Aka, what the fuck happened in the AC7 DLC that y'all voted on a while back?
Well, here's the context post.
I'm also holding open the vote because I'm allowing, no, insisting on a build queue for small projects
There were many two week crises in the midst of the Lighthouse War. The first mad two weeks as Erusea and Usean allies began their offensives against the IUN, seen as an Osean sockpuppet that had deployed its Arsenal Birds across the continent as a terror weapon. There was the next few weeks, as Erusea solidifed its rule over the Usean continents by...actually using the Arsenal Birds as terror weapons to wipe out opposition. There was the mad few weeks after the operation to take the capital of Farbanti, as all of Usea seemingly rose up in rebellion.
One of the most notable segments, however, was the two week scramble for the Erusean Super Scinfaxi-class
Alicorn. It was a large nuclear submarine, equipped with its own aircraft contingent, nuclear weapons, and state-of-the-art railguns, both smaller for anti-warship purposes and one Stonehenge-class railgun, for purposes of deploying said stockpile of nuclear weapons.
During the majority of the war, it had been left to sit in port. With Erusea's wild successes with the Arsenal Birds and drone programs, actually deploying the Alicorn with even half complement was seen as far too expensive to be worth the cost, when the Eruseans were already so busy trying to assert rule over the continent itself.
That changed with the results of Operation Dragon's Breath. In the wake of shooting down one of Erusea's Arsenal Birds on August 19th, the Arsenal Bird defensive radius shrunk considerably. As a result, Erusea reached for everything that could possibly reverse the tide of the war. This resulted in Eruseans arming IRBMs in Sierraplata (which the LRSSG comprehensively destroyed in Operation Magic Spear) and it also resulted in the Eruseans reactivating and crash-arming the Alicorn, which had been left to languish in Artiglio Port, on the southern coast of Usea.
Osean intelligence caught wind of this effort, and a force was assembled to capture the Alicorn. As Osea's premier force, the LRSSG were sent in as a four plane detachment to sweep away everything in their path. Officially, this was because the war effort meant that there were no other available assets, especially since reserve squadrons would have to plug the gap from pulling the LRSSG out. Unofficially, this was part of an internal political struggle, where Brigadier General Clemens was handed the disfavored Trigger (still widely suspected of killing President Harling). Clemens then promptly stripped away every other possible asset he could possibly justify and still be expected to complete the mission - a suicide mission in as many words.
As part and parcel of that, an up and coming data analyst for the Osean Intelligence Agency, David North, was assigned to analyzing and tracking down the Alicorn. His unofficial role was to also make a report on Trigger's performance, as well as the broader policy implications for Osea's military as a whole. Specifically, it was to find out whether in the nascent dynamical systems analysis and AI optimization could improve Osean warfighting outcomes - and furthermore, whether Trigger was a singularity. We'll come back to what that word means later.
Concerning hints began popping up at the briefing. Brigadier General Howard Clemens began the mission by throwing his weight around - itself, not too unusual among the upper staff in the Osean Defence Forces. However, he also exhibited a surprising amount of knowledge about the Alicorn, including saying that local sources told him that the Alicorn had WMDs aboard. That surprised David North - who Clemens promptly minimized and carried on as if nothing was unusual.
Hence, Operation Sighthound commenced. Strider Squadron was to secure air superiority and support the landing operation as the Osean navy secured directly underneath - they were sending in the navy even before air superiority was secured. To ensure that air superiority would be secured, EWACS planes were procured, but the mission timeline projected that the force at Artiglio Bay would have needed to already be fighting for five minutes. In addition, only Strider Squadron would be sortieing on the mission - Cyclops Squadron, Wiseman especially, would be held back to "assist the Brigadier General".
