Games

Covert War Overview

Covert War is a small side project I'd like to do before attempting Dragon Trek. It features characters analogous to my favourites from Dragon Trek, most of which even have the same names.

The battles are RPG style...I'm going to try to go for something Semi-3D in respects to the battle settings. The characters will just appear renderred from different angles. Battle focuses on the use of the Internal Biochip Command System (IBCS). This is a technological alternative to magic. As opposed to "Materia" in FF7, you shuffle bio-chips amongst 4 groups of slots: Offensive, Defensive, Effect, and Medical. Because these bio-chips have biological components, they become stronger with use, rather than wearing down. You can also increase their effectiveness through the use of biochip comb-links.

The mission areas will be single-screen (not scrolling). Completing missions will consist of using many items - like adventure games. Focus will not necessarily be on forcing your way by killing everything, though battles may be necessary in some places.

There will be no overworld map. You will select missions from a list, and the locations will be shown on a star chart. You will also have the option of saving, visiting markets etc. between missions. Some of the inter-character plot will occur here as well.

Background Story

It's been about 50 years since the massive war between the Interplanetary Union, and the Human-Lacerian alliance. The main population of humans was wiped out, but there are reported instances that some may have escaped. The Lacerians have also retreated, and are rarely seen these days. The IU has been lulled into an era of peace, and their focus is on exploration and peaceful territorial expansion. Although they still possess many battleships and defensive devices, they are not prepared for the threat that is brewing.

Characters

The initial three characters are room-mates at the IU Academy (kinda like Starfleet Academy), the most well renouned educational facility in the entire Union.

Draggor

The main character is named Draggor (uh oh!). He belongs to a race known as Dracotarians. He is the most intelligent of the 3 room-mates, and is studying a science and math-related field as a major. He is good with computers strictly on a software level (doesn't know the hardware). He is an over-achiever, very adamant about being the top of his class. People view him as an academic "legend" that they could never hope to equal, someone who is very serious, and doesn't know how to have fun. He has very powerful leadership skills, which is why he is designated leader of the Covert War Taskforce.

Wolfe

Another character is named Wolfe. He belongs to the Canisan race. He is the most agile and quick-witted of the three room-mates, not to mention the wildest. He is studying a humanities-related major, and is very good with people. He takes a very relaxed approach to his studies, and although he doesn't do nearly as well as Draggor, he still gets by with decent grades. People view him as being cool, the life of the party, and females find him very attractive. He can be very pursuasive when he knows what he wants. He can deceive with a straight face, and is usually scheming in some way, but he never forgets who his friends are.

Taru

The last of the trio is called Taru, and he is Taurian. He possesses incredible strength at the cost of being a little slow physically and mentally. He is quite shy and quiet, and despite his hulking strength, he can also be very gentle. Taru has a knack with the technical side of machines, and is pursuing a major in engineering. He is prodigal in understanding how things work, and given enough time and the right materials, he can fix almost anything. Although Taru's grades are barely above par, his expertise is far above others in his class. He is a very hands-on type of person, but when it comes to putting down what he knows on paper, he find it very difficult. People view him as being very passive. Females who even notice him, describe him as being a "Sweet guy".

Other Characters

Somewhere along the line, they pick up a Female character that joins the Covert War Taskforce. Naturally the three guys compete to try and win her over. I don't really have any specific details about her...though I think her race should be Avian.

I don't think there should be too many other characters that join your party...maybe some can be present only for specific missions. Perhaps you rescue them in one mission, and use their help in another.

Initial Event and Overview

It's Draggor's birthday, and he returns to residence completely exhausted. It's a tradition at the IU Academy to "keep the birthday-person on their toes", so Draggor is kindof jumpy, and has a roaring headache. Wolfe and Taru give him a present - a data-corder, a rather useful but expensive tool. Draggor happens to mention that his parents bought him a "Quasar", one of the sweetest vehicles in the skies. Draggor has to study for an exam the next day, but Wolfe won't leave him alone about the Quasar. Draggor finally concedes to letting Wolfe just "run a lap around the solar system".

The next thing they know, they've crashed on an alien planet. Wolfe accidently hit the hyper-drive, and they had been broadsided by an asteroid. All they can see is desert all around, and some mountains on the horizon in one direction. Draggor is furious with Wolfe, and storms off toward the mountains. It takes taru 2 hours to fix the ship enough so that they could get home. Wolfe is boiling hot because of his fur coat, and also bored out of his mind by this time. He's anxious to go, but Draggor still hasn't returned by that time. The two decide to go looking for him.

Meanwhile, Draggor has made it to the edge of the mountains. He finds an interesting looking valley with a cave at the end. He activates the video-recording feature of his data-corder and enters. He finds a secret underground facility. He looks down from a high walkway, onto two Humans and a Lacerian who appear to be discussing some device. Draggor directs his video recording toward them, and watches. Apparently, the device is a prototype weapon, made by directing a beam of energy through a super-dense crystal. As a demonstration, the humans have a section of reinforced hull protected by battle-class shielding. They aim the device, and activate it. The beam effortlessly destroys the shields, penetrates the bulkhead, and bores into the rock wall behind. Draggor does a scan, and finds that the weapon created a 20 Km shaft through the solid rock. The Lacerian is visibly impressed.

Draggor tries to excape the facility, but he is caught and thrown in a jail cell, the data-corder taken, but not destroyed. Wolfe and Taru eventually come to rescue him, but it is possible for Draggor to escape before they arrive. Draggor tells them about everything that happens, and they agree that they have to try and get the Data-corder back before they escape. They have to do a lot of sneaking around, but they manage to find it. They are forced to fight the guards at the exit. This naturally draws attention to them, and they have to make a run for their ship. They barely manage to escape the land forces, and have to get by the small fleet that is dispatched to pursue them. They manage to make it back to the Academy, and they bring the video footage straight to the IU president. Once he has seen it, he calls a meeting where the footage is shown on a large screen for the audience of important counsil members. The video-recorder had been left on when it was confiscated, and some additional useful info is gained from there. Also, Draggor didn't realize that the recorder was on for the ride home as well! The device captures some rude comments that Wolfe makes about a professor, who happens to be a member on the council (Just a comic-releif moment).

The three room-mates are informed to keep this entire event completely confidential until the council decides on what to do about it. They go back to their normal lives for about a day, before they are summoned again. They are given the opportunity to form the covert taskforce to deal with this potential threat before it turns into another war. Because the weapon is still a prototype, they have a window of time before the weapon is used against the IU.

Upon their agreement to form the taskforce, the three are told of all sorts of government secrets that will be at their disposal. They are told about the IBCS, and that they must have them implanted. Wolfe is a little reluctant about this, but he's told that they can be removed afterward. They are also told about an invaluable tool that the IU used during the war. The IU managed to embed a communication array outside of normal time. Using special transmitting and receiving devices, allowing fatal mistakes could be corrected before they are actually made. This is accomplished by sending data to the device once a critical mistake is realized, and that data is then transmitted to the same transmission unit earlier in time. This External Time Transmitter Array (ETTA) is now at the disposal of the Covert War Taskforce.

The trio receive extensive training, and are allowed to practice on a few simulations before doing any actual missions - just for the user to get comfortable with the interfaces.

The missions beyond that point are concerned with gathering information, and trying to delay and eventually stop the development of the energy-weapon. Information gained in missions will reveal other missions to do, as well as piecing together the master plan that the renewed human-lacerian alliance has schemed up.

© 2000 Rob Diaz-Marino. All rights reserved.