Killzone 2: Back Story

This marks the lowest ebb of Vektan/Helghan civilization – the system makes a bold stand for freedom and fails. War comes to Alpha Centauri.

1. THE HELGHAN POLICE ACTION (2200)

As the situation worsens, the Helghan Administration attempts to first co-opt and then expel all ISA forces from Vekta and Helghan. The ISA Marines and Navy respond with lethal force, and a number of skirmishes erupt on and around the two colony worlds. Despite their overwhelming numeric superiority, Helghan troops are underequipped, poorly trained and inexperienced, allowing many ISA forces to escape the initial fighting. The experienced ISA troops and ships scatter to conduct hit-and-run operations from hidden bases.

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2. THE FIRST EXTRASOLAR WAR (2201)

The UCA Navy fleet dispatched in 2199 arrives at the Helghan system, hooking up with the local ISA ships and quickly moving to secure the navigational points. The main force of the fleet heads to the planet of Helghan for a blockade, but the massed custom fleets of the Helghan Administration attempt to prevent this by engaging the UCA Navy fleet in battle.

The UCA Navy Cruisers prove to be untouchable by the much smaller Helghan vessels. The fleet action is a massacre, with almost the entire Helghan fleet being destroyed or disabled. During the fighting, however, the massive orbital structure is destroyed under mysterious circumstances.

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The UCA claim that the Helghan aboard the station fled to the planet below and sabotaged it to prevent it from falling into UCA hands. The Helghan Administration claim that the UCA fired on the station deliberately. The true story never emerges, but as a result of this incident the Helghan Authority declares war on the UCN.

The UCA Navy fleet decides that dropping directly onto Helghan would be a waste of resources and lives. Leaving a picket fleet to watch the planet, they push on to Vekta.

3. END OF THE FIRST EXTRASOLAR WAR (2202)

The combined ISA and UCA Navy fleet arrives around Vekta and quickly subdues the remnants of the Helghan Customs Service in orbit. Initially the Helghan Administration threatens to fight to the last man, but after a demonstration of orbital bombardment they quickly yield to the inevitable. The Helghan Administration is shut down; all senior civil servants are arrested, as are any executives of the Helghan Corporation. Many escape into hiding.

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When a courier ship returns from Alpha Centauri with the news, the UCN Senate debates the matter. Eventually, it determines that the Helghan are too unruly to ever settle comfortably within the UCN. They also decide that the ISA needs a colony nearby, to keep an eye on the Helghan and stop them from causing trouble in the future. A decision that is little more than outright theft dressed up as diplomacy is drafted, and a broken Helghan Administration can do little more than rubberstamp it. The local ISA takes over administration of Vekta. New colony ships of loyal UCN civilians start to be sent from Earth to expand the Vektan Colony.

The harsh consequences of rebellion are not lost on the other colonies. The UCN’s right to regulate and tax space shipping is never challenged again.

4. THE RESISTANCE (2202-2204)

Helghan extremists begin a terrorist campaign in an attempt to make the occupation of Vekta too expensive for the ISA. Although the majority of Vektan-based Helghans simply want to live out their lives peacefully, sufficient numbers of the local populace assist the guerrilla movement to enable it to flourish. Bombings, ambushes and shootings against the UCN minority become more common. Vekta is no longer an innocent paradise.

Next Page: Early Helghan Era