Interlude 2: Absent Without Leave
MH Far East HQ
"Shut the door, would you?" the brown reploid said, not looking up from his in-desk screen.
Axl came in to the room and shut the door as asked. This was the office of one of the senior intelligence members, Dusty Ram. In the past, he had always gotten good data for them, so he had been the one Axl felt most comfortable in asking. "Hey man. You have time to talk?"
After a glance up, Dusty punched in some commands to a separate keypad. The windows in the office became opaque and the hum of a blocking shield started. "Sure. I was hoping you'd get in soon. I don't think Zero's patience is going to hold out much longer." He gestured to an extra chair near the desk.
Sitting down, Axl leaned back and said, "Actually, I was having second thoughts on his plan. I know the Rebellion is trouble, but I'm not sure I should go with him."
"Why not?"
"Well it's out now that X is missing, right?" When he got a nod to that, Axl said, "So this seems like an opportunity for the Mavericks to strike, and even more so if Zero takes off. If all three of us are gone in an area with major interference problems, then it's going to hamper your ability to react if the Mavericks do launch a major strike."
Dusty nodded slowly, giving him a mock serious look. "Hmm. So you're the responsible one now?"
Axl laughed. "Hey man, I'm not a star-struck kid anymore. I just act like one sometimes."
After an amused smirk, Dusty shifted his computer screen for a reference. "Yes, that is a concern. But from the information we have, the Maverick remnants are incapable of a major strike at this time. We had that one who tried attacking the base directly."
"Yeah, but he was a loony," Axl said. And it had been a really easy fight too, although the cleanup took a tedious amount of time.
"And claiming to work on his own. Along with that, we don't have any sting operations planned for some time. There's no major base or gathering point for them anymore. The biggest threat around currently is the Rebellion."
He considered that. "So then going with Zero would be the better option?"
Dusty nodded. "Due to that, and because I at least definitely don't want Zero turning into a loose cannon. He has improved since the old days, but I would consider him unpredictable right now. You're someone he trusts, so it's best that you go with him."
On hearing that, Axl felt quietly relieved. He did want to go with Zero to search for X, but didn't want to abandon his duty as a Maverick Hunter if it was a dangerous time. "All right. Then what information do you have on Giga City and the Rebellion?"
He sighed. "Unfortunately, not much more than before. They're shooting down potential threats before they can enter the city, so you need to choose your transport carefully. You should also consider them hostile to outsiders and be careful when speaking to residents. We believe that the Rebellion holds onto the whole city and they can focus on keeping us out. I do have something that could be of use: we've confirmed two former Hunters as Rebellion members and there are indications that they're working at two particular locations. Tracking them down could be useful." He passed over a data drive with that information.
Axl took it to copy into his files. "Possibly. You really can't find much, huh?"
"Nobody can get in or out of there," Dusty stated. "The interference makes satellite photography tricky along with communications. "
"Bummer." He got up to leave. "At least we have some targets now. Thanks for trying, Dusty."
The officer gave a casual salute. "Take care, Axl." He didn't immediately remove the window opaquing or the sound shield when the Hunter opened the door and left. But he did take a moment to sit back and smile. "Well that gets both of you out of my hair for a little while," he said quietly to himself. "Once you're gone, I'll let Dusty Ram's body be found and the next phase can begin."
Getting back to Giga City presented a problem. Not only was the Rebellion's interference signal messing up communications, but the government had labeled it an extremely dangerous area. There was little reason to wonder why, given that the Maverick Hunters had lost several squads there, including one with two S-Rank Hunters. Some had been killed, while others defected outright. For that reason, all satellite links had been cut to the area. Teleporting was out.
It could be reached with small vehicles. Anything large was out of the question, as the Rebellion had already proven that it would fire at anything that appeared threatening in their airspace. But that could include smaller vehicles as well, so whatever option was decided on, it had to be strong enough to take a hit or fast enough to dodge one.
