Act Of Aggression – Reboot Edition [2023]

Act Of Aggression Introduction:

Act of Aggression unfolds in 2025, post the "Shanghai Crash," a worldwide economic collapse masterminded by the enigmatic "Cartel." This shadowy organization, believed to have links tracing back to anti-communist US elements during the JFK administration, manipulates the global recession, acts of terrorism, and political instability to their advantage. Their influence even extends to the point of involving the United States Army. However, the dubious nature of the Shanghai Crash compels the United Nations to establish the "Chimera," a covert multinational task force armed with cutting-edge technology and granted unprecedented autonomy.

The narrative commences shortly after another maneuver by the Cartel: a staged coup d'etat in Baja California, Mexico, which garners the attention of Chimera. In 2023, Piet Vermaak, a former South African Special Forces captain believed dead, receives a proposition from the Cartel's Olympus Cell leader, codenamed 'Poseidon'. His mission is to engineer the rise of Raul Escobedo, a businessman with concealed motives, by overthrowing the governor of Baja California and establishing a separatist state known as the "Republica Democratica de Nueva California." This sparks a civil war in Mexico that prompts US Army intervention led by General James Wittel, acclaimed in the media as the "Hero of Isfahan."

Nonetheless, two years later, the involvement of Zhang Yao, a former Chinese hacker with an Interpol warrant, and Vermaak's partner in operations, captures Chimera's attention. Chimera, led by Colonel Greg C. Schaefer, endeavors to covertly intercept her during the US Army's offensive in the RDNC. Although Yao cannot fully destroy her laptop drive before evacuating with Vermaak, Chimera manages to retrieve significant data, largely related to Escobedo. Schaefer orders a missile strike on Escobedo's escape train, leading to his capture for clandestine interrogation. This event piques the interest of the Olympus Cell in Chimera.

Gameplay:

Subsequent to Escobedo's detainment and transfer to The Hague, the Cartel assaults the International Criminal Court, resulting in Escobedo's death. They employ the Serbian mercenary unit White Wolves, commanded by self-appointed Colonel Dragan Vesnic, as their military force, equipped with advanced technology. Schaefer is dispatched to apprehend Vesnic and secure any remaining intact military technology as evidence. However, the Cartel acts preemptively, deploying Vermaak to eliminate Vesnic and eradicate as much evidence as possible prior to Chimera's arrival. Clues suggest a potential alliance between Weyland Defense Corps, a primary military supplier for the US Army, and the Yueng Corporation, Yao's former employer before joining the Cartel. Schaefer undertakes an unauthorized covert operation within Yeung Corporation's holdings in China to gather data pertaining to Yao and Escobedo. This operation unveils that Yeung Corporation's military assets, including missile guidance systems, were distributed worldwide through Escobedo's network to Damocles, a powerful private military contractor for the United States, Vermaak's former employer. Damocles intends to leverage its control over these assets to manipulate the US government.

The data is transmitted to the US government, prompting General Wittel's deployment to neutralize Damocles, with Schaefer as an 'observer.' The Cartel responds by launching experimental orbital weaponry, but Chimera evacuates surviving assets in time. Simultaneously, the Cartel strikes Chimera by dispatching Vermaak to eliminate captured prisoners and erase data from a secondary base in South-East Asia. Recognizing the orbital weapon's need for resupply, Schaefer leads an assault on the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Russian military support. They secure the Cartel's database, preventing resupply of the orbital weapon, intended to target the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. This action exposes several prominent US figures as Cartel members, including General Wittel, an influential member of the Olympus Cell known as Hermes.

Final Words:

Exposed and cornered, Wittel flees to Mexico with Vermaak's assistance, following his failed attempt to rally defecting US troops against the government. Schaefer ultimately defeats Wittel's forces, vilifying him as the alleged Cartel leader. As the Olympus Cell disbands, Veermak and Yao defect from the Cell and join the Heliopolis Cell under the leadership of Osiris. They assist Heliopolis in eliminating incriminating data linked to Wittel during Chimera's attack. The Cartel convenes through secure channels to deliberate their response to Chimera, leaving the decision in an ambiguous state.