Neptune Incident

The Neptune Incident was a major event that brought the Strain to Earth.

The Expedition
The United Nations 2 prepared and launched an expeditionary vessel to Neptune to explore the planet. The expeditionary team encountered an extremely hostile, extremely infectious life-form, now known as the Strain. Word of the infection reached the UN2, and boarding parties were sent to intercept the vessel before it returned to Earth.

According to Instructor Miles, The Commander managed to board the vessel just as it was taking off. It cost 87 ground teams their lives for the Commander to get on board. From there, the Commander lead Viper Company through the ship and, after 36 hours of non-stop fighting, reached the vessel's engine-reactor and detonated it as the ship entered Earth's atmosphere. The Commander and the entirety of Viper Company were killed in the blast.

Return to Earth
Unfortunately, parts of the infested expeditionary vessel survived the reactor explosion, and crashed into the Pacific. The Straits of Neurasia were shortly overrun with unidentified lifeforms.

The UN2 responded to the infestation by deploying the world's nuclear arsenal, destroying oceans and coasts in the process. The Strain survived and, one year later, it pushed back.

Now facing an enemy like never before, the UN2 initiates a mass-cloning program in an attempt to combat the sheer number of infected. The Commander of Viper Company is revived as a clone from a Cryovat, beginning the events of Strain Tactics.