Operation story: 6-11

Operation

Story

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Characters
Doctor Amiya Blaze GreyThroat Kal'tsit Projekt Red Mon3tr Crownslayer Reunion Member Child
Backgrounds
1 2

Before operation

“

GreyThroat puts herself in harm's way to protect a group of children. Fortunately, Blaze comes to the rescue. After a conversation, they manage to ease some of the tension between them.

”

<Background 1>
Waaahhh... I'm hungry! Where's daddy? Where did he go? I want my daddy...! Daddy! Daddyyy! Daddy will come get me!
GreyThroat	......! A child? Blaze-4, Amiya-1, come in. I'm in the slums. 4th Street, building number 10. There's a child survivor, Infected.
<Background fades out and in>
Child	Waaahhh...
GreyThroat	...Hello.
Child	Wh- who are you? Are you a Lungmenite?
GreyThroat	I will not hurt you. I don't speak Ursine well. I am not an enemy.
Child	What did you say?
GreyThroat	Come with me. It is dangerous here.
Child	I can't... Uncle said to stay here.
GreyThroat	But I will take you to find your dad.
Child	You can do that?
GreyThroat	I can do that. You, hiding behind me, come out.
Reunion Member	You're... You're not with them. You're... from Rhodes Island?
GreyThroat	Child, stay back. Don't come closer. Drop your weapon and come out with your hands up.
Reunion Member	What? You're not here to save us? Don't you Rhodes Islanders know what's hidden here? We worked hard to set up this ambush... If we can't lure them in, if we can't take them out, they'll kill all of us!
GreyThroat	You're using children as bait. You deserve to be killed.
Reunion Member	You think this will end when we're dead? Even if they kill us, they won't let the children go. They won't let anyone go! If that's all it took, we'd gladly die to save the kids! We didn't even attack you!
GreyThroat	Who's killing children...? The people in the black raincoats?
Reunion Member	You've seen them, you understand! They're slaughtering everyone!
GreyThroat	That's no excuse. After I take you in, I will apply to have you protected.
Reunion Member	And we're supposed to just trust you? That crossbow of yours is a killing tool, what are you protecting?
GreyThroat	For now, I'm protecting your lives.
Reunion Member	Save it. We'll deal with you, then reset our trap! We've already got the order to form up and retreat. If we die here, it would dishonor those comrades who died to save their children!
GreyThroat	...Child, take cover!
<Background fades out>
[The Reunion soldier ambushing GreyThroat attacks her, but she managed to dispatch them without letting the child see the bloodshed.]
<Background fades in>
GreyThroat	Hm... I'm still alive?
???	You think you'd be better off dead?
GreyThroat	Operator Blaze?
Blaze	It's not like you dying would solve anything. Better keep on ticking.
GreyThroat	What about... the Reunion men? And the children?
Blaze	...... Operator GreyThroat, I got you all wrong. And I'm sorry.
GreyThroat	The children!
Blaze	I took care of the Reunion guys! I hid the kids! Just listen to me already!
GreyThroat	No need... as long as the children are safe.
Blaze	Can you not be obnoxious for like five minutes?
GreyThroat	What did you get wrong about me?
Blaze	I watched you stand up to fight for Infected kids. It was hella leng noi.
GreyThroat	Your Lungmen dialect sucks.
Blaze	Hey, that's off the top of my head! But really, I thought you were just some heartless uninfected girl, joining Rhodes Island to spy on us or whatever. I got you all wrong.
GreyThroat	If I were a spy, this is how I'd get you to trust me. As long as you weren't stupid enough to let me bleed out... You bandaged me?
Blaze	I'm still an elite operator. It's my job. Anyway, you're right. But even if you were a spy, you still did the right thing. So I'll save this spy's life and then pack her off to Legal.
GreyThroat	I could just run.
Blaze	Let's not be stupid here. How are you gonna outrun me? Trust doesn't mean letting your guard down. Trust means knowing what you'll do and what you won't. If you do the right thing, I'll back you up. If you do the wrong thing, I'll correct it, or stop it, if I have to. That's trust. Thanks, GreyThroat. You trusted me, and you corrected my wrong thoughts with your right actions. And I'm sorry.
GreyThroat	......
Blaze	But you really need to work on your people skills. They didn't want to be difficult, that was a show for survival. If you screw up, you still need to go to Legal.
GreyThroat	Whatever.
<Background fades out and in>
Doctor	Well done! / ...... / Seems they're getting along better?
Amiya	I think so... at least Blaze is trying. Leave it to her to drop her prejudices so quickly. Rhodes Island's elite operators have more than just their incredible combat skills. Blaze is also gifted with a gregarious personality and savoir faire. As well as her own opinions. If you want to lead her, if you want her support, you'll have to gain her trust. And first, you have to learn how. I've fought alongside Blaze for a long time. And I think... I think you can too, Doctor.
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	I'm doing okay.
Amiya	But okay... isn't good enough, is it? She puts up a carefree front, but Blaze has a complicated personality. Give it time, keep your eyes open, and I know you can do it, Dr. {nickname}. But you need to put in more work!
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Amiya	Learning to trust each other isn't easy, but it needs to be done. We need your power, Doctor, and you need to win over the operators to turn those tactics of yours into reality. That's a lengthy process, but it's one you need to experience.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	She has to cooperate.
Amiya	Blaze is an elite operator who excels in assault operations. She doesn't have much to offer in the way of strategic thinking. She really needs your support. Or you could think of it like she'll turn your strategies into reality on the battlefield. She's a professional. I'd say she's already cooperating.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Amiya	Like, look where we are now... Our operators follow our orders out of a sense of duty, not trust. Real trust is built on understanding. The kind Blaze is working on with GreyThroat. Oh... Looks like we've got company. More Reunion. Let's give Blaze a little more room to apologize. She still needs to stick her foot in her mouth a few more times.
Doctor	Then let's buy them some time! / ...... / She's the foot-in-mouth type, huh?
Amiya	Yep. She's a good conversationalist, but not so great at expressing her feelings. What's really going on here is her confronting her deep-seated prejudices more than just an apology to GreyThroat. Normal folks' prejudices against the Infected aren't a one way street... we have our own issues with the uninfected. The enemy within is just as much an enemy as the enemy without.
Doctor	We'll defeat them both.
Amiya	...We will. Listen up. Those Reunion guys were scared out of their wits. Neither we nor the L. G. D. can put that kind of fear into someone. They were ready to go against everything they stood for. They met something else... But what was it out there that could do that to them? And... will we have to fight them too?

