Strogg Intelligence Brief

[Cartwright]

This is a brief on all reports of Strogg currently encountered by SMC forces in the current campaign. This list will be updated accordingly.

Strogg Soldier:

The bulk of the Strogg infantry and most vast, it is also the most unintelligent. Throwing themselves into enemy fire at almost all times, they have little to no armor. Ten well placed shots can kill them or a single headshot will suffice. Their agility makes them hard to hit, however, and they usually either have an attached or unattached assault rifle or shotgun. It appears that the Strogg soldiers attach weaponry to their right arm when on spaceships', while the regular ground troops pick them up off SMC forces.

During the first invasion of Stroggos, the Nexus monitored all Strogg units to gain awareness of their combat effectiveness. Strogg Soldiers used to wear helmets, have full body armor, and carry either a pistol, shotgun, or assault rifle. This made them slow and they reacted to pain. Upon finding the Strogg Soldiers ineffective, the Nexus created a new version of the Strogg Soldier. It was to be stripped of armor and have only robotic legs. All brain functions aside from primal killing emotions were atrophied to make them a more effective killing machine.



A Strogg Soldier on the right running into battle.

Strogg Grunt:

A gurilla-like create made of all armor, there are no exposed regions of this beast. It is fed a liquid, most likely steroids, to keep it going at all times. This monstrosity is very strong. A newer version has been reported that has an attached nail gun on its left shoulder to eliminate ranged targets, though it prefers close-quarters combat due to its brute strength. It can move fairly fast.

It is also reported they have a jumping ability. They will jump short distances to their targets. It is also reported that newer versions will become enraged when they are wounded, regenerating their health and making them stronger.

As with most Strogg units, the original Strogg Grunt was a bulky armored soldier with no helmet and had minor brain functions. A large chaingun was attached to their right arm to be used in the field. These units were often extremely slow and ducked when under fire. The proved highly ineffective in combat. The Nexus then created a new type of Strogg Grunt to be made in the prison facilities. It would have full body gurilla-like armor and faster agility with its mechanical implants. Numerous steroids would be pumped into the beast upon entering combat, angering them.

Later on, a Nail Gun was added to their shoulder. Though the Grunts now prefer close quarters combat over ranged combat.

Strogg Brute:

An advanced and somewhat more intelligent form of the soldier, the Strogg Brute has a full body armor that can be penetrated with around twenty five rounds from an assault rifle. It has an attached nail gun to its right hand that can also change firing modes to a grenade launcher. It moves slowly due to its heavy armor and its only exposed part of its body is the upperhalf of its skull.

The Brute was once less armored and had an ineffective method of pinning enemies down. It would fire its grenade launcher several times upon spotting an enemy, then fire its main chain gun. The new Strogg Brute was constructed to make a more effective killing machine.



A picture of a Strogg Brute used as a marketing advertisement for Quake 4

Strogg Berserker:

The Berserker is a highly dangerous and agile monstrosity. Reports have been made of two versions. A shipboard version which has an organic left arm and a metallic right arm with a drill and lightning gun attached. The ground version where the organic left arm is replaced with a metallic arm with a small scale wrecking ball with spikes attached. (unsure of official name). It is highly agile, making it a dangerous foe. It has also been known to crawl through ventilation shafts to targets.

The Berserker has a lightning attack if you prove to be too far away for it to hit or and a ground lightning attack where it slams its drill into the ground, creating a large web of elictrity to shoot out at the nearest attack to immobilize. You may avoid this by jumping.

Original Strogg Berserkers bore the armor of a regular Marine, having their legs and arms as robotic implants. The drill on the end of their arm had once been a simple dagger like object with no lightning gun attached. They were fast, but not fast enough. The newer version conceived was stripped of all armor and had a lightning gun attached and a working drill added.

Strogg Heavy Rocketeers:

Large Strogg with a mounted rocket launcher on their right shoulder that fires a guided rocket at any enemies in the vicinity. The Strogg in question is made up of a large torso suspended on top of a circular hover device. This Strogg has no legs and is meant for attack vehicle activity only. Deployed by Strogg commanders to eliminate known convoys. Limited thought processes have been seen by these Strogg and none have ever been captured.

