Fomoriian Anomalies

**Fomoriian Anomalies**, referred to commonly within the Galactic Interior as '**Starstains**', as well as '**Core Devils**', '**Demons**', or '**E.Ts**', are alien lifeforms which emerge from deep space in close proximity to the Galactic Core. These lifeforms are scientifically anomalous, with no analysis by humans to date capable of properly categorizing, understanding, or otherwise integrating them within the existing framework of human comprehension. Each Anomaly is largely idiosyncratic, with most taking singular unique forms which can appear ungoverned by any known physics or biology. These physical forms operate on an apparently conceptual logic, with many Anomalies having been observed as fluidly altering their physical structure from one moment to the next. The Anomalies vary wildly in size, nature and aggression. The only physical commonality that can be consistently observed across many Anomalies is a sort of internal core that emits a psychedelic light resembling that generated during Slipspace travel, leading some to theorize that the emergence of these entities is in some way linked to the increased proliferation of Slipspace technology and Sling Stations in the decades prior to their first recorded encounters with humanity, though the Conglomerate of Humanity official declares this to be a discredited conspiracy theory perpetuated by Spektorite extremists wishing to undermine a fundamental component of interstellar society.

## First contact

### The Fomorii Event

#### The Research Colony

The first recorded instance of incursion into human space by these entities occurred on the near-Core research colony on the planet of Fomorii. The colonists began to report strange readings on much of their equipment in the weeks leading up to the incident, coupled with an increasing frequency of psychological issues recorded by the colonial medical corps. After three weeks of these unusual instances, the Fomorii colony failed to transmit any further mandatory reports to its central research executive, and was declared a rogue colony. Conglomerate Security Forces were commissioned to investigate the colony, retrieve the equipment, and apprehend the inhabitants for breach of contract. The footage captured by the optical recordings of the ground team on this mission stands as the earliest existing record by humans of the existence of lifeforms of extra-terrestrial origin.

#### Initial evidence of extra-terrestrial activity

The footage received by the CSF deployment vessel from the ground team captures evidence of the violent deaths of several colonists, with corpses showing evidence of human bites, stabbing, strangulation and bludgeoning, as well as what appears to be several instances of posthumous violation. Other remains bear hallmarks of violent suicides, while others still, captured in brief, appear to have sustained injuries not inflicted by another human, but by a then-unknown force- skin warped and stripped, burns run through with melted bone, and even corpses which, at a glance, appear totally untouched. The footage then shows the ground teams encounter with surviving colonists, either completely catatonic or speaking unintelligibly. The ground team, proceeding deeper into the colony, comes across a group of colonists who appear to be undulating in unison around what appears to be an approximately 8-foot pillar of indeterminate organic matter, emitting a pulsing light. At this point, all further footage received becomes corrupted. No further transmission is received from the CSF ground team, who never returned to their extraction point.

#### Military response

After confirming that the footage recovered likely represented confirmation of first contact between humanity and hostile alien life, and that said lifeform had proven too dangerous for standard CSF commandoes to subdue, the Conglomerate's leadership commissioned the services of the private military corporation *Zarathustra* to engage in a covert operation to contain and capture the lifeform for study. The contract for this mission is said to have been, at the time, the most valuable ever commissioned for a PMC, and within it were strict conditions of secrecy in perpetuity, along with an agreement for the Conglomerate to grant *Zarathustra* a seat on its Central Committee, the first corporation in over 70 years to be added to that body since its formation.

The military operation codenamed "Covenant" began within 48 hours of the ground team's disappearance. A reported 135 *Zarathustra* Special Operations personnel made landfall on Fomorii, with state of the art weapons and equipment, as well as AI-assisted strategic overwatch from two *Baritone*-class frigate vessels in low orbit. A reconnaissance unit containing ultra-long range sniper specialists visually confirmed sightings of human life in the colony from a viewpoint 80 miles outside the colony's artificial oxygenated atmosphere, but reported no sighting of their priority target. The infiltration platoons approached the colony proper from three separate points of tactical entry, with plans to converge at the center of the settlement. After entering the colony, one of the platoons reported coming under attack by surviving colonists, and and were authorized to neutralize them with lethal force. The second reported coming across a member of the initial CSF ground team, alive and apparently lucid, but were ordered to terminate him with immediate effect. These two units reached the rendezvous point at the center of the settlement simultaneously, as scheduled, but the third unit disappeared from scanners and did not respond to contact. The two remaining units were ordered to fan out in search of the third, and of the priority target. After three minutes, all communications from the infiltration team ceased; soon after, the sniper unit reported seeing individual members of the units retreating towards the outskirts of the colony in a panic. At this point, a sniper in the unit confirmed a sighting of the target lifeform in a previously empty location inside the colony. This sighting was confirmed by the rest of the sniper unit shortly thereafter. As operational command attempted to re-establish communication with the units inside the colony, transmission from the sniper unit was cut off. Low-orbit surveillance confirmed that, following this, the sniper unit began firing upon the infiltrators as they retreated, killing any who broke cover, before turning their weapons on themselves. Of the 135 operators who touched down on Fomorii, only the dozen personnel stationed in the waiting troop transports returned to the command frigates.

