Part Two: Treachery.
“Two weeks had passed since we had arrived. Two weeks of unimaginable stress and difficulty. I had reluctantly agreed to assist the Confederation in their war, but only because I felt that we needed a firm base to build upon in this new universe that we had unwillingly been pulled into. We needed support and the Confederation offered it to us, despite the fact that they had been willing to take what we could offer to them by force. However, we needed time to completely understand the situation that we were in and we needed time to decide what we would do. Unfortunately, that time was not given to us. Several of my troopers wanted to force the Confederation to send us back home, back to our own plane of existence, as almost all of us had friends, comrades, and loved ones who missed us terribly and we missed them as well. Captain Marcus assured me that Dr. Takeda was doing everything that he could to send us home, but no promises of success were made and I didn’t expect any either. With few options available to us, we decided to become the elite soldiers that we were and raise our weapons once more in the defense of Humanity...”
-Excerpt from the memoirs of Scott Davies.
-Commander of the Terran Confederation’s primary special-forces unit: X-COM.
Prologue.
As the newly-arrived X-COM troopers, under Commander Scott Davies, join the battle to free a city under siege by the Protoss, changes are about to take place within the Protoss Judicator Caste, the ruling governmental body of the Protoss race. A massive surprise offensive has been launched by the Zerg, simultaneously against both the Terran Confederation and the Protoss Empire. The Terrans are less taken by surprise by this sudden invasion and manage to contain it, if only for a matter of days. The Zerg run rampant across several colonized worlds however, crushing any resistance by the Confederation Army. The terrible alien monsters sweep over the planets like a plague and when they are through, the planet is left a dry, lifeless, and barren world, devoid of any atmosphere and all of its resources, down to the smallest of bacteria and microbes, consumed to feed and strengthen the Zerg swarms.
The Protoss Empire does not fare as well against this invasion and many worlds are overrun before their powerful fleets can be brought to bear against the marauding Hivefleets of the Zerg. Many Protoss feel that their leaders within the Judicator Caste have underestimated the Zerg in the past, continuing to do so until now, and now that underestimating has cost them dearly. Bitter with their leaders’ lack of foresight, and now the price that has been paid because of it, a rebel group of Protoss has formed to overthrow the Judicator Caste and replace them with better leaders. One of the Protoss involved in the small rebellion is Commander Rawwg. Though he is suspected of involvement in the rebellion, no definite proof has come up and now Imperial Intelligence has brought him before them in an interrogation and investigation into his activities thus far.
Though Intelligence could not prove Rawwg’s involvement, the rebellion knows that they do not have much time. The rebels also know that replacing the Judicator Caste with leaders of their own choosing is only half the battle. It is clear now that even the Protoss Empire cannot stand alone against the Zerg Swarms. Allies are needed and needed very soon. The Terran Confederation is the obvious choice for such an alliance and steps are taken to try and form a joint military endeavor to stand against the Zerg threat.
The Confederation itself has not remained idle during the course of the current conflict. For over two years, in addition to Project Portal, Confederation science teams have been working on a new super-weapon, codename ‘Yamato.’ Tactical nuclear warheads have always remained the Confederation’s most powerful weapons over the course of the war with the Zerg and the Protoss and throughout its military history. Not even the Protoss have managed to construct a device capable of such wide-scale destruction and if they have, no sign of it has been seen thus far. With the sudden increase of energy weapons, such as lasers and ion-cannons, aboard Confederation Fleet warships, Project Yamato is an attempt to create an energy weapon that has the strength and destructive capability of a powerful nuclear device. Only recently was the project transferred to an underground weapons research bunker within Teron, capital city of Champlain Three, and with the recent siege by the Protoss, greater efforts must now be made to complete final testing and bring the Yamato Cannon into full production.
Unfortunately, infested human agents of the Zerg Overmind have learned of the new weapon and its power and now the Overmind wishes to either take the latest prototype for itself or destroy it. It has dispatched a large Hivefleet to Champlain Three to see to it that either one of those options are executed.
