Operation story: OD-1

Operation

Story

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Characters
Franka Liskarm Rangers Schwarz Drudge Levi Hideous Abomination Mercenary
Backgrounds
1 2 3

Before operation

“

Rangers and several other Rhodes Island operators run into an incident during a field mission. Having lost their means of transportation for the return trip, the four operators begin a trek through the deserts of Sargon.

”

<Background 1>
[Schwarz returns to Rangers after scouting the area.]
Schwarz	I'm back.
Rangers	No problems, I take it?
Schwarz	Nothing of particular note within a thirty kilometer range. The area is safe for now.
Rangers	Very good. Let me take a look at the map. Hmm... We're on the right track. Keep north, and we should see a waypoint the locals called Trumhill before long. We'll have an opportunity to rest at its base. From there, we can start moving west, and we'll be at Phecon within two days.
Schwarz	Is Phecon our destination?
Rangers	Of course not, but it's the most suitable transfer station. Phecon sees a lot of Columbian caravans, which we can follow one to reach Twinriver. There, we have a Rhodes Island branch office. If we can get to the branch office, we'll be able to secure ourselves some transportation. From there, the rest will be much easier.
[Franka and Liskarm was relieved.]
Franka	Music to my ears! Can't wait to wrap up this on-foot odyssey. My shoe soles are worn straight flat.
Liskarm	You ought to walk outside more. It's good for your health, and you won't need to keep worrying so much about your weight.
Franka	Hey!
[Schwarz asks something to Liskarm.]
Schwarz	What about the communicator? Any linkable signal nodes?
Liskarm	Still no good. The way I see it, we're not going to get any direct contact with the Rhodes Island landship until we reach Phecon. Not unless we can get our hands on a more powerful transmitter...
Franka	You can forget about that. There's no other nomadic city to be found around here.
Rangers	Quite. That's why I made sure to ask you to bring more than enough food and water. It's a tall order to find any supplies on the way to Phecon. I do remember little settlements dotted around here and there, but after all these years, I could hardly say whether any of them are still where they used to be.
[Liskarm seems impressed on what Rangers said.]
Liskarm	So you're pretty familiar with this area, Mr. Rangers.
Rangers	Hah-hah-hah... I might've been a tad more familiar in my sprightlier days. Truth is, I haven't been around these wastelands in a long, long time.
Liskarm	You drew that map yourself, Mr. Rangers?
Rangers	Indeed. Any good ranger can draw their own maps, though I never would've guessed this one would still be useful even now. The topography around here hasn't been marred by Catastrophes too badly, so we might count ourselves lucky.
Liskarm	I'm sorry for all the bother we've made for you.
Rangers	Don't you worry about it. It's this old man's duty to look out for you young'uns. I share the responsibility for this mess, anyway. We wouldn't be in such a tight spot now if I had made the proper preparations beforehand.
Liskarm	What, the band of mysterious mercenaries that raided the warehouse and by rotten luck just happened to make off with our car? Who's going to believe a story like that??
Franka	I think it was the trader, actually. Pulled our car apart to sell off the parts, then fed us some random explanation to cover up after the fact.
Liskarm	I actually agree with you, for once.
Franka	You didn't need the "for once".
Liskarm	The old me wouldn't have let him off as kindly as that, if we were going by our old Blacksteel mercenary customs.
Rangers	But you are Rhodes Island operators now. I'd much rather not see you get into fights with the locals. The medical supplies made it safely, and the trader didn't try to cook the books when paying us. We can't really ask for too much more.
Schwarz	Carrying a sack of refined Originium Ingots across the barrenlands by foot is incredibly dangerous.
Rangers	I won't deny how... perforated their explanations were. We can't count on the local Vouivre mercenaries to be totally honest with us, so I'll keep an eye out for that next time. But in the meantime, once we get back, you do have to report the property loss to Logistics.
Liskarm	*Sigh*... Yeah, this is just how Vouivre is.
[Rangers reminded himself of something.]
Rangers	That said... I could likely find our way there even without any maps or Arts, but we'd be taking time we don't have. I worry we're too many for that, and our water and food wouldn't last us.
Schwarz	You can navigate the Sargon barrens without any tools? May I ask how?
Rangers	If we ever have the time in future, I can teach you a thing or two. It's all nothing more than my experience.
[Franka was impressed on what Rangers said.]
Franka	How do I put it... You're very worthy of the "Ranger of the Red Valley" title, if I do say so.
Rangers	Hah-hah-hah-hah. So you youngsters know how to tell an old tale or two as well, then. That's just an exaggerated title.