Following the disastrous failure of Operation Covenant, Conglomerate Central Committee issued *Zarathustra* a single-use license to deploy a so-called 'Planet-Breaker' thermonuclear device, and issued the order for it to be detonated on the surface of Fomorii. This device would eradicate the entire surface layer of the planet, and render it, as well as nearby planets, permanently uninhabitable. The radioactive signature of the subsequent detonation was detected on instruments in neighboring star systems. The official explanation offered by Conglomerate sources stated that the research colony on Fomorii had been developing sustainable fuel technologies, and experienced a catastrophic meltdown. The actual purpose of the Fomorii research outpost has never been revealed.

## Subsequent Incursions and Public Revelation

In the aftermath of the Fomorii Event, the Conglomerate heavily increased surveillance and CSF and PMC presence in near-Core sectors. This extended to many systems in the Galactic Interior, including those which formerly comprised the so-called Free Systems prior to Conglomeration. Officially, no reason was given by Conglomerate-affiliated sources for the visible escalation of armed forces in the sectors, which generated an increase in political tensions in these systems, contributing to the social climate which would produce the movement known as the Spektorite Revival. This in turn led to flashpoints of anti-Conglomerate sentiment and demonstrations, which in turn caused frequent low-level clashes with the local military presence.

### Further Anomaly Incursions

Despite the efforts of the Conglomerate to guard against similar incidents to the one on Fomorii, reports soon began to surface of more near-Core colonies going dark. The disruptions of trade and communication in the Interior made this impossible to conceal entirely, and the phenomenon became the subject of a wide array of conspiracy theories among the growing number of planets dominated by anti-Conglomerate sentiment. Investigations by Conglomerate forces into these incidents were generally fruitless, as they were conducted only from low-orbit vessels, with no ground-level presence, in order to avoid losses similar to those of Operation Covenant. The result was a general an coordinated divestment of valuable Conglomerate assets and operations from near-Core and Interior space, which devastated the economies of many planets.

### Leak of the Covenant Files

Approximately 3 years after the Fomorii Event, classified files on Operation Covenant, including snippets of footage captured by the CSF and *Zarathustra* personnel who entered the colony, appeared on various data exchanges on the Interstellar Networks. Though the Conglomerate was quick to remove these files as they appeared, the sheer number of copies disseminated in the initial leak, combined with the explosive nature of their contents, meant that the leak quickly became uncontainable, as the Networks were flooded with evidence not only of extra-terrestrial life, but of the Conglomerate's concerted effort to conceal it. This was the single most damaging data breach in the Conglomerate's history to date, and as it became evident that the classified information could be linked to the collapse of other near-Core colonies, anti-Conglomerate colonies saw mass outbreaks of civil unrest. These rapidly spiraled into multiple concurrent full-scale planetary uprisings against Conglomerate governance, as the underground Spektorite paramilitary organization, the New Spektorite Front, conducted coordinated acts of terrorism and guerilla attacks that destabilized Conglomerate control in several systems, as well as distributing weaponry among populations engaged in acts of civilian protest. These were the first shots in what would become the Spektorite Insurrection.

The well coordinated nature of the NSF's attacks during this time, and their apparent state of readiness to capitalize on the crisis of the Covenant leaks, has lead many to conclude that the organization was in some way connected to the dissemination of the leaked files, though it is unclear whether or not they were involved with the procurement of the files, or were merely the recipients of the initial leak, and waited until they were prepared to capitalize before mass distribution. The source of the initial leak would later be identified as a rogue agent within *Zarathustra's* intelligence division, though when company forces tracked the whistleblower down, they discovered that he had taken his own life before he could be apprehended.

*Zarathustra* was ruined by the intelligence breach. The breaking of their obligations to secrecy within the contract for Operation Covenant saw their seat on the Central Committee revoked, their directors prosecuted, and their corporation dissolved as an entity, with many of its subdivisions and holdings being absorbed into other Conglomerate corporations.

Though the revelation of Operation Covenant had essentially confirmed the existence of the entities that would come to be known as Fomoriian Anomalies, and their presence within near-Core space is today a well-established fact, the Conglomerate has, to date, never made an official public acknowledgement of the veracity of the Covenant Files.