79 B.E.
The extremely low price of Imulsion energy and the massive loss of revenue and jobs in the traditional energy-producing industries soon caused Sera‘s world economy to collapse. Rampant speculation on Imulsion and the ever-increasing demand for the substance led to a major financial collapse.
A long-running global conflict begins to sweep the world of Sera as the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) and the Union of Independent Republics (UIR) fight over imulsion energy resources. The Pendulum Wars begin.
The few countries that discovered an abundance of Imulsion below their land shortly thereafter found themselves at war with the many nations who were not as fortunate and the Era of Silence ended as the Pendulum Wars began.
During the seventy-nine year war, The COG began sending out their legions of Gear soldiers turning the Pendulum Wars from a conflict over Imulsion to a fight over freedoms. The Coalition overthrew many nations’ vassal governments and accepted volunteers to fight the UIR armies.
47 B.E
The Ostri front was a theatre of the Pendulum Wars that saw trench-warfare between the Gears of the COG and the Indiesof the UIR. The campaign was thirty years before the Siege of Anvil Gate. Cpt. Ranald Sander compared his quarters to the trenches of the Ostri front, with the smell of canvas, wool, charts and maps taking up every space on the walls.
21 B.E.
– Marcus Fenix and Carlos Santiago are born.
19 B.E.
– Dominic Santiago is born.
– Anya is born.
17 B.E.
– The King Raven is introduced to the COG Army.
– Resignation of Vasgari president Ilim.
– Vasgar is occupied by Union of Independent Republics“peace keepers” on the order of Chairman Daniel Vari.
Storm/17 B.E.
Soon after his wedding in Hoffman was stationed at the Anvil Gate garrison in the town of Anvegad in Kashkur for a seven-month tour, serving as the second-in-command to Captain Ranald Sander.
Rise to Bounty 17 B.E.
– Hoffman
Siege of Anvil Gate
Assigned to Anvil Gate
Hoffman was in command of Connaught Platoon, 26th Royal Tyran infantry. He wrote several letters to Margaret describing the city and how much he missed her. During the first week of Rise, he decided to shave off his thinning hair, and then reported to Sander in the signals office. His CO was surprised by his new look, and handed him a stack of messages for the Gears stationed at the fort to sort through while he kept trying to raise command. After he finished checking who had received messages, Sander invited him to come along for a drive around the outskirts of the town. As they drove, Hoffman asked Sander how his pregnant wife was doing, and Sander told him that the baby was due in five weeks. Hoffman suggested he put in for compassionate leave, and Sander told him he would. Sander then asked Hoffman how he had met Margaret, and Hoffman told him about the investigation she had been doing. Sander had Hoffman stop the ATV when they reached a cliff, and he got out to take photographs for future paintings. Hoffman smoked while he waited, and determined that he would give smoking up before he got back to Margaret, since she didn’t like it. After Sander finished, Hoffman drove him back to the town, and then headed to hand out the messages that had arrived for the Gears. He found Pvt.Padrick Salton cooking in the main mess, and put the mail down in the center of a table. He settled in to eat with the rest of the company as they arrived in the mess hall, and listened to the news over the radio, and how the neighboring neutral country of Vasgar was about to suffer a political crisis. He noticed that the only Gear who did not have a letter from home was his platoon sergeant, Samuel Byrne, who was dating a local woman. Hoffman decided not to warn him off from getting involved with her, despite the fact it was frowned upon by the higher ranks.
Preparing for Battle
After the Union of Independent Republics occupied Vasgar, the fort began preparing for a possible invasion of Kashkur. Hoffman and Pad watched as a long line of trucks arrived in the city, carrying extra supplies that Sander had ordered just in case they came under attack. Hoffman and Pad discussed if the Indie’s would make it that far into Kashkur, and Hoffman expected that they would. He was relieved that the COG wasn’t going to go in to try and assist Vasgar, feeling that that would stretch the COG’s resources too thin. He then went to check the overnight messages, and ran into Sheraya, Byrne’s girlfriend and civilian liaison and translator for the garrison, talking to one of the truck drivers. She informed him that the flour delivery was low, but would be back to normal the next day. He thanked her for the information, and continued to the ops room. He found Sander there, waiting for the call from Captain Adam Fenix that the UIR had begun their invasion. Hoffman began sorting through the overnight messages, and informed Sander about the low flour delivery. After he finished, he returned to the ramparts, and was watching the plain in front of the fort when Sander contacted him, informing him that the invasion had started, and that they had permission to open fire when the spotted the enemy. Hoffman patrolled the town as the news spread, to make sure none of the civilians panicked, but found them still going about their lives calmly, unworried about the invasion. He then went to the mess, and found Pad and Byrne listening to the news and military nets. They told him that a major battle had begun in Shavad, where the rest of the 26th RTI was. He then asked Byrne how serious he was about Sheraya, and Byrne told him that she was pregnant. He gave him permission to marry her while deployed, and then continued to patrol the town.
Beginning of the Siege
Hoffman then went to join Sander in the observation post at the front of the fort. Sander informed him that the acting president in Vasgar was angry with the COG for cutting off the Imulsion supply. Hoffman considered it the first sane thing that any commander would do, which Sander agreed with. They both decided that too many people had grown too comfortable with the war. A few hours late, they heard several explosions and a loud rumbling sound, but saw nothing in front of them. Byrne then contacted them, and informed them it had come from the north of the fort, along the road. They headed over to look out at it, and saw that the landscape had changed significantly. The Anvegad Pass had collapsed, blocking the road. Hoffman ordered Pad to get his squad and check it out, and joined Carlile, one of the combat engineers, in an ATV to drive out to the pass. They met with Pad there, and he informed them that the entire road was blocked. Carlile looked at the cliff walls, and determined that this must have been done intentionally. Hoffman then realized that the fort had been cut off from the rest of the country, and all support.
An hour later, a King Raven arrived to help scout the damage, and Hoffman climbed to the top of the landslide to get a better look at the other side of the pass. The Raven pilot informed him that she saw no signs of infiltration in the area round the fort, and asked if they need any immediate assistance. Hoffman told her their phone lines were out and they had no way to move vehicles, but other than that, they were fine. As the Raven left, Hoffman climbed back down the rubble and met with Carlile, who was making plans to clear the pass. He told Hoffman he would need a Behemoth to clear it, which would need to come from HQ at Lakar, which was near Shavad. He also told Hoffman that it would take a long time to get the amount of explosives needed to close the path in place, meaning that whatever Indie forces that had done it had been around a long time. Hoffman walked back to the fort, where he found Sander meeting with Alderman Buyal Casani, the head of the town. He reported what Carlile had told him, and after Sander told Casani they would increase patrols and security, they began walking back to the garrison. Sander wondered why all of the civilians were so calm after the explosion, and Hoffman told him it was because no one had ever taken Anvegad, giving them a sense of invulnerability. He then helped Sander and other Gears move the ops center to the main gun battery, and ran into Byrne. When Byrne mentioned that he had postponed his wedding, Hoffman ordered him to get it done that day. He then rejoined Sander, who called him a sentimental man, but Hoffman maintained it was to make sure Byrne had one less thing on his mind. Sander then offered to let him send a message to Margaret over the radio, but Hoffman refused, since the others Gears wouldn’t be allowed to do so. After they planned patrol routes, Hoffman went to the main gun deck where Sgt.Evan and his crew were keeping watch for the enemy. He began writing a letter to Margaret in case he was killed, but was interrupted when a report came over the radio that Indie vehicles were moving north out of Porra, which was south of Anvil Gate. Sander moved the base to the highest alert, and Hoffman and the gunnery crew began discussing how long it would take for the Indie’s to reach the refinery across the border.
First Blood
Hoffman joined Sander in the observation room to monitor the Indie’s progress, and Sander asked Hoffman what he would do if he were them. Hoffman said it would depend on how the battle at Shavad went. If the UIR won, they would try to stop the garrison from taking out the refinery as they retreated. Sander then informed him that Col.James Choi had denied them permission to destroy the refinery. Hoffman guessed that the refinery would not put up a fight due to the amount of Imulsion there. Hoffman listened in on the comm traffic coming from Shavad, and felt guilty about not being alongside the rest of the 26th RTI in the battle. He decided to then get another patrol started and have another observation post set up. As he left, Sander told him he would ask for a Pesangaunit to assist Hoffman’s Gears in searching the area around Anvil Gate. An hour after he sent Byrne out with a squad, he reported in that a column of Indie vehicles was almost at the refinery, but that it wasn’t very large. After he did his rounds of all the military positions around the city, Hoffman headed back to the garrison, and ran into Sheraya in the street, who asked him if there was anything she could do. He asked her if she and Byrne had gotten married, and she told him they had. Hoffman was glad, and gave her special permission to stay at the barracks during the Siege, in order to be with Byrne. She thanked him, and asked if he was allowing this because he missed Margaret. Hoffman denied this, but was unsure if that was true or not.
As Hoffman entered the garrison, he ran into an angry Carlile, who informed him that the Behemoth had been diverted to Lakar instead of to them. Hoffman asked him to inform him about what was going on, and Carlile told him that the radio was reporting that large amounts of Indie special forces had been inserted into the country before the invasion occurred. Hoffman then rejoined Sander at the main gun emplacement, and informed him the Behemoth had been diverted. Sander then began to leave and try and talk to command about sending the Behemoth back to them, but before he could get across the gun floor, an explosion engulfed the room, Hoffman was hit in the back of the head by something and knocked to the floor. He was momentarily stunned, and was unable to hear very well. Evan leaned over him and helped him up, telling him a rocket had come from behind the fort and hit them. They and the other survivors scrambled out of the emplacement, and Hoffman saw several body parts and scorched armor. Evan informed him that Sander had been killed, and Pvt.Jarrold told him that the rocket had come from the rocks on the cliffs overlooking the city. Hoffman asked if they were still under attack, but they didn’t know. He contacted Byrne and Pad, ordering them to head out and find who had fired the rocket, and told the gunners to make sure the guns were still intact. Hoffman realized he was operating on auto-pilot, and as the Gears rushed to carry out his orders, he wondered what he was going to tell Sander’s widow.
