GFL2 Story/SL-2-1/Script

[Incomplete. Proofread and diarize.]

The vehicle monitor authorizations have been disabled. Security system is now on. Comprehensive self-diagnostic in progress, estimated completion at 10:33.

(The Elmo begins a self-diagnostic, and the lights go off temporarily in the vehicle.) (As the interior darkens, the sky outside the window becomes brighter in contrast. One can now see the thick, shifting cloud layers.) It's going to snow.

Snow? What's that? ...Oh, cities in White Zones have periodic, artificially-controlled rainfall. Snow is basically rain in contamination zones... It's very rare, especially in this region and season.

Huh... And here I thought it was another Collapse storm... Humph, it's just rain.

Just rain? There are quite a few interesting rumors about snow in contamination zones, you know.

Rumors such as "snow in contamination zones intensifies the release of Collapse radiation and increases the concentration of Collapse particles."

...Invisible flames... Rising high into the sky... ...Huh?! It's just a bit of snow! Surely it can't be that serious— Mayling is reporting an emergency from the central hub and requesting support.

...Tsk. Now? She specifically demands the Commander's presence.

Groza, let's go have a look. ...Krolik, Nemesis, stay here in the ops room. Speak through the intercom if something's wrong.

Okay. Oh, Commander! Uh, Commander, so... I-I-I— Calm down, Mayling. It's alright.

...Leader... I'm so sorry (sobs) Commander we're missing a kind of part to repair the MCV (sobs) I clearly remembered including them in the procurement list I sent out (sobs) but they're not in the supply crates so now the repairs can't be completed (sobs) we need more parts (sobs)!

They're not in the supply crates? ...Was there a mistake in the inventory?

No, that's not possible! ...They are all really important parts... (Sobs) I-I definitely put them in the list... I see... But regardless of that, the parts are clearly missing. Let me think... As punishment, how many bottles are in Mayling's collection right now...? Hm... (Sobs) A-after the last refill, I-I only have half a small cabinet left... (Sobs) Could you take something else instead, Commander...?

Something else, huh... What about your bonus for this month? —!

If it's the bonus... I-I... (Sobs) Hm? (Sobs) Fine, deduct it from my bonus, Commander!

...Ha... If deducting the sum from your bonus was enough to make up for the seemingly endless expenses of repairing the MCV, then we wouldn't be having it so rough.

... (Sobs) H-huh? Contact Poludnitsa. Since you're certain the parts were ordered, then the problem probably occurred on her end.

R-really...? So you won't have to take my bonus?

How about this—once the repairs on the Elmo are completed, you work a little overtime to create a signal jammer? Just the isolation material alone isn't enough to completely seal off the signal emitting from that box.

O-oh, (sobs) work overtime...? No problem at all! But if I'm to make a jammer... I'll need to order more parts on top of the missing ones... (Seeing that Mayling is still wracked with guilt and wringing the procurement list in her hands, Groza walks up to her and takes the paper out of her hands. She smooths it out and returns it to Mayling.) Mayling, the Commander isn't blaming you. Don't worry.

R-right... I... (sniffles) I'm contacting Poludnitsa now... Wow~ The Commander again? Life must be pretty hard for you to keep giving me business?

...We're missing some parts from our last order.

Missing? That's impossible. The service of your professional and reliable underground broker is impeccable~ But the parts definitely aren't in the supply crates that came back... What parts?

It-it's the universal tier-4 torque rod for heavy-duty vehicles, number K812... We're missing three of them!

(On the other end of the line, Poludnitsa seems to be scrolling through her records.) —K812? My, you finally found out, Commander~

...?

This particular part was out of stock back then, so I sent you a little gift that could be a bit tricky as a substitute~ I was just wondering how come you still hadn't noticed.

What did you give me? Don't worry, it certainly won't become your Achilles' heel~ ...I'm hardly invulnerable like Achilles.

Oho~ The missing parts will be delivered to you soon. Hm~ As compensation for the "little gift", I'll provide a follow-up tip-off regarding the free intel I gave you earlier. I do believe you'll be very interested?

... Commander, the Varjagers who are pursuing you have been frequently enlisting the service of the underground broker network to relay information lately.

Relaying information...? If I remember correctly, that kind of service is ridiculously costly?

Well, it does involve delivering information to the recipient directly through a top secret channel. Considering the difficulty, it's pretty "reasonable" to charge a small fee, no~?

Oh, speaking of which—my personal info is also for sale at a discounted fee. Interested, Commander?

...No, thank you. What a pity. Underground brokers who have had dealings with disreputable customers—such as the Varjagers—tend to keep records of such dealings, so I had a pretty easy time getting my hands on their intel.

Compared to that, the recipient of their intel is a lot more professional.

They purged the records—or redirected them? The latter. The intel went through layers of encryption, then got redirected to a specific node, which was accessed by another signal at the same time.

This method would leave behind a traceable hardpoint. Surely you're capable of tracing the signal using the hardpoint?

That's the most surprising thing.

There were over 100,000 strings of data in this single transfer. These strings were redirected millions of times every time they were connected, then they were split once more into 100,000 strings before being sent out. Data encryption of such magnitude is utterly untraceable.

Untraceable... Even for you? If I sold my entire convoy and bought a server that filled up a whole underground base, then I suppose it could be done.

This is no ordinary adversary you're up against. It's been a while, hasn't it?

Poludnitsa, I'm adding to my order. Oh~?

I need an automatic turret and TNT. For the turret, make that a GAT 20mm with an extended barrel, plus 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and throw in four additional 35-coil recoil springs while you're at it. The explosives have to be VDS-grade. I'll need detonators and remote control equipment. Mayling will send you the exact quantities later.

Oho, not going to be Buridan's ass, are you, Commander? Send me the delivery coordinates as well, Little Mayling~ O-okay! Uh, w-we also need parts to build a signal jammer, maybe a small one?

That won't be necessary. We're going to eliminate the problem once and for all.

Hm~ So you're wiping them out? I don't seem to have a choice.

Then thank you for shopping with us, Commander~ You are welcome anytime~ ...Mayling, where are the supplies we received last time?

Um... They're all here. Commander, it was Krolik who loaded the supplies. When she collected them, she only verified the weights, which matched up with the order list.

Something that weighs as much as three K812s... There's nothing "little" about this gift at all.

Open up all the crates that you haven't inventoried. Uh, okay!

Let's take a look in— Commander, enemy attack! It's the Varjagers!

Tsk. Mayling, how much longer will the repairs take?

Uh, they are about 80% complete. In order to sustain driving at full speed, we'll have to stop the MCV at some point to recalibrate the drivetrain and vector engines. Once we have the K812s, the vehicle will be fully repaired in five hours!

Keep at it. The MCV will be driving at top speed. We'll try to shake off the enemies in pursuit as soon as possible. Don't fight them head-on, Groza.

Our destination? Destination— W_2069_0105. We're entering the purification zone.

(After we leave the room, the lid of the supply crate that was just opened is pushed off quietly.) (There is a pause. Sensing no other presence in the room...) (A dark shadow slowly pokes its head out.)