Story for GF

[acethesupervillain]

I wanted to exercise my writing for the open writer call, and got kinda carried away.  Ended up with a fun little 9 page short story based on the background I wrote (plus 1 page for the actual background).  Too long for an open writer submission, but I still want to share it.  

drive.google.com/file/d/1U0kgLx5pqvMw4tD8h2nJFR4rzoFN9ScK/view?usp=sharing

Enjoy, let me know what you think.  

[acethesupervillain]

Because I feel like I have to, I want to quickly brain storm how each of the OPR factions would fit into my gene-hack origin story.  

Alien Hives:
A:  Various alien species native to the Sirius Sector.  Some gene-hackers go hunting for aliens so that they can incorporate new genes into their creations.  
B:  Earthling organisms gene-hacked to hell and back.  The hostile ones are the results of terraforming efforts gone out of control, or biological weapons, deliberately released on enemy planets to cause ecological disaster.  

Battle Brothers:
Elite gene-hacked legions deployed by the genobles.  Different genobles deploy different Detachments, and fight amongst themselves as often as they try to conquer the universe.  Most genobles style themselves as god-kings and program a fierce fanaticism into their Battle Bros in order to command their loyalty.  

Battle Sisters:
Same, but deployed by genobles who are feminists or perverts.  (possibly, genobles are divided into girls vs boys, like the Zentran and Meltran from Macross.  The genobles themselves are immortal, and their Battle Legions are grown in vats, so there's no need for reproduction.  The genobles who existed since the original Earth Wars have decided on their own recipe for super soldiers, and they just stick with it for all eternity)  

Dark Elf Raiders:
Elves in general were a gene-hacked mutant race that departed Earth long before the other factions abandoned it. Generations of nomadic raiding and continued gene-hacking have formed them into cruel killers.  

Dwarf Guilds:
These gene-hacked mutants were engineered specifically to survive on harsh mining colonies on asteroids and rocky wasteworlds.  Their existence predates the Earth Wars, and they are very suspicious of other human races.  

Havoc Bros:
Battle Bros that were created by gemons instead of genobles.  (or just by genobles who like that goth-metal aesthetic)

High Elf Fleets:
Elves in general were a gene-hacked mutant race that departed Earth long before the other factions abandoned it. Unlike humans who establish colonies on planets, elves exist in massive nomadic fleets, exploring the universe and enjoying its beauty without interfering.  

Human Defense Force:
A: Humans who rejected the excesses of gene-hacking.  They fled the constant wars and atrocities committed by the genoble and gemon factions on Earth and settled in the Sirius Sector to create a second start for the human race.  The HDF still uses modest gene-hacking technologies to cure diseases or defects, but this is tightly regulated.
B: Slave armies.  Genobles that control great territory have "farm" worlds, where they raise humans to be livestock and slaves.  A simple loyalty gene, and their human slaves will rush into battle with the same blood curdling vigor as an Orc or Battle Bro, though of course, they can't be expected to last as long.  

Infected Colonies:
Humans that have been distorted by a runaway gene-altering virus.  The origins of this virus are unclear.  It may have been native to the Sirius Sector, it may have been created by the spacial distortions of FTL transit, it may have been a gene-hacking attempt that went out of control (as normal gene-hacking uses an artificial virus to deliver new DNA sequences) or it may have been a deliberate terrorist attack.  

Machine Cult:
A group of humans who turned to cybernetics rather than gene-hacking to push the boundaries of the human body.  They were intrigued by the discovery of Robot Legions in the Sirius Sector.  

Orc Marauders:
A: Orcs were the not-so-stinking-rich man's version of Battle Brothers.  Human DNA twisted into slobbering brutes hellbent on destruction and WAR!  As they are often the product of cheaper gene-hackers, they often don't go according to plan, and get loose.  
B:  During the hey-day of gene-hacking on Ancient Earth, many humans resented the practice of cosmetic hacking. The abundance of beauty made beauty boring, so they chose to explore the aesthetics of ugliness instead and transformed themselves into Picasso-esque green skinned brutes.  To this day, they continue their aesthetic expression, even styling their war equipment like trendy scrap art.  

Ratmen Clans:
As with most scientific experiments, the gene-hacking began with lab rats.  "Hack-Rats" became popular pets during the hey-day of gene-hacking, and their offspring exist to this day.  And of course the aspiring genoble warlord who can't afford an army of Battle Bros or Orcs can always try his luck with a pack of Hack-Rats.  

Rebel Guerrillas:
A:  Human militias on the borders of the Sirius Sector that are not under the full protection of the HDF
B:  Humans splinter factions who resent the HDF's restrictions on gene-hacking
C:  Bandits, pirates, crime lords, terrorists, rogue states, etc.  

Robot Legions:
A:  Ancient alien war machines buried in massive tombs across the Sirius Sector.  Their origins are unknown, but archaeologists suspect that they were an automated army created by an ancient alien race who used the Robot Legions to fight themselves to extinction.  
B:  Way back in Earth's past, there were wars between the gene-hackers and cyborgers.  Gene-hackers won, and banished the cyborgers to space.  This was before the science of space exploration was as developed as it is now, and the only way the cyborgers were able to "survive" was by abandoning their humanity completely and transforming themselves into self-sufficient robots.  Human and robot forgot about each other for centuries, until they would meet again in the Sirius Sector.  

Soul-Snatchers:
A particularly vicious alien species native to the Sirius Sector.  They were originally simple minded parasites that melded with the brains of native animals.  But when the snatchers first tasted human brains, they gained a sudden intelligence, and craved for more.  

TAO Coalition:
A coalition of alien races from beyond the Sirius Sector.  They, like humanity, are attracted by Sirius' rich resources and habitable worlds.  Like the HDF, the TAO ban excessive gene-hacking, and have developed impressive mechanical technologies instead.  

Titan Lords:
Some genobles choose to spend their massive wealth on giant killer robots instead of squads of super soldiers.  

Wormhole Daemons:
Gemons:
The most twisted genobles cast off their humanity altogether and transform themselves and their followers into hideous and deadly genetic demons or "Gemons".  Gemons are distorted not only in body but in mind, and their completely alien outlooks make them unpredictable and dangerous to friends and foes alike.  




And the fate of Earth?

Though by all accounts Earth should be ravaged by war, there is truly no limit to possibilities of gene-hacking. The same gene-hacking that has turned men into gods keeps the ecology of Earth alive, despite the constant conflict.  As the entrenched Earthling genobles and gemons become more god-like in power, they continually blast their human and mutant pawns back to the stone age.  More and more factions abandon Earth until only the most relentless gods and demons remain.  Civilization crumbles, until only a shadow of technology remains.  But the gods and demons and their pawns remain, and the constant wars continue in a new age of Earth's history.  The Age of Fantasy.  

[ariktaranis]

Awesome stuff dude!