REF Rifts Earth Division History
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The origins of the REF Rifts Earth Division go back to the Sentinels' War against the Invid forces in their home region of the galaxy. It all began when two Rifts City Rats passed through a rift onto the planet Praxis.
The two leaders of the Chi-Town burbs' gang The Legion Of Doom, Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal, had their intelligences unwilling transferred into sophisticated robot bodies by a long-dormant artificial intelligence system on Rifts Earth similar to ARCHIE 3 called SkyCom-1. Having been dormant for over 200 years, SkyCom-1 intended to use the two City Rats to learn about the state of the world in it's absence by analyzing all of the data that was gathered by the two bodies' robotic sensors. They were able to pass as human because a fake Juicer bio-comp and drug harness were installed into the synthetic skin/musculature that was formed over their robotic endoskeletons. Since the two always had worn spiked Juicer plate armor to begin with, no one thought twice about that aspect of their disguise. Meanwhile, the Road Warriors reveled in the power of their robotic bodies, and played up the Juicer disguise. Using these new abilities, they were able to find new work as adventurers. Working for rogue scholar Paul Ellering, the two brothers usually engaged in the retrieval of arcane and illegal pre-Rifts artifacts from areas that no one else could pass through safely.
Eventually the two wound up in combat with an evil Shifter while attempting to retrieve a mystic ruby of unknown origin. Having pursued the Shifter into his lair and destroyed all of his supernatural minions, the Road Warriors believed that the worst was over, relaxing their guard. But they failed to anticipate his ability to erect permanent gateways to other worlds.
As they followed him through his inner sanctuary, he suddenly shouted an incantation, activating one such doorway as they were passing through it's area of effect. Laughter and taunts were all they heard from the Shifter as they fell through the vortex of the dimensional gateway, for they had fallen into his final trap.
They emerged disoriented and alone in an underground jungle in the middle of a pitched battle between two forces that they had never seen before: the REF/Sentinels and the Invid. Instantly the brothers leapt into combat against the inhuman creatures that threatened the other humans around them, turning the tide of the battle with their robotic might and instinctive combat skills. Hawk and Animal gave just the edge that the badly outnumbered REF/Sentinel forces needed to escape.
While evacuating the area, the brothers learned that they were on a distant planet named Praxis, where they had just helped bring about the destruction of one of the Invid's infamous Genesis Pits. Upon their arrival on the SDF-3, Admiral Hunter spoke to them personally, informing them of the situation that the REF was fighting to control. Admiral Hunter believed them to be from his Earth's far future, as did Hawk and Animal. He offered them a chance to return to Earth, but none of them realized that it would be the Road Warriors' Earth that they were be returning to.
When the Road Warriors boarded the Zentraedi ship that they would be traveling on, Hawk felt strange "vibes" about their trip. Upon entering hyperspace, there was a malfunction in the Space Fold systems. Time seemed to slow down as the two brothers watched in awe while the Zentraedi that were the crew of their vessel suddenly ceased to exist, along with a sizable portion of the ship's hull. As robots, they were impervious to the effects of the cold vacuum of space, but they knew that they were not as impervious to an explosion if the ship crashed into something.
Frantically, the duo scrambled to find out their destination. Upon reaching the bridge, they found the two Zentraedi crew members whose bodies had been melded into the very floor itself. Mercifully for the two crewmen, they did not suffer long as the shock to their systems had killed them nearly instantly. All seemed lost when suddenly the ship came out of hyperspace in an atmosphere of a planet that was suitable to support life.
After crashing in a clearing, they immediately abandoned the vessel that had carried them there. As they reached cover they saw a familiar sight approaching the crashed alien craft. Coalition troops were swarming over the clearing. Hawk and Animal realized that they were home outside of Chi-Town, despite the odds against such a trip. And now the CS had access to the powerful weaponry aboard the craft. Soon the skies above Lone Star would be buzzing with the new technology.
It wouldn't be long before the Road Warriors would encounter REF forces again however.
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After the Sentinels War, the SDF-3 entered hyperspace to make the trip to earth, just as the rest of the fleet had done. And as they began the Space Fold operation, as usual, the REF had a problem.
A strange surge of ley line energy had caused a strange phenomenon to occur during the operation. The Space Fold system had opened a large tear in space and time. The SDF-3 and their escort ships would find themselves thrown through space and time to the planet Mars.
Upon reaching Mars, the REF realized that something was wrong when there was no sign of the rest of the fleet. There also was no sign of any base on Mars. Admiral Hunter put all the ships on full alert and called for a meeting of the mission staff.
The REF realized that things were definitely amiss. Deciding to run some reconaissance missions, Admiral Hunter called for Vindicators to escort a Garfish-class vessel to an area closer to Earth. Upon reaching their destination, there was something wrong. Major Khrystle of the Spitting Cobras led the initial sortie into the range of the unknown orbital platforms that were surrounding the planet.
