Chapter 1 - Old Friends, New Beginnings

-[REDACTED], OUTSKIRTS OF THE EMPIRE OF URSUS, 3 YEARS BEFORE THE CHERNOBOG DISASTER-

"Just give up and turn yourself in, old friend! This doesn't have to end this way! Don't be a fool-"

"You're the one being a fool, General!"

"Fool?!"

"Do you really believe those traitors will let us live?! Even if we weren't Infected, they'd never tolerate dissension, much less from us!"

"You're the only traitor here! You've led your men in rebellion against the Empire-"

"I am a patriot! You killed him! On their orders!"

"I swore an oath, damn it! We all did, Captain Buldrokkas'tee! And you know what they'll do to those they regard their enemies..."

"Regarded an enemy because we were infected fighting their enemies!"

"..."

"... I can't, General... Hellagur. I can't just let them go back to be slaughtered; I can't betray them like that. I can't betray her like that."

""Her"? You mean that Infected Cautus-"

"Her name is Yelena!"

"... taking her in doesn't change the fact that he died, Buldrokkas'tee."

"I know. She's not him. She'll never be able to replace him."

"Then why?"

"Because I promised him I wouldn't let what happened to him happen to anyone else."

"..."

"You saw past what I was to see who I was, General. Back at that fortress. It didn't matter that I was a Wendigo. I'd only hoped it didn't matter that I was Infected."

"..."

"... I'm done talking. Infection's been hitting my throat, General. Kill me if you want, but you're not going to convince me to turn Yelena or my men in."

"... I understand."

"You're sheathing your blade?"

"I owe you my life; you saved mine in the fortress, after all. And you're not the only one harbouring an Infected girl."

"!"

"Give me a week and I'll meet you back here."

"You're coming with us?! But what about-"

"They'd declare me a traitor just for failing to kill you. Anyway, where will we be going? You know the lands of the Empire will not be safe for us."

"... have you ever heard about Reunion?"

"... you can't seriously be considering them, Buldrokkas'tee."

"What's wrong with them? They're the only group in the Empire fighting for Infected rights!"

"Exactly. They're picking a fight they can't win. And if they're loud enough, the Empire of Ursus will regard them as an enemy, too. I can't risk Neon for that."

""Neon?" Is that her name?"

"Yeah, that's the girl he entrusted to me before he died. Anyway, Buldrokkas'tee, it's like you said. In the Empire, there's only Reunion. But what about outside the Empire?"

"!"

"Exactly. Outside the Empire, there are groups working on helping the Infected, and treating Oripathy. Some even talk about some day curing it. Seems like a better bet for us."

"... do you think a cure really exists?"

"I have to. For her sake."

"... so, what groups did you have in mind, General?"

"BlackSteel pays well, and with our experience it'd be easy for us to join. But I don't think I could trust them in the Empire came looking for us, nor do I want to expose her to battle."

"You and I both know violence is a necessity for the Infected."

"But does it have to be?"

"We won't be around to protect them forever, General."

"Yes, but I still want to protect her innocence for as long as I can, Buldrokkas'tee."

"... I understand. Let's leave BlackSteel as plan B, then. Who else is there?"

"There's Rhine Labs, I suppose. But our spies have been telling me they may be performing experiments on the Infected."

"Next."

"I guess there's the Tower of Babel. They're a bit militaristic, especially since they got involved in Kazdel, but they're supposed to have two of the best Oripathy researchers on the planet."

"Kazdel?"

"Maybe they know what happened to Theresa."

"..."

"They're also supposed to offer free treatments for Infected operators."

"Alright, alright, I get it. We'll meet here in a week, and defect to Babel."

"..."

"... hey, Buldrokkas'tee?"

"Yes, General?"

"Do you think Neon will get along with Yelena?"

-AZAZEL CLINIC, CHERNOBOG, 3 YEARS BEFORE THE CHERNOBOG DISASTER-

"General, please-"

"I can't, Patriot. I can't abandon the clinic, the last thing the child entrusted to me."

"Then at least relocate it, General! Rhodes Island can help the Infected-"

"At what cost? Will we press them into our fight? Will the Doctor send them to die?"

"That was different! They were soldiers, they knew what they signed up for! And you know each death affects him..."

