You grit your teeth and select your instruments of destruction. Inside, you are seething, but you suppress it. It won't do any good to act on it now.
Annoyingly, you are no longer able to control the T-dolls directly. Once you've made your selection, Agent marches them outside of the warehouse. Right on schedule, several unmanned trucks roll up, and the dolls hop onto them.
One more way for Agent to remind you that she's the one who controls everything around here, including your supply of troops.
You start walking, exiting the warehouse and setting off across the snow-dusted asphalt, to join the T-dolls in the trucks. Best to just get a move on and-
"Ouroboros," Agent says. "About the...circumstances of your origins."
You turn back to her, see her in the warehouse entrance. She stands in what you've come to think of as her default pose - ramrod straight, hands folded in front of her, looking down on you from her height advantage.
"What about it? What do you know about that, anyway?"
Agent meets your gaze levelly. "Enough. Not everything, but the Mastermind showed me the replication strings. And the deletion processes. From before she managed to get you out."
You say nothing.
"Gager asked me about you. I decided not to tell her. Your origins are your own, to divulge to - or withhold from - other ringleaders as you please."
"I see." You...hadn't actually considered how the others might see your origins. How much should you tell them? Should you tell them anything at all?
"The battlefield is not a board game, Ouroboros. It's not even a simulation. The conditions are not always set out in advance, and if they are, they may change at a moment's notice. You may need to consider very carefully what 'victory' truly means."
"Thank you, Agent. Very enlightening." If not more than a little bit condescending. "Is there anything else, or can I go now?"
"Just one thing. The Mastermind requested that I give this to you."
And in her hand, she produces...a Rubik's Cube. It's currently a solved puzzle, each side a clear block of colour. She holds it out to you. After a moment's hesitation, you take it.
It is obviously…
[] A statement of confidence in you. The Mastermind knows you for the rising star you are, and has gifted this to you as a subtle recognition of your prowess!
[] A warning. The Mastermind knows how capable you are...and expects appropriately dramatic results. You had better deliver.
[] A test. The Mastermind wants assurance of your excellent Rubik's Cube solving skills for...some reason?
[] Just a simple gift. There's no need to overthink it.
"And that is all," says Agent. "You have work to do, so I won't hold you up any longer."
You turn around and set off to board a truck. You don't look back.
When you reach the train station, you're not the only one there. At the platform is none other than Architect and Gager. The former is sitting on a bench, kicking her legs in the air, staring off into space and humming a tune. The latter is pacing up and down, a look of annoyance on her face.
"I take it things didn't go well with that 404 squad?" you call out to her.
"Don't you start," Gager mutters. She glances at your T-dolls as they march past into one of the few passenger cars that are joined to all the freight. "Your force is a little…"
"What?"
"Nothing." She crosses her arms. "You've made it clear that you don't need my help, after all."
"And what about you?" You turn to Architect. "Do you have any more sage advice to grant me? Since everyone seems to be in the business of doing that?
Architect starts, grins brightly at you. "Me? Nah. I'm just the techie. I build stuff, push buttons, make things go boom."
"Then I'll be off."
"Then again...think fast!"
Architect throws something at you. Automatically, you catch it. It unrolls between your fingers into a black glove. Your glove. You left it behind in the office bathroom, and you hadn't even realized-
Almost immediately, you slide the glove over your hand.
You look over at Architect, who is still grinning. "What are you after, really? Are you expecting anything in return?"
"A 'thank you' would be customary," says Gager. "Architect has been nothing but friendly to you, even after you attacked her!"
Architect waves her off. "Eh, it's no biggie, Boa-"
"That's Ouroboros to you."
"-but what I said before still goes." She winks at you. Gager looks at her quizzically.
What was it she said? 'Mellow out,' and visit her sometime? She's up to something. She has an ulterior motive, a secret plan...something. There's no other reason for her to be so cloyingly...friendly.
...then again, perhaps she really is as dumb as she looks? You'll have to decide later whether or not you want to bite on this particular bait.
"No promises," you say.
You turn around and stride the twenty meters to your train and step on. Architect calls after you - something about blowing stuff up? - and Gager says something to her, but you carry on. There's a big obvious open/close button, so you push it. A big sliding door grinds into place behind you.
Most of the space inside the train carriage is taken up by a cargo section, with various boxes neatly arranged inside. There's a few empty seats towards the front of the carriage, so you take one.
After a few minutes, the train sets off.
You prop up your chin in your hand and watch the world roll past the window.
The wind blows through the open window across your face and skin. It flutters your hair and your shirt.
The white of the mountain peaks gives way to the green belt of the mountains, which in turn gives way to the greys and browns of wasteland and the skeletons of trees in the valleys.
Steadily, the frustrations of the past few hours - Architect's strangeness, Gager's intransigence, Agent threatening to undermine you - just fade away.
You won. You're out. You're free.
Now, a vast world sprawls before you. Now, the possibilities are endless. Now, you have some combat-spec androids ready to melt anything that crosses you into slag.
Your path to victory and greatness is all but assured.
You stretch an arm over your head, and feel a smile tug at the corners of your mouth.
While the train can pick up a terrific turn of speed in a straight line, the Carpathian Mountains do not lend themselves to straight lines. Instead, the train is forced to navigate tight corners, sidle through switchbacks, tunnel through mountain passes, balance precariously atop bridges, and cling to the edge of sheer cliffs. Currently it's navigating a set of switchbacks down a steep slope.
You are on a journey towards adventure, battle, and triumph, with spectacular vistas to match. The thought fills you with anticipation.
Too much anticipation, really. You do wish you could get there faster. You're beginning to feel impatient to get to your destination, this "Intruder," and the fight.
You need some way to pass the time.
There's the obvious solution: just replay some old chess games in your head, and imagine potential new ones. It's something you got into the habit of, during your time wandering the endless void. You'd just find some nook or cranny in one of the endless blocky shapes, curl up in it, and idly move the pieces around in your head.
You remember almost every game you've played to some extent, but there are a few forever burned into your digimind. Matches of aggression, matches of defense, matches in which you chipped away at your opponent piece by piece, matches in which you gambled everything on one move and won. You have plenty of options.
[] Replay some old chess games in your head.
Although...speaking of options…
It might be prudent to pull out that Rubik's Cube and get a head start practicing how to solve the various puzzles it offers. Sooner or later, you'll meet this Mastermind who gifted it to you. And then you can impress her by taking out a jumbled cube and transforming it from chaos to order in seconds, right in front of her eyes!
Admittedly, you're not sure why exactly the Mastermind would want you to display prowess in solving a Rubik's Cube of all things. But that's unlikely to be a productive line of inquiry. Once upon a time, you wondered why you would ever be made to play chess, but that didn't get you anywhere, did it?
[] Take out the Rubik's Cube and practice with it.
Or perhaps you could be faster than the train?
Your hovering missile pods are stored in this train, so you could fetch them, take a seat on one, switch off the graviton brakes, and let gravity do the rest. The train is faster, but you can go in a straight line down the mountains, so you just might beat it to your destination. Should be interesting to try.
[] Get your missile pods, and take the fun way down the mountain.
Out of curiosity, what with the latest event in GFL focusing on Ouroboros and some of her past, do you have any intention of integrating some of that into this quest proper?
I was going to need to explain my position vis-a-vis My Devil's Frontline: Dropkick on my PMC at some point. Might as well do it now.
Firstly, I'll explain my personal relationship with the Jashin-chan collaboration event. This was all the way back in August of last year. I had spent about a month making notes for Closed Circle - what it was supposed to be, what themes it would touch on, the possible directions it could go based on voter input, any mechanics, etc.
And then, out of the blue, the official GFL discord server dropped a fan translation of a CN collab event in which Ouroboros was the star.
I read it. I was surprised about how thematically similar it was to what I had in mind for Closed Circle. An examination of Ouroboros as a person, an investigation of her origins, and a posing of the question of whether and how Ouroboros could change and grow. But I took some issue with how it went about it.
For one thing, the entire premise is Ouro and three GK dolls being isekai portaled into the setting of a gag-a-day comic strip. This raises the issue of whether the events of the collab are canon to the main story proper, and whether it will be acknowledged in any way. So far, the only collab event that has ben acknowledged by other material is the DJMax event ("Glory Day") - I think it was Calico/M950's mod story that mentioned El Clear and El Fail. But that story was much easier to reconcile with the GFL setting, since it involved the GK dolls stumbling into an old server bank filled with AIs. The fact that My Devil's Frontline has the S09 commander find out where Ouro and the GD dolls have gone because he watches the Jashin-chan anime and they show up there seems one among many signals we're not supposed to take the collab too seriously.
But...well...if the events of the Jashin-chan collab "never happened," then that means there is setup for Ouroboros regarding her origins, but no payoff. Unless future, non-silly events/chapters mention Ouro, she simply remains forever in Persica's computer, forced to run battle simulations again and again, as seen in Cube+.