In Command of Anvil Gate
Hoffman went to the garrison, and contacted command at Lakar while Sheraya and Pvt.Reaves applied first aid to the back of his head, and Dr.Salka worked on Gnr.Arlen Pereira in the corner of the room. When the major on the other end of the radio informed him that they could not get support out to them, Hoffman informed her that they did not need help, but was merely informing them what was going on. He told her about the death of Sander’s, as well as Gunners Dufour, Tovey, and Pole, and that their families needed to be told. He also informed her they had eight wounded, but were not under sustained attack, but also that the road out of the fort was still blocked, meaning that they could not evacuate the civilians. He then asked her if she was clear on their situation, angry about how little support they were getting. The major didn’t reprimand him for talking to her like that, and asked him if he still wanted the Pesanga squad Sander had asked for. He did, and she told him that she wanted another report in ten hours, and signed off. Hoffman then tried to stand, but Sheraya and Reaves forced him back into his chair while they continued to apply medical attention to his head. Hoffman wanted to get out and help the other Gears, but they told him they needed to make sure he was alright first. As he waited, he contacted Pad and asked if he and Byrne had found anything, but they he reported no sign of whoever had fired the rocket. Hoffman then checked in with Evan on the guns, and was told that they were okay, and that there was no sign of movement from the refinery yet. Hoffman then asked Sheraya to gather the Aldermen so he could speak with them, and to take Pvt.Wakelin with her for protection. Salka then came over to Hoffman and informed him that he had been unable to save Pereira, and Hoffman ordered Reaves to get a temporary mortuary set up so they could bury the bodies. Evan then contacted him and informed him that a group of Indie tanks were approaching the fort, and Hoffman ordered Evan to open fire on them. He got to an observation post to watch them fire on the Indie vehicles, and saw several of them get destroyed before they began to scatter, and then began to open fire on the fort. The walls held, and the smaller guns began taking out the Indie armor. Hoffman wondered why the Indies were throwing their lives away in a suicidal frontal assault, when mortars began falling into the city. He took cover along with three other Gears in a Sangar, and Pvt.Dawes informed him the attack was coming from the north. Hoffman contacted Byrne, who was in the monastery tower setting up a machine gun to cover the forts dead area behind them. They discussed tactics to deal with the mortar attacks, and Hoffman resolved to hold for the few weeks it would take for the battle at Shavad to be decided.
The Siege Worsens
During that night, the Pesanga squad arrived by helicopter. Hoffman met with them, and was worried by the fact the six soldiers were short, young, and wore light armor. Pvt.Bai Tak acted as a spokesman for the group, and Hoffman took an instant liking to him. He assured Hoffman that even though they could speak only a little Tyran, they understood it and would be able to carry out his orders, and introduced the rest of the squad: Riflemen Lau En, Cho Ligan, Jati Shah, Gi Shim, and Naru Fel. Hoffman told him he was going to get them better armor, but Bai Tak explained to him that they needed the light armor to move around silently. Hoffman realized that they knew what they were doing, and ordered Pad to take them and help them get settled in. Hoffman then went to the gun battery to order Evan and his crew to let a replacement take over, but Evan told him he knew what the Indies were up to. He had Hoffman look through binoculars, and pointed out that their vehicles were driving in straight lines, but the turns they kept making were big long ones: only the lead vehicles were real, the rest were fakes set up to make them waste their ammo. Hoffman was angry with himself for not spotting it sooner, and told Evan told hold back on the ammo accordingly. He complimented Evan on his good work, and told him to change crews and get some rest. Hoffman the checked in with control, and learned that the UIR had broken through at Mendurat, and the Behemoth would be unable to get to them. He informed them he had about twelve days of food and ammo, but also five thousand civilians. They told him there was nothing they could do until they had retaken control of the rest of Kashkur, but ordered him to hold the fort no matter what. He then met with the Pesangas and Byrne in the briefing room, but a distant explosion from the north interrupted their planning. He was unable to see anything, and contacted control to see if anything was happening. They told him nothing was occurring in that area, and would send him a message if something was reported. He returned to writing his letter to Margaret, but fell asleep. He was woken up by Byrne, who informed him that the forts water was running low, and the underground cisterns were not filling. Hoffman realized the explosion they had heard earlier had been the Indie’s blocking the river.
Running Low on Supplies
Twelve days later, the fort began running low on supplies, and severe rationing had been put into effect, and disease had started to spread. Hoffman contacted a refugee agency in New Temperance to determine the basic necessities people needed to survive. He walked around the city with Alderman Casani, who expressed his disappointment with the COG for not clearing the Anvegad Pass to relieve them. Hoffman told him that he had tried to convince Col.Choi to help them, but that no vehicle would be able to reach them. He left out his suspicions that the COG didn’t want the path open, in order to keep the Indie’s busy at Anvil Gate. They discussed their options, and Hoffman asked if the civilians wanted to evacuate. Casani told him that they didn’t want to leave their home, and would continue to try and hold out. Hoffman then went to the mess and found several Gears eating, including Byrne and Sheraya. They told him that Bai Tak and the other Pesangas were hunting goat to supplement their food supply. Carlile the arrived and informed Hoffman that a Corva was inbound from Ibiri, carrying fuel, medicine, water, and food, and would be there in two hours. Hoffman ordered the gunnery crews to begin shelling the Indie positions to give the helicopter some cover, and began planning with Byrne where it would land. He also offered to Byrne that if they got the chance to evacuate the civilians, he wanted Byrne and Sheraya to go with them. Byrne refused, telling Hoffman he could not leave while the rest of the Gears stayed. Byrne also told him that when he had checked the rations in the fort, his count had come up short, and that civilians may be stealing from the garrison. When CC-Seventy-Four-Five arrived at the fort, it landed to the north in a small clearing. Hoffman oversaw the unloading, taking the fuel off first as a safety precaution. Once they finished with the fuel, they backed up to allow the Corva to move into a better position to unload the rest of the supplies. Unfortunately, an RPG came streaking out of nowhere and hit the Corva, sending it spinning over a cliff and exploding. Hoffman went into a rage, and began punching metal railing, but stopped after hurting himself. He ordered a fire control team down to the wreckage, but knew there was no hope the pilot survived, or that any supplies made it. Hoffman became determined to hunt down and kill all of the Indie special forces surrounding the fort.
Dealing with the Thefts
Two months later, the fort remained under Siege, with over a thousand civilians having lost their lives. Hoffman began to miss Margaret so much that he cried himself to sleep some nights. Eventually, one of the citizens of the town, Geril Atar, was discovered having rations in his house, stolen from the garrison in order to feed his family. Hoffman had him locked up, and met with Alderman Casani, who requested that he surrender in order to end the siege. Hoffman refused, and told Casani he had never made him or the rest of the civilians stay. Casani told him the UIR wouldn’t let them leave unless the garrison also surrendered, but Hoffman refused to be blackmailed. He then told Casani about Atar, and that since Casani was the civil leader of the town, he expected him to carry out Atar’s punishment for stealing supplies: execution. Casani was horrified, saying that Atar had only stolen rations to keep his family alive. Hoffman told him that if he didn’t do it, he would carry out the sentence himself. He took Casani to the room where Bai was guarding Atar, and Atar apologized to Hoffman, saying he had done what he had to do. Hoffman told him he understood, but the stakes were too high to let the crime go unpunished. He handed Casani his pistol, but the Alderman refused to fire. Hoffman took it back and pressed the gun to Atar’s head, read out his sentence, and shot him in the head. Hoffman felt bad about killing Atar, but knew it was the right thing to do. As he left the room with Bai, he called for a medic to take the body away. Bai told him he done the right thing, and Hoffman thanked him for the support. He then decided upon a plan to break the siege, and ordered Bai to gather the rest of the Aldermen and the platoon, and that they were going to let the UIR into the fort.
Breaking the Siege
Hoffman then met with Byrne, Pad, Evan, Carlile, Bai, and several of the other Pesanga scouts, and explained his plan to them. They would fake the surrender of the fort, allowing the civilians to leave without being harmed, and then set up Imulsion tanks to explode in key areas of the city the UIR would occupy first, in order to take out as many as they could. They would then launch ambushes on any who survived that from hidden gun positions around the city, and once they finished, they would take cover underground while the fire burned itself out in the wooden district of the city, with the brick buildings acting as a barrier to its spread. Hoffman then contacted an open channel the UIR operated on, and reached Major Toly. He offered the surrender of the fort to him in exchange for the safe passage of the civilians, and Toly agreed, giving Hoffman his word. Hoffman was pained by this, but decided to continue with the plan. He then ordered Byrne to drive the lead vehicle out of the city with the civilians, but Byrne once again refused to leave his fellow Gears. Despite pleas from the rest of the unit and Hoffman, Byrne could not be convinced otherwise. After the civilians left and the preparations were made, Hoffman wondered how many days the siege had gone on, having lost track. He regretted having to fake surrender in order to win, but felt he had no other choice given the circumstances. He and Byrne stood at the gate while they waited for the UIR to arrive, and Byrne told him he was doing the right thing. Hoffman thanked him for the support, and then opened the gate. Two hundred Indie soldiers were waiting on the other side, and Captain Benoslau of the Fifteenth Furlin Cavalry approached Hoffman, visibly stunned by the state of the city. He thanked Hoffman for his honorable decision to surrender, and Hoffman handed his empty Lancer over to him. He was upset that it was so civilized, and briefly considered surrendering for real, but the impulse vanished quickly. He led Benoslau to the administrative office, talking with him while he waited for word from Pad that all the Indies were inside.
Once Hoffman received word from Pad that they were ready to begin, he ordered the ambush to begin. An explosion knocked them down, and Hoffman recovered quickly, and drew his pistol, shooting Benoslau and his aide, and hating himself for it. He moved through the flaming streets, seeing several dead Gears, but a lot more dead Indie soldiers. He found Byrne and Jarrold manning a Stomper, and they informed him that twenty Indies had taken cover in a warehouse, and Bai and the other Pesangas were about to attack it. Hoffman grabbed a Lancer from one of the dead Gears, Hollis, and headed to assist them, but when he got there, he found they had already killed all the Indie’s in close quarters combat. They held the line near the rally point while the surviving Gears trickled in, and then went in search of Byrne, who had not returned. He found him dead, leaning on his Stomper, and felt horrible about there being another child who would never know their father. He then headed back to the rally point, and found the rest of the survivors there, including Pad, Evan, Carlile, Bai and four other Pesangas, and most of the gunners. Pad told him he had informed command that they had broken the siege, but they were then interrupted when a lot of voice traffic came over the radio: reinforcements were arriving all across Kashkur, and would be at Anvil Gate in one hour, but casevacs would be there in ten minutes. Hoffman was devoid of all emotion, unable to believe that everything he had just done was for no reason. However, the rest of the Gears were elated, and Bai took one of Sander’s watercolors off of the wall and gave to Hoffman, to give to Margaret and serve as a reminder about Anvil Gate. After they were relieved, Hoffman was promoted to Captain, and was awarded the Sovereigns Medal for his actions at Anvil Gate.
