Operation story: RI-5

Operation

Story

Previous RI-ST-1	Next RI-6
Characters
Doctor Croissant Gavial Utage Inam Archosauria Archosauria A Archosauria B
Backgrounds
1 2 3

Before operation

“

Tomimi has to leave for a bit, so Gavial and the Doctor go to Inam's tribe to find the missing Croissant. While talking with Inam, her tribe falls under attack by none other than Utage.

”

<Background 1>
Gavial	Doctor, we're pretty deep in the rainforest now. It's a lot more humid here, and the trees get way denser too. Watch your footing. Don't trip. There's a tribe up ahead. Let's go take a look.
<Background 2>
Inam	*Yawn*... It's so boring here... I'm gonna take a nap...
Gavial	Inam!
Inam	Gavial? I heard you fought Zumama at the festival and got your ass handed to you. What are you doing here?
Gavial	Well, news sure gets to you fast, Inam. I gotta say, I thought Tomimi was pulling my leg when she said you're a tribal leader now, but here you are.
Inam	It wasn't my decision. What can I do if they all want to follow me?
Gavial	So why didn't you come to the ceremony? Doctor, this is Inam, the girl Tomimi mentioned before.
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Hello.
Inam	Whoa, a real, live outsider.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Inam	Is this one of your friends from out there? Kinda shy, huh?
Gavial	The Doctor just doesn't talk much.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	Wassup?
Inam	Yo! Gavial, you've got a pretty cheerful friend there. Just like you.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Gavial	Hm? Inam, how come you know Sargonian too?
Inam	Well, officially, I'm the Messenger for these parts here.
Gavial	Messenger? Huh?
Inam	You... whatever. I can tell you at least know what a Messenger is. Not like the boneheads here. Even if I told them, they wouldn't have any idea what it actually means.
Gavial	Wait up. When did you become a Messenger?
Inam	I've always been a Messenger... We're still technically within Sargon territory. You can't possibly think they know absolutely nothing about this whole area?
Gavial	Huh? They don't though?
Inam	Of course not! As far as I know, a couple centuries ago, this actually used to be a Sargon mining colony. When the Catastrophe happened, the whole nomadic city moved away, and they ended up abandoning the mine. The people who got left behind and the ones who came back later are our ancestors here. And I guess the higher-ups out there are thinking about repositioning those newer cities here to start putting the mine to use again. Like that time some ten years ago. You know the one.
Gavial	Oh, you mean that one time? Both Zumama and I saw it. That's also the day she started acting really strange.
Inam	Oh yeah? Well, I don't really know why they gave up on the idea. They probably had someone survey the area and realized the mine didn't have much value at all. If they did park a city here, it's gonna end up pretty far away from all the other ones. I heard this stretch of no man's land used to be a pretty prosperous place. No idea how long ago, though. Well, whatever. Let's talk about something else. I mean, I was like, uh...? How old was I again? Whatever, they sent me here after I became a Messenger.
Gavial	Oh.
Inam	Sheesh, I don't get to talk about this very often. Can't you at least pretend to be a little interested?
Gavial	Nope, sounds like a pain. But if you're the Messenger here, how come I haven't ever seen you leave this place?
Inam	Of course you haven't. You know how shut off we are? I've been outside to shop, but no one's ever had anything for me to mail! From the day I became a Messenger to this very day, you're the only person who's still had contact with this place after you left! And since I've got absolutely nothing to do, I've been trading things I buy from nearby cities to make a quick buck. And before you know it, I'm everybody's favorite shopkeeper, Inam.
Gavial	How about that. I never knew.
Inam	With how you used to be, I'd be more surprised if you did... But well, even though I grew up in the city, I definitely prefer living here. It's simple and laidback. What's not to like?
Gavial	You don't really seem all that different from the other Liberi here, either.
Inam	I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, what are you doing here?
Gavial	Let me ask you this first. What was AUS doing here? You didn't bring them here, did you?
