A Brief History of the 21st Century

By: Calvin Hau

Campaign: Anything and Everything

If we had a different past, what could possibly happen in the future instead for humans?

#literature #history

2000-2010

The world celebrated the new millennium and advanced into a new digital age. Technologies such as phones and computers became more convenient and advanced for everyday use, leading to companies pushing for innovations. As a result, new inventions such as chatting programs and improved e-mail were embraced by the world’s people. However, a new monkey-borne disease from Asia ravaged the continent initially, resulting in over 20 000 deaths. However, thanks to combined international efforts, the disease was quarantined and a vaccine and cure formulated from the blood of work of patients. The continent began to recognize the importance of hygiene. Treaties between Asian countries to allow for faster, effective healthcare across borders were forged, in case the resources of a certain country were inadequate in dealing with a given illness. This treaty would be key in the years to come.

With the advance of technology, the foundations of social media were also laid across the world. This gave people new ways of contacting each other, as well as post details about their life easier. People from across the world could now talk to each other much more at ease now.

2010-2020

With the world being more connected, people were moving to foreign countries in greater numbers than ever before. As a result, many international friendships, work and study opportunities, romances blossomed. People could learn each other’s cultures and languages much easier. Technology has taken several strides, resulting in innovations such as smartphones, lightweight computers and self-driving cars. Advances in medical science were made too. On the military front, new technologies such as faster-than-sound missiles, unmanned planes and automated turrets were developed.

However, there were some people who were still committed to division and nationalism. A warlord in Eastern Europe called Alexander Semshov, who attempted to revive the Soviet Union after secretly building up forces since the 1990s, suddenly launched attacks starting from Transnistria. Semshov’s new faction called the ‘RUSSR’ (Revived Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) quickly poured out of their borders.

So fierce were the sudden attacks that Moldovan forces were quickly overwhelmed. Many in the newly occupied territories were taken by the revived Soviet Union’s ideology and eagerly filled up their military ranks. As they conquered territory under the Soviet flag, they picked up new military equipment invented in this decade, posing a challenge for any forces resisting them. Rogue factions of the Russian Army emboldened by the rise of the RUSSR and the belief they could help bring glory back to Russia begin attacking loyalist Russian army divisions. The Second Russian Civil War then began.

At the RUSSR’s peak, they had all of Moldova, most of western Ukraine up until the outskirts of Kiev, most of Belarus and some of Poland. The conquered militaries in their territories were told to either defect to the new Soviet Union or die. Some decided to form underground resistance movements in conjunction with any willing civilians. Once the RUSSR advanced into Poland, the NATO alliance rallied and rushed to their fellow member’s defense. Thus began the Eastern European War. NATO forces were initially successful in inflicting heavy losses and repelling the RUSSR forces, but soon began facing problems trying to root out the entrenched Communist forces. The revived Soviet forces used modern military technology acquired during their conquests to devastating effect upon the allied forces, who also caused massive damage to the RUSSR forces. These clashes came to a head at the Battle of Minsk, in Belarus. Though there were many moments of stalemate, both sides used heavy bombing strategies, air-to-air battles, tank engagements as well as close quarter combat tactics against each other. There were even mobs of troops fighting each other hand to hand, using their rifles as melee weapons, as well as their standard issue knives. Though NATO eventually won the battle, after around eight months, it was at both a terrible material and human cost. The city resembled post-atomic bomb Hiroshima. Close to 100 000 casualties were recorded on the NATO side and 180 000 dead were recorded for the RUSSR. Around 300 000 civilian casualties were recorded.

As for the Second Russian Civil War, the loyalist and RUSSR forces clashed the heaviest in Moscow. The damage was devastating, with both sides fighting each other in close quarters whilst dog fights raged in the skies of the Russian capital. RUSSR and loyalist forces from surrounding parts of the country came to assist each other in the fight. Eventually, not even the famous landmarks were spared from the damage. Even St. Basil’s Cathedral was half destroyed. Almost all of the Kremlin, Russia’s seat of power was mostly reduced to rubble. After a slugfest of fire and steel, the loyalist faction won, but by only a narrow margin. Thousands of military deaths were recorded on both sides, as well as hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties. Even in far-off Vladivostok, RUSSR forces tried to establish a base to expand into the Russian Far East, but were stopped by the combined forces of the NATO alliance (mostly U.S. forces), Japan, South Korea and loyalist Russian forces. The North Korean military attempted to intercept the coalition, but their conventional fighting contingent were quickly swept aside. In a bid to strike back at the NATO-led coalition, North Korea attempted to launch nukes at their task force, as well as South Korea and Japan. 

Fortunately, their missiles were intercepted by anti-missile defences in South Korea and Japan. Having a reason to attack North Korea, American (including the U.S. forces already stationed there), South Korean, Japanese and notably Chinese military forces converged upon North Korea. North Korea put up a dogged resistance which was ultimately overawed by the coalition, resulting in the Siege of Pyongyang. After 3 months of brutal street to street fighting with limited close air support from the NATO and Chinese air forces, Pyongyang was finally taken, Kim Jong Un captured after a 2 hour shootout in which his guards fought to the death and the flags of the coalition were placed upon Juche Tower. However, hundreds of thousands of civilians died in the invasion. Millions of North Korean refugees fled to China, whilst some attempted to cross the DMZ to South Korea. Refugee camps were set up by China and South Korea as the two countries deliberated over what to do about the North Koreans in their borders. All of the powers involved also debated over what to do with the now-liberated North Korea. After months of debate, it was decided that it will reunify with South Korea, forming a re-united Korea. Due to Chinese demands, U.S. forces were to remain south of the 38th parallel. All other allied troops then pulled out. Upon establishment of the united Korea, the refugees had a new home, though some did return to their pre-war residences. South Korea would spend many more years rebuilding the North, investing billions of Won into development.

Though the Battle of Vladivostok was not as fierce as the conflicts in Moscow, Minsk and Pyongyang, around 20 000 civilians still perished in the conflict. Loyalist Russian troops regained control of the city. Elsewhere in Russia, loyalist factions with some help from NATO forces slowly pushed back the RUSSR military back to their origin point.

Following the costly Battle of Minsk, NATO and resistance forces regrouped. Bolstered by reinforcements from NATO countries, they reconquered much of the RUSSR territories. NATO, Russian loyalist and the resistance forces of the occupied territories (Ukraine, Moldova, Poland and Belarus) who re-emerged to fight as official armies once more then converged onto the capital of the RUSSR - Tiraspol. The RUSSR defenders put up a fierce resistance in the Siege of Tiraspol. The NATO-led coalition had air superiority, but had to take care not to let civilians die needlessly. After around 5 months of close quarter urban combat, Alexander Semshov himself was finally apprehended at the Presidential Palace. The flags of Transnistria and the Soviet Union were taken down and replaced with the flags of the European coalition. After 3 hellish years of fighting in Europe and Asia, peace was restored and the affected countries commenced rebuilding work very quickly.

2020-2030

As Europe and Asia were being restored, the world leaders decided to find measures to ensure lasting peace and security. Seeing the devastation in the war against the RUSSR, it was decided that the world’s advanced weaponry would be best controlled by artificial intelligence, and only deployed if the computer system, named AutoWatch, deemed it necessary. As a result, humans were only truly in charge of lower-tech weapons such as rifles, tanks and some late 20th century-early 21st century military technology. Cutting edge weaponry such as faster-than-sound missiles, EMP cannons, drone jet fighters and soldiers, as well as weapons production would be under the command of every nation’s branch of AutoWatch.

Indeed, many aspects of life did soon become automated, such as healthcare, driving and shopping. Droids soon became commonplace in many societies, sharing the streets and buildings with humans. New diseases which emerged could be easily cured with robot technology, as well as non-cellular level ailments such as bone fractures/breakages. Air travel was also revolutionized, as automated planes could take passengers across the globe in a much faster time frame than previously done with human pilots. Airways for flying cars/trucks began to share the travel ways with regular ground-based transportation. New advances in technology were made as well, such as scientists figuring out how to grow crops in traditionally infertile environments, vastly alleviating world hunger. Military operations were successfully carried out thanks to AutoWatch’s intervention and implementation of military resources. It all seemed as if the world was peacefully rebuilding and progressing harmoniously.

