Volos

Overview
The Volos are a species of hiveminded, neo-organic humanoids who hail from the Saggitarius Spiral Arm in the Milky Way Galaxy. They maintain a dominion which rivals that of the Coalition in military strength. The Volos were first discovered in 1199 NCE as frontier explorers mapping the Saggitarius Spiral Arm were exterminated by their patrol fleet. The Coalition considered them to be a local threat, and ignored them until 1234 NCE, when the Volos began raiding their borders without mercy. In early Aquarius of 1235 NCE the entirety of 13th Fleet was deployed to exterminate or pacify the Volos dominion, which they still saw as an insectoid race inhabiting a cluster of worlds. 13th Fleet sailed directly into the heart of Volos space, and were surrounded and wiped out in their entirety during the 6 hour First Volos War. Following this, the Coalition-Volos border was sealed away, with the Coalition finally realizing the true size and strength of the Volos dominion.

Sovan buffer zone
As the Coalition isolated itself from the Volos, a new alien race emerged in the space between the two empires. The Sovans, a species of short, lean aliens almost identical to humans created their own empire throughout the sector of space known as Morrigan Sigma. The Sovans served as a buffer zone between the Volos and the Coalition. That is, until 1283 NCE, when civil war between rival Sovan factions tore their empire apart. The Coalition didn't hesitate to deploy Seventh Fleet in all its strength to conquer Morrigan Sigma, before it could be exploited by the Volos. For two years the "Second Volos War " raged in the Sector, until the Sovans were finally vassalized by the Coalition. Only several months after the capitulation of the Sovan homeworlds the Volos invaded Morrigan Sigma in full force, intent on shattering the frontier of the Coalition into dozens of small chunks and clusters of worlds, to be conquered one by one.

The Third Volos War
The Volos armada invaded through the western border of the Sector and annihilated the ships patrolling Morrigan Sigma's outer boundaries. 7th Fleet responded immediately, but was greatly reduced in strength after the anticlimactic Battle of Nova Bellum. It was only until 7th Fleet opted to fight a war of attrition until the Prim Fleet arrived to reinforce them that the Volos were at first halted, then pushed back. By Taurus of 1286 the Volos had been pushed out of the sector and Coalition space, but at a great cost.

The Interregnum
The Interregnum was a period between 1287-1330 NCE characterized by an uneasy, unofficial ceasefire between the Coalition and the Volos. Consistent raids between the two factions lasted throughout the Interregnum, but no all out warfare erupted between them. At this time many scouts were sent to infiltrate the Volos dominion and map out the Sagittarius Spiral Arm. It was discovered that nearly half of the Spiral Arm had been devoured by the Volos race, with several clusters of worlds maintained at life-bearing condition to provide a constant stream of food to their species. All other worlds within their border were completely uninhabited and uninhabitable by any standards. It was concluded that the entirety of the Volos race existed on border worlds in their armadas, who had to constantly strip worlds of all natural resources in order to maintain their species. It was concluded that there is no faction in the Sagittarius Arm that could potentially halt the Volos; meaning that it's entirely possible the Volos are the only interstellar race in Sagittarius.

The Fourth Volos War
The Fourth Volos War began in 1331 NCE and is the largest conflict between the two superpowers to date. The conflict unofficially began when Coalition spies reported a massive Volos fleet massing at the heart of their Dominion in 1329, and several teams of human and alien infiltrators were deployed to sabotage the Volos motherships. Upon arrival to the designated coordinates, the infiltrators discovered nothing of note. All 12 fleets were scrambled and put on high alert, but for two years there was no sign of Volos activity outside of occasional raids. These raids created dozens of "boy who called wolf" scenarios, and so it was finally concluded by Mars Command that the Volos armada had most likely been amassing against a power within the Sagittarius Spiral Arm. As the military of the Coalition began to ease and relax, that's when the Volos armada struck.