After operation

“

Projekt Red's ferocity suppresses Crownslayer, and Kal'tsit's overwhelming power makes resistance seem futile. However, after a conversation, Kal'tsit still offers her a second chance.

”

<Background 2>
[A Lupo in red attacks Crownslayer, who narrowly dodged it.]
Crownslayer	(*Pant, pant*...! *Pant, pant*...) (...A trap?! Was that attack back there just a feint?) (If she keeps cutting up my team, the whole unit will be worthless...) (I have to contact them right away! (Grrr, why can't I move my fingers? Why am I shivering?!) (I... I can't let her get me!)
[The Lupo caught Crownslayer by surprise...]
Crownslayer	!
Crownslayer	Nggah!
???	(Low growling).
???	Projekt Red, don't kill her.
???	......
Crownslayer	*Hack* *hack*...! Gah!
???	Is it her?
Projekt Red	Yes, definitely. It's her scent. *Sniff sniff* Ick. Fake. She is no wolf. But the scent is real. The scent of a true wolf. The first true wolf.
???	True wolf?
Crownslayer	You... filthy cub!
Projekt Red	Don't move.
<Background 2>
Crownslayer	Mmf, how can I...? My muscles won't even respond. Can... can you control me?
Projekt Red	She tried to use a wolf technique, a bite she learned from wolves. She wants to fight back. I can sever her spine, and paralyze her.
Kal'tsit	No need for that.
Projekt Red	Ok.
Crownslayer	Wait, you... I know you... I finally found you...! Traitor... you traitor! I found the traitor!
Kal'tsit	And you are...? Ilia's daughter, Lyudmila?
Crownslayer	Shut up! You have no right to speak my father's name! Ursus destroyed all the lab, and all the scientists.
Kal'tsit	Is that what you think?
Crownslayer	How dare you?! It was you! You're the disgusting traitor who sold out my father with Sergei, who sold out all the scientists!
Kal'tsit	...... Your hair is the same color as his.
Crownslayer	...What are you talking about? Why would you...?
Projekt Red	Don't move.
Crownslayer	Agh!
Kal'tsit	You're wondering why I have no reaction to your accusations?
Crownslayer	Because you're scum!
Kal'tsit	Scum. And what type of scum should I be? Should I be a coward, out for wealth and luxury...? Or should I be cruel and calculating, doing whatever it takes to achieve my goals? The me, standing here before you, does it fit your image?
Crownslayer	I never thought... I never thought you were a heartless, cold-blooded woman!
Kal'tsit	Did Sergei give you a heartfelt confession before you killed him?
Crownslayer	...What are you...?
Kal'tsit	Did you know he was Alex and Misha's father?
Crownslayer	Hah... Hahaha...! Alex helped me find him!
Kal'tsit	...Reunion took in Alex, killed his father, and hunted down his sister. Hah... Projekt Red, let her move.
Projekt Red	Ok.
Crownslayer	...What do you want?
Kal'tsit	To give you a chance to kill me.
Crownslayer	A chance? Do you know what you're saying? You're giving up on life? You want to repent, like Sergei, who sat on top of Chernobog after selling out his colleagues? ...Oh you'll regret it. You'll regret everything you ever did!
Kal'tsit	"No regrets," I always say... But actually, there is one massive regret I will share with you today. ——But I'm afraid it has nothing to do with your father.
Crownslayer	I'll kill you. I'm going to kill you! *Hiss* Haah... "Swallow the bitterness of the dead"...
[Suddenly a thick mist covers the alley.]
Kal'tsit	Fog?
Projekt Red	It's Arts.
Kal'tsit	No, not fog... This is smoke. The nervous system stimulates a smoke-emitting organ in the oral cavity. It is indeed an Originium Art that relies on this Infected organ.
Crownslayer	You stand there talking your mouth off... You're beyond saving. Are you so scared you can't even show it? Why did you betray my father? Why did you betray the scientists? Why?! Tell me why—— "Director Kal'tsit"?!
Kal'tsit	Lyudmila, I only barely made it out alive myself.
Crownslayer	You expect me to believe your bullshit?
Kal'tsit	Hah. Your father read you "Truth and Justice," didn't he?
