Background story: How it all began
Quake 4 is a continuation on the Quake 2 story, which starts like this:
Earth is under siege by an alien race. The Strogg are cybernetic warriors -- a mechanical frame and decaying body parts stabilized by flesh consumed in a systematic annihilation of other species and civilizations. In a desperate attempt to survive a Strogg attack on Earth, an armada of Earth's finest warriors is sent to take the battle to the Strogg home planet. Earth's initial assault force is nearly annihilated immediately, but one marine manages to infiltrate the base, bring down their planetary defense systems, and kill the Strogg's collective brain and leader -- the Makron. Earth assumed the destruction of the Makron would end it all, but it didn't.
That's where QUAKE II leaves off and QUAKE 4 begins:
The Strogg are quickly regrouping. However, with the Strogg's planetary defenses still destroyed, Earth's forces can deliver a full and final assault. This time, you're not alone. You are Matthew Kane, an elite member of Rhino Squad, and part of Earth's next invasion wave. An army of soldiers are fighting with you and an arsenal of weapons and vehicles are at your disposal in this heroic and epic battle between worlds.
The Quake 4 story
In the Mid-21st century, a barbaric alien race
called the Strogg launched a massive invasion on Earth. Originally
believed to be an attempt to strip the Planet of its natural resources,
humans soon discover that the Strogg are simply after the human remains
of those they kill. Through a horrific process, the limbs and flesh of
the fallen are fused with metal and machinery to create the
monstrosities that are the alien Strogg.
The Strogg and humans battle for years on Earth, but as resources
become depleted, Earth mounts a counter-assault on the Strogg
homeworld. The first assault force is launched from the fleet and
encounters massive resistance - most of the drop-ships are destroyed by
the Strogg homeworld's massive defense weapon known as "The Big Gun."
However, one surviving marine breaks through and is able to destroy The
Big Gun and ultimately destroy the Strogg leader, The Makron. However,
the war did not end there.
The Strogg proved to be extremely resilient and as the war continued to
rage the Strogg regrouped and reconstructed a new and more powerful
Makron. You are Matthew Kane, a member of the elite rhino squad and
part of the next massive invasion that spans accross the entire
Stroggos planet. Equipped with high-tech weapons, mobile vehicles and
teamed with the top marine squadron, you soon realize that this war is
far from over. In fact, your worst nightmare is soon realized when you
discover that in order to defeat the Strogg, you must become one of
them.
A dramatization from the Quake 2 manual
Location - Dallas, Texas
Time - Our Future
Long shadows claw desperately away from your dusty
combat boots, fueled by the relentless sun of a late Texas afternoon.
Shading your eyes against the glare, you squint for the thousandth time
at the line of soldiers ahead of you. It stretches on endlessly across
the rubble, disappearing at last into the cool shadows of a troop carrier.
Soon you’ll walk up the ramp into the ship, climb into your one-man
cocoon, tear through the interplanetary gateway, and smash down light-years
away from the blowing sand and blasted ruins that surround the Dallas-Metro
crater.
“What the hell is taking so long?!”
you snarl, slamming the battered barrel of your side arm, the blaster,
against your scarred palm. “I’ve waited long enough. Time
to kick some Strogg ass…”
--The Nameless Soldier
(Excerpt from the Quake 2 Manual)
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