WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
Vodka has come to.
Metal Gear Solid V: Chronicles of Outer Heaven (MGS/Valkyria Chronicles)
- Thread starter konamikode
- Start date
- Sci-Fi Crossover Action Mature
Dezron
In the Omnissiah we trust !
- Location
- Poland
I think we would go 3 PMC actions .
DragoLord19D
I ate a TARDIS but I'm still hungry!
- Location
- Ma Treasure Hoard (I ain't tellin' where it's at!)
Nonono, here. This should work better.
Dmol8
The Undead Unhinged Lunatic of the Web
- Location
- Belgrade,Serbia
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
I would take both Kurds and Afghanistan. I've changed my mind on the Contra War and want to get Paz's opinion on it first. So it can wait a turn. As for why Afghanistan? Because its a statement about not taking sides. We kick Soviet bullshit out the same way we kick US bullshit out. With reinforced boots. As for the third action? Grab the mess hall upgrade or the refugee tree unlock.
Dezron
In the Omnissiah we trust !
- Location
- Poland
This is probably last turn in MG world ...
konamikode
Cooking Harder
This was... really confusing to read. It jumped and jumbled way too much.
You get the wardogs bonus, but no CP for this one.
Omake Ops Philanthroper's Legacy: 10.3 The Notes of Donald Anderson (4CP) (200k) by Imperial Helldog
Imperial Helldog
410,757,864,530 DEAD LIZARDS
Philanthroper's Legacy: 10.3
The Notes of Donald Anderson
Donald "SIGINT" Anderson
Voice Actor: James C. Mathis III
The Notes of Donald Anderson
Donald "SIGINT" Anderson
Voice Actor: James C. Mathis III
The Notes of Donald Anderson (1)
December 6, 1969
-can't believe that I'm actually doing this. Oh, it's already on?
…
Heh, the moment the little red light comes on, my mind goes blank. I hate it when it that happens. This is all Para-Medic's fault, even if she's got a point that I enjoy the sound of my voice. Not like I'll ever admit to that in front of her!
...
The more I think about it, the more right this feels. The things we're getting done, in this group, this thing we've created… In a few years, I could play back these tapes to them and have a damn good laugh at some of the crazy shit I'll probably say!
Oh, and don't worry Major, I know, operational security and all that. It's easier to smash one of these little tapes than burning a journal. Not that I tested that out.
Some of this spy stuff goes right over my head, but the Major's good people; he may complain about the way Americans get things done compared to the Brits, but he knows we're doing something special here, that me and Para-Medic sometimes need a helping hand. I may be the guy who tells Snake what's what with a weapon system, but the things he can do with it…
And this whole Patriot business, the Philosopher's Legacy, the Will of The Boss… Gotta be honest, sometimes I feel way in over my head, but other days? It's like something out of a comic book, or one of those old pulp magazines! I'm working with the best of the best in military intelligence, special ops, medicine, tech development, money isn't and won't ever be a concern, and it's all for a good cause. I know guys I've worked with before that would kill for an opportunity half as good as this.
Earlier this week, I got a taste of what the Major talked about when he pitched me the idea of the Patriots, something about the "subtle hand" that would guide R&D in the country. I was present at the Stanford Research Institute for the first successful message sent through ARPANET. Doesn't sound like much, right? I mean, I wasn't even in the room when it happened, I might as well have been a nameless suit to those guys. But that million dollars Director Herzfeld gave them back in '66 had to come from somewhere, and it sure wasn't from a "ballistic missile defense program."
Man, ARPANET? That's the future: information and communication, concentrated through secure networks established across the country. It might just be one computer network spread throughout four universities right now, but the foundation is set. It'll spread to more universities, and its success will draw the attention of the government. That's where this really pays off; with the way the ARPA higher ups have been talking, the Patriots will soon have eyes and ears on networks established solely for military use. It might take a while, but that just means we can give it a nudge if it needs it.
And this was all my idea! Not ARPANET, but the funding, the… Well, I guess it's manipulation no matter how you say it. I explained the possibilities to the Major, how this could be groundbreaking stuff, and he tells me to go for it. The Patriots got in on the ground floor, and like a bad rash, we're sticking around for the long haul!
…
You know, Para-Medic was right. This is almost... Therapeutic? Is that the word she used? Helps that I'm imagining talking to her while recording. I might not do this as often as she suggested, but it's less paperwork to burn if something goes wrong, right?
Now, let's see… How do you turn this-
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (2)
August 21, 1972
Snake is gone.
…
I really didn't know how else to start this. But Snake, Big Boss, Jack… He's gone.
…
Not dead-gone, but gone-gone, and I'd say it's worse. He's out there somewhere…
...
Major Zero gave me the details after some prodding from Para-Medic. Not all the details, though, cause she had to fill in the rest afterwards. Les Enfant Terribles. Oh man did I mangle that. Let's just call it the Terrible Infant project and leave it at that.
…
Right off the bat, my gut tells me this is all wrong. We're a team. We were made a solid team through Virtuous Mission and Snake Eater. We even brought in EVA and Ocelot! It's why we came together to see through The Boss' vision. We're like a… A rifle. We're all the internals, and if one of us gets taken out, the rifle's never going to fire, not that I'd ever say that out loud around the Major. He told us it would all work out, that him and Snake just have a difference of opinion, and that he'll come back to us in no time. Ocelot didn't care for that, and EVA certainly didn't.
… A difference of opinion. That's one hell of an understatement! They took his genetic material and made clones of him! Or sons. Or both! Yeah, both! And they didn't tell him a goddamn thing! I could understand Zero doing this, and EVA too, since she and Snake had something going on, but Para-Medic? Really?
I should've seen this coming. I should've said something. Things were starting to get tense between Zero and Snake, they were having a back and forth about The Boss and what she wanted, and the Major was doing some underhanded things to get Snake's name out there. "Building up the legend," I think is what he told us. But this whole Terrible Infant thing… I'll be honest, I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.
But I can't walk out on the Major, or the Patriots. We're doing good work, Snake has to realize that. He also has to realize that he's going to have a harder time out there. Now, if anyone could make it on just a wing and a prayer, it's Snake, but we're a team. That's gotta count for something, right?
…
I hate to say it, but I can see where the Major is coming from. The Boss was one of a kind, and she was betrayed and used and silenced, so no one could know the truth. God forbid, if something like that happened to Snake… He's the target, right? He's the face of this entire… group, organization. Even our own U.S. of A. could come after him, and if he dies, we're going to be up shit creek without a paddle and a hole punched through our canoe.
…
Damnit, Major, what were you thinking?
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (3)
January 12, 1975 - Side A
Before starting this recording, I took the time to listen to tape two and I have to repeat myself: What the hell were you thinking, Major?
Zero… Er, Cipher, gave me access to all records related to what is officially the "Peace Walker Incident." Reading through it, the Major's hand is as clear as day in this whole mess, and it isn't hard to imagine what was said in the redacted portions. Besides, if I had any questions I'd just start with ARPANET and go from there. I gotta move on from this, save it for another time, or I'm going to lose my cool.
So. Peace Walker. A Project, an Incident, and a… "Fail-deadly, AI-controlled walking tank." The machine itself was part of a set, named after the transformation stages of a butterfly's life cycle.
… How poetic.
The development of the entire set was the work of one Huey Emmerich, but a Dr. Strangelove was responsible for an advanced AI that controlled Peace Walker, the machine. These self-propelled weapon systems were created on the orders of CIA Station Chief Hot Coldman.
…
Damnit, I'm never going to take that name seriously, am I?
Well, I needed the laugh, because the rest of this is just shit. A CIA Station Chief gone rogue with his own mercenary unit, Snake in the middle of it all with his own mercenaries saving the day, not one but two walking nuclear-armed tanks, NORAD was hacked, and for a brief moment, I thought the Cold War was going hot. I was worried enough I called my wife, and it was one hell of a pain in my ass trying to explain to her why I did that without mentioning any of this!
… Ugh. Gotta keep my cool.
The Major says some good came out of that mess. I don't see it, but that's pretty much become the norm for us; Cipher sees all the things we don't. However, he did tell me to look into Coldman's obsession with… AI guided nuclear deterrence. Apparently Peace Walker, the machine, only had the capability of delivering its payload if the United States was under immediate threat. That's why NORAD was hacked and fooled, to put it simply, into thinking the Soviets were launching.
