Vasari

The Vasari are advance reptilian race that once controlled a vast interstellar empire.

History
The Vasari Empire was a massive interstellar confederation. Primitive species were inducted peacefully, while more advanced ones were brutally crushed. Both were then turned into "Valued Citizens", more or less slave labor for their Vasari overlords. Over time, they began losing contact with their colonies. Assuming rebellion, they sent a massive expeditionary force to quell the aggressions. Only one ship limped back, its crew insane and its structure heavily damaged. The empire decided it was futile to fight such a foe, and began to evacuate. They dropped beacons along their route to gauge how far their pursuers were behind them. The beacons began to fall silent, one by one.

Soon, they entered human space. Humanity had been merchants and traders for over a thousand years, and only having to contend with the occasional pirate raid, had all but forgotten the way of war. The two races clashed, and fought for a decade straight. Then the Advent, twisted shadows of humanity resurfaced, and attacked both factions. The Vasari find themselves squeezed between a fierce war and an unstoppable pursuer.

Technology
Vasari tech is incredibly advanced, especially their phase-space based tech. Heavy use of nanomachines has allowed them to enhance their physiology to allow various evolutions in a matter of minutes, including the ability to grow insulating layers of fatty tissue or breathe sulphur vapours, as well as fast-clotting blood. Energy-absorbing nanomachines can also clog weapons ports, allowing them to effectively "jam" weapons. Phase technology includes tiny phase drives that can be installed in missile systems to allow them to ignore shielding, and Phase Stabilizer Nodes that allow ships to travel between nodes as if there were a Phase Lane connecting the systems.