Seether

Seether
- 2673
Callsign	Seether
Place of death	Earth Orbit, Sol System
Allegiance	Black Lance
Years of service	2660s - 2673
Rank	Colonel

Seether was a Terran pilot from the Terran Confederation, but whose true loyalties lay with the Black Lance.

History

During the later years of the Terran-Kilrathi War, Seether was a rookie pilot on a carrier together with Colonel Jacob "Hawk" Manley. During his brief tenure on the vessel, Seether was transferred to the Intelligence Ops, where all records of his existence were thereafter apparently erased.

Unknown to most, Seether became a candidate of the highly secretive Genetic Enhancement Program, one of the infamous Black Projects created with the purpose of fielding super-soldiers who would ultimately end the war with the Kilrathi. During his procession in the program, Seether developed unusually fast reflexes, incredible strength, and increased intelligence. As a result, he graduated through the ranks quickly and proved to be a lethal pilot.

Despite the eventual cancellation of the GE program with the end of the war, Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn revived the program to fuel his own personal agenda. He eventually founded the Black Lance, an illegal special forces group whose goal was to instigate war between the Confederation and the Union of Border Worlds in an attempt to restore the Confederation's Kilrathi War era military strength. Seether became one of the top Wing Commanders for this faction and soon acquired the rank of Colonel, as well as the Admiral's respect and trust.

Seether was a fearless man who demanded perfection from himself and his wingmen. He would regularly test himself for fear by dropping a mine from his craft and thrusting himself forward with afterburners, thereby detonating the mine and riding the blast wave at speeds much greater than fighter could otherwise achieve. He also was extremely sadistic, and had no remorse for those he killed on the battlefield, nor did he have any respect for the dead. He considered death to be the ultimate failure, something he refused to tolerate. He found death to be humorous, often laughing after having murdered an unfortunate victim.

Border Worlds Conflict

Seether was one of the key instigators of the Border Worlds Conflict during the 2670s. He regularly flew a F-107 Lance, an unmarked heavy fighter and by far the most powerful starfighter in the Black Lance's arsenal. In order to promote conflict on the frontier, Seether led numerous attacks on Confederation and Border Worlds vessels, flying unmarked craft and claiming to be the opposite faction. Seether was directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians and the destruction of many transports.

In 2673, the conflict reached its climax as the Confederation began to consider a formal Declaration of War on the Border Worlds. During that year, Seether led the attack on the TCS Amadeus, killing its escorts and destroying the defenseless vessel with a Flash-Pak, leaving no survivors.

In the days that followed, Seether attempted to forcefully recruit new pilots for the Black Lance on the planet of Nephele II. During one such incident in a local bar, Seether met retired Colonel Christopher Blair, a pilot he longed to supersede as the best in the Space Force. When Blair defended the man Seether had assaulted, he threatened him with a laser knife.

After the encounter, Blair was recalled to active duty by Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall and the two pilots flew to the Orlando Depot in Hellespont to secure a shuttle to Sol. At that time, Seether arrived in an Avenger and destroyed Orlando, slaughtering 3,000 Confederation personnel and declaring a victory in the name of the Border Worlds. He then fled before Blair could intervene. The incident left the two men bitter rivals.

Blair was transferred to the TCS Lexington, on which he served alongside Captain William Eisen. Eisen was suspected by the Black Lance of spying against the Confederation. To silence him, the Black Lance installed Captain Hugh Paulson in Eisen's place, and Seether planned to have Eisen killed in an "accident". Seether himself arrived personally on the Lexington to carry out the plot. It backfired when Eisen defected to the Border Worlds with the help of Colonel Blair, who also defected. Seether ordered Paulson to pursue Eisen to Silenos, where Blair stopped the two men by disabling the Lexington. Seether and Paulson fled on a shuttle, where Seether executed Paulson with a laser knife for his failure to kill either Eisen or Blair.

Seether continued to carry out attacks on the Border Worlds and the Confederation behind the scenes, and prepared himself for his eventual showdown with Blair. The war continued to intensify as a result, threatening interstellar conflict between the two Terran factions.

As the vote on a Declaration of War within the Confederation Senate drew closer, Tolwyn ordered Seether to test their latest weapon: the Gen-Select Bioweapon, which would "cleanse" humanity of those deemed by the Black Lance to be unfit to defend humanity. Seether led a squadron to the Border Worlds colony of Telamon, where they exterminated 90% of the population. Despite the success of the operation, Blair arrived shortly afterward on the BWS Intrepid, and tracked Seether's strike team to their base in the unpopulated Axius System. Blair infiltrated the facility and discovered Tolwyn's treachery and his plans while Seether and the Admiral were rallying their forces for war. However, Seether spotted Blair in the crowd, and promptly pursued him with security forces. Blair evaded them and fled to the Intrepid.

Death and Downfall

Tolwyn fled to Earth on the TCS Vesuvius in order to secure the war declaration before Blair could intervene, but was pursued by Intrepid and Captain Eisen on the TCS Mount St. Helens. Tolwyn continued to Earth on a shuttle while Seether and the Vesuvius stayed behind to stop Blair. Colonel Blair destroyed the Vesuvius with a Flash-Pak, and on Tolwyn's orders, Seether challenged Blair to a one-on-one match in Lance heavy fighters above Earth. Seether taunted Blair throughout the battle, assured that a genetically-superior being such as himself was far more formidable than a natural human such as Blair.

Ultimately, Seether's genetic superiority failed him as Blair, after a successful defensive action, finally shot down Seether, ending the murderous pilot's rampage. Seether went to his death realizing that he had failed to kill the "Heart of the Tiger".

Behind the Scenes

• In WC4, Seether was portrayed by American actor Robert Rusler, who gained fame for his role on the sci-fi television series Babylon 5.

• Seether's Confederation uniform depict the same service ribbons as those on Blair's Confederation uniform, albeit mirrored, alluding to his role as the antithesis of Blair's hero character.