Seether

Seether
??? - 2673
Callsign	Seether
Place of birth	Unknown
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. His true name has never been revealed.

History

Very little is known of Seether's life or his early service with the Terran Confederation. What is known is that during the later years of the Terran-Kilrathi War, Seether was a rookie pilot on the same carrier Colonel Jacob "Hawk" Manley served on. During his brief tenure on the vessel, Seether was transferred to the Intelligence Ops, where all records of his existence were apparently erased. Hawk has since forgotten Seether's true name.

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 supersoldiers who would ultimately end the war with the Kilrathi. During his procession in the program, Seether developed superhuman reflexes, incredible strength, and increased intelligence. As a result, he flew 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 to remilitarize humanity. 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.

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, only to be thrust forward by the blast of the mine. 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 Lance Heavy Fighter, 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 in order to make the Border Worlds look like the guilty party. 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 declaring 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 was longing to supersede as the best in the Navy. When Blair defended the man Seether had assaulted, he threatened him with a laser knife, and threatened Blair's life. Blair kept his cool and told off Seether, who said he couldn't wait to meet the Colonel again.

After that engagement, Blair was recalled to active duty by Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall and the two of them flew to the Orlando Depot in Hellespont to secure a shuttle to Sol. Unfortunately, Seether arrived in an Avenger Heavy Bomber and destroyed Orlando, slaughtering 3,000 Terrans and declaring victory for 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 his old comrade Captain William Eisen. Eisen was suspected by the Black Lance of spying against Confed, as he believed an illegal faction within Confed was acting without the knowledge of the government. 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 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 Tolwyn 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 hosting a rally for their men. However, Seether spotted Blair in the crowd, and promptly pursued him with security forces. Blair evaded them and fled to the Intrepid.

(To be continued)