And then there was the fact that Redips insisted that no one else went. "We've already found that our intelligence of the area is severely lacking," he stated. "So until we know more, no one else is to go in."
Zero narrowed his eyes at the commander. "Then what are you going to do? It would take forever for someone in intelligence to get in there, find the right information, then report back, and even then we risk losing them to the Rebellion's propaganda. And we risk losing one if they get found out, as few of the spies can handle themselves in a heated battle."
"We must be cautious and patient," Redips said, keeping his voice even as he looked to Zero directly.
"And what, besiege them?" Zero snapped. "That's a horrible idea. There aren't any humans in there and the reploids have all the supplies they need to survive for decades. On the other hand, we've got reploids out here who are dependant on force metals and they'll suffer if we don't get Giga City back in line. Since the government council has decided that dropping an EMP bomb on them must be the absolute last resort, what else are you going to do? They could be preparing long range missiles and other weapons for all we know. So what are you going to do?"
The tactician grimaced. Normally, he showed no signs of his emotions, which meant that Zero had succeeded in ruffling his feathers. Of course, Redips was also used to dealing with Zero when X was there to keep him in check. "We don't want to make hasty mistakes again."
"Then you should have double-checked the mission data the first time," he retorted. "Well I've seen what lengths they'll go to in order to get their way. I'm going to go back in there and stop them before they do serious harm."
"But I need to plan…" he started to say.
"To hell with your plans!" Zero stormed towards the door.
"You're being reckless just because of your friend's death," Redips tried. "Don't be a fool and disappoint him."
Turning back to the tactician, Zero glowered. "That may be. But I also know that anyone who could kill X, even in an unfair fight like that, is a dangerous opponent. So I will stop at nothing to destroy them." He then left the office.
Other Maverick Hunters were in the next room, mostly recruits. They saw the dark mood Zero was in and decided to keep out of his path. Intelligent of them, Zero thought to himself. He went right to the nearest teleporter and ordered it to send him down to the vehicle maintenance bay. He sent a personal transmission, which should be missed by the base operators. "Axl, where are you?"
"Lot 43," the younger reploid answered immediately. "I've got something neat to show you, so come on over!"
Nodding to himself, Zero knew that Axl had found their vehicle. Even though the personal transmission should be ignored, there was a high chance that it would be intercepted and overheard anyhow. They knew Zero was in a mood to run off, so they would be watching him. Hopefully they didn't suspect that he'd recruited Axl to help him.
At Lot 43, he found Axl checking out a seacraft, the Black Gull. It was an angular craft meant as a stealth vehicle, made to avoid as many current scanners and tracking systems as possible. The Gull was near invisible at night on the open ocean and it performed admirably well in daylight as well. And since it was 'just a seacraft', it was not as high a priority as the stealth aircrafts or land vehicles. It would be easier to sneak away with the Gull.
Zero wasn't going to take chances, though. "Got it checked out?"
Axl nodded. "It's all clean and ready for a quick run around. The guys said it's just been sitting around for months."
When they could have used it to scout out the ocean surrounding Giga City. "Good. Want to take a trip?"
Axl grinned. "You bet!"
After getting the Black Gull transported to a sea dock, the pair set off for Giga City.
Giga City
Nana used to be connected to the whole of Giga City. Then the Rebellion began stealing bits of it from her. Now they had taken her too, in order to connect her to the parts of the city they controlled. And it was worse than she'd thought. While maintenance had been kept decently, the Rebellion had refitted all districts to be defensive, dangerous to anyone who they did not allow in. The mechaniloids, once peaceful workers that kept out of the way, were being redesigned and reprogrammed to be fighting machines as well as to carry out their original tasks. Weapons and shields were being increased and the reploids under the Rebellion were all getting combat training. And those who opposed the Rebellion…
Those who supported Chief R's Resistance…
They were all at Tianna Camp, the former living quarters for miners and workers of the Tianna district.
