Micras Warfare 3 (1757)
| Micras Warfare 3 (1757) | |
| File:Micras Warfare 3.png | |
| Developer(s) | VISOR |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Monster Interactive |
| Writer(s) | TBD |
| Composer(s) | TBD |
| Series | Micras Warfare |
| Engine | Frozen |
| Platform(s) |
iDrive 2000 Drag0n Egg PC Astra BCRD ADS |
| Release | 1757 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single and multiplayer |
Plot
The campaign of Micras Warfare 3 takes place between 1724 and 1745 AN, primarily during the Mesoun Crisis and the Second Florian Civil War. The story follows Major Daniel Rhys, a veteran of the Florian special forces, Sergeant Leah Mercer of the Florian Army, and Lieutenant Elias Ward of the Florian Navy, as they uncover a clandestine intelligence programme operating within the Florian security establishment. The principal antagonists are the Mesounese mercenary organisation Shadow Group, the communist revolutionaries of the Democratic Republic of East Floria, and Malcolm Sayer, a senior intelligence official secretly directing a covert programme known as Project Janus.
In 1724 AN, the Florian President is travelling to a political party meeting when her motorcade is ambushed by heavily armed mercenaries. The player assumes control of a member of the presidential security detail, who attempts to protect the President and escort her from the scene. Despite the efforts of her bodyguards, the President is assassinated, and most of the security detachment is killed. An investigation by the Federal Department of Intelligence determines that the assassination was carried out by Shadow Group mercenaries contracted by the Mesoun Republican League, a separatist organisation seeking independence for Mesoun. The assassination triggers a prolonged period of unrest, ultimately resulting in a federal military intervention in 1728 AN.
During the Battle of Furnace Lane, Florian special forces officer Daniel Rhys and his squad, including Captain Jonas Vale, are deployed alongside regular military units to secure a contested district in Mesoun. Their convoy is ambushed by Shadow Group contractors, resulting in heavy casualties and forcing the survivors to retreat through the surrounding residential neighbourhoods. Rhys discovers that the mercenaries possess classified Florian military communications equipment and appear to have advance knowledge of federal troop movements. Following the battle, a temporary ceasefire is established between loyalist and separatist factions, but it collapses after loyalist paramilitaries assassinate a senior Mesoun Republican League commander with a car bomb.
In 1729 AN, Rhys and Vale participate in a MARSOF operation to eliminate Shadow Group's senior leadership. During the raid, Rhys encounters a mercenary intelligence officer named Idris Kade, who claims that Shadow Group has been receiving assistance from individuals within the Florian government. Rhys attempts to interrogate Kade but is separated from his squad when an explosion destroys part of the compound. He later regains consciousness aboard a military helicopter with no memory of the final stages of the operation. His superiors inform him that Kade was killed and that the mission successfully eliminated Shadow Group's command structure. The organisation's collapse contributes to the surrender of the Mesoun Republican League in 1730 AN. However, Rhys privately questions the official account after discovering that several members of his squad have been reassigned and the operation's records have been classified.
The story moves forward to 1744 AN, when eastern Floria experiences widespread political unrest following years of economic inequality, labour disputes and growing dissatisfaction with the federal government. On 8.VIII.1744, the Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Eastern Floria (RFLEF), supported by the East Florian Workers' Front, launches an armed uprising in Dongrad. Sergeant Leah Mercer is stationed at a Florian Army communications facility when revolutionary forces begin capturing military installations and government buildings throughout the city. Mercer and her commanding officer attempt to organise a defence, but discover that several neighbouring formations have defected or abandoned their positions. After receiving contradictory orders from regional headquarters, Mercer evacuates the surviving soldiers as revolutionary forces seize control of Dongrad. Communist leader Ivan Markov subsequently announces the establishment of the Democratic Republic of East Floria, with Dongrad as its capital.
As the uprising spreads into Outer Mesoun, Southern Ontario, Pentucky and other eastern territories, the Florian military suffers a breakdown in regional command. Mercer becomes separated from her unit after the XXVII Corps is surrounded by revolutionary forces. During her attempt to escape, she witnesses government soldiers being executed by revolutionary militants and civilians fleeing advancing rebel formations. Mercer eventually contacts Rhys, who has been recalled to active service to assist with the evacuation of isolated federal personnel. Rhys and Vale rescue Mercer and several surviving soldiers, although Rhys becomes suspicious when he discovers that the revolutionary forces have obtained military intelligence concerning the movements of units attempting to withdraw from Outer Mesoun.
Meanwhile, Nouvelle Alexandrie, Natopia and Oportia launch Operation Whispering Harbor to evacuate foreign nationals from the rapidly deteriorating conflict. The player briefly assumes the role of a New Alexandrian marine tasked with rescuing civilians from a contested district in Southcliff. During the evacuation, the marines encounter unidentified armed contractors attempting to seize a shipment of communications equipment from a commercial warehouse. The contractors attack the evacuation team, forcing the marines to defend the civilians before withdrawing to a New Alexandrian naval vessel. Intelligence recovered during the incident is subsequently shared with Florian authorities, revealing that the contractors were operating under the same corporate identities used by Shadow Group during the Mesoun Crisis.
