Andre "The Glyph" Storm just graduated the West Point Military Academy, and was awarded with the Liberty Navy Officer Degree. Moments after this event, Andre was appointed as an investigator, to track the Rogue capital ships movement spotted in New York, and to discover what are their connections with the larger criminal group known as the Outcasts. With the help of some LSF operatives, he managed to assemble some surveillance teams, and observed the relations between the Rogues and Outcasts. For the completion of this mission, Andre was recruited by the LSF, given a Avenger VHF, and a undercover desk-job based at Navy's Willard Research Station.
Several months later
Another important mission. A rogue defector, Daniel Ortega joined the Xenos. Andre was sent to apprehend Ortega, at all costs. He was famous for his raids against Ageira bases, and Andre started with reviewing the recordings from the security cameras based on Detroit Munitions. In this way, Andre spotted the mode Ortega used to steal ship equipment, and a pattern was discovered: Ortega strikes only after the Ageira employees leave the station for Pittsburgh, for the shift changes. A bold plan was devised: a small task force, composed from the leader Andre, and 3 other guards must destroy Ortega's transports, then use their memory chips to find Ortega's hideout. Said and done, Andre and his team managed to destroy 2 of the transports used, their guards, and used the memory chips to learn the location of a small outpost, Ortega's headquarters. Backup arrived in a matter of minutes, in the form of an LSF fleet, and together, they stormed Ortega's hideout, and took him into custody. For this, Andre was awarded with a medal for bravery, and with a total sum of 454.312 credits.
A couple of weeks later: Willard Research Station, California System
Andre was in his office, he was promoted as the head of the Counter-Terrorism California unit, based on Willard, and he received disturbing information: the LPI Riverside Base was under siege from the Rogues. This was a total surprise, the Rogues were attacking when the Liberty California Fleet was engaging in battle the Lane Hackers in Magellan system. Having no time to waste by waiting some fleet units to return from the front, nor to wait for support units from New York, he decided to take all LSF, Navy, and LPI fighters under his command, and relieve the Riverside Station. Intelligence showed that the Rogues had some 25 fighters and one cruiser, while the Liberty Task Force had a total strength of 46 ships, 30 of them being low-grade fighters. Andre decided that the Libertines should split up in 2 divisions: first composed of the 30 low grade fighters, with the task of eliminating the Rogue fighters and support units, while the second division, composed of 15 elite fighter pilots, led by Andre, bound to cripple the enemy capital ship. The intelligence proved to be wrong, and the Rogues were waiting for them. The libertines were greeted with the firepower of two Outcast-built Destroyers, 6 Rogue Gunboats, and 55 smaller support crafts. The Liberty Task Force was quickly annihilated, and several pilots were taken prisoners, including the LSF most promising man, Andre "The Glyph" Storm.
The Rogue "Detention"
Immediately after Andre was captured, they left in a hurry, fleeing to the Buffalo Base. There, Andre experienced torture first handed, and brainwashing, all was taken to a superior level. In a matter of days, they broke him, and altered his memories, made him to believe that he willingly betrayed the LSF and joined the Rogues. In the mean time, the Liberty Navy was returning after a brilliant success against the Hackers, and embarked on a all-out anti guerilla campaign to crush the Rogues. Terrible bloodbaths followed, both of the sides were running out of pilots, and the Rogues started using "reeducated" pilots, such as Andre, which were given a Werewolf VHF, and sent to the front lines. Several months passed, and neither side was gaining the upper hand, in this shadow war, named that way because the general public was unaware of it. Because of this, the two ides secretly met and arranged a cease-fire, and a fragile peace afterwards, which was signed near Zone 21. The Rogue representative wad Andre, because almost all of the Rogue senior staff was killed in battle or ambushes. Because of that, the LSF thought Andre was a traitor, and he was declared "enemy of the state". This Rogue success meant that Andre was appointed Fleet Commander, Fifth. He was given a gunboat as a flagship, and he and his fleet were dispatched to be the support of the Outcast forces from California. Due to his rank, he met some Hacker and Outcast high ranking officials, and established a good working relation with them. With one occasion, he even visited the Mactan Base, as a request for his recent actions, when he helped the Hackers to defeat the Liberty Navy several times. Afterwards, he made some real friends during in a joint Rogue/Hacker operation, to obtain some codes for two weapon transports from Liberty, bound to Bretonia, via Freeport 4. His two best friends found some intriguing informations in the Liberty Navy's database, showing some disturbing facts: they realized that, and warned Andre that his story doesn't add up. He was classed by the Navy as an "enemy of the state" only after the meeting, not before, because then he was classed as "missing". Taking his two friends aboard his gunboat, Andre departed from Mactan, bound to learn the truth.
