Operation story: GA-7

Operation

Story

Previous GA-6	Next GA-8
Characters
Federico Fiammetta Mostima Andoain Oren Patia The Pope (Yvangelista XI) Velliv Joyous Lateran Citizen Relaxed Lateran Citizen
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4 5 6

Before operation

“

Be it fantasies or ideals, if we never chased the things we once believed in, would we have made it to where we are today? Perhaps we were once naive, but one need not regret naivety.

”

<Background 1>
[Federico and Oren are running through the alleys.]
<Background 2>
Joyous Lateran Citizen	The town feels so lively today. is it because the conference is about to start?
Relaxed Lateran Citizen	Maybe. There are explosions everywhere. Everyone's so excited.
[Federico bumps to the female citizen...]
Joyous Lateran Citizen	Hey, what the hell?!
Federico	......
[...but quickly runs off.]
Relaxed Lateran Citizen	Is that... an executor... and a Legatus?!
Joyous Lateran Citizen	What's going on? A parkour competition?
Relaxed Lateran Citizen	That sounds like fun! Why don't you join in?
Joyous Lateran Citizen	Let's go! See if we can catch up with them!
[The citizens go after Federico and Oren.]
<Background 3>
Oren	This should be far enough...
[Federico catches up to Oren and engages him.]
Oren	*Sigh*... You're a stubborn one, aren't you, Federico?
Federico	As are you.
Oren	I thought you didn't have a mission... Aren't you practically on vacation? I don't get it. Is there a reason you can't get off my case? What did I ever do to offend you?
Federico	My last mission was in Siracusa, to recover the personal effects of a local Sankta. Among them was a notebook. In it, he wrote that he once saw a female Sankta come into contact with a male Sarkaz.
Oren	Alright, I can see why you'd look into that, but what does it have to do with me? I'm decidedly male, in case you can't tell.
Federico	I followed all the leads I had and found the Sankta woman's address: 7-265 Via Thervatius, Pagus Stevonus.
Oren	...... And when you made it there, you found that she'd already passed away.
Federico	That's correct.
Oren	So you had no choice but to keep following her tracks. Then you found she had been taking suspicious trips, and that she always contacted a specific Legatus before she left on her journeys... Hahahahaha, this is good. This is very good! And here I thought I gave myself away in Victoria or left some evidence after I talked to Andoain. Never would I have thought it was because I helped Feoria out of the goodness of my heart. This might just be some kind of fate.
Federico	Are you done musing?
Oren	*Sigh*, Federico, if my hunch's correct, you probably can't feel what I'm feeling right now. Yes? No?
Federico	Yes. And I do not care. The emotions of those I arrest are not my concern.
Oren	Does that mean you care about the feelings of anyone you're not arresting?
Federico	No.
Oren	You and I are the same. Neither of us cares for empathy... The way I see it, we could be great friends. Actually, I think Laterano could use more people like you. Someone who doesn't let their empathy get to them, always doing things by the book.
Federico	I don't disagree. Perhaps I could pay you a visit in the penitentiary after your trial and we could discuss it more.
???	So, that's your reason, Oren?
Oren	Well, here comes the worst of my troubles... Why must an honest-to-God good guy like me be blessed with such rotten luck?
Federico	Good day, Cardinal Velliv.
[Cardinal Velliv joins in.]
Velliv	Good day, Executor Federico. The Seventh Tribunal will handle the traitor from this point forward. The Notarial Hall's involvement is concluded. Please send a copy of your report on this matter to both the Seventh and First Tribunals. This is my authorization code.
Federico	Confirmed. In accordance with all relevant regulations.
Velliv	So? Would you like to go back to your vacation or join me in arresting the Astray? It's up to you.
[Federico leaves.]
Oren	Vel, has anyone ever heard Federico say goodbye to anyone?
Velliv	You can stop trying to cozy up to me.
Oren	I thought you were here to help me. If you were here to arrest me, you could've waited until Federico was done, right? Of course, it's possible that he couldn't take me... but that wouldn't mean you had to send him home, right?
Velliv	I simply realized that you might be more useful than I expected. When I read Federico's report, I thought you were just Andoain's helping hand... but it looks like... you're not as much of an imbecile as I thought.
Oren	I'm honored.
Velliv	Cecelia's existence is a threat to Laterano. You don't want this threat to be wiped away... not because you want to see it executed, but because you want to use it to make a deal.
