Changes

Drones begin to be used in terrorist acts and assassinations. Terrorists and unfriendly governments are able to bypass all biometric security protocols using drones developed from the stolen DNA (a hair, a flake of skin) of their intended targets or from other people with high security clearance. The existence of drones and other military experiments are eventually made public. The United Nations and various governments condemn the development and use of such creatures. A popular western politician calls the drones "Terror in the guise of humanity". Further discussion in the mass media eventually causes the term "Guise" to become the general term for the drones. All-out war is eventually sparked between rival nations, with many unorthodox technological creations seeing action against a horrified civilian population. In some areas, entire battlefield control is lost, with creatures running rampant and Guises autonomously targeting anything that moves.

Space combat becomes an important part of the war. Large vessels are built and launched for the purpose of orbital assault, along with small fighters to escort and defend them. The previously scientific bases on Luna and Mars become military outposts of considerable strategic value. Space tactics and warfare evolve from conflicts over these outposts and the orbiting assault stations. The outposts themselves become storage areas for genetic material and data, in the event of the Earthside war rendering the planet uninhabitable.

===AD 2330===

A year and a half into the war, under cover of a cloudy night, the first major Serco offensive was launched. Several hundred thousand troops issued from the Serco defensive line, heralded by the wailing cries of countless interspersed antipersonnel creatures. When the wailing screams were heard, some fearful Itani defenders began deserting their posts, even before the ground began to shake under the footfalls of massive unseen Serco heavy assault creatures. Thousands of semi-autonomous Guises took point in front of the main human Serco infantry, flanked by a menagerie of creatures and their operators. Overall, the Itani defense put up a good fight, but was completely overrun and pushed far back into their own territory. After two days of fierce fighting and giving ground, the Itani managed to rally together after being pushed back to the first Itani border dome. 18 hours of intense fighting finally broke with a Serco retreat, with thousands left dead on both sides, bodies and creature carcasses scattered across the landscape. This was considered the first serious battle of the war, and both sides used data gathered during the conflict to adapt their ground combat strategies and future military development.

===AD 2654===

During recent skirmishes, the Itani are surprised to occasionally be contacted by the Serco. Usually only jeering and challenging banter from the fighter pilots, it is nonetheless the first communication with their enemy in over two hundred years. It may be that this period signaled the change in the Serco cultural perception of the Itani, no longer seen as lesser beings deserving only of extermination, but now honorable adversaries against whom the youthful Serco officers judge their own abilities. The Abbot of Itan orders a heavily-shielded peace emissary to jump across the border and attempt formal contact. The mission has limited success, taking fire from the Serco on many occasions, who often seem unable to comprehend the concept of peace with their Itani neighbors. Some worthwhile discussion does come of it, however, paving the way for additional officious communication.

Subsequent exchanges led both sides to a much better understanding of one another. A temporary cease-fire was ordered to lend some stability to the talks. The Serco are fascinated at what they learn about their enemies, unable to reconcile the apparently pacifistic (and therefore, to them, cowardly) civilization with the staunch foes they have met on the field of battle. The brief reports of the Akanese make far more sense to them, better fitting their mental image of the Itani they know and hate. Despite this extraordinary give and take between the rivals, the Serco laugh at all attempts by the Itani to build a lasting peace. It eventually becomes understood that the Triumvirate could never do such a thing, as it would be seen as a cowardly end to the conflict by their people.

The Serco selection of a representative to answer the challenge was complex indeed. They had many heroes of single combat from which to choose, but one would be needed who could match Oernon in stature of character. Therefore, a member of the Triumvirate was eventually selected. Karun stood over seven feet tall. His age extended by genetic resequencing, he claimed a three hundred and fifty year history as a veteran of the Serco-Itani conflict. Muscular, dermal, and neural augmentations gave him unsurpassed strength and stamina. With reactions a hundred times faster than that of a normal human being, he could kill an opponent with a dozen well-placed blows before they even became aware that he had struck. Much of his skull, bones and outer skin had been replaced with various lightweight alloys and armoring. Indeed, this competition may have forbidden the use of weapons, but the entire body of the Serco had been crafted for exactly that purpose.

The day of the challenge arrived. It was held onboard a giant Serco container ship (a gesture of goodwill on the part of the Itani), surrounded by both of their fleets. There was no judging, whichever combatant should decline further competition, or lose consciousness (or life) would be the loser. A hundred recording systems from both nations broadcast back to their respective peoples. Hundreds of Serco and Itani military made up the audience, the rowdy Serco cheering wildly as Karun strides onto the mat. A few minutes later, Oernon entered as well, the diminutive Itani leader walking smoothly and purposefully towards the area, belying his five-hundred-odd natural years. The Serco crowd began to jeer at his entrance, but abruptly become quiet and respectful at he passed near, his intense presence and projection of self drawing murmurs of admiration from the Itani. Oernon barely stood four feet tall, barefoot and clad in a simple cotton robe, his head shaved in the manner of his Order, his closely cropped white beard and heavily lined face the only real evidence of his age.