I’ve come to the realization that for a game about cutting lizard men in half, reading may now be something nobody wants to do. But I’m bored and very quarantined and also want to keep shilling my work because I am proud of it. So for your own sake, I’ll be breaking down my own work and summarizing the events of my “Brothers in Blood,” story, about Oliver Verr (A Pendulum-Era Onyx Guard) and Antonio Eroe (A young UIR cadet).
I’ve broken down the story into multiple “Books,” such as the story of Marcus and Delta is spread out across the games. I’ll be making posts for Books 1&2, as they’re the only ones that are finished as of now, and the Book 2 one will go up some short time after this one. So basically if you’re interested in Lore, or wanting more Gears and you don’t feel like reading—I’ve made it a lot less work to do so!
But here’s Book 1 on it’s own if you do want to read it or haven’t seen it before from my many shill posts and whatnot.
Anyways, here’s the breakdown Chapter-by-Chapter, Spoilers Afoot!
I hope you enjoy the tale.
Chapter 1 - Behind Enemy Lines
The beginning of “Brothers in Blood,” introduces us to Oliver Verr, an Onyx Guard and commander of the squad Theta-Onyx, a group of three including Oliver, a brutish ex-biker named Franks Grut and their fresher squadmate who’s pessimistic about the war, named Paul Beetman. In the beginning Theta is at a small UIR town on the coast of UIR territory. The town, Morte, was taken by the COG and turned into a staging base by Colonel Ezra Loomis (Previously in Gears of War: Judgement). Theta serves as Loomis’ Onyx Strike-Team. A greatly preforming squad, due to Oliver’s leadership they had avoided many head-on confrontations from UIR forces and managed to get their missions done quietly more often than not.
During their time stationed, Franks found himself getting into a fight with one of the regular COG Gears stationed alongside them. After being caught in the fight, Loomis jump-started their mission to avoid further disruptions. Ordered to make their way over to the nearby UIR-held city, a little bit larger than Morte. Oliver disagree’s with Loomis’ quick disregard for the lives of the Indy refugees, but goes along with Theta’s orders to destroy the UIR-town’s AA defenses so a COG Raven can come in the next morning and wipe it out, without the base even realising that they were coming. On their way to the town, Theta takes down a small UIR truck that’d stopped, broken down on the side of the road, Oliver still uneasy as one of them was just an engineer, not a soldier but was struck down by Franks anyways.
Reaching the town, they find a Manticore, a large UIR gunship close to a COG Raven in design with less room for soldiers. Figuring out a way to attack the base, Theta moves in, taking down guards and beginning a sweep on the outside of the camp. Finding a cellar-path underground, Franks persuades Oliver to try it. They investigate and find a UIR control room, where they realize the Indies had known about their plan to bomb the city using Ravens. After nearly being found they escaped to the cliffside next to the ocean, informing Loomis of what they found. And that’s when Loomis lets them in, about the fact that the Raven-plan was leaked to the UIR on purpose so that they can misinform them and hit the city with a low-yield Lightmass bomb. Climbing the cliff back up to the town, Oliver orders Franks to create a massive distraction as he and Paul head through another checkpoint. The two of them find the warehouse where the UIR refugees are being held. Oliver attempts to persuade their leader to leave,
"I cannot spare the soldiers–we’re still at war. But women and children don’t deserve the pain the COG will bring them.” -Oliver to the Refugee Leader.
Chapter 2 - A Way Out
After the negotiations fall through and the civvies refuse to listen, Oliver and Paul rush to regroup with Franks as he fights against nearly the entire base by himself. Taking a shot, Franks takes cover outside the base towards a forest behind a fallen tree as Oliver comes to him, Paul running to the treeline. Franks refuses to try and run away, instead giving Oliver his COG tags. on Death’s door, he gets up to surrender, coming to one of the UIR soldiers as they try to capture the Onyx Guard for intel. Instead however, Franks goes out on his own terms, taking Oliver’s frag grenade out to one of the UIR soldiers, killing the two of them in the blast and injuring others.
"I am motherfucklng guilty,” - Franks Grut to the UIR soldier before he set off the grenade.
