Xsotan

## Arrival

The Xsotan are an extragalactic race of unknown origins who took our galaxy. Existence of the Xsotan was officially confirmed by the United Alliance in 3709C.E. but legends suggest that the Xsotan have been visiting our galaxy for a much longer period of time.

Attempts to make diplomatic contact failed. The Xsotan would not respond to hails and immediately attacked any vessel operating equipment with a measurable Om rating, whether it was a simple mining beam or chain gun.

Due to their propensity to ignore vessels not operating projectile or beam turrets, the Xsotan were considered a curiosity and only a threat to the uninformed. As long as the strange, silent ships were left alone, they would pass through a sector without incident.

An advisory period remained in effect until year 3723C.E. when an allied science outpost became the first recognized casualty of Xsotan "harvesting". Further investigation indicated the Xsotan were actively consuming resources in the galactic center, and that their efforts were accelerating exponentially.

The UA responded with force to curtail the indiscriminate collection of resources, and met with extreme and coordinated resistance. Any doubt concerning Xsotan sapience or purpose was removed as the "harvesters" launched simultaneous, large scale attacks against allied infrastructure, thus starting the Great War.

The Great War, often called "The Xsotan War" or "The Last War", lasted from year 3723C.E. to 3825C.E with 38 significant documented battles and countless skirmishes.

The United Alliance appeared to secure the upper hand in the final years of the conflict. The Xsotan abandoned their forward positions and systematically withdrew towards galactic center.

In what is commonly regarded as a supreme tactical error, the UA paused their offensive and opted to blockaded the galactic center. Centuries later, there are still those who harbor ill will towards the UA, faulting them for not pursuing and eliminating the Xsotan while they had the opportunity.

The war ended with the calamity, when the Xsotan fired a massive subspace weapon, ripping holes in the fabric of spacetime and erasing the UA member worlds, their infrastructure, and standing fleets from the galaxy.

## Beachhead

In their destruction of the UA advanced fleet, the Xsotan created The Great Barrier, dividing the galaxy into two territories: the galactic center (which only the Xsotan can access) and the outer sectors where the remains of civilization fight for survival.

In the 200 or so years since the Xsotan carved out their stronghold, the Barrier has become the beachhead for would be saviors experimenting with new technologies and ways to fight the Xsotan.

## Traits

The Xsotan are hostile to all other factions.

It is uncertain how much the existing Xsotan resemble the enemy of the Great War, but their behaviors match historical record and legend.

The Xsotan are always heralded by a sequence of unintelligible subspace signals before arriving via a unique form of faster-than-light travel. Unlike hyperspace technology, Xsotan FTL registers on sensors as a momentarily stable wormhole, similar to the signature that's detectable by transit gates and naturally occurring wormholes.

Xsotan ships always travel in groups, numbering no less than 3 and no greater than 15. The Xsotan operate craft with identifiable combat classifications and purpose, such as scouts, corvettes, frigates, etc. They will also deploy specialized warships with novel capabilities and tactics, such as Hunters, Quantum Skippers, Summoners, and Minions.

Hunters are often equipped with exceptionally long range weapons and will bombard targets from a distance. Quantum Skippers are capable of short range, hyperspace evasive maneuvers that make them incredibly difficult to repel. Summoners will open multiple small wormholes from which a seemingly endless number of Xsotan Minions will emerge. The Minions themselves are heavily armed, small craft that can easily overwhelm a larger starship's defenses.

The Xsotan do not appear to have a significant technological advantage in ship-to-ship warfare. Their weaponry and defensive capabilities are not too dissimilar from commercially available arms - and all but the largest Xsotan incursions can be repelled.

An analysis of Xsotan wreckage leaves more questions than answers. Nothing resembling the remains of a crew or controls has ever been recovered. Nor has any special device or facility been identified that grants Quantum Skippers or Summoners their abilities.

Xsotan vessels will not respond to hails and only react if a projectile or beam turret is operated within the sector. If no turret is operated, the Xsotan will move through and eventually leave the sector. If usage of a turret with a measurable Om rating is detected, every Xsotan vessel within 1000 light years will seek out and relentlessly attack its source.

Without the galactic resources and knowledge networks of the UA, it is difficult to assess if the Xsotan operations beyond the Barrier are part of a coordinated effort. At their most innocuous, they are random attacks of terror intended to disrupt and prevent the development of large, rival factions. At their worst, the Xsotan are scouting new sectors that may pose and threat and need to be "removed" with subspace weaponry.