Operation story: RI-9

Operation

Story

Previous RI-8	Next RI-EX-1
Characters
Doctor Blaze Ceobe Croissant Eunectes Flint Gavial Kal'tsit Lancet-2 Tomimi Utage Closure High Priest Inam Archosauria Dylan Archosauria
Backgrounds
1 2 3

Before operation

“

Tomimi's revolt puts the last piece of the puzzle in place, and her plot looks like it's about to come to fruition...

”

<Background 1>
Gavial	Tomimi, are you okay?
Tomimi	I won't let you leave!
Gavial	Huh? Why?
Tomimi	B-because I don't want to be without you again!
Gavial	Huh?
Tomimi	I wanted to become Great Chief so I could force you to stay...
Eunectes	Does that mean you're the one who organized the ceremony this time?
Tomimi	Yes. If you didn't show up in the middle of it, I'd have become the Great Chief.
Eunectes	...I see.
Gavial	Huh? What are you guys talking about?
Doctor	It was very odd to have the ceremony at all.
Gavial	Hm? What are you talking about, Doctor? What's that about the ceremony?
Eunectes	You're pretty smart, outsider. Just think about it for a minute, Gavial. Ever since you left, most of the tribes dissolved into the many smaller tribes we know today. Without a central leader, the tribes couldn't come together to do anything at all. So how could we suddenly put on a ceremony? There had to be someone organizing things behind the scenes.
Gavial	Hm? Wasn't it you who organized the ceremony?
Eunectes	It wasn't me. The Big Ugly still needed an engine. It wasn't done. I was planning to wait another year before contacting the other tribes to hold the ceremony, but then, all of a sudden, it was happening. It was unexpected, but I didn't mind. I thought that, even an incomplete Big Ugly could have shocked the world. The unexpected part was you coming back.
Gavial	Now that you mention it, Tomimi was the one who asked me to return. So you really did orchestrate everything.
Tomimi	...Yes. I've been studying for years to learn what I would need to convince the other tribes to make me the Great Chief. But, it's not too late...The tribes under my command are waiting out there, and the Big Ugly has been defeated. No one can stop me from making Gavial stay!
Gavial	Why do you want me here so badly?
Tomimi	B-Because...
<Flashback starts here>
<Background 2>
Tomimi	W-Where am I...? Waahh... aahhh... I want to go home... Agh!
Gavial	Hey, Tomimi. Are you okay?
Tomimi	Gavial...
Gavial	You're such a pain. I let you out of my sight for one second and you run off to a place like this.
Tomimi	Gavial, you're bleeding!
Gavial	Huh? It's fine, it's just a little cut. Come on, let's go home.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background 1>
Tomimi	Gavial saved my life! I love her more than anyone! A-And, Gavial is the strongest. As long as Gavial is our Great Chief, she can lead everyone!
Gavial	Here I was thinking that you're all grown up now, but you haven't changed a bit... I've got important work to do, Tomimi. You can't stop me.
Tomimi	...The books said: "If I can't capture his heart, then I'll keep him close to me." The books also said: "As long as he is by my side, it doesn't matter if he hates me." S-So, even if you hate me, Gavial, I still want you here!
Utage	Whew... She's been slurping down trashy romance novels with a straw...
Tomimi	Now the Big Ugly is down, and you're exhausted. You can't beat me! If you surrender, I-I won't hurt you!
Gavial	You can't keep me here, Tomimi.
Tomimi	...T-That's not up to you! Everyone, attack!

During operation

[A large force of Tiacauh tribesmen under Tomimi's command converges to stop Gavial and her Rhodes Island company from leaving Acahualla.]
<Game paused>
Tomimi	I... I haven't lost yet! Everyone, attack!
<Game unpaused>
[Gavial and co. takes up defensive positions as the first wave that consists of Tiacauh Warriors show up and attacks.]
<Game paused>
Blaze	Man, these people are SO pumped up to fight. Gavial, maybe you should just call it quits and stick around.
<Game unpaused>
[Gavial and co. repels the first wave, but the second wave that includes Tiacauh Impalers show up.]
<Game paused>
Tomimi	So strong... But this is all for Gavial! Everyone, keep going!
<Game unpaused>
[Gavial and co. repels the second wave, but the third wave that includes Tiacauh Fanatics show up.]
<Game paused>
Croissant	Gotta tell ya, it feels a darn sight weird like we're the bad guys all tryin' to make off with Gavial...
Utage	Ahah! It's kinda shady to say, but don't you think there's, like, something about her that makes you wanna steal something away from her?
Croissant	Yup, you sayin' that just makes the baddiness all that much badder!
<Game unpaused>
[Gavial and co. repels the third wave, but the fourth wave that includes Tiacauh Ritualists show up.]
<Game paused>
Ceobe	Aww. They're not bad people, Doctor, I don't wanna hurt them...
<Game unpaused>
[Gavial and co. repels the fourth wave, but the fifth and last wave that includes Tiacauh Braves show up.]
<Game paused>
Gavial	Just stop it, Tomimi!
<Game unpaused>
[Gavial and co. repelled the last wave...]
<Game paused>
Tomimi	Uwh... waaaaahhhh...
<Game unpaused>
[...before finishing off the stragglers, finally ending the onslaught.]