Tianna Camp itself wasn't that bad. It was an underwater community, with artificial coral reefs to draw fish close to windows so that inhabitants could relax by watching them. Its quarters were small, but had been comfortable. Now, the area was a prison camp. Locks had been installed everywhere and strong mechaniloids were brought in to act as guards. The prisoners were stripped of all armor and weapons; some were even thrown into watery quarters whether they were able to handle the water or not.
And then Master Silver Horn… he was the worst. He was under orders to keep prisoners secure, but safe; he was to interrogate a few for information about the Resistance. Silver Horn had interpreted that as permission to torture at whim and keep prisoners in horrid condition, refusing to repair those that were injured. Many reploids had been brought to the point of near destruction, but held back so that they could wallow in agony. Enough of those victims had opted to shut themselves down in suicide that Silver Horn had started attaching new victims to external power supplies so that they could not kill themselves that way. It was terrible.
Nana was forced to watch every single incident. Somehow, Silver Horn had made it so that her operator's station had to keep its viewing window under his control. And if he happened to not be torturing anybody, he often set the station to replay those sessions for Nana. She wasn't sadistic like he was; those images horrified her. But no matter where she looked, she could not find the command to end those visions.
Epsilon missed this entirely. Nana was also forced to watch or listen to the Rebellion leader's speeches or musings. Somehow, he did not see how terrible his follower in Silver Horn was. He spoke of finding promise in every reploid, bringing them all a bright future. He talked of lofty ideas, but did not turn his eyes back to earth and see that Silver Horn had no intention of bringing every reploid happiness. How could such an intelligent leader miss the savage cruelty of Silver Horn?
Even work could not distract Nana from the pained screams and horrified cries of her Resistance peers. How could she ignore them? She was trapped in this new operator's station, locked down so tightly that she could not move any part of her body even if she wanted to. Her eyes saw nothing but what the screens showed her. Her skin felt nothing but what the electronic signals gave them. And her rest periods were shorter, just a few minutes when she wasn't even let out of this chair. But the others were truly in pain; it shamed her to think that she was relatively unharmed. It was too much! Nana cried, trembling with a frantic desire to escape this cage.
It didn't take long for Silver Horn to notice. He came into the room she was in, which she saw from the screen in front of her eyes. It was a strangely dark room. If she didn't have access to a map, she wouldn't have been able to figure out how big it really was. The large red reploid lumbered over towards her. "Nana, you're not working," he said in a threatening tone.
"S-sorry Master Silver Horn," she stammered out. "B-but the others are suffering an-and I…"
"Silence!" he bellowed. "I don't want to hear a peep or a complaint out of you, unless you're asked for something."
Nana whimpered, afraid of what he might do to her.
"You're working for the Rebellion now and don't you forget it," Silver Horn said. "I can't hurt you, only because those are Epsilon's direct orders. I can punish others in your stead and make sure that you don't forget that it's for your mistakes and rebellions. Is that clear?"
She didn't want others suffering for her. But if she complained, they would. "Yes sir," she said meekly.
"Good. Now the only other thing I need to make certain of is this: inform me immediately if any Resistance fighters break into this district. I heard recently that we lost Central Tower. Not that the place mattered, but I'm sure those fools will make this a priority target. So you will make it your priority to watch out for them and prepare defenses in case they do come."
"Yes sir." But even if they did come, what good would it do? She knew all the prisoners in the camp, including some of the Resistance's best. Like Steel Massimo, who had been taken into the deep chambers. Nana had seen that battle and the resulting torture session… that had been simply awful. She knew how hard Massimo had been trying to escape his dark past.
No, she couldn't think on that. Nana tried to focus in on her work of running the city's systems. That window of Silver Horn's was still open; the recording of someone's pained cries was part of her background noise. But she had to work, or he would punish more.
He would probably torture the prisoners anyhow, she realized glumly. But she didn't want it to be because of her. For now, she just had to lose herself in the work. She used to do that all the time.
It was much harder to do that anymore.
Through the driver's screens, Axl could see where he was taking the Black Gull. It was mostly open ocean, with distant buildings of the city's other districts. There was a large building platform ahead, but no building on it. Instead, there was a massive pile of broken concrete and twisted metal. "What's that wreck?"