After leaving the town and returning to base, Loomis chastises Oliver for not following through with his given orders. Oliver and Paul are sent to their tent to await further orders as they hear a COG broadcast reporting on the secretive Hammer of Dawn project, supposedly in action by the afamed scientist Adam Fenix. Later while in discussions with Loomis, Oliver finds himself standing up to the Colonel’s unfavorable tactics more and more, testing his patience as the Hammer is successfully deployed to destroy a UIR Destroyer. Still however, Loomis continues his plan of bombing the UIR refugee town, to which Oliver shows great dissatisfaction with. Loomis has Oliver arrested for insubordination, and continues to bomb the city anyways, despite Oliver’s viament remarks about protecting the life of the UIR civilians.
While on arrest hours later, Oliver thinks to himself alone in isolation as Shauna, their controller and the Gear who had gotten into a fight with Franks the day before came to meet with him, asking about Franks, before revealing herself to be the separated sister of the fallen Gear.
Chapter 3 - Death to the COG
The third chapter now begins from the POV of Antonio Eroe, a young UIR Cadet stationed in Resistenza, during the time Theta was active in the base. He speaks with his friend Winston, another young cadet about how they could be on the frontlines like “Heroes,” instead of filing paperwork for the Refugees held at the town. Winston reminds him of their small role in the massive army, as Antonio sees a proud military career ahead of him, slaying COG Gears like a hero. While doing work, Antonio finds the checkpoint near them to be more quiet than normal. Investigating he finds the first two UIR guards that Theta had taken down. While reporting it, Antonio is merely told to return to paperwork while the “Real” soldiers deal with it. Finding it strange that he could do nothing.
Convinced that a COG mission would include slaughtering innocent civilians they go to check on the Refugees, knowing they have no stationed guards due to their community being put on edge with guns around. While the outer guards refused them at first they snuck by when Franks started an explosion on the other side of the base and the Guards were summoned to aid in the fight. Antonio and Winston entered the Warehouse just after Oliver and Paul had left, The refugees informed them about the COG’s warnings and then asked them to leave. Taking a guard post outside, Antonio was still convinced the COG could come to kill the civilians as Winston stood in an opposite manner, calm and bored. While on duty there, they were greeted by Major Paduk and his Elite Guard, who’d come to investigate the warehouse and inform the refugees of their plans,
"The last time I was here I promised none of our people would have to deal with the harsh, reality of our men. That time has changed. Our troops are dying out there! Our destroyers are soon to be out of fuel. I promise everyone will be okay. But we cannot hold. Tonight, I need everyone to cooperate, so we can move out of town. If we don’t leave–we will die. Let’s go people! The COG are on their way!” -Major Paduk to the Refugees
After that Paduk promises the cadets a more serious role, as he sends them to the battle site to aid the UIR soldiers that were battling with Franks.
Chapter 4 - Never Surrender
Before the sun had begun to rise, very early in the morning, Antonio and Winston were helping wounded soldiers and Refugees into their trucks to leave the city behind. They were then ordered by an Elite UIR soldier to accompany one of the first convoys out of the city, Antonio figuring he’d have a later chance to kill some of the COG machine. On the road, they heard reports of the town being bombed, and the Major possibly being killed.
Ahead on the road their convoy was stopped by a COG checkpoint. Personally greeted by Colonel Loomis holding an injured Paduk hostage on the road, he threatened to kill Paduk if they had not surrendered. Antonio refused to surrender at any cost, angering Winston who told him it was suicide. Antonio disagreed and took a shot for Loomis anyways, hitting the COG Colonel in the arm as WInston and their driver were shot. Antonio ordered their convoy to reverse and leave the fight as he blew one of the two Ravens at the checkpoint. Behind their jeep Antonio watched over Winston’s gut-wound as Paduk emerged from the bushes–escaping from the COG and briefly putting the blame on Antonio for firing first. As they got into a firefight, Paduk attempted to make a second shot for Loomis, scraping an Onyx Guard instead. Soon after the gunfight ended as Loomis and a few COG escaped in the second Raven, the rest of the checkpoint dying to Paduk and Antonio’s gunfire.
The soldier shook his head with confidence, “Paduk’s a tough sonofabltch. If anyone’s gonna kill him. It’d have to be a clone of himself.” -UIR Grunt on Paduk’s chances of Survival.
Chapter 5 - Forbidden Secrets
Returning to Oliver, he is shipped on a boat to a fortified island. A place he’d never seen before. Cuffed and given an Onyx escort, Oliver meets again with Oliver, who informs him that he’s at Serek, a secret COG prison made especially for Onyx Guards and political enemies, UIR higher-ups and more. Trapped within the multi-storied prison after his disobedient actions in Morte.
