D-G
Contains...
Deadzones, Doctor Gayle Simmonds, Drones, Eddak P'mera, Energy Shields, The Enforcers, Enforcer Assault Marine, Enforcer Engineer, Enforcer Peacekeepers, Enforcer with Incinerator/Burst Laser, Enforcer Technology, Forge Fathers - Don't call them short; they hate that - A Deadzone Story, Forge Father Brokkrs, Forge Father Brokkr with Muspell-pattern Rifle, Forge Father Inferno Drill, Fortified Defence Line BattleZone, Freya, Forge Father Smuggler, Frag Grenades, Grogun,
A-Z can be found here.
H-M can be found here.
N-Z can be found here.
Deadzones.
Containment Protocol is a well-organised process of damage limitation and control. It starts by removing the affected area from all maps, all navigation computers and all communications channels. Where a system of planets once span around their sun there is nothing but a blank space. At least, so it would seem to the outside universe. Of course, the planets still exist and so does the problem for the Council, it’s just that they now have the lack of public scrutiny they need to be able to deal with it as they please. A cordon of Enforcer warships is positioned to monitor this space, ensuring that nobody enters or leaves without authorisation. Inside the Containment are one or more planets and perhaps many millions of human and alien citizens, all suddenly cut off from the wider Corporation. Those in transit between worlds find themselves suddenly without navigation aids as all their local maps are removed from the grid without warning. The lucky ones manage to find a habitable planet close by. The less lucky drift off into the darkness. Cut off from outside help, many planets will gradually slip even further into lawlessness and chaos, so it is important to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. This may include the use of normal Corporation troops, though most such missions are given to the fanatically loyal Enforcers.
Even so, news of such measures inevitably leaks out and the borders can never be entirely secure. Without the normal security protection of the wider Corporation, such an area is too attractive a proposition to many different warring groups and the bribes to inform about them are huge. Rebels and Marauders are attracted by the wealth of Corporation spoils to be ransacked; Forge Fathers see a chance to plunder the natural resources of long-forbidden sites; yet others see it as a way to revenge or enrich or simply seek adventure. For those who are stuck inside the Containment Protocol it is a matter of life and death. As far as the Council of Seven and their forces are concerned, a Containment Protocol is a problem to be solved – nothing more. The pirate fleet must be destroyed, the rebellion quelled, the aliens repulsed, the infection stamped out. None of these problems can be allowed to spread beyond the bounds of the Containment Protocol. The lives of those inside are not a consideration in the wider scheme of things. They are largely left to fend for themselves for the years or even decades it takes to resolve the problem. Even then, the Council may not want any witnesses... Whilst this process and these areas are formally termed Containment Protocol, even the Council’s loyal Enforcers simply call them Deadzones.
Doctor Simmonds was one of the genius minds on Nexus Psi, stationed as both an archaeologist and biotechnician.
By the time the Containment Protocol was ordered and the Enforcers landed, Simmonds had already lost her team to the mutant beasts roaming the streets. Having received basic training by the security teams on board her ship during spaceflight, Gayle managed to preserve her life a little better than the others – but it was only a matter of time before the Plague caught up with her.
Defiant in the clutches of a rabid second generation, her body succumbed to the mutant virus, warping far faster than any other victim previous. She eventually awoke from the turmoil, her need for knowledge greatly exaggerated, a base desire to cause pain greatly inflamed.
With vengeance on her mind, Simmonds vowed to destroy those that had left her to this fate.
Drones.
Survey Drones are used for a variety of military and civilian purposes across the GCPS, allowing a single operator to watch over a large area from a safe location. They are manufactured by various corporations in a multitude of designs; the Jetari One-Shot, for example, is a simple camera drone that is often used by exploration and retrieval teams because of its disposable design. Rebel forces often use survey drones to scout battlefield locations and gather intel before putting them to use in engagements to scope out enemy positions.
Eddak P'mera.
The twin moons were both full, casting stark shadows across the quiet remains of what had once been a busy loading bay at the Nexus Psi spaceport. A year ago this would have been bustling all 26 hours a local day. Now all was quiet. A lone sentry shifted his weight from foot to foot, scanning his assigned sector and trying to stay awake while his comrades snatched some well-earned rest.
Silently, unnoticed, one of the shadows slowly changed shape and merged into its neighbour. A gust of wind blew some loose papers across the open space in front of the sentry and for a moment he was awake, but only for a moment. It was rubbish in the wind. Nothing to worry about.
The sentry relaxed again and once more the shadow moved, always slightly outside his field of vision. It was as if the darkness itself was stalking its prey.
