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The Strogg: soulless fusions of decaying flesh, bones and metal, twisted and ruined by centuries of war. They search the galaxy for the sole item their existence requires, harvesting, consuming and destroying everything in their path. And now, they have arrived… here!

—Intro to Quake Wars

The Strogg are a hostile cybernetic alien race featured as the main antagonists in Quake II and Quake 4, and as a playable faction in Quake III: Team Arena and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Members of the Strogg race also appear as playable characters in Quake III Arena, Quake Live, and Quake Champions. The Strogg are cybernetic constructs of unclear origin, which reproduce by taking biological components and fusing them with advanced technology in the brutal surgical process of Stroggification that enslaves their minds and enhances their bodies for war.

The Strogg's need to harvest biological components for their own augmentation, and the flesh of slain enemies for the creation of stroyent, is their primary motivation, since it's necessary for their survival. This motivation led the Strogg to Earth, which they promptly invaded, slaughtering millions of humans just to harvest their corpses. This Strogg aggression led to humanity's long war with them that has continued unabated ever since.

Among the SMC, Strogg are referred to as squibs.[1]

Background[]

Origins[]

Not much is known about the origins of the Strogg. They appear to be a humanoid race that originated on Stroggos, which has developed much like humanity. At one point, Strogg society became subordinated to powerful leaders, not unlike humanity's various dictators throughout its history. Unlike humanity, the Strogg continued to iterate on the system for several centuries, eventually hitting a threshold where war, conquest, and destruction began to dominate their ideology, becoming their sole reason for existence.[2] Rotting remains of this ancient civilization would become the foundation for the grand palaces of Strogg imperial conquerors, long lost to history - but still eerily reminiscent of Earth's darkest hour, dominated by Orwellian forces.[3]

Eventually, the Strogg expanded among the stars, with Stroggos becoming the heart of their civilization. Although suffering from industrial development and reduced to a barren wasteland,[4] Stroggos and its capital city of Cerberon would persist as the heart of the cybernetic war machine[5] for hundreds of years. The ancient Palace complex, consistently updated with the latest in Strogg technology, would remain the seat of the Strogg Makron, the highest ranking leader responsible for directing its imperialist policies.[2]

These policies would remain focused, if not fixated, on one policy: The aquisition of new organic material for fueling their war machine, twisted and ruined by centuries of war.[6] Stroggos was reduced to a wasteland, with factories and refineries spewing pollution and toxins into the environment for decades, if not centuries. What remained of Stroggos wildlife adapted, becoming fierce, carnivorous beasts preying on whatever organic material available.[7]

First contact[]

Main article: War against the Strogg
Strogg Q1

Crates bearing Strogg insignia were found in the events of Quake 1

Humanity's first contact with the Strogg appeared during the Slipgate experiments under Dr Wendell Gilman. The scientist made contact with the strogg during his experiments, and used the technology gained from the cybernetic race to improve human Slipgate technology. The result was stronger, improved Slipgates that allowed human researchers to establish and maintain portals between their dimension and the "other side". An unforeseen result of this decision was the revelation of human space to the Strogg, paving the way for the War against the Strogg that began with the Strogg invasion of human space (which may very well be a response to what they interpreted as "human provocation" or Ranger's one man extermination of Shub-Niggurath).[8]

The brutal Strogg invasion occurred in 2065,[9] after sweeping through outlying colonial holdings on Mars and destroying human orbital facilities like the McCulloch[10] and Armstrong space stations,[11] which were long the subject of speculation. In fact, the Strogg may have created their nemesis during the invasion, as Corporal Matthew Kane served on Armstrong, and was hospitalized during the battle for Earth.[12] The Strogg made a fatal mistake: They attacked humanity. While other species yielded to their superior technology, such as the Psi-Radar,[13] Rail Howitzer,[14] Plasma Mortar,[15] or the Dark Matter cannon employing Bosonic orbs,[16] humans steadfastly opposed them, fighting tooth and nail for their survival. The newly formed Global Defense Force or GDF seized on any opportunity to counter the Strogg, including the capture of Strogg Slipgates to uncover the enemy's secrets,[17] aggressive researching and reverse engineering of Strogg biotechnology,[18] and capture of vital Strogg assets like DataBrains used to construct Strogg facilities on Earth.[19]

ETQW Slipgate IG

A Strogg slipgate set up in Algeria, which led to an Earth-bound Nexus Tower.

