World
Star Control 2 is set in the star systems near Earth, twenty years after the conquering Ur-Quan Kzer-za came through and enslaved the Alliance of Free Stars's members-- including Humanity-- as well as many other alien species, either as battle thralls or fallow slaves. In the second case, the species' homeworld and colonies are encased behind an impenetrable shell (known as a slaveshield), to remain undisturbed by outside (or, the Kzer-za hope, inside) forces of destruction.

The game starts when the Human Captain (whose default name in the 3DO version and the more recent free re-release is "Zelnick") pilots his nice big ship into the star system Sol. The Captain was born on Vela I, known to those who live there, specifically the stranded crew of a ship thought destroyed, as "Unzervalt". Since the research team crashed right around when the Ur-Quan finally broke through the Alliance defenses, they had no chance (and no real way) to contact anyone back home. This allowed them to escape the notice of the Ur-Quan, and therefore also escape being slaveshielded or killed. They waited for a rescue vessel for twenty years, which never came.

Vela I also happened to be the long abandoned site of an ancient Precursor shipyard. In part due to the Captain's affinity for Precursor technology, even at a very young age, the ancient Precursor factories were restarted (somewhat accidentally), resulting in the construction of the skeleton of a Precursor vessel. This flagship they sent back with the Captain to Earth, to find out what happened to the Alliance over the long twenty years since they crashed.

The Captain never expected to see the red glow of a slaveshield around Earth, or that he would have to embark on a vast quest to overthrow the Ur-Quan Kzer-za's Hierarchy-- or that the threat was so much greater.

You see, the Ur-Quan Kohr-ah-- the darker cousins of the Kzer-za-- are dedicated to slaughtering all other life, not just enslaving them. And while the two lines of Ur-Quan are warring over their differing doctrines, it was only a matter of time before the Kohr-ah won.


Culture

There are a large number of alien races within the Star Control 2 universe, each with their own specific starship, homeworld, culture, language, and theme. They are primarily classified into three categories depending on their alignment during the first War against the Ur-Quan.

The Alliance of Free Stars stood against the Ur-Quan and their battle thralls in defense of peace and freedom. The members of this side included the Chenjesu, the Mmrnmhrm, the Yehat, the Shofixti, the Syreen, the Arilou, and the Earthlings.

The Hierarchy of Battle Thralls consisted of other races that the Ur-Quan had subjugated and forced to fight for them, or in some rare cases, decided to take their side. The Hierarchy included the Ur-Quan, the Mycon, the Spathi, the Androsynth, the Umgah, the Ilwrath, and the VUX.

Then there are the neutral species, uninvolved in the conflict either because they had yet to be discovered, or because they hadn't chosen a side. These include the Melnorme, the Zoq-Fot-Pik, the Pkunk, the Druuge, the Orz, the Thraddash, the Utwig, the Supox, and the Slylandro. The majority of these species aligned themselves with one side or the other over the course of the Second War (the events of Star Control 2 when the Captain begins his quest), with the exception of the Melnorme and Druuge, being traders.

In the interests of keeping things on topic, the only two races that have members at Landel's at the moment are the Humans and the VUX, and therefore they're the only ones that will have any more detailed information than that mentioned above.

Humanity, in the year 2155, hasn't changed all that much. Almost all weapons have been sealed on Earth in Peacekeeping Vaults and in general had managed to accomplish a lasting peace until the Ur-Quan came along. They were quick to join the Alliance when asked by the Chenjesu, and formed the industrial backbone of the Alliance with their quick factories and convenient stockpiles of weapons. However, when the Alliance crumbled, humans were driven back to Earth and slaveshielded. In the process, any building on Earth older than fifty years was destroyed, as well as any kind of monument or historical place. While originally guarded by Ilwrath and Spathi forces, they were quickly left to their own devices and in fact their starbase nearly shut down completely from neglect, if the Captain hadn't come around with the necessary radioactive materials.

Most humans long for their freedom and are willing to fight for the Captain's aid, to try and free their world. They were an active, important member of the Alliance and as such had some contact with various species. This includes the VUX.

The VUX normally resemble an unfortunate cross between an octopus and a banana slug, with one huge single eye and a trunk and several head tentacles constantly in motion. Green and bipedal, they have long tapered arms (tentacles really) with no hands or fingers and are incredibly vain. Their society has been described as Victorian, and they put a great of importance on jewelry and clothing. They are xenophobic bigots, and in particular have no fondness for anything humanoid since humanoid creatures disgust them on a deeply visceral level. This includes the Syreen and Arilou, but primarily this means humans. Most VUX are brought to the edge of vomiting just by looking at a human, and this put a strain on their diplomatic relations, as one can imagine.

It did not help that their first contact consisted of a human Captain named Rand calling the VUX the "ugliest freakfaces he ever saw", which was the beginning of a diplomatic nightmare. The VUX refused to speak with the humans after this blunder, and therefore, as most humans believe, this diplomatic mishap put off the VUX's inclusion in the Alliance of Free Stars long enough for the Ur-Quan to come and enslave them. As a result, VUX and humans have been enemies for a long, long time.

It was only later, when the Captain incessantly hounded them with apologies for the Insult, that he found out that the Insult was more of a cover for the fact that the VUX find humans so hideously ugly that they could never ally with them, something that even they think is childish, but say cannot be helped. Even in the face of the most stubborn diplomatic attempts at peace, the VUX refuse to treat humans as anything more than vermin that should be erased from the galaxy. So their relationship is pretty stormy.

With a few notable exceptions...


Powers

The only real powers anyone from the Star Control 2 universe would have would be related to their innate physiology. Humans are simply humans, no more no less.

The VUX have no particuar special abilities, aside from any advantages given to them by their natural body, if they had it.