Rise to Bounty 17 B.E.
– Adam Fenix
In the 62nd year of the Pendulum Wars, Adam received orders to be deployed to the country of Kashkur in the Eastern Central Massif. He began packing for his deployment, taking care to prevent his family from seeing and getting upset. When he finished, he began looking for Elaine, and began walking the corridors of the Estate to find her. As he passed the lines of portraits of the several generations of the Fenix family, he felt uncomfortable under their blue-eyed gaze, and considered donating them to the Tyran National Gallery. He found Elain at her desk, writing, and she indicated to him to wait for a moment while she finished. Once she did, he asked her where Marcus was, and she told Adam he was in the library. Adam wondered why a four year old wasn’t outside on a lovely day, but Elain told him that the maintenance people were working outside. She then showed him her research, and told him about discovering a new genus of creatures that appeared to have had traits similar to the creatures from the Romily story. Adam was amazed at the discovery, but also hurt that she had kept if from him for years. She told him that she hadn’t wanted to tell anyone before she was positive. He asked where she had found the creatures, and she told them she had discovered them near the Hollow while walking with Marcus. Adam was horrified that she had been near the Hollow, which was restricted due to the ground being prone to subsidence, but Elain assured him she had not gone past the warning signs. They then went to the library, where they found Marcus reading a map book. Adam told him to come with them for a walk, but when Marcus got out of his chair he asked if Adam was going away again.
Marcus was almost five years old and had gotten old enough to understand where Adam was going, and became upset whenever his father’s deployment date neared. He told Marcus he wasn’t leaving until the next day, and Marcus asked why he had to go. Adam explained that he had a duty to his fellow Gears to fight alongside them, and protect his friends from being hurt by taking care of them on the battlefield. Marcus seemed to accept that explanation, and Marcus was struck by the comradeship being a Gear brought, and declared he would become a Gear as well when he grew up. Adam told him he wouldn’t need to be, and that he could become a scientist because the war would be over by then. Marcus seemed upset by this, and Adam worried that Marcus would never think that Adam considered being a father was a better job than being a Gear.
As they went to the garden, Adam told Marcus that his mom had discovered some monsters, but Marcus told him that monsters didn’t exist, and if they did, Adam would kill them. They then went around the garden, and Marcus impressed his father by naming all of the plants in the garden. Afterwards, he ate lunch with his parents. Marcus started school several weeks after Adam left, and began trying to make sure he knew where his mom was at all times.
He resisted the urge to contact the Defense Research Agency and accept the job they had offered him, deciding that he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t fight alongside his fellow Gears. The three of them went to the garden, and Adam was impressed that Marcus could identify all the plants there. As Marcus played, Elain commented that she sometimes felt bad that they had never given him a sibling, and Adam commented that it was never too late, but she ignored that comment. After Marcus had gone to bed, Adam listened to the radio while studying a map of Kashkur. He heard on the news that President Ilim of neutral Vasgar, which shared a border with Kashkur, had resigned. Adam looked at the map, and decided if Vasgar didn’t stay neutral, things would turn very bad for the COG in the area.
Shutting Down the Imulsion Pipelines
Adam took command of Howerd Company at Forward Operating Base Tyro when he arrived in western Kashkur. Col.James Choi arrived at the base to brief Adam on his mission, and mentioned that the Indies were running late in how the COG expected them to react. Adam examined the latest recon images from across the border in the Independent Republic of Furlin, and agreed that the Indies could have crossed the border a while ago. They both wondered what was going on, but Choi told him that they were going to let the UIR take Vasgar and focus all their forces on stopping an Indie advance through the city of Shavad. They then briefly discussed Lt.Helena Stroud, and Choi asked if she had revealed who the father of her child was yet, but Adam informed him she hadn’t and it wasn’t any of their business. Adam said he would get ready for the move to Shavad, but Choi told him his company had a different assignment first: they were to shut down the Imulsion pipelines at Borlaine and Ecian Ridge that went to Vasgar, and open the emergency pipeline at Gatka, and then move on to Shavad. Adam realized would prevent the UIR from using the Imulsion when they invaded, but would also leave millions of civilians without power, and bring him into conflict with the COG civilians operating the pipelines. Adam was uncomfortable with this, and escorted Choi to his Tern and saw him off, keeping his feelings to himself. Helena approached him and asked if she should get the NCO’s ready for a briefing, and he told her about their new mission. She didn’t feel uncomfortable with the mission, and gathered the staff for a briefing while Adam made quick phone calls and gathered some materials. He told the Gears about their new mission, and many of them reacted uneasily to the news. Carmelo, one of the engineers assigned to Adam’s command, asked about Anvil Gate, a COG town and military base that was also supplied by those pipelines. Adam told them the land route to Anvil Gate would still be open, and they could get Imulsion by convoy, and pointed out the fact that the fort was largely self-sufficient, and that the Indies would have to be insane to try and take it. He ordered them to be ready to move out by sixteen hundred, and that he wanted to be at Borlaine in two hours, shutting it down. The meeting broke up, and the Adam and the others got to work on moving out.[4] When they arrived at the pipelines, Adam contacted Cpt.Ranald Sander‘s at Anvil Gate, and informed him of what was happening.
Joining the Battle of Shavad
After shutting down the Imulsion pipelines, Adam and his company joined the battle raging in Shavad. They defended Gorlian Square, but took heavy casualties from entrenched Indie positions. Adam was distributed by the damage done to the city, and was scared the same could one day happen to Ephyra. He contacted Control to request an evac for his wounded Gears, many of whom were severely wounded, but they told him that they had other med-evacs going on, and fire in his area was too heavy to attempt an evac unless he did something. Adam suspected that Indie special forces who had infiltrated the country were responsible for most of the damage, and believed that the UIR may have even engineered the collapse of the Vasgari government. He requested a Behemoth to clear out routes to their north for land vehicles, and was told it would arrive in an hour. Adam then began heading for where the rest of his company was holed up, but was forced to move slowly due to the heavy enemy fire. He contacted Helena and told her the med-evac wasn’t going to happen for a while, and she told him that she thought the Indies might have a spotter in a museum located in the square, along with a sniper. He told her to come up with a plan to get into the museum by the time he reached her, and she informed him that Sgt.Teale was dead as she signed off. Adam was dishearten, having now lost twenty-two out of ninety Gears in his company. When he got back to the dentist’s office the company was using as an HQ, he counted more than twenty wounded Gears. Adam found Cpl.Collins upstairs moving cabinets in front of windows to provide cover, and Collins told him that there were as many Indies behind them as there were in front, and that he believed a sniper was on the top floor of the museum, along with a forward operation post. With this information, Adam knew he had to call in an artillery strike on the museum, but felt terrible about having to. He contacted the Green FDCof the Sherrith Cavalry, and asked for fire on the museum. The controller acknowledged, and told him to wait a moment. Adam then found Helena with Sgt.Fraisen, and the two of them presented their plan to cross over into the museum by sliding a ladder from one of their building’s windows into the museum and crossing it. Adam told them they would try that if the shelling didn’t work, and he headed to inspect the wounded again. As he walked, he thought that there had to be a better way to wage war, and that most of the tactics were the same ones his grandfather had used. He also discovered he was bleeding from a head wound that no one had told him about. Once he reached the medics, Pvt.Kinnear told him that Vallory wasn’t going to make it without further treatment, and requested that she attempt to drive him out of Shavad in an ATV. Adam denied her permission, saying it was too dangerous to risk. Green FDC then contacted him and told him that the Sherrith’s shelling was about to start, and Adam watched with Helena as the museum began taking fire. He told her he could believe he had given the order to do that, but Helena told him that she was more concerned about the wounded Gears.
Defending the Evac Choppers and Clearing the Museum
After several minutes of shelling, the case-evac Terns grew closer, and Adam ordered Helena to get the wounded Gears ready to move while he had the Sherrith’s stop firing so the Tern’s could land. Adam worried that if the Indie observer hadn’t been killed, the Indie would emerge and fire on the helicopters once the shelling stopped. Adam realized it was a risk he had to take, and ordered the shelling stopped. He and the rest of the company watched the museum windows as the wounded Gears were loaded, with the first two taking off safely. However, as the last two were finishing loading, the Indie in the museum fired an RPG at them, but it missed. Adam and the rest of the company opened fire on the museum as the Tern’s lifted off and Adam ordered the Sherrith’s to resume their attack. Helena asked for permission to lead a squad and figure out if the Indie was still alive or not. Adam agreed, but told her he would be coming with her. He gestured for Collins and Rawlin to follow them, and they worked their way through the alleyways to the museum. When they entered, Adam was horrified by the damage done to everything inside. Collins and Rawlin covered the staircase while Adam took a defensive position in the middle of the room and Helena headed upstairs. She reported down to him that she saw where the Indie had been, and they then heard gunfire. Adam didn’t hear anyone yell clear, and panicked that Helena had been killed. He ordered Collins and Rawlin to stay put, and rushed up after Helena, worrying that Anya had been orphaned. When he arrived, he found Helena taking cover on a corner, and then turning and firing, killing the Indie. They sorted through the equipment the women had had, taking some of the Intel and weapons. As they left the museum, Adam found a small silver horse statue, and thought briefly of taking it before looters got it, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. When he got back to the rest of the company, he reorganized the remaining sixty Gears into two platoons, and prepared to move out towards the last remaining COG held bridge. He checked with the medical station at Lakar first, and was happy to hear that Vallory had made it, and then checked in with the CIC. He was told to fall back, and that the COG had lost the bridge. Adam was disheartened by the news, and told the rest of the Gears. They were stunned, but Helena managed to rally their spirts by telling them that they hadn’t lost the bridge themselves, and they remained the Unvanquished. As the piled into their vehicles to fall back, Adam realized Helena was a better leader than him, and that he needed to take the job offer at the Defense Research Agency a lot more seriously.
