Operation story: 7-4

Operation

Story

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Characters
Doctor Amiya Dobermann Firewatch Kal'tsit Nearl PRTS Engineering Operator Pilot Reunion Member Reunion Caster
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4

Before operation

“

Back in Rhodes Island, Amiya does an excellent job of mobilizing the teams. Throughout a conversation, the Doctor's relationship with Kal'tsit seems to improve.

”

<Background 1>
Rhodes Island Bridge 6:00 AM
Amiya	Attention, our outstanding operators, I have some important information to report to everyone in Rhodes Island. This is Amiya. As of last night, Rhodes Island has officially left Lungmen. In light of recent developments, the trade agreement between us and Lungmen has been cancelled. We no longer have any reason or standing to remain inside the city. Fortunately, we've already purchased a lot of supplies from Lungmen, which will sustain our operations for a while. Unfortunately... Some of our operators will shortly be going deep into Chernobog's core city. An extremely tough battle awaits us there. ...Many may think that war is a distant concern to us. War, they may say, is a conflict between two countries, and has nothing to do with a pharmaceutical company. But war... I think war has never left us. We have always been in a war. The long war of injustice against the Infected, the war that drives people to hate one another. To develop an effective treatment for Oripathy and give the Infected a chance to use it, our medics have poured countless hours into their research. Likewise, it has always been our goal to provide the most advanced medical treatment to those here who suffer from Oripathy, inhibiting and slowing the progression of Oripathy. But that is far from enough. Before we can achieve these goals, we must face the ever-growing conflicts between the Infected and uninfected. The enemies of the Infected will not see them treated. And each crime they commit against the Infected aggravates the tensions between the groups. All while others exploit and enslave the Infected for their own profit. There are those who oppose us and even attack us, solely because we seek a cure for Oripathy... We have suffered this in the past. Imagine... Imagine if we develop a medicine to treat this disease, but never have a chance to administer it to the Infected. What then? Our enemy is not only "Oripathy." There is no safety for us standing back from this war anymore. Two weeks ago, Reunion and Rhodes Island engaged in a violent confrontation. Many of our operators sacrificed themselves in Chernobog. ...a story we have seen unfold far too many times. But if every sacrifice demands vengeance from us, then we will be locked into an endless cycle of revenge. Countless lives... will be taken. Taken by our enemies, and taken by our own hands. Our struggle with Reunion cannot rest upon hatred. If we are able to negotiate with them, we will demand from them an explanation, and hold them accountable for their actions. But Reunion is still gripped by their madness, even today. They have taken control of Chernobog's core city, and are driving it into Lungmen. Even stranger, Ursus has not surrendered its territorial control of the core city. They retain a territorial claim on Chernobog, even with it under Reunion's control, even when Ursus never... Even when Ursus never took action as this entire incident unfolded. The Empire of Ursus ignored the atrocities committed in Chernobog, and made no effort to stop them whatsoever. ...They abandoned their own citizens. This has led me to conclude that Ursus has conspired to bring about these events. A collision with the core city will spark an international war. A war between Ursus and Yan— By then, it will be too late. No matter who stands behind Reunion, no matter how hard they've pushed, no matter who the real mastermind behind all this is: there will be only one truth laid grimly at our feet. —"The Infected caused this war." No matter the outcome of the war, the Infected will always be the scapegoat. They will face even more brutal oppression, more miserable lives, and... an eternal, fiery hatred. If that comes to pass, all Rhodes Island has done will come to nothing. There won't be a single country in the world that will allow us to treat the Infected, or allow them a normal life. Indeed... this is an unavoidable part of our protracted war on Oripathy. Rhodes Island has always been fighting this war. And it's a difficult war to win. But despite that, we will never give up. We will fight the fanatics with reason, and enmity with clever strategy. We will press on, because no one wants to see a bitter end to our efforts. So we will stop Reunion. We will stop the Chernobog core city from colliding with Lungmen. I hope those of you staying here on the landship will look after Rhodes Island. Whether or not we return, Rhodes Island will fight on. Right. Situation normal.
