AP (ToaM) - Tales of the Arx Jericho - Season 2, Episode 09: Cage Match

Here's another guest post by +Robert Ruthven (lostzeppo) for Episode 09! You can find the original post at his blog. Images and additional commentary added by me.

Starring...

• Rick Hunter: Team leader, Blue Company. Rick is the son of a human abductee and a renegade Mayzor general. Rick long ago swore revenge on the Mayzor for taking his mother, but the recent revelations about his father have resulted in Rick suffering an identity crisis, which he has been taking out violently on anyone who threatens those close to him. Well, more violently than normal, since Rick is hot-blooded most of the time anyway.
• Esteban Knowles: Alpha Company pilot. Esteban was orphaned by the Mayzor and raised as part of a child soldier program and has spent most of his life drilling and learning to take orders. As such, he finds it difficult to connect with his fellow pilots in normal social situations, and struggles when required to act on his own initiative.
• Marten Oiseleur: Alpha Company pilot. Formerly of Arx Bethlehem, Marten was transferred to Alpha Company aboard the Arx Jericho after recovering from an incident in which his SAInt was destroyed and he had to be resuscitated after the pilot pod was crushed. Since then, Marten has experienced dreams and auditory hallucinations in which the 'ghost' of his former SAInt speaks to him. Determined and brave, Marten tackles whatever challenges he faces with sheer force of will. 
• Jason Reyes: Alpha Company pilot. Technically gifted, but not the most physical or athletic of kids. Jason has never really got along with his career military step father despite wanting to because of this, and became a SAInt pilot in the hopes of making his stepfather proud of him. Things grew strained between them after his mother was abducted during the Mayzor assault on the Arx Galilee, which Jason partially blamed him for. He blames him even more now, having discovered that his step-father is in fact one of the Mayzor generals. Jason is quiet and reserved most times, although he does have a penchant for assigning nicknames to people, places and objects. 
• Sarah Werner: Second-in-Command of Blue Company. Fun-loving and high-spirited, Sarah likes to help others and keep everyone happy. Her parents are alive, and her brother is a Robbie pilot for the Preservation Forces. She is an exceptional pilot, having defeated a Magnus single-handedly, and enjoys playing video games with friends in her spare time.

Guest Stars for this episode...

• Laurie Bach: Jason's girlfriend and Second-in-Command of Bravo Company. Loving, loyal, committed. She can get jealous like any other girl, but she doesn't generally hold a grudge or has much of a temper. She's genuinely happy most of the time, despite the Mayzor attacks, but she's not incapable of being sad. She's smart, quick-thinking, charismatic, and respected by the rest of her company mates and fellow pilots.
• Bala: One of the twins piloting the tandem-operated Mendicant-class SAInt for Bravo Company. He is outspoken, courageous, extroverted, comical, masculine, short-tempered, and blase.
• Dr Elizabeth Harris: Extremely kind, passionate about the lives and well being of the SAInt pilots, cheerful and optimistic at the worst of times, often a friend to all. She has taken over Marten's psychiatric treatment since his transfer to the Arx Jericho. 
• Captain Anastasia "AK-47" Kasherov: Operations director and SAInt Academy instructor, currently suspended pending a review into her recent command performance. Strict, direct, confident, not afraid to speak her mind, sympathetic, gives praise when its deserved, loyal, motherly, soft and caring underneath a harsh and strict demeanor.
• Dr Donald Johnson: Gruff, stern, intimidating, manipulative, badgering, prideful. Dr Johnson is an analytical psychologist and adjunct professor aboard the Arx Jericho and recently appointed acting Operations Director while AK-47 is on suspension. He's also known to the pilots of Blue and Alpha Company as a Mayzor collaborator.
• Joanne Klein: Current team leader of Alpha Company and Rick's girlfriend. Fiercely competitive and confrontational like Billy but less direct. She's more of a tease and usually not completely serious.
• Lieke: The second of the two twins piloting the tandem-operated Mendicant-class SAInt for Bravo Company. She is quiet, reserved, shy, introverted, relaxed, feminine, friendly, serious, and more prone to fear than her brother. She's currently competing for the affections of Strudel, who's been leading her and Ryoko on lately.
• Kazuhiro Masaki: Current leader of Bravo Company. Kazuhiro is the strong, silent and charismatic type. He used to be bullied, now defends against bullies. Used to openly take credit, now he doesn't. Lives with regrets and dark memories. He has a close friendship with his 2IC, Laurie, leading some to speculate how close they really are.
• Ryoko Mizushima: Current leader of Charlie Company. Contemplative, childish, flighty, easily depressed. She almost started dating Alex "Strudel" Struder last year, but he "stood her up" due to a SAInt mission in Brooklyn, NY. Since then, she's moved on but has fallen for him again due to his rising, celebrity fame since the Mayzor assault on the Arx Jericho.
• Douglas Reyes: Charlie Company's newest pilot and Jason's step-brother. Douglas has a superiority complex and looks down on all the pilots, especially his step-brother. He has clear psychotic tendencies and is clearly part of some secret agenda, either his own or his father's. He also strongly dislikes any shortened form of his given name.
• Alex 'Strudel' Struder: Strudel is extremely hyper the majority of the time and exponentially so when given sugar. He overhears things far too often and knows way more than he probably should. He had more sympathy for Billy than most of his other friends with the exception of Serena perhaps. Lately, Strudel has let the fame of being one of the SAInt pilots who defended the Jericho go to his head, and has become a bit of a 'Lothario', leading on both Ryoko and Lieke, after having broken up with Stephanie.
• Allen Werner: Sarah's brother. Allen left home as well, but didn't qualify for the SAInt Program and became a Robbie pilot for the Preservation Forces' army instead. Charming, lovable, nurturing, though quite different from his sister in that he's more serious and self-disciplined when it comes to studies, following orders, and not wasting time having fun. He's close with his sister and visits her from time to time, but he has his own life and duties to fulfill aboard the Arx Jericho.
• Commander Toshi Yamasuka: Cold but fair, goal-oriented, keeps her emotions in check (some would say she's emotionless), distant, intelligent, intuitive, a fierce negotiator, and a keen observer. The pilots of Blue and Alpha Company recently discovered that she is secretly the Grand General of the Mayzor herself.
• Stephanie Yuzuki: Bravo Company pilot, Marten's girlfriend and Strudel's ex. She's flexible, nimble, and can pack some power when she needs to into her swings during Kendo practice. Fiercely loyal to her friends but generally somber and serious in her demeanor. She loves fiercely and does absolutely anything for the ones she loves, but she grows jealous easily and overreacts if she's hurt. She's always been easily depressed.

