2024-08-31: The Day The World Broke
- Log: 2024-08-31: The Day The World Broke
- Cast: Alto Saotome, Chloe, Noa, Soma Peries, Stella Loussier, Neo Roanoke
- Where: Earth
- Date: U.C. 0099 08 31
- Summary: As the world suffers from Junius 7's fall, several souls across its surface and beyond react to the destruction being wrought.
Fields of Hope - Rie Tanaka - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caNXbASyBBQ
~ Beneath a veil so cold,
You deeply sleep, all alone.
The melody of prayer; on the lonely fields,
A little light shone. ~
The Phantom Pain flagship, Girty Lue, floats in low orbit. From its position it has a full view over the devastation occuring below as streaks of light spread out from a central point and rapid arc across the planet's skies below.
On board the ship, its three Extended pilots watch through windows at the sight. From here they can see all of it. The explosion of Junius 7. The debris streaking across the planet at incredible speed. The massive impacts on ocean and land alike creating flashes of light as everything is vaporised in an instant.
Auel Neider watches the destruction play out with a look of worry. He raises a hand to clutch at his chest, murmuring out of concern, "Mother..."
Sting Oakley watches on with a far more restrained expression. It hides the anger beneath him that he struggles to keep contained. Anger both at the ones that started this... And anger at himself for having participated in the events that helped it go this far.
As for Stella Loussier, she watches on with fear in her eyes. Her breathing start to pickup as she watches the light of impacts blossoming across its surface. She wonders, "Everyone... Will everyone die!?"
~ I watched as you dreamed
You laughed like a child
So dear, and yet so far
That is the promise of our future. ~
On the bridge of the Girty Lue, Neo sits quietly in his chair. Through the bridge windows he can see the lights of the debris pieces streaking across the plant's surface. As the bridge crew reports the major strikes as they occur, Neo is mentally tallying up the number of casualties in his head.
'Did it really have to come to this?' Neo wonders as he watches the destruction he had helped bring down on the very planet he was supposed to be trying to protect. He glances around at the rest of the warship's bridge crew... They all seem to be taking it well. Of course, they fully believe in their reason for being here. For the preservation of their blue and pure world.
Shouldn't he believe that too? Does he?
Neo pushes the question from his thoughts as he turns his head to his second in command, "Schedule those three for a session in the chambers. This is likely going to emotionally destabilise them. It's best they forget it, so it doesn't impact their performance."
As his order is followed, Neo turns his head back to the view out the windows. Perhaps it is a mercy for them to forget. One that he might even be a little jealous of... No. He can't forget this. This is the price he must pay for his actions. He won't run from that.
~ That one day, on a green morning,
One day, we will make it there
Because in this wintered sky
We still believe
Fields of Hope ~
Heaven's Base, the military headquarters of the Gaia Sabers, is in the middle of a mass panic. News of Junius 7's redirection had put them on high alert. The higher-ups had eagerly awaited news from the fleet sent to intercept it under command of Colonel Kati Mannequin.
Unfortunately it seems that not all had gone to plan. As news of Junius 7 entering the atmosphere had reached the base in Iceland, every unit stationed there was ordered to sortie in preparation to handle the fallout that was to come. Assuming any of them survived at all.
First Lieutenant Soma Peries, squad leader of the recently renamed 2nd Advanced Response Team, swiftly walks across the tarmac towards the hangar containing her Advanced GN-X Rosen. Above her, the ominous streaks of light continue to rush across the sky. But she refrains from looking at them, focusing her thoughts towards completing the mission she had been given.
However, a flash of light draws not just Soma's attention, but the attention of everyone around her. Rushing pilots and mechanics alike stop in what they're doing, looking towards the coast at the dome of light blooming. Murmurs begin to rise, quickly followed by cries of panic. The impact is too far from the base to pose a direct threat, but many can guess at what's coming next.
~ On the day we were born,
we were embraced
And now we search
for those gentle hands again. ~
The ocean waters quickly recede away from the docks at the base's edge, causing several warships which had not departed in time to suddenly become grounded. But this is only the beginning as it is quickly followed by a roaring sound from further out.
It quickly comes into view, a huge tsunami rapidly approaching the Iceland coast. Sirens begin to sound throughout Heaven's Base as many begin to scream and run, trying to make for the nearest shelter.
Soma Peries stands her ground through, not an ounce of fear in her eyes as she watches the approaching disaster. One of her squad members runs past but comes to a stop at the sight of her, asking with a trembling voice, "L-Lieutenant!? Shouldn't we evacuate!?"
Soma turns her head to look at him, her voice firm as she says, "That's unnecessary." As if on queue, numerous pillars rise out of the base's structure along its periphery. Hexagons of green light appear to form a barrier over the majority of the base. Moments later the giant wave strikes the edge of the barrier at the coast.