Maybe a few years ago I would've been skeptical about putting a machine in charge for a single nuke, let alone an arsenal, but from what I've seen and read and experienced… Maybe putting a logical AI in charge isn't the worst idea. Don't get me wrong, Coldman was a psychopath. A racist maniac who was willing to nuke his own country, taking his ideas on AIs in the wrong direction. But there's something there...
Unfortunately, this gets me nowhere. I can study this mess from afar, but unless I get my hands on data, or even salvage from the Peace Walker Project, I'd be starting from scratch. Everything points to Dr. Emmerich and Dr. Strangelove as the experts on the subject, but they're with Big Boss and sticking my nose into their business won't go well. I'll just be seen as Cipher, especially after what Zero just pulled.
Maybe DARPA could poach MSF's talent.
January 26, 1975 - Side B
… I gotta be honest, it wasn't just Coldman that got me interested in AIs. It's the fight between Zero and… Big Boss. Maybe it's not a fight, maybe that's not the right name for it, but whatever you want to call it, it's insane. We're spending resources better spent anywhere else on watching and manipulating Snake. Snake! Of all people, we're going after him?
I can say a lot of things about Snake. He's a great, stand-up guy, he's the best soldier in the world, he's been through hell for what he believes in, he's got an iron stomach, and a really unhealthy fascination with cardboard boxes. Where in any of that would someone get the idea that he'd respond to threats? What the hell was Zero thinking?
…
The more I think about it, the more it seems like Zero's doing this to make Snake admit he's wrong. Wrong about the Terrible Children project, wrong about what The Boss wanted. I think…
I think that's what it all goes back to: The Boss, and how she died. Before Snake left, out of the whole group only me and Clark knew her as an icon rather than a person. Both Zero and Snake were really close to her, and this split between them happened because they're still dealing with the way The Boss was treated, the way she was killed. They're dealing with this in their own ways, and they can't admit that their way is wrong. Who knows how they'd react if I got involved. Even if I did, what the hell would I tell them?
…
Zero made contact a few days ago. He's made it official that Cipher's pursuing AI development, and I'm leading the charge. When I asked if he could get me into contact with Emmerich and Strangelove, he said they'd be brought into the fold with Big Boss. I asked how, and all he didn't tell me much, just that there was something in the works.
Hopefully it's something more subtle than threatening him with a nuclear-armed bipedal tank.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (4)
November 4, 1975 - Side A
This is the first time I've had to just… breath in a long while. Guess I should address the elephant in the room.
Snake's dead, along with all of his outfit, MSF. Killed by Cipher.
To hear Zero tell it, Cipher got too big and he trusted someone he thought he could trust with a covert unit called XOF. For once, he came clean about it; XOF was the counterpart to FOX, denied ops for denied ops. They ran clean up and support during Virtuous Mission and Snake Eater, and we didn't know a damn thing. The son of a bitch that killed Snake, Skull Face, was a "friend" from Zero's MI6 days, and he's been running XOF for since their founding.
Supposedly he's been exiled to Africa, but I don't buy it. I'd look into it further, but Zero's keeping me busy with this AI project. I know that he got away with Emmerich, but Strangelove got out weeks before the U.N. inspection that was Skull Face's cover. Apparently she recovered the "Mammal Pod" that was key to the creation of her advanced AI, and DARPA's all but rolled out the red carpet for her.
Doesn't mean we're telling her the truth, though. Zero insists that we keep everything quiet. As far as Dr. Strangelove knows, everything's above board, she's received Zero's instructions on what he wants out of the project, and she doesn't know anything about the Patriots or where her funding is really coming from. He didn't tell me to stay away from her, so when I get the chance I'll head down to meet her and ask about her research.
Anything to take my mind off Snake.
December 31, 1975 - Side B
I still can't believe he's gone. I took the time to see Para-Medic and she's barely holding it together. I tried not to blame Zero for driving Snake away, but I didn't do so well with that.
… Maybe I didn't want to.
…
Snake's death shook up Zero. He won't say it, and he doesn't show it, but there are a couple of tells. What really stands out, to me, is his directions for the AI project, the ones he passed down to Strangelove. Though Coldman didn't live to see it, the whole Peace Walker mess taught us a valuable lesson. Strangelove's AI? Modeled after the mind and personality The Boss. It's what saved the day, making Peace Walker, the machine, drown itself in the Caribbean in order to sever its uplink to NORAD. Zero doesn't care for that, at all. He doesn't want an AI that can make its own decisions or even think for itself.
When I finally got a chance to meet Dr. Strangelove, she expressed a very different opinion, one that won't make Zero happy when, not if, it reaches his ears. She thinks that allowing an AI to learn and guiding it to understand things like compassion and empathy will create "natural failsafes" that add context to its directives. It's an interesting idea, and I'm not going to tell her how to spend her generous funding, but I don't think she'll last long at DARPA if she doesn't give Zero results.
While she brought some remains from MSF's Metal Gear, she didn't have the Mammal Pod on her, and something was off about her when she said it was destroyed in the XOF attack. Maybe it's Zero's paranoia rubbing off on me, but I don't think I believe her.
Guess I'll have to do some investigating of my own.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (5)
August 7, 1976
We should've ended that son of a bitch Skull Face when we had the chance.
I've barely got the time to process all of this, let alone make this recording. That skull faced bastard got to Zero, somehow, and infected him with a parasite. Instead of killing him, it'll act like a more aggressive version of Alzheimer's. He's tried every treatment possible, even some experimental shit that Dr. Clark didn't expect, but it's useless.
The shitstorm doesn't stop there. Skull Face has been picking away at Cipher, seizing accounts and assets left and right. He hasn't touched the Legacy, Zero and I buried it deep, but it's getting too close for comfort. Worst of all, Zero's put me in charge, and told me to keep the AI project and put them to work as soon as possible. It would go easier if Strangelove hadn't disappeared and taken most of her work with her!
…
Even the small bit of good news we got is sitting under a mountain of shit.
Snake is alive. I can't be told for security reasons, but at least I know, for once, about Zero's master plan. He managed to bring EVA and Ocelot back, got them to save Snake and bring him to… Wherever he is. Zero's also made a phantom of Snake, turned one of his surviving mercenaries into perfect copy, mentally and physically. Until Skull Face is dealt with, "Venom Snake" will be a distraction while Cipher recovers. Whoever that poor sucker is, I wish him the best. He's going to need it.
… What is it with Zero and snakes?
…
Not to mention their damn codenames. Apparently we're supposed to call them Ahab and Ishmael? I'm not going to bother because I'm going to start getting names confused and I'm in the middle of this mess. I sure as hell am not picking up a book that serves as a door stopper for Zero's sake.
...
I'm not gonna lie, we're in a bad place. Cipher's taking losses every day while Skull Face turns XOF into his twisted version of Snake's MSF. Snake himself is in a coma along with his phantom, and anyone in the know can't tell me when they're going to wake up.
… Maybe they won't wake up.
Damnit, I can't afford to think like that! I have to make something out of this entire mess. The AIs need to be up and running soon, but without Strangelove's work I have to start over. I sure as shit won't cut corners, so Zero's directions will have to go; getting the AIs to grow on their own will save me countless headaches.
Can't do anything about XOF now, but ARPANET and MILNET are godsends. Anything any U.S. agency learns about XOF reaches me within minutes, but there's only so much I can learn from a distance. Ocelot told me not to trust our remaining plants in XOF, and I'm not going to second-guess him.
… We can get through this. I can get through this. Even Snake can get through this. We'll make it.
We have to.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (6)
May 18, 1979
It's been a while, hasn't it? Don't think this recording will go on too long. I just… Needed to get away from things, for once. I've caught Zero's paranoia… It'd be caution, actually, since Skull Face was actually out to get him.
Anyway, caution means I only contact Dr. Clark through secure channels, and only for a few minutes at a time. We haven't properly sat down for lunch since… Three years, four? Since before the attack on MSF.
… Has it really been that long?
…
I can't bother her with this, and I really don't want to risk our lives with this. So this'll have to do.
Snake and his phantom are still safe. Ocelot sends in his reports, and sometimes EVA appears out of nowhere with a tip on XOF. For a short while the idea was tossed around of getting me and Dr. Clark the chance to visit Snake one last time, but that was out of the question, way too risky.
The Patriot AI Project has made significant progress, and yes, I've given it a proper name. None of that Cipher BS. Got my hands on the CIA's files on Coldman and his work, and I poached… Er, I stole the names from Emmerich's AIs since they were…. appropriate.