Extras

• Annalise Lafayette: Age 15, from Martinique in the French Antilles. SAInt pilot, currently attached to Charlie Company.
• Javier Ontonado: Age 14, from Dallas, Texas. SAInt pilot, currently attached to Charlie Company.

Previously, on Tales of the Arx Jericho...
The leaders of the pilot companies gather in the Kendo clubroom, where Jason, Marten, Rick and Sarah brief them on what they've learned.
Sarah: 'We can't trust Command. The Commander herself is the Mayzor Grand General, and acting Operations Director Johnson is working for her.'
Jason: 'My step-father is one of the Generals too and my step-brother is...'
Cut to Douglas grinning creepily as he talks to Sarah and her cousin Opsie: "The Mayzor have secretly been breeding with humans to create half-Mayzor hybrids...and I'm one of them. I don't know who the others are but I'll know soon enough."
Rick: 'Everyone on Blue Company, except perhaps Sarah, is a Mayzor hybrid, including myself and Serena. My father is one of the Generals too, but we've learned that he's leading a rebellion against the Mayzor.'
Cut to Rick confronting cult leader Ora Cohen: 'I need to speak with my father, and you can make that happen.'
Rick and co in a white room which shifts to a scene from the moon's surface, where his father, Rafe, has gathered a small army of Mayzor to his cause. He turns to greet Rick: 'I knew you'd make contact eventually.'
Rick: 'I need to know the Mayzor's plan.'
Rafe: "When we say 'the faith is strong' we mean it literally gives us strength. The Mayzor are using humanity's faith in the SAInts to increase their own power. Eventually they'll become so powerful that no force in the universe can stop them."
Marten: "There must be some way to turn their own power against them."
Rafe: "Rick and Serena can potentially tap into the faith, if the effects of the AmBro51A serum can be reversed, but they'd risk being corrupted by it like the other Generals have been."
Jason: "What if we use the AmBro51A serum against the Mayzor themselves? Cut off their ability to use the faith?"
Rafe: "That could work, but you'll need some equipment and raw materials...the only place to get them would be from a Mayzor outpost."
He gestures to his gathered army: "We're preparing an assault on the Mayzor stronghold in the Aitken crater. Rick, your mother is there. Jason's too, I believe. And you'll be able to get the materials you need there. But this will be the greatest obstacle you've faced yet..."
Rick: "And we'll need to do it without command approval..."
And Now...
Secret Preparations
Over the next few weeks, AK-47 uses her connections to get more details on the process for creating the AmBro51A serum, but that won't help unless they can get the technology and raw materials they need from the Aitken crater. Any material they could have used from Rafe's old laboratory has been cleared out and destroyed since his being exposed as a Mayzor. She also finds surveillance photos confirming that Rick and Jason's mothers are indeed at that outpost, as well as her own daughter.
The pilots decide to use an upcoming mission as a cover to deploy for their own unsanctioned mission to the Aitken crater. Acting upon false intel fed to her due to Jason's actions in the previous episode, Commander Yamasuka has decided to deploy Blue, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie companies to a reported Mayzor stronghold on the north pole. Meanwhile, Delta and Echo Company will be deployed to provide aid in dealing with the food crisis on Earth.
In light of Douglas Reyes showing up uninvited to their previous attempt at a covert meeting between the pilot leaders, our heroes approach their fellow pilots via more subtle channels to get them involved in their unsanctioned mission to the Aitken crater. They will, however, leave out the details about the Mayzor using humanity's faith as a power source.
Joanne is already in on the plan, having been present for the psychic meeting with Rafe last session. Sarah contacts her brother Allen - who has recently recovered from the Mayzor plague - and he agrees to support them by piloting a dropship to evacuate human captives from the Aitken outpost.
Jason passes a note to Kazuhiro in the canteen asking him to meet him in the dorms, where Jason explains the situation and the plan for the upcoming mission. Kazuhiro is all for it, he doesn't like bullies, and bullies don't come much bigger than the Mayzor and their agents within the Arx command staff.
Ryoko challenges Rick and Marten to a tennis doubles match. She picks Strudel as her teammate, and he overhears some of their brief snatches of conversation about the upcoming mission during play. They win the match and Ryoko hears them out, agreeing to help. Strudel is annoyed that he hasn't been kept in the loop. Rick points out that Strudel has been distracted with spending time with different girls lately, which leads to him and Marten attempting an intervention to make the boy recognise the damage he's causing with his behaviour. Strudel stubbornly denies there's anything wrong with what he's been doing and threatens not to go on the mission. Rick chews him out for being so childish, but he shrugs it off and leaves.
Shortly thereafter, Marten receives a text warning them that Strudel is threatening to tell the commander and Dr Johnson what they're planning. Rick contacts Jason to get him to handle Strudel somehow, and Jason sends him a text to tell him that they need to talk. Strudel arrives at Jason's and Rick's dorm, hyper from eating out of a big bag of candy he has with him. Jason and Rick are both waiting for him, and get him to sit down and Rick takes the bag to get him to settle down. They explain everything they know about the Mayzor's plan, and - when they explain about the Mayzor feeding on humanity's faith - Strudel goes quiet and then weakly asks for his candy back. After Strudel's up to speed, he tells them that Jason's psychotic step-brother Douglas has been seen doing secret training with Dr Johnston and is probably going to join Blue Company for the upcoming mission. They'll need to think of a way to keep him out of the way.
Jason gets to work on hacking the Arx main computers to disrupt their tracking systems during the mission so they can't see where they've actually gone. Also, with the help of Dr Harris, he alters the results of Douglas' pre-mission physical to make it seem as though he has the Mayzor plague (first introduced in episode 2.03). As such, Douglas is pulled from the mission roster at Dr Harris' insistence, using her authority as chief medical officer to override Dr Johnson.