Rhys investigates the discovery with Central Intelligence Bureau analyst Dr. Mira Kellan, who identifies the equipment as belonging to Project Janus, a classified intelligence programme established following President Chopin's assassination. Originally intended to infiltrate separatist organisations and disrupt illicit arms networks, Janus gradually developed into an autonomous network of intelligence operatives, private military contractors and informants. Kellan discovers that several individuals associated with the programme have been implicated in arms trafficking, political assassinations and the manipulation of military intelligence. Rhys recognises one of the names in the recovered records as Idris Kade, the Shadow Group officer supposedly killed during the 1729 operation.
Rhys, Vale and Mercer subsequently raid a suspected Janus safehouse in Outer Mesoun, where they discover that Kade is alive and has been operating as an intelligence intermediary for the Florian government. Before Rhys can apprehend him, an unidentified special operations unit attacks the building, killing several members of the team and abducting Rhys. He awakens in an underground detention facility, where masked interrogators repeatedly question him about the Shadowfall operation. During the interrogation, Rhys experiences fragmented recollections of Kade's capture, the explosion at the Shadow Group compound and an unidentified officer ordering his squad to withdraw. The interrogators present documents bearing Rhys's signature that appear to authorise Kade's extraction, leading him to believe that he may have knowingly participated in the operation. Kellan eventually locates the facility and arranges his rescue, although the interrogators escape after destroying most of their records.
As the civil war intensifies, revolutionary forces capture Pentucky City and launch a major offensive to secure the strategically important Bridgeport Corridor. Mercer is deployed with the Pentucky National Guard, which has continued resisting revolutionary advances despite the collapse of several other regional formations. The player participates in a large-scale battle involving infantry, armoured vehicles and artillery as federal troops attempt to prevent the revolutionaries from connecting their northern and southern territories. During the fighting, a Florian artillery unit receives a fraudulent fire mission directing it to attack Mercer's position. The bombardment kills numerous government soldiers before Rhys intervenes and identifies the order as originating from a compromised communications network. Although the surviving defenders repel the immediate revolutionary assault, the incident raises concerns that Project Janus is deliberately interfering with federal military operations.
Rhys and Kellan trace the false artillery order to an abandoned intelligence relay station in Mesoun. With assistance from Lieutenant Elias Ward, whose naval unit has been investigating illegal arms shipments in the Temple Islands, they infiltrate the installation and recover documents linking Janus to several attacks previously attributed exclusively to revolutionary forces. The records reveal that the programme's operatives have been supplying equipment to selected armed organisations while manipulating intelligence assessments to conceal their activities. Kellan concludes that the programme is being directed by Malcolm Sayer, a senior Florian intelligence official who authorised numerous covert operations during the Mesoun Crisis. Sayer believes that political instability and the government's inability to control armed organisations justify the preservation of Janus outside ordinary civilian oversight. However, the records indicate that he has also deliberately prolonged several local engagements to protect the programme's operations and eliminate individuals capable of exposing it.
By late 1744, revolutionary forces have constructed an extensive network of trenches, tunnels and defensive positions extending from Dongrad towards Lower Bridgeport. With large-scale federal assaults achieving limited success, Rhys and Mercer are assigned to conduct reconnaissance and limited raids along the revolutionary defensive line. During one operation, Mercer becomes trapped inside an underground position following a counterattack and discovers a concealed communications bunker containing further Janus equipment. The team escapes with encrypted records identifying several government officials involved in the programme. Among the recovered documents is a classified report concerning the 1729 Shadowfall operation, which confirms that Kade was deliberately extracted by Florian intelligence officers and that Rhys's official mission report was altered after his evacuation.
Rhys and Vale are subsequently instructed to transport the evidence to a secure federal military installation. Upon their arrival, their escort is revealed to consist of Janus operatives disguised as regular Florian soldiers. Sayer appears and informs Rhys that the evidence will be confiscated under emergency national security provisions. When Rhys refuses to surrender the documents, Sayer orders his men to kill the squad. Vale is shot while attempting to protect Mercer, and the surviving soldiers are forced to fight their way out of the installation. Before escaping, Rhys discovers that his apparent authorisation of Kade's extraction had been fabricated using his compromised military credentials while he was unconscious following the explosion in 1729. Sayer had deliberately allowed Rhys to believe that he was responsible, using the false records and subsequent interrogations to undermine his credibility.
Following Vale's death, Rhys is declared a security risk and temporarily relieved of command. Kellan determines that the Janus leadership has been exploiting the civil war to destroy evidence of its previous activities and prevent an investigation into its involvement in the Mesoun Crisis. Although the East Florian revolution originated from genuine political and economic grievances, Sayer's organisation has manipulated selected military incidents and supplied weapons to rival factions, believing that a prolonged national emergency would ensure the programme's continued existence. Kellan also discovers that Sayer had authorised the transfer of intelligence equipment to Shadow Group before its destruction in 1729, allowing the organisation to monitor separatist activities while concealing its own connections to the mercenaries.