<Background 1>
Amiya	Phew...
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Great speech!
Amiya	Oh, um, thanks, Doctor!
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Amiya	Um? Doctor, is there something on my face? I didn't leave crumbs on it, did I?
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	You make a charming orator.
Amiya	Yeah! ...Wait? What?!
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Doctor	Was it maybe too gloomy?
Amiya	...Yes, some other operators will think so too. They said, at times like these, we should be boosting morale. But I thought about it and realized we're not that kind of team. It's not about good or bad morale for us. We need to understand what it is we're doing. The harder things get, the more we need to tell everyone the truth. We can't be making our decisions blind. What could be more dangerous than walking around this world blindfolded...?
Doctor	I heard Madame Ch'en left Lungmen.
Amiya	...It's true. I'm thinking Madame Ch'en will probably steal into the core city alone. Lungmen, the Infected, her bloodline... Madame Ch'en is a complicated person, with a lot of contradictions tied up inside her. But even carrying around all that, she still didn't give up, she didn't run away. She carried it all with her into Chernobog. She's not afraid of betrayal, exile, or death. Dr. {nickname}, Madame Ch'en is Infected.
Doctor	What?! / Huh... / I knew it all along.
Amiya	Yes. Doctor, when we get to the core city, we're also going to do what we can to rescue her. Not only because she... not only because Madame Ch'en is our friend, and not entirely because someone hired us to do it. Madame Ch'en will not face Reunion alone. We will stand with her. Everything she worked so hard to protect, and the painful silence she forced on herself... We will help her, because we both want the same thing.
Doctor	Sounds pretty generous? / ...... / I thought you'd be more scared of that hard-ass.
Amiya	Ah, haha. Doctor, that look on your mask... it's funny. I've doubted Madame Ch'en before. I took her for the type who couldn't change. But when she reached out to help the Infected, I saw it. I saw the color of her heart.
Doctor	I've never heard anything like that before. / ...... / That's an interesting turn of phrase.
Amiya	Oh, err, it's just how I'd describe it! I don't really know how to explain what I see... and it wouldn't be right to transmit it to people directly. But to protect the Infected in a moving city, to keep to that ideal is... heroic. Madame Ch'en isn't a cold-blooded person. She's stern and strict, but that's exactly why her sense of justice forces her to fight against the darkness in this world. Even if she's never said so herself. So, we'll go.
Doctor	Sure. I made that promise myself! / Okay. / There's someone else who wanted me to stop Reunion.
Amiya	...Dr. {nickname}, are you talking about... Oh... ...Miss FrostNova... ...right. And... Misha. If there's something we can do to prevent a repeat of Misha's tragedy, to bring some comfort to FrostNova and her men, and... To help even more people, to stop the birth of new sorrow in this land, we will do it.
[Kal'tsit enters the bridge.]
Kal'tsit	I've sent both of you the information. This will be the first time the three of us have taken command together.
Doctor	You're going to work with me? / ...... / Am I supposed to be excited?
Kal'tsit	You could always stay here. It's up to you. I can't force you.
Amiya	...Dr. Kal'tsit.
Kal'tsit	I'm listening.
Amiya	I hope you can set aside whatever preconceptions you have of Dr. {nickname}. And I hope you'll set aside whatever prejudices you may have toward Dr. Kal'tsit, Dr. {nickname}... from the things she's said before. At least for the time being. Dr. {nickname} has amnesia. Rhodes Island has no reliable treatment to restore the Doctor's memory in just two short weeks. So everything that the Doctor is now is the product of new understanding and cognition. Dr. Kal'tsit, I hope you can look at this Dr. {nickname} in a new light. And Dr. {nickname}, I don't want you doubting Dr. Kal'tsit's intentions just because of what she's said. She's the person that... ...you can rely on the most. Whether you trust her or not, she is.
Kal'tsit	Hmph.
Amiya	Please promise me, both of you.
Doctor	What else can I do? / ...... / Looks like I have no choice.
Kal'tsit	Dr. {nickname}. Water under the bridge isn't an option for us. Morality won't turn us into better people.
Amiya	Dr. Kal'tsit...
Kal'tsit	I'm not refusing your proposal, Amiya. It's just, forgiveness as a form of kindness, of waiving your right to anger, will only make us weak beyond measure. I will not waive that right. But for now, I'll shelve my prejudices. Let's deal with the core city first. Once and for all.
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Amiya, I'm standing next to you.
