THE BRICK, memory bank.02 entry 4379: Planetary Observations
Category: Rogue Societies
Sub-file: Vedma Invasion of Mega Therion

Background

The forest world of Mega Therion entered a period of intense volcanic eruptions and a third of the planet was consumed. Canis lupus, a large wolf like mammal with elongated lion-esque jaws was the dominant species. The wolves populated the planet and evolved from an apex predator into a primitive hunter-gatherer civilization.

Their creation myth told of three sisters, marked by three bright stars in the sky, that came to Mega Therion. They were the daughters of the sun and came to give birth to their children, the wolves. The wolves carved life-sized statues of these mothers of creation that stood as totems in their makeshift villages.

When the eruptions started the great herds of tusked elk ran north to safety. The wolves followed. The next hundred years the planet sunk into a nuclear winter. Ninety percent of the herd died out and the wolf population plummeted with them. When the first summer finally returned, it brought light back to the last living section of the planet on the northern continent. With the summer came the clear star-filled nights of old and in the night the comet approached.

The comet legend described how the goddesses came from the sky and brought the Mega Therions the gift of language. They spoke a growly slang. The sisters revealed their names and granted the wolves strength and the ability to walk on their hind legs. Mega Therions stood three meters tall and are muscular, vicious werewolf looking creatures.

The Morning Star was an interstellar body that orbited past their systems every six-hundred years. It remained visible from the planet's surface for sixty days. The wolves looked up to the night sky and saw this as a sign. The massive spacecraft that arrived with it was seen by all but would be remembered by none.

The Vedma were a galactic witch cult that followed the comet around the galaxy. They terrorized the locals of some worlds and ignored others completely with a reputation as both religious figures and pirates. They were mysterious and unknown. Many believers made a pilgrimage to their ship, never to return.

Varan unofficial report: the Morning Star comet and the Vedma

Ship: THE MAGUS, 100 deck deep space cruiser, unknown ancient design
Crew: Vedma, genetic species unknown, compliment unknown
Language: Unknown
Homeworld: THE MORNING STAR, rogue comet?

Initial observations revealed a ship constructed of black metal and covered in hundreds of smaller ships that looked like spikes. It follows the orbit of the comet and uses it as a base of operation. An interstellar religion has spawned from their circular journey. The craft is known in several cultures and the followers of the Vedma cult worship the three beautiful goddesses aboard. They have been reported to be of many different species and always the same as the species reporting. It is a generational ship and survives by pirating.

Recommendation: AVOID

***

Observations

Halfway through the next millennium, the Mega Therion wolves evolved beyond physical dominance to be the superior mental life form on their planet. They built cities and crested the dawn of a civilization. There were setbacks by sporadic volcanic activity but they persisted. In just thirty generations they went from animals hunting in the forest to a mechanized society.

They developed into a warrior society with a code of honor. Mega Therion's placed truth and dedication above all. They were beings suffering the duality of violence and the quest for knowledge. They reached for power over their environment for their world threatened to exterminate them all. A pack mentality ruled the planet.

The Morning Star comet approached again brought salvation. This time the Vedma landed their massive ship in the Mega Therion capital city. The entire population came to witness this new technology.

The Magus hung in the sky over the city like a giant porcupine painted black. It rotated in the sky before it landed. Four security droids exited open hangar bay door at the bottom of the ship. They were made of shiny metal that reminded the wolves of platinum. Their red eyes scanned the crowd.

Hours passed. The wolves attempted to speak with the robots but the security droids silently stood their ground at the entrance. If a wolf tried to enter the ship, the stronger robots bent the limbs of the animal. A gang of them charged the ship only to limp away with broken bones and torn flesh. The crowd grew in size, howled, and threw things at the ship and its guardians. 

A floating platform came out of the bay and on it road three golden she-wolves of epic beauty and stature. The crowd hushed. They looked to be the three mothers from the stories of old. Everyone was entranced by the visitors, filled with a new understanding of existence, and a renewed purpose to life. The unruly mob changed into a formation standing at attention before a supreme leader. Furry chests puffed out and fangs exposed. The pack had new matriarchs and they waited for the women to speak. The center she-wolf's shiny coat glowed and her golden aura seduced them all. She raised her arm and growled.

Communication and scanning telemetry with the planet jammed.

