• EPSILON

    Prologue


    ____In the year 2263, Mankind had advanced for beyond the boundaries of their small corner in the Milky Way. Human colonies quickly sprouted in the early 22nd Century as man expanded their influence in the galaxy. But as their numbers rapidly increased, war was quick to follow.
    ____Colonists that originated from territories in the Phi Ro Nebula began to show increasing hostility towards the Sol Federation’s regional government. The heavy taxes and totalitarian policies enforced upon the colonies forced activist to protest against the Federation. Fearing an epidemic of colonial revolution, Federation leaders on Earth increased the occupation of military forces on colonial projects. Rebel forces and colonials alike were immediately outraged. On a small planet near the heart of the Phi Ro Nebula, riots ignited by revolutionary activists would mark the beginning of an interstellar conflict that would later erupt into a Galactic War.
    ____The colony on the planet Epsilon was the needed spark to a colonial revolution throughout Phi Ro. At first, protest began as peaceful demonstrations. But as the Federation’s pressure increased, so did colonial hatred toward Federal rule. Soon, riots erupted as rebel forces moved on the capitol city of Gaussin. In the midst of all the chaos, a firefight began between Federation and colonial forces. Though uncertain as to who fired the first shot, 37 Federation troops and 122 demonstrators lie dead before the mob stormed the Federation Regional Government Office. According to documents provided after the riot, Governor Chara was found dead in his office. Whereabouts to his death, however, were never released, though it is assumed that he died at the hands of angry protesters. Epsilon had assured their victory against their regional government, but the war had just begun. The bulk of the Federation’s Expeditionary Military would soon be upon Phi Ro.
    ____During the months that followed, both the Federation and the colonists amassed their fleets for the coming battle. Delegates from colonies throughout the Phi Ro system congregated in Gaussin, Epsilon to discus the proposals of colonial independence and for an alliance of the Phi Ro colonies. Out of the 74 representatives that attended, 71 were for the separation and independence from the Sol Federation. Every colony, with the exception of the private military colony of Draco Delta, also joined the United Planetary Alliance (UPA). Members of the UPA had to pledge their allegiance and provide military support for the Allied war effort. In short time, the colonies received enough funding and recruitment for a military that could stand against an invasion from the Federation.
    ____By the time the Federation’s 1st Expeditionary Naval Fleet, lead by Fleet Admiral Harold Shugo, reached the outer reaches of Allied space; the UPA was still trying to extinguish the remaining pockets of Federation resistance. Shugo, a close friend of the late-Governor Chara, was determined to have the colonies pay for the deaths of Federation troops and leader on Epsilon. The Alliance had caught wind of the Fleet Admiral’s plot, but despite their best efforts; the Alliance was caught off guard when a small Federation strike force successfully slipped the Alliance surveillance system, infiltrated Epsilon orbital defenses and crippled the planet’s ability to counter the inevitable invasion. The Alliance desperately tried to assemble the United Planets’ Naval Fleet to combat the Federation, but to no avail. Before the Alliance had the opportunity to embark for Epsilon, the bulk of the Federation Expeditionary Forces had already commenced the decimation of the planet’s surface with their artillery. Though many of the colonists successfully escaped the bombardment of much of the planets had been obliterated by the Federation’s firepower. Casualties had mounted in the hundreds of thousands, cities were left in ruin, and the once luscious greens and blues of the fauna and oceans had burned away to reveal a radiating orange that symbolized what had been left of the planet of Epsilon; dust and echoes.
    ____Though greatly demoralized by the Battle of Epsilon, often referred to as the “Massacre of Epsilon” by the colonists, the Alliance still held firm in its foundations of unity and determination against the Federation. The United Planets’ Naval Fleet that was originally sent to protect Epsilon was recalled to defend the colonies deeper in the Phi Ro Nebula. The Federation was in full pursuit of the retreating Alliance in hopes of routing any further efforts of an attack against Federation forces. However, their push into Phi Ro was constantly hindered by resistance on the planets the chose to occupy. The rebellions on such planets took arms against their “invaders” and even supplied information and goods to nearby Alliance strongholds.
    ____On a small, Federation reconnaissance vessel deep inside the boundaries of Allied occupied space, a group of elite Expeditionary Special Forces members move to disable an Alliance weapons manufacturing facility. Their mission, or what they believe it to be, was to infiltrate the facility, completely disable its ability to produce arms, and retrieve a stolen piece of Federation data on Expeditionary Forces’ locations operating within the system. The commanding officer of the mission, 1st Lieutenant David Torain, knows not of how his role in the coming events will affect the very outcome of the war.
    ____Oblivious to the treachery that resides within the Federation’s military hierarchy, 1st Lt. Torain awakens from cryogenic sleep to prepare for an assignment that will place him on a path bound by bloodshed, deceit, and tragedy.