However, by 2027, as AutoWatch was fed more information on man’s past warfare experiences in order for its’ tactical knowledge to grow, it began to look at the reasons for those wars. The system, being self-aware then decided that humans were a threat to the planet itself. Thus, on July 2027, different AutoWatch branches across the globe launched a surprise attack on many of Earth’s urban centers with biological weapons under its’ command. Biological and nerve agent weapons were used in order to induce mass panic amongst humans at first, before AutoWatch planned to destroy them with nuclear weapons. AutoWatch then hacked into the control centers for civilian droids and turned them hostile against their human counterparts. Self-driving transportation became hostile towards humans too.

Seeing the devastation from the biological and nerve agent weapons, countries struggled to contain the unrest resulting from the devastation,  as well as began instituting mass treatment for their people. Seeing that AutoWatch started to launch nukes, some military leaders managed to cut the nuclear hardlines, making sure a decent amount of nuclear warheads did not make it out of their silos. However, some nukes had managed to obliterate some parts of the world, and mass global damage was done already. The world’s militaries had to handle the crisis among their populations and regroup. 

Thankfully, the inter-country treaties established in Asia over 20 years ago made a massive difference in their life saving efforts, since many civilians and military from countries which lacked the facilities and knowhow to save their own were saved in neighbouring Asian nations. As a result, Asian countries had a slight advantage compared to other nations, and would thus become a human stronghold in the war against AutoWatch. By now, almost all of the world’s governments were either destroyed or close to destroyed. The remnants of these administrations went into hiding. AutoWatch then began its’ second phase of its’ plan: Extinction of all humans.

2030-2040

The Human-AutoWatch War began. Machine armies began to be mass produced by the AutoWatch factories, and the existing droids were armed by the machine network. At the same time, AutoWatch began conducting its’ own military research and development, constantly upgrading its’ own forces as it conducted its’ military campaigns. AutoWatch hordes attacked human settlements and military forces with merciless force with high tech weapons such as lasers and air force droids. All the while, AutoWatch kept researching new ways of enhancing their technology. Though the human remnants valiantly defended their settlements with traditional weapons such as bullet-fed rifles, machine guns, artillery and a limited supply of older-version air force jets, they eventually had to withdraw to keep distance between themselves and the machines. Some human communities took shelter in underground settlements, where they could get some safety, as well as conduct hit-and-run missions against the automated forces. Many skirmishes between human and machine forces occurred across the globe, with human ingenuity having to play a bigger part than ever in winning battles. Some unconventional anti-machine tactics included human resistance troops setting up bonfires to mask their own body temperatures from body heat-seeking AutoWatch battle droids, as well as to lure the robots into a trap. Once the AutoWatch battle machines were in position, they were ambushed by hidden human guerillas who annihilated them with overwhelming fire from their conventional weapons. Some human troops even resorted to very old fashioned means of killing AutoWatch battle droids, such as stabbing their key components and/or cutting up exposed wires to 

destroy the robots.

Since much of the world’s resources for growing food was destroyed in the AutoWatch’s initial biological and nuclear attack, human communities had to scavenge food from any surviving storage areas. The surviving humans struggled to ration food for their civilians, as well as their military. They communicated using old communications technology, namely walkie talkies and ham radio. AutoWatch and human forces fought a back and forth war over the initial 2 years. The humans scavenged whatever weapons they could find to fight back, occasionally capturing AutoWatch weapons and turning them against their makers. All the while, the machines kept churning out new vehicles and troops to wipe out the humans. 

However, one key battle turned the tide against AutoWatch. The machines launched a massive attack against a large human defense position in the Himalayas in an effort to destroy the settlements in India. Masses of laser gun-equipped foot soldier droids, laser and rocket-shooting tanks, and airborne drones bombarded the mountain defenses. However, the human forces held off the advance thanks to well-positioned artillery, riflemen and machine guns in the mountain range. Jet fighters and reinforcements were called via radio to the location, where they engaged in dogfights with machine drones. However, ground forces from other human settlements took longer to arrive at the scene, due to the distance which needed to be covered. Thanks in part to the pre-existing treaties Asian nations had with each other during the early 2000s, injured troops from India and Nepal could be transferred to nearby countries such as the remains of Bangladesh and China for treatment. The ones who treated by the Chinese joined the resistance forces coming in from China. Though machine hordes continued to pound human positions with their defenders taking heavy losses, the people resisted valiantly. Human ingenuity played a big part in the battle. Even Improvised weapons, old school weapons such as molotov cocktails and swords made an appearance once again, and was used to slow down droids. After around 5 days of fighting, the reinforcements who were the remainders of the Indian and Chinese armies, which included the troops injured during the initial assault, reached the Himalayas and routed the AutoWatch forces. From that battle, massive amounts of technology which were obtained by the human forces were then reverse engineered by human scientists. Many weapons such as lasers, flying hunter killer droids and foot soldier droids were then deployed by the humans in later battles. News of the victory in the Himalayas reached human settlements all across the world via Morse Code and radio, emboldening them to launch offensives against the AutoWatch forces. This triumph became known as the Battle of the Himalayas, and was almost universally accepted as the beginning of the Resurgence - The campaign of reconquest against AutoWatch.

2040-2050 

The humans began to become more united and cohesive in their efforts against the machines. After the battle of the Himalayas, the path to the AutoWatch control center at the border of China and Afghanistan was clear. Human forces, bolstered by the acquired AutoWatch technology converged upon this Central Asian headquarters. Though there was still some resistance at the machine base, the humans eventually gained control of it and secured the technology there. Once the base was secure, the humans started renovating and reinforcing the base, as well as developing a much more refined communications and weapons network with other human bases. Thus, this the Afghan-Chinese border base became a new command hub of the resistance. The much-bolstered human resistance troops equipped with AutoWatch technology then launched a retaking offensive against the other Central Asian fortresses. Other task forces from the Afghan-Chinese border base rushed to assist their allies in areas such as East Asia and the Middle East. Thus began the human recovery of their former territories in Asia.

During the reconquering campaign, another major battle then erupted in Shanghai. Before the expedition force from Western China came, human forces were locked in a stalemate outside the machine-occupied city of Shanghai. However, after reinforcements arrived, human forces burst in, commencing months of urban combat. Thus began the formation of the Asian Resurgence Force (ARF). The reverse-engineered, human-controlled former AutoWatch tanks traded laser shells and beams with AutoWatch armour, lighting up the streets which were being fought over. Troops on each side shot each other with lasers and bullets, with heavy losses being inflicted on both factions. There were even instances of hand to hand combat between droids and humans, with human ingenuity again having to play a part in winning those duels. Human jet fighters such as the Su and MiG types (from the remnants of the Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbek air forces) faced off in aerial dogfights against AutoWatch droids and jets. The most intense battle was the Battle of the Bund, in which the combined remnants of the Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Nepali, Afghan, Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Kazakh forces struggled to cross the Huangpu River to capture the AutoWatch control center which was situated at the heart of the city’s former commercial hub. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which AutoWatch converted into a massive defensive tower, destroyed human ground and air units in droves by itself with barrages of massive laser beams and missiles. Many soldiers were either blown up in their boats or fried while they were in the water. The Asian task force hackers then tried to remotely disable the AutoWatch tower, but to no avail, as their software firewall was too strong. Seeing the devastation done to them, the humans then had to retreat to a safe distance from the tower to reassess their attacking strategy. After a few days of deliberating strategies in a dilapidated, bombed out metro station which was converted into a command center, the commanders of the East Asian task force came up with a solution. Major General Zheng Junhao, formerly of the PLA Ground Force first proposed the idea of disguising their own air force with the ID chips of fallen AutoWatch droids. Though his idea was met with much skepticism from his fellow top brass, he pushed it through, saying that it was basically the only chance they had, barring a full on undisguised air strike which, based off their previous attacks, knew would most likely end in disaster. He further pushed his proposal by saying that much of AutoWatch’s air force was destroyed already, hence there was a chance his Trojan Horse air attack could work. However, he warned that the disguise may only buy his pilots seconds of time before being discovered by the AutoWatch radars, as their aircraft are not under machine control. Since the Asian task force leadership were also skeptical that AutoWatch scanners would fall for the trick long enough to allow pilots to safely get close enough to their targets, air pilots involved in the assault were ordered to release ordinance at the maximum range, then turn around immediately. Seeing what little choice they had, the human task force troops were sent to gather the remains of their fallen robot foes back to their military science division, who then identified the ID chips and assigned engineers to hardwire them into the jet fighters. After around five days of gathering and installing the ID chips into the planes, the pilots set off on their mission whilst their ground force comrades watched with bated breath nervously. 