The Enemy Without
Across the Volos-Coalition border the Volos launched dozens of devastating and decisive raids. Local response forces were spread worryingly thin across ten sectors, until they were shattered by the arrival of a massive Volos armada, the size of several Coalition Fleets. Any resistance was swept aside like dust, and before 12th, 11th, and 7th Fleets could amass and repel them the Volos broke off into hundreds of splinter fleets, raiding and terrorizing the frontier colonies and inner worlds. The Coalition navies found it hard to combat this new threat, as the Volos splinter forces almost never engaged in open warfare, but instead ambushed, engaged in hit and run and lightning attacks, and attrition warfare. The men who had the best success combating the Volos were the Head Hunters of Artemis. These warriors were specially trained to combat hive-minded, telepathic races, and with the Volos they proved most fruitful. The Head Hunters would infiltrate the Splinter Fleet, killing the leaders of the hive and leaving the Volos unable to communicate or coordinate, at which point they could easily be hunted by a Coalition fleet and destroyed. This tactic worked in eliminating the splinter fleets threatening the inner worlds, but at the frontier sectors the strategy was met with less success. Even so, it was believed that the Volos would soon be defeated, as more than half of the Coalition Fleets were sent to the frontier worlds to combat the Volos.

The Enemy Within
It was believed that the splinter fleets troubling the frontier worlds were the extend of the Volos threat, but this theory was proven wrong. Planets deep within the "inner boundary" reported sightings of Volos ships. The likelihood of them being Volos was ruled out by Coalition leaders, since all the splinter fleets in the Inner Worlds had been destroyed by then. In Virgo of 1332 NCE the largest Volos fleet ever encountered, larger than the armada that had annihilated 13th Fleet, emerged from below the Orion Spiral Arm and into the deep Inner Worlds. Before any response could be made, more than a hundred planets in the Inner Sectors were annihilated from orbit. The Volos cut a swathe through dozens of worlds, ignoring the planets too defensible to destroy from orbit. The armada, nicknamed "The Bubonic Fleet" sailed slowly for the Capital Worlds, and towards the heart of the Coalition; the Sol System.

A War on Two Fronts
Most of the Coalition Fleets had been distracted by the hundreds of Volos splinter forces raiding and reaping across the Frontier Worlds. Those fleets who were positioned otherwise (namely 2nd, 3rd, and 9th) couldn't abandon their patrols, lest the entire Coalition fall apart into disarray and destabilizing rebellion, panic, and infighting. The only true resistance that the Bubonic Fleet faced at first was the "The President's Chosen", a force of tens of thousands of alien zealots, mostly Dabvolathi, engaged in suicidal attacks against the Volos in an attempt to weaken their fleet. The President's Chosen did little in weakening the Fleet, but did manage to stall its advance long enough for 6th Fleet to intercept the Volos, and therefore their sacrifice was not entirely in vain.

6th Fleet, led by the mighty and glorious flagship CS Voltaire, stood in the way of the Volos advance. For three hours the Coalition and Volos ships danced in chaotic void warfare. The Voltaire is recorded to have destroyed over 20 alien ships, but was eventually so crippled by mass volleys of Volos batteries that Admiral Francois Arouet opted to charge the ship directly into the heart of the enemy Armada and detonate the ship's core. The explosion was so massive it consumed or critically damaged nearly a hundred Volos ships. This sacrifice allowed the surviving forces of 6th Fleet to retreat, with only half their number remaining. The Volos fleet had only been reduced by 1/3rd its strength from this battle. 6th Fleet continued to harass the Armada until it reached the Sol System, but they had too little combat-ready ships to prove a threat to the Volos any longer.