Burying the Dead and New Orders
They fell back to Lakar, and Adam began dealing with the casualties the company had taken. He turned off his radio and began burying Pvt.Hanson, who he felt he had let down by not keeping him alive to see his family again. Adam wondered if he could go back home and take the job at the DRA when Gears were dying on the frontline, and if the men under his command would understand. Helena arrived, and asked him if he had told his wife about his job offer at the DRA. Adam was surprised she knew, and told her he hadn’t told Elain, and to come back when he was done with Hanson. She told him that Choi was attempting to contact him, but Adam told her the dead deserved his undivided attention. As they began to bury Hanson, Helena informed him that Choi wanted them to intercept some UIR vehicles at Ragani. Adam was annoyed, since Ragani was twenty klicks in the direction they had just come from, and felt that he needed to remind Choi that he had lost half his unit. Helena told him that Choi sounded just as annoyed with the orders as he did. As they finished burying Hanson, Adam mentioned his disgust with how the war was just going through the motions, and they both wondered if their children would have to fight in the war. Adam then contacted Choi, and asked for more information on the mission. Choi told him that they needed to stop a small convoy approaching Ragani and keep it open for the Andius Fusiliers Regiment to reach Lakar. Adam asked him what he was thinking sending a unit down to half strength for this mission, but Choi apologized to him and told him they all had their orders. Adam then told the rest of the company about their new mission, which also annoyed many of them.
Battle of Ragani
After arriving in Ragani, Adam and Howerd Company set up in several buildings along the cities edge, waiting for the Indies to arrive. Adam was impatient waiting for them, but used the time to evacuate what few civilians remained in the city. Soon after, they spotted four Indie APC’s approaching, instead of the expected eight. Adam ordered Collins to open fire on them with his RPG, but the first shot missed and the Indies returned fire. Adam kept encouraging Collins to keep firing, and two of the APC’s were taken out, with the last two fleeing. Adam contacted Choi to inform him of their victory, but Choi told him Intel had fouled up: that was just the scouting party, and twenty more vehicles were inbound, including tanks. Adam remarked that they didn’t have the firepower to take out all of those vehicles, and Helena suggested they get inventive. Adam tried to start designing an improvised tank destroyer, but Helena told him that wasn’t what she meant, and asked for some bottles. As night arrived, Adam continued to ponder whether or not to take the job at the DRA, and thought about being able to spend more time with Marcus. Helena arrived and suggested he take it so he could be with Marcus, and Adam said she could retire as well to be with Anya, but Helena said a time would come for that eventually, not now. He asked her if she thought he would be letting the regiment down by leaving, and Helena told him to follow his conscience and not worry about what others thought. Adam then asked if Anya’s father took care of her while Helena was deployed, but Helena interrupted him, and told him that that was too personal, and that Anya’s father was not around. Adam apologized, but a call suddenly went up that UIR forces were incoming. Both Adam and Helena recognized the approaching sound of a Pariah Tank. Helena showed Adam the Molotov Cocktail‘s she had made, and he ordered Collins to come with him to take out the tank with the Molotov’s, while the rest of the company focused on destroying the lighter vehicles with the RPG’s. Adam and Collins got to the bridge that the tank was on, and a rocket fired by Helena took out its treads, immobilizing it. The smoke made by all of the heavy weapons fire provided cover for them to get close to the tank, and they tossed their Molotov’s into a vent on the back of the tank, burning the crew. As he tossed his in, Adam resolved to one day fix that flaw on the COG’s tanks, and they started running back to their lines. However, Adam was shot in the leg by an Indie gunner. Collins dragged him to safety, and Kinnear was sent out to provide first aide to him. Adam raged against Choi for sending them on the mission, and when Kinnear arrived, he tried to get her to tell him how many more of his men had been killed. She told him at least ten, but that he had done what he had to do, however Adam did not believe that. Suddenly, the rest of the UIR vehicles were being destroyed, and Helena contacted him and told him that the Andius Fusiliers had arrived. Adam demanded to know how many of Gears were still standing, and Helena reluctantly told him only forty-eight. Adam continued to rage against the stupidity of the war and their tactics, but Helena told him to save it for later.
Aftermath and Returning Home
The company then returned to their vehicles and headed for Lakar. Along the way, Adam decided to take the job at the Defense Research Agency, and make a weapon that would force both the COG and UIR to end the war or risk worldwide devastation. Helena told him he could now take the job without having to worry about what his men thought since he had been wounded, but he told her he now thought he couldn’t face them if he didn’t take the job.
Adam returned several months later, having been wounded in the leg during a battle. Marcus rushed out to greet him, but slowed down and stopped himself, and greeted his father formally. He asked if Adam had saved everyone, but Adam told him he had been unable to, but he would change things so he could save everyone in the future. Marcus was skeptical, and Elain sent him to get some pictures he had drawn at school so he could show them to Adam.
Several weeks later, Adam returned home to Ephyra. He hobbled out of his cab on crutches, but was determined to stand up straight to greet Marcus. Elain greeted him at the door to their estate, and they embraced, with Elain telling him she was so worried he had been among the members of the 26 RTI caught at Anvil Gate during its siege. He told her it had been Connaught Platoon, and felt sorry for them having to go through that siege. Marcus then rushed out of the house to greet him, and Adam bent down to pick him up, determined not to be like his father, cold and distant. However, Marcus slowed down and simply looked Adam in the eye, acting properly. Adam was disappointed, but straightened up and ruffled Marcus’ hair, and told him he had missed him. Marcus asked if he had saved everyone, and Adam told him he had been unable to, but he was going to change things so he could save everyone in the future. They then moved into the house, and Elain sent Marcus to get a picture he had drawn at school to show to Adam. After he left, she told Adam that he had been doing good in school, but had developed a habit of making sure he knew where she was at all times, but that would pass now that Adam was back. She then asked when Adam was going back, and he told her of his decision to take the job of Deputy Director at the Defense Research Agency. He told her he would design a weapon to end the war and force the politicians to be put their own lives at risk when attempting to prolong the war or make it larger. Elain told him how proud she was of him, and he told her about he had been promoted to Major as well, but that that wouldn’t stop him from retiring. He showed her the newspaper, where the promotions were reported, and she was shocked by the number of Royal Tyrans. Helena had been promoted to Captain, and they both thought that she would rise all the way to General. Adam also noticed that Lt.Victor Hoffman had been promoted to Captain as well, for his defense of Anvil Gate, and wondered what Hoffman had gone through at that fort, and if he would ever meet him.
Bounty/17 B.E.
Sarfuth-Maranday Border
Stationed Camp De La Croix
Hoffman was transferred to Camp De La Croix on the Sarfuth–Maranday border, along with the rest of the 26 RTI and his Pesang commandos. Shortly before a meeting with Major Baxter, he wrote a letter to Margaret, letting her know that he hadn’t called her because the comms were down, and that he couldn’t tell her where he was. He told her to stop worrying that he was cracking up after Anvil Gate, and that he had put it out of his mind. Hoffman also informed her that he had his Pesanga troops back, and that everything was going fine. He did express frustration with the generals for not being willing to try out commando tactics, and that he was determined to do everything he could to change that. Hoffman told her that he was not fighting for the COG, but for his fellow Gears, and that he was worried about being promoted higher and losing touch with them. He then admitted he was scared that the higher he was promoted, the worse he would screw up, failing his comrades. He was happy with where he was, and told her that he didn’t care if he never got any recognition, or that the generals disliked him because of his commando style. Hoffman told her that that would prevent him from being promoted to colonel, and that he was happy with that.
Meeting with Baxter
After he finished his letter, Hoffman shaved his face and head, and washed up for his meeting with Baxter. As he finished, he was startled when he saw that someone was standing behind him, and knocked over his washing bowl. When he saw that it was Bai, he told him to make more noise when coming to his tent. Bai laughed, and said he would try next time. Bai then gave Hoffman a machete as a gift, and Hoffman asked him if he thought that Hoffman could handle one of them. Bai told him that even his wife carried one, and that he could give it to Margaret. Hoffman laughed, and finished getting ready, telling Bai that the Indieswere getting ready to head south to attack Sarftuh. As they began walking through the camp to Baxter’s office, Bai said was worried that they had no surprises in store for them. Hoffman told him that maybe Baxter had something planned, and left Bai as he entered Baxter’s office. Baxter greeted him, and had Lt.Da Silva show him recon images showing that the Indies were using the Maigar Pass to attack Sarfuth, and that Choi was going to intercept them at Reinne. Hoffman thought that airborne forces were going to be used for the attack, but Baxter informed him that radar would pick them up before they got close. Hoffman suggested that they take out a radar station at Gralia, in the Republic of Lauczi, in order to allow helicopters to drop off the Gears. Da Silva pointed out it would take six days to reach the station, allowing the Indies time to break out, but Hoffman told him that it would only take two if they cut through Maranday with a small force. Baxter pointed out that Choi wouldn’t approve, but gave Hoffman unofficial approval to carry out the operation, warning him that commandos were executed as spies by the UIR. Hoffman told him he understood, and suggested to Baxter that he read Brigadier Dudley‘s ideas on establishing a permanent special ops brigade. Hoffman selected Bai, Cho, Pad, Baz and Pvt.Sommers for the mission, and met with them near a transport truck to brief them, and begin planning the attack.
Raid on Gralia
Not long after, the commando team got underway with the operation. Hoffman rode shotgun in a transport truck while Sommers drove and the rest of the team hid in the back. He ordered them to keep the explosives they were carrying safe and secure, and to study the maps to find a place to hid the truck once they reached Lauczi. They crossed the Sarfuth-Maranday border without incident, but were stopped by a vehicle checkpoint on the Maranday-Lauczi border. Hoffman was surprised that only Maranday guards were there, and thought that the UIR must be pretty confident that the neutral nation would keep any COG infiltrators out. Their papers checked out, and the guards allowed them to cross the border. After finding a spot to hide the truck, Hoffman and the rest of the team followed Bai to the radar station. Once they reached the perimeter fence, Hoffman ordered Pad to climb a tree to provide cover with his sniper rifle. After a guard stopped for a smoke near where they were going to cut a hole in the fence, Hoffman sent Bai and Cho to sneak in and get rid of him. He lost track of them until Bai cut the guards throat, and Hoffman, Baz, and Sommers rushed into the base. They began setting the explosives, and ordered them to put one explosive pack on each leg of the radar masts. Once they finished, they were spotted by several other guards, and ran for the fence. When they were on the other side, Hoffman ordered Sommers to detonate the explosives, despite how close they were. The explosion knocked the team forward through the air, but no one was injured. Hoffman reported to control that Gralia had been destroyed, and that they would remain radio silent until they got back to the Sarfuth border.
