"Star Control II": Storylines Trivia Quiz

Answer: It was enslaved by the Ur-Quan

OK, here's the story...
The Alliance Of Free Stars lost its war with the Ur-Quan Hierarchy (played out in part 1) and was disbanded as the Hierarchy enslaved each remaining species in the galaxy that could travel the stars. This course of action, we later discover is due to the Ur-Quan's history: they themselves were once enslaved for a very long time, and once they freed themselves from their "masters", they vowed never to allow themselves to be made slaves again. The way to do this: enslave everyone else.
The Earth (as well as the Chenjesu/Mmrnmhrm and Syreen homeworlds) was encased in an impenetrable red slave shield that prevented space travel, and the moon became a Hierarchy waypoint. Humans chose this fate rather than the alternative, to fight alongside the Ur-Quan.
One small group of humans was away in another solar system on an experemental mission at the time and remained free. This group, headed by you (our hero) travels back to Earth in a special Precursor ship, only to find it enslaved. Our hero makes contact with the captain of a space station orbiting Earth and convinces him to mount a rebellion against the Hierarchy by forming new alliances with any species they can. This is where the game kicks off.

Answer: Precursors

The Precursors were a race so advanced that the relatively ancient technology they left behind (when they disappeared from the galaxy) is beyond the technical knowledge of all remaining races in the Star Control story. During the war, possession of Precursor technology proved capable of tipping the scales in either side's favor.

Not much else is known on the Precursors, and historical info on them is so scarce that it is almost as valuable as the gadgets they left lying around the galaxy.

Answer: Yehat

The Yehat were once among the most powerful members of the Alliance of Free Stars, but when the Alliance was defeated and disbanded by the Ur-Quan Hierarchy, the Yehat joined them as battle thralls. This was a proud, and deep down a very honarable species, and normally they would never have simply sided with a former enemy, but they were forced to obey the command of their Queen, who had chosen to surrender to the Ur-Quan when most of the Yehat were prepared to fight them to the death.

As a result, many Yehat in "Star Control 2" find themselves torn between their honor and their loyalty to their Queen.

When encountering Yehat ships in the game, some would simply attack as required by their status in the Hierarchy, while some would shamefully leave you in peace, visibly distresed at their moral dilemma.

The only thing that could make their shame worse, they reveal, would be if their beloved Shofixti were to see them like this. The shame might even prove enough to bring them back to the Alliance.

This is why you eventually set off to replenish the Shofixti race.

Answer: Androsynth

The Androsynth were a race of human clones that fought for the Hierarchy in the original "Star Control". In part II, when you visit their reported homeworld, you find that they have disappeared and in their place are the mysterious Orz. The Orz's strange language does not make for clear communication, however they seem to hint at having wiped out the Androsynth, or at having "sent" them "elsewhere".

The more we learn about the Orz, the more it seems they came from some other plane of existence, and this is possibly where the Androsynth now reside. Anyway, we never find out exactly what happened to them, since the Orz avoided the issue as much as possible, and would respond violently to repeated questions on the subject (costing you a powerful ally).

Answer: they are being mind controlled

When you first talk with an Umgah at their homeworld, he seems unuasually mechanical in his manner of speech, and shows no signs of that notorious Umgah sense of humor. It is later revealed that the Umgah are under the mental compulsion of the last remaining sentient Dnyarri (the powerful race of toad-like creatures that originally enslaved the Ur-Quan, and were subsequently overthrown and reduced to mindless talking pets for the Ur-Quan - this particular one had been rescued from a crashed Ur-Quan ship by the Arilou and brought to the Umgah, who used their biotechnology skills to return it to sentience).

The Dnyarri cannot be stopped without a psychic shield device left behind by the now extinct Taalo race. Once in possession of the shield, you return to the Umgah planet and, with the Dnyarri's mental hold on you nullified, you take it with you and return the Umgah to normal. This is the same Dnyarri that distracts the Ur-Quan in order to let you near the Sa-Matra.

Answer: Vux

The rogue Vux commander Zex has a cache of Shofixti females at a secret location. He will only let them go in exchange for some rare creature, which you must capture and deliver to him. Then you take the females to the last remaining Shofixti male in the galaxy in order to repopulate their race and enlist them in the New Alliance and sway the Yehat back to your side with the shame of facing the Shofixti. Ergo, the first step to having the Shofixti (and the Yehat) join you is to seek out the Vux commander.

Answer: inner space

True space is just that: true space, the regular black starry background you see when navigating within a star system. Hyperspace is the superfast medium through which you travel from one star to another in a fraction of the time it would take in true space.

In this mode, all space around you appears red. Finally, quasi-space is the bright green realm through which the Arilou travel, which allows them to pop up all over the galaxy. At one point in the game, they fashion a quasi-space drive for your ship as well. Whereas hyperspace remains geographically consistent with true space, quasi-space is a system of wormholes with no spatial constraints. Thus, two portals directly next to one another in quasi space may lead to two points at opposite ends of the galaxy in hyperspace.

Answer: Zoq-Fot-Pik

The Zoq-Fot-Pik are in a bad situation from the start of the game, as their tiny sphere of influence (occupied space) is actually inside Ur-Quan space. This exposes them to constant attacks from Ur-Quan dreadnoughts, as well as placing them in the middle of their violent doctrinal conflict. On the plus side, this also lands them in a privileged position to provide updates on the Ur-Quan. On the minus side, when the Korh-Ah set off to wipe out races, don't even have to travel to reach the poor guys. How soon the Kohr-Ah reach and eradicate any species is directly related to how far they are from each other. Being nearly across the galaxy from Ur-Quan space, the Pkunk are the safest among these four (for a while, anyway).