After operation

“

Tomimi plays her hand, but without knowing the Doctor had it all figured out long before. It's over. In the end, Tomimi, Zumama, and Kemar all decides to go to Rhodes Island.

”

<Background 1>
Gavial	It's over, Tomimi.
Tomimi	...N-No it's not! Nurul, Peta!
Dylan	Doctor!
Lancet-2	Doctor!
Tomimi	If you don't want your friends getting hurt...
Gavial	Don't make me angry, Tomimi!
Tomimi	...I won't stop until you promise you'll stay, Gavial!
Dylan	Help me, Doctor!
Lancet-2	Doctor, I'm scared... Waaahhh...
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Did you finish your task?
Dylan	Doctor, please. The girl's pouring her heart out here, it wouldn't kill you to work with her.
Lancet-2	The people here are simple. Honestly, it hurts my non-existent robot heart to cheat them so.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Dylan	Hey now, Doctor, don't look at me like that. Relax, I'm a Rhodes Island Operator too. Of course I can handle something like this.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	Don't be scared! I'm going to save you!
Lancet-2	Doctor!
Doctor	Lancet-2!
Lancet-2	Doctor!
Dylan	Wow, you two are really selling it.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Tomimi	What?
Archosauria	When did you get free?!
Dylan	Hah. Sorry, somebody needs to learn to tie a knot.
Gavial	Did you know Tomimi was going to do this, Doctor?
Doctor	Of course. / ...... / Well, duh.
Tomimi	B-B-But how did you know?
Doctor	Well, first of all, there was the way you hesitated when Zumama came up.
Gavial	Oh? Hesitated?
Doctor	And then when you panicked at Gavial during the ceremony.
Tomimi	......
Doctor	Finally, Dylan, the thing?
Dylan	Oh, I gave it to Lancet-2.
Lancet-2	Wahhh... That was just for you, Doctor. I don't normally let people put things inside me so easily.
Eunectes	......
Gavial	It's... a rocket launcher?
Dylan	Yep. Found it with Tomimi's tribe.
Gavial	So that means...
Dylan	You got it. The one who shot us down was this little runt right here.
Gavial	Tomimi.
Tomimi	Ohhhhh, I'm sorry, Gavial.
Gavial	Come here.
Tomimi	(Whimper)
Gavial	You're going over my knee.
Tomimi	Gavial, please don't spank me, I know what I did was bad...
Gavial	Them's the breaks. Naughty little whelps get tail spankings!
Tomimi	(Whimper)
[Gavial spanks Tomimi's tail for all the trouble.]
Ceobe	Tail spanking, huh? Looks ouchie...
Gavial	Are you going to do it again?
Tomimi	I won't do it agaaain! Waaahhh...!
Gavial	Good. Anyway, I think we're pretty much okay now, Doctor.
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Exhausting.
Gavial	Haha, well, it's definitely been a lot.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Gavial	Hey, Doctor, you're not falling asleep on your feet there, are you?
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	I'm surprised you didn't give her the whatever whirlwind thing.
Gavial	I wouldn't want to hurt little Tomimi, after all. Phew, I'm a little tired myself.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Lancet-2	This big guy... does look a little ugly at first, but the angular, rugged design, this cluttered but effective wiring, it has a special beauty to it when you look close. Real marriage material, I think.
Gavial	Oh, Lancet-2, go see if we can still salvage the engine.
Lancet-2	What? Are you telling me the engine's inside this big guy?!
Gavial	Sure is. And we blew it up.
Lancet-2	Oh, poor engine. Poor big guy. Mr. Dylan, can you do me a favor?
Dylan	Alright.
Eunectes	......
Gavial	Hey, Zumama, why are you standing there drooling like that?
Eunectes	Gavial!
Gavial	Huh? What's up?
Eunectes	That... that...
Gavial	What what?
Eunectes	That... that moving, talking machine is incredible!
Gavial	Oh, you mean Lancet-2? She's a friend of ours.
Eunectes	C-Can I talk to her?
Gavial	Knock yourself out.
<Background fades out and in>
Eunectes	Erm... Hello.
Lancet-2	Hi?
Eunectes	Are you... a machine?
Lancet-2	My product designation is Raythean Exister-S62 Model six-wheeled operation platform. I belong to Rhodes Island, codename Lancet-2.
Eunectes	Wow!
Lancet-2	Yes. I do have a certain level of intelligence. As long as your questions aren't too hard, I should be able to answer them. Speaking of which, I am a medical operation platform, so my knowledge base is focused on medicine. Do keep that in mind.
Eunectes	^%&$*#(#......!!!
Lancet-2	Is something wrong?
Eunectes	Can I hug you?
Lancet-2	What?
<Background fades out and in>
Gavial	What is she doing? Did a screw come loose?
High Priest	Isn't it obvious? She's in awe of that machine.
Gavial	Oh?
