Make boom, for a reason

Remember that Luke Skywalker was a farmboy

You are the captain of the Kiith Somtaaw mining vessel Kuun-Lan (they are really into these double vowels, aren't they?). A Kiith is a clan or tribe. Several Kiiths compose the political and social structure of Hiigara. Some hold immense political power, others such as yours, do not. Your Kiith has been reduced to mining duty and other methods to survive, in the hopes that one day they will be great.

Close in on the action

Yes, that was a carrier

The game opens with the Kuun-Lan hard at work doing what she does best, harvesting resources. Just when your crew was about to mutiny from the boredom, a radio call comes from Hiigara. It is a distress call from the republic garrison, saying that they are facing a tremendous offensive by fallen raiders and imperialists and that they need any aid that local ships can afford. You hyperjump back and find yourself in the midst of a tremendous battle for Hiigara, once again.

You are a mining crew, and there is very little you can do to help the defenders beyond reconnaissance and repairs. However, with your aid, eventually the Republicans push back the Imperialists, and all is good, for now.

Hi, I am the wretched organic evil from next door

In the twilight of the battle, you are relegated to cleaning up the nasty bits. In the sea of derelicts and still steaming craft you come across an interesting find. You end up finding a ship in space with some interesting technology, and like any good opportunist, you salvage it.

This is what you get when you take on three computers all set to attack you.

The aforementioned ugly buttons

Little do you know that an ancient biological evil older than a million years just happens to be on this vessel. Oh no! It takes over part of your ship and you have to jettison it. Soon, "The Beast", as you call it, is running amuck all over the galaxy, converting everything in its path with its techno-organic virus.

The Beast is no different from the long line of the uber-insidious alien life forms we're used to seeing in movies and books. It is an organic evil with no goals whatsoever besides consuming everything and it has no personality whatsoever besides lacking said personality (a common thread amongst these biological villains).

Being crippled is uncouth

Halfway through being built

The cutscenes where the Beast's "leaders" talk even resort to the cheesy effect of multiple voice actors talking as one voice. Over time you start hearing more and more about the Beast and what it is. Just add another paragraph to "Ancient biological evil over a million years old" and you have the gist of it. It's not interesting, and is quite disappointing that Barking Dog resorted to such cliché for their villain in the continuation of the Homeworld storyline.