METAL GEAR SOLID: THE NOVELIZATION
by Alex Greene, aka Pika132
Disclaimer: Metal Gear and all that is Metal Gear © Konami.
Author's Note: I work on this in my spare time, so don't expect updates too frequently.
EPISODE ONE: STEEL DAWN
If you were to travel into the wilderness in the middle of South Africa...you probably wouldn't find anything. It's the sort of area that, following the unofficial truce between the companies seeking resources and the greens protecting them, even the animals leave well alone. But if you did travel there, and you ran out of gas in the process, you'd be S.O.L. A quick look at a recent map reveals that the only sign of civilization is Galzburg, 200 km to the south.
There once was a fairly big city around there, the oddly-named Outer Heaven. An unsuccessful attempt at establishing a self-sufficient enclave, it was destroyed six months after its creation by the implosion of their power reactor.
So goes the official government story. The one the civilians heard.
The military knows better.
Chapter One: Insertion Point
Outer Heaven
0430 Hours, August 21, 1995
In the iron jungle that was the "nation" of Outer Heaven, the emphasis was on function, not form. The few aesthetic touches that did exist seemed almost an afterthought—the river flowing past the southern border of the complex doubled as a sewage dump. The man swimming in it was not too enthused about this.
As an added insult, he was also swimming upriver.
Climbing from the grimy water onto a platform overlooking it, he shook his head to clear it of the water. He was in the process of drying off his transceiver when it beeped twice. Crouching, he donned the transceiver's single earphone and turned the knob to "SEND".
"This is Solid Snake," he said. "I've infiltrated Outer Heaven." The slightly wet transceiver crackled a bit as it transmitted, but there was no other effect. A few moments later, Snake had his response.
"This is Big Boss," a voice on the other end intoned. "You're right on schedule, Snake."
Snake looked at his watch and was pleased to note that this was the case. The paramilitary operatives of FOXHOUND were known for two things: stealth and punctuality. So far Snake had acquired a reputation for the latter, but as a rookie operative he had yet to accomplish the former.
Big Boss was the head honcho at the headquarters of Snake's elite unit, the full name of which was Special Operations FOXHOUND. Though now in his mid-sixties and still as deadly as ever, he maintained that a soldier's most valuable weapon was his wits. In his early days as a CIA agent during the Cold War, he was a ruthless killer, but after a particularly violent "infiltration" in which he lost the use of his right eye, he was supposedly told, "An elite soldier can choose between lethal and nonlethal force. An unconscious grunt presents just as little threat as a dead one." Whatever the truth in this story, Big Boss took the lesson to heart and so FOXHOUND operations were invariably solo stealth missions, with the emphasis on avoiding enemy contact. Snake had done some infiltration missions before joining FOXHOUND (mostly reconnaissance for larger squads), but he was a relative novice compared to most of his peers.
As if on cue, Big Boss continued, "First off, remember that this is a stealth mission. If an alarm is sounded, there's no telling how the terrorists might react. Avoid conflict and confrontation at all costs."
"Gotcha," Snake replied. "Weapons and equipment?"
"You'll notice you have none. That's intentional; the lighter the better and you're bound to find some guns in there eventually. And if it comes to that, I didn't create that Close Quarters Combat course because I had funds to burn."
Snake nodded into the two-way camera on his right wrist. Actually, if it did come to that, Snake had his favorite brand of cigarettes, which he could use as flares, and a bandanna which might be useful for strangulation. "Run the mission objectives past me one more time."
"As you know," began Big Boss, "Outer Heaven has been a constant thorn in the side of the South African government, because it maintains its status as a sovereign nation and not a city subject to the government's laws. While its government has some republican aspects, the highest authority figure is a military dictator known only as 'the Commander'. We know only the name—no description or background."
"Anonymity in a dictatorship is usually intended to inspire paranoia," observed Snake, recalling the example of Big Brother. "The leader could be anyone, anywhere."
"Precisely. But our current concern is not the actions of the leader. Snake, you of course know about Gray Fox."
Who doesn't? Snake wondered. Frank Jaeger (for that was Fox's real name) was everybody's friend and always greeted even the rookies when they reported for duty, ensuring that everyone knew him—and to know Frank was to love him. But he was hardly just another one of the boys. Frank was currently the only person in FOXHOUND history to obtain the coveted rank of "Fox", which was only a step below Big Boss himself. His skills at infiltration and hand-to-hand were as of yet unsurpassed among the many friends he made, and the events of his countless solo operations were the stuff of legend. He was unbeatable.
Which made it all the more surprising when Snake, on transceiver duty at FOXHOUND HQ a few days previously, had received a message from Gray Fox. It was short and quite panicked: "I'm captured! Outer Heaven has Metal Gear..." The message was interrupted by a bullet hitting Fox's transceiver, leaving Snake and his colleagues to ponder the meaning of the message.
Big Boss's words jolted Snake back to reality. "We believe that the 'Metal Gear' Fox spoke of is some sort of nuclear weapon; Outer Heaven has threatened to nuke Johannesburg, Cairo, Lagos, and several other key African cities—unless they are given independence and UN recognition."
"What about the usual targets? New York, Paris, Tokyo?"
"Not even mentioned. Most likely, they are out of the operational range of Outer Heaven's nuclear missiles. It is our belief that Metal Gear, whatever it is, is not yet complete, and that it cannot launch a long-range nuclear strike at this stage. This, combined with a brief shift in the security force's attention from keeping us out to keeping Fox in, has provided us with a window of opportunity."
"Which is why we're risking sending a man in. Namely, me."
"Exactly. Your mission objectives, as you have no doubt ascertained, are twofold. One: Locate and rescue Gray Fox ASAP, if he's still alive. Two: Determine the nature of Metal Gear and, if necessary, destroy it before it's completed. This mission will be codenamed 'Intrude N313'."
Snake nodded again. "Any contacts?"
"There's a resistance faction within Outer Heaven that views this threat as not only an act of terrorism, but a gross corruption of the nation's ideals. They want to overthrow the Commander and install their own government, and they're willing to accept outside help to see that it happens." Pause. "Bunch of loonies, if you ask me."
Snake chuckled softly. "And we're so much better. We want to rescue our man and destroy their nation, and we're willing to accept inside help to see that it happens. A precarious balance, if you ask me."
Big Boss ignored the breach of formality—he was prone to them himself. "Naturally, we're aware of each others' ulterior motives, but for the moment I think we can suspend those and work towards a common goal. The resistance leader, Kyle Schneider, has a transceiver. Contact him at frequency 120.13 for information on any weapons or gear you find."
Snake dialed the number into his transceiver's memory. "Anyone else?"
"A resistance analyst has been assigned to us for this mission. Her name is Diane Segal. Frequency 120.33".
After saving this number as well, Snake asked, "Is there anything else I should know, sir?"
After a moment, Big Boss sighed. "Snake, you're a good kid. This may be your first mission, but I know you've got potential. Don't get killed." He paused to let it sink in. Then, in an attempt at levity: "That's an order."
Snake grinned. "Yes, sir...Commencing Operation Intrude N313."
Chapter Notes: This is the slightly revised version of this chapter. Not much to say here, yet...There will be an author's note above the chapter, with my latest excuse for being so damn late with updates, and chapter notes below, explaining anything in the chapter that needs explaining.