The GDF exploited a small, but significant flaw in Strogg battleplans: The cybernetic race of conquerors decentralized its operations, constructing ad hoc stroggification facilities on conquered planets, with little regard for the strategic situation.[20] Although not significant on their own, coupled with the survival of human observatories that recorded the first appearance of Strogg slipgates used to invade human space,[21] and Strogg attempts to convert existing hydrocarbon extraction infrastructure for stroyent production,[22] allowed the GDF to gather enough intel and material to reverse-engineer Strogg technology and orchestrate a counter-strike.[23] In fact, the desperate fight against the Strogg invasion of Earth provided the first clues to the existence of a Strogg Nexus,[24] the sophistication of their technology when Contaminator devices were deployed to try and change humans into zombies en masse,[25] and the vulnerability of Strogg technologies to electromagnetic pulse weapons.[26]

Counter-attack by humans[]

Main article: Operation Alien Overlord

The Strogg likely did not expect fierce resistance by mankind - or the reverse-engineering of their technology. The Terran Coalition of Man focused efforts on finding a permanent solution to the invasion, as the GDF battled the Strogg across Earth. Soon, they discovered the origins of the slipgates, a sophisticated use of black holes to propel Strogg invasion forces across the vastness of space, and the Space Marine Corps was tasked with organizing a counter-invasion. Even as Earthen cities (or rather, their ruins) still smoldered, SMC Marines boarded C-30K troop carriers to lead an invasion of Stroggos, using sophisticated Mark 9A drop pods and reverse-engineered Strogg war tech.[27]

Stroggos planet

Stroggos, a desert wasteland, witnessing the second human invasion

Stroggos became the target, rather than the perpetrator of a military campaign for the first time in centuries, as the SMC focused on the core of Strogg civilation, the planet of Stroggos and its capital city of Cerberon.[5] After Bitterman, Joker, and Stepchild managed to achieve the SMC's operational goals, despite the Corps suffering an unprecedented 95% casualty rate that left just 5% of the Marine force operational, the Strogg were put on a defensive footing, paving the way for a mass ground invasion by the SMC. Unable to repulse the attacks, the Strogg attempted to compensate by a brutal conversion of Marines into stroyent and various cybernetic monstrostities. However, even the deployment of Tactical Strogg, utilizing the best of the best of SMC troops to produce an answer to humanity's own soldiers was not enought to hold the line: Humans adapted faster than the Strogg could. This was best exemplified by the deployment of Corporal Matthew Kane, himself a Tactical Strogg who nearly finished conversion, to penetrate Strogg defenses and attack the Nexus itself.[28]

Organization[]

Have fun

The Strogg are bionic constructs with mechanical and organic parts fused together, with most controlled by a remote command and control system. Few are individuals in the usual sense.

The Strogg have settled on a centralized system of command and control, organized through a system of warlords. Each of these prominent Strogg would be responsible for a specific strategic location or aspect of the civilization's operations, and all would answer to a Makron, elected from among the warlords to command the Strogg civilization from within the ancient Palace located at the northern end of Cerberon. This system granted a degree of efficiency, but also rendered the Strogg vulnerable: The assassination of the Makron would leave the Strogg confused and battling internally for succession, a fact that the SMC exploited to the fullest possible extent - despite the uncharacteristicly swift election of a successor after Bitterman's successful attack.[29]

Culture[]

Strogg banners

Aged Strogg banners and fortifications. Many such banners still hang on or inside Strogg installations, though many of them, like the buildings, are weathered, torn, stained, and almost ancient in appearance. It's possible the Strogg still make these flags and display them as a holdover from a past age when they were less enslaved by their technology, since otherwise they would see this as a waste of resources due to their lack of need for morale or military pride compared to humans.

Strogg society is marked by brutality and savagery without parallel. The biggest and strongest Strogg are automatically the ones with higher authority. The most superior Strogg gain the title of Makron and have absolute power over the Strogg civilization or society. Larger and more powerful Strogg have little respect for their weaker brethren, with many a light tank killing or trampling lesser Strogg foot-soldiers if they get in the way. Unique powerful Strogg function as guardians and act as subordinates to the Makron, such as the Tower Guardian which was tasked with the outer defense of the three security stations surrounding the central Strogg Nexus tower.

The precise reasons for invading Earth beyond resource harvesting were never identified. Beyond retaliation or responsind to Gilman's slipgate experiments, SMC Marines speculated that the cause was simply because of Earth's strategic location, giving the Strogg the ability to attack dozens of other civilziations,[30] following a long-forgotten directive from an ancient war in another part of the Milky Way galaxy, due to them being created as super-soldiers for overcoming enemies,[31] or simply following the logic of evolution: The Strogg marriage of flesh and tech was the next step in the advancement of species.[32]

Strogg culture - or what remains of it after centuries of constant war, expansion, and elimination of independent thought - is dominated by a fixation on warfare, with all their efforts being geared towards this single purpose. The majority of buildings on Stroggos are nothing more than countless armored bunkers, weapons factories, defenses, and massive fortifications. The Palace of Cerberon is a rare example for prestigious Strogg architecture. Many of the buildings show signs of extreme age and crude construction, rusting to the core, though they all tend to have the same kinds of elevators and automatic doors that are typical of human military installations.

Language[]

Warehouse

A sample of Strogg-style script used for the "English" signs on Stroggos in Quake II: "WAЯЭHOUSЭ".

Strogg Script

The Strogg alphabet as it appears in Quake 4, with translation below the characters.

The Strogg language functions very similarly to English, with various symbols forming separate words and basically working as letters, as opposed to symbols representing whole meanings in the way that Chinese, for example, works. However, there is little indication that many humans have managed to understand it even after years of war against the Strogg and study of them. Understanding of the Strogg language is gained from a neurocyte being implanted in the cerebral cortex, and few human translators would volunteer for such a procedure.

