Nein Numb

**Nein Numb** is an episode of Venturian Battle.

## Synopsis

Saad Ayman Nein sends in his clones to attack Jacob Manor, in hopes of bringing the Ecranian army's attention towards him. But what is he trying to achieve?

## Plot

Saad Ayman Nein, inside of a Vepturian military compound, watches a live-stream of the second day of the Jacobs' Celebration. Realizing that this could be a good way to provoke the Venturian and/or Ecranian military, sends in nine of his clones onto the next flight to Awhyae, arming them with assault rifles.

Robert Jacob, holding a feast in the Mead Hall of Jacob Manor, gives a speech on how much he loves Robyn Jade, which causes her face to redden. Robert also discusses the "security measures", which he believes to be somewhat boring, but claims that they're necessary in case of a terrorist attack or threat. Robert claims that he has the circuit-board for the lights in his hand, and that he will kill them if an armed assailant enters. He also goes over the procedures they should take, claiming that they should stop, drop from their seats, and roll under the table.

Nein sends his clones to the Vepturian airport, where they are recognized as terrorists and held at gunpoint. One of them shows a soldier the mark on his hand, with them immediately recognizing these as Saad Ayman Nein's clones, and lead them to the flight to Ahwyae, where they are put in the first class seats. A family of millionaires also go to the first class row, and are extremely disturbed to find Nein's clones, about to warn the pilot of terrorists. The pilot tells them to "stop living under a rock", stating that Saad Ayman Nein is not a threat to Vepture.

The nine clones are departed to an Ahwyaian airport, where they are found and about to be investigated by the police. The Nein clones run away, and are chased by the cops, before running into the nearest crowd and getting lost. Boarding a tram to Jacob Manor, the driver and passengers are intimidated, but too afraid to call anyone. The nine of them are departed, and walk up the steps to Jacob Manor. They are asked for identification by the manor's guards. The clones shoot the guards down, and enter the manor.

Robert, hearing the gunfire, kills the lights, and tells everyone to hide under the tables. The Saad Ayman Nein clones enter, and turn on their laser sight. Hearing screams of dread, the clones gun down everyone they can find. Robert, trying to make a distraction by knocking beer bottles off of a table, Robert runs in the opposite direction, narrowly escaping with his life as bodies are shot across the room. As Robert runs out, the clones hear him, and try to follow. Robert tries to make more distractions, before entering his arms room.

Getting a pump-action shotgun and a satchel full of shells, Robert loads up and runs back to the mead hall. Gunning down one of the Nein clones just outside of the hall, he enters, accidentally steps on the circuit-board, and turns it back on. To his terror, half of the guests have already been shot dead. Robert, enraged shoots another Nein clone in the chest twice, tearing him in half. This attracts the attention of the other clones, with Robert hiding behind a table as machine gunfire reduces it to splinters.

Robert, reloading his shotgun, fires a volley at one of the Nien clones' heads, before running in a zigzag motion, trying not to get shot. Eventually, Robert decides to use a corpse as a human shield, with the Nien clones blowing it apart with their machine guns. Realizing how outnumbered he is, Robert decides to surrender, with one of Saad Ayman Nien's clones claiming that this is "the correct reaction". He proceeds to bring up how easily Robert surrendered, claiming that this will stain his reputation for good, before they all dissolve into air.

The Ecranian military, having heard about the shooting, decide to raid Saad Ayman Nein's compound. Seventy-nine Ecranian soldiers and one dog are brought over to Vepture by twenty-four attack helicopters, as the two are on mostly friendly terms. The soldiers, armed with battle rifles, handheld machine guns, machine pistols, night vision goggles, sticky bombs, and an EMP grenade. The marine squads are deployed in front of the various walls of the compound in squads of six. One of the groups, finding a vulnerability, sticks an explosive onto the vulnerable area, before telling everyone to back away as he ignites it, exploding a large hole through the wall.