To the side, Zero was monitoring the craft's radar and stealth equipment. The older Hunter frowned at the view. "That's where the tower was. There must be salvaging bots at work there, as that's not enough wreckage for how large the building was."
"That's not going to make our task any easier," he said glumly.
"Do you have an underwater transformation available?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I have several."
"You scout around under the ocean surface, but don't stray too far from the tower base. I'll be at the wreckage site."
"Right."
Once the boat stopped, Axl got out and dove into the water. He quickly turned into a squid-like mechaniloid; it didn't seem like much, but this form had the best underwater sensory equipment with a good speed. It was easy to adapt to it too. Take in a lot of water; his extra senses checked for any signs of oil, foreign metals, or an electric charge, any of which could be a sign of a reploid (or one's body). Initial check came up with nothing, so he readied the tentacle's muscles, then ejected the water and sped closer to the tower base, like a jet. He also scanned around visually and sonar-ly.
He found many actual mechaniloids who were working on scavenging. They would be programmed to recognize a reploid body, though. And then they would alert their supervisors so the body could be moved out of their way. Had the Rebellion taken X's body away already? That was something of a scary notion. There were still systems in X that engineers hadn't been able to figure out, or make equivalent systems to. If they had him and a decent engineer for a dissection…
As much as he didn't like it, Axl kept the thought in his mind as a possibility. It was something he was learning from his seniors in the Maverick Hunters. Even if it was thought that something was too crazy for anyone to attempt, there would always be someone who turned out to be far too crazy. And he had to admit that stealing X's body would be the practical thing for Mavericks to do.
Just so long as they didn't try restoring him under their control. That would be hell. Even a poorly done restoration could likely cause massive destruction before it could be put down. Not to mention how tough it would be on him and Zero to fight something using X's body.
A few hours later, Axl returned to the surface, reverting to his normal form. He spotted Zero crouched down on a relatively sturdy hunk of cement, with his head bowed and eyes closed. It had been two months ago, and he was still upset. However, he wore his helmet. Knowing him, Axl knew that the area was dangerous. Zero was just doing his best to deal with the loss.
He got up once Axl took a few steps onto the rubble and shifted it. "Find anything down there?"
"Not X. But I did find a couple of force metals, so I figured they might be useful. To me anyhow," he added the last part quickly.
"What kinds are they?" Zero asked. But as he approached him, he seemed to be genuinely interested in knowing.
Axl pulled them out and held them both out. "That yellow one is really potent, a Protect 20. I had no idea they even came that powerful; it's not safe for me to equip it."
"That was being used by one of X's men," Zero said.
"I see. We'd want to keep it anyhow, not just to return, but to keep it out of the Rebellion's hands. This other one is an Eagle Eye. It boosts the accuracy of attacks and throws." He made a face. "But I don't need something like that! My marksmanship is legendary."
Zero sniffed. "So you think." But there was a slight trace of amusement, which was good. "X picked up a unique force metal in the tower and had equipped it, a love metal."
"Those? Well if we could find it, we'd know for certain if X… I mean, they imprint to particular reploids and once they do, you can find out who by putting them in special scanners. But these were the only two I found underwater. Didn't see any scrap of metal that could have been him."
After looking over the pile a moment longer, Zero turned and headed back to the Black Gull. "I didn't find any trace of him up here either."
"So what do we do now?"
"We need to find out if the Rebellion has found him. We can track down the traitors while we're at it. Let's go."
X had not been badly hurt in the Wild Jango fight, but he still took a half hour break in a maintenance bed to heal and rest up. In that time, he reviewed the data his variable weapons program had gotten off of Wild Jango and the Hippopressor. The latter's bind darts were effective at incapacitating a reploid or mechaniloid foe. While he deleted most weapons out of his system, that one might be worth hanging on to for as long as it remained effective. Wild Jango's electric dash, not so much as it was clearly a battle weapon. But while he was in Giga City on this mission, it would come in handy.
