Operation story: R8-8
< R8-8
| Operation | Guide | Story |
| Previous M8-5 | Next M8-6 |
| Characters | |
 Infected  Petrova  Shieldguard | |
| Backgrounds | |
 1  2 | |
Before operation
| “ | Talulah allows some of the Infected in her group to leave, sparking an argument with Patriot. And the Infected who left betray Talulah, hoping to divert the attention of the Ursus Army. | ” |
| <Background black> | |
|---|---|
| Hui-chieh: We have been heading south. The guerrillas are hoping to get to as many mines as possible before the extermination plan gets underway to save as many Infected as we can. The garrison is falling back, and we are pushing further and further ahead. To outsiders, it probably looks like we are hunting down the Ursus squads. That couldn't be further from the truth, and it's a nigh impossible task. We are hiding from the Ursus Army while also trying to save the Infected from under their nose. If you ask me why we are doing this, I guess all I can tell you is, "It's what we are supposed to do." That being said, I can't help but feel that by taking in all these Infected, thus giving the other teams some breathing room, we may be playing into Mr. Patriot's hand. Patriot might have drawn a line. A line that we dare not to cross. To cross that line is to fight the Ursus garrison head-on—a tall order, it goes without saying. It's either that or keeping ourselves under the radar. In other words, we'll have to leave the tundra, and that means infiltrating the real Ursus territory—their nomadic cities, where all aspects of life are ruled with their iron fist. At that point, the guerrillas put their weapons away until it's time for us to take up arms again. The treatment of the Infected in the cities and ships out in the wild are bound to be even more cruel. I imagine the days that are to come will be very difficult. It's not easy to take this step. But this is the Northwestern Tundra... There's nothing but snow here. We can't feed all these mouths with just snow. | |
| <Background 1> | |
| November 3rd Year X | |
| Petrova | My brothers and sisters, are you okay?! It's good to see all of you in one piece. ...Man, was that battle not a disaster. |
| Talulah | Thank you, Yeti Squad. It's a pleasure to lead the fight with all of you. |
| Petrova | The pleasure is ours, Talulah. We all think it's very reassuring to fight alongside you. We make a good match. Now I can see why FrostNova trusted you to lead our squad. What's more, the way you use your Arts is getting more ingenious by the day. Blasting flames through the cold air, and detonating that? I don't think I could've come up with that one. |
| Talulah | Well... those weren't exactly flames. It's hard to explain, so I'll spare you the details. |
| Petrova | I'm sure FrostNova can rest easy knowing she doesn't have to look out for us all the time anymore. So, do you think we'll come across any more of those Ursus scum here? |
| Talulah | Well, this is one of the cities Ursus was planning on dismantling three years ago. The troops here managed to take over the city, probably thanks to corruption or some equally dirty work... As for the original residents... probably either enslaved or driven out. They didn't stand a chance against us, at the very least. |
| Petrova | They aren't as weak as you're making them out to be. |
| Talulah | Just relatively speaking. Compared to the regular Ursus Army, at least. It's not like Patriot has let you fight any battles that difficult. |
| Petrova | No, he hasn't. It's true. He didn't think we could handle it. But I think we are more than up to the task now, with how well we're getting on. |
| Talulah | I'm not so sure about that. The real Ursus Army is on a whole other level. This detachment lacks discipline and training... I'm guessing they might not even be technically organized. And we just barely had a leg up over these guys because of our tactical planning. |
| Petrova | ...So you're saying we've got nothing to celebrate? |
| Talulah | No, far from it. We have all the resources we need to survive now. We really needed these supplies. Without them, we won't make it through the winter. Besides, the nomadic city may be old and run-down, maybe even too small, but... |
| Petrova | It's big enough for us. None of us have ever been on a nomadic city before. |
| Infected | Talulah! |
| Talulah | What's the matter? You're... one of the Infected from the Earcurl village... if my memory serves me correctly. |
| Infected | We've got a pretty big team ourselves! At the very least, we're no smaller than you guerrillas. |
| Talulah | Well, you're almost there. I'm not exactly part of the guerrilla force. |
| Infected | We still definitely had more men in this fight than you. |
| Talulah | ...So? What do you want from me? |
| Infected | Let's go our own ways here, Talulah. |