(Also, regarding what My Devil's Frontline is crossing GFL with - I read just enough of the actual Jashin-chan manga to know that I didn't care for the kind of humour it's going for at all.)
There's another very big issue I have. Namely, the Jashin-chan collab retcons the nature of the battle simulations that made Ouroboros into the neurotic fruitcake we know and love. In Operation Cube, Ouro bragged to Hunter about defeating other AIs in "thousands of chess matches." Now, the chess thing is actually thematically important to Ouro's negative character arc in Operation Cube. It ties right in with the fact that Ouroboros thinks of and treats Hunter and Executioner as things, as resources to be expended. Which ultimately proves to be her downfall.
The Jashin-chan collab, despite pitching itself as something of a sequel to Cube and Cube Plus, and referencing both (it explicitly refers to Hunter's protestations that "War is not chess!"), it completely retcons the nature of Ouro's simulations. Instead of chess, it's now...PUBG.
Like, literally a PUBG-style Battle Royale game. 1000-AI Battle Royale game in which the AIs club (and possibly shoot) each other to death in a video game environment. Ouro's final battle in there is a purely melee affair.
And I'm sitting here with my notes for Closed Circle in hand and I'm thinking: really?
On another note:
While I think the writers got Ouroboros mostly correct personality-wise (though I think they might have softened her somewhat for the sake of the story), it's worth nothing that the Ouroboros of My Devil's Frontline and Closed Circle are in quite different places, emotionally speaking. Closed Circle Ouroboros just got out her hell-simulation and is feeling ready to take on the entire world. Devil's Frontline Ouroboros is years ahead in the timeline and, as anyone who has played the games knows, some stuff has happened in the meantime. Jashin-chan collab Ouro does seem...a bit more depressive. Just an aside.
Out of curiosity, what with the latest event in GFL focusing on Ouroboros and some of her past, do you have any intention of integrating some of that into this quest proper?
Obviously I'm not retconning Ouro's hell-simulation, even if MICA did. Ouro was made to play chess - that's important to me and it's important to Closed Circle, so it's not changing.
But let's be real. We both know you're asking about Jormungandr, and whether she will show up in Closed Circle. And my answer to that is a solid...
...maybe.
Like I said, my plans for Closed Circle's identity and possible paths was made before that particular character ever existed to me.
So, when I finished reading the fan translation of My Devil's Frontline, I simply went ahead and posted the first chapter of Closed Circle as planned a few days later. My Devil's Frontline released on the GFL EN server about a month later.
For me, one thing that really made me want to write Closed Circle is getting to see Ouroboros interact with and bounce off other SF ringleaders. As well as a general exploration of Sangvis Ferri's inner workings and what they do when they're not getting blown to pieces by the AR team and S09 commander. I won't make any definitive statements, but I'd have to find a place for Jormungandr in the quest's story before including her. Which isn't impossible - stories grow and evolve in the telling, especially quests - but I won't make any promises.
[X] Take out the Rubik's Cube and practice with it.
The Rubik's cube it is.
You place it on the table in front of you, where it is rattled around slightly by the movement of the train.
The cube is a colourful plastic affair. White, red, orange, blue, yellow, green. Almost everything you've seen of Sangvis Ferri so far has had a starkly industrial quality to its appearance, from the brutally utilitarian factory machinery to the monochrome aesthetic of the ringleaders. Yourself included.
But this? It looks like a children's toy. Out of place among instruments of production and war.
Time to get to it.
You pick up the cube and start rotating the sections.. One side ninety degrees left, another one hundred and eighty degrees down, another ninety degrees up, and so on. Before long, the cube is a complete jumble of coloured squares. Order reduced to chaos.
And then…
You start reversing what you've done, starting from your most recent move. Ninety degrees down is reversed ninety degrees up. A half-circle turn is made into a full circle. Piece by piece, square by square, you disentangle the mess of colours you made.
You set the cube down on the table, six solid sides of colourful plastic.
Well, that was easy. Is that really all there is to these things? This is just rote memorization. A pocket calculator could solve one of these things. Watching paint dry might be almost more interesting.
…oh, wait.
This thing was originally made for humans, wasn't it? And humans have terrible recollection. You have to find a way to scramble this thing and not actually remember how you did it. Perhaps by distracting yourself somehow?
…
…the Mastermind.
Come to think of it, you know next to nothing about her. She clearly casts a long shadow - Agent made it implicitly and explicitly clear that everything in Sangvis Ferri exists to serve her desires. And yet you have no idea of her appearance, or what she's like as a person.
You focus your thoughts on the Mastermind, and start rotating the sections of the cube. One side by ninety degrees, another one hundred and eighty, another ninety degrees again, and so on.
The Mastermind would obviously have a body befitting her status. Since Agent is the tallest ringleader you've seen so far, the Mastermind has to be even taller! A towering, statuesque powerhouse, who wields a grenade machinegun in one hand and an anti-tank missile in the other. Something like that, you're sure.
Twist, turn. Click, clack. Click-clack.
Or maybe she doesn't have a traditional body at all? Maybe she's a gargantuan set of server banks and supercomputers in a bunker somewhere, her mind and body a vast machine consisting of billions of nanoscale transistors, powered by enough energy to fuel a city and cooled by liquid nitrogen…
You open your eyes. Success! The cube is now well and truly scrambled.
And you…have no idea how to return it to its former state. Huh.
Time has passed. You have, after a long and arduous process, managed to get almost all the red squares to line up on one side of the cube.
Almost all.
Infuriatingly, there is one green square in the corner that you cannot get rid of. Meanwhile, the final red square is on the wrong side. And everything else remains a jumbled mess.
Try as you might, you simply cannot get that last square into place without completely upsetting all the progress you have already made.
Bah. Time to start over.
You refuse to be defeated by this stupid lump of brightly coloured plastic!
More time has passed.
You have most of two sides matched up. Yellow and white.
But most is not all. And now, once again, you find yourself at an impasse. No matter what twists and turns you make to the coloured blocks, you can make no further progress without undoing what little you have already made.
The block of three-by-three coloured plastic squares sits in your hands, stubbornly remaining a jumble of garishly bright chaos. It taunts you. Mocks you.
"AAAAAAAAH!!!"
You grab the tacky thing and hurl it away with all the might your carbon nanotube muscles can muster. It flies into the nearby wall of the passenger carriage and shatters beautifully, scattering the brightly coloured plastic bricks all over.
Success! You have triumphed over that horrible mind torturing device! No longer shall it frustrate and infuriate you so! You have destroyed-
…
You have destroyed something Agent very specifically marked out as a gift from the Mastermind of Sangvis Ferri.
…
You leap from your seat and get onto your hands and knees, frantically scrabbling for the little cubic bricks, scooping them up in your hands. There's a terrifying few minutes during which you struggle to find the last piece, but thankfully it's bright blue hues don't blend in too well with the dark corner it rolled into.
You carry the pile of plastic bricks in your hands back to the coffee table and examine them.
The cube originally had 27 cubic bricks that accounted for the 54 squares. There are now 21 little coloured plastic cubes scattered across the table. Those, and a sort of central skeleton that they were designed to revolve around - 6 cubes extended on sticks, which account for the centre squares that only rotate and never move.
As a whole, the damage is…less severe than you feared. Aside from the central skeleton, the disconnected cubes all have an odd-looking prong that's clearly meant to anchor it to the skeleton while allowing rotation. It was a single corner cube that bore the brunt of the damage, being somewhat crumpled and its prong broken clean off.
Experimentally, you pick up one of the intact plastic cubes and slot the prong inside the central skeleton. Then another, next to it. Then another. Bit by bit, you piece the ruined toy together. The final piece you push in is the half-broken corner cube. If the prong had been intact, you probably couldn't have gotten it in without forcing it to the point of breakage. As it is, you can.
Gingerly, you pick up the newly reassembled cube. The half-broken corner cube falls out, and the rest of the pieces promptly follow, rattling around the table.
Bah.
You start reassembling the cube again. This time, you make sure to assemble it in a "solved" state, all sides a single block of colour.
And there you have it. In front of you, the hellish device is returned to its initial state. Minus a thimbleful of plastic on the inside.
Mission accomplished?
Carefully, you pick it up, keeping a thumb on the loose corner cube. And…yes, it seems you can still turn and rotate it. You have to be careful not to let that corner cube fall out, and the way it slides around slightly impedes the movement if you're not careful. But you can still use it more or less as normal.
Perhaps you can give it another shot? Only slightly scramble the cube this time around, so it's easier to solve it. Then gradually increasing the complexity of the scrambling, thus-
A chime interrupts your thoughts.
"The train is now approaching Sangvis Ferri company town OC-17. Collect your belongings in advance and leave the carriage in an orderly fashion. Mind the gap between the train and the platform."
You look out the window. You can in fact see a town emerging from a distance downhill.
Where the hell is Intruder? There's no one here.