The first phase of the mission largely went off without a hitch. Strider Squadron ate their Erusean counterparts alive, and by the time the ECM aircraft arrived in the airspace Strider Squadron was already just about conducting a mop-up operation. Sadly, this included the Glamrock Squadron
piloting F-4 Phantoms what the fuck. Of course, soon after, two black-and-white striped Su-47 Berkuts showed up in the airspace began targeting Trigger specifically. With Trigger unexpectedly tied up, especially with the Berkut's radar ghosts spoofing Trigger's IFF, Osean fighters took some amount of losses, but eventually Trigger drove off the self-identified Mimic Squadron. Worryingly, their parting words came over the Osean military channels - with military encryption, that
General Resource mercenaries definitely should not be in.
Of course, at that point went off the rails. Submarine Captain Matias Torres, proclaimed the "Hero of Comberth Harbor" and previous captain of the battleship Tanager, decided to formally declare independence from the Erusean military and to pursue his own goals. The Command Duty Officer expressed some confusion about his plan, and his exuberance. Torres replied:
"Don't you see? A million lives are about to snuffed out in senseless cruelty."
His next act was to obliterate the Osean landing force with the onboard anti-ship railguns (this is not to be confused with the spinal mount railgun, which was different) and to launch four aircraft, one of which was carrying a cruise missile. Under the cover of the mad chase for the airborne carrier squadron, Torres led the Alicorn out of the cordon and into open water. As he left, he began delivering some of his quotes:
"This boat has the means to end this hideous war in a definitive and elegant manner. We seek not a conflict, but rather a restoration of balance, a judgement."
Of course, when Trigger shot down the cruise missile squadron, Torres began showing his unhinged side. Script:
Submarine CDO: Seems like he was downed by Three Strikes.
Torres: That damned bastard ruined it.
CDO: Captain?
Torres: Don't you see?
Torres: He walked all over it with his dirty boots! Over the crisp white sheets of my bed that I had just made!
Torres:
Furious shout, then controlling breathing.
Torres: Let's have him assist in the next plan...
Torres: It'll make a fine sideshow for our scheme to kill a million people.
Torres: Or was it the plan to save ten million lives, Command Duty Officer?
Of course, at this point, his goal is anyone's guess. Anyone logical, who has a limited amount of information and confidence.
Brigadier General Clemens has no compunctions about either, so one week later on September 4th, Strider Squadron is ordered to conduct a low-altitude raid on Anchorhead Bay, where Erusea has been gathering up the remnants of their naval and air fleets. As part of their "oh god mobilize everything", they've started bringing out mothballed aircraft, pilots, and ships just to have something to sortie with. Brigadier General Clemens saw that force number, their readiness, and his mysteriously ironclad knowledge that the Alicorn was somehow going to arrive there to order Strider Squadron to raid Anchorhead Bay.
Of course, in order to maintain the element of surprise, only four planes would be sortied at low altitude. They'd depend on the element of surprise and large amounts of resupply elements to be able to cripple the Erusean forces with a 0% casualty rate. Of course.
Wait a second. Four planes, against a nascent fleet? Man, if we didn't know any better, it's almost like someone wants to kill Trigger! That'd be ridiculous, though. There's no way that - hey wait a minute analyst David North mentioned that some of the former crew of the Alicorn might be conducting sabotage. This probably has no relevance whatsoever.
In other related news, however, David North brought up Captain Matias Torres' service history. He was part of the Erusean Navy, but the event that defined his reputation was the Battle of Comberth Harbor - aka, the mission where you sink the Invincible Fleet Aegir. He was hailed as the Hero of Comberth Harbor for his quick and decisive damage control and evacuations, preserving the lives of many of his fellow crew. When he was then assigned to the Alicorn, he was also able to keep the Alicorn's crew alive for their 698 day unplanned seabed endurance test - which also probably caused some insanity in the entire crew, but also made the crew extremely loyal to each other. Long story short - crewmen that stuck with Torres had a habit of making it through wars.
Regardless, the day of the mission arrives, and Strider Squadron absolutely blows the Eruseans the fuck out. Erusean mission control was supposedly heard cracking out the black humor: "We're going to make a fortune after the war ends. Buy stock in salvage companies while you can," to provide an examples. Anchorhead Bay was also notable for being one of the places where Eruseans committed a large portion of their remaining human pilots to the defense.
