As the Second World War raged, the great fleets of the American and Imperial Japanese Navy
dueled with one another across the vast stretches of the Pacific.
Battlegroups, troop convoys and supply flotillas brought hundreds and then thousands of ships
to a region of the Earth that in many aspects, remained unexplored.
Isolated and pre-industrial societies experienced a terrible upheaval as their distant islands
became the site of frontline airbases and supply stations.
Primitive by the standards of the modern world, the warnings given by these secluded tribes
were ignored.
When the first ships went missing, their loss was ascribed to the actions of the enemy,
terrible storms or mechanical failures.
But the sole survivor of the USS Lawton, a battleship sunk in 1943 described witnessing
something far more terrible.
In the aftermath of this incident, more credence was given to the tales of the islanders, their
warnings of gods and monsters that lurked beneath the waves.
A defense against these massive unidentified terrestrial organisms would be the mission
of Monarch.
Founded in complete secrecy in 1946 between the United States of America and its allies
across the Pacific, Monarch was initially a small, fringe working group.
Its unusual mandate left it regarded with a degree of derision by its sponsor nations
until photographic evidence of a gigantic sea creature was obtained that same year.
With its mission given credence, Monarch began working closely with the United States Navy
to destroy the monster, concealing its efforts under the guise of atomic testing.
One such detonation in 1954 was believed to have killed the monster, and while other incidents
across the Earth drew the attention of Monarch, none were sufficient to warrant additional
funding.
By 1973 amid dwindling federal support for the organization, Monarch was nearly bankrupt.
In what might have been its last expedition, William Randa, the sole survivor of the USS
Lawton managed to secure elements of the United States Air Cavalry being withdrawn from Vietnam
for an incursion into the mysterious Skull Island.
Not only was an entire ecosystem of gigantic creatures discovered on the island, most notably
the simian known as Kong, but evidence was found that suggested these monsters originated
from the Hollow Earth, a vast network of underground caverns.
The expedition to Skull Island ended in the deaths of nearly all those who had undertaken
it, including William Randa, but Monarch was given nearly unlimited off the books funding
to pursue its mandate.
Between 1973 and 2014, Monarch’s operations expanded dramatically across the world.
With the cooperation of local national governments, Outposts were constructed in regions where
gigantic creatures, designated “titans” were present.
With the number of discovered Titans climbing into the dozens, a network of bunkers were
also secretly constructed, providing shelter to local officials in the event these creatures
awakened from their dormant state.
In 2014, the existence of these massive organisms was revealed to the world when a titan studied
within a Monarch facility in Janjira, Japan emerged from its cocoon and escaped its confinement.
Its movements attracted the attention of Godzilla, a titan of legendary status and Monarch’s
first target.
The battle between these two creatures destroyed a large portion of Honolulu but was ultimately
indecisive.
The creature resurfaced in San Francisco, together with its mate that had been awakened
from its dormancy in Nevada and left a trail of destruction in its wake.
They were both destroyed by Godzilla who returned to the depths of the Pacific.
Reeling from the revelation that monsters exist and the damage they had unleashed in
just a few days, Monarch was forced to fundamentally shift its mission.
Unable to simply destroy the titans, research was conducted as to how mankind might coexist
with them.
The Orca, a method by which titans could be dissuaded from or attracted to a specific
point, became a major focus of the organization.
Simultaneously, its various outposts around the world were reinforced and expanded.
Castle Bravo, formally known as Outpost 54 in Bermuda became Monarch’s new flagship
research station.
In addition to these facilities, the organization was provided a fleet of submersibles, aircraft
and other vehicles.
Many of these units were detached from other branches of the US Armed Services, while some
were established solely for the use of Monarch.
First among them was the USS Argo, an immense flying wing that served as Monarch’s mobile
headquarters.
In 2019, elements of Monarch became clandestine agents for Alan Jonah, a mercenary leader
and eco-terrorist.
This rouge group worked to free Monster Zero, an invasive alien titan frozen beneath an
ice sheet in the Antarctic.
Named King Ghidorah, this creature, one released, awakened dozens of titans across the world
causing unparalleled devastation.
Godzilla, together with the titan known as Mothra battled King Ghidorah in the ruins
of Boston, with Godzilla emerging again as the King of the Monsters.
Godzilla’s triumph in many ways restored a kind of balance to the world’s ecosystem,
but also a new delicate rivalry with the dozens of titans now active across the world.
Many of these titans would be killed by Godzilla over the ensuing years allowing Monarch to
focus on studying and quarantining those that remained.
First among these was Kong, whose primate intelligence even allowed a kind of communication
to develop.
In 2024, Monarch allowed Kong to be used in an attempt to access the deepest depths of
the Hollow Earth.
While this mission began with noble intentions, it was co-opted by Apex Industries who sought
to find a means to power their so-called “MechaGodzilla”.
While Godzilla and Kong would ultimately overcome this technological threat, Monarch’s inability
to contain the situation has laid the groundwork for even greater dangers.
In the span of just a century, mankind’s place on Earth has been challenged and at
times supplanted by the prehistoric titans that lay just beneath the surface.
Monarch was established to contain that threat, but with the route to the Hollow Earth now
open, the devastation wrought across Jan Jira, San Francisco, Boston and Hong Kong, may just
be the beginning.
For humanity to endure, Monarch’s might need to return to its original mandate, and
destroy all monsters.