Freelancer

Note: This article is talking about Freelancer the game. If you were looking for other uses, please check out either Freelancer ID for the ID, Freelancers, or Freelancer (Pilot) for the commodity.

History: The Alliance-Coalition War

During 2100-2200 AD, the Sol System was in a state of civil war with two factions battling for domination of Sol. The two sides were the Alliance (composed of the US, Western Europe, and Japan) and the Coalition (composed of Russia, China, and the Middle East). For decades, millions died in the inconclusive conflict until the Coalition finally managed to gain the upper hand.

History: The Exodus

In desperation, the Alliance secretly constructed five sleeper ships in the hopes of fleeing the Sol System with hundreds of thousands of colonists to begin a new civilization free from the strife and prejudices that had plagued Sol for so long. Each sleeper ship was christened after it's patron nation. The five ships were the Bretonia (holding British colonists), the Rheinland (holding German colonists), the Hispania (holding Spanish colonists), the Kusari (holding Japanese colonists), and the Liberty (holding American colonists).

As the five sleeper ships launched from one of the moons of Jupiter, a Coalition fleet arrived and tried to attack the sleeper ships. Even though Bretonia had its starboard engines damaged, they broke through the Coalition blockade and headed for the Sirius Sector.

There has been no contact with the Coalition since the Sleeper Ships fled to the Sirius System. The Coalition has most likely become extremely powerful over the many years it has had full control of the entire Sol System, judging by the advanced technology it had already developed when the Alliance Colonists were only first arriving at Sirius.

On an interesting note, rumors in certain quarters of Malta speak of three other sleeper ships being constructed by the Alliance. The truth of these rumors is unknown, as is the identity of the supposed three other ships. If said ships did exist, they were presumably destroyed by the Coalition along with other scattered parts of remaining Alliance forces in Sol or launched at a different date and/or location to the known five.

History: Arrival

After the sleeper ships arrived in Sirius, they went their separate ways. The first ship to arrive was the Liberty, one year after the Exodus. They settled in the center of the Sirius System where they took advantage of the high amount of Earth-like planets, main sequence stars, and metal-abundant asteroid fields. It is said that the Liberty launched before the other ships to arrive in Sirius first, so they could choose the best place to settle before any other ship would arrive. The Rheinland arrived 3 years after the Exodus and settled near the Walker Nebula to take advantage of its high amount of metal deposits. They founded Planet New Berlin. Shortly after, the Kusari arrived and settled in the Crow Nebula, where they took advantage of the large amount of gases to make H-Fuel, a necessary fuel for ships. They founded Planet New Tokyo. The Bretonia was the last to arrive because its starboard engines were damaged by the Coalition during the Exodus. they were forced to travel slower than the other ships and arrived 20 years after the Exodus. Since the most favorable areas were already settled in by the Liberty, Rheinland, and Kusari, the Bretonia was forced to settle in the Barrier Nebula, a giant belt of ice asteroids that had very few hospitable planets. This was a very unfavorable place to settle, but the Bretonia managed to make the best of it by taking advantage of the abundant amount of asteroids containing metal. They founded Planet New London. The Hispania sleeper ship was sabotaged and thought to be lost. If you go to the bars in Planet Malta or Planet Crete, you will find out that half of the Hispania colonists used the escape pods to leave the ship and search for a hospitable planet on their own. They eventually found Planet Crete in Omicron Gamma. Later, these colonists would become the Corsairs, the largest pirate group in Sirius. The other half took their chances with the wreck and drifted into Omicron Alpha, near Planet Malta. Since the ship was so heavily damaged, it couldn't land, so the colonists used the remaining escape pods to land on Planet Malta. They then became the pirate group known as the Outcasts. The Corsairs and the Outcasts believe that the saboteur who damaged the Hispania was from one of the other four sleeper ships who was trying to eliminate the competition for the best places to settle in Sirius, which is why the two pirate groups refuse to make peace with the four houses.

