Twenty-seven years ago the stroggos war ended. Our assualt force was never heard from again.
As horde upon horde of strogg forces stormed across the lands of earth, it was a
unanimous decision that the assault on Stroggos was a failure. What remains of 
mankind as we know it lives in hiding. Forever running from the assualt parties
of Strogg hunters, they take refuge where they can, never staying still for more 
than a few days. A refuge on their own soil, they struggle to survive each passing day.

          --*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*-- 

"Tommy, slow down! We've never come down this way before."

"Whatever, man. You're always whining about something." 

Tommy stops and looks back at his friend Charles and the few others that decided to
follow along this time. 

"Just shut up and try to keep up... and don't forget to keep track of which way we
came from. Last thing we want is to get lost and picked up by a patrol."

Tommy and Charles met about 3 years ago. Tommy's band of wanderers had come across 
the camp where Charles and his family were staying. Seeking refuge and shelter, they 
stopped at the camp to resupply and prepare for the next move. Over the next few days 
the 2 boys had become friends, running off to explore whatever area the group had
decided to stay in for the day. Each day was a new place. Every afternoon another 
adventure. For the next few years the boys continued to explore their surroundings. 
Upon their return to camp the other kids would always want to know where they went.
Time and time again they would dodge the questions and avoid the answers until it was
time for the camp to move for the night. 

Over time a few of the other kids from their wandering tribe had grown interested in
where the 2 boys would disappear to each afternoon. Instead of staying inside the camp
with the others, they would sneak off and not return until only an hour or two until
the group would break camp and move for the night. After months of begging and pleading
with both Tommy and Charles, they let a few of the older kids in on their little secret. 
Instantly they were shocked and excited about the possibility of leaving the camp. 

After about an hour of arguing, the 2 boys finally agreed to allow them to follow along
the next day. Besides, it would just be another day of wandering the wasteland and scribbling
down where they went and what they saw; hardly something out of the ordinary. If they only
knew how wrong they were. 

"Where the hell are you going Tommy? We've never gone this far from camp. The others look like
they are getting tired. Maybe we should start heading back, ya know?"

"I said shut up and follow me. There's something over the top of that ridge there and I want to
find out what it is." Tommy looked back at Charles and the others and motioned them to follow. 
As they climbed up the next hill they were astonished at what they saw. Right in front of them
was what looked like a small house tucked into the hillside. A fire blazed outfront. The kids
could smell and see food slowly cooking above the flame. 

Tommy nudged Charles in the side, "Come on. Let's go find out who's there". 

"But what if it's a group of Strogg?"

"Strogg don't cook their food on a campfire you dolt. Now come on!"

As soon as Tommy started to jump up and run over the hill a grizzly, broken looking map popped
up on the other side of the hill, just over the top in front of them. Pointing a rocket launcher
at them he shouted out "Who the hell are you?!?! What are you doing here!?!?!"


          --*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*-- 


"After Makron fell, I ran for the escape pod and got the hell out of there. I thought for certain
that I had dropped on some god-forsaken Strogg moon somewhere, so I find a nice quiet place and 
didn't move. Damn, who would have thought. All this time... sitting here on Earth."

"What happened to the rest of the force? They told us we sent millions against the Strogg." Tommy 
didn't understand how such a massive army could have possibly failed. This man, this soldier, had
bested one of their great leaders. Where did we go wrong? None of it made sense. 

Bitterman looked down at the ground and shook his head. "They're... dead. All of them... dead." 
He sat there in what looked like a dirty pile, holding his face in his hands. Every once in a while
his hands would move away, letting the light of the fire shine across his scarred face. 

"Tommy... we need to get back. The camp is going to leave without us if we don't move now." Charles
was always so worried about getting back. 

None of it seemed to matter to Tommy. The boy was in awe. This... man had survived the great war. 
He must know of a way that we can fight back and reclaim what really belongs to us. 

Suddenly he raised his head. "Son, did you say camp?" 

Charles looked stunned, "Yeah. There's hundreds of wandering camps out there. We've been on the run
from the Strogg since the attacks began in Canada."

"The Strogg are here!?!" His eyes shined brighter than the fire in front of him. "This cannot be."
Bitterman stood up and began pacing around the small camp. He stopped and looked around at the faces of
the young ones in front of him. "You," he said as he pointed at them all. "You must gather the others. 
We must build an army. Band together and force those damn monstrosities off of our planet!" 

"How are we supposed to do that? We don't have any weapons? No guns. No place to train." Charles didn't
understand what this old man wanted from them. 

"But you DO have someplace too train. You DO have weapons to use." 

With that, the man turned and walked into his makeshift home. When he returned, he carried with him a
tattered and weathered book. 

As he looked at the confused faces Bitterman smiled. "In this book is information that was only disclosed
to those who were chosen as soldiers in the assault on Stroggos. Hidden training facilities where we 
learned how to wield the very weapons that the Strogg would use against us, the only arms that had any chance
of destroying their grotesque man-machine warriors. You must gather the others. Find these places. Take up arms!"

          --*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*-- 

"This day, thirteen years ago, we found the Great One. Bitterman showed us the way. He taught us that it 
could be done. And here we are." As the general looks out across the crowd of young faces his stare seems to
stop at you. 

"When we uncovered these forgotten facilities it was said that we had no hope. No hope of ever rebuilding
what once was. No hope of reliving the fight against the Strogg. No hope for taking back what is 
rightfully ours. No hope."

"The time has come for hope to live again. You are the first of the new Earth warriors. The first to use
the same training halls as those who gave their lives fighting for humanity. These four training locations 
will shape you into brutal killing machines just like our ancient leader, Bitterman. Each one will present
new and challenging environments to hone your skills. Once you survive the four battle arenas, you should be
capable of handling whatever the Strogg might throw at you. Now g!. Set forth and prepare for our assault." 

"First training wave begins in thity minutes! Good luck!"