Enter Mega Therion

By Jeffrey Von Hauger

All Rights Reserved 2017

THE BRICK, memory bank.02 entry 4379: Planetary Observations

Category: Rogue Societies

Sub-file: Vedma Invasion of Mega Therion

Background

Seven hundred years ago the forest planet Mega Therion went into a period of massive volcanic eruption. A third of the planet was destroyed. The dominant species was a large land mammal, Canis lupus, a wolf creature the size of a grizzly bear with elongated lion-esque jaws. The wolves populated the planet and had evolved into a very primitive hunter gatherer civilization.

Their legends told of a creation Myth. Three sisters, marked by three bright stars in the sky, came to Mega Therion. They were the daughters of the suns and they came to give birth to their children, the wolves. They were at once known as the mothers to all and the creators of the planet. The wolves carved life sized statues of them and stood them like 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. And with the summer came the clear star filled nights of old. And in the night the comet approached.

The comet legend tells how the great goddesses came from the sky and brought the Mega Therions the gift of a galactic language. They spoke it mixed with the growly slang of their ancient gruff tongue. The sisters revealed their names and granted the wolves strength and the ability to walk on their hind legs. Modern day Mega Therions stand 3 meters tall and are muscular, vicious werewolf looking creatures.

The Morning Star is an interstellar body that orbits six systems every 600 years. It remained in the system and was visible from the planet's surface for sixty days. The wolves, looking up to the night sky, 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. They had a reputation as both religious figures and pirates. Spacefaring societies generally ignored them. 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

Home world: 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 clearly a generational ship and survives by pirating.

Recommendation: AVOID

***

Observations

Halfway through the next millennium the Mega Therion wolves had evolved into not only the physically, but also mentally dominant life form. They were building cities and machines, they were at the dawn of a civilization. There were setbacks by sporadic volcanic activity, but they survived. In just thirty generations they had gone from animals hunting in the forest to a mechanized society. They were a warrior society with a code of honor. Mega Therion's placed pride and dedication above all. They sought and defended the truth. They were beings of violence, yet they were beings of science. They reached for power over their environment for their world could kill them all. A pack mentality ruled the planet.

The comet approached again. It had a name, the Morning Star. It 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 turned in the sky and landed on the planet. Four security droids walked out of a large open hangar bay door in the bottom of the ship. They were made of shiny metal that reminded the wolves of platinum. Their red eyes scanned the crowd that was forming.

Hours passed. The wolves attempted to speak to the robots to no avail. The security droids just stood their ground at the entrance. If a wolf tried to enter the ship, the robots who were much shorter but much stronger, bent the limbs of the charging wolves. An entire gang of them tried to rush the ship and they limped away with broken bones and torn flesh. The crowd grew in size and howled and threw things at the ship and its guards. The general of the army came to address the aliens.

A floating platform came out of the bay of the ship and on it three golden she-wolves of epic beauty and stature. The crowd was hushed. They looked to be the three mothers from the stories of their people's origins. Everyone was taken in. They were filled with a new understanding of existence and a renewed purpose in life. They lived to join and serve the Vedma. In a moment the large unruly crowd had changed its attitude to one standing at attention before a supreme leader. They were full of Mega Therion pride, furry chests puffed out and fangs exposed. The pack had three new matriarchs. They waited for the women to speak. The center she-wolf's coat was so shiny it almost glowed. Her golden aura seduced everyone. She raised her arm and growled.

Communications and scanning telemetry with the planet were jammed.

This time the Vedma had brought spacecrafts 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 planet. The Mega Therion advanced to an interstellar age over night. 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 they left.

Twenty thousand of the their greatest warriors went with the Vedma. The masses left behind stood up straight, large pointy ears standing well over three meters high. They had 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 us, but they did not detect our hull in the asteroid field. The Brick is still the ship that can't be seen. If they had been paying closer attention to visual monitoring, they would have seen the big 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 indicate they are near perfect beings, with incredible strength, cunning mentalities, and complete 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. They preferred mammals, aquatics, and reptiles. They were carnivores and the ships they didn't steal were found floating with a bloody horror show splattered across emptied decks.

Varan unofficial report: Mega Therion activity

Planet: Mega Therion

Sector: six

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 clearly the victims of massive genetic engineering. They have blind religious commitment to join the Vedma cult, based on a ship that follows a rogue comet. 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 to the outer edges of the sector. Traders moving through the neighboring systems travel at their own risk. System border stations have been advised. Their new found genetic and technological abilities could be a curse or a gift. 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 shape shifters. That or they possess some kind of projection camouflage. Those who live through an encounter often tell a tale of utter love and often sexual attraction to them. They all walk away thinking the Vedma are wonderful. Nothing is known about the true nature of the Vedma species.

Recommendation: FURTHER REVIEW

***

*******

A long 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 had moved on this weakness. They took their time to mold them exactly they way they wanted them to be. 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, his long tail slid across the floor. He wiped his hands on his brown leather pants and walked over to the pilot stations 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 in front of it. Zandar Vandar Blunt sat slumped in the pilot seat. He was more chunky, a pink and black gila monster with a wide flat head, a variation on the Varan species. Mox slapped a claw down on his shoulder.

"Well, I guess we're out of here."

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

"What does the next five hundred years hold in store for them?"

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, yet beautiful world, populated by majestic life forms. 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."