Scenario:Home Sweet Moon - Processing... Overclocked - Chapter 1: Searching in the Dark - Episode 2

Home Sweet Moon - Processing... Overclocked - Chapter 1: Searching in the Dark - Episode 2

A soldier, under orders from Ronan, shows up with research documents from Alandus's base pertaining to seal weapons. Mahira uses the documents to continue her analysis. Afterward, Zeta and the others go to town to assist with reconstruction.

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???: Is Ilsa here? I come with orders from Ronan.

Eustace: Ronan?

Ilsa: Come in!

Ronan's Soldier: Thank you!

Ilsa: Does Ronan have something for us?

Ronan's Soldier: Yes. I was asked to deliver some boxes to this location.

Beatrix: Boxes? What's inside them? Society donuts hopefully?

Ronan's Soldier: Sorry, there's no food inside...

Ilsa: Save yourself the headache by ignoring anything she says.

Ronan's Soldier: Yes ma'am... I come with documents from Alandus's research facility.

Vaseraga: Alandus? You must be referring to Site Zero.

Zeta: Didn't that place go kaput?

Ronan's Soldier: Yes. That is precisely why Ronan ordered a few of us soldiers to dig up whatever valuable remains we could find.

Eustace: Maybe there's info on the seal weapons.

Ronan's Soldier: We're unfamiliar with the contents... Our orders were to bring them to you ASAP.

Ilsa: I see. Bring them in.

Ronan's Soldier: Yes ma'am!

Beatrix: Wow! That's a lot!

Zeta: Who could've guessed this much survived...

Ilsa: Fortunately Alandus was a researcher of seal weapons himself.

Ilsa: We should take advantage of this opportunity and look for any hints that might help us.

Mahira: Documents on seal weapons... May I take a look?

Ilsa: Please. You're the one who'd get the most practical use out of this data anyway.

Mahira: Okay then...

As Mahira begins leafing through the mountain of documents being hauled in, Beatrix does the same beside her.

Beatrix: Alandus's research, huh... I wonder if there's anything on Embrasque.

Beatrix: ...

Beatrix: Gah, I can't understand a thing!

Eustace: These documents are valuable. Handle with care, Beatrix.

Beatrix: I know, I know! I'll leave it to Mahira!

Ronan's Soldier: Okay... That's all of it.

Lyria: Achoo!

Lyria: Ah, sorry about that...

Zeta: Ahaha. You okay, Lyria? I guess those boxes are a bit dusty.

Ronan's Soldier: Forgive me. We carried them straight here from the facility's ruins after all...

Ronan's Soldier: Many of the documents are in poor condition...

Ilsa: Not a problem. Please give Ronan my regards.

Ronan's Soldier: Yes ma'am!

Eustace: Where's Ronan now anyway?

Ronan's Soldier: He's... Well...

Eustace: Something wrong?

Ronan's Soldier: We actually don't know his current location ourselves.

Ronan's Soldier: He went off somewhere alone after giving us his orders.

Eustace: ...

Ronan's Soldier: Um, Eustace?

Eustace: Ah, I heard you. Keep up the good work.

Ronan's Soldier: Yes sir! We'll be taking our leave now.

Ilsa: Could Ronan still be chasing Heisenberg?

Eustace: Sounds about right.

Zeta: The soldier said he went off alone... Meaning he has no guards with him?

Ilsa: You guys might not know this, but Ronan was one of the strongest among the Society's top brass.

Ilsa: Having guards accompany him would only slow him down.

Beatrix: Oh, I had no idea! He didn't exactly give off intimidating vibes.

Ilsa: In a way, you could say he was Eustace's mentor.

Vaseraga: Yeah? So he was more than just Eustace's commanding officer, huh.

Eustace: ...

Eustace: He hasn't been on the front lines for years, but I'm sure he's still got plenty of fight in him.

Eustace: Ronan will be fine. More importantly...

Eustace: We need to focus on Diaspora countermeasures.

Zeta: Aaand we're back to talking about seal weapons.

Vaseraga: Ronan must've given the order knowing that we'd need extra help.

Beatrix: Well, Mahira? Anything useful yet?

Beatrix calls out to Mahira, who is buried amid the mountain of documents.

Mahira: Ah, yes. I'll need a bit more time, but I think this data's going to be very helpful.

Mahira: Much of the research seems to be about turning seal weapons into automagods.

Ilsa: Considering the things Alandus did, that's no surprise.

Pyet-A?: Body functions restored. Yek consumed.

Pyet-A?: Only the seal weapons are left.

