Act 9 — Rainfall Execution
Era: Beauty of Annihilation
Previous: Act 8 — Hell Host–Free World War
Next: Act 10 — Desert Operation
Overview
Act 9 follows the final major confrontation of the War Between Hell Hosts and Free World.
After the fighting of Act 8, the Free World Order remains active but increasingly pressured by the enormous military strength of the Hell Hosts.
The conflict eventually reaches Rainfall, where Hell Hosts launch an offensive intended to decisively defeat Free World forces.
Rainfall becomes one of the bloodiest engagements of the war.
Free World commanders attempt to prevent the collapse of their forces while Valkyrie organises defensive positions, evacuation routes, and an eventual withdrawal for surviving personnel.
Despite fierce resistance, Hell Hosts break through Free World positions.
Several senior Free World officers are killed or captured during the battle.
Among the captured personnel are Strife, Vandal, and Wraith.
Following the battle, the prisoners are executed by Hell Host forces.
The event becomes known as the Rainfall Execution.
Although Onyx and much of the surviving Free World leadership escape, the defeat effectively ends the war in favour of Hell Hosts.
Free World survives.
Its war against Hell Hosts does not.
Story
The Road to Rainfall
The loss of a major Free World military installation during Act 8 fails to immediately end the conflict.
Free World forces continue fighting across the wider war.
However, continued pressure from Hell Hosts increasingly strains their ability to maintain prolonged conventional warfare.
The conflict eventually reaches Rainfall.
Both factions commit substantial forces to the coming battle.
For Hell Hosts, Rainfall represents an opportunity to finally break one of their greatest military rivals.
For Free World, survival becomes increasingly important.
Battle of Rainfall
Hell Hosts launch their assault against Free World positions.
Free World soldiers initially mount significant resistance.
Senior commanders coordinate different sections of the battlefield while specialist personnel attempt to disrupt the Hell Host advance.
Diablo commands conventional Free World forces during the fighting.
Killshot provides precision support against advancing personnel.
Cobra conducts operations away from the primary defensive lines.
Slaughter participates in some of the heaviest fighting as Free World positions come under increasing pressure.
The scale of the Hell Host assault nevertheless begins overwhelming the defenders.
Unlike previous engagements in which Free World forces could exploit surprise or mobility to disrupt Hell Host operations, Rainfall increasingly becomes the type of sustained conventional battle in which Hell Hosts possess their greatest advantage.
Rook’s Last Stand
Rook, a veteran Free World ground commander, becomes responsible for holding one of the increasingly unstable defensive sectors.
As Hell Host forces break through surrounding positions, retreat becomes unavoidable.
Rook remains behind with Free World personnel to delay the advance while other units withdraw.
The position eventually falls.
Rook is killed during the fighting.
His defence provides additional time for surviving Free World personnel to retreat from the collapsing front.
Valkyrie’s Evacuation
As the possibility of victory disappears, Valkyrie changes the objective.
Rainfall can no longer be held.
Free World can still survive it.
Valkyrie begins coordinating an organised withdrawal from the battlefield.
Defensive positions are reorganised around evacuation routes rather than territorial control. Remaining forces are ordered to protect wounded personnel, retreating units, transports, and other survivors attempting to escape the battle.
Entire positions are abandoned when their continued defence no longer serves the evacuation.
The retreat prevents the Free World defeat from becoming the complete destruction of its army.
Valkyrie cannot save everyone.
She saves thousands who otherwise would have been trapped by the advancing Hell Host forces.
Collapse
Hell Hosts continue advancing.
Free World defensive lines fragment as surviving personnel withdraw toward evacuation points.
Some units escape.
Others become surrounded.
Senior Free World officers Strife, Vandal, and Wraith are among those unable to escape the collapse.
The three are eventually captured alive by Hell Host forces.
Onyx survives the battle and escapes alongside remaining Free World personnel.
By the final stages of the fighting, organised Free World resistance on Rainfall has effectively collapsed.
Hell Hosts control the battlefield.
The war has been decided.
Rainfall Execution
Following the battle, several captured senior Free World personnel remain in Hell Host custody.
Among them are:
The prisoners are subsequently executed.
The killings become collectively known as the Rainfall Execution.
The event becomes one of the most infamous moments of the Hell Host–Free World conflict and remains deeply associated with the brutality of its conclusion.
For Free World survivors, the execution transforms an already devastating military defeat into something considerably more personal.