Trapper webs in space!
Spider Galay by fotonikflow.
Image used without permission.

Mosquitoes and Spiders
The SAInts launch and set course for the moon, but enroute they notice something on their scanners in the distance. There are four spider-like Trapper Locusts up weaving a web up ahead. Since there are four companies and only four of the Trappers, they decide to have each company take on one of the Trappers.
However, as they close in on the Trappers, rifts open in space and four more Trappers emerge with webs in place, enclosing the pilots in a cage of webbing. The new Trappers are also joined by twelve of a new class of Locusts - designated Siphoners - which look like a cross between mosquitoes and crane flies. The Trappers are also different this time around, with tougher armor and more firepower.
Joanne takes Alpha Company to deal with two of the Trappers on one side, Kazuhiro takes Bravo to deal with two on another side, and Charlie hangs back to provide cover while Rick takes Blue Company to deal with two more Trappers. Between the three attacking companies, the hope is that they'll be able to make enough of a dent in the webbing to free up more space for manoeuvring.
Esteban waits until he gets close to the two Siphoners in Alpha's path, engages his boosters at the last minute and dives in between them, spinning and slicing them with his twin 'Arc swords. One more starts circling around him, but Jason blasts its wings off with his newly invented particle rifle - barely missing Esteban - and Marten finishes it off with a blast from his levic flettette shotgun.
Blue Company bombards the three Siphoners ahead of them with fire, distracting them so that Rick can get into close quarters range. Rick recently upgraded from his twin 'Arc sword setup to an 'Arc Greatsword which gives his attacks extra reach, allowing him to catch the three Siphoners with one wide sweeping arc before boosting past them as they split apart and explode.
Charlie Company aren't faring so well, as two of the Siphoners have engaged Annalise, latching onto her SAInt and draining bio-electric energy from it. (In mechanical terms, this means the pilot losing ego.) One more Siphoner is moving in towards Annalise as well. Not only that, but the twins - Bala and Lieke - have got their Mendicant-class tandem SAInt caught in the web, with Trappers moving towards them. Kazuhiro and Lauren call the other Companies for support as they're currently preoccupied with the other Siphoners and Trappers. Jason, Marten, Stephanie and Strudel head off to rescue the twins, while Esteban and Joanne head over to support Annalise.
Rick blasts towards the third Siphoner headed for Annalise as it passed him, impaling it on his sword and flicking it off his blade so that it's debris joins that of the Siphoners he just dispatched. Esteban boots the other two Siphoners off of Annalise's SAInt and slices them to bits with his twin swords. Esteban brusquely brushes off her thanks, telling her to save it for after the mission before Joanne orders him to join her in dealing with the nearby Trappers.
Meanwhile, the rest of Alpha Company (plus Stephanie) reach the twins and draw the two Trappers' attention away from them with some covering fire. While Stephanie covers him, Marten boosts in close to one of the Trappers and blasts it repeatedly with his shotgun and it explodes, tearing apart some of the webbing. Strudel fires his twin particle SMGs at the webbing around the Mendicant to free the twins while Jason shoots off the other Trapper's limbs before letting Strudel finish it off with a head shot.
By now, Bravo Company have taken out a couple more Siphoners, but two more of them have latched onto Laurie, leading Jason to charge that way to engage them. Marten falls in behind him, along with Stephanie and Strudel. Jason rips one of the Siphoners off and shoots it in the head, while Strudel shoots the other one off Laurie's back with a volley of SMG fire that nearly grazes her SAInt as well.

Reference for Abyzou.
Mother Namtaru by michalivan.
Image used without permission.