Escape to Sarfuth
Hoffman and the commandos ran to the truck, and Sommers began driving towards the border. Hoffman knew that the guards and others in Maranday would have heard the explosion, and that there would be no way past the checkpoint. Sommers headed off-road, avoiding Indie helicopters for two hours until they reached the border. They were forced to try and drive past the checkpoint, smashing the gate, but the three border guards opened fire and began calling them in. Hoffman knew the op had to be deniable, and ordered the team to fire on the guards, killing them. They kept driving, and stopped only to get their bearings. They spotted the town of Senio in Sarfuth, and Hoffman ordered them to drive along the riverbed until they reached the town, in order to avoid more checkpoint firefights. Pad eventually head Terns and King Ravens, beginning the operation to counter the Indies, and once the reached Senio, Hoffman contacted control to let them know they had arrived. The controller informed him that Choi was furious with Hoffman and Baxter for carrying out the operation, and that Maranday had lodged a formal complaint. Sommers remarked that Chois was an ungrateful asshole, and asked Hoffman if that would be him one day, dealing with politics and diplomacy. Hoffman refused to allow that to happen, and told the commandos to kill him if that ever happened.
12 B.E — Aspho Fields (Chapter 3)
At the age of nine, Marcus was sent to Olafson Intermediate School by his parents in order to “mix with people” after having been home schooled for a couple years. On his first day of class, his math teacher, Major Fuller, had Marcus introduce himself to the rest of the class. Several members of the class were resentful of him because he was rich, but another kid named Carlos Santiago, defended him, and ate lunch with him when no one else did. During a Thrashball game in gym class, Marcus was picked by Carlos to join his team. The new student did well, but another kid, Joshua Curzon, tackled him harder than he needed to. In the locker room, Marcus told Carlos not to worry about him, and that he would be okay, but Carlos told him it wasn’t fair that the other kids were picking on him. Carlos left first, and was attacked by Joshua and his older brother, Roland, along with one of their friends. Marcus intervened, and grabbed Joshua by his collar and slammed him into the ground, and punched Roland hard in the face, receiving a glancing blow in return. The Curzon’s and their friend backed away from him, scared, and Marcus warned them to leave him and Carlos alone. The three ran off, and Marcus helped Carlos up, and asked if a mark was forming over his eye yet, because his father might get worried. Carlos told him to tell his dad that it had been Thrashball, and asked why he was in a regular school. Marcus told him that his dad wanted him to “mix with regular people” because he was alone a lot. Carlos thanked him for his help, and they talked a bit more until they left. After this, Marcus and Carlos became really good friends, along with Carlos’ brother, Dom.
– 9 B.E — Aspho Fields (Chapter 3)
– Elaine Felix writes her last entry in her journals log, she reports that she found a race of sentient beings in the Hollows and will go to there to meet them. She is killed, presumably to prevent a premature human discovery of the Locust. Adam founds her recordings and investigates the area, eventually finding her remains.
– Her death was classified, and Adam lied to most people about it, telling them she had simply gone missing. When he first learned of her death, he called the Santiago household; Marcus was at the Santiago’s house helping work on an engine with Carlos and his dad, Eduardo Santiago. He ate lunch with them as well, putting large amounts of hot sauce on his food. He asked Eduardo if he would ever reenlist, and Eduardo told him that he would because it had been the best times of his life with his friends, but he now had a steady job and a family to take care of. Carlos said he was going to join the army. Marcus became worried that he would be alone without Carlos, and began thinking about joining the army as well. The phone then rang, and Eva Santiago answered it. Adam talked with Eva Santiago, telling her that Elain had gone missing, and that he needed to speak with Marcus. She told Marcus it was his dad, and Marcus took the phone.
After telling him his mom was missing, Adam sent a cab to pick him up. Over the next few days, Marcus would ask for more details about his mom’s disappearance, but Adam did not tell him anymore, causing Marcus to suspect he was lying, and pulled further away from him, spending more time with the Santiago’s. Adam would later confide in a friend who knew the truth that the lie was killing his relationship with Marcus, but he couldn’t figure out how to tell him the truth. Adam later searched through Elain’s study to find clues to her disappearance and discovered the existence of the Locust from her notes. He later found some remains of her in the Hollow, nothing more than a few bones and pieces of clothing, but it was enough for him to identify her.
Marcus missed the next day of school, and his mother remained missing. When he went back to school, he stayed afterwards and talked with Carlos and Dom, telling them he didn’t think his mom was coming back. He told them the police were looking for her, but that his dad wouldn’t tell him where she had been when she disappeared. He was worried that she might have left because of him, but Carlos and Dom told him that that wasn’t the cause. Elain remained missing for several months, and by the time of Marcus’s fourteenth birthday, he no longer talked about her, and began spending even more time at the Santiago’s house.
7 B.E.
– Over the last century the Locust Horde have lived in and established a grand civilization in the subterranean regions of Sera, known as the Hollow. The Hollow under Mount Kadar was established as the Locust capital, known as Nexus. and into a war with humanity for control of the surface. All known attempts of the Humans negotiating with the Locust Horde ended in violence, although Adam Fenix believed he could end the war peacefully.
– Due to extended exposure to imulsion in the hollows, an infection known as the Lambent Pandemic begins to affect to locust horde and other creatures in the hollow. The Imulsion takes over and kills it host, but also mutates. It blackens the skin, iluminates the veins, and the cartilage burns away, the host begins to mutate limbs and tentacles. Lambent hosts differ in mutation depending on the species, mentality, and possessions. A mutated host has their eye colors turn into yellow-gold, pulses of Imulsion throughout their bodies, and the skin turned into a jet black carapace.
Most forms also sprout tentacles forming from the body itself, at the end of the life cycle, whether it is killed or automatically activates it, the Lambent will explode. The Lambent have a mentality to rush and kill rather than think logically and live. Their mind set is kill and infect. The explosion is a last resort in which the Imulsion exits the body and spreads in the general area, and at times, the Imulsion will mobilize after the death of its host and move to another. This lead to a war and was gradually forcing the Locust out of the Hollow.
– The Locust Horde is commanded by the Locust Council. The Council was organized during the Lambent War and was based in the Royal Palace of Nexus. The Council was held by the highest members of the Locust Horde, the High General, the Head Scientist, the High Priest of the Trinity of Worms and the Queen Myrrah to deal with the Horde’s current state of governmental, military, scientific, and religious affairs.
– During the Lambent War, Head Scientist Ukkon acted as chief scientist for the Locust Horde. His studies involved machinery, weaponry, and genetic engineering. Ukkon, using recycled materials from the surface, supplied the Locust with modified weapons. Ukkon was also involved in the genetic engineering and weaponizing of Hollow creatures, one of them being the Corpser. Keter Vrol, the high priest of the Locust Horde, saw this as blasphemy, but Ukkon, who appears to be agnostic or atheist, sees the modified creatures as the future for the Horde.
– Ukkon ordered the capture of humans from the surface in order to perform experiments on them. Ukkon would then test their strength and abilities by placing them in a fighting pit.
5 B.E.
The Queen of the underground creatures, the Locust, Myrrah is met by Adam Fenix, husband of Elain, who traced her tracks from her journals that led him to the Locust.
Adam, following his late wife’s journals, traced her body to the Hollow where he too crossed paths with the Locust. While there, he discovered the true extent of the Lambent threat and meets the Queen of the underground creatures, the Locust, Myrrah, discovering that she plans to leave the Hollow and colonize the surface at the expense of Humanity.
Fearing the radical designs conceived by Myrrah, Adam, with the scientific knowledge and resources at disposal, made a pact with Myrrah to try and find a way to cure the Lambent infection as long as Myrrah postponed her invasion of the surface. Adam assured Myrrah that he had the expertise and resources necessary to find a cure for Lambency. If he did not do this, she threatened to invade the surface and destroy the human race.
4 B.E — Aspho Fields (Chapter 5)
Marcus decided to join the Coalition of Ordered Governments army as a regular infantry soldier, rather than going through officer school. Carlos had already joined, and came with him to the Fenix Estate when Marcus decided to tell his dad. Carlos asked him if his joining had made him decide to do it, but Marcus assured him he had made up his mind long ago. They found Adam in the front room, and Marcus told him they needed to talk. He informed him that he was going to enlist in the army as a regular Gear, and Adam protested that he was throwing away a college education. They argued for a moment, and Adam asked Carlos if he could talk some sense into Marcus, but Carlos told him he would do his best to keep Marcus safe. Adam realized he couldn’t do anything to stop Marcus, and said he would support him. Marcus and Carlos then went to get lunch, and Carlos told him that Dom was marrying his girlfriend, Maria, and that she was pregnant. Marcus was surprised, and offered to help out, but Carlos told him that Dom wouldn’t accept money. Marcus enlisted later that week, and was proud to receive his uniform. At Dom’s wedding, he and Carlos wore their dress uniforms, and Dom later joined the army to support his family.
4 B.E — #17 – Unsaid
After finishing basic training, Marcus and Carlos were assigned to C Company of the 26th Royal Tyran infantry, and were deployed to the Acastu Imulsion Fields in Dushin to defend them. They were flown there on Corva CC-4005, and Marcus read a letter from his father that he had received prior to deploying. Major Helena Stroud, Marcus’ commander and an old friend of his father, saw him reading the letter, and asked him if Adam still worked all day long. Marcus told her that he did, and she asked him to tell Adam that his old Lieutenant said hi, and to take a day off from the lab sometime. After she walked away, Carlos remarked that she was one to talk, since she never took any time off either. Marcus remarked that he had heard her daughter, Anya, had joined up as an officer cadet, which excited Carlos. He asked Marcus if he had seen her, and Marcus told him he had noticed how attractive she was. As the Corva prepared to land, Helena addressed Marcus and the other Gears, warning them that they needed to stay sharp and realize that they were out of training now, because she didn’t want to have to write to anyone’s parents if they were killed. After disembarking from the Corva, Marcus and Carlos, along with the other two members of their squad, Cpl.Maxon and Pvt.Quinn, listened as Helena remarked that they could now see the thing the COG was really fighting for: Imulsion. The four Gears then began a patrol around the refinery, and Carlos asked Marcus what his dad had said in the letter. Marcus told him that Adam was still talking about him coming back from the war and going to a university, acting like Marcus was only taking a year off from his studies. Carlos remarked that his dad just didn’t give up, and Marcus said that people thought he took after him in that regard. Quinn asked if Adam was really the top scientist at the DRA, and after Marcus confirmed that he was, Quinn asked if he was working on anything cool. Marcus told him that he never told him about any of that kind of stuff, since it was classified. Maxon then alerted them to a report that a UIR Khimera had been detected, and they looked up and saw it flying at maximum altitude, doing a recon of the plant.
