**The year is 3463.** Despite the worries of twentieth century humanity, both the human race and planet earth continued to expand and prosper over the next one and a half thousand years. There were, of course, ups and downs. Medicine, combat, politics- Everything advanced in its own way over time. It took time, but Earth itself was cleaned up. Countries banded together over centuries, until planet Earth held only one, unified government, simply called "Humanity". Subcultures still exist, but live, in general, peacefully as one. All continents are ruled over by a democratic monarchy, a single King and his council ruling- Yet with every citizen holding the right to overrule said group's decisions for the best of the planet, and the human race as a whole. So far, it has proved to be an effective system of government.

With the world unified, more important things than war were addressed. The planet was cleaned up. Science made leaps and bounds not seen since the peak of the many industrial revolutions over the countless years of human kind. Stations large enough to house millions were built in orbit of earth, and the Moon was terraformed and colonized, now existing as lush with life and atmosphere as Earth itself, housing a quarter of the human population- Another quarter spread out among the various space stations, and the remaining half remaining at home on a newly reformed Earth. Faster than Light travel has yet to be discovered, however, keeping humanity in the reasonable distance of it's home planet's orbit.

For the most part, religious, cultural, and societal problems are under control, if not entirely resolved. -All- people have true equal rights, no matter the race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or what have you else. Issues do, of course, still exist, but no longer plague the planet as world-wide, massive disputes. Things are honestly peaceful. The military and police force are one and the same, but no need for a show of large military strength was needed for nearly four centuries.

Until the rise of The Free Men.

It was inevitable that even in a functioning, peaceful world wide government, people would see flaws and band together, revolting against them. It took much longer in this instance- But was all the more massive because of it. The Free Men formed in 3300, a simple, small group of men and women who decided they didn't like how things ran. Peaceful protests, news interviews, and simple boycotts were the extent of the noise they rose. And, as accepting as the government, by then, was, they let the people do as they would. But, behind the scenes, their numbers swelled, and over twenty years, nearly a third of the human race flocked behind their banners- Banners revealed to be anarchy. Too large to put down peacefully by then, Humanity decided that it was impossible to stop the break from their government. So, peace talks were arranged before things became nasty- The Free Men were granted portions of Earth, a space station, and several of the dozen or so lunar colonies.

Despite the misgivings of those still under the Monarchy of Humanity, the Anarchy that reigned over the Free men -didn't- result in total chaos. No laws were there to break, credits flowed as they would. The crime rate was genuinely barely above that of Humanity's Monarchy. But of course.... War was impossible to avoid. People not under the same banner -find- reasons to hate one another. Find reasons to fight, to prove their cause is the greater of the two. So the fighting began. It started small. Border wars between the Free Men's mish-mash of military and the ordered ranks of the Royal Army. Nothing that shook the foundation of humanity. Weapons of Mass Destruction were never used by either side, for humanity remembered all too well how long it took to restore Earth from the earlier millennium's mistakes. But war was war. It was bloody, and tragic, and horrible. But, even after eighty years, it still waged on. Borders waned and waxed between the two groups of humans, people died. And somewhere along the line, each group formed a special tasks force, specifically meant to combat each other more viciously in the shadows.

**The New Templars**

The New Templars formed under Humanity, suggested by a man named Jamie Bellhan- A historian and soldier. All of the honor, the pride, and the tradition of the original knights of templar went into their creation and training, making them a brutally effective, if rigidly traditional group of the finest soldiers, with the finest weapons and supplies. However, they were not bound by religion as the original knights were- Merely strict codes of honor and conduct, genuine knights in the king's army.

**The Beacons**

The Beacons were the Free Men's response to the New Templars. Not steeped in honor or tradition, they were simply the best of the best available among the fighting men and women of the Free Men. The bravest, quickest, smartest soldiers they could find. They live by their own ways, and do the jobs they are given as they see fit, to the most effective degree imaginable- From stealing documents of importance to sabotaging military ships and stations. They are the left hand of the Free Men, working in the shadows.


