The fragment strike of 2202 also produced another group of surivors on the surface, the Soldati. The Soldati are mostly comprised of those survivors who found temporary protection underground in civil defense bunkers, subway tunnels, sewers and other such constructions. While this protected them from the initial strike, they were still powerfully effected by the effects of the radiation and biological contamination that resulted from the fragment strike.

Their life a nomadic one, the Soldati can be found hunting and trading in the vast stretches of land between the reestablished cities and settlements of the VCA and the Remnants. They rarely use the VCA teleportation systems, and only some ostracized tribes have adopted the VCA implant technology and embraced the immortality that it brings with it.

They have some low bandwidth global communications using the personality transition satellite repository communications channels, but they are fighters more than they are scientists. They generally travel in groups of 8 to 20, heavily armed. It is very unusual to see an old Soldati. It is a hard life, but they feel they must live it their own way to be able to achieve their birthright and to shape the world as they see fit.

Their suspicions that there was a group of survivors underground were confirmed when in the early 23rd century they encountered scouts from the VCA surveying some territories in the Nevada desert. Subsequent torture of these scouts revealed all about the VCA. The VCA were surprised to learn about the existence of the Soldati when the murdered scouts reconstituted safely underground, as they thought they were the only ones to survive.

Relations between the Soldati and the VCA are strained at best, with the two groups rarely interacting. Starting in 2360 the Soldati enjoy what they consider to be a symbiotic relationship with the Remnants. The Remnants provide food and mechanical expertise to the Soldati in exchange for protection and trading services. The Remnants would likely portray this relationship as parasitic as up until 2360 their relations were marked by violence and betrayal.