Snake wakes up after he should have died. But it can't be that easy, right?
A Weapon to Surpass...(Metal Gear Solid/Battletech)
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Lost
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
"..ake…"
Pain encompassed his body, a burning sensation that suffused his body with agony. Consciousness was a curse, not a blessing, as the only thing he could even be aware of was the fire in his blood, in his cells, as writhes in pain. Worse than the accumulations of old age, worse than FOXDIE, worse even than the microwaves that nearly cooked him alive, David could do nothing but clench his jaw and scream as something changed him.
"...ase wake up, Sn…"
And slowly, the pain began to recede. Starting with the tips of his extremities, the fiery suffering in his blood crept back and in its place was a blissful lack of sensation. With relief came strength, as his mind began to clear and his body under his control, he opened his eyes and was blinded by the bright lights above him. He lifted his hand to shade his eyes and slowly tried to rise, only to be met with the frantic hands of a man he never thought he would see again.
"Snake, you're alive!"
"Otacon…?" He grumbled as he waved him off. Taking a moment to adjust to the light, David glanced around, before taking in his friend. Hal looked rough. His hair was unkempt and his eyes were sunken, with dark circles around them. The scientist looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks, but most notably of all, he was crying tears of joy.
"Otacon, what's going on? Where are we? How did I get here? Last thing I remember, I was…" Snake trailed off. The last thing he remembered was sitting on the porch of his old master in Alaska. Master Miller had left it to him, in his will. It was a place remote enough that he wouldn't endanger anybody else with the weapon in his blood. He was smoking one last cigarette, staring off at the sunset as he drifted off…
And now he was here.
Otacon, who up until now had looked so hopeful, looked more crestfallen than David could ever recall seeing him. The man sniffed and turned away to wipe his eyes, before looking back at the soldier.
"I... We were at the cabin, in Alaska. Sunny and I, we wanted to be there with you when you..." Hal took a deep breath before he began to dig into his pocket. "One moment I'm comforting you on your deathbed, the next I'm in this bunker, with you twisting in pain. I found what looked like a medbay and dragged you here, but… it's better for you to judge for yourself."
Hal pulled out a phone, and turned on the camera, before turning and showing the soldier the screen. And as the man looked at the image, he gasped. Instead of the aging visage that he'd had for years, the only thing he could see was his own face, young and hale. He looked at his hands and noticed they no longer shook, and his joints no longer hurt.
"I'm… young again? How…?"
"That's just it, Snake, I have no idea. Teleportation and reversed aging are impossible by my understanding of science, but clearly occurred because otherwise how did any of this happen? There's got to be some kind of scientific explanation but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you. As for where we are… or more precisely… WHEN we are…" Otacon turned to a computer screen on the wall and pulled up some sort of software.
"I took the liberty of attempting to hack into these systems. They're incredibly advanced but I have my ways of making computers talk. According to this facility's database, the bunker we're in belongs to a group called the Star League Defence Force, and the current year, give or take a few dozen, is somewhere around… 2960 A.D."
"2960 A.D.!?" He exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, momentary weakness be damned. He couldn't believe it. This was far beyond the scope of anything he had experienced before, and he itched for a smoke. "Star League… are you saying we're in space? In the future?"
"Well technically no, Snake. We're on a planet, so we're not really in space. And it's definitely the future, but from what I can tell this facility has lost power intermittently over the last few centuries for unknown amounts of time, and the clocks on these could be anywhere from a few months out of date to a few dozen years or of date."
Snake grunted at Otacon's lecture, having experienced enough of them to know that the man was just getting to his point. Hal had the wherewithal to notice Snake getting impatient, so he cleared his throat before he continued.
"A-anyway, it's now accurate to say we're on an alien planet in the future, though this base seems to be made by other humans, and we must have left Sunny behind." Hal bit his lip and looked at the door, before he turned back to the soldier. "I haven't explored it, though, I just dragged you to the room that said medbay."
The soldier hummed as he tapped his foot, following along with the scientist's explanation easily enough. He gave it some thought, and nodded decisively.
"She'll be fine, she's a smart girl. But that means I'll need to explore this compound and make sure not to get caught. Just like old times. Right, Otacon?"
The smile that spread across the scientist's face brightened the whole room.
"I'm with you all the way, Snake!"
"Glad to hear it. Does your codec still work?"
In response, David heard his own codec call going off, and when he answered, was greeted by his partner's voice.
"You better believe it. It's too convenient not to have, when nearly everybody has one nowadays. The tech made it into the private sector shortly after you took your sabbatical."
Snake nodded and responded through his own codec, the subvocal implant allowing him to respond to his friend silently.
"Good, we'll stay in touch. You keep digging up any information about this base and this planet, and I'll explore and make sure there's nothing sneaking around."
"Got it. Good luck, Snake. It's great to see you again. I'll let you know if I find anything."
Pain encompassed his body, a burning sensation that suffused his body with agony. Consciousness was a curse, not a blessing, as the only thing he could even be aware of was the fire in his blood, in his cells, as writhes in pain. Worse than the accumulations of old age, worse than FOXDIE, worse even than the microwaves that nearly cooked him alive, David could do nothing but clench his jaw and scream as something changed him.
"...ase wake up, Sn…"
And slowly, the pain began to recede. Starting with the tips of his extremities, the fiery suffering in his blood crept back and in its place was a blissful lack of sensation. With relief came strength, as his mind began to clear and his body under his control, he opened his eyes and was blinded by the bright lights above him. He lifted his hand to shade his eyes and slowly tried to rise, only to be met with the frantic hands of a man he never thought he would see again.
"Snake, you're alive!"
"Otacon…?" He grumbled as he waved him off. Taking a moment to adjust to the light, David glanced around, before taking in his friend. Hal looked rough. His hair was unkempt and his eyes were sunken, with dark circles around them. The scientist looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks, but most notably of all, he was crying tears of joy.
"Otacon, what's going on? Where are we? How did I get here? Last thing I remember, I was…" Snake trailed off. The last thing he remembered was sitting on the porch of his old master in Alaska. Master Miller had left it to him, in his will. It was a place remote enough that he wouldn't endanger anybody else with the weapon in his blood. He was smoking one last cigarette, staring off at the sunset as he drifted off…
And now he was here.
Otacon, who up until now had looked so hopeful, looked more crestfallen than David could ever recall seeing him. The man sniffed and turned away to wipe his eyes, before looking back at the soldier.
"I... We were at the cabin, in Alaska. Sunny and I, we wanted to be there with you when you..." Hal took a deep breath before he began to dig into his pocket. "One moment I'm comforting you on your deathbed, the next I'm in this bunker, with you twisting in pain. I found what looked like a medbay and dragged you here, but… it's better for you to judge for yourself."
Hal pulled out a phone, and turned on the camera, before turning and showing the soldier the screen. And as the man looked at the image, he gasped. Instead of the aging visage that he'd had for years, the only thing he could see was his own face, young and hale. He looked at his hands and noticed they no longer shook, and his joints no longer hurt.
"I'm… young again? How…?"
"That's just it, Snake, I have no idea. Teleportation and reversed aging are impossible by my understanding of science, but clearly occurred because otherwise how did any of this happen? There's got to be some kind of scientific explanation but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you. As for where we are… or more precisely… WHEN we are…" Otacon turned to a computer screen on the wall and pulled up some sort of software.
"I took the liberty of attempting to hack into these systems. They're incredibly advanced but I have my ways of making computers talk. According to this facility's database, the bunker we're in belongs to a group called the Star League Defence Force, and the current year, give or take a few dozen, is somewhere around… 2960 A.D."
"2960 A.D.!?" He exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, momentary weakness be damned. He couldn't believe it. This was far beyond the scope of anything he had experienced before, and he itched for a smoke. "Star League… are you saying we're in space? In the future?"
"Well technically no, Snake. We're on a planet, so we're not really in space. And it's definitely the future, but from what I can tell this facility has lost power intermittently over the last few centuries for unknown amounts of time, and the clocks on these could be anywhere from a few months out of date to a few dozen years or of date."
Snake grunted at Otacon's lecture, having experienced enough of them to know that the man was just getting to his point. Hal had the wherewithal to notice Snake getting impatient, so he cleared his throat before he continued.
"A-anyway, it's now accurate to say we're on an alien planet in the future, though this base seems to be made by other humans, and we must have left Sunny behind." Hal bit his lip and looked at the door, before he turned back to the soldier. "I haven't explored it, though, I just dragged you to the room that said medbay."
The soldier hummed as he tapped his foot, following along with the scientist's explanation easily enough. He gave it some thought, and nodded decisively.
"She'll be fine, she's a smart girl. But that means I'll need to explore this compound and make sure not to get caught. Just like old times. Right, Otacon?"
The smile that spread across the scientist's face brightened the whole room.
"I'm with you all the way, Snake!"
"Glad to hear it. Does your codec still work?"
In response, David heard his own codec call going off, and when he answered, was greeted by his partner's voice.
"You better believe it. It's too convenient not to have, when nearly everybody has one nowadays. The tech made it into the private sector shortly after you took your sabbatical."
Snake nodded and responded through his own codec, the subvocal implant allowing him to respond to his friend silently.
"Good, we'll stay in touch. You keep digging up any information about this base and this planet, and I'll explore and make sure there's nothing sneaking around."
"Got it. Good luck, Snake. It's great to see you again. I'll let you know if I find anything."
Last edited:
Credentials
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
"Remember Snake, until you can get to the administration office and give me direct network access, I have very limited control of the facility,but let me know if you need information about the building's layout," Hal's voice spoke to him through his codec.
David crept through the silent halls of the long forgotten outpost, knife in his hands. Crouched low to minimize his profile, he stalked around the nearest corner and examined his own gear with a wince. Stun knife, cigarettes 'Thought I quit those', diazepam. His boots were fine, steel toed with a muffled sole for defense and quiet movement, but he was wearing his civvies, blue jeans and a jacket. Fine for an Alaskan summer, not so fine for tactical espionage action. He'd have to get Hal to recreate the OctoCamo suit.
For all that this base seemed to be abandoned, his instincts were telling him that the whole situation was fishy. Wake up young again, in the future with his best friend and partner, in a centuries old military base on another planet that still has power. It sounded so ridiculous. Maybe this was all a dying fever dream in the mind of a man in the Alaskan wilderness, maybe he had been captured and stuck in a VR pod. Maybe all of this was real; somehow, that was the most distressing part.
He had accepted his death, given up his gun and decided that he would live the rest of his life in peace. And now, bereft of the chains that bound him, he was right back to his old ways. Were his ideals, his dreams of peace really so meaningless?
Once a killer, always a killer…
The dark, ugly side of him that he had accepted for a long time began to rear its head, but this wasn't new to him at all. He just took a deep breath and sighed. The doubts and loathing have stuck with him for years, but he was a professional. The world's greatest soldier.
Solid Snake.
Almost as if by instinct, he pulled out a cigarette, the first since he woke up. The tobacco helped calm his nerves, but made him more detectable. That was fine. He wasn't going to light it, but the act soothed him.
His first goal was to find the admin office and see if Otacon could print out an ID card. A facility like this should have impressive security, and impressive security means that people need security credentials. He saw that most doors had a keycard panel, noticed cameras along the ceiling that were, thankfully, nonfunctional, and even what he assumed were wall hatches for security turrets.
Following the signs, Snake made his way across the facility, making mental notes about other interesting rooms to check out. Medbay, cafeteria, barracks, security, armory, HR, hangar bay-
Administration.
Grinning to himself, he crept to the door and examined it. Biometric and keycard lock, nice, but why go through when you can go around? Eying a vent on the far wall, he activated his codec.
"Otacon, I'm at the admin office. There's a ventilation shaft nearby, but I need you to feed me directions."
"I'm on it Snake. Okay, let's see… if you're at the administration office, talking about a vent… I think I found where you are. If you enter through that vent… You'll need to crawl about twenty-five meters, take the next two right turns at each intersection, crawl another forty meters ignoring all other turns, and then there should be a grate you can climb through to get inside the office. You got all that?"
"Got it, thanks. I'll contact you again when I'm inside, then maybe we can get some answers."
Using the knife to pry the vent open, he slipped inside almost silently. Following Otacon's directions, he made his way through the maze of ventilation and came to his destination, a grate leading into the office. As he maneuvered his right arm in front of him, he thrust his fist against the vent cover.
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Crash!
The vent cover flew off the wall, landing with a horribly loud clatter that made Snake grimace.
"So much for stealth…"
Quickly climbing out of the vent and climbing to his feet, he took a moment to observe his surroundings. Terminals lined the walls, screens dark. He was no scientist, but he kept up with technology and computers. He had to, to keep up with the changing state of warfare. Passing through a door that seemed to be a commander's office, inside lay a circular desk, with a large computer taking up the whole wall behind it. Powering up the device, Snake was greeted by a lopsided eight pointed star and a single word: Password
"Otacon, I'm in the Base commander's office and I've turned on the computer. Now what?"
"Alright Snake, you're going to need to force boot it into safe mode and run a system diagnostic to bypass the user password. You should be able to do that by pressing the power button and holding down a flashing red and solid green button and waiting a few seconds. Then we need to try granting the two of us access to the base at large. You were a Sergeant in the U.S. military, right? See if you can use that to your advantage."
"Worth a shot. Thanks Otacon."
Snake examined the computer panel s spying both buttons that the scientist mentioned and holding them down while he pressed the power button. Just as suddenly as the computer came to life, it flickered off, before blue text began to stream up from the bottom.
Snake read the diagnostic messages as they came up, his brow furrowed as he read. He didn't understand what a Hyperpulse Generator was, but he could understand that this base was way past due for a tune up. The last line made him frown. He didn't know what the rank structure of this 'Star League' was, so he did the only thing he could do.
"Huh. That was convenient," Snake said mildly as he watched the text scroll by.
"Otacon, I'm in. The base is ours."
David crept through the silent halls of the long forgotten outpost, knife in his hands. Crouched low to minimize his profile, he stalked around the nearest corner and examined his own gear with a wince. Stun knife, cigarettes 'Thought I quit those', diazepam. His boots were fine, steel toed with a muffled sole for defense and quiet movement, but he was wearing his civvies, blue jeans and a jacket. Fine for an Alaskan summer, not so fine for tactical espionage action. He'd have to get Hal to recreate the OctoCamo suit.
For all that this base seemed to be abandoned, his instincts were telling him that the whole situation was fishy. Wake up young again, in the future with his best friend and partner, in a centuries old military base on another planet that still has power. It sounded so ridiculous. Maybe this was all a dying fever dream in the mind of a man in the Alaskan wilderness, maybe he had been captured and stuck in a VR pod. Maybe all of this was real; somehow, that was the most distressing part.
He had accepted his death, given up his gun and decided that he would live the rest of his life in peace. And now, bereft of the chains that bound him, he was right back to his old ways. Were his ideals, his dreams of peace really so meaningless?
Once a killer, always a killer…
The dark, ugly side of him that he had accepted for a long time began to rear its head, but this wasn't new to him at all. He just took a deep breath and sighed. The doubts and loathing have stuck with him for years, but he was a professional. The world's greatest soldier.
Solid Snake.
Almost as if by instinct, he pulled out a cigarette, the first since he woke up. The tobacco helped calm his nerves, but made him more detectable. That was fine. He wasn't going to light it, but the act soothed him.
His first goal was to find the admin office and see if Otacon could print out an ID card. A facility like this should have impressive security, and impressive security means that people need security credentials. He saw that most doors had a keycard panel, noticed cameras along the ceiling that were, thankfully, nonfunctional, and even what he assumed were wall hatches for security turrets.
Following the signs, Snake made his way across the facility, making mental notes about other interesting rooms to check out. Medbay, cafeteria, barracks, security, armory, HR, hangar bay-
Administration.
Grinning to himself, he crept to the door and examined it. Biometric and keycard lock, nice, but why go through when you can go around? Eying a vent on the far wall, he activated his codec.