Remember when I thought ARPANET was remarkable? TR, TJ, and AL blow it out of the water. They're processing inhuman amounts of information at a rate Cipher's best analysts could never dream of matching. They gave us our first real victories against XOF, and though it's the equivalent of a bloody nose, it's made them stop and think. By next year GW's development will be finished, and I can start work on the JD, the AI that will network them and guide them according to the principles laid out by Zero: total information control.
...
JD…
John Doe.
… I hope you wake up soon, John.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (7)
February 28, 1984 - Side A
V has come to.
When I got the call and I heard that phrase, the hair across my body immediately stood up. I thought I was dreaming.
… He's back. He's really back. Just shy of ten years and Snake is back.
I wonder what he'll think when he sees what's become of us.
Zero's disappeared, probably comatose. Dr. Clark is doing good work in ATGC. EVA is god knows where, and Ocelot's going to be beside his phantom.
And here I am, sitting back as Cipher is managed entirely by AIs. My own children, if I wanted to be so sentimental.
… Welcome back, Snake. I hope your phantom gives them hell.
July 6, 1984 - Side B
I still vividly remember the talk Zero gave me after Skull Face's attempt on his life, how he laid out his plan for Snake's return. I thought it was insane, but we'd been dealing in the insane for years by then. A phantom, made through plastic surgery and hypnotherapy, to be target of Skull Face's revenge. The "Venom Snake" that will lie in wait, drawing him close while preparing to strike. Even if Skull Face wins, he'll be bitten.
Oh, man. Zero and his damn snakes.
But it actually worked. It worked beautifully. The son of a bitch is dead and XOF is falling apart.
Networks across the U.S. were burning with information from Afghanistan. The term "Big Boss" had hundreds, maybe thousands of hits in the DoD's network alone. Out of the ashes of MSF rises Diamond Dogs, led by a phantom that's looking all too real lately.
I'm lucky that JD came online just in time to watch the show. Direct satellite imagining, nearly real time, just beyond my fingertips? It's enough to get you drunk. I can see why it appealed to Zero so much. I was worried I'd have to do serious work to keep Venom clean, but the way he performed…
…
The footage I've seen makes me think of Snake Eater. How Snake, John, pushed on despite the odds, didn't leave any messes of any kind behind, didn't take a life unless it was necessary. Venom's made a name for himself, and it won't hurt Snake when he comes back.
… But what if Venom doesn't want to give up being Big Boss?
…
Shit.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (8)
September 3, 1984 - Side A
Remind me to thank Venom Snake for testing out the AIs' capabilities. By the time his exploits made international news, JD and the others were being put through the paces with the firestorm he set off in the U.S. alone. It feels good getting my hands on presidential correspondence and seeing the doubt, the confusion.
An outright attack would've invited complete retaliation. The Seychelles would probably be irradiated. But this? Forced denuclearization? Disarming second rate powers, terrorist organizations, even fellow PMCs?
For one long, uncomfortable moment, Snake paralyzed the entire world with indecision. The almost non-existent casualty rate just makes it worse and better at the same time!
I want to jump and shout at the top of my lungs because there aren't enough words to express how amazing and insane all of this is! The status quo upended by one man! This is… This on the level of The Boss, when she supposedly betrayed the U.S. No, this could be even greater! I can't believe Snake got away with-
…
Snake. But not John. Just… Snake.
Have I missed the old Snake, the old John, that much?
… I wish Zero could've been here to see this. Maybe he would've been happier with the phantom.
September 4, 1984 - Side B
I've been doing a lot of thinking in between monitoring JD and the others. Thinking about Snakes, Cipher, Patriots, AIs, Zero…
The Boss.
I wonder what Venom was thinking. What he's thinking right now. Hypnotherapy means he's got John's memories, especially the memories of The Boss. So why did he go in another direction? Is he even thinking about The Boss?
Is he making his own path?
… I take back what I said in that last tape, about Zero being here to see this. If he couldn't stomach the Patriot AIs thinking for themselves, he'd probably have had a heart attack if he witnessed Snake - Venom - doing his own thing.
For a man who knew nearly everything, he certainly didn't predict this.
…
I received a package from Zero months back, right after Skull Face was put down. It was prepared years ago, back when Zero was still… The point is the package had a tape and instructions, and I went through all of it. One last order, from the Major himself: allocate a small amount of funds, from the Legacy, for Big Boss after Cipher is secured. I'm supposed to use it to start some sort of negotiation, bring him back in exchange for letting his dream of "Outer Heaven" be made real.
Even in his last moments, Zero wanted him back, either to control or apologize, and he pretty much asked me to keep it up. Something about listening to an old friend that hadn't pushed John away.
… I can't help but remember something my father once told me, about the spirit and letter of the law, how they're not always the same.
Zero said he wanted Big Boss to receive the funds, right?
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (9)
Message from SIGINT to Snake
Big Boss, it's me. SIGINT.
Been a while, hasn't it?
Didn't part on the best of terms but… Well, what can you do? The Major always thought he was the smartest man in the room. Maybe he was, but he certainly wasn't the wisest. He insisted that you be kept in the dark, that you should know the truth, but… Since he's gone to ground, I've got the freedom to do as I want. Within reason.
You've been through a lot with Skull Face and XOF. It might not have felt like it, but you and Cipher had the same enemies, and I figure we're both breathing easier now that the son of a bitch is dead.
But this isn't about Cipher, or XOF, or even revenge. This is about…
…
Hope. Yeah, that's what this is about.
… Snake, when you left us, I lost one of my closest friends. I didn't lose faith in Major Zero's vision, but I didn't care for how he was trying to pull you back after what he did to you. It wasn't right, and I should've said something.
For a while, I thought you lost your way, that we all lost our way. That we were going to end up like the Philosophers, fighting one another for scraps of our legacy.
For nine long years, I thought you were never going to wake up. But you did, and you proved me wrong, proved all of us wrong, and decided to fight the world in the worst way possible.
No, not fight. Maybe… Maybe a better word for it is show, or guide: guiding the world, showing it what could be, what everyone from The Boss onward wanted to achieve.
Something tells me you won't stop there. Something tells me you have a message for the world, and I don't need spies or AIs to tell me that.
A little help from me and Cipher wouldn't hurt when the powers that be turn their full attention on you. Don't worry, it can be our secret.
Good luck out there, Snake. I'll be watching.
December 6, 1969
-can't believe that I'm actually doing this. Oh, it's already on?
…
Heh, the moment the little red light comes on, my mind goes blank. I hate it when it that happens. This is all Para-Medic's fault, even if she's got a point that I enjoy the sound of my voice. Not like I'll ever admit to that in front of her!
...
The more I think about it, the more right this feels. The things we're getting done, in this group, this thing we've created… In a few years, I could play back these tapes to them and have a damn good laugh at some of the crazy shit I'll probably say!
Oh, and don't worry Major, I know, operational security and all that. It's easier to smash one of these little tapes than burning a journal. Not that I tested that out.
Some of this spy stuff goes right over my head, but the Major's good people; he may complain about the way Americans get things done compared to the Brits, but he knows we're doing something special here, that me and Para-Medic sometimes need a helping hand. I may be the guy who tells Snake what's what with a weapon system, but the things he can do with it…
And this whole Patriot business, the Philosopher's Legacy, the Will of The Boss… Gotta be honest, sometimes I feel way in over my head, but other days? It's like something out of a comic book, or one of those old pulp magazines! I'm working with the best of the best in military intelligence, special ops, medicine, tech development, money isn't and won't ever be a concern, and it's all for a good cause. I know guys I've worked with before that would kill for an opportunity half as good as this.
Earlier this week, I got a taste of what the Major talked about when he pitched me the idea of the Patriots, something about the "subtle hand" that would guide R&D in the country. I was present at the Stanford Research Institute for the first successful message sent through ARPANET. Doesn't sound like much, right? I mean, I wasn't even in the room when it happened, I might as well have been a nameless suit to those guys. But that million dollars Director Herzfeld gave them back in '66 had to come from somewhere, and it sure wasn't from a "ballistic missile defense program."
Man, ARPANET? That's the future: information and communication, concentrated through secure networks established across the country. It might just be one computer network spread throughout four universities right now, but the foundation is set. It'll spread to more universities, and its success will draw the attention of the government. That's where this really pays off; with the way the ARPA higher ups have been talking, the Patriots will soon have eyes and ears on networks established solely for military use. It might take a while, but that just means we can give it a nudge if it needs it.
