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[Yawnier]

This is a really good and in-depth timeline, I remember going through most of it right before Killzone 2 came out four years ago.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

This. You know what? I think there should be a strong woman antagonist from Helghan in the next Killzone. I would not mind Visari's daughter taking over the leadership.

Funny, considering the actress from True Blood who tweeted that she landed the "lead" role in Shadowfall. Would be cool to see a powerful female Helghan ruler trying to take back Vekta.

I always thought Visari was a really interesting character. He's written to be this extremely charismatic leader and it definitely comes across well because so many of the players were attached to him and reacted so strongly to the openings in KZ1 and KZ2. Shame they dumped him so unceremoniously.

 

[meta4]

Funny, considering the actress from True Blood who tweeted that she landed the "lead" role in Shadowfall. Would be cool to see a powerful female Helghan ruler trying to take back Vekta.

What?? Really?? Awesome if that is the case. There is hope then!

 

[Pai Pai Master]

What?? Really?? Awesome if that is the case. There is hope then!

Yup. Good to see more females in the Killzone games in general, Luger and Evelyn were too few.

Jamie Gray Hyder ‏@JGHyder
Excited to finally announce I'll be playing the lead in the new Guerrilla Games KillZone 4: Shadow Fall for Sony Playstation 4!! #PS4

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

Great work Sentry, thanks for putting this up for others to see!

 

[staticneuron]

Seriously, it's like if Luigi gets Toad killed, then flips out and pops a cap in Bowser's head at the end of a Super Mario game. Then nukes his entire kingdom. Why would you ruin such an awesome antagonist and continue to play-up such a shitheel character that no one likes. I'll never understand if GG seriously expected anyone to sympathize with Rico.

Never understood the hate for Rico. That analogy is horrible. Rico is the way he is because of the surprise attack that happened in KZ1. Granted he is written as the typical hothead but his hate for the Helghast was cemented when they first invaded Vekta and ripped his entire team to shreds. Despite his hate and distrust he still shows a human side when he helps out Hakha.

The part people get upset at, simply is an issue with point of view. Rico viewed it as a time sensitive issue and charged ahead. Sound strategy? Probably not. But Could he have been right? In every single game, the Helghast have attacked with out mercy and very quickly. there is nothing in the games before or after that indicates that there would have been enough time to form a solid plan.

The ending is what it is.

Spoiler

Rico and Jan went back a while, that added to all the death he has seen up until that point made it more personal for him than it should have. his hothead personality was established from the first game and Jan was not there to talk him down

You have been. Though if you just play the games you'd think Killzone was all about ISA killing the terrorist Helghast.

Actually there is no real good or bad guys. Both shit in the same shade of grey with the shit they pull on each other.

Not really. We are still talking about humans. So a society that was created almost 150 years before the events of KZ1. Launches a surprise attack and tries to invade the planet. The soldiers, and the people in charge obviously are not the same people. From that point of view the aggressor will always seem like a bad guy. So the events aftewards, beating them back and then trying to arrest scolari for war crimes is makes sense. How people feel the Helghast are somehow the good guys baffle me.

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

Reading through the comments I don't see how anyone can feel like they're playing as the "bad guy" in Killzone. Not saying you are the good guys, but there's no way it's the Helghasts. Prior to the Second Extrasolar War the Helghasts never really did anything "wrong" but post-Exodus/introduction of Visari their culture changed dramatically. They performed genocide on their own people who didn't agree with the vision Visari set forth, they're trying to wipe the universe clean of all non-Helghasts - granted out of paranoia from the past but still. In heck, in Killzone 2 Visari nukes Pyrrhus City - the most populated city on Helghan - just so the ISA couldn't gain control of it. Just think of all the innocent people - his own people - he killed with that move.

Speaking of which,

Also, who do you assume was responsible for the several 'unexplained' events?

I wouldn't put it past the Helghasts (or Helghans at that point) to have destroyed the orbital space station themselves since they did in the future nuke Pyrrhus for the same reasons, but of course pre-Exodus Helghans and post-Exodus Helghasts are very different so maybe not. Still I don't see what motivation the UCN could have to blow up the space station, rather take control and use it for themselves.

The Killzone 2 Intro still sends shivers though my body

So Good!

Yes Bring Him Back!

When he say "The Enemy may shatter our bodies, but they cannot break our spirit.... To seize by force what they can't claim by right, We will smite the invaders from the sky..."