"Otacon, I'm at the admin office. There's a ventilation shaft nearby, but I need you to feed me directions."
"I'm on it Snake. Okay, let's see… if you're at the administration office, talking about a vent… I think I found where you are. If you enter through that vent… You'll need to crawl about twenty-five meters, take the next two right turns at each intersection, crawl another forty meters ignoring all other turns, and then there should be a grate you can climb through to get inside the office. You got all that?"
"Got it, thanks. I'll contact you again when I'm inside, then maybe we can get some answers."
Using the knife to pry the vent open, he slipped inside almost silently. Following Otacon's directions, he made his way through the maze of ventilation and came to his destination, a grate leading into the office. As he maneuvered his right arm in front of him, he thrust his fist against the vent cover.
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Crash!
The vent cover flew off the wall, landing with a horribly loud clatter that made Snake grimace.
"So much for stealth…"
Quickly climbing out of the vent and climbing to his feet, he took a moment to observe his surroundings. Terminals lined the walls, screens dark. He was no scientist, but he kept up with technology and computers. He had to, to keep up with the changing state of warfare. Passing through a door that seemed to be a commander's office, inside lay a circular desk, with a large computer taking up the whole wall behind it. Powering up the device, Snake was greeted by a lopsided eight pointed star and a single word: Password
"Otacon, I'm in the Base commander's office and I've turned on the computer. Now what?"
"Alright Snake, you're going to need to force boot it into safe mode and run a system diagnostic to bypass the user password. You should be able to do that by pressing the power button and holding down a flashing red and solid green button and waiting a few seconds. Then we need to try granting the two of us access to the base at large. You were a Sergeant in the U.S. military, right? See if you can use that to your advantage."
"Worth a shot. Thanks Otacon."
Snake examined the computer panel s spying both buttons that the scientist mentioned and holding them down while he pressed the power button. Just as suddenly as the computer came to life, it flickered off, before blue text began to stream up from the bottom.
Snake read the diagnostic messages as they came up, his brow furrowed as he read. He didn't understand what a Hyperpulse Generator was, but he could understand that this base was way past due for a tune up. The last line made him frown. He didn't know what the rank structure of this 'Star League' was, so he did the only thing he could do.
"Huh. That was convenient," Snake said mildly as he watched the text scroll by.
"Otacon, I'm in. The base is ours."
slenderman1942
Jungle Tyrant
- Location
- Home
Oh this looks fun, watched. Solid (heh) start, with otocon as backup, Snake is in good hands, Hal would have a very detailed knowledge base on MGS tech which is a huge advantage in any negotiations they have.
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
I love how Otakon is still capable of helping Snake to bullshit an OS from 1000 years in the future.
Jackpot
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Snake watched as the computer slowly ran itself through more diagnostic routines while he waited on his keycard. The network had enough power to print out a new security badge and add his biometrics to the database, which meant that as soon as he got that key, he and Otacon would have full access. After he was recognized as Base Commander, he had immediately designated Hal as Chief Scientist so he had access to the damaged facilities as well, and as soon as he did so, he activated his codec.
"Otacon, I've got you listed as Chief Scientist. It should be safe, computer apparently can scan for lifesigns and we're alone. Meet me over here, pronto."
"You got it Snake, I'm on my way right now!"
Snake hung up his codec just in time for the aged machine to spit out his new ID. Taking a quick glance, it didn't look that much more different than any other ID he's ever seen.
"Even in the future, huh. The more things change…" He grumbled to himself as he pinned the badge to his chest. He could hear Hal's footsteps approaching the door, so he went ahead and opened it, preemptively. The scruffy looking scientist rushed through the open doorway past you, before he slowed to a stop and bent over to catch his breath..
"Sn-hah… Snake… I ran as fast as I could," he gasped, struggling to speak. Snake grunted, Hal has started to let himself go. Shaking his head at the thought, he looked up at the man.
"I've designated you as Chief Scientist of this facility, so you should have just about the same permissions. We need to arm up and find out as much information as we can. If this base is abandoned, we might be stranded on this planet. And I don't particularly feel like spending the rest of my life in this base after I've only just got it back."
"Hoo… Right… I'm on it, Snake… just gimme a second…" he straightened back up and began to look around. Still panting, he walked over to the main computer in the commander's office and began to examine it. "I got this from here, you can go explore the facility. I'll let you know what I learn."
With that, David nodded and turned away. Stalking through the halls, he made his way through to the cafeteria first. He was starving, and didn't even have a single ration.
Entering the dining hall, he was impressed. Even though it'd been over 200 years since there'd been any maintenance, the place was still remarkably clean and intact. Even the plumbing still worked, he found as he sipped from a nearby water fountain. Snake wandered his way into the kitchen, searching for any supplies that he and his partner could use.
The first thing he checked were the coolers, the contents of which, as expected, had long since spoiled. Wrinkling a nose at the smell, his next choice were the freezers. The food looked more or less okay, but he wasn't confident. It was the dry storage that was most fruitful. Instead of more scraps of moldy food, Snake laid his eyes on something he never realized could be so beautiful:
Industrial pallets of emergency rations.
As he rushed over, he began opening the boxes on top and searching through them.
"Otacon, can you hear me? It looks like we hit the jackpot."
"The jackpot? Oh right, you were heading to the armory. What did you find, Snake?"
"Nah, I stopped by the mess instead, and found the motherlode! There's at least two years worth of rations here, freeze-dried and preserved, and look at the choices! Orange chicken, fried rice, beef and broccoli, they've even got Swedish meatballs and beef ravioli! We're eating good tonight, Otacon!"
"I had totally forgotten about our food supply, way to go Snake! While you're there, you mind checking to see if they have the chicken fettuccini? That one is my favorite. Oh, and some coffee too, that's almost as important as the rations."
"Oh come on, the chicken fettuccini? What's wrong with you? Fine, I'll check… sorry Otacon. I don't see any in this box, but there's like 8 pallets of these things so there are definitely more flavors."
"Hey, I don't judge you for what you like!
*sigh* That's okay Snake, I'll eat just about anything."
"By the way, have you discovered anything interesting?"
" Yeah, I found out that these people brute forced their way into space. Can you believe that these computers only have megabytes of RAM? It's like looking at the future through the view of someone from the 1980s, they hardly even have semiconductors! It's mostly vacuum tubes and analog computing! Which explains how it lasted this long, but still, my phone has more computing power than this whole facility."
"Vacuum tubes? Can you work around it?"
"It might take a while, but once I get a handle on the local technology I should be able to redevelop some gadgets that you should enjoy."
"Hrmmm, gadgets?"
"Yeah, you know, like the Solid Eye, optical camo, or Metal Gear Mk.III."
"Well, I'll be looking forward to it, Otacon.
As he hung up his codec, Snake glanced over the rations before he swiped a couple of them, one for now and one for later. It was freeze-dried Chicken and rice, a good choice. He could rehydrate it and eat it normally, but…
Munch, munch
Crunch, crunch
Gulp!
He shoved the empty package into his back pocket and moved on. No time to waste on cooking rations, these things were perfectly edible with no prep. He pushed his way out of the mess hall and continued to travel towards the armory. Fancy base, Snake thought, but so far, nothing blew his mind. As much as everything had the veneer of being futuristic, some stuff seemed to be less advanced than one thousand years ago.
"A thousand years…"
Snake shook the thoughts from his head as he drew forward towards the armory. He swiped his card across the keypad and the sealed doors began to open, depressurizing with a hiss that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Slowly grinding open, the multiple layers of blast doors parted, allowing Snake to enter. Slowly, the spy crept forward, knife at the ready. As he entered the room proper, the lights began to turn on in stages, revealing a massive room full of arms and armor the likes of which he hasn't seen in his whole life.
Snake practically gaped at the beauty before him.
"Otacon, I'm in heaven."
"Otacon, I've got you listed as Chief Scientist. It should be safe, computer apparently can scan for lifesigns and we're alone. Meet me over here, pronto."
"You got it Snake, I'm on my way right now!"
Snake hung up his codec just in time for the aged machine to spit out his new ID. Taking a quick glance, it didn't look that much more different than any other ID he's ever seen.
"Even in the future, huh. The more things change…" He grumbled to himself as he pinned the badge to his chest. He could hear Hal's footsteps approaching the door, so he went ahead and opened it, preemptively. The scruffy looking scientist rushed through the open doorway past you, before he slowed to a stop and bent over to catch his breath..
"Sn-hah… Snake… I ran as fast as I could," he gasped, struggling to speak. Snake grunted, Hal has started to let himself go. Shaking his head at the thought, he looked up at the man.
"I've designated you as Chief Scientist of this facility, so you should have just about the same permissions. We need to arm up and find out as much information as we can. If this base is abandoned, we might be stranded on this planet. And I don't particularly feel like spending the rest of my life in this base after I've only just got it back."
"Hoo… Right… I'm on it, Snake… just gimme a second…" he straightened back up and began to look around. Still panting, he walked over to the main computer in the commander's office and began to examine it. "I got this from here, you can go explore the facility. I'll let you know what I learn."
With that, David nodded and turned away. Stalking through the halls, he made his way through to the cafeteria first. He was starving, and didn't even have a single ration.
Entering the dining hall, he was impressed. Even though it'd been over 200 years since there'd been any maintenance, the place was still remarkably clean and intact. Even the plumbing still worked, he found as he sipped from a nearby water fountain. Snake wandered his way into the kitchen, searching for any supplies that he and his partner could use.
The first thing he checked were the coolers, the contents of which, as expected, had long since spoiled. Wrinkling a nose at the smell, his next choice were the freezers. The food looked more or less okay, but he wasn't confident. It was the dry storage that was most fruitful. Instead of more scraps of moldy food, Snake laid his eyes on something he never realized could be so beautiful:
Industrial pallets of emergency rations.
As he rushed over, he began opening the boxes on top and searching through them.
"Otacon, can you hear me? It looks like we hit the jackpot."
"The jackpot? Oh right, you were heading to the armory. What did you find, Snake?"
"Nah, I stopped by the mess instead, and found the motherlode! There's at least two years worth of rations here, freeze-dried and preserved, and look at the choices! Orange chicken, fried rice, beef and broccoli, they've even got Swedish meatballs and beef ravioli! We're eating good tonight, Otacon!"
"I had totally forgotten about our food supply, way to go Snake! While you're there, you mind checking to see if they have the chicken fettuccini? That one is my favorite. Oh, and some coffee too, that's almost as important as the rations."
"Oh come on, the chicken fettuccini? What's wrong with you? Fine, I'll check… sorry Otacon. I don't see any in this box, but there's like 8 pallets of these things so there are definitely more flavors."
"Hey, I don't judge you for what you like!
*sigh* That's okay Snake, I'll eat just about anything."
"By the way, have you discovered anything interesting?"
" Yeah, I found out that these people brute forced their way into space. Can you believe that these computers only have megabytes of RAM? It's like looking at the future through the view of someone from the 1980s, they hardly even have semiconductors! It's mostly vacuum tubes and analog computing! Which explains how it lasted this long, but still, my phone has more computing power than this whole facility."
"Vacuum tubes? Can you work around it?"
"It might take a while, but once I get a handle on the local technology I should be able to redevelop some gadgets that you should enjoy."
"Hrmmm, gadgets?"
"Yeah, you know, like the Solid Eye, optical camo, or Metal Gear Mk.III."
"Well, I'll be looking forward to it, Otacon.
As he hung up his codec, Snake glanced over the rations before he swiped a couple of them, one for now and one for later. It was freeze-dried Chicken and rice, a good choice. He could rehydrate it and eat it normally, but…
Munch, munch
Crunch, crunch
Gulp!
He shoved the empty package into his back pocket and moved on. No time to waste on cooking rations, these things were perfectly edible with no prep. He pushed his way out of the mess hall and continued to travel towards the armory. Fancy base, Snake thought, but so far, nothing blew his mind. As much as everything had the veneer of being futuristic, some stuff seemed to be less advanced than one thousand years ago.
"A thousand years…"
Snake shook the thoughts from his head as he drew forward towards the armory. He swiped his card across the keypad and the sealed doors began to open, depressurizing with a hiss that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Slowly grinding open, the multiple layers of blast doors parted, allowing Snake to enter. Slowly, the spy crept forward, knife at the ready. As he entered the room proper, the lights began to turn on in stages, revealing a massive room full of arms and armor the likes of which he hasn't seen in his whole life.
Snake practically gaped at the beauty before him.
"Otacon, I'm in heaven."
Gear
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Snake wandered through the aisles of shelves and gun racks, carefully examining the make, model, and features of the weapons around him. Most of them were of the same model, a Mauser 960 Assault System. He took one off the rack and examined it carefully, before the man walked to a nearby table and began to take it apart.
Bit by bit the firearm was broken down and disassembled, until Snake had the whole thing in pieces on the table in front of him. Laid out in order, the weapon was much less complex than he had initially assumed. Disregarding the somewhat complex series of electronics, mirrors and lenses that Snake determined was the emitter, he noted that the rest of it seemed simple, rugged even. It combined a robust and adaptable firing platform with an under-barrel grenade launcher, adjustable sights, and an adaptor for additional power sources.
Then, he began to put it back together, his mind more than sharp enough to have memorized every step of disassembly and then reverse it. Hefting the reassembled rifle up to his chest, he aimed down the sights just to get a feel for the weapon. He swapped ball and forth between main hands, practiced swapping the power pack a couple times, then grinned to himself.
"Gotta find a range around here, check its performance pretty soon."
Placing the laser on the table, Sanke resumed his search. Pistols, rifles, carbines, mostly lasers but there were a few that were more conventional firearms, filled the room.. If Snake had any doubts that this facility was built to house at least a battalion of people, they were put to rest. In addition to guns, he found spare power packs and ammunition, grenades, plastic explosives, radios, spare armor plates, helmets, even spare uniforms. He was incredibly impressed.
He was so impressed, in fact, that he almost didn't find the secret door that opened up after he passed his badge across an almost conspicuously inconspicuous section of wall.
Almost.
Snake nearly walked right on past, but after a quick double take he noticed the details right away. The lack of shelves and supplies in front of it, the small but noticeable marks in the false wall where the hidden door met the rest of the structure, and even the key reader disguised as a wall junction, all of them he noticed straight away. So when the secret door opened up into a dark corridor, to reveal a single set of stairs that descended into the bowels of the earth, he did the first thing he could think of.
He grabbed a gun.
"Otacon, I found a secret passage in the armory, possibly some sort of hidden storage room. I'm checking it out," Snake said into his codec as he performed a weapons check on the Mauser he had just pulled off the wall. Holding it at the ready, the spy crept into the dark stairway and began his descent.
"You got it, Snake! Good luck down there, I've almost completed a full system scan and started working on repairing the base network, so by the time you get back we should have more answers about this place."
Snake let the codec all go silent as he slowly made his way down the steps. The floor and walls had indicator lights that illuminated the way, but he still stepped carefully. No point getting a second lot in life only to break his neck falling down the stairs.
Quietly, carefully he stalked through the darkened tunnel, wary for any rogue security systems that may or may not be active. But as he reached the bottom of the stairs and the tunnel leveled out, he entered into a wider chamber. In the middle of the room, in front of a raised upper platform holding a number of large cylinders, lay a skeleton wearing some sort of combat suit. The armor plating on the front was shattered, and the fabric tattered with age and decay. Flesh was long gone, leaving nothing but bones grasping a practically ancient data tablet, and a gun.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that bastard Amaris betrayed us. Damn him, and damn Richard Cameron! That rat bastard murdered the whole rest of the 71st, with SLDF weapons! Gunned down our ships over Vulture's Nest. Too bad for him, he won't get this outpost. I disconnected the HPG and wiped all prior authorized personnel from the network. Sealed all the doors, stored my mech in the secret hanger, and locked myself in here to die
I'm the last of my regiment, as far as I know, and I'm not lasting too much longer. Bastards shot me and now it's infected, could have gotten it fixed but… I had shit to do, and I don't wanna live without my squad.
if you're reading this, then as far as I'm concerned, this whole place is yours. Mechs, vehicles, ships, all of it. You couldn't possibly do worse with it than Star League.
