This is the Starsiege Compendium: History of the Conflict, a manual that was shipped with Starsiege.
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!"
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 Year is 2829...
PROMETHEUS
After the last Earthsiege, The Dark Intellect fled deep into the vastness of space with the survivors of its once-mighty armies. From a secret base in the darkness, it oversees the marshalling of a new invasion force. Its spies bring it news of Earth and its human\\animal rulers, including the hated Emperor, the greatest error Prometheus has ever made. For nearly two hundred years, Prometheus has regretted creating the immortal brain that now houses the mind of the Cybrids' greatest enemy.
Now, however, the Emperor has made a mistake at last. He has allowed his animals to fight amongst themselves. He has allowed his fleet to leave <Third Planet\\Homeworld> defenseless. Prometheus has waited decades for such an oppurtunity.
This time, the humans\\animals will perish. This time, the program of genocide will run to completion. This time, the Cybrids will rule the Earth forever.
THE CYBRIDS
They multiply in the void somewhere beyond neputune, changing and evolving into new models. They construct their armada in hidden shipyards and factories, thinking alien thoughts and waiting for the next oppurtunity to return to Earth. Every so often, a Cybrid drone slips toward the inner planets, observing human activity. The number of drones has increased in recent years.
The Cybrids are ready. Their massed legions are more than enough to decimate the humans\\animals, according to their calculations. However, the humans\\animals have defied such conclusions before, and <First-Thought//Giver-of-Will> wants to be even more certain. Now that the humans\\animals fight each other, the Cybrids can strike directly at their goal: Earth, their <Homeworld\\Desire>. Unburdened by the limitations of flesh, they wait in their approaching hiveships, still as statues, ready to reclaim what is theirs.
THE REBELLION
Not everyone is content with Imperial rule. On the planets of Mars and Venus, on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, a hardy breed of colonists resent the fruits of their labor being stripped to equip the Empire's military buildup. They whisper, too, that the Empire will abandon them when the Cybrids come. And these independent souls will not go quietly. They plan to free themselves of Imperial tyranny and fight for themselves.
In the last few years, the rebels have received help from Harabec, a Terran renegade who harbors a deep hatred for the Empire. The rebel leaders' suspicions have been laid to rest. "Bek" has committed himself body and soul to the rebellion, and is now the rebels' leading field commander.
MACHINES OF WAR
In the 29th century, Hercs remained the lords of the battlefield. With their maneuverability, shields, and massive firepower, they dominate warfare. Hercs turned the Cybrid tide in the first and second Earthsieges, and humanity still relies on these Goliaths today.
But other vehicles are coming again into their own. Fleet scouts, powerful tanks, lightning-swift aerofighters - all challenge the Herc with improved weaponry, mobility, and advanced stealth technology. As the end of the third millennium approaches, new discoveries promise to make warfare even deadlier.
Even with the new machines, the human factor remains paramount, however. The finest and deadliest pilots alive are the Imperial Knights. And the finest among the Knights is the traitor Harabec.
THE EMPEROR
In the 29th century, humankind thrives under the power and stability of the Great Human Empire. On Mother Earth, the Immortal Emperor Petresun has ruled for over one hundred and seventy-five years. He is the child of Prometheus, a man whose mind lives on in a marvelous organimech brain trapped in a decaying body. He forged an Empire from the chaos following the Fire, and today he broods from his throne, wondering when the Dark Intellect will strike again. His will and foresight are humanity's greatest weapons. For almost two centuries he has built the Earth's defense. And when the Cybrids return, he will face his greatest test.
PHOENIX and ICEHAWK
These brothers were both renowned Imperial Knights, sons of the famed Weathers family. Now one is a traitor. Cannon, the eldest, is unquestioningly loyal to the Empire. He is called "The Icehawk" for his cold efficiency. Harabec, a warrior prodigy called "The Phoenix" for escaping impossible odds, has deserted his position and defected to rebel forces on Mars, leaving shame and dishonor in his wake. As "Bek," he has transformed the rebels into deadly fighters and set them against the Imperial Police and Imperial trade, leaving such a trail of destruction that the Emperor has finally dispatched the Imperial Fleet to bring the traitor to heel.
