The 92nd Shock Trooper Regiment was an Alliance military unit formed in 2170 CE. Formed within days of the batarian raid on Mindoir, the 92nd was intended to act as a rapid-response peacekeeping force in the Terminus Systems. Formed only days after Mindoir the 92nd was comprised mostly of former colonists with extensive training in urban warfare, amphibious assault, and variable-environment combat, a background that the Alliance hoped would ensure that soldiers would be prepared for any environment when defending or retaking a colony. The 92nd was designed to be the perfect response, using orbital insertion methods similar to that of the High Orbit Tactical Insertion Special Operations Troopers to drop into colonies and being posted within close distance to mass relays.
Formation[]
In the wake of the devastating batarian raids in 2170 CE, the Alliance military sought to send a message that the Alliance would not tolerate attacks on its colonies. With a proposed budget of three-billion credits, the proposal almost failed to gain approval, but thanks to the successful "Remember Mindoir" campaign, it was passed as part of S7-310.
The 92nd was mainly formed due to the fact that conventional marines could not rapidly respond to attacks on colonies and there were not enough men that could be pulled from the navy to wait for attacks. As well a rise in criminal insurgiencies across the traverse that were very well organized and could not be handled by colonial law enforcement helped the bill to pass.
In only twelve hours the 92nd had established a training program, candidacy, structure, and over seven hundred potential candidates. As well an emblem was chosen, that of a soldier elevated above others in the background. Painted red, the color was used to represent the blood soldiers must shed or the sacrifice, and the fact he is charging out to certain death likely to save his fellow squadmates represents honor. Giving birth to their motto, "Sacrifice and Honor".
To some the idea of the 92nd seemed a waste of credits. To simply station soldiers in the middle of nowhere and wait for an attack seemed like a waste of good resources. But time would eventually prove such doubts wrong.
Training[]
- “Alright you maggots listen up. You have all been selected to become a part of the 92nd Shock Trooper Regiment. You will train and you will learn, or you will die a most gruesome death and be buried in an unmarked hole somewhere between here and hell. But be aware that you are the student and I am the teacher. Starting now your asses belong to me. And if one of you steps out of line for one damn second I will fuck that unfortunate son of a bitch all day long. So buck up, you miserable excuses for girl scouts, because we are going to turn you into real fucking men. Am I understood?”
- —Drill Sergeant Harrison Mendez giving a speech to a platoon of trainees on the first day of training.
The training of the 92nd lasted three months in Africa and was designed to cover most environments that a soldier might be facing due to the vast deployment possibilites of the 92nd. Using Alliance-owned land in Mandela Beach in South Africa, which was a grassy and tropical waterfront, and home to a wrecked 21st century South African warship. Training, which lasted for a month, involved orbital insertion to the beach to eliminate guarded objectives, being deployed from submersed vehicles and assaulting the beach from the water to liberate and extract civilians, launching a stealth operation and planting explosives using ghillie suits and sniper rifles, and being dropped off in gunships, storming the beach, and engaging in close combat and breaching training while boarding the wreck of the ship, which also contained hostages. The beach operations quickly earned the nickname "Vacation to Hell".
Drill Sergeant Harrison Mendez
After beach operations, soldiers went to Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya to be trained in snowy conditions and in altitude adaptation. On Kilimanjaro, trainees were dropped in squads of seven, the same number a squad would have in a battlefield scenario. They were dropped seven hundred feet below an established base camp and each squad was instructed to make it by themselves to the camp without any help within a week. This was meant to establish teamwork between squadmates and to give them experience in cold and high-altitude conditions.
If the squad made it alive to the camp, they would then begin markmanship and more stealth training. Soldiers engaged in markman and target practice and small squad based exercises which involved using stealth and ghillie suits to bypass patrols and raiding a small building. Unlike the training on Mandela Beach, operations on Kilimanjaro were only performed in squads, to ensure that the soldiers would be prepared to work with each other and without large support in a battlefield.
The final stage of training was in and around a small deserted town in the Sahara Desert in Egypt. Soldiers were taken into space and orbitally inserted into Egypt. Trainees would guide their pods and land near a beacon placed thirty miles away from the camp where they would stay during training. To prevent cheating, anti-air guns were stationed near the camp. This would give them increased experience with orbital insertion.
Once they landed, the trainees would proceed to base camp, either by themselves or with others that they found. This could take up to five days, as all soldiers had was a map with the beacon and base camp marked, the limited food they were given, and a compass.