And this was all my idea! Not ARPANET, but the funding, the… Well, I guess it's manipulation no matter how you say it. I explained the possibilities to the Major, how this could be groundbreaking stuff, and he tells me to go for it. The Patriots got in on the ground floor, and like a bad rash, we're sticking around for the long haul!
…
You know, Para-Medic was right. This is almost... Therapeutic? Is that the word she used? Helps that I'm imagining talking to her while recording. I might not do this as often as she suggested, but it's less paperwork to burn if something goes wrong, right?
Now, let's see… How do you turn this-
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (2)
August 21, 1972
Snake is gone.
…
I really didn't know how else to start this. But Snake, Big Boss, Jack… He's gone.
…
Not dead-gone, but gone-gone, and I'd say it's worse. He's out there somewhere…
...
Major Zero gave me the details after some prodding from Para-Medic. Not all the details, though, cause she had to fill in the rest afterwards. Les Enfant Terribles. Oh man did I mangle that. Let's just call it the Terrible Infant project and leave it at that.
…
Right off the bat, my gut tells me this is all wrong. We're a team. We were made a solid team through Virtuous Mission and Snake Eater. We even brought in EVA and Ocelot! It's why we came together to see through The Boss' vision. We're like a… A rifle. We're all the internals, and if one of us gets taken out, the rifle's never going to fire, not that I'd ever say that out loud around the Major. He told us it would all work out, that him and Snake just have a difference of opinion, and that he'll come back to us in no time. Ocelot didn't care for that, and EVA certainly didn't.
… A difference of opinion. That's one hell of an understatement! They took his genetic material and made clones of him! Or sons. Or both! Yeah, both! And they didn't tell him a goddamn thing! I could understand Zero doing this, and EVA too, since she and Snake had something going on, but Para-Medic? Really?
I should've seen this coming. I should've said something. Things were starting to get tense between Zero and Snake, they were having a back and forth about The Boss and what she wanted, and the Major was doing some underhanded things to get Snake's name out there. "Building up the legend," I think is what he told us. But this whole Terrible Infant thing… I'll be honest, I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.
But I can't walk out on the Major, or the Patriots. We're doing good work, Snake has to realize that. He also has to realize that he's going to have a harder time out there. Now, if anyone could make it on just a wing and a prayer, it's Snake, but we're a team. That's gotta count for something, right?
…
I hate to say it, but I can see where the Major is coming from. The Boss was one of a kind, and she was betrayed and used and silenced, so no one could know the truth. God forbid, if something like that happened to Snake… He's the target, right? He's the face of this entire… group, organization. Even our own U.S. of A. could come after him, and if he dies, we're going to be up shit creek without a paddle and a hole punched through our canoe.
…
Damnit, Major, what were you thinking?
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (3)
January 12, 1975 - Side A
Before starting this recording, I took the time to listen to tape two and I have to repeat myself: What the hell were you thinking, Major?
Zero… Er, Cipher, gave me access to all records related to what is officially the "Peace Walker Incident." Reading through it, the Major's hand is as clear as day in this whole mess, and it isn't hard to imagine what was said in the redacted portions. Besides, if I had any questions I'd just start with ARPANET and go from there. I gotta move on from this, save it for another time, or I'm going to lose my cool.
So. Peace Walker. A Project, an Incident, and a… "Fail-deadly, AI-controlled walking tank." The machine itself was part of a set, named after the transformation stages of a butterfly's life cycle.
… How poetic.
The development of the entire set was the work of one Huey Emmerich, but a Dr. Strangelove was responsible for an advanced AI that controlled Peace Walker, the machine. These self-propelled weapon systems were created on the orders of CIA Station Chief Hot Coldman.
…
Damnit, I'm never going to take that name seriously, am I?
Well, I needed the laugh, because the rest of this is just shit. A CIA Station Chief gone rogue with his own mercenary unit, Snake in the middle of it all with his own mercenaries saving the day, not one but two walking nuclear-armed tanks, NORAD was hacked, and for a brief moment, I thought the Cold War was going hot. I was worried enough I called my wife, and it was one hell of a pain in my ass trying to explain to her why I did that without mentioning any of this!
… Ugh. Gotta keep my cool.
The Major says some good came out of that mess. I don't see it, but that's pretty much become the norm for us; Cipher sees all the things we don't. However, he did tell me to look into Coldman's obsession with… AI guided nuclear deterrence. Apparently Peace Walker, the machine, only had the capability of delivering its payload if the United States was under immediate threat. That's why NORAD was hacked and fooled, to put it simply, into thinking the Soviets were launching.
Maybe a few years ago I would've been skeptical about putting a machine in charge for a single nuke, let alone an arsenal, but from what I've seen and read and experienced… Maybe putting a logical AI in charge isn't the worst idea. Don't get me wrong, Coldman was a psychopath. A racist maniac who was willing to nuke his own country, taking his ideas on AIs in the wrong direction. But there's something there...
Unfortunately, this gets me nowhere. I can study this mess from afar, but unless I get my hands on data, or even salvage from the Peace Walker Project, I'd be starting from scratch. Everything points to Dr. Emmerich and Dr. Strangelove as the experts on the subject, but they're with Big Boss and sticking my nose into their business won't go well. I'll just be seen as Cipher, especially after what Zero just pulled.
Maybe DARPA could poach MSF's talent.
January 26, 1975 - Side B
… I gotta be honest, it wasn't just Coldman that got me interested in AIs. It's the fight between Zero and… Big Boss. Maybe it's not a fight, maybe that's not the right name for it, but whatever you want to call it, it's insane. We're spending resources better spent anywhere else on watching and manipulating Snake. Snake! Of all people, we're going after him?
I can say a lot of things about Snake. He's a great, stand-up guy, he's the best soldier in the world, he's been through hell for what he believes in, he's got an iron stomach, and a really unhealthy fascination with cardboard boxes. Where in any of that would someone get the idea that he'd respond to threats? What the hell was Zero thinking?
…
The more I think about it, the more it seems like Zero's doing this to make Snake admit he's wrong. Wrong about the Terrible Children project, wrong about what The Boss wanted. I think…
I think that's what it all goes back to: The Boss, and how she died. Before Snake left, out of the whole group only me and Clark knew her as an icon rather than a person. Both Zero and Snake were really close to her, and this split between them happened because they're still dealing with the way The Boss was treated, the way she was killed. They're dealing with this in their own ways, and they can't admit that their way is wrong. Who knows how they'd react if I got involved. Even if I did, what the hell would I tell them?
…
Zero made contact a few days ago. He's made it official that Cipher's pursuing AI development, and I'm leading the charge. When I asked if he could get me into contact with Emmerich and Strangelove, he said they'd be brought into the fold with Big Boss. I asked how, and all he didn't tell me much, just that there was something in the works.
Hopefully it's something more subtle than threatening him with a nuclear-armed bipedal tank.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (4)
November 4, 1975 - Side A
This is the first time I've had to just… breath in a long while. Guess I should address the elephant in the room.
Snake's dead, along with all of his outfit, MSF. Killed by Cipher.
To hear Zero tell it, Cipher got too big and he trusted someone he thought he could trust with a covert unit called XOF. For once, he came clean about it; XOF was the counterpart to FOX, denied ops for denied ops. They ran clean up and support during Virtuous Mission and Snake Eater, and we didn't know a damn thing. The son of a bitch that killed Snake, Skull Face, was a "friend" from Zero's MI6 days, and he's been running XOF for since their founding.
Supposedly he's been exiled to Africa, but I don't buy it. I'd look into it further, but Zero's keeping me busy with this AI project. I know that he got away with Emmerich, but Strangelove got out weeks before the U.N. inspection that was Skull Face's cover. Apparently she recovered the "Mammal Pod" that was key to the creation of her advanced AI, and DARPA's all but rolled out the red carpet for her.
Doesn't mean we're telling her the truth, though. Zero insists that we keep everything quiet. As far as Dr. Strangelove knows, everything's above board, she's received Zero's instructions on what he wants out of the project, and she doesn't know anything about the Patriots or where her funding is really coming from. He didn't tell me to stay away from her, so when I get the chance I'll head down to meet her and ask about her research.
Anything to take my mind off Snake.
December 31, 1975 - Side B
I still can't believe he's gone. I took the time to see Para-Medic and she's barely holding it together. I tried not to blame Zero for driving Snake away, but I didn't do so well with that.
… Maybe I didn't want to.