Good luck, whoever you are.
Signing off,
Master Sergeant Cole Delanoix, SLDF 71st SOG
Snake stared down at the corpse of a man who died lifetimes ago, alone and in pain, abandoned by his government and betrayed. And in a moment of strange emotion, snapped to attention, and saluted the fallen warrior. Even across time and space, across cultures and languages, a soldier recognizes a soldier.
"Rest easy, Sergeant. Your vigil is over. I won't let you be forgotten."
Snake moved past the body, up the stairs and onto the raised platform. Four large cylinders stood in a row, their contents safely sealed inside. He strode forward to the first pod, examined it closely, and began looking for the release mechanism. A small panel on the side was exactly what he was looking for, with a button that made the pod his as it depressurised. He stepped back as it slid open with a hiss, light pouring out to reveal…
Nothing.
With an annoyed grunt, Snake walked over to the other three and intentionally opened up the rest of them. Fortunately, two of them actually had contents to reveal.
The first was clearly a Sneaking Suit, he didn't even have to think about it. Despite the difference in design, he's worn enough Sneaking Suits to know what they look like. A sleek, stealthy looking suit with a variety of pouches and pockets, electronic devices, and a night vision filter helmet? It wasn't even a question.
The other was a lot more interesting.
Almost seven feet tall, the large form did not gleam in the light. Matte olive drab armor plates covered its form, protective and stealthy. A wide visor with tinted, polarized glass for the helmet, and a built in jetpack, Snake was speechless. Reading off the diagnostic computer in front of him, Snake couldn't help but to keep being surprised by the future.
"Otacon is gonna love this," he muttered, for the first time taking in the view of the Nighthawk Mk. XXI.
Bit by bit the firearm was broken down and disassembled, until Snake had the whole thing in pieces on the table in front of him. Laid out in order, the weapon was much less complex than he had initially assumed. Disregarding the somewhat complex series of electronics, mirrors and lenses that Snake determined was the emitter, he noted that the rest of it seemed simple, rugged even. It combined a robust and adaptable firing platform with an under-barrel grenade launcher, adjustable sights, and an adaptor for additional power sources.
Then, he began to put it back together, his mind more than sharp enough to have memorized every step of disassembly and then reverse it. Hefting the reassembled rifle up to his chest, he aimed down the sights just to get a feel for the weapon. He swapped ball and forth between main hands, practiced swapping the power pack a couple times, then grinned to himself.
"Gotta find a range around here, check its performance pretty soon."
Placing the laser on the table, Sanke resumed his search. Pistols, rifles, carbines, mostly lasers but there were a few that were more conventional firearms, filled the room.. If Snake had any doubts that this facility was built to house at least a battalion of people, they were put to rest. In addition to guns, he found spare power packs and ammunition, grenades, plastic explosives, radios, spare armor plates, helmets, even spare uniforms. He was incredibly impressed.
He was so impressed, in fact, that he almost didn't find the secret door that opened up after he passed his badge across an almost conspicuously inconspicuous section of wall.
Almost.
Snake nearly walked right on past, but after a quick double take he noticed the details right away. The lack of shelves and supplies in front of it, the small but noticeable marks in the false wall where the hidden door met the rest of the structure, and even the key reader disguised as a wall junction, all of them he noticed straight away. So when the secret door opened up into a dark corridor, to reveal a single set of stairs that descended into the bowels of the earth, he did the first thing he could think of.
He grabbed a gun.
"Otacon, I found a secret passage in the armory, possibly some sort of hidden storage room. I'm checking it out," Snake said into his codec as he performed a weapons check on the Mauser he had just pulled off the wall. Holding it at the ready, the spy crept into the dark stairway and began his descent.
"You got it, Snake! Good luck down there, I've almost completed a full system scan and started working on repairing the base network, so by the time you get back we should have more answers about this place."
Snake let the codec all go silent as he slowly made his way down the steps. The floor and walls had indicator lights that illuminated the way, but he still stepped carefully. No point getting a second lot in life only to break his neck falling down the stairs.
Quietly, carefully he stalked through the darkened tunnel, wary for any rogue security systems that may or may not be active. But as he reached the bottom of the stairs and the tunnel leveled out, he entered into a wider chamber. In the middle of the room, in front of a raised upper platform holding a number of large cylinders, lay a skeleton wearing some sort of combat suit. The armor plating on the front was shattered, and the fabric tattered with age and decay. Flesh was long gone, leaving nothing but bones grasping a practically ancient data tablet, and a gun.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that bastard Amaris betrayed us. Damn him, and damn Richard Cameron! That rat bastard murdered the whole rest of the 71st, with SLDF weapons! Gunned down our ships over Vulture's Nest. Too bad for him, he won't get this outpost. I disconnected the HPG and wiped all prior authorized personnel from the network. Sealed all the doors, stored my mech in the secret hanger, and locked myself in here to die
I'm the last of my regiment, as far as I know, and I'm not lasting too much longer. Bastards shot me and now it's infected, could have gotten it fixed but… I had shit to do, and I don't wanna live without my squad.
if you're reading this, then as far as I'm concerned, this whole place is yours. Mechs, vehicles, ships, all of it. You couldn't possibly do worse with it than Star League.
Good luck, whoever you are.
Signing off,
Master Sergeant Cole Delanoix, SLDF 71st SOG
Snake stared down at the corpse of a man who died lifetimes ago, alone and in pain, abandoned by his government and betrayed. And in a moment of strange emotion, snapped to attention, and saluted the fallen warrior. Even across time and space, across cultures and languages, a soldier recognizes a soldier.
"Rest easy, Sergeant. Your vigil is over. I won't let you be forgotten."
Snake moved past the body, up the stairs and onto the raised platform. Four large cylinders stood in a row, their contents safely sealed inside. He strode forward to the first pod, examined it closely, and began looking for the release mechanism. A small panel on the side was exactly what he was looking for, with a button that made the pod his as it depressurised. He stepped back as it slid open with a hiss, light pouring out to reveal…
Nothing.
With an annoyed grunt, Snake walked over to the other three and intentionally opened up the rest of them. Fortunately, two of them actually had contents to reveal.
The first was clearly a Sneaking Suit, he didn't even have to think about it. Despite the difference in design, he's worn enough Sneaking Suits to know what they look like. A sleek, stealthy looking suit with a variety of pouches and pockets, electronic devices, and a night vision filter helmet? It wasn't even a question.
The other was a lot more interesting.
Almost seven feet tall, the large form did not gleam in the light. Matte olive drab armor plates covered its form, protective and stealthy. A wide visor with tinted, polarized glass for the helmet, and a built in jetpack, Snake was speechless. Reading off the diagnostic computer in front of him, Snake couldn't help but to keep being surprised by the future.
"Otacon is gonna love this," he muttered, for the first time taking in the view of the Nighthawk Mk. XXI.
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
Snake inside one of these? Evacuate the universe!!!
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
I think you should be more afraid of the fact that Otacon, Stealth Tech Expert™, now has access to upgrade it.
Conflict
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
"Snake, we have a big problem!"
"Talk to me," Snake responded as he adjusted his new armor. Putting on the Sneaking Suit was like coming home, even the unfamiliar technology more thrilling than disconcerting. The suit was every bit as good as any of his old ones, though it didn't enhance his strength at all like his last one. Damn microwaves… he grumbled internally.
"Well, I was repairing the base's computer network, and I got external sensors back online. I've intercepted some communications, and, well… I'll just patch it through to your Codec, you can see for yourself."
"-lling me you're afraid to go in there? THIS IS MY FUCKING PLANET! YOU SHOULD BE MORE AFRAID OF ME! *Bang!*"
"Jeez, boss…"
"Anybody else have doubts? We get this thing open, and we're made for life! The Oberans and Lyrans won't be able to touch us! I'll use these mechs to carve out my own kingdom, and if you serve me loyally, I'll keep you by my side. But first, I need you to GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND GET INTO THAT BASE, NOW!!!"
"Otacon, are those… Space pirates?"
"Seems like it. I took a look at the inventory manifests, and there should be enough firepower in this base to give the U.S. Army a hard time. We can't let them get their hands on these weapons, Snake!"
"Have a little faith in me, Otacon. I've been taking down ambitious warlords since I got out of basic."
"Fair enough. There's some sort of ship, about 10 kilometers out, a transport of some kind, and they've sent some kind of armored vehicles. The fidelity of these external sensors aren't the greatest, so I can't tell exactly what they are, but I'm reading six large radar presences… Snake, I think these people are piloting mechs!"
"Piloting mechs… you mean like Metal Gear?"
"Maybe… I can't be certain, Snake, but I have a gut feeling that these are dangerous in a different way. Metal Gear REX was, essentially, a mobile railgun platform, and was intended for stealth deployment. It was relatively under-armed for close range engagements, which is why we developed the Street Fighter program. These guys look like they're armed to the teeth!"
"I see. So it would be really bad if they saw me. Unless…"
"Unless you had a mech of your own!"
Snake looked down at the body that still rested there, the empty sockets in the skull of Sergeant Delanoix gazing through him. The man fought and died as a soldier, and passed everything on to whatever stranger found his body. And yet, he did it willingly. He gave his life for a cause, and was betrayed by the people that he served, but he never shied away from his duty.
… stored my mech in the secret hanger…
"I won't let you down, Sergeant," he whispered, as he glanced past the armor pods at the single unopened door at the back of the room. "Otacon, I need you to feed me their locations, I have an idea…"
-----
Julie was excited.
Sure, the boss killed James for being a coward, but he deserved it! A Star League outpost is exactly what their crew needed to establish a real kingdom instead of just knocking over dirt huts to intimidate peasants.
She used to be a Solaris gladiator, but she had to run after she killed a few too many people outside the arena. Suited her just fine, the boss let her kill way more people in way more fun ways. That one guy she threw into the sky, the screams as he flew away…
She shook her head as much as she could while in the confines of her neurohelmet. Now was not the time to reminisce, she had a base to break into. She urged her precious Phoenix Hawk forward up the path towards the hangar gate, and upon reaching it, contacted the boss.
"Hey Boss, I'm at the Hangar bay, I'm about to start breaching."
"Aft. Go ahead, Billy is 3 minutes behind you so he should catch up before you're in. And don't break anything!"
Chuckling at the thought of the Urbanmech pilot that she left in her dust, she lifted the Phoenix Hawk's left arm and spun up the Rock Cutter she had replaced the hand with. Not as effective in battle, but it was exactly the kind of flashy thing that Solaris audiences loved, and it made it a breeze to break into places she shouldn't be.
The whine of the blade spinning up was nothing compared to the cacophony that came when she began to cut through the seam on the hanger doors, diamond tipped saw blade meeting the aged metal and grinding it away with a blaze of sparks. Julie kept an eye on her sensors, giving another grin at the struggling Urbie only just within visual range. Billy was a joke, the only person she respected in this crew was her boss, and he deserved it for the power he had. Nobody wanted to fight an Awesome, and they all knew it.
But the boss liked to have other people do shit for him, so instead of getting her head blown off like James, she got to cutting. The hangar doors shouldn't take too long, maybe ten minutes as long as she allowed for some time for heat dissipation. Only had the one rock cutter, after all.
Ten minutes later, she was right, as usual. The blade was nearly red hot after cutting through the protective doors, but that was fine. She didn't need it anymore.
"Billy, let the boss know the door's unlocked, I'm gonna go ahead and open it."
"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for the rest? What about the defenses…?"
"Quit being a little bitch, Billy. If the anti-air and external defenses aren't working, what makes you think that the interior ones do? Just watch my back, coward."
Dumb fuck, she thought as she shoved both arms into the crack between the doors and began to pull. It began to give, just a little at first, but then Julie got the leverage to really give her mech dome power and she threw the doors open, stumbling inside just a little.
Unfortunately for her, that's when she noticed the PPC aimed at her cockpit at point blank range.
"Fu-"
"Talk to me," Snake responded as he adjusted his new armor. Putting on the Sneaking Suit was like coming home, even the unfamiliar technology more thrilling than disconcerting. The suit was every bit as good as any of his old ones, though it didn't enhance his strength at all like his last one. Damn microwaves… he grumbled internally.
"Well, I was repairing the base's computer network, and I got external sensors back online. I've intercepted some communications, and, well… I'll just patch it through to your Codec, you can see for yourself."
"-lling me you're afraid to go in there? THIS IS MY FUCKING PLANET! YOU SHOULD BE MORE AFRAID OF ME! *Bang!*"
"Jeez, boss…"
"Anybody else have doubts? We get this thing open, and we're made for life! The Oberans and Lyrans won't be able to touch us! I'll use these mechs to carve out my own kingdom, and if you serve me loyally, I'll keep you by my side. But first, I need you to GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND GET INTO THAT BASE, NOW!!!"
"Otacon, are those… Space pirates?"
"Seems like it. I took a look at the inventory manifests, and there should be enough firepower in this base to give the U.S. Army a hard time. We can't let them get their hands on these weapons, Snake!"
"Have a little faith in me, Otacon. I've been taking down ambitious warlords since I got out of basic."
"Fair enough. There's some sort of ship, about 10 kilometers out, a transport of some kind, and they've sent some kind of armored vehicles. The fidelity of these external sensors aren't the greatest, so I can't tell exactly what they are, but I'm reading six large radar presences… Snake, I think these people are piloting mechs!"
"Piloting mechs… you mean like Metal Gear?"
"Maybe… I can't be certain, Snake, but I have a gut feeling that these are dangerous in a different way. Metal Gear REX was, essentially, a mobile railgun platform, and was intended for stealth deployment. It was relatively under-armed for close range engagements, which is why we developed the Street Fighter program. These guys look like they're armed to the teeth!"
"I see. So it would be really bad if they saw me. Unless…"
"Unless you had a mech of your own!"
Snake looked down at the body that still rested there, the empty sockets in the skull of Sergeant Delanoix gazing through him. The man fought and died as a soldier, and passed everything on to whatever stranger found his body. And yet, he did it willingly. He gave his life for a cause, and was betrayed by the people that he served, but he never shied away from his duty.
… stored my mech in the secret hanger…
"I won't let you down, Sergeant," he whispered, as he glanced past the armor pods at the single unopened door at the back of the room. "Otacon, I need you to feed me their locations, I have an idea…"
-----
Julie was excited.
Sure, the boss killed James for being a coward, but he deserved it! A Star League outpost is exactly what their crew needed to establish a real kingdom instead of just knocking over dirt huts to intimidate peasants.
She used to be a Solaris gladiator, but she had to run after she killed a few too many people outside the arena. Suited her just fine, the boss let her kill way more people in way more fun ways. That one guy she threw into the sky, the screams as he flew away…
She shook her head as much as she could while in the confines of her neurohelmet. Now was not the time to reminisce, she had a base to break into. She urged her precious Phoenix Hawk forward up the path towards the hangar gate, and upon reaching it, contacted the boss.
"Hey Boss, I'm at the Hangar bay, I'm about to start breaching."
"Aft. Go ahead, Billy is 3 minutes behind you so he should catch up before you're in. And don't break anything!"
Chuckling at the thought of the Urbanmech pilot that she left in her dust, she lifted the Phoenix Hawk's left arm and spun up the Rock Cutter she had replaced the hand with. Not as effective in battle, but it was exactly the kind of flashy thing that Solaris audiences loved, and it made it a breeze to break into places she shouldn't be.
The whine of the blade spinning up was nothing compared to the cacophony that came when she began to cut through the seam on the hanger doors, diamond tipped saw blade meeting the aged metal and grinding it away with a blaze of sparks. Julie kept an eye on her sensors, giving another grin at the struggling Urbie only just within visual range. Billy was a joke, the only person she respected in this crew was her boss, and he deserved it for the power he had. Nobody wanted to fight an Awesome, and they all knew it.
