The Plague is a faction based on a virus-born mutagen that delivers to its hosts a painful, tormented existence with the uncontrollable urge to kill and spread the Plague to new, virgin worlds
About
Synopsis
First encountered in the so-called ‘Death Arc’, an area in the Fifth Sphere of the GCPS, the Plague is one of the greatest threats to all sentient life in the galaxy. Whether the Plague is natural in origin or was, in fact, engineered by some ancient alien civilisation is just one of the many questions surrounding this horrific disease. Its link to artefacts of alien origin is established, though their purpose and provenance remains mysterious. It was thanks to the Plague that the Council established both its own authority over the GCPS as well as the Containment Protocols, as they desperately tried to manage the first encountered infestations of Plague.
Wherever it comes from, the Plague seems able to mutate and adapt to new hosts at a remarkable rate. Infected creatures exhibit symptoms within an extremely short space of time, though the exact manifestation of symptoms varies for reasons not entirely clear. Some humans infected by Plague become hideous monsters the size of a combat walker. These beasts seem to act as the control hub of Plague forces, directing lesser creatures which range from razor taloned, leaping hunters to simple, slow moving drones which seem to retain some sense of their former identity and may even be seen operating machinery, weapons and vehicles. In spite of the best efforts of the Council and the Enforcers, every instance of Plague infestation to date has ended in massive losses. The effort to study and understand it continues, but for now, extreme measures like Containment Protocol are the only available response. The Lu-Fan Conglomerate studied the behaviour of the intra-infected violence occurring on Adriana, the first artefact-related outbreak of the Plague in GCPS space.
History
891AE - The Plague attacks House Grace’s ships
The Unclear Connection to the Asterians
The galactic eastern edge of their space is, however, marked by ‘So-var uk-ulash’. To Asterians these are the ‘Silent Lands’ - within the GCPS it is the tract of space known as the Death Arc.
In times long past these were some of the most densely populated planets in what was then the Asterian Star Empire and held seats of great learning, philosophy, and innovation. They were some of the first worlds to become part of the Empire and the first it lost. Today, however, they are populated only by ghosts, their thriving cities and glorious architecture turned to crumbling stone and monuments to decayed glory. The disaster that befell the Empire and led to the creation of the Scourge laid waste to it all and left scores of worlds to lie dark and cold. These planets were both surrendered and sealed off, placed in perpetual quarantine as a memorial to mistakes made in the past. Until, that is, the GCPS arrived.
How the Scourge itself came to be is one of Asteria Prime’s most closely guarded secrets - even many Asterians are unaware of the devil’s bargain once made by their leaders that led to the death of so many worlds. Exo-analysts within the GCPS have theorised the link between Asteria and the Prax - one of the few races in the galaxy more ancient and enigmatic than the Asterians - bears investigation, while man’s allies amongst the Forge Fathers have pointed out the similarities between images of Plague-spawning artefacts and certain Asterian technologies. However and whenever it originated, the Scourge tore through Asteria’s military and corrupted every world it touched. Asteria Prime, the seat of the empire itself, was under threat and the Scourge was only stopped when all links with the infected areas were severed. The quantum tunnels that enabled interplanetary travel to these planets were destroyed and their remaining populations were sealed off from the rest of the empire with a blockade of warships.
The Scourge was stopped but the cost was high. So great was the impact of the loss of so many lives on so many worlds, it brought about the end of the Empire. A new system of governance was inaugurated – the Tesseract.
As the Asterians say, all petals are beautiful when they fall, but still they fade. Despite the Long Patrol and various ordinances forbidding trespassing into the Empire, avaricious corporate entities, unable to resist the temptation of hidden riches, eventually found ways into the worlds Asteria had sequestered and awoke the Scourge that lay within.
To the horror of Asteria, the resultant hordes of infected humans bore only slight resemblance to the monsters they fought in the distant past.
