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Second Neosapien War
Date 2119-2121 A.D. (fictional)
Location Solar System
Result Exofleet-Pirate Clans alliance's victory
Territorial
changes		 Mars given to the Pirate Clans
Belligerents
Coat of arms of Neosapien Commonwealth Neosapien Commonwealth The Seal of Exofleet Exofleet, Homeworlds Resistance Pirate Clans
(later allied with the Exofleet)
Commanders
Phaeton, Livia, Shiva, Typhonus, Draconis Admiral Winfield, Matthew Marcus, Sean Napier Jonas Simbacca

The Neosapien War[1] is a fictional interstellar conflict described in the military science fiction television series Exosquad (1993-94). In the timeline of the series, it takes place between 2119 and 2121 AD. The two primary warring factions are Terrans (humans from Earth) and Neosapiens, a fictional artificial race originally bred as slaves for the mankind. The Terrans are initially further divided into the Earth's space navy Exofleet and the Pirate Clans, renegade faction of outlaws based on the Outer Planets. The war first breaks out between Exofleet and the Pirates and Neosapien Fleet joins the conflict later in the series. The two Terran factions are then forced to ally with each other against the common threat and emerge victorious by the end of the second season.

Contents

[edit] Background

The origins of the Neosapien War (more correctly referred as the Second Neosapien War) can be traced back to before the actual creation of the Neosapiens by the Terrans. As revealed in episode 2.02, the Pirate Clans were descendants of the Terran criminals convicted to penal labour in the mines of Tethys, one of Jupiter's moons. With the invention of the Neosapiens, the Homeworlds abandoned the Pirates' ancestors and their mines on Tethys and they were forced to adopt new ways of existence. The would-be Pirates learned to build their own spaceships out of raw materials found in the mines and started raiding Homeworlds' commercial transports for items they couldn't produce.[2]

Meanwhile on the Homeworlds, the Neosapiens were extensively exploited as slave labour force for mining and terraforming of Mars and Venus. Bred to be physically stronger, more durable and adaptable than baseline Terrans, the Neosapiens were maltreated by them and forced to work in very poor conditions. In episode 1.12, a Neosapien character Marsala recalls his broodmates (Neosapien analog of siblings) being "sold, beaten, mistreated, treated as cattle and worse". In the same episode, the story of the First Neosapien Revolt, also referred as the "First Neosapien War",[3] is detailed: about 2069, fifty years before the series' story begins, the Neosapiens demanding equal rights rebelled against Terrans but were swiftly crushed by the newly invented Terran E-frames. Marsala himself was one of the last Revolt leaders captured,[3] ab invito betrayed by his own broodmate, Phaeton.

Although the rebellion was subdued, the Homeworlds Congress (the highest Terran legislative organ in the series) passed laws to improve the conditions that Neosapiens lived in. Slavery was abolished and although most Neosapiens still lived in poverty, some attained high status within the Terran society, e.g. Phaeton was eventually elected the Governor of Mars and Marsala joined the Exofleet. However, the memory of the conflict lingered in the minds of both races and enmity was abound even half a century later.[4]

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Homeworlds assault

The first season of Exosquad details the initial Neosapien assault on the Homeworlds in 2119 and the Exofleet's subsequent unsuccessful attempts to regain hold over them. To simplify his task of conquering the Terran planets Earth and Venus (Mars is populated primarily by Neosapiens at that point), Phaeton uses Simbacca's assault of a Homeworlds' freighter in episode 1.01 as a premise to send the entire Exofleet after the Pirates. With the Terran fleet gone, Phaeton and his closest subordinates continue their covert military buildup on Mars but are exposed by the pacifist Neosapien minister Gidas in episode 1.03. This forces them to start the assault earlier than planned but the Homeworlds, never the less, fall before Neosapien army in a matter of days. Receiving the news, Cpt. Matthew Marcus of Exofleet's flagship Resolute takes command over from wounded Admiral Winfield and orders the main fleet to leave the slower support vessels behind and return to Earth immediately. Phaeton lines up his armada to fire on the exocarriers[5] and destroys two out of six before three exosquads under Lt. J.T. Marsh's command manage to break through Neosapien defenses and create an opportunity for Exofleet to withdraw from the trap.

