Gunvolt (
shockingblue) wrote in
daybreakacademy2019-12-08 03:50 pm
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Operation Icarus - Stratacombs
Who: Gunvolt, Desidera, Vivi, Lia, Ky, Puella, Adelaide, Rex
What: An operation to rescue captured Candles from Sumeragi captivity and exploitation as part of Project Prometheus, and the destruction of the backup servers for Project Monarch.
When: December 8th
Where: A remote, mountainous region of Japan, in the Sumeragi hidden facility codenamed Stratacomb.
Warnings: Blood, Violence, Language, imagery of abuse/exploitation/torture, and just general bad stuff related to fighting.
Briefing
After the conclusion of Operation Anthem about one month prior, Monarch, Sumeragi's state of the art Candle-detecting AI Core and virtual idol, had been rescued by Daybreak's and QUILL's forces at her pleading. In her gratitude, she had provided a significant amount of data to both Daybreak and QUILL on two of the Sumeragi Group's most clandestine projects: Project Prometheus and Project Monarch, the latter of which served the former. The data in question proved to be impossibly valuable, both to QUILL and the Academy, revealing the sheer depths of depravity that Sumeragi was involved in, and the sheer scope of the planning involved in Project Prometheus; that is, the corporation's top secret plan to exploit the powers of Candles for financial, political, and general power-grabbing gain. Monarch's information provided enough leads to pinpoint the location of one of Sumeragi's most hidden and nefarious labs, nestled deep in the rural mountains of Japan, well away from common view.
With its location now discovered, Daybreak and QUILL hurriedly joined forces once more, for an even more serious and urgent mission than Operation Anthem. Asimov once again returned to the Academy, heading a briefing of the volunteers to this mission. Gunvolt had once again been asked to participate in this mission by QUILL, and accompanying him to the briefing was Monarch herself. The AI Core itself was a mythril sphere with a few blinking lights, a hovering system, and a lens for displaying things as a hologram. The Core kept close to Gunvolt or Desidera, hovering near and around their shoulders pretty much at all times, though it displayed a hologram of her human form as well; a young, attractive, curvy young woman with blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Her outfit was clearly something for a stage show; mostly deep black, but accented with vivid and bright oranges and stark whites; digital butterfly wings behind her fluttered in the same pattern as the insect that was her namesake. She made for quite a standout for the seriousness of the occasion, but despite her showiness, Monarch remained serious and focused on the matters at hand.
The briefing this time took place in one of the larger and more important presentation rooms at the Academy, and Asimov once again stood at the fore with a projector screen behind him. His expression, such as could be read with those sunglasses on, looked more stern than the last time. He spared glances around the room at his volunteers, greeting everyone he'd seen before with a solemn, serious nod. The one exception to that was Gunvolt himself, who was the only one who got even the faintest hint of a relieved smile. This was a big one, that much was clear, and Gunvolt sat silently, waiting for Asimov to begin, his blue eyes focused like a laser.
First of all, thank you all for coming, for volunteering. I know I've seen some of you before, so I have zero doubt of your abilities, and I am relieved to see capable hands return. ...To say this mission is critical would be to understate it incredibly." Asimov's voice was still as deep and commanding as ever. "Thanks to Monarch and in large part to many of you, we have a chance to save a lot of innocent lives, as well as hammer the first nail into Sumeragi's coffin. Project Prometheus' headquarters has been located, and it is where numerous victims of Sumeragi's Candle exploitation are being held. And by fortune, that secure laboratory is the same place that Sumeragi has kept the backups and data from Project Monarch. Striking there will allow us to liberate many people, as well as prevent Sumeragi from resuming Project Monarch by building another AI Core."
"It took Sumeragi several months to build me, and that was with concerted effort and great cost. Even though they have some of my AI backed up, making my core was a tough process. Erasing, destroying, or stealing their servers will make sure they can't deploy another one of me any time soon. Another core is useless without the data to put into it."
Asimov's face eased a little, looking less severe after Monarch spoke.