"... you're right, old friend, that was uncalled for. We, most of all, know the burden of the chains of commanding, and we're seasoned veterans, former commanders of the greatest fighting force in all of Terra. How much worse is it for him, the first conflict of a man of science and not war..."

"The Sarkaz Civil War has been brutal, hasn't it?"

"Indeed it has. But my concern still stands; I don't know how much more the Doctor can take, before he decides to give up the last of his humanity, and becomes a ruthless strategist that puts victory over all else."

"Then help us! Come back and help keep the Doctor in check, General!"

"You greatly overestimate my influence over the Doctor, Patriot; we all know Dr Kal'tsit and Amiya are the only ones needed to be his keepers!"

"... I can't deny that. If anything, it feels like she'll sic that thing in her spine on me if I tried to take over her Doctor duties."

"Anyway, I'm needed here. Rhodes Island will be fine between you, Kal'tsit, and the Doctor, not to mention the bright future it faces with Amiya and Yelena. But in Chernobog, there is no Rhodes Island, only the Empire and Reunion. And you know why we can't risk getting Rhodes involved..."

"... yeah, we can't risk them noticing Rhodes Island yet. We may be strong, especially with the Doctor leading us, but the Empire is still too strong. In that regard, perhaps we should be thankful to Reunion for keeping the Empire's gaze fixed upon them..."

"It's honestly surprising, you know, how much more organized they seem to be getting recently."

"Yeah, there's a rumor going around that they've got a new leader, some... give me a minute, I've got an incoming call... from Kal'tsit?"

"Maybe she's inviting us to her wedding."

"We all know she's married to her job. Putting her on loudspeaker."

"..."

"..."

"Oh god..."

"They got the Doctor?! How?!"

"Calm down, Patriot..."

"General... please, return to Rhodes Island, if only to help us get the Doctor back."

"Patriot, now, more than ever, the Infected of Ursus need Azazel. At least, with the Doctor, they could still believe in Rhodes. Now, their only path without Azazel is Reunion."

"... I understand."

"I'm sorry, old friend. Fear not, though; Kal'tsit, Amiya, and Yelena would turn over every rock in Sarkaz before they give up on him."

"... and what if he's dead?"

"Then I pity Death for what they'd do to him, Patriot. Don't worry; we'll get him back soon enough."

-RHODES ISLAND MOBILE CITY, OUTSKIRTS OF CHERNOBOG, 23 DECEMBER 1096-

"Dr Kal'tsit, the team is in position. The operation is under way."

"Thank you, Patriot. How's the throat?"

"Still fine, ma'am. Your treatment's been keeping the infection in check without fail for the past 3 years."

"Regular checkups are still, necessary, Patriot. We still don't have a foolproof treatment regime yet... if we did, it'd be easier to get society to accept the Infected."

"Don't worry, ma'am! This is still far more than we could've ever hoped for outside! Besides, if this succeeds, and we get him back, I'm sure the two of you will find a cure in no time!"

"You overestimate his prowess, Patriot... but then again, I suppose he made miracles mundane with how often he performed them."

"The men need a win, Kal'tsit... no matter how disciplined or skilled our operators are, nobody's morale can't stomach a seemingly-endless string of setbacks and defeats."

"That's true... oh, Closure, come in. What's up?"

"Yo, Kal'tsit, Patriot. I just came in to ask if you guys had any suggestions for a welcome back party for the Doctor."

"A welcome back party? They haven't even recovered him yet; never count your chickens before they hatch."

"Another lecture, Kal'tsit? I'm sure it'll be fine; after all, I saw the contracts.

"!"

"?"

"BlackSteel would've helped, of course, but don't you think sending 4 Op Teams, Little Red Riding Hood, Scavenger, and Penguin Logistics as just backup is a bit overkill?"

"They're just there in case anything goes wrong; Amiya doesn't know about them, and they weren't factored into our plans for the operation."

"Wow, Kal'tsit, and you tell me I spoil Yelena too much..."

"Shut it, Patriot."

"And to think, you two were so opposed to this operation..."

"I still stand by my protests; the Empire is simply too dangerous for us to provoke, especially without the Doctor."

"And yet you let Frostnova talk you into not vetoing it."

"My adopted daughter's all grown up; it wouldn't be right for me to make this decision for her. And I suspect Dr Kal'tsit feels the same way about Amiya."

