Cragmites were a militaristic species from the Polaris Galaxy that predominantly formed the Cragmite Empire.
History[]
Great War[]
Long ago, the Cragmite Empire was a large unstoppable army stretching from the Nundac Asteroid Ring to Praxus XII. Other species were either annihilated, or at least devastated, by the Cragmites. For example, Toranum was destroyed by a Cargmite named Bagogg. The worlds they had conquered were depleted of natural resources.
Out of the Polaris Galaxy's inhabitants, the Lombaxes in particular deemed the Cragmite Empire's rule over them unacceptable and took leadership role of the resistance against them. The two races became eternal nemeses and fought long periods of time during the Great War. Eventually, eight of the most brilliant minds in Lombax history, in the Center for Advanced Lombax Research, created a trans-dimensional portal-generating device called the Dimensionator to transport the entire Cragmite race to Dimension X2-49, which was located in a dying star approximately 8.2 million kilocubits from any life form. This ended the Cragmites' rule over Polaris and effectively won the war for the Lombaxes. However, other species misinterpreted the Dimensionator as a weapon that vaporized the Cargmites. According to the IRIS Supercomputer, the Cragmites' status following their defeat was angry and bored.
Tachyon's Rise to Power[]
During the Great War, the Lombaxes found a lone Cragmite egg while mining for Trillium on the Kreeli Comet. Taking pity on this forgotten Cragmite, who would one day be known as Percival Tachyon, raised him as one of their own. Tachyon grew up happily with the Lombaxes until he learned of his true origins. Though he became a brilliant inventor, Tachyon had ulterior motives due to developing a deep hatred for the Lombaxes.
To achieve his goal, he created an army of robotic pirates to scour the galaxy and collect machinery for him. As for the Lombaxes, he proposed them new technologies for weapons, which served the blueprints for his own Imperial Army. Many Lombaxes such as Kaden were suspicious at first, though General Alister Azimuth of the Lombax Praetorian Guard was convinced this was the right thing to do, as the Polaris Galaxy was still a dangerous place after the Great War. Azimuth granted Tachyon access to all Lombax technology, unwittingly granting him the tools he needed to create his new empire.
With all he had needed, Tachyon presented the Drophyds with Raritanium and advanced battle suits he had created using Lombax technology, thereby recruiting them to his cause. After banishing the pirates to Praxus Seven, Tachyon turned his new army on the Lombaxes and laid waste to Fastoon, plunging the Lombax city in ruin. This forced the Lombaxes to flee and take refuge in the Court of Azimuth, where they used the Dimensionator to flee to a dimension located by a Lombax mapper named Mags. Having conquered much of the Polaris Galaxy, Tachyon eventually executed Kaden and sought to find the Dimensionator to restore his race, though the device was hidden.
Tachyon's Downfall[]
Having conquered much of Polaris, Tachyon then hunted out the remaining Lombaxes. One such survivor, Angela Cross, fled the dimension with Max Apogee. With Azimuth's whereabouts unknown, Tachyon invaded the planet Kerwan in the Solana Galaxy in search of Kaden's son Ratchet. He laid waste to the city of Metropolis until Ratchet was surrendered to him. Captain Qwark attempted to fight off the Drophyd army only to become his "confidant" upon his capture. Meanwhile, Ratchet and his robotic ally Clank confronted Tachyon before stealing his ship and traveling to Polaris.
Ratchet managed to acquire the Dimensionator before Tachyon found it, only to have it taken by Qwark who wished to claim credit for destroying it. Qwark accidentally took off to Reepor, Tachyon's ancestral homeworld, and was captured by Tachyon. Using the Dimensionator, Tachyon brought back enough Cragmites to form a new army alongside the Drophyds. The Cragmite-Drophyd army invaded Meridian City on planet Igliak, the Polaris Galaxy's capital, as it was the symbol of refuge for all free world in Polaris that had not yet been conquered by Tachyon. Though they were able to rescue Qwark, Ratchet and Clank attempted to repel back the invasion but could not prevent it wholesale.
Finally, Tachyon laid waste to Fastoon once again, knowing that Ratchet would eagerly follow him. After fighting through a large force of Drophyds and Cragmites, Ratchet and his allies confronted Tachyon in the Court of Azimuth. Tachyon was ultimately vanquished following his defeat in Dimension A2-66 and the Dimensionator was retrieved by Ratchet and Clank. With Tachyon gone and his grip on Polaris over, the remaining Cragmites were banished once more.