The Machine Stops
The death of the Volos war machine came when they entered the Sol System, making for the system's farthest colony, Pluto, first. the Volos found very little resistance there, and the populace was exterminated. It is said that as the last innocent on Pluto died, First Fleet struck. First Fleet had always been referred to as the "Triarii" of the Coalition. Reputably not the largest, nor possessing the most warriors, First Fleet never in its history left Sol System. The defenders of Earth and its sister worlds were equipped with the most advanced and devastating weaponry, with Drive-space engines twice as fast as anything encountered outside of First Fleet, and a general aesthetic of dread, vengeance, and glorious cunning. First Fleet deployed fully against the Volos, who had never expected any resistance larger than local militias. With berserk fury their ships cut a swathe into the heart of the Volos armada, with the anthem of the Coalition reportedly playing over the comms of every Coalition ship. No communications were uttered, First Fleet annihilated the Volos in complete silence. Caught completely by surprise, size and quantity failed to serve the Volos at the one time they most needed it. The Volos motherships were destroyed one by one, until their Armada finally broke and retreated. They were followed every inch by First Fleet, until the Volos were ambushed by the vengeful 6th fleet, as well as 7th, 9th, and 11th Fleets as they returned from defeating the Frontier Volos. In a ironic, brutal, and glorious parody of the First Volos War the Armada was completely and utterly obliterated. In the last few moments of the battle the Volos were said to have begged First Fleet over comms for mercy; the only instance of communication between the two races. The Volos were ignored and exterminated. In Pisces of 1333 the Fourth Volos War was declared over. A new ship, also named the Voltaire, was constructed from the wreckage of the destroyed Volos armada to replace the sacrificed 6th Fleet flagship.

The Fifth Volos War
The Fifth Volos War is currently ongoing. In mid 1365 NCE the Volos and Coalition began a local conflict over a chain of worlds on the fringe of the Milky Way Galaxy, fertile but uninhabited by an intelligent race. Currently, 6th Fleet is engaged in all out warfare as of Taurus of 1366 NCE. For the first time ever, the Volos are utilizing new subspecies and monstrosities never before encountered to combat the Coalition forces, such as the first ever Psychic Volos, however the war is still noted as "stalemate".

Physiology
The Volos have been given many descriptions, but they all fit under a single, general depiction. Volos have grey, pasty skin, which is sensitive to many atmospheres. As a result, artificial veins pump chemicals and hormones into the bloodstream from machinery surgically implanted in their backs. These devices are a known weak spot to Coalition weaponry. The Volos also have thick plasteel (hybrid of plastic and metal) plates surgically implanted in their heads to reinforce their skulls and chests to reinforce their solid rib cage (Volos have large plates of bone instead of individual ribs). Their immune system is supported by pain-suppressing hormones which are triggered by external bleeding, meaning that the Volos can shrug off various wounds that would incapacitate humans, such as projectile gun wounds, knife punctures, or acid based injuries. Volos eyes are black and segmented, like a fly's. They have no nostrils or nasal cavity, and their teeth consist of two rows of solid, blunt tooth instead of sharp, individual teeth, suggesting that they are evolved herbivores. Volos have no ears, hair, or sex organs, and no pores to release sweat. For this reason Volos have been known to overheat after massive amounts of exertion, but this is usually impossible thanks to the coolant-hormones their brain naturally produces. Even so, Volos are less effective in arid or humid environments. Until the Fifth Volos War there have never been Psychic Volos encountered by the Coalition.

Communication
Volos have no vocal cords, and most xeno biologists agree that they're a hive minded race. Studies from captured Volos have revealed that every Volos contributes a small portion towards an unimaginably large network of telepathic communication that they speculate may actually have formed a single consciousness. Other theories include parasitic invasion, implanted communication machinery, or direct control of their entire species by a single, possibly non-Volos creature, called the "Omega". Due to the constantly hostile nature of the Volos, it's impossible to prove one theory over another.

Motives
The ultimate motives of the Volos are unknown. The Volos are known to required massive amounts of natural resources, namely materials required for reproducing members of their species, which is most likely a form of cloning. The Volos land on newly conquered worlds, and begin a long process of "assimilation". The planet's temperature rises to beneath 0°c, and the geography of the planet is shifted into a strange miasma of radiation and writhing energies. Within months the world is reduced to a lifeless husk, with all natural resources completely stripped. It's believed by most xeno biologists that the Volos reproduce their species during Assimilation, as well extract valuable materials and occasionally take slaves from the native populations. After the Volos leave, the energies dissipate and there's nothing left on the world but rock, sand, and the slowly decaying corpse of the planet's biosphere.