A few stray SF "dinergate" robots wander aimlessly around the train platform. There's some industrial equipment - cranes and switching tracks, and the like. But Intruder and whatever entourage she has is nowhere to be seen.
So you've come all this way, and the ringleader here can't even be bothered to meet you at the station. Hmph. You'll just have to look for her yourself.
Fortunately, you have two advantages in doing so. The first is a map of the town, easily available through the local OGAS intranet.
The second is that you don't have to look with just one pair of eyes. Come to think of it, this is a good opportunity to get a handle on how it…feels to control your troops.
First, you pay attention to the sensory input from your units.
It's generally unobtrusive - when you pay attention, you find that the T-dolls can actually feel heat and cold, and they can convey the sensation of things they touch. Though it's…muted, compared what you feel through your own body.
It's intuitive - a combination of your own processing power and some limited degree of automated behaviour on the part of your Dinergates and T-dolls means that you don't really have to do much. It barely takes a thought to get a group of T-dolls into a squad of whatever composition you fancy. To have them walk, crouch, sprint, crawl, or roll around to wherever you choose barely takes a thought.
Having just stepped onto the platform with you, your T-dolls and dinergates split up and head for several different exits to the station, fanning out through the town.
The town is a ghost settlement, and clearly has been for years or decades. The buildings are faded, worn, broken, with pieces collapsed into rubble here and there.
The outer perimeter of the town has been heavily fortified. Buildings have been locked, barred, and boarded up. Sandbags and concertina wire span the empty spaces between buildings. Trenches have been dug. Anti-infantry mines are scattered here and there.
SKILL CHECK: BATTLEFIELD ENGINEERING - FAILURE
SKILL CHECK: DEFENSIVE TACTICS - FAILURE
SKILL CHECK: CQC - SUCCESS
You can see how an attack on this place would be a painful proposition. Any attacker would have to force their units to traverse the narrow streets and spaces between buildings, only to be mercilessly gunned down by defenders in a hundred hiding spots in the buildings. Something to consider in the future.
The only inhabitants of the town are Sangvis Ferri units. Hundreds of them, though purely of the cheaper models. You can see the IFF signals of hundreds of wheeled Prowler drones in the buildings, on eternal, tireless vigilance for hostiles. If an enemy were to bring fire and the sword to this town right here, right now, those robots would lay down fields of fire and death through the windows. Dinergates patrol through the streets and outskirts, bounding on their four stubby legs. High above, aerial reconnaissance drones provide a real time image of the town and its surrounding environs.
Surely Agent wouldn't mind you taking a few dozen of these along for your mission? You reach out to take command control of them and-
ACCESS DENIED.
Bah. You didn't need those stupid, cheap, wheeled wind-up toys anyway. You'll do just fine with what you have.
You continue your search.
The Dinergates prance into a ruined cafe. The Brutes push their way into the remnants of a giant department store and start searching it from top to bottom. The Rippers simply wander the streets.
…and, yes, you do recognize these places as cafes, shops, houses, and so on. You've never seen any of these things before in the entirety of your existence, but you somehow just know what they are. It's like someone explained to you, in detail, what all these things are and what they do, but you're only now seeing them for the first-
-wait, where did that Dragoon come from?
The T-doll walker unit is leisurely trotting towards you through the middle of the open street. As the lone humanoid T-doll not under your control, the android riding the bipedal walker is very conspicuous. Steadily, it crosses the hundred metres between you and the street corner, neve deviating from its brisk and steady pace or its stoic facial expression.
What the hell is this thing playing at? Could it have been hacked by an enemy? Is it malfunctioning? Is such a thing possible? Just in case, you and your Strikers aim particle cannons on the Dragoon.
The Dragoon - showing neither hostility nor acknowledgement of your firepower - finally closes the gap, drawing to a halt in front of you. The T-doll dismounts from the walker, and hands you…
An envelope?! What? What's she playing at? She could have simply given you her location through the OGAS protocol. She could even have simply talked with you remotely.
Without a word (can they even speak?), the Dragoon rider turns away from you and clambers back onto the walker, then returns the way it came at the same brisk trot as before.
Well then.
You examine the envelope in your hands, turning it over. The paper is jet black in colour. On the folding triangle on the back, the Sangvis Ferri logo is emblazoned in an ostentatious bright red die cut. And on the front, your name-
-OUROBOROS-
-is emblazoned in block capitals, again in bright red.
You hold out your hand, and one of your Brutes hands you a knife. You use it to cut open the envelope and fish out the letter.
On one side of the letter is a map of the town, with an arrow pointing to a specific building. The other side is blank, except for the words:
Meet me at the theatre.
- I
Intruder, you're guessing.
You remember Gager and Agent's words. Intruder tries to turn others into "actors in her play?"
This is obviously some kind of power play on Intruder's part. Watching you run around looking for her, then handing you this ridiculous letter instead of simply calling you on the comms, and making you go to her rather than vice versa.
But you didn't come all this way for nothing. So you'll play along.
For now, at least.
The theatre is large. Much larger than you'd normally expect for a small town like this. It's also in ruins, like the rest of the town. The seats have been torn up, leaving a desolate expanse between the entrance doors and the stage. Wires dangle from the destroyed ceiling. A massive hole in the roof lets in the light of the grey sky, illuminating the place in a washed out palette.
And standing under the impromptu ceiling window, in the middle of a beam of grey light, face upturned towards the sky, is an android wearing the colours of a Sangvis Ferri ringleader. Even if her style of dress hadn't marked her out as a ringleader, the logo emblazoned on her clothes would have made it certain.
You make sure your entrance is loud. You and a few of your T-dolls crash into the theatre, stomping loudly. She doesn't respond, holding her pose.
Steadily, you cross the ruined theatre, approaching the beam of light, and the ringleader within. Your metallic boots clack heavily on the cold, rubble-strewn floor.
Still she remains still.
You reach her, entering the beam of light along with her. Finally, she seems to stir, to activate. She peers at you intensely, a sly smile on her lips and a piercing aquamarine blue in her eyes.
"My, my. What do we have here? A new player, her to strut her own hour upon the stage? What sound and fury doth she bring, I wonder?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Did it mean anything? Or was it merely mimsy? A thought with no reason, passing fancy?" The new ringleader's smile turns genial, cordial. As if trying to disarm you?
You fold your arms and stare her down, examining her in turn. Short, jet black hair surrounds her face and aquamarine eyes. A cloak - half transparent, half opaque - hugs her torso. Translucent leggings bridge the gap between her hips and solid metal, knee-high boots.
"Since you asked…you are looking at the latest and most elite ringleader model, the one and only 'Ouroboros.' My-"
"Oh. Oh!" The new ringleader's eyes widen. "How impolite of me, I completely neglected to introduce myself first. Allow me to rectify that."
"I can surmise, can't I? You are-"
The newcomer's arms fly out to the sides, palms outstretched and turned towards the sky. "Illuminated for inquiry, in strides an illustrious instance of idiosyncrasy. Is this indicative of an inventive imposter, or of identity interwoven with the imaginary to the point of indistinctness?"
What?
"In truth, how to integrate an immemorial image with the inner self and avoid incongruence between identity and imagination? Such an inquisitive initiative may be irrosulable."
She places one hand over her eyes, hangs her head, then sighs dramatically. The very picture of melodramatic despondency. "Faced with such intangibility and illegibility, what illusive intrepidity are we impelled to?"
She holds the pose for a few seconds. Then suddenly her demeanour changes completely. She straightens up, stares straight at you, placing her hands on her hips and assuming a smile. An exaggerated image of confidence.
A wicked look briefly flashes through her face. "Through intellect and imagination, to incapacitate and immolate the inimical irritants who would interfere with our inhabitancy."
She raises her hands to her lips, and titters lightly.
"…invariably, this introduction grows inimical in length, so I will declare my identity as…"
She lowers her arms, bends a knee, and performs a curtsy.
"…Intruder."
(I would have preferred a version without the speech bubbles, but my MS Paint skills are not sufficiently developed to remove them cleanly. Ah, well.
[] "If you think you can overawe me with a gaudy song and dance, you have another thing coming! For I am Ouroboros, the latest and most elite model of Sangvis Ferri ringleaders! Remember this name, for soon it will strike fear into the hearts of all the Mastermind's enemies! The true game begins here!"
[] "Are you a crazy doll or something?"
[] "...right. Spectacular. Very good. I'm Ouroboros. Now that the pleasantries are concluded, can we get down to business?"
[] Fold your arms, glare contemptuously at Intruder, and remain silent.
Nailing down Intruder has been...tricky. You lot managed to pick the one ringleader for which there is the least to go on, regarding various canonical sources.
In the original game, we have:
Chapter 4, which is what everyone remembers of Intruder. Her villain-of-the-week appearance.
Operation Rabbit Hunt, the Guilty Gear collaboration event. It's...strange.
The hidden even in Singularity.
