đã đến để củng cố Thuyền trưởng, và họ tiết lộ rằng sau rất nhiều sự kiên trì, người hâm mộ đã thuyết phục Yehat chấp nhận họ, và Yehat thậm chí đã chọn Nữ hoàng của mình. thay thế cho nữ hoàng Veep-Neep bị phế truất của họ.

Introduced in Star Control II[edit]

Star Control II introduced eleven playable races: Chmmr, Druuge, Melnorme, Orz, Pkunk, Slylandro, Supox, Thraddash, Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah, Utwig, and Zoq-Fot-Pik.

Chmmr[edit]

The Chmmr (pronounced ch'mer with 'ch' as in "chance") are a fusion of the crystalline Chenjesu and the mechanical Mmrnmhrm. The species was formed in Star Control IIwhen the player uses the Sun Device to speed up the fusion process, which would have normally taken several decades. They ally with humans ^[5] and are needed to complete the game and destroy the Sa-Matra.

It's unclear whether the Chmmr race is what the Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm intended to become, or an unintended consequence of the Captain's interference in the synthesis process. They have assumed the Chenjesu's old position as the unofficial leaders of the New Alliance.

The appearance of the Chmmr was changed slightly in Star Control 3. They are still a mixture of mechanical and crystalline objects, but the bond appears to be less complete, and they float. The interior of the structure shines moving lights through the crystals depending on the mood of the Chmmr. In Star Control 3 the Chmmr are separated into Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm by a Daktaklakpak device, but the player again joins the two races using another sun device.

Dnyarri[edit]

The Dnyarri are a race of small brown toad-like creatures, physically weak but with an extremely powerful ability to mentally enslave other sentients. An Ur-Quan scout mission discovered the Dnyarri and was forced to bring thousands of Dnyarri to the heart of the Sentient Milieu. The Dnyarri used their psychic powers to dominate the minds of the Milieu races, conquering the entire Milieu in record time. The Taalo were immune, so the Dnyarri compelled the other races of the Milieu to annihilate them. The Ur-Quan were the favored slaves of the Dnyarri, and the most susceptible to their psychic powers. The Dnyarri began to genetically experiment and separated the Brown Ur-Quan into two sub-species: the Green Ur-Quan were scientists and administrators and the Black Ur-Quan were basic soldiers and laborers. As far as anyone knows, the original Brown Ur-Quan became extinct.

Over thousands of years, the Dnyarri eventually became lax in their mental domination. A green Ur-Quan scientist named Kzer-Za noticed that the Dnyarri "detached" psychic control from an Ur-Quan suffering near-lethal pain. Using one of the few moments of mental freedom the Dnyarri gave their slaves, he injected his body with a lethal and painful poison, and used the mental freedom to broadcast the news across the empire. Ur-Quan slaves everywhere began burning themselves and hacking their own bodies to give them the freedom needed to kill the nearest Dnyarri. This was refined into a brain implant known as an Excruciator which constantly causes the user to feel extreme pain, making them unbearable for Dnyarri to control, but leaving the Ur-Quan's body whole and functional.

Now free, the Ur-Quan decided that extinction was too good for the Dnyarri. Instead the Dnyarri were genetically modified into sub-sentient "Talking Pets", retaining psychic powers only to allow translation and communication with alien species, something the Ur-Quan now considered demeaning.

Star Control II players have a chance to interact with a Dnyarri. An Ur-Quan wreck was discovered by the Arilou, which included a wounded Talking Pet that the Arilou gave to the Umgah, who possessed better biological and medicinal technologies. The Umgah saved the creature, but accidentally unlocked the Talking Pet's latent powers; the Dnyarri put his psychic powers to use and took over the Umgah home planet. If the player forces the Dnyarri to reveal itself without adequate protection, the Dnyarri will compel the player to fly into the middle of the Ur-Quan civil war battlefield to await death at the hands of his enemies. The player must find a Taalo mind shield, which provides near-immunity to the Dnyarri to allow the player to defeat it and free the Umgah. Once captured, the Dnyarri proves essential in the attack on the Sa-Matra by creating an illusionary diversion, distracting the Ur-Quan defense fleet and allowing the player to attack the Sa-Matra with minimal defenses. While the Dnyarri will tell his story, and the story of his race, the Taalo shield is not perfect; if the Dnyarri grows impatient or angry, he can still exert enough psychic control to force the player to stop asking questions, which hints at the malicious nature of the Dnyarri. The Dnyarri was "accidentally" left in the hold of the Captain's flagship, which was sacrificed to destroy the Sa-Matra, while the Captain and his crew ejected in an escape pod. The game's credit sequence reveals that the Dnyarri managed to get away from the ship at the last second.

