When people started going to sleep on the Osean continent the day before, nobody, not even those in the military, expected to wake up to the chaos that awaited them. Overnight, just about every single satellite in orbit was destroyed, and by the time the sun rose, the debris was still falling. Some of it had even started crashing in populated areas. People were frantic. At a glance, those who were old enough to remember it thought it was the second coming of the Ulysses Asteroid. However, amidst the chaos, some were still waking up that were utterly oblivious to what was going on until they looked out their windows.
David yawned as he sat up in his bed. He took a moment to look around his room and stretched his arms out, waiting until he heard a pop from his shoulders to lower them. He just got the most sleep he'd had in weeks, and he was finally able to take it in and enjoy it. Admittedly, the previous night was a bit of a blur for him, as he spent most of it in a frantic rush trying to finish his report on the Alicorn Incident from a few weeks prior. Now, though, he was finally done, which meant he could turn his focus back to more pressing matters. Specifically, he was interested in the rumors of an Erusean superplane and something he only knew as Project Freedom.
Suddenly, a realization hit David: he didn't even know what time it was. He knew that he went to sleep early, probably around six, but aside from that, he was oblivious. Although, he was intent on finding out.
"Hey, Alex," he spoke up, raising his voice so the AI could hear him. "How much sleep did I get last night?" Peculiarly, he didn't get a response, which was already setting off an alarm bell in David's mind. Usually, Alex didn't have any trouble hearing him. Even when he was on the other end of his apartment, she'd still read him loud and clear. "Alex? You there?" he asked again, hoping for a different result. But, unfortunately, he was once again greeted with silence.
It was at this point that David knew something was wrong. He rushed over to his computer as fast as he could and woke it up, navigating effortlessly to the window where his conversations with Alex were displayed, and it was that he saw it: "NO CONNECTION / OFFLINE." David reached for his phone, plugged in on the desk, and saw the same thing.
Before he even had time to wonder about what was going on, however, he suddenly jumped at the sound of a loud crash outside his window. Once he threw the curtains back, he didn't even have time to look around to find the source of the noise before he saw the scene unfolding before his eyes: streaks of fire raining from the sky- a few momentarily disappearing as they fell in front of the rising sun. Out of pure instinct, David took the phone still in his hand and tried to call his boss, but a moment later, the realization hit him that he wouldn't be able to call anyone.
"I need to see what's going on," he decided before rushing out of his apartment and down to his car.
As David drove through the streets of Oured, he only found himself getting more and more concerned as to what was going on. Whatever it was that was falling was definitely coming from orbit, and it was crashing into peoples' homes, businesses, and parks. He tried to drive as fast as he could, but the debris was blocking off what felt like every road that would get him where he was going in a reasonable amount of time. Not to mention the fact that every time he saw a group of people dealing with the ongoing crisis, he felt a strong urge to pull over and help them- however, every time, he had to convince himself to keep driving.
It took him far longer than he would've liked, but eventually, David finally arrived at the OIA Headquarters, and the moment he walked in the door, he saw it was just as chaotic inside as it was outside. People were running all over the place, carrying different files or doing different jobs to make some sense of what the hell happened last night.
Luckily for David, his boss was near the entrance, so David rushed over to him once he finished the conversation he was having with someone else. "Sir, what's going on?" he asked as soon as he was close enough.
"Good, North, you're here," his boss replied with a nod. "Walk with me." Without waiting for any sort of reply, he started making his way further into the building. "Long story short: shit hit the fan, and it hit it hard," he began.
David raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "And, uh, long story long?"
"We're still working that out, to be honest. The leading theory is that Erusea had the same plan as us and tried to destroy our satellites. We probably knocked each others' satellites out at the same time," his boss speculated as he heaved a set of double doors open. "Comms are out, and we have no way of contacting any Osean forces on Usea for the time being."
"So I suppose fragments of the satellites was what's been falling from the sky?" David asked, taking a brief glance out a nearby window to verify that the situation hadn't changed.
His boss nodded. "It's a god damn disaster, North. We're looking at what may be a global crisis on our hands."
David was hesitant to ask at first, but he figured that it needed to get asked sooner rather than later. "And, uh, do we know what the Eruseans are doing in response to all of this? Or… I guess what I'm trying to get at is do we know if they're still working on any projects pertaining to the war?"
His boss gave him a heavy and exasperated sigh, making it clear that he would rather not broach the subject. "Listen, David… I know you're worried after that mess with the Alicorn, and rightfully so, but we have no way of knowing whether or not these projects actually exist or not."
"But- sir, we have eyewitnesses spanning out all across the war reporting that they saw some kind of fighter that they didn't recognize!" David protested. "And if these rumors about Project Freedom are true, then we-"
His boss cut him off." North, I'll be generous enough to grant you there is a possibility that Erusea is developing some kind of experimental fighter," he began. "But this 'Project Freedom' you keep going on about is nothing but a rumor. There is nothing that we've been able to find so far that would validate its existence." He paused for a moment before speaking up again. "Besides, even if we could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that both of these things were real, what good would that do? How are we supposed to do anything with that information here in Osea?"