On coming out of the maintenance area, he found two of the reploids he had left on the distraction mission in the waiting area. They were chatting like dear friends, or even more than that. Smiling at the thought, X reviewed his memories until he came up with their names. "Kratos, Yellow Sunbee, good to see you well."
They both looked pleasantly surprised at the recognition. Kratos got up and saluted, while the insectoid Sunbee flew up and curtsied in midair. "Oh, X, good to see you well too," Kratos said. "We just reported in with Chief R about our mission. It was a success, but then you managed to liberate the tower yourself."
"Your mission was a help," he replied. "And it was a good backup in case something went bad on my end. I'll probably look over those reports myself, but good work and thank you."
"We're glad to have helped," Sunbee said, a broad smile on her face.
Just then, a familiar voice interrupted their talk. "No, I don't need to use the maintenance bed," Spider insisted, coming out of the repair area. "I fixed my injuries myself, so I'm fine."
"But you may have missed something," a well-meaning nurse said, following him. "It would help recharge your energy too."
"Look, I don't use those automated machines," he said firmly, looking right at her with a menacing pose. He didn't seem like he would attack; he was more likely just picky about his care.
"I've heard of paranoia, but isn't refusing a maintenance bed a bit too much?" Sunbee asked, looking to Kratos.
X spotted a door opening, which let R into the room. Figuring it would be okay to treat him as a peer, he gave a slight bow to acknowledge his entry. R returned it in kind, while the parrot mechaniloid on his shoulder bobbed up and down happily.
"Besides, I'd like to get out for some fresh air too," Spider said, still arguing with the nurse.
"Where to?" X asked. He watched the bounty hunter carefully to gauge his response.
He had an excellent poker face, but the way he shifted his posture and stepped away from both X and the nurse indicated that he didn't want them to know why. "Just around," he said in a casual tone, waving his hand as if it were no big deal. "Jango had me on indoor patrols almost constantly, so I'm getting a little sick of these halls."
But he had first met Spider at an outdoor plaza, X thought. That may have been why he was there, but his evasive manner plainly said that he didn't trust them fully, and he might not be worth a full trust from X. However, X was good at bluffing himself. "That would get tiring," he said in a friendly understanding tone.
"Yet, I would rather you stay nearby," R said, coming over to them. "I know we just had a rough mission to rescue me, and some of us are already on a long day. But there is something vital that we need to do and if I can manage it in an hour, we'll be heading out soon."
"We'd be up for it," Kratos volunteered.
R nodded to him. "Thanks. Spider, we can't offer or promise you much for your services, but should you wish to make things up for Aile, we'd like you to stick with us."
Spider hesitated. Did he still feel guilt about the force metal accident that handicapped Aile years ago? Or was he angered that they were using that against him? X couldn't quite tell. However, he nodded. "Right. I'll be around, at the helipad." Then he took off before the nurse could hassle him again.
R then spoke briefly to Kratos and Sunbee before turning to him. "If you don't mind, X, I would like your assistance in planning this next mission. I was designed for this kind of role in planning military operations, but I have never put it into full practice for a major offensive battle. You would at very least give me what a soldier on the battlefield would think."
"Sure, that's a good idea," X said. "I'm qualified to run tactics myself, but I was always more valuable in the field."
"Great, thank you. Let's go back to the command room."
Last time he had been here, X had been too busy to get a good look around the command center for Central Tower. Now that he could, he noticed a city operator's station right in the front center. There was a broadcast area, a teleport pad, two separate consoles, a three dimensional animated map of the entire Giga City area, and several defense systems. R sat down in the secondary console chair and manipulated the map, zooming in on a northeastern district.
"I may be the city's operational governor," R started, "but I'm afraid that I don't have full control over this room. That over there is the actual station for the city's entire network. It's normally run by the city's specialized operator reploid Nana. I handle the big picture while she handles all the little details. And she is unparalleled at her position. I'm limited in what I can do without her."