…
Snake's death shook up Zero. He won't say it, and he doesn't show it, but there are a couple of tells. What really stands out, to me, is his directions for the AI project, the ones he passed down to Strangelove. Though Coldman didn't live to see it, the whole Peace Walker mess taught us a valuable lesson. Strangelove's AI? Modeled after the mind and personality The Boss. It's what saved the day, making Peace Walker, the machine, drown itself in the Caribbean in order to sever its uplink to NORAD. Zero doesn't care for that, at all. He doesn't want an AI that can make its own decisions or even think for itself.
When I finally got a chance to meet Dr. Strangelove, she expressed a very different opinion, one that won't make Zero happy when, not if, it reaches his ears. She thinks that allowing an AI to learn and guiding it to understand things like compassion and empathy will create "natural failsafes" that add context to its directives. It's an interesting idea, and I'm not going to tell her how to spend her generous funding, but I don't think she'll last long at DARPA if she doesn't give Zero results.
While she brought some remains from MSF's Metal Gear, she didn't have the Mammal Pod on her, and something was off about her when she said it was destroyed in the XOF attack. Maybe it's Zero's paranoia rubbing off on me, but I don't think I believe her.
Guess I'll have to do some investigating of my own.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (5)
August 7, 1976
We should've ended that son of a bitch Skull Face when we had the chance.
I've barely got the time to process all of this, let alone make this recording. That skull faced bastard got to Zero, somehow, and infected him with a parasite. Instead of killing him, it'll act like a more aggressive version of Alzheimer's. He's tried every treatment possible, even some experimental shit that Dr. Clark didn't expect, but it's useless.
The shitstorm doesn't stop there. Skull Face has been picking away at Cipher, seizing accounts and assets left and right. He hasn't touched the Legacy, Zero and I buried it deep, but it's getting too close for comfort. Worst of all, Zero's put me in charge, and told me to keep the AI project and put them to work as soon as possible. It would go easier if Strangelove hadn't disappeared and taken most of her work with her!
…
Even the small bit of good news we got is sitting under a mountain of shit.
Snake is alive. I can't be told for security reasons, but at least I know, for once, about Zero's master plan. He managed to bring EVA and Ocelot back, got them to save Snake and bring him to… Wherever he is. Zero's also made a phantom of Snake, turned one of his surviving mercenaries into perfect copy, mentally and physically. Until Skull Face is dealt with, "Venom Snake" will be a distraction while Cipher recovers. Whoever that poor sucker is, I wish him the best. He's going to need it.
… What is it with Zero and snakes?
…
Not to mention their damn codenames. Apparently we're supposed to call them Ahab and Ishmael? I'm not going to bother because I'm going to start getting names confused and I'm in the middle of this mess. I sure as hell am not picking up a book that serves as a door stopper for Zero's sake.
...
I'm not gonna lie, we're in a bad place. Cipher's taking losses every day while Skull Face turns XOF into his twisted version of Snake's MSF. Snake himself is in a coma along with his phantom, and anyone in the know can't tell me when they're going to wake up.
… Maybe they won't wake up.
Damnit, I can't afford to think like that! I have to make something out of this entire mess. The AIs need to be up and running soon, but without Strangelove's work I have to start over. I sure as shit won't cut corners, so Zero's directions will have to go; getting the AIs to grow on their own will save me countless headaches.
Can't do anything about XOF now, but ARPANET and MILNET are godsends. Anything any U.S. agency learns about XOF reaches me within minutes, but there's only so much I can learn from a distance. Ocelot told me not to trust our remaining plants in XOF, and I'm not going to second-guess him.
… We can get through this. I can get through this. Even Snake can get through this. We'll make it.
We have to.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (6)
May 18, 1979
It's been a while, hasn't it? Don't think this recording will go on too long. I just… Needed to get away from things, for once. I've caught Zero's paranoia… It'd be caution, actually, since Skull Face was actually out to get him.
Anyway, caution means I only contact Dr. Clark through secure channels, and only for a few minutes at a time. We haven't properly sat down for lunch since… Three years, four? Since before the attack on MSF.
… Has it really been that long?
…
I can't bother her with this, and I really don't want to risk our lives with this. So this'll have to do.
Snake and his phantom are still safe. Ocelot sends in his reports, and sometimes EVA appears out of nowhere with a tip on XOF. For a short while the idea was tossed around of getting me and Dr. Clark the chance to visit Snake one last time, but that was out of the question, way too risky.
The Patriot AI Project has made significant progress, and yes, I've given it a proper name. None of that Cipher BS. Got my hands on the CIA's files on Coldman and his work, and I poached… Er, I stole the names from Emmerich's AIs since they were…. appropriate.
Remember when I thought ARPANET was remarkable? TR, TJ, and AL blow it out of the water. They're processing inhuman amounts of information at a rate Cipher's best analysts could never dream of matching. They gave us our first real victories against XOF, and though it's the equivalent of a bloody nose, it's made them stop and think. By next year GW's development will be finished, and I can start work on the JD, the AI that will network them and guide them according to the principles laid out by Zero: total information control.
...
JD…
John Doe.
… I hope you wake up soon, John.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (7)
February 28, 1984 - Side A
V has come to.
When I got the call and I heard that phrase, the hair across my body immediately stood up. I thought I was dreaming.
… He's back. He's really back. Just shy of ten years and Snake is back.
I wonder what he'll think when he sees what's become of us.
Zero's disappeared, probably comatose. Dr. Clark is doing good work in ATGC. EVA is god knows where, and Ocelot's going to be beside his phantom.
And here I am, sitting back as Cipher is managed entirely by AIs. My own children, if I wanted to be so sentimental.
… Welcome back, Snake. I hope your phantom gives them hell.
July 6, 1984 - Side B
I still vividly remember the talk Zero gave me after Skull Face's attempt on his life, how he laid out his plan for Snake's return. I thought it was insane, but we'd been dealing in the insane for years by then. A phantom, made through plastic surgery and hypnotherapy, to be target of Skull Face's revenge. The "Venom Snake" that will lie in wait, drawing him close while preparing to strike. Even if Skull Face wins, he'll be bitten.
Oh, man. Zero and his damn snakes.
But it actually worked. It worked beautifully. The son of a bitch is dead and XOF is falling apart.
Networks across the U.S. were burning with information from Afghanistan. The term "Big Boss" had hundreds, maybe thousands of hits in the DoD's network alone. Out of the ashes of MSF rises Diamond Dogs, led by a phantom that's looking all too real lately.
I'm lucky that JD came online just in time to watch the show. Direct satellite imagining, nearly real time, just beyond my fingertips? It's enough to get you drunk. I can see why it appealed to Zero so much. I was worried I'd have to do serious work to keep Venom clean, but the way he performed…
…
The footage I've seen makes me think of Snake Eater. How Snake, John, pushed on despite the odds, didn't leave any messes of any kind behind, didn't take a life unless it was necessary. Venom's made a name for himself, and it won't hurt Snake when he comes back.
… But what if Venom doesn't want to give up being Big Boss?
…
Shit.
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (8)
September 3, 1984 - Side A
Remind me to thank Venom Snake for testing out the AIs' capabilities. By the time his exploits made international news, JD and the others were being put through the paces with the firestorm he set off in the U.S. alone. It feels good getting my hands on presidential correspondence and seeing the doubt, the confusion.
An outright attack would've invited complete retaliation. The Seychelles would probably be irradiated. But this? Forced denuclearization? Disarming second rate powers, terrorist organizations, even fellow PMCs?
For one long, uncomfortable moment, Snake paralyzed the entire world with indecision. The almost non-existent casualty rate just makes it worse and better at the same time!
I want to jump and shout at the top of my lungs because there aren't enough words to express how amazing and insane all of this is! The status quo upended by one man! This is… This on the level of The Boss, when she supposedly betrayed the U.S. No, this could be even greater! I can't believe Snake got away with-
…
Snake. But not John. Just… Snake.
Have I missed the old Snake, the old John, that much?
… I wish Zero could've been here to see this. Maybe he would've been happier with the phantom.
September 4, 1984 - Side B
I've been doing a lot of thinking in between monitoring JD and the others. Thinking about Snakes, Cipher, Patriots, AIs, Zero…
The Boss.
I wonder what Venom was thinking. What he's thinking right now. Hypnotherapy means he's got John's memories, especially the memories of The Boss. So why did he go in another direction? Is he even thinking about The Boss?
Is he making his own path?
