Starfish

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Starfish (海星)
Species/Race	Sapient alien species 456 458
Alias(es)	“Canned starfish” — a derogatory expression spread by human propaganda 466
Affiliation	Starfish Republic; Sea of Stars Community and Council; later led the Non-Aligned Organization 465 509
Homeworld	An ocean paradise with 98% ocean coverage and an advanced underwater civilization 528
Civilization age	Approximately four thousand years of history by the Republic’s final battle 528
Status	Republic destroyed and former colonies converted into machine worlds; an unassimilated remnant survives at the Edge-of-the-Galaxy Sentinel 530 531 532

Appearance

Starfish individuals are depicted as short, plump, fleshy aliens with tentacles used to carry objects and operate equipment 458 531.

• Coloration: Documented individuals include yellow, pale-yellow, reddish, and purplish-red Starfish 458 483 487.
• Limbs: Short, thick tentacles can grip luggage and crush a communicator; passages also describe fleshy hands and swaying feelers 458 526 528 531.
• Clothing: A visiting Starfish wears a full-body spacesuit and a wrist-mounted smart terminal 458.

History

Early expansion and observation of Earth

The Starfish Republic developed faster-than-light spacecraft while humans still hunted with spears. Described as the first empire to explore space and the most advanced of its time, it eventually dominated the Southern Galaxy and maintained science ships and observation posts throughout the northern Milky Way 456.

The Starfish were observing Earth by the First World War. Gagarin encountered their enormous orbital observation post when he reached orbit, and some Starfish attempted contact with humans. Their observers nevertheless expected humanity to destroy itself through nuclear war before achieving faster-than-light travel 456.

In 1999, humanity secretly destroyed the observation post with a barrage of surface-to-air missiles. The Republic approved a retaliatory Colossus strike, but its decline prevented the distant operation from proceeding. The incident established a lasting grudge, which persisted after the United Nations of Earth became an interstellar state a century later 456.

Decline and rivalry with Xi Yan

The rise of the Yondarim Kingdom, Keen Empire, and Blorg Hegemony made the Republic’s sprawling territory increasingly difficult to manage. It began a strategic withdrawal, although its remaining fleets and resources still made it a formidable power 455 456.

Shared hostility toward the United Nations of Earth initially supported good relations with Xi Yan’s Interstellar Human Military Junta. The Republic mocked the United Nations’ surrender and later sent ships or other assistance to Xi Yan during the Great Khan crisis 397 400.

That cooperation did not last. Xi Yan identified the Republic as the principal obstacle to human domination of the Milky Way. Ten years of cold war followed, with few direct military clashes. The Starfish consolidated a southern bloc of subject states, while humanity organized a rival northern bloc 456 466.

War against the Habinte Unified Worlds

The Republic planned to seize the Habinte Unified Worlds’ Gaia Planets. Human intelligence discovered the plan by secretly monitoring the memories of a visiting Starfish. The Republic subsequently ordered Habinte to surrender the Dacha system and blockaded it with communications-jamming devices 458 460 462.

The Starfish dismissed Habinte as a recently spacefaring native civilization. Habinte’s ability to create hyperlanes, followed by the appearance of its ancient fleet, exposed that assumption as a serious mistake. The Republic nevertheless continued the war, trusting its greater territory and population to overcome a Lost Empire with limited holdings 462 463 464.

Habinte secured Community sanctions against the Republic and received human-backed fleet support. The Keen Empire attacked from the south, creating a two-front proxy war through which Xi Yan weakened the Starfish without openly committing humanity to the conflict 466 476.

Covert attacks and the Chosen war

Ashes agents Ling Zero, Ling One, and Ling Two infiltrated the Homeworld System aboard a disguised science ship. They released a Kaleidoscope Bug and dispersed undetected nanites into the Homeworld’s atmosphere. The Bug drained planetary and imperial power supplies, eventually consuming 60% of the Republic’s energy credits 469 470 483.

Human agents also destroyed the Republic’s Sentinel Array by ramming it with a torpedo-laden transport. Unable to prove human or Blorg involvement, the Starfish blamed the Black Needle Pirates. The loss deprived their fleets of galaxy-wide surveillance and forced them into a reactive border defense 478.

The Kaleidoscope Bug later collapsed into a singularity and exploded, discharging the Republic’s stored energy and crippling power grids across its Core Sector. Emergency repairs, compensation, and fleet replacement placed further demands on its depleted finances 483.