The UIR convoy had kept to the road in the meantime, Paduk receiving news that a majority of the UIR’s forces had surrendered to the COG after their use of the Hammer of Dawn. After passing by a now overtaken UIR base, the convoy is shortly tracked by a Raven before losing them in a mountain tunnel-road. Attempting to lose the COG trackers, Paduk orders the convoy to trudge up a shallow river, hiding most of their tracks off the main road. He then argues with Antonio about being a hero and why it’s not okay. Antonio asking him if he thought the COG’s weapon was the Hammer of Dawn, which had been stolen at Aspho, Paduk confused as he thought the Hammer was supposed to be a tank.
“You were trying to be a hero! I know your type. Overeager to kill a few COG and go back home a war-hero,” he explained, “I was the same. But my last mistake was made thirteen years ago. I lost a wife. Do not let your heroic nature overcome what’s important. Think before you act. Think about what’s more important,” Paduk finally stopped and Antonio began to open his mouth, “No. not another word. Jump on a truck and help them get out of here,” Paduk ordered. -Paduk to Antonio after they dodge the Raven.
Chapter 6 - No Way Out
At Serek, Oliver is taken into cuffs from his cell and brought before the Deputy Chairman of the COG, Richard Prescott, and given his sentence for the crimes Loomis leveled against him at Morte. Outraged that he was being put on trial after serving the COG, Prescott reveals his shared opinion with Loomis about war, ordering Oliver back to his cell on Serek. He thought about how a eighty year sentence within the walls of this top-secret prison might not sound like much—but it wouldn’t fly by like the war had.
“I, Richard Prescott; as Deputy Chairman of the COG and as advised by Colonel Ezra Loomis–have decided to sentence Oliver Verr, former commander of Theta-Onyx; to eighty years in prison. With military probation after ten years. This sentence has been issued on the charge of desertion, aiding the enemy and attacking a superior.” -Deputy Prescott issuing Oliver’s sentence.
Setting up a camp, Paduk’s forces tried to hide in a small canyon, turning their train of trucks into a mobile tent-base. He apologised to Antonio for yelling before, thanking him for saving his life. As they spoke, a UIR broadcast came in to Paduk, telling them to turn themselves in to the COG or fear a worsened sentence. Unwilling to give up like how most of the UIR had, Paduk and Antonio and others divided to go to Langley Island, an old UIR naval base that’d been abandoned after the COG wiped it out. Agreeing with the plan, Paduk warned what might come later if the COG found them and brought the Hammer of Dawn down upon the currently free UIR people and soldiers if they refused surrender.
“We lost cadet. We cannot fight the COG. We can run, but if they come for us. They. Will. Win. We can keep going, and we will keep going. But remember we can’t be so sloppy. Those mistakes and poor decisions you pulled back there, we will get crushed under the COG’s boot if we make the same mistakes,” Paduk explained as he turned and walked away from Antonio. -Paduk’s warning about COG enforcement.
That is essentially the end of Book 1/Act 1!
To compare, this is a relatively brisk 19-paragraph summarization shorter than the OP3 breakdown, and the actual Short Story (as linked above) is 26,000 Words (~48 pages). If you read this, even the recap, Thank You!
I am very proud of this and spent an hour and a half writing this recap for you all. I’m going to sleep soon. Please let me know what you want I just love the Gears Lore like I recently said earlier to 19th in another thread, about how Gears has me hooked with the duality of the industrial-punk COG and mystical Locust in between the games.
(Did you know the General of the COG who orchestrated the Hammer Counter-Attack became depressed after the attacks on COG cities? And when Prescott sent him to Azura he killed himself?)
Little stories like that, Dizzy’s families (yes, plural). The Slab, Jacinto’s Remnant. Barrick–the Carmines. All these little stories that happen around the big setpiece-filled Fenix Trilogy, they make the world feel larger, and that was my goal here.
If you liked this, here is a summarization of Book 2:
Anyways, I’m tired but let me know what you thought! You’re also welcome for breaking it apart in many paragraphs and avoiding a massive block of text. Ah–I love Gears…
(Also the idea of an Ex-Onyx Guard was inspired by Judgement, not Keegan. With proof–because my first post about this character was June '18–way before Keegan’s reveal a whole year later…)
#Buster’sLongestPostNobodyCaresAboutYet