The United
The United are a human tribe from a lost Terran colony long forgotten. They travelled to known space in a caravan of pieced together ships to recontact known space, after their world fell prey to a global catastrophe (so they say). The Terran colony they originated from – Qatrurn – was colonized during a time when the Terran Expanse was desperate for worlds suitable for agricultural development. During one of the Terran expansions into neighboring sectors, agriculturally rich worlds were becoming harder and harder to find, and it was growing harder and harder to feed a massive interstellar empire. In the mad rush to find these “breadbasket” worlds, corners were cut, surveys were cut short and procedures were skipped. Qatrurn was one of these worlds.
At the same time, the colonial administration at the time was performed various social experiments with colonists and their social structures. In the case of Qatrurn (as was a few other sister worlds), they colonized her with some of the diverse and conflicting people groups they could find, just to see what would happen. However, Qatrurn turned out to be nothing like any of its sister worlds and surprised everyone.
These disparate groups over a short period of time, unified and homogenized faster than any colony in the sector. The established a single society, following specific traditions unrelated to any of the original cultures. This new unified culture adhered to strict simple low-tech life with simple dress and proper demeanor. They call themselves the United.
No one but other United know why the change occurred and it is one of their deeply held secrets. Early in Qatrurn’s colonization, they discovered an intriguing indigenous lifeform. Found in the high altitudes mountain caves all over the planet, a colonist expedition found something that slipped through the slack surveyor job. This life form appears insectoid but with plant-like biology. The small star-shaped creatures grow on strange vines that hang from the ceilings of caverns near the openings. They are called the Quosod.
“Followers of the Way, the Way of the Quo, protector of the Sod”
They lay dormant on the vines until disturbed by a victim passing by. The Quosod then attaches to the victim and burrows into the subdermal of the victim, seeking out a path to the central nervous system and eventually to the brain. They implant themselves close to the brain and inject tendrils into it. It parasitically feeds off the psionic energies of its victim, enslaving it. It also protects the victim from any psionic attack.
As a result of the infections, the people of Qatrurn became servants to the parasites – slaves to the collective hive-mind of the Quosod – creating the United. The Quosod flourished with their new hosts for centuries. The collective mind manifested in a religious-sect culture within the colonists of Qatrurn, hiding the true nature of the parasites. However, the Quosod naturally wanted more minds. The collective resources of the United rebuilt several old Terran freighters and their Jump Drives with the goal of recontacting known space and spreading the Quosod. The collective mind – The One – selected the Chosen, those specifically suited for expanding the Quosod to other worlds.
The old Terran freighter was discovered by CDC, who graciously granted them land on Rupert’s Hole on Cassadine III. At present, the United are breeding more Quosod on planet and on the station in orbit.