The Age of Heroes

And so it was that Earth became a protectorate of the Annunaki Empire. Governments worldwide were either absorbed or replaced by Naki officials, with the exception it seemed of those who had collaborated. The Naki became more ruthless in their attitude to remaining pockets of insurgents, yet kept displays of brutality shielded from the best part of humanity. Favoured Overseer Allison ensured that the Pro-Naki states were assimilated seamlessly into Imperial citizenship, while taking more draconian measures with those states that had shown such recalcitrance. Nevertheless, he was not seen to be overly harsh to any particular area.

Yet there remained resistance across the world, especially in those most troubled of locations. Of course the Global Militia could never abide the loss of their planet to an alien, and so they formed the body of the resistance movement. Of course many others were involved too. The Australian Outback, Wales and the Basque province along with mountainous, secluded regions in other countries showed continued opposition to the Annunaki yoke.

And as time went on, rumours grew that the resistance was becoming better funded somehow, in spite of the Naki's presence. They were gaining more technology (some of it supposedly neither Human nor Naki) and adopting a more military command structure. The most silent of rumours hinted at the existence of the 'Hidden Master' of the resistance movement. Those in the know pointed out that only certain resistance cells were gaining this extra attention, and that it was from a pro-human source outside the original resistance movement. More and more cells consolidated their efforts with this organisation as the months went on. Other cells whispered in secret that ancient gods were protecting them, and these cells always seemed to have an edge when leading attacks.

Humanity became inspired by these resistance heroes. No longer were they the dread insurgents who would blow up buildings full of innocents; they were the great freedom fighters that would cast off the shackles of the Naki's belligerent xenocracy. Support gradually built up for resistance groups, giving them the necessary extra power to fuel their efforts.

Surprisingly, Annunaki attempts to infiltrate the resistance movements met with very little success. Processed human interlopers were quickly discovered and abducted by certain cells. This apparently caught the attention of the Empire, who began using indoctrinated humans instead, leading to the removal of a few cells of insurgents, but nowhere near as many as they had hoped. The Naki soon realised that a Pro-human group was funding this effort, and outlawed GeneTech, arresting many personnel and razing their facilities to the ground. Many personnel escaped without apparent trace in the struggle. GeneTech has apparently been working further on diseases to rid the world of the Naki, amongst other strange experiments. Gradually, more and more resistance centres would be targeted by Allison himself.

Allison had a great airborne battleship of Annunaki design. It was known as the 'Mobile Oppression Fortress' by most people including the Naki. Allison himself rejected this name, calling instead the 'Yellow Submarine' although in truth it was neither of these things. The Favoured Overseer would take this Fortress to areas showing resistance and unleash bombardments and troop drops onto them until they either broke, submitted or were destroyed. In this way, much of the resistance lost heart. But for those who remained, it simply strengthened their iron resolve.

Especially one, known as 'The Reckless' to some, and Adam Wilson, frontman of Skalding Hot to others. Claiming that he was the chosen of the gods, he unleashed an all-out attack on Allison's centre of power - The Los Angeles Museum of Rock. What transpired within that museum would never become fully known, although rumour and legend describe a titanic battle in which Allison and Wilson would lock themselves in brutal one-on-one combat, each armed with a great hammer - Wilson's was in the shape of Mjollnir, the Hammer of Thor. Allison's was a great silver hammer, supposedly a reference to a Beatles song. Whatever may or may not have occured within those halls, one thing is for certain. During the fight, a nuclear device was triggered that caused the death of both the combatants. And so was a great loss dealt to both the resistance and the Naki.

More hope returned to the resistance after an individual known as the Dragon Slayer, said to be Shauna Li herself, did lead an attack on the Dinosaur breeding pens that the Annunaki kept a tight guard on. This was one of the largest assaults that the resistance was ever able to lead at this time, with many dinosaur spawn vats obliterated and the great Dragon slain by the Dragon Slayer. How she was able to co-ordinate this attack is uncertain, though there are still those who suggest that an individual known as the 'Bringer of Truth' was able to act as an intelligencer.

Following the death of Wilson, the resistance gathered around the one called the Shepherd of the Unsung, who had been Wilson's lover. She became a heroine of the greatest sort, and was rumoured to be protected by powerful magics, or even the blessings of the gods. And so the resistance began to regard her as the saviour of humanity, forming a kind of cult around her. It was rumoured that she disliked this attention and sought to portray herself not as a saviour but as a revolutionary. But somehow, the Saviour status seemed to stick. She blamed someone called Thom for this, so it is said.

Yet the most daring strike against the Naki was yet to come. It came with a great hero of the resistance, a man known as Himin's Hound, one of the leaders of a group of heroic soldiers. The Hound, so called because the legends surrounding him spoke of him as a werewolf, led a group of his men on a daring mission to attack Nibiru itself. They landed by shuttle on Nibiru's surface, and though their exact actions are not known, they caused considerable damage to a great deal of the planet's war machine, and even slew the Zebulan of Nibiru himself - Zebulan being the name the Naki give to their planetary leaders. Nibiru's Favoured Overseer, Assan, took over the role, and focused most of his efforts on rebuilding the damaged planet. As for the Hound and his pack - they were never seen again.

It was at about this time that the resistance announced that it had created a cure of sorts for Naki processing, supposedly able to alter a processed human back to its original state. This involved considerable cloning technology, and had some success. However, the 'cured' clones were not the humans they once were - reports indicated that brain damage, personality loss and other inhibiting factors were rife. However, the resistance had some hope that perhaps this barrier too would be overcome.

With the resistance in full swing, and the Naki still in firm control but pushed onto the back foot, it was announced too that a God had been born. The son of Adam Wilson the Reckless, a charming child and most beautiful, had been living in secret among the resistance members. The child's mother, Hannah Lake, Shepherd of the Unsung, claimed the child was Baldr born again, and that he would free humanity from the Naki.

All the while, the man known as Thom looked upon this baby Baldr, and laughed.