Legend of Krystal Forums

40 years ago we lived in a state of turmoil, a constant world of war disease and famine. That all changed when an old and thought to be malfunctioning cold war soviet probe discovered a large mass moving towards earth. What was generally dismissed as an anomaly, an equipment failure or a sensor array glitch was a vanguard harvester ship of the Crysalt Hive. By the time it had made it into the range of more reliable probes and satellites it was already too late to mount any sort of a forward defense against the voidcraft.

Upon its arrival in Earth’s air space over Africa, many countries launched assaults against the craft in order to claim the prestige that would come from being the first to put down an alien threat. The North American Alliance (NAA) were the first to respond using a combination of drone strikes and fighter craft, this however proved initially ineffective every pilot out of a force of four hundred but the Sole Seven were lost that day. The Greater Trade Republic of Asia (GTRA) sought to overwhelm the crafts defenses with a combination of guided missiles and tactical warheads launched from their Lei Gong orbital defense platform, the mission ultimately failed when the platform was disabled by a squadron of Crysalt fighters. The last Nation to take initial action against the Vanguard were the reform Soviet Union, Their push for advanced military power lead them to construct the Storm Lance, a massive particle cannon. This Cannon proved to be effective against the Vanguard’s shielding systems, however a malfunction in its design caused it to overheat and suffer a meltdown resulting in the death of forty thousand civilian lives as the ensuing explosion scarred the surrounding landscape. Finally the United European Federation (UEF) called for a peace summit with the leaders of the other great nations resulting in the unanimous decision to unify in the face of such overwhelming force and the Terran Collective was founded.

Thus began the first Humanity's War, a war in which every nation contributed to what would be humanity's last line of defense, The Aegis Project. Reconstruction of the Lei Gong Platform would commence using the strengths of each nation, The North American Alliance provided a suitable defence force to guard the project during its construction, while Soviet materials and the Storm Lances design were used to give the platform a much needed upgrade. European work crews volunteered on mass to help in the reconstruction and soon the newly christened Aegis Defense Platform would take shape. However while the world focused on the construction of its last line of defense, the Unified Warbands of Africa (UWA) were fighting a guerrilla war against their extraterrestrial invaders. Employing hit and run tactics and using the dense African rainforests to their advantage, they were the first to strike a meaningful blow against the Crysalt.

Finally the time had come for Operation Shield Bash, a collective strike against the Voidcraft in a last ditched attempt to halt the invasion. A force of eight hundred fighter craft from the collective nations would launch a decoy strike against the craft in order to by the solar cannons enough time to fire, then once the shields were down a massive bombardment of the craft would commence. The Sole Seven would lead in charge in what would become the first tipping point in the war and operation shield bash would succeed, though with heavy losses. The Harvester crashed upon the north african coast decimating the landscape leaving many without homes... and loved ones.

The UWA would later join the Terran Collective and a state of relative peace overcame the world while the Terran Collective rushed to prepare itself in the event of another attack on Earth. 30 years later their planning would pay off as a Crysalt Hive Ship was detected on its way to Earth. This time We were prepared. This time we would show them what it meant to try to invade our newly united Earth.

A long and bloody war raged for nearly ten years before we finally could claim our victory, although a pyrrhic victory. Only just managing to kill off the Crysalt Queen and sending them into disarray, the hive ship crashing off the South American coast just shy of the Panama Canal. While we may have one the Crysalt still remain active sending out scout ships and collectors to harvest what they can around their ships defenses...

“This brings us to you cadet! Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain’s Striker Academy. Here you will train to pilot our news fighter craft and become a Striker in the Terran Collective Armed Forces. That means you are responsible for the continued war against the Crysalt Hive Ship!” The Drill Sergeant’s voice still blared in your head like a raid siren.

“Using this as your base of operation you will be tasked with launching operations against the rape happy xeno scum that still reside on our great planet! We don’t know what their plans are but ours are simple! Kill them before they kill you! Or take your family to use as breeding tools!” His voice now filled with inspired conviction.

The Cadets beside you speak in continued whisper as you mull over the forms you still have to sign to finish your enrollment.

“Hey. Wasn’t he one of the Sole Seven?” The meeker of the two quizzically asks.

“Yeah I heard he lost his whole family in the first Humanity's War.” The Taller more charismatic cadet replies.

You push aside the conversation as you get to the last of the forms, this one is however the most important, it decides what type of Striker you want to be. Looking over the document you notice descriptions for the several types.

Tactical Striker: Provides tactical advice and leadership while being a generalized combat unit. Gains access to unique combat orders and an advanced communications array. Can be equipped with an AWAC system for improved long range warning systems.

Heavy Striker: Also known as a “Siege Breaker”, Heavy Strikers excel at provided large amounts of firepower while also being heavily armored, they however lack effective mobility and are more likely to suffer from overheating.

Vanguard Striker: Known for their superior agility and speed, the Vanguard specialization attracts speed demons and adrenaline junkies alike due to the emphasis on hitting first and being able to dodge incoming fire rather than fighting head on.

N.E.S.T Strikers: The Neuro-Enhanced Systems and Targeting (N.E.S.T) Strikers Have Access to more specialized weaponry ranging from drone defense systems and long range particle cannons to Long Range Missiles (LRMs) and Guided Swarm Missiles (GSMs), however the N.E.S.T system requires a unique aptitude from its pilot.

You ponder all the aptitude testing you’ve undergone before enrolling in the academy and you quickly flip to your acceptance letter. One line sticks out at you “You’re aptitude test scores were remarkable and as such you have the prestigious honor of enrolling into whatever specialization you wish.”