The Scourge’s interaction with man’s genome caused it to mutate significantly, making it even more co-ordinated and rapacious. What Asteria had encountered as a virulent and savage bio-agent had evolved into something far more threatening. It was as if the Scourge had found its perfect host and evolved into a new and unstoppable form.
The Plague, as it is now known, was no longer containable within the Star Empire but intent on spreading throughout the galaxy. This development, the re-emergence of the Scourge in an even more deadly form, is seen by many as vindication of those that urged Asteria’s rulers to exterminate mankind in days past. But given that artefacts capable of infecting life and mutating it into the Plague are now being found across the galaxy, it is perhaps a moot point. Between man’s foolhardiness, the machinations of the Forge Fathers, and the insidious threats of both Plague and Veer-myn breaking out with increasing frequency, it is difficult to divine which is truly the greatest threat to the galaxy. What is certain is that inaction from Asteria is no longer an option.
Here Be Monsters
The vast depths of space are sources of infinite wonder and opportunity, something the fledgling corporations, the first voyagers from Old Earth, appreciated greatly. Taking advantage of every resource and habitable planet they could find led to the establishment of the grandest civilisation man has ever known - the Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere. But the corporations are often guided by greed and avarice rather than wisdom or altruism, and acting according to his nature is not always in man’s best interest. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his misadventures within the string of star systems to the galactic north-west of the core, now known as the Death Arc.
The GCPS was warned to stay away from these worlds. Representatives of the Asterian Star Empire, Counsels of its ruling Tesseract no less, met with members of the Council, the corporation’s own rulers, and an agreement was made: the corporations would respect Asterian borders and Asteria would refrain from military sanctions. But in a kingdom built on greed, no wall is ever tall enough, and the lure of alien riches believed to be held on the worlds of the Death Arc was more than some could resist.
It was clear the Asterians possessed technology and wealth beyond the wildest dreams of the GCPS and many corporations would be damned before they left it hidden beyond their borders. And damned they were.
Instead of wealth and power, those that trespassed within the Death Arc found monsters and destruction. They found the Plague, an enemy believed by many within Corporation Central to be nothing less than the single greatest threat to the galaxy to yet present itself. It is a bio-agent of unparalleled virulence with the capacity to mutate living beings until they barely resemble their former selves.
The GCPS responded in the only way it could - a massive military blockade and the creation of Containment Protocols, quarantine efforts that would instantly seal off any planets or systems the Plague reached behind a wall of silence and gunships. But while the GCPS enacted its protocols and the Asterian Clades patrolled their own dead worlds, the Plague was growing and working. More worlds than anyone knows have already been infiltrated, seeded by an unknown creator with mysterious Artefacts that release the raw mutagen into their discoverers. The Plague has already captured and corrupted dozens of GCPS outposts, worlds, and even whole star systems and its armies are equal now to almost anything the rest of the galaxy has to offer.
The Plague has also commandeered fleets of starships and repurposed the military might sent against it to its own dark purpose. It moves on, and it hungers, and it rages. Where its silent fleets will appear next is unknowable, but only death lies in their wake. Nowhere, it seems, is safe.
Death of a System
The GCPS underwent many changes in the time after Grace’s trial, including of course the Mandrake Rebellion and the inception of the Enforcer Corps. The Orcs that had patrolled and held the border were long gone, replaced by the Enforcers of the Long Patrol by the time a fleet of starships emerged from the Death Arc.
Some broadcast transponder codes that matched the missing Grace expeditions, others were entirely silent. Together, they launched a huge and sustained assault at several points along the line of the Long Patrol. Despite their advanced construction and firepower, dozens of Enforcer ships were destroyed or crippled in suicidal ramming assaults. Many of those damaged vessels were then boarded by creatures that resembled men, but grown savage and huge. They were clad in human skins and carried a mix of corporate laser weaponry alongside home-made knives and axes.
The Enforcers then initiated a series of missions to hunt down and exterminate the remaining enemy vessels, while there was also the grisly job of sterilising the stricken ships of the Patrol.