Beatrix: Is that Alandus's voice?

Cassius: A skydweller fused with an automagod... Or should I say Pyet-A has been commandeered?

Mahira: And...

Mahira: This pile of documents is all about speedships.

Vaseraga: Speedships? Reminds me of how the Society had us look into the Platinum Sky Cup.

Eustace: That's all the PSC officials we know were involved.

Eustace: We've exposed all of them who had anything to do with the race fixing.

Vaseraga: But that doesn't mean the case is closed.

Eustace: ...

Eustace: What intel was the Society getting from this place?

Vaseraga: I don't know. This is the only record we've got.

Eustace: ...

Vaseraga: So this secret lab here was linked to both the Society and its enemies.

Eustace: And in the end, the Society wanted it erased...

Vaseraga: Humph. Something's going on that we don't know about.

Eustace: Looks like Alandus knew about that secret lab too.

Beatrix: Zeta and I were busy racing, so we don't see the connection. What's any of this have to do with speedships?

Vaseraga: We're not sure either, but if CENTCOM's primary goal was always to go to the moon...

Zeta: Ah, I see.

Zeta: They must've been trying to reconfigure speedship engines for use on an airship that could fly to the moon.

Vaseraga: Possibly. But the fact of the matter is, the Society ended up abandoning that secret lab.

Eustace: Did the speedship research prove fruitless to them? Or...

Mahira: Ah, I found something about speedship engines. Hm... Man and machine?

Mahira: High energy output... Effects on the body... Countercurrents... Circuitry...

Mahira: Aha, very interesting indeed.

Mahira: Okay, everyone. Can you lend me your seal weapons again?

Beatrix: Of course! I'd do anything to see my Embrasque in all its shining glory again!

Mahira: Please give me some time to cross-check your weapons with the research.

Ilsa: Certainly. Here you go.

Beatrix: My Embrasque is in your hands.

Mahira: Oh, and I won't need Grynoth.

Vaseraga: Oh? That so?

Mahira: Grynoth has already become more than just a weapon...

Mahira: It's a special case, having fused with you and turned into an automagod itself... So please hold onto it for now.

Ilsa: And it's not like we can dissect our Armored Chicken for research.

Vaseraga: Okay, have a look at the other weapons then.

Mahira: Sticking by the three-day deadline, there's not much time, but I'll do what I can.

Zeta: Meaning I've gotta live without Arvess until then...

Ilsa: What's wrong, Pupper? Feeling exposed already?

Ilsa: I don't recall training you to be the type of soldier that whimpers at the loss of their weapon.

Zeta: Nah, I'm fine! Not a problem at all!

Ilsa: Good, let me put you to work then—

Beatrix: Ooh! Are we preparing for battle already? Let me get my backup sword—

Ilsa: No, Hellcat! How many times do I have to tell you! Let people finish before responding!

Beatrix: Gulp...

Ilsa: Of course, we'll have to get our standard weapons and rations in order.

Ilsa: But my company and Ronan's soldiers can handle that.

Ilsa: (Captain), can I ask your crew to help with supply transport?

Vyrn: Sure, we've got it handled!

Lyria: And Rackam said the Grandcypher's ready to depart at a moment's notice!

Ilsa: Good to know. I'll send a direct dispatch to the ship later.

Beatrix: And what should we do?

Ilsa: Head into the town.

Beatrix: The town? Are we going shopping?

Zeta: Bea, you airhead... You're just asking for a tongue-lashing.

Beatrix: Hey, "shopping" doesn't mean I actually think we'll be shopping for clothes or groceries, okay!

Beatrix: I just thought we'd be buying supplies that Mahira or Sergeant Ilsa would need...

Ilsa: I might ask you to do that later, but something else has to come first.

Vaseraga: Assisting with reconstruction?

Zeta: Ah, right. The Otherworlders made a real mess of things earlier.

Ilsa: This base can't function without the town. Farrah and Juri are already moving things along there.

Ilsa: Meet up with them and prove that you're capable of more than just swinging your weapons around.

Beatrix: Gotcha!

Zeta: Understood!

Beatrix: First step is to find those two and see how things are faring!

Zeta: Mm-hm. Vaseraga, if there's any heavy lifting to be done, we'll know who to call on.

Vaseraga: Looking forward to it.

As the three leave the room in a leisurely fashion, Ilsa turns to Eustace.

Ilsa: That goes for you too, Eustace.

Ilsa: Don't think I'm just going to let you brood in the corner while you polish your gun—which you can't anyway without Flamek on you.

Eustace: ...
Understood.