This darkness was the Rebel scout, Eddak P’mera. The sentry hadn’t spotted him yet. Probably never would. Humans were so inattentive. Without turning, P’mera signalled to the rest of his squad who slid silently out of the shadows and began to make their final approach. He would use his crossbow to take care of the sentry…
Energy Shields.
Energy shields are designed to absorb the energy of incoming attacks, whether this is from particle weapons or kinetic energy devices. The number in brackets after the name is the level of defence provided.
Enforcers, The.
The Enforcers are the Council of Seven’s elite peacekeepers, dispatched to tackle threats that are beyond the scope of regular military units. Each Enforcer is a superior soldier, trained in countless forms of combat and equipped with the best technology available. As a unit they are disciplined and fearless, ready to lay down their lives to carry out the orders of their captain. When a Containment Protocol is decreed, multiple Enforcers patrols are sent to the planet’s surface to retrieve important tech, repel raiders and terminate priority targets. Although they may be outnumbered, they will never be outgunned.
Of the many types of human warrior fielded by the Corporation, the Enforcers are by far the most deadly. At least, that is the common perception. In fact, the Enforcers are not really part of the Corporation military at all. Instead they serve the Council of Seven directly, being loyal to them rather than the Corporation itself. Naturally, the agendas of the Corporation and its ruling body tend to coincide, but this is not always the case, and incidents of battles between Enforcers and Corporation regulars are not unknown.
The Enforcers have their own fleet of spaceships that allows them to move wherever they need to without relying on the Navy, or giving away their intentions to other factions within the Corporation’s labyrinthine world of political manoeuvring. Naturally, the Navy is less than happy about this, and the rivalry between the Enforcers and the various branches of the Corporation military proper is well known.
Deadzones are exactly the sort of reason that the Council of Seven feel they need their own army in the first place. When dealing with sensitive situations such as these they need loyal followers who ask no questions and do whatever is needed, regardless of the cost to either themselves or Corporation civilians. The Enforcers are all too willing to oblige and take great pride in the reliance that the Council places on them.
Enforcer Assault Marine.
A warrior should never be without his weapon, and the Dionetik Assault Blade was designed with this in mind. The blade is made of a bi-mimetic shape-memory alloy, meaning it can be deployed from its wrist-mounted sheath at a single command from the bearer. The Dionetik Corporation initially produced these with bodyguards and undercover mercenaries in mind, but they were soon adopted by Enforcer assault units. Several changes were made to the original design, taking into account the added benefits of powered armour, making Assault Blades a lethal addition to the Enforcer arsenal.
Enforcer Engineer.
Enforcer Engineers are integral to operations during a containment protocol, capable of laying deadly traps and automated sentry turrets.
Enforcer Peacekeepers.
Enforcers are tough agile troops. They get great equipment and excellent weaponry. With their training and discipline they are capable of fighting in all but the most difficult conditions.
However sometimes conditions are too hard even for an Enforcer detachment. Sometimes they need more.
The council equip the Enforcers with kit bought from the Forge Fathers. No expense is spared - they get the very best money can buy. Sometimes the Forge Fathers limit what they will sell, however. Sometimes the price is so high even the council blanches.
When a deal can be done the council purchase Peacekeeper armour. These suits are based on the Forge Father Orbital Drop Armour and have full-life support systems - capable of maintaining life for several days in even the most hostile environments - and they are armed with ordnance most armies can only dream of…
Enforcer with Incinerator/Burst Laser.
When the first artefacts were discovered, it didn’t take long for Enforcers to realise that fire is an excellent anti-Plague weapon – after all, infection can’t spread if the host is reduced to ash and cinders. The Recoil Industries MPFU-04 Incinerator became standard kit before long. Although short-ranged compared to some alternative units, its reliability and adaptability to multiple fuel sources makes it ideal for the claustrophobic skirmishes that usually occur in a Deadzone.
Enforcer Technology.
Enforcers are equipped with the best technology the Corporation or anyone else has to offer, bar the very top grade of Forgefather weaponry. Their armour is proof against most small arms fire and power-assisted, granting Enforcers enhanced strength and speed. The ubiquitous helmet is designed to inspire fear in the enemy, and a stylised graphic of it is used as a warning icon in government facilities galaxy-wide.
Proof against most hostile environments, including hard vacuum, Enforcer armour allows its wearers to fight in virtually all situations, and so must incorporate extensive recycling, rebreathing and medical technology, a marvel when one considers the armour’s low bulk. This factor of low mass also makes the protection given by Enforcer armour astounding, being surpassed only by that of the armour worn by the Forgefathers themselves.
