Between The Frontline And The Stars

The Chosen launch an attack on Space Station Libra.
This incident is known in ACC records as Operation Between The Frontline And The Stars, but is commonly known by and referred to at large as the Libra Crisis or the Battle at Libra.
This mission is the final part of the Arc of the Chosen.
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=Summary=
==Part 1==
With the Libra space station finally at the point to begin accepting a civilian population, a grand opening celebration is held. Alvilda, Othinus, Ryman, Loose, Tommy, Editi, White Falcon and Mark II meet in one of Libra's many terminal hangars. Ryman busies himself with inspecting everything in the hangar while the others make smalltalk, with Loose praising the accomplishments of the Engineers in building the station, and how with activity dying down on Earth, it seems things are finally going back to normal. Mark II follows up by commenting that even though the war was costly, it at least gave humanity a jump start into space through this station. Editi guides the group from the hangar towards one of the habitation areas, where a ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled to be held. Along the way, Editi points out that Libra has Fortress-sized doors. Ryman points out that Fortress-sized doors on a space station are absurd. A discussion breaks out primarily between Loose and Ryman as to whether or not a Fortress would need a Fortress-sized door or if the Fortress could just make a door by shooting the walls through.
Tommy stays silent throughout the argument, leading the group from the terminal past Fortress-sized trams and Fortress-sized elevators to their human-equivalents. Tommy explains that the station is constructed in multiple modular sections sealed by Fortress-sized bulkheads, and Othinus asks Tommy why they went with such an inefficient method rather than creating a way to locally seal hull breaches. Tommy explains that since the station was constructed on Earth in parts which were then sent into space for assembly, they wanted to be able to detach whole sections of the space station if needed. Loose suggests it may have also been done for budgetary reasons, but Othinus points out that making twice as many doors, half of which are 20 meters tall, and ensuring they can all be atmospherically sealed, would very likely cost way more. Alvilda bemoans the use of budget for such an absurdity, but Tommy affirms that he knows what he's doing.
The group finally reaches a human-sized elevator, which departs and grants the occupants a panoramic view of the station's interior. Ryman asks if there are any factories onboard, and Tommy tells him there are two, though gives unclear answers as to where they are located and what they are for.
The elevator finally arrives at a hotel-like interior of a building set in the middle of what appears to be a typical city. The group exit here to reach a stage set in the middle of the city, joining a crowd of guests while Tommy, Editi, White Falcon and Mark II climb on stage and take the scissors.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Carcer Carmine and Gavin Malkin watch the ceremony from a bar in Chicago. Gavin complains that he thinks Libra is a waste of time and a destination for cowards, as it is intended to be an escape from the battlefield on Earth. Carcer changes the subject and asks Gavin if he knows Ellis Castelli. Gavin confirms they met once at ACHQ, and Carcer warns him that Ellis is a former mercenary and probably a double-crosser. He then goes on to complain that too many people in the Phoenix Collective are scumbags like Ellis, warning Gavin to keep an eye on him. Gavin replies that he was actually planning on leaving ACHQ to pursue work with other groups again, informing his partner that he's moved to Chicago and is signed on for a job in the north. He explains it as a way of avoiding getting too familiar with the Armor Corps, and when Carcer tells him this isn't necessarily a bad thing, the conversation turns to whether or not Gavin would take a job that works against the Armor Corps. Carcer tells Gavin that he's a good enough mercenary to be able to choose his contracts, and that's not only what sets the Collective apart from Armor Corps, but Gavin apart from Ellis as well. Gavin waves Carcer off, claiming he's not the quality of mercenary Carcer thinks he is. Gavin then changes the subject, asking Carcer to let the Armor Corps know that someone had put out a contract against the Armor Corps team that destroyed Ascension Island, and that coming to Chicago might be dangerous for them for a while. Carcer expresses his doubts that anyone would be dumb enough to try and go after them, noting that while Armor Corps may be incompetent at times, they are still very dangerous. Carcer then leaves, and Gavin stays to continue watching the ribbon ceremony on television. He contemplates whether Carcer's praise or Ellis' previous insults suit him better, and whether or not he would take a job against the Armor Corps now like he had back during the mission in Chile and other times in the past.