"Amiya was very firm in her decision. No one could sway her. And you know how the elite operators are."

"Still only happened because you two abstained. So, why keep the extra teams a secret? Are you testing the two?"

"Not a test... just because I can't sway her convictions, doesn't mean I have to make her feel like it'll all go smoothly."

"Spoken like a true mother, ma'am."

"Wow, what strict parents..."

"Hush, incoming transmission."

"... package is secure... unknown how much longer the power supply will last... will set up medical equipment in a nearby abandoned clinic... will try to resuscitate the Doctor as soon as possible. Over."

"Do we have eyes on the target?"

"We've got a drone flying overhead now, Dr Kal'tsit. Bringing up visuals now."

"... Doctor..."

"..."

"... I almost forgot how small he was. Think he'll forgive us?"

"Forgive us for bringing him back from the dead?"

"Forgive us for dragging him back into the fight."

"..."

"You said it yourself, Dr Kal'tsit. That he was almost a completely different person, before Kazdel. Less stressed out, less burdened... less focused on war and victory..."

"The war killed the man I could have loved."

"He was still there, Dr Kal'tsit. The war just hurt him so badly he had to kill off that part of himself."

"... it doesn't matter. The war happened, he was taken, and Amiya and Yelena wanted to take him back. End of story."

"... hey, Closure, is it just me or..."

"No, no, Patriot, I get what you mean."

"You two got something to say?"

""No ma'am!""

"Good, then shut it... hold up, what's that?"

"Looks like people are entering the building!"

"Romeo One, Romeo Actual, come in, you've got unknowns entering your building, over!"

"They don't look like Ursus soldiers... so who are they?"

"Kal'tsit, look! Across the city!"

"Patriot! What's going on?!"

"It looks like the whole city's risen up! But the only one it could be is..."

"Romeo One, come in! Romeo One!"

"No good, signal's being jammed. Interference is too strong. Any word from the other teams?"

"... according to them, Reunion's risen up and struck the entire city. They've finally shown their true colors..."

"All teams, this is Romeo Actual. Withdraw from the city. I repeat, withdraw from Chernobog!"

"Do you want me to suit up and head into the city, ma'am-"

"""!"""

"Looks like Yelena's been training her Arts without us noticing... I didn't know she could freeze half a building..."

"It can't have been easy... that's it, I'm going in to get them out of there."

"Hold on, you two... look, three blocks north..."

"..."

"... what on earth could melt a five-storey concrete building?!"

"That's not all, Dr Kal'tsit... I'm also getting a Catastrophe warning!"

"But that's impossible! What the hell is going on in Chernobog..."

"Wait a minute, there's movement at the clinic... Amiya's team is out of the building! And they've got the Doctor with them! He's awake!"

"Well, then, I guess we can rest assured that they'll get out just fine. After all, it's the Doctor. And I'm sure Amiya gave the Doctor complete command as soon as he woke up."

Author's Note: No, I'm not dead, and no, my other story isn't dead either. This is something of a teaser project that I'm doing to keep my creativity from atrophying while I'm working 60 to 80 hour weeks in the quarantine wards. By the way, credit where it's due, I got inspired after seeing some artwork based on Operation Intelligence 1, involving Patriot, Hellagur, and Frostnova. From there it was pretty to imagine a scenario where the two hadn't become friendly enemies, and the prologue wrote itself. Then I had to rewrite it as I dug deeper and tried to form a coherent timeline. Doubt I'll have the time or energy to ever give this a satisfying conclusion, but I'll try to write this along with my other story when I'm not running around the country handling infected.

For reference, in this Arknights PPP timeline, rather than defect to Reunion immediately as tensions rose in Kazdel, Patriot (real name: Buldrokkas'tee) and his men were infected just before, in an incident involving rebels that caused them all to be infected with Oripathy, and him to find Frostnova (real name: Yelena). Thus, he decided to confide in Hellagur first. Unfortunately, before he could, he was found out, and the Empire of Ursus sent Hellagur to kill Patriot as a test of loyalty (remember, the Empire's been purging generals left and right around this time, post Bloodpeak campaign). By this time, Hellagur has already also killed his closest friend, and been given his blade and Neon, and so his faith is shaken. Patriot convinces Hellagur instead to defect, and so they leave to join the Tower of Babel, who at this time are being involved in the Kazdel Civil War.