… I take back what I said in that last tape, about Zero being here to see this. If he couldn't stomach the Patriot AIs thinking for themselves, he'd probably have had a heart attack if he witnessed Snake - Venom - doing his own thing.
For a man who knew nearly everything, he certainly didn't predict this.
…
I received a package from Zero months back, right after Skull Face was put down. It was prepared years ago, back when Zero was still… The point is the package had a tape and instructions, and I went through all of it. One last order, from the Major himself: allocate a small amount of funds, from the Legacy, for Big Boss after Cipher is secured. I'm supposed to use it to start some sort of negotiation, bring him back in exchange for letting his dream of "Outer Heaven" be made real.
Even in his last moments, Zero wanted him back, either to control or apologize, and he pretty much asked me to keep it up. Something about listening to an old friend that hadn't pushed John away.
… I can't help but remember something my father once told me, about the spirit and letter of the law, how they're not always the same.
Zero said he wanted Big Boss to receive the funds, right?
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The Notes of Donald Anderson (9)
Message from SIGINT to Snake
Big Boss, it's me. SIGINT.
Been a while, hasn't it?
Didn't part on the best of terms but… Well, what can you do? The Major always thought he was the smartest man in the room. Maybe he was, but he certainly wasn't the wisest. He insisted that you be kept in the dark, that you should know the truth, but… Since he's gone to ground, I've got the freedom to do as I want. Within reason.
You've been through a lot with Skull Face and XOF. It might not have felt like it, but you and Cipher had the same enemies, and I figure we're both breathing easier now that the son of a bitch is dead.
But this isn't about Cipher, or XOF, or even revenge. This is about…
…
Hope. Yeah, that's what this is about.
… Snake, when you left us, I lost one of my closest friends. I didn't lose faith in Major Zero's vision, but I didn't care for how he was trying to pull you back after what he did to you. It wasn't right, and I should've said something.
For a while, I thought you lost your way, that we all lost our way. That we were going to end up like the Philosophers, fighting one another for scraps of our legacy.
For nine long years, I thought you were never going to wake up. But you did, and you proved me wrong, proved all of us wrong, and decided to fight the world in the worst way possible.
No, not fight. Maybe… Maybe a better word for it is show, or guide: guiding the world, showing it what could be, what everyone from The Boss onward wanted to achieve.
Something tells me you won't stop there. Something tells me you have a message for the world, and I don't need spies or AIs to tell me that.
A little help from me and Cipher wouldn't hurt when the powers that be turn their full attention on you. Don't worry, it can be our secret.
Good luck out there, Snake. I'll be watching.
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@konamikode, 4759 words.
Donald Anderson deserved better in the MGS series. Hopefully I did him justice.
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Dmol8
The Undead Unhinged Lunatic of the Web
- Location
- Belgrade,Serbia
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Italics is human speech and regular text is dog speech. I don't understand what else is confusing about it. Could you elaborate?
Nix's Warden
Welcome to Hades
- Location
- United States
I AWAKEN!!!!!!!!
Pretty sure we have 2 Action to vote on, in which case I'll vote for Kurdish and Conservation Strut, if we somhow have a bonus 3rd...eh. War Dogs would be fine.
We can enter VC Land with comfort animals already done and they can chill on the new conservation strut.
Pretty sure we have 2 Action to vote on, in which case I'll vote for Kurdish and Conservation Strut, if we somhow have a bonus 3rd...eh. War Dogs would be fine.
We can enter VC Land with comfort animals already done and they can chill on the new conservation strut.
- Location
- Anatolia
I would nix Contra War, it just isn't a conflict we should be a part of.
Dezron
In the Omnissiah we trust !
- Location
- Poland
No sorry but i'm gonna stick with it .
- Location
- Anatolia
konamikode
Cooking Harder
Alright.
Not a big fan of the 'Sigh'. You could do with a description of DD performing the action.
The writing is incredibly disjointed. Pause, start, pause works in small doses, but if it happens constantly it's like music suddenly stopping and playing over and over again.
It becomes difficult to get that internal rhythm you get when reading something.
I get that this is intentional and part of making DD seem more animal like, but there needs to be more 'flow' between these segments.
You don't need a comma after quotes if there's already punctuation within the quote itself. There's a whole load of these.
Are there cases when this can be used? Probably a few, but there's way too many here.
Saw 2 or 3 of these. No space between the punctuation and the beginning of the next sentence.
I don't actually know what a thin fang is. Needs more in character description.
Empty quotations
Dezron
In the Omnissiah we trust !
- Location
- Poland
Becouse we owe Amanda at least this much . We are responsible for death of Chico and this action won't be enough to repay this . It would be at least better then nothing .
Dream Logic
An offseason swallow
- Location
- In transit
I would appreciate War Dogs as they are likely to be useful in many situations along with being omake/Wolf bait.
Also, dogs!
dogs I say
Also, dogs!
dogs I say
Dezron
In the Omnissiah we trust !
- Location
- Poland
I would appreciate War Dogs as they are likely to be useful in many situations along with being omake/Wolf bait.
Also, dogs!
dogs I say
Puppy-Eyes no jutsu don't work on me
.Edited:
And i'm more cat person .
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Nix's Warden
Welcome to Hades
- Location
- United States
If we get War Dogs this turn I'ma do the other Doggo Omake. You will have to read about PUPPIES chasing Kaz around base, trying to chew on his crutch/use it as a tug of war toy, and you will LIKE IT!
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konamikode
Cooking Harder
How? Way I remember it, he did something really dumb and got his ass saved by Snake after giving up info after being tortured.
Amanda was more disappointed that he broke and 'betrayed' his comrades.
Philanthroper's Legacy: 10.6 Ishmael's tape by LightMage (2CP) (200k)
Philanthroper's Legacy: 10.6
Ishmael's tape
Word Count, 2015.
@konamikode
This was hard to write. I tried to get the tone and voices right for this. (Also not purely a recording, but I hope that's acceptable.)
I did like how the word count for each 'final' draft ended up on important dates... I mean numbers.
(1995, 2005, 2015).
Ishmael's tape
*Click.*
The familiar sounds of a tape recorder filled the room. Ishmael leaned back in his chair, took his lit cigar out of his mouth, and began to speak aloud. "I wonder if you remember yet… who you are. You've saved my life, and achieved revenge for the both of us and everyone else at Militaires Sans Frontières, and for that I thank you my friend."
He took a moment to enjoy his cigar before continuing. "And then… you did something beyond my expectations, you continued moving forward. To take on the world's burdens and to remove them, one nuke at a time, from their dangerous owners. Are you prepared for the reprisals you'll face? You'll doom yourself and the Diamond Dogs walking down this path. We couldn't risk it back during MSF, so why… why do you think you can do it now?"
He let out a large huff of smoke, only the recorder and the slight hiss of the cigar to break the heavy silence that filled the room. Eventually he shakes his head, and resumes talking.
"Ahab... you've gotten a lot done. I don't feel it is right to call you a Phantom anymore for what you've done… and what you will still do. The things you've done, all of Korea lies on a knife's edge, let alone the Middle East or India. My superiors are scrambling to adjust their schemes, all ruined beyond repair now with the shifting of power you've caused. I had hoped for you to not call down this much heat on yourself this soon for my plans. But... it was for a worthy cause. I... "
Once more the man pauses, and again the sounds of the tape recorder fill the room for several moments with each click and whirl of tape denoting the passing seconds. Ishmael's darkened eye focuses on some distant thing only he can see, a slightly growing frown on his face, and eventually he reaches a conclusion. With a heavy sigh, Ishmael resumes speaking.
"I… wouldn't have done the same, Ahab. Perhaps if it was before MSF, I would've taken on the risks involved. Still that doesn't mean I can't help you out a bit with this. I happen to have earned some excess cash for my own plans that I can funnel over to you. Not as much as you'd need, but there's only so much I can cover 'spending' before risking their suspicions."
Another pause, as Ishmael once more loses himself to his heavy thoughts. 'That 'gift' is going to slow down my plans quite a bit... there's no such thing as excess cash in this kind of work. That lie won't fool either of us... but then neither will he miss the unspoken meaning behind it. That I value his goal above my own.' He shakes his head, returning his focus back to the world at large. He takes another, slightly shaky huff of his cigar before continuing.
"This ought to help you consolidate your position and tide you over for when you go to ground to ride out the United States and Soviets atten-" Ishmael's voice cut off, adrenaline flooding his veins as a sudden realization hits him. He unconsciously speaks. "We wouldn't risk it… them, all just for an impossible chance… no, I wouldn't. But… Ahab has already been a better man than me. Always has been."
