H
Hayden
Guest
- Thread Author
- #1
NEW FRONTIERS
2019 // WEST COAST, USA
2019 // WEST COAST, USA
Despite numerous attempts by the combine to eliminate the west coast malignance, it still stood strong. Continuing to grow, only partially halted by CPRD technology, it had gathered the loyalties of a vortal tribe - commanded by the grand elder, he who called himself 'The Master of the West'. This Master saw a single opportunity to reclaim a homeland for the vortal kind - by terraforming it into a Xenian wasteland.
Two other factions vied for control of the outskirts surrounding this malignance - Station
33RGR, a conscript division lead by Commander Lance Shaw, and The Patriots - a sizable group of American patriots. The conscripted forces being the final bastion between the Patriots and the malignance, assisted by the Overwatch Synthetic Arm, while the Patriots sought out survival in these tumultuous times.After growing their numbers, the Patriots were a force to be reckoned with, a worthy ally for the Vortal tribe that wished to see Earth transformed into a nigh barren world. A lone outpost of Patriots that had been disconnected from their central command structure was the perfect group for this tribe to work with, settled in Fort Collins, the two groups mingled - the Vortigaunt tribe digging their alien claws into the command structure, it took little work to manipulate and coerce the faction into falling into a one-sided, fragile alliance.
Through careful diplomacy and a guiding hand, a small scouting party - with the assistance of their Grand Elder - convinced the Patriots that devices defended by Station 33RGR posed a undeniable threat to their continued existance. Unknown to the Patriots, these devices held off the spread of the Malignance - a spread that would not be halted by any vortal kind once it had been unleashed.
And so, the Patriots attempted to breach the secured grounds defended by the Conscripts and the OSA, attempts which time and time again would fail, with some Patriots being captured, and others being obliterated by the Synthetic forces, whittling down the numbers that occupied Fort Collins, all while the Vortal tribe offered
measly support - hesitant to commit their scouting party to attacks which would likely end in their demise.
As the days passed, events in Fort Collins became more and more chaotic, numerous outside parties attempting to manipulate the Patriots into working for their side. CPRD scientists, mostly lead by Hex Sanchez and Ilya Zima, tried to make them aware of the threat that the malignance posed, first organising a impromptu and risky meeting with one of the Patriot commanders, a meeting which was all too short as Patriot NCOs took note of her leave and followed. As the synthetic forces that escorted the two scientists began firing on the handful of intruding Patriots, Hex and Ilya took a hasty leave, sprinting out of the area of Fort Collins to a dropship waiting not far from their meeting point.
After this, tensions were high within the Patriot forces. Very few believed the stories that the CPRD scientists were giving - most of the Patriots were well aware of even worse horror stories that CPRD had been the main cause of.
And so, more time passed as Patriot leadership considered their options, their strings still being puppeteered by the conniving Grand Elder. Until one day, where the leader of the Patriot scouting party that attempted to ambush Hex and Ilya, had managed to open communications with a outside party. Here, he learned more of the story - and was close to learning just how vital the defunct missile base nearby Fort Collins was, until one youngling Vortigaunt acted - perhaps too hastily - issuing a violent vortal bolt and destroying the communications station that the Lieutenant had been using, partially scalding the Lieutenant in the process.This hasty action lead to soured relations between the vortal scouting party and the Patriots. All too perfect timing for the Conscripts, who entered the area of Fort Collins to open diplomatic lines with the rebel group not long after - along with the aim of severing the vortal coil of any Vortigaunts they spotted. After regrouping at the outskirts, they made their short journey to the Patriot's outpost, as the Vortigaunt scouting party watched from the hilltops.
Despite relations being tense between the Patriots and Conscripts, they were allowed entrance to the Outpost to talk to the outpost commander. A talk that lasted only minutes before it was cut short - 'The Master' intruding and appearing from thin air, another hasty mistake that the Conscripts had no intentions of letting go to waste. More minutes passed as the Conscript commander engaged in a empty conversation with the Grand Elder, while their forces stacked up outside.
The death of the Master was, admittendly, disappointing to many. As was the death of The Wanderer, who had only been here to witness the ongoing affairs. But it was also only a temporary affair - while their body can be rendered inert, the energies of a Grand Elder are all too powerful to be cut short in a simple firefight. All it took to temporarily render them out of action was a short burst from a Conscript Sergeant's rifle, while the Vortigaunts watching on the hilltop were slaughtered by a barrage fired from the Conscript's APC.
To many, this seemed to ring the death knell of the Vortal Tribe - diplomacy had failed, it seemed, and the Patriots had lost faith in the tribe.
However - much to the chagrin of Sanchez and Lance Shaw, the Patriot's weren't one to ally so easily with the Combine. Even despite the Patriot's Lieutenant quietly having gone 'missing' a few days later, the Patriot's ire was only focused on the Conscripts - entirely unaware that said Lieutenant had been quietly ambushed and assassinated by a handful of Vortigaunts, and that the Vortigaunts were growing impatient with the slow advance into the Conscript's well defended lands.