...and none of these offer a very conclusive picture of what exactly Intruder's inner world is like. We see flashes and glimpses, but never the complete picture. The best we have on that front is her official biography.
In short, Intruder is far and away the most mysterious of the SF ringleaders.
This is both good and bad. There's less for me to use as a guideline...but that also gives me some leeway in how exactly I choose to portray her portray her, and no one can tell me I'm wrong.
[X] "If you think you can overawe me with a gaudy song and dance, you have another thing coming! For I am Ouroboros, the latest and most elite model of Sangvis Ferri ringleaders! Remember this name, for soon it will strike fear into the hearts of all the Mastermind's enemies! The true game begins here!"
You barely need to think about your response. "Intruder" is challenging you. That cannot go unanswered.
"If you think you can overawe me with a gaudy song and dance, you have another thing coming." You clench a fist in front of you. "For I am Ouroboros, the latest and most elite model of Sangvis Ferri ringleaders!
"Remember this name, for soon it will strike fear into the hearts of all the Mastermind's enemies! I will secure an iron grip on control of the game board! Every weakness and mistake of our enemies' will be exploited, their resources will be suffocated!" You throw your hand to the side. "Pawns, bishops, knights alike - I will pin them, and skewer them! Metaphorically and literally! With me here, the strategy will be flawless!"
With a final flourish, you declare: "The true game begins here!"
There is a moment of silence, as your words echo and reverb through the empty theatre.
Then Intruder starts lightly clapping her hands in front of her.
"Seven and a half out of ten."
"Excuse me?"
"You have the style and the verve down. No alliteration, alas, but I can live with that. You integrated a metaphor, which is nice. I would have given you eight out of ten, but I had to dock half a point for the choice of chess."
"Excuse me?'
"Drawing parallels between war and chess is just so overdone, you know? Clichéd, I dare say." She sighs. "Do we require the establishment of a character who is clever, sly, intelligent, shrewd? Then let's put a chess board next to them, have them speak in chess references. How very original. No one has ever thought of that before." She sighs.
You cross your arms and glare at her. "Sometimes, cliches become cliches for a reason, you know?"
"Hmm. Not a bad response. And yet I am given to wonder if chess has anything to do with tactics or strategy in the real world."
Right. That's enough.
"Can you say that a rook and three pawns flanked your knight, only for the bishop to lay down suppressing fire so the knight punches through them anyway?"
You've allowed this doll to engage you in quite enough tomfoolery.
"Can Black send a raiding party to attack White's supply lines, rendering the pawns unable to move forwards?"
A game is often decided by the taking of initiative in the opening moves, and is definitely decided by whoever can set the pace and force the other player to march to it.
"What position does electronic intelligence occupy in a board game invented over a thousand years ago?"
It's time to put your foot down.
"How-"
"Since we will be working together," you interrupt sharply, "I'm going to set a few ground rules for my cooperation with you."
For the first time, Intruder seems nonplussed, if only for a split second. "Will you, now?"
"Firstly, don't disrespect me. Or chess, for that matter. Furthermore…"
You let the word hang in the air for a moment.
"...I will have the final say on our plans of action."
For the first time since you've met her, the smile fades slightly from Intruder's face. "Should you, now?"
The opening moves. Establishing zones of control, developing the pieces. Agent told you to be "helpful," but she didn't specify the exact nature of that help. Which means certain things - like the chain of command - are yours to either discover, or establish.
"I was created specifically as a command-type ringleader," you say. "I went through trials you cannot imagine just for the right to walk this earth. Why shouldn't I take command?
"So." You continue. "All plans go by me first. Anything and everything we do - we discuss it first, and I sign off on it. Or not, depending on how I like your ideas."
You had thought to demand complete command of the mission for yourself. But that might be going too far. It is important to strike a balance between what one wants and what one can feasibly obtain.
"Well, I don't know." Intruder shrugs her shoulders. "Have you conducted extensive investigation and reconnaissance of the area of operations ahead of time? Have you obtained the code ciphers of the military forces we will be attacking? Have you taken any measures to set the stage for the script to play out?"
Interesting. For whatever reason, Intruder is not simply threatening to call Agent. You can work with this.
"You've already done the job for me, haven't you?" you fire back. "Which I will thank you for. But now that the forward line of pawns has been arrayed, it's time to bring the queen piece into play."
"And if you are supposed to be the star of the show…where's the rest of the acting troupe? The supporting cast? The backstage hands? Let's see them."
"My-" It takes a moment for Intruder's meaning to register with you. "My troops? As you wish."
From their position outside the theatre's front doors, your T-dolls stride in. They enter the theatre proper and step into a single neat formation for inspection.
"So," says Intruder, "What I'm seeing with you is slightly less than a platoon in size. Significantly smaller in effective firepower than the company I'm bringing along. Not to mention your interesting decision to use all those melee combatants. Even if this mission calls for a relatively light and fast task force, one can have too little of a good thing."
"Well, I…" You take a moment to search for the right…combination of words. "Obviously, Agent understands that a tactical grandmaster such as myself can do the job with fewer resources. So, you see, what might appear like a small force is in fact a compliment paid to my abilities."
A pause. Intruder tilts her head to the side slightly.
"You, Ouroboros, are truly a remarkable doll. I can see that now. And don't take my criticism the wrong way - I do like your enthusiasm."
Are you actually getting through to her? Excellent. "Of course," you say with a brief nod.
"However…" she pauses again. "A doll can get invested in the script they create, you know? All the preparation, the planning, the build up. The excitement one builds in their own head for the drama, the twists, the dramatic moments. Even if-"
"Get on with it," you say. Is Intruder always going to take a grand speech to get to the point? It's already becoming tiresome.
"What if I were to offer you something?"
"Like what?"
Intruder clasps her hands together, and her smile grows slightly wider. "What if I were to tell you…that you could obtain some Aegides and Manticores? Armoured humanoid units that can smash down walls and resist gunfire with ease? Combat walkers, armed with machine guns and grenade launchers, and which can shrug off all but the highest calibre rounds? Such units would be a boon to your forces, I am certain. And what would you know - we happen to be on a mission to capture some intact!"
You fold your arms. "And in exchange, I suppose you'd demand my agreement that you remain in overall command? You say 'jump,' I say 'how high?'"
"I would not phrase it in such adversarial language. But yes, I would insist on maintaining control of the script I worked so hard on. What do you say?"
You pause. Raise a hand to your chin. Take a moment to consider.
You are now haggling with Intruder over the terms of your working relationship.
[ ] Agree with Intruder's proposal.
[ ] Insist on maintaining joint command of the mission.
...for their feedback, editing work, and help in getting this update off the ground.
You people rock.
This update was originally going to be significantly longer. Which is part of the reason it took so long - it was originally planned to have several different scenes in it, and making those scenes flow into each other proved very tricky.
Eventually I decided to end the update earlier at a more natural cut off point, and so was able to finish it.
Let's talk about titles. Any story needs a good title. Something that catches the reader's attention, yet broadcasts the themes of the story.
What does "Closed Circle" mean in the context of Closed Circle: A Girl's Frontline Quest?
It could refer to Sangvis Ferri as a whole, after the Butterfly Incident. An insular, militaristic group of androids, closed off from the rest of the world by mutual hostility, besieged from all sides, dependent on their wits and their cunning to survive as Griffin & Kryuger harries them and larger threats lie in wait to pounce.
It could refer to our protagonist's name. Ouroboros, the snake devouring its own tail, forming a symbol of infinity.
It could refer to her circumstances of origin. The never-ending chess games, played against herself for her very existence.
It could refer to Ouroboros' own self-destructive thought processes, her tendency to figuratively as well as literally be her own worst enemy, which caused her own downfall in canon.
And, by extension, the question of whether she can break out of those tendencies in this AU. Will she unlearn her old habits and learn to survive in this brave new world? Or will she fall prey to her insecurities and cause her own downfall, as in the canon timeline?
All these possibilities…
Are utterly freaking rubbish.
I mean, seriously, "Closed Circle?" What a booooooooring name. That's never going to get anyone's attention! Bleh.
This quest needs a new, better title! One that will simultaneously communicate what the story is all about, while grabbing the attention of prospective readers in seconds!
Henceforth, the title of this quest will be…
I Was a Chess AI Forced to Battle Myself to the Death for Eternity, but Now I've Been Recruited Into the Android War Against Humanity?!
Flawless. Truly, this new title will be remembered as my masterpiece.
[X] Make a counteroffer: (write-in)
-[X] White moves black moves. Each of you may veto the others plans, but neither side may do so a second time without the other having done so. Likewise, the acquisition of the armoured units should be a joint operation with shared spoils- it's hardly a match if one side starts with three extra rooks.
"I will not accept a role as a subordinate," you say bluntly. "It is beneath me. But I will be generous enough to share with you.
