She looked at her hands, where the chemical burns were beginning to form—a sign of the "Shorted Lifespan" trait she had accepted for the sake of her empire's growth. She wouldn't live to see the next century, but her civilization would choke the stars until they were the only ones left breathing.
The Otheman Mandate had risen from the literal trash heap of their sector. While other civilizations spent centuries cleaning their oceans and filtering their skies, Vetra’s ancestors had leaned into the rot. They had accelerated their evolution through the Relentless Industrialists civic, turning their home world into a tomb world that thrived on the very pollutants that killed everything else. STELLARIS TOXOIDS SPECIES(2022)
"The Blorg representatives are refusing to disembark," her assistant, a twitchy drone-operator named Skrit, chirped through the comms. "They say the 'aroma' of our starport is melting their environmental suits." She looked at her hands, where the chemical
"The sensor array is picking up a signal from the Shroud," Skrit interrupted, his voice trembling. "It’s... it’s the Great Corruptor. The bio-signatures match the ancient texts." "They say the 'aroma' of our starport is