Two nights later, Marcus and the others were assigned to do a night patrol around the fields. As they walked among the pipelines, Carlos said that he wished somebody would shoot at him to get the waiting over with. Marcus told him they would enter battle eventually, and that he just had to be patient. Carlos told him he was worried that he would freeze up, but Marcus assured him that drill would kick in and he would shoot back. Maxon then contacted them and asked them where Quinn was, and Marcus told him he was with them. Maxon ordered them to meet him at the north perimeter gates, because one of the drillers claimed to have heard a bike near there. The three of them hurried to meet Maxon and began searching for signs of an intruder. Marcus told Maxon that he didn’t hear anything, but Maxon stopped him and said there was someone else out there, and called in to control to report a possible contact. They then saw a motor bike zoom out from under a pipeline, and opened fire on it. However, more Indie soldiers appeared and opened fire on the Gears, causing them to take cover behind some pipes. Maxon was hit in the throat, and Marcus told Quinn to see to him, and asked Carlos to give him some covering fire. Carlos told him he was crazy, but Marcus told him to just do it, and jumped over the pipe and charged at the Indies. He shot two of them, and a Packhorse arrived, driven by Sgt. Bernadette Mataki and with Sgt. Daniel Kennen on the gun. Kennen ordered him to get down, and he fired on the rest of the Indies with the gun, cutting them down. Kennen asked him if he was okay, but before he could answer, an explosion from the other side of the facility lit up the night. Marcus realized the Indies had blown up the Imulsion wells, but Bernie told him not to worry about that, and that they had to get Maxon help quickly. Marcus helped Carlos load Maxon into the Packhorse, and asked him not to mention this to his dad, and Carlos reassured him he wouldn’t. Marcus waited at the medical building to see if Maxon would be okay, but Bernie eventually arrived and told him that Maxon hadn’t made it. Marcus remarked that it was a “fucking terrific start” to his first tour of duty, and Bernie told him that he had stopped them from blowing the pipelines. Marcus protested that it didn’t matter since Maxon had been killed, but she interrupted him and said that they lost people and it would never stop hurting, but that they had a job to do, and had to go back out every day until it was done. Marcus told her he understood, and she told him that he and the others had done a good job, and told him to follow her. Bernie led them on the remainder of their patrol, and Quinn remarked that the damage would be repaired in just a couple of days. Marcus looked at the burning fires and remarked that this was all for just keeping the lights on back home, but Bernie told them to stop talking and finish the patrol.
A week later, Marcus was out on another patrol with Carlos and Quinn in a Packhorse. Quinn told Marcus that his dad should try inventing an alternative to Imulsion, since if they increased the fuel supply, nobody would have to fight over it. Carlos pointed out that all the alternative fuels from the past had had wars fought over them as well, so it likely wouldn’t do any good. When control reported that Khimeras had been detected along the border, they pulled over next to some pipelines and tried to see if they could spot them. They couldn’t, and as Quinn climbed onto a pipeline to try to get a better view, he asked Marcus what he thought they were doing. Marcus told them they were just assessing their strength, and would be back sooner or later. Quinn then began telling Marcus about something his mom was sending him in the mail, but he was suddenly shot in the head by a sniper and fell off the pipeline and onto the ground in front of Marcus and Carlos. Marcus told Carlos to stay down, and cradled Quinn’s body in his arms. Carlos was deeply upset, remarking that it was just Quinn’s first week, and he was just picked off from a kilometer away, and not even in a proper firefight. Marcus told him that he understood exactly what he meant. Two days later, Marcus was called into Helena’s office, and she asked him if he was okay. He remarked nobody could feel okay after seeing one of their friends die within a week of deployment, and Helena told him not to beat himself up over the deaths of his comrades like his father did. Marcus told her he would get used to it, but she told him he wouldn’t and shouldn’t. Helena remarked that they all learned to deal with loss in their own separate way, and his father had done by deciding to leave the army and focus on building weapons. Marcus told her that he understood him a lot better now, and she ordered him to call his dad, saying that it was bad to leave things unsaid, since you never knew if you would get another chance to say them. Marcus agreed, and called his dad on the bases phone. Adam was surprised, and asked him if he was okay, and Marcus told him he and Carlos were fine, but that they had lost a couple of guys, and that he knew how it was. Adam told him he did, and that he was sorry about his comrades. Marcus asked him how his project was going, and Adam told him it was fine, and that they would get there eventually, and that Marcus knew how it was.
Later that year, Marcus and elements of the 26th RTI were sent to Irohma Island to defend it from the UIR. While there, Marcus learned of a massacre of a native village by the UIR that left few survivors. While out patrolling, Marcus noticed a native, Tai Kaliso, shadowing him and carrying a bow and arrow. He told Tai that he knew he was there, and warned him not to fire on him. Marcus told him that he was sorry about what had happened to his village, and explained that he and the COG were there to drive the UIR out of the South Islands. Marcus told Tai that while the COG were not Saints, they were going to win the war, and that he wanted Tai to be on the winning side, offering him a place in the COG army. Since he had nothing left on the island, Tai accepted Marcus’ offer and joined C Company.
3 B.E — Aspho Fields (Chapters 6 & 7)
Operation Leveler
Planning Operation Leveler
Hoffman was, the head of the 26 RTI Special Tactics Group, and was summoned to a meeting in the House of Sovereigns. He ran into Captain Quentin Michaelson at the meeting, who he knew from meeting him several years before, and they told each other what they knew about the meeting. Hoffman was surprised to find Chairman Tomas Dalyell leading the meeting, and even more surprised to discover that the UIR had developed an almost operational orbital weapons platform, the Hammer of Dawn. Daryell ordered the officers to come up with a plan to raid Aspho Point, where the technology was held, and left the meeting while Hoffman and the other officers began planning Operation: Leveler. Hoffman played a major role in planning the raid, since he would be leading the commando team inside. He worked closely with Agent Louise Settile to learn the inside layout of the building as best he could. The planning group eventually consisted of Hoffman, Settile, Michaelson, General Jolyon Iver, and Professor Adam Fenix. Hoffman quickly took a disliking to Adam, but had heard good things about his son, Marcus. Iver showed the others that new UIR forces were gathering north of Aspho Point. They dismissed the possibility of a leak, and decided they UIR was either realizing how vulnerable the facility was, or were close to completing the project. They decided to launch a diversionary attack on Berephus, a city near the facility, to draw forces away from it. Adam also informed them that they needed bots to download the information, and that the scientists were expendable. As the meeting broke up, Hoffman told Settile that he would kill any of the scientists if it came down to that during the Operation, in order to spare his soldiers from having to do it.. Afterwords, he visited the Tomb of the Unknowns and contemplated the grave of Sergeant Major Grame J, wondering if he could go through with killing civilians.
Marcus had been promoted to Corporal, and was stationed at a base along the Sarfuth–Marandayborder along with the rest of C Company. It was winter in Sarfuth, but Marcus refused to wear a helmet, instead wearing a do-rag that was permitted under regulations. He and Carlos were assigned to work with sniper team Three-Zero to protect a pipeline from sabotage by Indie soldiers. As they drove in an APC towards the pipeline, Marcus told Carlos that Captain Harrie had been killed after charging a gun position. He then contacted Pvt.Padrick Salton, and he told Marcus that someone had been digging animal traps along the pipeline for the past half hour, and he needed them to check it out. They arrived at the pipeline and inspected the traps, which looked legitimate but might have just been preparatory work for a bomb. They hid in the shadow of the pipeline to see if anyone else showed up, and they eventually spotted a Ski-Bike arriving at one of the traps. Marcus reminded Carlos they were not to cross the border into neutral Maranday, and to wait and see if the guy was actually a saboteur before acting. Padrick told them that the guy was taking a lot of things out of his pack. Marcus told him to wait, and they watched the guy a little longer, until he got spooked and began running. Marcus and Carlos chased after him after shooting and disabling his bike. Marcus told Carlos to try and take the guy alive for Intel to have, and to try to avoid killing him. Their chase took them over the border, but Carlos managed to tackle the guy. However, he reached into his jacket for a weapon, forcing Carlos to stab him.[12] Marcus helped Carlos carry the body back across the border, and they met Pad and his spotter Baz at the APC. Marcus searched the body, and found explosives in his jacket, as well as some papers. They loaded the body into the APC for Intel to look at, and drove back to the base. Marcus was upset with Carlos for crossing the border during the chase, but didn’t say anything on the ride back. The Intel guy was happy with what they had found, and he and Carlos went back out in the APC to check for any more possible sabotage. Marcus apologized to Carlos for getting angry about him not following the SOP’s, and that he had been right to chase the guy over the border. Carlos said he might have brought Maranday into the war if he had been caught, and that he was too caught up in trying to make a difference to pay attention to regulations. Marcus told him that they would be able to once winter was over and the regular fighting began again.
Brume/ 3 B.E — Aspho Fields (Chapters 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 & 19)
Marcus and the rest of C Company had been sent to Merrenat Naval Base, where they began training for a unknown operation. During a training exercise for a beach landing, Carlos tripped and fell into the water while exiting the landing craft. Marcus pulled him out from under the water and dragged him ashore, stopping for a moment to let him recover. However, Helena yelled at them for stopping, and ordered them to continue the exercise. They began crawling up the beach with the rest of the unit, and Marcus asked Carlos if he was okay. Carlos told him he was, but was angry with himself for falling. Marcus told him that it was their first time trying that landing at night and he had probably hit a hole or something. As their training op continued, Carlos continued to cough up water, and Marcus ordered him to fall out and see a medic, worried about secondary drowning. Carlos tried to convince him otherwise, but Marcus called for a medic over the radio, and Helena backed up his order. Two hours later, the training op was over, and Carlos returned to where the rest of the unit was camping in the woods. Marcus was expecting an argument, and told him that it had only been an exercise, and that they needed him for the actual operation. After eating a meal with Bernie and Tai, they joined the rest of the unit in being debriefed by Helena, who had brought her daughter, Cadet Anya Stroud, to the briefing. Marcus attempted to get more information about the mystery operation they were training for, and Helena told him that even she didn’t know beyond a beach landing. After the briefing, Marcus remarked to Carlos that Helena was a psychopath, but Carlos told him that she was psychopath who wins, which was what they needed.
