Database and Lore

The Emphra Page 1 (NSFW)

*Spoilers if you haven't read past Gabatrix: The First Peace arc* “There is no such thing as a place that has never felt the impact of what the Emphra did to all Itreans. They were singular in one goal only, to devour everything….” Yutilian Adjunct Zincha. Of one of the most horrific alien races for the Itreans to ever uncover was the Emphra. The nightmarish race would highlight the events that took place in the last one hundred years of Itrean history and usher in the end of the Era of Negotiations. Its impact was monumental and severe on all the clans. Yet, in the end, little is truly known about them and why they did what they did. History During the last two hundred years, the Yutilian, Aksren, and Shal’rein clans remained the last of the Itrean subspecies in millions of years of clan history and violence. Ancient Empires had long collapsed as the remaining clans almost remained in a perfect balance to upstage the other. With the destruction of the Alara’jal, the recent years of history would mark a time period where wars and battles would occur but be small and infrequent. Great efforts were made to try to come to peaceful resolutions that would create years of uninterrupted peace. Like a pendulum swing, it would create time periods of non-violence against one another. This all changed in 2280 when the colony of Ipatrea was suddenly attacked. The Yutilian settlement reported a series of black warships that came out of gate folded space. These ships were nothing ever seen before and attacked the defense fleets in place. They completely overwhelmed the forces and then went straight to the planet. A few reports indicated that the people of Ipatrea were seeing the ships crashing down to the surface or raining something silver down upon them then…..silence. Another Yutilian fleet was dispatched to investigate, but they never returned. Further reports showed that the unknown fleets were large warships that were rectangular in shape, littered with weapons, and had something silver that shimmered on their hulls. The first year would be almost similar for the Aksren and then the Shal’rein clans. Within that year, two more colonies on all sides had been lost, including a complete near loss of their populations. Panic was hitting the Itreans as varied reports and beliefs had come about. Some thought that a bioweapon had been unleashed and was being used to wipe out the other. This claim was quite well accepted by the clans as bioengineering was well adapted by then, but it had never been used to such a scale as this. It wouldn’t be until 2281 that the clans also began to notice something rather horrifying. Fleets that attacked other colonies had the defenders reported seeing the unknown attackers using commandeered Itrean warships. Their hulls were a sickening brownish color with the same silver shimmering coating that would go after other Itrean warships. Asteroids with engines were starting to be seen, and the unknown attackers were even using the buildings of the former colonies to attack the defense fleets of other Itrean worlds. Their tactics were simple and absolutely effective. They used sheer numbers to spread. Any attempts to contact them only had one phrase repeated back “Olin……Olin ta…..” repeated back in several different voice tones, almost as if multiple voice chords were fused together. The translation was “Food….more food,” which was repeated by the attackers. On the ground, the reports were staggering and coming in clear. One of the first valid attempts to hold off an attack warranted an almost utter defeat by the Aksren clan fleets. The unknown enemy that was simply referred to as the Emphers (The Horrid Ones) had broken through the defenses and began to rain this silver liquid down on the civilization. The liquid was alive and began to hunt down every living creature in front of it. When they reached the Aksren citizens, the fluid would enter their bodies and completely control them. Their eyes would turn into the same silver color, repeating the same lines as “Olin…..Olin ta….” All will was taken from them, and efforts to fight back were all but impossible. These possessed individuals would then chase to attack the others that fought against them. When the bodies were damaged beyond use, the silver liquid would drain and then go after new bodies to consume. It was deemed that the liquid was the Emphers themselves. It was an entirely new lifeform that was in a silver mercury-like state. Later evaluations had placed them as a silicon- based lifeform. The term “Emphra” or the “Silver Rain” was used to identify them later.  The Itreans fought back in whatever way they could, but it was impossible to stop the Emphra in their native form. Bullets, lasers, and the most powerful ranges of biological warfare were tossed onto them to no effect. Their bodies, being liquid, were flexible to a wide range of attacks. What horrified the Itreans even further was that it was identified that the alien race could liquify organic tissue or reshape them into grotesque abominations. Gore nests were carefully photographed in time that showed them being able to take control of circuitry, make more of themselves, or possess bodies to work in making equipment or vessels to continue spreading. The only viable weapon that did work at the time of 2282 were nuclear weapons. An atomic blast would incinerate the lifeform, but there were significant problems with such an issue. While in space, nuclear weapons were used frequently. They could quickly destroy an Emphra ship if they hit but fighting on the ground or waters of a planet was a completely different dilemma. Nuclear explosions would create heavy fallout and cause widespread damage to ecosystems and infrastructure. While the Itreans had been used to repairing the damages caused by such methods, the extreme level in this style of warfare was too much at times. Adjuncts once stated that “We had to drop nuclear missiles on