omewhere, out there amongst the stars, a group of Hylotl peace missionaries fiddle with their radio and attempt to contact home. They have no luck, just like the last time, and the time before, and the time before that. Outside of their cave, the entrance of which they've disguised with a net of branches and leaves, strange noises can be heard. Unusual, garbled chattering; an alien language, unknown to the Universal Linguistics Database. The automated translators fail to parse the chattering, but the Hylotl know. 'Find them,' the voices are saying. 'Find the fish people.'

The Hylotl are down to their last ration pack now. They ran out of bandages days ago, after Kawaski slipped down a cliff and needed patching up. He recovered, but they're in a bad way now. Hungry, thirsty, cold, warmed only by the campfire they dare not light until they're sure the creatures outside are gone.

Agarans, they are called. Named by Greenfinger, of course. What creature isn't these days? The Agarans are plants - the Hylotl knew this coming to the planet, they knew the risks, the suspicion the Agarans regard them with, their unknown connection to the Florans. But the Agarans have been peaceful until now. Sure, they've been cropping up more and more around the galaxy; spreading, spore-like, although nobody has ever seen them engage in space travel.

Of course, the Hylotl sent their peace missionaries to make contact, to understand this strange, mushroom-like species. To guide them down the right path, to distance them from the vile Florans. But here, on this remote planet, the Agarans proved just as menacing as any other murderous plant.

The missionaries encountered the first group standing around a towering monolith made of plant matter. They were chanting, singing, dancing. The smell of blood and fire lingered on the air. Blindly, arrogantly, the missionaries approached.

The Agarans stared at them, then began to jabber in that strange, unknown language. Then, seemingly as if commanded by a silent voice, they began to attack.

The missionaries - or what remains of them anyway - huddle together in the cave. The spores are spreading. Outside, the voices are growing louder. There's a rustling, then nothing. One of the missionaries breathes a sigh of relief, and then the camouflage is torn away from the cave entrance, and the Agarans stand there, murder in their mushroom eyes.

'Go,' one of the older missionaries whispers to Coralgrower. 'You're still young, strong. You can make it. We'll hold them off. Go.

'Go and warn the universe about the Agaran menace.'

Coralgrower flees, charging through the dark cave, trying to ignore the sounds of battle behind her. Trying to ignore those voices, those sounds, and then... that strange, growling sound, not like a creature at all, but the sounds of something taking root, growing, spreading, filling the mouth of the cave, chasing her down, down, down the dark tunnel, the scent of sap and oak dancing just behind her, out of sight.

Coralgrower does not stop running until she reaches open ground, and teleports up to the ship. She knows the others are lost. Her heart still racing, her breath still ragged, Coralgrower sits in the captain's chair and makes the jump.

This story came to us by way of our lead investigative journalist, Charlton McVicar, who is currently out in the field studying the Agarans. The Agarans are spreading throughout the galaxy. What their purpose is, their end goal, nobody knows. This once-peaceful species is spreading, and they're taking no prisoners. The Starbound universe needs your help. Find the Agarans. Photograph them. Post your evidence in the forums, or tweet them to @ashtonraze. Only with research and understanding will their true purpose become clear.

In a strange and catastrophic turn of events, it appears that the entire universe and everyone in it was wiped from existence just a few weeks ago. Upon the universe's return, intelligent life began to rapidly re-spawn and it was no time at all before advanced ships could be observed hurtling through space.

"I've got no idea what happened," says adventurer Paulmon Aceroy, "but I woke up feeling like a new man. In fact, the universe itself feels like a slightly better place!"

It appears that other denizens of the universe largely agree with Aceroy's feelings on what's being referred to as The Final* Wipe.

"For the most part, things just seem to be running a bit more smoothly," noted Willem Murrey, an off-duty USCM guard, "Plus I found a viking helmet in the break room, so I've got that

going for me, which is nice."

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however. Mr. Aceroy went on to note, "I guess if anything we could have done without the landmines, y'know?"

As flora and fauna alike continue to re-spawn and spread out to inhabit the vast, new unexplored universe, they cross their fingers and toes in hopes that they have not chosen to rebuild on a planet with high meteor activity. Or penguin-in-a-UFO activity. Or cultist activity. Or birds-that-vomit-blood activity. The odds that settlers will encounter none of the above remain slim.

* We've received intel that suggests that while intelligent life and, oddly enough, spaceships are immune to further reboots, we may yet face another instance of entire planets disappearing from the sky.

The universe is full of creative types, constantly inventing new gadgets and machines to make life simpler, more well-balanced, or just prettier. Here, we highlight just a few of the latest inventions that have caught our eye.

The Okea Kiosk by Boogy is a new station at which you can purchase hundreds of pieces of furniture, the likes of which have never been seen before! Decorate your home or interstellar dojo with over 230 unique objects. Essential for the aspiring interior designer.

Have you ever wanted to keep bees and never let them get away? Then Bees! by Cactuar may be the beekeeping solution for you. Catch and keep bees with different personality traits, harvest honey and craft potions and other healing items, fight a giant bee! Become absolutely covered in bees! Ahhhhhh, covered in beeeees...

Got some big vermin to kill? An engineer by the name of TShinzon at XS Corporation has developed a new set of mechs that should annihilate even the hardiest of bone dragons. They're not cheap to craft, but the ability to soar through the sky raining bullets down upon your enemies does come at a price.

Dear Angry and Confused,

While we could blame Charlton McVicar, the Chronicle's resident investigative journalist and scapegoat, we choose to instead blame our tardiness on the fact that we've been setting up new offices. They're not painted or furnished yet, but have a look!

Dear Unrequited Love,

We did! We totally did! It's just...a little bit late, see? We'll make it up to you with some flowers soon, promise. <3

While the Hylotl currently remain something of an enigma, they have plenty of secrets to reveal in time. But, like a fine wine, or a fish pie, they need to be savoured just so. Needless to say, however, the Hyltol ar- [the message mysteriously ends here]

Got something to ask the editors? Suggestions for next month's issue of The Starbound Chronicle? E-mail us!