Mission Briefing

Welcome to Strata. For the newcomers, our planet might seem strange but you should get used to it pretty quickly. The short version is that there are plateau continents that rise above the clouds, below that are regions dominated by fog. We refer to them as the highlands, midlands, and lowlands. The highlands are above the clouds, the midlands are the base of the continents below the clouds, and the lowlands are the relatively flat land between the continents. The challenging conditions of the lowlands makes deep exploration virtually impossible.

Your team is being assigned to garrison duty in the settlement of Argyre. You will be equipped with light mechs for scouting and anti-piracy duties.

Daedalus continent is the heavy industrial center of Strata. Recently, mining expeditions have penetrated deeper and deeper into the lowlands. As the zone of mining activity expanded, a permanent settlement in the lowlands was deemed viable, as a supply hub and transport hub. Argyre settlement was originally a mining camp that then expanded to a small town to support surrounding mining outposts. The frontier of active mining camps has continued to expand since that time, but so far Argyre remains a useful transport hub. Materials and personnel flow between Daedalus and Argyre along one main land-train trade route. Also, from Argyre out to the mining camps, but this is off-road for the most part.

In the last two months, seven of these shipments have been reported missing. More importantly, they went missing with all hands. All evidence points to paramilitary level equipment and organization at most. Bandits and raiders. There is some concern that information on schedules and cargo manifests might be being leaked from personnel in Argyre to the bandits.

Your primary objective is to suppress any raiding in the operation zone, and eliminate any bandit activity.

Your secondary objective is to investigate and shut down any links between Argyre personnel and bandit operations.

Your tertiary objective is to rescue any surviving crew or passengers from raided
convoys. I have to be honest, hopes are not high that there are any survivors.

- General Lucius Morgan, Strata Military Academy