Andre and his two friends arrive in one piece at the Buffalo Base, in New York. The Hackers told him that they will help him to find the truth, but can't do it from here, as the security is too tight, and besides they need a Navy server access, in which they could operate. In the meantime, a mission arrives: A new Liberty fighter squadron has been spotted entering the Badlands from the West Point Military Academy's direction. Usually, low-grade pilots and officers attend to those kinds of missions, but Andre requested it for himself, and his two Hacker friends, who received a Werewolf each. They flew to the remains of Ithaca Research Station, and engaged the enemy, which couldn't last long. With this opportunity, they stole a still functional terminal from one of the fighters, which had access to the Navy's database. After a few minutes, they have got what they wanted: a proof that Andre didn't betrayed the LSF, he was kidnapped. Andre was horrified, but he had to go back and report the mission's outcome. They flew to the Buffalo again, Andre made the report, then he pulled some strings, and he was reassigned, along with his hacker friends to the Liberty Rogue Destroyer Base, nearby the California Jump Gate. There was a lesser security force, and the Hackers could to their job wonderfully, and discovered the"Buffalo" Operation, which involved kidnapping important Liberty Military figures, and brainwash them, to serve the Rogues. When Andre found that out, and that he was the first victim of it, he started to cry. However, the program was shut down since, because from 20 subjects, only 3 showed positive results, the rest either died or went crazy.
The trap
When he found this out, Andre decided that he must somehow regain his memories, and must do that fast. One of the hackers said:"Let's go to a nearby zoner station, I know the bartender there, he owes me a favor. He will help us." Andre had no patience, and set up that they must reach Ames Research Station asap. They rushed to the docks, and left in a hurry. The main problem was that they must pass through a jump gate, and then dangerously close of the Planet Denver, from Colorado. They have successfully entered Colorado, but they didn't knew that the Navy spotted them, and was amassing a fleet in Colorado, to kill Andre. A terrible battle ensued, one of the Hackers died, but Andre did not backed down. A battleship showed up, and started gunning after Andre's gunboat. Fighters all over the place, were attacking Andre. The battleship and it's escorts started to pound the trade lanes, trapping Andre there. He then remembered a fragment of his real previous job, in Willard Research Station: he was standing in his office, reviewing a Dreadnought's construction's plans. Then, it came to him: The engines! Go after the engines! That's the main flaw in Liberty capital ships, they are defenseless in that area! After another hour spent fighting, he had his golden opportunity: he was pushed behind the task force. A quick burst of his weapons sent the Dreadnought in a bang. A few seconds later, the escorting cruisers blew up as well. In the mean time, another Battle Group arrived, and the Trade Line was up. Andre and his fellow friend quickly disengaged, and fled. The Hacker said that his ship suffered irreparable damage, and his ship will explode soon, thus he joined Andre on the gunboat, leaving the Werewolf behind them.
Bad news on Ames
Ames Research Station, 812 AS. The hacker, returns to Andre and says: "The Zoners can't help us here. They don't have the equipments necessary for a such delicate operation. However, a person, called Dr. Zarkov might help you. He is in Sigma 13 system, on a GMG base. I will take you there."
Andre agrees, and with a few Zoner escorts hired for the trip, they depart for Sigma 13. The hacker insisted that he should fly a fighter, and he purchased a Hawk. However, in the Kusari system of Shikoku, the convoy was attacked by Corsairs, and the Hacker died, because his ship exploded after a collision with Andre's gunboat. Alone now, and on his own, Andre finds Dr. Zarkov in a Drone, moments before he was attacked and nearly killed by the GMG. Andre saves him from his fate, and asks him if he can help with the memory problem. Zarkov checks Andre, but his problem is beyond any repairs. Only with high-quality ray scanners he can precisely determine what is the problem. "However, someone might have such technology, Zarkov said. "I was contacted by a strange man, who said that he works for the Order. He offered me sanctuary if the problems gets tough, and they did. I must search a <<Freeport 9>>, located in the Omicron Theta system. Do you know where that is? Guess not... but I do."