Just then, another rift opens up near Ryoko, and a Magnus which appears as a muscular cross between a spider and a three headed human (like a dryder) with snakes for hair crawls out. A bulbous mass which passes for her belly carries the heads of SAInts that this Magnus - designated Abyzou - has defeated in battle. These heads still writhe and scream in madness, projecting their emotions psychically to drive pilots mad. As it crawls out of the rift, Abyzou grabs Ryoko's SAInt with its pincers and rips it apart instantly. Upon seeing this, Strudel screams a big 'NO' over the MetaTron and charges off towards the Magnus.
Jason and Rick intercept him and hold Strudel back from his potentially suicidal charge, even as Javier is struck by a blast of webbing from Abyzou that binds him to the web for the Trappers to converge on him. Rick orders Blue Company to fall in and prepare to engage the Magnus, suggesting to Joanne that some of Alpha Company support them while the rest assist Javier and mop up the rest of the Trappers. Joanne agrees, but wants to finish off the Trapper she and Esteban were already engaging first.
Esteban leads the charge, using his hover skates to grind along the electric charge in the web, doing an ollie over the Trapper and going upside down, chopping the Trapper as he passes over and then comes back down on his skates, continuing to grind the electrical field of the webbing towards the Trapper moving towards Javier. Joanne tells everyone that Ryoko might still be alive in her pod, ordering Jason and Marten to assist the assault against Abyzou and rescue her. Strudel doesn't even need to be ordered to join the assault.
Marten is worried that he's starting to hear the voice of his SAInt again, but soon realises it's a psychic assault from Abyzou's 'trophies' and tries to shrug it off. Strudel grabs Ryoko's pod and slips it into his SAInt's storage compartment while Blue Company, Jason and Marten lay down fire upon the Magnus, inflicting damage while keeping it distracted.
Esteban skates towards the next Trapper, skewering it on his swords and throwing it back on the webbing behind him as it explodes, breaking apart the web in his wake and freeing Javier. The Magnus fires out more webbing, trapping Kazuhiro against the web this time, as Esteban continues to grind along the web's electrical field and picks up speed.
Marten leads the assault against Abyzou, with most of the pilots fighting to retain their sanity against the myriad voices of the defeated SAInt pilots. Marten gets right in front of the monstrosity and blasts it continuously with his shotgun, breaking up the surface layers of armour. Jason shoots out the creature's many eyes with a series of very precise shots. Rick takes precise aim himself, splitting open Abyzou's 'womb' and causing dismembered SAInt heads and green amniotic fluid to spill out. She seems to deflate inward as the spilling heads disintegrate into silvery dust of nanite particles.
The energy core at Abyzou's centre flashes as it tumbles through zero-G towards the part of the web where Esteban is. It crashes into the web and explodes in a massive fireball that further breaks apart the webbing. There's a moment of horror as Joanne tries to raise Esteban on the MetaTron, before Esteban skates out from the fireball, resuming his grind along the outside of the web. He cuts through the web from the other side and slices the Trapper bearing down on Kazuhiro in half.
With Abyzou's defeat, the last of the Siphoners and Trappers are easily mopped up, with Javier and Kazuhiro both taking out the last of the Trappers in a vengeful barrage of fire. The command staff cheer them back aboard the Jericho, except for Commander Yamasuka who coldly orders them to continue on mission. Strudel checks on Ryoko's pod to find her vitals are very weak. Someone needs to transport her pod back to the Arx for emergency medical treatment, and Strudel volunteers for the task. He promises to rejoin them at Aitken as soon as he can. The remaining pilots continue on course towards Aitken, their collective mood grim but determined. 

Remains of the Trappers' webs.
Celestial Constellation by Widowmura.
Image used without permission.

TO BE CONTINUED...

---

Director Commentary 

This particular battle was significant for several reasons: tougher units, a new Locust class (the Siphoners), a Magnas appearing in the middle of freaking space, and a recurring extra (who, let's be honest, is more important to the fiction than some of the other extras) nearly torn to death by said Magnas. It's definitely getting real all right!

In the beginning of the session, Strudel was torn a new one by Rick and Marten for how he's been acting all of season 2, but when Ryoko faced peril and near-death, it seemed to have brought back the old Strudel which is a nice character shift. Maybe he'll finally come to his senses and grow up.

All in all, this episode was set up as a precursor to the Aitken battle. It proves that the Mayzor won't simply lie in wait for the SAInt and Prophet pilots to knock on their door with weapons blazing. The battle at the Aitken crater will prove to be the toughest yet, but if the Pilots can't even get there in one piece, how do they plan to save humanity yet again?

Stay tuned for the upcoming AP for Season 2, Episode 10: Charge!

And if you want to watch through the actual play session, you can do so here:

As always, thanks for reading. Until next time!

AP (ToaM) - Tales of the Arx Jericho - Season 2, Episode 08: Anagnorisis

Tears is back on! We took a slight hiatus, but we're back and ready for more anime drama tossed in with giant mecha, explosions, and the sheer drive to bring the Mayzor and their generals to their ends in order to save humanity once and for all.  

To celebrate, here's a guest post by +Robert Ruthven, aka lostzeppo. You can see the original post at his blog. Images added by me.


Starring...

• Rick Hunter: Team leader, Blue Company. Rick is the son of a human abductee and a renegade Mayzor general. Rick long ago swore revenge on the Mayzor for taking his mother, but the recent revelations about his father have resulted in Rick suffering an identity crisis, which he has been taking out violently on anyone who threatens those close to him. Well, more violently than normal, since Rick is hot-blooded most of the time anyway.
• Esteban Knowles: Alpha Company pilot. Esteban was orphaned by the Mayzor and raised as part of a child soldier program and has spent most of his life drilling and learning to take orders. As such, he finds it difficult to connect with his fellow pilots in normal social situations, and struggles when required to act on his own initiative.
• Marten Oiseleur: Alpha Company pilot. Formerly of Arx Bethlehem, Marten was transferred to Alpha Company aboard the Arx Jericho after recovering from an incident in which his SAInt was destroyed and he had to be resuscitated after the pilot pod was crushed. Since then, Marten has experienced dreams and auditory hallucinations in which the 'ghost' of his former SAInt speaks to him. Determined and brave, Marten tackles whatever challenges he faces with sheer force of will. 
• Jason Reyes: Alpha Company pilot. Technically gifted, but not the most physical or athletic of kids. Jason has never really got along with his career military step father despite wanting to because of this, and became a SAInt pilot in the hopes of making his stepfather proud of him. Things grew strained between them after his mother was abducted during the Mayzor assault on the Arx Galilee, which Jason partially blamed him for. He blames him even more now, having discovered that his step-father is in fact one of the Mayzor generals. Jason is quiet and reserved most times, although he does have a penchant for assigning nicknames to people, places and objects. 
• Sarah Werner: Second-in-Command of Blue Company. Fun-loving and high-spirited, Sarah likes to help others and keep everyone happy. Her parents are alive, and her brother is a Robbie pilot for the Preservation Forces. She is an exceptional pilot, having defeated a Magnus single-handedly, and enjoys playing video games with friends in her spare time.

