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syrakhanistan · 7 months

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A Chance Game

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(A small interlude, involving a once-and-future Warmaster, a funny plane-game, and a brief reference to one or more Magical Girl gods).

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(IMDb’s (an internet media aggregator) synopsis of a certain video game.)

“Ace Combat 8: Broken Wings.

In Ace Combat 8, you play the as infamous mercenary Larry “Pixy” Foulke, who is hired by Principality of Belka to fight a defensive war against their southern neighbour, the Republic of Ustio.

Ustio had recently elected a highly militarist and irredentist government, which had quickly turned into a military dictatorship. It had a rough history with their neighbour to the north, which had culminated in the 1995 Belkan War and the Waldreich Incident, where Belka detonated seven simultaneous nuclear warheads on their southern border.

Since 1995, Belka has become a constitutional monarchy, but has yet to fully recover from the devastation of the war. This, alongside continued disruptions to both internal and international order perpetrated by Belkan Nationalists, lead to the new government of Ustio capitalising on their former enemy’s weakness, and launching a full-scale invasion in early June 2025.

Pixy is hired by Belka, whom he had fought against for Ustio during the 1995 war, and placed on the newly formed Pendragon Squadron, and plays the role of Pendragon 2, alongside Pendragon 1, this game’s wingman.

The game follows[EXTRACT CORRUPTED]…

…[EXTRACT CONTINUES]leads to the Battle of Sudentor. Ustio marches through the city, a former Belkan possession which was now a large industrial hub for the neighbouring Osea, after the previous engagement and the embarrassing destruction of the G.R.A.I.L.; Belkan forces remain on the border and are attacked by Ustio while Ustio’s forces still remained in Sudentor. The disaster and Ustio’s subsequent defeat within another nation’s borders, predominantly due to the prowess of the Pendragon Squadron and the player character, is a catastrophic political disaster, predominantly caused by infighting within Ustio’s political and military leadership (including the usage of dated military maps and faulty GPS equipment within the head party of the retreating convoy). The embarrassment also results in Osea’s direct intervention.

Osea, officially the Osean Federation, is one of the primary superpowers of the Strangereal setting. Another former rival of Belka, and a former ally of Ustio, it currently plays a “world police” role in the world, primarily through the Peacekeeping forces of the IUN.

However, due to the Ustio government’s dictatorship and their severing of trade relations with the world, the Osea-Ustio relationship has since soured - and Osea had in fact condemned the Ustio invasion into Belka at the IUN Security Council.

Following the Battle of Sudentor , as seen depicted previously in Mission 11, Osea openly declares support for their old archenemy Belka, and the two former nemeses ally against Ustio. Osea also reveals in Mission 13 to the Belkan High Command, and the Pendragon Squadron that would be briefed later, that Ustio has come into possession of some of the former Belkan Federation’s WMDs - which explains how Ustio deployed the G.R.A.I.L. - which is another reason why Osea is now involved, in order to prevent the proliferation of illegal weapons.

In Mission 14, you[EXTRACT CORRUPTED]…

[EXTRACT CONTINUES]…and finally entering the hollow column of the rapidly collapsing ruined weapon to escape before it collapses, preventing the final usage by Ustio’s remaining forces who refused to acknowledge the ceasefire.

As Mission 24 was going on, the latter half also includes intercepted audio messages between one of the last remaining leaders of Ustio, and someone simply referred to as “the Manager”; where the leader offers as much as they can afford to deploy “your man” one last time. The Manager reluctantly agrees, but mentions to the leader that it’s only because “the guy has a good feeling about this battle… even if you people don’t”.

Your wingman congratulates Pixy (and, by extension, the player) on the victory, as the AWACS begins to command forces on the ground to begin capturing PoWs. As the wingman begins to land, he notices something approaching the player’s aircraft, and shouts to warn Pixy.

Pixy rolls his plane just in time to avoid a charged blast coming straight for him from behind. The camera zooms out, to reveal a single heavily modified Gründer Industries aircraft. A small segment of Spanish guitar music, alongside the faintest sound of a chuckle from the pilot, introduces the end of Mission 24, and the start of Mission 25 and the final boss.

Mission 25 begins with Pixy narrating a[EXTRACT CORRUPTED]…[EXTRACT CONTINUES]. This cutscene ends, and the mission begins in earnest.

As the player dodged increasingly dangerous projectiles and attacks from the foe, their AWACS ally begins to explain that the plane is an experimental ADFX-02B Mordred, a veritable super-plane capable of using EMP weaponry based on the G.R.A.I.L., a prototype tungsten-propelling rail-cannon, and a multitude of missiles. The AWACS begins to relay new intelligence from both Ustio’s former leaders that had since surrendered and/or defected, as well as former Belkan scientists, that the aircraft had been a barely functioning prototype built in the last days of the 1995 Belkan War, left to be mothballed by the newly created Gründer Industries, but later captured and re-engineered by Ustio’s own military regime. It is also revealed that the plane is being piloted by a mercenary hired by Ustio in the last days of their invasion, and believed to have been hired as a last resort for unbelievable expense while the last of the Ustio holdouts re-activate the backup generators of the ruined superweapon damaged in Mission 24. The Belkan scientists also reveal that the superweapon, originally destroyed in 1995 and now damaged in Mission 24, had a secondary but previously unused function - as a satellite relay for a dormant orbital weapons platform armed with a massive experimental particle cannon capable of refracting several beams of lasers at once, which is now being aimed at both Belkan cities as well as Osean cities, with casualties estimated in the millions.

