The Vasudans
The Vasudans were the first sentient race encountered by Humanity in the
Freespace universe. Shortly hereafter (many speculate due to a Human misinterpreting one of the Vasudans' many strange cultural practices) war broke out between the Vasudans and Humanity. This war lasted for 14 years until the arrival of
the Shivans necessitated the formation of an alliance, however a radical group of Vasudans known as the Hammer of Light continued hostile action against Humanity. The Vasudans are bipedal and taller than Humans on average, they have brown skin and a hardy physical make up that allows them to withstand the extreme conditions of their homeworld, Vasuda Prime. The Vasudans speak in a strange language that doesn't seem to have any distinct words, it is translated by computer to allow human pilots to understand, since actually learning Vasudan is an incredibly difficult task.
The Great War
Descent: Freespace - The Great War begins with the Vasudans being in a state of war with Humanity. You fly several sorties against various Vasudan targets and engage in fights with many different Vasudan vessels. However soon into the campaign the Shivans appear. The Vasudans were the first to suffer a loss to The Shivan menace, the player witnesses the destruction of a Vasudan cruiser and several wings of fighters by a group of Shivan Dragon-class fighters. They then immediately destroy the research vessel the players wing had been guarding. The Vasudans move to form an alliance with the Humans and the fledgling version of the GTVA is formed. With the appearance of the invincible Shivan destroyer, the
Lucifer, the Vasudans begin to take massive losses, culminating in the destruction of Vasuda Prime.
The war with the NTF/Second Shivan Invasion
The Shivans are still allied to the Humans at the beginning of
Freespace 2. They are helping humanity combat the NTF, a Human-supremacist group which hates the Vasudans and wishes to break off the alliance with them. At one point in the campaign the player is sent to a Vasudan ship where he flies in a Vasudan fighter squadron. The title screen changes and all the players' squadmates speak in Vasudan. You also gain access to Vasudan fighers and bombers, which had not been featured as flyable ships before.
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