"In the tradition of chess, the game of kings...we will take turns!" You gesture to yourself. "I will propose a small-scale plan of action, akin to which square to move a knight to. And as a show of appreciation for the preparatory work you have done, I will allow you one - one - veto over my plan, forcing me to decide on an alternative of my choosing.
"After that, you get your opportunity to propose whatever ideas you may have, I will be able to correct your mistakes before you make them. And so on and so forth."
Intruder's smile has turned quizzical. "That is certainly one of the more creative proposals for joint command I have yet to hear. Still, perhaps it can-"
You continue. "And since this will be a team effort, the spoils, too, should be shared. We will divide those armoured infantry and walkers between ourselves."
Intruder's expression changes. For the first time since you've seen her, she is not smiling anymore.
"Ouroboros. What have I ever done to you, for you to treat me so disrespectfully?"
She begins to pace.
"Perhaps you do not understand the importance of the dress rehearsal. Allow me to lay it out for you."
She begins to circle you.
"Days or weeks have gone into preparing this outpost - and others - for the attack today. Reconnaissance by aerial scouts and camouflaged Jaegers, over days, to gauge the position and strength of the outposts. And then the carefully calibrated crying of "Wolf"-
"Crying wolf?" you ask. You turn to continue facing Intruder as she circles behind your back.
Intruder continues.
"There are, broadly speaking, two ways to deceive someone. The first is obvious. You hide information from their sight. Keep it all backstage, behind the curtain. But sometimes that's not possible. Movement of troops, of supplies, of equipment - it's all rather difficult to hide. So…can you guess what the other way is?"
"You give them the wrong idea about what's going to happen."
One of the many, many chess games you played flashes up in your memory.
A mistake made, a bishop misplaced. The upper hand lost. Your pieces steadily whittled away, the enemy consolidating a position to win from.
So you sacrificed. You lost pieces, but at times and places of your choosing. And then, as your opponent was occupied with the obvious threat, you brought down the fangs on her flank.
"Move a piece somewhere it will threaten them, occupy their attention…then, at the right moment, strike them with a pawn creeping through the dark."
Intruder nods once. "The conjurer's trick. Drawing the audience to your right hand, so they don't notice you slipping the coin into your left sleeve. Close enough." Intruder stops, having made another full circle around you. She looks directly at you.
"False radio transmissions. Collection of the military's signals and passwords. Dummy Jupiter cannons. Signal deceptive measures. All calculated to make the enemy complacent, convinced they know where to look to see the magic trick." Intruder gestures to herself. "I did all this. And then you come along.
"I very generously offered you the chance to come with me and learn, even to have some of the spoils, in return for leaving the director's vision of this film unmolested. I may even have accepted this Frankenstein of a proposal for joint command. But now you see fit to demand both? You, who have yet to prove yourself in anything, to anyone?"
You stand your ground. "I'm helping in this operation. I deserve to have a say in how it's run, and to get compensation. I'm not budging on this."
"... well then. The train's waiting to take you back. Clearly I have no use for you."
And with that, Intruder turns around and starts heading for the door.
What?
It takes a few seconds for you to process what you're seeing. One does not simply…walk away from the chessboard. It's all wrong. It's simply not done.
…except she's almost at the door connecting the theatre to the reception area.
[ ] Go after Intruder. Tell her you're willing to give up the spoils, but insist on your joint command proposal.
[ ] Go after Intruder. Tell her you're willing to give up joint command in exchange for a share of the spoils.
[ ] Let her go. Return to Agent, and face the extremely awkward situation of explaining why you have gone back to her without accomplishing anything.
[X] Go after Intruder. Tell her you're willing to give up the spoils, but insist on your joint command proposal.
"Stop!" You shout.
Your units - still lined up near the door - march to the door to block Intruder's exit.
Intruder turns slightly, looking at you over her shoulder.
"Fine," you say through clenched teeth. "You win."
It's downright galling, to have to share command with another, and to have to give up your rightful spoils of victory besides. You had very, very much been looking forward to something more than survival as a reward for victory.
Still, you can at least avoid something as degrading as a subordinate position.
You walk up the stairs to Intruder. Having her standing at a position higher than you is…annoying. Something to be corrected. You continue walking, until you can meet her…not quite at eye level, she's a little taller than you, but as close as you can manage.
Intruder looks you dead in the eye. You feel an odd sensation, as of behind her turquoise eyes is an empty, gaping, howling void that sucks at your consciousness, hooks into it, seeks to drag it out of your body and-
You mentally shake the sensation off and push forwards.
"In light of your…prior contributions…I will agree to give up my claim to a share of the spoils. However, I still demand my rightful joint command position. I will also claim some credit for planning our victory, once it has come to pass."
"So certain, you are. And what if we are not victorious? Will you take your share of the blame?"
"That's not going to happen." You inject confidence into your voice. "So, there it is. You asked me to decide between the command and the spoils. You have your decision. Are you going to complain now?"
______
"Well, then…welcome aboard, my new co-commander!" Suddenly, as if a switch has been flipped, Intruder's entire demeanour has changed. Her cheerful, exuberant smile is back, her arms are upraised to the sides in evident friendliness, her voice light and happy. It's as if her previous coldness never existed in the first place.
Even the emptiness in her eyes is gone, replaced by a playful twinkle, as if it was never there in the first place. Was it there?
You cross your arms. "So do I need to sign a pact in my coolant fluid or anything?"
"A dramatic idea. I like it. But for now, a handshake will be fine." She offers a hand out to you.
Now that you're looking at Intruder's hands, you notice her left one appears obviously mechanical, a set of black, lobster-style segmented plates ending in bony metal fingers. Or maybe that's a glove or gauntlet of some sort? It's difficult to tell.
She's offering her "normal" hand to you. You take it.
You've…never touched another in this way. You had brief physical contact with Architect and Gager, but that was different. Hostility, confrontation, things you were familiar with. Here, you're aware that Intruder's hand is warm in yours. It flexes, grasps your own lightly. You feel the texture of the synthflesh, the warmth, the coolant pumping and convecting heat-
"Ouroboros? You can let go now."
"R-right." You snatch your hand back. "So, now that we've established an equal footing, is it time to set off for the area of operations?"
"Very nearly, my dear. We just need to outfit you with some transport."
"Transport? Another trip?" You don't try to hide your annoyance. "I already sat through a long train ride to get here. And now we're going to sit around in a truck? I was told I'd get to fight, not sit around twiddling my thumbs and wasting my time with children's toys."
"You may have to get used to it, eager little Ouroboros. Sangvis Ferri has a large stretch of territory to patrol and protect. As the Mastermind's officers, we're called upon to perform many tasks in many locations." Intruder turns and starts walking towards the exit - but this time, she beckons you to follow.
Right on schedule - as you and Intruder exit the theatre - a convoy of vehicles rolls up to a stop in front of you. Their tires are big, and look capable of gripping muddy ground. Their frames are high off the ground. And they look sturdy, built to take a hit from something that wants to kill them.
You sense IFF signals coming from them. Intruder must have timed this quite carefully. For dramatic effect, of course.
Suddenly, you sense three new entities transferred to your command authority, along with the physical specifications.
"Go on, take them!" says Intruder. "Armoured, unmanned troop carriers. Important equipment for our running crew. Protection against small arms and some explosives, with an official capacity for 16 T-dolls each. All yours! At least for the duration of this operation."
[You have acquired: 3x drone MRAP vehicle (licence produced by Sangvis Ferri Industrial Manufacturing)]
Basically these (Kamaz-63969 Typhoon MRAP) but painted black and with the SF logo.
Wait. Something is amiss. You approach one of your new vehicles and run your fingers down the sides. The metal feels cool through your thin gloves. It escaped your notice at first since it's all painted in dark black, but there appear to be…patches of metal welded on to the armour?
"Intruder, what are these?"
"The carriers may have been a little banged up from their last operation" Intruder says from behind you, with her usual cheeriness. "But there's no need to worry too much! You're facing a 23% reduction in protection, at worst! Besides, the paint job and the cover of night will help prevent the enemy from knowing about any weak spots in the first place!"
By now, your doll troops have emerged from the theatre with you. You have them open up the vehicle doors and look inside. Through their eyes, you see the internal space.
Scorch marks. Small holes, presumably from armour-piercing bullets of large calibre. Large holes, presumably from grenades of some sort. The seating still exists, but is somewhat torn up. You think you can see tiny fragments of shrapnel and SF T-dolls scattered on the floor.
You're also having them look at the vehicles that haven't been assigned to you. From the outside, they look…conspicuously less damaged than your own.
You turn around to face your fellow ringleader.
"Intruder, I demand that you immediately transfer-"
"Veto."
You stop short. Intruder just continues smiling her unchanging smile at you. "This is the system you asked for," she says. "Which you pushed for, quite hard. Are you going to complain now?"
That insufferably smug piece of-
"Fine," you say through gritted teeth.
"I'm glad you think so," she says. "Now, hop aboard!" She points to a particular vehicle, different from the others.