But the boss liked to have other people do shit for him, so instead of getting her head blown off like James, she got to cutting. The hangar doors shouldn't take too long, maybe ten minutes as long as she allowed for some time for heat dissipation. Only had the one rock cutter, after all.
Ten minutes later, she was right, as usual. The blade was nearly red hot after cutting through the protective doors, but that was fine. She didn't need it anymore.
"Billy, let the boss know the door's unlocked, I'm gonna go ahead and open it."
"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for the rest? What about the defenses…?"
"Quit being a little bitch, Billy. If the anti-air and external defenses aren't working, what makes you think that the interior ones do? Just watch my back, coward."
Dumb fuck, she thought as she shoved both arms into the crack between the doors and began to pull. It began to give, just a little at first, but then Julie got the leverage to really give her mech dome power and she threw the doors open, stumbling inside just a little.
Unfortunately for her, that's when she noticed the PPC aimed at her cockpit at point blank range.
"Fu-"
So anyway, I started blasting...
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Contrary to what most of the people in his crew thought, William "Billy" Stone was not a coward. He wasn't afraid of death, and had gotten pretty good with his Granpappy's Urbie over the last few years of 'service' under Captain Amaris. Crazy bastard had delusions of grandeur and didn't care how many people he had to kill, hostages he had to take, or mechs he had to steal to achieve them. Claimed to be a descendent of the man who destroyed the last Star League, and wasn't that a shocker.
And now, here he was, press-ganged into a pirate crew with his family under threat, watching the first mate get cored with one shot. Julie never even had time to react, opening the door only for her cockpit to disintegrate and the rest of her ammo to cook off, causing the mech to go up in a fireball. Immediately he brought up the firing system and let off a stream of rounds from his AC/10 at the open doorway and strafing to avoid counter attack.
He held fire only for nothing to happen. The rounds pinged off metal, but there was no return. Letting off the stream of bullets, Billy waited for the smoke to clear, and his scanner reported back as the interference from Julie's reactor explosion cleared.
An empty, savaged Marauder stood in the doorway. The explosion blasted off its armor and destroyed its weapons, but the damn thing had no pilot.
"What the hell?" He muttered to himself as he messaged his captain.
"I need backup, Julie got smoked instantly! I don't see the enemy, holding position."
"Are you fucking daft? Find who fucking did it! Jerome and Miller are on their way, so you better not try to run, you fuck. I don't care what you have to do, I WILL HAVE THIS BASE!"
Billy grimaced as his 'boss' screamed at him. The lunatic saw all of them as completely expendable, but he couldn't even run if he wanted his wife and son to live. He just hoped he didn't turn out like Julie. His Urbanmech moved forward, aiming at both of the downed machines as he slowly approached the entrance. All he had to do was-
His sensors screamed at him just in time for him to swivel, causing the inferno missile that was aimed for his engine to explode against the small laser instead. His mech shook with the force, alerts blaring through his cockpit as half of the weapons on his mech became useless and his machine caught fire. Starting to panic, he blasted his autocannon blindly, looking for any sign of his enemy.
It's like fighting a ghost, he thought to himself as sweat dripped from his brow. He stopped firing the AC briefly to reposition, only for another Inferno to impact his remaining weapon. Immediately alarms sounded off, alerting him to an imminent ammo detonation. Unwillingly, the automated systems in his mech set off the ejection charges, launching his cockpit away from the chassis before it went off in a fireball. He had just enough time to think about how he failed his family before his cockpit hit the ground and he lost consciousness.
---
Snake hid amidst the rocks and debris, chameleon camo blending in with the dirt as he waited silently. Blocks of C8 were strewn across the battlefield, along the hangar entrance, and hidden in the wrecks of the different machines. He had two more shots with the rocket launcher before he ran out of ammo, and he had a bandolier of grenades hidden in his pack.
"Alright, that's two down! Only four more to go! These guys weren't prepared for us, were they, Snake?"
"These guys are about a thousand years too young to take me down. You got eyes on the rest of them?"
"As soon as we took out the first one with the rigged mech, all four of the others began to converge on your position. They were spread out across the compound, but you've got one approaching from the north, ETA 45 seconds, they're hopping along the walls and ridges so be careful that they don't spot you. The rest are all more than three minutes out, so you have to hurry, Snake!"
"Three minutes, huh? Got it. This is gonna be tough…"
"Don't worry, Snake, I'm with you all the way!"
David cut the codec call as he loaded another missile into the launcher. He had to admit, these things were WAY stronger than the Nikita, a fact he was very grateful for. The tension began to rise as the seconds passed, and eventually he heard it.
This time, the machine didn't just walk right up to the front door. It landed on a nearby ridge, opting to scan for nearby enemies. It looked more like the first one he destroyed than the second, with hands and a humanoid shape. Snake counted the seconds down in his head, he had less than two minutes before the other mechs got there, but this guy seemed to be taking his sweet time surveying the area instead of walking into an ambush. Unfortunate.
As it turned away from his position, Snake took a piece of metal off the ground and tossed it towards the fallen machines. If he could just lure it over there…
Instead of taking the bait, the unknown machine unloaded on the source of the noise, blasting the downed robot with missiles before firing off a few laser beams around the area. He gasped as a fragment of metal whizzed by his face, but otherwise didn't move. He just had to pick his opportunity…
The machine hopped down from its position on the ridge, guns on a swivel as it slowly approached the entrance. Staying silent, Snake waited while the mech passed him by, turning its back to him in what was the biggest mistake of the pilots career.
Popping up with the launcher already drawn, the mech's fate had already been sealed. The missile left the tube with a blast, and before the pilot could react the incendiary explosives impacted with the machine's own missile launcher, setting off a chain reaction and blowing the left half of the mech to pieces. Interestingly, this mech, too, ejected its cockpit before the whole thing went up in flames. A safety feature? Either way, that was the third mech taken down. He only had one shot left, but that was fine. He'd take the rest of them out with grenades if he had to.
He really hoped he didn't have to. Twice was already too much.
And now, here he was, press-ganged into a pirate crew with his family under threat, watching the first mate get cored with one shot. Julie never even had time to react, opening the door only for her cockpit to disintegrate and the rest of her ammo to cook off, causing the mech to go up in a fireball. Immediately he brought up the firing system and let off a stream of rounds from his AC/10 at the open doorway and strafing to avoid counter attack.
He held fire only for nothing to happen. The rounds pinged off metal, but there was no return. Letting off the stream of bullets, Billy waited for the smoke to clear, and his scanner reported back as the interference from Julie's reactor explosion cleared.
An empty, savaged Marauder stood in the doorway. The explosion blasted off its armor and destroyed its weapons, but the damn thing had no pilot.
"What the hell?" He muttered to himself as he messaged his captain.
"I need backup, Julie got smoked instantly! I don't see the enemy, holding position."
"Are you fucking daft? Find who fucking did it! Jerome and Miller are on their way, so you better not try to run, you fuck. I don't care what you have to do, I WILL HAVE THIS BASE!"
Billy grimaced as his 'boss' screamed at him. The lunatic saw all of them as completely expendable, but he couldn't even run if he wanted his wife and son to live. He just hoped he didn't turn out like Julie. His Urbanmech moved forward, aiming at both of the downed machines as he slowly approached the entrance. All he had to do was-
His sensors screamed at him just in time for him to swivel, causing the inferno missile that was aimed for his engine to explode against the small laser instead. His mech shook with the force, alerts blaring through his cockpit as half of the weapons on his mech became useless and his machine caught fire. Starting to panic, he blasted his autocannon blindly, looking for any sign of his enemy.
It's like fighting a ghost, he thought to himself as sweat dripped from his brow. He stopped firing the AC briefly to reposition, only for another Inferno to impact his remaining weapon. Immediately alarms sounded off, alerting him to an imminent ammo detonation. Unwillingly, the automated systems in his mech set off the ejection charges, launching his cockpit away from the chassis before it went off in a fireball. He had just enough time to think about how he failed his family before his cockpit hit the ground and he lost consciousness.
---
Snake hid amidst the rocks and debris, chameleon camo blending in with the dirt as he waited silently. Blocks of C8 were strewn across the battlefield, along the hangar entrance, and hidden in the wrecks of the different machines. He had two more shots with the rocket launcher before he ran out of ammo, and he had a bandolier of grenades hidden in his pack.
"Alright, that's two down! Only four more to go! These guys weren't prepared for us, were they, Snake?"
"These guys are about a thousand years too young to take me down. You got eyes on the rest of them?"
"As soon as we took out the first one with the rigged mech, all four of the others began to converge on your position. They were spread out across the compound, but you've got one approaching from the north, ETA 45 seconds, they're hopping along the walls and ridges so be careful that they don't spot you. The rest are all more than three minutes out, so you have to hurry, Snake!"
"Three minutes, huh? Got it. This is gonna be tough…"
"Don't worry, Snake, I'm with you all the way!"
David cut the codec call as he loaded another missile into the launcher. He had to admit, these things were WAY stronger than the Nikita, a fact he was very grateful for. The tension began to rise as the seconds passed, and eventually he heard it.
This time, the machine didn't just walk right up to the front door. It landed on a nearby ridge, opting to scan for nearby enemies. It looked more like the first one he destroyed than the second, with hands and a humanoid shape. Snake counted the seconds down in his head, he had less than two minutes before the other mechs got there, but this guy seemed to be taking his sweet time surveying the area instead of walking into an ambush. Unfortunate.
As it turned away from his position, Snake took a piece of metal off the ground and tossed it towards the fallen machines. If he could just lure it over there…
Instead of taking the bait, the unknown machine unloaded on the source of the noise, blasting the downed robot with missiles before firing off a few laser beams around the area. He gasped as a fragment of metal whizzed by his face, but otherwise didn't move. He just had to pick his opportunity…
The machine hopped down from its position on the ridge, guns on a swivel as it slowly approached the entrance. Staying silent, Snake waited while the mech passed him by, turning its back to him in what was the biggest mistake of the pilots career.
Popping up with the launcher already drawn, the mech's fate had already been sealed. The missile left the tube with a blast, and before the pilot could react the incendiary explosives impacted with the machine's own missile launcher, setting off a chain reaction and blowing the left half of the mech to pieces. Interestingly, this mech, too, ejected its cockpit before the whole thing went up in flames. A safety feature? Either way, that was the third mech taken down. He only had one shot left, but that was fine. He'd take the rest of them out with grenades if he had to.
He really hoped he didn't have to. Twice was already too much.
Shots Fired
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Snake let out a low breath as he changed his position. It was about to get too hot to stay around the front of the hanger, so instead he sprinted. He had about a minute before the last three mechs converged on his position, and couldn't waste any time. Loading the last missile into the launcher, he climbed up the ridge the humanoid mech had perched on, and then ran along it until he was up against the wall of the compound. The facility was in the mountains, and was built into said mountains, so there were plenty of nooks and crannies to hide.
"Snake, you're not gonna like this."
"Lay it on me, Otacon."
"All three of incoming mechs are nearly on you, but I intercepted their transmissions and the captain is coming down himself."
"Hrm, the captain? Great. Hope this guy's a challenge."
"You don't have much time, Snake. Be careful."
Snake could hear the stomping of the multi-ton machines as they approached his position. From his vantage point, it was two strange armless mechs, similar to REX but much less impressive, and another, much larger humanoid mech that looked bulky and better armored, but moved with much more speed than the ones he'd taken out before. That one was dangerous, he knew how deadly a multi-ton machine could be in CQC.
With his first target in mind, he quietly pulled a satchel charge from his back. Eight blocks of C8 were spread across the battlefield and hidden in the wrecks (Some of which were probably destroyed by that last volley of missiles), but he kept four on him for this reason specifically. Bound together and attached to one detonator, he was sure that it would be able to take out any mech provided he placed it on them, but he wasn't feeling eager to get up close.
The mechs crept closer to the hangar, and Snake was incredibly glad he was wearing this suit. The ECM stealth measures hid his radar presence, and he almost wished he had this back when he was hiding from Gekko units.
Not finding anything, the mechs slowly stalked closer to the entrance. He quietly inhaled as he watched the large one walk on top of a hidden block of C8, and he took the opportunity. Six explosions rang through the air, as the humanoid machine flew over, a large chunk of its left leg missing. The other two, smaller mechs only took glancing blows, damaging armor but leaving them both fully functional.
He had to strike while they were reeling. The spy lifted the missile launcher and launched his last shot at one of the smaller scout types, and immediately he armed the satchel charge and bailed on his position. Diving away, Snake rolled along the ground and hid behind a rock as the explosive hit, just in time to watch the last machine land at his last location with a crash.
"Not today, buddy," he said as he set off the last bomb. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't far enough away to avoid the shockwave. The Satchel charge, and the mech whose reactor was immediately, catastrophically breached went up in a fireball that physically picked up and threw the man through the air.
"**! ***** ** ** ** ***"
Launched off the ridge, he rolled back down to the devastated battleground, ears ringing. Mech corpses littered the ground, and the last survivor was crippled, but still a danger, and now stealth was blown. Climbing to his feet clutching his ribs, he ran to avoid the laser beams aimed at him by the crippled mech. He was out of stealth, injured, and outgunned. Activating his codec, he sent off a message.
"Otacon, I'm gonna need some help…"
"*****!"
Dodging laser fire and drawing two grenades, he began making his way closer to the machine. His only hope was to take it out before the captain showed up, and pray that Hal pulled through for him.
-----
"Captain" "Ameris" clenched his teeth in barely restrained fury. His whole squad of mechs, gone because of some fuck who thought he could fuck with him. His people were either dead or incapacitated, with the last of his people screaming about a Star League ghost. He pushed his Awesome to its max speed of fifty-four kilometers, and it most definitely wasn't fast enough for his taste.
These fucks couldn't do anything right, and they got HIS mechs destroyed. Even if they lived he'd kill 'em all, they didn't deserve to live after their failures to him. He'd claim this damn base, take this backwater planet, forge his own kingdom, and he'd live like a goddamn emperor.
As he approached, he heard the sound of small explosions going off, and the crack of lasers as Juan's Charger fired off its whole arsenal trying to kill one man. He wouldn't stop screaming that he was getting closer, and the spook, ballsy fucker was dodging laser beams and throwing grenades.
If he hadn't made the mistake of fucking with Captain Ameris, the pirate might have extended a recruitement offer. As it is, the captain would give him the opportunity to see his killer before he died.
He didn't give that courtesy to Juan though. The captain charged up his Awesome's PPC and let off a burst of plasma into the cockpit of the failure's mech. The blast caused the fucker's mech to go up in a fireball that couldn't help but make the Captain sneer. The spook rolled along the ground after the explosion and landed right in front of the open hanger. Heh, unlucky bastard. Too bad, the captain thought, but this was his base now. As he walked up to the man who even now was climbing to his feet, the captain opened up his mech cockpit to gloat while he aimed his Awesome's small laser.
"You gave my boys a run, but you couldn't beat me, and now you're gonna die. Any last words, pal?"
"Hey buddy, get away from my friend!"
"What the-?" Is that artillery!?
*BOOM*
If the would-be warlord hadn't bothered to open his cockpit and gloat to a deaf man, he might have survived the shot. As it was, he barely had time to regret his decision before the Sniper Artillery Cannon attached to an HEP-3X Helepolis blew the cockpit out the back of his mech's head.
No great loss.
"Snake, you're not gonna like this."
"Lay it on me, Otacon."
"All three of incoming mechs are nearly on you, but I intercepted their transmissions and the captain is coming down himself."
"Hrm, the captain? Great. Hope this guy's a challenge."
"You don't have much time, Snake. Be careful."
Snake could hear the stomping of the multi-ton machines as they approached his position. From his vantage point, it was two strange armless mechs, similar to REX but much less impressive, and another, much larger humanoid mech that looked bulky and better armored, but moved with much more speed than the ones he'd taken out before. That one was dangerous, he knew how deadly a multi-ton machine could be in CQC.