Ishmael leaps up, his cigar falling from his hands, lying forgotten on the floor, moves over to the tape recorder and reaches out and stops it. The room is dead silent; the full weight of what Ahab has chosen to do weighs heavily on Ishmael's shoulders.
'Heh, even back when I ideally dreamed about denuclearization, I would've stopped before taking that step, but… Ahab… with the whole world watching right now... with all that attention going further would be, should be impossible, but if he imagined it, it could be done. If he could take that additional step in front of the world, to show the possibility of a world without nukes… that would change everything. There would be no way those in charge could change things back, an impossible dream made real, and I know him too well to think that he'd let a chance like this slip by. There's only one question left. What do I do now knowing that my friend will be challenging the world powers for such an impossible yet beautiful dream? One that we all once fully shared…'
Ishmael began to pace back and forth in the room, thinking. 'Even without nukes, that won't stop Cipher from scheming. If I leave my position now, I'll be set back and revealed to them. I might lose my chance at striking back and removing the biggest threat to us, to Outer Heaven. And yet… to be by their sides one last time, fighting for our dreams of a brighter world together, one that we… I… don't deserve to see…'
'What do I do?'
Ishmael turned and looked at the dressing mirror in his room, hoping to find some sort of an answer to his questions, some sort of a sign to guide him to the right choice now that he doubted himself. But all he saw in the mirror was an old, worn down man wearing an unfamiliar face, one far from what he remembered a decade ago, a dull eye with hardened resolve where once it was sparking with hope, bright with the vision of a future to strive for.
Unbidden memories more than a decade old began to surface once more, no longer suppressed by Ishmael's iron will. Slowly they took shape in the mirror, appearing behind his reflection. First of all a blond man with yellow sunglasses and a cocky grin, seeking new ways to earn money while still supporting him. "Kaz…" Next was, a gutsy kid determined to become a worthy man and to redeem his mistakes, along with his sister, a freedom fighter, fighting for her people. "Chico… Amanda…" An awkward man in a wheelchair rolled up next to them, a naïve genius, dreaming of peace, to be a hero and to earn a certain someone's affections. "Huey…" Another genius, a white haired woman with dark sunglasses strolled up next to Huey, someone who wished to understand The Boss with him, an awkward Huey sneaking glances at her from the side. "Strangelove..." A young woman, who dreamed of peace while harboring growing doubts and fears inside her, tied to his… their enemy, Cipher, if only things were just a little different… "Paz…"
Even more familiar faces appeared behind them, until the mirror was crowded with them, each one he recognized as a member of MSF, all of them standing proudly behind him. He could feel the support, the loyalty they had to him… each and every one of them still believing in the man who failed them, who led them to their deaths for nothing. One last almost shadowy figure slowly came into view, far behind everyone else, one whose appearance brought waves of sorrow to him, a slight smile on her face. A single hauntingly familiar tune echoed in his ears. Ishmael could barely force his sole eye away from Her… the pain always too fresh, the questions he still couldn't fully answer, only hope that he could be close to the truth of the matter.
And then… the tune stopped, and with it the Boss. Soon the members of MSF began to fade out as well, and as they did the memories of how he lost each and every single one them played on in his mind. And after them, his closest friends began to fade out as well, Paz torn away from them by Cipher and the ocean, Chico rushing off after her. Then Amanda left to continue fighting for her people; Strangelove walking off, hands in her pockets, with nothing to work on. In the end only Kaz and Huey remained before a wave of fire tore them from him as well. Ishmael… Jack's knees buckled at the weight of his sins, his failures too heavy to bear any longer. A pair of boots entered his vision; a familiar voice entered his ears…
"…Ahab…?"
"Why won't you forgive yourself Big Boss? You forgave Kaz, you forgave Huey, and you forgave each and every single one of the soldiers we recruited. If we'd saved Paz that fateful day, then you would've forgiven her too even after she'd threatened all of us on Mother Base. Even after we rescued her from Skull Face we'd still have forgiven her and Chico. So then… Jack, why can't, why won't you forgive yourself." The voice of Ahab asked him.
"Because I couldn't save them. I, The Legendary Solider, failed to save my men. Chico… Paz… each and every man still on Mother Base when XOF attacked… and I couldn't save Her either time. She had to sacrifice Herself twice… I don't deserve the title, I didn't earn it when they first stuck me with it, and I don't deserve it now with these sins on my shoulders."
A hand came down in front of him, opened wide and reaching out. Jack looked up to see not Ahab's face… but his own face, the one he wore a decade ago.
"… then I'll take them up for you, Jack… for my friend Ishmael. I'll bear them all. But please give me one thing in return."
"Anything."
"Give me my friend, the one who shares our dreams, back to me."
"You never ask for anything easy old friend."
"Nothing is ever easy when you're involved."
"Heh. I'll try, for my friend Ahab, I'll try one last time."
Ishmael reached out and grasped Ahab's hand. And stood back up, the weight gone once more.
And then he jerked up from his chair, an unlit cigar in his mouth, and the whirling clicking of a tape recorder as it reached the end of its length. Ishmael got up, took the tape out, and flipped it around. And then… he began to speak once more, his mind clearer than it had been in years.
Ishmael walked down past Fox. Fox matched pace, slightly behind him, and asked. "Boss, where are you going? Do we have a new mission?"
Ishmael responded to him without slowing down. "I've got a message, and a gift, to deliver to an old friend."
"Is it someone I know?"
"Perhaps… I used to be a member of MSF back in the day. This is to my old friend about recent events. Just catching up on some things, talking about past mistakes."
"MSF… the old mercenary group? The one Big Boss used to lead? The same Big Boss who's leading DD?"
"Yeah."
They walked together in silence for a bit before Ishmael paused in front of the mailbox, the message already prepared to be shifted around and mailed to the proper people to get it to DD, Fox stopping with him by it.
"Fox, I might be taking leave for a few days soon. I'll need to leave you in charge for a bit."
"Yes sir."
Fox hesitated a bit as Ishmael put his package in the mail, and then asked him a question. "… may I come with you sir?"
Ishmael froze for a brief moment before responding. "It's just a bit of a vacation time; I'm getting old you know, Fox. Would you really want to leave someone else in charge of Foxhound just to watch an old man on vacation?"
"Sir… I know you better than that. What DD did yesterday… you're going off to help them. Am I right sir?"
Ishmael looked into Fox's eyes, a weighty presence filling the room.
"…are you sure Fox?"
Fox looked back at him. "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you Boss. If you believe we should help them, I too will believe it."
"…too many good men have lost themselves following me… if you're sure, we've got a few things to prepare first before we take some 'vacation days'."
The familiar sounds of a tape recorder filled the room. Ishmael leaned back in his chair, took his lit cigar out of his mouth, and began to speak aloud. "I wonder if you remember yet… who you are. You've saved my life, and achieved revenge for the both of us and everyone else at Militaires Sans Frontières, and for that I thank you my friend."
He took a moment to enjoy his cigar before continuing. "And then… you did something beyond my expectations, you continued moving forward. To take on the world's burdens and to remove them, one nuke at a time, from their dangerous owners. Are you prepared for the reprisals you'll face? You'll doom yourself and the Diamond Dogs walking down this path. We couldn't risk it back during MSF, so why… why do you think you can do it now?"
He let out a large huff of smoke, only the recorder and the slight hiss of the cigar to break the heavy silence that filled the room. Eventually he shakes his head, and resumes talking.
"Ahab... you've gotten a lot done. I don't feel it is right to call you a Phantom anymore for what you've done… and what you will still do. The things you've done, all of Korea lies on a knife's edge, let alone the Middle East or India. My superiors are scrambling to adjust their schemes, all ruined beyond repair now with the shifting of power you've caused. I had hoped for you to not call down this much heat on yourself this soon for my plans. But... it was for a worthy cause. I... "
Once more the man pauses, and again the sounds of the tape recorder fill the room for several moments with each click and whirl of tape denoting the passing seconds. Ishmael's darkened eye focuses on some distant thing only he can see, a slightly growing frown on his face, and eventually he reaches a conclusion. With a heavy sigh, Ishmael resumes speaking.
"I… wouldn't have done the same, Ahab. Perhaps if it was before MSF, I would've taken on the risks involved. Still that doesn't mean I can't help you out a bit with this. I happen to have earned some excess cash for my own plans that I can funnel over to you. Not as much as you'd need, but there's only so much I can cover 'spending' before risking their suspicions."