Strogg Gladiator:

A large, thirteen foot tall Strogg made of the toughest Stroyent the Strogg can produce. Almost ship-grade. Though this makes it tough, it also is its achilles heel. It makes the Strogg move extremely slow. Also, it has a large energy shield that can deflect small arms fire. It dissipates under continued heavy weapons stress. Also note that it must take its shield down in order to fire its main gun, a Rail Gun.

The Strogg Gladiator once did not have a shield and was a bulky, non-helmeted beast with two chaingun arms. They were tough to kill in the sense of pumping regular ammunition into them, but not tough enough. The newer Strogg Gladiators had shields installed and a helmet built on to protect them more. A railgun replaced one of the chainguns.

Strogg Scientist:

A short, hidious creature in charge of the experimentation and implementation of Stroggification and experiments on humans. They are highly dangerous. Their right arms contain a scapel and their left arm contains two scapel knives of different types, for different jobs. On their back are two robotic arms. One is a saw made for drilling and incisions while the other has sometype of injection device with a vial attached to it. Supposedly, it can drop this vial and it releases toxic gaseous fumes into the area that are invisible to the naked eye. It is highly dangerous to anyone who breathes it in. They can be killed easily.



A Strogg Scientist about to work on a human prisoner.

Strogg Tactical Transfer:

One of the tougher Strogg units, Strogg tactical transfers are special forces for the Strogg. Tasked with guarding key facilities and conducting secret operations against the human forces, Strogg Tactical Transfers use conventional human tactics and many of their regular brain functions are not atrophied, unlike the other Strogg troop variants. This makes them extremely deadly in combat. These have been seen to be newer additions to the Strogg war machine.

[Cartwright]

There are several Strogg vehicles and other things to look out for.

Strogg Harvester:

The Harvester is a black and orange monstrosity that is about the size of a five story building. They are heavily armored and emit a loud, organic infused with metal shriek when nearby. They have two conventional weapons to compliment their arsenal. Two machine guns in the front next to its circular head and a two missile ports on the back of its torso that fire heat seeking missiles. The Harvester also has long, black tenticles that can reach out and knock a vehicle over with sheer force.



Marines engaging a Harvester

Strogg Flier:

Used as an attack bomber and atmospheric fighter, the Strogg Flier is usually used as the Strogg's regional air support. These can be mass produced in Strogg factories. They are quick, manueaverable, and pack a punch. They have two machine guns built into their wings and can fire guided and heat seaking missiles. A bomb bay on the bottom drops their normal ordinance. Usually conventional bombs.

The Flier can be flown in the atmosphere of planet's and in space. This makes them an excellent Strogg vehicle to employ.

Strogg Deployable Turrets:

Strogg Deployable Turrets are dropped from a low-orbiting aircraft in the atmosphere. They are automated turrets that lock-on to the nearest hostile target. They are used for anti-vehicle and anti-infantry duties. The velocity with which they travel to the ground makes them able to infiltrate tunnel systems for vehicles and other locations. They have a somewhat weak shield that must be taken down before damage can be done to the turret. An innovation of Strogg technologies.

Strogg Gunship:

A Strogg vehicle that almost resembles a bee without wings, the Strogg Gunship is heavily armored and has an arsenal complimented with unguided, guided, and heat seeking missiles and four machine guns for anti-infantry duties. It can move at incredibly fast speeds and has become one of the more dangerous Air-To-Ground fighters employed in the Strogg arsenal.

The Strogg Gunship is piloted by a single Strogg and has a single gunner manning all gunnery positions thanks to a central gunnery computer inside. A mere tank shell can take this ship down, though it has a minor shield like the Strogg turrets.

[Cartwright]

The Strogg are a warlike cybernetic race, infamous for the systematic replacement of their ranks with prisoners of war and the modification of their bodies with mechanical weaponry and prosthetics. They maintain a massive global military-industrial complex with mines, ore refineries, light production plants and heavy industrial manufacturing facilities throughout Stroggos. Their heavy reliance on industry has created a toxic environment that has killed much of the native plant and animal life on Stroggos. The remaining animals are subject to horrible mutation.