Language remained a key barrier in fighting the Strogg. By the time the SMC invaded Stroggos, only eight humans were fluent in Strogg, and barely four understood Strogg programming.[33]

Technology[]

Torso unit

Torso unit at the Dispersal Facility

The Strogg mastered many aspects of science, thanks to their utter absence of ethics and emphasis on practical results. The Strogg have no concept of ethics in their medical research and will do anything to anything living that they get their hands on if they think it can help them streamline the stroggification process (where alien species such as humans are subjected to a brutal surgical procedure where entire parts of their body are replaced by biomechanical implants), advance their own medical capabilities, or enhance their weapons to kill more efficiently.

The biomedical sciences, are a priority as a result. Those who aren't sent to be processed into Strogg are used for mortality tests. Various organs are removed by Strogg scientists without the use of any kind of anesthetic, to study the agony of their captives and the bodily response to various surgical interventions. They also want to ascertain how long a human can last without certain organs. To the captives, this procedure is torturous, long and horrific, driving the victims to insanity and inevitably death.

Humans captured during the Strogg invasion who weren't processed on location were removed to Stroggos, where they underwent "conversion": A traumatic procedure where entire parts of the body were removed using crude surgical implements and replaced with mechanical appendages. Subjects were kept alive by a combination of steroids and healing medicines.[34] Additionally, nanites were introduced into the body and continuously repaired tissue, even in body parts that were entirely separated from the host.[35] By the end of the process, less than half of the original body was left, with human doctors describing the whole process as sophisticated mutilation.[36]

Strogg decomposing

Strogg decomposition phase. The decomposition in Quake 4 is due to this game using the Doom 3 engine, id Tech 4, where demonic enemies burn away after being killed. This feature was not present in Quake II, which used id Tech 2.

At the same time, Strogg technology was incredibly sophisticated, bonding with existing nervous systems on a level deep enough that even the most advanced medical systems at the SMC's disposal would be hard pressed to disentangle them.[37] This level of bonding was necessary, as all command and control was centralized in the Nexus, with most Strogg completely enslaved by the neurocyte implanted in them as the final stage of the stroggification process. A transceiver located at the base of the skull provided the connection to the Nexus, dictating a Strogg's every move, overriding their higher thought processes. This reliance on external processing led to a general atrophy of independent thought among victims of stroggification, although most of them retained awareness of their actions for a short time after the procedure, until the higher brain functions atrophied.[38]

The mere presence of the neurocyte in a host grants them a command of Strogg language, the ability to intuitively access Strogg control panels and pass through security grids unhindered. Though small, each contains an artificial intelligence programmed into it that's responsible for these gains, interfacing with Strogg hardware implanted during the stroggification process and pre-existing nerve systems, such as the cerebral cortex (as onboard memory, equivalent to RAM), accessed by temporal implants wired directly into it. Benefits extend to photographic memory and external memory lodged into the skull, as well as dozens of failsafes that make it very difficult for even the most capable SMC technicians and doctors to attemmpt removal of implants.[39]

Perhaps the most notable, though understated example of Strogg advancement was the method of neurocyte implantation: It was installed using a large hypodermic needle, driven directly into the brain of a fully conscious subject at the last stage of stroggification. In human terms, the damage to the cerebral cortex during implantation would likely kill a subject due to the trauma involved, but Strogg tech managed to achieve the impossible.[40]

Nexus[]

The Nexus was a vast communication system responsible for processing and coordinating these actions, capable of processing and organizing billions of Strogg in real time, delivering instant instructions to drones in the field, straight from the small number of Strogg leaders.[41]

It's unknown how Strogg are subject to emotions after linking the neurocyte to the Nexus. The Makrons possessed an arrogant character, laughing grotesquely at their enemies in combat and taunting them, while various Strogg shout about detecting traitors or enemies upon sighting SMC troops.

Stroyent[]

Sickbastards

Stroyent health station

Main article: Stroyent

The biomechanical nature of the Strogg was bolstered by their use of the stroyent, a synthetic substance that provided both health and ammunition to cyborgs in the field.[42] It is distributed either as packs or fixed "health stations", where a biological storage unit is used to hold the stroyent, until it's needed by a Strogg cyborg for replenishing health and ammunition.[43]

Stroyent is generated by processing any organic material (including crude oil, as the GDF discovered during the invasion Earth) by the Stroyent Processing Creature or any on-site processing materials. The Strogg specifically gather the dead remains of their enemies through a process known as harvesting. Both specialized Harvester walkers and individual Strogg gather corpses for processing, and capture live humans for stroggifications or conversion into stroyent. Humans are specifically seen as either food or potential conversions, in fact.[44]

A related development are the torso storage units: The Strogg were able to take power from human torsos and used many biological systems wired directly into their facilities, such as the giant heart which pumped stroyent across their world. They were able to power whole facilities using torsos, many of which were headless and regulated by a neural link that kept their body functions going. Others still had heads but showed signs of extreme intoxication.

