Rhodes Island
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| “ | A registered pharmaceutical company that recruits talent from across the world, regardless of their background. | ” |
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Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals Inc., commonly known as Rhodes Island (R.I.), is the protagonistic faction of Arknights. Made up almost exclusively of the Infected, R.I. legally operates as a pharmaceutical company that provides care and treatment to the Infected, but due to the wide variety of Operators in its employ with combat skills, they are more of a paramilitary organization who strives to fight for the betterment of the Infected.
Overview
| “ | Silent we shall be, should conflict be avoidable, but fight tooth and nail, should it be necessary! | ” |
| —Rhodes Island's creed recited by Amiya in Prelude to Dawn trailer |
Based on the eponymous landship, Rhodes Island dedicates themselves to develop treatments and a possible cure to Oripathy which has plagued Terra since the advent of Catastrophes. R.I. is also expert in dealing in matters and problems associated with Oripathy, notably the rampant social discriminations against the Infected, which is why R.I. possesses a paramilitary force to provide security for their personnel and patients, though R.I. can (and will) offer their service as a pseudo-PMC should the need arise. Such authority and abundant resources to deal with social issues worldwide are in fact a direct inheritance from its predecessor Babel, a militant organization of Kazdel that was meant to restore the nation's peace and the Sarkaz's livelihood. As a matter of fact, it is hard to say that whether R.I. is actually a non-state actor in the guise of a humanitarian organization, and many nations have been doubting R.I.'s supposed political neutrality.
Arknights is primarily focused on military conflicts involving Rhodes Island, with the medical aspect fairly secondary to the story, although nevertheless frequently acknowledged in many Operators' Archive files. Kal'tsit, head of the Medical department, also claims it to be its most important element, and, true to form, Kal'tsit appears to be the de facto leader of Rhodes Island, as she seems to be doing most of the management and organizational work that should befall the official leader, Amiya.
It is implied that R.I.'s main source of funding is their participation in the Contingency Contract program.[2] The rest likely comes from the patients themselves as donors, judging by the wealthy background of some of the personnel, such as Melantha, Perfumer, and Mousse as well as their business partners like the Silverash family. R.I. is neither a charity nor a non-profit. If patients are not able to financially afford R.I.'s treatment, they typically enter R.I.'s employ or provide volunteer work under the tutelage of higher-ranking personnel. R.I. accepts all Infected patients and employees regardless of their age, combat experience, and background with open arms, and most non-combatants provide logistical support. R.I. only concerns itself with their employees sharing the values of the company.
All Rhodes Island personnel are required to wear an Infection monitor bracelet, whether they are Infected or not, in order to monitor their body signals and track their Oripathy's progress.
Rhodes Island's paramilitary force utilizes standard Terran military equipment, mostly produced by Raythean, although their Elite Operators such as Blaze are authorized to use their own, custom weaponry. Other operators with their own weapon must undergo a "weapon reliability certification" wherein which two of Rhodes Island's five authorized craftsmen must examine the weapon and clear it for field use.[3] R.I. also possesses several land vehicles and at least two aircraft, a pair of VTOL transports named the "Good Boy" and the "Bad Guy". However, the paramilitary force is very small compared to R.I. as a whole, and its membership is voluntary. By the admission of R.I.'s own leadership, it is not apt to fight a war with a "real" country's military, and mainly excels at guerilla tactics and agility, something which a larger army cannot do.
When Rhodes Island is docked, R.I. personnel can freely travel around the local area so long as their activities do not interfere with R.I.'s interests. R.I. also has connections to many supply points around Terra, which periodically provide supplies for the organization essential to keeping Rhodes Island running.
Background
- Main article: Babel
After the Sarkaz King Theresa was killed in a "decapitation strike" in which the Doctor is implied to have played a part, most of the surviving Babel members, including Kal'tsit, commandeered Rhodes Island and escaped from Kazdel, then reorganized themselves into a pharmaceutical company named after her with a young Cautus named Amiya, implied to be Theresa's successor, as their leader. It also appears that Kal'tsit had purged R.I. of those responsible for the tragedy that took Theresa's life.[4] This would also explain the existence of S.W.E.E.P., an internal counterintelligence task force formed to root out traitors.
During the three-year gap between their foundation and the start of Main Theme, R.I. managed to make a name for themselves as the leading experts in Oripathy treatment, as well as pro-Infected activism, saving many of the Infected and solving various crises related to tensions surrounding Oripathy while maintaining their neutrality, despite being surrounded by suspicion and mistrust.