There is a one year gap in the the chronology of the series between episodes 1.05 and 1.06, which the titular Able Squad spends in the brig for their earlier insubordination. During this time, Exofleet undergoes repairs in orbit around Jupiter, while the Neosapiens fortify the Homeworlds. First resistance movements are shown forming on Earth in episode 1.04. As revealed in episode 1.08, several cells also exist on Venus but the ruthless Neosapien General Draconis efficiently utilizes scorched earth tactics to crush them. The second story arc of the Exosquad, "Veil of Doom", describes the Able Squad's sabotage of the GRAF ("GRAvitational Focus") Shield, a superweapon installed by the Neosapiens on Earth and Venus to prevent Exofleet from approaching these planets again. Cooperating with the local resistance cells both on Earth and on Venus, the Squad successfully sabotages the Venusian GRAF installation and extracts its inventor, Terran Prof. Algernon, whose scientific genius becomes a major factor in Exofleet's victory.[6]

The final attempt to liberate the Homeworlds with just the Exofleet's forces is depicted in the third arc of the first season. Discontent with the Admiral's passivity, Matthew Marcus mutinies against Winfield and orders the fleet to attack once again. Despite better planning than before, Marcus' assault is soon stopped as Phaeton transfers additional troops from Mars to defend Earth. Resolute is destroyed along with her captain and the fleet escapes for the Outer Planets again. At the same time, Able Squad executes a covert mission on Mars, discovering and subsequently demolishing a major Neosapien breeding facility under the Olympus Mons. This event shatters Phaeton's plans of domination through numbers by the Neosapiens and is crucial to turning the tide of war in Exofleet's favor.[7] It is also in episode 1.13 that the Neosapien leader Phaeton contracts Automutation Syndrome, which eventually results in his insanity.

[edit] Exofleet-Pirate alliance

The first season ends with Admiral Winfield realizing the necessity to join Exofleet's forces with the Pirate Clans'. He reasons that the Pirates are the lesser evil compared to Neosapiens[8] and sends one of his most trusted officers, J.T. Marsh, to negotiate an alliance with their leader Jonas Simbacca on Tethys. Simbacca agrees to talk with Marsh but the Pirates' enmity towards the Exofleet greatly impedes the negotiations.[2] Neosapien General Typhonus, having learned about Marsh's mission from the treacherous Pirate Cpt. Barca, attacks Tethys and takes Simbacca hostage to ensure the Pirates' neutrality, however, a strike force led by Marsh frees the Pirate Leader. Winfield meets Simbacca on Io and finalizes the alliance: in return for their military support, cloaking technology, and a safe base of operations on Chaos, the Pirates receive Exo-Frame technology and training and, after the war's end, the planet of Mars.[9] Additionally, in episode 2.09, Simbacca himself is appointed the captain of Exofleet's new flagship Resolute II, an exocarrier built in secret by renegade Pirates and seized by the Able Squad. The first joint Exofleet-Pirate operation is the destruction of the Neosapien supergun on Sinope in episode 2.04.

While their leader is away, the rest of the Able Squad follows Winfield's orders to extract Homeworlds Resistance cell leaders, including Sean Napier and Nick Tyree, to plan coordinated attacks against the Neosapiens. Napier is promptly appointed the leader of the entire Earth Resistance by Winfield. The next step in consolidating the Terran faction is the extraction of former Homeworlds Congress members by the Able Squad in episode 2.06. In the same episode, it is revealed that Phaeton uses the Congress members and a few Terran collaborationists, Napier's ex-wife Amanda Connor among them, for propaganda purposes, to keep the Terrans on Earth from revolting. With the Congress' extraction and Connor's imprisonment for her involvement with it, the propaganda machine crumbles.[10]

