The Arcane Masters

Below the surface of the dark planet Phuudj, among the abandoned gruen mining equipment is hidden the ancient ruins of the Temple of T-Rax. As you enter you see there is a gathering of over fifty hooded grue. They are chanting in a terrible sounding dirge. Their bodies shift and ungulate unnaturally as they sway and keen. In the center of them are two huge grue that are more just masses of evershifting tentacles than humanoids. From them pours power that seems to wax and wane with the cadence of their chanting. These are the Master of the Arcane. They seem to be channeling pure cosmic energy from an unknown and unseen source. There once grue like eye protuberances are now deep pits that shine with raw destructive energy.

The Arcanists

Grue legend speaks of The crew of the mining platform, noth grue drones and their coordinators alike begin to shift like magenta fluid intothe shape of hooded cultists.  Once these beings worshipped at errible old god known as T-Rax before the formation of the Meta-Mind and the establishment of collective telepathic cells. These grue were known as the Arcanists and often took on horrific shifting forms, engaged in unthinkable practices such as ritual sacrifice and cannibalism.

Their primary goal is awakening their ancient god, an all consuming beast they call T-Rax, who sleeps forever at the center of the galaxy. T-Rax is known by many other names but on other planets, such as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King and Collapsar.

Since the Lor occupation of Gruen the Arcanists have seen a modern revival, using their unholy magics and rituals without the countering influence of the Gruen Metamind.

TioKio System

The Metamind

Polyphase Avatrons

The usually clam and pristine halls of the Lor vessel have been replaced by glaring red emergency lighting, deafening alarms, smashed consoles and ripped up sections of the interior fuselage. There is no sign of the coordinated crew of Punishment Station. The halls are eerily still and devoid of life. Suddenly around a t junction in the corridor ahead their a robot hovers into view. It turns and a scanning beam emits from its round optic sensors.

Issue 2.6 The Temple of T-Rax

Last time the Vanguard visited Freedom Halls station, a massive spacestation that is home to trillions of aliens from hundred of worlds from throughout the galaxy (they even had a McDonalds). The Vanguard enjoyed some well deserved R and R. Doctor Robot built a new highly advanced body. Adela enjoyed a relaxing DNA test and Spacewolf lost a televised duel with the best of the Special Friends, Whammoman. During their time there Ultima left with the Argent Acrobat for part unknown and they discovered a strange alien creature known only as the Rash. Intent on finding a power stone the Vanguard returned to Gruen Prime and talked their way past the Punishment Station.Once on the surface our heroes quickly liberated the Saak Trinity from the Lor restraint collars designed to limited their mental and metamorphic abilities and turn them into suggestive drones. Once freed the Grue helped our heroes escape the capital building and lead them to a secret Unifer base. Will the Grue resistance be able to assist the Vanguard in sneaking on board the Lor Republic's Punishment Station, rescuing the Grue Metamind and finding the location of the Red Sacramundi Crystal? There is only one way to find out as the Vanaguard are about to discover the importance of...

The Unifiers

 The Unifiers are a small portion of the population of occupied Gruen that continue to resist the punishment imposses upon the Grue by the Lore Republic. Unifiers secretly have maintained their shapeshifting and telepathic abilities, often posing as subdued drones to gather intel and carry out terrorist actions.

Occupied Gruen

The surface of Gruen is a depressing site. Everywhere you look are either Coordinated Agents of the Lore Republic or Grue fitted with metagenic muzzles meant to inhibit the Grue's natural shapeshifting abilities and their connect to their telepathic collective cells.

While everything is peaceful and orderly... it is maintained through the complete domination of a once proud race.

The Gruen Occupation Forces

 The Gruen Occupation is overseen from orbit . There hovers Punishment Station, a battle platform armed with a Tensor cannon large and powerful enough to convert and store entire planets.

Administrating this station is the Lore Reagent Monk Man Is It Windy and his second-in-command Retreatant Monk Any Kind of High Step.

Keeping the peace are thousands of elite Punishment Agents that employ suits that use the most advanced Transor technology available in the galaxy. They are capable of transitioning energy reserves stored in the suit into personal fight craft capable of atmospheric and short range stellar flight.

Whammo-Man

Following close behind is a giant whooping pink and lavender blur of fists. It is easily moving at the speed of sound and is on a collision course with the weird mass of scar tissue. It makes an even larger hole in the bulkhead and smashes through vendor stalls as if they were tissue paper. Believe it or not, you think it is laughing. It passes by you, smiles and shouts, "GREETINGS CITIZENS!!!!"

Rash

Huge reinforced blast doors retreat with the sound of grinding metal and squealing gears. An alarm immediately joins the cacophony. From the blackness beyond the doors a massive creature shifts and flops around making terrible fleshy slapping noises. Suddenly from out of the darkness a creature that appears to be made entirely out of inflamed scar tissue and inflected red flesh bursts out of the opening headed straight toward you. It excitedly repeats the same three words...

I

AM

RASH!!!

Issue 2.5: Invasion of the Earthors

Last time the Vanguard had started a riot on the lawless space station known as the Scragg. Split up and surrounded by alien pirates, murders and thieves our heroes eventually made it back to their ship, The Comet. That is when all cosmic weirdness broke out. The station was visited by the face of NORN, the Preserver of Fate who warned the group that they were destined to fulfill the Grey Emissary's task but that they were doomed to fail and that they maddeningly had the freewill needed to make their own destiny. No step closer to understanding the true nature of the universe the Vanguard said goodbye to the Argent Acrobat and traveled on to Freedom Halls, a massive space station and welcoming center for all free and peaceful races of the galaxy. There they plan to refuel, regroup and, in the case of Doctor Robot, redesign. Unbeknownst to our heroes fate appears to have more in store for them then their current plans may indicate. Tonight we pause for a very special episode of Victory for Vanguard...