Jred

The Jred are a highly dangerous form of life shrouded in a mystery. In the latter days before the Great Cataclysm the Jred were an existential threat to humanity, infesting many worlds, and threatening to utterly destroy all organized resistance to their spread. Despite enormous physiological differences between different examples of the Jred, it is believed that they were a single genus of creature, perhaps even a single specie that could operate with a gestalt intelligence, becoming more intelligent, and therefore more dangerous in greater numbers. Indeed, this is believed to be the reason that the Jred managed to take to the stars, and become so powerful, and threatening in such short order.

History

Though the historical record was corrupted in the Cataclysm, and the exact system and date where the Jred were first encountered is known unknown. It is widely accepted that discovery of the Jred occurred deep in what is now called, the Jred Frontier, in either the 16th, or 17th centuries of the Age of Unity. Initially Jred presence was largely disregarded, though the noteworthy hostility of the Jred themselves, and the inhospitability of the worlds they occupied was noted during these early expeditions. As a result, initial contact was largely avoidance, or limited studies of isolated Jred lifeforms. Worlds where the Jred were encountered were noteworthy in that ancient orbital debris was found in all of them akin to exceptionally powerful, planetary scale examples of the black globe device, which combined with their relatively wide spread over as many as three or four dozen worlds made for quite the enigma.
Towards the end of the 18th century there was a marked change in the behavior of Jred organisms throughout known space. They became much more aggressive to observers. Those worlds with a stronger Jred presence saw Jred lifeforms operate with greater intelligence and coordination, seemingly working together to destroy other lifeforms on their homeworlds, including researchers. The destruction of an outpost on Umbria marked a particular change in the behavior of the Jred. After the fall of Umbria, further scientific expeditions were destroyed with increasing rapidity as the Jred there began to develop rapidly, and bioforms capable of destroying ships in orbit became more common, and more advanced. It was observed that a bioform unlike any other was steadily growing on the world, appearing like a giant biological antenna. In the early 19th century spaceborne Jred organisms were observed with the capacity to travel faster than light. Shortly after, human interstellar vessels began to be attacked by these spaceborne Jred organisms. This marked the beginning of the Jred Scourge.
The Jred Scourge would be the most destructive period in human history, and in the span of a century and a half scores, perhaps hundreds of colonies on the rimward reaches of human settlement, and billions of lives were lost. The Jred managed to destroy multiple colonial battlefleets, and even fought, on even terms with Sol Sector warships. Jred attacks on planets were noteworthy in that microscopic Jred organisms would alter that atmosphere and make it poisonous to non-Jred, birthing new horrors from the fog. Jred invasions would scour entire worlds for other organsims to consume, and worlds left behind the Jred advance would be inhabited solely by various types of Jred bioform, though often this would include mutated descendants of the creatures indigenous to the world. Even the heart of human space was not unaffected as Old Earth was, in the last days of the Scourge scoured by the Jred. The Jred Scourge came to an end only when a special operation destroyed the biological antenna at the center of their greatest fleet. This had the effect of reducing the intellectual capacity of Jred lifeforms throughout the galaxy, and destroying the cohesion of the Scourge. The psychic shockwave, or perhaps scream from this event however had the effect of disrupting jump space to such an extent that travel without Jumpgates was near impossible for all by the most advanced ships, as well as destroying the majority of Jumpgates within the network. The end of the Scourge thus brought about the Long Night.

Jred Physiology

The Jred are believed to be a unique example of motile fungus in their natural state, though some may also exhibit a number of traits belonging to the animal, and plant kingdoms. The Jred themselves have an a relatively unusual physiology, possessing many types of bioforms, but, for all intents and purposes belonging to the same species. In an entirely Jred occupied world, different bioforms can serve each and every ecological niche from mats of red autotrophs that chemically break down rock and soil into viable nutrients, to those that graze on that material, active hunters, and floating spores of Jred that break down the bodies of the deceased. Jred life forms, typically display bilateral or quadrilateral symmetry, though more radical forms have been observed to exist. Most Jred have four legs, and two smaller appendages that they use to interact with the world. Motile, carnivorous Jred typically have complex mouths with multiple grasping appendages and a single many toothed maw, though this is not universal. When first observed, most Jred all had a unformly red coloration, though as Jred lifeforms became more diverse, particularly on other worlds so too did their colors.
Each Jred bioform has been observed acting as a single organism independent of other Jred, but more often than not, Jred creatures, particularly during the scourge, and those worlds with especially high concentrations of Jred tend to possess a gestalt intelligence, where Jred effectively become a single superorganism, one that becomes increasingly intelligent the more Jred there are, and especially when certain, smarter Jred have been observed within their number. During the scourge the Jred managed to connect the minds of all Jred lifeforms across explored space through the use of what was essentially a giant bioorganic transmitter, resulting in a coordinated effort to expand operated with an intelligence far surpassing even the most advanced human computers. This particular consciousness was only successfully outsmarted with the collective efforts of humanity's best minds, and excellent operational security preventing the Jred from discovering the plans. Ever since the destruction of the antenna, and the Great Cataclysm however, no Jred have ever been observed trying to reach a galactic scale, and the greatest Jred intelligences have reached a planetary level only.
Something unique to the Jred was their ability to corrupt the DNA of other lifeforms, even radically different ones, and create, in effect, Jred hybrids, that bore a number of traits similar to the Jred, and often were keyed into the Jred gestalt consciousness. The vector for such infections was frequently the scavenger spores, which infected the air of worlds that the Jred arrived at, becoming more potent with time, and concentration of Jred creatures. These organisms could interbreed with pureform Jred organisms and overtime such hybrids generally became increasingly Jred-like as generations passed on. Humans infected by Jred spores have frequently reported a strong affinity for, and attraction to the Jred, and would frequently engage with this interbreeding. Towards the end of the Scourge, methods were developed to sever infected humans from the Jred consciousness, and prevent sexual compatibility between hybrids and Jred, though many signs of infection would live on through hybrid offspring, most notably a markedly increased psionic potential.