More than a dozen Enforcer vessels had been overtaken by the Plague and their crews infected or slain. Those that had been turned joined with the invaders in overwhelming the rest of each ship’s contingent of Enforcers. Some of these brave men and women had served the GCPS and the corps faithfully and honourably for many years only to become the seemingly braindead zombies that would mark so many future outbreaks of the Plague. They were put out of their misery without malice or prejudice and their ships scuttled.
The Long Patrol, though theoretically still in place, was crippled and had been unable to destroy every ship that had broken out of the Arc. A still potent, though much reduced, Plague fleet continued on into GCPS space. The first world they struck at was New Parris, a central world in the Soto sector.
After Parris, more worlds fell and soon the entire Soto sector was gripped by panic. Fully one half of all Enforcer personnel in the galaxy were shipped in to halt the Plague’s progress, with orders being given for all other operators to be ready to join them at twenty-four hours notice if required.
The Plague was eventually stopped and the Soto sector cleared, but only by a protracted campaign to terminate dozens of smaller outbreaks and not before hysteria had done its own share of damage. Freighters were destroyed before they could make orbit and convoys of refugee ships were atomised by terrified planetary authorities as soon as they slid into range. Three whole planets were rendered poisonous by bacterial and chemical weapons and whole star systems were shut off from any contact with the rest of the GCPS. The Enforcer Corps and the Council took any measure necessary to end what had begun with House Grace.
This included hiding the true cause of the conflict in the sector. Losses on worlds within Soto were blamed on everything from ‘nuclear malfunctions’ to ‘mishaps with mislabelled diet supplements’ and ‘surprise dwarf star collapses’. The Plague itself was never mentioned, never given a name, a step that might seem overly-controlling, until one considers the nature of the GCPS. Above almost all else, the Council of Seven knew the corporations had to expand to survive. Word of something as truly awful as the Plague out on the fringe might halt this expansion and so its existence was hidden.
As well as laying the foundations for what would later become the ‘Containment Protocols’, the aftermath of Soto saw an increase in both the power of the Council and their ruthlessness in its application.
The laxity it had shown House Grace, the Council believed, was what had led to the disaster of Soto. This would not be something that would be allowed to happen again. Individual corporations would, as before, be free to conduct their business however and wherever they saw fit. Their endeavours would be more thoroughly overseen by the Council and its appointed agents, however – with or without their knowledge. The Enforcer Corps, properly blooded by its war against the Plague, was now a sizeable army in its own right and would not draw down its size again. More resources were funnelled into it, increasing its size and reach, allowing it to react immediately to any threat to the GCPS or any defiance of the Council. The corps became the very visible presence of the Council on streets and thoroughfares and in shipping lanes throughout the GCPS.
The question remains as to how much of the truth about the Plague - it’s origins, nature, the incredible danger it presented - the Council of the day really knew. Because, although the war in Soto was won, this was not the end of the matter. Instead of being a singular, isolated outbreak eradicated at great cost, the Plague would return again and again to haunt those who thought, or perhaps just hoped, it had been destroyed.
The exact number of Plague outbreaks across the galaxy is unknown but it seems certain the policy of containment has not been entirely successful. At least three distinct Plague fleets - groups of vessels, often but not always military in specification - have been seen and engaged, but only one of these armadas is believed to have originated in the Death Arc. The origins of the others are likely tied to outbreaks even the Council is unaware of, ships and individuals that have escaped infected worlds and spread the mutagen even further.
How the GCPS will react to this increased threat remains to be seen. But, given how far mankind has come since establishing its place in the galaxy and the lengths to which it has already gone to do so, there is unlikely to be any sacrifice the Council of Seven will not make to preserve the GCPS for the future.
Tracking the movement of Plague fleets can be a difficult task, at least for GCPS vessels. Asterian ships may have cloaking technology that enables them to stay within close range of the Plague’s commandeered vessels, but they are not a race known for sharing their intelligence with other races. Likewise, the Forge Fathers have scanning equipment that is superior to that produced by the corporations, but they have a tendency to only pass on information when they believe it is in their advantage to do so.