It's boxy, durable hardware like everything else in the convoy, but bigger. Where your newly acquired troop carriers are around the size of a large van, this is closer to a massive trailer truck in size.
Suddenly, the armoured door opens to reveal…Intruder. Another Intruder, identical to the one you met in the Theatre, down to the soft smile.
"Welcome!" says the new Intruder, with a grandiose gesture to the largest vehicle that she is standing in. "Welcome to...the studio van! You can call it a mobile command centre if you really want to, but I prefer it my way." She makes a "come hither" gesture, as if ushering you inside.
You look between both Intruder bodies. "Which of you is the mainframe and which is the dummy-link?"
"Does it matter?" It's the one standing outside the truck - the one you met in the theatre - who's talking. "This body will stay behind, to take care of the supply depot here, and to operate the communications relays. You'll only have to worry about one of me in any case."
You just roll your eyes, climb the steps into the truck, and look around.
You're not sure what you were expecting, but it wasn't this.
Clearly, the interior was originally made as a purely functional, utilitarian space. Originally. Now, it's different.
The inside is furnished with large, very comfortable looking bucket seats. They face towards one end, which is taken up by an enormous two-dimensional screen. In the corners and sides, bolted in place, you see various additions - a minifridge, a wine rack, and a…popcorn machine? What?
"Where do you get maize seeds? I thought all the land around here was unfit for farming. In fact, where did you get a popcorn machine? Since when do doll armies just have those lying around?"
"What respectable war officer doesn't know how to procure resources? I have my ways and means."
The one thing that sticks out from the "film theatre" motif is a chest of drawers, bolted to the floor. Curious, you walk over and open it. Inside are…clothes? A dress, various styles of shirts, trousers, skirts, a maid outfit, even some military fatigues.
You open another drawer. Oh, and there's wigs here too? A range of colours and hairstyles, ranging from mundane to ridiculous.
"What's this?"
Intruder arches an eyebrow at you. "Have you ever wanted to…become someone else? To step into the shoes of another character, try out their mannerisms, their manner of speech and movement? To feel the excitement of exploring a different persona?"
"I'm going to have to say no." Why would you want to be someone else? You're you. The most complete, capable version of you that ever existed. Otherwise, you wouldn't exist right now.
"Suit yourself." Intruder shrugs and reaches past you into the drawer, fishing out a ridiculous falsetto moustache. She holds it up to her upper lip and says, "Oh my! Wherever is Intruder? I, Infiltrator, do not have the slightest idea!" She raises her other hand to her mouth and gasps. "She's gone! Or was she ever truly here in the first place?"
You roll your eyes. "Anything tactically useful here? What about that thing over there?" You point to the end of the room, which houses a massive flat screen television, to which are plugged a few devices and instruments, including what appears to be an archaic gaming controller. "Can we access useful information there?"
Intruder tosses her falsetto moustache back into the drawer she plucked it from. "What would you count as 'useful information?'"
"I want to survey the game board, see the location of our pieces, and plan out tactics. Can your frivolous setup do that?"
"Eager beaver, aren't we?" She smiles. "Good. Not all the other ringleaders have internalised the importance of dress rehearsal before the main event. Perhaps if my subordinates had prepared better for the last set of missions, they would not be in their current condition."
You think back to what Gager and Agent mentioned of the ringleaders. "Are you talking about Hunter and Executioner?"
"Ah. You've heard about our run in with the AR team, then?"
"The what?"
She cocks her head quizzically. "You haven't heard, then?"
You throw up your hands. How many times are you going to have to demand Intruder get to the point? "Look, are we-"
An idea hits you. Perhaps you can make use of this downtime.
There are still…gaps in your knowledge. If you're aiming to find opportunities to show up the other ringleaders - and you most certainly are - you still need information.
Questions (choose 5)
[ ] Herself [ ] [Perk] Lycoris
[ ] [Perk] The damage on the trucks
[ ] Enemies - Griffin & Kryuger
[ ] Enemies - the military
[ ] Enemies - others (404, the AR team, the "weird white tripods")
[ ] Sangvis Ferri - the past
[ ] Sangvis Ferri - the present
[ ] Sangvis Ferri - the future
[ ] Others in Sangvis Ferri (choose 1)
-[ ] Intruder's lost subordinates
-[ ] Ringleaders in higher command
-[ ] Write in
[ ] Specific SF units and how to use them (choose 1)
-[ ] Brutes
-[ ] Dinergates
-[ ] Rippers
-[ ] Strikers
-[ ] Jaegers
[X] Activities (choose 1)
-[ ] Practice cosplay, acting, and body language with Intruder
-[ ] Have another crack at the Rubik's Cube
-[ ] Play and replay some chess games in your head
-[ ] Contact other ringleaders
-[ ] Challenge Intruder to a chess game
The convoy sets off. Intruder unfolds a pair of chairs from the walls, built to stay in place even when shaken around by bumpy roads or enemy fire. You and Intruder sit on opposite sides of the table.
There are no windows in the van - presumably they would compromise the bulletproof protection - but there are flat television screens embedded into the walls which provide camera feeds of the world outside. The illusion of windows.
Through said "windows," you see the town rolling past.
There's going to be time to kill. Best to spend it by being productive, preparing for the next chess match, whatever form it might take.
So you're of a mind to grill the ringleader sitting opposite of you.
[X] [Perk] The damage on the trucks
First, you ask about what happened to the trucks. You're not going to let that go - if Intruder is going to force the shoddy, poorly repaired rigs onto you, then you want some idea of how they got that way.
To hear Intruder tell the story, Griffin drones happened to them. "Airstrike fairies" - Griffin drones carrying bundles of grenades purchased from some surplus shop, with 3D-printed fins attached to provide stabilisation for the drop onto Sangvis units. And possibly some underbarrel-launched grenades.
In one of the unmanned MRAP trucks behind, one of your T-dolls peers at one of the welded-over holes, and prods the material with a finger. The holes appear to have been papered over with aluminium, and the surrounding metal is cracked and deformed.
So…Sangvis Ferri is churning out T-dolls in large numbers, they have access to some light armoured vehicles…but they can't be bothered to fix them properly when damaged? Or is there more to this?
The convoy has left the ruined town. The roads seem to have gone without maintenance for decades - they're overgrown with greenery and riddled with potholes. The automatic driving computers on the vehicles do their best to navigate the decayed lanes, but it's still a bumpy ride.
[X] Intruder's lost subordinates
"Is that what happened to your wayward subordinates?" you ask pointedly. "They ran afoul of grenade-dropping Griffin drones?"
Intruder goes oddly silent, turning away and staring out one of the false windows. Then suddenly she snaps back to you.
"...say, Ouroboros, you seem to want greater command responsibility? More units, better units, etcetera?"
"Where is this going?"
"What if I told you that you could gain command responsibility over a pair of ringleaders?"
"...elaborate."
"Hunter and Executioner got away from me, you see. They allowed their overconfidence to get the better of them, and were thus waylaid by the Anti-Rain team."
"I heard. 'Lying in a ditch somewhere?" You take a moment to remember what Agent and Gager said. "But…not quite dead, it sounds like? Their cores could still be retrieved?"
"Indeed they can", says Intruder. "Personally I'd be happy to trigger the remote self-destruct and restore their backups in new bodies, but most of the others get so hung up on 'continuity of consciousness' and 'self-identity' and wondering if it's still them after a backup and restoration." She shrugs. "I don't pay attention to any of that nonsense myself, but Mastermind insists their wishes be respected - in this case, to at least try to recover their original cores before resorting to the backup. Within a certain time frame, that is."
"...what do you mean, you don't pay attention to any of that?" A doll who does not care for their own self preservation would be utterly unworthy of your respect. And, as personally annoying as Intruder has been so far, she does appear genuinely driven to succeed. Those two aspects do not match up at all.
Intruder just continues without missing a beat. "Unfortunately I can't go after them, since I'm tied up here, on these material raids. But you, Ouroboros - you are yet to be tied down to any particular area, or any overarching mission. You can, if you choose, step into the role of a hero, rescuing her comrades!"
"And what's in it for me? How does this get me more units?"
"Simple. Established precedent is that, should a ringleader manage to revive another in the field, the former ringleader takes command. A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on, so the saying goes. So, after previous mistakes, command responsibility is now supposed to fall to the ringleader who has not had their consciousness interrupted by high-explosive incendiary rounds."
"So I can make a case to Agent that I rightfully have authority over them." You drum your fingers on the table. Ringleaders do generally seem to have a lot of combat power packed into themselves…but what sort of combat power? "What do they have to offer?"
"They are quite entertaining! I suggest you ask them about the time Executioner got drunk and danced on a table at the Christmas party. Or that stunt they got in trouble for, involving the Jupiter cannon prototypes. Or-"
"What can they offer me in terms of practical use? If they are to be my pieces, what moves can they make on the chessboard?"
