Martian Rebellion World
Zone of the Enders.
Setting
The Zone of the Enders series is set in the late 22nd century. Humankind has colonized Mars, and space colonies are also set up in orbit around Jupiter. Fueling this expansion are two scientific advances: the development of the Laborious Extra-Orbital Vehicle, or LEV, a mecha used for labor and military use, and the discovery of Metatron, a high-energy ore found on Callisto.
However, those in power on Earth begin to take a dim view of the colonists of Mars and Jupiter, calling them "Enders", and imposing harsh and exploitative laws and taxes against them. Eventually, different groups on Mars begin to rise up in opposition to Earth. A new weapon given to these rebels is the Orbital Frame, a mecha that makes extensive use of Metatron-based technology, These Orbital Frames come to shape the destiny of Earth and its colonies, for both good and evil.
In 2173, humankind, in the search for a valuable resource called Metatron, has expanded its reaches to Mars and the moons of Jupiter, and full colonies have been established. However, Earth keeps a tight reign over the colonials, known by the derogatory term "Enders", and discrimination is commonplace. Food supplies are short, movement of citizens is controlled, and many Mars inhabitants have tried to rise up against Earth, but to little avail.
The game follows the story of a 17-year old boy named Cage Midwell, a worker upon the interplanetary express ship "Bonaparte III" with his close friend (and idol) Ares Enduwa. However, on a routine journey, Cage spots a woman creeping into the cargo holds, and follows her. As he does this, the ship is attacked by a powerful black Orbital Frame. Cage and the girl, who introduces herself as Myona Alderan, climb into a mysterious LEV held within the ship and escape, eventually crash-landing on Mars. They are quickly caught and are accused of being the ones responsible for the crash. On top of this, Myona has completely lost her memory. However, shortly after their imprisonment, they are freed by an "Anti-Terrestrial League" leader called Deckson Geyse. His faction, BIS (Born In Space), quickly come and rescue them, and Cage finds himself caught up in the escalating conflict between Earth and Mars.
Timeline
2014
- Problems surrounding Earth's population, environment, and energy reach their peak.
- The international project "Orbital Transport Concept" is announced.
2020
- The fervor for space development is rekindled as a result of the completion of the first lunar foothold.
2022
- Completion of the L1 Mars Catcher outpost.
- Lunar Mars Driver is first used.
2027
- Successful launch of an anchor satellite into orbit.
- Construction on the Orbital Transport begins.
2034
- International project "Mars Colonization Concept" is made public.
2040
- An unmanned space probe discovers a mysterious flat land on the Jupiter moon Callisto.
2045
- Orbital Transport is completed. Humanity is propelled into a full-scale space age.
- NUT Ltd. precipitates space development projects with the first generation LEV.
- Rapid increase in the number of lunar resource excavation facilities.
2048
- Construction begins on L4 and L5 space colonies.
2052
- Manned foothold is established on Mars. First stage Terraforming is initiated.
- Worldwide generation of nuclear fusion is given first priority.
2063
- United Nations announces that fossil fuel has dried up.
2067
- Manned space probe to Callisto discovers Metatron deposits.
- Age of Space Dependence
2068
- Emigration starts for colonies on L4 and L5.
- Rapid development of the LEV as a space work vessel.
2073
- Construction of permanent footholds on the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos begins.
2081
- Applied use of Metatron revolutionizes electrical technology.
2093
- Discovery of spatial compressing effect of Metatron.
2104
- Move is made toward the application of the Urenbeck Catapult.
2111
- Construction of the permanent foothold Antilia is begun on the Jupiter moon Europa L5.
2130
- First stage of the Martian Terraforming project is completed. Full-scale colonization is begun.
- Fervor for lunar development begins to fade out.
2135
- Outbreak of bacterial contamination on one of the Martian colonies. Earth Block quarantine line is fortified.
2145
- Urenbeck Catapult is completed on Martian moon Deimos outpost. Space Transportation Revolution.
- Sudden rush for Martian colonization. County system is introduced.
2149
- Antilia is colonized.[2]
2157
- Candor Incident.
- Discord deepens between the Earth Block and the Ender.