Once the soldiers arrived, after days in the blistering heat, they were regrouped back into their squads and formed into a platoon, and given orders to conduct a one-week siege of the deserted town of Seerali. The town was three miles and had been restored and given a fully stocked militia of two hundred, all of whom had either been former marines or soldiers who failed training. The militia was heavily armed with mounted turrets, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and vehicles with mounted weapons. Also, the town was stocked full of people hired to be civilians, some of whom were hired to be hostages, and others to be random people who would scatter and flee into the crossfire if a fight were to break out.
This exercise was meant to be the ultimate test, simulating a raid on a captured colony. All squads were assigned objectives and were support realistic to that in the field. Soldiers would have to execute the attack perfectly without losing men to the stun darts that were fired by the "militia". The soldiers trained as field medics were given a serum to counteract the stun rounds, but if not applied soon enough, the dart would render the victim paralyzed for at least a day. If the trainees and their squad were able to complete their objectives without collateral damage, and then fall back to extraction half a mile out of town, then they had passed training and had become official Shock Troopers.
Commencement for all shock troopers was held a week after graduation, always in the hangar bay of the carrier SSV Michealangelo, where all troopers were presented a patch engraved with the 92nd's motto "Sacrifice and Honor."
After the ceremony the platoon was either sent to a Terminus colony as a peacekeeping force or assigned to a prowler frigate and stationed near a mass relay, so they could quickly move to a colony if it were to go silent.
Operational History[]
- “Alright soldiers. You all know why you're here. To save and proect our colonies. To save and protect humanity's interests in the final frontier. Remember what every life you claim is for. Remember what every shot you fire is for. Remember what every man who dies died for. Earth.”
- —Commander Nikolai Leonov to his platoon before the battle of Toolak.
The 92nd became an operational powerhouse in the Terminus Systems and became a celebrated unit meant to inspire hope and confidence in colonists and colonial investors. Throughout their history, the 92nd was deployed to thirty-six combat missions on Alliance colonies. Notable battles including the liberation and defense of Eden Prime, Elysium, Canbrook, and Deria.
Throughout its service, the 92nd trained and accepted over 9,000 individuals and by the time it was dissolved in 2186 CE, it had lost 1,286 men, around one-seventh of their entire force. The 92nd was awarded 117 unit commendations and was one of the most decorated in the entire Alliance Navy.
Battle of Toolak[]
- “Alright all you greenhorns listen up keep your fingers off the safetys and on your triggers. Fire first and send these four-eyed bastards straight back to hell or whatever firey pit the Good Lord dragged them from, and you'll all go home in one piece. Am I right troopers?”
- —Commander Leonov to his men before landing.
The 92nd's first deployment was to the jungle colony of Toolak in 2171 CE. Toolak was a colony founded by a mining corporation interested in mining diamonds that were rich in the mountain ranges. Nine platoons of soldiers led by Cmdr. Nikolai Leonov were deployed when communications from the colony suddenly stopped. It took six hours for authorization to send the SSV Hollabrunn to investigate.
Upon arrival, two ships matching designs of batarian freighters were found orbiting the planet in low orbit. Upon discovery of the vessels, Toolak was officialy declared a hotzone and the Hollabrunn was cleared to engage in agressive retaking of the colony.
While the Hollabrunn and its fighters engaged the batarian vessels, Cmdr. Leonov decided to use orbital insertion to reach the colony before confirmed batarian dropships could escape. In only thirteen minutes, Leonov had six platoons on the ground. Four of the platoons landed in the colony, while the other two landed half a mile outside of the colony to funnel in reinforcements and provide sniper support from a safe postion.
The plan was a success; groups of shock troopers landed all over the colony, followed by automatic cannon fire from supporting dropships to help scatter batarian ground forces. In just twenty-one minutes, shock troopers stormed and secured key positions, including a bank, a high school, and a spaceport, while troops from outside the city poured into the colony and provided sniper support and the remaining platoons landed.
After three hours, over seventy batarians were confirmed dead and over 200 civilians had been rescued. There were only six deaths on the side of the 92nd; one of them, ironically, was Leonov, who had been killed instantly when his insertion pod crashed into an office building.
However, despite Leonov's death, the mission on Toolak was a great success and was portrayed as the Alliance's response to batarian slavers and raids on colonies, boosting public morale and faith in the Alliance.
Liberation of New Malta[]
- “Major this is overwatch. Can comfirm large amounts of hostile infantry. Recommend immediate ground support. I have no clue why these guys are here but this isn't a slave run. This is fuckin' genocide.”
- —Private Wilson Davis observing the execution of civilians by the Blood Pack.