Nevertheless, analysts at Corporation Central have identified what they believe are several large fleets operating primarily in the western part of the GCPS. No pattern in their movements has as yet been identified and, at first glance, their movements might appear random and chaotic. But, if this is the case and the Plague are operating by savage instinct, they have an uncanny knack of both seeming to avoid each other and being able to find GCPS installations and colonies with alarming frequency.
The Shape of Things
Those unfortunate souls in whom the infection does ‘take’ become what the ECTU refer to as Stage 1 infected. Colloquially, they are most commonly known as ‘Plague Lords.’ Lords tower above most humanoids, their muscle mass and skeletal structure stretched and enhanced until they reach as much as four metres in height. It is as if the victim’s innate bone structure goes into overdrive, extruding painfully through broken skin to form a secondary and much harder exoskeleton.
Eventually the initial infectees become covered with thick spiked plates that are almost entirely resistant to small arms fire.
They are truly monstrous in appearance and their internal biology is just as warped as what can be seen on the surface. Post-mortem analyses of ex-human Stage 1 brains in particular reveals a structure quite different to that typical for their race. The brain stem, or ‘lizard brain’, and the parts most associated with muscle control and aggression grow considerably within the newly enlarged skull, while some ‘higher’ functioning areas, including those that deal with doubt, fear and compassion are almost entirely withered away during the change. The Plague Lord becomes a nightmarish mix of monster and tactician, an immensely powerful yet intelligent leader driven with a singular clarity to outwit, fight and kill anything that stands in its way.
It is theorised that this new brain structure is related to the Plague Lord’s dominance over the rest of the horde. Despite the evident ferocity and lack of mercy, some kind of self-control also must be present since some of a Lord’s victims will not be killed but will themselves become infected. This is usually through a bite, enhanced by the release of a dose of mutagen from a gland located in the Lord’s buccal cavity – effectively recruiting the victim to serve the Plague Lord and live under his command as he carves out his dominion.
Aberrations, on the other hand, are all about destruction. During the early days of the outbreak on Stampers Paradise, a Forge Father prospecting team, forced to make planetfall in order to effect repairs to their ship, found themselves caught in the middle of fighting around a GCPS research outpost. The station had been infected by the Plague through an unknown source, but of the ten prospectors that rode their Hultrs into town, looking for the raw materials and parts they needed, only three returned. They did however eventually manage to limp back into orbit and reported a ‘beast that seemed to have no end, in appetite for destruction or size’. Several more of these colossal creatures have since been observed and exterminated by Enforcer teams on different planets. Aberrations differ from other Plague Lords in several key ways. Not only do they typically develop a much thicker armour and musculature than their stage 1 counterpart, they are also quadrupedal and do not exhibit the same level of intelligence. Dr Yoshio Ikeda of the Lu-Fan Conglomerate has advanced a theory that this form may bring the victim closer in shape, at least physically, to that of the Plague mutagen’s creators - but this is not currently an avenue of research many within the GCPS’s science division believe worth following at this time.
The latest mutation, first encountered on Delton-7, is even more terrifying than a 1A and more powerful than an Aberration, the Corruption (as it was nicknamed) has four thick arms rippled with muscles under the shifting flesh, each ending in a boulder-like fist. Its lower jaw can dislocate and split into two – allowing it to swallow most victims whole. Along its back, there is a hard carapace topped with wicked-looking spikes of bone. However, most disturbing to those that encountered it, they reported that rather than the bellows and howls of a normal Plague victim, the Corruption was communicating with its followers and commanding them like a true general. Even worse, they appeared to answer back.
While there are undoubtedly more phenotypes at large in the galaxy - the mutagen can infect almost all known organic species after all - the ETCU has identified two main forms of Stage 2 infected humans as being of a particularly high threat value - the standard Stage 2 ‘Leaper’ and the 2B ‘Burster’.