## Weapons and Armor

Among the many scientific leaps of humanity, despite the peaceful times, weapons and armor also made large jumps forward. I will focus here on the degree of material available to the Beacons and the New Templars.

### Fire Arms

For the most part, firearms are no different than they are now. Ballistic weaponry. However, rather than large bullets, guns from small side arms to large rifles use systems more akin to those of Rail Guns, shearing a slim fragment of different metals off ammo blocks, magnetically charging and launching them at unbelievable temperatures and speeds, turning the small metal fragment into a superheated shard of destruction. The size of the shard varies from gun to gun, small-arms firing no more than a sliver the size of a sewing needle, large rifles or shotguns firing something more akin to a roofing nail. The heat build up caused by this reaction is stored in energy clips, which can be dumped into power reserves, recycling the heat for clean, renewable energy. Depending on the size of round, ammo blocks may need to be replaced every few dozen, hundred, or -thousand- shots, making the need to reload the blocks themselves very small in firefights. Energy clips, however, have a standard replacement need every twelve rounds- Give or take a few depending on the modifications made to the specific gun. They take only half a minute or so to drain and cool into energy reserved, however, making it unnecessary to carry more than two or three clips into battle. Exquisitely crafted guns made for all ranges are available to the Beacons and New Templars, though both groups tend towards mid-to-close range combat, due to often fighting in enclosed spaces.

### Blades

Due to the traditional nature of the New Templars, and the Beacons' need to counter them, both groups receive extensive training not only with firearms and hand-to-hand combat, but also with swords, axes, maces, pole weapons, shields, and daggers of all varieties, making them as utterly deadly up close as they are from across the room. Of course, simple steel blades wouldn't be enough in modern times, so the blades forged for both groups are made up of the finest, strongest metals on Earth or the Moon, sharpened to edges that would cut a speck of dust, and strengthened to the point of being more than capable of cutting anything from a tree, a slab of steel, a boulder, or a human being in half without so much as a scratch showing on the metal. Depending on the individual's preferences, these blades can vary extensively in style and type.

### Armor

Armor, like weaponry, has taken leaps and bounds. Full-body, space-worthy suits of nano-fiber material are supplied to both groups. The material is semi-organic in nature, allowing it to mend itself given a few minutes- Though, unfortunately, it isn't able to mend the person wearing it. So, even if one were to be shot in the arm, the suit would repair the hole with its own materials within five or six minutes, making it once again space-worthy, to minimize the chance of an operative being spaced and freezing to death. Or suffocating. Or generally just being crushed by the pressure. You get the point. The suit plating and under-weave are the same material, but the density varies, allowing for rigid plates or flexible sleeves, both equally air-tight and pressure proof. Each agent's suit will have an on-board computer and A.I.

### A.I

On that note! A.I's are, in this universe, similar to what we see in the Halo universe. Complex, with genuine personalities of their own. They reside in each suit's on-board computer, but can be moved to personal devices such as phones or cranial-implants between missions, making them each agent's best friend. They can analyze a situation in fractions of a second, and give dozens of tactical options for each in only a few seconds. They monitor the agent's vital signs and physical condition, help with mental stress, and even offer a HUD showing armor condition, the state of weapons, thermal level in clips, and the suit's current energy level- Necessary to perform actions such as recycling air, venting to keep the agent from overheating, keeping the A.I active, (Though an A.I can function on the equivalent of a single watch battery, so the odds of the power draining below A.I use is next to zero) and generally just being useful as more than a hunk of protective nano-fiber.

### Food

You will note in the image I use for Isaac, my Beacon Commander, that there are things that look like jelly beans spilling out of one of his pouches. Those would be food pills. In reality they will be clear, not colorful. They taste like shit, won't actually solve having an empty stomach, and are generally unpleasant to smell. However, they hold enough vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and calories to effectively keep the body alive and healthy with only one pill a day, as if living on a healthy meal schedule due to the timed-release segments in each capsule. While no replacement for a hot meal at home, they are more than enough to keep a soldier alive with no food source for months at a time... As long as they don't spill all over the floor and get lost. They do -not-, however, replace water. Hydration would still be an issue. As would the pain of an empty stomach, despite being healthy.