"Well said. Now then, the matter of the laboratory is something we have to cover." Asimov pressed a button on his remote, with the projector screen flickering to life. The picture it revealed was... ominous. Nestled and built into a mountainside, was a spire painted in black, with no distinctive markings on it, save for a handful of plain looking letters painted here and there near what look like helicopter landing pads. Those dotted the parts of the spire that actually looked like a building built outside the cliff face. "This is the station that Sumeragi has codenamed 'Stratacomb.' ...It even looks as ominious as it sounds. If you will allow me to editorialize, they really do have a lock on the whole 'evil corporation' image. But before I get off topic, I would like to address our targets within the Stratacomb."
Another press from the remote moved the image forward, creating two pictures, one showing the top of the spire, and one toward the base of it... though focused more underground than above. Two green circles mark points of interest in both pictures, though the circle on the bottom is marked with a pointed "?" symbol. Asimov pointed to both with a laser pointer, and continued speaking.
"The top of the tower is where we believe the Monarch servers are located. An initial recon flight by one of Daybreak's stealth Rune Wings suggests there is a strong heat signature and energy reading there; much like we would expect from many servers linked together. Unfortunately, that part of the tower is heavily armored, and cannot be breached with most weaponry without causing too much attention and response. Too many explosions is going to get a lot of attention, so even punching our way in close to the Server Room is an unwise idea." Asimov hesitates for a moment, and his expression darkens considerably. "Conversely, we have down below... in the bowels of the facility, is where we have reason to believe the hostages and captive Candles are being held and experimented upon. QUILL's intelligence network has confirmed that Sumeragi makes allusions to these labs in official reports, and we have cracked enough of it to decipher that it is likely underground."
"Sounds like something Moniqa probably picked up on," Gunvolt added, half asking Asimov if he was right.
"Sure was. We're lucky to have her. She put in a lot of hours analyzing all of that intelligence. With that known, we will need a strike team to get to the lower levels, neutralize security, and get those Candles out of there by any means necessary. We don't know just how deep underground you need to go, and therefore, we run into the same problem we did with the top of the tower. You cannot infiltrate in by blowing a hole into the building. So instead, we have developed another plan.
Our team at QUILL have developed an illusionary device for one of our dropships to make it look and pass for a Sumeragi one. IFF spoofing included. It's quite a piece of work. We will use that to get close to the facility and land at this helipad here." The laser pointer drew a circle around one of the larger helipads, relatively central to the building. "It'll be a quiet touchdown, if all goes as planned. You'll be able to get inside from there, and then you can start raising hell once you're there. You will split into two teams, one heading to the servers up high, one to the depths below. Security in this facility is tight, as you might expect, and Sumeragi have many of their best troops stationed here. However, most of them are still largely mundane, and not unlike the ones you faced during Operation Anthem. Expect them to be better equipped to fight back, but most of the personnel on site should not be able to stop you all from doing what you need to do once inside.
And before you ask about the security systems, we've got you covered. Thanks again to Monarch, we've learned much about how the security in several Sumeragi facilities works, and we have installed a jammer on another of our QUILL aircraft. It will be operating in the airspace, and should jam most of the automated defenses, door locks, and other countermeasures from going off. It won't be foolproof, but it will certainly be enough to throw everything into disarray. As well, the jamming field will block incoming and outgoing Sumeragi communication; once the operation starts, the Stratacomb will be cut off from Sumeragi communications networks. Only allied frequencies will work in there, and it should prevent a coordinated counterattack on both infiltration teams, giving you plenty of initiative advantage. That leads to objectives.
Team Alpha will take the destruction of the servers, Team Bravo will see to rescuing the Candles. Once Team Bravo has secured the captives, several of Daybreak's Runewings will be on standby to land at any appointed helicopter pad. We expect there to be anywhere from twenty to fifty Candles, some of which might be in bad shape. If necessary, additional QUILL and Daybreak operatives will deploy into the facility to secure it and ensure safe extraction of the Candles. Such an event may take quite some time, but the jamming field should buy us enough time to get away before Sumeragi mounts a counterattack. Daybreak's Runewings will be equipped with medical staff and supplies to treat the injured as a form of triage as well. A complex mission, but I believe those here can complete it. If Team Alpha finishes their objective early, they are to descend into the basement and assist Team Bravo.
