Part 1 has been released, and I would like to hear your feedback and thoughts. As we move into part 2, we will see new characters revealed, as well as learn the demise of past characters.
B.R.O. Issue #1More
The year is 2141.
Our planet has been at peace for over a century. This has been largely in part due to the Unification Accord between the world’s superpowers. After a century long struggle to bring the war on terror to an end, there now can be peace. Under the Unification Accord, the world leaders have formed a peace-keeping initiative. Maintaining a minimal military presence in member countries in the form of specialized groups, ensures stability. One such group, B.R.O. (Battle Response Offensive), has been monitoring threats not only across our planet, but outside of our own galaxy.
We have made major advancements in the exploration of space. Sending probes to the farthest reaches of our galaxy. With the goal of setting up early warning systems from catastrophic threats, we created a network of defensive satellites, as well as probes on planets capable of supporting life. Our search for intelligent life has been unfruitful, even with our bounding leaps in technology, extending our ability to scan planets in neighboring galaxies. The years of sending out radio waves and transmitting information light years away has gone completely unnoticed… until today.
Our planetary defenses never picked up on the threat. It was like a shadow creeping into the atmosphere, darkening the sky. We scrambled to meet the threat head-on, but our first line of defense, Guardian Battalion, was obliterated. Their armor ripped to shreds by the invading forces weaponry.
In my 22 years of military service, I never thought there would come a day when I would be helpless to protect the people of this planet. For now, there is no time to reflect on the matter. We must try to re-establish communications with the remaining coalition forces.
The last video feed from our surveillance in Los Angeles showed a number of invading forces destroying any resistance. It wasn’t clear as to what their intentions were beyond this. The only communications were coming in via Morse code, informing us that nuclear power plants and military bases were under siege and overrun. Casualties are rising by the thousands.
With our main forces down and no way of communicating, I can only put my chips down on one last bet...
Los Angeles Outskirts - 1400 hours
Peering at the chaos from the shadows, we assessed the threat to be of alien origin. This technology is beyond our comprehension. The devastation wrought by their forces is unlike anything we have faced.
Communications are out, save for the comm links with other Reaper Squadron members. We have split up and spread out in order to obtain as much information as possible, while remaining undetected by the enemy. They have deployed ground units that are doing some sort of scanning, covering large amounts of ground rapidly.
The streets are littered with bodies, and the foul stench of death pierces the night sky. The city is burning, and the sound of screams have silenced. The drones emit an eerie mechanical whine as they move in their search. We are not certain how close we can get without being detected, but we need to move on and attempt to try and gather more data on these drones, and possibly disable one.
An opportunity presents itself as a drone moves towards our location. We set up for an attack from multiple positions, so as not to be singled out. As the rest of the squad moves into position, we prepare to fire. It’s mechanical hum becomes louder, even felt in the ground. I signal to the squad, and we unleash hell upon the drone. As the pulses from our energy rifles impact with the drone, it responds with an immediate volley of projectiles all around us. We hear a sharp cry in pain over our comm links. Lt. Leecham’s vitals fade from our scanners.
We quickly scramble to new positions and engage our stealth systems. The drone moves on our positions, scanning rapidly. It’s hull is torn open in several areas, billowing smoke as it moves. The damage seems to be considerable, but does not stop its search. Our stealth systems seem to be effective against the drone… for the time being. It begins to move towards Lt. Leecham’s position hastily. I can’t let it take Leecham, but we risk losing more of our team if we reveal our locations. As we begin to move towards the drone in hopes of coming up with a plan to retrieve him, we hear the hums of more drones approaching...
B.R.O. Issue #2 - Invasion: Part IIMore
Assessing The Damage
The dreadful silence of a once bustling metropolis takes hold of Los Angeles. Only the sound of fire crackling and the hum of the drones scouring the city remain. Those that resisted capture, were swiftly dispatched by the drones. The survivors were huddled into large shuttles by the thousands, then flown to larger spacecraft. What fate awaits them is still unknown. The last known reports revealed the true scope of the siege; the majority of the north and south American continents have been enveloped by the invading forces. Hope for our survival is quickly diminishing.
While the state of Reaper Squadron is still unknown, the rest of B.R.O. forces have been decimated. The drones have salvaged some of the Defender class units, even managing to take control of a few for their own purposes. Our own defenses turned against us. Mangled husks are all that remain of the rest.
The invading forces have adapted to our power grids, and drones have begun accumulating energy to supply their ships. The corrupted Defender units clear away rubble, searching for survivors and retrieve them for transportation back to the invaders ships. The sight of the defenders that once protected us from harm, now serving the enemy, is unbearable to witness.
In the wake of the devastation, there lies a small glimmer of hope in the form of a faded beacon. A crackling voice emits from one of the downed Defender units comm systems…
*We have suffered heavy casualties… if you can hear this… please respond…*
*We have captured an enemy drone… we need an extract to our location for transport… please respond…*
The communication from one of the Reaper Squad members comes through, but there is no response....
To be continued in Part III