Back on Libra, Tommy cuts the ribbon.
A voice over station-wide PA gives a signal, and members of the crowd suddenly pull out compact weapons, pointing them at the assembled pilots and the rest of the crowd, a member of which is Cyclops. A handful of Mesh suits drop their active camouflage, armed with particle blades focused on Mark II and Alvilda. The suits demand the ACC pilots surrender. Othinus asks what'll happen if they don't. At some point, Editi disappears from Tommy's side, and Tommy says he hopes the hijackers have taken control of the administration section where Editi has definitely been this entire time. Mark II decides to offer up his charismatic laughter and make static lightning crackle around himself, telling them he'll send the Chosen back where they came from. Cyclops, noting that most of the people being held at gunpoint are civilians not immune to bullets, recommends everyone surrender. One of the Chosen tells Mark II to shut up, while another responds to Othinus with the implication that the civilians will be shot if the pilots try anything. One of the Meshes tells Alvilda and Mark II to follow them while ordering the pilots to group up with the civilians. Inexplicably, White Falcon manages to sneak away from the center of the stage with the help of a Hanse Mesh bodyguard.
Under gunpoint, Loose tries to make faces at Ryman in an attempt to get him to do something. Ryman makes hand gestures back, attempting to convey that like most of the others, his suit is on Earth and there's nothing he can do right now. The Chosen collect everyone's PDAs, keycards, tablets and cellphones into a crate and destroy them all with their guns before going through the crowd and binding everyone's hands. The gunmen begin loading the hostages into a tram one by one, and one of the guards notes that White Falcon is missing. The gunmen then all put on sunglasses, and the mirrors of the station close, causing the interior to become completely dark.
Meanwhile, Alvilda and Mark II are escorted by the Meshes to a park, where they are brought to a fountain with a holographic display. The hologram changes to a scaled-up likeness of Leon in his suit, who greets the two pilots as guests on his new space station. Alvilda reminds Leon that the commandeering of the station will not go unnoticed for very long, but Leon brushes Alvilda off. She then brings up Ascension Island, and Leon informs her that the Armor Corps killed a score of noncombatants with the island's destruction, then brings up Leliel's fate.
Alvilda retorts that traitor groups like the Chosen have far more blood on their hands due to working with the Vannai. Leon has a sudden angry outburst, claiming that the Chosen have nothing to show for their allegiance, before calming down and clarifying for Mark II that yes, his motivation is revenge against the ACC and against Alvilda in particular. He explains that the two pilots will be immediately executed, but he has no intention of exterminating the entire Armor Corps. Silver Knight then accuses Leon of not showing up in person because he doesn't lose and Leon knows it. Leon explains that his goal wasn't to kill Valkyrie during their fight on Ascension Island during Operation Vector To The Heavens, but to try and infect one of the ACC's pilots with Spyware. He implies that he considered Leliel a fair gamble at the time, but wasn't prepared for the losses, and that he regretted not going all-out and killing Alvilda when he had the chance, if only to spare Leliel.
Suddenly, miraculously, the station-wide PA turns on again, this time under the control of White Falcon, who, after listening in on the conversation, announces that Leon picked the wrong target for his revenge. Alvilda jeers that Leon's monologue has been cut short. Leon acknowledges that he wasn't expecting anyone to suddenly regain control of any parts of the space station's systems and cuts the communication after ordering the Mesh escorts to kill the two pilots right away. Suddenly, another pilot riding a giant mecha wyvern appears out of nowhere and lands on one of the Meshes, killing them instantly. The Chosen Meshes and the ACC pilots then have a short battle, ending with all of the Meshes dead. During the fight, Silver Knight tells Valkyrie to go save the hostages and that he'll hold Meshes off alone, but Alvilda annoyedly points out that she has no idea where the hostages have been taken and that Othinus hasn't been responding to her wireless pings.