That shit makes me so hard, almost a fucking battle cry of give me a M82 and point me towards the ISA Scum!

I was following you up until then. Why would a Helghast use an ISA weapon? Why not the Sta-52? I understand for multiplayer, but . . .

And actually part of me wishes they'd race-lock the weapons you can spawn with.

 

[Espada]

You know, I'm thinking that such an amazing lore just can't be told in an action FPS game. Maybe if Killzone was more open world, but at best we will see intel scattered around. They can only really tell this story through more unique ways, like objects in the environment, unless they make the cutscenes more story-heavy.

I would have loved a Killzone RPG of sorts that took us through all this, maybe like Destiny if anything

Absolutely. This kind of rich backstory is tailor made for an RPG or open world game where the focus is exploring said world. The dynamic in this new game would lend itself especially well to an RPG.

 

[Business]

Brian Cox did such an awesome job as Scolar Visari. Him and the backstory in the OP are the best thing about Killzone. Such a shame how they executed the actual story in Killzone 2 and specially 3.

 

[Santiako]

Is this like Halo, creating a massive and interesting word, lore and story and then ignoring it in the games?

 

[Byakuya769]

Is this like Halo, creating a massive and interesting word, lore and story and then ignoring it in the games?

Yes. It's great, then you play the game and you're just shooting evil guys with orange glowing eyes.

 

[90TilInfinity]

Wow, thanks for posting, OP. I always knew Killzone had ridiculous potential as a franchise, but this is written proof of it. Hopefully Shadow Fall can really bring to light some of this history as well as make the game world more expansive.

 

[Derrick01]

Is this like Halo, creating a massive and interesting word, lore and story and then ignoring it in the games?

It's exactly like that. This stuff that's in the OP may as well not even exist and no one who only played the games would be able to tell.

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

Reading through the comments I don't see how anyone can feel like they're playing as the "bad guy" in Killzone. Not saying you are the good guys, but there's no way it's the Helghasts. Prior to the Second Extrasolar War the Helghasts never really did anything "wrong" but post-Exodus/introduction of Visari their culture changed dramatically. They performed genocide on their own people who didn't agree with the vision Visari set forth, they're trying to wipe the universe clean of all non-Helghasts - granted out of paranoia from the past but still. In heck, in Killzone 2 Visari nukes Pyrrhus City - the most populated city on Helghan - just so the ISA couldn't gain control of it. Just think of all the innocent people - his own people - he killed with that move.

Actually to add onto this, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the intro scene to Killzone 3 depict the moment right before they dropped the nuke on their own city? And wasn't the nuke stolen from the ISA in Killzone 1 (since the Helghasts couldn't develop nuclear weapons yet). And in the scene Radec kills the Helghast soldier who happened to be there so there would be no witnesses of this event?

So they were nuking their own city and blaming it on the ISA. Those bastards!

 

[staticneuron]

Is this like Halo, creating a massive and interesting word, lore and story and then ignoring it in the games?

Wow. I don't think that is the same at all. Halo brought alot of things from the lore into the games. Where as Killzone is more of a futuristic WW2 story, so the history simply helps to describe current situation but I would say that the KZ is smaller in scale and is always from the POV of a soldier on the battlefield. I doubt there will be a logical way for all that lore to come into place during the course of these games.

Actually to add onto this, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the intro scene to Killzone 3 depict the moment right before they dropped the nuke on their own city? And wasn't the nuke stolen from the ISA in Killzone 1 (since the Helghasts couldn't develop nuclear weapons yet). And in the scene Radec kills the Helghast soldier who happened to be there so there would be no witnesses of this event?

So they were nuking their own city and blaming it on the ISA. Those bastards!

Brilliant! And what will history say about the event?

 

[Zaventem]

Lots of FPS games have great backstory, the problem is not seeing any of that in the game.

 

[Zen]

For reference, the city normally holds roughly 12 million people.

"As the largest City, the population of Pyrrhus before the ISA invasion was about 12 million, mostly impoverished workers and their families.
Most of Phyrrhus consists of run-down housing and apartments, with a vast stretch of slums and factories. Various ground cars are scattered across the city, and cable cars are located in the more heavily traveled parts of the city.

The buildings draw power from Helghan's electrical storms and the petrusite power grid running underneath the city as well. Cables are messily strewn across the city from house to house.

