Operation story: 11-3

Operation

Story

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Characters
Feist Catherine Lt. Colonel Lettou Londinium Worker Londinium Worker Sarkaz Mercenary Sarkaz Mercenary A Sarkaz Mercenary B Sarkaz Warrior
Backgrounds
1 2 3

Before operation

“

One year ago, in a Sarkaz-occupied factory, prior to the changing of the flag, Feist decided to leave the factory and join the Self-Salvation Corps, leading to a clash with Granny Catherine.

”

<Background 1>
One Year Ago... 1097 4:56 P.M. \ Overcast Munitions Factory No. 11, Highbury District of Londinium
[A worker is listening to a report made by another worker.]
Londinium Worker	Oi, has the last batch of polymer prep come in yet? What–what do you mean it hasn't?! This takes the piss...
Catherine	Who was in charge of transporting those materials?
Londinium Worker	It was, er, the one in charge, er...
Catherine	What are you dithering for?
Londinium Worker	...It was Feist.
Catherine	That boy...
Londinium Worker	He went out first thing this morning. Should've been back ages ago.
Catherine	Who went with him?
Londinium Worker	Tommy, Patto and Day.
Catherine	They're not the same workshop. How'd they get on the same shift?
Londinium Worker	They all get along like a housefire. Keep mucking together all the time. Feist's their little ringleader.
Catherine	......
[A Sarkaz mercenary approaches Catherine.]
Sarkaz Mercenary	You've hit a snag, from the sounds of it.
Catherine	Small potatoes, nothing more.
Sarkaz Mercenary	Small potatoes. Catherine, you know what day it is today, right?
Catherine	How could I forget? I've been fearing for my life I'll upset our officer if I sign and it looks like fowl scratch. I started practicing my signature ten whole days ago.
Sarkaz Mercenary	That's practice under your belt, then. The General's stressing importance hard on the handover ceremony in two days. Reportedly, the Defense Forces' head is showing too.
Catherine	...... Want a cig?
Sarkaz Mercenary	...Heh. Pass one here.
[Catherine passes a cigarette to the merc.]
Sarkaz Mercenary	You know why it is all your factory's people have stuck around until now, don't you?
Catherine	We work very hard.
Sarkaz Mercenary	That's a given. You do your work very well. We're alike in that regard. Work, get paid, scrape a living. But our employers know all too well the more exceptional a merc's work, the less he can be trusted.
Catherine	Standard fare. Old manager of this industrial park, Sir Humphrey, never trusted us either. Before you dragged him away.
Sarkaz Mercenary	Don't make trouble for me, Catherine.
The mercenary's tone is placid, like he's the one asking Catherine if she wants a smoke. As he so often does. This is his job. Offing a few disobedient Londinium workers to him is almost the same as the screws she tightens on the daily. Catherine taps her cigarette into a bag. Can't have ash falling into the machinery.
Catherine	I've told you more times than I can count. If you want efficiency maintained, our factory can't afford one fewer worker.
Sarkaz Mercenary	I admire you a fair bit, Catherine. Even a typical merc might not even have the guts you do. You've got the stuff. Thing is, it's possible to take anything too far. Londinium's got over a hundred munitions factories just like yours. Even if this whole place was dead empty, the Regent wouldn't care.
Catherine	Nothing will change. The ceremony will come the day after, we'll hand over everything promised, and all our workers will be there. No need for you lot to worry about a thing.
Sarkaz Mercenary	I'll take your word for it, then.
Catherine	Of course. Not got a lighter? You're just holding your cig there...
Sarkaz Mercenary	You hold onto it, after all. Londinium smokes always have a sort of engine oil to them. Can't ever get over it.
[The merc leaves.]
Londinium Worker	Catherine, what do we do?
Catherine	(Pinches cigarette out) ...Off to the loading area.
<Background 2>]
Feist	Patto! Done there?
Londinium Worker	Just this screw left!
Feist	Sort it out. If this keeps up, they'll be waiting a whole week at least to get more polymer prep.
Londinium Worker	Polymer up to our ears, it's just batch after batch coming in. The hell are the Sarkaz building?