Oren	It really makes my heart ache, you know? It's such a windfall, but no one's trying to touch the pile of money. I'm the most faithful to Laterano a man can be, honestly. You know that, Velliv. I'm His Holiness's biggest supporter. His ideals, anyway.
Velliv	But you don't agree with the way he does things, correct? Like this conference, for example. You don't think there's any point to it.
Oren	...... And you think there is? Velliv, how much do you know about Victoria these days? You wouldn't understand just how close we are to war. And at a time like this, His Holiness put up all the political capital he accumulated over the last couple decades... but even though he managed to get most of the countries to bend, the envoys who showed up... they hardly have any weight. In more peaceful times, maybe we could use this as a foundation and slowly pave our way forward. But we don't live in peaceful times. There's no time for us to dilly-dally around if we actually want to see his ideals put into practice. I saw a lot of even dirtier moves in Victoria, with my own eyes. I won't say it's the right way to do things, but if doing the right thing doesn't get us to the finish line— Tell me, would you rather be a woman of integrity?
Velliv	You know, you usually aren't this talkative in situations like these. What are you waiting for?
Oren	Actually, I just changed my mind.
Velliv	Oh?
Oren	After traveling out there for so long, I'm buying less and less into the idea that Sankta are special. We've got the empathy thing, we feel what we feel. That's it. What just happened, though... Even I have to admit... I felt something ancient and primal... and it originated in my heart. Moreover, we got ourselves a trump card. All those envoys are gathered here in Laterano, and we are blessed with a miracle. What does that mean? What could it mean? There is still a lot for us to do, isn't there?
Velliv	I think you might be mistaken about one thing. You think there is no place for the Summit of Nations during troubled times... I suggest you look at this from the other side. That said, I think you have the right idea about one point. There are certain things that His Holiness can't do himself, and I also don't think there's any harm in having a backup plan. You're a lucky man, Oren. I do have a use for you.
<Background 1>
Fiammetta	Come out, Patia. At least you still have some sense in you, and your Sarkaz friends aren't running around the city, joining in on the commotion. If any of the envoys saw the Sarkaz actively sabotaging the Summit of Nations in Laterano... Things wouldn't end nearly as well.
[Patia reveals herself.]
Patia	What are you trying to say?
Fiammetta	Andoain is on his way to the Basilica, isn't he?
Patia	What do you know about him?!
Fiammetta	I've got no reason to tell you, Patia. But before I go settle my score with him, I need you to stop the stupid, annoying little tricks. While your people might still have some sense in you and you aren't actually trying to sabotage the Summit of Nations... I'm warning you. Don't push your luck. Things don't always go the way we want them to.
Patia	Oh? So now it's your turn to "convince" me?
Fiammetta	This is just a little advice. If you don't want to take it, that's no feathers off my plumage.
[Fiammetta loads her grenade launcher.]
Patia	...... Fiammetta, tell me. What are you thinking?
Fiammetta	What else could I be thinking? I'm doing my job... I'm settling the score. It's not that complicated.
Patia	Why did you leave the Pontifica Cohors eight years ago?
Fiammetta	They don't get to leave the city, only the Notarial Hall does. What's it matter? Why ask about that?
Patia	..................
Fiammetta	I don't know what you're brooding about. Maybe you put your hopes on me for something, but I don't really get what your whole thing about Lateran Liberi is about. And I couldn't care less about it. A teammate I trusted betrayed us. One of my friends got hurt because of it, and another got exiled. There might even be traitors who have eyes on them because of it. I made this mistake once... and I won't let it happen again. I'll protect them. It's as simple as that. And I'm not going to apologize if that doesn't fit in with your fantasies.
Mostima	...Pfft.
Fiammetta	Don't get cocky, Mostima. In the same position, wouldn't you do the same?
Mostima	You're right. I would.
Patia	It's true. I've got a fantasy. But so what if it's a fantasy? Fantasies, ideals. If I didn't chase the things I once believed in, I wouldn't have made it this far. Maybe I'm too naive to entrust others with my ideals, but I have no regrets.
Fiammetta	I don't get you.
Patia	That's why I'm not going to back down. Even if everything I'm doing seems stupid and annoying to you, it's my mission, and I will see it through to the end. If you want to stop me, you'll have to take me down.
Fiammetta	...... Very well, Patia.
[Fiammetta points her grenade launcher at Patia.]

