"Shades of Grey" is a Space Opera (read: Soft) setting set three hundred years in the future. Humanity is doing well for itself, but it is locked in a war between three other superpowers: the xenophobic Nordics, the structured Greys and the fanatical Bara. But things are stirring in the darkness. From the centre of the Galaxy there are talks of strange, malformed creatures. On the outermost tips of the arms, metallic screams can be heard at certain radio frequencies. And in seemingly random places, large quadrupeds appear then disappear. And these anomalies are increasing in number.

Races

Major Empires

The four superpowers. Note all names are translated from the species' language to Earth Basic to English. Plus, the people who name these things have a sence of humour.

Bara - Squid-like in appearance, this aquatic species constructed mech suits to allow them to come out of the water. They have no concept of parental or loving compassion, apart compasiion from their god, but they understand that being united is important.
Greys - Their name is a misnomer. Colouration varies from hive to hive, but the most common ones seen by humans are grey or green. Stereotypical aliens (big eyes, big head, spindly limbs) they have a hive system similar to bees, with a queen, drones and workers. Neither of the latter two could survive more than a few weeks (Earth Standard) without a supply of their queen's pheromones. Luckily, Grey scientists discovered a way to store pheromones and make it synthetically.
Humans - Ambitious, strong-spoken and adaptable. They are known to be ruthless, but not without mercy.
Nordics - The name taken from an old Earth ET myth, Nordics were said to be Scandinavian in appearance. However, they were also called Aryan aliens, due to having blonde hair and blue eyes. Making the obvious connection, the Human catologuer naming this species for the first time saw that the Nordics were very extremist in their values. Their rulers saw themselves as the rightful rulers of the galaxy, all other lesser species to be exterminated or enslaved. But that didn't make them stupid.

Minor Species

Feel free to add your own. However, they will never (probably) get into a position of Galactic power. They can be neutral or a subservient race.

Rub'en (Neutral) - Symbiotic (Also contain the capability to be parasitic) spores that take sapient individuals from their home world and give them a new life on their planet, where they are free to do as they please. The spores increase the lifespan of the race ten-fold, and when they die, the host's matter is transformed into one of their weird crystal sculptures. They could certainly rule the galaxy if they so wished, but they are content with relaxing. Examples of humans of Earth being taken include Amelia Earhart and the Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan.

Dead Races

Classfied as Extinct or Gone by Astroarcheologists, their civilization's ruins remain on certain planets. Again, feel free to add your own.

The Fae - This compassionate galaxy-spanning kingdom was noted for its advanced farming and robotics. It was destroyed by a chronal disaster, leaving behind only ruins. Records show they were small and bug-like.
The Vorguls - One of the first developed races to emerge after the big bang, they existed for thousands of years dominating lower evolved species. Their demise was caused by a disease contracted from one of the lower evolved races. Their early discovery of advanced technologies gave a boost to other races and sped up the advance of evolution of other races. Various artifacts are scattered across the universe and a small outpost was discovered on earth, long before humans existed. Their appearance is slightly reptile like, due to their evolution on a tropical planet.

Planets

To be added.

Technology

Transportation

There are four different ways of getting around the galaxy faster than light. They are:

Jump Drives - These work by exploiting the curvature of space-time to instantly move a ship from one location to another. Useful for emergencies, but not while being chased, due to a cool down effect.
Warp Drives - These work by negating certain physical laws around the ship, like thermodynamics. And relativity. The most conventional kind of FTL travel, but one must be careful of the deadly and power draining warp bubble that surrounds the ship while active.
Shortcut Drives - Ships travel slower than light, but take "shortcuts" through a place (which can't be called a dimension, so we'll have to settle for 'plane'. That's what you get when you leave naming to D&D fans) which doesn't adhere to normal physics. This one requires the smallest engine, however, it is said one can hear screaming if you listen closely while travelling.
Portals - Semi-permanent entrances and exits to the Travelling Plane, which is safe enough for biological matter to pass through unprotected. Of course, they are heavily protected and owned only by governments (at least for humans). Trying to enter one illegally or without a pass code may get you at mercy to what ever is screaming.

Current Events

Catch up with Earth's Galactic News Broadcasting, your only government-backed access to the news.

Stories

None yet.

Notes

This is not hard science. I know there are some logical and scientifically unsound things, but please don't bemoan them.
The name as nothing to do with the Grey race. The name came from the Wikipedia article on Space Opera, where it said that there were very rarely shades of grey in Space Opera. And so the name stuck.