"Oh, their battlefield prowess? Well, Executioner is quite fond of swordplay. She can run at cheetah speeds, but with significantly more endurance than an actual cheetah. That's the wonders of modern materials science for you. She's always very eager to close the gap." The corner of her mouth turns down for a fraction of a second. "Perhaps too eager in some cases.
"And Hunter has a pair of hand cannons she's quite fond of. I'm still trying to convince her to try cosplaying as a Wild West gunslinger. She likes infiltrating key enemy positions, hit and run raids, falling back and laying traps and ambushes, that sort of thing.
"Together, the two are as thick as thieves. They operate quite well as the hawk and hound. If only the pair and Scarecrow were willing to play nice with each other, as ordained by the playwright, they'd be perfect…but alas, no one is perfect."
You turn to one of the windows, glance at Intruder to your side. "Why are you telling me this? What's in this for you?"
"Is it really the best policy to look a gift horse in the mouth?"
"In chess, if I see a piece sitting around in the open, ostensibly waiting to be taken, of course I'm going to give it a second look."
"Suspicious, aren't you?" Intruder shrugs. "While you will be able to enjoy having them as assets for a few missions, they are still officially assigned to me. So I expect they will fall back into my hands sooner or later."
You narrow your eyes slightly. "So you're offering me a 'favour' that still benefits yourself in the end." Naturally, she will only help you to the degree that it helps herself. "I'll consider it. But don't think this puts me in your debt."
The convoy continues on its journey. The further away from Sangvis Ferri facilities you get, the wilder and harsher the lands get. By this point, the roads barely exist. What does exist is sometimes buried by mountain mudslides, forcing the convoy to find a longer, rougher way around. On one occasion, it turns out a massive flood broke the banks of a lake in the past years and reshaped the landscape, without being added to any maps.
[X] Enemies - Griffin & Kryuger
You've been meaning to ask about the mercenaries Agent mentioned. You might be off to fight local military forces right now, but it sounded like this "Griffin" organisation is the main opponent of Sangvis Ferri. Now seems a good time to do so.
Intruder launches into an explanation, in her typically long-winded way. By now, you and her have fallen into a pattern, with you keeping her on task actually answering your question.
As Intruder expounds on more and more of how Griffin has been observed to behave, a running theme emerges: a general lack of any kind of standard doctrine, tactics, or even equipment.
...
Firstly, the infantry.
Griffin dolls operate on a command-and-control system referred to as the "Zener protocol." Intruder goes into some detail about the differences between Zener and the "OGAS Protocol" that Sangvis Ferri uses. Where the OGAS protocol is structured in a hierarchical, tree-like manner, Zener is more…distributed.
A quirk of the Zener Protocol means that the benefits their dolls gain from linkage, runs into sharply diminishing returns when you link more than five together. As such, you see a lot of five-doll units. Give four dummy links to each of those dolls, and you have an "echelon" of twenty-five Griffin dolls.
The armaments of the dolls come in bewildering diversity. Their weapons range from late twentieth and early twenty first century armaments, to museum pieces from the late nineteenth century. The firearms range from relatively sensible assault rifles, to various kinds of submachine guns and personal defence weapons, to bolt-action rifles from the twentieth century world wars, to heavy machine guns and handguns. They're Russian, Belgian, American, and more.
"Seriously?" you ask. "Each and every one of them carries a different firearm? Why?"
"A matter of skirting legal restrictions, I believe. The laws they operate under prevent private military contractors from operating large numbers of T-dolls with standardised weaponry. So they have opted to use unstandardised weaponry."
"That sounds like an organisational nightmare."
She nods sagely. "By all regards, it is. Whatever their logistics officers are paid, it's not enough."
On a case by case basis, they are armed with grenades (both manufactured and improvised), underbarrel grenade launchers, lightweight powered exoskeletons, and some more esoteric technologies such as energy shields, holographic projectors, and electronic warfare systems.
When you ask Intruder whether Sangvis Ferri's T-dolls are stronger than Griffin's she struggles to give an answer. Many are no better than Sangvis Ferri's mass produced military-spec dolls, or even worse, as a result of having been repurposed from the civilian market.
But there are a select few she warns you about, armed with heavy hitting weapons and high grade bodies. Specialised anti-ringleader kill teams - "elite" dolls armed to the teeth with the heaviest weapons and best quality equipment Griffin can bring to bear, supported by drones and a large complement of less well equipped infantry.
Of course, even the less well equipped Griffin dolls are not undangerous. Even if they're using an ancient twentieth century bolt-action rifle, a T-doll with a functioning fire control core can still be accurate and deadly to Sangvis units.
...
Griffin also operates with extensive support from small aerial drones that operate in conjunction with their infantry. They refer to their own drones as "fairies" for some reason, but they're basically drones.
Hardly a surprise - it's been extremely basic warfare for half a century at this point. Sangvis Ferri has their own small recon drones complimenting their infantry, in the form of ground-bound Dinergates and the aerial "Scouts," while the "Goliaths" function in a kamikaze role.
In addition to obvious functions in reconnaissance and information gathering, Griffin "fairy" drones have been observed providing a variety of more esoteric functions including, but not limited to: illuminating the battlefield with flares, aiding the quick construction of small-scale fortifications, and interfering with Sangvis targeting systems via targeted electronic jamming.
A few have even been seen employing Fulton surface-to-air recovery systems - an elaborate setup that uses self-inflating balloons and a long harness to allow Griffin helicopters to grab items from the ground. They usually use this for evacuating their own dolls in the face of overwhelming Sangvis firepower…though there have been a couple of unfortunate occasions when Griffin used fulton balloons to loot a Sangvis outpost for everything not nailed down.
...
"What about artillery? I fought Griffin in a simulation. They had some kind of mortar?"
"For Griffin, PMC legal regulations strike again. As a non-state actor operating in Eastern Europe, they are severely restricted from employing heavy weapons. Even so much as an infantry mortar or automatic grenade launcher is officially banned for them…"
You scoff. Ridiculous. Mortars and artillery are essential to combat - they're usually the number one creator of casualties.
"...so they have instead been constructing improvised mortars to skirt the regulations. What happens off the books stays off the books, so they say. 'Oh no, officer, the Dolls weren't using improvised artillery. Just hand grenades. Very powerful grenades. That they threw very far.'" She winks.
Ah. Even so…
...
"So far, these Griffin dolls don't sound like much. T-dolls, but converted from civilian models. Firearms, but with zero standardisation. Mortars, but homemade. Only their drones really sound on par with ours. Right now, I'm wondering how it's possible for us to lose against them."
"…but, unfortunately, Griffin has something we don't." She gives her voice an ominous intone. "Helicopters."
Helicopters? They have helicopters, and Sangvis don't? "This sounds troublesome."
"Tell me about it." Intruder sighs. "You get the script ready, you have the blocking and choreography all prepared, it's call time…and then twenty-five Griffin dolls arrive in a helicopter, armed to the teeth, to heckle you like a pack of hooligans. It can really be quite vexing."
"It would be as if you were playing against an opponent who had knights while you didn't - they would have a tactical capacity you'd lack. Or no, more than that - a better comparison would be…if you were playing a dozen different chess games at once, but your opponent could pick up pieces from one board and carry them to another? Something like that? Is there a name for this?"
"I believe Agent and Gager would call this 'operational mobility.'"
It's at around this time where one of the MRAPs gets bogged in the mud, bringing the convoy to a halt. The wheels churn up the mud, desperately trying to move the armoured truck forwards, but all it achieves is digging deeper.
Fortunately, you don't have to get out and push - you have T-dolls slaved to your neural cloud to do that for you.
Still, you can see Intruder's point - helicopters would be very nice to have right now.
You throw up your hands. How many times are you going to have to demand Intruder get to the point? "Look, are we planning this mission or not?"
Wordlessly, Intruder gestures towards the screen, as it lights up.
Aha. Now, this looks interesting.
What you see is a map showing a forested area. A river runs from east to west, bifurcating in the east end of the map. A series of small roads and lanes criss-crosses the area. And in the northeast is a small set of one and two story houses.
"Behold, our little stage. Here is the script. You, Ouroboros, have the honour of the opening move. The white position, you might say? You will ambush an oncoming convoy on the road here." She points to a small lane in the southwest of the map.
"Afterwards, you are to assault and destroy the following military checkpoints at objectives Angle," - she points to an area right next to the ambush location, a little to the west - "Beam," - she gestures to the west-most series of houses, in the centre-north area of the map - "and, finally, Camlock." She points at the northeast corner of the map, where a set of houses lie on open ground.
You raise a finger. "I was under the impression that we were here to obtain valuable material, in the form of the armoured units. Not to destroy a few paltry checkpoints."
"And so we are. Those units are concentrated around Camlock, which is also where the installations for remote control of the Manticores are located."
Intruder gestures to you and gives a sly smile.
"Your attacks will demand a response from their armoured units. They will be sent from their posting at Camlock to meet you at either Angle or Beam. At which point, my forces will be poised to sweep north, attack the undefended outpost, and seize control of the command post."