Druuge[edit]

The Druuge are a race of horned, pig-like aliens that are notorious for their insatiable greed and callous treatment of other races. Their planet and the entirety of its resources are owned by the Crimson Corporation, of which every Druuge is a member and shareholder. They believe that the purpose of every individual Druuge is to serve the corporation; those who relinquish their membership are convicted of stealing corporate air, and are instantly sentenced to death. Anyone who threatens the group's profit margin due to illness, debt, or old age is thrown into the furnaces. The Druuge justify their actions with conveniently convoluted legal and ethical systems. For example, they hold unarmed travelers in their territory responsible for encouraging piracy, as their vulnerable ships are likely to attract belligerent plunderers. Therefore, in order to prevent piracy, any Druuge vessel may attack and plunder such ships and penalize their crews with indefinite slavery. Their ships consume crew to fuel the engines, and the player can pay for items and resources by selling crew members. This has an increasingly negative effect back home if done. There is always a better way to get the Druuge's few important items. The Druuge's unscrupulous personality was inspired by Paul Reiche's negotiations with TSR and Electronic Arts.^[13]

Melnorme[edit]

The Melnorme are a race of merchants, primarily in the business of buying and selling information. The name is a reference to Mel Tormé, the singer.^[13] They provide history, current events, fuel, and technology in return for biological data and the locations of certain colorful worlds assembled (or found) by the Precursors known as Rainbow Worlds. They use large Trader vessels to seek out, contact, and strike deals with potential customers. Though in possession of a great deal of information and technology, the Melnorme come across as benign and harmless. While trading with them is not required to complete Star Control IIabstaining from it makes the game vastly harder to finish.

The Melnorme are highly secretive of themselves and their origins, but their similarities have led many to believe that the Melnorme are the descendants of the Mael-Num. This link was later confirmed outside of the game by the game designers.^[13] While they are technically ready to divulge such information, the prices are ludicrous. To learn why their bridge turns purple, for instance, costs more credits than the player can possess in the game. They based their culture entirely on equivalent trade and reject the concept of charity, finding it highly offensive. Though the Melnorme are by definition mercantile, they deal fairly with the protagonist and sell trustworthy information. They place a great emphasis on colour, to the point of basing their own names on different shades, such as Trade Master Greenish of the starship Inevitably Successful in All Circumstances.

Orz[edit]

The Orz are fish-like creatures that live in what used to be Androsynth space. They are yellow and roughly spherical, with a stub too small to be a tail, two eyes on stalks, a large set of gills, four tentacles, and a beak. Their ships are filled with liquid ethanol, and they appear to be somewhat similar to parrotfish. The Orz language is excessively unorthodox, and translation computers in the game are not particularly good at deciphering it. With effort from the player at least some degree of understanding can be gained. They can join an alliance with the humans.^[5] This race has been described by reviewer Francois Laramee as "disturbingly scary".^[1]

The Arilou imply that the Orz are manifestations of a single extra-dimensional being; even the Orz refer to themselves as 'fingers'. In essence, all Orz are the same creature. This was confirmed by the game's developers, Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III, in a chat on EFnet in 1998.^[14]

In Star Control IIthe Orz seemed to have displaced the Androsynth, who were apparently conducting experiments with other dimensions. This made them visible to the Orz. As a result, the Androsynth disappeared, leaving their cities behind in ruins. The Orz are very sensitive about the Androsynth, and will fight when pressured to tell about their fate. According to the Arilou, even knowing too much about other dimensions makes one vulnerable to extra-dimensional dangers, such as the Orz, and the Arilou suggest that this is what happened to the Androsynth.