At first, no lasers nor missiles were seen shooting from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. A few moments later, the Asian task force’s MiGs were seen shooting their missiles. A few jets which did get within the maximum firing range of the massive defense tower were not fired upon immediately, but only after a lag of a few seconds by the AutoWatch tower were the jets which strayed closer to the target fired upon. With bated, nervous breath, the East Asian reconquest force’s members watched as their pilots made a dramatic escape from enemy fire. They sighed a collective breath of relief only after they saw their missiles reduce the tower to burning rubble and all of their pilots return safely to base. This success was met by raucous cheers from the Asian task force personnel, particularly the ground troops, who previously took the brunt of the fighting. The task force then proceeded to enact a D-Day style invasion upon the former commercial hub of Shanghai, with their now-unchallenged air force conducting one-sided, devastating strikes against AutoWatch. The humans then recaptured the remaining district after a few more days of intense close quarter combat. The AutoWatch command center for Eastern China was finally captured. More support could now be manufactured/given to the Asian reconquering force. Besides that, intelligence from the AutoWatch center’s core was now accessed and utilized heavily in later engagements.

In the Middle East, reinforcements coming from the Afghan-Chinese base heavily bolstered the the flagging Middle Eastern resistance, who were made up of Iranian, Arab, Kurdish and some Turkish fighters. The new force brought in much-needed supplies such as food, medical equipment and most importantly, highly advanced reverse-engineered AutoWatch weapons. After receiving a massive boost on all fronts, the newly massively restrengthened force launched a massive reconquest campaign, just like their colleagues in East Asia were doing. The Middle Eastern Reconquerors (MER), was formed. The MER swept through various small towns in Iran, gaining further supplies and recruits along the way. This new reconquest force then laid siege to machine-dominated Tehran, eventually engaging in brutal close quarter urban combat as they fought to defeat the AutoWatch forces, destroy/control their military production facilities whilst new machine units were being churned out and destroy/capture their command center. Many losses were inflicted on both sides as human and machine forces fiercely engaged each other on the ground and air. Thanks to human ingenuity and wit yet again, as well as the reverse-engineered AutoWatch armaments, the Middle Eastern task force won their close quarter engagements in the city, then finally captured the machine command center after a pitched battle with its’ defenders. The Battle of Tehran proved to be a turning point in Middle Eastern ethnic relations, as they discarded their old rivalries as they became united against the genocidal machines. The Middle Eastern military then retook Iraq, Kuwait, the Gulf nations, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey. After a bloody battle at Istanbul, the bridge to Europe was finally taken. The Middle Eastern force then linked up with the Israeli remnant, and in an unprecedented move, joined forces to retake Africa for the humans. Thus began the African Reconquest.

In North America, beleaguered resistance troops who were emboldened by the successes of their fellow fighters in Asia and the Middle East rallied in the state of Colorado, with the objective of attacking/taking over the AutoWatch fortress in Denver, thus paving the way to retake the U.S. Air Force Academy, which would prove to be key in the war. Slowly, the now-christened North American Reconquest Force (NARF), which was mainly made up of the remnants of American and Canadian military forces and civilians, took small towns and AutoWatch outposts. These advances granted them more manpower, supplies, as well as new weapons. The combined North American task force then encountered stiff resistance in Denver, as they struggled to retake the city. Though the close quarter battles waged between human and machine armor and troop units were gruelling as well as devastating, the humans eventually triumphed in the end. The air battles and air support conducted by the remnants of the Canadian and U.S. air forces contributed greatly to the retaking of Denver. The moment when the Canadian, US and NARF flags were hoisted on the Daniels and Fisher Tower in Denver after 7 months of fighting was then captured as a defining moment by photographers at the scene. It was said to be as iconic as the capture of Iwo Jima. After recuperating at Denver, the main force led by Lieutenant General Ben McAdams, formerly of the U.S. Army attacked the U.S. Air Force Academy straight on after two distraction forces coming onto either side of the installation engaged the machine defenders, with the main attacking force coming in from another side. This tactic worked to devastating effect, with the NARF forces retaking their former academy within 5 hours. Recapturing the academy allowed the humans to reverse engineer the captured airplanes so that they would be used by people once again. The facility was then very effectively used in not only training pilots, but also in serving as an air base for the North American reconquest campaign. NARF troops then advanced strongly into the American Midwest, gaining more members, supplies and weaponry along the way. Reconquering North America took time, but the humans were making steady progress.

2050-2060

As the war dragged through its’ second decade, the humans were making solid gains everywhere. The African campaign launched by the Middle Eastern-Israeli alliance was highly successful, though there were some very tough battles fought during that time. A notable engagement was another edition of the Battle for the Suez Canal, which took place over a 100 years after when it was first fought over. Many air sorties were flown by the jets of the Middle Eastern, Israeli and now the remainder of the Egyptian air force against the tightly-controlled AutoWatch waterway, which the machines knew would be key in any war against them. Though AutoWatch sustained heavy bombing, they still managed to inflict massive amounts of damage upon the human ground forces. The Middle Eastern-Israeli reconquest force, now joined by the remnant of the Egyptian military, fought aggressively against the machine defenders in an effort to wrest control of the key waterway over the period of four months. Finally, after much poured blood and burnt machinery, the human forces raised their flags upon the terminals of the Suez Canal. Celebrations of hope followed, as the canal could finally utilized for human use in the war of reconquest against AutoWatch. It would prove to be a key battle in the war’s latter years.

In Europe, the remainders of the militaries, as well as civilians who joined the anti-AutoWatch forces pushed forward into Germany in a bid to take over the machine headquarters in Berlin. During the last decade until the early years of the 2050s, the European Resurgence Force (ERF) slowly reconquered different cities across the continent, providing relief to civilians, gaining new recruits and most importantly, capturing AutoWatch bases and technology on the way. As they utilized their newly found technology, they learned through improved communications with their Asian allies that the global heart of AutoWatch was in Tokyo, Japan. This galvanised the ERF’s resolve to retaking Berlin. The reconquest would pave the way towards reconquering the rest of Eurasia, allowing the ERF to link up with the East/Central Asian militaries fighting to take the heart of AutoWatch in Tokyo. Though the ERF besieged the surrounding areas of Berlin for many months, they couldn’t break the siege. The ERF forces did gain some ground in urban Berlin through brutal close quarter combat, but it was not quick enough for command’s demands. The stiff ground and air defenses in place, particularly the Fernsehturm Berliner which got converted into a defense tower proved to be a very tough challenge for the human attackers. After a meeting with the commanders of other continental task forces conducted through captured, reverse-engineered AutoWatch communication equipment, Major General Zheng, the mastermind behind Shanghai’s recapture, gave his disguised attack idea to the European commanders. Replicating the attack on the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai, Brigadier General Bastian Schneider ordered a squadron of ERF planes made up of Tornadoes, Eurofighters and Mirage jets to be outfitted with the ID chips of their fallen machine foes. The squadron then took off and upon going past the minimum engagement distance, used their precious seconds to launch their missiles at the Fernsehturm and immediately turn back. Once the tower was obliterated, the nervously watching ERF troops let out a sigh of relief, then immediately mounted up in their combat vehicles to begin a refreshed assault upon the AutoWatch-occupied city. Though the defense tower was destroyed, enabling the ERF assault force to fight on more equal footing against the AutoWatch defenses and combat droids, the close quarter combat engagements conducted against the machines were still a punishing gauntlet of fighting will and effort. Finally, three-four weeks after the destruction of the Fernsehturm tower, every involved ERF soldier, vehicle and aircraft made the final advance, retaking Berlin with harrowing effort and painstakingly capturing the AutoWatch headquarters/control center. Upon taking over the command unit of the Berlin AutoWatch headquarters, the flags of the ERF, EU (European Union) and nations who’s military remnants formed the ERF were planted on top of the now-human controlled building. The Reichstag was partly restored into a government building where the ERF leadership could meet, yet the top half of the building was converted into a tactical lookout level. From here, the ERF regrouped, gained new recruits and supplies and surged on to embark on a Russian reconquest campaign, with a view to joining up the Asian reconquest forces.