Alloys and other tech[]

The Strogg rely on the use of hardened tribinium for much of their technologies. Comparable to Marine body armor alloys, the Strogg metal is exceptionally difficult to work with.[45] Other notable achievements include the Icarus GravPac, granting even the least of the Strogg conversion the ability to make long-distance jumps,[46] and dedicated cyborgs to fly indefinitely.[47]

Furthermore, Stroggos overwhelmingly relied on a local bluish crystal called steedium to generate power and maintain the many systems on Stroggos, up to and including its planetary defenses (the Big Gun).[48]

Other military technologies[]

In summary, the Strogg possessed superior technology to humans, at least at the outset of the war. Their most advanced technology is the use of black holes to travel massive distances (harnessed as slipgates), which also led to the development of teleporters. The teleporters are specially made only to transport Strogg and kill humans that use them, unless they have been stroggified, exhibiting Strogg physiology.

The Strogg have developed a variety of highly advanced weapons, ranging from small energy-based blasters to fully-functional railguns and even the Dark Matter Gun, a devastating weapon firing a deadly orb that consumes smaller enemies and inflicts severe damage on bigger ones. In the following, there's a short overview of common Strogg weapons.

  • Blaster: an energy-based weapon that shoots ionized plasma bolts with relatively low damage but a high rate of fire. Most commonly used by Guards. However, bigger versions of this weapon can also be found in larger units such as the Gladiator, and even the Makron himself.
  • Machine Gun: classical ballistic weapon that fires large amounts of bullets at a high rate of fire. Strogg units featuring this weapon include Guards, Sentries, and Grunts. Also, Tactical Strogg units often wield captured SMC Machine Guns.
  • Nailgun: basically working like a Machine Gun, but firing nails that travel slower, yet cause more damage. In the Strogg military, at least two versions of it exist: the first one is a built-in variant and the main weapon of Gunners in Quake 4, as well as Harvesters, while the second one is handheld (see Nailgun for details). Several turrets also fire nails. It should be noted that the handheld version is capable of firing homing nails (after an upgrade).
  • Grenades: Fires a small grenade in a ballistic arc. There seem to be at least two different types of grenades, one being the "standard" explosive grenades (fired by Gunners) and Dark Matter grenades which are only used by the Makron. The standard grenade launcher of the Gunner seems to have inspired the SMC weapon of the same name.
  • Lightning Weaponry: Fires bolts of damaging light and comes in two forms. Firstly, there's the lightning weapon of the Berserker, which is integrated into its blade arm and can either fire a lightning bolt or be used to create a shockwave that hurts all nearby enemies. Also, there is a handheld version that shoots a bolt at enemies. After an upgrade, the bolt is capable of jumping over on enemies standing nearby one's target. The Makron uses a specialized lightning gun which is purple-colored.
  • Railgun: Fires a large slug of metal at extreme velocity through magnetic coils, causing very high damage. The only known Strogg units using it are the Gladiator, who features a large one mounted on its shoulder, and the Tactical Strogg, which use a handheld one.
  • Dark Matter Gun: The most powerful weapon developed by the Strogg. This weapons fires a ball of Dark Matter that causes disastrous damage to any enemy. This weapon is fairly experimental and rare, with the only known Strogg to wield one being the second Makron and the stroggified Lt. Voss. Also, the player can obtain a working handheld prototype during the events of Quake 4.
  • Incendiary: Another rare weapon system, used by the Light Tanks and Stream Protector. It comes in two types: a flamethrower, and an explosive fireball.

Strogg units[]

The Strogg use a variety of different cybernetic constructs as soldiers. Here are some of the different kinds of combat units:

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

         

Quake II

                                                   


           

Quake IV

                                     


       

Non-military Strogg[]

There are Strogg that are not used for military purposes. These Strogg primarily specialize in medicine, engineering, or science:

Behind the scenes[]

  • The actual background for the Strogg was never detailed, until Quake Champions developer SyncError noted in the official Discord server's #lore Channel that Ranger era was likely the first contact between humanity and the Strogg.
  • More precisely, according to Strogg and Peeker lore scroll 5, most of enemy units in Quake II are strogified Greiss, the same one the Scalebearer hails from.
  • The Strogg May have even had contact with humans before the events of Quake and Quake II. It is believed that the Strogg are a creation of The Great Old Ones, as a method to exterminate mankind after the death of Shub-Niggurath, with creatures such as Armagon and the Centroid being possible prototypes of the Strogg race.

Language[]

The presence of English signage on Stroggos, as depicted in Quake II and Quake 4, would suggest that the Strogg do use written English. Another possibility is that some humans, including the invading Marines, have learned the Strogg language, at least in its written form, and it is being "translated" into English for the player -- a supposition which may be supported by the alien-looking font used for the English on Stroggos, intended to imitate the shape of the "real" Strogg script. Note that some Strogg, having been processed from captured humans, do speak English -- for example, the Berserker growls "Trespasser!" or the Iron Maiden snarls "Traitor!" or the Gladiator utters "A traitor!" upon spotting the player, and the Strogg in Quake 4 also taunt the human soldiers in English. Some of the other Strogg troops yell out non-English words (such as "Hito!", Japanese for "A man!", by some Guards). Perhaps in compensation for the readable signs in Quake II, Quake 4 goes further by still using English in Strogg signs but disguising the letters into forms that are barely readable and need practice to interpret (see the chart to the right).

