THE HEIGHT OF DISCOVERY.........................1.2Disaster!.......................................1.2Setup or salvation?....................1.3The sleepers awaken ................1.4Life on Earth ...............................1.5

MARS ..............................................1.6Martian space travel.................1.6

THE OTHER COLONIES ................................1.7LIBERATION CELLS .....................................1.9TECHNOLOGY........................................1.10

INTRODUCTION ........................................2.2WHERE YOU COME FROM ..........................2.2

Choose a colony .......................2.3Mars.............................................2.4Earth ............................................2.5Cassiopia ....................................2.6Serpenti .......................................2.7Reticuli.........................................2.8Orionis .........................................2.9

COLONIES-SPECIFIC NOTES ......................2.10Attributes ..................................2.10Skills ............................................2.10Traits...........................................2.12

GIFTED/PSI ...........................................2.13Powers & society......................2.16

INTRODUCTION ........................................3.2NANOTECH .............................................3.2

Photonic units.............................3.5Removing nanotech .................3.5

GENETECH ..............................................3.6Aberrations .................................3.8Random enhancements ..........3.9

BIOTECH ..............................................3.9Limiter implants ........................3.14

EXOTECH ............................................3.15WEAPONS ............................................3.18ARMOR ............................................3.22

Energy shields...........................3.23PHOTONICS ..........................................3.23

Autonomies ..............................3.24Algorithms.................................3.25Hacking.....................................3.27

OTHER GEAR .........................................3.29Vehicles.....................................3.30

INTRODUCTION ........................................4.2Protocols .....................................4.2Re-entry procedure...................4.2Ascent procedure .....................4.4

GAMEMASTER SECRETS ..............................4.4MISSION IDEAS ........................................4.5THINGS TO REMEMBER ...............................4.6TYPICAL CELL...........................................4.6CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE(MINI-ADVENTURE) 4.8EXTRAS ..............................................4.9EXPERIENCE ..........................................4.11MDF RANK STRUCTURE............................4.12

INTRODUCTION ........................................5.2PROJECTS ..............................................5.2

Tools required .............................5.2Repairs ........................................5.2Prototyping.................................5.4

RANGED WEAPONS...................................5.7EXPLOSIVES.............................................5.8MELEE WEAPONS......................................5.8ARMOR ..............................................5.8OTHER GEAR ...........................................5.9INDEX ............................................5.10ADVENTURER SHEET.................................5.11OPEN SOURCE LICENSE...........................5.13

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The following is an excerpt from Brigadier

Samuel Robertson’s introductory lecture to his

class at the Martian Defense Force Academy.

THE HEIGHT OF DISCOVERY - It all started with theHubble Space Telescope. After countless years ofcontinual upgrading, it was finally retired in 2010CE.The Sagan Space Observatory, which supported ascientific crew of five, replaced it. NASA and UnitedStates Spaceforce scientists shared time on theobservatory and eventually began renting its useout to other nations and organizations. This orbitingtelescope became man’s ultimate early warningsystem. But, we’ll get to that later.

Another important instrument in humanity’sdevelopment was the International Space Station orISS. It was crucial to Earth’s future and directly contributed to the development of new spacecraftdesigns, alloys, and even solar cruises (commercialspace tourism), providng a much-needed boost tothe commercial space industries of the UnitedStates, United Kingdom, and the European Union.

With the advent of construction yards on theMoon in 2018CE, giant factories were erected tocreate the materials necessary for interplanetaryships. The next generation of spacecraft were justaround the corner and caused the decline of theInternational Space Station. Since it was too fragileto for docking any of the large deep space andinterplanetary craft designs, U.S. personnel werereassigned to the Moon. Full ownership of the stationwas eventually relinquished to the European Unionin 2020CE. A larger transit station was built in Earthorbit using lunar materials, but most research continued to be done on smaller, older facilities.

The year 2021CE gave birth to fusion power. Aten-year resolution was instituted by the UnitedNations and all major governments agreed toreplace old nuclear fission reactors with these new,cleaner, and more efficient fusion reactors. In anunprecedented outbreak of peace and commonsense, every member of the United Nations signed aban on nuclear weapons and fissionable materialsthree years before the deadline of 2031CE. This mayvery well have been the downfall of man.

The last big scientific invention born on Earthwas the technology of photonics. Using light insteadof electricity, this new medium replaced silicon-based computers, allowing smaller and faster systems to be built. It laid a foundation for nearlyunlimited computer creativity.