Inam	AUS? Of course not. Even someone like me who hardly follows that kinda stuff knows about them. I don't have that kind of pull. In fact, I was probably more surprised than anybody else when I saw them. They really were just passing by, and I was their interpreter while they were here. Oh, I could talk about them all day. You came at just the right time. I wasn't even sure how to brag about this when nobody here knows who they are. Check this out! I got this autographed album!
Gavial	Eh, I'll pass. I'm not a fan anyway. I just thought it was weird.
Inam	Ugh, Gavial, you've been out there so long, but your taste is just as terrible as ever.
Gavial	You wanna get your ass whooped? Whatever. The Doctor and I are on our way to Zumama's, and we figured we'd stop by and resupply here.
Inam	Alright. We could just barter like everyone here does, but since you know how things work on the outside, you can pay me with cold, hard cash. ...Oh, wait up, I almost forgot since you were bombarding me with all these questions. I was actually looking for you for something too.
Gavial	Huh?
Inam	Do you have a friend called Croissant?
Gavial	Croissant? Yeah, she's with us. We've been trying to find her. Have you seen her?
Inam	You should take a look over at the market.
<Background 3>
Archosauria A	Come one, come all! Freshly carved wood sculptures right here!
Archosauria B	Check out these ores passed down from my grandfather! Forge weapons sharper than anything you've ever seen!
Doctor	The market's not half bad. / ...... / What a lively place.
Inam	Haha, I was the one who taught them to peddle like that. It's something, isn't it? Look, there's Croissant.
In the corner of the market, Croissant is in a fierce standoff against a lone Archosauria. Croissant gestures toward the ore her opponent is holding, and then points to the seashell in her hand. He shakes his head. She frowns and waves her hand with a reluctant look. She takes a rock out of her pocket and points at her seashell again. Then, she points at the ore in his hand once more. He ponders for a moment and nods. Throughout the entire transaction, Croissant maintains a bitter expression, but the moment her trade partner turns around, her face immediately lights up with a bright smile.
Croissant	Hooowee, that's a hell of an ore! What a prize!
[Gavial and the Doctor approaches Croissant.]
Gavial	Croissant, what are you even doing, bartering here?
Croissant	Gavial, Baws! Finally! Took me ages to find y'all!
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	You doing okay?
Croissant	Never been better!
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Croissant	Ahaha. C'mon, Baws, why the face? I was fixin' to have Inam here take me to that Temple to look fer y'all!
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	You can talk to the people here?
Croissant	Sure can't, but it ain't like you need talkin' to do business!
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Inam	I came across her a couple days ago. I could tell she's not from around here, so I brought her with me. This girl really knows how to do business! She doesn't speak their language, but she really knows how to speak the language of trade with my men here.
Gavial	I can see that. Croissant, have you come across anyone else?
Croissant	Naw, and I asked Inam, too, but she says she ain't heard nothin' about that either.
Gavial	Alright, at least you're alive and well. Now we just gotta find Utage and Blaze. I'm not too worried about Blaze. She jumped out the aircraft first, didn't even think twice. As for Utage...
Archosauria	Inam, bad news. There's a group of Archosauria charging towards us!
Inam	What? Which tribe is it? Are they out of their minds?
Archosauria	Looks like the Great Wood Tribe! But they're being led by some freak with a sword!
Inam	Huh? A freak?
Doctor	What's that about?
Inam	My man says a freak with a blade is charging toward us with a horde of Archosauria. What gives?!
Croissant	Hold up, a freak carryin' a blade... Damn dagnabbit, it's gotta be Utage!
Inam	Is she with you guys? Tsk... In any case, it looks like they're here already. Gavial, and you, with the hood, come help us!
Croissant	Oh, I'm comin' with y'all!
<Background 2>
Utage	C'mon, dudes, let's go! I mean, it's not like any of you know what I'm saying, but show ‘em what you got~! Aha! I wasn't sure about this at first, but it's kinda fun taking these guys around to fight.
Gavial	Hey, Utage, are you out of your mind? What are you even doing?!
Utage	Oh, it's Gavial. Croissant and Doctor too! Heyas!
Gavial	Who's heying ya?! Why are you attacking the village, and where'd you get these guys?!
Utage	Huh? Is this your hometown? Alright, I'll knock it off.
Croissant	Get these fellers to knock it off too!
Utage	Uh, but, you know, they don't understand a word I say.
Gavial	Tch... Looks like we're out of options. Let's take these idiots down.