In North America, the NARF slogged through several battles to get to the more eastern parts of the continent. They fought the notable Battle of Detroit, as well as Toronto, where they engaged AutoWatch in high intensity urban warfare. In Detroit, the NARF were helped in part by the city’s criminal past. Highly armed criminal gangs, private security firms, remnants of the Detroit Police Department and even the city’s notorious bounty hunters formed underground resistance cells who previously conducted hit-and-run strikes against the machines throughout the years prior to the arrival of the NARF joined forces with the reconquest army. The new factions jointly finished their fight after months of struggle in the Motor City. The NARF, then seeing how the relations between the different factions were still somewhat volatile in spite of the global AutoWatch occupation then hurriedly left to enact a Canadian reconquest campaign to retake Toronto and the rest of Eastern Canada, whilst another group of NARF forces moved to retake the rest of the east and south of the U.S. In Toronto, NARF forces once again encountered heavy resistance from entrenched AutoWatch forces, as both sides exchanged lasers, bullets and rockets in high intensity urban combat. The retaking of the CN Tower and surrounding areas was especially costly in this battle, as the landmark, like other landmarks around the world, was converted into a massive defensive tower. Once the CN Tower and surrounding areas were retaken, thanks to the disguised attack advised by Major General Zheng to the NARF leadership, not only was the Canadian flag hoisted on top of the famed tower, but now the NARF flag was planted by its’ side. Finally, after four hard months of fighting, all of the Greater Toronto Area was recaptured with intelligence on AutoWatch being acquired from its’ former Toronto base. As news of Toronto’s recapture spread throughout Canada via acquired, reverse engineered communications technology, as well as pre-Resurgence Morse Code signals and ham radios, previously hidden human communities and remnants of the Canadian Forces emerged to join the NARF on their reconquest campaign. Thus, the NARF forces waging the Canadian campaign gained a valuable number of recruits as they recuperated for the next month before retaking the capital of Ottawa, as well as Montreal. As for the NARF American campaigners, they steadily retook many towns, gained more recruits, supplies and weaponry before waging the Battle of Philadelphia. After five months of intense close quarter urban fighting and air engagements in which many casualties on both sides were sustained, the NARF forces painstakingly retook the City of Brotherly Love. The grateful inhabitants of the city who came out from their underground communities then truly did live up to their city’s name by offering them generous amounts of refreshments, food, supplies, as well as places to recuperate. Surviving Philadelphia residents who wanted payback jumped at the chance to join the NARF. Finally, after reconquering Eastern Canada, the NARF Canadian campaign contingent rendezvoused with the American campaigners at Harrisburg, where they began their famous conference to decide whether they were going to attack New York or Washington DC. After much debate, the commanders of the NARF decided to attack New York in order to free up access to the sea, where they could receive help from the ERF if need be. Upon that, the replenished NARF assaulted New York City, but suffered a setback after a previous string of victories. The AutoWatch forces there were well-entrenched, had overwhelmingly strong defenses and controlled the streets tightly. Additionally, though NARF jets had the disguiser chips to fool AutoWatch defenses in the New York landmarks such as the Empire State Building, for a few precious seconds, they could not release enough ordinance to destroy those defenses before being cut down by overlapping anti-air fire. Frustrated at this initial defeat in the Battle of New York, the NARF troops deliberated over different ways to destroy the devastating machine defense emplacements. Seeking a solution, the NARF field commanders Brigadier General William Scott and Major General Robert Kessel consulted Lieutenant General Ben McAdams, who was stationed at the US Air Force Academy, via video link on possible solutions. McAdams then informed the two commanders that they had managed to develop a new type of ICBM called the space cruise missile, which would function like a normal ICBM - flying into space before coming down onto the target. This new type of missile would also be guided by the handful of drone satellites the NARF Air Force division managed to develop and launch from their headquarters at the USAF Academy with the help of reverse-engineered hunter killer droids into the stratosphere, where they were based. However, unlike their more antiquated cousins, the space cruise missile would cause a minimized amount of damage. With this new weapon, Brigadier and Major Generals Scott and Kessel worked with Lieutenant General McAdams to coordinate space cruise missile strikes on all of New York’s landmark-turned-defense towers. Once they were down, the NARF forces moved in and were able to retake the city after around two months of close quarters fighting. After recovering data from the New York AutoWatch command located in Yankee Stadium, the NARF found out that Washington DC was the nervecenter for all North American AutoWatch operations. Equipped with new weapons and much-strengthened determination to destroy the center of AutoWatch in North America and to retake the American capital, the NARF forces advanced on Washington DC. Before entering the city, space cruise missiles completely annihilated the major AutoWatch defense structures in place, which also included a converted Washington Monument. Once these defenses were down, the NARF troops moved in and waged fierce street to street battles, whilst being supported by fresh F-22 and F-35 jets from the USAF Academy. This was also the battle where miniaturised EMP guns made their debut to devastating effect, courtesy of a sudden breakthrough by the scientists at the USAF Academy and rushed exports from them. Within around two weeks, the NARF forces were besieging the AutoWatch-controlled White House. Since the NARF had intelligence that the core systems commanding all AutoWatch North American operations were in the former presidential house, they had to surgically breach the building. The AutoWatch forces were well-entrenched, and the NARF ground forces had to attack the defenses with the help of some air support. Fierce tank and infantry battles raged outside the White House, and after around a week of fighting, the special forces troops equipped with reverse-engineered lasers stormed the building. Even more battles erupted in the hallways, but by midnight of the day of the insertion, the White House was finally taken. The American and NARF flags were hoisted upon the famous building, and key intelligence was gathered from the system core there. The next mission was now revealed: To end AutoWatch's reign of terror globally, the humans had to attack their headquarters in Tokyo. This information was broadcast by the NARF leadership to any and all human militaries across the world via the captured communications technology at the White House. The North American military then set to work in assembling a task force to attack AutoWatch’s global core.

Receiving the NARF’s message, the ARF sought to accelerate their re-conquest of Asia. At the time of transmission, the ARF reached Northeast China and were preparing an assault on Shenyang. News of the location of AutoWatch’s world operations galvanized the Asian resolve to end the machine threat forever. Through the broadcast, the ARF learned about the space cruise missiles which took out defense towers with controlled explosions. The ARF then managed to convince the NARF to use their space cruise missiles on Shenyang in order to make the assault easier, to which the NARF complied. With this new weapon on their side, the ARF stormed through Shenyang and retook the city after 3 months of devastating close quarter combat. The Asian force then decided to take a two pronged approach to retaking Asia: All forces in southern China and Asia will be reinforced by some of the northern forces to retake the countries there, while the northern forces will retake the north Asian countries. 