The Vedma brought spacecraft and laser weapons. They brought unimaginable power and the chance to live among the stars; a one-way ticket to an amazing afterlife, away from the dangerous volcanic world. The Mega Therion advanced to an interstellar age overnight.

In a period of weeks, the entire population was taken onboard the Magus. They went in groups of thousands and remained aboard for three days. When they came out, another group went in. Not a single Mega Therion was overlooked, the entire population was processed.

Telemetry resumed the day the Magus left.

Twenty thousand of the greatest Mega Therion warriors went with the Vedma. The masses left behind stood tall, large pointy ears standing well over three meters high. They found their purpose in the galaxy. They would join the Vedma and be their army, their soldiers, their defenders. Truth unto death was the Therion way. They would serve the Vedma, who would rule and guide them into the future.

As the Magus left orbit they passed but did not detect our hull in the asteroid field. The Brick is still the ship that can't be seen. If they paid closer attention to visual monitoring, they would have seen the rusty perfect rectangle floating among the more ameba shaped boulders.

The next century five more generations passed and they spent their time building large-scale assault spaceships. They plundered the vessels that came through their system, gathering supplies and advancing their technology. Reports indicated them as near perfect beings, with incredible strength, cunning mentalities, and focused dedication to the task at hand. They even tell their victims their possessions will be gifts to the Vedma. 

They slaughtered crews and gained a rumor that they ate their victims. This was more often true, than not. The carnivorous wolves preferred mammals, aquatics, and reptiles. The ships they didn't steal were found floating adrift with a bloody horror show splattered across emptied decks.

Varan unofficial report: Mega Therion activity

Planet: Mega Therion
Species: Mega Therion, galactic wolf, genetically enhanced
Vessels: 27 ship fleet and growing

The wolf people of Mega Therion have come at their sector, forgive the pun, like wolves in the night. They are victims of a massive genetic re-engineering with blind religious commitment to the Vedma cult. Their entire society is singularly focused on this goal. 

They are relatively weak pirates but travel in dangerous numbers. Recommend unarmed and vulnerable ships route around the system and stay on the outer edges of the sector. Traders moving through the neighboring systems travel at their own risk. System border stations have been advised.

There is a good possibility they are either under some kind of mind control, enchanted by a Vedma spell (local populations report them to be witches), or just utterly indoctrinated into the idea that these Vedma are their creators and saviors. The Vedma are responsible for altering the evolution of the species at a manipulated DNA level.

The Vedma appear to be shapeshifters able to take the form of various species. That or they possess some kind of visual projection camouflage. Those who live through an encounter often tell a tale of utter love and often a sexual attraction to them. Survivors walk away thinking the Vedma are wonderful. 

Nothing is known about the true nature of the Vedma species.

Recommendation: FURTHER REVIEW

***

A scaly finger with a bright green claw manicured to a perfect point clicked off the control station. Mox slumped over his computer considering whether he'd covered it all. There were a lot of holes, but this was a case of forced genetic manipulation on a planetary scale. 

The wolves were hurting, near extinction. The Vedma moved on that weakness. They took their time to mold them exactly the way they wanted. They did this over 1800 years.

The two meter long gecko-ish Komodo Dragon looked like he wasn't even alive. He sat stone still as a statue for ten full minutes. He didn't even breathe. Then his tongue flicked out of his mouth and one eye blinked. The next moment Mox went into motion. He stood up from his chair with a slither and his long tail slid across the floor. He wiped his hands on his brown leather pants and walked over to the pilot station in front of the only window on the ship. The sun threw shadows on the asteroids floating around outside.

The co-pilot droid spun its tin can head around sensing Mox, flashed its red eye, then refocused its attention to the controls. Zandar Vandar Blunt sat slouched in the pilot seat. He was more chunky, a pink and black Gila monster with a wide flat head, a variant on the Varan species. Mox slapped a claw down on his shoulder.

"I guess we're out of here."

Blunt looked up, simultaneously activated the ship's engines, and laid in a direct course to Varan.

"What do the next five hundred years hold in store for them?" he asked.

They both took a long last look at the red and green forest planet. Fires from the magma fields burned bright and glowed below. It was a turbulent, beautiful world, populated by majestic life forms and they were only one three deck ship on an observational mission at that point.

A curling mischievous sneer of a smile glided across Mox's snout.

"Let's go find out."