One of the notable features of the Strogg is their complete lack of sense for the macabre or cruelty and their willingness to do anything to anyone so long as it serves a practical purpose and is in their best interests. They employ warp-holes to invade other planets, for food and resources. Furthermore, the Strogg civilization remains devoid of anything unrelated to war, based streamlined nature of their industry geared for war and that there is no true civilian population among the Strogg. Warfare is accepted as the only way of life, though the origins of this viewpoint are unrevealed.

According to the Quake II manual, "the core of the Stroggos civilisation is the capital city of Cerberon." This city is built into the base of an enormous crater dubbed 'Crater Majoris'. A smaller crater - 'Crater Minor' - houses the defense base for Cerberon.

[Cartwright]

The Strogg expand their armies and population by absorbing non-Strogg species and process them to better serve the Strogg race. Prior to any procedures, prisoners of war may be kept in bare cells and continuously tortured, periodically driving the captives to insanity. As of Quake 4, the following procedures are known.

Forced Stroggification. An exceptionally painful and brutal process conducted without anesthetics, instead utilizing excessive doses of steroids to give the subject enough strength to survive. Limbs are frequently amputated and replaced with implants often hap-hazardly wired and crudely attached to the subject (A doctor onboard the MCC Hannibal comments that Stroggification resembles mutilation more than anything else). If successful, the end result is a cyborg with 50% or less of its original body but with physical strength, speed and agility beyond typical human capacity.

Experimentation. The Strogg medical community maintains no 'ethics policy' for non-Strogg organisms. Experiments mainly focus on testing human mortality, which involves organ removal, electrical shock, ballistics tests, surgery without anesthetics, environmental stresses and temperature limits. Presumably, all tests concern the victim's suitability for various types of cybernetic augmentation and the conclusions from such experiments are applied to other members of the same species. This process is probably to see if the species is able to be "stroggified", to increase their reliability to "stroggify", or improve the abilities of the stroggified.

Recycling. The Strogg have perfected technology which allows them to break any living thing back down into its sheer molecular components; amino acids, enzymes, mineral structures and so on. As demonstrated by their other processes, the Strogg exhibit little care as to whether the victim is alive or dead during the process. Parts are also recovered from downed Strogg by the Nexus Core and recycled into stroyent.

Torso storage device. Strogg facilities involve a large laboratory that maintain lone human torsos, often recombining them with spare limbs and in rare cases, heads. The heads on torsos exhibit signs of heavy drug use or intoxication of some variety. These torso storage devices, or TSDs, are integral to the power supply, distribution and regulation of Strogg facilities. Damaged units must be replaced immediately or the area which they are based in will switch to emergency power.

[Cartwright]

Strogg technology exceeds all humanity's scientific disciplines, with their lack of ethics allowing unfettered research and development in all aspects of warfare. The Strogg make practical use of black holes to effectively travel at faster-than-light speeds and their possession of functional teleportation is refined enough to be personally utilized by ground soldiers, or magnified for mass transit. A vast majority of scientific research is geared towards warfare or industrial uses.

Nourishment
The Strogg are nourished, fueled and lubricated by a viscous liquid known as stroyent, consisting of processed corpses of their victims and former allies. A system of pipelines, pumps and distribution vessels runs throughout Stroggos, fed at its core by a massive creature resembling a mutant stomach, which also serves as the stroyent processing plant. Another creature, resembling a giant heart with an attached eye, pumps the vital substance through the pipes. The "donor" for these organs is unknown.

The Nexus
The Nexus is a vast computer network that stretches over Stroggos, relaying information between Strogg military leaders and soldiers in the field, allowing a far-reaching wireless communications network. The Nexus is also tasked with teleporting dead Strogg to the stroyent plants for recycling. The Nexus is based in massive fortresses housing the tetranodes, massive, continuously-operating primary relay points cooled to subzero temperatures. A tetranode operating without adequete cooling will eventually overheat and destroy itself.

The central component of the Nexus is the Nexus Processor, housed in a huge fortified structure called the Nexus Core in the middle of a heavily-industrialized area in the Doggus crater. The Processor is a gigantic living brain which according to Corporal Johann Strauss of Rhino Squad has never been seen by anyone but the Makron. Just outside the crater's rim and situated equal distances from one another are three slightly-smaller but nonetheless gigantic structures, dedicated to Data Storage, Networking and Processing. While the height of these structures is unknown, the floor readout of one of the towers' internal lifts displays the floor number 1986, although the tower is larger than this.