| Talulah | You serious? |
| Infected | We've fought plenty of battles with you people, and we've taken the shirt off our backs for you way more than I can count. You can take half of the resources in the city. Hell, take more than that. Just let us keep the city. With the city... we could go anywhere. We could be anywhere in the tundra. The Patrol Unit and the Ursus troops will never find us. |
| Talulah | So you are saying you don't want to fight anymore? |
| Infected | We'll die. We're... We're all a little... The enemy... They're getting stronger and stronger. |
| Talulah | These people aren't even on the same level as any of the contingents that Patriot's guerrilla squads have faced. |
| Infected | But we can't do it! Talulah, you aren't going to deny us even this, are you? |
| Petrova | Okay, what are you people talking about now? |
| Infected | The Yeti...! ...You coldhearted monsters wouldn't understand! Death means nothing to you, not like the rest of us...! |
| Petrova | You— |
| Talulah | (Waves Petrova down) |
| Petrova | Talulah... |
| Talulah | We'll get the supplies out right away. The city is yours to keep. |
| Infected | That's good to hear... |
| Talulah | But I won't stand for any insult to our fighters. Apologize to the Yetis right now. |
| Infected | ...... Ahem... Sorry. That will do, right? |
| Talulah | Petrova, gather your men. We need to itemize the supplies. (Also, turn on the Ursus comms terminal we captured.) |
| Petrova | (You don't mean...) |
| Talulah | (They know Patriot's guerrilla squad isn't around.) |
| <Background 2> | |
| Patriot | Where are you going? |
| Talulah | Mr. Patriot? We were just about to rendezvous with you. |
| Patriot | You handed the city to those folks? |
| Talulah | Looks like you got my message already. |
| Patriot | —What these people are doing is nothing short of betrayal. Your permission has given them the justification they wanted. You destroyed the order here. |
| Talulah | The moment they asked to be let go, I wasn't going to be able to keep them. |
| Patriot | Those who lack conviction and willpower shouldn't wage war. Not now, not ever. |
| Talulah | If we go by your logic, no one was born with the right to set foot on the battlefield in the first place. |
| Patriot | Discipline is everything. Kill them, and take the city back. You owe your team and your people this. |
| Talulah | So that they know the Infected will kill a bunch of helpless people with their backs against the wall and grease the wheels with their blood, all for a run-down city? |
| Patriot | They have contravened our discipline. |
| Talulah | None ever fought for discipline to begin with. |
| Patriot | It has been four years since we first met. In all this time, not once have I given you an order. I either tolerated your presence there on the battlefield or refused to work with you. I really can't know if you have matured or gone soft in that time. |
| Talulah | All because I don't agree with you? |
| Patriot | Summon the rest of the Infected and tell them they've betrayed the manifesto. Have them executed immediately. You must make an example of their transgression. |
| Talulah | I can't do that. |
| Patriot | I can see you are hesitating. You are hesitating because they, too, are Infected. Is it because you think this is dishonorable? You loathe killing, and you don't care for power. That's not a bad thing. But then you need someone to do the dirty work for you. |
| Talulah | I'll let you know I'm not afraid of doing this, and I don't dare to claim I have the moral high ground over anyone either. |
| Patriot | In that case, the guerrillas and I will get it done. If you refuse to take up arms against them, the guerrillas will clean up the mess. What is that expression? You can't possibly think I am the honest and noble man everyone makes me out to be? Someone like that would've been dead long before the fighting even began. What's honorable besides reigning victorious and safeguarding the fruits of victory? Triumphing over the enemies you loathe in battle is by its very nature an honor, but that doesn't mean I take pride in my sacrifices. If a decision leads to victory and fewer dead comrades, then that's the right decision to make. |
| Talulah | This city is already on its last legs. It's likely been in service for much longer than it was intended. It's not going to last another three years. Both you and I know that they are doomed to be stranded in the tundra. They'll still have to find a way out in the end. But, with the city, they bought themselves a tiny bit of hope, even if it's just for those three years. I'm not going to crush that hope of theirs. |
| Patriot | You're fine seeing your team get torn into two? |
