The Legacy

The Casualties of Mars is a name given to the descendants, survivors, and remnants of those who lived, fought, and died during the Fall of Mars, an event that shattered the once-great civilization of the Red Planet and sent its people fleeing into the cosmos. They are not a singular group, but rather a lineage of warriors, rebels, and exiles—men and women who now roam the Thirteen Star Systems, carrying with them the pain, legacy, and unfinished battles of their ancestors. Some became mercenaries, some revolutionaries, and others mythic warriors who shaped the fate of entire star systems. But all of them bear one unshakable truth: They are the last echoes of a world that no longer exists.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taka rig was a young and reckless pilot barely twenty
years old, who had spent most of his young life
flying for mercenary outfits or working for the occasional crime
lord who would pay in credits instead of empty promises.
Drake Vance was at this point an experienced smuggler turned rebel,
infamous for having more enemies than common sense and surviving

(00:23):
impossible odds through sheer, luck and sarcasm. They met midflight
in the middle of a chaotic battle against the Overlord Dominion,
a terrifying armada that had made it its personal mission
to crush independent fighters, wipe out rebels, and generally make
life miserable for anyone who didn't kneel to their rule.

(00:44):
Taka's battered Interceptor class fighter named the star Wolf was
zigzagging through enemy fire engines, smoking shields flickering, one wing
barely attached. Drake's infamous Black Mongoose, a heavily modified freighter
turned gunships, swooped in just in time to see Taka
dodge a torpedo by about an inch and immediately return

(01:06):
fire on a Dominion cruiser way bigger than him. That
kid's either the best pilot i've ever seen, or a
complete idiot, Drake muttered to himself. Watching from his cockpit,
the coms flared to life. Hey, old man in the freighter,
how about you stop staring and actually help, Taka calls
as he narrowly dodges another missile. Old man laughs, Drake,

(01:29):
you realize I'm the only reason you're still alive, right, Well,
not from where I'm sitting, old buddy, scoffs Taka, Well, kiddo,
from where I'm sitting, you're about five seconds from getting atomized,
So shut the fuck up and follow my lead. Taka
didn't like taking orders, especially from some washed up smuggler,

(01:51):
but he only had two choices. Listen to the guy
who was somehow still alive after twenty plus years of
pissing off warlords and crime syndicates, or die a nasty
death in a fiery explosion. He chose the first one.
That battle ended with three destroyed Dominion destroyers, twenty downed
fighter ships, and an entire overlord fleet too busy chasing

(02:14):
ghosts to realize they had lost the sector, and somewhere
between the dog fights, the sarcastic insults, and barely surviving
certain death Drake and Taka became friends, well sort of.
After the battle, Drake offered Taka a job. Not a
serious job, mind you, more of a we both need

(02:37):
money and I need a co pilot who isn't actively
trying to kill me kind of job. Their first mission
was smuggling stolen Overlord Dominion weapons to a backwater colony
on the edge of the Monica System. Should have been easy.
Turns out that this colony was run by a fanatical
sect who believed that all weapons were cursed and that

(02:58):
anyone found bringing them into their world should be thrown
into the nearest sun. You sure you did your homework
on this one, Drake, Homework is for nerds. Smiles Drake.
I just show up and hope for the best. Taka
switches on the onboard screen. Well, old man, he snorts.

(03:19):
The best is looking like an angry mob right now.
Stop calling me old. Snaps Drake, you should show some
respect for your elders respect. Are you kidding me? Replies Taka,
you gotta earn that shit. Well, as these two continue
to bicker, let's just set the scene, shall we. It's

(03:40):
a scene where Taka and Drake are running through the
main colony square, dodging plasma bolts, spears, and a very
enthusiastic old woman throwing religious pamphlets. Taca meanwhile is punching
a priest in the face before stealing his hoverbike and
Drake well. Drake is quickly realizing that the crate they
were delivering was full of fermental grenades and that they

(04:01):
were now armed and counting down. They barely escaped with
a large bounty on their heads from the colony's holy
enforcers and a burning hatred for religious fanatics, especially the
ones with good aim. A few months later, Drake and
Taka were running weapons again, this time for a mercenary outfit,
hiding in an asteroid field known as the Razorback Veil.

(04:25):
The deal simple drop off three crates of stolen Dominion
plasma rifles, get paid, fly off into the sunset or
in this case, an asteroid field without getting vaporized by
the Dominion starfleet hunting them fast. But the problem with
asteroid fields is navigation is tricky and pirates love hiding

(04:46):
in them. Plus Drake had the navigational sense of a
drunk space skunk, hence them landing on the wrong rock,
a rock in which happened to be the secret hideout
of Vairos Korean, an ex Dominion admiral turned warli lord
who also had a deep seated hatred for smugglers. Taka
leans forward and opens the comms. I'm going to go

(05:07):
ahead and say that this is a fucking bad idea
Drake turning on all blaster units just laughs. Come on, kid,
what's the worst that can happen? The worst? Taka snorts
the worst Drake. There is literally a battalion of star
tanks rolling toward us with weapons super hot right now.

(05:29):
They fought long and hard and stole the Warlord's private
cruise ship because why not add grand theft warlord spaceship
to their list of crimes, and actually blew up half
the asteroid field with it too. They got paid double
for this job because the mercenaries loved the shit they caused.
They earned themselves a heavy bounty on their heads too,

(05:49):
courtesy of Warlord veyros Corienne. It wasn't all heists, smuggling jobs,
and bad luck. Sometimes they actually did something worthwhile, like
the time they planned to save Lyra Caine. Lyra was
one of the deadliest operatives in the galactic Justice a
legend among spies, assassins, and rebels, so when she was

(06:11):
captured by the Dominion, no one thought she'd survive. Drake
had history with her and Taka had heard all the stories,
so between them they agreed on one thing that they
were going to break Lyra out or die trying. The
breakout involved disguises. Drake hated them stealing a Dominion cruiser.

(06:32):
Taka loved that bit. Lots of explosions. That part was
not planned, but very satisfying all the same, and not
forgetting the part where Lyra escaped the Dominion's grip by herself,
but told both Drake and Taka that she thought their
plan was cute. They became inseparable. Drake never thought he'd

(06:52):
be a mentor to some reckless kid, and Taka never
thought he'd find family in a washed up smuggler. But
here they were flying through the stars, taking impossible risks
and laughing hard in the balls of death.