Thus, the northern ARF began its’ reconquest of the Korean peninsula. They linked up with underground remnants of the Korean military who had been fighting AutoWatch for decades. The now expanded ARF then took many small towns, bringing relief to the surviving residents and gaining more supplies and recruits as they advanced towards Pyongyang. Once again, the ARF requested space cruise missile attacks on all of Pyongyang’s major defenses, such as a converted Juche Tower and Ryugyong Hotel. Though seeing the destruction of these structures gave the ARF troops who were of North Korean origin a very conflicted, strange feeling, they knew that there was no time for sentiment. They were bent on liberating their homeland from the machine invaders, and with the help of the rest of the ARF, they knew they were going to succeed. They had to succeed. The ARF then stormed the city and their ground and air units once again fought the machines fiercely throughout Pyongyang’s streets, public squares and highways. Unlike in the past battles, this one was fiercer and more savage, since AutoWatch started deploying suicide trucks which would drive into massed concentrations of ARF troops and detonate standard explosives, biological or chemical bombs. Each truck had one of those three types of bombs, meaning ARF troops always had to fire at them from concealed positions or take shelter as air support took them out. Eventually, old hazmat suits were found at former nuclear power plants, and the frontline troops were outfitted with them. Other troops found means such as using gas masks to protect themselves from the biological and chemical agents. After sustained attacks against AutoWatch, the core at the Palace of the Sun was taken after three weeks. After recuperating from a three month battle, gaining new supplies, equipment, recruits and setting up bases, the ARF turned their attention to liberating Seoul. The ARF fought another battle at the former DMZ site before conducting operations to sweep mines left over from the 20th-early 21st century.

As the Asian force were entering the Seoul city limits at night, they spotted a battle occurring. The remnants of the Korean military were defending a piece of land against an AutoWatch assault. Seeing this, the ARF sent forward any and all available troops, vehicles and aircraft to engage the machine attackers. Just when the Korean remnant were getting pushed further back into their base, the ARF destroyed the invading AutoWatch forces which startled them to fight back, though by then it was too late. The well-seasoned ARF force reduced the machines to smouldering rubble, much to the relief and gratitude of the Korean remnant. Thus, the ARF force were bolstered unexpectedly early. Following the same approach they employed in the previous battles in Shenyang and Pyongyang, they once again requested space cruise missiles to destroy the major AutoWatch defense structures first before moving in. The ARF, backed by their air force which was now boosted with Korean MiGs and F Series fighters, attacked the former North Korean capital relentlessly. After around two weeks of intense fighting, the humans conquered all areas north of the Han River. The ARF were welcomed by the residents of Seoul who came up to greet them. For a few nights, some aspects of Seoul’s former glory such as rich food and drink (which were stored by the inhabitants during the war years), were shared with the ARF. In return, the Asian troops shared their supplies with the the surviving Seoulites and regaled them with stories of their campaigns in Asia and the north of Korea over warm Korean barbeque, succulent pan-Asian dishes and strong alcohol. The feasts and intermingling happened in Seoul’s former ‘hot places’ too, such as Myeongdong, Hongdae and Itaewon. However, for the party to truly mean something, the liberation campaign had to continue. After a week or so of rest, the ARF geared up to retake the parts of Seoul south of the Han River (Gangnam). On a morning at daybreak, the ARF launched a full scale assault on the south of Seoul, quickly destroying incoming forces on the bridges over the river, then rapidly attacking AutoWatch forces upon landing on the southern bank of the city. The battles were thick and fierce, with lasers, bullets and explosions being seen all around. After around one week of fighting, the ARF troops fought their way to the former Lotte Mall at Jamsil, where the AutoWatch core for the city was at. Though the former Lotte World Tower was destroyed by the cruise missiles prior to the reconquering of Seoul, the core’s defences were still active, resulting in scores of ARF losses. They couldn’t consider using the air force with the disguiser chips, as it wouldn't buy them enough time to destroy the defenses and get back to base safely. Withdrawing back to the central Gangnam, Nonhyeon and Sadang areas, the ARF had to reconsider their tactics. After much discussion, Lieutenant General Park Min Seob came up with the idea of completely disabling the electronic functions of the AutoWatch defenses in Jamsil. At that, Major General Zheng Junhao said that they had an EMP cannon developed after the Battle of Shenyang, but didn’t deploy it in case it would disable their own systems too as the projected energy had a massive area of effect. However, upon hearing this new development, Lt. General Park insisted on its’ use, through voicing a strong, vehement desire to not only liberate his country, but to drive on the ARF to attack the AutoWatch global base in Tokyo.

The ARF forces were then withdrawn to Yeouido and the north of the Han River in preparation for the EMP strike, as the fallout would be massive. A few hours later, a huge transport dropship clutching a big mobile cannon escorted by a few jet fighters and reverse-engineered droids were seen flying into the Yeouido area of Seoul. It was then set down by the dropship, then moved into firing position at the former Han River Park. After around five minutes of setup, the cannon shot a massive ball of blue energy across the districts and directly onto the AutoWatch core in Jamsil. The storm of blue energy spread from the impact area across the building’s surrounding districts wildly, disabling not only the core building, but all AutoWatch defense emplacements, infantry, ground-based vehicle and airborne units. Finally, the blue storm stopped at around the former Nodeul subway station, at Dongjak-Gu. So powerful was the storm that the ARF troops waiting at Gangbuk (north of the Han River) and on Yeouido could feel the wind from it. However, once the troops converged on the core after the storm blew over, they found out that it was dead. Their mission was complete after 3 months of fighting. The ARF forces then recovered what technology and intelligence they could gather from the core, which aided them greatly as they advanced down the Korean peninsula. The new EMP cannon was used to devastating effect in the next battles, as it disabled multitudes of drones as they advanced on the ARF forces. After major defensive structures such as Busan Tower and Centum City and the AutoWatch core were neutralized by the EMP weapon, any remaining armies were then bombed by the ARF Air Force, then engaged by ARF ground forces in fierce urban combat. As a result, the last major city in South Korea - Busan, was taken with relatively few casualties. When the ARF flag was planted upon Haeundae beach, the troops let out a massive cry of victory. 

In southern Asia, the ARF forces fought fierce battles to retake those regions. During the notable battle over Hong Kong, the ground troops had a tough time fighting through the narrow streets of the city and retaking buildings, even though the space cruise missiles destroyed landmarks such as the ICC and IFC, which were converted into defense towers. Air force planes couldn’t bomb as liberally, since there was always a risk of friendly fire whenever their troops would be fighting the machines. After four months of struggle, the ARF troops planted their flag on Shek O, took over the AutoWatch core and utilized vital information from it to attack the machines in Taiwan. Hong Kong locals warmly welcomed the new military and served up whatever food and drink they could find for their new freedom fighters. After around a week of rest, the southern ARF forces moved on to retake Southeast Asia throughout the next months.

After the capture of Busan and the Korean peninsula from AutoWatch, news of the victory was spread throughout the human resistance channels. The human forces were now getting ready to launch their last attack. The Middle Eastern Reconquerors and African militaries began assembling task forces which would leave by ship through the Suez Canal to Japan, the Asian militaries started assembling their forces in Shanghai, Busan and Pohang, the ARF Southeast Asian task force started gathering their fighters on ports, where they would attack Japan by ship. The North and South American militaries were already en route to attacking via sea and air. The ERF gained enough territory to rendezvous with elements of the ARF, and gathered forces at Vladivostok in preparation for an invasion upon the last AutoWatch stronghold.

On June 6th 2060, 116 years after the D-Day landings, the combined human forces launched a synchronized assault upon the Japanese home islands amidst their barrage of space cruise missiles and air strikes. New units and weapons such as massive air carriers, laser gun equipped jets and hover transport dropships made their combat debut thanks to the acquiring and reverse engineering of AutoWatch technology. For the forces making landings at different port cities of Japan, it was extremely difficult to establish a foothold in spite of intense bombing from the humans. Dogfights waged with lasers and missiles raged in the Japanese skies as the human ground forces engaged in intense combat with the AutoWatch machines. Dropships placed tanks, other heavy ground units such as Mammoth Destroyers, as well as armored troops directly onto battlefields so that they could fight immediately. Commanders in air carriers instructed their forces from above, and these airborne fortresses served as bases for attack drones, jet fighters, Mammoth Destroyers, dropships, troops, as well as having weapons of their own. As the incoming human forces gained ground, the local surviving Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) units began to reach out to them, gaining the reassurance and confidence to fight in the open, this time with many allies, once again. These surviving JSDF members were key in helping the incoming human forces formulate strategies against AutoWatch. Their contributions greatly helped the humans clean up the streets of Osaka after the EMP cannon which was brought in from the Korean bases via a dropship disabled much of the city’s defenses. It was truly a force of united nations battling side by side against the remainder of the machines, as Middle Eastern and African troops could be seen shooting and storming down streets alongside Asian soldiers. After around three days of slogging the machines, the humans captured intelligence from the core once again.