Leapers are smaller than a Stage 1 but still usually at least twice the size of an uninfected human. Much like Aberrations they fail to retain much in the way of higher intelligence, but Leapers are instinctive and highly effective pack-hunters. While similarly armoured to Plague Lords, Leapers are much faster, capable of literally leaping across a battlefield before tearing apart their enemies in a frenzy of bloodletting.
Stage 2B’s, are generally recorded at a similar size to Leapers, but are less armoured and slower moving. Many display skin covered in pulsing blisters that are filled with infectious material and it is the tendency of these pustulent bulges to ‘burst’ when shot or struck that gives the 2B’s their name - Bursters. The Burster’s primary goal is to close with an uninfected lifeform, grip it with specially barbed, hand-like appendages, and inject its struggling victim with the mutagen. This process can take some time, the longest recorded infection process taking nearly five minutes to complete, and is no doubt extremely unpleasant to experience. While Bursters are capable of tearing apart mechanical foes, having inherited almost as much physical strength as Stage 2-proper mutants, transmitting the infection is their primary purpose.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to the scientific community, and the best source of profit, is understanding what happens in Stage 3 infected personnel. Most subjects infected by either Burster-injection or the bite of a Leaper devolve quite rapidly, losing almost all higher brain function, and are reduced to the shambling, yet still deadly, Stage 3Z or ‘zombie’. For some though, the degradation seems to follow a different pathway. Stage 3 ‘proper’ mutants, known to GCPS troops as ‘Uglies’ or ‘Ghouls’, acquire some muscle mass and tougher skeletons with extruded spikes similar though smaller to those seen on Stage 2’s and 1’s. They retain at least some of their higher brain functions however, and many remain capable of controlling vehicles and operating weapons systems.
Commonly this is the same equipment used by GCPS marines and fringe world security forces around the galaxy - mass produced Accutek Backworlder rifles and spread-cannons, Gersher mortar units and so on. This is to be expected given that many soldiers in the Plague’s armies were formerly marines and defence contractors taken in battle defending their homeworlds or corporate installations. While they may not have the same accuracy or discipline as they did before infection, a Stage 3 with a Beastmaster rifle is still a credible threat.
They are also the Plague’s pilots and drivers, operating its Hornet dropships and Lancer tanks and, it is believed, its interstellar vessels. The materiel looted as the Plague burns its path across the galaxy can make its armies sizeable threats to whatever they choose as their next target.
What determines whether a victim becomes a zombie or Stage 3 seems likely to be a genetic variant in the host. The stability of whatever particular strain of mutagen is introduced cannot be ruled out either though - there are believed to be several substrains at large in the Plague population. But the potential of a biological agent that produces soldiers as ferocious and determined as the Uglies is clear to many within the GCPS. The only drawback some might see is their unpredictability. If the key to controlling both the mutation and the mutants could be cracked, it would certainly make someone very powerful indeed. This is one of Mazon Labs' goals when researching 'Vector-P'.
Tooth and Claw
It is perhaps unsurprising that for most Plague armies the primary attack strategy is to get its large Stage 1 and 2 mutants into combat range as quickly as possible. They are uniquely deadly killers - heavily armoured, vicious to the core, and extremely difficult to stop. Plague Lords have at their disposal a number of different strategies with which to achieve this goal.
For many, the first line of attack is waves of Stage 3Z infected. Hordes of zombies are neither fast nor capable of using any weaponry. But they are fearless and unshakable and the mutations to their physiology can make them far more resistant to damage than their natural forms. If they are not stopped with decisive firepower, but allowed to close with an enemy, their abnormally long and sharpened teeth and claws, coupled with a Plague-given bloodlust, will enable them to literally tear through their enemies. Reports of cannibalism are common too, although corporate commanders would do well to squash such stories immediately. It is, after all, bad enough to have to gun down things that may once have been your comrades in arms - the risk of being eaten by them if you don’t is often more than a standard marine can stomach.