While this is happening, Ryman begins antagonizing the Chosen gunman closest to him. Traded threats quickly escalate. Another hijacker tells the first to wait until the train arrives at "the school" before any beatings commence. After hearing White Falcon's voice, Loose decides to stop being quiet and changes tactics, becoming Ryman's hype-man.
Confusion spreads through the train after hearing White Falcon's voice over the PA system. The men on the train confirm that they still have control and that "Desfel's still plugged in", but can't explain how he got access to the station-wide PA. One of the guards suggests that White Falcon is the space station's lead designer and might be using some kind of backdoor. Ryman keeps threatening the guards, who are rapidly running out of patience. Suddenly, White Falcon's voice comes back on the PA again, asking someone to stop the train. The train stops. White Falcon clarifies that he isn't the lead designer, he is in fact no one important and just doesn't like whoever it is that is trying to hijack the station. The train starts up again after a moment, but now the guards are very confused. The individual subject to Ryman's antagonizing whacks him in the face with his weapon, promising him a beating once the train arrives at its destination.
The train does finally arrive, coming to a stop outside a large, three storey tall university building. The guards lead the hostages to a classroom on the second floor, while the one guard takes Ryman to the rooftop instead. In the classroom, Cyclops suggests the pilots try to take on the guards, citing that there are currently only two guards in the room compared to how many pilots and hostages there are. Othinus points out Cyclops' hands are still bound behind his back. Cyclops suggests Othinus break her cuffs, but Othinus reminds him that she's not any stronger than an ordinary human, and begins looking for something nearby to pick their handcuff locks with. Tommy then suggests they try picking the locks.
Ryman, on his way to the rooftop at gunpoint, throws his weight back as he climbs the stairs, causing both of them to tumble down. Ryman quickly manages to recover and stomps his heel through the guard's neck, but gets carried away and rolls his heel off the unfortunate man's spine and sprains his ankle. Free of the guard, Ryman contorts himself to get his cuffs to his front and starts searching the body, taking the man's SMG and sunglasses, which turn out to be night-vision sunglasses. Wow! He then shoves some cocaine up his nose to help with the pain in his leg.
Back in the classroom, one of the two guards decides to check on the third one who had taken Ryman away, leaving only one in the room. Cyclops recommends rushing the lone guard again. Tommy messes with his cuffs a bit to try and get them off, but only succeeds in making them painfully tighter. A frustrated Othinus disconnects her left hand from her arm, damaging it in the process but freeing herself of her manacles, allowing her to begin picking Cyclops' manacles with her belt buckle.
With Cyclops free, the two prepare to charge the lone guard. Cyclops shouts to get the guard's attention. The guard turns and fires, but misses and hits Othinus instead, the round catching her in the face. Cyclops begins wrestling the gunman for his weapon and Loose joins him. Cyclops manages to get a hold of the man's weapon and kills him. Cyclops recovers the handcuff keys from the man's body and begins freeing everyone while Tommy checks on Othinus. The AI has lost most of the left side of her face to the gunshot.
While this is happening, Ryman can hear the third guard approaching and waits on the stairs. However, the guard hears the gunfire from the second floor classroom and starts to head back. Ryman calls out, getting the man's attention back on him. The two fire their weapons, but Ryman has the advantage and fills the man with lead. From the second body, Ryman recovers the janitorial keys to the university before cautiously sneaking down the stairs back to the second floor. Although "unconscious", Othinus quickly reboots and swaps her eyepatch to cover the damage, revealing it's just for looks and that her right eye is perfectly functional. Othinus demands Tommy tell her where they are. Tommy names the location as "Silver Knight Mk1 University" and Othinus relays the information to Valkyrie wirelessly.