Amiya	Right... okay. No, it's not like I think that's a bad thing! I'm just... err, a little slow on the uptake. ...I trust that you'll be there for me when it counts, Doctor. But what I wanted back before was for you to guide me, and take care of everything that I couldn't do in those difficult times... I used to think that with the Doctor at my side, I could be brave.
Kal'tsit	Amiya.
Amiya	Oh, um... I'm okay, Dr. Kal'tsit. I've learned not to rely on other people anymore. But Doctor, just the Doctor... I really thought like that. Now, Doctor, we stand shoulder to shoulder. Ever since you came back to me, I've been waiting for the chance... to tell you... to tell you... I've grown up. I don't need you, or Dr. Kal'tsit, or... um... I don't need you to protect me anymore.
Kal'tsit	......
Amiya	I'll get the results to prove that you were right to trust in me, Doctor. I promise. Hey! Shoulder to shoulder is just an expression. Don't call me short! I'm still growing...! Ugh! I'll be as tall as you in no time, Doctor! ...I'm just happy, Doctor. Yeah... just... very happy.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Kal'tsit	......
Amiya	......
PRTS	I am detecting a cold silence. Would you like me to raise the control room temperature a bit?
Amiya	I don't mind if the Doctor doesn't want to share. I don't want to pry... I get it. We... we all need our own space. It's just, Doctor, even if it's just a little...
Kal'tsit	Amiya, you don't have to take that. Dr. {nickname} has certain skills, and lacks certain skills. And skills need time to recover. Dr. {nickname} will make the right choice at the right time. I hope that the Doctor has not forgotten everything that has happened since rejoining us. –If I can be allowed that hope.
Amiya	Dr. Kal'tsit, that's too much...! The Doctor just doesn't like to mince words. I'm know you go straight to the root of the problem, right?
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	Look forward to working with you, Kal'tsit.
Kal'tsit	— If you're willing. I didn't think it would be this easy. Honestly, I was even expecting you to weave in some traps and pitfalls among your words. ...But what's the harm? I look forward to working with you, Dr. {nickname}.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Doctor	What's the plan?
Amiya	Oh, yeah...! Um, which part of the plan are you asking about, Doctor?
Doctor	First, we'll need a way into the core city. / How do we get there? / We just walk up to Talulah and introduce ourselves, right?
Kal'tsit	Rhodes Island does have its own way of doing things. Take a look at the report. I'll cover every part of the plan. In four hours, we'll trigger a small sandstorm in the path of the Chernobog core city.
<Background 2>
10:00 AM, Wilderness
Nearl	Number one!
Engineering Operator	Compressor number one powered!
Nearl	Number two!
Firewatch	Ammunition stockpile number two ready.
Nearl	Number three.
Engineering Operator	Wind pump number three, camouflage... camouflage in place! Is the camouflage going to work...?
Firewatch	The Chernobog core city command tower has a wide line of sight. This won't work without camouflage. They didn't even try to hide the fact that the core city was basically designed as a warship. The Empire thrives through violence and conquest.
Engineering Operator	Damn... So this is just how the Empire of Ursus designs things?
Firewatch	Designs put ideas into peoples' heads, and those ideas turn around and influence design. Living in an environment like this will breed a natural hostility towards outsiders, sooner or later.
Nearl	...It's not fair to the ordinary Ursus civilians to paint them with such a broad brush.
Engineering Operator	Oh... um... I'll grab the backup cables.
Firewatch	But, how many crimes did Ursus commit against my hometown? They'll never be able to wash the blood off their hands. Now, they seek to use the Infected to spark their next war, to justify even greater cruelty against the Infected. Does this not prove their brutality? They put the torches to our fields and choked our wells with ashes. They razed entire villages, leaving only charred corpses behind... They slaughtered the land itself. Only rubble remains. Those are the "ordinary Ursus civilians" I know. Had they not supported the war, none of these things would've happened.
Nearl	I believe that was not the collective will of the people of Ursus, but rather the manifestation of evil ideas. We are not fighting the people of Ursus, but against evil itself. Firewatch, this may not be Kazimierz land we're standing on. But still, we will not see those atrocities repeated. It doesn't matter whether the enemy is Ursus or not. Reunion may call themselves Ursus, or they may not. But we're not here to hurt people. We're here to stop people from getting hurt.