Trigger, of course, doesn't give a fuck about all of that, and summarily wipes Anchorhead Bay's military attachment off the face of the earth with truckloads of anti-ship missiles. As one Erusean senior officer puts it, "This is definitely the work of Three Strikes. They'd reject my report if it wasn't." Meanwhile, over on Osean command side, Clemens is trying to pitch an operation that doesn't need aces; a military doctrine that no longer needs ace pilots. Trigger blowing up the entirety of Anchorhead Bay made the Osean upper brass unanimously tell Clemens that he was full of shit.
Well, actually no. Trigger blew up the entirety of the forces in Anchorhead Bay, neighboring Dakiouk Bay, and the pristine fleet sent in to reinforce it. Can't understate Trigger's accomplishments here.
Actual Erusean dialogue:
Erusean HQ: Four aircraft destroyed the entire port? You must be hallucinating!
Erusean Port Official: It's not a hallucination! It's a nightmare!
(sidenote: Trigger also blew up a huge number of Erusean's upper brass, further complicating the situation post-Farbanti)
Of course, Torres chose this moment to make his presence known on the battlefield in his characteristic fashion.
CDO: Captain, we're starting the guided artillery fire drill.
Torres: Command Duty Officer, what do you think would turn a drill into a real war?
Torres: You don't see it, do you? It's imagination!
Torres: So use your imagination, my fellow submariners! A single shell will save ten million lives!
CDO: Begin drill! Ready for anti-air combat!
Long Caster: Warning! Incoming high speed projectile!
Torres: SALVATION!
(railgun round impacts)
Torres: Picture it!
Torres: Salvation!
Torres:
laughing
Torres: The death of a million is a necessity!
Huxian, hit by the UAV-guided missile, had to leave the airspace. Trigger, being a madman, decided to not deal with any more railgun impacts by simply blowing up the hypermanueverable SLUAVs. This worked because Trigger.
Some other choice Torres quotes, when 2 "eggs" were being handed over:
Erusean Agent: Valkryie, this is Quarkman. Packaged eggs are ready and waiting, count two.
Torres: Two, worth a million lives each.
Erusean Agent: Also, there's a rumor going around in the military. "Three Strikes in the sky is a sign of ill omen."
Torres: Three Strikes... he lacks the drive.
Torres: Imagine you're just about to be killed. Why am I going to be killed, you ask.
Torres: Because they wanted to steal from you, to torment you, to burn you, to cut you apart.
Torres: It was for your sins, your actions, and your vengeance! There has to be a reason!
Torres: Three Strikes has none of that. I do.
Torres: Do you see, Command Duty Officer? You don't, do you?
Of course, none of this really stops Strider Squadron, so they continue cruising around annihilating more of Erusea's rapidly dwinding airforce until operation time is up. At this moment, Mimic Squadron reappears and immediately tags Lanza with a missile. These missiles were unconventional, not setting off the missile alert until impact - stealth missiles. Brigadier Clemens tries to contact those mercenaries over Osean channels, and at this point something serious is fucked up here. Clemens is going to be talked to at this point, one way or another.
That's not really relevant for Trigger, though, who blows up both members of the Mimic Squadron, revealed to be siblings by General Clemens. Rage, who had some time to eject, chose to rant: "I'd rather go to hell than live in a world shaped by you, Three Strikes!" His sister's death also has something to do with that.
As the mission ends, we get some choice quotes:
Erusean Agent: I have no doubts that the Plan to Save Ten Million Lives will lead Erusea to a true victory.
Torres: Stop thinking so small. It's salvation on a far grander scale.
Cut back to the briefing room, where the first thing Huxian did when Brigadier General Clemens entered the room was to punch him in the face. Wiseman managed to talk her down, but unfortunately, Lanza's cola was a casualty of the fighting.
A moment of silence for Lanza's cola.
...
Anyway, the LRSSG is royally fucking pissed at Clemens, especially since he knew Mimic Squadron (aka, the bats) suspiciously well. One thing led to another, and Clemens called for the MPs. At which point, Vice Chair Edwards of the Joint Chief of Staff said "He's right. Get the MP."