With his first target in mind, he quietly pulled a satchel charge from his back. Eight blocks of C8 were spread across the battlefield and hidden in the wrecks (Some of which were probably destroyed by that last volley of missiles), but he kept four on him for this reason specifically. Bound together and attached to one detonator, he was sure that it would be able to take out any mech provided he placed it on them, but he wasn't feeling eager to get up close.
The mechs crept closer to the hangar, and Snake was incredibly glad he was wearing this suit. The ECM stealth measures hid his radar presence, and he almost wished he had this back when he was hiding from Gekko units.
Not finding anything, the mechs slowly stalked closer to the entrance. He quietly inhaled as he watched the large one walk on top of a hidden block of C8, and he took the opportunity. Six explosions rang through the air, as the humanoid machine flew over, a large chunk of its left leg missing. The other two, smaller mechs only took glancing blows, damaging armor but leaving them both fully functional.
He had to strike while they were reeling. The spy lifted the missile launcher and launched his last shot at one of the smaller scout types, and immediately he armed the satchel charge and bailed on his position. Diving away, Snake rolled along the ground and hid behind a rock as the explosive hit, just in time to watch the last machine land at his last location with a crash.
"Not today, buddy," he said as he set off the last bomb. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't far enough away to avoid the shockwave. The Satchel charge, and the mech whose reactor was immediately, catastrophically breached went up in a fireball that physically picked up and threw the man through the air.
"**! ***** ** ** ** ***"
Launched off the ridge, he rolled back down to the devastated battleground, ears ringing. Mech corpses littered the ground, and the last survivor was crippled, but still a danger, and now stealth was blown. Climbing to his feet clutching his ribs, he ran to avoid the laser beams aimed at him by the crippled mech. He was out of stealth, injured, and outgunned. Activating his codec, he sent off a message.
"Otacon, I'm gonna need some help…"
"*****!"
Dodging laser fire and drawing two grenades, he began making his way closer to the machine. His only hope was to take it out before the captain showed up, and pray that Hal pulled through for him.
-----
"Captain" "Ameris" clenched his teeth in barely restrained fury. His whole squad of mechs, gone because of some fuck who thought he could fuck with him. His people were either dead or incapacitated, with the last of his people screaming about a Star League ghost. He pushed his Awesome to its max speed of fifty-four kilometers, and it most definitely wasn't fast enough for his taste.
These fucks couldn't do anything right, and they got HIS mechs destroyed. Even if they lived he'd kill 'em all, they didn't deserve to live after their failures to him. He'd claim this damn base, take this backwater planet, forge his own kingdom, and he'd live like a goddamn emperor.
As he approached, he heard the sound of small explosions going off, and the crack of lasers as Juan's Charger fired off its whole arsenal trying to kill one man. He wouldn't stop screaming that he was getting closer, and the spook, ballsy fucker was dodging laser beams and throwing grenades.
If he hadn't made the mistake of fucking with Captain Ameris, the pirate might have extended a recruitement offer. As it is, the captain would give him the opportunity to see his killer before he died.
He didn't give that courtesy to Juan though. The captain charged up his Awesome's PPC and let off a burst of plasma into the cockpit of the failure's mech. The blast caused the fucker's mech to go up in a fireball that couldn't help but make the Captain sneer. The spook rolled along the ground after the explosion and landed right in front of the open hanger. Heh, unlucky bastard. Too bad, the captain thought, but this was his base now. As he walked up to the man who even now was climbing to his feet, the captain opened up his mech cockpit to gloat while he aimed his Awesome's small laser.
"You gave my boys a run, but you couldn't beat me, and now you're gonna die. Any last words, pal?"
"Hey buddy, get away from my friend!"
"What the-?" Is that artillery!?
*BOOM*
If the would-be warlord hadn't bothered to open his cockpit and gloat to a deaf man, he might have survived the shot. As it was, he barely had time to regret his decision before the Sniper Artillery Cannon attached to an HEP-3X Helepolis blew the cockpit out the back of his mech's head.
No great loss.
clonezero
Is it a bad thing if my t read list keeps growing?
Sooo upon googling the weight of Rex and Ray, they were 505 tons and 1k tons respectively (didn't get this from official sources though so large grain of salt required). Available materials and tech probably has lots to do with it but still, that's a big difference! Otacon's gonna change the game!
Gears looks faster but undergunned yet that doesn't take into account how powerful their main weapons/gimmicks are compared to what mechs use.
Rex's railgun is an intercontinental nuclear artillery piece. Beef it up a bit and it can probably be compared to naval gauss.
Ray's cutting beam is great but not that scary see compared to the nuclear railgun. What scary about Ray is that it's speed and is working drone tech!
Does Otacon know how to make MGS style cyborgs? Considering how well Grey Fox fared against Rex, they would be far scarier than Elementals.
Also, OPTIC CAMO ALL THE THINGS! Edit: Yorinaga must NEVER get his hands on this tech!!!
Anyways, Snake is probably gonna go the route of his father here and go merc. Bit ironic if he ends up making Outer Haven himself.
Of two minds about Sunny not being able to join them. Inflicting her with the shittiness of BT is a bit cruel but having her alongside Otacon is gonna brown the collective pants of those Space At&T guys so much. Also Snake and Otacon are basically her family as well.
All that rambling aside, great work and can't wait to see more of this story!
Gears looks faster but undergunned yet that doesn't take into account how powerful their main weapons/gimmicks are compared to what mechs use.
Rex's railgun is an intercontinental nuclear artillery piece. Beef it up a bit and it can probably be compared to naval gauss.
Ray's cutting beam is great but not that scary see compared to the nuclear railgun. What scary about Ray is that it's speed and is working drone tech!
Does Otacon know how to make MGS style cyborgs? Considering how well Grey Fox fared against Rex, they would be far scarier than Elementals.
Also, OPTIC CAMO ALL THE THINGS! Edit: Yorinaga must NEVER get his hands on this tech!!!
Anyways, Snake is probably gonna go the route of his father here and go merc. Bit ironic if he ends up making Outer Haven himself.
Of two minds about Sunny not being able to join them. Inflicting her with the shittiness of BT is a bit cruel but having her alongside Otacon is gonna brown the collective pants of those Space At&T guys so much. Also Snake and Otacon are basically her family as well.
All that rambling aside, great work and can't wait to see more of this story!
Last edited:
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
Yeah I am fond of Sunny, would be good to see her shine with Snake & Otacon. 😊
Captives
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Snake groaned as he began to regain consciousness. The man felt terrible, all his ribs seemed broken and his whole body burned. Electrical damage, concussion, busted eardrums, he hadn't been this bad off since the microwave incident. He tried to sit up, but he was pushed back down. Otacon sat over him, a concerned look on his face, as he began to shine a light into Snake's eyes.
"Snake! Just hold still, you're still badly hurt," Otacon told him, but he sounded like he was underwater. That wasn't going to be annoying, the spy thought, annoyed.
"Otacon, what happened?"
"Well, after you called for help, I ran to the mech hanger and grabbed one with the biggest gun I could find. Some sort of artillery platform on legs. Sound familiar?" He grinned as he moved to the other eye, examining his pupils before he flicked the pen light off and held a stethoscope to Snake's chest. "Deep breath in. You bought some time dodging the Charger, that's the name of the mech you crippled, and when the captain showed up and killed his buddy, he was about to execute you. Exhale."
Snake let out a deep breath that made his lungs sigh in relief as the pressure was released. Damn pirates, breaking his ribs.
"Anyway, it wasn't easy, but I got into a position to blow him away while he gloated like a cartoon villain. Then, once he was dead, I bluffed the rest of his crew into surrendering. Congratulations, Snake. You're now the proud owner of your own pirate crew, ship and all!"
"Otacon, how… you're amazing, buddy."
"Aww, Snake. You're gonna make me blush." The scientist gave the soldier a gentle smile before he clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, you're as healthy as you can be, barring all the injuries. You should be mostly recovered within a month, and be fighting fit within six weeks. Now I'm sure you're ready to get out of bed, you ready to meet our new employees?"
"New employees? Great…"
-----
Billy sat in the mess hall with his wife and child, who had been recovered from the ship after the rest of the crew surrendered. After his cockpit hit the ground, he sat there unconscious until his radio began to go off, demanding the surrender of all pirates within the area or he'd blow them out of the sky. As far as he knew, this place was full of SLDF spooks that could kill them all without hesitating, and so did the rest of the crew. The scientist, scrawny looking fellow, was apparently piloting a Helepolis without a Neurohelmet, which automatically put the man as the best Mechwarrior he'd ever seen.
And despite being nominally a prisoner of war, he was alright with the turn of events. He was no longer a subordinate to a psycho, his wife and kids weren't hostages, and the rest of their captives were more than happy to help police the pirates, given the weapons. A couple people gave him glares, but nobody treated him badly. They knew he hadn't been a willing accessory to their captivity, but some wounds took time to heal.
A shame about his Pappy's Urbie, he'd have to find some other way to support his family. If they ever got out of here. But that was for the future. As for the present, he just held his family close to him. Their host had provided ration packs that, while of dubious age, still seemed somewhat edible. Better than nutrient slop.
The double doors at the end of the mess hall opened, and in walked his saviors. He still didn't think the scientist looked like much, but he probably knew enough to make Billy's life extremely painful so he kept that opinion to himself. The other figure on the other hand, was larger than life. Wearing a high tech suit that had seen far better days, the spook seemed to cast his gaze across the room, his mere presence domineering. A scowl crossed his face as he took in the state of some of the former captives, and the commando leveled a withering glare at the pirates. He drew a momentary glance, but breathed a sigh of relief when the terrifying gaze passed him over. He squeezed his wife's hand and began to pray that they weren't going to get killed.
"You people are a disgrace."
The remark passed through the mess hall, silencing what conversation that hadn't stopped at their entrance. The man's sharp glare seemed to see through them and cut off any protests at the source. Shame filled the eyes of some of them, the ones that hadn't entirely been willing. The ones that were just as crazy as the captain were all tied up and held under guard, and some of the former captives seemed to have great glee at holding them at the end of a rifle.
"You people invade this place, with the intent of taking the resources here to spread war and misery to helpless, innocent people, and now I'm left with the question of what to do with you." The man's eyes lingered on the younger hostages, his son and the children of the other coerced crew members. His own mood fell, trying to think of how he'd provide for this family without his family mech. His wife placed her hand on his and gave him a gentle squeeze. They'd get through this together, as always.
"For the victims, we will provide you with passage back to your homes, just as soon as we get all this sorted out. I'm sure you all have lives to go back to."
"No!"
A young man, one of the teenage hostages, named Michael, shot out of the arms of his mother. Tears flew from his face as he threw himself at the feet of the deadly warrior.
"Please, don't abandon us! All of us, we don't have anything to go back to! Everything we had was taken or destroyed, and if you send us back we're as good as dead. Please…"
The room was silent as everybody processed the young man's words. Michael began to sob as he grasped the man's feet, making him look visibly uncomfortable.
…Billy felt ashamed. He was a coward, letting a child plead for their lives. The part of him that was concerned for his survival told him to just stay put and keep his mouth shut, but the part of him that had been so restrained while he was in service to a pirate screamed at him. To take his future in his two hands, and try for his own redemption. Pulling away from his wife, he stood and approached the increasingly uncomfortable looking spook. Billy knelt before the soldier, eyes up and gaze steady as he spoke.
"Sir, you've saved us all from a fate worse than death. Servitude and obedience to a warlord that abused and killed us on a whim. I've done horrible things to keep my family safe because I couldn't stand up to him, and you just took us out, no problem," Billy spoke, quietly at first, but growing in volume and passion. "If you wanted, you could change so much around here, so please…"
"Let us join you, Boss!"
"Snake! Just hold still, you're still badly hurt," Otacon told him, but he sounded like he was underwater. That wasn't going to be annoying, the spy thought, annoyed.
"Otacon, what happened?"
"Well, after you called for help, I ran to the mech hanger and grabbed one with the biggest gun I could find. Some sort of artillery platform on legs. Sound familiar?" He grinned as he moved to the other eye, examining his pupils before he flicked the pen light off and held a stethoscope to Snake's chest. "Deep breath in. You bought some time dodging the Charger, that's the name of the mech you crippled, and when the captain showed up and killed his buddy, he was about to execute you. Exhale."
Snake let out a deep breath that made his lungs sigh in relief as the pressure was released. Damn pirates, breaking his ribs.
"Anyway, it wasn't easy, but I got into a position to blow him away while he gloated like a cartoon villain. Then, once he was dead, I bluffed the rest of his crew into surrendering. Congratulations, Snake. You're now the proud owner of your own pirate crew, ship and all!"
"Otacon, how… you're amazing, buddy."
"Aww, Snake. You're gonna make me blush." The scientist gave the soldier a gentle smile before he clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, you're as healthy as you can be, barring all the injuries. You should be mostly recovered within a month, and be fighting fit within six weeks. Now I'm sure you're ready to get out of bed, you ready to meet our new employees?"
"New employees? Great…"
-----
Billy sat in the mess hall with his wife and child, who had been recovered from the ship after the rest of the crew surrendered. After his cockpit hit the ground, he sat there unconscious until his radio began to go off, demanding the surrender of all pirates within the area or he'd blow them out of the sky. As far as he knew, this place was full of SLDF spooks that could kill them all without hesitating, and so did the rest of the crew. The scientist, scrawny looking fellow, was apparently piloting a Helepolis without a Neurohelmet, which automatically put the man as the best Mechwarrior he'd ever seen.
And despite being nominally a prisoner of war, he was alright with the turn of events. He was no longer a subordinate to a psycho, his wife and kids weren't hostages, and the rest of their captives were more than happy to help police the pirates, given the weapons. A couple people gave him glares, but nobody treated him badly. They knew he hadn't been a willing accessory to their captivity, but some wounds took time to heal.
A shame about his Pappy's Urbie, he'd have to find some other way to support his family. If they ever got out of here. But that was for the future. As for the present, he just held his family close to him. Their host had provided ration packs that, while of dubious age, still seemed somewhat edible. Better than nutrient slop.
The double doors at the end of the mess hall opened, and in walked his saviors. He still didn't think the scientist looked like much, but he probably knew enough to make Billy's life extremely painful so he kept that opinion to himself. The other figure on the other hand, was larger than life. Wearing a high tech suit that had seen far better days, the spook seemed to cast his gaze across the room, his mere presence domineering. A scowl crossed his face as he took in the state of some of the former captives, and the commando leveled a withering glare at the pirates. He drew a momentary glance, but breathed a sigh of relief when the terrifying gaze passed him over. He squeezed his wife's hand and began to pray that they weren't going to get killed.
"You people are a disgrace."
The remark passed through the mess hall, silencing what conversation that hadn't stopped at their entrance. The man's sharp glare seemed to see through them and cut off any protests at the source. Shame filled the eyes of some of them, the ones that hadn't entirely been willing. The ones that were just as crazy as the captain were all tied up and held under guard, and some of the former captives seemed to have great glee at holding them at the end of a rifle.
"You people invade this place, with the intent of taking the resources here to spread war and misery to helpless, innocent people, and now I'm left with the question of what to do with you." The man's eyes lingered on the younger hostages, his son and the children of the other coerced crew members. His own mood fell, trying to think of how he'd provide for this family without his family mech. His wife placed her hand on his and gave him a gentle squeeze. They'd get through this together, as always.
"For the victims, we will provide you with passage back to your homes, just as soon as we get all this sorted out. I'm sure you all have lives to go back to."
"No!"
A young man, one of the teenage hostages, named Michael, shot out of the arms of his mother. Tears flew from his face as he threw himself at the feet of the deadly warrior.
"Please, don't abandon us! All of us, we don't have anything to go back to! Everything we had was taken or destroyed, and if you send us back we're as good as dead. Please…"
The room was silent as everybody processed the young man's words. Michael began to sob as he grasped the man's feet, making him look visibly uncomfortable.
