PNC Story/Standard 2-4/Script

The past, on a battlefield.

Simo: Comm...communications established. Gaul reporting. Enemy Command has been suppressed.

Man's Voice: Ah, well done, Gaul. You always take care of business so quickly. Looks like Svarog's new technology lives up to its reputation. We definitely got our money's worth!

Simo: Thank...thank you for your approval. As for the losses on our side...

Man's Voice: No need for that. There are many possible guerillas dug into the terrain in and around Highland 875 near the base. Find and eliminate. Understood?

Simo: Sir...the data from the past three hours of combat has been piling up, and the risk of triggering an Inhibition Program overload is very real...

Man's Voice: Ahem. Gaul, are you trying to give me a lesson on the workings of AI? Did you presume my ignorance?
Man's Voice: You are a 540,000 ruble military machine. You might be special in the eyes of some, but over here, all your value lies in obeying orders, executing orders and completing orders!
Man's Voice: I have no need for your numbers. Or, are you perhaps saying that your figures are worth more than letting theses guerillas go, and sending our next truckload of troopers to the grave?

Simo: My apologies, sir... I misspoke.

Man's Voice: I can't hear you.

Simo: Gaul has received orders! I will complete the mission without fail!

Man's Voice: I expect to hear a mission complete report from you by 1600 hours.

Simo: ...Understood.

Simo strides over the body of the enemy leader without a word, leaving through the command post's door. The air is filled with the burnt smell of thermobaric explosions, soot in their wake. The village where the enemy camp was hidden has levelled by the airstrikes he called in, and he just finished off anyone that could put up a fight.

Simo: Dammit, it's burning everywhere outside...How many survivors could there be in a place like this?
Simo: Twelve, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen... Wait a minute, wasn't there supposed to be a blonde guy over there...

Bang!

Simo:' Tsk! Give it up!

Soldier's Voice: Gah...

Simo evades the bullet from behind, then he uses the momentum to turn, pivot and tackle the soldier that has appeared from behind him to the ground.

Simo: ...Why? How can you still stand up with half your body burnt to a crisp?

Soldier's Voice: Bloody... Monster... Sorry... My comrades... I...

Simo: ...You humans really are hard to understand. Rest in peace... Uh?!

Distorted Voice: [Alert: Combat suppression program is about to overload. Please contact a supervisor.]

Simo: Overload...Piece of... [Purge program... Execute...] **^(()&*(^(^&*)&)*&)&)

Distorted Voice: [Alert: Combat suppression program has overloaded. Neural system suppression inbound. Please contact a supervisor.]

......

......

???: ... mo... Simo...

???: Simo! You listening or not?

Simo: Ah! Oh... Croque...

Croque: Spacing out in the middle of a strategy meeting? Quite unlike what an elite Svarog Doll would do.

Persicaria: Are you alright, Simo?

Simo: I don't know. Some irrelevant data suddenly surfaced. I'm usually not like this...

Antonina: Simo, you really should let Persicaria have a look at your neural system.

Simo: ...When we're done with all of this.

Croque: Ahem, let's carry on, then! Anna, how much did you say the defensive strength of a single node of the wall was?

Antonina: 1.5Tb/s.

Persicaria: What a ridiculous number....

Croque: Hehe, yup, it IS pretty ridiculous - however!! It hardly bears mentioning in the face of my secret weapon!

Persicaria: You mean the one you accidentally mentioned just now?

Croque: Quiet, you. Anyway, the battle at the Oasis earlier made me realize that we are severely lacking in firepower..

Antonina: Indeed, and after that you locked yourself in your room more often that not.

Persicaria: Though that's nothing out of the ordinary in any other time.

Croque: Ahaha... You're pretty ruthless when you speak sometimes, Persicaria...

Persicaria: So, were you training inside your room, Croque?

Croque: Of course not! I was building a mecha in there!

Persicaria: ...? Why a mecha?

Croque: I designed it according to the transforming battle machine Dirac-(some character) from ARMOUR SUIT!

Persicaria: But can't your shield already turn into a mecha? Are you leaving your Aegis in the dust?

Croque: Hehe, this Dirac is different! It's way past the Aegis in terms of size and firepower!
Croque: Granted, it's only half-finished now, so I was planning to tell you when it was complete.
Croque: However! How could Dirac possibly stand and watch when a hero is needed?

Antonina: So you're saying this Dirac you speak of can help us bring down that isolation wall?

Croque: Of course! That's because Dirac is capable of accumulating operands, making its peak output exceed 2.3 TB/s!
Croque: While there's still room for improvement, it's more than enough to crack a defensive strength of 1.5TB/s!

Simo: Sorry to interrupt you at a time like this. However, Croque, have you considered what would happen if the wall nodes employ CDN?

Croque: Haha, as if they would use such advanced technology.... Wait a minute, you're not saying...