Franka	Aren't those tales all true, though? Like how you rounded up and brought all of the Jenkins Seven to justice in a single day, or how you held off an entire column of Rusthammer Bandits all by yourself...
Liskarm	How you struck ten targets with just a single arrow, or how you shot down a Lateranan's bullets while high up in the sky...
Rangers	My word. So this is what the stories are like now.
Liskarm	My Sargon colleagues at Blacksteel spoke of your tales from time to time, Mr. Rangers. They're all like this, pretty much. Stories not out of place in a theater.
Franka	They wouldn't be out of place in a novel either.
Liskarm	You've heard them too, right, Miss Schwarz?
Schwarz	...Mm... There was a mercenary traveling the breadth of Columbia who told me about one or two of them. I believe they were "The Scimitar of the Bloody Valley" and "Tragedy of the Lord Ameer".
Rangers	......
[Rangers pause for a moment.]
Rangers	Mm... A little exaggerated indeed. Rangers aren't as all-powerful as they've been portrayed. I can't suppose to know what you've all heard, but I can say that the most widespread stories are largely untrue. Rangers were not a fighting force. If you want my description, they were more akin to survivors banded together out in the wild. They started as just a couple of ordinary folk fallen into times of pain and strife. They stepped forth against the odds, against it all. They protected villages against the scourges that would pillage them. They weren't trained warriors, any of them. They were a resistance, born in a time of war that knew no other way, of devastation that took and took and took. They brimmed with anger under it. They refused to keel to cruel destiny through the months and years of the war. Afterwards, as more and more joined them, they slowly grew from a lone autonomous militia of sorts to a collective of regional organizations, and so they resided across the wastelands, defending settlements while offering medical aid.
Liskarm	I've read of that from my time at Blacksteel. From reports of the Sargon region, it wasn't just officials, but the rangers as well who'd pursue wasteland hooligans and mercenary looters to exhaustion, out across the wastelands.
Rangers	What those reports refer to is truth, I can say that. Back then, a group of rangers certainly... had its heroes, and they certainly caught themselves a fair share of villains. The events you describe happened, but I stress that that wasn't standard fare. The vast majority of the time, we rangers simply helped towns fix their wells, fend off wild beasts, gather medicine, that kind of stuff. Just the little things. Moreover, this area wasn't even Sargon territory back then...
Franka	So, Mr. Rangers, back then, you must've been part of that group of "heroes," right?
Rangers	Hah-hah-hah. This old man is hardly so prestigious. I was but a normal scout and nothing more.
Schwarz	...Normal...? In the end, this organization of rangers ended up disbanding, didn't it?
Rangers	That certainly is a long story... Many things happened afterwards, to say the least. And once the war concluded, the Lord Ameers were settled, each with all the land they wanted. Those Lord Ameers of Sargon would not tolerate an organization that bowed to no-one, and the rangers were one such organization. Of course, opinion from the Lord Ameers aside, there were many reasons why the rangers disbanded. But these are past events, and it's been a very, very long time since. The nitty-gritty of it all has fallen out of this old man's head.
Franka	So all those wild stories never actually happened?
Rangers	The truth is often mundane. So you remedy it by exaggerating how things happened, and you make the story dramatic. And only when it's dramatic enough do people pass it down. Your stories all picked up layers upon layers of artistry before they reached you. Alright, this old man's told plenty enough himself. Let's get ourselves ready to leave.
[The group prepares to move out.]
Franka	By the sound of things, we've already reached Sargon territory?
Liskarm	We were already in Sargon as of last night. Can you please pay a little attention? When suddenly you're in trouble, I'll be the last one to help you.
Franka	I love how much you suck.
Rangers	The land we step on now is the jurisdiction of the Lord Ameer of Bayalir, though his provisional capital is still a ways away. After that...
[Rangers heard what appears to be a burrowing noise.]
Rangers	Hold! Stop moving!
Schwarz	...You heard that too.
[The burrowing noise goes louder.]
Rangers	All of you, stay still. Something's approaching.
Franka & Liskarm	! !
Schwarz	...It's close...
[The burrowing noise comes out from the ground.]
Rangers	It's underneath us! Scatter!
Liskarm	Franka! Move!
[Liskarm pushes Franka out of the way and heads into safety just as the source of the burrowing noise, a pack of sand beast, is revealed.]
Hideous Monstrosity	(Roars)
[Schwarz are surprised on seeing the sand beasts, which are larger than usual.]
Schwarz	! What... what are these?
Liskarm	Are these... sand beasts?
Franka	Since when do sand beasts grow like this?
Liskarm	One, two... no, there's just too many.
[Everyone prepares themselves.]
Rangers	Move into formation! Be ready for battle!

