ExoSquad is set in the early 22nd century, and by that time humanity has made two major advancements. They have developed terraforming methods, which has made it possible for humans to inhabit not only Earth, but Venus and Mars as well. The second major achievement was in the field of genetic engineering, which... more »
ExoSquad is set in the early 22nd century, and by that time humanity has made two major advancements. They have developed terraforming methods, which has made it possible for humans to inhabit not only Earth, but Venus and Mars as well. The second major achievement was in the field of genetic engineering, which enabled the creation of a new race, called Neo sapiens. This new race, since it was to be used as slave labor in the mines on Mars, was created to be physically superior to Homo sapiens (referred to as Terrans). A Neo sapien is stronger, larger, and can survive in harsher conditions that his human counterpart. A Neo sapien requires less food and no sleep. One feature denied to the Neo sapien race was the ability to procreate, thus the only way for a new Neo sapien to be created is in a brood chamber. Despite this shortcoming, some Neo sapiens resemble males, while others tend to be considered female. Mentally and psychologically Neo sapiens are similar to Terrans, for they are not any more intelligent and they do experience emotions (although they often seem tempered or dulled).
Neo sapiens had been created decades before ExoSquad epic begins. Fifty years beforehand the Neo sapiens rebelled against their masters, in an attempt to win their own freedom. A new Terran invention, the e-frame, was instrumental in the suppression of the revolt. The exo-frame is a machine that the user climbs into an operates in part by a cybernetic link. The e-frame becomes a larger, stronger extension of the human body (normally 8'-12' tall with two arms and two legs). When equipped with weaponry, such as missiles or machine guns, it becomes a potent weapon. In battle it can act similar to a tank, in that it is heavily armored and carries more firepower than an infantry soldier. Because e-frames have flight capability they are effective in providing air support for ground troops. They are also used in a manner similar to fighters when two opposing space fleets engage each other. An exosquad is, as the name suggests, a squadron of these exo-frames. The Neo sapiens did not have this technology during their first rebellion, and it led to their downfall.
Apparently the revolt was not restricted to only Mars, although that is where the uprising was centered. The rebellion was organized by a Neo sapien named Marsala, who later joins the ExoFleet and is a member during the second rebellion. This first Neo sapien revolt was finally supressed by his capture, after his whereabouts were revealed when his captured (by Winfield?) brood brother Phaeton was threatened with death.
Although Neo sapiens were granted some rights, as well as control of the planet Mars, they were by no means equal, de jure or de facto, to their Terran counterparts. Many Terrans continued to harbor prejudice against the Neo sapiens, while others did consider Neo sapiens as equals. The First Neo sapien Rebellion actually did little to change the status of Neo sapiens, and many of them hoped to eventually achieve equality.
The Neo sapiens were not the only disenfranchised people in the solar system. The Pirates are descendants of Earth criminals that were sentenced to hard labor, and were sent to mining operations on the moons of the outer planets. With the creation of Neo sapiens, whose physical abilities made them better slaves, the pirate ancestors were abandoned on those moons. They survived, however, and were able to build spaceships of their own, so that they could attack other (mostly Earth) ships and steal whatever they needed or wanted. Many of them developed a sense of hatred for the Terrans (who lived in luxury) and the ExoFleet (whose sole purpose seemed to be to hunt them), and often the feeling was mutual.
Phaeton, who had ascended to Governor of the Martian Commonwealth, seized the opportunity afforded him by the renewed Pirate threat. Phaeton had been secretly diverting funds from the Martian treasury to the production of military hardware, building guns, ships, and e-frames. Since the Terrans had not given rights to the Neo sapiens, Phaeton was determined to take those rights by force. He supported, though it probably would have occurred regardless of his support, the assembly of a large task force which had the express purpose of going to the outer planets and eliminating the Pirate threat. Most of the ExoFleet's ships and e-frames were dedicated to this effort. The fleet consisted of several ExoCarriers plus support ships, with Admiral Winfield (whose flag was on the Resolute) in command. Once the ExoFleet had reached their destination and had begun engaging the Pirates, Phaeton and his forces struck.
The Neo sapiens quickly and easily conquered the worlds inhabited by the Terrans. General Shiva spearheaded the successful assault of Earth. General Draconis was in command of the force that subdued the relatively sparsely populated Venus. The remnants of the ExoFleet that had not been assigned to the assault on the Pirate moons were quickly overcome and were only barely able to contact the task force before they were permanently silenced.
The task force had successfully reached its first target, and had forced a Pirate withdrawal from the moon Enceladus with relatively minor losses. A temporary crippling loss occurred when Admiral Winfield was knocked unconscious in the course of the battle. Captain Matthew Marcus assumed command of the fleet and ordered the pursuit of the Pirates to their base on Tethys. It was while preparing to attack that they received word of the Neo sapien assault. Captain Marcus froze, and Lt. J.T. Marsh called off the attack. The fleet turned and began the long trip back to Earth, and Marcus was determined to strike at the newly formed Neo sapien Commonwealth. His plan was to attack as quickly as possible, partly because he was angered by the surprise uprising, and partly because the Neo sapiens had not had time to completely consolidate their gains. Marsh objected, and attempted to override the order, on the grounds that the support ships could not keep up with the ExoCarriers, and that attacking without the entire fleet would be suicidal. Marcus had Marsh thrown in the brig and charged with mutiny, and Marsh was sentenced to die.
The Neo sapiens had both their Earth and Martian fleets converge and intercept the approaching ExoCarriers. It was during the battle that Admiral Winfield awoke, and when he did he immediately ordered a withdrawal. Marsh had escaped from his guards with the help of his fellow members of Able Squad when the attack came, and, with Adm. Winfield's permission, took command of four e-frame squads. By directly attacking the Neo sapien flagship he forced the Neo sapiens to redirect their assault, away from the ExoCarriers, giving them the time they needed to escape. Marsh and his fellow Able Squad pilots were all sentenced to spend a year in the brig for the escape, but it was a year during which no battles were fought, since Winfield used the time to repair and rebuild the fleet.
At that point the pace of the war increased, and the Pirates were soon drawn into the conflict. The television show ExoSquad chronicled this future conflict, focusing primarily on the heroic efforts of Able Squad, the e-frame group commanded by Lt. Marsh.less «
edmorita
Editor
mspyderl
glynx85
waltmor