Pixy simply chuckles at this - hinting clearly that he knows his opponent too well. The duel continues as Pixy narrates the battle above, while occasionally calling out to the enemy pilot, the mercenary with the callsign “Cipher”.

Finally, with one last joust that spirals upwards all the way to the Kármán Line, pushing both the player’s aircraft and the Mordred to their limits, Pixy manages to defeat the super-plane.

The two aircraft begin a rapid descent. It is here that the player can make one final choice for the game’s outcome - they can choose to fly alone, or to attempt to help their former opponent.

Pixy canonically chooses to assist Cipher, commenting that “two old men being the last fighters of the war again… you’ve gotten rusty, buddy”. What follows could be considered Mission 26, but is not labelled as such by the game, which involves keeping both aircraft afloat in order to attempt a safe landing.

(Note: the mission was later updated to give the player the option to have ‘assist mode’ on for this section, due to complaints of the mission being “too difficult” from a vocal minority of players; using assist mode in this mission, as with all other missions, restricts the player’s rank to B and lower).

As the mission begins to fade to black, as the player witnesses the scene of the two planes balancing wings to attempt the landing, Pixy issues another comment: “Still alive in there, buddy?”.

The response from the pilot is one single sigh, and the camera zooming to show a single thumbs-up from the opposing pilot.

The game ends, with audio over the end-credits revealing that a new treaty had been signed between Belka, Osea, and Ustio, signalling warming relations, a return to normal trade, and a permanent alliance between Osea, which is openly grateful for their former enemy’s assistance in the defence of Sudentor and the border, and Belka, which has regained some level of pride following this newest conflict.

A post-credits scene reveals an aged Pixy relaxing next to a runway, having a drink, and reading a document. As a large and somewhat futuristic plane begins the descent to the runway, the camera pans to the document; revealing it to be a contract to a company known as “General Resources Ltd.”

[Ace Combat 8: Broken Wings is the most recent Ace Combat entry in the Strangereal setting, released in 20XX, to almost universal acclaim. It has both a singleplayer campaign as well as an extensive multiplayer. It is also the most best-selling game in the franchise, and as of 20XX, the best-selling aircraft simulation game of all time.]

Thanks for reading this! Apologies for any errors, English is not my first language. Please rate 5 stars; and be sure to buy the game! Don’t just read this!!! XD”

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[Digital record of a multiplayer team deathmatch on the video-game “Ace Combat 8: Broken Wings”, on the [REDACTED] console (and other systems), including in-game chat (which uses a prompt-only functionality to avoid inappropriate online behaviour, and thus keeping the game’s advisory rating lower). The following particular segment focuses on a particular duel between two high-ranked players; and also included some flavour text for context.]

———

AWACS Sunshine: <<One minute remaining!>>

Player0143876 to ALL: <<Let’s do this!>>

Player0143876 (F-4 Phantom II) >Downed> mrdf4ze (MiG-35)

mrdf4ze to ALL: <<Lucky hit!>>

———

Somewhere in Japan. A darkened room with the curtains drawn, under a duvet.

“Oh, I’m gonna fuckin’ get you…” A voice says with a growl.

———

mrdf4ze (MiG-35) >Downed> Player0143876 (F-4 Phantom II)

mrdf4ze to ALL: <<Still alive?>>

———

Somewhere in the former Middle East. A darkened room with the curtains drawn, under a duvet.

“Heh. If it’s a fight you want…” A voice says with a laugh.

———

AWACS Sunshine: <<Thirty seconds remaining! Get it together!>>

[The video feed shows a MiG-35 and an F-4 Phantom II having an intense dogfight, spiralling around the central structure of the multiplayer map.]

———

“So… who’s winning, bestie?” Another voice speaks gleefully.

“Oi. I’m concentrating.”

———

“…”

“Do you mind? I don’t want the smoke detectors going off…” The same voice whinges, spluttering a bit on the smoke fumes from a pipe being used in the back of the room.

———

mrdf4ze (MiG-35) >Downed> Player0143876 (F-4 Phantom II)

Player0143876 (F-4 Phantom II) >Downed> mrdf4ze (MiG-35)

AWACS Sunshine: <<Combat time’s over. It’s a draw - hope to see you flyin’ again.>>

———

Lobby: Player0143876 to ALL: <<Great game!>>

Lobby: mrdf4ze to ALL: <<That was fun!>>

Lobby: Player0143876 to ALL: <<Still alive?>>

Lobby: Player0143876 to ALL: <<Buddy.>>

Lobby: mrdf4ze to ALL: <<Nice aircraft!>>

Lobby: mrdf4ze to ALL: <<I’m continuing on.>>

Lobby: Player0143876 to ALL: <<Goodbye!>>

Lobby: Player0143876 to ALL: <<Hope to play with you again!>>

———

“A draw!?” That gleeful yet grating voice again. “Seriously, you and that other guy were properly having a go, huh?”