Guest Stars for this episode... 

• Dr Elizabeth Harris: Extremely kind, passionate about the lives and well being of the SAInt pilots, cheerful and optimistic at the worst of times, often a friend to all. She has taken over Marten's psychiatric treatment since his transfer to the Arx Jericho.
• Billy Henderson: Former pilot and newly appointed head of security and combat instructor for the SAInt Academy. During his piloting days, Billy was a jerk and an ass, plain and simple. He was usually confrontational, prone to violence, and always throwing the first insult. He does have a hidden sensitive side though, which may be what attracted Rick's sister, Serena to him back when they were dating. Billy has matured and mellowed somewhat since retiring as a pilot, proving himself a trustworthy ally to the younger pilots in their secret investigation of the Mayzor conspiracy hidden within the Preservation Forces.
• Rafe Hunter: Rafe's father, a rogue Mayzor general who lived undercover as a neurological researcher, then went into hiding shortly after the invasion began.
• Captain Anastasia "AK-47" Kasherov: Operations director and SAInt Academy instructor, currently suspended pending a review into her recent command performance. Strict, direct, confident, not afraid to speak her mind, sympathetic, gives praise when its deserved, loyal, motherly, soft and caring underneath a harsh and strict demeanor.
• Joanne Klein: Current team leader of Alpha Company and Rick's girlfriend. Fiercely competitive and confrontational like Billy but less direct. She's more of a tease and usually not completely serious.
• Kazuhiro Masaki: Current leader of Bravo Company. Kazuhiro is the strong, silent and charismatic type. He used to be bullied, now defends against bullies. Used to openly take credit, now he doesn't. Lives with regrets and dark memories. He has a close friendship with his 2IC, Laurie, leading some to speculate how close they really are.
• Douglas Reyes: Charlie Company's newest pilot and Jason's step-brother. Douglas has a superiority complex and looks down on all the pilots, especially his step-brother. He has clear psychotic tendencies and is clearly part of some secret agenda, either his own or his father's. He also strongly dislikes any shortened form of his given name.
• Stephanie Yuzuki: Bravo Company pilot, Marten's girlfriend and Strudel's ex. She's flexible, nimble, and can pack some power when she needs to into her swings during Kendo practice. Fiercely loyal to her friends but generally somber and serious in her demeanor. She loves fiercely and does absolutely anything for the ones she loves, but she grows jealous easily and overreacts if she's hurt. She's always been easily depressed.
• Opsie Wessel: Blue company pilot and Sarah's cousin. Opsie loves being the center of attention and projecting her opinions onto everyone else. She loves to take charge and take credit for almost everything, especially when it makes her look good or benefits her. Nevertheless, she's loyal and grounded when shit hits the fan. Still, there are only a handful of people that actually consider her a friend. She enjoys a sibling-style rivalry with Sarah.
• Ora Cohen: Masked leader of the Followers of the Communion, a cult worshipping the Mayzor as gods.

Previously, on Tales of the Arx Jericho...


Intercut Marten and Esteban clashing with Kendo practice swords as we see the following events unfold...

"What have you heard?" Marten demands of Strudel, who just shrugs.

"Just that you hear voices that aren't there..."

Marten striking...

Marten clutching his head to shut out the voice as it says: "The faith is strong."
Esteban on the offensive, a flicker of emotion in his eyes...

Esteban conversing with a young Cuban woman at the festival: "I'm Esther. Esther Knowles."

Flash of Esteban's shocked expression before cutting to a computer screen displaying a family tree, identifying one 'Esther Knowles' as Esteban's biological sister.

Cut to Esteban knocking Marten to the ground.

"Is it true what they're saying, Marten?" Stephanie asks him outside the Kendo arena. Marten backs away from her and flees...

Cut to Jason at lunch with his father and step-brother. His father gestures to Douglas: "I'd like to introduce you to your step-brother, Douglas."

Cut to Jason in the hospital after a battle, as Douglas pinches his IV line and gives him a creepy smile: "I could snuff your life out right now as easily as I could a fly, little brother."

Sarah and Opsie stand together in front of Douglas, who grins at them, "The Mayzor have secretly been breeding with humans to create half-Mayzor hybrids...and I'm one of them. I don't know who the others are but I'll know soon enough."

Dr Johnston, Mayzor collaborator, smiles coldly despite being shoved against a wall by Rick."Commander Yamasuka is the Grand Mayzor General, the others I know of are Martin Reyes (Jason's stepfather), Brünhild Wessel (Opsie's mother), Dr. Kreuz (the CRC scientist who founded the Cloistered Research Council and was the father of the Preservation Forces and the SAInts), and Rafe Hunter (Rick's father). But Hunter is a traitor, he's trying to initiate a Mayzor civil war..."

Cut to Serena being abducted by masked figures, and then to Rick and the others fighting the same masked figures at a run-down warehouse as Johnson continues: "Commander Yamasuka, recruited Ora Cohen and the Followers of the Communion to find out Rafe's whereabouts through you and your sister, Rick. She even gifted Cohen with special, Legulus abilities to be able to see psychic projections and read the dreams of others."

"The war against the Mayzor invasion...it's all part of the Mayzor's own plan. You, Serena, the other hybrids..."

Flash cut to still frames of Rick, Serena, Opsie and Sarah.

"...you all have some part to play in the Commander's scheme. Even I don't know what that is."

Rick clicks the stop button on his Linc, ending the recording in front of the gathered pilot leaders in the Kendo clubroom, spreading out his arms: "And that's what we know."

Quiet laughter from the back of the room. Everybody turns to find Douglas Reyes standing there, giving them all a creepy smile.

