Interlude 1, part 3
Aile watched Chief R as he was talking to someone in transmission. He had a smile on his face and was getting up, causing his parrot mechaniloid to flap its wings. Turning his hoverchair from the desk, Aile approached him. "I hope you don't intend to leave this area. I'm sorry R, but it's for your own good."
He shook his head. "No, I'm staying in Shaft 999. I got word that our mystery patient is alert enough to talk. He asked to meet us."
"That's good. Did we find out who he is?"
"Yes. It's X."
Aile dropped his arms onto the chair and leaned forward. This was amazing, almost unbelievable. "Really? We've got X in our care? That's great. Even if he doesn't help us directly, it will give us a link to the global governments."
"True. But we'd best go soon, to see if he's still alert."
They traveled down the curving halls to the area they had blocked off for medical work. It was quite busy, as many had been injured in the continual waves of Preons that the Rebellion sent against them. However, the two of them managed to quickly get back to where X was being kept. His status screen showed that he was alert.
Aile stopped his hoverchair near the pod while R adjusted the speaker unit. "Hello X. This is Chief R and my assistant Aile is with me; I heard you wanted to speak to us."
After a moment of quiet, the pod synthesized his voice, "Ah, yes. Hello, I am X. You're the operating governor of Giga City currently, correct?"
R nodded out of habit. "That I am, but most of the city is out of my control."
"You're still the local authority and I felt you should know why I'm here. Over a month ago, myself and four others from the Maverick Hunters came into Giga City on a mission to eliminate the members of the Rebellion. The original plan was to enter by way of Lagrano Tower and use that district as an away base."
"Lagrano?" Aile asked. "That place was a wreck even before it collapsed."
"I know," X replied. "One of the squad's members, Shadow, turned out to be a Rebellion sympathizer. He or someone else tampered with the mission data and gave us that location as a suitable spot. We suspected something was up when we saw it for ourselves, but we went ahead and scouted out the location. It turned out to be a trap: four members of the Rebellion, including Epsilon, attacked us when we reached the top floor. That battle was what caused the tower to collapse."
"I see," R said. "That is unfortunate. But you can trust us; we've been working against the Rebellion, for we do not agree with the methods they are using."
"I've heard that. I know two of my squad members were killed in the tower. The fifth one was my friend Zero; he might have gotten back the headquarters, but I'm not certain. The interference was terrible that night. Since I'm still in the city, I might see what I can do about the original mission, even just gathering more reliable information."
"All right," R agreed. "We'll help you how we can, but I should warn you that the interference is as bad as ever and this district is under continual waves of attack by mechanlioids. I believe they're trying to weaken us and break our resolve. It's getting tougher from day to day."
The graphs displaying X's condition flickered in places; perhaps he was worried about that. "Hmm. I hope I'm not drawing too many resources from you."
"You're fine. And I sympathize with losing your fellows. We'd rather not draw too much of your energy on this, but is there anything you need to ask about now?"
"Some things, but it could take time to get through. I just wanted you to know about my mission and that we are moving against the Rebellion, not the other citizens of Giga City. I don't know what the Hunters have done since then about this situation, but I'm sure they're trying to get something accomplished. And thank you for taking me in. I know I left myself to chance when I went into a temporary hibernation, but I didn't have much choice after falling off the top of Lagrano Tower."
"You wouldn't. It's no trouble. What is it you need to know?" He glanced at the energy bar, which showed that X was fairly alert at this time.
X paused to consider it, then asked, "Chief R, Aile, may I ask you some specifics on the Lagrano Laboratories? I saw some things there that concerned me."
"Very well. What do you want to know?"
"First of all, who ran it? I had some information before the mission began, but I want to double check it."
"That's easy. Dr. Hiram Lagrano was the chief engineer and researcher. He was a human, but he had many human and reploids working on research with him. That's why the tower was so tall; they needed all that space."
"Okay. Were the upper levels more lab space? Because we only ran into a Lab A and Lab B, but many of the upper levels were complete wrecks."