Indeed, the armour bears all the hallmarks of Forgefather construction, and it is widely assumed that this element of Enforcer wargear is sourced from this most skilled of species. The contracts or threats Corporation Central offered to secure this equipment must have been highly enticing and/or dire, as Enforcer armour is far superior to technology the Forgefathers are willing to market to other powers.
As all advanced Forgefather technology tends to have, Enforcer armour possesses a self-destruction device, intended to keep their secrets from falling into non- Forgefather hands. In the case of the Enforcers it is even more effective than the norm. Not only are all the sensitive components of Enforcer armour destroyed when examination is attempted, but should an Enforcer fall in battle (or an attempt be made to forcibly remove his armour) his body will be turned to fine ash. A rigidly locked battlesuit of metal plates is all a foe will recover, ensuring the secrets of both the Forgefather’s technology and the man wearing it remain safe.
Unparalleled mobility is a further characteristic of the Enforcers. Lightweight jump packs are mounted upon their armour, enabling them to fly over obstacles, perform hot insertion into a theatre of war directly from aircraft, and redeploy from one area of a battlefield to another once there.
The primary weapon of the Enforcers is a heavy laser assault rifle, a modified Genling 45, one of the most powerful personal armaments produced in corporation space. These guns are capable of projecting a hail of fire, avoiding the problems of overheating and focus- fracture that so dog other marks of laser weaponry. It is rare indeed to see Genling 45s deployed with any other force, and private ownership is strictly forbidden. Genling’s manufacture of this weapon is thus almost solely undertaken for the Enforcers, and the precise specifications of these modified 45s are kept strictly confidential, ensured by terrifying non-disclosure agreements and the threat of corporate dissolution for Genling should the design of the Enforcer model become public. Genling also provide pistols and heavy weapons for the Enforcers, derived from the same base technology.
For close quarter fighting, Enforcer officers and members of Enforcer Assault Teams are equipped with wrist blades. Vibrational, nonomolecular edged weapons that extend from a housing on the Enforcer’s right forearm, wristblades are closer in aspect to a sword than a knife, and sharp enough to penetrate anything from carbon lattice to the thick hides of silicon-based lifeforms. How the blades maintain their atom-thick cutting edge without blunting under the rigours of combat, and whence they come, is a mystery. (It has been suggested, notably by Colonel Gore (ret.), that wristblades are purchased from the same unknown species which provide the Marauders with their Rippers – the similarities are self-evident.)
Forge Fathers - Don't call them short; they hate that - A Deadzone Story.
Another missile impacted against the habtainer wall, but miraculously it held. Fillon didn’t know how many more it could take, but her options were limited. They were surrounded on three sides leaving only an open kill-zone to fall back into. Of the Rebs under her command, only four were still capable of anything like a fighting retreat, and Joruk’s Desolator had to run dry sooner or later.
Belwin darted around the refrigeration unit he’d been using for cover and let loose a burst from his rifle. His only reward was the bark of return fire from the enemy position, shots chewing more fist-sized holes through the wall. Fillon barked at him to get down and stop wasting ammo. Not that she blamed him. If they didn't do something soon, none of it would matter anyway.
She replayed the past ten minutes in her head – her compad’s clock showed it was only ten minutes, but how was that possible? – and tried to work out how OTR-9 had been backed into the scant cover of a blown-out diner unit. It had been a routine sweep-and-keep, picking the area clean of resources for the good of the cause. Drone visuals had shown no enemy forces, so they hadn’t suspected a thing until the Forge Fathers opened fire. She knew it was nothing political or personal; the Rebellion had fought alongside them on a number of occasions. She guessed they just wanted what was on Nexus Psi enough to put aside common courtesy in favour of a “shoot first, talk later” policy.
The east wall exploded inwards and she was snapped back to the present. Three Brokkr were already charging through the gap as she began to raise her rifle. Radner looked up from treating Nolan’s chest wound in time to take a heat hammer to the side of the head. Ryla sprang from cover, drawing his long-bladed skinning knife. The Sorak, an expert close-quarters fighter, had been waiting for the chance to set aside his rifle ever since the Forge Fathers had revealed themselves. He wasted no time dipping his blade past the lead Brokkr’s defences and into its exposed throat, but the dwarf still managed to unleash three point-blank headshots in return.
Fillon’s gun beeped empty as she pulled the trigger. She slung it and drew her sidearm, yelling at Joruk and Belwin to fall back. The Grogan wasn’t listening, too intent on keeping any more dwarves from making their way through the blast-hole with bursts from his cannon. Belwin stood to run and was pitched over by a heavy-calibre round that vaporized his shoulder and half of his ribcage.
The enemy were all around. Time seemed to move at a fraction of its normal speed as a missile streaked through the smashed front window and took Joruk apart from the waist up. In the tinny aftermath of the explosion Fillon could hear the enemy fire slowing as they realized their targets were running out.