After training ended, C Company was transferred to Fesor Naval Base, where they were kept in their quarters until they were ordered to board the CNV Kalona at five in the morning, two days before the operation. Marcus stood next to Carlos in the line of Gears as they waited to board the ship. Marcus asked Carlos if he had managed to get hold of Dom before they got their orders, and Carlos told him that they had left messages with each other, and that Dom was now completely locked down, and that Maria was due to give birth anytime. Carlos then asked Marcus if he had called his dad to let him know he was shipping out, and Marcus told him he had, and that his dad just went real quiet, as usual. Carlos asked if he had told him he was shipping out on the Kalona, and Marcus realized that he hadn’t told him, and that he hadn’t asked, and felt puzzled and hurt. Carlos told him they could work it out after he got back, but Marcus told him that he said that before every deployment. When Helena began approaching the Gears, Marcus called them all to attention. As they stood in line, they noticed Anya was following her mom, and Marcus was worried she would fall walking up the ramp onto the ship in her high heels. The Gear in front of them remarked that Marcus could give her CPR if that happened like he was dying to, but Marcus rebuked him and made him shut up. They then boarded the ship and dropped their equipment in their bunk, and headed up to the deck with the rest of the Gears to wave goodbye to their families. As Carlos waved goodbye to his parents, Marcus saw that Adam was also there, and waved at him. As they went out to sea, Carlos told Marcus that at least his father was trying to be there for him, but Marcus just thought that it was interesting that he had managed to figure out where he was deploying from, suspecting that he had known all along. Two hours later, Marcus and the others were briefed by Helena, and learned their objective: to prevent UIR reinforcements from reaching Aspho Point from Aspho Fields while a COG commando team, which included Dom, secured vital information on weapons research from the facility. Marcus realized that his father must have been involved in the planning of the operation, and hadn’t told him. Two days later, the Gears were getting some sleep before the operation began, but were interrupted when a navy rating came down and informed Carlos that his niece, Sylvia Santiago, had been born. Marcus and the other Gears began congratulating him. The company then assembled in the hanger deck to wait for the go order. Helena briefed them one more time, and they boarded their landing craft. Marcus asked Carlos if he was okay in the craft, and Carlos told him he would be fine when they landed. As they set off, they watched the divisionary attack on Berephus start, and realized that meant Dom was under way as well, and they both wished him luck.
Preparing for the Operation
Hoffman went with Michaelson to the CNV Pomeroy, and joined the rest of his commando team, which included Pesanga volunteers. They practiced dropping out of Sea Ravens in Marlins, which scared even Hoffman when he saw the Raven’s ramp in the water. After the successful test, they stayed aboard the Pomeroy that night, where the commandos celebrated the drop with the Sea Raven pilots. Hoffman praised the commandos, and talked about them changing the way the COG waged war. Shortly before the operation began, the CNV Pomeroy anchored two hundred kilometers north of Aspho Point. Hoffman asked Pvt.Ludovic Young to gather the commando team on the hanger deck, and that he would join them soon. He went to the ops room, where the ships first officer, Commander Fuller showed him where the rest of the fleet was stationed. Michaelson told Hoffman that Chairman Daryell was getting nervous about the operation, and warned Hoffman that he better make sure that he gives Dalyell no reason to think he might not succeed, or the area will be pounded with missiles. Hoffman then headed down to the hanger deck to brief the commandos one more time, and told Pvt.Dominic Santiago that they would be supported by C Company 26th Royal Tyran infantry, which contained Dom’s brother and best friend. He then made sure Sgt.Bai Tak and his men had everything they needed, which Tak confirmed. Hoffman returned to his quarters, and wrote a letter to Margaret that was to be delivered to her if he died.[25] Four hours before the Operation, Hoffman continued to study the faces and profiles of three targets to be captured or killed: Collun Bettrys, Mauris Ivo, and Anna Meurig. Tak arrived to give Hoffman some coffee, and offered to kill them for Hoffman if he couldn’t do it. Hoffman thanked him for the offer, but told him that if it had to be done, he would do it himself. He then met with the rest of the planning staff, and they finalized the plan and launch time. He then was told Dom’s family was trying to contact him about his daughter being born, and headed to inform Dom.
Raid on Aspho Point
Hoffman and his commando team successfully deployed from the Sea Ravens and made it to the shore. After they broke through the fence around the facility, Hoffman contacted Major Helena Stroud to inform her they were in position. He then split the commandos into three teams: he would led Red Troop through the sleeping quarters, Dom would take Green Troop to secure the main building, and Pvt.Shelt Morgan take Blue Troop through the back and begin laying charges. He left Pvt.Malcolm Benjafield and Sgt.Cho Liganto guard the Marlins, and they entered the facility. He managed to locate two of his three targets, Ivo and Bettrys, but Meurig wasn’t there. However, her daughter was, so she was captured instead. He had the captives sent down to the shore to be put on the Marlin’s, and headed to help Blue Troop lay the charges. He reported to Settile that they had two of the three targets, but had captured Meurig’s daughter. He also asked for fire support to destroy Peraspha Military Base, which contained a backup of the Hammer of Dawn information.[28] Benjafield and Cho contacted him and told him that an Indie commando unit was approaching, but he ordered them not to engage, and prepare to leave with the captives if necessary. He orders Dom to guard the bots, and Morgan and Tak to take out enemy soldiers approaching the rear of the building. After an attack was repealed, Hoffman realized someone was on the inside feeding information to the UIR. He had Dom come with him to find and stop the source. Helena reported to him that there was a hostile on the roof using a light to signal the UIR forces. Hoffman thanked her for the information,[30] headed to take him out. On the way, he witnessed Tak and several other Pesanga take out two UIR machine gun positions, and got a status update from Morgan on the bot’s progress in downloading the data. Once he and Dom reached the roof, they burst through the door and discovered a man with a tactical lamp and pistol. The man continued to signal the UIR forces even as Hoffman and Dom opened fire. Hoffman studied the scene closely, knowing he had just killed a hero doing his job, and resolved to somehow let the UIR know the guards fate.
Twenty minutes after landing, Marcus and Carlos were set up behind a machine gun position. Carlos was worried because they weren’t hearing anything from Aspho Point, but Marcus reassured him that that was how things were supposed to go during commando operations. They heard over the comm that an Indie commando squadhad been spotted near Aspho Point, but Marcus told Carlos not to worry. Marcus then noticed some movement in the tree line near the field, and Carlos confirmed it as well, and contacted Helena. Helena ordered Marcus to load up a Longspear to fire, and Sgt. Daniel Kennen reported that Indie vehicles were approaching. Marcus spotted more Indie troops and informed Helena, and shooting broke out at Aspho Point. Marcus locked onto the lead Indie vehicle, and Helena ordered the company to open fire. As the battle raged on, Asps began approaching the battlefield, moving along the road to Aspho Point. Worried that they might try to take out the facility and to prevent the COG from getting its hands on the research, Marcus began to look for a way to stop the Asps, and determined they would have to cross a bridge to get in range. They tried to figure out a way to stop them, but were distracted when anti-air units arrived as well, which would prevent the COG’s Petrels from destroying Aspho Point’s backup site. Marcus and Carlos continued to fire Longspears at the Indies, but began running low as more and more Indie vehicles arrived. Kennen was killed during the fighting, and Marcus forced Carlos to focus on the task at hand. He had two Longspears left, and waited for the order from Helena to use them, hoping that Dom and his team would be extracting soon. Marcus watched as several Petrels flew over the battlefield toward their target, but was shocked along with the rest of the unit when some were shot down, forcing the others to break off. Helena ordered Marcus to take out the Asps that had somehow managed to shoot them down, but Marcus’ first shot missed, hitting the ground. His second shot also missed, taking out an APC that moved to cover the Asp. Marcus was torn up by his failure, and apologized to Helena, who told him it wasn’t his fault. She decided that someone had to work their way across the battlefield and drop grenades onto the Asps, and Marcus and Carlos volunteered to try, but Helena shot them down and told them she would do it herself. The remaining Gears in the company began regrouping as she made her way towards the Asp, and Marcus and Carlos joined Pvt. Byran Jakovs, Pvt. James Marasin, and Pvt. Steven Hurnan. They wondered what they would do about the second Asp, but watched as Helena reached the first one undetected and opened the hatch, dropping the grenades. However, her webbing got caught on the vehicle, and she was unable to jump clear, and died when the Asp exploded. Marcus and the others were horrified, but he contacted Bernie to inform her that she was in command now. Marcus was worried about Anya, who was providing mission control over the comm, and wondered how they were going to take out the second Asp so air support could arrive, and how they would take down the Khimeras flying towards Aspho Point.
Escape
After the bots finished the download, Hoffman and the rest of the commandos began to pull out from Aspho Point. He let the non-captured civilians go free, and told them to run from the building before it exploded. He had Pvt.Georg Timiou set the bots to head out over the sea to be picked up, because two Khimera attack helicopters were hovering around the extraction point. Benjafield requested that they take some of the other civilians in the boats, since they were too scared to run away from the building and might be killed in the explosion. Hoffman granted permission, and Dom and a Pesanga grabbed six civilians. They cleared away from the beach, but the Khimeras followed them, and opened fire when they couldn’t find the bots. Hoffman and the other Gears returned fire, downing one of the Khimeras, but the other Marlin had been hit and was sinking. Benjafield piloted the Marlin next to the sinking one, and Hoffman and the other pulled whoever they could aboard. He tried to help Tak in, but Tak refused, instead helping the others in. The other Khimera returned, and opened fire on them, killing Benjafield. However, a missile fired from shore hit it, and sent it crashing down into the water. When Tak drowned, Hoffman began punching the side of the Marlin over and over. After he recovered, he helped the other bail out the water pouring into the Marlin. A Sea Raven finally arrived, and Dom piloted the Marlin into Raven. He found Dom, and told him that he would recommend him for the Embry Star.