This ominous pattern continues in Star Control 3in which the Orz destroy the Supox, for reasons that are not entirely clear. Later on, the Orz betray their alliances to the League and attack the player. Since the Orz of Star Control 3 followed the trends set in the game before, it could be argued that the Orz were the race most faithfully carried over into Star Control 3which was otherwise widely derided^{[citation needed]}for continuity problems and ham-handed retconning.

Pkunk[edit]

The Pkunk are a race of bird-like offshoots of the Yehat. They ally with the protagonist in Star Control II ^[5] as soon as he meets them. They resemble a stereotypical phony psychic,^{[citation needed]} consistently agreeing with anything mystical the player says and basing all their decisions on universal harmony and similar grand-sounding concepts. However, the Pkunk really are powerful psychics who provide hints to the player, even going so far as actual clairvoyance. The Pkunk believe that their psychotic and genocidal neighbors, the Ilwrath, were perfect beings in their past lives, and that the karmic consequence of their excessive goodness was their totally evil reincarnation. To avoid such a fate, the Pkunk strive to remain just short of perfection. They accomplish this by being slightly annoying to whoever they encounter. When flying their ships in battle, they constantly taunt and insult their opponents, a practice that powers their ships. They state that, as they are so inherently happy and carefree, they must work themselves up by screaming insults. Fitting with their emphasis on past lives and mysticism, destroyed Pkunk ships can be supernaturally reborn, suddenly rejoining the battle with all their energy restored and crew revived.

Slylandro[edit]

The Slylandro are a race of ancient and friendly gas bag people that inhabit a gas giant planet in star system Beta Corvi they call Source. The Slylandro are restricted to a narrow band on their surfaceless world. Below their inhabited area are "the Depths", which grow darker and more hostile as one ventures deeper. When a Slylandro sinks deep enough into the depths, their gas bag is almost ruptured by the pressure, causing scarring to occur which is believed to attract potential mates. Above is "the Void", which when ventured into, causes a Slylandro to "grow giddy and behave inappropriately". The Slylandro see on a spectrum band where they are opaque to each other and are very shy about humans seeing their "glowy bits" (their reproductive organs).

The Slylandro have no technology and no means of building any. Attempts to construct any but the simplest of tools or devices have resulted in them becoming too heavy and dragging their inventor to the Depths. As a result, the Slylandro play very little part in the greater scheme of things and have been discovered and rediscovered by several subsequent civilizations. Due to Source's low-stimuli environment and the Slylandro's inability to venture off-planet, they have become intensely curious about other worlds and races.

Since the Slylandro have no methods of physically recording history, long chants of past events have to be memorized in order to preserve the past. The standard measurement of time for the Slylandro is the Drahn, which is equal to 4 million rotations of the planet, or about 6460 Earth years. Their long life-spans and equally long memories mean that they are surprisingly knowledgeable about ancient galactic history. They even have records of contact with the Precursors.

Shortly before the start of Star Control II the Slylandro trade information about their unique physiology with the Melnorme for an automated self-replicating probe, designed to seek out and contact alien civilisations for them. Unfortunately, due to a programming error by the Slylandro, the probe considers everything, including alien spacecraft, as replication material and begins to attack and devour anything it meets to create copies of itself that go on to do the same. The player in Star Control II, upon explaining this to the Slylandro, is given a self-destruct code for the probes that allows him to greatly reduce the threat.

Supox[edit]

The Supox Utricularia are allies of the Utwig. They are a race of kind, sentient plant creatures who evolved from a species of semi-mobile symbionts.^[15] In the setting, the evolutionary path of sentient plants is considered an established scientific impossibility, one that Supox science has verified. Many Supox attribute the incongruity of their existence to the favor of "Higher Powers."^[15][16]

The Supox have always been symbionts. During their long evolutionary path they forged symbiotic relationships with several races of plants and animals on their homeworld, trading "reproductive assistance" for nutrients. The Supox look to the Utwig for guidance, and use the Utwig culture as a model for their own. In return, they give the Utwig the emotional support they need.^[17]

In Star Control II the Supox give the Captain the Utwig Ultron, hoping that he can repair it. Beyond that they mainly play a support role to the Utwig. In Star Control 3 they are part of the expedition but their colony ships are destroyed, with the Orz implicated, and hence play no active part in the game.