Simo: Unfortunately, nodes on that isolation wall will support each other, and an adjacent node can support its neighbor with up to 1 TB/s of operands.
Simo: In other words, we'll need at least 3.5Tb/s of peak flow to break it.

Croque: Um... Ah... Well... ah...

Persicaria: You alright, Croque?

Croque: Why... My plans always... It's supposed to be an isolation wall in an old military zone... Why...

Simo: But, that has provided us with a breakpoint.
Simo: As it happens, the Monitors have recently developed a jamming device that can cut off the flow between nodes on the isolation wall.

Croque: !! You mean!

Simo: Yes. It was originally a byproduct of research targeted at the isolation wall transmitter, After all, the Monitors do not have high-output weapons in their possession.
Simo: Now, if we use the jammer to interrupt the CDN process, Dirac's firepower should be enough to bring down the wall.

Croque: Isn't that a heaven-sent opportunity? In that case, relax and leaves it to Dirac!

Antonina: Your mood sure shifts quickly...

Simo: But unfortunately, the jamming device is no small object, and we'll need to transport it by the main roads.
Simo: You went by the alleys just now, right? That was why you didn't run into too many Sanctifiers. The main roads, however are blockaded by the Sanctifiers, and it'll be no easy task to break through.

Croque: Don't worry! We've got Dirac, haven't we?

Simo: You mean...

Croque: Not only can Dirac bust that wall down, it can also fight the Sanctifiers!

Professor: And if we can provide direct fire support, breaking through the Sanctifiers' defense line is not impossible.

Simo: But we're painting targets on our backs, if it draws Raven over and she steps in...

• Don't worry, I have my own gameplan for whenever that arises.

Simo: Hang on, Professor, you...

Professor: In any case, the plan's worth a shot.

I wink to Simo. He remains silent for some time, and then nods as well, as though his mind was made up.

Simo: ...If you say so, Professor. I'll go borrow the jammer from them. I'll also get some additional operands for Dirac.

Croque: Sweet! You're so thoughtful, Simo! Everyone, prepare to move out!

Persicaria: Croque becomes a completely different person when it comes to mechas...

Professor: Better than when she mutters to herself, no? Plus, it's not as though I dislike those with a bit of boiling blood in their veins.

Croque: Charge!

Sanctifier: [Detecting illegal transportation unit. Attempting to intercept.]

Croque: Go find someone who asked! Dirac-Dash-!

Sanctifier: [Detecting illegal transportation unit. Immediately hal-]

Bang!!!

Croque: Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit something just now?

Sanctifier: [Detecting hostile behavior from illegal transportation unit. Attempting to purge.]

Croque: Oh? Bringing out the boys, eh? Alright, come on, then!

The Sanctifiers gather in front of Dirac, taking aim and opening fire in unison. Dirac's armor remained bright and gleaming after a round of firing, practically unscathed by the attack.

Croque: My turn! Automatic firepower burst, activate!

Dirac deploys its wings, and rains an awe-inspiring amount of firepower on the Sanctifiers. In the blink of an eye, the ranks of Sanctifiers blocking them have been blasted to bits.

BOOMBOOMBOOM!!!

Croque: Second round of automatic fire, load! Chassis reassembling complete, commence synchro charging! It's not over yet!

Sanctifier: [Encountered powerful threat, requesting reinfor-]

Whoosh-

Simo: Sorry, your backup won't be here anytime soon.

From the roof of the opposite building, Simo places a bolt into the Sanctifier Captain. The alleyway behind him is filled with fallen Sanctifiers.

Croque: Cheers, Simo! Prof, let's go!

• Here we go!

I put pedal to metal, bringing the truck holding the jammer up behind Dirac. Many Sanctifiers turn to fire at us, but they are taken down by the combination of Croque and Simo's pincer attack.

Professor: Prepare to break through! Antonina!

Antonina: Yeah, yeah. I got it.

Just as Antonina finishes speaking, the Sanctifiers lines go silent, and the streams of electricity flowing along the mechanical roadblock go dark. I steadily accelerate, heading on a collision course with the roadblock and the remaining Sanctifiers, and I keep going until they all speed past either side of my field of vision.

Persicaria: That's the Professor for you... You got through that instantly!
Persicaria: Letting Dirac and us draw fire while Antonina and Simo took ground along the side and cut off reinforcements... a stroke of genius!

• I wouldn't mind if you showered me with a bit more of that praise, Persicaria.
  Persicaria: Of course! You're a genius, Professor!
  Professor: Er, having you take that seriously make me... Never mind, my bad.

• Oh, it was trivial.

Professor: Ahem. In any case, we can't relax yet. The wall up ahead is the real obstacle.
Professor: Croque, do what I told you just then, and meet up with Simo. Also, have Antonina come over to us.

Croque: Eh? Right now? Um... Got it!

Persicaria: Hm? You told her something just now? Professor, do you still have yet more schemes?

Professor: Just insurance. Don't worry about it, Persicaria.
Professor: Let's keep moving!