Dialogue/Main Story 8-1

Translated by Khosen

8-1 The Penguin of the North Pole

Constantia:

And that concludes my report, Master.

I think foremost, we need to take care of our supplies problem.

Commander:

It is time for our regular report session.

After hearing about Constantia's report, my mind became complicated.

Until recently, the ocean was a safe haven for us, but everything changed with the introduction of a variable known as the Star Child.

Once we face it, we will inevitably be destroyed, and as a result, we had to navigate around the FAN-Wave it emitted.

Ultimately, this meant that our course was limited, and a supplies issue soon arose above the surface.

Armand:

We no longer barely have any supplies we stockpiled on Orca, and it's becoming difficult to import them from our supply base.

I advise that we find a suitable location to step ashore and deal with our supplies problem.

Commander:

Any recommendations for a suitable location? (Choice)

Armand:

Yes, Your Majesty. Here it is.

Commander:

As soon as Armand pin-pointed out a few places, it began blinking on the panel that showed the map of the world.

It's less than I expected. (Choice)

Constantia:

Previously, the only thing we had to consider was the Iron Parasites, but now we have that monster under the sea...

Commander:

I had to hide the mixed feelings I felt about the possible locations and began skimming through.

It also showed the route we could take that would dangerously navigate around the emitted FAN-Waves across the ocean floor.

Well, I have no choice. I will prioritize our safety over concerns for supplies. (Choice)

Armand:

Yes, Your Majesty. Then, I shall remove potential locations that may involve high risk.

Commander:

Please. Let's narrow it down and then form a scout team so that - (Choice)

As we were putting our heads together to talk about our next course of action, the door to the meeting room opened.

Ignis:

Uhm...Commander, if you would excuse me.

Commander:

Oh? What's up? (Choice)

Ignis:

It's urgent. Uhm...

One of the Lemonades made contact with me.

Commander:

What? (Choice)

Soon the room became silent as a grave.

Ignis:

Here, this is her message.

Commander:

Ignis handed me over a panel to look at.

Do you have a reason to believe that this is one of the real Lemonades? (Choice)

Ignis:

It came from a PECS channel I used before joining the Resistance.

Commander:

Right...(Choice)

What caught my attention wasn't the writing itself but the seal at the bottom.

Alpha... was there a total of seven Lemonades? (Choice)

Ignis:

Correct.

And Alpha helped me in joining the Resistance.

Commander:

She did? So the Lemonades are not all in agreement? (Choice)

Ignis:

I don't know the details...but I believe not all of them have the same purpose.

Commander:

Hmm... (Choice)

I need to find an insider who knows exactly what's going on with this.

I'll be away for a while. Please continue without me for a while. (Choice)

Constantia:

Yes, Master.

Armand:

Understood, Your Majesty.

Don't worry about us.

Commander:

As expected, the person I counted for to have some intel gave me an answer.

Labiata:

After I did some tracing, this definitely is from Alpha.

And I think she left her traces on purpose as if she expected us to be skeptical.

Audrey:

I'm glad it wasn't Delta.

If it was, no matter how virtuous her intentions were, I would have gone entirely against it.

Commander:

So do Lemonades fight one another for power? (Choice)

Labiata:

If you want to talk about quantity, they are about the same as those who support, are against, and are neutral about bringing their old masters back.

But because each different Lemonades possess different areas, the ones who support the revival appear to be the strongest.

Commander:

Hmm...and the leader of the "support" group is Omega? (Choice)

Ignis:

Correct. Before everything happened, the Omega Corporations had the most power amongst all of the seven.

Omega's power alone is probably stronger than every other Lemonades combined.

Audrey:

Not only were they the most powerful, but they also had numerous sister companies under their control.

Which includes the Golden Von Sciences Miss Ignis was part of.

Labiata:

And as far as I'm concerned...Alpha was never cooperative with other Lemonades, but she was never a person to reach out to us, her enemy.

Audrey:

It is also possible that she may have betrayed others. Omega is too full of herself and her power that while she may avenge Bioroids who seek to leave her, she does not necessarily stop them.

Commander:

Full of herself, huh. So she thinks the Iron Parasites aren't her concern? (Choice)

Ignis:

By the time I joined the Resistance, Omega almost had complete control of the entire American continent.

Commander:

That's possible? (Choice)

Labiata:

Iron Parasites never actively attack the Bioroids. If she formed a robust chain of command, I don't think it's an impossible task.

Commander:

That's not good to hear...(Choice)

Iron Parasites, Star Child that appeared out of nowhere. Oh, and now I might have to face the Lemonades.

And there's no guarantee that we'll come out victorious against any of them...

What do you guys think about the content of the message? (Choice)

Labiata:

Uhm, well...

Commander:

According to Alpha, on the northern part of the American continent, known as Alaska, a coordinate was sent. There, Alpha claimed that Omega seeks to revive their old masters at old ruins.

Labiata:

If what she's saying is true, this is the perfect opportunity to weaken Lemonades' forces.

Alaska was known to have been not populated by many people, and hence there aren't as many Iron Parasites compared to other places. On top of that, if we surround Omega with our troops, we may force her to surrender.

Commander:

Go for the serpent's head first. (Choice)

Labiata:

Well, yeah.

