In the beginning…

When does an ideal truly start? When can you begin to follow the lines of what guides the universe? Eris did not start this year, or last year, or even a hundred years ago. In reality, Eris has been in existence since the beginning of time. The concept of chaos, order, deception and honor, all are interwoven into the evolution of humanity all the way from earth. It is those who harnessed those concepts, forging them into an ethos, a weapon to wield and guide humanity, who we have to thank for the beginning of Eris.

The first true incarnation of Eris could be said to come from the Grecian philosophers, interpreting chaos as the state of emptiness, non-being, a state before creation that separates Heaven and Hell. Through interaction, this state of discord and chaos was where a new order was formed, guided by a creation deity to enter the world.

Still further there is the Greek Godess Eris, whom our namesake comes from. The story goes that Eris, whom was snubbed from a celebration by Zeus, appeared at his celebration anyway and carrying with her a golden apple. On it was inscribe the words “To the fairest”, and was tossed into the party, using deception to create chaos as the vanity plague goddesses fought over who the apple was meant for. Zeus, having to declare who the apple was for, shrugged his burden unto a mortal man whom had the god’s favour. The goddess bribed and plotted over the human, until eventually he succumbed to one. In favouring one, the others were most displeased, sparking a war between the Trojans and Greeks at whom the goddesses were aligned to. After the death of many heros on both sides, the Trojans finally fell to an ancient ruse called the Trojan Horse. Though the entire city was massacred, from the chaos was born a new order. Survivors of the massacre that were able to escaped were led far away, eventually founding and becoming the Roman Empire, one of earth’s mightiest empires of history…an example if ever there was one of how through chaos and discord, balance and harmony come into being.

These are of course myths and ancient history…but what of modern history?

We are not a cult, covered in robes and chanting to a goddess or an unseen void, as many would have you think. No, Eris is comprised of real people…pilots, soldiers,explorers…who have merely seen how the universe works, how they can truly make a difference for themselves, for their loved ones, and most importantly…for every living being that comprises this universe. Our humble beginnings for this chapter in Eris’s story starts in 2932.

On the small backwater planet of Shyen, in a galaxy far outside UEE overwatch, efforts began to colonise by the Colonial Sustaining & Industrial Solutions Corporation (CSISC) . It was marketed as an attempt to locate and mine inert gasses located on the planet, though as with many start up colonise run by corporations such as CSISC, it was done low budget and a lack of much red tape. The colony, named Troia, attracted many poor and down on their luck individuals, but within a year or so, the Troia did indeed establish and sustain an inert gas production, leaving them in destitute peace.

Life continued, time grew, and the citizens of Troia calmed, the calm before the storm. Soon, pirates and raiders began to plague the small planet. At first nothing but a few random run ins with rouge crews, but this was merely a test of the waters, and before long full blown raiding parties began to descend upon the once peaceful vestige that was Troia. The already low budget and second hand defenses were put to the limit to protect the vast network of Troia’s gas production and it’s militia soon dwindling in numbers.

Within months, the colony was left in ruins, the colonists that survived struggled to maintain. With all production halted and most of the valuable equipment that wasn’t hidden stolen, there was little for the pirates to raid, but much for the slavers to gain. The last ground assault left but five colonists left, with the slavers in full retreat with their prizes. Enraged from the chaos, the five survivors took to discarded starfighters left behind and took pursuit. In the battle above Shyen, the five pilots managed to turn the tides that were against them on the ground, but in doing so, the colonists that were captured did not survive.

Was it better to let the slavers leave with their cargo, condemning those captured to a life of brutal slavery, leaving the slavers to capture more innocences ? Was it just to murder the colonists in such a way if only to exact revenge and end the slavers for good? These moral questions haunted the leader of the surviving pilots, an ex-UEE Advocacy operative, as they fled to the nearest civilised star system, the whole saga of Troia running through all their minds as they pondered what to do next in their lives.

Questions started to arise as they had time to think back on the entire thing. How profitable had Troia and their gas production really been? Why had they been given such destitute equipment and inadequate protection by CSISC ? Why after alerting the corporation to the troubles ahead had no help come ? The five began to dig into the background of CSISC, and within months, they had uncovered the real motives of CSISC and Troia. They had simply been a decoy, bait to lure pirates, vanduul, slavers, to them and keep them busy long enough for the real production colony could be set up on a near by planet. They had been given enough resources and attention to keep them surviving long enough, and then merely let them die off as they had done with many colonies beforehand. It was in this revelation that the five decided to join together to form the first Eris Squadron to exact revenge for the innocence that were used by CSISC and expose them for what they truly were.

With such small numbers, they learned how to best work as a fighting force: subterfuge, manipulation, moving fast and hitting hard, Eris managed not only to strike out at CSISC physically, but infiltrate and destroy from within. Exposing to the UEE what the corporation was up to before their CEO was mysteriously assassinated and the main headquarters demolished, Eris done what it was set out to do, but what then? There was more injustice out there, more imbalance to make right once more, and with the UEE struggling to balance restoration with harsh justice, the leader of Eris decided another force was needed.

And that, is how we come into being in this day and age. The five original pilots of Eris formed the organisation under the notion that a more direct, moral approach was needed in the universe, one that could be logical, that could dispense harsh truths, and unconventional approach to this unbalanced void we all inhabit. “Harmony in Discord” are our words, and should you be ready to make them your words, remember our history and ask yourself if you are willing to do what good for today, or what is good for eternity.

Executor Faridah “Nails” Edge

Eris Second in Command