Uncertain of his generals' intellectual capabilities in the light of recent events, Phaeton has his chief geneticist Praetorius develop a new brood of Neosapiens, Neo Megas. These possess intelligence superior to both Terrans' and Neosapiens' and are assigned as advisors to each high-ranked Neosapien. After several failed attempts, joint Exofleet-Resistance force manages to capture Praetorius' own attaché Sulla for study. For allowing this to happen, the Commanding General of Earth Occupation Shiva is demoted and Phaeton's most trusted General Livia takes over his position. The introduction of the Neo Megas estranges most Neosapien generals from Phaeton, for example, Draconis secretly constructs a personal stronghold on Venus.[11]

[edit] Liberation of Venus

Exofleet's reconquest of Mercury in episode 2.11 marked the turning point of the war, which led to liberation of Venus and, later, all of the Homeworlds.[12] Cdr. Glycon's garrison on Mercury cannot put up serious resistance against the Exofleet and retreats to Venus, led by Neosapien pilot Thrax. The next two episodes detail the Able Squad's reconnaissance mission on Venus, and the actual battle for the planet begins in episode 2.14. Although Lt. Marsh's squad succeeds in destroying the original Venusian GRAF Shield built by Algernon in 2120, the Exofleet is unaware that the Neo Megas have since built a backup system and activate it as the Terran approach the planet. However, the cloaked Pirate ships are unaffected by GRAF and Winfield uses them to land Jumptroops on Venus. The Terran forces swiftly drive the Neosapiens to the capital city of Vesta where General Draconis makes his last stand. Realizing that Vesta will fall, Draconis abandons the planet and orders to detonate a hydrogen bomb beneath it but Thrax disobeys. Phaeton's clone arrives to Venusian orbit in a gigantic battleship Olympus Mons II and launches a counter-offensive but Terrans manage to destroy them both, stopping the assault. The script writer Michael Edens recalled in an interview, that the Neosapien reconquest attempt of Venus was supposed to remind of the Battle of the Bulge.[13]

With the planet now firmly in their grasp, the Terrans on Venus face minor setbacks before moving on to other Homeworlds. The first is an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Admiral Winfield, carried out by a clone of the Able Squad member Alice Noretti in episode 2.17. The other are sporadic fights between former Resistance members and Neosapien guerrillas. The former Venusian Resistance leader James Burns, previously crippled in the battle for Vesta, perishes in one such fight in episode 2.18. Another immediate aftermath of the liberation of Venus is the Terran uprising in Australia led by Nick Tyree. While initially victorious,[14] Tyree's forces are soon thrown back to Canberra by the newly developed Neosapien brood of Neo Warriors commanded by General Shiva. The surviving Resistance members are saved by speedy transfer of Jumptroops from Venus but the uprising is crushed.

[edit] Destruction of Mars

2.22 - 2.26
  • Installation discovery
  • Fire Ship
  • Expedition
    • Second generation of Neo Warriors
    • Typhonus' attack
    • Signals and self-destruction
  • Aftermath

[edit] Liberation of Earth

2.27 - 2.38
  • Neosapien developments
    • Third generation of Neo Warriors
    • Neo Mega insurrection
    • Neo Warriors
      • Dr. Ketzer
    • Venus reconquest attempt
    • Doomsday device
      • Great Slave Lake facility
      • Transport to Phaeton City
  • Battle for the Moon
  • Joint assault on Earth
  • Quest for the doomsday device
  • Disbandment of Thrax's garrison
  • Sabotage of the device
  • Phaeton's death