Crownslayer	——!
Kal'tsit	To give a five-year-old a book like that... Ilia really had no sense. But he loved that book. One summer day, he carried you, and the book, past the window, the bushes orange against the sun. He made you wave to me. You pouted and turned your head.
Crownslayer	Enough!
Kal'tsit	That night, he asked me: what if we just sealed up the sarcophagus and never told the Ursus about the machines inside? Would we be able to save more people? Would we be able to prevent the Ursus from using these machines in battle?
Crownslayer	Are you saying all of this to... to confuse me?!
Kal'tsit	Ilia was one of the scientists who came up with the plan to seal the sarcophagus. And his convictions influenced his entire life. You have his fighting spirit. But there was more to him than that... Lyudmila, you call me a traitor, you want to kill me. You could do that, but—— When you choose violence, you are doomed to one day meet something stronger than you.
Crownslayer	Hah hah... Could you be more arrogant? No one, no caster can penetrate my fog. You have no idea where I am. You're going to die screaming. I need you to die screaming.
Projekt Red	...... (Sticking out her tongue).
Crownslayer	For the scientists, for the infected, I have to kill you. You Ursus puppet! You piece of trash!
Kal'tsit	Do I look like a caster to you? I am Infected though, you got that right... Come, Mon3tr.
Crownslayer	......? ...Huh? What... what's that? H- how? Your spine?!
Kal'tsit	I guess you can see through the fog, huh?
Crownslayer	How...? Ack...! Wh- what are you...?! What is that?!!!
Kal'tsit	I am not a caster. I've never relied on Originium Arts. Go, Mon3tr.
Mon3tr	(Happy hissing).
Crownslayer	Nnng... Gaaaagh! What is it?! What is that thing?! Aaaaaah! Don't touch me! Let me go! Let go of meeee! Why can't I pierce its shell? Aiee! Don't touch me! Get away!
Kal'tsit	Annihilate...
Crownslayer	Aaaaaahh!!
Kal'tsit	...the falling object above her.
Mon3tr	(Dissatisfied hissing).
Kal'tsit	You're too excited. The building is going to collapse. Don't let her get crushed.
Crownslayer	...... Mmmg...... ......No......
Mon3tr	(Low humming).
Crownslayer	Just kill me.
Kal'tsit	What?
Crownslayer	...You can obviously kill me easily! Don't tell me you're the type who plays with your prey! If I can't kill you, what do I have to live for? Just remember, even if I'm dead, I've still cursed you forever!
Kal'tsit	...Are you truly prepared to die?
Crownslayer	......
Kal'tsit	Do you want to die?
Crownslayer	......*gasp*......
Kal'tsit	If I am your traitor, will you feel better after killing me?
Crownslayer	...No more... talking! I'll kill you! I will!
Kal'tsit	Ilia was my student, and my friend. Your father was one of my finest researchers. His dedication and selflessness could have pushed Ursus at least five years into the future.
Crownslayer	I don't want to hear anymore! Why do you insist on telling me this stuff?!
Kal'tsit	You do want to hear it. Because you've always doubted yourself. You never let Sergei explain himself. So I'll do it for him. ——I don't betray people. Not even Sergei. He was indecisive, but not greedy. The Ursus authorities had his newborn son and daughter. He gave up your father's location to save their lives. And now, Alex and Misha are dead. He wasn't able to save anyone, in the end.
Crownslayer	If... If I had gone to save Misha, maybe she and Skullshatterer... would still be alive. N- no! No way! Look how powerful you are! Why didn't you save my father?!
Mon3tr	(Threatening growling).
Kal'tsit	...... Because I couldn't. I couldn't have convinced your father to leave the institute. Lyudmila, I sent you to Siracusa before I left Chernobog. And yet you went back. Oh, you're so like your father. Sometimes, willpower trumps time itself. You would always return to Chernobog, just like you would meet me here.
