Chapter 3

For a Blue and Pure World

Solidus Snake continued his march through the jungle as he was careful and watched where he stepped through. He knew the trek in the jungle wouldn't be easy, but if he maintained a good pace then perhaps he would reach the facility within thirty minutes taking into account that he didn't encounter any snags. He trail blazed his through the thick under brush, as he was alert to his surroundings.

The sound of the numerous animals and other forms of wildlife around him, living out their existence in the jungle following their natural instincts to survive, echoed around him as he passed by a large tree. He eyed a near by stream where he saw a crocodile catch an unfortunate small animal in its jaws before promptly devouring it. He continued his way through the jungle's hazardous paths.

Minutes passed right before he caught sight of a small clearing, and standing by a tree just ahead of it. Andrius spotted a man dressed in Battle Dress Uniform with a jungle camouflage ideal for the environment he was treading around in. He brought out a pair of Nikos G900 digital high-end military model binoculars with auto-focus and zoom features from his equipment belt. He used it to get a closer look at the enemy sentry, from his position he eyed his equipment and the weapons he was armed with.

Once he finished his inspection of enemy sentry he took cover behind the nearest tree and contacted Colonel Sliver via Codec. "Colonel Sliver, this is Snake I have spotted an enemy sentry. He is armed with a M4 assault rifle, three Grenades can't tell what type, but I think I saw a pair of Neutralizing Gas ABC M25C5 grenades on the back of his belt, and lastly he has a 45-caliber Offensive Socom Pistol as a sidearm. Aside from a jungle environment BDU he is wearing, but he is also wearing Silent Partner Special Body Armor. The rest he is carrying is your typical standard equipment for an Alliance grunt."

"Then the base must be near by. Be careful Snake, if Professor Emmerich was right about what they were going to be conducting at that base then except security to be tight. I doubt that grunt you are looking at is alone."

"Right, there are probably a few more in the area. They are probably making it appear there is only one of them while the others are close by watching the other's back."

"That would be an ideal tactic for jungle sentry duty. Snake, I want you to sneak by the sentries, don't let them see you."

"Roger…I'll head to the base after I get pass these guards."

Andrius switched off his codec before drawing his Mk 11 in the event he may need to deal with the sentries if one of them became alerted to his presence. He activated one of the high tech features his OCTO-CAM5 Sneaking Suit possessed, which was the Optical Stealth Camouflage, one of two forms of camouflage his suit could use. He became invisible to the naked eye, and fortunately for him the sentries didn't have any Thermal Goggles otherwise they would have been able to see him. One of two weaknesses Optical Stealth Camouflage had, the other weakness was that the camouflage wasn't effective in well-lit areas were a thin outline of the invisible infiltrator could be seen. Thankfully, Andrius's surroundings would make seeing him difficult.

He crept near the sentry as he headed towards the base, but remained watchful of his surroundings. Snake knew that if he did anything to alert the sentry such as stepping on a twig might bring unwanted attention his way. He pushed his back up against a tree after passing the sentry before he looked over his shoulder to see if he could catch a glimpse at any other sentries in the area.

Just as he and Colonel Sliver expected he saw another sentry standing watch over his comrade not too far away. He stood in the shadow of a tall tree while he tried to remain hidden from sight. The sentry had the same equipment as the first sentry he had spotted. Now that he had confirmed the tactics the sentries were using, Andrius had a good idea how to avoid them. He moved from tree to tree as he kept his eyes and ears peeled for any signs of other sentries. As he proceeded stealthy towards the location of the base: the mission was going smoothly, but Andrius knew that the real challenge would be getting Professor Emmerich out and to the recovery point in one piece. Seeing the number of Sentries around the base's outside perimeter it was clear that attempting to walk Emmerich out the front door would be a pain.

Andrius knew that he would have to perform two things to make his attempt of getting Emmerich out manageable. One he would need to create a diversion to keep the enemy busy and then he would have to think of a way to sneak Emmerich off the base admits the confusion. Andrius began to concoct a plan in his mind, but put it on hold when he pushed aside from bushes and found himself standing on a small hill overlooking the Alliance base.

From where he stood the base appeared to be a fortress and a training camp molded into one. It had a fully functional runway with an air control tower along with a few hangers to support a number of fighter craft and transports. Andrius brought out his binoculars again to get a closer look. The base was a typical set up with a communications tower; several barracks for the troops stationed here, a command center, warehouses used for tanks and other heavy weapons that would be used to handle the base's defense, but he noticed a few other things. He saw a small training ground step within the base that had an obstacle course, a few smaller barracks, but unlike the ones he saw within the base these they were enclosed within a barbwire fence and had guards posted around them. He found it curious when he saw a small group of children being led into the barracks by a pair of Alliance soldiers. Snake figured there were other heavy placements hidden around the outside perimeter of the base.