She dropped her weapon and raised her arms, hoping that the little she knew of their language would be enough to convince them to take her alive. The battle was lost, but as long as one member of OTR-9 was standing, the war wasn’t over.
The Forge Fathers are in the Deadzone for a very simple reason: resources. They are, at heart, miners and artisans, and the fact that the Corporation controls any resource-rich planets is like fingernails down a blackboard to the Forge Fathers. They want it all.
The moment that a Deadzone is declared, Forge Father ships are ready to move in and scour the area for the rich pickings they imagine must have attracted the Corporation in the first place. Often they are right, and their strike teams will be able to pinpoint likely sources of ores and other minerals that can be exploited by follow-up units. However, even the most avaricious of Forge Fathers knows that they must be wary of the original cause of the Containment Protocol, and so their forces arrive encased in the best armour money can buy, armed to the teeth and prepared for anything.
Forge Father Brokkrs.
“They think they can sell us mining rights then close the whole system? Put up a blockade, and turn us away? The smeltheads. Way I see it, they’ve spoiled the agreement, so all bets are off. Forget mining. We’re going to take it all…”
–Chief Brokkr Saxulf Dellingr
Brokkrs are the metal scrap merchants of Forge Father society. They aggressively excavate an area for whatever materials they can find with the aim of putting them to good use back in the Star Realm – whether that’s raw minerals or concrete foundations. They are protected on their mission by the Forge Guard, though they aren’t bad in combat themselves. Each carries a Hailstorm Pistol to defend themselves with, and their heat hammers are perfect for swatting aside pesky Plague or irritating Asterians.
Forge Father Brokkr with Muspell-pattern Rifle.
Forge Fathers know better than to be left wanting in a fight and, in addition to the Forge Guard entourage a ship may carry, the armoury is stocked with heavy duty weapons. Too powerful for a Brokkr to use without power-assisted Aesir armour, a modified version of the Heat Cannon called the Muspell is used instead.
When the Brokkrs are forced into a fight, they do so with devastating fire power at their fingertips.
Forge Father Inferno Drill.
Brokkr Engineers have harnessed the power of one of their hull-mounted Inferno Drills – an industrial mining laser – and have bolted it onto a tracked base. On the battlefield it is difficult to manoeuver, often leaving the operator at risk from oncoming fire, but can cut through all but the toughest armour.
Fortified Defence Line BattleZone.
Citizen Jael had read all of the reports – colossal abominations, mutated aliens and rumours of supersoldiers executing civilians. He had hoped that the Enforcers would quarantine the area in Nicorasi on the south coast but the disease was virulent and intel was coming in suggesting the outbreak was more widespread than first thought. Jael looked up at the Laser Cannon Engineer Talbot had installed and over to the defence lines being erected. He hoped it would be enough.
Freya, Forge Father Smuggler.
With a crash the door smashed open and the Rebel trooper almost fell into the bunker. “There’s a… a… ” he gasped between gulps of air.
“Sanders!” barked the sergeant. “Report!”
The panting Rebel snapped to the best impression of attention he could muster, still gasping for air.
“Sorry sarge” he managed between breaths.
“Now lad, take your time” said the sergeant rather more gently. “What did you see then?”
“Private Sanders begs to report an enemy sighting, sir.” “Yes, well that is why we’re here son. Who’d you see?” This simple question seemed to confuse the trooper for a moment.
“A Forge… Father.”
“With the Orx? Hmmm, that’s unusual. Still, mercs turn up all over and you’ve seen them before. What’s got you so spooked about this one Sanders? Is he Forge Guard?”
“Not exactly, sir. He’s a she – a female Forge Father… er… mother... sister…” he trailed off into silence.
After a moment he continued “But they don’t exist.”
Frag Grenades.
Frag grenades are the standard type of grenade, exploding in a shower of deadly fragments and stunning blast a few seconds after the pin is pulled. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, though their game effect is always the same.
Glue Grenades.
Glue grenades are not harmful, being designed for law enforcement to capture and contain rioters rather than armies to kill opponents on a battlefield. However, it does take time to get free of their gooey strands.
Grogun.
Groguns are often looked down on by “civilised” society as brainless thugs. However, their straightforward demeanour and thick-set frame belies a keen mind and a knack for technology. Many of them have found their way to the ranks of the Rebellion, where they often act as both heavy-support troopers and engineers.
Acknowledgements.
Gmorts Chaotica would like to thank James M Hewitt of the Quirkworthy Blog and Titan Games for their invaluable assistance in the compiling of this encyclopaedia.