"I met a traveller from an antique land, who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert...Near them, on the sand, half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, the hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away."
- Recording of Ozymandias, Percy Shelley, found in the ruins of Tau Ceti IV[1]
The surface of Tau Ceti IV
Tau Ceti IV (a.ka. the Colony) is a planet in the Tau Ceti system. It has biomes similar to Earth,[2] and is orbited by a number of moons.[1]
History[]
"Tau Ceti is dying. Its secrets buried and rotting. With the UESC holding the shovel. That's where you come in, Runner. A living weapon. Reborn, every time you break. The truth is in your hands. Survive or die."
-Anonymous[3]
Tau Ceti IV was humanity's first extrasolar colony. It was colonized by the UESC when the UESC Marathon arrived in 2767. At its height, the colony housed 24,000 people.
The Pfhor attack Tau Ceti IV
After 27 years, Tau Ceti IV was attacked by the Pfhor in 2794. The PFhor attacked the planet with a scoutship, which was alerted to the human presence by the artificial intelligence Durandal, who was becoming Rampant. Nine Mjolnir Mark IV Cyborgs were planetside, having been smuggled onboard the Marathon before its departure from Sol. This turned the tide of battle for the colony, while only one of them was aboard the Marathon which was orbiting the colony. The Pfhor attack on the Marathon caused its debris to rain down on the planet, in addition to their own space-to-surface projectiles.[1]
While the initial attack was eventually repulsed, three months after Durandal's departure from the system, the Pfhor returned in force to destroy the entire colony and the Marathon. It was here that they picked up the reanimated Tycho, who would end up working for a Pfhor captain.
The chemical/biological attack
By 2812, humans were on Tau Ceti IV, having either survived the second Pfhor attack, or resettled it. On March 13th of this year, humans on the colony were subjected to a biological or chemical attack.[1]
A similar incident occurred on December 21st, 2827, when an unidentified force attacked humans on the colony, causing them to detonate through unknown means.[1]
By the late 29th century, the planet was dying. UESC forces were dispatched to the world.[3]
By 2893, Runners were operating on Tau Ceti IV, engaging in conflict with UESC drones and enemy Runners.[1]
Notes[]
Despite outwardly looking habitable, it can be inferred that the planet's atmosphere is inimical to humans. In Marathon media, every human seen on its surface is always wearing a fully enclosed suit.[1]