Overture
Off-coast Honshū, Japan
January 2nd 2008
A helicopter is approaching a sail-attached yacht. When it positions itself closest to the vessel, two people descend to the deck via ropes. Their objective is the girl lying on floor.
The girl, with the name Kotonoha Katsura, opens her eyes, but since she's physically too weak at this point, what she sees is only a huge patch of blur in brightness, and two misty silhouettes, a big one and a small one.
A male voice, tremendously familiar, comes from the bigger silhouette: "She's still alive. Get a medical capsule immediately."
A female voice, tremendously unfamiliar, comes from the smaller, much smaller silhouette: "Yes sir…I mean onii-chan. Right away."
"So long since I've practiced my Japanese. It's a language destined to wither and perish…just like those who created it." As the smaller silhouette disappears, the bigger one walks toward to Kotonoha, bends over and puts out an index finger to point at her: "You…I've seen you before. I like you. Such a resilient specimen. With you I can do great things."
…
Hyakuri Air Base, Omitama City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
September 1st 2016, afternoon
A fighter is rolling out from the elevator connects to underground hangar, and is moving to the nearest runway for taking off. Its external configuration is generally identical to an F-22A Raptor, but remarkably more futuristic. This is a F-22C Raptor II, derived from F-22A as the next step of advanced tactical fighter R&D project, its most distinctive difference to a Raptor is the canopy, being completely armored instead of made by glass, for there's no need for the pilot to look outward — thanks to Connection for Flight Interface (COFFIN) technology, live footage and information are collected and generated by advanced sensors and processors all over the plane, and are directly transmitted to pilot's brain via non-invasive neural-links, meanwhile pilot can operate the vehicle by thoughts, thus eliminating necessities of any physical HUDs, HMDs, VRDs, holographic projections, instrument panels, and of course, transparent canopies. COFFIN is considered as a giant leap in aviation, although not completely phasing out "traditional" methods of vehicle control. Beside the glorified Matrix/Jonny Quest technology, this certain F-22C Raptor II has two more conspicuous features externally presented: The emblem of 118th Tactical Fighter Wing "Mobius", consisted by a round ring as outer frame, a pointy Mobius Strip, a stick figure of an aircraft trailing twin contrails, a grey silhouette of world map on blue bottom color, a blue ribbon with text "MOBIUS-118"; then there is an Infinity Symbol that means the pilot, none other than Kotonoha Katsura, has shot down so many bandits that she can't even keep count anymore.
As the Raptor II is commencing final diagnose sequences, adjusting flight control surfaces and thrust vector controls, camera shoots from the aircraft's rear and pans up, revealing a blue sky littered with thimbleful clouds and abundant meteors, as if crumbling apart and falling in pieces.
During past years, the world changed a lot, not beyond recognization, but do looked very different. There were global economy crises, environmental degenerations, political unrests, regional conflicts, terrorism insurgents…all but not worthy of mentioning compare with a catastrophe unprecedented in human history.
It all began in early 2008, when astronomers announced discovery of a group of asteroids called "Ulysses Asteroids", created by collision of two large-sized asteroids near Jupiter. The debris, more than ten thousand in number and massive enough to penetrate atmosphere, were slingshot by the gas giant's gravity into a collision course with Earth. In a states of utter panic, the world banded together to counter the nemesis from outer space, primarily by the hasty construction of twelve vast railgun network around globe known as "Spaceguard Turret Network" or the nickname "Stonehenge" for protecting regions where populations are the densest, plus several nation-specific planetary defense projects. Soon asteroids began to strike, all means of intercepting and destroying meteorites were proved very limited successful, nearly one billion were lost, countless cities and suburbs razed or vaporized, human civilianization barely avoided being thrown back to Stone Age. Even after the "heavenly hailstone of terror", there are still large quantity of fragments orbiting Earth and keep plummeting into atmosphere as reminders of the apocalypse.
Eurasia took the severest devastation for housing more than five billion people. To prevent total social collapse and to accelerate reconstruction efforts, major countries across this megablock of landmass fused altogether to form a colossal entity, named USEA Federation, covering over 50 million square kilometers, stretching from Bering Strait to Atlantic Ocean; from northern tip of Novaya Zemlya to southern tip of Malay Peninsula. USEA Federation became the largest sovereign ever existed, despite being a "federation" in term of nominality, it's more referred by others as "Viertes Reich" or "Mongol Empire 2.0", given the facts of the radical totalitarianism it's implementing and the vast size it's processing.