2158
- Armed society BAHRAM is formed within Vascilia County on Mars.
- NUT Ltd. secretly obtains rudimentary Orbital Frame technology.
2167
- The first Orbital Frame, Idolo, is created by a team of scientists headed by Dr. Rachel Stewart Links, under the joint sponsorship of BAHRAM and NUT Ltd.
- Radium Lavans is hired to test pilot Idolo. After having adapted to the frame and vice versa, he flies Idolo to Deimos to save Dolores Hayes and defies the orders of his superiors to stay put, triggering the events of the Deimos Incident and causing Idolo to be destroyed. Its wreckage is later salvaged by BAHRAM for production of Isis and Hathor.
2168
- In the midst of a Metatron delivery, lead pilot of BAHRAM Dingo Egret and his crew are led to an encounter with the UNSF by Colonel Ridley Hardiman. Unwilling to surrender despite inferior numbers and LEV's, Dingo throws himself into battle and rallies his troops. By the time the UNSF leaves, only Dingo survives. Regardless, the Metatron is delivered successfully and is later used to build the Orbital Frames Jehuty and Anubis on the space colony Antilia. Dingo hides out on Callisto as an ice miner.[2]
2172
- The misadventures of James Links and his family begin when Dr. Links sends him the Orbital Frame Dolores.
- UNSF forces occupy Antilia through force.
- In December, BAHRAM launches its raid on Antilia, using Orbital Frames in real battle for the first time. BAHRAM successfully defeats the UNSF and takes Anubis, but loses Jehuty to coincidental pilot and colony resident Leo Stenbuck. Jehuty is subsequently taken on board the Atlantis.[3][2]
- After the Antilia raid, BAHRAM under General Rutger Tyusha mobilizes to seize control of the Earth Orbital Elevator. These plans do not go underway, however, as a resurrected Radium endeavors to wipe out all life on Earth by destroying the Elevator. James Links and family, however, manage to put a stop to Radium, and Dolores uses the last of her energy to stabilize the elevator, with the help of a reformed Radium and his Orbital Frame and Raptors.
2173
- On January 18, Leo Stenbuck is instilled into the UNSF as a Special Task Corporal and begins training alongside Rock Thunderheart in the use of the Vic Viper.[3]
- BIS activity in the Hellespontos county of Mars reaches a high as UNSF forces run rampant throughout the area. BAHRAM subsequently makes moves towards Hellespontos and ultimately manage to inflate sentiments of Martian independence by playing upon BIS's activities.
2174
- Dingo Egret stumbles upon Jehuty and faces off against BAHRAM. Project Aumaan is activated by Nohman, but Dingo manages to defeat and kill him. Though the ensuing explosion activates anyway, Dingo's efforts keep the damage to a minimum and the explosion ends up only destroying Phobos.
- Mars subsequently gains independence from Earth.
Factions
United Nations Space Force
The United Nations Space Force (commonly abbreviated UNSF) is Earth's primary military force. It is present in all Zone of the Enders media to date, and is composed of several different divisions with their own duties and jurisdictions.
Divisions
Acemos: a UNSF elite force featured in Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars. Its members are notorious for their anti-Martian racism and comments from soldiers indicates that Acemos do not act in accordance to UNSF protocols that would normally apply to other divisions. In 2173, it is led by Chief Inspector Dezeele Zephyrs and Lieutenant Bolozof Velasgo.
WIRED: otherwise known as WDSO, WIRED is a gendermarie-esque UNSF unit featured in Zone of the Enders: Dolores,i. It is does not have the same resources as Acemos; its members perform duties on foot, but they do have authority to commandeer other UNSF equipment, such as shuttles, LEVs, or APCs. In 2172, it is led by Baan Dorfloum, and after his unfortunate demise, is succeeded by his assistant, Sameggi.
History
The UNSF is the military force maintained by Earth to protect their interests in the colonies, as well as acting a defense force for the colonies. BAHRAM was originally a semi-independent division that maintained autonomy while answering to the UNSF, but by 2167, tensions between Earth and Mars had caused dramatic cutbacks in BAHRAM's strength. Desperate to prevent Earth's takeover of Mars, BAHRAM developed and deployed the Orbital Frame, Idolo. However, the UNSF's attempt to disband BAHRAM and seize Idolo turned violent when they attempted to hold its researchers hostage, and the Deimos Incident would mark the start of the Earth-Mars conflict.