After operation

“

After beating Utage, she explains her ridiculous reasoning for the attack. Gavial finds Inam's description of Tomimi somewhat moving. The strengthened team moves ever onward.

”

<Background 2>
Gavial	Alright, so why did you charge this place with those Archosauria again?
Utage	Well, I saw a village here, and I just thought it'd be fun to start a fight.
Croissant	...I guess that's our Utage. Yer like a whole ‘nother gal in a fight.
Utage	Aww, I'm sorry...
Gavial	But how did you even manage to round up these guys without speaking their language?
Utage	Honestly, I don't really know.
<Background 1>
Utage	Urgh, my nails are ruined. I'm so pissed. And just where the hell did my nail kit go? Now I'm twice as pissed. And I'm hella gross and sweaty after that fight. Plus, the air here is so humid, my clothes are totally soaked. Now I'm three times as pissed. And I'm, like, just walking around. Why do these Archosauria people keep coming up to me, picking fights? Now I'm four times as pissed. And I only tagged along ‘cause I heard this would be a nice place for a vacation. This is totally not a vacation spot! Hmm? Is someone sneaking up on me? Are those... Archosauria?
<Background 2>
Utage	Then I beat up all the sneaky dudes. And then some more of them came, so I beat all of them up. And somehow they all started to, like, worship me for some reason.
Inam	Oh, I see. They probably thought you were some kind of exotic animal. After all, no one from around here looks like you.
Utage	Huh?! Are you blind? How do you mistake a cutie like me for an animal?
Inam	Uh, well, to tell you the truth, you probably do look kinda like a freak to the Archosauria. Also, I spotted the Great Wood Tribe's leader among your people, so I asked him. Apparently you're their leader now.
Utage	I'm what?
Inam	Basically, you defeated the tribe's leader, and they're following you around because they look up to you as their leader now.
Utage	Huh? They don't even understand a word I'm saying! I thought they were just tagging along for fun!
Inam	That's what happens when you're strong enough here.
Utage	What should I do, Doctor...?
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	It's your mess. Figure it out yourself.
Utage	Nnng... so mean!
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Utage	Nng... Don't look at me like that, Doctor. I didn't mean to...
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	Might as well stick around and lead them.
Utage	Eh? I don't wanna! Life without TV and AC? You might as well just kill me.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Gavial	Whatever, we found you and Croissant. Now we just need to look for Blaze.
Utage	Blaze is probably fine. I can't imagine anything slowing her down.
Croissant	Me neither. Oh, yeah, Baws, what's the plan now? We goin' to the Temple fer that ceremony Gavial was talkin' about?
Gavial	Oh, right, you two haven't heard yet. Doctor, why don't you tell them?
<Background black>
Explain the situation to Utage and Croissant.
<Background 2>
Croissant	Uh huh. Alrighty then, so we gon' be lookin' fer this Zumama to get yer engine back?
Gavial	That's right.
Utage	Eh? You mean the ceremony's over already?
Gavial	Yep.
Utage	Then what did I even come here for? Whatever, it doesn't sound like something I'd care about anyway. Also, Gavial, I thought you said this was a vacation spot!
Gavial	Huh? You don't think this place is great?
Utage	Well, actually, I guess, yeah, it's great! But, like, nothing here screams "vacation!"
Gavial	What screams "vacation" to you?
Utage	Like, beaches, oceans, parasols, and ice cream! I even got myself a new swimsuit! I've been wearing it underneath my outfit since before we left!
Croissant	Eh, and here I tagged along just ‘cause I got nothin' else to do...
Gavial	Uh, I never said there's anything like that around here.
Utage	Didn't you say we were gonna play in the water?!
Gavial	Well yeah, that we can do. There's a huge waterfall deep in the rainforest. And since we're heading to Zumama's tribe, we'll pass by the waterfall for sure.
Gavial	Hell, I brought my swimsuit too. I just haven't taken it out yet.
Utage	Really? Awesome!
<Background fades out and in>
Inam	Well, it looks like you found who you're looking for.
Gavial	Yeah, Inam, thanks to you.
Inam	No problem. Oh I just remembered, where's Tomimi? I thought she was supposed to be with you guys.
Gavial	No idea. I think she had something else to take care of. We'll group up with her later.
Inam	Alright, bring her these books, then, will you?
Gavial	What do we have here? "City Beauty", "Mastering Corporate Management in 100 Days", "How to Become a Fashion Expert"... These are some weird titles!
Inam	She's been learning Sargonian and what life in the outside world is like. After I taught her the basics, of course.
Utage	Hm, I can't imagine these books help much with her Sargonian.
Inam	You're right. But that's really how she learned it. Letter by letter, word by word. It may not be the best material to learn from, but it was more painful to see her not having a clue where to start. That's also why I decided to teach her Sargonian. You know, Gavial, she's really working hard to get to where you are.
Gavial	...You don't need to tell me. I know.
Inam	But well, I don't know that much about what it's like outside either. Besides, I can only bring so many books with me, so I don't really know whether she's learning anything useful from them, haha.
Gavial	...No wonder there's always something weird about her. Hang on, don't tell me you're the one who taught Zumama Sargonian too.
Inam	Nope. I'm pretty curious about that myself. She did have me find her books on machinery, but it was like she just picked up Sargonian out of nowhere. And she's even teaching it to her tribe.
Gavial	...Doctor, what do you think?
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	She's quite ambitious.
Gavial	You think so too, huh?
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Gavial	You want me to think about it myself, huh? Hm, alright. I'll settle this my way.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	How much for this rock?
Inam	Since you're a new customer, I'll let you have it for 300 dinar.
Utage	That's the look of a Doctor who just doesn't care.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Croissant	Eh? T'ain't nothin' wrong with her teachin' Sargonian. If'n people here could talk with folks out there, they'd live a lot better.
Inam	Maybe. The way I think about it, compared to your supposedly much better lives, I think our way of life out here is satisfying enough. I don't think you city folks would understand, though.
Croissant	That so...?
Utage	Oh, I think I get it! I mean, I lived in the countryside back in Higashi, too.
Croissant	Eh? I took you for a city girl, what with how trendy you are.
Utage	Nope, this is just the kinda stuff I like.
Inam	*Yawn*... I'm tired... time for a nap. Here at our tribe, anything we leave out's for trade. If something catches your eye, have Gavial translate for you.
Doctor	Wait.
Inam	Hmm?
Doctor	I've got a favor to ask you, too.