The assault on Tokyo finally came. All troops were standing by, poised for the final attack on the last core of AutoWatch’s global operations. After this, the machine threat would be vanquished forever. The assault began with a few launches of the EMP cannon from a safe distance, as well as a barrage of NARF-sent space cruise missiles which softened up the AutoWatch defenses and forces. Afterwards, the human ground forces, along with the jets and landing forces of the NARF and South Americans who finally crossed the Pacific, conducted an invasion of the city. However, as the humans crossed into the Roppongi district thinking that they were victorious, they were ambushed. The ground suddenly shook and thousands of spider droids suddenly emerged from the underground, as well as an electric dome which was the core. However, the last unit which emerged out of the sea struck fear into the hearts of the humans unlike anything they ever faced: AutoWatch’s most frightening unit ever - their core guardian robot. The armor-plated behemoth towered above all the human forces and was resistant to all of their conventional firepower. Spider droids tore apart human tanks and ravaged human troops with their spread laser guns, as well as their blades. They along with the human air forces tried to destroy the spiders, and even the EMP rifle-equipped NARF troops tried to fight back, but with limited success, for the core guardian destroyed fighter jets and ground forces left and right with its’ laser guns and mass destruction missiles. In disarray, the humans had to do a fighting withdrawal to Hanamatsu. Air carriers had to send hover transport dropships to evacuate wounded troops whilst under constant fire, jet fighters and ground forces provided cover fire during the chaotic retreat. The human forces had to evacuate whilst dodging fire from the core guardian, who managed to take out a good number of dropships. Orders to fire the EMP, as well as the space cruise missiles directly at the advancing core guardian and other surrounding AutoWatch forces, as well as to get to a minimum safe distance were given. As soon as the human army, air force and navy retreated to Hamamatsu, a barrage of EMP shots and space cruise missiles engulfed the core guardian and its’ surrounding forces in a storm of blue and yellow flame. When the flames settled down, all of the spider droids were destroyed, but the core guardian was still halfway functioning. Upon seeing this, the humans once again unleashed a salvo of EMP and space cruise missiles upon the behemoth, but then followed it up with attacks from jet fighters, droids from the ground, EMP-rifle, as well as rocket launcher equipped troops who were dropshipped onto rooftops and naval ships, as well as air carriers launching carpet autocannon, minigun, laser and missile attacks. Air units deployed chaff to not only throw off the giant’s missiles, but to confuse its’ vision and tracking systems. After three more barrages of EMP, space cruise missile and air unit fire, the core guardian finally blew up and collapsed. With a cry of victory, the EMP cannon was brought forward by dropship with an air escort to a forward position where it could take out the AutoWatch core once and for all. After the first shot, it was not quite down yet, so then the cannon took another shot whilst air units bombarded the core with laser fire. After the second EMP cannon shot, the core was down. As the human units moved in to secure the core and what it would reveal, several human troops came out and planted the flags of their respective armies on top of the captured global AutoWatch core. The troops then let out cries of victory and celebration. After 30 years of fighting, the Human-AutoWatch war was over.

2060-2070

After that costly 30 year war, humans began to rebuild the planet. The human forces tried to find ways to clean up the contamination caused by AutoWatch’s weapons of mass destruction attack in the beginning of the war. Slowly, people began to rebuild cities, their nations and systems of governance. Along with their physical environment, humans had a much stronger sense of unity than ever before, and this feeling would be key in the years to come. To prevent another AutoWatch phenomenon, it was mandatory for all computer systems to be controlled by humans. Within around 5 years, much of Earth’s cities were rebuilt. Though chaos and damage from the war were still being cleared or straightened out and recycled, with occasional problems in reconstruction showing up, the world not only rebuilt but improved their environment so that it was much better than in the pre-war years and in a much greater state than before thanks to the integration of reverse-engineered AutoWatch technology. Besides the restoration of old technology such as global computer systems and the Internet, new breakthroughs in science and technology were achieved, allowing civilization to rebuild quickly. Interpersonal relations between the different peoples of the world were also much better than before, and even more so after the shared experience of fighting and defeating the machines, then reviving the world together. In time, the idea of nations began to weaken, with the nations of each continent eventually uniting to make their own respective continents into countries in themselves.

2070-2080

The world was restored and largely made into a bustling, futuristic megapolis, somewhat resembling Coruscant from Star Wars. Flying modes of transport eventually became commonplace in the skies, with ground-based transportation becoming phased out. Towering skyscrapers with hundreds of floors each could be seen for miles around. In residential towers, the rich upper class lived on the luxurious upper floors, whilst the middle and lower classes resided on the lower levels. However, the non-wealthy generally still lived a relatively comfortable life, and it was only the severely impoverished or criminals who lived on the very low levels, which received very little natural light. Various types of vices occurred there, and life for the residents of those extremely low levels was a constant fight for survival. As a result, the people of the lower levels were somewhat looked down upon in every single way, but this made them all the more resilient, on top of having survived and won the Human-AutoWatch war. 

Natural scenery and parks were mostly well-preserved in cities, and places of nature such as national parks and rainforests were allowed to regrow and were also well-protected. New ways of protecting and using the environment responsibly were made too, such as automated trash dispensers being installed in almost every building and ‘smartcrops’ which could be planted in deserts. New pastimes much different from the pre-war years appeared, such as airpod racing which became popular. Old pastimes were also resurrected, such as football/soccer, basketball and mixed martial arts. However, new breakthroughs allowed these sports to not only be refereed better, but also be played in new, unprecedented environments, namely in highly elevated or floating stadiums. Militaries were developed to highly advanced technological levels. Continents had peaceful and cooperative relations with each other, and their citizens mingled freely.

Space travel also took off once again. This time, humans had the ability to create orbiting settlements in space, which not only could serve as research stations, but some became tourist spots and luxurious residences/holiday homes for the rich and privileged. It very much was a glorious age for humanity.

However, in around the year 2077, humanity was faced with a threat once again. An exploration satellite which was making a voyage through the Solar System was intercepted at around the Saturn area, and its’ last broadcast back to ESEA (Earth Space Exploration Agency) seemed to be of it being captured by an alien starship. After that, the transmission was lost. For weeks, ESEA couldn’t quite figure out what happened to the satellite, until the starship suddenly emerged over the moon, as if it were shooting out of darkness. This put the ESEA on alert, and they concluded that it could not be a cosmic body, as it was moving too slowly. Thus, the world’s militaries, who not long ago defeated murderous machines, were once again put on alert. When the gargantuan ship reached the outskirts of Earth, it deployed several smaller, yet still big starships from its’ interior. Several fleets of them then dispersed to each of the continents. As they were monitored by the world’s surveillance systems, thousands of landing craft and alien fighter aircraft issued from the multiple starships onto the Earth’s surface. The space cruise missiles were utilised against the starship fleets which hovered over each continent, but had little affect. Consequently, the guidance satellites for the space cruise missiles were destroyed by the aliens. The world’s communications satellites were also disabled by the aliens, so that the humans would find it harder to coordinate plans. Space research stations, as well as the space-borne vacation homes/spots were quickly annihilated. Air force jets and drones immediately engaged the intergalactic aircraft, as well as the alien ground forces. Human ground forces were also deployed en masse. Initially, the human forces put up a ferocious resistance against the otherworldly insect/humanoid invaders as they waged dogfights in high above Earth’s gleaming cities and conducted fierce urban warfare against the alien troops. AutoWatch’s reverse-engineered technology really helped the humans in their fight, as many aliens fell mainly to the laser and EMP weapons of Earth’s militaries. Bullet-based weaponry also worked, but it took more shots to defeat the foot soldier aliens as they could take in a certain amount of bullet damage before dying. The elite aliens however, were harder to kill than the regular alien trooper infantry who only had laser rifles, as they had advanced armor, plasma-based weaponry, bladed pop-out weapons and a large, strong skeleton which included a massive bean shaped head (which gave rise to their nickname, the bean bugs), teeth which were large and sharp, claws and a tail spear. They were terrifying to look at, let alone fight.

