The year is 3533, and the empire was embroiled in a conflict with a rival species calling themselves the Trirons.
The Trirons were a race of beings that had triangular heads, with two large horns that curved back and formed a sort of circle, the had four arms, each with one hand and three fingers, they had large chests but thin stomachs, their waists are slightly smaller then their chest, they have four powerful legs and a long thin tail, they have large eyes the glow a deep blue, and a small mouth with vertical lips.
Their skin color varies depending on their mood, but when they are dead their skin is a deep purple, they have no noticeable ears or nose, and they communicate with deep humming or whistles.
Humanity has been fighting these Trirons for nearly a decade, it was a rough slugging match, with each species throwing their best punch, only to be met with an equally intense hit.
As the war progressed, humanity grew increasingly concerned about its prospects, thousands of marines were being slaughtered by the day, and hundreds of ships were commissioned only to be destroyed a month later.
Dozens of planets and moons were being swapped between the species, and invasions were common and brutal, often killing millions of individuals on both sides.
Eventually, humanity began to search for an answer to end this conflict, something that would be the final blow and would win the war.
Research began on various levels, from researching androids to modified humans, however, no machine or modification could achieve what the empire needed, sure androids were effective but only to a minuscule degree and the cost wasn't worth it, as for modifying the soldiers of the empire, it leads to better results and for a cheaper cost, but it still wasn't the solution to the problem.
Eventually, humanity decided that they needed outside assistance, and began to search for the elusive Ionderma, a species known for their shapeshifting abilities and gene editing techniques.
However, the Ionderma were not easy to find, as they are masters of disguise and few In number, and their home world was destroyed in a war between them and the galactic Council, the reason was and still is unknown to humanity.
However the search wasn't completely fruitless, as a few of the Ionderma revealed themselves to humanity and offered a challenging opportunity, the Ionderma would create the perfect human soldier, and in return, humanity would turn over a habitable planet that was deep within its borders. They were to be given complete independence.
The human leaders, the empress included, began to discuss this deal in further detail, they were desperate, but not fools, humanity had no interest in losing more territory, especially so deep within its borders.
So humanity offered a counteroffer, the Ionderma would be given one of the recently conquered planets, and become a protectorate of the empire, essentially a puppet state.
Unfortunately for humanity, the Ionderma had no interest in negotiating, which made it clear that they did not need humanity, it was humanity that needed them.
The empress was disgusted with the attitude of the Ionderma and ordered them to leave, which the Ionderma had no qualms about, as they were outcasts from the start.
However, they always left the door open for humanity to change their minds, as they had left a spy who acted as an adviser to the empress.
As the war progressed, humanity began to grow weaker and their defense became desperate, protest began to grow as the death toll continued to rise, people were losing their spouses, their children, and their siblings, and the propaganda machine failed to make the numbers look good, protesters began to desecrate Government buildings, and the armed forces were beginning to face shortages on every level, and the empire itself began to buckle.
The Ionderma watched the war with great interest, their spy giving them a rare insight into the inner workings of the empress and her empire.
They knew it was only a matter of time before she broke.
And sure enough, they were right.
On the sixth day, of the tenth month, in the year 3544, a report came from the frontline, and it made its way to the empress, the message was grim, the capital ship of admiral Fae Willa Johnson, was destroyed, and Fae died alongside 10,000 of her crewmen.
On its own this news would be nothing special as reports such as these have been a regular occurrence, however for some unknown reason, this particular report set the empress into a fit of rage.
She began to throw cups and bottles, cursed at her advisers and officers, and stomped her feet in anger and frustration, her eyes were a bloodshot red and her hands trembled with rage.
It reportedly took hours for her to calm down, her unfiltered rage only quelled by the revealing of the Ionderma spy.
The empress wasn't surprised that she was being spied on, in fact, she was glad that she didn't have to track down the Ionderma again.
She only spoke five words to the spy in a hoarse voice, "You may have your planet."
The empire wasted no time in choosing a suitable planet for the Ionderma.
The Ionderma required a planet that had several different biomes, and several oceans, the sun's color didn't matter, neither did the number of moons, and as long as there was one, the solar system didn't matter as long as there were several rocky planets at various sizes.