As it turns out, Clemens was being fed information by an Alicorn plant, and probably traitorous too on top of that. After the Erusean force had been "chased away" (read: completely destroyed), the Alicorn slipped into port and resupplied. Clemen's "unimpeachable source" turned out to be Zul, one of the Alicorn's agents - who helped the Alicorn to accomplish their goals. This is in addition to his probable treachery and working for General Resources over the Osean military, which, ah, the Osean military in the middle of its crackdown on the megacorps is sideeyeing rather heavily. Edwards and David North finish their explanation by reiterating the call for MPs.
Huxian beats them to the punch. Literally.
Then David North fills them all in.
In addition to the shipbased railguns the Alicorn carries, it also comes with a rail cannon, on par with the Stonehenge guns. The Alicorn only stayed in Anchorhead Bay for ten minutes. Not nearly enough time to load in a SLBM. No, they loaded up on something else. Tactical nuclear shells. Moreover, as terrorists, the threat of nuclear deterrence was not going to stop them - Erusea had completely washed their hands of the Alicorn. That meant that nuclear deterrence wasn't going to stop Torres from nuking Osea's capital. The Alicorn had to be stopped.
Four days later, on the brink of the undersea Peony Trench, the LRSSG made its strike. The Alicorn sortied aircraft to prevent detection, but Trigger did a Trigger and shot them down. Meanwhile, David North reported in from Oured on the state of the anti-war demonstrations on the same day, September 14th. Two groups clash, while advertising drones hang in the air overhead, David North reports. He hits on something, and then leaves the radio channel.
Sonobuoys are dropped, despite UAV and Alicorn fighters trying to shoot down the Osean patrol aircraft. The Alicorn's location is narrowed down enough for Trigger to detect it with a Magnetic Anomaly Detector - which is jammed via Alicorn jamming buoys, because the Alicorn predicted this. This doesn't buy the Alicorn enough time to escape from Trigger, however, and so the Alicorn's location is identified. In come the VL-ASROC anti-submarine missiles, and up comes the Alicorn, apparently unscathed. The Alicorn, once surfaced, begins attacking the Osean fleet. The LRSSG take their chance to attack the Alicorn directly.
In the ensuing superace on superweapon fight, all of the Alicorn's weaponry is brought to bear. UAVs, SAMs, CIWS, even the railguns are used as instant-kill guns if Trigger doesn't fly fast enough. Torres, meanwhile, continues delivering his quotables:
Torres: The two years we fought at the bottom of the sea... I will not allow our perseverance to be desecrated!
Torres: There's no means of retreat! We'll have to kill them all if we are to live!
Torres: If you wish to live, then you have to let go of your life!
Torres: Be not afraid! Did you not leave your fears behind at the bottom of the abyss?
Barrier drones are deployed. They do not stop Trigger's assault.
Torres: My fellow submariners! Your lives carry weight! It gives you the right to take the lives of others!
Then, Trigger finally destroys the last of the ballast tanks, and there is no more way for the Alicorn to submerge.
Torres sighs.
"We surrender," he radios. "This is the submarine aircraft cruiser Alicorn. We surrendered! Stop shooting!"
"All aircraft, cease firing," Long Caster orders.
"That's a con man talking," Count says. "I should know."
"Let's just sink it!" Huxian cries.
"Negative! We cannot attack those who have surrendered." Long Caster retorts. He wonders now what would've happened if Trigger actually listened to him. "That's a breach of international law!"
"I repeat! We surrender!" Torres cries out.
"What do we do?" Huxian breathlessly asks. Time is running out.
"Weapon use is prohibited!" Long Caster insists.
"Why hold international law so dearly?" Count asks, and in that moment Long Caster has to clench his jaw shut.
"We'll no longer be soldiers the moment we don't!" Jaeger fortunately cuts in.
"Then I'll happily quit my career!" Count says, and Long Caster sighs.