Most of the city's resources are invested into the military and propaganda-related structures in the city. The military academy and related structures are much more strongly built and articulated than the rest of the city."

Though most of the people were evacuated to mining settlements and a nearby city when it became clear that the ISA were coming. Untold thousands of civilians were still probably killed even with the evacuation. The city was the backbone of Helghast industry on the planet.

http://killzone.wikia.com/wiki/Pyrrhus_City

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

It's exactly like that. This stuff that's in the OP may as well not even exist and no one who only played the games would be able to tell.

I don't view it like that at all. More like if you only play the game (and tried to follow the story) you'd know there was more to it but would have no clue what that is. If you read the back story then when you go to play the game everything would mesh together perfectly and really add to the experience. The timeline is more of a complimentary part of the game for those who want it. However I agree they need to have a better way of presenting it other than in a giant text block on their website.

I actually did like the way Killzone 2 and 3 told the story though (and actually liked the story told in 2 as well, not so much in 3). It stayed close to the perspective of one squad and their small role in the big picture. They didn't show you too much that you wouldn't actually know if you were one of the members in that squad. And the missions they sent you on felt like missions you would be sent on if you were part of this squad part of an invasion fleet. In this way I felt it really added to the immersion, however I did read the timeline before I played the game.

 

[TimeEffect]

Actually to add onto this, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the intro scene to Killzone 3 depict the moment right before they dropped the nuke on their own city? And wasn't the nuke stolen from the ISA in Killzone 1 (since the Helghasts couldn't develop nuclear weapons yet). And in the scene Radec kills the Helghast soldier who happened to be there so there would be no witnesses of this event?

So they were nuking their own city and blaming it on the ISA. Those bastards!

Damn dude. Stealing the nuke, inability to develop their own, using it as a move to blame the ISA. Such good story mechanics, so difficult to do in an FPS, unless they go MGS and make it very story heavy.

I mean, really, they have a good opportunity to be different, to make an FPS game that has heavy story emphasis, instead of making it an 8 hour romp. I WANT to have 15 minute cutscenes if they are worth it, I know most would disagree, but I'm tired of running and shooting, and feel like a game like this can do well with their story. Slow the game down with non-shooting scenarios, allow us to collect deep intel, allow us to explore and listen to NPC's talking.

I would love to play like 2-4 characters, both from each side, and then maybe, in the very last culminating chapter, force us to pick one of the four players to end the game with.

I just wish I knew GG acknowledged us in this thread, and in their own forums. It's the not knowing that makes me so antsy, because I want so much more for this game.

 

[No_Style]

I read the entire timeline before KZ2's release. It was really neat. It's too bad the games don't take the time explore the universe or history.

Guerilla Games should make a Mass Effect style game in that universe.

 

[Zen]

I don't view it like that at all. More like if you only play the game (and tried to follow the story) you'd know there was more to it but would have no clue what that is. If you read the back story then when you go to play the game everything would mesh together perfectly and really add to the experience. The timeline is more of a complimentary part of the game for those who want it. However I agree they need to have a better way of presenting it other than in a giant text block on their website.

I actually did like the way Killzone 2 and 3 told the story though (and actually liked the story told in 2 as well, not so much in 3). It stayed close to the perspective of one squad and their small role in the big picture. They didn't show you too much that you wouldn't actually know if you were one of the members in that squad. And the missions they sent you on felt like missions you would be sent on if you were part of this squad part of an invasion fleet. In this way I felt it really added to the immersion, however I did read the timeline before I played the game.

At minimum they should include the timeline in the menu (with the ability to browse any part and also having a voice over narration) with every Killzone game, at minimum. It should be continued to be expanded with each game that goes further.

It's such a no brainier and would help give context to that the developers would have a harder time telling directly in the game.

 

[TimeEffect]

I read the entire timeline before KZ2's release. It was really neat. It's too bad the games don't take the time explore the universe or history.

Guerilla Games should make a Mass Effect style game in that universe.

It's what I truly want: A Killzone RPG. It just sounds so good as the game has such a well-fleshed out backstory to explore.

You know, I really would be down with more Killzone outside of this traditional FPS.

I dream of a Killzone VITA game a la XCOM.

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

Damn dude. Stealing the nuke, inability to develop their own, using it as a move to blame the ISA. Such good story mechanics, so difficult to do in an FPS, unless they go MGS and make it very story heavy.

