- "Deus Enim Et Coloniae"
- —Armed Forces motto[1]
The Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces (or S.C.A.F.) was the military arm of the Sovereign Colonies.
Background
- Main article: History of Earth and the colonies
Secession War and Marker Research
During the early 2300s, the Armed Forces was embroiled in the Secession War with the Earth Government[note 1][2]. At this time in 2311, the Science Division of the Sovereign Colonies were conducting experiments on three Red Markers at Ptolemy Station, copies created from the Black Marker; eventually they discovered that the signals being broadcast by their copies, came not from the Markers themselves, but from a signal out in deep space [3][4].
Faced with flagging public support and dwindling resources, the Sovereign Colonies council approved of an expedition to the planet later known as Tau Volantis[5]. The flotilla was led by Admiral Marjorie Graves, the Armed Forces by Major General Spencer Mahad, and the Science Division by Dr. Earl Serrano.
Tau Volantis
On Aug 29, 2311 a initial drop zone was established. As the Armed Forces set up on the planet, precautions to deal with the harsh environment were made[6]. The Armed Forces set up a series of ground-based barracks, research facilities and drill sites, under Mahad's authority. Graves and the flotilla remained in orbit, to provide support to the research teams working on the ground.
Serrano and his team identified a massive alien city underneath the base, and began excavation; inside they found frozen specimens of alien origin and a host of Red Markers, varying in size[7]. The Science Division members began their excavation of the Markers, alien artifacts and remains. Dr. Alexei Obauchev began neurological dissections on the aliens, in an attempt to better understand their physiology[8].
Serrano and his team manage to piece together a number of details about the Machine, aided by the neurological data retrieved from the Rosetta and Nexus specimens. It was the source of the massive energy readings detected from the Markers. Trying to determine how to use the Machine, Serrano and his team created a Codex, a device that would work in conjunction to the machine.
While Serrano and his team worked on building the Codex, conditions at the Armed Forces facilities were deteriorating. Members of the flotilla began to exhibit symptoms of Marker influence, including headaches, lack of focus, hallucinations, and Dementia[9][10][11][12]. The bodies of dead soldiers who experienced the same symptoms were brought aboard the ships for "safe keeping" alongside the artifacts and Markers. Serrano's dig team was affected by the Marker in such a way that they adorned their snow suits with Marker symbols[13][note 2].
Despite Mahad's misgivings, Graves ordered that the expedition would continue. Soon thereafter, Admiral Graves was sequestered to her quarters under quarantine; she claimed to hear voices telling her to "Turn it off"[5] Mahad declared Graves unfit for duty, and took command of the entire expedition.
Adding to the stress of the situation was a steadily growing hostile organism of unknown origin, later dubbed "Necromorphs" by the Science Division, both within and without the Armed Forces base[6]. Food supplies and rations began running low; desperate and starving, soldiers supplemented their diet with infected flesh. Alexei Obauchev's research on frozen alien samples, recovered from Tau Volantis' ice packs, involved intentionally infecting Armed Forces soldiers who volunteered for the project[8].
Scenario Five
- Main article: Scenario Five
On June 17, 2314 with the situation quickly spiraling out of control, Mahad and his staff were ordered by the Sovereign Colonies council to eliminate the threats presented by the Markers as per the "first contact" scenarios; destroy all research and kill all staff on and off the planet who had ever been attached to the Armed Forces facilities on Tau Volantis[14][15][8][16].
Dr. Serrano, who had sought refuge in the alien complex beneath the base, discovered a terrible truth about the nature of the Machine; turning it off would lead to the extinction of all life in the galaxy and the restart of the Convergence Event that would complete the dormant Brother Moon above Tau Volantis[5][17].
Graves' plea to "Turn it off" was actually a message from the Moon needing to be completed. Serrano, however, believed the aliens intended for the Machine to destroy the moon entirely, stopping the Marker signals that were now spreading throughout human space. Theorizing that the device had to be properly attuned to accomplish this, Serrano prepared to activate the machine himself. However, a broken leg left him immobile.
Without the Codex, Serrano wouldn't be able to complete the process. Desperate, he contacted Tim Caufman and Sam Ackerman, still on the surface, and begged them to recover the Codex from a crashed ship and bring it to the lab. However, Ackerman was killed and Caufman's attempt to reach Serrano was foiled by Mahad who killed him. Purging the Codex of its information, he committed suicide, completing the mission. By June 18, 2314, virtually all Armed Forces and Science Division crew were dead, the flotilla was left in ruins, the colony was abandoned.
Disbanding the Sovereign Colonies
The combined failure of the Tau Volantis expedition and losing the Secession War to EarthGov forced the Sovereign Colonies to scuttle its fleet and surrender to EarthGov rule[2].
All knowledge of the Tau Volantis research conducted by the Sovereign Colonies was lost or destroyed to prevent the infection from spreading, until data archaeologist, Damara Carver, discovered fragmented information almost two hundred years later in 2514[4].