After operation

“

When a Sankta asks the Lateran Pope: why does the Church refuse to offer others salvation? The answer he receives is that of silence. Perhaps that is a better answer than the real one.

”

<Background 1>
[After a fight, Fiammetta managed to overpower Patia.]
Patia	Urgh...
Fiammetta	...... That's enough, Patia.
Patia	It's... not over...
Mostima	Patia, right? Most of the Gun-Knights have been reassigned to the envoys' village. Your mission is over.
Patia	......
[Patia collapses.]
Mostima	I don't really get it, though. It's not like Andoain doesn't know who the most powerful guy in the Basilica is... Why the whole charade?
Fiammetta	He probably wanted to make sure he got an audience with His Holiness.
Mostima	Hm? You were actually listening to Lemuen?
Fiammetta	This has nothing to do with that. He is free to settle his score. But that doesn't mean I'm letting him get away.
Mostima	Sure. Shall we get going?
Fiammetta	Once we get Patia settled in.
Mostima	Right.
<Background 4>
The Pope	How should we face this Revelation? These mysterious, indescribable moments; these ambiguous, yet to be explained urges; these unascribable, esoteric intuitions... Where will it lead us? What kind of choice does it want us to make? Or, perhaps, this is merely a hallucination caused by the fatigue of life? But Revelation is called as such only because we willingly believe in it or were told to believe in it. We could even say that if we knew it to be absolutely temporal, even if we deconstructed it into ice cold, objective logic... Regrettably, man will still shine a spiritual light upon "Revelation."
???	Thus, when this cruel reality befalls us, the cowards can point fingers at the ambiguity of the Revelation, while the devout can repent their insufficient understanding. In any case, we can at the very least ascertain that we ourselves are not the root cause of everything.
[Andoain reveals himself.]
The Pope	Ah, Andoain. I was expecting you.
Andoain	You don't seem surprised at all.
The Pope	I can't say this was the result of any particular manipulation. The greatest lesson that I've learned in life is that people always cross paths, no matter their intention.
Andoain	But, in the end, we all have our own goals. The guardian, keeper, and executor of the most supreme law. The eleventh man to take the name of Yvangelista, the Patron Saint of Sacrifice and Unity, and to stand atop the Lateran Curia as the Apostle, His Holiness the Pope.
Yvangelista XI	Why recite all these titles you do not believe in? The girl does not remain in your grasp.
Andoain	She's still young. There is still much for her to experience.
Yvangelista XI	Yet we are old. So old that we know our way around conspiracy, political machination, and internal strife.
Andoain	What will you do now? Will you use this fine gift you spent decades preparing on her?
Yvangelista XI	I'm not foolish enough to stand in a young girl's way.
Andoain	Even if she triggered some kind of "miracle?"
Yvangelista XI	No, this miracle is Laterano's. It belongs only to Laterano. God's grace has fallen upon us. There is nothing more to it.
<Background 5>
[The Pope walks together with Andoain through the Basilica's ballroom.]
Yvangelista XI	Do you enjoy history? I love history. For history to become history, you generally need an origin point, and when some kind of variable is introduced to stir up the water and form ripples—those ripples are history. What of the object that was thrown into the water in the first place, then? Perhaps history does not care about it. And neither do I. The girl called Cecelia will go where she wants and do what she wants. Some day in the future, perhaps the name Cecelia will be known far and wide—it could also remain forever in obscurity. But that has nothing to do with you or me. t has nothing to do with the both of us. We have a mutual understanding regarding that, do we not?
Andoain	You make yourself sound like a kind grandfather sending his granddaughter away. This is nothing more than you getting what it is that you seek. You now get to explain this miracle. In exchange, Cecelia earned the right to leave this place. This cannot even be called a trade. She never had the right to choose.
Yvangelista XI	No, I never wanted to do anything to her. Laterano has stood for millennia, and neither should it nor shall it ever waver for a mere mixed-blood child.
Andoain	I only hope that Apostles before and after you feel the same way, and that those expunged names were not erased for nothing.
Yvangelista XI	We cannot ask for too much. Sins shall always be sins. Only time can wear them down.
Andoain	And it wears them down to the point that no one remembers they were once sins.
Yvangelista XI	I cannot cast blame on our forebears' cautiousness. However, neither shall I accept those sins in order to cover them up.
Andoain	So long as our mutual understanding stands, am I right?
<Background 6>
[The Pope and Androne enters a guest room in the Basilica.]
Yvangelista XI	Hmm... as I said, it is very boring to grow old. Thanks to all the things that we experienced in the past, we are always fearful, on the fence with just about everything. The old don't have the luxury of "possibility," Andoain. We have no choice but to continue down the path that was already laid.
Andoain	A path that was already laid...
Yvangelista XI	That goes for you too. I know of your journey.