A peace agreement with the Keen Empire exchanged six remote Keen systems for seventeen resource-rich Starfish systems. This ended the southern front, but it also placed a dangerous wormhole under Starfish control. Starfish scientists stabilized it and reached the Isomer Cluster, prompting the Chosen to declare a war of existence eradication 486 487 489.

The Republic eventually obtained Community authorization to seize the cluster after the Chosen were designated a calamity. It accepted the surviving Xarenoi’s surrender and exile to Ophalara, took their fleets, then used Heavenly Flood to destroy their final colony after they had disarmed 506.

Recovery and the War in Heaven

Four Ocean Paradise planets in the Isomer Cluster accommodated surplus population and industry, easing internal tensions and restoring the Republic’s strength. It became the leader of the Non-Aligned Organization, an alliance of states refusing to submit to either Awakened Empire 508 509.

At Xi Yan’s instigation, the Awakened Empires launched a surprise Colossus attack on two Starfish colonies, shielding one and shattering the other. Tens of billions died. After months of preparation, the Republic declared war on both Awakened Empires and their subordinate allies 509 511.

Starfish forces invaded the United Nations of Earth and refused its request for humanitarian corridors. Their Planetary Devastation Colossus destroyed Europa Seven after firing into the planet for a month, killing everyone there 512.

The Republic’s fleets initially demonstrated extraordinary resilience. They opened fronts inside United Nations territory and near the Phethisia Arbitrator Empire’s homeland, then withstood coordinated attacks from both Awakened Empires 513 517.

Synth uprising and military collapse

Xi Yan used technology acquired from the Contingency to instigate unrest among the Republic’s oppressed Synths. A Gestalt consciousness gathered five billion Synths, developed a hidden machine civilization, and directed sabotage throughout Starfish territory. Police repression strengthened the resistance 516 518 520.

The resulting Synth Free Star System Alliance seized almost half the Republic’s territory. Uprisings disrupted its administration and reached the Homeworld, forcing the Starfish fleets to abandon their northern campaigns. The Starfish correctly identified Xi Yan as the likely mastermind, but could not produce evidence; he denied involvement and filed a slander complaint 520 521.

Returning Starfish fleets destroyed the rebel fleets and recaptured their stellar bases. They could not readily recover the occupied colonies, however: orbital bombardment endangered their own population, and the Republic had retained too few standing Army units for widespread internal warfare 522.

The Republic then committed almost all its fleets to stop a renewed Awakened Empire invasion. It forced the attackers to retreat, but lost every Titan fleet, suffered over 80% losses among its remaining fleets, and left its Colossus Battleship severely damaged. Xi Yan declared war immediately afterward 522 523.

Fall of the Republic

Humanity sent a single Body Battleship against the Republic while deploying its other fleets elsewhere. The vessel manufactured nanite fleets continuously, conquered the western star region within months, and advanced toward the Homeworld. Nanite storms assimilated conquered planets and their inhabitants 525.

The Starfish president refused evacuation and ordered the vice president to preserve the civilization’s remaining people. At the final battle, nanites consumed Starfish armor, penetrated ships, assimilated their crews, and turned captured vessels against their former allies. The surviving rear fleet withdrew with the evacuation ships 526 527.

The Colossus Battleship remained behind. Its occupants sang of their ocean paradise and four thousand years of history before the Body Battleship destroyed it with a single shot. The beam continued toward the Homeworld; the president killed itself before assimilation 528 531.

Xi Yan established a loyal machine vassal in the former Republic’s territory. All Starfish colonies, including the Homeworld, became machine worlds belonging to a rebuilt Synth Free Star System Alliance 530.

Surviving remnants

The vice president’s battered fleet reached Blorg territory under a Private Security Company flag, hoping to find refuge. Instead, the Blorg surrounded it and demanded surrender. The Starfish refused to abandon the two colony ships carrying their civilization’s remaining population 531.

The remnants escaped by jumping to the isolated Edge-of-the-Galaxy Sentinel. They destroyed its ancient automated cruiser fleet at the cost of more than half their ships, then established a temporary home in an asteroid belt 532.

Using records left by an earlier Blorg-human expedition, they uploaded an improved Synth personality matrix into the system’s Artificial Intelligence World and converted its drones into a tributary subject state. Days later, an angry message from beyond the Milky Way threatened “pest control,” leaving the vice president afraid that their actions had summoned another danger 532.