Feist	I haven't seen. Granny doesn't let me anywhere near the assembly line. Only her most trusted workmates get to climb up that walkway. The longer this keeps up, the more it must be very important to the Sarkaz.
Londinium Worker	Gotta be a weapon, right? We've been pumping out auto-crossbows for the Sarkaz the last few days in the workshop.
Feist	Could only be. Still got so many ducal armies outside eyeing us.
Londinium Worker	Be ghastly letting the Sarkaz get away with this, I tell you.
Feist	We've got to stop them, Patto. We can't be helping the Sarkaz fend off our own.
Londinium Worker	Think it'd be any use if we destroyed this batch of prep? Think we'd get sentenced?
Feist	I'll step up if that's what it comes to. I'm not afraid of being taken in.
[Catherine approaches Feist.]
Catherine	You can't do that.
Feist	...Granny?
Catherine	Grab 'em.
Feist	Patto–do it!
Londinium Worker	Eh–?
Catherine	–
On the fly, she grabs a small file and throws it. With a clang, the worker's spanner flies out of his hand and onto the ground.
Feist	Ugh...
Catherine	Do you know what it is you're doing?
Feist	I'm stopping the Sarkaz!
Catherine	You're making a scene.
Feist	I've got it all planned! It won't drag any of you in. I'll tell the Sarkaz I did it, and then–
Catherine	–and then you'll die at the Sarkaz's hands. You're making yourself out as a hero, aren't you?
Feist	I'll try and flee. I've been planning this forever–
Catherine	You're using the crawler you modified. You're hiding on the cargo track, and slipping out of Highbury that way.
Feist	So you knew...
Catherine	I've been living in this industrial park for over fifty years. Whatever silly business you try, it won't slip by me.
Feist	Granny, listen to me. I received some news. There's a rebel organization active in Sudean right now. They've rescued a whole number of people from the Sarkaz, and they've even taken back some plates! They call themselves the Londinium Citizens' Self-Salvation Corps–we're going to meet them!
Catherine	Are you now? And then?
Feist	Er... what?
Catherine	Are they lacking for smiths? Are you going to assemble and automate production pipelines for them, maybe design the next generation of crawlers?
Feist	I...
Catherine	You can't even put a single armament together. You're going to go up to the people at this Self-Salvation Corps and tell them you want to bash Sarkaz heads in with spanners?
Feist	I'm learning! I know the stories you've told me, like how you got selected to build steam armor when you were young, and I've heard you spending night after night polishing at power conduits. I don't get it... We're Londinium workers, you've been teaching me that since I was little. You've told me how our factory built modern Victoria– But now? We're lowering our flag at a handover ceremony, and raising the Sarkaz ensign. And then? We're taking the assembly line we're so proud of and producing weapons for the Sarkaz with it, and those weapons will end up pointed at Victorians! How can you bear life like this?
Catherine	Like what? Life like this is our life, the life you and your parents have always been living. Look at this factory. Nobles with titles longer than their surnames, business tossers with lives built on trade, even the Sarkaz... we've had people posing as its master come and go. But the assembly line's still there. The machines still haven't come to a halt. Each rivet that's passed through our hands is still in the place it's meant to be. Whoever might be occupying that palace in the middle of Londinium, this city we built will still see tomorrow and the day after that.
Feist	But I don't want a tomorrow like this! What kind of life is a life without freedom? It's being alive at most, that's it. If this factory... if Londinium isn't ours any longer, then what was the point of everything we made for it?!
Catherine	...... You know, Feist... Twenty-five years ago, that night when the flames lit up the sky, your dad said much the same thing to me.
Feist	......
Londinium Worker	Boss, the Sarkaz are almost back–
Catherine	You're free to go wherever you want. But from this moment on, you are forbidden from ever setting foot in the factory again, Feist. A worker who won't finish the job with his own hands isn't fit for the job.
Feist	......
Catherine	Anyone who wants to go with him, I won't stop you either. Just remember–you step out of this door, and you are no longer one of us.