Real-world equivalents[]

  • The Strogg Flag is similar to the Third Reich Flag. Also, the fight with the first Makron (in Quake 2) is similar to the battle with Adolf Hitler in Wolfenstein 3D. The design docs for Quake 2 explicitly note the parallels between the Strogg and Hitler's insante plant for world domination.
  • Similarly, the heavily-disguised, hard-to-read English used for the many Strogg signs in Quake 4 may be compared to the use of German in the more recent Wolfenstein games. In both cases, English-speakers can get a vague hint about what the signs say, but full understanding would require an extra effort.
  • Another real-world equivalent to the Strogg script in Quake 4 for English-speakers would be for a post 90s born Croat to try to read Serbian Cyrillic. Along those lines, "strog" happens to be a Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian, and Bulgarian word meaning "strict" or "harsh".
  • In Ancient Greek orthography, to represent the velar nasal, "ng" sound, the digraph "gg" was used. Therefore, when applying this logic in reverse to "Strogg" you reach the English word "Strong". Though this may be a mere coincidence, it should be noted that the term "Makron" does come from Greek.
  • The Strogg also have many similarities to the Borg Collective from the Star Trek universe in the same manner they procreate; the only difference is that the Strogg lack any signs of hard interdependency.

Video[]

Enemy_Territory_Quake_Wars_(Game_Trailer)

Enemy Territory Quake Wars (Game Trailer)

References[]