Friday, April 2nd 2032

An Uninvited Guest
A chilly silence descends as everybody notices Douglas at the back of the room, eventually broken by Jason asking who invited him as he walks towards him. Douglas says he noticed they were all having a meeting and didn't want to be left out, since he's still confident that he'll be joining Blue Company soon. Jason retorts that he shouldn't be so sure Blue Company will even have him. Rick nods his agreement with this as he and Marten circle around to block Douglas' exit in a pincer formation. Douglas says Blue will have him, and asks Sarah if she told them what he said earlier, before explaining that he is a half-Mayzor hybrid like most of Blue Company is. Jason tells him they'd already guessed that much, so Douglas gloats further about his knowledge of the Mayzor's plans for the hybrids and what they'll become. When Jason taunts him to try and get him to elaborate he just says it's far too early for that, giving Opsie a creepy grin as he does.

At this point, Jason throws a punch at Douglas, with Rick and Marten choosing the same moment to make a grab for him. Douglas' eyes flash blue and, with superhuman reflexes, he deflects Jason's blow and dodges the other two boys so that they crash into one another. He then gut-punches Jason, dropping him to his knees, staring down at him and spitting on him before he heads to the door. He warns them not to mess with him, before once again declaring that he will be joining Blue Company and they will follow him, then walks out.

AK-47 and Dr Harris go over to check on them, while Billy grabs his stun baton and moves to chase Douglas down. Rick warns him about Douglas' inhuman reflexes, but Marten points out that he's probably on his way to tell the wrong people what they were discussing. Rick growls in frustration before heading out after Billy, along with Marten, Jason and Sarah.

They catch up to Billy just in time to see him run up behind Douglas, who stops for a second before turning around and hitting Billy with a roundhouse kick. He then grabs Billy's baton and whacks him in the back of the neck with it, before turning to stare at the rest of them menacingly.

Joanne comes out after them, carrying two practice swords, tossing one to Rick and keeping the other for herself. Marten tries to talk Douglas down and convince him that he's not helping his case any, and maybe they can find some common ground. Sarah apologises for the boys' gung-ho behaviour. Then Opsie joins them and berates Douglas, demanding to know why he was looking at her so smugly earlier and what he means by 'what they'll become'. Rick follows up by telling Douglas that he doesn't know as much as he thinks, that they're nothing like him. Serena has joined them this point (along with the other pilots) and agrees with Rick.

The light goes out in Douglas' eyes, he slips the baton through his belt and stares at Rick, head bowed as he says 'we'll see about that'. He assures them that he won't tell anyone what he overheard. It doesn't matter since he'll be leading Blue Company soon anyway. He then turns and walks away with a backhanded wave. Rick is so angry that he grips his training sword tight enough to crack the hilt.

The Next Plague
Sarah snaps Rick out of it with a smack to the back of the head, telling him and the other boys off for mostly seeming to want to smack things with sticks lately. As they go to check on Billy, Marten starts hearing the voice of his old SAInt repeating over and over that 'the faith is strong', getting louder and louder. He excuses himself to go use the restroom, but Stephanie catches on that something's wrong and goes after him.

Marten doesn't want to talk to anyone in this state, least of all Stephanie, so he tries to outrun her. She catches up to him as he attempts to lock himself in a vacant classroom. Pushing inside the room, she demands to know what's wrong and why he's avoiding her. Marten tells her he feels like he screwed everything up earlier by not being able to deal with Strudel and letting Esteban rile him up. Plus, with Opsie spreading the story about his mental disorder, he just feels like everything is falling apart.

He tells her all about the voices and fears he isn't cut out to be with her. Stephanie surprises him by pulling him into a hug, telling him she's not mad at him, and calms him down. She suggests that, since he seems to hear the voices most around people like Douglas and the other hybrids, perhaps there's more to it and it's worth talking to Rick and the others about it.

Back at the Kendo clubroom, Billy is still recovering from his injuries and Rick rubs where Sarah hit him on the head, muttering a complaint. She maintains that he deserved it, and that he needs to rein in his current trend towards hitting people first and asking questions later. Rick protests that Douglas is dangerous, but Sarah feels they don't know his full story and should try to work that out first.

On that note, Opsie decides she wants to go talk to Douglas and try to find out the meaning behind his weird looks at her, and what he meant about what they'd become. Sarah decides to go along with her as backup. The two girls catch up to Douglas in the corridors and press him for more information, but he feels he's said too much already. They try to convince him he can open up to them, since they've been the least confrontational towards him, but he just shakes his head and says it's too soon.

He implies that the Mayzor have big plans for the hybrids, and that Sarah, Rick and Serena might not reach the same 'heights' as he and Opsie will; Sarah isn't completely like them, and he doesn't say why for Rick and Serena but it's probably because of their treatment with AmBro51A. He refuses to elaborate further, suggesting Dr Johnson might tell them more before walking off, leaving them with more questions than answers.

In the clubroom, as Jason returns from picking up the prototype lightning gun he's been tinkering with, everyone receives an urgent news bulletin on their Lincs. Food all across the Earth is starting to rot inexplicably, crops are starting to wither and die, and livestock are contracting deadly diseases. The phenomenon is causing widespread panic, and people are joining in mass prayer at various religious services.

Jason notes that Ora Cohen, leader of the Followers of the Communion, did warn about the coming of the 'next plague' and suggests they go talk to her to find out what she knows. Rick wearily notes that he needs to talk to Cohen about contacting his father anyway. AK-47, Harris and Billy leave to go and find out more about what's going on. Before they go, Rick sends a copy of his conversation with Dr Johnson to AK-47's Linc, trusting her to do the right thing with it.

