Chenjesu

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Chenjesu
Chenjesu were the leading race of the Alliance.
Chenjesu were the leading race of the Alliance.
Ship Broodhome
Homeworld Procyon II
Contacts Mmrnmhrm, Humans, Zoq-Fot-Pik, Ur-Quan
Quote(s) Commander Hayes: "Whatever the reason, I'd rather be taking orders from a Chenjesu than any other lifeform, absolutely."

The Chenjesu are a fictional race of aliens from the sci-fi computer game Star Control.

[edit] Physiology

The Chenjesu are crystalline silicon, and in in-game animations can be seen interacting with their ships using lightning-like "fingers." The only other beings known to be of similar composition are the extinct Taalo and the primitive Clairconctlar.

[edit] Chenjesu Broodhome

The Chenjesu ship is the Broodhome, a very large, slow ship comparable in speed, crew capacity and destructive power to the Ur-Quan Dreadnought. Its primary weapon is a crystalline lifeform called a "Photon Shard", a missile that continues moving, even 'wrapping' around the battle area if it reaches an edge, until commanded to fragment (by releasing the fire button) into multiple smaller pieces. The mechanics of the Photon Shard, though simple seeming, are the result of impressive and faultless Chenjesu engineering. The shard itself is a crystal with a highly specific and complex chemical crystal lattice capable of storing vast amount of light within its structure due to countless crystalline mirrors within the fragment. Upon sufficient light entering the crystal it takes the appearance of a resplendent, sparking star, which upon impact (as a full crystal) explodes into countless shards, releasing the unfathomable amount of photon light inside. Seeing as how it is near-impossible for a crystalline weapon to have this photon storing property, it could be assumed that it not only has to do with the Chenjesu's great scientific ability, but also their own understanding of their biochemical systems. Its secondary defense was to manufacture a 'D.O.G.I.' or De-energizing Offensive Guided Interceptor, semi-intelligent crystal drones which were controlled from four high frequency resonators mounted on the hull of the Broodhome vessel (which limited a single Broodhome to deploying a maximum of four drones simultaneously). Once a D.O.G.I. was launched, it would actively, though cautiously, seek out and drain an enemy ship of its energy reserves by repeatedly colliding with it.

[edit] Aftermath

Unexpectedly, the Alliance of Free Stars seemed to have reached a stalemate with the Ur-Quan and their battle thralls and it seemed that the Alliance could possibly defeat them. This strategic position ended when the Ur-Quan revealed their final weapon, the Sa-Matra. Being a Precursor battleship of immense size, the Sa-Matra decimated the Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm fleets. The two races made their fateful choice to both be slave shielded on Procyon II. There they began a synthesis of their two races to create a more powerful composite race that would later be called the Chmmr.

Events of Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters reveals that this synthesis was powered solely by solar energy and would take an expected 60 years to be completed. Retrieval of the Sun Device from Mycon space multiplies the energy received and causes the near instant creation of the Chmmr as well as collapsing the lurid red slave shield over Procyon II.