small cities with tens of thousands of our fellow citizens…..all to stop a few Emphra that were attacking them….” At times, the number of civilian casualties was appalling, with other worlds that had to be completely nuked once the Emphra fleets were decimated. All the clans had been fighting for their lives, but the Emphra attacks were not always frequent and moved like a slow crawling wave. This did, at times, allow the Itreans to regroup, repair, and build new ships in order to repel their attacks. Regardless, 2283 and 2284 were known as the lull periods against the Emphra. While the Itreans were rebuilding, so were the Emphra that were preparing to do widespread invasions to continue spreading. In 2285, the Emphra began their assaults in absolute savagery. By this year, it was estimated that 15% of the Itrean population (combined) had been wiped out or consumed by the aliens. Even if the Itreans could hold their own in space combat, it would only take a few Emphra ships to reach a planet or installation to begin consuming the population. Great efforts and sacrifices were made by ship commanders in an attempt to stop the aliens from reaching the ground. Something had to be done. Analysts had been concluding that the chances of the Itreans in stopping the Emphra were low. Every time a place had become lost would only add to the Emphra strength. They were essentially eating the Itrean civilizations inside out. Each of the clans had their own tactics in engaging the Emphra, but it wasn’t enough. There would be one major advantage to the situation: that was the fact that the alien race was not allied to anyone. It attacked all the clans equally. If an alliance could be made, it was possible that the Itreans could do a better job repelling the menace. This wasn’t as easy as most scholars would think. While it was true that the Emphra attacked during the Era of Negotiations, the Itreans were far from cooperative with one another. Bloodfueds, distrust, and thousands of years of bitter rivalry reigned in the negotiation tables. Even when pressed against the Emphra, all sides blamed the other for unleashing it or not doing enough to stop them, but there was still hope. The Yutilians were the most open to such an alliance, even using the supporting arguments of the ancient alliances during the Rototrein Rebellion in taking down the Empire of Jalgren. The Shal’rein and Yutilians saw reason, and by 2286, the first coordinated fleet actions were made against the Emphra. It proved to be partially effective at first as the act of actually coordinating such moves was challenging but not impossible. Eventually, the Itrean fleets started to score several victories. It would take the Aksren clan some time to see reason with an alliance. While attacks on their worlds were still occurring, the Aksren fleets still managed to hold their own at times, even if they were alone. This wasn’t to say that they were always victorious, but when compared to the other clans, they at least fared better. Many inside the clan wanted to have an alliance as well, but prideful leaders stood in the way. Even others claimed that it was best to let the Yutilians and Shal’rein bleed themselves dry so that when the Aksren eventually wiped out the Emphra, the other clans would be too weakened down to resist future invasions by the clan. Some argued in reverse, saying it was going to be the other way. Eventually, the Aksren began a series of treaties. This would start as a nonaggression pact, free access to shipyards to repair and replenish their vessels in Yutilian and Shal’rein space, and so forth. It wouldn’t really be until 2287 and 2288 before the partnership alliance was struck. By then, all the fleets were working in conjunction together. As soon as a world would be attacked, all the clans would rush to send their fleets to engage the Emphra. It proved effective and not a moment too late. With 19% of the Itrean population wiped out, the Emphra were difficult to stop. It wouldn’t be until 2290 that a new and powerful weapon would be discovered that could be used against the Emphra. It was found almost by sheer accident when an Aksren soldier’s laser pistol misfired, killing one of the Emphra with a single shot. Confused as to why this laser weapon was suddenly effective when the others weren’t, a mission was carried out to retrieve and analyze the gun and why it worked. It was determined that the Emphra bodies were particularly vulnerable to certain frequencies emitted from lasers. The misfired pistol set itself to this frequency that resulted in the death of the Emphra creature. The Aksren and other clans began to manufacture laser and particle beam weapons tuned to this specific frequency upon such a revelation. It proved to be a saving grace for the Itreans. No longer was it needed to use nukes on the ground when you had weapons that were safer to use. A commander once said, “The grazer weapons we had were the difference between life or death. It was like a difference between giving our centurions automatic rifles instead of clubs….” Suddenly, there was a profound hope that the alliance and the new weapons could be used to end the Emphra horde once and for all.  Even warships were equipped with these guns to help slow down or weaken the advancing warships. While 2290 was the turning point in the Emphra War, it was still far from over. Itrean fleets still struggled in the ensuing fights. The Emphra would launch wave after wave of ships. While the Itrean ships were far better at fighting, the alien vessels came in sheer numbers. The organic metal that the Itreans used was particularly vulnerable to the Emphra as they could quickly latch on and begin consuming the vessel from within. In a few minutes, the alien menace could actually achieve complete control of the ship and begin open firing on other Itrean vessels. New Anti-Emphra measures had been installed to help combat the spreading, including advanced Self Destruct systems to prevent capture.