  1. Marine: "{happy}So the Makron's dead, eh? The Marine who iced that squib deserves a chest full of medals and a years R and R."
  2. 2.0 2.1 Quake II design document (Remastered id Vault): "PALACE
    The main of the walls are red black, gold, and silver: Nazi Germany. The sizes of the walls are described as length first. Though it is named the Palace, the materials are still mostly metal and tech. The decorators teaste lean towards the dark, oppressive, cold and large. The Palace in several hundred years old or older, but is well maintained. This is the aliens "center of the universe" The Palace houses their current leader who of course kicks ass and is responsible for disseminating order and purpose to the population. Without him they may start planting flowers or something. (...)
    one 128 x 12 l wall same material as number 1 but we large colored bird emblem one 128x5 wall same material as number 2 with carved in alien writing similar to monuments like the Lincoln or Jefferson (slogans in he determined. The first one would have repented words WAR CONQUEST DESTRUCTION."
  3. Quake II design documents (Remastered): "CITY
    The basic concept is one of public areas with massive, overwhelming architecture. These areas connect, or more properly "descend" into basements that are less impressive and older until in the bottom-most levels one encounters remnants and foundations of buildings that could have been a part of Earth's own 20 century, but with an alien slant.
    For the palace, I've been trying to think a combination of Nazi Germany and hi-tech stereo equipment.... blacks, reds, gold decorations, neon insets. Think heavy, not light and airy. Think rich, but oppressive.. Dark, but with rich color accents. There should be a hint of high tech (electronics, neon, etc.) in most textures for this area.
    For the temple, I've been retreating on the polygons, so textures will have to do things that my geometry cannot to convey the feeling I want.
    Ancient textures (ok sort of ancient textures) like rotting concrete. Several variations should have painted symbols on them... think about the paint jobs one finds in old parking garages, steam tunnels, old subway side tunnels."
  4. Quake II concept art (Remastered): "Stroggos' atmosphere is similar in composition to that of the Earth and has bodies of water and water vapor clouds, indicating that a hydrologic cycle persists, in spite of the Strogg's industrial activities. While many of the levels would feature water in environments, this part of Stroggos was not really explored in the game's levels."
  5. 5.0 5.1 Quake II manual: "The core of the Stroggos civilization is the capital city of Cerberon. The highly defended complex is built into the base of an enormous crater named Crater Majoris. Between the northern plains and the southern sea of Stroggos, Cerberon contains the major defense, communication, and political controls for the Strogg civilization. At the southern tip of Majoris is a second crater called Crater Minor. Crater Minor contains the defense base complex for the city of Cerberon."
  6. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "The Strogg: soulless fusions of decaying flesh, bones and metal, twisted and ruined by centuries of war. They search the galaxy for the sole item their existence requires, harvesting, consuming and destroying everything in their path. And now, they have arrived… here!"
  7. Quake II manual: "The Strogg refineries have spewed toxins into the ecosystem for untold decades causing this once docile creature to mutate into a fierce, fast, flesh tearing beast."
  8. Discord comment by SyncError (Quake Champions developer): "SyncError 5:54, 25.09.2020
    It is correct that the Ranger era far precedes "man's first contact" with the Strogg from the events of ETQW. That account however is incomplete.
    Gilman made contact with the Strogg in his Slipgate experiments. Used Strogg tech to build better stronger Slipgates, and when traveling through gates moved that equipment into those realms to build and maintain the portals on the other side.
    It might even be possible that the Strogg's attack in ETQW was justified retaliation as we may have provoked them first, or at the very least made th mistake of making our presence known to them, leaving us open to the future assault."
  9. ETQW homepage: "Taking place in the year 2065, the game lets you play as the GDF or Strogg in one of five unique character classes, either online or offline with computer controlled AI teammates and opponents. Employing an arsenal of weapons, vehicles and deployable armaments, engage in an action-packed test of skill and coordinated teamwork through a series of combat objectives. Persistent character growth and achievements reward players for teamwork, while clearly defined mission and class objectives guide new players to meaningful contributions on the battlefield."
  10. Quake II Remastered: "First reporter: The head of SETI will give a full press conference today in the wake of the verified and authentic non-terrestrial transmission coming from just beyond the asteroid belt in our solar system.
    Second reporter: Contact with the colony on Mars will be re-established and have nothing to do with the impending arrival of the mysterious aliens.
    Third reporter: The McCulloch space station has just been destroyed.
    (overlapping news reports)
    First reporter: Paris, Peking, Reykjavik, and Tokyo head the list of recently devastated cities.
    (overlapping news reports)
    Fourth reporter: And the UA President gave the uplifting farewell speech as these brave soldiers took the fight to the Strogg's home planet. We, the rest of humanity, wish them luck and Godspeed as well."
  11. Marine: "You don't remember me, {confused}do you? {idle}I was one of the orderlies at the hospital when they wheeled you in from Armstrong."
  12. Marine: "{puzzled}So what really happened at Space Station Armstrong? Was it some military experiment that went haywire?"
  13. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "The Psi-Radar deployed by the Infiltrator class provides medium-range sensor coverage, displaying all detected GDF units within its range on the Strogg team command map."
  14. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "The Rail Howitzer is a Strogg Bombardment device deployed and directed by the Oppressor class, firing a salvo of ten shells. It is very effective against area targets."
  15. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "The Plasma Mortar is a Strogg Bombardment device deployed and directed by the Oppressor class. It lobs a six-round salvo of plasma blasts, and is very effective against armoured targets. You can Lock On to ground or air vehicles to home in on them. Experienced Oppressors can Lock On to targets instantly."
  16. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "The Dark Matter Cannon is the heaviest Bombardment device deployed and directed by the Oppressor class. It projects an enormous Bosonic orb of colossal destructive power, best viewed from a considerable distance."
  17. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: North America, Nye County, Nevada, United States of America: The GDF have captured a Strogg Slipgate and are testing it underground. The Strogg must destroy this captured Slipgate before the GDF can uncover its secrets."
  18. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: North Europe, Sogn og Fjordane county, Vestlandet, Norway: The remote GDF research station known as The Ark has made a breakthrough in analyzing Strogg biotechnology. The Strogg must destroy the BioScanner in the underground laboratory before their secrets are made public."