Resignedly, Rick asks who else wants to go pay Cohen and the Followers a visit. Jason just cocks his lightning gun in response and Marten, Esteban, Joanne and Serena all decide to go too. Rick looks ready to argue against Serena going, but she assures him that it'll be fine and if there's a chance of finding out about their father's whereabouts then she wants to be there. With Sarah's lecture about resorting to violence still fresh in his mind, Rick leaves his kendo stick on the table, but doesn't argue when Joanne picks it up - along with her own practice sword - before they head out.

The Unfortunate Truth

Depiction of Ora Cohen.
Dragon Priest by Vol-demort.
Image used without permission.

On their way, they find the festival is still going on, but the atmosphere is more subdued because of the news from Earth. Those who were indulging at the food stalls have stopped and are looking guilty. The Faithful, who organised the festival in the first place, are leading people in prayer for the 'saints' to help them. Rick puts up the hood on his head in discomfort at hearing prayers being made in his own name.

They arrive at the warehouse used by the Followers as their 'church', finding the doors wide open. They head inside to find Ora Cohen on stage, delivering a sermon to the other mask-clad Followers, declaring that the prophesied plague has arrived and that they must pray to the Mayzor to reverse it; just as they solved the problem of the world's diminishing resources when they first appeared on Earth as the Legulus. She tells them that the plague is the Mayzor's punishment because their faith in them has been waning, and that they must strengthen their faith or the Mayzor will punish them further.

Rick interrupts the sermon with sarcastic clapping, drawing all of the Followers' attention. Ora greets him and Serena, announcing that one of the 'princes' of the Mayzor and his 'princess' have graced them with their presence, and welcomes them as guests. Rick observes that Ora's part in the plan seems to be to make people turn back to the Mayzor and submit to their rule out of fear of retribution. Ora reiterates the points of her sermon, leading both Jason and Rick to rebuke her. Jason says that 'faith doesn't come at the butt of a gun' and Rick denounces Ora's religion as little more than a protection racket. Marten agrees, if the Mayzor actually cared about humanity they'd help them, not punish and destroy. Ora counters by asking if Marten thinks all gods are just. Marten doesn't have an answer for that, but Rick retorts that the Mayzor are not gods.

Ora disagrees, repeating her sermon again, this time using the phrase 'the faith is strong' which catches both Rick and Marten's attention since they've both heard that a few times before. When Marten asks why she keeps saying that, she tells them it's something the Grand General of the Mayzor has said time and time again. She knows they're probably aware of the Grand General's identity, Commander Yamasuka herself, from having stolen her Linc during their last encounter. She asks for it back, so Rick gets it from Esteban and tosses it back to her. They've got all the information they could out of it anyway. She then asks Rick why he and his friends have come. Rick tells her that since both of them are looking for his father, he thought they could help each other out.

Ora suspected this was their reason for coming, and leads them down into the basement, to the blank white room where Serena was held last time. Rick and Serena both get a similar vibe from the room to that of the Zen garden the Prophet pilots use for their mental training exercises. Rick surprises Ora with his foreknowledge that she has been gifted with a psychic talent by Commander Yamasuka, but remains silent about the source of his knowledge.

She elaborates on her talent, telling them she is able to see into peoples' dreams and memories. She'll use this ability to help Rick attempt to contact his father. The first step is to guide Rick through his most recent dreams and memories to trace the source of Rafe's last psychic contact with him. As soon as Rick is ready, she places her hands on his head and starts probing his mind.

Among the most recent dreams and nightmares that surface in her probing, the most prominent is one of Rick and Serena standing on the surface of the moon without spacesuits, the two of them standing on a distinct border between the light and dark sides. They both cling to each other, holding each others arms tightly to keep each other firmly anchored between the two sides. Rick also sees the dream of him looking into a mirror and seeing himself with the pale skin and silver hair of a Mayzor.

They soon reach the memory of his conversation with Rafe in the Arx's garden park, zooming into Rafe's eyes and down a dark tunnel, coming out on the surface of the moon. There, they find Rafe with a swarm of Locusts and a couple of Magnas gathered around, rallying them to him against the other generals in a fight to restore balance to their race. Ora mutters in satisfaction: 'Found you.'

The vision fades and Ora tells Rick that he must now concentrate and morph the room they're in to match Rafe's location the same way they do in their visualisation exercises in the Zen garden. Serena links minds with him to help out, and they telepathically reach out to Opsie for her help as well.

The rest of the group are stunned as the room shifts to the same scene on the moon, finding the huge Magnas and Locusts towering over them and Rafe standing with his back to them. The Mayzor all turn their gazes on Rick and company, and then Rafe turns to face Rick. He doesn't seem surprised, but rather relieved to see his son. He notes the others' presence but focuses on Rick and Serena. He tells them that this army is the rebellion he has gathered against the Mayzor.

Not really Rafe or the Mayzor but could be!
Armored core wallpaper by uberdspy.
Image used without permission.

While everyone else is distracted by this family reunion, Jason notices Ora Cohen has her Linc in her hands and sees her type something into it before slipping it back into her pocket. Jason gets out his own Linc to hack hers, finding that she has sent Rafe's location to Commander Yamasuka. He edits the message to alter the coordinates to indicate the Peary crater on the opposite side of the moon, then wipes the credit from her phone just to be safe.

Meanwhile, Rick tells his father he's not sure how long they have to talk and that he needs to know the Mayzor's plan. Rafe agrees that it's time they knew the truth and explains that the Mayzor do not want to eradicate humanity, but they are instead using them to power and evolve themselves.

When the Legulus were on Earth, they discovered that they could draw power from humanity's faith; the reason they say the faith is strong is because it literally gives them strength. When they revealed themselves and offered their aid to humanity, they were praised as saviours and that gave them some strength. They began to experiment with this effect, even after their exodus from Earth, and became corrupted by it.

