The Mercenary Hive

#### **The Beginnings**

On the world of Harzn, Arcad, a rebellious scientist, once an ally of the Royal Harznian family, King Tazium and Queen Laria, was working on a cure for a Harznian disease, known as the "Viron Infection". It had spread throughout not only Harzn, but the neighboring world of Craxia. As Arcad feared the disease would attack the weakened immune system of his son, Darion, he spent hours and days, weeks and months, looking to cure the disease.

As he tapped into his own genetic profile, he began to mix his newly invented bio-mechanic serum, and the result was more than he expected. The serum's nanoprobes began to infect not only the diseased cells, but turn them into something else. They began to take on a mechanical form, turning metallic, and becoming what he would later turn into the initial viral strain that he'd perfect to turn his eventual "test subjects" into his prototype Mercenary Drones.

#### **Betraying Harzn**

Arcad's discovery of a cure that had additional benefits to not only battle the Viron Infection, but turn cells into something much, much greater, led to him being banished from his home city, the Harznian Capitol, Vaih.

Tazium and Laria sent Arcad off world, as a peaceful truce, not wanting to end their friendship with the scientist, but fearing what would happen if Arcad were to begin experimenting on the infected with his "cure". Arcad, along with his son Darion, took a shuttle to neighboring Craxia, where Arcad began to further test his serums and other concoctions.

The Craxian Sovereign, Neris, was curious about Arcad's cure for the infection that had spread in small parts of the population. Giving Arcad the permission to use the infected for testing his cure. But it was not as Neris had believed, and the test subjects began to show signs of a different kind of infection. Turning into prototypes, or "Feral" Mercs, not full, as Arcad would later perfect on T'Roa. The few who survived long enough were weak and a failure, in Arcad's eyes.

Arcad had his sights set on revenge, feeling betrayed, even after years on Craxia. He boarded a shuttle back to Harzn, where he met his brother, Edxon, and set into motion a plan to betray the Harznian Royal family. Another ally to their cause was Prince Emodx, the older brother of Tal.

Soon the old ruling class was killed or sent into exile, including Tal, who eventually fled to the Salzair system.

Arcad, leaving his brother in charge of the newly established Hazrnian Imperial Alliance of Planets, fled to the Salzair system as well, arriving on the northern edge of Kater, just outside the small, peaceful village of Tallar.

#### **The Mercenary Hive**

In the year 2080 Arcad found himself on a distant world, he took it upon his self to greet the villagers living in Tallar. It was a small population, and he saw that most of the village was in poor shape. The residents didn't have any real medical care, and had most of the men had been injured in battle, as the early days of the Great War were just beginning.

Taking it upon himself to act as a healer, he was thrilled to have so many willing test subjects for his "medicines". One, a Katerian male named Satler, who'd been severely wounded, was brought to Arcad's clinic and miraculously healed, much to the surprise of Satler's wife, Bierina. This gave Arcad the reputation as a "miracle worker", and soon the villagers flocked to him to be healed and given medicines.

Years later, in 2083, as the Great War was raging all across T'Roa, Arcad was met by Destructo, the Dark Lord and Master of Illusion, and was given the materials to complete the work that he'd been wanting to finish, for many years. With this new technology, and his vast knowledge of the genetic sciences he'd been experimenting on, on Harzn, Craxia and now T'Roa, Arcad put his plan into motion.

Creating a few basic drone-bots, known as "Battle Bots", Arcad captured 3 innocent people: Cardovan, a bounty Hunter. Lart'Kal of Kater, and Satler's son; Warper. Warper, who knew of Arcad's healing of his father, was willing, and actually volunteered for the initial experiments Arcad would begin. The first being the implantation of a small probe, in the frontal lobe of Warper's brain. This, unbeknownst to the willing Warper, gave Arcad a way to control the thoughts of the Tallarian teenager, establishing the "Mind Link" that would later become standard in all of Arcad's early drones.

But unlike Warper, both Lart'Kal and Cardovan showed resistance, and more extreme experimentation was needed. This gave Arcad all he needed to send Warper into a newly built "Conversion Chamber", implanting more tech in the willing subject's body, as well as equipping him with a metal helmet, chest armor, and completely replacing his left arm with a standard-issue arm cannon.

Thusly Drone #0001 was born, and Warper was gone.

#### **Drone #0001**

The willing test subject, was now the perfect killing machine. Drone #0001 was sent, along with the other two subjects, Lart'Kal(#0002) and Cardovan(#0003), to Tallar. Upon recognizing their son, Satler and Bierina let their guard down and were easily captured by the other first drones. Soon the rest of Tallar was captured or killed. Including Warper's sister Cheron, uncle Lytho, and cousin Aiper.

As he had so willingly taken to the conversion, his free will was retained, and Drone #0001 turned out to be more than a mere drone. Arcad designated him as his Commander, and sent him across Kater, and beyond, eventually sending him to Etol, Caxler, and Dralar on many missions. It was upon his mission in 2084 to Etol, that #0001 attacked Etolium and killed the mother of Crosswire, Renala.

On a mission in 2089 to Kater, to gain more innocents to be turned into drones, #0001 was in a fight against several Katerian and Caxlerian soldiers, fighting in the city of Burn, when he was knocked out from an explosion. When he was reactivated by one of his soldier drones, Warper, not #0001, awoke. Seeing what he now looked like, Warper's true self returned and he quickly used his arm cannon to destroy the Mercs he'd been commanding. None fired back, as they had been programmed to follow his command. He then remembered all that had happened to him, and took to the fight on the side of the Katerians who now saw the former Merc was now an ally.

Quickly taking charge, he and several Katerians joined together on a mission to the Burned Forest, where Arcad's Control Center was, and they took it by force. Warper, using his connection to each drone, began to free others through the "Mind Link", and soon dozens of former Mercs joined, and they destroyed the Control Center.

Arcad, fearful of the ruthlessness of his former Drone #0001, tried to regain control of Warper, even trying to re-assimiliate Warper, but to no avail. Warper had never fully been programmed, unlike the thousands of other drones created, and was too strong mentally to be controlled again. Trying to flee into the forest, Warper didn't even hesitate, as he blasted Arcad, leaving the creator of the Mercenary Hive for dead.

### **The End of the Merc War**

As Warper, and the other free Mercs banded together, alongside new allies, Windfire the Flamium, Camo, Speed Demon, and others across T'Roa, the Mercenary Hive was destroyed. The remaining Mercs who could be saved, were freed. But several thousands could not be turned back.

But by the time it had ended, shortly before the end of the Great War itself, the damage across T'Roa was too much. Etol had suffered the most. Dralar and Marhal had been partially irradiated by Arcad's power plants, and pollution had filled the ocean. The world of T'Roa may have been saved from total assimilation, but the damage caused would never fully be repaired.