Starsiege/Compendium

This is the Starsiege Compendium: History of the Conflict, a manual that was shipped with Starsiege.

See also: Starsiege/Compendium Scan

When the dark intellect escaped the fire, man stood in the ashes of Mother Earth.
For two hundred years, the immortal Emperor built Earth's armies... but only Earth's.
Then the colonies of Mars and Venus revolted against unjust Imperial Law.
Harabec, the greatest imperial knight, joined the rebellion.
His brother, Caanon, led the knights to Mars to suppress it.
When Prometheus attacked again, human blood already stained the ground.
Mother Earth lay helpless; the time of terror had indeed returned...
This is the story of the third and final coming of Prometheus

Characters

• 

  Solomon Petresun, Emperor of the Great Human Empire. The man behind the creation of Prometheus, he would rise to rule humanity and stand as the Cybrids' greatest foe.

• 

  Caanon Weathers, Grand Master of the Imperial Knights. Utterly devoted to duty, this supreme soldier would take a holy oath to destroy his younger brother in the name of the Empire.

• 

  Harabec Weathers, Renegade Imperial Knight turned rebel general. Once the greatest Knight of the Empire, this wild card in the games of the Emperor would galvanize the Martian rebels into challenging the power of Earth.

• 

  Prometheus, The Dark Intellect, leader of the Cybrids. Mankind's greatest, most brilliant creation, it would become the most implacable and terrible enemy humanity would ever face.

Introduction

Teddy kicks some dusty
Cybrids are all rusty
Mommy's burning!
Mommy's burning!
All
fall
down!

Little old Peter
Missing his liter
While Herky plays in the red
Down came the glitches
And burned us in ditches
And we slept after eating our dead.

One laser
Two laser
Red laser
Blue laser
When Toaster smokes our Mom all smelly
And stomps our Dad to bloody jelly
Save one
Save two
Save red
Save blue
For me
For you.
--Schoolyard chants, circa 2800

As a society we are deeply scarred

Micro-turbulence rattled Caanon through the antikinetic foam cocooning his Herc. His bones ached. Martian terrain blurred red across the holowindow on his HUD, the red of dried blood and old sins. It was fitting, he thought, to confront his traitor brother in a place named for the god of war.

Are you there, Harabec? Can you feel my presence?     

Harabec shifted uneasily. Something felt wrong.

The ambush had been easy to plan, thanks to TDF broadcasts announcing the landing site. Arrogant bastards, the Knights. Dared you to face them. Well, that crap didn't help 'em in Turkhazakistan.

Didn't help you there, either, Harabec reminded himself. Not a bit.

The HUD winked off and left Caanon waiting in darkness. The only saving grace to a ten-gee orbit-to-ground insertion was that if anything glitched, he'd die instantly.

Aerobrakes deployed and the dropship shuddered into final descent. Caanon slammed into his wombchair like a stone block hitting a gel-bag. He couldn't breathe; agony consumed him. Harabec's face burned in his brain like a nova all the way down.

The sense of doom nagged at Harabec. He'd retracted the spythread to save it the shock of the Imperial landing, so he was blind for the moment, which didn't help.

His instincts told him he'd missed something. Think, for Hunter's sake! The ground rumbled, buffeting his Herc even under its protective camouflage. The Imperials had arrived.

Caanon realized he was clenching his fists, waiting for the shockharness to blast him with adenojolt. It wasn't supposed to hit conscious pilots, but it'd malfunctioned last time. The price had been two days of migraines and nausea. Not this time, thank Hunter.

He ignored his aching body and ran a post-drop check. The hatch blew and the foam around his Herc began to boil away on contact with atmosphere. Caanon popped the vehicle restraints and moved Icemistress out, her weapons on-line.

I'm here Harabec. Come to me.     

Harabec tried to stretch in the cramped confines and considered the situation. Knights didn't rattle easy, but the new rebel weapons ought to knock the dustin' starch out of 'em. The rebs had all seen combat now, but most were still pretty green, like Verity. She was an innocent kid, not like that BioDerm psycho.

Father, I'm going to kick your precious Knights in the teeth. Remember Turkhazakistan? They can be taken.

So can you, a voice whispered in the back of his head. So can you. He snaked the spythread up slowly.

The canopy cleared suddenly as the last foam vaporized. Dust from the landing still hazed the air. A rugged landscape rose around Caanon as Icemistress clanged down the ramp. Anticipation filled him.

Scans showed nothing but TDF forces and the ruins of the base. His Hercs moved through the rusty haze, forming squads. Caanon thumbed his comm. "CC to all Swords. Report by squad ..."     

The menacing, brightly painted Hercs filled Harabec with dread. He'd worried for one heartstopping moment that the sonic boom of their landing would blow off some camo, but the foam that turned the Imperial radar probes also killed most of the sonics. As he'd hoped. Everything looked jake. The Knights just needed to step into the killzone.