High Priest	Shocked as she was when she first saw a moving city, a machine that moves and talks on its own is even more striking! And forget her, I'm just as excited! Oh, my beautiful young lady, might I have the honor of taking you on a date? I know the most gorgeous spot in the rainforest. I'll take you there for a lovely afternoon!
Lancet-2	Oh, y-you're asking me out?! I don't know what to do here. I'm flattered... Doctor, should I accept?
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Yes.
Eunectes	Don't butt in, High Priest, or you can't blame me for what happens to our friendship after all these years.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Blaze	Honestly, I'm with the Doctor here. Kinda wanna laugh.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	I'll never let you take my Lancet-2!
Lancet-2	Oh, Doctor, to hear you suddenly come out and say that... My heart isn't ready...
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Eunectes	...... So Gavial, your people you're with now can create this type of machine?
Gavial	Huh? Err, I'm pretty sure Closure can, yeah.
Eunectes	Okay. I've made a decision. Does this Rhodes Island place need more hands? I want to join.
Gavial	Oh?
Eunectes	I want to go with you, to learn about mechanical technology.
Gavial	Huh?
Eunectes	I've thought about leaving to go study in the outside world before, but I never seriously considered it because of the tribe. I think this is a great opportunity.
Tomimi	Th-Then I'm going too!
Gavial	What?!
Tomimi	If this is how it's going to be, then it's time for plan B... I'm going with Gavial! Gavial, I fight really hard. I can definitely help you, Gavial!
Gavial	Err, Doctor, what should I do here?
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	They can come, but I don't know what might happen.
Gavial	Yeah. Might as well give them the operator tests.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Gavial	C'mon, Doctor, be nice.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	You made your bed, now lie in it.
Gavial	Doooctooor!
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Gavial	Whatever. At least stick with the Doctor and try to learn something.
Tomimi	Right!
Blaze	Hey, Gavial, do me a favor and tell me what this little squirt is saying.
Flint	......
Gavial	Huh? Kemar?
Flint	I have to go with her.
Gavial	She says she's going with you.
Blaze	Oh. Cool. She packs a punch. I bet she'll make a fine operator.
Gavial	She said okay.
Flint	Good.
Gavial	Hm? Wait a second. So Zumama's going, Tomimi's going, and Kemar's going, what about the tribes?
Doctor	You weren't worried about that when you left the first time.
Gavial	Ahahaha, I was seeing red back then! Couldn't think at all.
Eunectes	You're right, though... I can't just abandon my tribe.
High Priest	Oh, I think you've got nothing to worry about in that department.
Archosauria A	It's no Gavial, but the Big Ugly is still pretty strong.
Archosauria B	That's for sure. I want to make one too.
Archosauria C	With the Temple destroyed, let's build machines instead. Whoever makes the most awesome one gets to be Great Chief?
Archosauria D	Hey, no! Fighting is way better!
Archosauria C	Oh, good point. I don't want to give up fighting. What should we do?
Archosauria A	All right, morons. Why not just fight and also build machines?!
Group of Archosauria	Yeah!
High Priest	See? Nothing to worry about at all. From what I've seen, the common folk are usually quick to adapt, even as the leaders hem and haw about the future. What if I told you the first Great Chief was actually a Tiacauh Brave who gave himself the title, prior to whom there was no custom to choose a Great Chief at all?
Eunectes	...High Priest, why did you never tell me that before?
High Priest	Oh, I never thought it was important. Is it? My point is that people are resilient, they'll go on living even if one of their traditions disappears. I've always thought of traditions as rituals that bring people together. But when that tradition carries on for a few decades, they start to think it's inviolable, it's unbreakable, it has to go on forever. But that's nonsense! So you tell me you want to blow up the Temple and I'm all in, both hands, both feet, and my tail too! Oh, no, if my hands and feet are in, my tail has to stay out... right? What if I'm laying down? Let's see!
Eunectes	...I get it.
Gavial	Just how old are you?
High Priest	How old? I forget. And honestly, these methods you have for keeping track of time mean nothing to me! Whether or not I happen to have forgotten when I was born!