Meanwhile, President Michael Hutchinson resigns amid growing criticism of the government's handling of the war and is succeeded by Ronald Trueman Jr., who orders an aggressive counteroffensive against the eastern revolutionaries. Under the direction of FLO Western Command, the 202nd and 204th Armies begin advancing into rebel-controlled territory. Mercer rejoins the regular Florian Army and participates in a major mechanised assault intended to break through the revolutionary defensive line. Rhys and Kellan continue investigating Janus independently, receiving limited assistance from Ward and several military officers who remain loyal to them.
The campaign subsequently shifts to The Promenade in the Autonomous State of Port Balaine, where widespread unrest erupts following reports that anti-government demonstrators have been executed by the State Constabulary. Ward is deployed to the city as security forces confront armed protesters near the Assembly of Keys. Gunfire breaks out during the demonstrations, resulting in the deaths of numerous civilians and the subsequent storming of the legislature. The Port Balaine Coast Guard defects to the revolt, while federal troops and Honourable Company security personnel are deployed to restore order. During the disturbances, Ward discovers that Janus contractors have been operating in the city under the protection of legitimate security organisations. He recovers financial records identifying a secret intelligence facility where Sayer has been storing the programme's remaining operational archives.
As government forces approach Dongrad, Mercer encounters members of the Humanist Vanguard, whose 4th Division has been supporting the federal counteroffensive. Although the paramilitaries have contributed to the defeat of several revolutionary formations, their commanders refuse to acknowledge certain orders from the federal government and independently occupy recovered settlements. Mercer intervenes after discovering that Vanguard personnel have detained civilians suspected of supporting the revolutionaries. The confrontation is interrupted by a renewed rebel attack, forcing both groups to defend the settlement. After the fighting, Mercer transfers the prisoners to regular military custody and reports the incident to Rhys, who warns that the collapse of revolutionary authority has created opportunities for armed organisations operating outside federal control.
Rhys and Kellan eventually recover sufficient evidence to expose Sayer's activities, but learn that he intends to destroy the remaining Janus archives before they can be examined by federal investigators. With the Florian Army preparing its final assault on Dongrad, Rhys agrees to assist Mercer in an operation against the revolutionary command structure before pursuing Sayer. During the Siege of Dongrad in 1745 AN, Mercer leads an infantry detachment through the devastated city while Rhys coordinates a special operations assault on the remaining revolutionary headquarters. After heavy fighting, the government forces reach the administrative district and discover that Ivan Markov has committed suicide rather than surrender. His death accelerates the collapse of the Democratic Republic of East Floria, and the remaining revolutionary formations eventually capitulate. The Florian government announces victory, bringing the Second Florian Civil War to an end.
Despite the conclusion of major hostilities, Rhys receives intelligence that Sayer is preparing to leave Floria with the surviving Janus archives. Rhys, Mercer, Ward and Kellan launch an unauthorised operation against a remote intelligence facility used by the programme. During the assault, the team discovers that Sayer has ordered the destruction of all documents connecting Janus to Shadow Group and the manipulation of military operations during the civil war. Rhys confronts Sayer, who claims that the programme was necessary to preserve national security and argues that the deaths of Florian soldiers and civilians were acceptable sacrifices to protect the state. Sayer further reveals that senior officials had been aware of the programme's existence but had deliberately avoided investigating its activities.
During the confrontation, Sayer attempts to destroy the facility's central archive and orders his remaining security personnel to eliminate the intruders. Mercer is wounded while attempting to secure the surviving records, forcing Rhys to abandon his pursuit of Sayer and rescue her. Ward prevents Sayer's escape by disabling the aircraft intended to transport him from the installation. Rhys subsequently corners Sayer inside the facility's communications centre, where the two engage in a final confrontation. Sayer shoots Rhys, but is subdued before he can destroy the remaining evidence. Although seriously wounded, Rhys succeeds in transferring the archive's contents to Kellan before collapsing. Mercer attempts to save him, but Rhys dies from his injuries, having instructed her to ensure that the truth about Janus becomes public.
In the aftermath, Sayer is arrested and the existence of Project Janus is disclosed to the Florian government. An investigation results in the suspension and arrest of numerous intelligence officers, military contractors and government officials implicated in the programme's operations. The revelations provoke a major political scandal, although investigators establish that Janus neither created the East Florian revolution nor exercised direct control over its leadership. Instead, the programme had exploited existing political instability, manipulated selected incidents and obstructed efforts to resolve the conflict in order to protect its clandestine activities. Kellan delivers Rhys's testimony and the surviving evidence to federal investigators, while Mercer attends a memorial service honouring Rhys, Vale and the soldiers killed during the civil war.
In a post-credits scene, Kellan examines a previously encrypted section of the Janus archive containing historical intelligence records dating back to the events of Micras Warfare 2. The documents identify several financial intermediaries associated with the intelligence network involved in Sanderson's betrayal of the Raspur Special Task Force. One surviving account appears to have been used to finance the earliest operations of Project Janus, suggesting that the programme's origins extend further back than Sayer had admitted. As Kellan attempts to access the remaining files, the archive displays a message indicating that its contents have already been transferred to an unidentified external recipient. The screen fades to black.
