Forever Zero : Chapter VIII
There have been many significant events over the course of this chapter. The world of
Entropy has undergone a number of changes since the drafting of the original plot. This update covers some of the major developments that now highlight the RPG's world. Keep in mind that, since it is utterly impossible to list every single thing that has happened, this will remain a general overview.
Individual player characters are invited to create their own short updates for their biographical pages. A paragraph is long enough. This guide is meant primarily to update absent members, and to inform new applicants. Now, onward!
The Earth Sphere at War
One one side the Grand Cross (GC) has struck the United Alliance of Nations (UA) hard and fast. What began with small skirmishes across a handful of colonies has exploded into an all-out war. In no time at all, the GC paved a ruinous path through the UA's space fleets, overpowering the dated mobile weapons of the Earth with their powerful new mobile suits. With the latest technology at their fingertips, the GC forces pushed through the final defenses of Luna, and dropped to the Earth itself. There, chaos reined as both sides fought titanic battles that have
laid major cities to waste, stripped land to the point of desolation, and killed countless thousands of innocents in the crossfire.
Under the command of the General Phillip Kingsley, the GC ground forces have claimed the better part of North America, western Europe, and Northeast Asia as "protectorates." In no time flat, these strongholds have been secured, and their resources rampantly stripped to feed the needs of the growing Grand Cross Ark populations. All was going well for this self-proclaimed righteous army, whose strength among the colonies has grown with their victories on Earth. However, within the organization, growing tensions between two factions have lead to a civil war. The civilian government, under the sway of the Tresdemo Foundation, has locked horns with the nobles, founding members of the Grand Cross' army who feel that leaders are losing sight of their original goal of freedom.
On the other side, the United Alliance Armed Forces (UAAF) have done their best to learn from their enemies. With the loss of the invaluable Zodiac G prototypes to both the GC and neutral factions, their own plans to develop mobile suits had been slowed. However, the latest Alliance weapons have rolled off assembly lines and straight into combat, showing a surprising (and suspicious) amount of promise. They have allowed the UA to retake its Luna stronghold, giving it at least one solid foothold in the war. It has been enough to sustain the once dominant force, but only on borrowed time.
With Earth in a state of war, the UA's government has effectively been dissolved, and authority now rests in the hands of UAAF generals. From their secure facilities on Luna, these men and women have begun plotting the demise of the Grand Cross through the bloodiest and most shocking means imaginable: the outright destruction of entire space colonies! Originally held back as a last resort, this course has been taken following the
disastrous losses inflicted by the GC's Operation Riposte, the concentrated destruction of the last UAAF command centers on Earth.
Both the Grand Cross and the Alliance have fought with a sense of desperation. The incredible number of casualties has forced both sides to inact conscription laws, demanding all citizens over the age of sixteen enlist. Tired soldiers march to war alongside frightened children, with battle groups shrinking down to far smaller numbers. The conflict began with several large engagements between fleets and regiments. Now, where there was once ten ships, there is usually one. Fortunately for the UAAF, the recent turns within the rebellion's internal politics have given them a new advantage. Siding with the GC's nobles faction, the Earth's government now tries to guide the civil war's outcome for its own benefit.
Between them both, Ark Nova continues to endure the storm that sits at its doorstep, while fighting off another tempest that brews within. So far, the colony has been invaded by the GC, freed with the help of the Alliance, and restored to its neutral state once again. Hundreds of refugees have tried to escape to this seemingly peaceful place. However, even here, peace is far from a reality.
Besides the general dangers posed by different groups and individuals lurking inside the colony, Ark Nova
is under a covert siege masterminded by the Tresdemo Foundation. Embarrassed by the GC's loss of the colony, the shadowy firm
is supporting a powerful criminal syndicate, has encouraged rampant pro and anti-war rioting, and attempted to decimate the weakened colony militia. Attacks leveled at the public have come openly, and electronically, bombarding the sophisticated computer network as much they have the streets. It seems inevitable that the colony will have to choose a side in the war, simply to survive. This survival though, may be short-lived, if it invites the same wrath that has
scorched the Earth.
In the shadows, the Tresdemo Foundation has proven itself to be more than just a manufacturing firm. Horrible cybernetic experiments, the perverse Paragon Newtype computer, and the underhanded manipulation of both the GC and Alliance seem only a few of its dealings. While the colony rebels openly benefit from the organization's expertise, the Foundation has also leaked an extensive amount of information to the Earth's forces.
Under the leadership of Barak Arikale, the Foundation's Pantheon has turned the war into a business. However, its steady stream of new mobile weapons and whispered secrets is only a flashy cover for a far more calculated agenda, one which could reshape the face of the entire Earth Sphere. Arikale and his cohorts see themselves as epic
puppet masters, guiding the destinies of everyone. At the root of their plans is a powerful obsession with the merger of technology and the human mind; the Foundation's vision of humanity's next grand
step in evolution.
CG artwork by G-Taka & Tadao.