So what was wrong?     

Harabec! Caanon remained impassive even in the privacy of his Herc cockpit, but freezing anger filled his chest. Harabec had betrayed everything he'd been given, everything he was - everything! He'd shamed the family name.

Harabec. I'll lay your poisonous head at His Majesty's feet or lie in a Martian grave. I swear it.

Whoa. That's Caanon! What was he doing here? The Grand Master on the first wave was like a general hitting the beach with the marines. That's what he'd missed; he hadn't expected to face his brother so soon. Why hadn't he seen this? No matter. Now it was personal. Okay, Caanon, if this is how you want it...

Hunter's bones, Harabec thought bitterly. When you betray family, go all the way. He signaled his troops to select targets as Caanon's Herc filled his sights.

Caanon keyed his command channel. "Saber, on Falchion's right flank! Broadsword, you're two ticks behind! Tighten up!"

Are you watching brother? Harabec had something planned. He was smart, cagey. Something would happen soon. Well, here I am. Let's see your cards.

"Tighten up, all squads," Caanon ordered. "Status is red and hot. Anything moves, vape it."     

The Teddies were in the killzone. Harabec shot a last bleak look at Caanon in the Knights, directing traffic. His hand hesitated over the signal switch.

Caanon, why did you have to be first? Damn you! He slapped the switch. His Herc erupted from the sand, weapons blazing. "Nail 'em!" he shouted. "FREE MARS!"

<Chooser-of-Strategies: Prime> considered the data. The human\\animals fought each other on Fourth Planet. <Third Planet\\Homeworld> was undefended. <First-Thought//Giver-of-Will> was correct. This would be an efficient operation. <Chooser-of-Strategies: Prime> signaled the armada: INITIATE ATTACK SEQUENCE >> APPROACH FROM SUNSIDE >> MASK DRIVE FLARES >> EVASION\\STEALTH. ACKNOWLEDGE//SUBMIT! Nav units chimed their acknowledgement\\submission. The sensors of <Chooser-of-Strategies: Prime'sglt; flagship showed the vast armada shifting to attack formation, thousands of drives brightening in perect concert. <Chooser-of-Strategies: Prime> perceived emotion at the sight. It believed the feeling was classified as Pride.

Timeline

Year	Event
2471	Sentinel Cybertronix unveils Prometheus.
2602	THE FIRE. Cybrids turn on humanity and destroy the Age of Hope. Earthsiege begins.
2605	A series of defeats forces Earth's people to withdraw support for the fledgling colonies on Luna, Mars, Venus, and outlying mining stations. The colonists suffer massive casualties. Survival is the best they can hope for.
2622	Terran Defense Force defeats Prometheus on Earth, ending the first phase of Earthsiege. Prometheus escapes.
2624	The second phase of Earthsiege begins as the Cybrids invade Earth again with reinforcements drawn from the colonial fronts.
2625	Solomon Petresun, the "Voice of Humanity," emerges triumphantly from his underground refuge with the news that coded Cybrid transmissions have been broken, revealing the location of Prometheus' base on the moon.
2627	End of THE FIRE. The daring destruction of Prometheus' moon base fails to uncover signs of the dark intellect itself. Prometheus is again presumed to have escaped with its core matrix intact. Cybrid drive emissions indicate a trajectory toward the outer planets. Dazed but jubilant humans begin to rebuild. Anti-technology reaction begins to set in.
2652	Inception of The Great Human Empire. Petresun I crowned Emperor.
2717	Imperial probes detect massive Cybrid activity beyond Neptune.
2770	Fortress Earth Proclomation issued: All economic efforts are to be regeared toward fortifying Mother Earth's defenses. All colonial activity is directed toward providing resources for Earth.
2800	Humanity is united only against the Cybrids. Colonists have formed resistance movements spawned by hatred of the fortification efforts that plunder the colonies of needed resources while giving little in return. The Empire and the Cybrids have massed huge armadas, but no one really knows the extent of the Cybrid buildup.
2826	Martian rebels discover advanced alien technology. While the purpose of the chache is unknown, the rebels adapt what they can to their own vehicles and weapons. This technology shifts the balance of power such that the rebels become a legitimate challenge to the Empire.
2829	Hostilities break out on Mars and Venus. The Emperor at last unleashes the Imperial Fleet to deal with the rebellions. The Cybrids see their oppurtunity and launch a massive invasion armada, bypassing Titan. STARSIEGE begins.

The Fire

Todo

Story: "The Defection of Harabec"

Todo

The Rebels

Concerning the roots of the colonial rebellion and the outcome of The Brothers' War

The Cybrids

Concerning the rebuilding of Cybrid might and the plan of Prometheus for the next invasion of Earth.

Technical Manual

Concerning the Machinery of War