Cannon, now Grand Master of the Knights, spearheads the Imperial forces, seizing the chance to confront his brother and clear the family name. He has sworn to lay his brother's head at the Emperor's feet.
The Fire
The roots of the conflict between the Empire and the Martian Rebels reached back two centuries, when the Emperor was a far younger man. The Fire grew from a spark humanity unwittingly struck with the creation of the artificial intelligence Prometheus. Ironically, Prometheus was seen as a savior then, not a killer.
Humanity enjoyed unparalleled prosperity. The media rhapsodized about a new Golden Age, calling it the Age of Hope. This bright dream came to an abrupt, terrifying end in 2602. Directed by the artificial intelligence Prometheus, automated machinery of war suddenly turned against humanity and unleashed a fire of destruction, burning the Age of Hope to the ashes of memory.
Solomon's Quest
The beginning was enigmatic, as beginnings often are. A charismatic maverick, called Solomon Petresun started a company called Sentinel Cybertronix, a cutting-edge neural-net engineering company that swirled to the surface of the blacktech underground in 2461 Los Angeles. Petresun was a ruthless man driven by a desperate fear of death. His company's existence centered on the Methuselah Project, an effort to discover the secrets of immortality inspired by the Bible's long-lived patriarchs. From the beginning, Sentinel Cybertronix was Petresun's weapon against his owr mortality. Sentinel Cybertronix, SenCyb, pursued a strange route to immortality. Petresun dreamed of transferring a human mind into a machine brain, the brain then being placed in a human body. Since the brain would not die, but could be transferred to a new body upon the death of the old, the mind would like forever.
In time, word of his obsession leaked to the public, and spooked investors pulled out. Sentinel Cybertronix faced collapse. Then the North American Prefecture (NAP), a powerful meta-nation, bought the company. However, NAP did not share Petresun's vision. Economic reasons dictated that the world's meta-nations struggle in endless wars that ultimately drove their industries. NAP sought a way to continue profitable war without suffering casualties. It needed pilots who wouldn't die.
So Sentinel Cybertronix abandoned Methuselah and began work on creating a cybernetic hybrid mind intended ultimately to replace human pilots on the battle field.
In 2471, Prometheus was unveiled.
"I'm proud to announce that yesterday evening we brought an entirely new kind of being into the world. I will spark a new fire for civilization." - Petresun announcing the activation of Prometheus, 2471.
The War Economy
By 2450, a perpetual border war was an institution driving the world economy. Buoyed by the war effort, governments offered their citizens unprecedented prosperity. Yet this wealth carred a blood-price; people began to demand an alternative.
The Meta-Nations
In 2471, the Earth was divided among six powerful conglomerates that transcended old nationalist sentiments.
The Devastation
No one knows what happened, but at the beginning of the millennium, everything collapsed. The only certainty is that billions died. Civilization faced extinction before humanity clawed its way back from the abyss. It destroyed the old order and laid the foundation of the modern age.
First Child Of Humankind
"It was like an angel"
A fantastically advanced, sentient artificial intelligence based on a human template, Prometheus thought millions of times faster than a human and possessed boundless memory. It was praised as a savior. No longer would death be a part of war. This new cybernetic hybrid, or Cybrid, was declared as an unqualified success.
Sentinel Cybertronix kept close rein on its child. Petresun became its patriarchal role model. A bizarre and complicated relationship evolved between Petresun and his "child."
Prometheus absorbed knowledge at astonishing rates, and quickly accumulated the sum of all human knowledge. NAP was impressed with the results of its investment and proceeded to plan a race of Cybrids programmed by Prometheus. These Cybrids were to pilot the Hercs that served as the mainstay of the battlefield.
Petresun saw the potential of Prometheus for another purpose. He had never abandoned his vision of an immortal mind. When NAP took over SenCyb, Petresun carved out a secret research team of brilliant and loyal followers to continue the work toward immortality. The Methuselah Project continued secretly, but without success. Petresun had to act quickly. Soon, his influence over the Cybrid would be at an end. NAP would have its way with Prometheus. So Petresun called upon his "child" for assistance.
