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| 26 Aug 2012 08:06 PM |
**GET READY FOR A MASSIVE TL;DR**
**also for those who don't know this is HEAVILY inspired by Deus Ex (yes me and colour are both huge fanboys of the franchise) so you get a cookie if you play it**
**Prologue**
Michal Audax. One of the finest men Frostarian Union has to offer. He is one of it's Admirals, a prestigious group of the Frostarian high command. Originally a refugee from Venezia, looking for salvation, he has proven himself to be true of heart. He is one of the brave Admirals to lead on the Frostarian forces against the Vaktovian Empire, culminating to a bloody interstellar war. Even he has made a heavy sacrifice towards the safety of Frostaria. We shall retell this grueling tale...
**1 - Perdidit**
"Sir, radar shows massive enemy formations fixing onto our position," a Scout, his eyes fixed on a radar panel, nervously told Admiral Michal Audax. "Looks like a moderate-sized Vaktovian fleet is coming to seize the fort," Audax quivered, "Tell everyone to get dug in, man the anti-air. Put the fort on high alert. We are NOT losing Celeste." "Y-yes sir!" The young Scout's calls and shouts echoed in the hallways of the fort's central tower. It wouldn't be long until all Fort Celeste personnel were on alert and ready to fight the impending threat. As minutes passed, the signals got stronger and stronger. Soldiers loaded and readied their anti-air cannons. Suddenly, a earth-shaking boom was heard in the distance. A small Vaktovian battleship had blasted its way though one of the surrounding mountains. Many other ships were right behind it. The entire fort was silent; the only audible sounds were the nervous breaths of the troops preparing to put their lives on the line. "Look out!" A pulse blast sprung out from the horizon and struck the tower. A chunk of the tower had been destroyed. Soldiers caught in the blast fall from the tower, to meet their death at the ground. The ships had arrived, and begun bombarding the tower. Michal had already went into the secret bunkers beneath Celeste, and was giving out orders to concentrate fire on the main gunship. Fortunately, the plan had proven successful. One of the gunship's engines had failed, and the flying leviathan fell into the coastal mountains. The other ships then proceeded to drop down to the surface, and deployed hundreds of Vaktovian foot soldiers and armored vehicles. With no commanding ship to give orders, the rest of the fleet was directed to drop its load and retreat. Michal clenched his fist in victory; a small victory. However, Vaktovians begun pouring from over the walls. The anti-air cannons were providing significant anti-personnel abilities against the Vaktovian troopers. Then, the Vaktovians surrounded the fort's walls, preparing to entrap the remaining Frostarian soldiers. Grenades from both sides were taking lives by the tens. As the Frostarian forces beat back the invaders, the armored vehicles made their move. As the Frostrians were focusing on the soldiers, demolition specialists had rigged explosives on the front walls of Celeste, and jeeps came in through the smoking holes. The machine guns mounted on top of the vehicles began mowing down Frostarians before they could even look behind themselves. "Blast! Those MGs are going to take the rest of us out," Michal muttured. "I need to take action." As Michal threw himself into some combat gear, his radio began blaring. "Admiral Audax! S-sir, those machine guns have us pinned down! I don't think we can ma- AUUUGH!!!!" "My men will not die in vain. You have my word." Michal vowed. "I'm coming." As Michal rushed onto the battlefield, he provided his weapons and ammo to soldiers in shortage. As seconds went by, more cover was blown to dust by the machine gun. There wasn't much time. "Alright, I have a plan," Michal said to the last of the Frostarian defenders. "What's that, sir? What can we do?" a Soldier asked. "You don't have to do much. You've done enough, and more." Michal ensured. "All I need is for all of you to throw your grenades at the vehicles. I have *this* with me too." Michal pulled out a Sparrow Menace anti-armor smart missile launcher. A highly classifed weapon in the Frostarian arsenal, not even Michal has clearance to use this weapon. This was a terrible situation, though. Michal was willing do everything in his power to push back the rest of the Vaktovians. "On my mark... Now!" As soldier after soldier pulled their pins and threw their frags, explosions were heard in the background. Michal then threw a concussion grenade to finish off his distraction plan. When the flashbang went off, the remaining Vaktovian gunner was blinded. This didn't stop him from crazily firing his machine gun at what he thought was his target. Wasn't according to Michal's plan. Michal then rushed out without hesitation, and fired the Menace at the vehicle in the midst of random bullets. The moment he fired, he felt the bullets ravage his body. "Noooo..." He