During operation

Schwarz	...That's no ordinary Infected creature!
Rangers	Ordinary Infected creatures don't split like that.
Schwarz	<The Mutant Sand Beast is highlighted> These mutants break apart when they go down, watch out! <The first of the two Originiutant Excrescences are highlighted> These split units are not counted into enemy progression... <The second of the two Originiutant Excrescences are highlighted> However they will deplete Objective HP if they enter Objective Point. So stay cautious!
Franka	What the hell is going on here...?

After operation

“

The Rhodes Island Field Personnel are attacked by a strange mutated creature, when suddenly they receive a distress signal from a hidden Rhodes Island Safe House. The members of the squad decide to investigate.

”

<Background 1>
[Schwarz dispatches the last of the odd sand beasts.]
Schwarz	Last one here!
[Rangers asks the others.]
Rangers	Everyone else!? Any wounded?
Liskarm	No worries here.
Franka	None here, either.
Rangers	Communications equipment?
Liskarm	Unharmed.
[Rangers check the holes dug by the sand beasts.]
Rangers	Is this its burrow? ...Strange.
Franka	They seemed like sand beasts, at least?
Liskarm	Sand beasts, of this size? Over two meters long?
Rangers	...I've spent the better part of my life in these wastelands, but never have I seen a sand beast capable of digging holes.
Schwarz	...These creatures have Originium crystals on their bodies.
Liskarm	...Mm... Possibly biological mutations caused by Originium pollution, then?
Franka	There's no nomadic cities, no factories and no mines. How does Originium pollution even happen here?
Liskarm	Could it have been a Catastrophe's fault?
Franka	You'd be underestimating nature. Wildlife knows Catastrophes far better than we do. These creatures would've been the first to avoid Originium pollution. Cities can be torn apart by Catastrophes while the wildlife emerges untouched –Nature in this world is ruthless when it wants to eliminate you. If you don't have some way of dealing with Originium, your time as a living species won't be long.
Schwarz	I think... I have a hypothesis. Like ordinary Originium Slugs, the body's outer shell could have absorbed Originium into its makeup, while its innards remain clean and uncorrupted.
Liskarm	On that note, has P.R.T.S ever recorded any similar cases?
Franka	None. Not even for the Ironforge City leakage incident in Columbia, and that's the first thing you'd think of.
Rangers	Sand beasts are docile creatures by nature. Originium shouldn't change them so drastically, and I can't imagine anything short of Arts would make them outright aggressive. Stay vigilant. Don't let your guard down.
Schwarz	...Arts? A Caster? I just hope this doesn't complicate things for us.
Rangers	Don't let it worry you too much. We'll continue on as we were, anyhow.
Schwarz	Understood.
[The radio picks up an incoming call.]
Liskarm	Is this... a Rhodes Island emergency rescue signal?
Franka	Is it another Rhodes Island field team, maybe?
[Liskarm answers the call.]
???	...oh, thank hea......meone finally answered! ...pl......help us......equesting support...
[Worried, Liskarm asks the one contacting them.]
Liskarm	This is a Rhodes Island Field Personnel Team. If you receive this, please reply.
[The contact answers.]
???	This is......Long Spring......Watchtower 33... ...mob......currently... ...they've come in!
Rangers	Calm down! Operator, tell us what's happened!
Liskarm	The signal's very poor. They're coming through intermittent.
???	...help us......plea......ing you–
An burst of sharp static, and communications break off.
Liskarm	......
Franka	Well, that's not good.
[Schwarz asks something to Rangers.]
Schwarz	What does Watchtower 33 refer to?
Rangers	From the sound of it, it seemed like a Rhodes Island safehouse's code name.
Franka	A safehouse? The mission brief didn't mention any safehouses around here.