The wreck of the Hispania still drifts in orbit above Planet Malta. The Liberty sleeper ship was turned into a building that proudly flaunts Liberty's flag to show how far Liberty has come. The Bretonia, Kusari, and Rheinland sleeper ships were all stripped down for the metal used to quickly rebuild their civilizations.

Present Day: Plot

It has been 800 years since the sleeper ships first arrived in Sirius. Since then, they have rebuilt their civilization and connected their regions of control with jump gates. The game begins with a cutscene showing the destruction of a base known as Freeport 7. The player, Edison Trent, and several other survivors are brought to Planet Manhattan, the capital of Liberty and where the Liberty sleeper ship first landed 800 years ago. While waiting for a man named Sam Lonnigan to recover, Trent begins to work for the Liberty Security Force (the LSF) under commander Jun'ko Zane (a.k.a. Juni). As he begins his first mission, a Rheinland Cruiser (the RNC Donau) visiting Liberty is brutally shot down by The Order, a terrorist group. When Lonnigan finally recovers, Trent demands for his million credits that Lonnigan owes him, but Lonnigan refuses to pay and is taken away by the Liberty Navy. During the second mission, another LSF officer, who is also the commanding officer of the mission named Michael King, tells you that a Rheinland expedition found an uncharted planet deep in the Omicron systems filled with alien artifacts. Unlike most artifacts, these were active. After that, a thief and last suvivor of Freeport 7 (apart from yourself) tells you that all other survivors have been killed or are missing and reveals that an unknown party wanted an alien artifact that was in his possession, which was why Freeport 7 was destroyed. A Liberty Navy soldier shoots him down and is about to do the same to Trent, saying he was caught dealing in illegal artifacts. Juni tells him to stand down, but is forced to kill the soldier in self defense.

Juni and Trent are forced to flee to Bretonia, where they locate xenoarchaeologists Kendra Sinclair and Roland Quintaine to research the artifact. During this time, Dr. Sinclair reveals the existence of the Daam K'Vosh, a long-vanished race that formed an empire in Sirius long before humans arrived. Later, they are attacked by Rheinland, who want the artifact very badly. Juni, Trent, Sinclair, and Quintaine are forced to flee to Kusari, where they must obtain the Proteus Tome, a piece of Daam K'Vosh parchment. At this point of the story, the Nomads' existence is revealed. The Nomads are the aliens that were created by the Daam K'Vosh to look after their empire after they left and they have the ability to take control and possess human beings. They slowly infected the rulers and key military officials of the four houses to ignite a civil war such that they were weakened to the point where the Nomads can mop up the rest easily.

Trent joins the Order, which is now revealed as a secret organization to fight the Nomads. It is also revealed that the Rheinland government was infected by Nomads after finding the unknown planet in the Omicron systems. Since any active artifact that falls into human hands could be a threat to them, the Nomads, possessing Rheinlanders and members of Liberty, have been attacking Trent to reclaim the artifact. The Order had destroyed the Donau to prevent the Nomads in Rheinland from infiltrating Liberty, but eventually, the Nomads were able to break through and possess Liberty officials. Once Sinclair and Quintaine finish their research on the artifact, they activate it to reveal a map of the entire Daam K'Vosh Empire. They also state that the artifact is a trigger for their Hyper Gate network, which is essentially an incredibly fast jumpgate to link the far corners of the Daam K'Vosh empire. The Order attacks the Nomad homeworld and reactivates the Hyper Gate. All power supplying the Nomad ships are cut off to supply the Hyper Gate with enough power to activate. Devoid of any engine power to resist, the Nomads are sucked into the Gate and probably ejected in another galaxy or sector of the Daam K'Vosh empire. The Order watches over the gate to make sure that they are prepared for the next time the Nomads return. Trent and Juni are given full pardons from the government and Trent is asked to become the Order's agent in Liberty. The player can now continue playing as Trent as a freelancer with no story elements.

Links

Freelancer Extended Intro from Bonus CD on Youtube