The barrier glows under the strain of the impact, the water rushing up and over its peak to continue on and briefly cover the Gaia Sabers HQ. From her position on the tarmac, Soma looks up at the barrier as the water rushes over it, dragging a couple of capsized warships with it.
Soon enough the wave passes. While much of the base had been saved by its defenses, there was still likely to be a lot of damage. And few Gaia Sabers facilities had anything like it to protect them. Soma quietly murmurs, "A heavenly shield to protect Heaven's Base..."
The now clearly relieved squad member who had stopped near her says, "I didn't realize you were religious, Lieutenant."
Soma frowns at the comment, saying, "I'm not." She knows where the comment came from though. So annoying. Taking her annoyance out on her subordinate, Soma barks, "Get to your Jinx." She starts swiftly walking towards her own, adding, "I'll be damned if we're going to sit by and do nothing as we clearly lose this war to protect the planet."
~ The melody of prayer;
one vanishes,
And all begins again; a powerless,
painful continuation. ~
It's still day time in the deserts of central Africa. In the middle of seemingly nowhere, the weirdly proportioned and barely human, full cyborg form of Professor Julie stands atop a desert dune. She reaches one of her spindly metallic hands up towards a drone as it flies down towards her.
Long thin fingers pluck a cream coloured sample of something from the drone's claws. Raising it up close to her face, Julie watches in mild amusement as the chunk rapidly disintegrates into dust in a matter of seconds.
Whatever she's doing though, she seems distracted from it as her head turns in the direction of the distant horizon. She can't see what's happening, even with her cyborg eyes. But connected to the mainframe of the city deep beneath her, she's well aware of what's happening.
A smile forms on her face as she considers the foolish actions of the young. Her mind has already calculated the rough impact locations and confirmed that none will come down anywhere close enough to affect her. She is completely unconcerned for the fate of those who are struck by this disaster.
Instead, Julie turns her head and asks with amusement, "So. Even this isn't enough to wake you? Hmmmm?" She looks at the sleeping giant nearby, hoping for some kind of reaction. But the humanoid monster doesn't even so much as move as it continues its mysterious slumber.
~ One day, to that green morning,
Well cross through all these nights
Because that is the place
each one of us searches for ~
Within a sunroom deep in the underground city, Chloe sits slumped at the table in the center of the room. Her cheek pressed against the cold surface, she stares at the soft light emanating from the wall. A nearby radio is on, its volume low. A music station host is currently talking about some kind of competition they are currently running. And they then quickly transition into an upbeat tune.
A tune which has no effect on Chloe's mood. Because she knows. She knows what they do not. What the whole city has actively chosen to ignore. She knows what's happening outside. Her GraiEyes, connected to Prometheus's military servers, are showing her the footage that's being broadcast to the rest of the world. The footage of the impacts occurring, before the cameras are wiped out.
But Chloe's heart is closed off and she can barely feel any sympathy for what's happening to all those who are caught up in it. Not because she has any malice towards them or humanity. But simply because she can't bring herself to feel anything at all... Anything except anger.
The same is not true of her co-pilot though. While she technically currently exists within the underground city's mainframe, Noa chooses to continue projecting herself into the hallway outside the sunroom. There's no logical reason for an AI like her to do so, as Chloe won't allow her inside. Still, as one of her continuing efforts to try and become more human, Noa chooses to remain in her augmented reality form just outside the door.
Also connected to Prometheus's servers, Noa too is aware of what's happening. A tear actually rolls down her simulated face as she takes in everything. She raises her hands to hold her them to her chest as if to pray, saying, "Everyone's hurting... I need to do what I can for them. For all of them." And yet, a part of her remains solely focused on the person on the other side of the door.
~ Now, within my own heart,
I want to keep you warm.
So dear, and yet so far
In the name of peace
Fields of Hope ~
The VF-25F Messiah stands in GERWALK mode atop the hull of the Nadesico, almost directly beneath ground zero of the whole affair. Its canopy open, Alto stands out of his cockpit, head turned away and eyes squeezed shut. They couldn't do it. they couldn't stop it. All they managed to do was reduce the damage...
But it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. So many are still going to die. And it's their fault. They weren't strong enough. He wasn't strong enough.
Alto flops down into the cockpit seat once more, leaning back into the chair. He stares up at the night sky, the streaks of light now faded, the debris spread out across much of the planet.
Alto remains there for quite some time, until finally he musters up the strength to actually move. He closes the canopy and starts his machine walking across the Nadesico's hull. He radios with a defeated voice, <"This is Skull-4... Returning to the hangar...">
~ So dear, and yet so far -
The fields of promise.
Fields of Hope
Fields of Hope ~