Andoain	My journey... Right, I once journeyed... and I heard the purest of prayers and the most vicious of curses. I stepped into sumptuous palaces and plucked my shoes out of bloodstains. I saw shameless sinners beg for mercy, and I closed the simplest of caskets on innocent children. It was always the same. Their cries always died down, and their tears always dried up, and I... I always stood there right next to them, attempting to comfort them. I told them that salvation would come, as long as we believed. But no, nothing ever happened. Not even the briefest passing glance. The Holy City of Laterano has weathered every storm that came its way. How would a saint sitting in his soft armchair and the Sankta that know only to sing the praises of their own dignity know that there exist hardships in the lands beyond? All the hopeless penances, withered consolations, and deafening silences. Do you know how heavily silence weighs on my heart? I seek only an answer. We will never find salvation, will we?
Yvangelista XI	"Salvation." I often hear this word from the faithful, as though a sort of incomprehensible accedence, as though an ark that will rescue all the drowning. Behold, our grand and glorious Lateran City. It is so splendid and magnificent, solemn and refined, with a perpetual aroma of vanilla and sugar wafting in its air. All of this is a reward for abiding by the laws. All of this is our proof of salvation. Yet this paradise is only a paradise because of the harshness of the wastes beyond.
Andoain	We could have been a star in the barrenlands, a torch in the cold night! Don't you dare say I'm wrong! Laterano is not some ancient concept that floats only in scripture! It stands right here and now! Laterano can save everyone!
Yvangelista XI	She cannot.
Andoain	And why is that?
Yvangelista XI	Because we are only "us." Because we are the Sankta of Laterano. And "they" are not "us." "They." They conceal, they become disillusioned, they consign, they become disappointed, they struggle, and they hate. They themselves mold and shape their own enemies. A man-eating monster of both lust and disgrace, with the flames of destruction hidden in its heart. Why do you think these lands have seen countless dynasties and nations come and go in the flames of war while the miraculous Laterano has withstood the test of time? Andoain, they are Inferno itself. And you, you chose to leave "us." You left behind the virtues that shaped us under the stubborn belief that your water could extinguish the flames of Inferno, that your candle could illuminate the night. Why seek my answer? You chose despair for yourself long ago.
Andoain	Three times have I visited Laterano. For the rest of my life I wandered the lands beyond. I've met many men and women, and I do not need the Lateran Pope to tell me how dark their hearts can get. Yet there is also a ray of light in them. A radiant, blinding light that I can never forget. That I will never forget. I was set ablaze by the light. Perhaps the fire is destined to be extinguished the moment it is first lit, but I could never again return to the eternally radiant Laterano. Yet this perpetual radiance is cold and distant. Laterano's light shines on only a select few, and its might exists only to project this image of fabricated glory. In that case, I would rather be the torch that burns by the feet of those who are freezing to death. Even if its flame will soon be extinguished.
Yvangelista XI	Andoain, flames are destined to be extinguished. You seek to turn this perpetual light into a flame, and the flame will meet its fate one day. When that happens, there will be no more light, not even a cold and distant one. If you shatter the twin moons in the sky, then those struggling in the cold night will do so in darkness. Left only to close their eyes. Light will ultimately become a fantasy, a lie of a dream. Would you call eternal night a kindness? You despise the small size of this paradise. But do you know how hard it is for a small paradise to upon these lands? You scorn its small size, but have you ever considered that there are those who try to live an honest life? What right do you have to turn this paradise to tinder for that wildfire of yours, destined to be put out? This world is hostile to beauty. To allow this beauty to persist forever, do you know how much the Lateran people, countless Laterans, generations of Laterans have had to sacrifice? Andoain, who are you to so handily deny all this with a few trivial words?
Andoain	Preposterous. There are those trying to live an honest life in Laterano, but does that somehow make the lives of those outside any less real?! They hold out hope despite their hardships, they follow the scriptures and the laws, they believe that they can change their lives, and they look forward to the rewards for their hard work. Mrs. Baelen from the rock salt and sundries store, Deacon Landi of the Tidal Chapel, little Sagre, who ties the ropes on their bells... Tell me, is there anything wrong with their faith, with their hope? Tell me, oh great and glorious Apostle, Pope Yvangelista XI, the great protector of our paradise and defender of history. Why did Rocamarea deserve to be destroyed?
Answers. Questions. So this is the answer that I sought. So this is the question that I wanted to ask. ......
[Andoain loads his rifle...]
Something has come loose. Something that once had me tied up... for so long. Something is roaring... struggling. Yet I feel only at ease. As though I'm bathing under the saliferous sunlight.
The gunshots rang out almost at the same time. The law is carved into each Sankta's flesh and blood. And one must pay a price to break it. I knew that. There is a bottomless abyss beneath my feet. I've taken that step already.
<Background black>
[Sounds of people collapsing are heard.]
<Background 5>