Thraddash[edit]

The Thraddash are a noisy and extremely aggressive race of rhinoceros-like aliens. They constantly bluster and boast while interacting with the protagonist, providing a thin facade over the actual inadequacy of their military and its primitive technology. This backwardness, the result of their tendency to repeatedly bring themselves to the brink of cultural annihilation by constantly nuking each other, does not deter them from throwing their outdated forces into battle at the slightest provocation.

The Thraddash have had 18 different planetary cultures. Each time their culture reached a certain point a new ideology for a more perfect culture arrived, and they fought a bitter war and started a new culture from scratch. The earliest Culture mentioned by the Thraddash is Culture Two, which glorified fortitude and stoic resistance to pain. The most important artifact common to all Thraddash cultures is the Aqua Helix. Culture Nine was the only culture to question its significance. Culture Nine considered excessive the amount of blood and passion expended over the artifact. Unfortunately, their complete defeat at the hands of Culture Ten after only two weeks of dominance only reinforced the Thraddash belief in the sanctity of the Aqua Helix.

Culture Fourteen is the second Culture to question traditional Thraddash values. Shortly after achieving dominance, Culture Fourteen claimed that the Thraddash method of cultural evolution was wrong. They claimed that every inter-Culture conflict set the Thraddash back 500 years. As with Culture Nine, Thraddash tradition again proved itself immune to change as Culture Fourteen was destroyed by Culture Fifteen after a reign of only ten years. The violence ensuing from Culture Fourteen's replacement only set the Thraddash back by "two, three hundred years tops", hence disproving Culture Fourteen's main tenet.

Culture Eighteen was the dominant Thraddash culture when the Ur-Quan invaded. Their swift defeat by the Ur-Quan put their superiority into question, and an attempt for a resolution was made by the means of a thermonuclear exchange. The Ur-Quan in orbit around the Thraddash homeworld did not allow such intra-species fighting, and intercepted all of the warheads with their fighter vessels. The Ur-Quan's intervention, however, only postponed the inevitable. Shortly after the failed thermonuclear weapon exchange, Culture Eighteen's challengers introduced a super-lethal poison into the air and water, ending the reign of Culture Eighteen.

After the poisoning of Culture Eighteen, the Ur-Quan executed all of the emerging Culture's leaders, and arbitrarily assigned leaders. The Ur-Quan explained that any further violations of the Slave Laws would be punished by the eradication of the Thraddash species. Culture Nineteen elected to become Battle Thralls upon being enslaved by the Ur-Quan. As such, they expected to be part of the Ur-Quan's offensive in the quadrant. Their relative military weakness, however, as well as their predisposition to pick fights with other slave races, especially the Umgah and Ilwrath, made the Ur-Quan decide that they would be more of a liability than an asset in the coming battles, and ordered them to "guard the flank." The modern Thraddash have improved their Torch ships with an effective Reeunk Afterburner (named posthumously after its creator, who blew himself up discovering it), and are itching to prove their worth to the Ur-Quan.

Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah[edit]

The Kohr-Ah are a subspecies of the Ur-Quan. After freeing themselves from the Dnyarri, the Kohr-Ah decided to adopt the "Eternal Doctrine," which is a plan to protect the Ur-Quan from enslavement ever again by exterminating all non-Ur-Quan sentients in the galaxy. The Kohr-Ah are physically similar to the Kzer-Za except their skin is black and their eyes are a deep red. They are led by a matriarch called the Kohr-Ah Primat.

The Kohr-Ah were not present in Earth's part of the galaxy during the first Alliance-Hierarchy war in Star Control I. Star Control II takes place during the Second Doctrinal Conflict between the Kzer-Za and Kohr-Ah Ur-Quan, after which the Kohr-Ah will kill all sentient life if victorious. The Kohr-Ah carry out the words of their doctrine to ensure their freedom and security, and to a lesser degree, they believe they are doing those they cleanse a service: the opportunity to be reincarnated as an Ur-Quan, the superior race. Perhaps as a result of this dispassionate view, neither the Kohr-Ah nor the Kzer-Za will insult or lie to their adversaries.