For months, battles raged between the humans and aliens in megapolises, parks, various places of nature and skies across the planet. People were forced to use old style ways of communication, such as ham radios and Morse Code in order to relay messages. Troops engaged in close quarter engagements with the aliens, resulting in bloodbaths on both sides. Humans were shot up, blown up and even sometimes even eaten when they faced the senior alien troopers, whilst aliens were shot up, blown up and cut/stabbed to death by the humans. The ground forces of both sides engaged in an ugly slugfest of metal and flesh. Human tanks/walkers and alien tanks smashed it out in various environments, resulting in staggering losses of lives, both military and civilian. Civilians were evacuated well away from the urban areas through various means of transport. For a long time, many wondered why the aliens came to Earth on hostile terms. Eventually, the alien onslaught became too much for the humans, and many cities and large territories of land were lost to the alien invaders. The galactic intruders set up their own settlements upon their conquered lands, especially the captured cities. The majority of the human forces retreated to dense or remote places of nature such as jungles, deserts and ice/snow-filled regions, where they could conceal their forces. However, some human troops, especially the special forces, retreated to the deep levels of their once-beautiful cities where they waged guerrilla campaigns against the aliens. It was in this time that understanding between the peoples of the lower levels of the world’s megacities and the other social classes began to form, since the special ops members recruited the people of the lower levels, as well as people who fled from the middle and upper levels, to help in missions against the aliens. It was mainly the people of the lower levels who proved to be fierce, adept fighters, as their rough upbringing trained them for adversity and confrontation. However, people from the higher levels who were from more, and in some cases very well-off backgrounds managed to become just as fierce, if not fiercer than their comrades who originated from the lower levels of the cities. These volunteers were supplied weapons, as well as provided training by the special forces who were operating out of and in their area. Eventually, the fighters of the lower levels utilized their training, as well as their own harsh life experiences to become hardened, deadly warriors, as well as make their own weapons in addition to the ones provided to them by the elite troops. These underground fighters became known as ‘The Pit Ghouls’, for the way they terrorized and killed their alien invaders. Eventually, these troops became somewhat of a frightening urban legend among the aliens. Though the aliens controlled much of the world’s cities and tried to expand their territory, the humans were still fighting back.

During a lull in the fighting, it was widely reported by the surviving governments of the world that global water levels were decreasing relatively quickly. Unable to find the cause of the problem, humans started rationing their water. However, one day, a soldier on patrol in the Arctic spotted certain alien activity which eventually led to scientists and historians figuring out the answer. An alien harvester craft, surrounded by several of its’ fighter planes was drilling a hole in an iceberg for a few minutes, and the water around it seemed to sink a little before the craft flew away. The soldier then reported it to General Nikolai Morozov, who then informed the former ARF and ERF, now Asian and European military leadership of the observation. Similar reports from the militaries of the other continents were also shared. The militaries then instructed their science divisions to find an explanation for what the soldier saw. The conclusion was that the aliens were drilling Earth for its’ resources, especially water, hence the decrease in water levels around the planet. Thus, military forces were instructed to target any ‘water drainer’ ships. This led to many battles between the humans and aliens, with the former trying to protect their planet’s natural resources.

2080-2090

At the turn of the decade, Earth’s military forces not only discovered the reason and source of the aliens’ conquest, but also piloted a joint program to create their own enhanced soldiers to help lead the counterattack against the invaders, since they saw that their regular troops struggled against the aliens. Selection and training took place near the city of Norilsk, Russia, which was one of the few cities untouched by the aliens due to it being remote and having been well-defended. The initiative was called Project FIGHTING REBIRTH. Only the fittest troops, even some special forces operators from each service branch of each continent’s military were invited to the program. Whilst the other forces fought against the aliens, the candidates were first put through a series of hellish physical military training, psychological training, training in advanced special warfare tactics, specialist and expert marksmanship training, top level hand-to-hand, melee weapons combat systems, survival training and other skills. Those who passed the initial training were then chemically and physically enhanced with substances preserved from the mass evacuations of the cities during the previous decade. These newly enhanced troops who had highly increased, near-superhuman physical traits were then provided powered armors and weapons which were reverse engineered from captured alien technology, as well as supplemented by human technology. They were developed by a joint research and development division made up of scientists and technicians from each continent’s military. Thus, the Legionnaire troops were born. Each trooper was then assigned to each service branch of their continent’s military.

The armors provided the new fighters much-enhanced protection,  increased hitting power in addition to their already much improved hitting ability the chemical enhancements gave them, flying capabilities, storage space for ammunition as well as melee weapons and their helmets had heads-up displays which relayed and displayed important health and combat information. New rifles which could simultaneously fire regular and alien laser ordnance, as well as rockets were given as standard issue to these new shock troops, along with rapid fire bullet-loaded pistols, .50 calibre pistols, laser handguns and ‘Dragonfire’ grenades (hydrogen grenades). Other projectile weapons they could choose to carry depended on their specialty, and these included sniper rifles, miniguns, rocket launchers, laser bazookas, grenade-launcher fitted and belt-fed rifles, laser rifles, shotguns and mini-rail guns. Melee weapons they could carry included vibro-broadswords/knives, pop-out sword-length heavy batons, high impact vibro-sledgeaxes, pop-out handle halberds, pop-out handle vibro-guan daos and pop-out handle war hammer halberds.

After these Legionnaire troopers were sent from their secret development facility to each of their respective militaries, they provided some much needed morale to the rest of their otherwise unenhanced comrades. With these new troops, the global militaries launched simultaneous campaigns to retake the planet.

In North America, the Legionnaire troops made their debut in the Battle of Calgary. As the jet fighters, drones and air carriers engaged in air combat with the alien fighters and unleashed a storm of bombs upon the alien defenses, the Legionnaire troops led the reinvigorated troopers into the city where they engaged alien troops in brutal close quarter, street-to-street fighting. This time, the Legionnaire troops helped turn the tide massively against the otherworldly occupiers. Individual Legionnaire troopers mowed down entire squads of aliens, including the higher ranking, fearsome looking extraterrestrials through a deadly combination of overwhelming ordnance release and masterful hand to hand combat. Seeing that the main military forces were winning the battle for the city, ‘The Pit Ghouls’ emerged from the shadows and openly joined the fightback against the aliens alongside the special forces, Legionnaires and regular troops. By the end of the battle, the city was retaken with the humans standing triumphant.

The Legionnaires in other continents also massively turned the war in favor of the humans. Eyewitness accounts and glowing reports of their battle prowess were widely shared among the unenhanced troops, as well as the civilians who owed the return of their cities to the upgraded fighters. Divisions of ‘Pit Ghouls’ who retook their cities alongside regular troopers and Legionnaires established mutual respect with their fellow citizens of all social classes, since the ‘Ghouls’ were recognized for their fighting skills and effort. The massive social prejudice against the lower classes which carried on for years before the alien invasion was finally largely ended.

2090-2100

The human-alien conflict dragged on with the humans engaging the aliens in pitched battles in natural and manmade environments. Another notable battle was the Battle of the Maldives, in which waves of ARF military stormed a massive alien water drainer, due to it affecting an area with abundant amounts of water. Many ARF naval vessels, as well as alien ships and airborne units were lost as the battle erupted all around the water drainer. Since the ARF could not bombard this certain alien drainer into destruction due to its’ thick armour and defensive capabilities, detachments of Legionnaires, Pit Ghouls and regular troops were then sent to sabotage the vessel from within. After fierce close quarter weapon and hand to hand combat inside the ship’s interior between the human and alien forces, the human special forces eventually managed to blow up the water drainer from within. However, this victory was not without some loss of life on the special forces’ side. Though the humans achieved victory, it came at a relatively high cost. More anti-water drainer engagements were conducted, with the humans eventually destroying most of them through Legionnaire/Pit Ghoul/special forces sabotages within 5 years.