I mean, really, they have a good opportunity to be different, to make an FPS game that has heavy story emphasis, instead of making it an 8 hour romp. I WANT to have 15 minute cutscenes if they are worth it, I know most would disagree, but I'm tired of running and shooting, and feel like a game like this can do well with their story. Slow the game down with non-shooting scenarios, allow us to collect deep intel, allow us to explore and listen to NPC's talking.

You see, Killzone 2's story always gets a bad rep but there's cool stuff like this there, the players just didn't catch it or couldn't follow along. In my opinion the story has always been a bit underrated, though I suppose that could be because it is more of a true-to-self war story than a Hollywood flick. There was actually quite a few cool story elements in KZ2 from the start. The first wave of ISA unsuspectingly getting wiped out. Painstakingly advancing a convoy to Radec's Academy to capture Radec only to realize it was a trap and your entire convoy gets destroyed by the arc cannon (seriously, advancing this convoy takes up a huge portion of the beginning of the game and it was all a trap!). Discovering petrusite. Radec getting frustrated that he can't find the ISA Nuke launch codes so he decides to raid the New Sun. The actual nuke part. And then the whole Rico incident.

 

[Totobeni]

Amazing lore,but freaking horrible stories in Killzone games.

So much wasted potential.

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

At minimum they should include the timeline in the menu (with the ability to browse any part and also having a voice over narration) with every Killzone game, at minimum. It should be continued to be expanded with each game that goes further.

It's such a no brainier and would help give context to that the developers would have a harder time telling directly in the game.

I actually think animating the entire timeline would be a great way to start the game and could potentially rival Visari's KZ2 intro speech on the epic scale. It wouldn't even have to be a crazy long intro.

 

[Carbonox]

I have Killzone 2. Have not started it. I guess I should do that huh? The universe interests me for sure.

 

[Dyno]

I enjoy the Killzone games and got a lot of use out of them. I know the lore and was able to follow the stories through the games.

Here's my minor concern though. KZ3 ended on quite the cliff-hanger and what I hear is that KZ4 is taking place 30 years (or more) in the future. It seems that this jump in time ends the story and returns to the overall narrative arc to begin again.

What happened to the irradiated Helgan? What happened to Stahl? What about the advanced weaponry uncovered? If we're jumping ahead in time then the Killzone story ended in a really abrupt and rather clumsy fashion.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Yeah, I really wish they embraced this back story.

I mean, for fuck sakes, they completely deleted from their site for a few years and don't give a shit. I mean, WTF?

What happened to the irradiated Helgan? Its gone. What happened to Stahl? Dead What about the advanced weaponry uncovered? ISA are using it? Maybe its gone with the planet. If we're jumping ahead in time then the Killzone story ended in a really abrupt and rather clumsy fashion. Helgan is gone. ISA won. Yeah, KZ3 ending sucked, but theres no real cliffhanger. Helghast are no longer a threat.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

You see, Killzone 2's story always gets a bad rep but there's cool stuff like this there, the players just didn't catch it or couldn't follow along. In my opinion the story has always been a bit underrated, though I suppose that could be because it is more of a true-to-self war story than a Hollywood flick. There was actually quite a few cool story elements in KZ2 from the start. The first wave of ISA unsuspectingly getting wiped out. Painstakingly advancing a convoy to Radec's Academy to capture Radec only to realize it was a trap and your entire convoy gets destroyed by the arc cannon (seriously, advancing this convoy takes up a huge portion of the beginning of the game and it was all a trap!). Discovering petrusite. Radec getting frustrated that he can't find the ISA Nuke launch codes so he decides to raid the New Sun. The actual nuke part. And then the whole Rico incident.

Killzone 2 does have really strong story beats for a military-style FPS. It's just the connection to the wider backstory and universe that gets lost by putting the player in command of a squad of low level grunts. Throughout Killzone 2 you feel like Sev and Rico are in over their heads entirely and Radec doesn't get the development he deserves because he's on a much higher level than the protagonists. One of the most dramatic and exciting twists of the game doesn't even involve Sev, but the main player character of the first game.

You raise some good points though, I just wish there was more meat to it and I could never connect to characters like Sev and Rico. It kinda reminds me of how Square thought they needed Vaan and Penelo in FFXII in order for the audience to have someone to connect to, when the supporting characters, lore and political intrigue were far more interesting, and felt weaker as a result of not directly involving the player character (beyond Rex's role).