Utwig[edit]

The Utwig are a race of fatalist and sophisticated humanoids; they are mentors to the Supox and the keepers of the Ultron device, which they believe provides happiness and enlightenment. Utwig are required to wear masks for as long as they live. They have developed "Mask-Etiquette" for the thousands of masks they wear. Each is suitable for different activities, moods, festivals, and ceremonies. This custom was born in their ancient violent past, when they came to the conclusion that the expression of primal emotions upon faces was the source of war and violence. Therefore faces must be hidden in order for a culture to progress peacefully. The accidental destruction of the Ultron sent the entire species into a state of depression and resulted in the destruction of all masks except the Mask of Ultimate Embarrassment and Shame. Its subsequent reconstruction was more than enough to pull the previously unaffiliated Utwig and Supox into the war against the Ur-Quan. The Utwig has been described as "comic" by reviewer Francois Laramee.^[1]

Zoq-Fot-Pik[edit]

The Zoq, Fot, Pik and Zebranky species all evolved on the same planet. The Zoq, Fot and Pik were non-carnivorous, but the Zebranky preyed on them. The Zoq, Fot and Pik races banded together, annihilated the Zebranky, and formed a cooperative union. They integrated so well that they no longer recall which of the races are Zoq, which are Fot, and which are Pik. Afterwards, they faced a dilemma: whether to develop technological and cultural sophistication, or to return to the forests and relax. They chose the latter.

For another fifty thousand years, the Zoq, the Fot and the Pik relaxed in the forests, until one day one of each race was walking up a steep path looking for something to eat, when a bolt of lightning struck nearby. The bolt of energy carved a wheel-shaped chunk of granite out of a cliff. As the rock began to roll down the hill, some dry grass got caught in its hole, and since the rock was still hot the grass caught on fire. Thus the Zoq, Fot, and Pik simultaneously discovered the wheel, fire, and religion. The wheel and fire were based on the rock, and religion developed when the Zoq was killed by the rolling rock and the remaining two decided that he had simply gone to "a better place".

The three species are said to feed on airborne zooplankton, solar and ambient energies, and rocky fungal clingers. It is never said exactly which species feeds on what, but there are some clues – the one on the right of the communication screenshot is shown blowing air out the three holes on its head, and the one on the left exclaims "our favorite" when speaking of rock clingers. Also, the green one on the left seems to be a botanical species, from her appearance, and, at one point, threatens to "blow a cloud of spores" in the face of the blue one, so she seems to absorb the sunlight. The function of the arm-like appendages on the leftmost creature are unknown, but possibly includes communication since they move when the creature "talks". Very little is known about the one-eyed creature in the center as neither of the other two mentions anything about it except that it never talks.

A satiric take on bad spectator sports,^{[citation needed]} Frungy is a wildly popular sport among the Zoq-Fot-Pik. No details about the rules or concept are disclosed, although the Zoq-Fot-Pik (or at least the one on the right) are very glad to comment on how great, fun and interesting it is, making numerous references to Frungy throughout the game. Frungy, like most spectator sports, appears to have a governing organization. When beginning a new playthrough of The Ur-Quan Masters, a splash screen noting sponsorship by the Interstellar Frungy League is shown.

The Zoq-Fot-Pik are one of the first races encountered by the human captain in Star Control IIwhen the captain meets a scout ship near Rigel that gives him the co-ordinates of their homeworld hidden on the edge of the Ur-Quan conflict zone. The Zoq-Fot-Pik ally with the humans in return for protection from the Ur-Quan should they find them. While their material assistance is not great, their position makes them a valuable source of intelligence on the Ur-Quan and the progress of their war.

Minor races[edit]

Dramya

No information. The Melnorme mention that they had a war with them but no information is known about what they looked like or much about them.