The United States, in cooperation with RussianFederations, achieved the boldest space missionyet in 2030CE - the colonization of Mars. The UnitedKingdom and the European Union also becamepartners and contributed billions of dollars insupplies. Originally intended as a scientific outpost, itsoon became an adventurer’s paradise; much likeAfrica or the Amazon in previous centuries. Tourismon Mars for the rich was offered by three civilian corporations. The United Nations which a decadebefore had agreed on the destruction of nuclearweapons found itself unable to agree on the political status of Mars. Corporations, billionaires andeven a few religious groups could afford fusion-powered ships capable of carrying enough suppliesto start a Lunar or Martian colony. And they did,often avoiding national restrictions by launchingfrom obscure facilities in impoverished countries inexchange for helping these countries gain their ownspace presence. The years from 2032CE to 2036CEwere extremely chaotic, but in a peaceful way.Fusion power made the trips possible, but not profitable, and there was more than enough realestate for the relatively small number of colonists(several thousand by 2036CE).

Disaster! - Now, back to the Sagan Observatory.The year 2036CE marked a four hundred percentincrease in its usage due to Earth’s top astronomersand astrophysicists fighting for time on it. Each onestrived to become the first to qualify a new celestialbody which appeared in the skies. It turned out tobe a new comet that was also on a collision coursewith Earth.

Data was checked and rechecked.

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Unfortunately, the findings were accurate. Thisnew threat caused governments to cooperate andcompete like never before. Several ideas surfaced -most were fantastic yet unlikely.

Nuclear weapons seemed to be the only hope.The United States and Russia worked diligently todesign a device and delivery system that would beable to obliterate or deflect the massive body ofstone and ice. In the end, however, physics provedto be on the side of the comet. It was just too bigand too fast. Impact was predicted for the centralAtlantic in early 2038CE.

Chaos ensued. Governments and virtuallyeveryone who could afford or extort it, built or commandeered a spaceworthy craft and fledEarth. There are no good records of how many shipswere launched, how many were lost or what theirdestinations were. Any with the endurance headedfor Mars. The Moon was considered a last resort, as itwas expected to be heavily bombarded by debrisejected from the impact of the comet with Earth.

We know at least twenty-eight “colony” shipssuccessfully reached Mars in the 2037CE to 2039CEperiod, landing at widely separated spots on theplanet. The chaos of the moment and later eventsprevented contact with all but the closest of thelandings for periods of months to up to two years.Some of the ships carried nothing but infants and ahandful of adult caretakers, parents staying behindso that a larger number of smaller bodies could finda new life under the reddish sky of Mars. We know ofat least thirteen failed landings, sometimes throughoperator error, sometimes from lack of a survivingpilot. Some ships missed Mars entirely, having run outof fuel, miscalculating their trajectories or otherproblems. Some of these are still drifting betweenMars and Jupiter, others passed without sufficientinformation being gathered to make a long-termorbital plot.

In addition, in 2037CE a secret U.S. operation,deep in the Arizona desert, began refitting anexperimental deep space ship design to carryrefugees to far away planets. Intended forunmanned exploration, the craft used a new drivesystem: the fusion-photon drive. It was, theoretically,capable of achieving near-light speeds by usinghigh-energy photons to generate thrust. In additionto colony seeding modules, special hibernationchambers were added to protect the colonists fromradiation and to reduce the supplies needed for themulti-year journeys. The United States knew that itwould possibly take centuries for Mars to build itselfup to where another exodus of this type could befeasible, and if by cosmic bad luck Mars ended upin the crosshairs before then, humanity wouldbecome extinct. So, a long shot was gambled on,and the first interstellar colonization was underway.

Using census data and various records like military dossiers, the government secretly recruitedcitizens to colonize new worlds. Most of thesecolonists left Earth without even being informed oftheir ultimate destination. Although, the existence ofthese seeding ships was never made public, recentdata recovered from Earth confirms that at least twenty were launched.

Setup or Salvation? - Earth’s countdown to devastation was interrupted when a radio signalcame in from space in early 2038CE. Everyone’sattention was focused on this signal. After days ofanalysis, the encoding method was finally crackedand the first sounds of an alien voice echoedthroughout the halls of the White House and U.S.Space Command.

They called themselves the Virimar and offeredto destroy the comet. The world leaders agreedwithout hesitation; a decision which spared ourbrethren their lives, but cost them their freedom.

The blasts that pulverized the comet were visibleeven in daylight. One bright approaching starbecame a diffuse patch of light in the night sky.People were celebrating in the streets when wordcame that the comet was gone. They rejoiced fortwo days. On the third day, however, another catastrophe struck. The world went momentarilydark and silent.

A shockwave from the blast struck the Earth,destroying all orbital satellites and many centralcomputer systems. The computers were relativelyeasy to fix, but all satellite communication was lost,including the link with Mars.

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