Ryman cautiously rejoins the other hostages. Cyclops is initially suspicious of him, but Tommy vouches for him. Ryman shares that the guard's sunglasses give them night vision, reminding Cyclops of his own sunglasses. He takes them out of his breast pocket, only to discover that they were broken during the fight for the gun earlier. Cyclops closes his eyes in resignation of the destruction of his sunglasses, allowing a moment of silence to pass. Tommy complains about how tough the day has been before Ryman reminds him that himself and the other hostages are all still cuffed. The group recalls that there are three more guards and a mesh suit somewhere. Othinus reminds the others to mind the hostages and keep them away from windows and doors while they figure out what to do next. Tommy suggests and starts putting up barricades around the doors while Ryman searches the dead guard for anything useful, recovering a small earpiece, though which Ryman just catches mention of a window through. A second later a Mesh explodes through the window lining one of the classroom walls. Ryman and Cyclops fire their weapons at the Mesh while everyone else takes cover or tries to tear down the barricades they had been setting up. The Mesh fires a grappling wire at a desk and swings it at Cyclops before running up to Tommy, grabbing him and throwing him into Loose, knocking both of them out through the window. Thankfully Alvilda arrives, saving Cyclops from being smashed by the desk, and ramming the mesh through a wall before he can kill anyone.
Valkyrie manages to pin the Mesh in place, but the other guards are on the move reversing their direction from heading upstairs to heading back down, where Tommy, Loose and a number of hostages would be spotted. Valkyrie blows a hole in the floor with her shotgun and rides the Mesh down through it, impaling him on her sword on the landing. She then quickly annihilates the three remaining guards with her shotgun.
With the danger over, Tommy and Loose lead the hostages to a nearby emergency bunker while Cyclops and Ryman try to figure out what to do next. Ryman drags the dead Mesh to the university's workshop while Cyclops checks out the maintenance areas, eventually coming back wearing a spacesuit. Ryman takes his time fixing the Mesh's damage, removing the body of the dead pilot inside and cutting off an ear. Alvilda, Othinus and Loose head for the bunker to make sure that Tommy actually got the hostages there and that he's doing something to assuage their concerns.
Tommy returns and tries to help Ryman fix the Mesh suit. As Tommy warns Ryman about the dangers of Sludge batteries, Cyclops idly wonders aloud why they don't target the power sources of Suits since they're so dangerous. Ryman reminds everyone the last time this was attempted it destroyed the Vannai Mothership. When Ryman shows off the dead-man brain surgery he conducted while the others were out to unlock the wrecked suit, Cyclops points out that it would be easier to just get everyone space suits like his own. Ryman suggests adding a spacesuit as a second layer to the Mesh in case he misses any environmental breaches. He then suggests that the plan of action be to try and take back control of the station from the nearest administration building. Tommy recommends waiting for reinforcements, but Ryman points out that the station's own defences would be used to repel anyone coming. Tommy and Ryman continue to work on repairing the Suit while Cyclops heads back to the safety bunker.
Back on Earth, the ACC finally assembles a response to the Libra takeover after negotiating for the aid of the American Coalition. The AmC sends its space battleship, the ACS Arrow Reforged, a number of Phoenix Collective mercenaries including Carcer and Elena Wagner, while the ACC sends its own force of pilots and the Ptolemaios.
Tommy and Ryman finish fixing the suit and head back to the emergency bunker to work out a plan with the other pilots. Alvilda expresses some disgust with Ryman's suit scavenging, but Ryman brushes her off and snorts more cocaine, offering a pinch to anyone else. Tommy suggests either heading to and manually deactivating every single external weapon station on Libra, or going for the central network hub again before taking Ryman up on his cocaine offer. The pilots eventually decide that heading for the central network hub is the easiest option, and while Alvilda and Othinus try to interpret Tommy's questionable directions, Ryman takes off into the air in his salvaged suit. Silver Knight finally shows up, explaining he got lost while looking for things to fight. The two functioning Suits carry the unSuited pilots through the air, catching up with Ryman, who is busy scoping out the central admin building. The admin building is now comparatively lightly-defended, with only a couple dozen non-Suit guards, and a patrolling Medium suit. Ryman heads back and meets the other pilots halfway, reporting what he's seen. Ryman asks Mark II to keep the Medium suit as intact as possible when he kills it, or otherwise try to just incapacitate the Suit, then offers Silver Knight some cocaine, only to remember that Mark II is a robot and the cocaine wouldn't affect him. Tommy then asks Mark II to just kill whatever suits they come across for trespassing into Engineer territory.