…Billy felt ashamed. He was a coward, letting a child plead for their lives. The part of him that was concerned for his survival told him to just stay put and keep his mouth shut, but the part of him that had been so restrained while he was in service to a pirate screamed at him. To take his future in his two hands, and try for his own redemption. Pulling away from his wife, he stood and approached the increasingly uncomfortable looking spook. Billy knelt before the soldier, eyes up and gaze steady as he spoke.
"Sir, you've saved us all from a fate worse than death. Servitude and obedience to a warlord that abused and killed us on a whim. I've done horrible things to keep my family safe because I couldn't stand up to him, and you just took us out, no problem," Billy spoke, quietly at first, but growing in volume and passion. "If you wanted, you could change so much around here, so please…"
"Let us join you, Boss!"
What a thrill...
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Snake's face was set into a frown. It would be so easy for him to turn them down, to deny the title "Boss", a cursed name that followed him his whole life. He used to hate his father, a traitor to his country and a madman that threatened the world with nuclear weapons. He committed atrocities, used child soldiers, his actions were the direct cause of all the problems in his life. Even at the end, he blamed Zero. "Big Boss" had no part in the Patriots rise to power and the suffering they caused.
"On your feet soldier! Lift your head right now! Not one of you is to bow to me!" Snake snapped at them, a growl in his voice as he grit his teeth.
Both of them, the captured mech pilot and the young man, climbed to their feet. They shifted nervously, but raised their gaze to meet him. He gave them a once over, before he turned his sight onto the crowd behind them.
Fourteen captured pirates, and about twice that many hostages lingered around the mess hall. The former captives, half of which were kids, from the youngest of five to around sixteen, looked at him with both hope and fear. These people had nothing, and had resigned themselves to death, before Otacon saved them. And wasn't that a surprise? Hal, the guy who peed his pants in fear when they first met, intimidated a pirate crew into giving up.
Snake was never meant for command. Sure, he took the courses, they were a prerequisite for Green Beret training, but he had never led a unit before. He was only ever a lone wolf, a solitary killer. But still…
You are nobody's tool now... No one's toy. You are no longer a prisoner of fate. You are no longer a seed of war.
Even though he was free, even at the end, he didn't feel that way. His body was a prison that grew more constrained the further his condition progressed, and his choices limited by his increasingly imminent death sentence. He had been lost, a soldier with nothing to fight for, no battle to continue. Peace.
David was born a tool, but he would live and die a free man, making his own choices, unburdened by the past. Independent of the shadow of Big Boss.
He wanted it. Secretly, a part of him craved battle. The rush of blood, what a thrill. But really, he yearned for the day that soldiers weren't needed. When understanding and cooperation were what solved conflict, rather than guns and bombs. That day was not today.
His impressions of this universe were very poor. The desperation in the victims' eyes, the cruelty the pirate captain oozed as he murdered his own men, his loyal soldiers. The Sergeant, betrayed by his leaders and left for dead.
He could never claim the title, "Big Boss". The name was tainted, left ruined by the man that, before him, was called the "Legendary Soldier". His ideal, his Outer Heaven was a delusion. The lies of a man who still thought himself a hero. But…
Boss… you were right… It's not about changing the world. It's about doing our best to leave the world... The way it is. It's about respecting the will of others... And believing in your own….
Snake didn't believe in Big Boss's vision. The thought of a nation of soldiers that fought for no cause but their own, it made him sick. However, the catalyst for that vision was worthy of his admiration.
The Boss.
Death is lighter than a feather. Duty, heavier than a mountain. Solid Snake, no, David Sears knew all about duty. And he couldn't knowingly lay down his gun when the injustices that he's fought so hard to end were thrust in front of him.
"And do the rest of you feel this way? That you want to follow me, to be protected and to protect in turn?" Snake asked the group, looking around at the freed men and women. Inspecting them closer, he could tell that all of them, including the pirates, showed the long term signs of malnutrition. Of injury. It reminded him of the dispossessed in Morocco, begging for food because their homes were destroyed by the war raging in the streets. Of the misery and human suffering perpetuated by The Patriots for the purpose of fueling the war economy. They looked at him with desperate hope, like he swooped in on a white horse and saved them. And in a way, he did, but he was still surprised when every single adult in their group nodded.
A side glance at Otacon showed him that the scientist was taking this just as seriously. Snake could tell that his friend genuinely considered the proposition and implications, and they both had reached the same conclusion.
"We are Philanthropy," Snake began, looking each and every person in the eye. "The origin of the word is Greek, it means 'The love of Mankind'. That is why we fight, and that is why you will fight." He paused to give his words more gravitas. "'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' A dead man wrote those words over a thousand years ago, and never have they been more true."
"You will fight to protect your loved ones. You will fight to defend the innocent. You will fight to uphold an ideal, that nobody deserves to go through the suffering you did. To ensure that your children, and your children's children walk into the future, heads held high. You will fight for freedom from the horrors of war, for the chance to seize your own destiny, unbound by fate!"
Snake stopped pacing and made eye contact with the crowd once again. Victims and pirates, men and women, even the children gazed at him with unrepressed awe.
"If you can't fight, you can help in other ways. If you wish to leave, any of you, we will provide you transport." Not a single person moved. "But if you wish to join me, to work together to bring humanity into a brighter future, then stand, and present yourself."
Everybody, former pirates and freedmen, adults and children, clamored to introduce themselves.
"On your feet soldier! Lift your head right now! Not one of you is to bow to me!" Snake snapped at them, a growl in his voice as he grit his teeth.
Both of them, the captured mech pilot and the young man, climbed to their feet. They shifted nervously, but raised their gaze to meet him. He gave them a once over, before he turned his sight onto the crowd behind them.
Fourteen captured pirates, and about twice that many hostages lingered around the mess hall. The former captives, half of which were kids, from the youngest of five to around sixteen, looked at him with both hope and fear. These people had nothing, and had resigned themselves to death, before Otacon saved them. And wasn't that a surprise? Hal, the guy who peed his pants in fear when they first met, intimidated a pirate crew into giving up.
Snake was never meant for command. Sure, he took the courses, they were a prerequisite for Green Beret training, but he had never led a unit before. He was only ever a lone wolf, a solitary killer. But still…
You are nobody's tool now... No one's toy. You are no longer a prisoner of fate. You are no longer a seed of war.
Even though he was free, even at the end, he didn't feel that way. His body was a prison that grew more constrained the further his condition progressed, and his choices limited by his increasingly imminent death sentence. He had been lost, a soldier with nothing to fight for, no battle to continue. Peace.
David was born a tool, but he would live and die a free man, making his own choices, unburdened by the past. Independent of the shadow of Big Boss.
He wanted it. Secretly, a part of him craved battle. The rush of blood, what a thrill. But really, he yearned for the day that soldiers weren't needed. When understanding and cooperation were what solved conflict, rather than guns and bombs. That day was not today.
His impressions of this universe were very poor. The desperation in the victims' eyes, the cruelty the pirate captain oozed as he murdered his own men, his loyal soldiers. The Sergeant, betrayed by his leaders and left for dead.
He could never claim the title, "Big Boss". The name was tainted, left ruined by the man that, before him, was called the "Legendary Soldier". His ideal, his Outer Heaven was a delusion. The lies of a man who still thought himself a hero. But…
Boss… you were right… It's not about changing the world. It's about doing our best to leave the world... The way it is. It's about respecting the will of others... And believing in your own….
Snake didn't believe in Big Boss's vision. The thought of a nation of soldiers that fought for no cause but their own, it made him sick. However, the catalyst for that vision was worthy of his admiration.
The Boss.
Death is lighter than a feather. Duty, heavier than a mountain. Solid Snake, no, David Sears knew all about duty. And he couldn't knowingly lay down his gun when the injustices that he's fought so hard to end were thrust in front of him.
"And do the rest of you feel this way? That you want to follow me, to be protected and to protect in turn?" Snake asked the group, looking around at the freed men and women. Inspecting them closer, he could tell that all of them, including the pirates, showed the long term signs of malnutrition. Of injury. It reminded him of the dispossessed in Morocco, begging for food because their homes were destroyed by the war raging in the streets. Of the misery and human suffering perpetuated by The Patriots for the purpose of fueling the war economy. They looked at him with desperate hope, like he swooped in on a white horse and saved them. And in a way, he did, but he was still surprised when every single adult in their group nodded.
A side glance at Otacon showed him that the scientist was taking this just as seriously. Snake could tell that his friend genuinely considered the proposition and implications, and they both had reached the same conclusion.
"We are Philanthropy," Snake began, looking each and every person in the eye. "The origin of the word is Greek, it means 'The love of Mankind'. That is why we fight, and that is why you will fight." He paused to give his words more gravitas. "'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' A dead man wrote those words over a thousand years ago, and never have they been more true."
"You will fight to protect your loved ones. You will fight to defend the innocent. You will fight to uphold an ideal, that nobody deserves to go through the suffering you did. To ensure that your children, and your children's children walk into the future, heads held high. You will fight for freedom from the horrors of war, for the chance to seize your own destiny, unbound by fate!"
Snake stopped pacing and made eye contact with the crowd once again. Victims and pirates, men and women, even the children gazed at him with unrepressed awe.
"If you can't fight, you can help in other ways. If you wish to leave, any of you, we will provide you transport." Not a single person moved. "But if you wish to join me, to work together to bring humanity into a brighter future, then stand, and present yourself."
Everybody, former pirates and freedmen, adults and children, clamored to introduce themselves.
Base Resource list
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Total mechs
Good condition: 2x PLG-3Z Pillagers 3x 3FB Stalkers, 3x HEP-H2 Helepolis, 4x TLN-5V talons, 1 experimental wasp LAM
Needs repairs: 2x HSR-200Db Hussars, 3x A1 Catapults, 2x 1R marauders, 1x 2R maurauder (destroyed), 3x 3Gb Stingers, 2x king crabs, 4x Spectors, 6x TLN-5W Talons, 4x ON-1K Orions, 2x CRB-27 Crabs, 2x CRB-27b Crabs, 1 MON-66 Mongoose
Missing: 1x GLT-3N Guillotine, 4x B2b Royal Excaliburs, 4x 2R Marauders
1 suit nighthawk xxi power armor
1 Sneak Suit
1 scout jumpship
20 aerospace vehicles: 4 SB-27 Sabers, 1 SB-27b Saber, 5 TH-63 Tomahawks, 10 TRN-3T tridents
32 armored vehicles (apcs and tanks) 8 furies, 8 demons, 8 pumas, 8 Pollux ADAs
32 support vehicles. (Ammo carriers and IFVs: 16 Packrats, 8 battlemech recovery Vehicles, 8 Prometheus support vehicles
300 infantryman gear
Good condition: 2x PLG-3Z Pillagers 3x 3FB Stalkers, 3x HEP-H2 Helepolis, 4x TLN-5V talons, 1 experimental wasp LAM
Needs repairs: 2x HSR-200Db Hussars, 3x A1 Catapults, 2x 1R marauders, 1x 2R maurauder (destroyed), 3x 3Gb Stingers, 2x king crabs, 4x Spectors, 6x TLN-5W Talons, 4x ON-1K Orions, 2x CRB-27 Crabs, 2x CRB-27b Crabs, 1 MON-66 Mongoose
Missing: 1x GLT-3N Guillotine, 4x B2b Royal Excaliburs, 4x 2R Marauders
1 suit nighthawk xxi power armor
1 Sneak Suit
1 scout jumpship
20 aerospace vehicles: 4 SB-27 Sabers, 1 SB-27b Saber, 5 TH-63 Tomahawks, 10 TRN-3T tridents
32 armored vehicles (apcs and tanks) 8 furies, 8 demons, 8 pumas, 8 Pollux ADAs
32 support vehicles. (Ammo carriers and IFVs: 16 Packrats, 8 battlemech recovery Vehicles, 8 Prometheus support vehicles
300 infantryman gear
History Lesson
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
Having accepted the oaths of all the adults (and consoled the children with promises that when they grow up they can help), David walked through the halls alongside Hal, his whole body aching. He wouldn't be fully healed for weeks, but his mind was just as sharp as ever. After showing their new recruits to the barracks, the two men wasted no time in heading for the commander's office.
"Give it to me straight, Otacon. What the hell is this place, what are our resources?"
Hal adjusted his glasses before flashing a wide smile. Snake knew the scientist had been studying the base records before the attack, but he hadn't had the opportunity to properly get a debrief. If he was this happy, then there had to be some real goodies in here. Leading the soldier into the office, Hal pulled out a chair and sat down at the commander's desk. Snake had no problem letting Hal have the office, as long as he wasn't stuck in this stuffy room, surrounded by computer monitors. He was a soldier, not a data analyst, dammit.
"Well Snake, this facility used to be a secondary repair depot for a Special Operations Group in the Star League. The 71st regiment, also called the Blackguards, used this as an FOB, and was large enough to house a quarter of their fighting forces," Hal explained, using his lecture voice. Snake grew melancholy, thinking of the dead man's last words.
"The Blackguards?"
Hal continued without missing a beat. "That's right, called that because of their MO. This section of space is called the Periphery, and back in the day these guys were supposed to be observing a polity known as the Rim Worlds Republic, so they constructed this facility sometime in the 2500s and used it as a secret headquarters while behind enemy lines. These guys were meant for long term reconnaissance and harassment behind enemy lines."
"Hmmm… explains the secret passages," the soldier hummed as he thought about the hidden sections of the facility, and wondered what else they hadn't found.
"Yeah, it was disguised as an outpost and storage for SLDF Regulars, but in reality it was a cover for their special forces!"
"My kind of people. So what happened?"
"Apparently, the Rim Worlds Republic declared independence from Star League in 2765, when Stefan Ameris assassinated the leader of the Star League and declared himself First Lord."
"As petty warlords do." And didn't he know it. He's toppled more than one dictator in his day, and he wasn't about to stop now.
"Ain't that the truth. Anyway, the facility was abandoned because it was mothballed in 2760, and before they could reactivate it the regiments' transport ships were shot down over a nearby planet, and the unit fought to the last man."
Snake kept silent, a frown set on his face.
"As for resources, well, I'll pull up the list. We won't actually know what it is we have and what we're missing until we do a full inventory of the place. But as for numbers, this place held around seventy-two mechs, a mechanized battalion, and a squadron of jets."
"That's enough firepower to level a city!"
"Remember Snake, this was a repair depot. From what I saw, we had twelve fully operational machines, though it's gonna take a while before any of us are qualified pilots."
"It can't be that hard, you just press buttons and pull triggers."
"Aha! That's where you're wrong, Snake!" Otacon reached underneath the desk and pulled out a sleek white helmet, almost like a motorcycle helmet. "This is called a neurohelmet. It's a very strange, somewhat primitive VR interface. Speaking as someone who's tried, these machines are very hard to pilot without one. They feed sensor data from the machine straight into your head, read the brainwaves of the wearer, and send that data to the mech's onboard computer to determine how the pilot wants it to move. They are essential to effectively piloting a battlemech."
"It wasn't easy, you know, swooping in like the cavalry in a mech that I could barely pilot. You better thank your lucky stars that I know my way around giant robots." He said, smugly.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. So they use VR, do you think you can do anything with them?"
"Well, maybe. You have to understand that there hasn't been any significant advances in the field of optical computing since the development of the iDroid in 1984, and it was widely considered obsolete with the progression of the microprocessor and the advent of nanomachines. Until I have time to do some potentially deconstructive testing, you're stuck using stock equipment, I'm afraid."
"That's fine, Otacon. We seem pretty well equipped, how many of those helmets do we have?"
"Oh, there are crates of them just shoved into a corner of the mech bay, along with some piloting suits. You can take that one with you, we have plenty. Get yourself cleaned up, have some rations, and go pick out a machine. As long as you don't push yourself too hard, I'll consider you fit enough for light duty with no heavy lifting."
"Alright, mom. You used to treat me like a senile old man, now you're treating me like a child? I can't believe this…" Snake grumbled, swiping the helmet off the desk with a smile. He pushed himself to his feet and turned towards the door, waving goodbye to his friend. His friend was grinning ear to ear at his complaining, and waved back before the door shut. Lifting the helmet to get a better look, he stared at his reflection in the smooth glass.