Society and Culture

• Ocean civilization: The Homeworld’s marine ecosystems were carefully protected, and its advanced settlements developed beneath the sea 528.
• Historical pride: Starfish folk songs commemorate their ocean paradise and four thousand years of civilization 528.
• Art collections: The Republic exhibited diverse artworks seized and plundered during its expansion. These collections became a major asset in its cultural competition with humanity 466.
• Political leadership: Documented offices include a president, vice president, council, and ministers responsible for finance, personnel, and the navy 483 521 526.
• Treatment of Synths: Synths were oppressed and demanded civil rights and improved social status. The authorities’ crackdown helped turn those grievances into a widespread rebellion 518 520.
• Defiance: Republic leaders continued fighting after discovering Habinte’s ancient capabilities and later rejected submission to either Awakened Empire 464 509.

Technology and Military Capabilities

Exploration and Spatial Travel

Starfish science ships supported an observation network extending well beyond the Republic’s core territory 456.

• Wormhole Stabilization: A science ship stabilized the route into the Isomer Cluster over more than ten days 487.
• Dark Matter Thrusters: The investigating ship used a Dark Matter Thruster during its approach to the wormhole 487.
• Jump Drives and Quantum Catapult: These gave the Republic’s fleets exceptional strategic mobility; the surviving colony ship also possessed a jump drive 513 532.

Fleet Warfare

The Republic combined a vast industrial base with battleships, Titans, mixed fleets, and Colossus assets 511 522.

• Weapons and protection: Documented systems include Tachyon Lances, Kinetic Artillery, Plasma Cannons, Firestorm Autocannons, point defense, and Neutronium Armor 483 500 532.
• Colossus Battleship: Its broad-winged hull provided fleet aura bonuses, but its enormous size made it vulnerable to torpedoes from smaller Lost Escorts 467.
• War potential: Extensive colonies and accumulated resources allowed recovery from prolonged warfare, although concentrated battles could temporarily overwhelm its replacement capacity 500 509.
• Limits: A small standing Army left it poorly prepared for planetary rebellions; nanite assimilation later bypassed the protection of its warship armor 522 527.

Colossus Weapons

• Heavenly Flood: Converted devastated Gaia Planets into ocean paradises and destroyed the surrendered Xarenoi’s final colony 506.
• Planetary Devastation: Destroyed Europa Seven by detonating its core 512.
• Deployment: The Republic possessed two Colossi during the Synth rebellion 522.

Surveillance

The Republic’s Sentinel Array supplied long-range intelligence on fleets across the galaxy 478.

• Its destruction left the Republic reliant on shorter-range, less accurate stellar-base sensors 478.
• An upgraded stellar-base sensor later detected the enormous signals of humanity’s assembled nanite fleets 524.

Relationships

• Xi Yan / Human Empire — Initially cooperative against shared enemies; later the Republic’s principal rival, covert saboteur, and conqueror 400 456 520 525.
• United Nations of Earth — Longstanding enemy following the destruction of the observation post; later invaded by Starfish forces and subjected to the Europa Seven Colossus strike 456 511 512.
• Habinte Unified Worlds — Intended conquest target whose ancient technology and human-backed fleets frustrated Starfish expansion 462 463 466.
• Keen Empire — Sworn regional enemy; its territorial exchange helped lure the Starfish into opening the Chosen’s wormhole 465 486 500.
• Chosen / Xarenoi — Extermination-war adversary; defeated, disarmed, and destroyed after the Republic accepted their surrender 489 506.
• Rixi Reconquest Empire and Phethisia Arbitrator Empire — Awakened powers whose attacks drew the Republic into the War in Heaven and ultimately exhausted its fleets 509 511 522.
• Synth Free Star System Alliance — Rebel state formed within Starfish territory; later rebuilt as humanity’s loyal machine vassal on the Republic’s ruins 521 530.
• Blorg Hegemony — Longtime neighbor and hoped-for refuge that instead attempted to force the surviving Starfish fleet to surrender 531 532.

Notable Quotes

“As president, I will not take a single step away from our Homeworld! I will live or die with the fleet and our Homeworld!”
— Starfish president 526

“We cannot accept assimilation as our fate.”
— Starfish president, ordering the remaining fleet to evacuate 527

Trivia

• The species-and-citizenship guide uses Starfish as an example when explaining slavery and the Undesirables citizenship setting. These are hypothetical game-management examples, not accounts of the Republic’s fate in the main story 294.
• Xi Yan privately thought the Starfish looked delicious even while enjoying friendly relations with their Republic 400.