rasped as he collapsed to the ground. The sounds of chaos suddenly came to a solid stop. "Oh no... Admiral, sir, don't lose us... keep looking at my face... don't close your eyes... MEDIC!" The soldier's cries were fainter and fainter as Michal drifted off... In the matter of minutes, medical evacuation had arrived. Both dead and wounded were picked up. "Dear lord, look at what happened here..." A Coordinator assessed the damage from the intense battle in sadness. "Sir, Celeste is still in Frostarian hands. The Vaktovian invasion force was successfully repelled. We have an estimated 230 casualties and 18 wounded, including Admiral Audax. What are your orders, sir?" "You know what to do with the dead. We will treat the wounded. And Audax... how bad is he? "Not sure. The soldiers say he fired a missile in front of a machine gun firing directly at him. Looks like he was shot bad in the torso and right arm." "Typical brash Audax... He's a fine man, though. He'll make it, I'm sure." "I'm sure Admiral Audax will make a successful recovery, sir." "Yes. Make sure he is taken to the Medical Facility. I will call the Sparrow Corp scientists and surgeons there. I have plans for him." "Yes sir." "Alright. Get it done quickly. Sparrow out."
**END OF PERDIDIT**
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**2 - Aucto**
The evacuation helicopter lowered onto the helipad ever so cautiously, yet ever so quickly. Frostarian medics scurried out to carry out the wounded to be treated. Michal's stretcher was one of the first to be taken. The men pushing him across the halls were not normal Frostarian doctors. They were Sparrow Corp agents. They reached a highly secured door, and slid cards through a slit that temporarily disabled security and allowed them inside. Sparrow Corp surgeons were waiting past the door, and were given the stretcher. "Do everything in your power to save him, doc," one of the agents said. Both doctors gave an assuring nod and the doors slid shut. "Bring the body to the main operating table. Let's get to work." The doctors carried the stretcher and placed Michal's dying body to the aforementioned table. In a matter of minutes, life support systems were hooked up to Michal. "Examine the wounds, let me get the tools," one doctor said. By the time the doctor was back, the other surgeons relayed each of his injuries. "We see nine or ten bullet wounds in his torso and right arm. Fragmentation rounds. Major lacerations and tissue damage." One doctor said. "Right arm is rendered useless. His left eye has also been terribly damaged. We'll need to replace both." Another informed. "Replace both? That would require..." "Yes, augmentation." "But... our augmentation project isn't even in the beta stage. We'd need to ask the Grand Admiral himself." "Do it." A black silhouette walked towards the doctors. As the shadows gave away, he was revealed to be Leonard Sparrow. "Replace his arm and eye. Give him some improvements as well. Do whatever is needed, and fast." "Yes, sir." All the surgeons said in unison. Sparrow casually walked away and out of the facility. Not a word was said when he did. The operation begun right after Leonard left. Michal's transformation was imminent. "Get ready to disinfect these wounds," a doctor called. "On it!" Another replied. Michal twitched and cringed from the pain, but morphine was administered almost immediately, eliminating any remaining pain. The doctors worked hours and hours, not to replace Michal's impaired limb and eye, but to keep him alive. The fragments from the machine gun rounds had severely damaged his abdominal organs. Once they had stabilized Michal, they went to work. Sparrow Corp agents came into the operating room with Michal's new arm, a cybernetic arm prosthesis many times stronger than the typical humanoid arm. The eye replacement was a robotic oculus that could connect digitally to the brain's occipital lobe and display vision to the recipient. It took hours to remove Michal's mangled arm and eye. The surgeons cut nerve and muscle as his arm and eye were removed. The arm prosthesis fit perfectly, fortunately. The surgeons connected the nerves to microwires with extreme caution. After the arm was finished, they moved on to replacing the eye. It was the same drill, connecting nerves to wires, along with grafting the optic nerve to the main input device. Afterwards, the doctors proceeded to repair any further damage done to Michal's body. His organs were repaired, and his lungs recieved an upgrade via an implanted rebreather. After many hours of grueling medical work, the surgeons were finished. The last thing to do was to wake the vegetable Admiral. Defibrillators jumpstarted his heart, while electric pulses helped his augmentations start up. As Michal awakened, he only heard a snuffed silence. Muffled voices were the only thing he could hear. His eyes, both natural and augmented, opened. Several doctors surrounded him with faint smiles on their faces. "Welcome back to the land of the living, sir."