The 92nd's second deployment was to the small ocean colony of New Malta in 2171 CE. Blood Pack mercenaries had captured the colony and destroyed its small military force to take control of its oil rigs. When communication went silent, teams were sent and observed Blood Pack soldiers executing civilians in the streets, looting and securing resources from the offshore rigs.
Upon discovery, the cruiser SSV Athens was deployed with ten platoons of shock troopers led by Maj. Hans Rudolph. Seven platoons of soldiers landed with armored vehicles and heavy weapons on New Malta's beaches to conduct a shock and awe landing on the colony, while the remaining three platoons assaulted the offshore oil rigs by entering tubes carrying oil from the shore to the rig and sliding through the tubes until they were both on the rig and covered in oil. While the majority of forces attacked the mainland, the most elite of the soldiers assaulted forces on the oil rigs and rescued civilians being held captive using stealth by sneaking through the rigs until a secure attack zone was found and more soldiers could land on the rig and secure it.
While the oil rigs were secured, the mainland was an uphill fight for most soldiers, as the Blood Pack had dug in deep and created barricades and mine fields that stopped the armor's advance and forced soldiers to fight the vorcha in territory they had secured.
After seven hours and 221 deaths in the 92nd, including Maj. Rudolph, the city was secure with only 392 civilians of the colony's original two-hundred-thousand-plus population alive. The battle was considered much less of a success due to the large life of loss and was portrayed by the media as a failure that the Alliance could have stopped.
Defense of Derassa[]
- “This is Garrett. We are in the ship, no sign of...Oh shit! Get down!”
- —Fred Garrett to the Hollabrunn as he was ambushed by batarian pirates.
The 92nd was again deployed in 2172 CE to Derassa, a forest colony built along a major trade route close to batarian space. A tip was recieved from an asari spy working in a batarian pirate ring that Derassa was being targeted. Less than an hour later three platoons of shock troopers had been deployed in orbit above the planet. Under the command of Fred Garrett, the forces waited in orbit in extra-vehicular activity armor for seven hours, until a small krogan slave freighter with marks of damage from Alliance weapons jumped into orbit near the hidden soldiers. Using the same experimental EMP weaponry found on the SSV Xinkou, the Hollabrunn fired on the ship and disabled its engines, allowing soldiers to board the freighter. However, the EMP created a time limit for the operation, as the disabled ship was now on a collision-course trajectory with the planet.
The ship was over 300 yards long and was boarded in two different locations. Garrett led half of his platoon into the main hold while the remaining two platoons boarded the upper half of the ship. Engaging in CQB combat, the 92nd managed to kill the invading 220-plus batarians and destroy the ship before it was able to make landfall with the colony. All surviving soldiers exited the ship with parachutes, and earned the nickname "Hell Divers" due to their exiting the ship at twenty-thousand feet. Apart from the fifteen deaths on ship, including Garrett, the mission was a success and legend among the 92nd, especially because of the "Hell Divers". The mission also contributed to the myth of the so-called "curse of command"; so far in the 92nd's operational history, every operation had resulted in the death of the man leading it.
Raid on Tulee[]
- “Copy team two this is Eagle-Six. We are in the building and have confirmed enemy presence. Fire at will.”
- —Nick Tolaree to strike team two moments before the initial engagement.
In 2172 CE, one platoon of shock troopers were deployed on a peacekeeping mission by the secretive Office of Alliance Territorial Hegemony to raid the Times Building, a large skyscraper owned by the Blue Suns mercenary corporation on Tulee. The office was a confirmed front for their illicit operations and home to over seventy soldiers, all armed with illegal weapons.
It was decided that small breach teams would enter the building by landing on the roof and sneaking into the building, using suction cups to climb up the building and breach in select places, sneaking in on trucks, and entering through air ducts. The plan was formulated by Cmdr. Nick Tollare.
On June 22nd, the seven teams entered the building using silenced weapons and knives and managed to plant charges on floors of no value to the Alliance. After the charges were planted and detonated four teams started attacking Blue Suns commandos throughout the building on select floors while the other teams sneaked onto floors of value and downloaded convicting data from Blue Suns terminals.
In only six minutes, over 13,000 files had been downloaded and seventy-three Blue Suns lay dead. The 92nd suffered only thirteen deaths, and Tollare survived, thus breaking the so-called "curse of command". The operation was kept secret, and the Blue Suns were led to believe that the raid was the act of their rival, Eclipse.
Attack on Zomico[]
- “Shock Troopers. Go! Go! Go!”