“That was pretty awesome though, especially their post-stall manoeuvre around the bend of the tower… Damn though, this game is good. Not usually a plane-game- player, but…” The other voice murmurs, before yawning.

———

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[Meanwhile.]

“…/:£:@@~€$$_^*+[[]]{><}/!?!/…” The figure with the pipe exclaimed.

“…Reminds me of the old days. Haven’t had a laugh like that since Haruka and I played the old—” The voice under the duvet murmured melancholically, before being interrupted by a knock on their door.

The pipe-smoking figure shook an unseen appendage, and vanished from within the darkness.

The duvet made a grunt, put down the console, and slowly trudged to the door, opening it.

A smartly dressed woman stood at the door, a hand placed solemnly on the sword by her side.

“My liege, you’re late for the dinner wi-with… what…” Satsuki began to declare, until her eyes focused and looked up and down the duvet, which had now sprouted an unkempt head of fluffy white hair.

“…sorry, I’ll… get dressed… and…” Hazuki managed to spit out between yawns.

“Warmaster… have you been playing that new game… since you bought it YESTERDAY?!” Satsuki spoke, with an increasingly incredulous tone.

Hazuki wiped some sleepy ‘eye gunk’ from her face, with a somewhat bemused whimper. “…perhaps.”

“PERHAPS?! Perhaps you should consider the ramifications of such a thing!” Satsuki managed to spit out, while struggling to hide a grin.

“Ramifications, blamifications, who fuckin’ cares…” Hazuki groggily whined.

At this, Satsuki finally snapped, giving a large stomp that caused even the barely-functioning Warmaster a jump.

“Warmaster, you should care because of your public image! You’re an international leader for both mortals and for our kin!” Satsuki began to explain. “Like, for instance, can you IMAGINE the backlash if, say, a Saturday morning gossip magazine managed to get some candid shots of you here?”

Hazuki narrowed her eyes… sort of. They were still pretty gunged up, so it was less of an irritated sneer and more of a cat having just been rescued from a tree.

Satsuki took note of this, and tutted. “Or, perhaps, if a gaming journalist… is that still a thing? I don’t know… if a journalist managed to, say, get a photo of a certain girl with a cliché idol face-mask and sunglasses look using a fake ID to purchase a copy of the game on release day, after having waiting for the shop to open…?”

Satsuki explained this, while slowly taking a phone out of her pocket, and revealing a video taken in the early hours of the morning, showing an oddly familiar figure surreptitiously sneaking around the corner of a dated-looking shop, tip-toeing into the store with an embarrassed look-around, and slowly walking up to the front desk.

“Oioioioioioioiwhat-the-FUCK—!!” Hazuki managed to get out, before being physically shushed by Satsuki with a single finger to her lips.

“Warmaster. This is the only copy of this video. If you want to KEEP it as the only copy…” Satsuki said with a soft smile, before lifting her finger back up, and placing her hand gently on the older-but-much-smaller girl’s shoulder.

“Please consider getting some rest.” She said softly, with a rare hint of care in her tone. “Neither your citizens nor the Officio want to see our glorious leader looking like a dishevelled NEET on national television.”

She lifted her hand back up, and turned away from the door, ignoring the amused look on the sleepy Warmaster’s face. “I was going to ask why you were being so late for the dinner with the Swedish delegation, but… I suppose I’ll tell them that you’ve come down with the flu.”

Hazuki managed to get out a hoarse whisper, as her body was finally realising how knackered she was. “Spare…meatballs…please…if…”

Satsuki chuckled. “Fine. I’ll make sure the chefs have some spare Swedish meatballs to get snuck up to you. Now, please, Warmaster, get some rest… or I’ll get the Equerry.”

Hazuki visibly gagged at the sound of that. “Not the birds… anything but the birds…”

Satsuki walked away down the corridor, not saying another word, while the Warmaster closed shut the ornate door to the bedroom.

“She’s been pretty good recently. Still, my election of Karasawa-san was primarily political in nature, and she still hasn’t quite warmed to the role…” The Warmaster thought to herself as she slowly trudged to the mess of a bed, still covered in her duvet. “I have faith in her, though, just as I do Satsuki. Should one fail, the other can catch up.”

She turned the game console off, and placed it to one side, as she opened a window to let a cold night breeze in, before tucking herself back into bed.

“Still… All’s well, I suppose. And that game… was… fun…” Hazuki managed to think to herself, humming a dirty from ‘pènsees’, before losing track and finally nodding off to sleep.

She would later make a mental note that it was one of the best sleeps she’d ever had - not even disturbed by her usual memories of life that intruded - and the only thing she recalled was dreaming of a dark blue sky, with seagulls squawking while a small cat chased down a human figure with a nostalgically familiar face.