"Yes, but there was the division of Lab Groups A, B, and C. Hiram worked primarily in Group A, while Group B shifted leaders. Group C worked with lesser projects, like basic soldiers, vehicles, and advanced mechaniloids."
"They had a lot of engineers working there too," Aile added. "It always seemed like someone was leaving or someone new had just arrived."
"Were there personnel problems, or office competitiveness? Even if it's been abandoned for years, I found some graffiti, more or less, insulting one of the lab groups."
R put his hand to his chin, thinking. "Yes… I'm sure there was. I left the labs just a few months after I was activated, but there were a lot of staff changes over the years and there was always gossip about arguments going on there. For instance, I know the chameleon ability researcher left the lab shortly after one of his creations was activated."
"Chameleon ability?" X asked. Aile noted that his alertness had managed to go up; this must have been something of interest to him
So he answered this time. "Chameleon reploids were supposed to be a big breakthrough. Through a mixture of special metal alloys, stabilizers, and other systems, they could theoretically mimic anyone they met. It was part of the next-gen design from a couple of decades back, I think. However, Lagrano only tested one reploid, Deo Midas, before the researcher who knew the most left. Who was that, R?"
He shook his head. "I couldn't keep track of all those engineers. There was a big fuss about it because a fight had broken out between researchers at that time. Not that it was the first time. Professor Gaudile indirectly caused rumors of scandals when he defected. Even though they had built him there, Gaudile left well before the end of Lagrano Labs due to disagreements with Hiram and others. I don't know personally, but I've heard several people say it was too many strong personalities clashing that led to the end."
"That would happen. And what happened to destroy the tower as we found it?"
R answered, "Again, we only know what we've heard, but… Hiram put a lot of effort into designing and building Epsilon, but then something went wrong. Some say Epsilon had a malfunctioning ethics program with a genius greater than expected. Others say that Hiram was infuriated when Epsilon formed a philosophy that directly opposed that of the lead researcher. Whatever it was, Epsilon had already gained followers in the other reploids that had recently been built there and they attacked the lab personnel. By the time the rest of Giga City found out, the tower was already unstable and abandoned. Dr. Lagrano himself refused to give a statement and went to work in the Tianna Mine district instead."
"Is Dr. Lagrano still alive?"
"No. He and his family were killed by the Rebellion a few weeks back."
"That makes sense. I hope this doesn't insult either of you, but did Lagrano Labs focus primarily on combat reploids? That's the impression I got; even though one, Dr. Psyche, was listed as a research and development reploid, he was in a list of combat models."
R hesitated, so Aile took that one. "It's tricky to answer that one. Psyche is definitely a combat reploid; he's been witnessed doing as much damage as his peers in the raid on the human residential areas. And then there's R here who, along with a few others, is not a combat reploid. However, he was originally designed as a military tactician and commander, of the sort that would be in your organization. R simply chose to turn his abilities to civilian means instead, running the city instead of running an army. And the others that weren't direct combatants, like Gaudile, were meant for military positions like weapons development and maintenance."
"Yes. We've managed to convince three of our peers to join us, but many others are within the Rebellion."
"I see. Then it would appear Lagrano Labs was doing military work. However, I hadn't heard of them being hired to do so. They're listed as a private company."
"I've wondered that myself. Like me," Aile clasped one of his wrists in a nervous gesture. "Once I got handicapped, they stopped contacting me. Didn't even offer to repair me, as if I were a failure they didn't wish to acknowledge. Fortunately, that was after Chief R defected, and he took me into his care. We've been good friends ever since."
"I guess I had the same problem as Epsilon, if certain rumors are true," R added. "They wanted me to study and use military tactics. I never got a straight answer why, so I did my own research. That led me to realize that I didn't really want to lead an army. I'd much rather be here in peaceful times, assisting people live better lives, than to be locked away in a military base, designing plans to destroy enemies as efficiently and completely as possible."
"I can understand that myself," X stated. "I've stayed because my job is important, but I have taken short retirements, mostly to clear my head. As it seems, Dr. Lagrano's goals could be something to look into. That's it for now; I need to rest up so I can help them do work on me. But thanks for the information." His stress level seemed lower, so maybe he was pleased. "And the talk. You two seem like good people; I hope we can be friends after this."
