Epsilon Beta 21-7
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
One of numerous dimensions on Portal Corps list of worlds not to visit, Epsilon Beta 21-7 is a world where Project R.I.O.T. succeeded, and the world is under the thrall of the shadowy Administration who sponsored it.
Contents |
Overview
Few expeditions have been made to Epsilon Beta, due both to the difficulty of opening a stable portal and the hostile nature of the world itself. Based on information acquired from early explorations, the primary point of divergence seems to have been the second Rikti invasion, at which point R.I.O.T. suddenly found itself reinforced by a secret sister project: the Mädchenkriegers of the 5th Column. With these reinforcements, R.I.O.T. was able to put enough forces in the field to halt the Rikti invasion, and rally the metahumans of the world to strike back. Numerous powerful metahumans were killed in the conflict, leaving the world vulnerable when the project showed its true colours and placed the world under it's psychic dampening field.
In the years since, a million strong force of clones has been created to form the core of the Earth Defence Force. They are supported by volunteers from the metahuman community, as well as regular military and paramilitary forces. A second force, originally the Retaliation Force, was deployed to the Rikti homeworld[1] from which Epsilon Beta's invasion came. Large numbers of metahumans were, again, martyred during the assault, but were ultimately successful in taking the world. The Retaliation Force is now known as the Rikti Defence Force, and polices this world on behalf of Epsilon Beta. A third force has been deployed more recently against Psi-Omega 23-3, though this force is struggling to advance past the foothold it established during the initial days of the attack.
Despite the presence of the EDF and RDF, and the powerful psychic dampening field that ensures the majority of the population obey without question, there are those with resistance to the field. Known simply as 'the resistance', they are in reality neither a single force, nor a unified one. Indeed, many so called resistance fighters are merely people born with a natural immunity to the field, and forced into hiding as the EDF comes to take them away. Although never reported officially, the resistance is also bolstered by renegade clones who have broken away from their command net and now seek to bring the administration they once worked for down. People branded as part of the resistance must hide or die, for the field ensures the population at large fear and hate them.
[1]: This is not the same Rikti Homeworld from which the invasion of Primal Earth originated.
Dimensional Expansion
With the world conquered, the Administration has set its eyes on other worlds, intending to forge an interdimensional empire under their iron rule. The first world to fall was the alternate Rikti Homeworld from which the invasion had come, but there is evidence that Epsilon Beta has been exploring far and wide in search of targets. Notably, Epsilon Beta has a long-running rivalry with its sister dimension, Psi Omega 23-3, where the R.I.O.T. project launched, but was subverted by the psychic who was the basis for the clones. This culminated in an invasion in 2017, and the war there is ongoing.
Contact between Epsilon Beta and Psi Omega originally ocurred in Epsilon Tau 27-3. Here, the exploration teams of the two dimensions encountered each other. The dimension itself is ruled by a clockwork king, whom Epsilon Beta attempted to kill. Psi Omega, being staunch allies of their own clockwork king, rallied to his defence and the two side have been skirmishing across the world ever since. Both sides usually refer to this dimension simply as The Battlefield.
There is evidence that scouts from Epsilon Beta have reached Primal Earth, however there does not yet seem to be any concerted effort to plan for an invasion. It is assumed they are aware of, and may have made contact with, the remnants of Primal Earth's Project R.I.O.T., however given it collapsed twice they are unlikely to see the primal clones as a threat.
Further, circumstantial, evidence suggests that members of the Mädchenkriegers made contact with Delta Zeta 24-10 during the 1960's and 70's, however the purpose of this contact, if it actually occurred, is currently unknown, and does not appear to have been resumed subsequently.
Praetoria
Evidence has emerged that Epsilon Beta had agents operating on Praetoria during the war with Primal Earth. Further reports suggest that clones have been operating there since, scavenging technology to take back for analysis. These reports were confirmed by a recent portal corp recon team, who witnessed prototypes clearly based on Praetorian warworks in action on Epsilon Tau 27-3. There are a few unconfirmed reports that the clones on Praetoria have made contact with and are supporting survivors in an unknown location.