Crownslayer	...... So this is all meaningless? Everything my father did, everything I did... was for nothing?
Kal'tsit	No. The researchers died to protect our secret. Ursus to this day has no way to analyze the contents of the sarcophagus. They've given up, and sealed off the installation. Now, there's just a little energy left to harness, powering the core of Chernobog. If I betrayed anyone, it's the Empire of Ursus. Your father's efforts meant something. Even if Ursus has long since covered it all up, you can remember. I will remember.
Projekt Red	(Yawn).
Kal'tsit	...But all that you did? What was that for? Ursus purged the entire institute and slaughtered every scrap of compassion in any of their scientists. The real traitor was the Empire itself. Look at you. You've killed Sergei, you've killed a man who couldn't protect his own children. Now you're in Lungmen. If you and your Infected friends really manage to take over the city, what will you do to the uninfected? Massacre them all? Enslave them? Exile them to the wilderness and let them die of exposure?
Crownslayer	......I......
Kal'tsit	Or cut them all with Originium, turn them into Infected, spread your pain to them? ...Or will you peacefully coexist with them? Could you do that, Lyudmila? Could Reunion, as it is now, do that? Is that how you want to build your Infected nation? Or is that how you want to fight Ursus? If the latter, why come to Lungmen? If you seek to terrify your enemies, what can you do to be more terrifying than Ursus?
Projekt Red	(Kal'tsit, she is confused. She is scared. She wants to run.)
Kal'tsit	...... Mon3tr, return.
Projekt Red	Is that okay?
Kal'tsit	She can hear me. "Crownslayer," your hate as well as that of your movement has been used and abused, toyed with. Think of your father. Remember what Ilia taught you. Think, on whom do you want revenge? The one leading you down this path of terror and assassination... Your leader is not a sane person. Your leader has no heart. A leader true to her ideals would not let someone else die for them, much less let someone commit murder on their behalf. Run. Leave this place. Take a different path. Take a path that can truly change this world... If that's what you want.
<Background fades out and in>
[As the mist subsides, Crownslayer is nowhere to be seen.]
Projekt Red	Her scent is gone. Did you always want to see her? Why not kill her?
Kal'tsit	Should we kill a homeless hyena, even if the home isn't real?
Projekt Red	A hard question. I don't know.
Kal'tsit	Projekt Red, do you think killing me would make her happy?
Projekt Red	No. She is in pain.
Kal'tsit	We are not the law. We cannot judge people. We have the power to kill others, but no power to claim it is right to do so. If she took pleasure in the act of murder, I would have killed her on the spot. Without question.
Projekt Red	I know. She is not happy. Her breathing is erratic.
Kal'tsit	She has now become a virus. A unique strain spreading "unease" among the Infected fanatics of Chernobog. ...How many years does a person live? And how many paths can they take? We spend more time blind than we do seeing the truth. But then, seeing the truth and making a choice are two different things. When she awakens from this dream of collective revenge, she will leave Reunion. But even so, Sergei's blood, and that of the people of Chernobog, will always be on her hands. Projekt Red... When you make a choice, there is no going back.
Projekt Red	I understand. I will do my best. I will only kill wolves.
Kal'tsit	Good girl. Do you remember that scent?
Projekt Red	I remember.
Kal'tsit	What is it like?
Projekt Red	...Not bad. It's a bloody smell, but not like you were just saying, with the heart and stuff.
Kal'tsit	How silly. Talulah is a Draco, how could she be a wolf?
Projekt Red	Hmm. Time to go?
Kal'tsit	Yes, let's go. ...The temperature's dropping. We're running out of time. Let's step up our efficiency.