Introduced in Star Control 3[edit]

Clairconctlar[edit]

The Clairconctlar are noble warriors of ancient heritage. Their origins are shrouded in history, unknown both to the Crux and the League. The craggy, stone-faced warriors are a mystery even to the Precursors, who suspect that they resemble the ancient Taalo race.

The Clairconctlar move and speak at a stately, nearly glacial pace. They are patient, and extremely slow to anger. When aroused, however, they move with deadly swiftness. They seek just and honourable contact with all other races. They have little patience for brutality and the kinds of atrocities marking much of the galaxy's development.

All living Clairconctlar were sired by their queen. The queen looks like a majestic blue-grey mountain, larger than many moons. At intermittent cycles, the queen emits a pale blue egg, called a Conc Rock. The Conc Rock is actually a mass of adamantine flakes. In the right circumstances, each flake has the potential to grow into a Clairconctlar. When the queen releases a Conc Rock, the Clairconctlar take it deep into a cave rich with mineral deposits. There, the flakes leach geologic nutrients from the stone walls, and grow into embryonic Clairconctlar.

Over the centuries of gestation, the flakes accrete enough matter to be born as living Clairconctlar. The Conc Rocks are vital to the Clairconctlar because they represent the continuation of the race. Anyone who knowingly destroys one is subject to a vengeance hunt. Clairconctlar forsake all other obligations until they hunt down and exterminate the rock-breaker.

When the Crux arrived in the Kessari Quadrant, the Clairconctlar resisted their incursions. The Crux saw no way to win a war against the indomitable stone warriors, and decided to defeat them with subterfuge. They recruited the Clairconctlar after the Daktaklakpak discovered the Clairconctlar's unusual means of reproduction. The Ploxis sent the K'tang to abduct the Clairconctlar queen.

After a bloody battle which greatly reduced K'tang forces, they subdued the queen. They took her to another planet and used Precursor technology to affix her to bedrock, and to record a phony message. The message tells the Clairconctlar that a debt of honour binds them to the Ploxis. The message does not divulge the origin of this debt, but the Crux created a convenient fiction in case the Clairconctlar get curious: The Clairconctlar, they claim, destroyed most of the Ploxis race. In truth, the Ploxis destroyed most of their own.

The queen calls out to her people for salvation, but the Crux has forbidden them to visit the planet where they hold her, without saying why. The Clairconctlar know the Crux is an empire without honour, but are duty-bound to serve until the queen tells them they're free of the debt. They're stuck – unless the League can find a way to liberate them.

The Clairconctlar are known for their valour in battle. The ship is built to launch deadly broadside attacks, then transport away with its warp beacon in order to recharge its energy reserves for another attack.

Daktaklakpak[edit]

A semi-sentient machine, Daktaklakpak form the technological wing of the Hegemonic Crux. They are arrogant because the Precursors made them; however, they do not realise they were created as maintenance drones. The Precursors prevented the Daktaklakpak from developing full sentience which, combined with their amateurish self-modification, resulted in an initially indecipherable language ("Daktaklakpak! 5576 squared! 888, warning!", etc.). Daktaklakpak is the beginning of an alphanumeric string that encodes their creation by the Precursor factories, and contains all information about them. They believe the same applies to the Eternal Ones.

They adore the Precursors and seek their artifacts. Though allied with the Crux, they would eagerly defect for the pursuit of greater knowledge. In particular, they quest to find the full name of Eternal Ones, which they believe will reveal the exact nature of the species. They will trade virtually anything for this information, including information on their allies, advanced weaponry, or services in battle. When the Daktaklakpak met the Ploxis (who were engaged in a civil war), they traded a Precursor vessel for several valuable artifacts. With this vessel the Ploxis Plutocrats and their K'tang allies won the war. In the Crux, the Daktaklakpak dissect new races and technologies provided by their allies, the Ploxis. This was the origin of the name of their ship: The Daktaklakpak Vivisector. They have several such craft stationed at every artifact site in the quadrant, presumably guarding them till excavation crew arrive.

