"I am a member of Atlas.
I serve Atlas and their clients.
I will always place Atlas' interests first.
I will not be defeated.
I will never be out-worked, out-classed, or out-gunned.
I stand ready to eliminate the enemies of Atlas.
I am Atlas."
This was the Soldier’s Creed, the oath of loyalty taken by the military contractors
of the Atlas corporation.
That a soldier would swear to place their life in the service of not a nation or an
ideal, but for an employer, speaks to the influence, reach and power that corporation
once held.
Atlas was the largest Private Military Corporation, and the single largest private organisation,
humanity had ever seen.
Like the legendary giant of its namesake, Atlas sought to hold up the world, irrevocably
shaping the events of the mid twentieth century.
Its interests steered the course of international research, its stock value drove the world
economy, its products reshaped daily life.
In technological and scientific innovation it was unequalled, spearheading the single
largest revolution in transport since the discovery of flight.
In the field of biological engineering, it achieved creations that were as seemingly
impossible as they were horrifying.
But above all, its military breakthroughs would usher in a shift in the conduct of warfare
as awe-inspiring as the day tanks first rolled over the trenches of the Somme.
At its peak Atlas was a household name the world over.
It grew in power and influence to a degree unimaginable for a private corporation, challenging
nation states and exerting influence through the highest levels of international diplomacy.
It was this company, the self-styled “Superpower for Hire”, that would be a necessary innovator,
then saviour, and finally the greatest enemy of the modern world.
Founded in 2035 by Jonathan Irons, a former soldier of the United States Army, Atlas began
its existence as a small collective of bioengineering firms and their associated security branch.
Throughout the 2030’s, with a focus on research that prioritised practical application, Atlas
expanded its operations to incorporate the most cutting-edge labs from across the world,
planting itself at the forefront of technological development.
In just ten years, the Atlas corporation had become known as a driving force of modern
technology, with breakthroughs in bioengineering, hover transport systems, medical technology
and 3D printing on a mass scale.
It’s industrial output rivalled that of some small nations, with an advanced manufacturing
chain that produced infrastructure and technology of the highest quality.
The key to the Atlas' unmatched success was its investment in technological research.
The combination of their bio-engineering labs with an advanced heavy industry base allowed
them to make simultaneous breakthroughs across a range of fields.
Their armoured exoskeletons became a mainstay of every modern military across the world,
whilst their hovering tanks and motorcycles revolutionised the nature of mobile warfare.
With their mastery of large-scale 3D printing, upgrading factory lines became as simple as
updating software, and so Atlas was able to capitalise on each breakthrough without a
loss of output.
They developed the most advanced range of military and civilian hardware in the world,
with a monopolised supply chain that was virtually self-sustaining.
But its profits were funneled into the Corporations immense security force, which was eventually
transformed into an integrated and independent private military.
In barely 15 years Atlas had become the largest military contractor in the world, able to
operate at a level not seen in the private sector since the height of the British East
India Company.
Thanks to the government connections of Irons, Atlas also became the primary supplier of
the United States armed forces, providing the majority of its military hardware and
the core of its logistical chain.
Meanwhile, their own forces matched the world’s greatest nations in scale and effectiveness,
and in some areas even surpassed them.
Thanks to these vast capabilities, Atlas’ private military began to operate like any
national armed force, taking a combined arms approach to war that covered every aspect
of any military theater.
From infantry to heavy armour, air cover and artillery, Atlas could field a complete combat
force without relying on the support of any nation.
They would routinely headhunt soldiers from national armies, able to offer them far more
pay and often better equipment for the same deployment.
They had the resources to maintain at least one fleet of warships, based around a fully
sized aircraft carrier, and even operated an orbital base capable of launching drop
pods directly into active combat zones.
This massive growth and technological edge allowed Atlas to extend its government contracts
worldwide and it’s private military forces were deployed to conflicts across the planet.
In particular, Atlas was lauded for rebuilding the war torn city of Baghdad in 2047, doing
more in five years to restore the ancient capital than its local government had done
in 50.
In 2053, with the outbreak of open war on the Korean peninsula, Atlas joined United
Nations forces in lifting the siege on the South Korean capital of Seoul.
Atlas special forces were key in securing several South Korean VIPs, as well as providing
the launch systems for the US Marine Corps’ drop pod assault that saw the city liberated.
These major successus drove Atlas throughout the 2050s to shift its focus from small defence
contracts to direct, extended military campaigns.
Its part in resolving the conflict on the Korean Peninsula was only the beginning of
its worldwide interventionism, and in 2055 its resources were devoted to fighting the
international terrorist organisation, the KVA.
An anti-western, anti-technology extremist group, the KVA’s string of political assassinations
and mass terrorism grew to become a threat capable of destabilising entire nations.