- —Karl Derron in his order to charge
The 92nd's next operation was led by Cmdr. Karl Derron in 2172 CE on Zomico, a small agricultural colony. The colony had gone silent. and by the time anyone had realized something was wrong, batarian slavers had fortified the small two-mile colony with snipers and heavy weapons. Due to the farming nature of Zomica and its citizens, the plains around the colony were flat for miles. with only the occasional farmhouse dotting the landscape, and thus the assault would be especially difficult. The raid had been carried by an organized gang of pirates and slavers and was highly coordinated. This made the job harder for the ten platoons of soldiers as there was no cover for their approach.
After two hours of debate, Derron launched the attack to rescue the colonists. Landing in the fields three miles away from the colony, the 92nd tried to remain hidden and succeeded in getting half a mile in before a batarian sniper sent a bullet into the head of Warrant Officer Daniel Kamachi. This triggered a full attack on the crawling soldiers as pirates and slavers let loose weaponry.
Ten seconds later, Derron ordered a charge on the colony, an act that was considered stupid by some and ingenius by others. Ten platoons of soldiers ran on the colony, descending upon it in only four minutes, but not before losing three full platoons. The 92nd finally reached the colony and began attacking enemy soldiers in close quarters combat while looking for civilians.
After two hours, all 382 batarians were dead, but so were 200 colonists. The 92nd had lost three more platoons. Despite the fact that Derron had lost more than half of his force in the bloodiest battle in the 92nd's history, the mission was declared a success.
Search and Rescue Mission on Sadafeel[]
- “Move out troopers! We are finding those soldiers no matter what the cost. Don't bother on taking ammo or extra oxygen. We are finding these poor bastards and we are finding them now. Am I understood?”
- —Adam Locke to his gunship crew.
In 2173 CE, two platoons of Shock Troopers were called up again to help search and rescue efforts on the dangerous and highly toxic planet of Sadafeel. The cruiser SSV Tehran had crashed due to heavy combat with a group of ships of unkown identification or affiliation. Upon the orders of Adm. James Faraday, a battlegroup consisting of six cruisers and three frigates were sent to investigate the ongoing battle. When they arrived, the Tehran was crashing towards Sadafeel and the six unkown vessels retreated before they could be engaged. The 92nd's two platoons, led by Maj. Adam Locke, were sent to search for any survivors. Sadafeel was a rocky wasteland with an atmosphere comprised primarily of ammonia which could easily kill a human. The few species of birds that populated the planet were around twenty-three feet long with a thirty-foot wingspan, and due to a scarcity of food, they would willingly engage any survivors. Locke ordered rapid deployment and left before ammunition and extra oxygen could be loaded onboard the dropships, giving the seven ships three hours to find survivors and return to the fleet.
This turned out to be a fatal flaw, as the lack of munitions caused three ships to be taken out by birds in the first hour, while another two were forced to return to the fleet early, leaving only two ships for the mission. The 92nd rescued thirty-seven survivors, but suffered eighteen shock trooper losses due to oxygen deprivation. Due to the heavy losses, the mission was considered a complete failure, and Locke was court-marshalled and put in prison for life for reckless endangerement and manslaughter. As well new protocols were written on search and rescue procedures; one of these, dubbed the Locke Protocol, dictated that soldiers must be prepared and wait however long needed to be ready to search for survivors before starting a rescue operation.
Notable Operators[]
- Cmdr. Nikolai Leonov - KIA on Toolak.
- Pvt. Wilson Davis - WIA on Zormono.
- Maj. Hans Rudolph - KIA on New Malta.
- Cmdr. Fred Garrett - KIA on Derassa.
- Operations Cmdr. Nicholas Tollare - Alive.
- Cmdr. Karl Derron - Alive.
- Cpl. Patrizio Lanzoni -Alive.
- Cpl. Fujitaka Haruto - Alive.
- Pvt. Sun Jing-Sheng - Alive.
- SSgt. Farzin Jaweed - Alive.
- PFC Abdul Al-Malik - KIA on Zomico.
- Warrant Officer Daniel Kamachi - KIA on Zomico.
- Maj. Adam Locke - In custody.
Behind the Scenes[]
- The 92nd's training was based partially off of the training of the Spartan 2s and Spartan 3s in the Halo universe. The man who trained most of the 92nd one platoon at a time, Harrison Mendez is a reference to Franklin Mendez who trained both Spartan 2s and 3s and using failed trainees as trainers is a reference to the same method Kurt-051 used to help train the Spartan 3s in Halo, Ghosts of Onyx.
- Each squad having seven men in it and a platoon consisting of seven squads is a reference to the favorite number of Bungie, the creators of Halo.
- The 92nd having one hundred and seventeen unit awards is a reference to John-117 or the Master Chief, the main protaganist of the Halo series.