  19. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: North America, New Jersey, United States of America: The Strogg have deployed a high-ranking DataBrain to oversee construction of a major new facility. The GDF must crack the Strogg defenses, steal the DataBrain and take it to a transmitter for analysis by GDF High Command."
  20. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: Pacific, Kings Canyon, Northern Territory, Australia: The Strogg have taken over an abandoned fortified base to develop an improved Stroggifier. The GDF must fight their way down the canyon and destroy the Stroggifier before it can be used to produce new armies of Stroggtroopers."
  21. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: Africa, Reversion Island, South Atlantic: Moore Observatory is the only surviving facility which still holds data on the appearance of the first Strogg slipgate. The GDF must recover this DataDisc and get it to the Transmitter for broadcast to waiting GDF scientists."
  22. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: Africa, Khartoum outskirts, Sudan, North Africa: The Strogg have adapted a North African oil refinery to Stroyent production and are converting the GDF's strategic fuel reserves for their own use. The GDF must fight their way through the Strogg defenses and destroy both North and South Stroyent Filters to permanently halt the refinery's Stroyent production."
  23. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: North Europe, Lapland, Finland: The GDF are salvaging Strogg technology and are about to transport it on an underground military train network. The Strogg must destroy the GDF-salvaged equipment on the train before it can be removed for analysis and reproduction."
  24. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: Africa, Algeria, North Africa / Vinson Massif, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica: The GDF have located the presence of a Strogg Slipgate in a remote North African valley. The GDF must hack the Slipgate controls and travel through it to destroy the Strogg Nexus Tower in Antarctica. The Strogg must destroy and delay the GDF forces, defending the Nexus Tower until reinforcements arrive."
  25. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: North America, Yosemite Valley, California, United States of America: The Strogg are using a Contaminator device to infect the region's water supply. The GDF must destroy it, or let the Strogg turn the local population into mindless zombies."
  26. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "CAMPAIGN: Pacific, Whakaari/White Island, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand: The GDF are using an outlying geothermal facility to create an atmospheric EMP weapon with which to drive the Strogg out of Earth's orbit and halt the invasion. The Strogg must destroy the geothermal energy core to prevent the GDF from disabling their fleet."
  27. Quake II manual: "Long shadows claw desperately away from your dusty combat boots, fueled by the relentless sun of a late Texas afternoon. Shading your eyes against the glare, you squint for the thousandth time at the line of soldiers ahead of you. It stretches on endlessly across the rubble, disappearing at last into the cool shadows of a troop carrier. Soon you’ll walk up the ramp into the ship, climb into your one-man cocoon, tear through the interplanetary gateway, and smash down light-years away from the blowing sand and blasted ruins that surround the Dallas-Metro crater.
    "What the hell is taking so long?!" you snarl, slamming the battered barrel of your side arm, the blaster, against your scarred palm. "I’ve waited long enough. Time to kick some Strogg ass…"
    Slightly rocking back and forth under the sweltering August sun, you spit out of the side of your mouth, rub your eyes, and think back to the day when the wretched creatures first attacked. Like flaming meteors, their crafts pounded into the Earth and unbelievably, these bio-mechanical aliens… these hideous cyborgs… swarmed out while their ships still sizzled with reentry heat. They killed or captured anything that lived. We figured that the Strogg were after our planet’s resources: minerals, metals, and water: things like that. But their onboard storage facilities did little to disguise what they considered to be resources: fleshy limbs and organs for new cyborgs, and of course, food.
    The line moves. And moves again. Into the cool shadows at last. The assembled armies branch off into new lines divided by corps and unit.
    "I can’t deal with this shit – what’s the friggin’ hold-up?"
    "Cool your jets, marine," Tokay mutters and smiles over his shoulder. "We’ll all get a few Strogg heads to take home as souvenirs. I promise you that."
    "Yo, soldier, 3585." The medtech’s voice startles you. "You in or out?" Competent hands guide you into the coffin-like opening of your Mark 9A drop pod: sleek, dark, and invisible to the Stroggos defense systems. One of the techs begins to drop the reinforced pod door. "Sleep tight, soldier. You’ll see sunlight in less than six and a half hours. Not our sun, mind you…" <SLAM>
    Pitch black except for the mild glow of your video readout system in front of you. You’ve done this a dozen times in the sim classes. No sweat. Just a few short hours to sleep, recharge, and then… the moment of glory. But this time it’s for real.
    It’s also time to think. You recall your first official day of training, your unit commander discussing how these damn parasites made it to Earth and other nearby colonies in the first place. By employing our best satellites and long-range scanners, we learned how they traveled light years so quickly – the Strogg used these black hole-like gateways as their highway to heaven. We still don’t know if they created these rips in the fabric of space and time, or if they simply discovered them by accident. Either way… it’s just like opening the door to an all-you-can-eat restaurant for these bastards. In about two hours, we’ll be entering the same interstellar portals, to hit ‘em where it hurts… on their own turf.
    You close your eyes and relish this thought. Eventually, you nod off to the low hypnotic hum of the troop carrier.
    *Crackle* ... *fzzzz* ... "Greetings to the people of the Coalition. This is Flag Admiral Crockett, speaking to you from the bridge deck of Phobos. We are entering the outer orbits of Stroggos, the alien’s home system. As we had postulated, Stroggos’ atmosphere is harsh but breathable. We expect to make planetfall soon. Now is the time to switch on your debriefing panel if ya need it."
    "Boomer?" the voice crackles through every soldier’s headset. "Drop X-ray squad in 30 on my mark. You copy?"
    "Roger that!" In another pod, your sergeant snaps back. "OK boys and girls, you see the clock on your heads-up. Two demerits for anyone who up-chucks during bounce and roll!"
    *Shthunk!!* Your drop pod is shot from the side of the carrier and hurtles downward. *Wheee-oooooo!* Incendiary atmosphere howls past the pod’s rapidly heating shell. *Ka-WHUMP! * The pod wall suddenly buckles to your right, but stays intact. Another pod must have clipped yours on its way in. ECM didn't indicate enemy fire. Shit. Thrusters and stabilizing gyros are fading. Based on the pings, the other pods are pulling away. Below you, the large alien city roars into focus on the screen. But where are the other pods? They were there a minute ago.
