Meet the troops included in the Torchlight Brigade action pack:
SILVERSTAR ROVERS
As a smaller, elite unit made up of veterans with many years of experience, your training focuses on preparing you to work autonomously or as part of a small team, relying solely on your wits, grit, and firepower to overcome crushing odds. When you’re in the Silverstar Unit, you shouldn’t expect to get any backup, because you are the cavalry coming to the rescue.
Your primary mission is to enforce order and the rule of law in the far corners of the Human Sphere, in the newer territories, where civilization is thin on the ground and life is cheap. In these isolated colonies, violence and mayhem reign supreme, and the law of the jungle is applied with absolute brutality. You have to restore the balance and ensure that justice prevails in those uncharted lands.
Those silver stars adorning your armor are the emblem of your authority, a source of despair to the wicked, and a source of hope and solace to the innocent. They indicate not only that there’s a new sheriff in town, but also a rescue team capable of going wherever they are needed, no matter how distant and hostile the setting may be. They promise that no one in the Human Sphere is helpless, for the might and fire of Torchlight protect the innocent no matter how isolated they are. That is the vow of the Silverstars. That is the oath you recite every day of your new life, which is no longer dull or ordinary at all.
HELLBLAZERS
These ruthless men and women’s code name hints at the nightmarish operational environment they thrive in: extreme situations where recklessness and morally questionable decisions are essential not just to prevail, but to survive. And that’s why the Hellblazers are dreaded and renowned.
They’re frontier warriors capable of making a difference even when outnumbered. They’re legendary combatants of whom it’s said that defeating just one is a true victory, and defeating two of them is a miraculous feat. They’re operatives who rush into the area of operations with the power of a full-blown firestorm, a storm of violence and death straight out of hell. Those are the Hellblazers of the Torchlight Brigade.
YELLOWJACKETS TRANS-ORBITAL TEAM
Among the plethora of heroes that make up the Torchlight Brigade, there is a small but select and striking force called the Yellowjackets. With their boisterous attitude and their characteristic yellow stripes against the dark background of their deep blue armor and jump packs, the Yellowjackets stand out from all the other members of Torchlight. And they’re outstanding in every sense of the word because the truth is that it’s difficult to overlook these restless troublemakers whose audacity and cockiness are the result of a fierce determination to prevail at all costs. This determination is essential to being accepted to this team.
Consisting exclusively of daring volunteers willing to take on the most daunting tasks and face crushing odds, this team was created in the early days of Torchlight’s inception. Back then, the founders of this special brigade realized how difficult it was to provide immediate support to the groups of settlers who had spread beyond the borders of the Human Sphere.
As expeditions ventured into more and more remote and hazardous territories, there was a need for a rapid response force capable of deploying anywhere at any time, a team that could go where the average force could not, no matter how harsh the environmental conditions or how rough the terrain. This was the origin of the idea for the Torchlight Brigade’s airborne transorbital deployment unit. Since the unit was founded, the Yellowjackets have become the epitome of fearlessness and courage, the guys who stand bravely against the unknown dangers that lurk beyond the explored confines of the Human Sphere.
NIMRODS, WETWORKS DETACHMENT
Nimrods aren’t your typical Torchlight Brigade operative. This unit is made up of troublemakers, rebels, and misfits, people who would be automatically discarded by the agency’s recruiting AIs. They’re former military or law enforcement personnel who have been sidelined for being deemed too dangerous, unpredictable, or simply undesirable, and who have defied the system and paid the price.
Thanks to its access to large amounts of data and resources, Torchlight can locate and identify these potential candidates, even when they‘ve been ruled out by standard protocols. Whenever it becomes necessary, the agency will reach out to them and offer them an opportunity for redemption and a purpose.
Those who accept this offer quickly learn that they are part of something much bigger than themselves. Nimrods understand that they serve not only a cause but a way of life. And even if they spend their lives in the shadows and never get recognition or acclaim for their efforts, they know that their sacrifices will ultimately bring about a better future for those newly discovered territories and the hard-working settlers who live in them.
Given the ruthless nature of the undoubtedly illegal operations these operatives carry out, they’re not heroes, but neither are they villains. They are neither saints nor sinners, but rather the tools of Torchlight, its hidden knife, and its secret soldiers, and they’re essential if order and justice are to prevail over chaos and corruption. They are the Nimrods, the hunters whose hands are always red with the blood of the wicked.
SILVERSTAR PRIMES
Primes are the ultimate weapon of the Torchlight Brigade, deployed only on the most critical and hazardous missions that require exceptional skill and bravery.
Primes are fully aware that they must protect the Human Sphere from any threat, however daunting or terrifying that may be. They never hesitate to strike out against the enemy, even if that means facing a grim fate. They are loyal, brave, and honorable warriors who will sacrifice everything to live up to their motto: “For the Human Sphere, we stand tall!” In the face of certain death, Primes will always do what they were born to do: rush unflinchingly towards it and sell their lives dearly.
Wherever they go, their reputation precedes them, so when just a single one of these armored supersoldiers shows up, it’s enough to strike fear and awe into the hearts of their enemies, as well as to inspire hope and wonder among their allies. Because even if they’re outnumbered and faced with impossible odds—the kind of scenario they’re used to operating in—Primes always honor their motto, standing tall and unwavering to uphold peace and stability in the furthest reaches of the frontier territories. Everyone knows that, regardless of the circumstances or how far away the courts of law may seem to be, the coming of a Silverstar Prime means that justice will always prevail.
STRIDERS, FORWARD SCOUTING UNIT
The Striders are part of that breed of pioneers who create their legend, like Livingston or Amundsen, explorers who have captivated the masses and their imagination with the tales of their voyages. They’re lone scouts who venture into uncharted territories and map alien planets, who draw the boundaries between colonial outposts of rival powers and discover new geographical landmarks in the remotest areas of faraway exoplanets. They’re adventurers and soldiers who were called upon by Torchlight while most of them were in isolated areas, away from the regular communication channels, and many of them were the last ones to join the first generation of this special brigade of O-12.
The Forward Scouting Unit is a group of highly skilled operatives who wear state-of-the-art, servo-powered, light armor that doubles as an all-around extreme environmental suit. The primary task of Striders is to explore and operate in uncharted territories beyond the established borders, venturing into the dangerous wilderness or remote regions under enemy control. Certainly, this rather singular unit plays a very particular role in the Torchlight Brigade: helping it carry out its duties as an international law enforcement agency tasked with keeping order both in disputed no-man’s-land and in the vast, barren expanses beyond the frontier colonies.
As members of an international law enforcement organization, Striders must strictly adhere to the ethical guidelines set forth by the Torchlight command. It doesn’t matter if they’re in wild lands where the law of the jungle is the only rule and “morality” is just a name for some homemade liquor, because they’re the instrument of order and the righteous arm of O-12 in those remote regions. But these aren’t the accounts most people are familiar with. The tales they hear tell of operations to rescue research teams who are trapped in hellish alien jungles, of their expeditions to aid pioneers and settlers who have traveled too far for a more conventional unit to reach them, and of many other feats accomplished against impossible odds. That’s the stuff their legend is forged from, and that’s why these lone scouts have become the true heroes of the uncharted territories.