The Clones of Epsilon Beta
There are two distinct, but related, branches of the R.I.O.T. clones on Epsilon Beta. The first, known as R-Series, are those designed and produced directly by the R.I.O.T. project. This includes the original 240 prototype clones, the hundred 1T test clones and the million strong Earth Defence Force. The second branch, known as M-Series, are based on the Mädchenkriegers of the 5th Column. The original M-Series were the Mädchenkriegers themselves, and they appear to be based upon the post-24th generation production series originally intended, and which became the R-Series in Epsilon Beta, but with modifications from experience over the years. After the merging of the two projects, R.I.O.T. examined the M-Series in detail before deciding to adopt it as the main line. Subsequently, they produced the 2T test clones and then the Rikti Defence Force. More recently, the Occupation Force deployed to Psi Omega was produced using M-Series clones.
| Group | Series | ID Format | Strength | Notable Members |
| R.I.O.T. Prototypes | R | 00-0 | ~30 | 21-7, 24-7 |
| 1T Test Series | R | T0-0 | 100 | |
| Earth Defence Force | R | 1AA000-0 | ~1,000,000 | |
| Mädchenkriegers | M | AAA-00 | ~10,000 | ABY-07 (Reichsfrau) |
| 2T Test Series | M | 2T0-0 | 100 | |
| Rikti Defence Force | M | 2AA000-0 | ~1,000,000 | |
| Occupation Force | M | 3AA000-0 | ~1,000,000 |
Mädchenkriegers
There is not much information available about the mysterious origins of the Mädchenkriegers. Records of them start appearing in the 1940s, notably Reichsfrau herself, and they seem to operate in concert with the 5th column up until 2005. At this point, as the 5th Column is dealing with the Center's uprising, they terminated their alliance, seized control of Striga Isle and assassinated numerous key members of the column. The kriegers then went almost entirely dark until the second rikti invasion, at which point they resurfaced, though this time wearing the uniforms of the R.I.O.T. project.
What records do exist seem to indicate that Reichsfrau worked as an advisor to Requiem, and was instrumental in providing the intelligence that allowed him to prevent the Center's rise to power. A partial copy of her file was retrived, and indicates that despite being a Mädchenkrieger, she is listed as an R-Series clone, assigned the ID ABY-07 by R.I.O.T. after the merger since the Mädchenkriegers all referred to her as ABY in private. Given that she appears to have been operating since the 1940s, but the R-Series did not reach production until 2008, it is assumed that she was able to somehow travel back in time in order to set plans in motion.
Omega Division
Within each of the three main clone forces there is a group known simply as Omega Division. These are the internal psychic military police, charged with ensuring the loyalty of the armies. They oversee regular mind scans, probes and reconditioning of clones under their care, to minimise the number who go rogue each year. They are also often involved in interrogations of resistance fighters thought to have important information, or with formidable psychic defences.
The Omega Division of the EDF is itself overseen by the Omega Division of the RDF, and vice versa. The occupation force's Omega Division is currently monitored on an adhoc basis by that of the EDF.
Taskforce Alpha
Interrogations of high level resistance commanders have revealed the existence of a leak within the clone command network. Known to the resistance simply as Source Alpha, it is responsible for numerous setbacks experienced by the EDF and RDF in their attempts to stamp out the resistance. Late in 2016, a squad of renegade clones were able to kidnap Penelope Yin from the conditioning labs on Striga Isle and escape with her to the battlefield. The investigation into this revealed Source Alpha as the instigator and primary source of information for the raid, and so the administration formed a taskforce with the sole aim of finding and eliminating this leak.
At the head of the taskforce is 24-7, the final pre-production prototype command clone and considered the pinnacle of the R-Series. Her sister-clone, 21-7, has also, unofficially, assigned herself to the taskforce, as the two often work closely together, and they have gathered a number of clones from across the different branches to work for them. Although the prototypes exist outside the regular chain of command, 24-7 has been given the authority to utilise Omega Division's resources, regardless of which world she is operating on, effectively giving her command over any clone forces in the entire network if she requires it.
Although the taskforce has identified and shut down several sleeper cells of renegade clones, Source Alpha continues to elude even these veteran agents. At present, the taskforce is investigating two theories: that Source Alpha is a subnetwork within the command net, rather than an individual, or that Source Alpha is infact a thought virus moving from host to host. These were theorised as the best ways to infiltrate the network by 21-7 and 24-7 respectively.
The Shroud
Epsilon Beta is shrouded in a form of dimensional static that makes locking on with a portal quite difficult. This shroud is partly natural, believed to be the result of some kind of temporal torque between Epsilon Beta and Psi Omega, and party artificially generated by the Portal Corp of Epsilon Beta to protect itself from other dimensions. Portal technology on Epsilon Beta is designed with this static in mind, and is thought to be able to find ways through by locking onto special beacons, however at present no such beacons have been located for study, and the mechanism behind it is not understood.
In addition to the shroud, there is also a portal redirection system. All incoming portals to Epsilon Beta are routed to Inbound Traveller Processing Facilities. Both technological and magical portals from Primal Earth have suffered this redirection, which is again an unknown technology. It is understood that Epsilon Beta's own portals do not get redirected, so there is possibly some identification key system in place, or the beacons used to breach the shroud also serve to bypass the redirection. The ITPF themselves are believed to be secure military facilities, permanently manned by robotic and clone forces and with considerable automated defences, both static and mobile.
