A YJA Moment - Starro the Star Conqueror [Redux]

[Note:  Due to changes in our game chronology, I have split the Star Conqueror entry from the old Mind Stone and made it its own independent entry]

Legend states in the far past, long before any of the sentient species traveled the stars, there was a planet which was known as Starro.

Starro was home to a dominant life-form, a species of creature which greatly resembled echinoderms. They had a unique structure, where a central Queen communicated with her Drones via a complex neurological signal.  The Queen had biological control over her children and could alter their genome during gestation, usually doing so to adapt to some environmental threat or correct a genetic flaw.

There were many Queens on Starro, dividing up the planet into territories.  Clashes between Queens and their broods were common, with the most evolved Drones winning the day.  The constant conflict and need to dominate each other fuelled a rapid evolution amongst the species.

Then something happened.  One of the Queens had a developmental leap.  Whether by simple biological chance, interaction with some outside catalyst, or intervention by a third party, a Queen birthed a rapid succession of new generations of Drones which showed exponential evolution.

Finally, a new generation of Starro Drones was birthed with enhanced intelligence and psychic ability, all linked to the Queen via a complex hivemind.  This Queen then conquered and consumed her sisters on the road to being the dominant life form on their world.

Though the colony maintained the biosphere adequately, there was a side-effect of the rapid evolution.  The Queen needed psychic stimulus in order to remain in peak capability, something only available through tapping into the brainwaves of sentient beings.

Without such stimulus, the Queen went into a dormant state, her drones then followed suit.  There they remained in hibernation for untold years, awaiting the arrival of intelligent beings to awaken them from their slumber.

When a Bolian explorer vessel made an emergency landing on the planet, the Starro Drones were immediately awoken.  They captured and took control of the crew without incident.  With a starship cargo hold full of Drones linked to a telepathically empowered Queen, the Starro have made a move to expand into Known Space.