In 2172, the Space Force attempted to assert its prescence in Jupiter by taking over the colony of Antilia and seizing the Orbital Frames Jehuty and Anubis from the BAHRAM facility based there. However, BAHRAM's vicious counterattack neutralized the UNSF garrison and resulted in heavy fighting damaging the colony. Even though the Space Force garrison was successfully eliminated and Anubis was recaptured, BAHRAM's failure in recapturing Jehuty resulted in them damaging the colony even when they secured the colony. The resulting civilian casualties convinced civilan Leo Stenbuck to deliver Jehuty to the UNSF vessel Atlantis and eliminate the BAHRAM attack force. The battle would be a strategic draw; even though the Space Force's prescence at Antilia was eliminated and Anubis was lost, Jehuty's delivery would result in the destruction of the BAHRAM attack force, with its CO, Nohman, being the only known survivor.
By 2174, despite several victories, the UNSF had lost control over Mars to BAHRAM, and with Aumaan and other high-end Orbital Frames under Nohman's personal control, sending reinforcements to the battered forces proved to be difficult. Regardless, remnants of UNSF units led by Elena Weinberg and Leo Stenbuck managed to assist Dingo Egret in Jehuty in invading BAHRAM's base in Vacilia County and launching Jehuty to Aumaan, Nohman's personal base. With the destruction of Aumaan, the UNSF was able to send reinforcements from Earth and take back the rest of the planet.
BAHRAM
BAHRAM (called Bufram in the OVA and Anime), also referred to as the BAHRAM army, is an illegitimate anti-terrestrial military organization. It is notable for featuring the main antagonists of the Zone of the Enders series.
Based in Mars' Vascilia County, BAHRAM is closely allied with the Martian weapons development company Nereidum Universal Technology, with whom it developed the Orbital Frame.
Ideology
BAHRAM (called Bufram in the OVA and Anime), also referred to as the BAHRAM army, is an illegitimate anti-terrestrial military organization. It is notable for featuring the main antagonists of the Zone of the Enders series.
Based in Mars' Vascilia County, BAHRAM is closely allied with the Martian weapons development company Nereidum Universal Technology, with whom it developed the Orbital Frame.
History
Having been established in 2158, BAHRAM is introduced as a semi-independent UNSF militia division based in Vascilia County that was tasked to defend Mars. Despite essentially being a part of the UNSF they held deep-seated resentment towards the Earth who often persecuted Martians and used the derogatory word 'Ender' to refer to them, working towards the goal of complete liberation of Mars and independence from the Earth. Martian pride was prolific in Vascilia as it had been the fist part of Mars touched by human feet, and as such feelings of anger and resentment towards the Earth for their treatment of Martians was higher here than in any other county on Mars.
However, at the height of Earth-Mars tensions, BAHRAM was forced to disarm and turn over its equipment to other units arriving from Earth. With only a few personnel left, the unit was forced to partner with Nereidum Universal Technology (NUT) to research and deploy the first combat-ready Orbital Frame, Idolo. With the new Frame, developed using the mysterious newly discovered ore called Metatron, idealistic BAHRAM personnel hoped that it could be used as a bargaining chip in Martian independence. However, the UNSF's attempt to disband BAHRAM and take control of Idolo turned into a deadly mutiny, and the Deimos Incident would be the trigger for hostilities between Earth and Mars.
During the Deimos incident, both the UNSF and BAHRAM worked together to destroy Idolo, which went on a destructive rampage at the hands of the rogue pilot Radium Lavans, implied to have been driven to insanity due to overexposure to Metatron as a result of piloting the frame. Following the incident a complete cover up of the incident was agreed upon by both sides and BAHRAM became a fully independent organisation with a stated goal of securing freedom for Mars. The UNSF made no further attempt to disband and destroy BAHRAM, perhaps fearing another Deimos incident, but a cold war of sorts ensued between both sides with each watching the other.