Its attempted killing of the Nigerian Prime Minister in 2055 was only barely prevented
by Atlas security forces, but later that very year the group would succeed in inducing meltdowns
in nuclear power stations across the world.
This was an international catastrophe, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands and
rendering entire cities and industrial centers uninhabitable.
After this disaster, Atlas remained one of the few organisations that could still effectively
operate worldwide.
The disaster marked the opening of four years of armed operations against the KVA undertaken
by Atlas, as well as a widespread humanitarian relief effort.
Its vast wealth and international production sites became ever more vital to the most heavily
affected regions, forming the core of recovery and security in nations that threatened to
tumble into anarchy.
As the years passed, the sight of Atlas engineers and security operatives became more and more
common, eclipsing government officials and international charities.
Amidst the overcrowded cities and relief camps, Atlas was the pre-eminent group a person could
turn to for security, support, and the chance of a future.
By the turn of the decade Atlas had successfully cut the head from the KVA’s command structure,
capturing its chief lieutenant in the ruins of Detroit and successfully tracking down
its founder, Joseph “Hades” Chkheidze, to the Greek island of Santorini.
After a brief and bloody conflict with an Atlas special operations team, the man who
had orchestrated the suffering of the last five years lay dead.
But in his final moments, he revealed a truth that would overturn the world one last time.
With his last words and the passing of a datachip, Hades revealed that Atlas’ CEO Jonathan
Irons had known about the worldwide nuclear reactor attacks and had intentionally allowed
them to happen.
With governments thrown into disarray, the space had been cleared for Atlas to grow ever
larger and more powerful, all whilst parading as the world’s saviour.
After confronting Irons himself in the city of New Baghdad, which at this point was entirely
under the company’s control, those same Atlas soldiers escaped with the datachip intending
to reveal his involvement to the international community.
But Irons had no intention of hiding his goals any longer.
Over the five years of struggle and catastrophe, the world had come to rely on Atlas for nearly
every aspect of its existence.
For these successes, it was hailed the world over as The Saviour of Nations.
In recognition of its defeat of the KVA, Irons was formally granted a seat on the United
Nations Security Council.
It was during this ceremony that he showed his true colours, announcing his company’s
formal secession from the UN and declaring war on its member-states.
The first city to feel the wrath of Atlas was San Francisco, where the US Navy’s 3rd
fleet was stationed.
Atlas operatives succeeded in destroying the Golden Gate Bridge as the fleet maneuvered
under it, crippling its aircraft carrier and sending the survivors into disarray.
This preemptive strike opened the way for Atlas’ own carrier fleet to enter the San
Francisco bay, deploying a series of assault ships carrying stockpiles of Manticore missiles.
These missiles, the true product of Atlas’ decades of bioengineering efforts, carried
a viral payload designed to kill anyone not on Atlas’ database of personnel.
A counter-attack from Atlas deserters and the US Sentinel taskforce narrowly managed
to destroy these ships, which were in the process of targeting US bases across the West
Coast to open the way for a full invasion.
Though the assault on San Francisco failed, it was only the opening blow, and the next
year would see conflict break out worldwide.
Atlas sites became fortified enclaves, striking out at their host nations or pulling them
into long, bloody sieges.
In distant stretches of the world, elite forces fought to intercept shipments of Manticore
missiles and their viral payloads before they could be used to annihilate armies wholesale.
In 2061 an attempt by the United States to kill Jonathan Irons in New Baghdad ended in
disaster, with the bioengineered virus wiping out the invading Sentinel units to the last
soldier.
The only survivors, those very same Atlas deserters who killed Hades, discovered Irons’
betrayal and thwarted the assault at San Francisco, were captured and placed inside a prisoner
of war camp.
In response to this threat on his life, Irons prepared to launch long-range Manticore missiles
at military bases all across the globe, decimating the UN’s remaining forces and securing Atlas
as the only superpower on Earth left standing.
In a desperate gambit, the final three Atlas deserters broke free from their prison and
stole suits of exo-armour, fighting through the Atlas forces in an attempt to reach the
launch control site.
With just moments left, the deserters succeeded in aborting the missile launch and killed
Irons himself, finally putting an end to his long scheme of international terrorism.
Though their CEO has been killed, remnants of Atlas persist across the globe.
Between the fallout of the 2055 nuclear disasters, the break-down of international cooperation
and the war with Atlas itself, many nations lack the ability to strike back against the
technologically superior and heavily entrenched corporation.
Others see the benefits Atlas had brought and, despite everything, continue to throw
their weight behind the company.
Some governments have fallen entirely, leaving Atlas the only organisation still able to
operate in their former borders.
In those war-torn cities and embattled regions, it can be said that Iron’s dream of a corporate
technocracy has finally come
to pass.