Joint Expedition Task Force

The Joint Expedition Task Force (JETF), was an exploration effort into deep space headed by RWI (Red Wood Industries), CNL (Crazy North Logistics), and RCSP (Royal Coalition of Spatial Protection).

## History

### Landing on Chrome II

After the end of the Green Drone War, the galaxy was focused on rebuilding the damage done by the Green Drone Armada. However, approximately a year after the war, a mysterious signal related to the civilization which was believed to have created the Artifact - a large monolith that served as a symbol of power for the GDA - reached the attention of Red Wood Industries. RWI High Command and the leaders of Crazy North Logistics and the Royal Coalition of Spatial Protection soon decided to form a Joint Expedition Task Force to investigate. Although each faction contributed a portion of their personnel and supplies to this effort, the task force was ultimately commanded by RWI Admiral Jack Roberts. The CNL portion was led by Colonel Jorgen Larson and the RCSP portion was led by Captain Tevin Myers.

On July 23, 2734, the RWI *Prometheus*, the massive flagship of the JETF, emerged out of FTL above Chrome II. As Admiral Roberts and his XO, Captain Sam Reed, entered the bridge, the *Prometheus*'s captain, Steven Dawson, was notified that an unidentified ship had approached them out of nowhere and blocked their scanners. Despite attempts to contact the vessel, the *Prometheus* was soon fired upon by the ship, which belonged to a faction called the Remnant, using some kind of energy missiles, which drained the shields and caused massive damage and power losses. Seeing this, Roberts authorized the deployment of the JETF landing forces immediately, and the transports began making a break for the surface, though many were shot down or damage, scattering the ground forces across the planet. The Remnant battleship retreated after taking some damage, but the *Prometheus* remained heavily damaged and unable to provide much support. Dawson ordered repairs to begin, but his XO, Commander Michael Lynch, had unknowingly abandoned the JETF with a handful of others and fled to the planet as well. Captain Myers and the RCSP forces were ambushed by Remnant ground forces and Myers' second-in-command was killed, though they managed to gather a few gunships and escape. Meanwhile, CNL's troops managed to gather themselves at an abandoned supply base in a forest and hid out there for a short time.

Despite their losses, Roberts and Reed managed to congregate a handful of RWI personnel at an abandoned relay station, which had been broadcasting the signal out into space. They also passed through two strange tower structures with a teleporter device connecting them and encountered a few Remnant hunting parties before being attacked by a large force led by Archon, leader of the Remnant, and a carrier group. The *Prometheus* was able to down the carrier using its long-range Mark V torpedoes, allowing Roberts' team to escape and continue towards the source of the mysterious signal, which turned out to be a huge ancient city built on top of a cliff overlooking a lake. The creators of the city, The First Ones, were also soon confirmed to be the same long-extinct race who created the Artifact.

### Gathering Forces

As soon as comms were established between the *Prometheus* and the ancient city, Dawson began directing the JETF's ground forces towards the city. Much of the RWI portion of the troops arrived in three VH-121 Vulture-class Helicopters with lots of soldiers and supplies to help get the city operational as a base, as well as scouting for Remnant forces. Meanwhile, Roberts dispatched Commander Craz, his close friend from CNL, to try and locate the CNL task force, but he was taken prisoner by Commander Lynch and his defector squad aboard their mobile base, the *Tempest*. However, Colonel Larson led a strike team to ambush the *Tempest* and rescue Craz, due to his importance to CNL. Lynch escaped, but Larson's men took over the *Tempest* and they journeyed to the abandoned outpost that CNL had been using as a temporary base. Soon after, they gathered their ships and supplies and began travelling to the ancient city.

While this was happening, the city was under siege by Remnant forces led by Archon. Although the RWI troops managed to activate the city's shields and get some point-defense weaponry online, they were still outnumbered by Remnant troops, gunships, and fighters swarming the city. Fortunately, RCSP gunships arrived to reinforce them, driving the Remnant ships away after a long battle. The RCSP personnel began helping with repairs and salvage operations, and also to repair the city's long-range transmitter to contact RWI High Command. CNL's forces also arrived and Craz informed Roberts about Commander Lynch's desertion.

### Loss of the *Prometheus*

Up in space, Captain Dawson and his acting-XO, Lieutenant Commander Kyan, tried to devise a solution to repair the *Prometheus* with their limited supplies. Dawson had asked Roberts repeatedly to activate Project X-12, which was a highly experimental (and controversial) contingent of reprogrammed GDA drones stored aboard the ship, but Roberts refused since it was still untested. Despite his orders, Dawson activated the drones, which soon began going rogue and wreaking further havoc on the ship. Security teams were unable to stop them, and soon the *Prometheus* was being dragged into the atmosphere of Chrome II.

About twelve hours after the *Prometheus* crashed, Roberts and Myers took a strike team to investigate the ship's distress call. When they found the *Prometheus*, it was split in half, and being fought over between Remnant forces and surviving Project X-12 drones. Roberts took the RWI team inside the ship to reach the bridge while the RCSP teams secured the exterior with their gunships. When they reached the bridge and eliminated the Remnant soldiers, they found that Dawson, Kyan, and all the bridge crew were missing. Roberts and the team downloaded the black box and the ship's data and made their way through the ship to the dorsal landing pad, where they fought off Remnant fighters until Myers' gunship evacuated them. Once Myers and Larson both heard the news about the drones, they were furious that RWI secretly broke the Kyron Accords established after the Green Drone War, despite Roberts' assurance that he was against the idea and that the drones were both brought and activated against his wishes.