Given how lax the requirements were, the empire quickly found a star system that suited all of the Ionderma's needs.
In return, the Ionderma began work on creating a soldier that could turn the tide of the war, they requested all information on the human body, their DNA and RNA, and anything else that could be used for this project, of course, it was all granted.
Given how quickly the empire needed an effective solution, the Ionderma decided that they would Enhance current human soldiers first, and then move forward with creating a more effective solution.
The first edits began as soon as the Ionderma created the first facility on their new planet.
These modifications consisted of increased reaction time, strengthened muscles, increased processing time, increased height and mobility, and a few other minor improvements.
Unfortunately for every successful soldier created, a dozen would die during the process, but in the grand scheme of things, a few dead soldiers were well worth their sacrifice for the promised reward of a one-man army.
The first modified soldiers began to enter the battlefield a few months later, their towering figures and speed garnered them the nickname of Titans.
These Titans were instant game changers, they could be deployed with minimal reinforcements and little more than their armor and weapons.
They were used to destroy triron super weapons or to defend outposts, they could fit a majority of combat roles, and each of them could replace up to three hundred soldiers in direct combat.
The Trirons were dumbfounded by the sight of such soldiers, they had no idea humans could grow to be so large and powerful, they quickly began to create countermeasures, but they could do little against such a formidable opponent.
The empress, seemingly satisfied with the stabilization of the frontline, began to turn her attention back to her people and began to make significant progress in alleviating the problems her people were beginning to face, however, the seeds were already planted for a rebellion, and all it needed was a single spark.
As for the Ionderma, they continued to study the human genome and provided better quality soldiers, including the Titan-2 and 3, these Titans were created from human teens and children, this was done as it was easier to modify a growing body than one that was already developed.
This would later be called the legacy program.
With the help of the Ionderma and their legacy program, the empire emerged victorious in the war against the Trirons.
During the peace negotiations, humanity made sure to show its superiority by having the room lined with Titan-3s, all clad in heavy who and gold armor with large weapons that could be mounted on a light infantry vehicle, their faces were hidden behind their thick helmets, and their thin blue visors.
The triron head commander of the armed forces was boiling with fury and rage, his head pulsating with a bright yellow hue, and his large blue eyes narrowing in frustration.
The empress however was calm and collected, her gaze fell upon the triron commander, a small smile forming.
She held all the cards in her hand, the powerful Titan-3s, the majority of the contested territory, and a newfound ally who could further bluster her military might.
She and her delegation set out the terms of the treaty.
Humanity would be given all contested star systems and Mass ejection rings, which were massive rings that essentially acted as portals to various other mass ejection rings, they would also receive half of the Triron's military vessels including 3 dreadnought class supercarriers.
As the human delegation continued to lay out the terms of the treaty the Trirons could only nod in agreement, as their military capability was drastically diminished.
By the time the negotiations were over, the Trirons commander had gone from a deep yellow to a soft mellow green, his movements slow as he raised one of his arms to acknowledge the agreement, bringing the end to a 15-year-long war.
The empress, now bolstered by the end of the war, turned her attention back to her furious people.
The war's end was a welcomed victory, but at what cost?
Her people have lost so much, the destruction of their homes and lives, the loss of their families, the widespread spread of protests on various planets, it was all amounting towards the beginning of a revolution.
The empress realized that something had to be done and quickly.
She needed something that could quell the decent and various political forces that were moving against her, but she couldn't deploy the Titan-3s as the controversy surrounding them was mountainous.
And so she returned to the same people who solved her first issue, the Ionderma.
The empress explained her situation to the Ionderma, she went into detail about the growing number of problems amongst her people, and the need to quell the crisis before it grew into a rebellion.
The Ionderma suggested expanding the legacy program to include infiltrators.
When the empress asked for the Ionderma to explain what exactly an infiltrator was, the Ionderma only gave an analogy.
"If the Titans were the hammer of the empire, then the infiltrators would be the dagger."
And with this simple phrase, candidates were selected, based on unknown requirements….