Firewatch	...The knights never helped us guerillas. Our leaders waited years, but in the end, help never came. We fought to the last, alone, until we were devoured by Ursus. Not many of us are still around to tell the tale. Who can I trust? How am I supposed to I believe in the benevolence of Ursus's "honest folk?" I don't blame the knights. Especially not you, Nearl. But I keep thinking back to the time I spent fighting Ursus. I don't trust them, and I don't trust Kazimierz.
Nearl	— That was a grave mistake on the part of the Kazimierz knights. A mistake that they could not right. And, they did not manage to protect Kazimierz. But at least, we can fight side-by-side today, Firewatch. I didn't have a chance to help you back then, but this time, we fight. Not for our homes, but to put an end to Ursus's atrocities. Even if we're only here as support, I'm still prepared. To fight for what I believe in, to die for you.
Firewatch	To die for someone else... Not all knights are like you.
Nearl	But I believe this is what a knight should be. There is meaning in dying for someone else. Madam Firewatch, let this battle be my apology to you.
Firewatch	...Operator Nearl. Anything you need me to do?
Nearl	Guard the area, until the devices are fully operational.
4 hours ago...
Doctor	This is our disguise? / ...... / So we've already chosen our camouflage.
Kal'tsit	After so many major combat actions, infiltration is essentially a required course for our operators.
Amiya	Every situation is different, but using the terrain to conceal your position is always a must. Sometimes it's snow, sometimes it's grassy plains, sometimes it's a swamp... we have different techniques every time. Lungmen is here in the deserts and barrenlands, so use the sand to cover your tracks. That's the trick.
Doctor	I'm not so sure about this. / That's not enough. / Maybe we shouldn't rely totally on this one tactic?
Kal'tsit	It's just a way to cover our tracks. Rhodes Island isn't about unilateral operations. Successful infiltration is the sum of a lot of moving parts. The information the Azazel Clinic gave us authenticated the Chernobog blueprints I have. That means we have a solid picture of what the core city's lower levels look like. When the time comes, we'll enter through the drainage system in the foundation. But we'll need bait. We can't hook our prey without bait.
Doctor	Same for the hunter.
Kal'tsit	Heh... Yes. You're right. But given enough time, even the worst hunter can tell the difference between prey and bait. We'll have to stay out of sight long enough to prevent that.
<Background 3>
10:00 a.m.
Pilot	You don't need us to land for this op, do you, Instructor? There isn't a good spot on the core city, and Reunion isn't exactly poorly equipped. They've got casters too. Landing would be trucky.
Dobermann	No need. Just make it look like we're going to land, but keep circling the city. We didn't bring a tactical team. Not much we can do with just the two of us.
Pilot	Yeah, didn't think of that.
Dobermann	...How would you not think of that...?!
Pilot	J-Just kidding, Instructor. Put the whip down.
Dobermann	Hah... We got the wuss who flies the "Bad Guy" and now this joker. You can keep us up for a half an hour, can't you?
Pilot	Not a problem!
Dobermann	Just keep their attention! The Reunion element in the ruins knows we have aircraft, but we can't be sure about what their people in the core city might know.
Pilot	Rest assured, you're riding the "Good Boy," and he's a lot noisier than the "Bad Guy!" It'll be all eyes on us for a solid half hour. Just watch me, Instructor!
Dobermann	Careful now. Don't get us shot down.
Pilot	Just sit back and relax, Instructor. I chauffeured Blaze and Ascalon around a hundred times and we never got shot down on any of those low flights.
Dobermann	...Getting shot down is a one time thing...
<Background 4>
10:00 a.m. Core City Outskirts
Reunion Member	Huh?
Reunion Member	What's that...? Up in the sky?
Reunion Member	They're flying?! The enemy brought a new weapon! What country is it from?! Just shoot it down already!
Reunion Member	We don't know what it's carrying. We can't let it land!
Reunion Caster	Don't panic! If it drops low enough, we'll light it up! Just don't let it out of your sight!
<Background 3>
Dobermann	What kind of safety features are on this thing?
Pilot	Are you afraid of heights, Instructor?
Dobermann	...... A little.
Pilot	Don't worry! If something goes wrong, we won't have time to react. The crash will pulverize us. Won't even be able to identify our bodies. The great equalizer!
Dobermann	How could I not worry?!
<Background black>
Dobermann	Amiya, we've managed to distract the enemy. They're convinced we're preparing to land. Begin the operation!
<Background 2>
Nearl	Attention, combat operators! A smattering of enemies is approaching our position. Likely a recon team from the core city! Our equipment is active. We won't let them ruin our plans. Madam Firewatch, cover me!
Firewatch	Roger!