Despite the death knell having been rang for the Vortal Tribe, their Grand Elder renewed his physical form only days later. However, during those days, a new party had entered the fray - 'The Despot' as some call him, the less diplomatic brother of 'The Tyrant'. Like all the others, he saw a opportunity here, to reclaim his kingdom in a new form. However - many knew of him already, and this all-powerful kingpin had his work cut out for him. While his grand plan was thought out well, with all the I's dotted and T's crossed, no Patriot wished to form a strong alliance with him, and while some seemed to be open to negotiating, time was too short for the grand plan to come to fruition.
Surprisingly however - the Vortigaunts were more than happy to accept his support. As was Lance Shaw, the conscript commander. Both were happy to rid the world of the influence of The Master, some Vortigaunts even outright refusing to work with or assist the manipulating Grand Elder, showing defiance even to his face.
Unfortunately, it was drawing closer and closer to the finale that the Combine and CPRD had drawn up. The missile had been recovered, and was being modified to meet the requirements needed to weaken and eradicate the malignance's vile spread. The Despot, The Master, and Lance Shaw all had too little time to see their plans brought to proper fruition.
Days before the finale came, Lance Shaw's life was cut short. The why and the how all differ depending on who you ask, but The Tyrant had already made a puppet of him not long before, and to The Despot, death was a mere inconvenience. A xenian crystal held by Lance Shaw came to life, forcing Shaw's near-dead consciousness back to life in spiritual form. Thus, 'Ghost Shaw', came to be, and Lance Shaw was put to rest.
Ghost Shaw was unfettered, free to roam America and the lands beyond, at this point, even free from The Despot's grip. And so, he roamed - spying on The Patriots and relaying information to the new Commander leading Station 33 RGR. Though, unsurprisingly, information quickly became outdated - Fort Collins and Denver were constantly changing their opinions and plans, trying to adapt to each and every situation they were faced with.
A day before the finale was to come, the vortal tribe and the Patriots decided to attack. Bringing what might they could muster, they marched towards the Conscript's base, with the intention of destroying the devices placed there. A handful of vortigaunts managed to destroy the aeonic spire, the device preventing the malignance from expanding further. While the Patriots struggled to advance, human might being too little compared to the might of the Synthetic arm - the very forces that overtook the world during the seven hour war.
With the spire destroyed, the Combine were forced to act now, else the malignance could force them to change their plans yet again. With the remnants of Station 33 rerouted to the Ascension Facility that the missile was being prepared in, Denver fell silent. Soon after, as did Fort Collins - those who hadn't retreated elsewhere choosing to assault the Ascension Facility, accompanied by the Vortigaunts.
Here they made their final attempt to prevent the Combine from wiping out the Malignance. Throwing wave after wave at the occupying forces, they pushed the Conscripts from the surface to the underground, continuing on to assault the interior labyrinth. Despite countless deaths, they managed to push the defending Overwatch forces back to the control room, where Sanchez was finalising the launch preperations. Mere meters away from complete success, they fell. With one couragous charge, the chokepoint that the Combine forces held was too strong.The missile was launched. Aimed at the pit where the malignance first took hold. And for a moment, it seemed the Combine had won a decisive victory - maintaining their hold on the region thanks to the survival of their Ascension Facility. However, the Grand Elder - 'The Master' - was still nowhere to be seen.
As the Conscripts, the few Patriots who were took as prisoners, and Sanchez began their exfiltration, he finally showed himself. Utilizing all the energies that he had been imbued with, he, alone, begun a ritual that would destroy both the Ascension Facility and himself. As orbs of destructive matter began to take root within the facility, the train departed.
And the facility fell to a cataclysmic explosion.
And Vortigaunts wept. Feeling the unexplained loss of one of the Grand Masters they had cherished for millennia.
And the Malignance burned.
It would still take some time for the Combine to fully eradicate the Malignance - but it's spread was permanantly halted. The work of infestation removal crews begun, as they immolated what remained of the dead growths around the Western Coast.
And as they did, the Combine celebrated this phyrric victory, and wiped out what remained of the Patriots.
While the resistance had lost their grip on the eastern territories, many new opportunities were borne.
All in all, New Frontiers were beginning to unfold in the recuperating American wasteland.
I suddenly got inspiration to write up exactly what happened during New Frontiers, and started writing. Ended with this. Did little formatting because formatting on the forums is a fight that I'll always lose.
It ain't the best work I've made, but I think it describes the events pretty well, despite how chaotic the whole thing was.
Thanks to everyone who took part in the event, it was a lotta fun! And thanks for reading, if you did.
It ain't the best work I've made, but I think it describes the events pretty well, despite how chaotic the whole thing was.
Thanks to everyone who took part in the event, it was a lotta fun! And thanks for reading, if you did.