Despite the other's reluctance to entertain Ryman, Ryman is ravenous for spare parts to feed his scavenged Mesh Suit. While the others take off and head for the admin building, Ryman guns for the lone Medium, activating his hijacked Suit's active camouflage and sneaking up on the enemy while they're flying over one of the space station's massive windows. Ryman stabs the Medium through the back of the head with a particle blade, killing it instantly and allowing the others to fly over the massive window section without trouble. As the others pass overhead, Ryman proceeds to use the particle blade to properly decapitate the Medium, storing the head for "later use" and stealing the dead Medium's plasma sword and rifle. He then flies straight into the admin building, landing in the middle of a patrol while stealthed. Unfortunately, the scavenged Suit's camouflage and vision cuts out here, and the guards see him and raise the alarm, calling out two additional Mediums. Valkyrie and Silver knight drop their passengers off on the roof of the building and quickly move to rescue Ryman. The ACC pilots, backed up by supporting fire from the roof from Loose and Cyclops, make short work of the garrison at the admin building.
The group heads inside, where they come across a large foreign cube hooked up to the computers there, blinking softly with an orange light.
Alvilda shoots the cube with her explosive shotgun, destroying it completely with a single blast. Ryman suddenly freaks out over the loss of the cube, clutching his head, while Loose questions why they didn't just cut the wires and keep the machinery intact for intelligence gathering purposes. Alvilda however affirms that this was the correct course of action given what happened the last time anyone tried interacting with Chosen technology. Editi suddenly falls out of a vent and reunites with Tommy.
==Part 2==
Onboard the Chosen space battleship Ode To Duty, Leon watches the allied AmC and ACC forces rise from the atmosphere and reflects that Richard Rosewater has probably completely turned on the Chosen. Having already authorized anyone not willing to fight to the death to abandon their post, Leon addresses his enemies with a speech, then orders the bridge crew to try and keep the space station between them and the enemy fleet. A huge space battle begins as Suits from the Chosen and Suits from the Phoenix Collective and Armor Corps Coalition.
The pilots on Libra are reunited with their Suits thanks to Ptolemaios' arrival and exit the station, heading into space where the battle rages. Carrier Prime reactivates the space station's asteroid defense guns remotely and turns them on the enemy suits. Everyone makes a beeline to the enemy battleship, but everyone save for Marauder is intercepted by enemy Medium Suits. Carrier Prime manages to capture an enemy Medium and uses its tentacles to forcibly eject the pilot into space, taking him into the sphere for torture later. Loose sticks alongside Silver Knight for most of the battle up to this point, while Valkyrie, Carrier Prime and Marauder work on wearing down the Ode To Duty. Marauder manages to blast a hole in the bridge of the battleship, and Silver Knight blasts off to try and get to it right away, leaving Loose to face an elite Chosen guard alone. Loose and the guard manage to disable one another, leaving Loose with a broken arm.
Silver Knight enters the hole in the bridge, looking for Leon. White Falcon joins him a second later.
Leon appears and blasts Silver Knight and White Falcon back through the hole and out onto the spine of the battleship, demanding to know where Valkyrie is. White Falcon goes spinning off into space while Silver Knight recovers.
