There is limited information within the Coalition of Unified Planets about the race known only as the Ji. Even the name of this race is derived from the language of another. No data is supported within the Coalition data-files beyond the "observations" of powerful psionicists, but what has been stated leaves leaders startled and concerned.

Somewhere exists a planet, in a quadrant on the far side of the known universe. It sits surrounded by a system of over a hundred barren planets, resting between two suns in a chaotic maelstrom at perfect equilibrium among the madness. This world is constantly torn to pieces, reforming by radioactive volcanic eruptions hundreds of times per never ending day. Molten oceans of irradiated slag line basins of vast volcanic and seismic canyons, as binary suns eternally beat down on the unforgiving peaks. Gravimetric surges from magnetic forces of the solar system shift gravity positive or negative at a moment's notice, raining down fragments of impacted planets from above, or hurtling all manner of things into space.

This is the home of the JI, seen through the minds of the Miliari and the Gik.

Every encounter with the Ji has been met with negative results. Cunning and frighteningly devious, these creatures would be consid- ered un-intelligent if not for their myriad methods of system-wide infestation. On record, the Ji have been known to utilize hundreds of methods to infest dozens of worlds: They have invaded in-mass, raining acidic and radioactive slag down on throngs of unsus- pecting victims; They have been known to lie dormant in starships for months, waiting for passengers to enter hibernation before they strike; Infiltrators have infected water supplies causing rampant cancer while Symbiots swoop down on pedestrians, devouring citizens by the dozen; They have even dropped asteroids from orbit with a Mother landing shortly after...Just to name a few.

No one within the Coalition is quite sure what to do. Any attempt at taking the Ji home world would be a disaster getting in or out of the system, and it would take years for even the Gik to make it there with incursion forces. Worse yet, the Ji have spread into the Miliari and Gik occupied systems. Some Human settlements in unexplored territories have even been affected, desolated before anyone could arrive to assist. To make matters perhaps even worse is everyone's inability to track them. No one is quite sure how the Ji traverse the darkness unseen, but even after detailed regional sensor sweeps the Ji arrive and leave virtually undetected. They even seem to be obfuscated from surveillance cameras and cybernetics. What is known about them, surmised from eyewitness reports and casualty analysis, perplexes Xenobiologists and generals alike.

The Ji need no apparatus to survive in space, and seem at home in total darkness, underwater, or in mountainous regions. Completely immune to radiation, the Ji glide through superheated molten slag like trout going down stream. They are remarkable swimmers and climbers who do not seem easily affected by warm, cold, or altitude. Every Ji, large or small, has a membrane joined at the wrists, back, and ankles. This membrane permits the Ji controlled descent while falling, very much in the same manner as a Terran "flying squirrel" or a Miliari "nibbak." They have no seeming need to breathe, nor do they have any apparent need for sleep or rest of any kind. Most Ji can hear a pin drop at a hundred feet, and can smell blood on the air for over a kilometer. Their blood is acidic and radioactive, with proximity proving fatal to most races. They seem to have no conscience, ethic, or self control beyond the will of their Mother. The only thing it seems they must do is feed.

The Ji are liquivores. They have no mouth to eat with, nor any orifice to consume a victim. The Ji feed through a proboscis like a mosquito, piercing the skin of a victim and draining it dry after injecting acidic fluid to aid in digestion. This feeding tube is prehen- sile and barbed at the tip, spanning over 2 to 3 meters in length. The average Ji can drain a fairly large Human in less than ten seconds. Most races die much faster.

Each Ji brood is ruled by a Mother. Each Mother is her own dictator, devouring dozens of her own spawn to sustain herself on long journeys. Each planet encountered by a Mother is just another pit stop on a never ending journey through the cosmos, stopping off and feeding the kids now and again before getting back on the road. Each one controls her brood like a biological network, taking planets whole, raping natural resources, and infecting everything with radiation and acidic runoff. Long after a brood is gone, biological mutations remain as a painful reminder, touching generations to come. Coalition members serving in the I.C.C. despise “infestation detail,” never leaving the planet quite positive they caught everything.

The Coalition is certain of the existence of nine Mothers at present in our occupied corner of the universe. Katherine holds dominion over the Gregarin System (recognizable by a 30 meter scar across her left eye) , while Mothers such as Xiancee and Shina terrorize the Gik and Miliari. The Coalition tries its best to fend off each brood, but many infestations are discovered too late, leaving only indications that the broods are growing.