To that, R smiled. "The same goes for you."
Aile reached out and patted the pod. "Thanks, we'll be looking forward to that. And we'd better get some rest as well. Sleep well, X."
"You too. I wish you the best in your efforts."
Being alert while under reconstruction was never a pleasant experience. There were painkillers, but one could still feel things move which shouldn't be moving in normal circumstances. But this wasn't the first time X had to deal with it. He had to assist the repair engineer on some of the more troublesome damage. Today, it was the dash jets in his legs and feet. "That directs the energy to the soles, which give me a slight hover capacity during a dash. Some of the lines are ruptured or weakened; I need around sixty percent functional to maintain balance, so we should focus on replacing or repairing the ruptured ones."
"I see. A little inefficient, isn't it? To have more than you need; I've noticed that about a lot of your systems."
"It may look inefficient, but I'm not stopped by injuries that would incapacitate other reploids. It's better for survival to have redundant systems."
"There is that. All right, let's get to work."
After several more hours of this, the engineer stopped as they both needed the break. They were close to completing the repairs that needed assistance, so X could soon be ready for release. His self-repair systems were taking care of their duties and the love metal was doing a great job of assisting. While his movement was still limited, it wouldn't be that way for long.
Sometime after he had been returned to the repair pod, he got notice of a visitor, Aile. "I hope this isn't a bad time," he said. "But I don't have much time myself lately."
"I can talk for a little while," X said. He checked the visuals, as his eyes were working now. "Huh. My sight's working now; I didn't realize you were using a hoverchair."
"That's fine." He touched his face, which oddly enough did not move. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, so you should know that I've lost control of my legs and head. I had a bad case of force metal overload one time."
"I see."
"It was something of an accident. Technically, I could be considered an FM Maverick now, as it affected my emotions as well. A lot of my programming got fried in that incident. However, I've got support programs that keep me operating in a relatively normal manner."
"That's good. Have you considered getting an overhaul to repair it?"
"Yes, but that had problems too. Only a few engineers are capable of that, so it would be an immense cost."
"Right, and there's always the chance of altering your personality wildly in any overhaul like that. But you seem to be doing well despite it."
Briefly, he formed a fist. "I wasn't made to give up." Then he relaxed his body and arms down. "I hope this isn't too personal, but I was wondering about your peers from Lagrano. Who were they?"
"Them? It's okay; I've had time to mourn them. They weren't from Giga City, and were older than that. Biggs and Wedge, two brothers who joined us nine years ago. They had a strong relationship and worked remarkably well together, so I requested them to join my unit. They were great Hunters, both in completing their missions and in their behavior on and off duty. It's terrible that they died on a mission that had been designed by our enemy to kill me."
Wild Jango did not like this job. He was a jaguar reploid, a model meant for wide open spaces, for quick speed and wild combat. Here, he was inside a tower filled with narrow halls, curving passages, and small plazas. And just what was he doing in this cramped tower? Ordering about mechaniloid soldiers and keeping civilians in line. He'd much rather be in battle himself, but he was currently the only Rebellion officer here. At least he could take his frustrations out on the dumb civilians who were with the Resistance. Epsilon didn't want anyone hurt, but then he hadn't yet asked what exactly Jango was doing.
"Have you captured the operating governor yet?" Epsilon asked over the conference call. Since it was on a Giga City based network, the interference was minimal.
"Not yet," Jango growled. "They're keeping him just out of reach. However, I have a plan for that."
"Good; we need him for full control of the city, so get him quickly. How are the mercenaries doing?"
"There's only one left. The rest all got themselves killed or they abandoned our cause. That's what you get for trying to depend on those greedy money-grubbers."
Annoyingly, he didn't look too perturbed at this. "They were simply extra muscle. We've got an alternate city operator station set up, so once you capture the governor, abandon the tower."
"Abandon it?" Jango asked. "Why? There's still that pesky Resistance force around."