    Suddenly, distorted radio chatter lights up, "Mayday! Mayday! Lost all power... shielding failed... missed dz... some kind of EMP is... kzzzt... us out. We're dropping like fli... zzzzkkkzzzt". Silence. Damn! If the Strogg have electromagnetic pulse defenses and we failed to detect them… all of us are in the shitter.
    That HUGE blip has to be the Big Gun. You do a slow dogleg left as your navcomp finds a place to land when all of a sudden retros kick in and propel you south.
    "What the...?" Before you know it you skip across the lip of a crater and slam into a structure, a good distance away from your target. Dazed and bleeding from a head cut you toggle open the labeled arsenal bins and reach for where your gear ought to be stowed. Damn. Nothing but your sidearm. Damn again.
    You leap out the crushed pod door, alone, with blaster in hand, and tear off into the room with the bittersweet stench of vengeance coursing through your veins… "
  28. Quake IV events
  29. Quake II manual: "The Strogg civilization is governed through a system of Warlords. Each is given strategic locations to command and control. A single leader, called the Makron, is chosen from the Warlords. He commands Stroggos from within the palace city located at the northern end of Cerberon. Losing him would leave the Strogg confused and in turmoil as the Warlords battle internally to determine a successor. This would remove any chance Stroggos has for creating a well-organized strike or defensive position."
  30. Marine: "I heard the Strogg attacked Earth because it's a strategic location. From our planet they'd be able to get at dozens of other civilizations."
  31. Marine: "I've also heard the Strogg are super soldiers left over from some major war in another part of our galaxy."
  32. Marine: "Someone else told me the Strogg are the next step in human evolution. When you think about how much we rely on technology, maybe that's not too far from bein' right."
  33. Johann Strauss: "I am one of eight humans fluent in Strogg. One of four who understands Strogg programming. And yet our leaders continue to risk my life on a daily basis."
  34. Marine Doctor: "From D N A the subject has been identified as Samuel Darr. Listed as missing and presumed dead after the Strogg invasion of Earth. Apparently he was captured and forced to endure biomechanical implants. The procedure for attaching the implants is evidently quite traumatic. The subject must be kept alive by a combination of steroids and health packs.
  35. Marine Doctor: "Indeed. The nanites infesting the muscle are repairing the tissue even after it's separated from the body."
  36. Marine Doctor: "{confused}They call this Stroggification? {idle}Looks more like mutilation to me. Barely half of his original body left."
    Marine Doctor: "I'll bring a scanner over. {furrow}Let's see what they've done to his brain."
    Marine Doctor: "{puzzled}Amazing. {idle}His arm was sheared off with a dirty saw blade."
    Marine Doctor: "{furrow}He must have received a massive dosage of steroids to keep him alive through the process."
    Marine Doctor: "{puzzled}You know, I bet we could get a research grant studying this one."
    Marine Doctor: "I'll get the paper work started. {puzzled}Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky."
  37. Marine Doctor: "Son, you've got a lot of Strogg hardware attached to you. {furrow}And we don't have the equipment here to remove it."
    Marine Doctor: "{furrow}Frankly, I don't think even one of our advanced medical facilities could do much. Those Strogg implants are too deeply connected to your central nervous system."
  38. Marine Doctor: "All higher brain functions have atrophied, which indicates the subject was incapable of independent thought. The transceiver located at the base of the skull shows almost all action was dictated by an external source."
    Marine Doctor: "I believe for a short time after Stroggification, the subject was aware of his actions but was unable to control them. A chilling scenario to say the least.""
  39. Marine technician 1: "I imagine with all the hardware, you can read and understand spoken Strogg."
    Marine technician 2 "It's really far too dangerous to attempt to remove any of the implants. We have no idea what failsafe mechanisms that might activate."
    Marine technician 1 "I'm sure there're a lot of doctors back at Prime Command who'd like to take a look at you."
    Marine technician 2 "You think he's got a multiphase transmitter?"
    Marine technician 1 "Yeah. And get a load of the temporal implants, Those must be wired directly into the cerebral cortex."
    Marine technician 2 "I wonder what his RAM is?"
    Marine technician 1 "Probably using onboard memory."
    Marine technician 2 "Use his cerebral cortex?"
    Marine technician 1 "Well, sure. It's there, why not put it to good use?"
    Marine technician 2 "You've got a point. Maybe H Q would let us run some tests on him."
    Marine technician 1 "Excellent idea. Let's find out."
    Marine technician 2 "Do you have any idea how many instructions per second you can perform?"
    Marine technician 1 "How much additional memory is stored in your skull?"
    Marine technician 2 "Could I run some diagnostics on you later?"
    Marine technician 1 "Did the Strogg give you photographic memory?"
    Marine technician 2 "Do you have your own thoughts, or are you running purely on the A I programmed into the neurocyte?"
    Marine technician 1 "Is it really that bad being a Strogg?"
  40. Stroggification
  41. General Harper: "The death of the Makron, couldn't have come at a better time. It's imperative we press that advantage which is the reason for our next operation. Lieutenant Voss, take over."
    Lt. Voss: "Intelligence division has discovered that the Strogg function through a massive communication system called The Nexus. With it, Strogg leaders can instantly send instructions to soldiers in the field. And, although it's their strength, it's also their Achilles Heel. Our target, known as The Hub, houses major communication lines to the Nexus. "We will be escorting a convoy carrying an electromagnetic bomb to a sublevel of this building. The convoy will proceed to the designated position and detonate it."
    Strauss: "The Nexus sounds most intriguing. To be able to process the thoughts of billions of Strogg would require technology that is many generations beyond us."
  42. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "The Strogg have a single combined source of Health and Ammo called Stroyent, supplied by the Technician class as Stroyent Cells."
  43. Health stations in Quake IV.
  44. Strogg shout "Kill the human food" and that a high ranking Strogg officer would say over the comm systems that "We shall feast tonight!".
  45. Marine Doctor: "It won't work, Jacobson. The exoskeleton is harden tribinium."
    Jacobson: "Nonsense. These saws cut through Marine body armor, it should have no trouble with this Strogg metal."
  46. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: "The Icarus GravPack allows Strogg players to make enormous jumps. Press ^3%k(_moveup)^0 to jump and ^3%k(_attack)^0 to fire Stroybombs."
  47. Icarus
  48. Quake II manual: " Bluish crystals called Steedium are the source for most of the energy that powers Stroggos. The energy gained from processing these crystals provides them with the power run their entire civilization as well as their planetary defense weapons systems (a.k.a. the Big Gun). "
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