Story Reader / Main Story / 09 Fallen Star / Story
9-1 Flying Sand
>Somewhere in the desert, battlefield cleanup is underway in a Forsaken base. Sand and dust cover every inch of ground.
The third time this month...
A dark, long needle-like object protrudes from the ground in the center of the base.
Defeated mechanoids scatter on the ground nearby. They seem to have been corrupted. Fully-armed soldiers are preparing to ship them to the disposal site.
Luckily we received a warning beforehand and evacuated this base before the conversion probe landed.
The frequency of attacks from Punishing-corrupted Territory has been increasing recently. We can't always predict them like this one.
...And all other ground forces across the world are losing their bases too.
All because of this "Conversion Probe" launched from areas corrupted by the Punishing Virus.
It immediately releases a high-concentration Punishing Virus to control all nearby mechanoids once it lands...
Probes launched from the ground are less of a threat as they usually come from far away. We have depth, so we can still intercept them.
But...
Watanabe looks up to the sky.
But those launched from the low Earth orbit are shielded by the orbital debris. They have high velocity and are almost launched vertically above us...
Mr. Watanabe, do you mean the... corrupted International Space Station...?
Yeah.
It's probably been giving Babylonia a hard time too.
Yeah. From our optical observation alone, they have been firing at each other more than ever...
Not just that, Babylonia also pulled back most of their elite ground forces.
Including that Gray Raven squad... They have all been summoned back to reinforce their space forces.
Mr. Watanabe, are you implying...
Right. Our intel shows that Babylonia has decided to eliminate the corrupted space station once and for all.
Wow... Can they really do it? Going against that thing...
I know what you're thinking. For a long time, they could only wear down the space station by attrition.
Probably because there aren't many experienced "Fenrir" pilots left in Babylonia.
Ever since the Great Retreat, most good pilots in Babylonia have come to Mr. Watanabe.
…………
From a strategic point of view, Babylonia would never start the war if they didn't have a decisive winning factor.
They must be hiding some secret we don't know.
Are you saying...
From our past simulations... Once the threat and communication interference from the space station are reduced...
The world will start to change.
So this war will likely determine the future direction of the world.
If that's the case...
Right. The Forsakens must be part of this.
We have long prepared for it—
Forsakens, assemble!
Yes, sir!
Follow the protocol—disable all concealments of the base, and try to establish a communication channel with Babylonia!
Activate all defense systems in the base and open two-thirds of our hangers. You have three hours to complete pre-flight checks...
...Transfer surface authority to the standby operation officers in the ground mission control center.
Sir, are you going to...
I'm still the leader of the Forsaken on paper. Now's not the time to be capricious.
This arrangement doesn't mean we're compromising or cooperating. I'll get us the leverages we deserve.
...
Sir, we will fight with you!
We are the Forsaken—
We never forget...
