Chapter 4: Mission AE4821-JGV

## Mission AE4821-JGV - Red to Black

*Greetings Iron Clads. Before the briefing is to continue, know that this mission is considered incredibly dangerous, and it is entirely likely that you do not return from it. Due to the nature of this mission, and the fact that your service to the USF has been unfaltering in your diligence and thoroughness, we are giving you a bonus equivalent to a promotion for the construction of your Schneiders. Additionally, we will be increasing your personal load out budget by another 1000 credits. This mission is a blackout class mission, and we remind you that as members of the USF, what you see and experience on world is USF secrets, and that you are strictly forbidden from interacting with the Sector's Media outlets in reference to it.*

*On the Rust World Antares VII, we had begun a new class mission. The planting of cores had been completed, and we were ready to hold the off world tournament. When we entered the atmosphere of AntaresVII, our scanners picked up signs of a Class Zero organism, code named Antimatter Red. For the sake of this mission, please suspend any beliefs or disbeliefs in class zeroes, and remember to follow orders.*

*Since the scan, a mere 13 days have passed, but we have every reason to believe the entire planet has succumbed to AR. Thankfully, the world is a Rust World, and has a low overall population, with only a few dozen densely populated areas that can even sustain life.*

*On this mission, you will be deployed with 4 other Squadrons, and each will be assigned a number of these populated areas to purge.*

* *The Iron Clads will be expected to purge 7 population centers, and will be provided with a global map displaying the locations of these centers.*
* *There are an unknown quantity of Schneiders on the planet, so be prepared for more than just standard terrestial combatants.*
* *There can be no survivors from a purged site. AR is extremely dangerous, and we cannot risk its survival. Use all means necessary.*

*Be warned, AR has extreme effects on its victims, and we have reason to believe it is intelligent and knows of our intentions. Expect heavy resistance. For your own safety, never remove the assigned suits that will be given to you prior to the mission, as without them you will be potentially exposed to AR.*

*As with all black out missions, failure simply is not an option, and any leaks to the Sector media will be punished with the same cruelty that this mission carries.*

The stuff of many a philosophical debate, a class zero organism, Antimatter Red, had infested the planet of Silgria. Every silgrian who lived there was presumed compromised. As such, the party was given a black out mission - a full on planetary extermination. This mission required coordination with several squadrons of rats, and the party was under the mission control of Valerie Ky’llmore - a bubbly Vincian with ruthless competency wrapped in a fun loving package. Val immediately bonded with the Ironclads, and partied heartily with them before mission launch, as was her custom before high risk missions. With the squadron down a man due to the recent morbidity of Pok, Boot also joined the ironclads - a strong minded and xenophobic terran who was chomping at the bit to get engaged.

The party was briefed about Antimatter Red, how to identify when someone was compromised (highlighting visible changes to their skin and glowing red eyes, which is where AR got its name), as well as its mind affecting result when it took over a lifeform. As a class zero life form, it had no physical form of any type, and at the very least, was considered a contaminant that could infect you if any part of you was exposed to it in an environment. As such, the party was given special pilot suits and was instructed to NEVER remove them during the mission.

The party dispatched aboard the Ragnarok, Val’s personal custom transport ship, and was instructed to strike several locations on Silgria before rendezvousing at a Silgrian Temple.

The party was able to sweep through locations, dispatching the nimble avian race with vicious efficiency in their Schneiders, and were able to purge all lifeforms in settlements as they worked through cliffside villages outside their Schneiders. The AR infected Silgrians were not without defense, and had put up resistance with infected Schneiders on world, attacking the USF back with its own troops. When the dust finally settled, the USF stood victorious, and the Ironclads mobilized to the temple, along with recent ally, NJ-86, the android commander of the Thunder Hunters, a recently wiped out squadron.

When the Ironclads arrived at the temple, Val instructed them to be on standby and entered it using her small scale Schneider, the Holiday (which was almost an exoskeleton it was so small). After a few moments, she was blasted out of the temple by the ripple of a truth speaker, and a colossal and enraged Silgrian erupted from the building, shattering the temple and spraying rocks across the landscape.

“IT'S A COMPROMISED TRUTH SPEAKER!”

The Holiday was badly damaged, with Ky’llmore’s arm horribly wounded and gushing blood. She told the party to hold the truthspeaker off while she charged up an orbital strike from the Ragnarok, that her injury wouldn’t be fatal and she could accomplish that much. It was in this combat that the value of Paradoxium tech became known to the party - materials created by truthspeakers created a paradox when combating truthspeakers, and their Schneiders were immune to this new adversary’s most unfair abilities!

Even with that benefit, the AR-infected Silgrian Truthspeaker quickly grew to become too powerful, expounding truths quickly to gain abilities, and tossed the squad around easily. When things seemed most dire, the reprieve of a thunderous blast erased it from existence. A pillar of light came down from the heavens, and the orbital strike killed the increasingly powerful creature.

Ky’llmore called the Ragnarok dropship down and took off to get immediate medical attention for her arm. She directed the rats to get to their drop ship and then rejoin her in low orbit of the planet (they had used their drop vessel sparingly, due to its limited fuel, but had plenty left to get off world).

Once the Rats lifted off world, they received the following, final transmission from Val:

“Goodbye, little Rats. Thanks for the Ragnarok, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

They then realized, when her arm was injured, they saw her blood through her suit and she had become compromised by AR. She had been infected and fled into space, leaving them stranded, floating in the low orbit above Silgria with little food and no fuel.