After this, as in canon, Kazdel falls, Theresa is killed, and Babel takes their landship and reforms into Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company. The Sarkaz Civil War rages on, however, amd the increasing conflicts make the Doctor less of a researcher and more of a battle-hardened strategist. The difference here is that the Doctor is slightly less ruthless, thanks to Patriot being a goddamm power-armoured beast, Hellagur aiding the Doctor with his strategies and experience, Kal'tsit acting as the Doctor's keeper, and Amiya, Neon, and Frostnova providing an anchor for the Doctor's morality. He is still cold, ruthless, and obsessed with victory as compared to his previous self, still looking at the battlefield as a chessboard, but he at least recognizes that not all pieces are pawns. More importantly, rather than seeking victory in every battle, with Hellagur, Patriot, and Kal'tsit advising him (and keeping his sanity in check), he realizes that sometimes it's better to tactically withdraw to maintain a strategic advantage. His relationship with Kal'tsit is not nearly as strained, thusly.

Here, things diverge tremendously. Hellagur is forced to leave, to kill the child he trusted the most, and is forced to split from R. in order to take care of the black market clinic Azazel. Patriot leaves to talk to him, and with the two gone the enemies of Rhodes Island strike, drawing away most of the skilled Operators (including Blaze, Amiya, Red, Frostnova (who in this timeline is slightly less powerful thanks to not being in Reunion, fighting, and her Oripathy being kept in check), and Neon). With their paramilitary arm distracted a strike team slips through, and attempts to abduct or assassinate the Doctor. They succeed, and capture a grievously-wounded Doctor.

The Doctor is cryogenically suspended on the verge of death (his enemies may fear him, but if he's helpless he has more value as a bargaining chip than a broken corpse), and stored in an unmarked crate. When his captors contact RI to try to negotiate with them, the operators launch an all-out assault, resulting in a pyrrhic victory with many RI operators killed or grievously wounded, his captors annihilated, and the Doctor lost.

In his absence, RI declines, though not as much as it would have otherwise, with Patriot keeping things together as a frontline leader and Kal'tsit keeping the scientific and medical aspects of RI afloat. But still, operators begin to fall, battles that could have been won weren't, and the scientific breakthroughs decline. It honestly cannot be understated of how miraculously good of a job Kal'tsit was doing keeping things together in the Doctor's absence in canon, if he was such a lynchpin of the organization, and the case is similar here.

And then, December, 3 years later, RI gets a tip that the crate containing the Doctor's body has surfaced in a warehouse in Chernobog, whereupon Amiya and Frostnova convince RI to give the green light to extract the Doctor (with Kal'tsit abstaining and Patriot needing to be convinced to not veto it as he knows how dangerous the Empire of Ursus is). Any favours are called in, LMD is spent like sand, and all assets, potential and confirmed, are brought together for a do-or-die infiltration and extraction mission into Chernobog on the 23rd of December.

As for an explanation as to how the Doctor is supposedly so good, and why it costs Sanity and not Stamina to run operations... my personal theory, and the explanation I'll be using in this story, is that the Doctor's Arts allow him to create a detailed top-down view of the battlefield, as well as limited precognition allowing him to see where enemies will be arriving from. This, coupled with his intellect and analytical abilities, allow him to deploy his operators where they'll be needed in advance. The Sanity cost, naturally, being from stretching his mind in order to see all the different potential futures of such a widespread area and picking the one that will occur. This may also explain why they use a chess metaphor to explain the Doctor; he views each battlefield as a different board to clear, with his operators being pawns to command and the enemies being pieces to destroy. Ruthlessly pursuing victory for each board, the lives of his operators were a small price to pay each time (in canon, of course; here he was slightly more conservative with their lives thanks to Hellagur's influence). To me, it also explains why, post-amnesia, the Doctor sticks to a tower-defense system and defending instead of actively ordering his operators to charge; his mind can't handle the increased strain, but more importantly, subconsciously, he limits himself because post-amnesia Doctor is more caring and less callous with his operators. Of course, it might have already been all explained in-game and I've just missed it.

Also, as for why they're so certain that things will go well with the Doctor leading the Rhodes Island team... well, they don't know he's got amnesia yet, now do they?