X thought over that. "If she's in charge of the entire city network, than she would be valuable to the Rebellion as well. They have her?"
"Yes. That is one of the first things they did when they invaded Central Tower, take her away. We managed to locate her here, in Tianna Camp, and it seems they still have her there. Originally, Tianna Camp was the first miner's community of Giga City; both their living and work quarters were located in the underwater area. Just prior to Epsilon's takeover, it was being slowly abandoned for other areas and mines, so the Rebellion managed to take the Tianna district easily. They transformed it into a prison camp where any reploids that refuse to go along with them are kept. And they left it under the command of Silver Horn." R shook his head. "What information leaked out of the district tells us that Silver Horn is extremely cruel and abusive. Many of our Resistance fighters were taken to Tianna, but I'm not sure how many you will find alive. Nana will certainly be alive, most likely unharmed."
"They would psychologically control her, though," X noted. "That can be even crueler."
"Right. I've been putting together a plan to take Tianna District from the Rebellion, primarily to release our reploids including Nana. I want to make sure this works, so I'm sending in a large force. I also want to put you in charge of a small squad that will challenge Silver Horn directly. Your group will most likely be the one to rescue Nana as well, since he would keep her close."
X nodded. "All right. Give me what information you have on Silver Horn, plus whoever you want in my squad."
"I want to know what you would want first," R said. "If there's anyone in particular that you know of, or any kind of skill you'd want in the squad."
He considered it and one person at least came to mind. "If that's so, I'd like to take Spider in my squad."
"Spider, is it?"
"Don't get me wrong," X said. "But please don't let this out. I don't trust Spider completely. I have nothing against bounty hunters, but as you said, you can make no promises or payments at this time. With no money at stake, we can't be sure how long he will stick around." He decided to trust R with this information. It would give the sign that he was working with them in full cooperation, which would help things run smoother.
"Even for the sake of an old friend?"
"I'm not sure about that either. When I spoke with Aile, I could tell he was earnest and sincere. When I speak to Spider, I can tell that he's evasive and headstrong. Also, he was going to assassinate me for a Rebellion award, but changed sides quickly after he learned of Aile's death. If he would change sides so swiftly, who's to say that he won't change sides again? I want to take him in my squad not because I trust him, but because if he does defect, I can handle the damage control and fallout of such a betrayal. A less experienced person might get killed in such an event; that's an extreme, but one I've learned better than to reject as a possibility."
"I see," R replied. "I wasn't too sure about Spider myself. Aile has mentioned his name before, but in the context he did… I still have to look into it myself, but he has avoided my friend for years, so it makes his change of heart now suspect. But then you'd need someone else in case of such an event."
"Right. In that case, I believe we need a close-quarters fighter. I'd rather take someone with a heavy-class weapon and a strong defense too. Even if that might slow us down, Spider and I are both medium-class shooters, with Spider being much closer to the light-class. It'd have to be someone who doesn't mind being a shield, so to speak."
"Hmm… in that case, I would recommend Steel Massimo. He's a heavy-class close combat fighter, although as you say, he is quite large and slow. But he's one of our experienced fighters, designed as a military-grade reploid by an African firm. He is also devoted to our cause; I have no doubts in his loyalty to the Resistance. He'll serve you well and he will be a big help against Silver Horn, who is known to have tough defenses."
"He sounds good, so Spider and Steel Massimo for certain. Let's review the rest of your plans and the information we have first. If I think I need anyone else, I'll tell you afterwards."
Interlude two is a short one. And for good reason, as the move from Chapter 2 to 3 feels like a quick one. You could go visit the shopping area, but there simply isn't much to do in the game at this point. So I used it to get Zero and Axl to Giga City.
And to make the chapter transition more realistic. In the game, only X and Spider are sent to Tianna Camp, and you run into Steel Massimo there. But I think a large force makes more sense for the Resistance to send, as otherwise Chief R is relying on an outsider (albeit a very trustworthy one) and a bounty hunter who can't be properly paid.
