PI Post-Campaign Story Document

This file was written in response to some of the questions asked in the campaign release thread on HLP. Much of this can be
deduced from various clues given to the player during the campaign, particularly the conversation in mission 13 ("Eye of the Storm"),
but some things are more obscure.

The Ancients' actions are briefly described in the mission 15 command briefing. What is implied but not explicitly mentioned is that
they not only left some of their people on Earth and Vasuda Prime, but also kept one of those devices floating around in long-range
orbit around each planet. The devices were to remain completely dormant in order to avoid detection by the Shivans. They then left that
part of the galaxy and programmed all the Knossos portals in Terran-Vasudan space (of which there are many) to shut down behind them,
thus allowing their planetary cells to develop without the Shivans' interference. The Ancient fleet then dispersed in thousands of
different directions across space (in terms of subspace nodes) to throw the Shivans off, in an attempt to stave off their extinction
as long as possible.

Around 2360, Dasmar extracted a series of Ancient records from the moon of Procyon VII. He had learned of their location from the
HOL many years ago, but hadn't been able to conduct any investigation there without arousing attention until he had risen high
enough in the GTVA heirarchy. From these artifacts, he learned about the existence of the two devices. The records indicated that the
devices are components of a powerful, subspace-based transmitter. If and when the Terrans and Vasudans progressed far enough to
develop space (and subspace) travel, the Ancients had expected the two species to find their respective components, recognize that
they are identical and bring them both to one location, upon which they would combine with each other. The completed transmitter
would notify all (if any) remaining Ancient forces in the universe that the Terrans and Vasudans are operating freely in space, slowly
reopen all the Knossos portals and pave the way for the Ancients' splinter groups to all make a mass return to that part of the
universe. Their exact objectives at this point were unclear, but the artifacts suggested that if they managed to have any of their ships
and people still remaining by that point, they intended to use T-V space as the starting point for a new empire.

The Ancients' plan worked up to a point, since as mentioned in the campaign, the PVN had discovered the Vasudan component long
ago, while the GTA (through the GTI) had found the Terran component at some point as well. However, the Ancients never considered
that the Terrans and Vasudans might evolve so far apart that they would actually view each other as enemies, fight a prolonged war
and eventually bring the Shivans back into that part of space through their own actions, intentionally or otherwise.

Dasmar wanted to ensure that in spite of these setbacks, the Ancients' plan would come to fruition. He thought that it was only a
matter of time before the Shivans returned and destroyed the Terran-Vasudan civilization once and for all. In his view, the only way
they could continue to survive was to seek the Ancients' help and to rapidly expand their boundaries across space. Together,
Dasmar believed that they would become almost invincible and would be able to take the fight to the Shivans. However, he first had
to take possession of both components.

In 2365, Dasmar discovered that the GTVA now had the Vasudan component and was secretly holding on to it, for reasons unknown
to him. His attempts to learn more had all met with failure, even when he was a fleet Admiral, and it became clear to him that he
would have to seize the component by force. However, one thing he did discover was that the GTI had been in control of the Terran
component just after the Great War and had last moved it to Procyon, seemingly on the way to another destination, which could only
be the nebula system. He also knew that the Shivans had a large fleet in the nebula, a lot more than what you see in mission 14.
Since there was no record of the GTI ships ever having returned, he surmised that they had either been stranded or destroyed in the
nebula, and that the Terran half was most likely still somewhere in there. He had to build up a powerful military force to acquire both
components, and the introduction of the controversial SDE in 2367 created a convenient launching pad from which he was able to
form the PCA.

Even with the PCA navy at his command, Dasmar realized that he could not fight both the GTVA and the Shivans simultaneously and
have any chance of success. However, he had seen the Meson bombs in action and saw their potential as an offensive weapon in a
nebula environment. In empty space, they could easily be tracked from a distance, but in the nebula, the Shivans would be unable to
detect the units until they actually went off, and the thick gas would allow the shockwaves to propagate much further than they would
in empty space. The bombs could be used to severely weaken the Shivan forces near the Terran component. Several extra bombs
had been produced at the Hideki Institute in 2367, in case something went wrong with the Bastion or the Nereid. Dasmar, who had
become popular even in many GTVA systems in the months following the PCA's creation, was able to buy off certain key individuals
there and secretly appropriate three of these bombs, although only two of them actually made it into the nebula.

Now Khonsu II, the single most powerful person in the GTVA, had also discovered the Ancients' plan many years earlier. However, he
had a somewhat different vision of how the Terran-Vasudan civilization should proceed forward. He knew that the Ancients' rapid
expansion and conquests across space were what provoked the Shivans. If they returned to Terran-Vasudan space, they would, after
initial consolidation, restart this process and soon incur the Shivans' wrath once again. The Shivans, in his view, are simply too
powerful. They would again annihilate the Ancients, and the Terrans and Vasudans along with them (which, by the way, the Shivans
view as all being the same; see Dasmar's comments again). He believed that the only way forward was to keep the existing
Terran-Vasudan systems permanently isolated, and that this would ensure that the Shivans would never return to T-V space. He
needed to keep the Ancients away to accomplish this, so Khonsu did everything he could to prevent the components from linking up.
He also wanted to make sure that their existence remained a secret, as his views would not necessarily win popular support. Like
Dasmar, Khonsu wanted to accelerate the pace of cooperation between Terrans and Vasudans, which is why the Security Council
released the information about a common ancestry in the mission 15 command briefing, but you may notice that they said nothing
about the components or even the Ancients still existing, for that matter.

By December 2368 (when the campaign begins), the Vasudan component was stored at a high security GTVI base in Mirfak. As stated
in the mission 13 conversation, when Dasmar discovered that the GTVA was going to transfer it out of that system soon, he immediately
attacked, and he succeeded despite eventually having to pull out of Epsilon Pegasi. In mission 3, you can see a PCA freighter
carrying the component away. The unknown ships there are actually SOC forces trying to take it back (or destroy it if possible),
operating under top secret orders directly from the Security Council. However, Dasmar's elite wings got the better of them and their
mission failed.

The PCA also found something else at the GTVI base: the SC Agni, a cruiser that the SOC had captured shortly before the Capella
explosion as part of a relatively routine operation to learn more about Shivan beam technology. Dasmar saw a new opportunity there,
a means to acquire the Terran component that would require no warfare on the nebula front at all, and changed his strategy. He could
commandeer the Agni and bring the components together right in the nebula. Since the Agni would give off Shivan engine signatures,
the Shivans would not notice anything until the transmitter was already active. The meson bombs, which had been moved into the
nebula by that point, would still be kept in place in case something went wrong. Dasmar proceeded to carry out his plan in mission 14.
However, he didn't account for the presence of one of the Ancients' splinter groups in that very system and their battle with the
Shivans right as he was putting his plan into effect, which meant that he was forced to blow his cover well before he intended to.
Despite that, his plan succeeded in the end, at least insofar as the components were linked up.

As for what exactly happened in the final mission or what the GTI was attempting to do with the Terran component that resulted in the
effects you see in mission 14, those issues would merit another essay by themselves. I will not explain them just yet, as they
would essentially be the subjects of any potential sequel. :)