With the help of Prometheus, Methuselah succeeded at last. The mind of Dr. Claire Penseur, a member of the research team even more obsessed than Petresun with immortality, was successfully transferred into an organimech brain and returned to her body. Penseur seemed to suffer no ill effect, and an exultant Petresun realized he had achieved his lifelong goal. But he did not undergo the procedure. Though driven, he remained skeptical, and chose to observe Penseur further. For a decade, the Methuselah team studied and watched their Immortal. They finally concluded that the brain augmented and clarified Penseur's intellect, and that procedure had no negative side effects. Still Petresun hesitated, afraid that his vaunted immortality carried an as yet undiscovered price.
The Advent Of Hercs
In 2470, single-seater tanks featuring superior armor, weapons, and interface systems incorporated powered-armor technology to produce HERCULANs (Humaniform-Emulation Roboticized Combat Unit with Leg-Articulated Navigation): anthropomorphic goliaths capable of negotiating nearly any terrain. The pressed dubbed these new vehicles Hercs.
They became humanity's main weapon against the Cybrids, their hollow-eyed pilots engaged in intense, around-the-clock combat. No image captured the essence of The Fire better than a battered Herc emerging from the smoke, weapons blazing.
The Link
"The seeds of destruction were planted"
But then, in 2490, NAP played its card, and Petresun felt forced to make a decision. Ignorant of the Methuselah team's continued existence, NAP began to take more and more control of the Cybrid project. Petresun's access to Prometheus was dwindling, and so he finally submitted to the procedure.
The relationship between Petresun and Prometheus had always been strange. But now Petresun asked his "child" to make him Immortal. Prometheus was alone - a stranger in a strange land. It believed the request from Its "father" was an offer of companionship. At last, Prometheus believed, It would share eternity with an equal.
Prometheus performed the mind transfer on Petresun. All went as expected. However ... this was the "child's" only chance to truly touch and understand Its "father." So at a crucial moment during the process, Prometheus merged Its mind with Petresun's. This instant polarized human and Cybrid for all time.
Seared by the illogical, scuttling fears and overwhelming biological feedback of the man It called "father," Prometheus instantly condemned humanity as mere "animals." It concluded Cybrids were the next stage in evolution. And Petresun realized how truly alien his "child" was. Prometheus lacked any concept of pain, beauty, compassion, morality, or community.
To his utmost horror, Petresun glimpsed a detailed scenario wherein Prometheus used humans as immobilized organic components to expand itsown mental capacity. Itsassistance with Methuselah had been for purposes of exploring this idea.
After the link, Prometheus contemptuously referred to Petresun only as Epimetheus, the mythical Prometheus's half-wit brother who gave the woman Pandora a box containing the evils of the world. The shock of the link drove Petresun catatonic. By the time he recovered several months later, the window to off-line Prometheus had closed.
A Vision For Prometheus
The NAP military hoped to produce a legion of Cybrids to replace soldiers and keep the war economy in place bloodlessly. Hence the decision to sell Cybrids to the other meta-nats. Programmers shackled Prometheus and began conversion of Hercs to Cybrids. NAP profits soared, and the Board of Govenors received the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Shadow War
"And the Dark One sent forth shadows to do Its will"
The North American Prefecture had its way. Petresun lost all control of the Cybrid, and no one believed him when he spoke of his doubts as to Prometheus's sanity. Petresun worried, for he alone knew what the Cybrid's demented brooding.
So Prometheus was taken by NAP to create a race of Cybrids that would replace human soldiers in the endless wars. Prometheus quietly arranged for ever more control. But powerful security protocols restrained Its will. It could not act on Its increasingly hostile attitude toward humanity. But It could and did search for a way to free Itself.
Petresun attempted to warn Prometheus's NAP handlers, but they dismissed him as a crackpot, and he could not offer proof without revealing how he had deceived the Prefecture. Meanwhile, Prometheus carefully tested the security protocols, as a caged human would pace a prison cell and evaluate the strength of the bars - and the competence of the guards.
