Prologue

68 years ago on the A.D year of 2008, the U.S Government unearthed the remnants of a highly advanced alien technology on the planet Mars. Dubbing this finding as “Relic Technology”, and referred to casually as “Relitech” or “The Relics” by many, the United States quickly uncovered its vast potential and sought to utilize it for all it was worth. Other nations, however--- those who opposed the United States either openly or in secret --- also wished for the unbridled power of this technology. And after their claiming it, consequently, all hell broke loose; the Third World War began, spurring the creation of the powerful humanoid Relitech weapon the Metal Demigod, and half of the planet’s population was wiped out. The exhausted but victorious United States then took reins over the rest of the planet, uniting the world under the banner of the Earth Union, which ended the age of Anno Domini and established the Advance Calendar, bringing the world as close as it could ever have been to a utopia.

Even the seemingly infallible Earth Union began to morally deteriorate, however, and in AC 59 --- twenty-seven years after the launching of colonies into space --- humanity was once again thrust into conflict. The escalating sociopolitical climate served as the catalyst for a pair of wars that would arguably dwarf the Third World War in scale. The Relics once more played a central role in these wars, especially when the Earthsphere was twice invaded by aliens from beyond the solar system. Sadly, even when faced with a common foe, a sincere unity was impossible to achieve and the worst humanity had to offer shone painfully upon the eyes of the unfortunate like a blinding light; groups of people were left almost completely forsaken to the alien menaces, for the greedy sakes of power and security. Peoples quickly learned to hate their governments and each other once again, and in the aftermath, the world was left in a state much like than of the 21st Century AD.

And for blessing or for curse, the Metal Demi was also overshadowed by the resurfacing of their superior ancestor units; the Metal Deities. These machines were resurrected in the modern age out of the necessity and urgency of the alien invasions. Mystical and terrifyingly powerful, they served as both a heroic beacon of hope against the savage “others” and further proof of humanity’s tendency to bring destruction upon itself; a number of the Metal Deities displayed cataclysmic potentials that put their derivatives to shame. And when the invaders were driven out of the Solar System, this fact was often made brutally clear when they were occasionally pitted against armies of their inferiors.

Though the World --- no longer limited in span to the Earth itself but encompassing of the entire human race --- has settled into an officially declared state of peace, conflicts are commonplace in a number of hotspots. Many would agree that while there is no real war going on at the moment, the “peace” they have is but a false one…

It is now Advance Calendar 66, and a pained, but hopeful mercenary going by the name of Altair Specineff is on his way to Earth from Mars on a rented shuttle, with hopes of a better future for the world. Little does he know that he and a particular Metal Deity will soon become--- no, have ALWAYS been --- the key to the fate of the world and perhaps the entire universe.