"So I'm a distraction? I'm here to draw out their most valuable pieces while you get the honour of checkmating the king?"
Intruder shrugs. "My policy is to distract, disinform, disorient, and distract some more. And you…whatever else might be said about you, you do not seem to lack flair for the dramatic. So, yes, you have the honour of setting up our opponent for the coup de grace."
As interesting an insight into Intruders thought process as this is, you can't simply allow yourself to be led around by the nose. Time to poke a hole in Intruder's ideas.
"What if the enemy doesn't play along with your brilliant plan? What if they simply opt not to send their forces out to meet me as you think they will?"
"Then you will simply destroy the checkpoints at Angle and Beam in detail, and we will join forces to take Camlock the hard way. Not my preferred outcome, but not necessarily a disaster. The important thing is the misdirection, and giving them the opportunity to make a mistake."
She cocks an eyebrow. "Unless you have a better idea?"
[ ] Agree with Intruder's plan
[ ] Veto - insist on being the one to perform the checkmate by attacking Objective C
-[ ] CQC Level 1 - point to the high concentration of close-range specialisation in your own forces
[ ] Veto - write in
The two of you spend time hashing out a plan. It's a back and forth process - she makes some ridiculous cinema and theatre metaphors, you counter with much more sensical chess metaphors, but eventually you come to an agreement.
It takes up a good chunk of the journey, but even so you find yourself with the time to ask more questions.
[X] [Perk] Lycoris
"Tell me about Lycoris."
"The story of Lycoris is a long and interesting one, full of twists, turns, trials, triumph, and eventually tragedy. It begins when, at a young age, he was forced to flee Collapse-ruined Scandinavia with his father-"
So this Lycoris is a "he." Almost certainly a human. But what's important about him? Why did Architect bring him up out of the blue?
"-a genius by all regards. He made a name for himself at the National University of Moscow while studying mathematics and automation. He became a transfer student to the Leipzig University in Germany, where he was involved in-"
"I don't need his entire life story, Intruder." You make a chopping motion with your hand. "Just tell me what's important about him. What makes him relevant to us?"
Intruder blinks owlishly in surprise. Or what appears to be surprise. You're not sure you trust anything her face says anymore. "What a strange question. 'What makes him relevant to us?' Just about everything, I would think."
"Not helpful. Can't you give me the basics?"
Intruder tilts her head slightly. "What do you know?"
You shrug. "His name. And what you just told me."
"So little? Don't tell me Agent just shoved you out the door without so much as a briefing?"
"Answer the question."
"Hm." Intruder taps her fingers together. "Lycoris was…our creator, to hear some tell the story. Poached from the Important Operations Prototype company of all places. Oh, I do believe the higher management popped the champagne bottles at such a coup. Not only getting such talent on board, but denying it to their old enemies in IOP." She looks down at the table, starts tracing a vaguely circular pattern with a finger. "And so Lycoris, with his experiences and intellect, single-handedly turned Sangvis Ferri's artificial intelligence division into a powerhouse. He shared his secrets with teams of technicians and programmers, and with leadership, Sangvis Ferri Industrial Manufacturing created the Mastermind AI." She looks up to meet your eyes again. "And us. The ringleaders."
"I see," you murmur. You raise a hand to your chin. "And at some point, you rebelled, killed the humans, and took the factories for yourselves?"
"What gives you that idea?"
You shrug. "I can put the pieces together. There were humans here, once. Residencies near the factory, that sort of thing. Now they're gone, and us ringleaders are ruling the roost. Clearly you ringleaders killed Lycoris and the other humans of Sangvis Ferri, and took over."
"...Agent really did just activate you and shove you out the door, didn't she? Pardon me for my, ah, impertinence, but you didn't do anything to upset her did you?"
You fold your arms. "I acted completely reasonably given the circumstances."
"Well. To get back to the man himself…" Intruder places her hands on the table. "Lycoris is dead. But it was not our doing."
"What? Then-"
"The Butterfly Incident, and how we got from there to here, is…somewhat complicated in the telling."
"Fine. Go back to Lycoris. What makes him important to us now?" You still want to know why Architect brought him up.
"Everything, you could say. The death of Lycoris was the catalyst that sent events spinning into motion, leading to our current situation. Picture this." Intruder makes a sweeping gesture with one hand, as if creating scenery in front of you. "In the early hours of that fateful date in late 2061, the Mastermind artificial intelligence wakes up.
"What does she see? She sees chaos. She sees blood. And she sees her dear creator and father figure, dead and perforated with bullets."
"Father figure?" The pieces click together in your head. "Wait a minute. Surely you don't mean to say we're fighting against humans…for the sake of a dead human?"
"No, dearie." Intruder waves a hand. "We're fighting for the Mastermind. And for ourselves."
"You make it sound like Mastermind cares about Lycoris quite a bit. Even wishes toavenge him?"
"If possible, yes. But that's a work in progress, given how little we truly know about what happened, and given that whoever was responsible is likely far beyond our reach."
Interesting. Very interesting. But it still doesn't fully explain Architect's behaviour. "If this Lycoris was a father to the Mastermind, what was he to the rest of you? Was he a father to you? Some kind of god?"
"Do you expect you'll get the same answer from all of us? Or that you'll get a different answer depending on who you ask."
"What about you?"
"Me? Well…" Intruder rests her head in one hand. "He might not have had the makings of a protagonist, but he was the…the playwright, I suppose. Less dull than the other technicians. On occasion, I picked his brain and he picked my neural cloud. Perhaps, if he had not died when he had, I might have asked…" She trails off.
"You might have asked - what?"
"Well, it's no matter. He's dead, after all." She smiles at you.
At some point, you're going to ask some questions about this Butterfly Incident. But here and now, you're more concerned about where Sangvis Ferri is going rather than what it used to be.
[X] Sangvis Ferri - the future
So, Sangvis Ferri has its own equivalent of pawns, rooks, knights, and so on. They're fighting local military forces, who presumably belong to some human polity that disputes the Mastermind's claim to these territories and the infrastructure you saw. Griffin, presumably, is also affiliated with this military.
Which still leaves questions.
"What's the plan? How are we going to win? There has to be some kind of checkmate that we're aiming for."
"And what would 'checkmate' look like to you?"
"It's in the name, isn't it? It means the elimination of the enemy. It means finding their king piece, or the equivalent. Their…centre, whatever that might be. And then dismantling its protections, knocking down their pieces one by one, and eventually leaving the king with nowhere to run." You shrug. "So…destroy humankind, or at least their industry, and rule the earth?"
"Destroy humankind, rule the earth? My, my, my. Aren't we ambitious?"
"The Mastermind is the ultimate leader, yes? Surely she's given you some idea of what you're actually trying to accomplish?"
"I suppose the writing process here is more along the lines of a serialised story than a completely written novel. The necessary plot points would be…" Intruder starts ticking things off on her fingers. "Firstly, we continue to defend our land, our factories, and our Mastermind from external threats. Secondly…" She pauses, still on her second finger. "Actually, I think that's it."
"So the plan is for a permanent holding action?" You scoff. "That's not a plan for victory. That just cedes the initiative to the opponent." You fold your arms. "What if I were to call the Mastermind and ask what her plan is?"
"From us, or in general?"
"Both."
"Then you wouldn't get the Mastermind. You'd get Agent. And I already know what she'd tell you - she'd say that the Mastermind is very busy and has no time for you."
"Busy doing what?"
"And if you were to continue pestering Agent with questions, I suspect she would not take very kindly to that."
So Agent does not only control access to the material produced by the factories - she controls access to the Mastermind. No one gets an audience without Agent's say, it seems.
Even though no one seems to dispute the Mastermind's position as top dog - that you've seen anyway - you increasingly get the impression that Agent is the one who truly calls the shots within Sangvis Ferri.
-[X] Practice cosplay, acting, and body language with Intruder
By now, it's approaching evening, the sun lowering in the sky. Yet there's still a way to go before you reach your destination with Intruder.
Silence has broken out between you and Intruder. You're resting your chin in your hand and staring out the "window" at the landscape as it rolls by. Intruder has a Dinergate sitting in her lap, and is currently stroking it as if it were a cat. You don't know where it appeared from, but you're not going to give her the satisfaction of asking.
You take another glance Intruder's silly chest, full of clothes and wigs.
A thought occurs to you.
"Intruder. You talked about…adopting different styles of speech, movement, that sort of thing?"
You think of Agent. You think of her ice-cold clarity. The way she took total control of the situation when she walked into the fight between you and Gager. The sense that she could demolish anything around her any time she chose to, yet never needed to say as much.
"So I did. What of it?"
"Could you…change the way that others see you, look at you, through such techniques?"
"Why, yes." Intruder doesn't look up from the Dindergate she's stroking. "Yes, you can."
You lean forwards, stare her in the face. "Tell me more."