"Once they lose their leader, it should crumble. It's mostly civilian volunteers, so it was never meant to last. Besides, that district stands as a sign of human arrogance and extravagance. We have no need for it any longer."
"Fine."
But after the conversation ended, Wild Jango got to thinking. He despised this building so much after being stuck here for nearly a month. And there was that whole 'sign of human arrogance' blah blah blah, whatever, that Epsilon was going on about. If he were really running things, Jango would not just abandon this place. He would demolish it.
And if he were careful, Epsilon might mistake it for something else. The Rebellion leader was a charismatic genius, Jango would admit that. But sometimes he was too naïve and trusting.
On his rest break, Butler took some time to read a book. It was something he used to do a lot in the Lagrano household, when all the humans were asleep. And it was reassuring in its own way, a moment of normalcy amid a time of battle. But he wasn't sure if he could ever have his old life again. Maybe he could get hired for his job with another family, but the memories of death and destruction would stay with him.
He sighed and tried to focus on the book. He was supposed to be relaxing. However, he found it hard to sleep. That led to dreams and his dreams were terrible lately.
"Butler," Massimo called out.
"Hmm?" He looked up from his book and saw a peculiar reploid in the room with him. There had been no effort to clothe or even skin him, so plates of bare metal were all over his body. And he had a bestial human design so that, while he stood on two legs, he had features like a long square jaw that seemed almost demonic. But, he had his hero's eyes and voice. "Massimo? Is that you?"
"Indeed," he replied. "Come with me."
"Yes sir." He put the book down and left the room with him. "Why are you out of your armor?"
"Things need to be done before we lose all control in this battle," Massimo stated, determination showing in his pace and tone. "However, there is an element of psychology that must be considered. I'm trusting you with this secret, so don't tell anyone."
Feeling confident in that Massimo would trust him like this, Butler smiled. "All right. You have my word of silence."
"Good. I am going alone to raid Tianna Mine Camp, in order to rescue Nana and the other prisoners. You are going to take this and stay here." He brought Butler into a side room.
And 'this' turned out to be Steel Massimo's armor. The front half of the armor was whole, but the back had split open. At the shoulders, the arms had disjoined and the legs were partly split. Butler felt astonished. "Yo-your armor? Sir, is that really okay?"
"It is necessary," Massimo said. "Many of our dedicated fighters have fallen in this drawn out battle. The civilians here all see me as a hero, their protector. But what they see is that armor. Few people have seen me like this. You will take on my name and this armor to stay behind and protect the citizens. Give them hope that this conflict will end well."
There was a part of Butler that was positively giddy at the thought of becoming Steel Massimo, a strong and fearless hero. But then, could he really pull it off? "It sounds like a good plan," he said. "But can I operate this armor? I've heard of terrible consequences for reploids who try to use incompatible parts."
Massimo took his shoulder. "Stand up straight and look at me." When he did so, they were eye to eye. "You've got the same body size and general shape as me, so it should fit you. And the programming for the armor is written in a common language. If you can get inside and get it to secure itself to you, then you should have no difficulty. There's instructional programs still installed that will help you run it. Go on and try, but take off any force metals you're wearing first."
Getting in wasn't hard. He had to step into the leg sections, which was like putting on stiff boots. Then Butler slipped his arms into the sleeves. Massimo instructed him to rest his lower jaw on the top of the neck guard and then attempt to silently instruct the armor to close. And it did, accepting his commands without hesitation. The legs locked up and the arms moved back into position. The back right third came in first, extending some metal straps to hold his body into a better position. Then the back left portion closed in to lock into the smaller part, followed by the panel with the stabilizer fins to make sure everything was secure.
And it wasn't nearly as heavy on him as he thought. The armor didn't need him for support, as it was supporting him. Butler tried to bring his arm up and flex his hand; it responded naturally.
The real Massimo seemed pleased. "I felt you'd be a good match. There's three force metals with the armor; are they working properly? Can you connect to them?"
"Let me see…" he queried the armor about its metals and it gave him a dutiful report. There was an Anti-Grav Boost metal (which explained how this armor was able to jump at all), a Protect 20 (he didn't know such a high level one existed), and a love metal. Huh? "You left your love metal equipped. But, it's not bothering me."
