"Second Impact was a blessing disguised as disaster. It obliterated the weakness of the old world, and coaxed forth the strength of the new one. Were it not for this event, our Federation, the finest civilisation that has ever existed, forged by the genius of our great movement, would never have come to be."

Deputy Consul of the North American Federation Hector Roberts, 4th of July 2010, annual Los Angeles Rally.

The year is 2017, and the human race has only just recovered from the event that nearly undid it.

On the 13th of September 2000AD, through what was said to be a "meteorite impact", Antarctica was erased from the face of the earth, causing massive tsunamis, flooding, climate change, and an environmental catastrophe.

Thousands of species went extinct.

The Southern hemisphere was completely devastated, whilst the North crumbled into chaos.

This calamity, the end of the world as mankind knew it, would forever be known as the Second Impact.

With the collapse of the old order, the deaths of three billion, and the need for resources, the remnants of man were plunged into six long years of blood soaked war. As is commonplace in times of conflict, technological progression was accelerated immensely, which in 2005 resulted in the most important scientific discovery in history.

The A-T field, an unending source of raw energy. Through its ingenuity, humanity was able to tap into this power with the creation of the S2 engine, a device which could not only harness the field but channel it into a sturdy barrier.

Energy shields.

Every single other source of power and propulsion became obsolete and primitive in comparison over-night.

But the societies that would put this marvel to use...had hardly any noble intentions in store for it.

The new Empires born from the ashes of 20th century civilisation, are among the mightiest nations ever constructed by humankind.

Harsh powers for a harsh world.

Their armies number in the millions, untold legions of men and women clad in battle armour and wielding weapons that would make any pre-Impact assault rifles seem like party poppers.

The development of A-T field technology for military purposes continued to escalate, resulting in the creation of the N2 mine, a device that could atomise cities with no fallout, and the positron cannon, a weapon that unleashed the power of a small solar flare. .

The world's first true energy weapons.

But perhaps the most sublime example of man's technological prowess, were the mighty FCVs, or Flight Capable Vessels.

Known more commonly by their nickname, Sky Ships.

200 metre long flying gun platforms crewed by over a thousand men, armed to the teeth with rail guns and Jet powered VTOLs, the flying Dreadnoughts of the 21st century could annihilate entire regions.

True marvels of science. Even if they were for killing.

During the collapse of the old orders, it was the United States of America which perished first, only to rise again as the fascist super power that is the North American Federation.

Seeing themselves as the true successors of the ancient Roman Empire, a Master Race destined to dominate the globe, the Federals have crushed and enslaved the peoples of Central and North America.

As the"aquila" flag flies over Canada, Mexico, and the Federal Fatherland itself, the brave intellectuals who signed a declaration of independence in 1776 must weep in horror for what their once beautiful creation has become.

If the dead weep.

But the various "civitas" of the Federation do not encompass Alaska, or the old United States eastern seaboard.

For those belong to other powers.

The British Isles, the western coast of Europe, the sands of North Africa, the regained "thirteen colonies", and the rainforests of the Amazon, are all dominions of the Empire.

An autocratic state ruled by the Emperor and his council of Marshals, along with the nigh powerless Imperial Parliament who merely exists to give some semblance of democracy to its people, the Great British Empire is on track to exceed the "Old Empire" in size by 2020.

Britain has already fought in two massive conflicts, the "Euro-Imperial" and "Federal-Imperial" wars, emerging victorious from both. These victories are what have granted the Empire such vast territories, much to the hatred and fear of its neighbours.

Europe is just as united as ever...that is not at all. A patchwork of nations grumble at one another as they have done for hundreds of years.

But in some respects, the continent is closer than it ever has been in its history, as the European League is a much different beast when compared to the old European Union, slain by the Imperial Lion all those years ago.

Headed by a reconstituted and democratic German Empire, the European League is a trade agreement and military alliance that all the remaining free states of Europe are a part of. Its members, the New German Reich, the French Republic, the United Scandinavian Kingdom, the State of Israel, the Principality of Turkey, and the authoritarian Republics of Iberia, Italy, and Greece, are bound by treaty to provide military aid when the call is given without objection.

For not only are they held together by alliance, but the peoples of Europe share a bond with one another that can only have been forged by fire.

A bond which they refuse to allow to be broken, no matter how much they grumble at one another.

And it is probably this bond which is the only reason "Free Europa" hasn't been swallowed by the resurrected great red bear, or torn to shreds by the Imperial lion.

The return of Communism to Russia was heralded by crimson. Crimson flags and crimson rivers.

The "Union of Western Communist Republics", with the "Socialist Russian Federation" as its leading hegemon, was born as the old Soviet Union was a century before.

Through bloody revolution.

Seizing upon Europe's weakness during its war with the Empire, Russia invaded its eastern lands and returned many of the old "Warsaw pact" countries to the communist fold, along with sweeping into Alaska whilst the Federation was still reeling from its catastrophic defeat at the hands of Imperial Britain in the previous battle of Washington D.C.

This makes the UWCR one of the largest political entities on the planet.

Only truly equalled in size by its Asian ally.

The People's Republics of Asia functions very much like its younger European brother. A sham of a political and economic Union, dominated by one country.

The People's Republic of China.

Somehow mightier than it ever was during the age before Second Impact.

From the borders of Russia,the beaches of Sri-lanka, and the ruined middle east to the shores of Korea, the red dragon nests over its collection of puppet states and provinces. But it casts a constant and greedy gaze upon the last free nation of Asia, even after being thwarted in its desire some twelve years before during the so called "Pacific War," and humiliated by the disastrous battles of Osaka and Seto sea.

But to call Japan and its people "free" is somewhat inaccurate. Perhaps even straight up incorrect.

For the State of Japan is by no means a democracy. Even though the "National Diet" still exists, and the Emperor of Japan still sits upon the Chrysanthemum throne as his ancestors have done for two thousand years, the nation is no longer under either of their control.

For since the bloody coup of 2004, the country has been dominated by a military Junta.

The Defence Board of the Japanese State Army, the not so illustrious successors to the old Japanese Self Defence Force.

Their rule, as is typical for that of a military dictatorship, is one of iron. Minor crimes warrant a savage beating, and any dissent brings death upon the perpetrator, with the Ministry of the Interior constantly hunting down so called "enemies of the state."

In 2017 then, according to all logic, the world should still be ripping itself to pieces in an unending cycle of conflict. The Super Powers are simply so vast and strong, that the desire to crush all their enemies and extend their rule over the entire planet should be irresistible, despite the many and desperate attempts of the old United Nations, one of the few pre-impact multinational organizations to survive, to bring them to heel.

But that is not the case.

Whereas once they were at each other's throats, for the past eleven years a proverbial knife has been held to the nations of the world's jugular, by a UN mandated organization known as NERV.

The reason for this enigmatic group to intervene in such a manner is simple.

If the various Police states, Communist blocks, Empires, and military alliances of the world do not stand together behind them and their secretive "Project E," then Mankind is doomed to extermination...

The year is 2017 AD, and humanity's days of judgement are upon it.

For the Seraphim are coming.