Using the Shadow Cloak to remain invisible to orbital sensors, the Cobras buzzed through, trying to gain information from radio signals between the various vessels. Then they saw the ley lines. And that's when they knew that things were very, very wrong.
Lt. Michael Martin of the Spitting Cobras had learned of myths from ancient Tiresian records that talked about sources of mystic energy on their homeworld appearing as bright blue lines. That sounded a lot like what they saw here. Upon hearing his observations, Khrystle ordered a return to the SDF-3.
It was at this point that Dr. Lang presented even worse news. Not only were they not in their home dimension, the SDF-3's fold system was burned out and would take months, perhaps years, to repair. Things looked bleak for the REF. And so the decision was made to set up a base camp for the SDF-3 on Mars while using the smaller craft to defend their perimeter and explore the Earth.
After a few weeks of research and exploration, it was discovered that there were "holes" in the debris ring surrounding the planet at the poles, allowing the REF a place to enter and exit the atmosphere. Dr. Lang, along with the mad genius Dr. Xiang, combined the Shadow Cloak with the designs for the RDF Holo-camouflaging units to cover the transport of REF units into and away from Rifts Earth.
Several months later, they discovered that this was the apocalyptic future that Hawk and Animal were from. Their evidence came in the form of a Zentraedi destroyer. It was the one that the Road Warriors had been assigned to when Major Carpenter's group left for Earth. And it was coming down hard.
The REF was unable to stop the badly-damaged ship's crash and was simply a spectator as it ripped through the orbital community and the debris ring on re-entry. The damage was catastrophic to the orbital platforms, with the Outcast Station lost in the devastation. There was damage to nearly all of the satellites orbiting the planet as the destroyer tore through their flight path. It was mass destruction.
The REF continued it's plans to create an information network on the plagued planet Earth, with a priority being the return of the Road Warriors. Soon enough that would happen.
While exploring into Mexico on an expedition for Paul, Hawk and Animal came across the small village of Cabo San Cabo, a town somehow free of the scourge of vampires. While they rested in the local bar, the Cabo Wabo Cantina, the Warriors enjoyed the sounds of rock music played by a band of androids that resembled actual musicians that Hawk had seen pictures of from before the Rifts. Eventually, Hawk and Animal were approached by a beautiful D-Bee woman with coal black skin, flame red hair, and glowing yellow eyes, who promised to show them the night of their lives if they went with her. "Why not?" thought the two brothers. They may have been made into robots, but they still had a fully working artificial musculature.
When they made their way down the street, she led them into an alley, where they found themselves suddenly in the company of five people in the CVR-3 armor of the REF. The D-Bee woman introduced herself as Magna, Cyclone Rider and bodyguard to one of the REF's allies. One of the others stepped forward, introducing the group to the Road Warriors. This was Colonel Khrystle; communications officer Lt. Henry Jones; Veritech pilot Lt. Mark Wildfire, who was Khrystle's second-in-command in the famed Spitting Cobra Squadron of the RDF's war against the Zentraedi during the Malcontent Uprisings; Military Specialist John James of the infamous Team Omega; and rogue scholar and REF ally Erin Tarn II, who claimed to be the daughter of the famous Rifts Earth historian of the same name.
Quickly the Road Warriors were led away to the nearby shore, where they boarded what they thought to be a submarine. It turned out to be an REF Ikazuchi Carrier which took them through the debris ring and past the colonies up to the planet Mars, where the SDF-3 and Admiral Hunter awaited.
For nearly two years, the Road Warriors worked alongside their friends in the REF, even going so far as to become members of the REF. Hawk became an REF Military Specialist, while Animal trained to become a Cyclone Rider. Eventually, however, the repairs were complete, and the SDF-3 was to leave for home.
Some of the crew wanted to stay behind, to protect this planet that they had grown to love. Admiral Hunter allowed any personnel to stay that wanted to. Hawk was named the Commander of the REF Rifts Earth division. Colonel Khrystle was placed in command of Veritech operations for the REF Rifts Earth Division. Erin Tarn II, who had fallen in love with Hawk during their time working together, decided to stay with the remaining forces as an advisor to them. Lt. Henry Jones was placed in charge of communications for the forces on Rifts Earth. Animal was placed in charge of gorund forces. Magna, who was a fully trained Cyclone Rider, was made the head of security.
It was decided that the forces be stationed on the Rifts Earth Macross Island in a full military facility, devoted to keeping the planet safe from extra-terrestrial and extra-dimensional threats while using their resources to protect peaceful alien races from persecution. Hawk was named the Director of Rifts Earth Affairs for the REF with Animal his second.
Macross Island became a network of tunnels which would serve as living quarters for all personnel, with entrances disguised as Horizont Shuttle troop transport tubes. Partially buried within the ground was the remains of two Garfish-class vessels, which would now serve as the ground headquarters for all REF Earth operations. Just off-shore, an Ikazuchi carrier rests underwater, its primary space drives cannibalized to help rebuild the SDF-3's, used as a hangar for Veritech Alpha and Beta Fighters. Tunnels linking the island to the carrier via an airlock were constructed. Land mecha, such as Destroids and a small complement of Veritech Hover Tanks, were assigned as defensive units for the island complex.