| Talulah | No. I already told you... they were never on the same team as us to begin with. I'm not going to give you the "the weak cannot go to battle" excuse you've been giving me. All I'm saying is not everyone thinks the same way we do. We'll have many people join our ranks. But not all of them are working towards the same goal as we are. We're just borrowing their strength. We aren't exploiting it. If we forced them to do our bidding, we would only be making them work against their own goals. And that's how you get them to actually start doubting each other and feel alienated. |
| Patriot | ...... All for the sake of unit purity, is it? |
| Talulah | If that's what you want to call it. I'm not sure I'd describe it like that, though. |
| Patriot | If nothing else, I can tell you are a righteous person. There's a unit stationed nearby guarding the trade route, and they're much better trained. You know things are bound to go wrong. |
| Talulah | I don't want to admit it, but you're right. They just might do that, so we'll prepare for that. The Yetis... intercepted the message already. You're right. The nomadic city sent a message out. They tipped off the Ursus troops in the area our location. ...They want to draw the Ursus Army's attention to us. No one wanted this battle to happen. |
| Patriot | Their foolishness will slowly lead them to destruction. |
During operation
| Talulah | Ursus is counting on these drones to guide their artillery strikes? I'm hurt... it's just a scrape, but too many of these scrapes, and I won't be able to keep fighting. If we want to avoid a fight, it's not too late to fall back... That won't do. If I don't step up here, we'll be just leaving our backs wide open to the Ursus Army. I have to be careful to not take too much damage. It's the only way. Stand firm. We must stand firm here... Flames barely do anything to my body... It can't even stop the bleeding. I must save my strength. I must make sure to finish this battle hale and whole. Mr. Patriot... you aren't going to back down, right? In that case, I won't either. |
|---|
After operation
| “ | The Infected betrayal does not anger or disappoint Talulah, and while being questioned by Patriot, she reveals her thoughts and spits out a decision. Patriot finally gives her the nod. | ” |
| <Background 1> | |
|---|---|
| Patriot | Take a count of the dead and wounded. It's just as you said. They used us as bait, and a battle ensued. Are you disappointed, Talulah? |
| Talulah | —No. They had their reasons for doing this, and I also know exactly what they were. Knowing they had a legitimate reason, I couldn't possibly have gotten my hopes up. |
| Patriot | ...The informant must be executed. |
| Talulah | And how should we pick out this traitor, out of all the people that wanted to flee the battlefield? |
| Patriot | They betrayed their brothers-in-arms for a moment of peace. If you make excuses for them, you're only putting your warriors in harm's way. |
| Talulah | No. They never swore their loyalty to us in the first place. You want every last person on your team to be absolutely perfect? That's impossible. You won't find a squad like that anywhere. |
| Shieldguard | But the guerrillas— |
| Talulah | The guerrilla fighters aren't perfect either. There are only a handful of people as perfect as you're making them out to be. Everyone else has their own reasons to be here, and only because they are willing to pay the price, but that doesn't mean they've thought it all through. |
| Patriot | Stand down, soldier. Don't try to argue with her. |
| Talulah | It takes a lot more work to build a city than to destroy one, Mister. Just let them stay. If there's more than one way for the Infected to survive, I'd rather see all of those ways work out. |
| Patriot | Talulah, you can't always try to go about everything without making sacrifices. |
| Talulah | Sacrifices... Is that even up to me to decide? |
| Patriot | All of us are prepared for the worst. You can't win without spilling blood. Heading south will lead to war. I know it, and I am sure you know it too. The Empire isn't going to sit by and watch the Infected unite and grow into a major force. If everything goes the way you pitched it and the Infected actually manage to take their fate into their own hands, then this war is inevitable. |
| Talulah | —You're right. We need to first let the Infected understand that their lives have meaning. They don't have an obligation to face anything that comes after that. |
| Patriot | You want the guerrillas to fight this war? Talulah, are you waiting for a war to break out between Ursus and another country, one that you can profit from...? Or are you trying to sow the seeds of that war yourself? |
| Talulah | (Silence) |
| Patriot | You don't want to give me an answer. You should know that any victory you can hope to achieve will bring with it disastrous results. |
| Talulah | You're probably right. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sacrifice any lives. |
