The Flartians are probably the worst jerks in the universe. Certainly they are the most numerous. Their empire spans multiple galaxies and there are more individual Flartians than any other species in their universe. The Flartian Empire is ruled by an immortal giant floating face called Flarzom, and they are hungry for conquest. This led to a war against the Space Army that was unlike anything seen before. Though a peace has been achieved, the Flartians are just biding their time until they feel confident enough to try again. In the meantime, there are teams of commandos that still do covert operations that advance the Flartian cause. Here is one such team:

Soldier Mep

A veteran of the war, Mep is a loyal soldier and would not have stopped fighting no matter what peace was brokered. As long as the enemy species still existed, they had to be fought. Rather than let an unstable Flartian risk political incidents, Flarzom rewarded this loyalty by placing Mep in charge of a commando unit.

Exploder Ko

At some point in history, the Flartians tried to start a rumor that they were the universe’s best chefs. That’s untrue by a long shot, but they thought it would make them look good to all the lesser species. To this day, Flartians still try to become good chefs to back up their claim, and that’s what Ko was attempting to do, but accidentally learned how to make explosives. Ko is the team’s demolitions expert. Ko is too young to have fought in the war, and was depressed about that until the chance to do war in secret came up.

Fighter Jayt

Jayt is trained in martial arts and unarmed combat. The truth is that the war was rough on the Flartian Empire. Resources within the Empire are low, and what they do have is best used rebuilding their armies. With a lack of weapons and ammunition, unarmed troops like Jayt are being used (many of the Commando’s missions actually involve stealing weapons).

Office Dek

Office Dek is the Flartian assigned to unit as their office worker. Dek’s job is to write up reports about their missions and expenditures and send them back to Flarzom. Though trained in combat, Dek doesn’t get to carry weapons or wear a traditional war helmet, because those would eat into the budget, so Dek prefers to stay out of the fight and stick to the office on their spaceship.

Grats

Grats are a small rodent-like species with a single antenna on their foreheads. They possess a number of senses not relateable to the human experience and are deceptively intelligent. They have a homeworld somewhere, but since the advent of space travel, they have spread to millions of worlds and forgotten their place of origin, with no regrets. Grats adapt to other languages with ease, and have adapted for life alongside various other species. Essentially, once you’ve entered into the greater pan-galactic community, you’re going to have Grats on your planet.

No members of the Space Army cast were Grats, but I drew them in the background of a couple scenes, especially when I wanted to convey a seedy atmosphere. (I drew a lot of pictures of Bars Full Of Aliens as a kid.)

Visky lives on a space station that was once an important strategic location during the war against the Flartians, but is now a rarely used backwater location primarily used by intergalactic criminals. Though Grats are known to be involved with many illegal activities in the galaxy, Visky actually works alongside the station’s law enforcement, spying on smugglers informing on them.

Geruv, meanwhile, is actively involved in criminal enterprises. Living on planet important to the Space Government, Geruv is employed by crooked politicians as a spy, picking up bits of information used in blackmailing. Geruv plays all the sides against each other and is only loyal to those who pay the best.

Sveppo is a rarity, the captain of a spaceship. It’s a single-person spaceship designed for a different diminutive species, but Sveppo has learned to use it and is now free to wander wherever the winds of interest blow. This level of freedom is not common among Grats, nor is it commonly desired by them.

A Fact About Grats: There are species that consider Grats to be vermin and will quarantine spaceships that contain them. Once a planet makes this an official policy, they attract the notice of the Grat League, a veritable army of Grats who use underhanded methods to punish those who have offended them. The Grat League are brutal murderers and will stop at nothing once their ire has been roused.

Universe: Bronze