He carefully made his way down the hill before taking cover in some underbrush near the electrified barbwire fence that surrounded the base where he used his codec to contact Colonel Sliver again to report his status. "Colonel, I have reached the base. It's a pretty good set up, but they have your typical structures and buildings any base posted in the middle of a jungle complete with an airport and runway. However I noticed something."

"What is it?"

"I noticed an area of the base was converted into some kind of training camp, but the trainees taking part look to be just kids."

"I see, well remember when I said this was where Blue Cosmos militants in the Alliance train their anti-coordinator soldiers?"

"Yeah?"

"Well that's it. Those children you saw were orphaned at an early age before being brought here by the Atlantic Federation. They are trained rigorous from a young age and their lives are built upon believing that coordinators were the reason their families had died."

"Genocidal psychopaths"

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

"But training them when they are children, it's no different from what happened to me. I remember conducting my first Lone wilderness march when I was seven."

"Well I personally don't approve of training soldiers out of children, but I am in no place to question what the top brass thought of when you came into the picture."

"I suppose, and since I am an orphan myself, it wouldn't be beyond reason that there was no one who would have complained."

"Also true too. Anyway lets get back on the Mission, and from what we can tell your best way in is using an old storm drain system that runs below the base. According to intelligence the base you have arrived at was built over an abandoned military base so that storm drain system should be intact and run through base. There should be an emergency escape hatch that the commanders of the base had set up so in the event of an invasion they could use it to escape into the storm drain and eventually into the jungle to escape. I'll give you instructions how to find the hatch and the codes to open it once you are inside the drain."

"Where is the storm drain?"

"It shouldn't be too far from your current position. Just head a few miles northeast until you come to a cliff, about ten feet down you'll find the pipe. According to reports it should be large enough for you to get in. The entrance you'll be taking isn't exactly the escape route that would be used, but it is unlikely you'll encounter any sentries once you are inside the pipe, but stay alert just in case."

"Got it" Snake replied as he ended communications before he began his journey towards the storm drain, but unknown to him he was being watched by another invisible infiltrator using Optical Stealth Camouflage. The invisible spy was using thermal goggles to watch Andrius creep towards his next destination as Snake remained in the shadows of any near by trees or bushes he could utilize to mask his presence.

Snake is right on time, the figure thought as the invisible spy maintained a safe distance from Andrius as he continued to monitor his movements. As Andrius moved towards the storm drain he lucked out as he encountered little enemy presence, and he had a good amount of hiding spots he could use. It took him about thirty minutes to get to the far side of the base where the drain was located. He looked down the cliff and eyed the drain, Andirus climbed down as he began his descent down towards the drain. He possessed no rope by which he could use to climb down which forced him to rely on his bare hands.

Andirus began his precarious climb down the cliff face once he located small ledges that could support his feet and hands as he made his way down. Small pebbles fell off the cliff face as he continued his careful climb. Snake's left arm slipped for a moment as he lost his footing.

"Shit!" Andirus cursed as he scrambled to regain his footing.

He barely managed it, but Andirus had regained his grasp on the cliff before making his way down. Within a few short minutes he reached the top of the storm drain. He lay down on top of it so he could look inside as he poked his head under the top of the pipe. He saw some metal bars in place to prevent any wild life or intruders from getting in, but it was nothing Andirus couldn't handle. He got back to his feet right before he somersaulted off the top of the pipe, and in a display of professional acrobatics outstretched his hands to grab the top of the pipe to swing him inside.

Once inside he drew a small object from his equipment belt that appeared to be a dart gun of some short. But when Snake applied it to the bars in front of him it was revealed to be a compact blowtorch. It took Snake about three minutes to get his way through the bars, before he began making his way through the long pipe and into the underbelly of the base's underground waterworks. Once he felt he was safe inside he knelt down and contacted his CO again.

"Colonel, I am inside the waterworks below the base. Everything has been going like clockwork."

"Don't get cocky, you still haven't found Emmerich and escaped the base yet."

"I know, but now that you mentioned it. Things have been too easy."

"Exactly my point."

"You think they got their best security focused around Emmerich?"

"A good possibility, I am sure the Alliance realized that watching the jungle for any intruders wouldn't be easy so I guess they figured their best bet would be watching Emmerich." The Colonel answered.

"Alright, when I emerge from the tunnel I'll try to get some information on the security guarding Emmerich before I make my move to bust him out. I'll also arrange for a distraction to cover our escape."

"A distraction?"

"Yeah…I am not sure, but I'll figure something once I get a better idea of the base's layout."

"Very well then, anyway proceed straight ahead until you come to a fork in the road or rather the tunnels. Take the left tunnel and keep going until you come to a trio of pipes going up from the floors to the ceiling. Behind them against the wall to your left will be the hidden door. Use the device we gave you to override the door's security and enter the base."