Purestrain Jred

Purestrain Jred are bioforms that were first observed by scientists in the times before the scourge. Whether these particular organisms truly are the original Jred or merely the oldest creatures to be subsumed into the consciousness is a matter of furious debate in certain academic circles, though such topics are largely a matter of semantics more than anything else. Such bioforms were almost uniformly red, and the motile organisms were decidedly like animals, with overall shapes most in line with the baseline Jred physiology observed. Purestrain Jred are generally more feral than other forms of Jred, and are typically observed in worlds fully occupied by them, taking over as the ecosystem of Jred worlds, though some examples can exist on other worlds, especially when spores aren't present. Examples of Purestrain Jred lifeforms include:

• Jred Grazer
• Jred Hunter
• Jred Flood
• Jred Spore Infection

Assault Jred

Assault Jred, or War Jred are organisms that have evolved specifically to kill human beings, particularly well armed human beings. Such beings are exceptionally aggressive, often lack the ability to feel pain or injury, and regularly have some means of attacking at a distance. Assault Jred generally only appear on worlds with large human and Jred populations, where the gestalt intelligence of the Jred on the world place a premium on destroying humans. In the days of the scourge this included Jred bioships that were capable of attacking and destroying human starships. In the modern day however, Assault Jred are locked to individual planets, and the most dangerous organisms are bombardment Jred that can launch projectiles into Space. Assault Jred tend to be more diverse in form, adapting to worlds not suited to Jred lifeforms. Examples of Assault Jred Lifeforms include:

• Jred Eviscerator
• Jred Warrior
• Jred Juggernaut
• Jred Annihilator
• Jred Bombard

Jred Sophonts

Exceptionally rare, even during the Scourge were the Jred Sophonts. Sophonts were originally bioforms that were strange. They acted more as if they were sentient than they were animals, even when encountered in small groups. Jred sophonts looked alien compared to Purestrain Jred, almost as if their genetic origins were entirely different from the rest of the Jred. Sophonts frequently engineer or breed tools, rather than specifically being adapted to meet those needs, and Sophont Jred biotechnology is leagues ahead of anything humans have developed. Some hypothesize that the Jred Sophonts were themselves a genetic hybrid of some ancient, long lost species, that were consumed by the Jred, and are some archaic genetic echo. These original sophonts have all but disappeared however, and have been replaced by sufficiently mutated Jred-human hybrids. Despite this more human appearance, contact with the Jred Sophonts has remained an impossibility, as the consciousness of the Jred has remained largely incomprehensible, even with powerful computing machines.

Jred Hybrids

Those creatures that live on worlds where the Jred have invaded frequently find themselves subjected to Jred Spores. The spores usually have the effect of killing the organism in question, as the spores begin to feed on the internal organs of the infected creature. Those that survive this assault however, have their DNA forever altered by the spores. Though these creatures survive as they are, their offspring are guaranteed to become Jred hybrids, creatures that bear Jred traits, including an ability to hear and integrate into the gestalt consciousness of the Jred. Many hybrids indeed are subsumed into the collective will of their local Jredmind. Hybrids can breed with purestrain and assault Jred, and indeed over generations, hybrids tend to become more and more Jred as this process continues. Hybrids can take the form of any local creature, but all bear some psionic capability.

Jred Grazers on a New World by Nightcafe

Jred Hunters stalking the landscape by Nightcafe

Jred Eviscerator on a Hostile World by Artbreeder