Another pause, as Ishmael once more loses himself to his heavy thoughts. 'That 'gift' is going to slow down my plans quite a bit... there's no such thing as excess cash in this kind of work. That lie won't fool either of us... but then neither will he miss the unspoken meaning behind it. That I value his goal above my own.' He shakes his head, returning his focus back to the world at large. He takes another, slightly shaky huff of his cigar before continuing.
"This ought to help you consolidate your position and tide you over for when you go to ground to ride out the United States and Soviets atten-" Ishmael's voice cut off, adrenaline flooding his veins as a sudden realization hits him. He unconsciously speaks. "We wouldn't risk it… them, all just for an impossible chance… no, I wouldn't. But… Ahab has already been a better man than me. Always has been."
Ishmael leaps up, his cigar falling from his hands, lying forgotten on the floor, moves over to the tape recorder and reaches out and stops it. The room is dead silent; the full weight of what Ahab has chosen to do weighs heavily on Ishmael's shoulders.
'Heh, even back when I ideally dreamed about denuclearization, I would've stopped before taking that step, but… Ahab… with the whole world watching right now... with all that attention going further would be, should be impossible, but if he imagined it, it could be done. If he could take that additional step in front of the world, to show the possibility of a world without nukes… that would change everything. There would be no way those in charge could change things back, an impossible dream made real, and I know him too well to think that he'd let a chance like this slip by. There's only one question left. What do I do now knowing that my friend will be challenging the world powers for such an impossible yet beautiful dream? One that we all once fully shared…'
Ishmael began to pace back and forth in the room, thinking. 'Even without nukes, that won't stop Cipher from scheming. If I leave my position now, I'll be set back and revealed to them. I might lose my chance at striking back and removing the biggest threat to us, to Outer Heaven. And yet… to be by their sides one last time, fighting for our dreams of a brighter world together, one that we… I… don't deserve to see…'
'What do I do?'
Ishmael turned and looked at the dressing mirror in his room, hoping to find some sort of an answer to his questions, some sort of a sign to guide him to the right choice now that he doubted himself. But all he saw in the mirror was an old, worn down man wearing an unfamiliar face, one far from what he remembered a decade ago, a dull eye with hardened resolve where once it was sparking with hope, bright with the vision of a future to strive for.
Unbidden memories more than a decade old began to surface once more, no longer suppressed by Ishmael's iron will. Slowly they took shape in the mirror, appearing behind his reflection. First of all a blond man with yellow sunglasses and a cocky grin, seeking new ways to earn money while still supporting him. "Kaz…" Next was, a gutsy kid determined to become a worthy man and to redeem his mistakes, along with his sister, a freedom fighter, fighting for her people. "Chico… Amanda…" An awkward man in a wheelchair rolled up next to them, a naïve genius, dreaming of peace, to be a hero and to earn a certain someone's affections. "Huey…" Another genius, a white haired woman with dark sunglasses strolled up next to Huey, someone who wished to understand The Boss with him, an awkward Huey sneaking glances at her from the side. "Strangelove..." A young woman, who dreamed of peace while harboring growing doubts and fears inside her, tied to his… their enemy, Cipher, if only things were just a little different… "Paz…"
Even more familiar faces appeared behind them, until the mirror was crowded with them, each one he recognized as a member of MSF, all of them standing proudly behind him. He could feel the support, the loyalty they had to him… each and every one of them still believing in the man who failed them, who led them to their deaths for nothing. One last almost shadowy figure slowly came into view, far behind everyone else, one whose appearance brought waves of sorrow to him, a slight smile on her face. A single hauntingly familiar tune echoed in his ears. Ishmael could barely force his sole eye away from Her… the pain always too fresh, the questions he still couldn't fully answer, only hope that he could be close to the truth of the matter.
And then… the tune stopped, and with it the Boss. Soon the members of MSF began to fade out as well, and as they did the memories of how he lost each and every single one them played on in his mind. And after them, his closest friends began to fade out as well, Paz torn away from them by Cipher and the ocean, Chico rushing off after her. Then Amanda left to continue fighting for her people; Strangelove walking off, hands in her pockets, with nothing to work on. In the end only Kaz and Huey remained before a wave of fire tore them from him as well. Ishmael… Jack's knees buckled at the weight of his sins, his failures too heavy to bear any longer. A pair of boots entered his vision; a familiar voice entered his ears…
"…Ahab…?"
"Why won't you forgive yourself Big Boss? You forgave Kaz, you forgave Huey, and you forgave each and every single one of the soldiers we recruited. If we'd saved Paz that fateful day, then you would've forgiven her too even after she'd threatened all of us on Mother Base. Even after we rescued her from Skull Face we'd still have forgiven her and Chico. So then… Jack, why can't, why won't you forgive yourself." The voice of Ahab asked him.
"Because I couldn't save them. I, The Legendary Solider, failed to save my men. Chico… Paz… each and every man still on Mother Base when XOF attacked… and I couldn't save Her either time. She had to sacrifice Herself twice… I don't deserve the title, I didn't earn it when they first stuck me with it, and I don't deserve it now with these sins on my shoulders."
A hand came down in front of him, opened wide and reaching out. Jack looked up to see not Ahab's face… but his own face, the one he wore a decade ago.
"… then I'll take them up for you, Jack… for my friend Ishmael. I'll bear them all. But please give me one thing in return."
"Anything."
"Give me my friend, the one who shares our dreams, back to me."
"You never ask for anything easy old friend."
"Nothing is ever easy when you're involved."
"Heh. I'll try, for my friend Ahab, I'll try one last time."
Ishmael reached out and grasped Ahab's hand. And stood back up, the weight gone once more.
And then he jerked up from his chair, an unlit cigar in his mouth, and the whirling clicking of a tape recorder as it reached the end of its length. Ishmael got up, took the tape out, and flipped it around. And then… he began to speak once more, his mind clearer than it had been in years.
Ishmael walked down past Fox. Fox matched pace, slightly behind him, and asked. "Boss, where are you going? Do we have a new mission?"
Ishmael responded to him without slowing down. "I've got a message, and a gift, to deliver to an old friend."
"Is it someone I know?"
"Perhaps… I used to be a member of MSF back in the day. This is to my old friend about recent events. Just catching up on some things, talking about past mistakes."
"MSF… the old mercenary group? The one Big Boss used to lead? The same Big Boss who's leading DD?"
"Yeah."
They walked together in silence for a bit before Ishmael paused in front of the mailbox, the message already prepared to be shifted around and mailed to the proper people to get it to DD, Fox stopping with him by it.
"Fox, I might be taking leave for a few days soon. I'll need to leave you in charge for a bit."
"Yes sir."
Fox hesitated a bit as Ishmael put his package in the mail, and then asked him a question. "… may I come with you sir?"
Ishmael froze for a brief moment before responding. "It's just a bit of a vacation time; I'm getting old you know, Fox. Would you really want to leave someone else in charge of Foxhound just to watch an old man on vacation?"
"Sir… I know you better than that. What DD did yesterday… you're going off to help them. Am I right sir?"
Ishmael looked into Fox's eyes, a weighty presence filling the room.
"…are you sure Fox?"
Fox looked back at him. "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you Boss. If you believe we should help them, I too will believe it."
"…too many good men have lost themselves following me… if you're sure, we've got a few things to prepare first before we take some 'vacation days'."
Word Count, 2015.
@konamikode
This was hard to write. I tried to get the tone and voices right for this. (Also not purely a recording, but I hope that's acceptable.)
I did like how the word count for each 'final' draft ended up on important dates... I mean numbers.
(1995, 2005, 2015).
Dezron
In the Omnissiah we trust !
- Location
- Poland
If we get War Dogs this turn I'm do the other Doggo Omake. You will have to read about PUPPIES chasing Kaz around base, trying to chew on his crutch/use it as a tug of war toy, and you will LIKE IT!
Can someone explain to me what people see in puppies ? I don't get it .
My memory on Ground Zeroes is little rusty ...
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Nix's Warden
Welcome to Hades
- Location
- United States
Yeah, Chico did something really stupid, we saved him. Then on the way back, Mother Base got attacked and wrecked, and Chico died in the crash. Big Boss/Ahab was in a coma for nine years and lost an arm. Chico didn't die because of us. He died because he did something really fucking dumb and because of circumstances outside our control.