Chapter 6: Power Struggles
Splatoon Headquarters… (Shepard's POV)
I ran through the idea with the old man, after which he exclaimed:
"I knew humans were smart, but kid, you're a genius!"
"Do you know anyone capable of making this thing in the first place?" I asked.
He thought to himself for a moment, snapped his fingers, and said: "I know just the right woman." I headed out with him into the early morning daylight, with the warm, gold-orange skies blanketing Inkopolis. We walked what I'd guess to be about two miles, before we reached a large, shimmering, metal factory. Before we headed inside, I jokingly asked the old man: "You sure your legs are ok after walking that far, grandpa?"
He pulled out a keycard and replied: "Never been better."
The doors opened, and inside I bore witness to some of the most impressive tech I'd ever seen. Robots cleaned the facility to a spotless shining mass of metal and glass, advanced cameras hooked to the ceiling, and drones flying packages to other areas of the facility. I looked up, and couldn't believe my eyes after seeing who was at the head of it all.
"Marina, what is this place?" I called up to her, still in awe of everything around me.
"Oh, Jackson, I wasn't expecting you to be here." She said with a questioning smile.
"Well, this is the single most advanced facility above ground. I'm pretty sure you've seen most of the wonders we come up with here, so I won't nerd out on the details." Marina hopped down to us from the balcony of her office, and said: "So, what're you here for?"
I ran through the plan with her, and her excitement nearly started leaking out of her ears. When I asked if she'd help build the generator, she jumped up, and shouted loud enough to wake Octavio himself: "Shell yes!"
I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She ran off to grab a few of her fellow engineers, and ran through the idea with them. After about an hour, she dismissed them and told them to wait for her to join them.
She walked up to me, and said: "We've got everything sorted out, but ask Cap'n Cuttlefish if he can send his dive teams out to find blueprints. I used to be way into this sort of thing, but never thought I'd be able to get the blueprints alive."
She handed me a set of coordinates, and finished the conversation with: "If you find those blueprints, get them to me as soon as possible. If all goes well, it should take three years. I know it's a long time, but it will be worth it." I turned to get back to the old man, but then she called out: "Jackson!"
I turned around, and she walked up to me and handed me something. Concert tickets. I looked to her, and she said: "Thanks, for trying to help my people. I know it's not a lot, but it's the best I can do."
With a warm smile, I said: "I'll get it done if it kills me. I promise."
*Five minutes later…*
On the long walk back the the square, me and the old man chatted back and forth about the plan, and he brought up something I forgot about completely when making the plan:
"What about Octavio and the Octoweapons?"
I turned to him and said: "Rally your splatoons, or whatever you call them. The best you can offer. I'll personally run them through the mission, they'll disable the Octoweapons. If need be, I'll go straight to Ocativo himself, and put one right between his eyes if he won't willingly move on past his hatred."
He nodded, and we turned back to the long road ahead, with the midday sun beaming down on us. The golden-orange skies that had spread once more across the entirety of Inkopolis had faded into a deep blue, with little white clouds dotting the sky. We walked back into the shack, and decided to give the orders to the dive teams tomorrow. The plan had reshaped itself, and now functioned like so:
*Send the Dive Teams to Get the Blueprints.
*Send Blueprints to Marina.
*Construction (3 Years).
*Test to Insure the Thing Works in the First Place.
*Disable and Destroy Octoweapons.
*If Necessary, Assassinate Octavio.
*Give the Octarians a Few Generators.
*Take a Vacation to a Tropical Island.
One thing stuck with me. In the 3+ years the plan would encompass, what in the hell was I supposed to do? I asked the old man, and he asked if I was a good at making beats or at making songs. I told him a bit about my past, and he told me that resurrecting it would probably be the best course of action.
What would my name be though?
It all clicked at once.
"Well, I'm the last standing member of a bygone race, I'm dressed in Gold, grey, white, and black, and my last name is Shepard. Sound close enough?"
"Fits the bill to me, my lord."
Prophet. The name's Prophet.
*Author's Note: Sorry for both the short chapter, and my recent inactivity. I've been getting bombarded by homework (And Inner Agent 3), so I need a little bit to focus on that, but expect longer than average chapters to be coming soon. (Hopefully starting tomorrow)*
Have a good one, and thanks for reading!