Gavial	O...kay. But we still need someone to be the Great Chief.
Inam	Hey, I heard Gavial and Zumama were fighting again. Is it already over?
Gavial	Hmm...
Inam	Why are you looking at me like that, Gavial?
Gavial	Say, Inam, are you interested in being Great Chief at all?
Inam	What?
<Background 3>
Kal'tsit	So after going through all that, you got the engine back, performed your emergency repairs, and got on the road back home?
Blaze	Y-Yeah!
Kal'tsit	Doctor, I do believe I told you what a precious piece of equipment that aircraft was before you left.
Doctor	There were extenuating circumstances. / ...... / Wasn't my fault.
Kal'tsit	Seeing as the aircraft is still in reparable condition, I won't be too hard on you. But the maintenance costs are coming out of your pay, and Blaze's.
Blaze	Aww, and mine...?
Kal'tsit	An elite operator takes elite responsibility.
Blaze	Agh, fine.
Kal'tsit	As for the three individuals you brought back, since you seem to think they have what it takes to be operators, I'll leave them to the Doctor.
Kal'tsit	Gavial, were you satisfied with your trip back home?
Gavial	Huh? Sure. But even I didn't think it'd go down like that. It was fun.
Kal'tsit	Honestly, I had a contingency plan in case the Doctor didn't bring you back.
Gavial	Why?
Kal'tsit	Because I figured there was a possibility you'd want to stay there.
Gavial	Huh? Kal'tsit, I thought you knew me better than that.
Kal'tsit	You've never really adapted to life outside your tribe. Every day, you come into conflict with the world, in your own ferocious way. I'll put it this way: if someday you asked for a leave of absence, or if you just left, I wouldn't be surprised.
Gavial	Hey, Doctor, maybe I'm not getting this right. Is Kal'tsit saying she cares about me?
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Yes.
Kal'tsit	If there's nothing else, Dr. {nickname}, you can go.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	......
Gavial	Tch, yeah, this is one of those times the Doctor likes to play dead. Then I'm gonna go ahead and say you care about me.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	Maybe.
Gavial	That's our Kal'tsit, even confusing the Doctor.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Gavial	Kal'tsit, I'm not going anywhere. I had a reason to leave my tribe. I really did want to practice medicine. Now that's not to say I really thought I could become a doctor, but I'm very happy I made that decision. From a modern medical standpoint, we pretty much have no doctors back home. If you get sick, you just let it run its course. Maybe try a few traditional remedies. If I never left, I wouldn't know what the world is really like. I wouldn't know how many diseases are preventable or curable, I wouldn't know how people look down on Oripathy. I wouldn't know that saving lives makes me as happy as taking them. The world is definitely complicated, and I don't always know what motivates people, or why they fight. But I'm a doctor now. And my dream is to treat Oripathy. Is there a better place in this wide world for me to study and practice medicine?
Kal'tsit	I'm afraid not.
Gavial	Well how about that. And by the way, you all work a lot harder than I do. What's with you here worrying about me? Honestly, I think I should be worrying about you, Kal'tsit. You didn't pick up my slack while I was away now, did you?
Kal'tsit	No.
Gavial	Good. I'm gonna give Zumama an Oripathy checkup. You have a nice chat now.
Blaze	Oh, I'll see what Kemar's up to. Err, I guess I'm calling her Flint now. I'm worried she'll get into a fight, with the language barrier and all...
Gavial	Doctor, Tomimi should be in her general studies class now. You check on her when you're done.
Kal'tsit	Gavial.
Gavial	Hm?
Kal'tsit	Welcome back.
Gavial	Haha.
Blaze	Hey! What about me?!
Kal'tsit	You had another mission ready to go last week. You're technically very late.
Blaze	Oh...
<Background fades out and in>
Kal'tsit	...... In your eyes, you just went on a nonsensical journey. But, just like our Gavial, it was a showcase of the lively and diverse world we inhabit. We lose so much to the endless march of time. That which was once a fact of life in the past is now precious to us. We search for the light that slips through the breaks in the crowd and begin to see that as the norm. I hope you and your fellow operators learned a lesson from this trip: some things are not too far out of reach.
Closure	Kal'tsit, meeting time!
Kal'tsit	I know. Now then, Dr. {nickname}, you have a lot of work waiting for you. I hope you got enough rest on your vacation.