**END OF AUCTO**
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**3 - Suscitatio**
"...What? I'm alive?" Michal wheezed. It was hard to breathe because of the newly-installed lung enhancements. "Calm down, sir. We'll explain everything," The surgeons pleaded. "What happened to the soldiers as well?" He asked nervously. "The wounded are being treated currently. Casualties are rather high, though." Michal stayed silent, and looked down at his hands. The left one was natural and soft, the right one metallic and streamlined. Michal then looked down his right hand to see an entirely replaced arm. He then stareed back at the doctors in disbelief while wheezing slightly. "Tell me what happened. Please..." "As you wish, sir," a doctor said, "The injuries you sustained at Celeste, were fatal. We had to go to drastic measures to keep you alive, which is why you have been fitted with experimental augmentation technology. It is the best the high command could offer." Michal was still in awe at what became of him. "So this... this is what happened to me." "It will take time for your body to adjust to the enhancements, sir. Do you mind if we go over what we've given you?" "Fire away." The doctors proceeded to gently handle his arm prothesis. "This is the ECAP, Enhanced Cybernetic Arm Prothesis. This is simply a prototype, but is still functional. The Sparrow Corporation has also added some addition features to it. This artificial arm grants you the grip and the strength of one hundred men." A doctor motioned a finger to the outer-facing side of his forearm. "This is a military-grade holographic combat blade. Of course, it is concealed. The blade has been designed to slice through most metals and alloys, including Vaktovian Power Armor." He then proceeded to point to his chest and abdomen areas. "We've given you an implanted rebreather that resides within your lungs. It will enable you to safely inhale most gases considered toxic, and allows re-oxygenation. Also, we've added high-grade, EMP-resistant dermal armor to your chest and abdomen. It is hard enough to withstand very high calibers of projectiles, and some forms of direct energy." "Will you allow us to demonstrate, sir?" Another doctor interrupted. "Uh... yeah, sure," Michal agreed. He was a little nervous about it though, and was beginning to regret his response. He was going to have a gun shot right at him. And he was fully aware of it. The doctor reached into a locker and pulled out a Model 45 pistol. He shot off a round at Michal's chest. The bullet only bounced right off and rolled onto the floor. To Michal, this only gave a slight poke. "Just wanted to show you, sir," the doctor quivered. "You're fine. That actually might come in use..." Michal said, feeling the powerful, yet flexible artificial skin that also functioned as armor. "Shall we proceed?" the doctor inquired. "Of course." "Along with the rebreather and dermal armor, there are thousands - tens of thousands - of microscopic live support devices, keeping your organs in check and in tip-top shape." "My God..." "I know, sir, intriguing. As for your other augmentations, we have installed an ACCS for communication, and our state-of-the-art MPLS, to ensure you never receive an injury from large falls." "ACCS? MPLS?" Michal pondered. "Oh, my mistake sir," the doctor apologized, "The Advanced Cerebral Communication System allows you to talk with other people directly from the cerebral cortex - no vocal use at all, whereas the Magnetic Propulsion Landing System uses the magnetic field to slow down one's descent and allow him or her to reach the ground without injury. The properties of this enhancement can also be used to shield yourself from projectiles containing magnetic materials." "Woah, that's... interesting," Michal mumbled. The doctor nodded in an optimistic manner. "Yes, and now for the pièce de résistance, the DVP, the Dedicated Visual Prosthesis. Inside this engineering marvel is a super-powerful imaging processor that syncs with the occipital lobe, enabling synthetic but crystal clear vision. This system can zoom in up to 400 times, and can see in infrared and night vision." "This is... amazing... Sparrow Corp did all of this?" Michal asked. "They did, sir. We take care of our men to the best of our ability. So, how do you feel?" "I..." Michal took one deep, still slightly wheezing breath. "I feel great."
**END OF SUSCITATIO** **END OF STORY**
[I am Audax. Audax is me. Fear the powah.] |
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