He was a soldier, a warrior. His body was a tool for battle, and everything he picked up was a deadly weapon. But the battle earlier showed that if he wanted to be truly relevant in a society filled with giant robots, he had to use every tool at his disposal. Turning the helmet around, he slid it over his head, ready to go pilot a giant robot.
Then his stomach rumbled so loudly it seemed to echo through the metal halls.
"Breakfast, first."
"Give it to me straight, Otacon. What the hell is this place, what are our resources?"
Hal adjusted his glasses before flashing a wide smile. Snake knew the scientist had been studying the base records before the attack, but he hadn't had the opportunity to properly get a debrief. If he was this happy, then there had to be some real goodies in here. Leading the soldier into the office, Hal pulled out a chair and sat down at the commander's desk. Snake had no problem letting Hal have the office, as long as he wasn't stuck in this stuffy room, surrounded by computer monitors. He was a soldier, not a data analyst, dammit.
"Well Snake, this facility used to be a secondary repair depot for a Special Operations Group in the Star League. The 71st regiment, also called the Blackguards, used this as an FOB, and was large enough to house a quarter of their fighting forces," Hal explained, using his lecture voice. Snake grew melancholy, thinking of the dead man's last words.
"The Blackguards?"
Hal continued without missing a beat. "That's right, called that because of their MO. This section of space is called the Periphery, and back in the day these guys were supposed to be observing a polity known as the Rim Worlds Republic, so they constructed this facility sometime in the 2500s and used it as a secret headquarters while behind enemy lines. These guys were meant for long term reconnaissance and harassment behind enemy lines."
"Hmmm… explains the secret passages," the soldier hummed as he thought about the hidden sections of the facility, and wondered what else they hadn't found.
"Yeah, it was disguised as an outpost and storage for SLDF Regulars, but in reality it was a cover for their special forces!"
"My kind of people. So what happened?"
"Apparently, the Rim Worlds Republic declared independence from Star League in 2765, when Stefan Ameris assassinated the leader of the Star League and declared himself First Lord."
"As petty warlords do." And didn't he know it. He's toppled more than one dictator in his day, and he wasn't about to stop now.
"Ain't that the truth. Anyway, the facility was abandoned because it was mothballed in 2760, and before they could reactivate it the regiments' transport ships were shot down over a nearby planet, and the unit fought to the last man."
Snake kept silent, a frown set on his face.
"As for resources, well, I'll pull up the list. We won't actually know what it is we have and what we're missing until we do a full inventory of the place. But as for numbers, this place held around seventy-two mechs, a mechanized battalion, and a squadron of jets."
"That's enough firepower to level a city!"
"Remember Snake, this was a repair depot. From what I saw, we had twelve fully operational machines, though it's gonna take a while before any of us are qualified pilots."
"It can't be that hard, you just press buttons and pull triggers."
"Aha! That's where you're wrong, Snake!" Otacon reached underneath the desk and pulled out a sleek white helmet, almost like a motorcycle helmet. "This is called a neurohelmet. It's a very strange, somewhat primitive VR interface. Speaking as someone who's tried, these machines are very hard to pilot without one. They feed sensor data from the machine straight into your head, read the brainwaves of the wearer, and send that data to the mech's onboard computer to determine how the pilot wants it to move. They are essential to effectively piloting a battlemech."
"It wasn't easy, you know, swooping in like the cavalry in a mech that I could barely pilot. You better thank your lucky stars that I know my way around giant robots." He said, smugly.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. So they use VR, do you think you can do anything with them?"
"Well, maybe. You have to understand that there hasn't been any significant advances in the field of optical computing since the development of the iDroid in 1984, and it was widely considered obsolete with the progression of the microprocessor and the advent of nanomachines. Until I have time to do some potentially deconstructive testing, you're stuck using stock equipment, I'm afraid."
"That's fine, Otacon. We seem pretty well equipped, how many of those helmets do we have?"
"Oh, there are crates of them just shoved into a corner of the mech bay, along with some piloting suits. You can take that one with you, we have plenty. Get yourself cleaned up, have some rations, and go pick out a machine. As long as you don't push yourself too hard, I'll consider you fit enough for light duty with no heavy lifting."
"Alright, mom. You used to treat me like a senile old man, now you're treating me like a child? I can't believe this…" Snake grumbled, swiping the helmet off the desk with a smile. He pushed himself to his feet and turned towards the door, waving goodbye to his friend. His friend was grinning ear to ear at his complaining, and waved back before the door shut. Lifting the helmet to get a better look, he stared at his reflection in the smooth glass.
He was a soldier, a warrior. His body was a tool for battle, and everything he picked up was a deadly weapon. But the battle earlier showed that if he wanted to be truly relevant in a society filled with giant robots, he had to use every tool at his disposal. Turning the helmet around, he slid it over his head, ready to go pilot a giant robot.
Then his stomach rumbled so loudly it seemed to echo through the metal halls.
"Breakfast, first."
Nitramy
Love! Snow! Really Magic
- Location
- Home of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes" -- Twain
I wonder what Snake is thinking now that he found himself leading his own MSF/Outer Heaven.
He'd probably be wondering "what would Big Boss do in this situation".
I wonder what Snake is thinking now that he found himself leading his own MSF/Outer Heaven.
He'd probably be wondering "what would Big Boss do in this situation".
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
More like "Fuck big boss, the first person to call me that is catching hands. The Boss was okay though.
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
If you want to vote in the poll for whether this story is set in 2975 or 3020, then you can vote in the spacebattles thread here:
forums.spacebattles.com
Just under 2 hours left, sorry for the lateness but wanted to spread the word.
A Weapon to Surpass...(Metal Gear/Battletech)
Solid Snake wakes up after he should be dead. It can't be that simple, can it?
forums.spacebattles.com
Just under 2 hours left, sorry for the lateness but wanted to spread the word.
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
The vote closed, current year is set as 2975.
Spooks
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
These Star League spooks are scary as hell, Billy decided as he and ten of his fellow recruits ran their twelfth lap around the emptied vehicle hangar. He didn't know the details, but Billy was positive that the two mysterious men were SLDF black ops that had been on ice for the last two centuries. And wasn't that a thrill, working for possibly the only surviving remnants of Star League. It might not necessarily be a popular opinion in the Periphery but Billy was of the opinion that the SLDF tried, and that was better than every other two bit warlord that just wanted to use innocent people as slave labor.
In the center, marked out with chalk, was a fighting circle where the Boss worked over a few of his former compatriots. He never thought he'd see pirates so eager to get the shit kicked out of them, but watching the Boss move was a work of art. Every blow was precisely calculated for maximum force with minimal effort, but he shouldn't be surprised that the man who took on six mechs alone and won wouldn't be threatened by four untrained brigands. When one of them asked how he moved like that, the Boss just scowled, before he spoke up.
"It's called CQC."
He then proceeded to beat the stuffing out of the one who asked.
The recruits that weren't getting drilled into the ground were either cleaning the facility or were taking classes from Dr. Emmerich. And that guy was almost as fucking terrifying as the Boss. Now, Billy would never claim to be the Periphery's greatest mechwarrior, but he was a mechwarrior, and fifteen years of handling his family Urbanmech gave him a proper reverence of Lostech and the skill required to handle a battlemech. The seemingly affable, friendly scientist turned his ex-captain into a fine mist with a pinpoint shot from a Hegemony artillery mech, then proceeded to drag the salvage back inside…
Without a neurohelmet!
Billy couldn't even reposition his mech sans neurohelmet without eating shit and potentially damaging his precious machine. It just wasn't possible… but wasn't that the same thing people said when they were asked if a foot soldier could take down a mech?
His musing was cut short upon their thirtieth lap, when the Boss called for everybody to come to a halt. All ten of them The four who got beaten like a drum looked as brutalized as Billy thought a person could be without actually being unable to function. He wasn't sure why, but seeing such sublime skill almost… called to him, though he couldn't imagine being as enthusiastic as Marcus, who was smiling wider than a Lyran scout with a brand new Atlas.
"You four, head to the medbay, the rest of you, you have time for lunch, then you're to start on cleaning duty. William, stay behind."
Billy shot to attention despite his aching lungs and tired legs. His heart raced not only from the cardio workout he just finished, but from the fear that shot through him upon being called out by the Boss.
"Yessir, what can I do for you, Boss?" He asked as he snapped a salute, gaining a few sympathetic looks as the rest of his group stumbled away.
"William-"
"You can call me Billy, Boss!" He cringed with regret even as he said it. The Boss looked pained for some reason, before he sighed and clapped a hand against Billy's shoulder, a wry smile on his face.
"In that case, Billy, you can call me Snake. Walk with me."
The Boss- Snake led the way, walking through the open hanger to the piles of salvage in the corner. Billy's heart ached when he saw the wreckage of his family mech, holding back the tears in his eyes. That urbanmech was in his family for the last hundred years, practically irreplaceable to him in this area of space, before they stopped in front of his machine.
"You're a pilot, right Billy? I assume you know your way around a machine, considering you almost got me."
"Yeah, I am- er, was a mechwarrior. Can't call myself that anymore, though. You destroyed her, I'm dispossessed." Tears flowed freely, unable to hold them back. His family was ruined, the weight of his mistakes finally hitting him as he stared at the blood and tears of his ancestors, wasted. His son's future, ruined. A battlemech, even an Urbanmech, was enough to guarantee some semblance of status and security to his family.
And he got it destroyed.
"It really meant that much to you?"
He really was from a different time, to ask that question. Nobody in the galaxy understated the value of a mech like that. So, wiping the tears from his face, he began to speak.
"As far as I know, today is May 10th, 2975, and war has been constant for over two hundred years…
So, he explained. Described the state of the Inner Sphere and Periphery as he knew it, about the Succession wars and the widespread destruction left behind by more than two centuries of war. About Lostech. With every word, the look on Snake's face grew more and more grim. A cold frown was set on his face, as the true reality of the world they lived in.
Maybe Snake didn't truly understand, when they all swore to follow him. True, he had resources, and they didn't. But the conviction in his eyes, the passion in his voice as he spoke to all of them, of his hopes and dreams for the future… it sounded like a pipe dream, but coming from him it could be possible.
"Hrmmm. Billy, you've given me a lot to think about. Tomorrow, after drills, you and I will go over your knowledge of these machines, we'll see about picking out something around here. You don't mind showing me what you can do, do you?"
Hope soared in Billy's heart, and he realized exactly why those four had been so happy getting the stuffing beaten out of them. The Boss really was worthy of such respect.
"Anything for you, Snake!"
---
Otacon shined a light into the eyes of Maya, a little girl of ten. This was the last of the children to get through before he began conducting physicals on the adults. He wasn't a recognized medical doctor, but he worked his way through multiple medical textbooks and research papers to try and impress Naomi, so he was more qualified for this than anybody else. Clicking the light off, he stood from where he crouched and gave her a soft smile. Ruffling her hair, he spoke up.
"Well little lady, you look to be healthy enough! I'll let you get back to your parents, but I want you to know that I'll always be available if you need me, okay?"
"Okay Dr. E, I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!" She smiled brightly at him, and his heart melted. He missed Sunny, and he hoped his daughter was doing okay. She didn't come with him and Snake when they got dropped here, so the only thing he could hope was that she was doing just fine without them, back on Earth.
He couldn't do anything about that. But helping these people, protecting these kids right in front of him, that was something that he had to do. If she ever heard that he abandoned them to get back to her, she'd be furious. And he was behind Snake all the way, so he had no regrets.
As the little girl shuffled out of the medbay and greeted her mother with a squeal, four walking bruises filed into the office. They looked rough, and Otacon knew that these four were Snake's practice dummies. They were the only four pirates that hadn't been openly coerced, though they never mistreated any of the former victims, and they knew they had to work twice as hard to earn everybody's trust.
" Hey, Dr. Emmerich. The Boss really gave it to us, you mind giving us a look-over? We'll get outta your hair as soon as possible."
He had to admit, he was a little bit smug at their nervousness. Markus, the leader of these four, was the pilot of the dropship the pirates flew in on. After he blasted the head off the captain, Hal got on the radio and demanded the immediate surrender and grounding of their ship. He wouldn't have actually shot it down, their ship was far enough away that he would never be able to manually aim the giant cannon that accurately.
But apparently, the mechwarriors had all been transmitting back to their ship, so the poor bastards in front of him heard everything and were so afraid they gave up instantly. Without their captain, none of them had protection, which was funny because it didn't seem like the man did much 'protecting' to his crew.
"Well, line up one at a time. I'll look at you, and give you something to get you back in good shape." Hal reached into a drawer and pulled out a vial of clear liquid. Over the last week, he went through the documentation this base had on the medicines in stock, and had discovered a compound that increased a soldier's rate of healing somewhat. It wasn't a miracle drug, but a couple doses of this would cut Snake's recovery down to a quarter of what it would have been. It was why he was confident in allowing Snake to practice his CQC. He wasn't about to make it easy for these guys, though, and pulled out the largest syringe he could find at a glance. Giving them a menacing grin, his glasses caught the light and flashed white. "Hope you guys aren't afraid of needles!"
The four of them gulped, but didn't quail. Otacon was eager to get these guys out of here so he could finish looking at the simulation pods they found in the repair depot. He was eager to dig into them; they were designed around mech piloting sims, but a working example of native VR was exactly what he needed to design a working learning pod. His opinions of the state of education were not high to say the least, and the sooner he finished the learning pod, the sooner he would be able to focus entirely on his real interest.
Giant robots.
As he slapped the table next to him, gesturing them forward. Yes, he couldn't wait. He had so many ideas, he missed the nervous looks the four of them shot at him as he started smiling like a crazy person.
In the center, marked out with chalk, was a fighting circle where the Boss worked over a few of his former compatriots. He never thought he'd see pirates so eager to get the shit kicked out of them, but watching the Boss move was a work of art. Every blow was precisely calculated for maximum force with minimal effort, but he shouldn't be surprised that the man who took on six mechs alone and won wouldn't be threatened by four untrained brigands. When one of them asked how he moved like that, the Boss just scowled, before he spoke up.
"It's called CQC."
He then proceeded to beat the stuffing out of the one who asked.
The recruits that weren't getting drilled into the ground were either cleaning the facility or were taking classes from Dr. Emmerich. And that guy was almost as fucking terrifying as the Boss. Now, Billy would never claim to be the Periphery's greatest mechwarrior, but he was a mechwarrior, and fifteen years of handling his family Urbanmech gave him a proper reverence of Lostech and the skill required to handle a battlemech. The seemingly affable, friendly scientist turned his ex-captain into a fine mist with a pinpoint shot from a Hegemony artillery mech, then proceeded to drag the salvage back inside…
Without a neurohelmet!
Billy couldn't even reposition his mech sans neurohelmet without eating shit and potentially damaging his precious machine. It just wasn't possible… but wasn't that the same thing people said when they were asked if a foot soldier could take down a mech?
His musing was cut short upon their thirtieth lap, when the Boss called for everybody to come to a halt. All ten of them The four who got beaten like a drum looked as brutalized as Billy thought a person could be without actually being unable to function. He wasn't sure why, but seeing such sublime skill almost… called to him, though he couldn't imagine being as enthusiastic as Marcus, who was smiling wider than a Lyran scout with a brand new Atlas.
"You four, head to the medbay, the rest of you, you have time for lunch, then you're to start on cleaning duty. William, stay behind."
Billy shot to attention despite his aching lungs and tired legs. His heart raced not only from the cardio workout he just finished, but from the fear that shot through him upon being called out by the Boss.
"Yessir, what can I do for you, Boss?" He asked as he snapped a salute, gaining a few sympathetic looks as the rest of his group stumbled away.
"William-"
"You can call me Billy, Boss!" He cringed with regret even as he said it. The Boss looked pained for some reason, before he sighed and clapped a hand against Billy's shoulder, a wry smile on his face.