However, there is one possibility in this mission that cannot be accounted for, and could feasibly pose a threat."
"...I don't like the sound of that."
Monarch's hologram looked over to Gunvolt, her face filled with worry, even a bit of dread. "...You'll like it even less when you hear what it is, GV."
In the meantime, the projector turns off, and Asimov continues.
"The crown jewel of Sumeragi's Project Prometheus: Glaive Soldiers. When Sumeragi find exceptionally powerful and gifted Candles, they may become candidates for the Glaive Soldier program... of which we know very little about. And what we do know is disturbing. What we do know is that very few candidates actually survive the program to completion... and those that do become weaponized, brainwashed soldiers for Sumeragi that are incredibly dangerous. You may remember the encounter you had with the Mantis tanks on the trains? Glaive Soldiers are powerful enough to make those look like toys. The good news is, we do know there are very, very few Glaive Soldiers active. Fewer than ten total. The only reports we have about them in action report that they are clad in runic-powered armor; mostly black. We do not have intel on specifics, but should you encounter one, expect them to put up real resistance. And do not expect them to surrender; they will likely fight to the death. Their presence is an unknown, but a risk we will have to take for this op. I would advise to prepare for heavy combat, in the event that one might be present."
"...You were right, Monarch, I definitely don't like the sound of that."
"Don't worry, I'll be there to keep you safe from any of them, GV."
"...You're actually planning on going? Are you sure?"
"I must advise against tha--"
"My mind's made up. I'm going. But there's real reason why you'll want me to. Though you have a jamming field to deal with some of the worst security measures, I can deal with anything else that might require a local touch. I am, at the very least, very familiar with Sumeragi computer protocols. I won't be a burden... and I might be able to help another way too. Just... trust me, okay?"
"She makes a good point, Asimov..."
"...She does. Keeping her safe will be your responsibility, GV. Now then, I am sure you all have questions. Like before, I am open to answer anything you might want to ask me."
[OOC: There will be an Ending Thread posted on either 12/9 or 12/10, giving an opportunity for denouement from this mission. More specifics about rescuing the prisoners and the fallout of the operation. Check back for that.]
What: An operation to rescue captured Candles from Sumeragi captivity and exploitation as part of Project Prometheus, and the destruction of the backup servers for Project Monarch.
When: December 8th
Where: A remote, mountainous region of Japan, in the Sumeragi hidden facility codenamed Stratacomb.
Warnings: Blood, Violence, Language, imagery of abuse/exploitation/torture, and just general bad stuff related to fighting.
Briefing
After the conclusion of Operation Anthem about one month prior, Monarch, Sumeragi's state of the art Candle-detecting AI Core and virtual idol, had been rescued by Daybreak's and QUILL's forces at her pleading. In her gratitude, she had provided a significant amount of data to both Daybreak and QUILL on two of the Sumeragi Group's most clandestine projects: Project Prometheus and Project Monarch, the latter of which served the former. The data in question proved to be impossibly valuable, both to QUILL and the Academy, revealing the sheer depths of depravity that Sumeragi was involved in, and the sheer scope of the planning involved in Project Prometheus; that is, the corporation's top secret plan to exploit the powers of Candles for financial, political, and general power-grabbing gain. Monarch's information provided enough leads to pinpoint the location of one of Sumeragi's most hidden and nefarious labs, nestled deep in the rural mountains of Japan, well away from common view.
With its location now discovered, Daybreak and QUILL hurriedly joined forces once more, for an even more serious and urgent mission than Operation Anthem. Asimov once again returned to the Academy, heading a briefing of the volunteers to this mission. Gunvolt had once again been asked to participate in this mission by QUILL, and accompanying him to the briefing was Monarch herself. The AI Core itself was a mythril sphere with a few blinking lights, a hovering system, and a lens for displaying things as a hologram. The Core kept close to Gunvolt or Desidera, hovering near and around their shoulders pretty much at all times, though it displayed a hologram of her human form as well; a young, attractive, curvy young woman with blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Her outfit was clearly something for a stage show; mostly deep black, but accented with vivid and bright oranges and stark whites; digital butterfly wings behind her fluttered in the same pattern as the insect that was her namesake. She made for quite a standout for the seriousness of the occasion, but despite her showiness, Monarch remained serious and focused on the matters at hand.