BAHRAM rapidly expanded their Orbital Frame development, beginning mass production of frames that were all based around a base model called the Raptor - the architect behind the Raptor was Dr Rikoah Hardiman, who would come to be known as "the father of Orbital Frame technology". Whilst BAHRAM developed follow ups to the prototype Idolo frame based on its wreckage recovered following the Deimos affair, Hardimann began work on the Aumaan plan, orientated around the construction of a massive military fortress on Mars and two highly advanced Orbital Frames; Jehuty and Anubis. To further conceal this top secret project, development of the frames was moved to the space colony Antilia on Jupiter, far away from the Earth's gaze.
When the UNSF took control of BAHRAM facilities on Antilia , and confiscated the Orbital Frames Jehuty and Anubis, BAHRAM launced a vicious counterattack, with an entire battalion of unmanned frames and its members Nohman, Viola, Axe, Slash and Nightraid in high-end type C Orbital Frames. Even though they easily brushed aside the UNSF garrison and recaptured Anubis, the actions of civilian Leo Stenbuck and the crew of the Atlantis kept Jehuty out of BAHRAM's reach and annihilated the attack force. Of the BAHRAM personnel that attacked the colony, only Nohman is known to have survived, with Viola killed and Axe, Slash, and Nightraid MIA. The fact that BAHRAM was happy to attack neutral civilians and rescue workers, even with the elimination of the UNSF military presence, caused public opinion to turn against them, and the loss of experienced frame runners caused a major personnel crunch.
In order to preserve their true objective in recovering their prototype orbital frames, BAHRAM framed their raid on Antilia as a liberation from the UNSF who had seized the colony by force - acting in support of their fellow 'Enders' on Jupiter. Despite this they received significant resistance from the more moderate political factions on Mars, who insisted that BAHRAM did not represent the whole of Mars and whose actions they knew would place Mars in direct opposition to the Earth. The raid was ordered by General Rutger Tyusha, BAHRAM commander-in-chief, although Colonel Nohman, as the son of Rikoah Hardimann, is implied to be the one truly behind it as he had inherited his father's project and was determined to see it to completion.
While the victory at Antilia might have allowed BAHRAM some breathing room, the issue of how to sustain their operations against UNSF escalation arose, and with the loss of the Antillia attack force and public opinion turning against them due to the callousness of the raid, personnel shortages became apparent. General Rutger Tyusha decided to use the morale from the attack to launch an ambitious assault; taking control of the Earth Orbital Elevator. Radium Levans, who had survived the Deimos Incident, launched an even more radical plan behind Tyusha's back; toppling the Earth Orbital Elevator and causing a disaster of untold proportions. However, when moderate BAHRAM brass back on Mars realized that Earth's destruction would also cause epic economic issues on Mars, they called a truce with the UNSF to assist a small party led by James Links to intercept Levans. The resulting battle saw Levans's BAHRAM squadron suffer major casualties and a huge defeat. With General Rutger Tyusha having committed suicide during the operation and Radium Lavans dying after a last act of atonement in helpting to prevent the Orbital Elevator from toppling, BAHRAM's leadership was thrown into disarray. Said to be "a geriatrics club", the BAHRAM leading council ultimately chose Colonel Nohman to succeed Rutger Tyusha as commander of BAHRAM.
BAHRAM become aware that the UNSF have developed their own prototype Orbital Frames, called the Animus series, the research for which dates back to as early as 2163. The culmination of this research led to the creation of the Orbital Frames Iblis and Testament, which were designed to be operated using the IDO Mindflow System which would exactly emulate the effect Idolo had on Radium Lavans, creating perfectly obedient Frame Runners. To serve as the guinea pigs for this system, children were abducted, such as Vale and Pharsti Shatner. The man behind all this was the UNSF's Dezeele Zephyrs, who felt intense bitterness towards Rikoah Hardiman and sought to surpass him in the field of Metatron research.