[edit] Aftermath

[edit] Inspiration and influences

The fictional timeline of the Secon Neosapien War contains many intentional parallels to the events of the World War II. Will Meugniot, the executive producer of the series, once compared anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and Exosquad to the Pacific and the European Theaters, respectively.[15] Michael Edens stated in an interview that several key battles in the series were supposed to remind of prominent engagements during the Second World War.[13] The viewers also pointed out parallels between the villainous Neosapien leader, Phaeton, and Adolf Hitler of the Nazi Germany.[16][17]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Admiral Winfield: "On the day that Colleen O'Reilly graduated, the Neosapien War began". Exosquad, Colleen O'Reilly's character profile video (0:08). See also: Danner, Patrick (2005-09-29). Exosquad Multimedia Files. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  2. ^ a b Jonas Simbacca: "Many years ago our ancestors came to Tethys as convict labor. In exchange for their work, they were promised freedom and help in building new lives. Many did not survive to see the end of their sentences. Then the Neosapiens were created. The rich mines of Mars were opened. And the mines, and miners, of Tethys were abandoned. From the struggle to survive, the Pirate Clans were formed. Metals were dug, ships were built. Whatever else the clans needed they took from the Homeworlders who had lied to them for decades". Exosquad, episode 2.02: "The Embassy" (12:23).
  3. ^ a b Admiral Winfield: "Marsala was one of last rebels captured at the end of the First Neosapien War". Exosquad, Marsala's character profile video (0:01).
  4. ^ Sean Napier: "Saving [Phaeton's] life was my job. That doesn't mean I've forgotten what you sapes did fifty years ago". Exosquad, episode 1.02: "Seeds of Deception" (11:34).
  5. ^ Phaeton: "When the exocarriers are destroyed, we have won the war". Exosquad, episode 1.05: "Resist!" (2:25).
  6. ^ Admiral Winfield: "In war, the deadliest weapon of all is brain. Exofleet's secret weapon is Professor Algernon". Exosquad, Prof. Algernon's character profile video (0:01).
  7. ^ Danner, Patrick (1998-04-18). Defying Olympus. Retrieved on 2007-12-22. “The many brood chambers, which could have created enough Neo sapiens[sic] to make natural humans obselete[sic] , have been destroyed.”
  8. ^ Admiral Winfield: "There was no man in Solar System more feared than Simbacca, the leader of the Pirate Clans. But that was before Phaeton. [...] I've joined with the man who was once my enemy to fight an evil that threatens both of us". Exosquad, Jonas Simbacca's character profile video (0:01).
  9. ^ Sean Napier: "The Pirates can share Mars with the Neosapiens. After the war there'll be plenty of room for both of you. [...] Besides, there won't be many of them left". Exosquad, episode 2.05: "Expendable" (9:58).
  10. ^ Danner, Patrick (2007-10-25). Mindset. Retrieved on 2008-05-02. “Amanda Conner[sic] has been imprisoned, and her show, which was useful to Phaeton as a propaganda machine, has been canceled.”
  11. ^ Draconis: "We must find a way to finish construction [of Dragon's Rock], before Phaeton decides to replace us with his Neo Megas. [...] Phaeton would do anything to win". Exosquad, episode 2.08: "Dragon's Rock" (19:08).
  12. ^ Admiral Winfield: "Establishing a base on Mercury is the first step in our fight to win back the Homeworlds. It will be a staging area for the invasion of Venus. [...] Up 'til now we've been hanging on by our fingernails, just trying not to lose this war. Taking Mercury means that now we're fighting to win". Exosquad, episode 2.11: "The First Step" (2:39).
  13. ^ a b Danner, Patrick (2007-03-28). Exosquad Cast and Creator comments. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  14. ^ Danner, Patrick (1997-12-10). Warrior Brood. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. “It was possible for the Australian resistance alone, without support, to overthrow Neo sapien[sic] rule in their own country.”
  15. ^ Meugniot, Will (1995-07-08). rec.arts.anime entry. Google Groups. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
  16. ^ Governor General Phaeton. Everything2 (2001-12-31). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  17. ^ Exosquad: The Night of the Traitor Episode Trivia. TV.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-22. “Exo-squad[sic] has many similarities with World War II with Phaeton representing Hitler.”

[edit] External links