Rangers	...Mm... Truthfully, in a few areas, Rhodes Island will make a habit of hiding some safehouses, out of the way. For use in very particular field missions.
Schwarz	But we ourselves don't know where Watchtower 33 is.
Rangers	Long Spring... Long Spring... That name rings a faint bell. If you could let me see the map for a second. Hmm... Here, if I'm not mistaken. Following about twenty kilometers north from Trumhill, you should find another canyon. That canyon had a little village near it, I'm sure of it. That village, years ago, had a well. One of the very few reliable water sources for miles around.
Liskarm	So that's why it's Long Spring?
Franka	So. What do we do next? Change of plans?
Liskarm	Or we can try and make for Phecon overnight, get in touch with the branch office and see what assistance we can procure from them.
Rangers	...I worry the operator in the safehouse may not last long enough for that. All of you, keep going until you reach Phecon, and find some support or other there if you can. I'll head for Long Spring and see what the situation is. Don't you worry, I know this land very, very well. Indeed, I can afford to be more flexible on my lonesome. If things get out of hand there, I'll head back for Phecon promptly and join up with you all.
Liskarm	That...
Schwarz	I object.
Rangers	Oh?
Schwarz	I'm aware how wary it is of me to say our sand-burrowing mutants and the safehouse's distress call might not just be coincidence, but the Sargon barrens demand we must maintain vigilance. We are not clear about the area surrounding Long Spring. Given we are not, you would gamble more alone than you can afford, Rangers, sir.
Liskarm	I'd also like to recommend we move for Long Spring as one. If things aren't friendly for us, we can still cover for each other, especially during a retreat.
Rangers	...Mm... That does make sense. Yes, you're right. The old man will listen. I ought to at my age, anyhow. Can't be as spry and reckless as I was in my younger years.
<Background 2>
Drudge	This thing is ugly as sin.
Levi	Ugliness is a personal thing subject to the eye of each beholder. You ought to be seeing through to what this creature embodies, signifies. See through to the myriad array of evolutionary possibilities that it testifies to. Order is but our own arbitrarily imposed concept which nature suffers. All the world and its beings were, in their primordiality, chaos seized by impermanence. (Russian) Of course, I don't expect any of your sort to understand that in the first place. It's only natural your soft, ignorant little brains can't grasp the grand strokes of the evolutionary scheme.
Drudge	A language I know, please!
Levi	Of course, dear sir, setting apart the matter of whether or not it is ugly to you. I must say you are not seeming wholly satisfied with it. Else you would not be looking for me in the first place.
Drudge	It still isn't strong enough, schoolboy! Your little beastie couldn't even make the lord's escort blink!
Levi	Surely you do not suppose it was down to the sheer incompetence of your ignorant little mercenaries? These mutant creatures are weapons, just weapons. If they knew tactics for themselves, you could throw every mercenary of yours into the garbage heap the next day.
Mercenary	Bite it, old coot! I'm going to twist your goddamn head off.
Drudge	Hold it! *Sigh* (facepalm). Listen, schoolboy. I'm not backing your research so you can talk my ear off about a bunch of high crap. You're here, for me, to solve practical problems. I acknowledge it, no mistake. Your research is something else. But! If you can't help me depose of my father with it, then you and your little shop of horrors can walk yourselves into the goddamn garbage heap. My patience is limited.
Levi	As is mine. I have explained this to you over and over already, and I do not wish to do it again, because I do not wish to waste my time.