Answer: Pluto

This poor Spathi (I believe his name was Fwiffo) is left all by himself by the Hierarchy to "monitor" the system. Of course, he turns coward the second you address him and decides to talk peacefully. Eventually, he informs you of the location of his homeworld Spathiwa, as well as the secret password to speak with their leaders.

This paves the way for discussions that eventually lead the Spathi to defect from the Hierarchy and join the Alliance.

Answer: Wimbli's Trident

The Utwig are a very superstitious race, and we eventually learn that they had been seeking direction from a supposedly divine apparatus called the Ultron (which was sold to them by the Druuge), which may or may not be of Precursor design. The Utwig grew to place their entire faith in the "whisperings" of the Ultron, and it became their culture's most treasured idol. Then one day they quite simply broke it. The Utwig went into a deep and inconsolable depression, feeling like they had lost all direction, meaning and indeed all reason to exist. They give you the Ultron in the hopes that you can repair it, which you can, by combining it with the Clear Spindle (obtained from the Pkunk), the Aqua Helix (stolen from the Thraddash) and the Rosy Sphere (purchased from the Druuge).

Once you eventually repair the Ultron, the Utwig join your Alliance with renewed vigor, even leading an offensive incursion into Ur-Quan space (right in the middle of the Kzer-Za/Kohr-Ah doctrinal war) that would postpone the Kohr-Ah's victory and subsequent genocidal trek through the galaxy.

Note: Wimbli's Trident is also available from the Druuge, but it one of the utterly useless trinkets they try to dupe you into buying.

Answer: they committed planetary suicide

The Shofixti are probably the most honor-loving species in the galaxy aside from the Yehat (which is why the two species had shared a deep mutual respect during their days in the Alliance). They would rather turn kamikaze than suffer defeat. For example, their ships had the ability to self-destruct in order to deal heavy damage to enemies in combat. Anyway, when the Shofixti were on the verge of being overpowered and enslaved by the Ur-Quan, they chose to activate a massive bomb (their "Glory Device") that blew up their sun, annihilating all Shofixti and Ur-Quan in the system.

The only Shofixti left afterward were two brothers (Tanaka and Katana, one of which you make contact with and set about reviving the race) and a cache of females in the possession of Vux Commander Zex.

Answer: insult him repeatedly

When first making contact with Captain Tanaka, he immediately assumes (because his sensors are malfunctioning) that you are an Ur-Quan and looks to engage you in combat (a valiant little fellow indeed, considering his ship is about 1/50th the size of yours with a meager crew of one). No matter how friendly you try to be in your replies, he is convinced you are an enemy and drags you into a fight.

At this point, you have two options: blow him away in one shot, or warp out of combat (a function usually reserved for surviving a losing battle against more fearsome foes). You can easily kill Tanaka, basically putting an early end to that subplot and dooming the Shofixti to all out extinction, but the trick is to warp out and continue talking to him.

He continues to call your Ur-Quan and launch all kinds of insults your way. Each time, one of your available responses is an insult of your own. When you choose this response, Tanaka gets angrier and again engages you in combat, and again you must warp out.

After doing this three or four times, he eventually comes to the realization that no Ur-Quan had ever insulted him before, and asks you who you are again. The choice response is something to the effect of "I'm a friend, you bumbling idiot", at which point he realizes he made a mistake, and finally warms up to you.

Answer: they are grounded on their planet

The Spathi, being the spineless wimps they naturally are, eventually elect to enclose THEMSELVES under a slave shield of their own free will. Simply put, they prefer the comfort of self-imposed isolation to the freedom (and perils) of space travel. From this point on, no more Spathi ships can be produced at the starbase, and they are pretty much out of the Alliance.

Interestingly, this is when they make their most useful contribution to the alliance, leaving behind the Umgah broadcasting device that would come in so handy in dealing with those pesky Ilwrath.

Answer: Mycon sun device

While locked under a slave shield together inside Ilwrath space, the Mmrnmhrm and Chenjesu begin a process whereby the two races are to merge into one more powerful race. When you first visit them, they tell you they cannot help you until the process (which draws the energy it requires from the sun) is complete.

At one point, you convince the Mycon to abandon a heavily guarded planet in their space and go investigate a potentially suitable planet for them to colonize. While they are gone, you go to the now unguarded planet's surface and abscond with a device that amplifies a sun's rays to incredible levels (which the Mycon used to assist the development of their Deep Child offspring). One "flash" from this device gave the Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm enough energy to complete their process within seconds, and become the all-powerful Chmmr.

Answer: Supox

The Utwig are the ones who lead you to the Precursor bomb that you must use to blow up the Sa-Matra. The Chmmr take care of outfitting your flagship with the bomb and modifying it to amplify its power. The Human race, of course, is represented by you, the captain of the flagship, who must maneuver it into position next to the Sa-Matra and detonate it.

After the Sa-Matra is destroyed, the Chmmr comb the galaxy, eliminating the remaining Ur-Quan fighters and cracking the slave shields they had imposed. With their greatest weapon destroyed, the Ur-Quan (both black and green) find themselves severely hobbled, the Hierarchy is no more, and freedom once again reigns in the galaxy.

That's my quiz, thanks for playing. If you have even a slight interest in space adventures and haven't played this game, I strongly suggest you check it out (I got an abandonware copy) even though I just spoiled most of it. I'm not much of an RPG kind of guy, but this game is truly addictive and it rewards you for playing on with a multitude of cool plot twists and interlayered dialogue. A true classic in my book, and in a genre of its own.