Japan, happens to be mildly damaged during Ulysses Disaster, also happens to be situated very close to USEA Federation, is being pressurized to accede ever since its creation, but this island nation refuses again and again, thus guaranteeing a hostile relationship between the leviathan and the drawf, demonstrated by periodical small-scale, low-intensity skirmishes in Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, East China Sea and Yellow Sea. For better national defense, Japan abolished its former constitution, reorganized the Self-Defense Forces into regular armies, and strengthened the alliance with United States, since it's the only viable foreign reinforcement can rely. Just look at the map, even in the real-world, every country around Japan wants it dead for good, so come with Daddy America if Japs wanna live.
"Ribbon to Bowknot, all systems green, request permission to proceed." Kotonoha is hailing via radio. After surgically proved Sekai Saionji's self-proclaimed "pregnancy" was nothing more than an endocrine system disorder commonly known as "pseudocyesis", Kotonoha sailed into sea with Makoto's head, on her parents' yacht. Days later she was rescued by a mysterious group and was placed under medical treatment, both physiologically and psychologically, then was returned to her family. Police once planned to detain Kotonoha and forward her to the court for indictment of homicide, but the case was dropped since upcoming Ulysses Asteroids was way more important for any judicial authorities to deal with. After Ulysses Disaster, by the pressing menace posed by USEA Federation, Japan needed all personnel available for national defense, by their prominent capabilities in mathematics, Kotonoha and Kokoro enrolled in military service, becoming a fighter pilot and an AWACS operator respectively.
Kokoro's voice comes through the line: "Bowknot to Ribbon, permission granted. You're clear to take off, winds are 360 degrees at 10 kilometers."
"Ribbon copy." Raptor II ignites thrusters, speeds up and lifts off, then retracts landing gears.
【Background Music: Chronology】
【Extracted from Video Game "Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours"】
"I'm watching your rudders." Kokoro is facing multiple technicolor screens of semi-transparent and semi-holographic, on the console in her AWACS: "Commencing today's schedule. Phase One: Basic Flight Control. Start with acceleration and deceleration."
"Acceleration." Raptor II spews indigo wakes of flames from engine nozzles and is going faster.
"Check. Deceleration." Raptor II deploys flaps and slows down.
"Check. Now pitch, roll and yaw." Kotonoha controls her fighter to accordingly accomplishing test objectives relayed by Kokoro.
"Check. Phase One completed. Proceed to Phase Two: Complicated Flight Control. Fly though all the rings as fast as you can."
Dozens of hypothetical rings large enough for a fighter to go through, are registered on the holographic interface that directly projected inside Kotonoha's brain via neurological connection, forming a puzzling three-dimensional maze. Raptor II twists through very centers of those rings accurately and swiftly, all about skills and patience, if not say the easiness comparing with flying inside the second Death Star.
"That's a new record!" Kokoro can't hide her excitement: "Phase Two completed, proceed to the last phase: Armaments." Several bat-shaped UCAVs move out from hangars and taxi on runway, then take off. Their model is designated as MQ-90 Quox, general-purpose drones designed by Japan Air Force, equipped by Japan and its allies in North America and Oceania. Benefited by "aggressive aerodynamic design", a MQ-90 is extremely agile, if not more agile than a high-tier fighter with an adequate pilot in cockpit, and is compatible to a wide diversity of armaments, not to mention its system core is semi-AI, the only downside is unable to break sound barrier since its only designed for subsonic flights.
"Basic live weaponry authorized, destroy all UCAVs with your gun." Lower right corner of Raptor II's neural interface, a short line of red letters "Gun: Locked" changes to green "Gun: Standard Output" with a dual-counter under it, symbolized by a particle stream icon and a slug icon respectively, as the indicator to show how many shots are left. Meanwhile the targeting computer is brought online, displaying all necessary information.
A concealed port located between Raptor II's right wing and main body, covered by retractable doors, opens up to reveal the muzzle of a gun-type weapon. Ulysses Disaster did brought something positive, that is, great leap forward of technologies, especially military technologies, one among the many evidences is the wide applications of energy-based weapons to (partially) replace traditional ballistic projectile weapons. Staple Laser Weaponry, Plasma Weaponry and Tesla Weaponry, each has unique strengths and shortcomings, then here comes Gauss Weaponry as the universal solution to majority of combat scenarios. Essentially the next step from plasma weaponry, the basic structure of gauss weaponry includes a component to generate highly energized particles, and extensively long electrified coils to accelerate these particles into dashes of streams travel at hypersonic speed. Gauss Weaponry is viewed as the compromise between lasers and plasmas, although its particle streams neither being precise nor long-range as laser beams, also neither being destructive nor fast-firing as plasma charges, however they do have reasonable accuracy, range, firing rate, and damage output, sufficiently adapting most of the demands on battlefields. Now staff of R&D has taken the steps even further, creating "Blasters" from Gauss Weaponry, despite the namesake in Star Wars, these Blasters are much more advanced, capable of firing both hypersonic, coil-accelerated, high-powered particle streams and high-penetration ballistic slugs. Blasters are expected to be the widest-spread basic armaments in every military branch, from tiny infantries to colossal battleships, of course tactical fighters are included as well.