Elements of S.C.A.F.
S.C.A.F. Flotilla
The Armed Forces flotilla was tasked with journeying out into deep space to locate the "Master Signal" being received by the Markers created by the Sovereign Colonies. The flotilla was a large space fleet with numerous military ships and research vessels, all of which were commanded by the CMS Roanoke during the expedition.
Identified Vessels
- CMS Roanoke - Codename: Overlord.
- Planetary command platform, Flagship - abandoned.
- CMS Terra Nova - Codename: The Luv Boat.
- Mass driver vessel, Warship - status unknown.
- CMS Greely - Codename: The Think Tank.
- Experimental auxiliary research ship - abandoned.
- CMS Brusilov - Codename: The Surgeon or The ComeBack Kid.
- Modified light frigate, Orbital minelayer - abandoned.
- CMS Shackleton - Codename: unknown.
- Role unknown - Destroyed unknown.
Shuttles
- CMS Franklin - Codename: unknown.
- Transport shuttle - Destroyed due to high winds on Tau Volantis on Oct 13, 2311.
- CMS Crozier - Codename: unknown.
- Transport shuttle - Destroyed during reentry to Tau Volantis in 2514.
- SK-1P Maintenance craft - Functional, abandoned.
Aircraft
- Mule - Destroyed after crashing onto a cliff and collapsing down, due to a storm and Necromorphs while trying to deliver the Codex to Dr. Serrano, on June 18, 2314.
Known Armed Forces Personnel
- GEN Ambrose Caiden - Sovereign Colonies Council
- ADM Marjorie Graves - CMS Roanoke
- CAPT A. Belknap - CMS Roanoke
- CDR Valery Dietz - CMS Terra Nova
- LCDR Sam Kettle - CMS Terra Nova
- LT Tucker Edwards - CMS Terra Nova
- LTJG Charles Sekowski - CMS Terra Nova
- LTJG Chuck Sekowski - CMS Terra Nova
- Dr. Barton - CMS Greely
- Laura Engstorm - CMS Greely
- CAPT J. Suzuki - CMS Brusilov
- Dr. H. Quiroga - CMS Brusilov
- CAPT Wade Hoshi - CMS Franklin
- LCDR Busby - CMS Crozier
- LT Metcalfe - CMS Crozier
- ENS Patrick Beckford - Mule
- MG Spencer Mahad
- COL J. Gaskell
- SFC Richard Lumley
- SFC Wmely
- SGT George Cochran
- CPL Simon Weber
- SPC R. Friesner
- PVT Edmund Varley
- PVT K. Myers
- PVT R. Blatty
- PVT Sam Ackerman
- PVT Tim Caufman
- CAPT Raymond Reed - 163rd
- PVT Freeman - 163rd
- Dr. Earl Serrano
- Dr. Alexei Obruchev
- Dr. Ramsey Bergerac
- CLP Elizabeth Atwood
- List of logs in Dead Space 3
Gallery
Propaganda
Tau Volantis
Notes
- ↑ Isaac: I've seen a lot of ships but never anything like these.
Norton: That's because the Sovereign Colonies were sore losers. When they lost the Secession War to EarthGov, they scuttled their entire fleet. I'm surprised any survived.
Rosen: What were they doing this far from home anyway?
Isaac: If this is where Ellie went, you can bet it had something to do with the Markers. ---Chapter 3: The Roanoke - ↑ These insulated suits were worn by a SCAF deep dig team assigned to exhume the darkest secrets of Tau Volantis. Whatever they found locked deep in the ice changed them forever. When they emerged weeks later, they were covered head to toe in strange graffiti and claimed to be “Witnesses to the Truth.”
Sources
- ↑ Latin motto, meaning For God and the Colonies
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dead Space 3: Chapter 3: The Roanoke
- ↑ Dead Space 3: Chapter 14: Everything Has Its Place: S.C.A.F. Artifact 16
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dead Space: Liberation Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "DSL" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dead Space 3: Chapter 4: History's Ember
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dead Space 3: Chapter 9: Onward: S.C.A.F. Artifact 09 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "DS39.1" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Dead Space 3: Chapter 14: Everything Has Its Place: S.C.A.F. Artifact 15
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 .Dead Space 3: Chapter 14: Everything Has Its Place - Alien Artifact 03, Alien Artifact 04 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "DS314" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Dead Space 3: Chapter 5: Expect Delays
- ↑ S.C.A.F. Artifact 05
- ↑ S.C.A.F. Artifact 06
- ↑ S.C.A.F. Artifact 07
- ↑ Press Release: EA Forecasts the World's Deadliest Winter When Dead Space 3 Releases on February 5, 2013
- ↑ Dead Space 3: Chapter 11: Signal Hunting
- ↑ YouTube: Dead Space 3: Scenario Five
- ↑ YouTube: Dead Space 3: Reaper Barracks Mission | Brainwashing video
- ↑ Dead Space 3: Chapter 18: Kill or Be Killed