ARC 1: Chapter 2 - Grand Mission

I was in awe at the sheer size of the structure. Something inside of me felt a little bit of nostalgia, but plenty of bewilderment. Never in my wildest dream I would ever see a giant robot up close and personal. It's presence was something to behold, even though it remained inactive in a kneeling position. It looked rather basic, barebones even. Guess it was about to be broken down into spare parts before this place was abandoned.

​

• That is the Personal Trooper, codenamed "Palisade". 

• Palisade? Why that name? 

• I'm sifting through old logs in airspace, but I need to get access to hard data for me to narrow things down a bit better. But the Palisade is pretty much a general purpose unit outfitted with standard armaments like a machine gun, CWIS head vulcans, a refined plasma cutter and built-in smoke launchers in the skirts. Unique armaments, on the other hand include some... peculiar choices.

• Such as?

• Stake Launchers, a Revolving Stake, Plasma Stakes and something called the Ragna Rifle.

• Sounds kinda edgy. More importantly... that's a bit on the nose for its code name, don't you think? And a tad bit overkill with the stake weapons too. Judging from the loadout capabilities, I'd say this is a midrange fighter at best.

• I would surmise that as well. And delving into the specs reveals that the main mode of powering the unit is akin to that of a cursed unit. A Black Hole Generator.

My heart sank for a moment when ACE mentioned it. An inexplicable fear ran throughout my body. The name of that cursed unit was on the tip of my tongue, but I had to hold it and change the topic.​

• About the other thing you wanted to show me, ACE. What was it that you wanted me to see?

• It is beyond the other side of this hangar door. This is in relation to the reason why you are here. Your "Grand Mission" so to speak.

• Grand Mission you say...? Hrrgh...

My head was starting to throb with intense pain. The ringing in my ears felt like someone fired a gun point blank near my ear. Whatever it was, ACE picked up on it.​

• I can scan your brainwave patterns. Sorry if that triggered anything, but in this situation, it is necessary that you are caught up to speed on the situation.

• I can barely walk, you jerk. It's hard for me to keep my eyes open with this much pain.

I was truly on the verge of blacking out from the immense pain. And within all that, it felt like something was rushing in. A torrent of information, jargon, and seemingly useless stuff. Then the words emboss themselves into my psyche: DEFEND. Over and over again, that word appears in my head. Defend what? Who? How? Why? Before I could even utter a single word, everything went dark. I couldn't muster much strength any more.​

​

When I came too, it felt like hours had gone by. I could see from the hangar bay doors leading to the outside being a tad bit darker outside than I remembered it. Still felt like shit, but it was better than that migraine.

• Is everything alright?

• Yeah... still feel kinda weak though. Just need to gather myself for a bit.

• I read your brainwave patterns while you were in experiencing your headache. It seemed rather peculiar the moment it triggered. Like a message was being sent out.

• A message?

• Usually, there's a very erratic pattern when it comes to headaches and migraines. However, your spell seemed rather rhythmic than anything.

• Is that why I was hearing some strange words being uttered in my head?

• Yes. In fact, it is in relation to what I'm going to show you next. However, I'm afraid showing you this next thing will cause a relapse of your headache.

• I'll be fine. I have a feeling I'll be through worse.

I picked myself back up from the ground, dusted myself off, and headed towards where ACE wanted me to go next. We soon ran into a large bay door opposite of the main doors. ​

• Use that terminal to open the doors here.

Upon opening the door, I felt the air "shift" a little bit. It seemed... sterile... no, stagnant? Nah. It almost felt like it was completely still. Still breathable, but it was neither refreshing or repulsive. Then, a massive circular structure was in full view. It looked like some sort of gate. And the space around it was even more massive.​

• What is all this?

• That massive structure is a cross dimensional transmission gate. A cross gate in short. It's presence is an ancient mystery, but the technology it holds is far beyond anything we've ever witnessed so far.

• And the space around it? I see a lot of table space, monitors, and computers to mess around with.

• Consider it as a work bench for your engineering duties. You WILL be working with larger-than-life machines, so it's a give-in to have you prepared for your role.

• Ayy, that's fine by me.

ACE paused for a moment. Almost as if he was gathering his thoughts while I was looking around the Gate Room. I was too busy admiring the massive amount of working space here to say anything. He musta figured I'd be to distracted to say anything, so he's just biding his time. When my impromptu tour has stopped, that's when he spoke.​

• Otsdarva. This will be your point of operations for The Grand Mission ahead of you. Your life officially starts here. You will be in constant danger at every step of the way. And right now, you are in no shape to take things head on despite your piloting skill you've inherited.

• What do you mean by that? I'm built like a brick shit house!

• Well that's pretty much it. You're a blank slate with a stronger form factor. You are pretty much a brick that can't do shit to a house if you tried.

• Well... that's colorful comin' from you, asshat.

• Good to know I'm sitting on top of an ass.

This AI's got some bite... may have to rethink this approach a tad bit carefully. He's got me beat in the insult department.​

• All I'm saying is to pick your situations carefully. Not every situation has to involve bloodshed unless need be. You may never know what will be on the other side of that gate in other parts of the Endless Frontier.

• I gotcha, ACE. If anything, I'll be needing you a lot to help me get my bearings. And who knows, I might even meet up with some locals that could help me in my mission.

• It's for the best too. You may also never know whether the Guests may come and leave on their own volition, or need help in dealing with something on their end. It's been a long day, and you've had quite stream of events happen all at once. You'll need some time to digest all of this.

• Agreed. All this talking got me a bit tired and hungry. Err... on second thought, I don't have much of an appetite after passing out.

• Rest well, Otsdarva. Fair Winds and Good Dreams.

• You too, ACE.

A long day indeed, but this is certainly the start of something massive. This gate, the Palisade, the massive hangar and base. It's all here as a recipe for something greater. Now... the next thing on the agenda... a name for this place. Hmm... I'll think of something on sunrise.​

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...

SCENARIO BATTLE HAS NOW BEEN UNLOCKED...

THEIR FATE RESTS IN FOREIGN HANDS...

CHOOSE

WISELY...