Rainfall is remembered not only as the place where they lost the war.
It is remembered as the place where captured comrades were killed after the battle had already been decided.
End of the War
The Battle of Rainfall ends in a decisive Hell Host victory.
Free World loses significant personnel, equipment, territory, and several experienced officers.
Its surviving forces withdraw.
Hell Hosts emerge as the victors of the war.
However, Free World itself is not destroyed.
Onyx survives.
Valkyrie survives.
Many of the faction’s specialist soldiers and commanders escape Rainfall alongside the forces evacuated from the battlefield.
The Free World Order remains an active faction within the Omicron Galaxy, although severely weakened by the conflict.
Predator has defeated Onyx’s forces.
He has not eliminated Onyx.
The rivalry survives the war that grew around it.
Characters
Hell Hosts
- Predator
- Hell Host commanders and soldiers involved in the Rainfall offensive
Free World Order
New Free World Officers
Rook
Rook was a veteran Free World ground commander responsible for directing conventional forces during the war against Hell Hosts.
During the Battle of Rainfall, Rook remained behind with elements of the Free World defence while other forces withdrew.
He was killed during the collapse of his position.
Strife
Strife was a senior Free World officer and offensive commander involved in major combat operations against Hell Hosts.
He was captured during the final stages of the Battle of Rainfall.
Strife was later killed during the Rainfall Execution.
Vandal
Vandal was a senior Free World officer specialising in armoured and mechanised warfare.
He participated in the defence of Rainfall before being captured as Free World positions collapsed.
Vandal was later killed during the Rainfall Execution.
Wraith
Wraith was a Free World reconnaissance and special operations officer.
He was involved in covert and reconnaissance operations during the war against Hell Hosts.
Wraith was captured during the final stages of the Battle of Rainfall and later killed during the Rainfall Execution.
Factions
Locations
Rainfall
Rainfall is the location of the final major battle of the War Between Hell Hosts and Free World.
The region becomes heavily associated with the destruction caused during the battle and the execution of captured Free World personnel afterward.
Further information concerning Rainfall itself remains undocumented.
Major Events
- Battle of Rainfall
- Final Hell Host offensive of the war
- Collapse of Free World defensive positions
- Rook’s final defence
- Valkyrie’s evacuation of surviving Free World forces
- Capture of Strife, Vandal, and Wraith
- Rainfall Execution
- Hell Host victory
- End of the War Between Hell Hosts and Free World
Deaths and Casualties
Confirmed Deaths
- Rook — killed during the Battle of Rainfall
- Strife — executed following capture
- Vandal — executed following capture
- Wraith — executed following capture
Large numbers of Hell Host and Free World personnel are also killed or wounded during the battle.
Exact casualty numbers remain undocumented.
Lore Introduced
Rainfall Execution
The Rainfall Execution refers to the killing of captured senior Free World personnel following the final major battle of the Hell Host–Free World war.
The event becomes one of the defining incidents associated with the conflict.
Free World’s Survival
Rainfall demonstrates an important distinction between military defeat and organisational destruction.
Hell Hosts decisively win the war.
However, they fail to completely eliminate the Free World Order.
Valkyrie’s evacuation allows significant numbers of personnel to escape the collapsing battlefield, while Onyx and several important Free World operatives survive.
The organisation therefore remains capable of rebuilding after the war.
Cost of the Predator–Onyx Rivalry
The conclusion of the war demonstrates how far the rivalry between Predator and Onyx has developed.
Their conflict began years earlier as the collapse of a friendship between two bounty hunters.
By Rainfall, entire armies have fought around that rivalry.
Thousands have experienced a conflict whose origins predate both factions.
Whatever remains between Predator and Onyx after Rainfall is no longer theirs alone.
Consequences
Hell Hosts win the War Between Hell Hosts and Free World.
The victory further establishes Hell Hosts as one of the dominant military powers within the Omicron Galaxy.
Free World suffers severe military losses and loses several senior officers.
Despite its defeat, the organisation survives.
Onyx remains alive and continues leading Free World.
Valkyrie’s actions during the retreat preserve a substantial number of personnel who otherwise may have been lost during the collapse.
The Rainfall Execution creates lasting hostility among Free World survivors and becomes one of the most infamous events associated with the rivalry between the two factions.
The war ends.
The relationship between Hell Hosts and Free World does not.