Kotonoha fires her fighter's blaster in short, controlled bursts, destroying MQ-90s in a short order. She doesn't win the Infinity Symbol for nothing.
Kokoro: "Great job, all targets are destroyed. I'm authorizing use of advanced live weaponry. Sending in last group of UCAVs, finish off them with missiles and we can call it a day." Above the section that displays guns' statues, a table of one column and three rows emerges. It's glowing yellow initially and has "locked" icons in each cell's center, then turns green while each "locked" symbol is replaced by an icon of a certain type of missiles, with tags telling their names and remaining quantities in inventory. It's worth noticing all three types of missiles' ammunition counts are above one hundred, a clear indication of a revolutionary technology called "Fictitious Dimension", similar to Doraemon's Fourth-Dimensional Pocket, albeit being way inferior by comparation, since Doraemon's pocket can simulate a capacity of cosmic-grade, this "Fictitious Dimension" only capable of simulating capacities ranging from a suitcase to a warehouse, but already impressive enough.
Kotonoha selects XSAA, short for "Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile", among three options. If she can dispatch targets so quickly by guns, then she can do it even quicker by guided weaponry.
On Raptor II's belly, the weapon bay's door opens, missiles are extended out, carried by tiny, ingeniously-designed mechanical arms.
【Background Music Stops】
Kokoro: "That's all for today. Prepare for entry when I'm issuing landing permission."
Kotonoha complies, aligning Raptor II to the Runway 03L/21R, one of the two main runways of Hyakuri Air Base, assigned to her for landing.
Descending, decelerating and putting down landing gears, suddenly Kokoro shouts on radio: "Abort landing! We got an emergency transmission from Ministry of Defense, USEA Federation launched large-scale attacks against multiple costal strategic points of ours!"
As she speaks, fighter squadrons queue up on both main runways for quick lift-off, Kotonoha peels away to clear path for friendlies.
Kokoro: "All fighter assets in our base are scrambled to reinforce Tokyo airspace. I'm redirecting you to auxiliary runway, hurry to touch down for refueling and rearming, then catch up with others!"
Tokyo
September 1st 2016, afternoon
【Background Music: Invasion of Gracemeria】
【Extracted from Video Game "ACE Combat 6: Fires of Liberation"】
This megalopolis is taking heavy beatings. Explosions across urban area, dozens of major conflagrations, pillars of thick smokes, and some buildings unable to take so many abuses therefore succumb in various forms of crumbling. USEA Federation periodically sends small-sized task forces to western shores of Japanese Archipelago, mainly unmanned vehicles of airborne or seaborne, for reconnaissance and harassment, never go deep or going deep with sizable numbers, what makes them changing behavior so dramatically this time?
Reinforcements to defend Tokyo are converging to the airspace above cityscape, afflicted to either Japan Air Force or United States Forces Japan, primary equipped with F-22C Raptor IIs, F/A-32C Ernes and ASF-X/F-3 Shinden IIs. F/A-32C Erne is the successor of F-35 variants, featuring refined VTOL, better air-to-air and air-to-surface combat capabilities, as well as higher levels of electronic low observabilities; while ASF-X/F-3 Shinden II is Japan's analog of proprietary intellectual property rights to F-22C Raptor II, its most distinguished characteristics are the forward swept wings, modified variable pelikan tail, and vertically-arranged engine nozzles, it's also VTOL like F/A-32C Erne, even has a new-type AI onboard to assist the pilot.
"Airborne Warning and Control System Bowknot to all scrambling aircrafts, rules of engagement are set to conventional war, destroy all hostiles within vicinity of the capital. Avoid collateral civilian damages, but eliminating enemies is priority one." It's Kokoro again, only this time her tone is more serious.
One by one, fighters roll and pitch away to enter furball, Kokoro: "諸君の健闘を祈る。"
【Background Music Stops】
Central Europe
September 1st 2016, morning
This large-sized human settlement is nicknamed as "The City of Thousands Towers", and in Mongolian language its name means "spring water", however most of people just simply addresses it "Prague". Credited as the most beautiful European city, it was once an eastern metropolis for Holy Roman Empire and Austro-Hungary Empire, later the capital of Czech Republic, now under reign of USEA Federation, it has become one of the Viertes Reich's major strategic points in Central Europe.