The marines enter the compound, holding the residents at gunpoint, they are eventually led to the guest house, with them eventually reaching the third floor, where they find Saad Ayman Nein and his nine clones. The Neins appear to surrender, with one of them getting shot in the chest. This one turns out to be one of the a clones, and soon disappears, with another taking his place, grabbing a nearby assault rifle, and shooting at one of the marines, wounding them. The marines proceed to open fire on all ten of the Neins, shooting them out the window. The true Saad Ayman Nein has his head obliterated and his chest torn apart, before his remains fly out of the window, roll down a hill, and land into the sea, blood soaking the water.

However, the Ecranian marines are locked in, with their assumption being that the Vepturian government believes that they were trying to ignite conflict. The squad leader thinks about jumping out of the window, and everyone else seems to go along with the plan. Upon getting a closer look, however, the team realizes that the fall would be too great to sustain without any injuries. Suddenly, the doors unlock, and armed Vepturians gun down the Ecranian marines, with E.L. Vepture, over their intercom, claiming that it is time for war.

In a post-credits scene, the Vepturegeng go on an airplane to Ahwyae, with Gunner lamenting that it was "mid" of the guards to remove the assault weaponry from their luggage. Meanwhile, Vepturian soldiers are brought over to Jacob Manor, where they realize that the threat they're dealing with is even bigger than they thought, as a skeletal figure made of electricity rises from the sea.

## Allusions

* Return of the Jedi: The episode's title is almost exactly the same as Nien Nunb from *Return of the Jedi*. Brendan has also confirmed that he thought it was spelled "Nein Numb", and worried that he'd get in a lawsuit for naming the episode after a *Star Wars* character.
* Overwatch: Saad Ayman Nein's compound gets invaded in a similar manner to Antonio's mansion in the Retribution event, which Brendan claims is his favorite of the Archive events.
	+ However, the raid more closely resembles that of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. It should be noted that Saad Ayman Nein, including his name, were originally designed after the "Islamic terrorist" stereotype that become prevalent in media after the September 11 attacks, with inspiration being drawn from Jeff Dunham's puppet Achmed the Dead Terrorist.
		- Gunner laments about his firearms getting confiscated, a reference to the security measures implemented in American airports after the September 11 attacks.

* Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Saad Ayman Nein clones showing the mark on their hand to the Vepturian soldiers is based off of the scene where Major Toht shows René Belloq the scar he got from touching the Staff of Ra's headpiece. The map showing their plane flying to Awhyae is also a reference to *Raiders*, as well as the other Indiana Jones films.

## Behind the Scenes

* The shooting scene was actually simulated in *Garry’s Mod*, much like the other firefights in Season Seven.
* Some of the events during the raid were inspired by a *Minecraft* video that adapts the death of Osama bin Laden. Many elements from the video were based on actual parts of the raid, such as a wall being destroyed by explosives and the eventual assassination of an “Osama bin Laden” village.

## Censorship

No region-specific censorship has occurred, despite the assassination of Saad Ayman Nein resembling Osama bin Laden's killing. However, the episode was heavily altered from the original cut to receive a TV-14 rating as opposed to a TV-MA.

* Saad Ayman Nein's shooting was originally going to take place while the dining hall was still lit, with blood splattering all over the walls and bodies getting shot and torn apart by gunfire. Robert killing the lights not only serves as an actual method used to mitigate the losses involved in shootings, but also a way to censor the depictions of blood, although the aftermath is seen when Robert restores the lights.
* The Ecranian marines gunning down Saad Ayman Nein was originally going to depict his head shattering and his body getting shredded by gunfire, with accompanying blood sprays. The scene is still depicted, but with a "night vision" lens on, with the blood and gore only being rendered as green. The chunks of the body are still seen tumbling down the mountain, however, like they were going to in the original cut.

## Trivia

* The episode is one of few to have a TV-14 LV instead of the standard TV-14 L that other episodes bear. This is due to the violent nature of the episode, including the frequent depiction of bloodshed.