The Grue Unity
The Grue Unity is an expansionist, militaristic, interstellar empire near Earth’s region of the Milky Way. The presence of the rival Lor Republic checked the expansion of the Grue for nearly two centuries and now The Stellar Imperium attempts to do the same. Still, the Grue do not intend to allow anyone to prevent them from achieving their destiny, which is to one day rule all inhabited worlds in the galaxy… and beyond.
The Grue are a protean, shapeshifting species from the dark planet Gruen Prime. As they evolved, the Grue differentiated into different “castes” with specialized roles and intellectual capabilities to match. They developed a telepathic collective consciousness that directs the race as a whole, making it difficult to understand or negotiate with individual Grue, in as much as the concept of “individual” exists for them.
Grue are disdainful of “solid” creatures with fixed forms and consider themselves inherently superior to other forms of life. They are an arrogant, xenophobic species and believe it is their manifest destiny to rule the galaxy.
The Grue expand their Unity using their shapeshifting powers to infiltrate and take control of other civilizations until they amass enough power to reveal their presence and rule openly. On some occasions they simply invade and seize control of more primitive worlds using sheer military might. The presence of Lor mentats limited the Grue ability to infiltrate the Republic, although there were still Grue moles active in Lor society.
The Grue have been interested in Earth for some time, though the first known contact occurred in 1947 when a scout craft damaged by a conflict with the Lor crashed in the desert southwest of North America. Since then, the Unity has sent additional scouts and other forces to Earth for various reasons. One thing the Unity knows is it has little chance to conquer Earth while its native superhumans watch over it. Many Grue schemes are intended to undermine or eliminate Earth’s superhuman protectors so the aliens can then invade in force.
Assets
THE HIDDEN
Grue metamorphs have been the Unity’s most effective means of infiltrating, destabilizing, and then toppling a rival civilization, leaving it open to conquest. However, in recent history, the Grue have faced setbacks due to the one area where they are vulnerable: the mind. Lor Republic telepaths ferreted out disguised Grue and used their powers to interfere with the Unity’s collective, guiding intelligence. Likewise, the inhabitants of Earth have come up with novel ways of detecting and dealing with Grue infiltrators, leading to the Unity’s failure to conquer that world not once, but several times.
So the Meta-Mind embarked on a risky plan: the development of a new type of Grue metamorph, where a copy of the target’s consciousness is allowed to “overlay” the metamorph Grue identity, which is submerged, deep in the subconscious, where the barest thread of connection to the greater Unity is maintained. “The Hidden”—as they are known only to the Meta-Mind itself—become Grue sleeper agents, not even consciously aware of their true nature, until a telepathic signal “activates” them and brings the Grue-self to the forefront. They can pass even fairly intensive psychological and psionic tests, allowing them to infiltrate more secure (and therefore valuable) targets.
The risk is that the process of creating the Hidden is exactly the sort of conditions that give rise to rogue Grue (previously). Even the Meta-Mind cannot say for certain how many of the Hidden will “go rogue” when they are activated, influenced by some trace of their false persona to develop true independence. Thus the supreme leader of the Unity deployed its new agents sparingly. The Hidden were intended as part of a long-term plan to infiltrate both the Lor Republic and the Star Knights, but recent events have changed matters. Now some of the Hidden may find unprecedented opportunities, and the Meta-Mind has chosen to remain patient and allow interstellar events to unfold before playing this particular ace-in-the-hole card, knowing all the while that the longer it waits, the greater the chance some of the Hidden will go rogue.
THE ARCANE
The reach of the Nameless Ones transcends space and time as mortals understand it, for they are godlike beings from “outside” the Omniverse, but very much looking for a way in. The lure of their preternatural power extends across the black gulf of the stars into the furthest depths of space, all the way to Gruen Prime, the home world of the Grue Unity.
The Meta-Mind recalls the ancient time when the Grue first discovered magic. Initially, it was a promising source of power, but even then it was troubling. The mindset and training required to wield mystic forces required a degree of ego—a strong sense of self—alien to the collective mind of the Grue. Thus, the strongest potential magicians were also those most likely to sever their connection with the Unity and go rogue, and this could not be tolerated.
Still, magic is power, and some rogue arcane Grue managed to escape their brethren and survive, hidden away in secret corners or wastelands of Gruen Prime, furthering their studies, and even aiding others like them in escaping from the Unity. They plumbed the depths of the dimensions, seeking knowledge and power, and they encountered forces greater and more terrible than any of their kind ever imagined. They gladly forged pacts with these forces to further their own ends.
Eventually, the threat of these “Arcane” and their powers became too great for the Meta-Mind to ignore. War erupted on Gruen Prime between the two factions, the first and only civil war within the Unity. While the Arcane wielded considerable power, they were ultimately no match for the greater numbers and coordination of the Unity, willing to sacrifice countless drones, if need be, to eliminate the threat. The Arcane were too self-aware and valued their individual lives too much. Finally, they were forced to flee their homeworld, never to return. The Unity believed them extinct and chooses to continue believing it.
But in the dark depths of a black nebula lies a world shrouded in perpetual shadow, unknown save in the tall tales of space-travelers. Its rocky, desolate surface is whipped by dusty winds and dotted with boiling cauldrons of molten rock. Here, the Arcane have raised rocky citadels of basalt and obsidian where they study and practice the dark arts. The ego and individuality that allowed the Unity to triumph over them remains in full force, and the Arcane gather only for occasional councils, spending the rest of their time warring amongst themselves.
Still, the alien sorcerers are driven by ambition and agreements forged with their Nameless masters. They know full well that Earth is a powerful nexus as well as home of the Master Mage, a thorn in the side of the Nameless Ones. These things combine to make the lush blue-green globe a target for their schemes. The Arcane can span cosmic distances in the blink of an eye with their magics, and, in the past, they have controlled earthly and alien cults, sought lost or hidden artifacts, or assumed innocuous forms to trick other mystics out of their secrets or bind them to the service of the Nameless Ones forever.
Technological Level
The Unity’s technology is advanced, but largely stolen or mimicked from other civilizations. They have faster-than-light starships, energy weapons, force fields, anti-gravity, genetic engineering, and so forth. They’re particularly proud of their weapons technology, which includes a variety of nerve-stimulating pain weapons and capture devices in addition to standard-issue blasters and implosion grenades. Grue often prefer to capture their foes alive, and keep them that way (at least initially), so their metamorphs can use them as physical and mental “templates” to assume their forms and infiltrate the captives’ worlds.
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