Drudge	You think you can fool me! I've poured money into your little "experiments" for half a year, the likes of which you'll never see in your entire goddamn life. And I don't think I've seen an equal return on it! Where's that "cruel and frightening army" you promised me? Where's that "might to make the heart know fear", huh? You think all it takes to keep me happy is a bunch of ugly, swollen, light-up sand beasts?
Levi	What does it take for you to understand? The fruits of scientific research need time to grow swollen. If money was all it took to accelerate the march of science, to ripen the fruit, I would have long since flown away to the moon by now.
Drudge	Enough of that. I'll give you two more days. And I want to like what I see.
Levi	(Russian) Imbecile.
Drudge	You speak in a language I don't understand one more time, and I'll throw you and all your little creations into the barrenlands to make merry until the sun goes down. Go on, try me.
Levi	*Sigh*. Fetch me some corpses.
Drudge	Come again?
Levi	Bring me corpses! People's corpses, corpses like the ones you leave behind! Any will do. Of course, ones blighted by the Originium infection will do even better.
Drudge	What the hell do you need those for?
Mercenary	You bastard old coot. Now you want to insult the dead, huh!
Levi	Did you not want the "might to make the heart know fear"? Then do not hang yourself up on all that pernicious, useless witter you might otherwise call "ethics". The corpses, bring them to me. I would like to have you see something interesting.
Drudge	......
Mercenary	Chief, this goes completely against the Lord Ameer of Bayalir's great commandments. The old coot is trying to dupe you.
Drudge	You want to take the dead and raise me some Zhayedans?
Levi	I do not know whatever this ghoulish thing you call a Zhayedan is, but rest assured you will find confidence in the fruits of my scientific research.
Mercenary	Chief, I don't think...
Drudge	Shut up! Old boy, I want you to listen carefully. You might think you're the peak of intelligence. You might think you've seen every move on the board. You might think there's nothing you don't know. But don't think about playing a fast one on me. I've gotten to know your kind all too well. Everyone like you dies because they think they're too goddamn smart to die. The only reason I still put up with you is because you're still useful. I can get you what you need. But don't disappoint me. Because you will not like what comes after.
Levi	Well, then, what else can I possibly say? Good luck to you.
Drudge	You're still alive. Don't forget who you have to thank for it. Without me, your research would amount to a pat of bullshit. If not for me, you'd be six months dead, rotting in this ore mine. (Sargonian) Head in your ass. I'm leaving you two here. Watch him.
Mercenary	Got it, boss.
Levi	(Russian) Gaggle of imbeciles. Every second I spend talking to you is spent killing off my precious braincells.
[Levi heads deeper into the mine...]
The aged scholar reaches the depths of the caverns.
<Background 3>
[...and reaches the Magnethill main laboratory which was transported to Terra alongside him.]
Meandering tunnels lined by frames of cast concrete, set in a particular yet strange pattern. The things in here were never meant to be here. Within gray-white metal walls, instruments and devices not of this world wind up into operation. And within a culture chamber, manufactured of clear glass, Originium enveloped in connective tissue floats. It contracts. It relaxes. It convulses.
[Levi approaches a bio-tank and gazes at his creation within.]
Levi	(Russian) Originium... (Russian) It boggles my mind that this world has such an extraordinary existence gracing it. (Russian) Yet somehow, these locals fear it in their ignorance. Fear what evolution this great power brings with it. (Russian) But no, oh, of course, they should be afraid. (Russian) For the fool fears the unknown. The fool fears might. The fool fears progress... (Russian) Ignorants, oh, you ignorants.