November 2517 (#OP1)
After several years of procrastination regarding mobilisation of the Freelance Expeditionary Forces (FEF) onto the surface, the Bunker council’s hand is forced when a mass prison break leads to activation of the Freedom Expeditionary Forces. The FEF follow the prisoners away from the Bunker and discover an abandoned Bunker asset known as Outpost 13 and convert it to their needs.
A hostile nanite-infected force that comes to be known as the Hive is encountered and fought. Tribes of survivors known as The Stricken are also encountered. Initially, hostilities break out, but calmer heads prevail and peace is secured. The prisoners are mostly rounded up but some remain at large on the surface.
It comes to light that one of the Council Members, Davis Rhodes of the Science Division, was possibly involved in the prison break and is arrested pending trial.
April 2518 (#OP2)
The FEF are once again called upon, this time to begin cementing the Bunker’s presence on the surface through diplomacy and military force. Not long before their mobilisation, Davis Rhodes escapes but is promptly recaptured by the FEF in a daring night-time strike into Hive territory.
Ongoing diplomacy with The Stricken leads to their leader, Raze, requesting aid with a problem Free People tribe known as the Blessed Crows. The tribe initially co-operates, with their leader returning to Outpost 13 to undertake talks with Raze. But after the talks, Raze is struck down with a mystery virus. Through the dedicated actions of the FEF, Raze is saved using hybrid Hive / Nanite technology. The FEF pursue and take out the leader of the rebel tribe, Redblade, and force the tribe to fall back into line.
Outpost 13 comes under wholesale attack by the Hive, led by a heavily mutated and augmented creature dubbed by the FEF as a ‘Lord’. The creature is overcome, but it is discovered that the creature’s consciousness has been safely transferred away. The FEF attempt to pursue and finish the creature for good, but the Hive are ready and are able to stop the FEF in their tracks. As the FEF demobilise, bunker military personnel increase defensive protocols and prepare for an active military campaign against a seemingly enraged enemy force.
July 2518 (#OP3)
The FEF remobilise to support the Bunker Militia, who are fast losing ground to The Hive. At the same time, a mystery virus ravages the Free People tribes, further reducing resistance to the Hive and threatening the peace between Raze and the Bunker.
The FEF set about dismantling the Hive network that allows their Lord, Apollo, to ‘reincarnate’ itself, and are eventually able to deal a final killing blow on the monstrosity. When Apollo falls, so does the entirety of The Hive.
FEF medics are able to identify and cure the virus plaguing the Tribes, and trace the infection to an abandoned FEF member’s body. Whilst the presence of the FEF is being felt by those on the surface in a very visual manner, it seems that their presence also brings hidden dangers and complications.
Not all is rosy, however, as a failed terrorist interdiction by the FEF engineering team results in the destruction of critical bunker ventilation systems. This renders approximately 1/3 of the Bunker uninhabitable, and results in the emergency evacuation of 500 citizens onto the surface.
October 2518 (#OP4)
Advanced drone recon algorithms developed by Ryan Quinn locate an unknown facility deep in ex-Hive territory exhibiting strong energy production potential. The FEF deploy to investigate and find a 500-year-old research facility in disrepair.
As they struggle to bring the facility back online and discover its secrets, a new threat emerges and attempts to seize the facility for themselves. Bunker Fortitude attacks supported by the Outlanders tribesmen. All the while, FEF scientist push to unlock the secrets of the facility and unwittingly unleash ‘The Witch’, a powerful Psionic.
An FEF team attempts to pursue The Witch, but are in turn ambushed; their offensive abilities are crippled from within, and The Witch flees after almost wiping out the team.
Elsewhere, the FEF push against a suspected Bunker Fortitude outpost, and after a pitched firefight resulting in the loss of a senior medic they successfully demolish the Outpost, forcing Fortitude on the back foot.
June 2519 (#OP5)
The FEF head to their newly named outpost, Fort Leon, where they continue to protect the secrets of the Laboratories and massive C7 production facilities beneath their feet from Bunker Fortitude forces. The Science division successfully test and utilise a new PSI Tracker device, which results in the eventual capture of the ‘Witch’ that escaped them previously. The Engineers finally deal with the Gideon threat, revealing a rogue AI attempting to eject all bunker occupants onto the surface.
In the midst of all this information slowly builds of a story to be broken regarding the Council and it’s eligibility to remain in office. The FEF assist Sophie Jones, ASCII reporter in breaking the story to the whole of the Bunker. The Council dispatches most of it’s security forces to apprehend the FEF, leaving Bunker security levels woefully depleted and unable to stop riots that eventually build to the Council being forced to stand down.
Meanwhile, the FEF attempt to rescue one of the council members, but his Fortitude captors execute him before they lose him to the FEF rescuers. As the FEF return to Fort Leon they are intercepted by the Bunker Security forces. After a long and tense standoff, the Security forces stand down without shots being fired.
The Council are all arrested and AICE takes control pending snap elections.
August 2519 (#OP6)
After a chance discovery by a research poring over the records stored in the facility beneath Fort Leon, the newly elected FEF Council orders the investigation of an information facility located within the radiation zone to the east of the Bunker and Fort Leon. A 2 pronged operation is launched, to stymie the effectiveness and threat of Bunker Fortitude, and to discover the purpose and usefulness of this new Facilty. The FEF discover an information archive belonging to the DAHL Institute, complete with it’s own quirky AI and advanced prototype drone weapon systems.
During the operation, the FEF intercept Comms of a Bunker Fortitude heavy assault force being massacred, and mobilise to investigate. What they find is the Hive; eerily similar, yet different in action to the forces encountered and bested over a year previous.
Despite the threat posed, the FEF are able to deliver a critical blow to Bunker Fortitude’s energy generation capabilities and force them on the back foot, whilst collecting vital information about the new Hive Threat.
With swathes of data gathered from DAHL’s archives, the Council considers it’s next move.