David paused, scratching his chin as he thought about the question. When he had a hunch, he was determined to follow through on it to the end. That's what got him through college, as well as the Alicorn Incident. This was no different. He knew that there was something to all of this, and he needed to get to the bottom of it. Despite that, however, he knew that his boss was right. He needed to think of how he could relay the information to the troops out in Usea.
Suddenly, a realization hit him like a truck. "Why don't I just go there myself to warn them?" he suggested.
His boss stopped and looked back at him, giving him a look of surprise and confusion David had never seen from the man before. "What did you just say?" he asked in a voice that sounded just as confused as he looked.
"If we can just charter a plane, or a ship, or something like that, I can go to Usea myself and warn them about these projects Erusea's working on," David clarified.
"We can't… what?" His boss repeated, apparently dumbfounded by what he just said. "David, we can't- where would you even go?" He pinched the bridge of his nose.
David shrugged. "Well… do we know where Three Strikes is? You've seen his track record. If anyone stands a chance against these things, it's him."
"We don't know where anyone is. We have no way of knowing. That's what I'm trying to say," his boss was visibly getting more frustrated.
"Not necessarily," David countered. "All we've gotta do is look through paperwork from before the satellites went dark," he explained. "Transfer orders, resupply requests, things like that."
His boss started scratching the back of his head. "Well, the most recent thing like that I can think of is a resupply mission. The OMDF was supposed to be sending the OFS Falcon out to Fort Grays today to resupply them with food, fuel, new pilots, and whatnot, but now I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon."
David's eyes lit up. "That's it! That's perfect. All I need to do is tag along on that carrier and head over to Fort Grays. Sir, you have to convince them to launch that carrier."
"Jesus, North. Slow down for a minute, will you? It's not as simple as flashing a badge and telling them to get their asses in gear. These kinds of things take time," his boss reminded him.
"Well, we may not have a lot of time to spare," David replied. "Wait, the Falcon… I remember that carrier." He'd spoken with a few of the crew members a few months ago during his investigation into the Erusean fighter, but he never managed to get a chance to talk with the captain. However, it seemed as if he was about to get his chance.
His boss nodded. "That's right, but it would take a hell of a lot of convincing to make the OMDF launch that carrier amid all this chaos."
Suddenly, David smirked. A rare thing for him to do, but he had an idea that basically assure that his plan would work. "You know… now that I think about it, I think I may have a solution to all this."
It was a bit of a lengthy drive to go from the middle of the city all the way out to the suburbs, but by that point, David didn't care. He knew what he had to do, and he had his heart set on getting it done. As he turned onto the street listed by the address, he slowed down as he looked at the numbers on each house. He kept his eyes out for one address in particular, and when he finally found it, he pulled over stopped on the curb in front of the yard. David took a deep breath and walked up to the front door before gently tapping it with his knuckles a few times.
About a minute passed, and just as David was about to try again, the door swung open, revealing a man only a few years older than he was. As soon as the man recognized David, he smiled and brought him inside. "Hey, David! Long time no see, how've you been?"
David chuckled a bit at his enthusiasm before giving the bluntest answer possible. "Shitty. As I'm sure you've noticed, things aren't going well."
The man nodded as he led David through his house and into the living room. "Yeah, I've been listening to the emergency broadcasts over the radio. Crazy," he remarked before gesturing for David to sit down on the couch. "So, what brings you here?"
Before David opened his mouth to answer the question, he found himself looking around the room and all the decorations hanging from the wall. A few of them indicated that he was an OADF veteran, but what caught his eye the most was a framed picture. It was a picture that David recognized right away because he remembered seeing the redacted version of it. This one, however, was completely untouched. The picture showed four people in flight suits all standing together in front of what looked to be F-5Es. One woman stood off to the side while the man taking up most of the frame held one of the other two men in an armlock and blocked the other's face with his forearm.
Finally, David turned his attention back to the man sitting next to him. "I'm here to ask you a favor."
Somehow, David's plan worked, and now, he stood before the OFS Falcon. Although, in truth, he was starting to feel extraordinarily nervous. He had no idea what to expect once he got on board that carrier, but whatever it was, he knew he had to do it. Otherwise, all of the Osean soldiers still in Usea could be in danger. As long as he got the message across to them, then he knew everything would be alright. That didn't stop him from feeling anxious, though.
David's boss, who was standing next to him, seemed to notice this, and he put his hand on David's shoulder. "Starting to have second doubts?" he asked with a smirk.
David shook his head. "Not at all," he answered immediately. "I'll see you when all of this is over." He paused before looking at him with a smirk of his own. "And maybe there'll be a raise in my future when I come back to say I told you so."
His boss shrugged. "That's if you come back alive," he pointed out.
David ignored him and instead started to board the carrier. As he took his first step on board, he turned around and smiled at his boss. All he said before he continued making his way into the carrier that would soon depart for Eastern Usea was, "Here goes."