The briefing this time took place in one of the larger and more important presentation rooms at the Academy, and Asimov once again stood at the fore with a projector screen behind him. His expression, such as could be read with those sunglasses on, looked more stern than the last time. He spared glances around the room at his volunteers, greeting everyone he'd seen before with a solemn, serious nod. The one exception to that was Gunvolt himself, who was the only one who got even the faintest hint of a relieved smile. This was a big one, that much was clear, and Gunvolt sat silently, waiting for Asimov to begin, his blue eyes focused like a laser.
First of all, thank you all for coming, for volunteering. I know I've seen some of you before, so I have zero doubt of your abilities, and I am relieved to see capable hands return. ...To say this mission is critical would be to understate it incredibly." Asimov's voice was still as deep and commanding as ever. "Thanks to Monarch and in large part to many of you, we have a chance to save a lot of innocent lives, as well as hammer the first nail into Sumeragi's coffin. Project Prometheus' headquarters has been located, and it is where numerous victims of Sumeragi's Candle exploitation are being held. And by fortune, that secure laboratory is the same place that Sumeragi has kept the backups and data from Project Monarch. Striking there will allow us to liberate many people, as well as prevent Sumeragi from resuming Project Monarch by building another AI Core."
"It took Sumeragi several months to build me, and that was with concerted effort and great cost. Even though they have some of my AI backed up, making my core was a tough process. Erasing, destroying, or stealing their servers will make sure they can't deploy another one of me any time soon. Another core is useless without the data to put into it."
Asimov's face eased a little, looking less severe after Monarch spoke.
"Well said. Now then, the matter of the laboratory is something we have to cover." Asimov pressed a button on his remote, with the projector screen flickering to life. The picture it revealed was... ominous. Nestled and built into a mountainside, was a spire painted in black, with no distinctive markings on it, save for a handful of plain looking letters painted here and there near what look like helicopter landing pads. Those dotted the parts of the spire that actually looked like a building built outside the cliff face. "This is the station that Sumeragi has codenamed 'Stratacomb.' ...It even looks as ominious as it sounds. If you will allow me to editorialize, they really do have a lock on the whole 'evil corporation' image. But before I get off topic, I would like to address our targets within the Stratacomb."
Another press from the remote moved the image forward, creating two pictures, one showing the top of the spire, and one toward the base of it... though focused more underground than above. Two green circles mark points of interest in both pictures, though the circle on the bottom is marked with a pointed "?" symbol. Asimov pointed to both with a laser pointer, and continued speaking.
"The top of the tower is where we believe the Monarch servers are located. An initial recon flight by one of Daybreak's stealth Rune Wings suggests there is a strong heat signature and energy reading there; much like we would expect from many servers linked together. Unfortunately, that part of the tower is heavily armored, and cannot be breached with most weaponry without causing too much attention and response. Too many explosions is going to get a lot of attention, so even punching our way in close to the Server Room is an unwise idea." Asimov hesitates for a moment, and his expression darkens considerably. "Conversely, we have down below... in the bowels of the facility, is where we have reason to believe the hostages and captive Candles are being held and experimented upon. QUILL's intelligence network has confirmed that Sumeragi makes allusions to these labs in official reports, and we have cracked enough of it to decipher that it is likely underground."
"Sounds like something Moniqa probably picked up on," Gunvolt added, half asking Asimov if he was right.
"Sure was. We're lucky to have her. She put in a lot of hours analyzing all of that intelligence. With that known, we will need a strike team to get to the lower levels, neutralize security, and get those Candles out of there by any means necessary. We don't know just how deep underground you need to go, and therefore, we run into the same problem we did with the top of the tower. You cannot infiltrate in by blowing a hole into the building. So instead, we have developed another plan.