 

[velociraptor]

I read the entire timeline before KZ2's release. It was really neat. It's too bad the games don't take the time explore the universe or history.

Guerilla Games should make a Mass Effect style game in that universe.

I would LOVE that.

A WRPG similar to Mass Effect would be wonderful.

 

[Arukado]

Thanks Sentry, i was looking forward to reading this in anticipation of KZ Shadow Fall.

And now i want to replay KZ2, dammit :lol

 

[daveo42]

At minimum they should include the timeline in the menu (with the ability to browse any part and also having a voice over narration) with every Killzone game, at minimum. It should be continued to be expanded with each game that goes further.

It's such a no brainier and would help give context to that the developers would have a harder time telling directly in the game.

Something similar to the Metal Gear Database would suffice to give a complete history.

Really long read, but very detailed about the issues between the ISA, the UCN, and Helghan. I think the best 'good guys' in the entire thing are the ISA around the time of the Killzone games. Not because you are playing them, but that they force they used was justified considering the lengths Visari was going to reclaim Vekta to the planned attack on Earth.

In a political sense, I'd definitely say UCN are the main instigators of this whole situation from the outset. Poor financial planning and a lack of a long-term vision could have led to their demise. I may have welcomed it too after how they treated the colonies they desperately needed to survive.

 

[mr_chun]

I remember reading this back around the time KZ3 came out. It's really great, thanks for posting. Will re-read.

 

[ptuck874]

FUCK THE ISA SCUM!

ditto that, damn the man!!!

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

Let's say for the sake of argument Guerrilla did do an RPG in the Killzone universe, would you want it to retread over events that already happened to get a better sense of how it all ties together, or would you rather they keep advancing the story?

I honestly think a game where you play as Radec has potential, possibly starting in a pre-Visari Helghan. On the other hand I always viewed the Radec-Visari combo similar to the Vader-Emperor combo, and we all saw what focusing on them as the main characters got us.

 

[staticneuron]

I enjoy the Killzone games and got a lot of use out of them. I know the lore and was able to follow the stories through the games.

Here's my minor concern though. KZ3 ended on quite the cliff-hanger and what I hear is that KZ4 is taking place 30 years (or more) in the future. It seems that this jump in time ends the story and returns to the overall narrative arc to begin again.

What happened to the irradiated Helgan? What happened to Stahl? What about the advanced weaponry uncovered? If we're jumping ahead in time then the Killzone story ended in a really abrupt and rather clumsy fashion.

I think that is a bit to hasty to jump to a conclusion. We have no idea what Shadowfall (or the Vita game) is about or what led to the situation during the date they showed. Obviously the effects of the earlier Killzone game are going to be very important to understanding what is happening in the current games.

Yeah, I really wish they embraced this back story.

I mean, for fuck sakes, they completely deleted from their site for a few years and don't give a shit. I mean, WTF?

How can the Helghast no longer be a threat when they are featured prominently in the shadowfall demo?

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Let's say for the sake of argument Guerrilla did do an RPG in the Killzone universe, would you want it to retread over events that already happened to get a better sense of how it all ties together, or would you rather they keep advancing the story?

I honestly think a game where you play as Radec has potential, possibly starting in a pre-Visari Helghan. On the other hand I always viewed the Radec-Visari combo similar to the Vader-Emperor combo, and we all saw what focusing on them as the main characters got us.

A Radec-focused game would be so excellent. He's my favourite character in the series by far. But on second thought, I'd prefer a game about Hakha and how he came to defect from the Helghast leadership.

 

[noah111]

Let's say for the sake of argument Guerrilla did do an RPG in the Killzone universe, would you want it to retread over events that already happened to get a better sense of how it all ties together, or would you rather they keep advancing the story?

Absolutely. This kind of rich backstory is tailor made for an RPG or open world game where the focus is exploring said world. The dynamic in this new game would lend itself especially well to an RPG.

GUYS I GOT IT: FPRPS. First Person Role Playing Shooter.

Your welcome, GG.

This is a really good and in-depth timeline, I remember going through most of it right before Killzone 2 came out four years ago.

Wow I can't believe it's really been four years now.

Great work Sentry, thanks for putting this up for others to see!

Thanks!

