Several hecto-sweeps after the trolls first started to travel through space and colonize other planets, they had colonized several dozen other systems. The Empire was in the process of establishing a colony in another system when the effort was demolished, completely wiped out. The fragments of communication that made it back to the rest of the Empire warned of monstrosities that devoured ships whole and wiped out swaths of the colonization fleet.
Probes were dispatched to determine the cause of these unexpected messages, but when they arrived, they relayed back a empty system. Barren rocky wastelands were all that remained of the once vibrant planets that had offered the chance for settlement. There was no sign of the fleet.
As the Empress consulted with the aquatic and land Nobles that made up her court regarding a course of action, the first reports came in from the fringe systems. They were under attack by this mysterious force now, and to her credit, the Empress responded quickly and decisively, mobilizing troops and ships that had long been inactive, and sending them to face this new foe. However, it soon became clear that the weaponry and tactics that the Beforian military had was no match for the massive alien invaders. They were able to delay the loss, and saved a great many lives in evacuation, but in the end, the systems were still lost, as was a great deal of the military. And so research into new weaponry was established.
It was found that by reequipping the giant droids that served as mining and industrial space labor, they could serve as a means to equalize the playing field against the monsters, or Kaiju as they became known. Unfortunately, these droids were not capable of intelligent combat, and the resources required to run them in a combat capability made them impossible to effectively use- a problem resolved by the Drift initiative. A discovery was made about the psychic nature of many trolls, and it was found that it was possible to tap into vast quantities of power by merging the consciousness of multiple trolls. The gestalt nature of this phenomenon was titled the Drift, and systems were formed to facilitate the conjoining in the heart of the newly christened Jaegers. The trolls, now serving as both pilot and power source became the key to the puzzle that could save the entirety of their race from extinction.
So armed, the trolls began fighting, and soon began winning. Things turned around. More Kaiju came and assailed the outer systems, but now losses were minimal, and the creatures were rebuffed and sometimes even destroyed. However, the tide of beasts remained constant, and before long, several systems became embroiled in war as they marked the border between the empire and the aliens. Every ship began to be pulled from the other systems and fitted with Jaeger bays to serve as replacements for losses sustained.
One ship in particular however, would end up being the key that would stop the endless onslaught. This obsolete warship, long since relegated to anti-piracy patrol routes, was refitted with a Jaeger bay and sent off to the front lines, where it probably would have been destroyed, along with its crew, if it hadn't been for the fact that someone unexpected came along. For you see, the Heiress of the Empress came along on this ship. And she had an idea. An idea that would change things.
This is the story of the journey taken by that ship, and it's small, 12 troll crew.
This is the story of the Jaegership Armageddon's Gallows.