| Patriot | Are you prepared to bear the tremendous pain to come? |
| Talulah | Not at all. Things are bound to be painful, after all. |
| Patriot | Do you expect everyone to be so kind-hearted? |
| Talulah | I simply have faith that the people of Ursus weren't born selfish and cruel. |
| Patriot | Perhaps you'll come face to face with real evil one day. |
| Talulah | I've already crossed paths with my old friend a few times. |
| Patriot | I sure hope so. |
| Talulah | If a soldier swears loyalty to his fellow men only to later betray them for his own profit, I will personally write up his charges. But if the group of Infected we are dealing with aren't fighting for the same cause as us, what gives us the right to annihilate them? It doesn't make them our enemies. |
| Patriot | —— Talulah! |
| Talulah | Ngh...! Please, go on. |
| Patriot | There are a lot of people whom I respected. Not for their strength, but for their honesty. —I can only hope you are one of them. |
| Talulah | ...I will keep that in mind. Petrova, where's FrostNova at right now? |
| Petrova | ...She's still at the mountain pass. She said she's holding the fort there until we finish capturing the city. |
| Talulah | Let's rendezvous with them. I need to apologize to her personally. |
| Shieldguard | So... Is that it, Captain? |
| Patriot | There should still be at least three garrisons around. We need to take down every last one of them before we can get the supplies out. All things considered, she made the right decision. The nomadic city doesn't have that much longer of a walk ahead of it. |
| <Background fades out and in> | |
| Eno | Oh, Talulah! ...... Are you in a bad mood, Talulah? |
| Talulah | Nope, I'm fine. ...Eno, Sasha. Do you still want me to use your real names? |
| Sasha | ...Why do you ask? |
| Talulah | It's better to have a name that we can use to protect ourselves when we are so far away from home. Sometimes, if we don't pick a name for ourselves, we will only ever be called the names others give us. |
| Sasha | But you haven't ever given yourself another name. |
| Talulah | That's only because I don't want to. |
| Sasha | Why? You were just saying we should use different names. |
| Talulah | Because... I want to be the same person both inside and out. I want to become someone whose actions represent her beliefs. |
| Sasha | So then your current actions are different from your words. |
| Eno | Sasha! |
| Talulah | You're right. That's very likely. That's why I insist on using my name. It's just that the name doesn't really have much meaning to everyone else. After all, who I am isn't important to any of them. My name is only important to myself. |
| Sasha | So what should I call you, then? When you put it like this, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to call you. |
| Talulah | —— Sasha, how about I put it this way, then? I'm just a rebel, just a normal person. My name? That's not important. No one should remember my name. This name shouldn't become a symbol, and it shouldn't come to have any other kind of power. It's just my name, and it's nothing more than a name. If you want to call me by a name, you can just call me Talulah for now. When you call me by my name, I'll turn around and look back, but that's all there is to it. |
| Sasha | Talulah. |
| Talulah | You can call me Talulah too, Eno. It may be a little too early to tell you two this... but I want to, Sasha. |
| Sasha | Go on. |
| Talulah | I want you call me Talulah because I want you to think of me as a friend. Good friends like we're all peas in a pod. Even if I die, you will still remember my name, but not because I did anything special during my lifetime. I just want you to remember the time we spent together. I want you to remember you once had a friend called Talulah. |
| Sasha | But you're killing bad guys. You're fighting them. |
| Talulah | The girl who fights shouldn't have a name. Everyone has their own fight. We are all fighters. Don't hang your head and just follow in the fighters' footsteps. Don't do that! Not everyone is like Patriot. All of us make mistakes. Look ahead of you, and look at where he's going. You don't just keep your eyes shut and follow whoever that has the more important-sounding title. The names you remember are your friends' names. The names of the people you spend the most time with. It's FrostNova who gave you that extra spicy candy but still gritted her teeth and smiled. It's your teacher, who made you that weird vegetable stew. It's Patriot, who will never give up on training you. They are all your friends, not fighters. As fighters, we don't have names. |
| Eno | ...Talulah, I don't get it. |
| Talulah | Well... I want you to trust me because I'm your friend, not because of my position. Just like all my other friends. |