| Introduction - Introduction |
Back to 'Welcome!'
Introduction (23/06/99 )
…The third sun burns o’er the wounded land,
Home of the dark and the iron hand…
Mankind has always known war. From the pettiest skirmishes over territory before the invention of the flag, to the grandest revolutions for liberty and ideal, few eras have escaped such conflict—and none have forgotten it.
Naturally, then, when tottering and bickering Humanity struggled beyond its lonely blue sphere, weapons of war came along as a matter of course. Still, the only enemies the divergent nations of Earth had to fear were each other.
That is, until the Wars of Dawn.
…So that no shadow might dull the roar
That I, the improved machine, give. More…
First contact with an interstellar race came close to home, in a confusion of lost outposts and hysterical fear. The Zutorkians, an alien race devoted to war, tore into the Human solar system. It was a stroke of pure luck that disunited, technologically inferior Humanity achieved victory; contact with a friendly race, the Vendorians, saved them. Their resources and knowledge allowed the Humans, allied with them, to fend off the invading warrior race.
There were two more such wars, called the “Wars of Dawn” for their role in Humanity’s first travels to the stars. The cruel Plutonians and the monarchial Kalai fought the Humans and Vendorians, but at last peace came, and the races began a cooperative effort to advance technology and exploration.
…Than prophets, men with the empty word
“Knowing” all fate, comprehending. Absurd.
So began the Pax Vendoria. The Plutonians and Zutorkians retreated to attend their own affairs, and the Humans, Vendorians, and a new order of Kalai, along with the bizarre and uncommon Oolorae, established a solid Alliance with its representative Council of nine.
The outlook was good. The Alliance could meet any threat to peace and prosperity—so its citizens and governments became complacent.
Downward we spiral, thus upward we climb,
Consuming each other in passing the time.
For years, under the Vendorian Peace, a master of robotics named Dr. Derek Gyran grew in illicit power; crime and corruption yet flourished on Earth, so he did. When finally he had amassed enough resources, he took his holdings to a remote star system on the outer corner of Human and Vendorian space.
In his secluded territory, Gyran constructed factories with his robot workers. The effect was almost exponential—he designed robots with minimum need for maintenance, so he could build robots that built robots that built robots…
…until at last Gyran’s little corner of the Galaxy could not contain him.
In darkness we see, in fire we’re blind—
When steel claws you have, you need not a mind.
On the Vendorian date 4830-9-27, Gyran’s robots swarmed into Human and Vendorian space. A number of small border worlds quickly fell, becoming sites for Gyran mining and manufacture. Warships were ineffective, often being boarded by hundreds of space-capable robots before they could destroy many. Fighters had some success, but it was not enough; the military had gone slack under the Peace. Gyran captured the entire Human system of Geltor and began constructing a massive network of factories on Geltor III. From there Gyran launched one final offensive before pausing to solidify his gains--
He took Vendoria.
The Alliance was in chaos. The call went out for all in the Council’s jurisdiction to rise against the threat. A new technology, the Mek, was developed, a versatile weapon made to fight the robots at their own level.
But how does one fight an emotionless horde that rebuilds itself at any loss, and still retain hope…?
| Introduction (SabreCat) - 23/06/99 |
|
|