"Do not attack!" he calls out.
"We will surrender." Torres repeats. "We are currently making preparations to be disarmed."
David North cuts in.
"I'm David North, an analyst with the Osean Intelligence Agency. Captain, we have already jammed your terminal guidance system over Oured. Your shot will miss the mark."
Captain Matias' tone shifts.
"...Let me tell you a story. Back when I was a gunnery officer... I had to aim at an enemy ship 30 kilometers away in the middle of a storm."
Suddenly, the rail cannon comes up.
"The seas were rough that day, and still, I landed one of the two shots."
"Here's a question," David North asked. "Was your plan elegant? The answer is...yes.
"At least until Three Strikes ruined it!" David North triumphantly crows.
"What do you know of beauty?!" Torres shouts back.
The rail cannon is armed.
Long Caster wonders what would've happened if he had simply trusted his subordinates.
"They have no intentions to surrender!" David North suddenly says. "Stop them, Trigger!"
Trigger instantly shoots forward towards the Alicorn. Barrier drones block the path, preventing a clear shot.
"Stop attacking them immediately!" Long Caster says instead.
"Target the Osean capital of Oured!" Torres demands. "To take the lives of one million people, 5,000 kilometers away, by my very own hands!"
Trigger opens fire. The rail cannon is knocked off course.
"It fired!"
"It's okay!" David North cries. "The shell will miss!"
"What happened?!" Torres demands.
"That's a blatant violation of orders, you dumbass!" Count laughs.
"Load the next shell!" Torres shouts.
"All aircraft, destroy the Alicorn!" Wiseman orders.
Thinking back, Long Caster should've made that call.
No matter, though. Trigger was on it.
But there's still some choice dialogue.
Submarine Crew: FCS error! Can't raise the elevation of the barrel!
Torres: Three Strikes in the sky is a sign of ill omen...!
Submarine CDO: Captain?
Torres: All slow ahead! Flood the aft trim tanks!
Submarine CDO: Sir, the boat will sink aft first!
Torres: And that will give the gun the elevation it needs!
Torres: Don't you see, Three Strikes? Ten million lives will be saved, at the cost of a mere million lives!
Torres: A powerful boat, a powerful gun, powerful ammunition! Add to that lots of people and a precise aim!
Torres: Then sprinkle death all over it, and the formula is complete!
David North: You're nothing more than a mass murderer!
Torres: Then indulge me! What makes you an I any different?
Torres: You want to kill the three hundred men on this boat to save a million! How is that any different?!
David North: Trigger, give him his answer!
Torres: Don't you see?!
Torres: Don't you see?!
Torres: Landing a clean shot on a difficult target!
Torres: That is what makes it elegant! That is what makes it true beauty!
Torres: Alas, you don't see, Three Strikes! Of course you wouldn't!
And then Trigger finishes blowing up the rail cannon, and the only thing Torres has left is a rant.
Torres: Don't you see? One million! One million lives!
The Alicorn explodes, and that's that.
Right, so remember when I promised I'd explain what a singularity is?
Okay, here's that explanation.
A singularity is used in the context of dynamical system models. A singlaruity is a point that determines the behavior of the points around it. When someone like David North makes predictive models based on systems models, literally only two things matter: the singularities of the system, and where we start on that model. The singularities control everything about the situation outcomes - starting position just tells you which singularities you're affected by.
Critically, when two singularities interact, behavior gets fuzzy depending on which area of possibility space is dominated by which singularity. That is why it is difficult to calculate what happens when singularities interact; Alex (David North's AI assistant) needs seven months to calculate the result of a fight between Trigger and Captain Torres because they are two singularities interacting with each other with very few previous records to go on.
The thing about Trigger and Captain Torres that David North notes are that they are
incredibly strong singularities. As in, "if one of them takes the field victory is never in doubt and all events bend to suit their needs" strong. "Survival rate always goes up when one of them is on mission" strong. Putting in people who now have auto-successes on actions they take is what you voted for when you put Singularities into the game. Friendly and hostile.