The Nexus is critical to the Strogg military. Without it, communications would cease and their forces would collapse in disarray. Attempting to disrupt the Nexus forms a core component of the Stroggos campaign in Quake 4, which is initially based around disrupting the tetranode in the primary invasion area. Despite their technological advancements, Strogg computer systems appear to use the same underlying principles as human computer systems, making the two surprisingly compatible with enough relevant equipment present.

Cybernetic augmentation
There are few limits to the cybernetic designs the Strogg consider and implement, such as replacing legs with caterpillar tracks, arms with reloadable missile launcher and entire sections of bodies with high-performance machine replacement parts. The Strogg also practice directly-integrating weapons into host bodies and linking them to the central nervous system. The Strogg also use nanomedicine to maintain the original organic tissue after the augmentation process (doctors onboard the MCC Hannibal noted that Strogg medical nanorobots would attempt repairs even after death or after a body part was amputated from the host). As amputations severely hinder normal locomotive ability, the host's existing musculature is supplemented with servomechanisms and artificial muscle. Strogg exoskeletons are constructed from hardened tribinium, a metal extremely resistant to cutting tools.

Due to its extensive practice of cybernetic augmentation, the origins of the Strogg's biology is unknown. Any biological creature compatible with Strogg enhancements is immediately transformed and absorbed into the Strogg, including captured quadrupedal creatures which are augmented into bio-mechanical "guard dogs." Larger specimens are given augmentations to enhance endurance and firepower to transform the specimen into a heavy battle unit. Some of the Strogg units have exhibited physical characteristics that hints at shared genetics, in the case of the "Berserker" and "Gunner" (in Quake 4 only) who share similar heads. The "Iron Maiden" may be the female form of one of these creatures, particularly in their Quake II incarnation, and the heads of the "Heavy Tank" and "Light Tank" suggests a similar species. A common characteristic among all humanoid Stroggs is their glowing orange eyes.

Soldiers forcibly Stroggified eventually have their higher-brain functions completely atrophied, replaced by a transceiver unit with links to the Nexus. Following activation, many hosts remain aware of their situation but maintain little control over their inherited cyborg bodies. When Rhino Squad's leader (Lieutenant Scott Voss) was captured and transformed into a large Strogg guardian for a critical location, he issued warnings to Matthew Kane before the Strogg transceiver activated itself and Voss proceeded with his attack on Kane.

Though the success rate of Stroggification far exceeds the failure rate, subjects who fail to be properly augmented are sent to biological-recycling facilities. Some remain active and resemble zombies, working in facilities dealing with hazardous chemicals that can degrade their hippocampus and somatosensory systems.

Stroggification
In Quake 4 the protagonist Corporal Matthew Kane is defeated and captured by the Makron who deems him suitable for immediate cybernetic augmentation. He is transported to a Strogg Medical Facility and restrained to a metal slab mounted on an assembly line. A laser scanner checks Kane for unknown parameters, followed by a large hypodermic needle that injects a sizeable amount of steroids into his chest, intended to help him survive the Stroggification process. A Strogg scientist inspects the wound before giving him another injection and performing several incisions on his face.

At the following station, a circular saw mounted on a mechanical arm messily amputates Kane's lower legs above the knee. Kane blacks out from the pain, but regains consciousness later. Despite the rupture of his femoral artery, Kane has not bled out, implying the use of an electrocauterizer. Soon, mechanical legs are grafted onto Kane's thighs and armor plating is riveted to his torso and extremities. Machines install the neurocyte in Kane's brain with a large hypodermic needle. He instantly gains the ability to read and understand the Strogg Language. This injection also rewires his implanted HUD programming.

At the final stage, the neurocyte is activated, completing the Stroggification. Before Kane can have his activated, members of his previous squad infiltrate the base and halt the process.

Following the operation Kane gains several new Strogg traits. His running speed has increased slightly and he possesses more endurance. He can also use certain Strogg technologies, such as teleporters and health stations, and is immune to Strogg laser defense grids, which are lethal to all humans who come in contact with them. A medical examination by human physicians reveals that surgical removal of the Strogg implants would likely cause dangerous effects on Kane's body.