Soon after, the commando team destroyed Aspho Point and began their extraction, but the Petrels still could not reach the backup site to destroy it. Bernie began making plans for extraction, but Marcus requested permission to try and take out the last Asp, as it was moving into position to attack the extraction zone and provide support to the Khimeras searching for the commandos. She gave approval, and Marcus organized Carlos, Jakovs, Hurnan, and Marasin alongside the road the Asp was moving along and hit it with five Gut-Punchers. They succeeded, but someone in the Asp remained alive and it continued to function, heading for the bridge to cross the battlefield. Carlos jumped up with Jakovs and Hurnan to charge the Asp, but all three were hit. Jakovs and Hurnan were killed, but Carlos rolled off the side of the road and into a ditch, and told the others he was fine after Marcus began shouting and asking if he was alright. Marcus then somehow managed to hijack the Asp, and charged into the Indie lines, shooting up all of their vehicles and soldiers. For ten minutes Marcus devastated the Indie forces, and was hit three times by Indie light armor, but nothing slowed him down. He took out everything capable of shooting down airborne assets, including a Khimera that was hunting Dom and the other commandos. The Asp eventually came to a stop near the COG lines, and Marcus got out and Bernie congratulated him on his work. He asked her if Carlos was back with them yet, but she told him that he was still near the bridge firing on the Indies. Marcus was annoyed with him, thinking that he didn’t trust him to take out the Indies by himself, and headed for the bridge. Bernie also began making her way to the bridge, and she asked Carlos if he could make his way back to the rally point. Carlos responded that he had been hit badly and couldn’t move. Marcus was shocked, and demanded to know why he hadn’t told anyone or called for a medic or him. Carlos told him that it was because he knew Marcus would try to rescue him, but he told him that it was useless and that he was already dead. Marcus told him to shut up, and continued to head towards him, moving from cover to cover to avoid Indie fire. Bernie ordered him to go back to the extraction zone, but he refused, and pointed out that she was still heading for Carlos as well. Carlos told them to stop, and that he had messed up and gotten Jakovs and the others killed, and told Marcus that he needed to take care of Dom. Carlos was hit again by Indie fire, and began begging Marcus to shoot him to put him out of his misery. Marcus froze, but regained control and told him that he was going to get him out of there. Carlos told him that he wouldn’t be able to, and that he had to stop him from getting himself killed. Carlos then detonated a grenade, killing himself and destroying the bridge that the Indie vehicles would need to cross to get to the extraction point. Marcus bellowed in grief, but took advantage of the explosion to rush to the site and recover what he could of Carlos while Bernie covered him.
Marcus and Bernie took Carlos’ remains to the extraction zone, and Marcus knelt next to the sack containing the remains as they waited for a Sea Raven to arrive and extract them to the CNV Pomeroy. Bernie came up to him and told him that she had just spoke to control, and learned that Dom had made it, saving the lives of the rest of his unit in the process. Marcus remarked that Dom was a natural Gear, and Bernie offered to tell him about Carlos, but Marcus told her that it was his job, and that he was an honorary Santiago. Bernie comforted him, and told him how sorry she was, and Marcus began sobbing and crying silently, and asked her what he was going to do without Carlos, and that he had been like a brother to him. Bernie told him that he needed to be there for Dom, and that the rest of the unit was going to be there for them, and that they were family as well. Marcus asked her if she would have put Carlos out of his misery if she had gotten the chance, and she told him she would have, but he did it first. He wondered if there was something he could have done to save him, if he had gone after him instead of taking the Asp, but Bernie told him that he had done the right thing. They then wondered what they were going to tell Dom, as the truth that Carlos had made a mistake and gotten himself and others killed might devastate him. They decided to lie, and say that Carlos and the others had sacrificed their lives to blow up the bridge and stop the Indies. No one in the unit would contradict that, and the radio had been shut off so control had not heard what happened. The Sea Ravens then arrived, and Marcus made sure that Carlos was the first one on board. When the Sea Raven landed on the Pomeroy, Dom was waiting for them, and Marcus saw he was disturbed when Carlos didn’t emerge. Marcus went up to him, and tearfully informed him that Carlos had died.
As the Raven carrying Bernie and Marcus landed, Hoffman was pleased to see Bernie had survived. He told Dom that if he wanted to talk, he could stop by his room anytime, and left the hanger deck as Marcus told Dom about his brother. After returning to 26 RTI HQ, Hoffman became angry when he discovered that his Pesang troops would not be eligible for the Embry Star.
2 B.E
– Hoffman attendS an awards ceremony at the House of Sovereigns, but had told his wife not to attend. He had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, but didn’t as though he had earned the promotion. As he waited for the awards to be given, he yelled at any member of the press who tried to talk to him. When Daryell presented him with his Embry Star, Hoffman embarrassed him by not shaking his hand and saying he accepted the award on behalf of all the Pesanga soldiers serving the COG. He knew this act would mean he would never be promoted again, but was fine with that.
– Marcus is promoted to Sergeant at an awards ceremony at the House of Sovereigns, where he and Dom would be presented with the Embry Star for their actions, and Carlos and Helena would be awarded ones posthumously, with Dom accepting Carlos’ and Anya accepting her mother’s. Marcus, Dom, and Anya stayed together before the ceremony, and they worked to protect her from the press who wanted to interview her.
After being awarded their medals, Marcus and the others went outside to the graveyard where Carlos was buried, and found Lt.Col.Victor Hoffman there, paying his respects. Marcus didn’t say anything, but Dom invited his commanding officer to come with them to dinner that evening with Adam and the Santiago’s, but Hoffman turned the offer down, saying he would like to drink with them sometime. After Hoffman shook their hands, he left, leaving them alone to say goodbye to Carlos. Marcus dug a small hole into the grave, and placed Carlos’ Embry Star in there with him, and buried it while crying. Unknown to him, Hoffman observed the whole thing and seeing Marcus like that made an impression on him. After enduring an extremely awkward dinner with his father, the Santiago’s, and Anya, Marcus volunteered to make sure that Anya got home safely after she had a little too much to drink, and they spent the night together. The two had sex and started a secret romantic relationship, despite the regulations against it.
1 B.E
While Adam continued to work on his countermeasure device, his work was often postponed, as on the surface, the Pendulum Wars were still being fought. Adam was forced to build mass weapons of destruction for the COG, such as the Hammer of Dawn. When Adam’s works either failed or would kill the Locust, Myrrah, fearing for the wellbeing of the Locust, decided to prepare for invasion of the surface to protect the Locust from the Lambent.
Vold RAAM shared his concerns with Queen Myrrah about losing the front to the Lambent – with their people continually dying or becoming infected. RAAM, against the orders of Uzil Sraak, informed Myrrah of his desired plan to emerge and colonize the surface, leaving the Lambent in the Hollows and destroying the human race in the process. Uzil Sraak assured Myrrah their victory in the war with the Lambent, but it was unknown to Sraak that Myrrah already knew of the stakes and had the same plan as RAAM.
In order to convince the Queen, RAAM, with the help of Skorge and Karn, devised a plan that allowed the Lambent to advance in the Hollows by purposeful withdraw from the front lines – making Myrrah understand the futility of fighting the Lambent. With the Lambent Horde taking its toll on the Locust Horde, Myrrah became desperate. Following the battle at the Temple of Worms, Myrrah demoted Uzil Sraak to Vold and promoted Vold RAAM to Uzil. She then revealed that she, too, had been surveying the surface and planning an invasion. Myrrah and RAAM then devised the invasion of the surface that would become Emergence Day.
7 weeks B.E
C Company was deployed to the Independent Republic of Furlin. Marcus was in a squad with Dom, Tai, and Pad, and they were sent to Ghato City to secure it. They encountered a small squad of Indies in the ruined city and engaged them, but became pinned down in a destroyed building. Marcus asked Pad if he could reach a nearby roof and snipe the Indies heavy weapons, and Pad told him he could if Marcus gave him some cover. Marcus told Tai to use their last RPG on the Indies to provide cover, and as Pad used the smoke from the explosion of the rocket hitting the Indies position to run for a building with a roof, Marcus, Dom, and Tai opened fire to cover him even more. Dom asked Marcus to remind him how much ground they had secured that week, and Marcus said that he was guessing it was zero, again. After Pad sniped the Indie manning the machine gun position, Marcus led the others in a charge against the Indie position with Pad providing sniper cover. Marcus asked Pad how many were left, and he told him that he had taken down three, leaving three more. Marcus, Dom, and Tai quickly shot two of them, and Marcus then jumped into the Indies building and finished the last one off. He called in to command that Ghato was secured, and that they would meet up with the rest of the unit at Tenla. They began walking out of the city towards the RV point, and Dom said that he had thought the war would end within months after Aspho Point, and he was now starting to think that Carlos had died for nothing. Marcus told him not to think like that, and that his dad said that the Indie research had saved him years of work on whatever he was doing. Dom asked if Adam was still not discussing it with him, and Marcus told him that top secret meant top secret to Adam.
Two weeks later, C Company was driving along a road on a cliffside overlooking a Furlin town, which Dom was relieved to see hadn’t been bombed, but Marcus told him not to jinx it. The convoy stopped, and one of the other Gears called Marcus over to listen to the radio, telling him his father had done it. Marcus listened with the others as it was announced that Chairman Tomas Dalyell had announced that he was meeting with Premier Yori Deschenko to discuss the term of the UIR’s surrender after the deployment of the Hammer of Dawn, which had been created by Adam. All of the Gears began celebrating, and Tai told him that his father had found his true path. Marcus told him that the war wasn’t over yet, and that the peace process could still take days or weeks. He was proven right moments later when Indies began shelling the convoy and the town below. Dom was horrified, saying that it was insane and that somebody needed to tell the Indies that they had surrendered. Marcus told him that they hadn’t technically surrendered yet, and took cover with the rest of the unit and began returning fire. Pad yelled that the Indies had to know the war was over, but Marcus pointed out that if it was them, they would fight to the last as well, and that the Indies likely thought the announcement was COG propaganda. As they returned fire, Lt.Preston told him that the Captain was trying to offer the Indies an informal ceasefire, but Marcus doubted it would work. Several Gears were then hit by mortar fire, but the Indies then stopped attacking, receiving word that the surrender was for real. Marcus was relieved the Pendulum Wars were at last ending, and hoped that it was the real thing. Three hours later, Marcus watched through binoculars as the Indies in the mountains began to surrender to the COG, and told Dom that it hadn’t all been in vain. The next day, C Company had moved into the city below the cliffs, and Marcus and the others gathered together in silence as it turned noon, at which time the official surrender took effect.
0 B.E — #18 – Promise Me
Gale/ – 6 weeks B.E
A peace treaty is signed between the Coalition of Ordered Governments and most of the Union of Independent Republics, ending a global seventy-nine year war. A few UIR holdouts were still continuing the fight, but most of Sera was celebrating the end of the war. The Seran population was at rest, where several thousand Gears were given leave and the civilian population celebrated the end of the Pendulum Wars. According to the press, an epidemic of earthquakes and tremors were reported across Sera, puzzling scientists.
For six weeks, the COG ruled almost all of Sera, before Emergence Day. They started to rebuild the cities and towns that were destroyed and fix international relations with the UIR nations who were still fighting against the COG.
One day – B.E
– Maria and Dom rented their first house. On the following morning, Maria sent Benedicto and Sylvia to be with her parents while she and Dom would spend the whole day to themselves. Later on, Maria woke Dom with breakfast in bed and told him that she sent the kids to her mother’s.
Samhain13 