"Good, I was most worried about that one." He waved his hand dismissively. "Keep it; I can manage without it and it would do you more good. Now the other two are built into the armor itself, so they cannot be removed. The armor has only two open slots in it, but it overrides your natural metal slots, so don't try equipping any more than that."
"Okay." Butler smiled. "I think I can handle this."
"I'm sure you can. There is one last thing I'd like to talk about before I go but it's personal." He put his hand to his chin, thinking. "I've heard your story, so you should hear mine. The truth is, I'm not a hero."
"How can you say that?" Butler asked, astonished. "Everyone around here admires you. You've helped protect all the citizens here; we couldn't have gotten this far without you."
"That doesn't make a hero," Massimo argued, seeming quite serious about the matter. "I am a war machine. I was designed and built to destroy nations and help instate an iron-fisted rule. The world has been at peace for a long time and the most violent uprisings in the past century have been those of Sigma. People are starting to idealize war again, having been separated from its horrors. Even in this place, it can be seen. War is coming and this may only be a prelude.
"But my heart wasn't fully into war. I've done terrible things, Butler. I've killed about as many people as the entire Rebellion has. I came here originally to hide from that past and my purpose. When conflict came here, I answered the call as my duty, not as a hero. If it is in my power to defend those who cannot fight, I'll make the effort to do so. That is why I'm going into Tianna Camp. The Resistance is weakening and we have few tricks to help us, if we have any at all. We need a new advantage, so I'm going to try making one."
"That's very brave of you, sir," Butler said. "But, you were made just for war?"
"That's it. That's the reasons behind all the power I wield. That's the reason that the armor you're wearing was built for. But I don't want to delude people anymore. If they see a hero in that armor, then I'd rather there not be a war machine underneath. You're much more suited for that role."
Flabbergasted, Butler took a step back. "Me? But sir, you know me. I'm really just a coward. I can fight alongside you because you give me strength, and I can manage against the Preons, but…"
"You're going to have to stop using the word 'sir' now," Massimo chided. "People will use it on you. And I think you are braver than that. You just need the chance to prove it to yourself. For one thing, are you having any problems yet?"
"Um… well no." He brought his hands together. "It's responding naturally."
"It does. But you see, you can handle the force metals built into the armor. I couldn't."
He focused on them again, but they were working normally, causing him no reaction. "I didn't notice any problems in you."
"That's because I was only slightly above my limit. Force metal overload causes pain in your systems, like a burning sensation. And it makes you feel like you can do anything, without any consequences. You didn't see it… only Nana did, but I was constantly battling myself as well as the enemies before me. I have gone berserk several times, and destroyed many lives and properties doing so. I am not a hero because I am too dangerous to protect civilians. You can handle the armor's metals and then some. You know kindness and you have the drive to improve yourself while protecting others. You can do this better than I."
"I'll try, but…" all his enthusiasm about this plan was gone, to be replaced with anxiety. "Are you sure you can handle Tianna Camp by yourself?"
"I'll be fine." He tapped his forehead. "In fact, I feel clearer than I have in years. Now come on, Steel Massimo. You've got to escort me to the teleporting chamber. I doubt anyone will question us if you're with me."
"Right. Let's go." He escorted his mentor to the teleport chamber, figuring out how to walk and skate with the heavy armor. He also had to relearn what his height was, as he had to duck in doorways to fit through them now.
In the halls, several civilians stepped aside for the two of them to pass, smiling but uncertain of the threatening-looking 'stranger' with Massimo. But one came up to them, confident enough in him to not be scared. It was a little girl reploid who had a green dress armor and red pigtails. "Hey Mister Massimo, do you have some time to play with me?"
Butler wasn't sure who she was, but Massimo replied quickly. "We've got mission plans to discuss, Annette. Don't bother us."
"Maybe later," Butler added, not liking to disappoint the child.
"Well, okay," she said reluctantly. "But you come play with me later, right?" Then she darted off into another room before he could give an answer.