Wartime Engineering
Despite similarities to humanity's offerings, Strogg aerial engineering remains superior. Strogg gas turbine jet engines examined by two combat engineers in Quake 4 estimate that they run fifteen percent more efficient than their human counterparts and have expressed interest in reverse engineering the Strogg technology for implementation into humanity's current arsenal.

Low-orbit aircraft can drop immobile turrets which initially act as non-explosive bunker-busting bombs before anchoring onto a surface and deploying their heavy weapons. These turrets have been known to pierce roofs of buildings and heavily-reinforced fortresses. This tactic establishes an immediate foothold and provides covering fire for advancing Strogg infantry. The low-flying planes are the only aircraft seen in Quake 4 though based on combat throughout the game, the Strogg are suspected of operating dive bombers, troop transports and a machine of unknown use that utilizes thrust vectoring.

The Strogg's ground-based vehicles reflect an advanced level of technology. Harvester mechs have been known to survive several hits from tank-fired and man-portable armor-piercing munitions before being disabled. They also utilized sphere-shaped mobile gun turrets that provide quick target acquisition.

The primary defensive weapon for the Strogg capital, Cerberon, is a large structure known to humans as the 'Big Gun', an enormous anti-aircraft cannon designed to destroy hostile spaceships in orbit or descending through the atmosphere. The destruction of the weapon is a key mission objective in Quake II, as the Big Gun prevents a full-scale invasion by humanity. The Strogg also utilize powerful EMP defenses and laser batteries to protect key Strogg structures from invading standard and mechanized infantry on the ground.

Infantry Weapons
Being the warlike race that they are, the Strogg naturally possess myriad personal weaponry for their infantry ranks. True classification regarding a personal "kit" is naturally difficult, given the seemingly large number of infantry types, but a number of weapons appear to be consistently employed. It should be noted that a number of Strogg weapons can be picked up and used effectively by human beings. This suggests that Strogg may be inherently similar to human beings in some ways, or that they simply began creating weapons for use by their tactical units, which are the result of Stroggified human soldiers.

The gamut of weapons is impressive, running from the relatively simple Nail Gun to the sniper-like Railgun and then culminating in the beyond futuristic Dark Matter Gun. The Strogg have a weapon for just about every situation, and with the advent of their tactical units, they have begun to manipulate Terran weapons as well. Due to the propensity of the Strogg to experiment with their victims, many different versions of a similar weapon type can be spotted.

A breakdown of some of weapons encountered by Matthew Kane is as follows:

Nail Gun
Something of a "standard issue" firearm, as it is seen most frequently. The Nail Gun uses a piston-driven propellant system to fill its cone of fire with a cloud of nails. It functions according to the mantra of accuracy by volume, its multiple firing chambers spinning constantly to ensure target saturation. While imprecise, the Nail Gun can be a brutal instrument in close combat.

Rocket Launcher
Nothing showcases the Strogg's penchant for destruction quite like an automatic rocket launcher. Although the firing chamber can only hold three rockets at any one time when fully upgraded, it is quickly reloaded from the main supply pack. Rockets can be utilized in a dumb-fire fashion, or guided to the target by way of a laser designator. As can be imagined, the destructive yield is impressive and the weapon can be employed against infantry and vehicles alike.

Lightning Gun
The Lightning Gun functioned similarly to a flamethrower, although it is a more precise weapon. Powered by lightning coils, the Lightning Gun projects a solid beam of contained electricity at the target, electrocuting the intended victim. Short bursts from the weapon seem to produce little more than a brief shock effect, but due to the nature of the weapon, saturation is easy to achieve and far more effective than any type of controlled firing. Simply put, the longer the beam is held on the target, the more quickly their body is overcome with electricity. The stream of electricity can easily be swept around rooms, allowing multiple targets to be attacked with relative ease.

Rail Gun
Despite the brutal design and implementation of some of the Strogg weaponry, the Rail Gun is proof that these beings are possessed of very impressive technology. At its simplest, the Strogg Rail Gun is a scoped firearm that uses particle acceleration to propel a solid-core slug at extreme velocities. As a result of this method of firing, the weapon has incredible accuracy, range, and armor penetration. The weapon functions primarily as a sniper rifle, as the low rate of fire makes it impractical for close-quarter assaults.