Commander:

Among the three big enemies Orca faces, Lemonade seemed like the weakest one we could meet.

But even if we do win, it's evident that we will come out with some damage taken, and with the Resistance that just started gaining traction, it could be a more significant blow than anticipated.

Alright. Since we need to solve our supplies issue anyway, why don't we head up there? (Choice)

Audrey:

But, what if it's a trap? All Lemonades are dangerous.

Commander:

Hopefully, we'll evade it. And I won't send the entire Orca, but form a scout team first. (Choice)

Ignis:

I'll volunteer.

Commander:

Alright. I guess I need to form an expedition team for supplies too. (Choice)

Technically it isn't the North Pole, but I know a perfect crew who'll be suitable for this mission.

...But, wait a minute did penguins live in the North Pole?

After the Battle

Empress:

Are you kidding me?

"Isn't the North Pole basically the same as the South Pole since they're both cold places?" You've got to be shitting

me, right, Commander?

And wait, I'm not even a penguin!

Ignis:

But you were a great help to us, Empress.

I've never been to a place like this...

Empress:

Hehe, of course. Whether it's the North or the South, it's basically my home ground if there's snow!

But are we going the right way? With this much snow, it's easy to get lost, so we need to make sure.

Labiata:

Yup, we are. I've been keeping an eye out.

And I can also tell by the increased number of reconnaissance aircraft we've been seeing.

Ignis:

Those were definitely manufactured by PECS. At least one of the Lemonades is here for sure.

Empress:

By the way, why did you volunteer?

Wouldn't it have been better if you stayed in Orca and helped our Commander? I heard you were smart.

Labiata:

Ahaha, I'm more of a field person...

Oh, incoming radio.

Empress:

Is it time for our regular report? I hope the expedition team had found a lot of tuna cans.

Ignis:

I'd...hope for something like a keyholder.

Labiata:

...

Empress:

I have a few. Would you like some? I have a penguin one too.

Ignis:

P, penguin...

Empress:

Saetti has more animal keyholders, so maybe I'll ask her later - What's up?

Labiata:

...

...That was from Alpha.

Commander:

While I was waiting to hear back from the expedition team, I heard a piece of unexpected news.

Alpha made contact with you guys? (Choice)

Labiata:

Yeah. Just a while ago.

Commander:

Hmm. Why do you think she's not contacting me directly? (Choice)

Labiata:

I think she's being extremely cautious. After all, we are known to be her enemy as of now.

See...she's seen us before? Or I guess since we have some sort of pre-established relationship with her, so I think by making contact through us, I think she's trying to figure out what your goal is.

Commander:

What did she say? (Choice)

Labiata:

She gave us information about the ruins Omega entered.

...It's called the lab of the "Iron Prince."

Commander:

Iron Prince? (Choice 1, Same Result)

That's an odd name. (Choise 2, Same Result)

Labiata:

Yes. So this one is someone I'm familiar with. He was a scientist who studied the Iron Parasites before the Extinction War.

Nobody knew who he was, where he was, or what was his purpose, but he would send his findings to the last remaining human resistance from time to time.

The only thing we knew for sure was that he was another human too. But, unfortunately, after the Hypnos Disease became a global pandemic, all communications were lost.::

As his research was groundbreaking, the Bioroids tried to find his lab, but none succeeded.

Commander:

Then why would Omega...no (Choice)

There's only one purpose for Omega.

She assumes...that she'll be able to find a way to bring her old masters back. (Choice)

Labiata:

That's what Alpha thinks. And so do I.

I think Alpha gave us the information because she doesn't want the PECS CEOs to come back to life.

Commander:

That's just even more confusing, though. Why would she? (Choice)

Labiata:

I don't know why either.

But I do know this.

If Omega accomplishes her goal, she'd be a significant threat to us - to you, Commander.

Commander:

The resurrected CEOs would issue a Direct Order and bring all Lemonades under their command. (Choice)

Labiata:

Yup. Exactly. And there's no doubt that after, they'll come for you.

So honestly, it doesn't matter if the ruins Omega went into is really the secret lab of the "Iron Prince."

Commander:

What matters is that we need to stop Omega. (Choice)

Labiata:

Yeah. It may be that Alpha's using us like her puppet...but it's the only thing we can do right now. At the very least, we probably won't be getting the short end of the stick with this bargain.

And...personally...

Commander:

Yeah? (Choice)

Labiata:

I really want you...to stop the PECS CEOs from coming back from the grave.

If they do end up seeing the light of the world again, they'll also attempt to bring other humans back too. The ones who served them previously.

And if that happens...this world will become the world I used to know.

Commander:

... (Choice)

Like Leanne said, if Omega does manage to pull it off, the CEOs of PECS will become a dangerous threat to us.

They'll forcefully unify the divided Lemonades, and they'll do exactly what I did and increase their influence.

Commander:

Don't worry. I'll stop that from happening. (Choice 1)

Labiata:

Hehe, yeah.

Commander:

Yeah. I'm the only human this world needs. (Choice 2)

Labiata:

Ahaha. Look at you, full of confidence!

Labiata:

Well, we'll continue with what we were doing. Besides some reconnaissance aircraft at the entrance, I don't see anything special.

Commander:

Yeah. Be careful. (Choice)

Labiata:

Yup!