Although part of this city is under renovation, its majority remains same as it was before Ulysses Disaster, an evidence of being lucky enough to sustain minimum damages from the globe-scaled "divine retribution". All Quiet on the Western Front, pace of life is relatively slow here, locals had long since accepted USEA Federation's governing, even kinda enjoying it, because tyranny or not, this iron-fist authority do bestows them a higher level of living standard, as well as a much more stable society, for those deemed harmful to unity and harmony, such as criminals, political and academic dissidents, illegal immigrants, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender…all had been rounded up and locked into labor camps.
Inside a video hall of a cinema, all seats are occupied, and a movie is being broadcasted. On the screen, looks like internal of a sci-fi spacecraft, a helmeted male opens a door, revealing a place looks like cockpit, a young female with white gown and hood, is standing inside.
"Your highness, the transmission we received." The male extends his arm, holding a sheetmetal-like object. The female turns around and takes it.
"What is it they've sent us?" He asks.
"Hope." She answers, as her expression is full of excitement and expectation. Then the dots of starlight outside windshield extend into dashes, indicating the ship begins faster-than-light transition.
Credits and ending theme appear as the space-faring vehicle vanishes into vast starlit void from a planet's upper atmosphere in an instant.
All lights in video hall are gradually lit, and all audiences stand up, applauding thunderously. After the applause slowly fades away, they leave seats to exit the building. The last two remaining inside are a boy and a little girl with long twintails, both of them are in high-ranking officer uniforms of Schutzstaffel-style, especially the emblem of Schwarze Sonne.
"Much better than 'The Force Awakens', yet way inferior than Expanded Universe's original settings." The boy, who is none other than Makoto Ito (voiced by Dwight Schultz), renders his verdict: "Death Star's plan is supposed to be separated into multiple segments and hid in different locations, Rebel Alliance must steal them one by one in order to piece them together, before entrusting it to Leia Organa."
"So will you spare the staff, onii-chan?" The girl, who turns out to be Itaru Ito, asks with a chuckle.
"For now. But I'll still lash and execute them all, should they fail the next movie." They leave the cinema to the nearby open-parking ground, their transportation, a futuristic-design automobile, fires up systems automatically for sensing their approach, projecting a number of graphs and digits in a holographic manner inside the cockpit. As the two enter the vehicle, suddenly Itaru Ito presses her ear, where an earpiece is plugged in: "Receiving an emergency transmission from capital, Level 12 Encryption Standard. The war has begun, and the Supreme Chancellor has requested your presence."
Makoto: "Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen. The Force is with us." Automobile ignites engines and drives down to the road, disappearing beyond limit of vision.
【Ending Theme: Summon the Heroes】
【Extracted from 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics】
【Composer: John Williams】
【Performed by: USEA Federation National Philharmonic】
【Conductor & 1st Violin: Makoto Ito】
【Other Instrumentists: Nanaka Shirakawa, Sasara Kusugawa, Yuuki Kusakabe, Anzu Shiina, Mizuka Shiina, Akane Hanasaki, Minato Nagase, Hayami Kohinata, Miu Amaha, Hinata Kagura, Shiina Mitsuki, Angelina Nanatsu Sewell, etc.】
【Forecast Trailer】
Itaru (voice over): "Next, next!"
【Background Music: Stonehenge】
【Extracted from Video Game "ACE Combat 04: Shattered Skies"】
【Scene】
A city is burning under meteor-littered sky, and sky is partially blackened by smokes generated from city's burning.
【Off-Screen Voice】
Male: "This is Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, broadcasting from National Diet Building."
【Scene】
Fighter squadrons are skimming above high-rises, fighting against each other.
【Off-Screen Voice】
Male: "As I speak, our nation is under attack by armed forces from a hostile country, they're determined to murder our innocent civilians."
【Scene】
A bomber, trailing smokes and flames, explodes in midair.
【Off-Screen Voice】
Male: "I have personally directed our air force and other military branches to defend our people. They have orders to eliminate any enemies before they can inflict further harms."
【Scene】
A fighter, colored in black background-color and red linings, also with a configuration of three-surface, variable backward swept main wings and an X-tail, resembling a glorified hybrid of an ARC-170 and an X-Wing, is maneuvering among buildings and is being pursued by a Raptor II. Only a glance to this unique fighter's fuselage is enough to figure out it's constituted by insanely advanced technologies, and on the hull there is a blue emblem consisted by a serpent eating its own tail and the text "OUROBOROS".
【Off-Screen Voice】
Male: "This is a dark and difficult day, but we will prevail."
Title appears:
Operation Salvation: Another Chronicle
Replaced by:
Steel Carnage
【Background Music Stops】