A city has been erected to house the civilians that have been rescued from whatever threats that the REF has faced. D-Bees and humans alike are welcome here, so long as peace is maintained on the island. So far, thirteen thousand people of various species have settled in New Macross City, with nearly half of those as new recruits for the REF Earth Division.
The council of Lazlo, through REF advisor Erin Tarn II, has become an ally of this peaceful open state. The first encounter came when Erin was called to plan for the Mechanoid Invasion. Accompanying her were Khrystle and Hawk, who played a pivotal role in formulating a defense plan for Earth. Since then, Lazlo and the REF Rifts Earth Division have stayed close in contact, with the REF ready to mobilize at a moment's notice if Lazlo is threatened by hostile forces.
In Mexico there still exists a sizable resistance force which the REF aids in the war against the vampire kingdoms. This information network was established by Erin during her stay there while she was working with the REF forces under Admiral Hunter. While recently passing through there on the quest to find the famous historian named Tarn, they took advantage of this fact in locating the Shifter that opened the Rift that Erin Tarn and her party were lost through.
Not long after the establishment of the new REF training grounds on Macross Island came the Mechanoids Invasion, an event that would show the REF shine it's brightest but at it's greatest cost. Hawk had made an uneasy truce with Karza to join forces to battle against this new threat. Invid and REF forces combined with Kittani, Tiresian, and superhuman forces in an effort to repel the invaders and minimize casualties by any one faction.
The joint effort was an awesome thing to behold. Alpha Fighters and black Invid Stormtroopers were flying side by side, with Cyclones and Kittani Equestrian units working alongside Coalition UAR-1 Enforcers. Coalition troops covered mysterious would-be heroes calling themselves outrageous names like Batman and Wolverine, who displayed skills and powers that were definitely not of their world. Hawk, Animal, and Baron Karza all powered their way into the Spider-Fortress with Erin Tarn II while the others engaged the Mechanoids outside. Hawk even saved Karza's life during a pitched battle where even Karza's great might was overwhelmed by the seemingly infinite hordes of Mechanoids that came after him.
But some could not take the strain of being in such close quarters. Animal was enraged by seeing his brother save the life of their deadliest foe. While Karza and Erin went to the main engineering area, an argument between the Road Warriors quickly degenerated into a brawl between them. They fought one another between shots against the enemy. The final mission was successful, but what had gradually become an uneasy gap between the brothers before became an impassable chasm now.
It was time for Animal to leave. He immediately went to the Kittani capital in Atlantis, searching to obtain a spacecraft for a journey off-world. He found more than he ever could have hoped.
In the city of Ki-Talan he found two spaceworthy vessels. One had crashed there before the Kittani had settled Rifts Earth, the other one had been constructed in it's image. In the center of the city was a vessel of the same dimension as Rifts Earth, but one that Animal was familiar with from his time in the REF. The smaller vessel, named the Koryoto, was a fully functioning warship, complete with Space Fold systems. Plans were made with Hawk immediately for Animal to return to a place he was welcome in the past, and find his destiny.
Animal went back one night with several of his most trusted allies in the REF Rifts Earth Division, broke into the smaller vessel, killed the surrounding guards and took it into orbit, where others loyal to him were taken under Hawk's orders. Animal and his followers were never seen again.
After the Mechanoids Invasion, Lord Karza made a deal with Hawk. Hawk had saved Karza's life in combat with the Mechanoids, and so wanted to be free of this burden of debt. Hawk wanted to be alive yet again. He wanted to be free of his cybernetic immortality. He wanted to be able to grow old with Erin, to have a family with her, to be with her until the end.
Karza found the place where SkyCom-1 had kidnapped the brothers, recovered enough genetic material as he could for both. He and Hawk sat down and discussed the genetic re-engineering that would need to be done to allow Hawk to still go into combat with as little loss of ability as possible. When all was said and done, Hawk was alive, healthy, and in a human body once more, thanks to Karza's psionics and mastery of genetics.
When he saw Erin after his return, he let her know that they would be together, to raise a family and grow old, just like everyone else did. He had wanted it to be a surprise to her. And it was. But then she told him a secret that she had been keeping from him since they had met.
She was immortal, unable to grow old or have children, and unable to die unless her head was severed from her body. She had never told him because she didn't think it would matter since they both were, in one way or another.
All was well between them after several tense days. They stayed together and now they simply treasure the time that they will have with one another.
Hawk could not stay as commander of the REF for long, though. After the way he handled his brother's need to leave, Khrystle asked him to step down from his position of command. He realized that it was probably the best thing to do. His life had gone through so many changes recently. He needed the time to come to grips with everything. Hawk and Erin retained their quarters on New Macross Island, but decided to do some traveling.
Not long after that, they found that further information was received from Erin's mother by the Council of Lazlo. Immediately, they embarked on a quest to find her. And so it continues.
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