Darthvega/Darthvega (Archived)

## General

Darthvega is an octahedral spaceship measuring about 1,800 kilometers along its diameter. Permanently wandering through space, the "planet" has no set location or orbit, tending to keep itself out of the public eye. Moreover, the ship is rarely spotted within range of more commonly known planets, opting to wander through fields of unclaimed space. The ship is permanently surrounded by what appears to be a purple fog, which is actually swarms of defensive drone ships, constantly manufactured somewhere within the ship. Darthvega is composed of several incredibly complex alloys designed to weather whatever the universe has to throw at it; Darthvega has even been observed entering dangerous proximity of Gigagush and Thirnova without experiencing any visible damage or disruption. Along its surface are countless loading bays and cannons ready to open fire at a moment's notice, with the inner workings of the ship not being known at this time. The exact specifications of the ship are also unknown, but it is known that the ship is heavily armed. Besides the aforementioned cannons, the ship has demonstrated (in no particular order) various communication jamming technologies, powerful missile launchers and even an enormous laser cannon, putting its combat capabilities far beyond even the Metamo Ark. The ship is also, given its size, a bit slow, unable to outpace many smaller craft outside of special circumstances (in which case, it can merely pace them.) Other information about the technological makeup is heavily classified to the point that those that do know are actively hunted down and imprisoned, if not outright assassinated.

As a rule, it is not wise to approach Darthvega, and if the ship approaches you, turn back immediately. Being within proximity of the ship is incredibly dangerous, and entering its proximity on your own accord is a death sentence. With the internal landscape unknown, it is impossible to determine whether it is possible to survive or not if you do manage to get on without permission. However, Darthvega does have an, albeit artificial, atmosphere that is breathable by most forms of life, along with onboard liquid supplies, so you have that going for you.

## Natives

   The Darthvegans are a race of insectoid/mechanical creatures approximately 9,000 strong. Each one is bipedal, with circular metal joints and crimson exoskeletons, along with a pair of horns on their rhombus-like head. As a product of bioengineering, while they may appear fragile, Darthvegans are both regenerative and incredibly durable. Lacking a centralized heart or brain, a Darthvegan's ability to think and survive is based directly on how much of it is currently intact, and can only be considered dead when all of its body has been destroyed or from significant enough blood loss. As a species, they tend to be incredibly intelligent, possessing substantial learning capability and precision, along with having high overall strength, only comparable to the Gravitases and Caviousians. They require little nourishment to survive, capable of lasting for days on small scraps of food, their bodies fully digesting and utilizing anything they consume; as such, Darthvegans are incredibly careful as to what they eat. They can survive extreme conditions far better than many other races in the galaxy (requiring only oxygen), to the point where, while you may never see one off planet, they can appear almost anywhere. Darthvegans also lack a biological sex, instead opting for artificial reproductive methods such as cloning, using complex gene-modification methods so as to avoid the problems that usually occur through these processes.

Culturally, Darthvegans put a significant emphasis on intelligence, capability and self-improvement; they abandoned many of the arts long ago, with any current Darthvegan artists or musicians being heavily scrutinized. While not emotionless, they rarely feel any strong emotion, tending to be cold, stoic and calculating. They can be very aggressive, having a storied history of being violent warmongers, laying waste to smaller planets and enslaving their populace before strip-mining for material and minerals, then outright annihilating the populace at the slightest sign of mass rebellion. And while they are wholly combat capable, they tend to let machines do any fighting for them, due to their small numbers.

The exact origin of the Darthvegans, a race far more advanced than almost any other on record, is currently unknown. Rumors are currently circulating that the Darthvegans are somehow related to Grannest, being the only planet Darthvega has no firm relationship or tie to. And while many Grannest robots have been examined, their memory banks examined thoroughly, no clear connections are known.

## Relationships

Most races in the galaxy find that the Darthvegans exist on one of two poles of existence; living in fear of them or thoroughly despising them. More peaceful races such as the Oleaneans and Bavoomians have entire defense and evacuation plans set in place should the Darthvegans come for their planets, whereas more aggressive races - politically or militarily - such as the Floriasans or Suburbionites, loathe their presence. A handful of civilized races within the local sector have a history of fending off Darthvegan attacks, though their victories are rarely more than pyrrhic. The Darthvegans conquest style of expansion has also pulled them into a deeply negative light, with the destruction of at least a hundred planets to their name, with countless individuals killed. It is not known why the Darthvegans agreed to their armistice near the end of the Meteo Wars, (it was not within Meteo's range during the initial Meteo Attack, and felt little from the Meteo Wars) though it has been assumed this is simply for personal gain; their behavior towards those races outside of the armistice has yet to cease, and they continue to provoke wars with the local races. Although many races have their hatred of the Darthvegans fully known (being so common), very few have actually voiced it, with only the strongest daring to.

With this, anything the Darthvegans have contributed to the surrounding universe has been done solely by proxy. A handful of Darthvegan ships are currently possessed by the Dejehrians, where they frequently change hands for truly enormous amounts of Meteo Ore due to their incredible speed and combat capabilities. Some biotechnology has recently been recovered by the Globinites, who are currently reverse-engineering it in top-secret tests, the records of which are not currently available for public consumption to any extent. Suburbionite colonies are also researching new defensive weaponry based on the technology utilized by the Darthvegans.

On a related note, the Darthvegans' one true military loss was to Limotube in the Rock War of 88. There, a Darthvegan dreadnought was destroyed by a misfired Limotubian catapult. While the damage by the launched boulder was minimal, the pilot committed a critical error when balancing thruster use to compensate for the boulder, causing the ship to topple over and the entire crew to perish. It is also the Limotubians' only military encounter/victory. To this day, Dejehrians and other space pirates tend to avoid Limotubian ships. The Darthvegans have not been seen within proximity of Limotube since.