Not really. We are still talking about humans. So a society that was created almost 150 years before the events of KZ1. Launches a surprise attack and tries to invade the planet. The soldiers, and the people in charge obviously are not the same people. From that point of view the aggressor will always seem like a bad guy. So the events aftewards, beating them back and then trying to arrest scolari for war crimes is makes sense. How people feel the Helghast are somehow the good guys baffle me.

Did you read the timeline? I think you have your years a bit messed up.

 

[magawolaz]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. It will probably take me a day or two to read the whole story :lol


Now we just wait for someone to quote the OP.

 

[Omega]

I feel kind of bad now for skipping all the cut scenes. The only thing I can remember from Killzone 3 was a bunch of dudebro moments and an ending that decided "you know what? Maybe I'll be thoughtful for a sec and bring up all the lives we've laid to waste". Might give it a read through later.

you didn't miss much. Killzone lore is like the Lakers. good on paper, terrible in execution

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

In a political sense, I'd definitely say UCN are the main instigators of this whole situation from the outset. Poor financial planning and a lack of a long-term vision could have led to their demise. I may have welcomed it too after how they treated the colonies they desperately needed to survive.

Bingo!

This is exactly how I feel. The ISA are just trying to defend their home, nothing wrong with that. And the Helghast tried being peaceful but when they refused to hand over their rightfully acquired power in the universe the UCN blew them to hell and now they're paranoid. The real enemies are the ones they never show you in the game.

How about a game where the ISA and Helghast join forces to unseat the UCN? Or is it too late for that as the Helghasts are already too hellbent?

 

[noah111]

I wouldn't put it past the Helghasts (or Helghans at that point) to have destroyed the orbital space station themselves since they did in the future nuke Pyrrhus for the same reasons, but of course pre-Exodus Helghans and post-Exodus Helghasts are very different so maybe not. Still I don't see what motivation the UCN could have to blow up the space station, rather take control and use it for themselves.

They claim it was the UCA, I don't think it was either of them. I'm pretty confident in saying it was the ISA. Remember just how bitter they were at that moment towards the Helghans as well as UCN. The pretty much single handedly propelled the two into going into an all out war (boots on the ground), with that action.

At the same time it's almost understandable considering where the ISA was at that time, it was oft of self preservation imo.

 

[Haunted]

I for one am glad that Guerilla Games are teaching German history to some players.

I wonder who Honecker will be in Shadow Fall.

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

I for one am glad that Guerilla Games are teaching German history to some players.

I wonder who Honecker will be in Shadow Fall.

It's only influenced by German history, but by no means based on it.

 

[Haunted]

It's only influenced by German history, but by no means based on it.

I'm German, I can tell. My comment was tongue-in-cheek.

 

[staticneuron]

Did you read the timeline? I think you have your years a bit messed up.

I just rounded a bit.

2215: Settlement of Helghan
2357: Start of the invasion (KZ1)

Difference? 142 years.

 

[xenorevlis]

Man, I remember looking at some of this prior to KZ2 launch. So much goodness.

 

[noah111]

Bingo!

This is exactly how I feel. The ISA are just trying to defend their home, nothing wrong with that. And the Helghast tried being peaceful but when they refused to hand over their rightfully acquired power in the universe the UCN blew them to hell and now they're paranoid. The real enemies are the ones they never show you in the game.

How about a game where the ISA and Helghast join forces to unseat the UCN? Or is it too late for that as the Helghasts are already too hellbent?

Defend their home? The one the took by force and oppressed to get? Re-read that bit, Vekta isn't for the ISA and it never was. The origins of the ISA are slightly pathetic, actually. There was little need for them.

 

[Zen]

The problem was the Helghan corporation trying to massively expand power, and they used manipulation and murder to get it from day 1 (Sabotaging the shuttle to bankrupt the government and get the contract for the lucrative system, killing thousands of people on the first expedition). These were not nice people.

 

[daveo42]

Defend their home? The one the took by force and oppressed to get? Re-read that bit, Vekta isn't for the ISA and it never was. The origins of the ISA are slightly pathetic, actually. There was little need for them.

Correct. UCN basically used the ISA to fight off the Helghan in space over a dispute. UCN wanted a piece of the pie the colonies had by controlling the entire sector. Since they owned the territory, the only fault I see with Helghan is what sounds like exorbitant prices to control trade.

The occupation of Vekta by the ISA is what finally drove everyone back to the Helghan home world and bred Visari.

It was their world and was taken by force based on a lack of communication, greed, and some idiocy. I'm surprised they thought they could win with their meager militia and space force.