Dark Matter Gun
In terms of raw "power" the Dark Matter Gun is without a doubt the most formidable of the Strogg infantry weapons. Presumably more experimental than the Lightning Gun, the Dark Matter Gun is capable of clearing entire rooms of hostiles with a single blast. The Dark Matter Gun projectile reacts with its environment, the result being an impressive explosion which wrenches apart the fabric of any nearby organisms. Slow to fire and reload, the Gun makes for a perfect way to "soften" up a room prior to assault.

Hyperblaster
A weapon that fires superheated plasma at extreme speeds. The rounds can richoet off walls and the weapon does not overheat, even with extended firing. This makes it a deadly infantry weapon for any type of engagement.

Architecture
With regards to their architecture, Strogg designs reflect their practical, industrialist nature. Facilities of a medical nature or that work with biological materials often resemble slaughterhouses. They have dried blood on the walls, rusting metal pipes, biological residue on computer equipment and so on. Industrial facilities are somewhat better, but still have the occasional rusted pipe or steam leaking out of a valve, along with heavy machinery operating out in the open with few safety devices. Non critical computer equipment, if damaged, is often left that way unless it is totally necessary to be fixed. This is supported by the presence of numerous computers found through out the game with damaged displays, or 'system error' screens. The Strogg also appear to simply pile obsolete or damaged machines in store rooms or under walkways rather than try to reuse them. Sometimes these devices are even still powered on. Exceptionally-important Strogg facilities such as those housing communications equipment are the most well-kept. They are immaculately-clean, all areas are well-lit, equipment is well-shielded and everything is constantly monitored to ensure maximum efficiency.

Facilities which handle biological material may in themselves use biological material as part of their systems. The most apparent and noticeable example of this is a gigantic heart that is part of a facility's biochemical fluid transfer system. According to the nearby computer panels, it has an atrioventricular node and a sinoatrial node, akin to the mammalian heart although it requires periodic electrical stimulation. The heart pumps an enzyme acid solution known as Stroyent. The heart may also be attached to a large creature known as the Stroyent Processing Creature, as the creature has many tubes (similar to gastrointestinal organs) that spread through out the facility with some leading to the heart, and every time the heart is electrically stimulated, a painful howl is emitted from somewhere in the building indicating the creature (or another being) can feel it. The creature itself is also used as a power source.

Automation is heavily-used. Bridge and ramp systems have to be actively-deployed, similar to Doom 3. Damage to critical systems is often met by the deployment of repair bots which operate autonomously. In critical structures, repair bots can number in the hundreds and possibly thousands.

[Cartwright]

Since the Strogg military is controlled by linked neurocytes and the brain functions of stroggifed humans are atrophied, it is unknown whether the Strogg are self-aware at an individual level, or whether any native Strogg are capable of independent thought. Theoretically, the Strogg could be a cybernetic race carrying out computer programs or a collective group mind. Strogg emotions are likely however, and individual Strogg can be observed making expressions of anger and contempt while in battle, vehemence stemming from the remnants of their organic brains or from the Nexus itself. The Quake II manual (presented as an "intelligence brief") states that the Makron acts as a dictator over the Strogg, having been chosen from among a group of warlords. In Quake 4 a newer, bigger, stronger Makron has been specifically created in response to the human invasion of Stroggos.

Strogg facilities and bases are adorned with a variety of banners and signs with the insignias of skulls and lightning bolts with stylized wings. These nationalistic symbols suggest the Strogg previously had a culture that was heavily suppressed by imperialistic expansion and their highly disciplined industrial priority. These banners are the only form of art and culture present in Strogg society. There are no indications of any Strogg expressing creativity or self-exploration through art, music or literature. The neural implants that allow them to communicate also override their individuality to focus them on serving Strogg society.

The Strogg, despite being able to transmit information through electromagnetic radiation (whether with radio or microwave is never explained) rely on written text for consoles, machinery and location signs. This may be a holdover from an earlier level of technology, or a fail-safe in case the Strogg's communications nodes failed.

[wowposter]

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