Our team at QUILL have developed an illusionary device for one of our dropships to make it look and pass for a Sumeragi one. IFF spoofing included. It's quite a piece of work. We will use that to get close to the facility and land at this helipad here." The laser pointer drew a circle around one of the larger helipads, relatively central to the building. "It'll be a quiet touchdown, if all goes as planned. You'll be able to get inside from there, and then you can start raising hell once you're there. You will split into two teams, one heading to the servers up high, one to the depths below. Security in this facility is tight, as you might expect, and Sumeragi have many of their best troops stationed here. However, most of them are still largely mundane, and not unlike the ones you faced during Operation Anthem. Expect them to be better equipped to fight back, but most of the personnel on site should not be able to stop you all from doing what you need to do once inside.
And before you ask about the security systems, we've got you covered. Thanks again to Monarch, we've learned much about how the security in several Sumeragi facilities works, and we have installed a jammer on another of our QUILL aircraft. It will be operating in the airspace, and should jam most of the automated defenses, door locks, and other countermeasures from going off. It won't be foolproof, but it will certainly be enough to throw everything into disarray. As well, the jamming field will block incoming and outgoing Sumeragi communication; once the operation starts, the Stratacomb will be cut off from Sumeragi communications networks. Only allied frequencies will work in there, and it should prevent a coordinated counterattack on both infiltration teams, giving you plenty of initiative advantage. That leads to objectives.
Team Alpha will take the destruction of the servers, Team Bravo will see to rescuing the Candles. Once Team Bravo has secured the captives, several of Daybreak's Runewings will be on standby to land at any appointed helicopter pad. We expect there to be anywhere from twenty to fifty Candles, some of which might be in bad shape. If necessary, additional QUILL and Daybreak operatives will deploy into the facility to secure it and ensure safe extraction of the Candles. Such an event may take quite some time, but the jamming field should buy us enough time to get away before Sumeragi mounts a counterattack. Daybreak's Runewings will be equipped with medical staff and supplies to treat the injured as a form of triage as well. A complex mission, but I believe those here can complete it. If Team Alpha finishes their objective early, they are to descend into the basement and assist Team Bravo.
However, there is one possibility in this mission that cannot be accounted for, and could feasibly pose a threat."
"...I don't like the sound of that."
Monarch's hologram looked over to Gunvolt, her face filled with worry, even a bit of dread. "...You'll like it even less when you hear what it is, GV."
In the meantime, the projector turns off, and Asimov continues.
"The crown jewel of Sumeragi's Project Prometheus: Glaive Soldiers. When Sumeragi find exceptionally powerful and gifted Candles, they may become candidates for the Glaive Soldier program... of which we know very little about. And what we do know is disturbing. What we do know is that very few candidates actually survive the program to completion... and those that do become weaponized, brainwashed soldiers for Sumeragi that are incredibly dangerous. You may remember the encounter you had with the Mantis tanks on the trains? Glaive Soldiers are powerful enough to make those look like toys. The good news is, we do know there are very, very few Glaive Soldiers active. Fewer than ten total. The only reports we have about them in action report that they are clad in runic-powered armor; mostly black. We do not have intel on specifics, but should you encounter one, expect them to put up real resistance. And do not expect them to surrender; they will likely fight to the death. Their presence is an unknown, but a risk we will have to take for this op. I would advise to prepare for heavy combat, in the event that one might be present."
"...You were right, Monarch, I definitely don't like the sound of that."
"Don't worry, I'll be there to keep you safe from any of them, GV."
"...You're actually planning on going? Are you sure?"
"I must advise against tha--"
"My mind's made up. I'm going. But there's real reason why you'll want me to. Though you have a jamming field to deal with some of the worst security measures, I can deal with anything else that might require a local touch. I am, at the very least, very familiar with Sumeragi computer protocols. I won't be a burden... and I might be able to help another way too. Just... trust me, okay?"
"She makes a good point, Asimov..."
"...She does. Keeping her safe will be your responsibility, GV. Now then, I am sure you all have questions. Like before, I am open to answer anything you might want to ask me."
[OOC: There will be an Ending Thread posted on either 12/9 or 12/10, giving an opportunity for denouement from this mission. More specifics about rescuing the prisoners and the fallout of the operation. Check back for that.]