Doog[edit]

The Doog are a species of extremely loyal and naive dog-lizards. Dull-witted, they lack the intelligence to understand that no matter how hard they worked, they could never make enough money to buy themselves out of their K'Tang-Ploxis owned financial slavery.

Exquivan[edit]

The Exquivans are a race of "monks" who try to reduce their own level of sentience in order to avoid being devoured by the Eternal Ones.

Eternal One[edit]

The Eternal Ones are a race of god-like, extra-dimensional beings who consume all sentient life in the Universe from time to time. According to the Daktaklakpak, the Eternal Ones' name comes from their DNA formulae that start as 'Eternal1'. Their complete name is their complete DNA formulae, something so complex that any sentience that tries to learn it all, organic or machine, becomes insane.

The Eternal Ones evolved from sentient organic beings until they lost their material bodies and became pure energy, reaching the verge of transforming into "something else". The Eternal Ones were afraid to evolve and lose their last physical vestige, and made a plan to stop their evolution that required consuming incredible quantities of sentient energy. To harvest sentience in great quantity, the Eternal Ones planted "seeds" throughout the universe that created all the other races in the Star Control universe. The Precursors became aware of this and devolved themselves to non-sentient animals and created semi-sentient machines called Daktaklakpak to re-evolve themselves when the harvest was over. Unfortunately the Daktaklakpak forgot their main objective and started to wander the galaxy collecting and protecting all Precursor technologies. The long-term purpose for the Precursors was to develop an artifact to optimize the harvest for the Eternal Ones. The Precursors had noticed that sentient harvest was incredibly inefficient, and theorized that by optimizing the harvest, there would not be a need for such genocide.

In Star Control 3the player, as the human leader of the sentient races, foresees the harvest, and unites most races to find a solution. He finds the unfinished artifact and re-evolves a Precursor who helps the player finish it in time for the next harvest. The much greater efficiency of energy absorption allowed by the artifact allows the Eternal Ones to feed without requiring the death of all sentient creatures.

Harika & Yorn[edit]

The Harika & Yorn evolved as a symbiotic relationship with the warlike reptilian Harika eating the Yorn which serves to control the Yorn's population numbers. They also gain the advice of their somewhat more diplomatically minded food. The Yorn resemble Star Trek tribbles and as such would not be capable of a technological society on their own; the Harika grant them this chance. At the start of the game they are members of the Hegemonic Crux and suffer from the Xchagger virus.

Herald[edit]

The current Heralds are an unnamed species which were defeated by the previous Heralds. The Eternal Ones, while destroying all other sentient life, gave the Heralds the choice of oblivion, or becoming their messengers. The Heralds chose the latter fate.

K'tang[edit]

The K'tang are small, weak, cowardly worms of low intelligence and cunning. They evolved aware of their own inferiority, among bigger and smarter species. In an unusual display of cunning, the K'tang managed to scavenge or hijack enough sophisticated technology to cobble together Mecha. They killed all competing races, a significant portion of their own species and enslaved those that remained. Despite their powerful weaponry, not a single worm had strategic thought, no warrior lowered himself to running the supply lanes, and no slave was good enough to do it. Each K'tang scrounged whatever weapons he could, then went into battle hiding behind his allies. They encountered the Ploxis Plutocrats, who were looking for some easily controllable muscle to serve them. The K'tang quickly allowed their "allies" to run their logistics and strategy, turning the tide of the war in their favour and forming the Hegemonic Crux. The K'Tang fervently believe that they are the leaders of the Crux, despite admitting that the Ploxis "administrators" tell the K'Tang where to go and who to fight. Their downfall came when the Captain procured the Overlord-Seeking Larvacide missile from the Daktaklakpak and atomized the armoured shell that housed the K'tang King. The naked worm quickly surrendered to the League, and he and his race served as sullen allies for the remainder of the war, lest the League use their weapon and return them to the dirt.

Lk[edit]

The Lk are a species of fungus which used to feed on Precursor artifacts. They have a callous view of life, expecting other species to behave the same way.

Owa[edit]

An underwater species. Their planet's sun went nova long before the development of its life. All life on their home planet developed from underwater chemical reactions, therefore they have no light sensing abilities.