After operation

“

Lt. Colonel Lettou, Chief Commander of the Defense Forces, arrives at the factory to preside over the changing of the flag. Feist, out on his way, and Catherine, inside the factory, bear witness to it together.

”

Several days later...
<Background 2>
[Lettou, a Victorian Liberi lieutenant colonel collaborating with the Kazdelian occupiers, is talking with the Sarkaz mercenary from before.]
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Well?
Sarkaz Mercenary	Inventory check. This lot of factories has handed in its designated amount of material.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Excellent.
[The merc leaves.]
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Ms. Catherine, as you know, taking on Londinium's hundreds of factories and ensuring their smooth operation is by no means a simple feat. Thus, my only option is to personally see every handover completed. Some unpleasantness always comes part and parcel, but this handover, out of this final set of factories, has been the smoothest. I must thank you for your willing cooperation, and for sparing me so much time.
[Catherine responds to Lt. Col. Lettou,]
Catherine	I just don't want to do anything that'd be of no avail.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	I admire your attitude, Ms. Catherine. But I'm afraid your heart of hearts doesn't agree with you.
Catherine	You mean...?
Lt. Colonel Lettou	I hear a few days ago, some workers fled your factory. Being the case, I'd like to take stock of personnel while I'm here, and have a look at your factory's names.
Catherine	...... ...It was my grandson who ran.
Londinium Worker	Catherine...
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Oh?
Catherine	Young 'uns tend to do without thinking.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Very plain-dealing of you, Ms. Catherine, but frankness alone will not quell this matter.
Catherine	Sir, I can't guarantee you everyone under me is of one mind. I don't have that capacity. I can only guarantee this factory hands in its designated material quota.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	...... Could I ascertain–are you asking me to let him go?
Catherine	He's a single tyke, every hair on his head out of place. He's hardly going to affect this factory's operation.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	But you could. I've heard about your past deeds, Ms. Catherine. No wonder you were chosen as a workers' representative. A woman of honor. I esteem you for it. But we always must nip these things at the bud. Or are you able to guarantee me that your grandson won't become a traitor to us, such as... if he joined that Self-Salvation Corps that's all the vogue.
Catherine	I've no need to guarantee it, Sir. Young 'uns always think they can do something. But it always turns out they don't know what it is they're facing. They'll... nip themselves.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	...I understand your sentiment. ...... Indeed. Pursuing a single escaped worker pales in comparison to the gravity of ensuring a dozen factories continue to stably operate. I can overlook this affair, Ms. Catherine. But I do hope you're able to keep your promise.
Catherine	As long as I'm in charge of this factory, there'll never be a problem.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Excellent. In that case, it's time we get on with the handover ceremony.
<Background 3>
[Two Sarkaz mercs are having a chat.]
Sarkaz Mercenary A	*sigh* Just our goddamned luck. I wanted to go to the factory too and watch the flag raising.
Sarkaz Mercenary B	Quit griping. You can see it from here anyway. Just tough it out.
Sarkaz Mercenary A	There's none of the gravitas here that you get watching on-site. Man, who the hell knew we'd actually take Victoria's capital? Dream of that in the past and you'd kick yourself.
Sarkaz Mercenary B	True enough. Still, next comes the hardest period. The dukes are all eyes on us.
Sarkaz Mercenary A	Hmph. If they were good for anything, we wouldn't have seized Londinium so handily.
[The mercs leave as Feist comes out of hiding.]
Feist	...... That was close... Phew. Lucky these mercs have no idea the plate has a gap you can get into here.
Feist makes his way to a pipeline entrance. He's done his survey. Somewhere along this passage is a connection to Sudean. But now on the verge of setting foot inside it, he has doubts after all. He wasn't kidding Patto. He's thought over every difficulty he might potentially face. Critically, though, and what he never said, was that he didn't have a plan for every problem. Granny wasn't wrong, after all. He's just a smith. He has a head that passes for smart, and relatively hardworking. These two things ensured he could muddle through life fine in Londinium's peaceful years, but there's no telling if they'll save his life right under the Sarkaz's noses. Tommy was right. If only those massive, hulking metal lads were still around. He's all grown up, and still he's never seen a Steam Knight before.
<Flashback starts here>
<Background 1>
Bang. Clang. Bang. With the factory ceiling so high, and the hatches so small, the view of the sky can't help being miniscule from within. Its ever-changing shades cast a like projection down into the factory. Never-changing is the sound of the assembly line, one hunk of metal striking another– As well as the sight of old Granny, standing at its side.
Catherine	Think it's dull, don't you? Hold onto your hammer and spanner tight. If you really want to do something, you've got to persevere. You strike once, and you get nothing more than a hunk of beaten metal. You strike again and again, and you can make steam armor. You strike again and again, and then your child, and your children's children carry on striking– And we've got Londinium.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background black>
Should he head back? Should he go in? He has no idea.
From far away comes the sound of a Sarkaz bugle, and Feist follows that sound.
<Background 3>
Atop every factory in Londinium stands a flag. That flag stands for Victoria. Not once since this factory's founding has that ever changed.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	But that, as of today, has changed. Sign here, Ms. Catherine.
Without hesitation, Catherine, upon the document that embodies transferal of factory authority, signs a practiced signature.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	And now, the final changing of the flag. Go.
Sarkaz Warrior	Yes, sir.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Stay, Ms. Catherine. Be what it may, you are currently witnessing history.
Catherine	...... Sir, can I light a smoke?
Lt. Colonel Lettou	By all means.
[Catherine lights up a cigarette.]
Catherine	Sir, just as you've heard of me, I've heard about you too.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Oh?
Catherine	Gaul.
Lt. Colonel Lettou	Yes... My father was a Gaulish loyalist, that's no secret. If you're querying me how I feel at this moment, Ms. Catherine... An instant of joy that there was no blood shed throughout this procedure, but outside of that, my heart is filled with nothing but sorrow.
Not far away, Sarkaz soldiers ferry over the flag that stands for them. Meanwhile, an additional two Sarkaz prepare to lower the current one. Catherine can see the happiness on their faces. And beyond them, a resplendent sunset glow. Catherine knows. It all signifies the dark isn't long away.
<Background fades out and in>
Feist turns his head, and from this position, he just so happens to be able to see the factory's flagpole towering high. He stands there, and watches as Victoria's flag descends, foot by foot. A moment later, foot by foot, the flag of the Sarkaz rises. As if nothing's changed at all. He takes a deep breath, and sets foot into the pipeline.
[...]
It's pitch dark within. Apprehensively, he sets off, for the direction of Sudean he recalls. All of Londinium's munitions factories have now completed the handover, and on this day, they have exchanged Victorian flags for those of the Sarkaz.
[...]
They flutter in the breeze.