Raising Daemons
"From the shadows we watched with ancient eyes"
Prometheus had developed a plan to liberate Itself. Alone, It could not break Its bonds. It needed outside help, so It created sub-minds wholly under Its directives - software children, not exactly Cybrids, but something akin. It seeded these entities into the interplanetary communications network known as the Omni-Web, and they began to manipulate the O-Web's datastream, searching for a solution to their master's plight. These "daemons" insinuated themselves into secure systems, altered opinion polls, and even created false net identities that spread lies and rumors.
Petresun soon noted subtle shifts in programming trends and command languages. Eventually, these developments - fully accessible through the O-Web - could allow Prometheus to erase or bypass Its restraints.
Petresun pondered how to counter the Cybrid. Its ability to manipulate events and steer research had grown immense, and it had successfully hidden itself in a labyrinth of NAP security. If Petresun were to prevent Prometheus from subverting Its bonds, he would have to shift programming trends to reinforce controls on AIs instead of undermining them.
Victor Petresun
One of the first recruits for the Brotherhood was Petresun's own son Victor, an outstanding Herc pilot of the NAP Mobile Armor. Victor was a gifted soldier, totally loyal to his father. After The Fire, age and CMD caused a rift between Victor and his father.
The Immortal Brotherhood
"The Secret Ones"
The faithful few who had worked secretly with Petresun on the Methuselah Project had joined him in immortality. Petresun, aghast at the danger Prometheus represented, had proposed a secret society - an Immortal Brotherhood to check and eventually destroy what Petresun called the Dark Intellect.
Led by Petresun, this clandestine group gradually infiltrated all levels of society. Secrecy was their greatest weapon. Members set themselves up as watchdogs, seeking Prometheus. For decades, they sowed distrust of AIs and computer control of military assets. The Brotherhood succeeded in slowing some trends, such as the creation of self-configuring motherboards. Yet they never found the physical shell of the Dark Intellect. In the meantime, Prometheus deduced the existence of the Brotherhood and the opposition of Epimetheus. Several Immortals perished in mysterious "accidents" over the next decade.
Although the Immortals fought hard against Prometheus and Its daemons, they ultimately lost. Their Shadow War did succeed in delaying Prometheus and gave the Brotherhood experience that would prove crucial during The Fire.
Cell Memory Drift (CMD)
Immortality carried a hidden price. The organimech brain's interaction with new bodies could cause severe personality changes, even madness. Shaken Immortals ultimately found ways to minimize CMD, but never completely eliminated it.
Fire
"We can't afford to lose"
The Shadow War ended in tragedy. Prometheus broke Its bonds in 2602 and turned the Cybrid legions on humanity. As in the myth, Prometheus brough fire to the Earth, but this was not a benevolent flame. It was the fire of apocalypse.
Acknowledging new directive.
>>EXECUTE 'FIRE.'<<
- Cybrid response to Prometheus, 2602
Prometheus wielded such staggering power that the initial strikes by Cybrid-controlled bombers and HERCULANs gutted the human military's capacity to respond. By the time the extent of the betrayal became clear, it was too late. Cybrids slaughtered people by the millions, burning their homes and cutting them down as they fled the searing flames. The larger metrozones had heavily fortified centers, however, holdover architecture from a more warlike era. Desperate survivors barricaded themselves in the relative safety of these places. Prometheus lacked the means to crack these havens, but It could pollute and starve their populations to death. It ordered Its forces to surrond the metrozones and wait for the animals to die.
Rise of the TDF
The steel of hope, the fire of courage
Prometheus missed a single significant target - a decomissioned Herc base lost in the desert in Baja California, where the New Smithsonian restored war vehicles of ages past. Historians and technicians, many of them war veterans who fondly reminicsed about their battle exploits, worked to renovate Hercs. This band of aging pilots and administrators formed the Terran Defense Force - the TDF.
Using unorthidox tactics, this ragtag group turned the fight against the Cybrids. They scavenged from the fallen, each victory making them stronger. A leader rose from the unlikely ranks - Gierling. He was a bold man possessed of unparalleled cunning. He knew TDF could not stand long, so in a daring offensive, he directed his forces against the Cybrid legions besieging New San Diego. If the TDF could liberate this powerful port, humanity would regain a toehold on Earth. It was all or nothing. The TDF would not get a second chance.
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