Ploxis[edit]

Not much is known about the Ploxis race, beyond the short history described by a rebel captain of that race, who had spent quite some time in suspended animation. The Ploxis were at once a race that celebrated diversity, and believed deeply in the idea of fairness and of the correlation between success and worthiness as a sentient. This liberal attitude caused them to respect even those who decided that the acquisition of wealth and power should be their primary motivation. By the time the peace-loving Ploxis decided to take a stand against these new thinkers, the Plutocrats, it was too late. The Plutocrats had already made contact with the K'tang, and had swapped technology for servitude. With the K'tang and various Precursor artifacts, the Plutocrats made short work of those Ploxis who wished to cling to the old ways. All that remains of the defeated forces are a few scattered individuals in suspended animation.

Vyro-Ingo[edit]

Crustaceans with a full exoskeleton resembling lobsters.

They were non-sentient before being genetically uplifted by the Precursors. They "lost" DNA during this process, and this lost DNA became the VUX. The Vyro-Ingo were left with a sense of genetic inferiority, so they frequently insult others. During the storyline, they can reunite with the VUX.

Xchagger[edit]

The Xchagger are a microscopic race of sentient parasites who typically live on Ortogs. While individual Xchaggers are not intelligent, when part of a larger group they form a collective mind. At one time there were many Xchagger colonies, until all but one was exterminated by the Hegemonic Crux. Following this attack, the Daktaklakpak kidnapped many Xchagger (these abductees were known to the last colony as the "Lost Dynasties") and used them as a biological weapon against the Harika and Yorn. Ultimately the Dynasties were extracted from the Harika by advanced technology, and returned to the Xchagger colony.

Introduced in Star Control: Origins[edit]

Star Control: Origins introduced several new species.

Drenkend[edit]

A species of organic/mechanoid beings that were bred by the Scryve to follow orders and no more. They use cloning pods to overwhelm their enemies with numbers because they have little else. They serve as the Scryve's frontline soldiers.

Greegrox[edit]

Sapient "space fish" that live on and tend to the "Ancient One" which is a moon-sized being. Because they are difficult to communicate with, most species consider them non-sapient until informed otherwise.

Measured[edit]

Sapient sea plants that were altered by the Scryve to serve as biological computers and bureaucrats. They are record keepers for the Scryve Empire.

Menkmack[edit]

A long-necked, four-eyed species that has a penchant for mischief and are highly opportunistic. They stole an egg from the Ancient One and, as a consequence of that, are on the run because the Ancient One keeps sucking away their home world's atmosphere. They would rather keep moving than return the egg, unless there's profit in it for them.

Mowlings[edit]

A dog-like species that breeds fast and in great numbers. They evolve through trial and error. Mostly error. When humanity finds them, they are worshiping an ancient machine called Jeff. Jeff no longer wants to be their god. While technically a ward of the Scryve Empire, the Scryve has done little with them because of Jeff.

Mukay[edit]

The Mukay are a species of aquatic aliens with a preoccupation with fish. They are responsible for biological research as a ward of the Scryve Empire.

Phamysht[edit]

Prounced "famished," they're highly intelligent snake-like cannibals. They were a ward species until the Scryve discovered they returned to their cannibalistic ways and have been at war since.

Pinthi[edit]

A sentient bioweapon/super virus developed by the Scryve but now independent. It is trying to atone for it was it forced to do under Scryve control.

Scryve[edit]

The Scryve are the supreme power and primary antagonist in the Mid Spur making other species either their wards or dead. Humanity is targeted for destruction by the Scryve because of their inclination towards freedom.

Trandals[edit]

A species that has been taken over by an AI called the Overmind. "Free Trandals" have escaped the influence of the Overmind.

Tywom[edit]

The Tywom are an extremely friendly, slug-like species that is the first aliens that humans encounter in the Origins universe. They are a ward of the Scryve Empire responsible for all things slimy but, due to interfering with humanity, are targeted for destruction.

Xraki[edit]

Four-armed, four-eyed former ward species of the Scryve Empire, they almost destroyed the Empire but were driven back. They were breed by the Scryve to act as space marines.

References[edit]