Lance Jimmer of BAHRAM had his spy Amante Furlair planted within the inner circle of Zephyrs whilst he also used Vale Shatner - given the alias Ares Enduwa - as his agent to spearhead a violent Martian independence movement in Hellespontos County. Ares had also hijacked Iblis from the Bonaparte III to help him achieve his mission. Jimmer had taken in Vale and Pharsti after they managed to escape Zephyrs's lab, with the aim of turning them against their former captors. BAHRAM's goal was to eliminate the Animus project as quickly as possible, seeing it as a huge threat to their technological superiority over the UNSF - the Orbital Frame was the only thing that gave them the ability to fight the Earth as the UNSF still used LEVs.
One turn of events BAHRAM never anticipated was the intervention of Born in Space (BIS) a Hellespontos-based anti-terrestrial group that ended up with the Orbital Frame Testament when Cage Midwell, Ares's friend from the Bonaparte III, who took the frame in order to escape the ship's destruction, joined the group. Alongside him was Pharsti Shatner who had sacrificed her memory to implant part of her soul into the frame, moved by the need to help Cage and protect him during the destruction of the Bonaparte III. This led Ares to initially infiltrate BIS as a spy, though he eventually reveals his true allegiance to BAHRAM.
When BIS defeat Zephyrs, BAHRAM finally act directly, with Jimmer deploying many unmanned Orbital Frames against them in an attempt to stop them intervening in activities of Ares; who intends to fire a Marlebank beam in the largest residential nest on Hellespontos as an act of revenge.
It is eventually revealed that Lance Jimmer is actually Ani Aegis, an earth-born BAHRAM frame runner and rising star who had been a rival to Nohman for the BAHRAM leadership, hating the former for the privilege and fortune he enjoyed as the son of Rikoah Hardiman. It is implied that he ultimately attempted to murder Nohman but failed, leading to him adopting a new name and face as Jimmer. Amante reveals herself to actually be a spy for Nohman, gleefully informing Jimmer that she knows who he really is and betraying him.
Amante later makes a call to Nohman following the conclusion of events, confirming that their plans ultimately were accomplished as they got of the UNSF's Animus series and Dezeele Zephyrs whilst also raising awareness across Mars of anti-terrestrial activity. Stating that the whole of Mars is looking to see what BAHRAM will do next, she expresses her interest in what their next strategy will be.
Despite the debacle that resulted from Radium Lavans's ill-fated Earth Orbital Elevator attack, Nohman's goals had been realised; with his opponents within BAHRAM eliminated, he could rally his pet psychopaths and launch a fresh offensive backed by a new generation of unmanned Orbital Frames, that were created using data from Anubis and the near-infinite resources afforded by the Metatron fortress Aumaan . Despite stubborn UNSF resistance, BAHRAM eventually routed the UNSF and took control of Mars's entire strategic infrastructure as well as Deimos Station. BAHRAM inflicted mass devastation on the surface of Mars during their annihilation of the UNSF, and continued to patrol Mars in the aftermath; hunting for survivors of their onslaught with their newly created fleet of warships.
By this point, Nohman had suffered the same degree of Metatron poisoning as Radium Lavans before him, being in thrall to the power of Metatron, mostly likely as a result of piloting Anubis and understanding the true nihilistic purpose of Aumaan as laid out by his father - the complete destruction of all life, which he stated was the 'will' of Metatron and would be accomplished with the full activation of Aumaan.
However, Nohman's backstabbing would lead to his downfall; mutineering BAHRAM Frame Runner Ken Marinaris would call on the disgruntled former BAHRAM pilot, Dingo Egret, to use Jehuty, in a counterattack to destroy Aumaan and defeat Nohman - Dingo was believed to be the only one capable of matching Nohman's skill as a Runner. Despite Nohman calling Marinaris's mutiny, the damage was done. BAHRAM is defeated when Dingo Egret killed Nohman in the core of Aumaan which was ultimately revealed to be on Phobos, and its destruction would lead to BAHRAM scattering as UNSF reinforcements from Earth arrived. Though BAHRAM was finally defeated and the anti-terrestrial movement ended, Dingo was nonetheless able to secure the independence of Mars, striking a bargain with the Earth following his actions in destroying Aumaan and BAHRAM.