Massimo tilted his head towards where she'd gone. "That's the only other person close enough to me that might notice the switch."
"She's a friend of yours?" Butler asked. This day was turning out to have a lot of twists.
Shrugging, he replied, "She attached herself to me after the Rebellion killed her mother. She doesn't have a father, so the other parents have been looking out for her. But I got her out alive, so it's not easy to ignore her. Annette's a reasonable girl, so she should accept you."
At the chamber, Butler wished the real Massimo good luck and watched him fade away. And then, the job of protecting his fellow citizens fell to him.
Another one of the security stations was reporting problems. As it was, Aile felt it was necessary to bring along two other Resistance fighters to escort Chief R. They made it to the elevator fine. But it would only take a moment for things to go bad.
"Gray, you check the elevator itself," Aile ordered. "When you're certain we're clear, call us in. Black, you watch that end of the hall."
"Yes sir," they both said and went to their appointed spots.
R shifted his stance, giving a glance to his parrot. The mechaniloid squawked softly, giving him an affectionate head bump. While the action made him look nervous, Aile figured he was most likely embarrassed at having to need three guards. But without Nana around, and the Governor's District off-limits to them, he had to respond to these calls personally. In his current operating conditions, R was restricted on combat ability, so he needed guards.
"Elevator's clear," Gray reported.
"Let's go," R said, moving ahead. Black and Aile followed behind him.
Aile kept his senses peeled for unusual activity around them. The shaft was clear. So far so good. Stopping at the station's level, Aile moved towards the door. On the other side, there was Wild Jango. Sparks glinted off his claws as he rushed forward and impaled Gray in the chest with them. There was a flash of electricity as the young Resistance fighter was fried from the inside.
Shooting Jango in the head, Aile felt one of his darker tones creep in past the support programs. He should do everything in his power to keep R out of Jango's paws, even if it would be the end of him. He tried pushing it and anything else interruptive aside. It was a battle like any other and he could not lose focus. Like any other, save that his best friend was in grave and immediate danger.
Although hit a couple of times, Jango next attacked Black, firing a ball of electricity at him first. Then he slashed across his face and kicked at one of his armor ridges. That knocked the plate out of place, allowing the jaguar to duck and slash into the reploid's body, killing him in the same manner as Gray. Next, he leapt over to the last fighter.
Aile unleashed a charged shot at Jango's eyes, keeping him from making the full jump. Once he recovered, the Rebellion fighter snarled, slashing Aile across the face. "Why are you even trying, you broken reploid? You don't stand a chance against me, so give up." He next cut into Aile's buster and shocked that, keeping it from firing properly.
A shrieking beam struck Jango in the side, catching him off guard. Looking over, he saw that R's parrot had flown off his shoulder and launched the beam attack at him from a barrel hidden in its beak. Jango wasted no time in putting that parrot down. Then he grabbed R by the arm and fired a binding burst into his systems. Before he collapsed, the Rebellion fighter lifted him to over his shoulder.
"You're coming with me, Governor," he said, adding sarcasm to the title. Then he left the elevator with R and sent it back down to the last floor it had been on.
Aile had lost.
For a moment, suicide became a tempting option. He had failed his duty; they had lost R. They didn't have much left. There was Steel Massimo still on their side, but with his history as a berserker soldier, they couldn't fully rely on him. And he seemed different the past few days. They had some good research reploids. But they were researchers, no good without professional fighters.
And there was X and Aile. Trying to shake off his impulses, Aile moved over and picked up R's parrot. The mechaniloid squeaked and shifted its balance, but then collapsed into Aile's lap. Even in this dire situation, they had a secret 'weapon' on hand in the Maverick Hunter. Jango may have thought him useless (maybe he was) but he had to keep himself together now. He would have to take over for R until they could get him rescued.
End of Interlude 1.
Lagrano Tower has some fascinating story potential when you look at the details, as well as make connections to other parts of Giga City. Like who were the people who worked there, and why did they build the reploids who would become the Rebellion? But the game's plot doesn't revisit any areas.