Throughout the Main Theme, Rhodes Island endured a conflict with Reunion, a militant Infected movement whose actions threaten to undo what R.I. has accomplished, among other problems such as the Siestan affair, the uprising of Wolumonde, the crisis in the 24th Major season, and the Snowcap Incident before heading to Victoria in order to resolve the succession crisis in the mighty empire and deal with Theresis – an old issue since the times of Babel – once and for all.
Notable members
| Core | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulars | ||||
| New generation | ||||
| Reservists | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Former | ||||
- PRTS (tactical AI)
- Andante: An R.I. medic operator and the head of R.I.'s Vyseheim branch based on the Afterglow.
- Barty: An R.I operator that accompanied Eyjafjalla during her field mission.
- Chard: An R.I operator that participated in the Chernobog infiltration and joined the Doctor and Kal'tsit to the Sarcophagus. He had also accompanied Vanilla to a Kazimierz village to take care of an originium slug attack that occured. He has an ex-wife and a daughter while also tends to love alcoholic drinks and wouldn't try to taste new and exotic ones.
- Dylan: The pilot of the R.I. aircraft "Bad Guy" that was shot down over Sargon during Gavial's homecoming to Acahualla. He is also the one who tried to lure the policemen bribed by Mama John's together with Blaze during the assult in Tkaronto, Columbia.[5]
- Fred: An Operator stationed in County Hillock who was dragged into a conflict between Dublinn and the Victorian military in the city. He, Oliver, Will, and Shredder focused on helping the locals to evacuate from the chaos.
- Gunject: An expatriate Sankta R.I. Operator from Laterano who´s said to don't like firearms despite having one. He´s specialized in weaponsmithing, but he prefers to make swords rather than anything gun-related. This led to a conflict with his family, and therefore can´t legally return to Laterano.[3]
- Huntingbow☠: An R.I. sniper who was fatally wounded during a mission alongside Castle-3 to protect a desert village from bandits, but not after killing most of them. He was the one who carved the markings on Castle-3's frame on his final moments.[6]
- Hypatia: An R.I. operator known to be a historian who teaches his subject to his students as a lecturer.[7][8][9]
- Lando: A Perro R.I. Operator responsible of delivering medical supplies to the Infected citizens in Trimounts' Shantytown. He also recomended the company to Silence after she left Rhine Lab.[10]
- Occphen: The watchman of Watchtower 33 in Long Spring, Sargon, who was dragged into the local sibling rivalry.
- Oliver: Real name Oliver Bernard, he was the Operator in charge of the County Hillock branch office who was dragged into a conflict between Dublinn and the Victorian military in the city. He, Will, Fred, and Shredder focused on helping the locals to evacuate from the chaos. He is also seems to be close with Saileach given she calls him "Uncle" all the time.
- Shaver☠: An R.I. engineer who at one point helped Dylan repairing the "Bad Guy" aircraft when they were stuck on Columbia, but succumbs to his Oripathy after returning to Rhodes Island. He left behind a voice recorder that kept the recordings of a song he sings, but it was faulty due to suffering extensive damage.
- Shredder: A Sniper Operator stationed in County Hillock who was dragged into a conflict between Dublinn and the Victorian military in the city. He, Oliver, Fred, and Will focused on helping the locals to evacuate from the chaos.
- Will: An Operator stationed in County Hillock who was dragged into a conflict between Dublinn and the Victorian military in the city. He, Oliver, Fred, and Shredder focused on helping the locals to evacuate from the chaos.
Among the R.I. members above:
- FrostNova defected from Reunion before her death near the end of Episode 06 and is posthumously recognized as a member of R.I. by the end of Episode 08.
- Guard defects to Reunion in Episode 07.
- One half of the reincarnated Damazti Cluster sides with Rhodes Island while the other half remains with the Kazdel Royal Court, effectively making them a double agent.
Amiya's squad
A group of thirteen Operators who were assigned to Amiya's squad during the Chernobog operation, losing their lives in the incident.[11]
- Dim Needle†
- B-Softhand†
- ChiliJimme†
- KeenEar†
- AngerNeighing†
- Sunty†
- Marco Smith†
- Fade†
- Divides†
- Antonio Lisa†
- Wildash†
- Hui†
- Indigo Jade†
Notable patients
- Dora: An Infected Victorian Feline girl who were almost brought to the Infected quarantine zone and her parents were almost arrested, had Iris and an R.I. personnel didn't encounter her by coincidence where the former convinced Dora's parents to take her into R.I.'s care.[12] During her stay with R.I., Dora became a good friend of Blaze and later, Op Reserve Team A4.[13]
- Gianna: An Infected Feline girl under Meteor's care.[14]
References
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