Back outside the ship, a nearby Marauder spots Leon on the bridge and fires every weapon he has on hand at him, but Leon is able to avoid the worst of the fire. Silver Knight charges into him a second later, hitting him and sending the leader of the Chosen "above" the battleship, while Silver Knight is pushed "below" it. Leon decides that Marauder is the more dangerous of the two and tries to go after him with his swords, but Silver Knight comes back right away, rushing into him again and attempting to push the enemy leader away from the fight, trapping him in a bearhug.
Meanwhile, Ryman and Rymaid in the Mecoptera busy themselves collecting salvage from dead suits friend and foe. They pick up Loose and confirm that he's still alive inside his suit. Rymaid suggests jettisoning Loose back out into space, but Ryman insists on leaving the Rybots to conduct first aid on Loose.
Lacking painkillers onboard the Mecoptera, Rymaid gives Loose some cocaine instead, and the Rybots get to work, cutting off Loose's broken arm and replacing it with one of their own, creating the Devil Bringer.
Valkyrie meanwhile remains focused on helping to shift the battle by crippling the battleship further, disabling destroying various point defenses and finally managing to use a damaged turret to gain access to the interior of the ship. Inside, Alvilda hacks into a terminal with a wormport and tries to get information on the enemy spaceship. Othinus asks Alvilda why she isn't going after Leon. Valkyrie points out that the Chosen's space battleship and space cruiser are the two most dangerous things in the sky right now, and that taking them down for everyone else's sake takes top priority. Through the ship's systems, Alivlda can see that there was at one point another AI inside the ship, but they appear to have vacated the vessel along with most of the crew. After getting a reading of the ship's deteriorating status, Valkyrie identifies several weakpoints to hit from inside. After setting the ship's reactor to go critical, she leaves the ship to rejoin the battle outside.
A reinvigorated Loose blasts out of the Mecoptera and heads straight for Leon and Mark II. Mimic drones mirroring Leon's suit detach themselves from the battleship to try and even the fight between Leon and the other pilots. Ryman attempts to hack into the unknown signal giving the drones orders, but is instead counter-hacked. Mecoptera's controls are ripped away from Ryman, and the Fortress is sent spinning into Libra's hull.
Loose reaches his target and unleashed a berzerk flurry of strikes, utterly eviscerating both Leon and Mark II without either of them able to react.
Marauder quickly snatches the two pilot's cyberbrains while everyone else stares in shock at what just happened. Loose panics and grabs the Argent Slicer with Silver Knight's hand still attached to it and attempts to run, but nine of the ten mimic drones immediately dive on Loose in an attempt to get revenge on their master. One of them stabs Loose straight through the gut, and the warhead contained in the top explodes, ripping the pilot in half. Marauder and Weltraumlicht quickly finish off the drones. However, White Falcon reappears and attacks the two Phoenix Collective pilots, demanding Silver Knight's cyberbrain. With Leon's apparent death, Ryman suddenly manages to regain control of the Mecoptera at the last minute, saving himself from crashing into Libra's hull. Seeing White Falcon attacking Marauder, Ryman hacks White Falcon's suit, attempting to shut it down. Ryman instead sends the suit's power source into overdrive, and White Falcon's thrusters explode with energy, causing him to accelerate infinitely towards the edge of the solar system.
Meanwhile, Carrier Prime recovers Loose this time and immediately commits him back to emergency surgery. Determining that Loose's body is too far gone, Tommy and Editi crack open Loose's skull and rip out his cyberbrain as well.
The fighting finally reaches its conclusion with the last of the Chosen being wiped out by the combined AmC-ACC forces. The Arrow Reforged finishes off the Chosen space cruiser Stand To Reason while Ode To Duty's reactor goes critical, causing it to explode.
=Aftermath=
The Libra Crisis was the last major incident involving large organized groups of Suit users ("Traitors"). The Chosen were completely eliminated during the battle, with any survivors having given up the fight and gone into hiding back on Earth. No further threats to Libra ever surfaced, and the population movement to Libra continued unabated until the space station's abrupt disappearance 13 months after the battle.
Category:PACYOA: TE
Category:Mission Record
Category:Literally Who Missions
Category:Space