A great force slams me into the wall, and the sculpted relief presses into my bones, with the statue behind me crumbling to the ground. There is no question that it was the strength of a patron firearm. Though Yvangelista XI's body is old and frail, he is far stronger than he seems. However... I try my best to open my eyes and make out his figure among the smoke and dust. The old man is still standing in the middle of the Basilica, but there is no longer a smile on his face. He looks even older than he did when I stepped into this place. But the halo above his head shines as bright as ever— "The law in our flesh and blood. The painful price to pay." Price...? Then, I realized what the real question here is. The halo above my head is not glowing any darker than it used to.
[The Pope rises up, having survived the ordeal.]
Yvangelista XI	I see. Both you and I came out of this unscathed. What a surprise. It's worthy of celebration, though.
Andoain	I was prepared to pay the price.
Yvangelista XI	You're a pious follower, Andoain. Perhaps that is because you were not born in Laterano. In Laterano, we don't believe in our faith, do we? We live as part of faith itself. We Sankta have been its prisoner ever since the very moment the halos above our heads started to glow.
Andoain	It...? What exactly is this law that we... the Sankta believe in? What exactly... does it mean to fall...?
Yvangelista XI	Throughout Laterano's long history, each apostle has had the authority to interpret the Commandments and derive from them new rules and decrees, even placing them above all others. Laterano is built upon this law. All Sankta know: violate the rules, the Commandments, or the laws, and you must pay the price. The fallen Sankta are no longer connected to all other Sankta. Their patron firearms reject them. Fallen Sankta are no longer Sankta.
Andoain	What "is" a Sankta?
Yvangelista XI	A Sankta cannot point his firearm at another Sankta. That is a Commandment, and it is also our instinct, just like how a man cannot bring himself to take a step forward off the edge of a cliff. Of course, there are those who can, and it seems to me you have more than earned the right to speak to that end.
Andoain	...... What makes me different from her?
Yvangelista XI	I told you the Commandments are instinct, and I told you the Commandments are interpreted. Surely, a man of your intellect can tell those statements are mutually exclusive.
Andoain	If the law was constant, then the "interpretations" that were added over time throughout our ever-changing history could never have been "instinct."
Yvangelista XI	Correct, but you are calling the wrong premise into question. The law is naturally constant... but our "interpretation" isn't really as "ever-changing" as you are making it seem. Interpretation isn't a coincidence, Andoain. Do you understand?
Andoain	You said "the old don't have the luxury of possibility."
Yvangelista XI	The law is much older than either of us. The apostle does not interpret the law. The law interprets itself. Why do you think the law is capable of this? Take a look at these—Oh, my apologies. I made such a mess here—these structures, statues, stained glass, the exquisite domes and frescoes all around us. Do they seem like they have constructed a particular illusion for us? Do you recall the "Revelation?"
Andoain	If we knew it to be absolutely temporal, even if we deconstructed it into ice cold, objective logic...
Yvangelista XI	Regrettably, man will still shine a spiritual light on it. ...... There has only ever been one true law. —We are to continue our existence.
Andoain	Who are "we?"
[The Pope approaches Andoain...]
Yvangelista XI	Follow me.
[...and took him into the Basilica's inner sanctum.]
I follow the old man into the depths. Everyone knows that the saints of old are buried under the Basilica. They are the most knowledgeable and outstanding men and women in Laterano's long history. Their brilliant marble statues have no eyes, rendering them blind to those who pass by. We head down. Stela recounting the achievements of the past popes line our path. Among them were the conceited, the noble, and perhaps even the crazed, but not a single one of them ever allowed Laterano to be besmirched. Now, they stand here in silence.
<Background black>
We head down. This is where the oldest of saints lie. They were the ones who plucked the Sankta out of chaos. They were the embodiment of all the virtues of mankind. All those who came after merely imitated them. The nameplates on which their miracles are described are dim and lightless.
[Rumbling sounds that seemingly comes from a machine can be heard.]
We head down. I do not know where I am. For as far as my eyes can see, nothing here has never been mentioned in any texts or literature. I cannot understand any of this. This should not be part of Laterano. A low humming sound fills the entire space around us. Strangely, I find myself flustered by all this. It is not the answer that I sought. It is not something man is capable of establishing or interpreting... It is not something that interpretations, analyses, debates, or reforms could influence... It is not a matter of whether or not you believe in It, why you believe in It, or how you believe in It... After all, this is an undisputable existence. In such a manner... It exists.
[...]
What is Laterano? What are Sankta? I see. We are us only because— It links us all together. It molds us. It is the criterion upon which all things are based.
Yvangelista XI	The path you and I follow was paved by law. The paths you and I have trodden both lead to the same destination. It allows you and I to continue making our way forward. This is the path It has deemed as correct.