"You mean the Security Buster?"

"Yes, according to the specifications that device will automatically hack the controls for the door and open the door."

"No problem…I'll report in when I have collected any new information on the security protecting Emmerich."

"Roger that." The Colonel replied as their codec conversation came to an end.

Before going any further, Andrius pulled out a pair of night vision goggles from his equipment belt and put them on so he could in the darkness ahead of him. He followed the Colonel's instructions as he navigated the tunnels while he had to endure the terrible smell of old sewage. Eventually he reached the door that was behind the trio of pipes as the Colonel had told him. He felt around the wall where the door was expected to be until he located a loose moss covered brick. He removed it and there was keypad that could open the door from this side.

Reaching into his equipment belt once again, Andrius pulled out a small palm size computer. He drew a long wire from the device and connected it to an input port at the bottom of the keypad. He pushed the power button and activated his Security Breaker. The Security breaker was designed as a small computer that was capable of overriding security doors by hacking the systems that controlled the said security system and taking control of it. He waited a few minutes as the security breaker went to work. Five minutes later the Security Breaker succeeded and the door opened.

Removing his night vision goggles since the room beyond had some light in it, but he would have to proceed carefully since in well-lit rooms the outline of his invisible form could be seen by anyone with a good eye. Andrius walked inside closing the door behind him once he placed his Security Breaker back into his equipment belt. He entered a small room that had nothing, but a computer terminal and a few weapons held in a weapon's locker next to a door just ahead of him. He suspected that no one must have entered this room often since this leads out into the storm drain where the top brass of the base's escape route was, but when he eyed the computer terminal he had an idea.

He pulled back the chair sitting in front before taking a seat. He began typing on the computer trying to see what he could pull up from the terminal. But when a password screen blocked him he activated his codec to call the Colonel. "Colonel, this is Snake I have successfully gained access into the base. I have found a computer terminal, but I am having trouble gaining access to the base's computer network."

"A password?"

"Right, and if I attempt to figure one out I may alert the base."

"I follow you, and this is a good time to introduce the next member of your support group back at home."

"Who?" Snake asked as a new person's face became visible on his codec. It was a man, possible African ethnicity, black hair; cut and styled military hair cut; he had blue eyes, he wore an Orb Union.

"You're Solidus Snake huh; well good to meet you pal. You can me…uh…Mr. Tech."

"Mr. Tech huh, that's a simple codename for you."

"Well it may sound simple, but it matches my job description here in FOXHOUND perfectly."

"Snake, Mr. Tech is our expert on the latest in weapons and equipment technology, and the best computer hacker Orb has to offer." Sliver explained.

"You plan to hack the computer system of this base? How?"

"Remember that small little wireless box we gave you?" Sliver asked him.

"Yeah I got it right here."

"Listen Snake, hook that thing up to the back of the computer's USB ports and turn it on. That will allow me to access and hack the base's computer network from here. There has been no system I can't crack." Mr. Tech told him.

"Alright, I'll call back once I got it hooked up."

"Roger that." Sliver said as Snake ended his nanocommunication session with Mr. Tech and Colonel Sliver. He searched his equipment belt and found something that was like a small wireless transmitter. He checked behind the computer and managed to find an USB port and hook the transmitter up. He flipped a red switch turning it on. Once it was activate he called Sliver.

"Colonel, the transmitter is on."

"Mr. Tech, its time to work your magic." Sliver declared as Mr. Tech's voice was heard in the background saying. "I am on it. Just give me a few minutes." Snake watched, as the computer became seemed to have become suddenly possessed as Mr. Tech began using his personal hacking program to hack the base's computer network. Snake sat at the table waiting for Mr. Tech to getting him full access of base's computer network. Finally Mr. Tech gave Snake a call once his job was done.

"Alright Snake that should do it, we both have complete access to the base's computer network. Security is even under my control from here so I can help to make your rescue operation work a lot easier too."

"I like that." Snake commented as Sliver butted into the conversation.

"Alright, since you have full access to the base's computer system trying bringing up any information related to Metal Gear or Professor Emmerich."

"Just sit back and watch the screen Snake. I'll take care of it." Mr. Tech said as Snake watched the computer screen as Mr. Tech scoured the database for any information regarding Metal Gear or Emmerich. In a matter of seconds three files opened up, the first one showed a technical design blueprint for some kind of new machine, the file was named Metal Gear NEO. The machine wasn't designed as a bipedal tank, but its design seemed closer related to a mobile armor. It stood at a height of 18.00 meters tall and it was quite fat, but it's under part of its body had four arms. The first two up front were a pair of retractable arms with four fingered claws with a built in new weapon called a 94mm high-energy cannon, and the other two appendages the machine had were in fact a pair of legs designed to help balance it on the ground using a pair of Archimedes screws on powerful hydraulic legs. In all retrospect it appeared to some type of freakish deformed turtle with no head. Its forward arms carried the Archimedes screws used for movement, but incorporated into the arms to allow usage of the claws and beam weapon.