The "walk in the park"
Proceeding after the dubious instructions left by the misterious person to Dr. Zarkov, they find a dead end, in the Omega 41 system. Having no reliable info, and flying in uncharted areas, Andre feels that he must do something, as his Zoner guards were long gone, destroyed in some skirmishes with the Kusari State Police. Suddenly, a Bounty Hunter Battleship, the Aurora shows up. As it spots Andre, the Aurora opens fire, with all guns. Luckily that the Corsairs have no love for Bounty Hunters, and they proposed Andre to help them get rid of this brutal bounty hunter. A battle ensues, in which Andre's gunboat barely escapes. As a token of trust, they lend Andre a detailed map of the surrounding systems. This way, Andre and Dr. Zarkov finds Freeport 9, after a very dangerous expedition.
Andre and Zarkov arrive on Freeport 9, and they go to meet a person called "Mitri". Mitri, loyal to the Order, is not willing to help Andre, when he heard where is he from. This situation force Andre's hand to give his best shot in this. He calls Mitri, and puts 25.000 credits on the table. Andre says: "This sum can be yours, now, if you can help me. I'll give you 5 minutes to think about it."
Mitri gives in, and says: "You know all my weaknesses, don't you? You know i am in debts, and this sum will cover most of them... All right, I accept. But we must discuss what help you need, but not here. Meet me at Planet Crete, in Omicron Gamma. I will make your arrival swift.", then he suddenly departs.
Meeting at Crete
Andre follows the waypoints uploaded in his nav map, and lands on Crete. When he lands, 2 persons take both him and Zarkov into custody, and leads them to a small country house, where Mitri was waiting them. There they discuss, about what happened to Andre, and what is he looking for. Mitri explains to Andre that he knows only one person capable of doing what he asks: an Order scientist, known by his "Random" nickname, which is seen cruising around in his fighter in Omicron Delta, to gather research data. Andre follows Mitri to Omicron Delta system, where they dock to a small Corsair outpost, Yaren. There, they find Random sitting on the bar. Mitri approaches him, and explains Andre's condition. He refuses at the beginning, but when he meets with his old partner and friend, Zarkov, he accepts.
The Procedure
Andre is taken to a nearby system, called Omicron Minor, onto a small planet, Toledo. There Zarkov and Random explains to Andre what are the risks: he might get nuts forever, suffer brain damage, or even face death. Because he was desperate to find out what happened with him, he pushes on, no matter what. A complex brain surgery is made, and Andre was near death on several occasions. Several times they revive him, but slowly help Andre remember the truth. At some point, Random turns to Mitri and tells him: "OK, he will live to fight another day, but he will suffer from madness. Just agree with everything he will say when he gets up, dump him somewhere in Liberty, and run as fast as possible. He will be very dangerous from now on.". Mitri agrees, and witnesses how Andre is getting back up. He rests for about 3 weeks, then he suddenly goes to Mitri and says:"I will give you another 100.000 credits, if you get me in 2 days back to Liberty. I have some unfinished business there... after that you are free to go". Mitri agrees, as advised, and he dumps Andre, alone now, in his gunboat. The crew remained on Toledo, scared by the madness of their superior. When he looks around, he sees everything different, with a hatred impossible to imagine. He then sends a distress call, and when 2 rogue fighters get in the area, they got destroyed by Andre. Then, he departs for the Norfolk Shipyard, when he realizes that the ship he currently flies is too small for his purposes now...
In a gesture of betrayal to every Rogue and Liberty values, Rogues and LSF conspired together to kill Andre at all costs. Having intelligence reports, and knowing that Andre goes to Norfolk shipyard, probably to steal a better ship, they set a trap there. When Andre arrived at the scene, the combined forces were waiting. This plan was foresaw by Andre, which planned to steal a Rhino Cargo Ship. When his gunboat arrived at Norfolk, it was on auto-pilot, and engaged the combined forces, letting them believe that the gunboat was operated by Andre himself. Andre's deception worked, and he managed to steer his life pod to Norfolk, and pose as a refugee, then he stole a Rhino, and left in a hurry. He went to Zone 21, exploited a security breach, then he fled into the nebula in Alaska system, avoiding Liberty Patrols. He managed to get the flaming ship to land on Toledo planet, then he purchased an Anubis Fighter, then he proceed to Omicron Delta. There, some nomads attacked Andre, and he managed to crash land on Yaren Base. There, he got protection, and he managed to gain some status, as a Rogue defector. He was transported to Crete with a state-of-the-art Osiris class battleship, and dropped on Crete. There, he was given a fighter, to fend off some local Bounty Hunters attacking the system. As a thanks, they allowed him to buy one of the few available Huntress Cruisers, then he was ordered to go in Sigma 13, and engage the Outcasts and their allies there.