Infected humans are not the only life-form Plague armies can include. Mutated packs of canines, or ‘Plague Hounds’, and swarms of ‘Murderbirds’, flying creatures that can range in size from insect swarms to large birds, can add an extra layer of harassment and confusion to a battlefield. They are effective screens and skirmishers, attacking enemy lines from the flanks or in advance of other mutants, because no matter how well-drilled or equipped a marine may be, it is nigh-on impossible to fire a rifle accurately when an alien bird is attempting to eat your eyeballs or a blood-covered canine is at your throat.
While closing with an enemy and tearing him or her limb from limb seems to be an instinct hard-wired into the Plague, they are not all unrestrained beasts. Many armies can have a strong mechanised component, including Mules, Hornets, and even Lancers of corporate origin. Their Stage 3 drivers and operators retain enough knowledge of their equipment’s workings to operate them on a battlefield, although it has to be said they do not pay much attention to general maintenance. They do not have access to the same supply chain as a corporate force does either and so it is not uncommon to see a Plague-operated Lancer with missing armour plates or a Hornet lacking some of the precision flying ability one might expect. While they may be less accurate and reliable than their GCPS counterparts, their guns are no less deadly and an enemy commander would do well not to dismiss their threat out of hand.
Dealing with a massed horde of the infected can be a challenging task, particularly if they are supported by mechanised weaponry. Indeed, much of the Plague’s success and the extent of its penetration into the GCPS is due to its relentless momentum, simply rolling over its enemies and picking up numbers as it goes. Maintaining morale and preventing panic can be as big a threat to a marine commandant or Forge Lord Huscarl as tooth and claw. They must maintain firm discipline over their troops to stop them being broken before the first shot is even fired. Focused fire is a priority, dealing with charging hordes as quickly as possible and avoiding becoming bogged down in protracted combats. Target selection is also vital - a Lord or Leaper must not be allowed to cover any neutral ground unopposed and a combination of suppressive fire and high-power weaponry must be used.
They’ve got Tanks?
‘Just a bunch of dumb grunts.’ That was what the major had said at the NCO’s meeting that morning. The men had laughed dutifully and listened on, gripping warm mugs of caff as the order of battle had been given out. Five platoons would be going into the city to secure its southern edge while the rest, including Corporal Jac Rieger’s 3rd platoon, would set up skirmish positions on each side of the main advance. They could expect to see the enemy, of that there was no doubt. And 2nd Company had suffered some losses the week before. But the men should be reassured that all they would be facing now were the dregs, cannon fodder they would have no difficulty mopping up. To hear the major tell it, the enemy would be practically lining up to get shot through their ugly skulls.
It had made sense back then, in the cosy tent they used for briefings and such, some five kilometres away from the front line. But now, as another volley of mortar rounds screamed through the air over Rieger’s head, he wasn’t so sure. He leaned hard into the berm of dirt and debris his men had built for cover and readied himself for the impacts. Most of the rounds were fired so wildly they did little more than make the marines grab their helmets and duck down. But there were so many being launched at the marine positions, eventually one would have to hit something.
Rieger heard an explosion from somewhere behind him and felt a wave of heat wash over his back. Men were shouting, someone was even screaming - the platoon’s Mule had taken a direct hit and was burning brightly in the night air. Then more cries of alarm sounded from up and down the berm and Rieger felt a familiar and chilling vibration in the ground beneath him.
“Tanks! They’ve got tanks!”
Rieger could see them now. A dozen bulky, angular shapes emerging from the mist a few hundred meters away. Bright lines of energy ionised the air above him and began to chew up the berm, throwing up clouds of atomised dirt and debris as the Lancers opened fire. Rieger turned around again and, as he looked at the pile of flaming wreckage that had been his only way off the battlefield, he wondered who the ‘dumb grunts’ really were.
Gallery
 This wiki is not an official Mantic Games publication. |