Snake looked at its list of armaments and noticed that one the front of its face next to the Cyclops-like camera and sensor eye were a pair of Igelstellung 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, dual Scylla 580mm energy cannons on top of the machine's shoulders and two large powerful magnetic railguns designed for firing nuclear missiles capable of delivering an untraceable nuclear warhead anywhere in the world, without the propellant trail or launch flare that gives away the launch position of a traditional ballistic missiles. On its back were experimental thrusters designed to give the Metal Gear excellent acceleration and movement capability. Aside from thick compound armor plating, the machine was equipped with a new kind of special armor called Phase Shift Armor capable of nullifying all attacks by physical weapons, including blades, projectiles, and conventional explosives.

Not exactly like its predecessors in the past where the machines were capable of walking on two legs, but Snake suspected that it was perhaps due to the fact that nowadays mobile suit technologies belong to ZAFT and the Alliance haven't been able to develop a mobile suit that could be used by a Natural, which was perhaps the reason why they designed this Metal Gear in the form of a mobile armor so the pilot could handle it easier. The machine was designed to operate not only on land, but also in space as well thanks to the propulsion-linked system built throughout its body. It was capable of floating over the sea thanks to this propulsion system as well. However the one problem with the Metal Gear was that due to the presence of N-Jammers on Earth, the machine was incapable of using its nuclear arsenal or it's built in nuclear reactor forcing it to rely on an axillary's battery power source.

"Holy shit; Colonel are you getting all this?"

"Yes Snake, Mr. Tech is downloading all the data on the Metal Gear. To think the Alliance was building a weapon capable of launching nuclear weapons to any place in the world. That machine is not only a clear threat to ZAFT, but could be to use as well. That is if they can overcome the problems caused by the Neutron Jammers scattered worldwide."

"I hear you."

"Snake, Mr. Tech and I will take this opportunity to raid their database of any additional secret files they have here, including the files on the anti-coordinator soldiers being trained here as well as training methods just for our records. Mr. Tech will display a map of the base where Professor Emmerich is located."

"Roger that."

"But if we find that bastard machine is here then you're priority is to destroy it, however just proceed to Professor Emmerich's cell and get him out. Mr. Tech told me that since he has gained control over the base's computer controlled systems he can provide more than enough distractions to cover your escape. Just wait a moment and he'll show you the map that will lead you to his cell. Once you have Professor Emmerich, Mr. Tech can use the security cameras to scan the corridors to ensure you path back to the tunnel is clear."

"So I am using the tunnel to escape?"

"Yes, but you won't be exiting through the storm drain. You'll head straight through the tunnel and out of the secret exit into the jungle. Once you are out, head further north for an hour until you cross a rope bridge and reach a clearing. We'll drop the recovery balloon there to pull you and Emmerich out."

"Roger that."

"Keep you're codec line open until you are out of the base. That way we can provide constant security updates to you on the movements of their sentries and where their cameras are focused."

"Understood"

"Here Snake, I found Professor Emmerich. It turns out he is inside the main administration building, the same place where you're at. He is on the fifth floor in the special prisoner detention block. It's an area of the building that they leave for important or dangerous prisoners like diplomats, coordinators or valuable prisoners. His cell is being guarded by five heavy armed soldiers dressed in body armor."

"Five guards might be a little difficult to take care of. That is if I want to keep the base from knowing I am here."

"Not to worry Snake I already got a plan to take them out. Emmerich's cell is an isolation chamber that is locked air-tight from the outside world and is dependant on its own supply of oxygen, but it carries another feature that can pump poisonous scentless poisonous gas to kill the prison if the Alliance decides to execute the prisoner or stop them from escaping. However that system is tied into the ventilation system for that room. If I can disable the safety protocols and eliminate the base's chances of finding out I think I can reroute the poison gas and release a burst strong enough to kill the guards in the room and nothing beyond. I'll reverse the air circulation system to pump the gas out of them room and deposit it outside where it will be rendered harmless and allow you to enter and get Emmerich out."

"Ok…I'll head out towards Emmerich Cell and report back once we have escaped the base."

"Right, and once you have Emmerich I got a couple of distractions I can set off to make sure your path back to the tunnel is cleared. I'll monitor the security camera and alert you if there are any guards in your path."

"Thanks."

"Good luck, but one more thing Snake."

"What?"

"When you see Professor Emmerich, tell him something from me. Tell him: Sorry for being so late."

"No problem."

"Alright contact me when you get Emmerich out of the base." Colonel Sliver said as Snake switched the codec over to audio only so he could listen to Mr. Tech if he found anything Andrius needed to know about.