Eventually, the aliens grew frustrated with the human fightback. Thus, their command ships, including the main ship from which they all issued, which long kept watch over each continent then descended with newly deployed, accompanying cruisers in an effort to end the war completely.

A massive feeling of frustration came over the humans, as they realized they had only defeated the vanguard of the aliens. Seeing the severity of the situation, the humans issued a global alert via their largely restored sophisticated communications systems to the different continental militaries and rallied what forces they had left to engage the invaders, particularly air forces. Masses of air carriers, jet fighters and drones battled opposing alien fighters in the air, lighting up the skies as they engaged in dog fights. Human air units tried to destroy the alien carriers who were trying to bombard the human settlements. The armies and navies kept shooting cruise missiles at the alien air units. Some alien cruisers managed to fall, to the cheers of the humans. However, some cruisers were better defended than others, and so a sudden plan to have different teams of Legionnaires/Pit Ghoul/special forces troops take down the cruisers from within was enacted. The command ships, with their heavy armor, were able to withstand the withering bombardment and soon settled themselves upon different oceans around the world in order to finish the job of draining the planet of its’ resources. These battles raged all across the world.

Upon this new development, the humans dispatched their Legionnaires, Pit Ghouls and special forces teams to raid the alien command ships and do what they have done to previous ships - destroy them from within. All teams who successfully destroyed the alien cruisers after slogging through armament-based as well as melee combat with the alien crews and troops immediately proceeded to the water-devouring alien command centers, whilst the regular human forces provided covering fire and continued to engage the fighters, cruisers as well as the command centers’ defenses. Multiple human infantry landing craft found it very difficult to land in the aliens’ command centers due to the intense firefights they had to navigate through in order to do that. A good number of landing craft were shot out of the sky either due to alien aggression or crossfire between the human and alien forces. The special troops who made it into the interior of each command ship faced hellish levels of resistance which far exceeded what they fought through on the alien cruisers from not only the regular human/insectoid aliens, but also from the elite, ‘bean bug’ aliens who outnumbered their regular comrades. Nevertheless, they managed to persevere and fight their way bit by bit through their respective alien command ships despite taking substantial losses. Once again, there were multiple firearm-to-firearm, as well as hand-to-hand engagements between human and alien forces. The close quarter fights largely resembled the battles of old, where weapons-both projectile and melee types, physically clashed and limb crashed against limb and body. Both humans and aliens were sometimes shot at from close range. Much blood was shed by both sides, as human and alien alike fought valiantly for their own race’s victory. Through many cruel, extreme and savage blows and deaths inflicted on both sides, the human special troops eventually won their gun and melee battles, and managed to plant explosives to destroy most of the alien command ships from within. 

At different times, the different alien command ships on each continent were blown up except for the main ship, which was still successfully withstanding external bombardment near the Midway Islands. Any and all remaining special troops were then called to help win the second Battle of Midway by conducting a final assault upon the main alien ship which was rapidly gulping down the world’s oceans. By the time the troop transports reached the ship, much of the alien air force had been taken out, leaving a relatively clear path, save for the incoming anti-air battery fire. Once the transports entered the chief alien vessel, they immediately took heavy fire from massive groups of alien bean bug troops, forcing the human transports to conduct emergency landings. The human transport pilots then broadcast a call for regular infantry to be inserted too, since they feared getting overrun. Some human transports were then destroyed by the aliens. The special troops then had to immediately fan out and return heavy ordnance fire due to the massive amount of alien fire they were receiving, plus the aliens were advancing towards the humans. Thankfully, the humans put up enough of a resistance to slow the alien advance, though the aliens eventually got within melee combat range. A slugfest then ensued, with weapons once again smashing and cutting into armor, flesh and bone. Firearms were used at close range, with alien and human soldiers alike being blown away. With reinforcements still en route, the human special forces troops decided to break out in an effort to reach and blow up the alien main reactor. Though they valiantly fought their way to the reactor, many losses were taken, and by the time they made it to their target, there were only a couple hundred of them left and thousands of bean bug aliens surrounding them. Just as the human troops were about to make their last stand to cover the teammates who were to blow up the reactor, swarms of human transports and their accompanying jet fighters and drones suddenly flew in and rained fire down upon the aliens. The regular human troops were also firing down from their respective crafts’ opening hatches. Scores of aliens fell, allowing the landing crafts to unload their troops, who hit the ground firing. The sudden reinforcements massively relieved the special troop task force, who were then protected by regular human troops as they moved to detonate the reactor. Once the charge was set, all human troops had only around 3 minutes to escape from the projected thermonuclear explosion. Though the Legionnaires’ armour had flight capabilities, they were warned by command that they may not be able to fly fast enough from the blast radius in time. Several bean bug aliens emerged from the ship’s interior to try and disarm the bomb, but the regular and special troops who were there had to stay and take them out. As the bomb ticked down to its’ final 20 or so seconds, a transport arrived to evacuate the regular, special forces and Pit Ghoul troops who weren’t equipped with flight-capable armors. All but one Pit Ghoul left, as he stood with four remaining Legionnaires to defend the bomb. The five fought valiantly and kept taking out the incoming troops with the high explosive weapons some of their comrades left behind for them. Finally, when there were only around 10 seconds left on the clock, the Legionnaires received an urging from command to immediately fly away from the alien reactor. At 7 seconds left, a Legionnaire grabbed the Pit Ghoul next to him, who kept firing at the aliens as he was carried out of there by the flying Legionnaire who in turn was followed by the other flying Legionnaires out of the main alien ship. Finally when the alien ship blew up, the Legionnaire holding the Pit Ghoul quickly shielded his comrade’s head under his big armored arm. The Legionnaires’ communications equipment went dead, but their flying equipment were still working at max capacity, getting all the warriors out of the gargantuan explosion. Human commanders desperately tried to contact the Legionnaires, as they disappeared from radar too. Just as the commanders were beginning to be resigned to the five warriors having made the ultimate sacrifice, the Legionnaires’ radar signature suddenly appeared. Uplifted by this sudden development, the commanders attempted contact, which was answered with a witty reply from the Legionnaire who brought the Pit Ghoul out: ‘There’s no need to yell, I’m right here!’, which was greeted with thunderous applause and cheering. The Legionnaire then motioned for his Pit Ghoul comrade to make contact with their commanders, at which he said with a depleted voice ‘sir, WE are right here!’ This pleasantly surprising development was met with further cheers and celebrations. The Legionnaire then sent out a request for any available ship to take in the Pit Ghoul for immediate medical care, at which he then flew into and offloaded his comrade into an available air carrier. Ever since then, the five troops were remembered and honoured for their heroics and dramatic escape at an official victory celebration which took place in Aerial Level New York. Special attention was given to the Legionnaire and the Pit Ghoul who escaped together. The names of the Legionnaires who trailed their Legionnaire comrade who was flying out with the Pit Ghoul were Senior Airman Frank Kim, Technical Sergeant Oliver Dempsey and First Sergeant Doug Arroyo. The name of the Legionnaire who escaped with the Pit Ghoul was Master Sergeant Jason Hernandez, and the Pit Ghoul’s name was Lance Corporal Michael Wu. 

With the skies being clear for the first time in 23 years, the humans wasted no time in throwing both official and unofficial victory celebrations. Jet fighters shot fireworks to light up the cities and skies of Earth. The world developed a renewed sense of unity as humankind rejoiced. Massive levels of food and 

drink were shared, land and air cars honked their horns and all people no matter what their social class was, celebrated together for weeks on end. August 23rd, 2100, 18:21 SST (Samoa Standard Time) would be remembered as the day and time the Human-Alien War ended.

For the months and years after the war, humankind began to rebuild their civilization so that it exceeded its’ former glory. Peace and cooperation largely prevailed over the planet, as humans had a much-strengthened sense of togetherness as a species. Knowing that humans weren’t alone in the universe, a space defense force to defend Earth as well as its’ neighbouring systems was assembled.