The Wild
Some strange looking ships, by Rheinland design attacked Andre and his Huntress Cruiser. Their weapons were strange, and their damage output was high enough, higher than anything Andre seen until then. Because of that, he was forced to flee, but he had bad luck that day. He tried to jump to Sigma 17, but the jump hole was perturbed by the Wild's weapon fire, and he dropped out of hyperspace in an unknown system, deep within the Nomad Space. Moments after that, Andre spotted 2 Nomad groups circled the ship, but seeing that it is disabled, they hauled it away. In the mean time, Andre was desperate. The ship's FTL Drive was damaged beyond repair, weapons systems offline, the energy core was dead, thus meaning no shield was available for the ship. Andre was doomed.
Revelations
Nomads sent small ships to enter the ship through the holes left by the Wild in the ship's hull. There, they found Andre unconscious, he had a terrible wound at his head, he got that when he tried to start the auxiliary power supply, to raise the shield. When he woke up, he found himself wrapped up, into some kind of research facility. In the room was a Nomad-possessed human. He explained to Andre that the Nomads mean no harm to humans, but they keep trespassing what the nomads believe to be "their homelands", and brutally force them out. He also explained to Andre that the Rheinland Expedition who was infested by the Nomads, and almost destroyed the colonies were infact a military fleet, which by mistake stumbled upon the Nomad Homeworld. They couldn't be allowed to escape, and rally the humanity against them, so they tried to eliminate a possible future threat. The Order's great act of heroism, which they thought that have stopped the Nomads by reopening the Nomad Hypergate system and saved humanity from an imminent destruction, also gave the Nomads the chance to rejoin the Dom Kavash. In fact, with the Hypergate System active, they could recall for reinforcements and crush the humans, but they had a war going with another race, more capable and determined than humans to eliminate the Dom Kavash this time. The Nomads came just in time, and all by themselves, they defended this ancient race from their enemies final attack, countercharged, and wiped the enemy from the Universe. Because of the telekinetic abilities of the Dom Kavash, they managed to build a time-dilatation machine, which allowed them to foresee the future, but they couldn't actively interfere with the time. They have discovered that humans are a warmonger-like race, and another group of humans will pursue them, and engage them in battle. The Sirius forces will win, but then they will turn on the Nomads. The local Wilds have the task of resisting to the human expansion in the Nomad "homelands", and even attack and destroy humanity if the Nomad High Council, and the Dom Kavash High Council determine that the Humans are a threat, and must be dealt with. As a token of trust, they cure Andre's mind, which suffered from the multiple brain injuries that he suffered in his life, because of the Rogue Brainwashing, or the Order intervention to reveal to him his memories. Afterwards, they asked Andre if he is willing to receive a Nomad Seed, to become a Nomad Host. He agreed, then he was taken to visit the Nomad City in which he was. He saw his Huntress Cruiser, upgraded using Nomad technology, and he noticed that everything in the ship was changed, from controls, to the weapon's guidance systems, a new hull on the ship, with nomad features, and the original weapons adapted for human ships, from which the humans managed to create a modified version, known as "inferno cannons", also a new, more potent Nomad designed shield. After his enlightenment, he was allowed to go back in the Sirius Sector, but to avoid any Order scientists, who could notice his sudden refit from a mortal brain disease, and madness.
Home
Andre activated the new FTL drive on the ship, and arrived in seconds to Planet Crete, in geo-synchronous orbit. He then opened a channel, and he explained where he was in the week he missed. The Corsairs were reluctant at the beginning, thinking that Andre's mental condition got worse. He descended to the planet, and with an artifact on his hand, he showed to the Corsairs how he can use an object from a distance, via telekinesis, a common feature in all the Nomad-infested humans. They tried to shot Andre, but he harmlessly disarmed all of the guards, and said that he doesn't want to hurt humanity, because he was no longer part of them. He said that the biggest threat to the humans future are the humans themselves, and he is there to ensure that at least some humans will survive, and save them from perishing from their own, more advanced weapons, or alien technology fallen in humans hands, which will be used by humans, against humans.
The End
After his comments, Andre returned the weapons to the guards, and left Crete's orbit to deal with the bounty hunters which kept sending their best pilots to the death, in Corsair hands.