"In that case, Billy, you can call me Snake. Walk with me."
The Boss- Snake led the way, walking through the open hanger to the piles of salvage in the corner. Billy's heart ached when he saw the wreckage of his family mech, holding back the tears in his eyes. That urbanmech was in his family for the last hundred years, practically irreplaceable to him in this area of space, before they stopped in front of his machine.
"You're a pilot, right Billy? I assume you know your way around a machine, considering you almost got me."
"Yeah, I am- er, was a mechwarrior. Can't call myself that anymore, though. You destroyed her, I'm dispossessed." Tears flowed freely, unable to hold them back. His family was ruined, the weight of his mistakes finally hitting him as he stared at the blood and tears of his ancestors, wasted. His son's future, ruined. A battlemech, even an Urbanmech, was enough to guarantee some semblance of status and security to his family.
And he got it destroyed.
"It really meant that much to you?"
He really was from a different time, to ask that question. Nobody in the galaxy understated the value of a mech like that. So, wiping the tears from his face, he began to speak.
"As far as I know, today is May 10th, 2975, and war has been constant for over two hundred years…
So, he explained. Described the state of the Inner Sphere and Periphery as he knew it, about the Succession wars and the widespread destruction left behind by more than two centuries of war. About Lostech. With every word, the look on Snake's face grew more and more grim. A cold frown was set on his face, as the true reality of the world they lived in.
Maybe Snake didn't truly understand, when they all swore to follow him. True, he had resources, and they didn't. But the conviction in his eyes, the passion in his voice as he spoke to all of them, of his hopes and dreams for the future… it sounded like a pipe dream, but coming from him it could be possible.
"Hrmmm. Billy, you've given me a lot to think about. Tomorrow, after drills, you and I will go over your knowledge of these machines, we'll see about picking out something around here. You don't mind showing me what you can do, do you?"
Hope soared in Billy's heart, and he realized exactly why those four had been so happy getting the stuffing beaten out of them. The Boss really was worthy of such respect.
"Anything for you, Snake!"
---
Otacon shined a light into the eyes of Maya, a little girl of ten. This was the last of the children to get through before he began conducting physicals on the adults. He wasn't a recognized medical doctor, but he worked his way through multiple medical textbooks and research papers to try and impress Naomi, so he was more qualified for this than anybody else. Clicking the light off, he stood from where he crouched and gave her a soft smile. Ruffling her hair, he spoke up.
"Well little lady, you look to be healthy enough! I'll let you get back to your parents, but I want you to know that I'll always be available if you need me, okay?"
"Okay Dr. E, I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!" She smiled brightly at him, and his heart melted. He missed Sunny, and he hoped his daughter was doing okay. She didn't come with him and Snake when they got dropped here, so the only thing he could hope was that she was doing just fine without them, back on Earth.
He couldn't do anything about that. But helping these people, protecting these kids right in front of him, that was something that he had to do. If she ever heard that he abandoned them to get back to her, she'd be furious. And he was behind Snake all the way, so he had no regrets.
As the little girl shuffled out of the medbay and greeted her mother with a squeal, four walking bruises filed into the office. They looked rough, and Otacon knew that these four were Snake's practice dummies. They were the only four pirates that hadn't been openly coerced, though they never mistreated any of the former victims, and they knew they had to work twice as hard to earn everybody's trust.
" Hey, Dr. Emmerich. The Boss really gave it to us, you mind giving us a look-over? We'll get outta your hair as soon as possible."
He had to admit, he was a little bit smug at their nervousness. Markus, the leader of these four, was the pilot of the dropship the pirates flew in on. After he blasted the head off the captain, Hal got on the radio and demanded the immediate surrender and grounding of their ship. He wouldn't have actually shot it down, their ship was far enough away that he would never be able to manually aim the giant cannon that accurately.
But apparently, the mechwarriors had all been transmitting back to their ship, so the poor bastards in front of him heard everything and were so afraid they gave up instantly. Without their captain, none of them had protection, which was funny because it didn't seem like the man did much 'protecting' to his crew.
"Well, line up one at a time. I'll look at you, and give you something to get you back in good shape." Hal reached into a drawer and pulled out a vial of clear liquid. Over the last week, he went through the documentation this base had on the medicines in stock, and had discovered a compound that increased a soldier's rate of healing somewhat. It wasn't a miracle drug, but a couple doses of this would cut Snake's recovery down to a quarter of what it would have been. It was why he was confident in allowing Snake to practice his CQC. He wasn't about to make it easy for these guys, though, and pulled out the largest syringe he could find at a glance. Giving them a menacing grin, his glasses caught the light and flashed white. "Hope you guys aren't afraid of needles!"
The four of them gulped, but didn't quail. Otacon was eager to get these guys out of here so he could finish looking at the simulation pods they found in the repair depot. He was eager to dig into them; they were designed around mech piloting sims, but a working example of native VR was exactly what he needed to design a working learning pod. His opinions of the state of education were not high to say the least, and the sooner he finished the learning pod, the sooner he would be able to focus entirely on his real interest.
Giant robots.
As he slapped the table next to him, gesturing them forward. Yes, he couldn't wait. He had so many ideas, he missed the nervous looks the four of them shot at him as he started smiling like a crazy person.
Village
orwellianorator
Yoshikage Kira did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Morioh Town
"Otacon, so this is your new project."
"That's right, Snake! I disassembled one of those simulator pods they had stashed by the mech bay. I don't like to brag, but I'm a top expert in the fields of computer science and VR, so if anybody could reverse engineer this thing, you're looking at him."
"Simulator pods, huh? What for?"
"Well Snake, I'm very disappointed in the standard of education these people have. Some of them don't even know how to read, Snake! It's terrible, and it doesn't make any sense. The steam engine is lost technology- Lostech, they call it."
"Lostech… So what about the pod?"
"Well, I figured if I could determine how this works, I could use it as a basis for VR classrooms. I don't exactly have the time to build you gadgets, study these battlemechs, teach a classroom of people, and act as a doctor- for which I am not qualified, might I add."
"Sorry, buddy. This is a lot to take in."
"*sigh* I know, Snake. It's awful, over a thousand years later across a galactic community, and people still won't stop killing each other."
"War is inevitable. There is no world where people stop killing other people, but that's the impossible dream we strive for. And we'll have to use all of our old tricks."
"Yeah, I get it, Snake… So you noticed it, too, huh?"
"...For some reason… This feels just like The Patriots."
"..."
"..."
"Well, we can't do anything about it for now, and we don't want to pop up on anybody's radar. At present, we need to focus on rebuilding Philanthropy."
"Which is why you're trying to copy their VR technology."
"Mhm. I'm hopeful that I can use this to get everybody to the standard of at least a high school education. But that's years off."
"Hmmm, well, VR training isn't a substitute for combat, but it should be good enough for school. Good work, Otacon. I'm gonna need to go on a mission soon, we need to expand our food stores before too long."
"In that case, here."
"Wait, is this?"
"That's right! It's a Fulton recovery system."
"Aw, sick! I've been dying to use one of these for ages, ever since Roy convinced me to buy a Ford Focus."
"Well, you can use that for resource and personnel retrieval. When you find something that you want to extract, press the action button to deploy the balloon. Once extracted, they can be recovered by our dropship."
"The action button? Otacon, I think you need to take a break."
"*yawn* Maybe you're right. Good luck on your mission, Snake."
"Thanks, get some rest."
---
Snake tapped his foot in the hanger of the dropship as he waited for them to arrive at his destination. The planet they were on, Awyron, was a former colony world, removed from the maps due to lack of significance or depopulation. It wasn't totally lacking people; a smattering of sparsely populated farming communities lived around the remains of the former capital. A busted up ruin, sure, but at least some people called it home. So, to expand their food stores, Snake was doing something that he didn't consider his specialty.
Diplomacy.
He tugged on the collar of his shirt, unused to the material, some synthetic fiber. They had taken one of the spare officer uniforms in storage, and altered it with the help of one of their new recruits, a former seamstress. She even removed the patches and identifying marks, and instead replaced it with their icon. With Philanthropy.
Directing Marcus to land the dropship in a nearby field, he spotted a group of worried civilians gathering in the village center. The late captain. Thankfully, Snake anticipated this.
Not all of his new recruits were from offworld; Giorgos and his brother, Yannis, were stolen from a farming community about sixty klicks north from here. Big, strong looking young men, 18 and 19 respectively, they'd been taken as slave laborers after the late captain pillaged their village for what meager supplies they could provide, which was why Snake brought them with him. Their village was burned, but the survivors dispersed into the surrounding communities and probably spread word of the pirates to the natives.
Snake ordered the brothers, also in their own new uniforms, to fall in behind him as he waited for the dropship doors to open. Slowly lowering the bay door, the newly renamed DropShip Open Hand shuddered and creaked, signs of poor maintenance. They'd need to get it looked over before he personally trusted it in space, but short jaunts on the planet should be okay, he thought to himself as he descended the exit ramp, the two brothers beside him. Approaching the crowd, he gestured for the brothers to halt about ten meters away. An older gentleman pushed himself to the front of the crowd and approached the soldiers, holding a pitchfork in his arms.
"You pirates ain't getting none of our food! We know what you did to Halki, we'd rather die now than let you bastards walk all over us!"
"Hey, calm down, we're not here to do anything like that. I'm Snake, and we're here to help." He clapped a hand on Yannis's shoulder, and gestured to Giorgos, "I defeated the pirates, and freed all the captives. These two are from the last raid the captain made, from a village just over a day's walk north from here. I understand your fear, just know I'm here to talk about how we can help each other."
The crowd broke into murmers as they all began to talk between each other. The old man, the village Elder probably, looked back as a commotion started in the mob.
"Anípsi!" A female voice called out from the crowd, cursing and shouting as she pushed her way to the front of the group of people. Rushing forward, an older woman, not quite gray-haired and wrapped in scarves, threw herself at the two recruits. "Nephews!"
"Theia!" The two shouted in unison before barreling forward and wrapping the woman in a group hug. Snake would forgive the lack of discipline this time, given the circumstances, and instead of focusing on the crying family members, the soldier turned back to the village elder.
"Penelope came to us weeks ago, telling us about how those pirates stole their crops, enslaved her nephews, and burned the village to the ground. We thought you were coming for us, now, but if you killed them we owe you a debt. Come into my home, we can talk over some tea." Lowering his pitchfork, the elder turned to the crowd and began to speak. "These people avenged our neighbors and saved Frau Penelope's family. We shall welcome them into our home as kin!" As the crowd cheered and began to disperse beneath his watchful eyes, the elder gestured to Snake. "Follow me."
"That's right, Snake! I disassembled one of those simulator pods they had stashed by the mech bay. I don't like to brag, but I'm a top expert in the fields of computer science and VR, so if anybody could reverse engineer this thing, you're looking at him."
"Simulator pods, huh? What for?"
"Well Snake, I'm very disappointed in the standard of education these people have. Some of them don't even know how to read, Snake! It's terrible, and it doesn't make any sense. The steam engine is lost technology- Lostech, they call it."
"Lostech… So what about the pod?"
"Well, I figured if I could determine how this works, I could use it as a basis for VR classrooms. I don't exactly have the time to build you gadgets, study these battlemechs, teach a classroom of people, and act as a doctor- for which I am not qualified, might I add."
"Sorry, buddy. This is a lot to take in."
"*sigh* I know, Snake. It's awful, over a thousand years later across a galactic community, and people still won't stop killing each other."
"War is inevitable. There is no world where people stop killing other people, but that's the impossible dream we strive for. And we'll have to use all of our old tricks."
"Yeah, I get it, Snake… So you noticed it, too, huh?"
"...For some reason… This feels just like The Patriots."
"..."
"..."
"Well, we can't do anything about it for now, and we don't want to pop up on anybody's radar. At present, we need to focus on rebuilding Philanthropy."
"Which is why you're trying to copy their VR technology."
"Mhm. I'm hopeful that I can use this to get everybody to the standard of at least a high school education. But that's years off."
"Hmmm, well, VR training isn't a substitute for combat, but it should be good enough for school. Good work, Otacon. I'm gonna need to go on a mission soon, we need to expand our food stores before too long."
"In that case, here."
"Wait, is this?"
"That's right! It's a Fulton recovery system."
"Aw, sick! I've been dying to use one of these for ages, ever since Roy convinced me to buy a Ford Focus."
"Well, you can use that for resource and personnel retrieval. When you find something that you want to extract, press the action button to deploy the balloon. Once extracted, they can be recovered by our dropship."
"The action button? Otacon, I think you need to take a break."
"*yawn* Maybe you're right. Good luck on your mission, Snake."
"Thanks, get some rest."
---
Snake tapped his foot in the hanger of the dropship as he waited for them to arrive at his destination. The planet they were on, Awyron, was a former colony world, removed from the maps due to lack of significance or depopulation. It wasn't totally lacking people; a smattering of sparsely populated farming communities lived around the remains of the former capital. A busted up ruin, sure, but at least some people called it home. So, to expand their food stores, Snake was doing something that he didn't consider his specialty.
Diplomacy.
He tugged on the collar of his shirt, unused to the material, some synthetic fiber. They had taken one of the spare officer uniforms in storage, and altered it with the help of one of their new recruits, a former seamstress. She even removed the patches and identifying marks, and instead replaced it with their icon. With Philanthropy.
Directing Marcus to land the dropship in a nearby field, he spotted a group of worried civilians gathering in the village center. The late captain. Thankfully, Snake anticipated this.
Not all of his new recruits were from offworld; Giorgos and his brother, Yannis, were stolen from a farming community about sixty klicks north from here. Big, strong looking young men, 18 and 19 respectively, they'd been taken as slave laborers after the late captain pillaged their village for what meager supplies they could provide, which was why Snake brought them with him. Their village was burned, but the survivors dispersed into the surrounding communities and probably spread word of the pirates to the natives.
Snake ordered the brothers, also in their own new uniforms, to fall in behind him as he waited for the dropship doors to open. Slowly lowering the bay door, the newly renamed DropShip Open Hand shuddered and creaked, signs of poor maintenance. They'd need to get it looked over before he personally trusted it in space, but short jaunts on the planet should be okay, he thought to himself as he descended the exit ramp, the two brothers beside him. Approaching the crowd, he gestured for the brothers to halt about ten meters away. An older gentleman pushed himself to the front of the crowd and approached the soldiers, holding a pitchfork in his arms.
"You pirates ain't getting none of our food! We know what you did to Halki, we'd rather die now than let you bastards walk all over us!"
"Hey, calm down, we're not here to do anything like that. I'm Snake, and we're here to help." He clapped a hand on Yannis's shoulder, and gestured to Giorgos, "I defeated the pirates, and freed all the captives. These two are from the last raid the captain made, from a village just over a day's walk north from here. I understand your fear, just know I'm here to talk about how we can help each other."
The crowd broke into murmers as they all began to talk between each other. The old man, the village Elder probably, looked back as a commotion started in the mob.
"Anípsi!" A female voice called out from the crowd, cursing and shouting as she pushed her way to the front of the group of people. Rushing forward, an older woman, not quite gray-haired and wrapped in scarves, threw herself at the two recruits. "Nephews!"
"Theia!" The two shouted in unison before barreling forward and wrapping the woman in a group hug. Snake would forgive the lack of discipline this time, given the circumstances, and instead of focusing on the crying family members, the soldier turned back to the village elder.
"Penelope came to us weeks ago, telling us about how those pirates stole their crops, enslaved her nephews, and burned the village to the ground. We thought you were coming for us, now, but if you killed them we owe you a debt. Come into my home, we can talk over some tea." Lowering his pitchfork, the elder turned to the crowd and began to speak. "These people avenged our neighbors and saved Frau Penelope's family. We shall welcome them into our home as kin!" As the crowd cheered and began to disperse beneath his watchful eyes, the elder gestured to Snake. "Follow me."
Last edited:
- Location
- Taken by the hand to a land that they understand
It should be mutters, unless the people here default to killing when confused.
Great story, glad to see more of it!