They abduct people to use their faith that they will be rescued and saved to draw power from that. They laid waste to the Holy Lands in their initial invasion to diminish faith in the world's major religions, because they don't draw power from faith which isn't connected to them somehow. They had one of their generals, Dr Cruix, go undercover and provide humanity with the means to fight back, which culminated in the creation of the SAInts: Mayzor technology controlled by human pilots. Because the SAInts are tied to humanity as well as the Mayzor, humanity's faith in their ability to defeat the Mayzor actually generates more faith for them to draw upon.

The whole Mayzor invasion campaign is essentially a long con to build up the Mayzor's power. The longer this cycle goes on the more powerful the Mayzor will become until eventually they'll no longer need humanity and no force in the universe will be able to oppose them. Rick is staggered by this revelation, as there seems to be no way humanity can possibly win if what Rafe says is the truth. The only way, Rafe agrees, would be to destroy humanity's faith; stop fighting, stop making everyone believe in them and their ability to save mankind from the Mayzor. But even if they did that, the Mayzor would still have enough energy leftover to devastate Earth.

Marten protests that they've done so much to turn the Mayzor's weapons against them and that there must be a way to take that further. This gives Rick an idea, and he asks if there's any way they can harness humanity's faith in them to their own advantage. Rafe says it's possible for Rick and the rest of Blue Company - due to their half-Mayzor DNA - to draw upon the faith. Rick and Serena have been treated with AmBro51A to suppress that ability, but there is a way to reverse the process. However, in using the faith to empower themselves, they would risk being corrupted by it just like the other Generals. The only reason Rafe has been able to resist corruption himself is because his love for his family has given him enough of a tie to humanity to resist it.

Jason proposes another option: they could use the AmBro51A serum against the Mayzor Generals themselves, cutting them off from their power. Rafe agrees that it's possible, but as long as the Generals are united and strong it will be difficult to get close enough to use the serum. Jason remarks that five years ago he'd have said piloting giant robots on the moon was impossible too, so it's worth a shot.

Rick suggests preparing a means of reversing the serum for himself and Blue Company anyway, just in case they need an extra edge against the Generals. Rafe says he can help them do that but Jason will need to help in setting it up and they'll need to requisition Mayzor technology for it which can only be used by the Mayzor or those with Mayzor DNA. Unfortunately, the only place they'll be able to get such materials from is from one of their major outposts. Rafe promises to support the SAInt pilots with his army whatever course they decide to take and gives them a means of distinguishing the rebel units from the main force.

Before their connection is lost, Rick asks Rafe if he know where his mother is. He does: she's being held in an outpost in the Aitken crater, which is the equivalent of a fortified city and the next major stronghold they'll need to storm to reach the heart of Tartarus, the Mayzor's main base of operations. Rafe bids them good luck and farewell before the scene dissolves, and they find themselves back in the white room.

Rick turns to Ora Cohen, who is herself in shock at Rafe's revelations, and angrily asks if she will still follow the Mayzor, commenting that her 'gods' are nothing but parasites. Jason backs him up by referring to her faith as a 'happy meal' for the Mayzor. Cohen is unable to respond, needing time to process what she has discovered. Rick and the others leave her alone in the white room, looking completely lost.


TO BE CONTINUED...

Marten: We've got to pull everyone together for this mission...
Strudel: How is this the first I'm hearing about all this stuff?
Rick: You're threatening to skip this mission because you're in a childish strop?
Jason: Sit down and listen, because this is big bombshell type stuff, and we need you on board.
Esteban: I'm getting some strange readings, multiple contacts appearing...
Strudel: NOOOOOOOOO!

NEXT EPISODE: 'Cage Match'

---

Director's Commentary

Thanks for reading, everyone! This episode was a lot of fun, especially as a Director, because I finally got to reveal the big, Mayzor plan. The PCs finally have all the pieces on the table, but what they choose to do with that knowledge is especially awesome. I honestly didn't expect that they'd try to form an anti-AmBrO51A serum to counteract the Mayzor, but it makes sense in the fiction, so we're rolling with it. 

The PCs still have a long way to go for such a daring and drawn out plan. First thing's first, though. They need to get to the Aitken crater and survive long enough to rescue the captives, gather what materials they need to produce the anti-serum, and get back to the Arx to move forward with their plan.

All in all, it won't be easy.

Stay tuned for a recap of Episode 09: Cage Match, which Robert already posted on his blog, and a fresh, upcoming AP for Episode 10: Charge.


You can also check out the live play session for Episode 08: Anagnorisis here:

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

AP (ToaM) - Tales of the Arx Jericho - Season 2, Episode 07: Faith Day

+Robert Ruthven, one of the players in the Tears of a Machine game I'm running wrote up a fantastic AP on his blog and has given me permission to repost it here as a guest post.

I haven't been posting a lot of APs for season 2, but there's a detailed recap of episode 01 and a summary of episodes 02-06 you can check out if you haven't already.

---

Starring...

• Rick Hunter: Team leader, Blue Company. Rick is the son of a human abductee and a renegade Mayzor general. Rick long ago swore revenge on the Mayzor for taking his mother, but the recent revelations about his father have resulted in Rick suffering an identity crisis, which he has been taking out violently on anyone who threatens those close to him. Well, more violently than normal, since Rick is hot-blooded most of the time anyway.

• Esteban Knowles: Alpha Company pilot. Esteban was orphaned by the Mayzor and raised as part of a child soldier program and has spent most of his life drilling and learning to take orders. As such, he finds it difficult to connect with his fellow pilots in normal social situations, and struggles when required to act on his own initiative.

• Marten Oiseleur: Alpha Company pilot. Formerly of Arx Bethlehem, Marten was transferred to Alpha Company aboard the Arx Jericho after recovering from an incident in which his SAInt was destroyed and he had to be resuscitated after the pilot pod was crushed. Since then, Marten has experienced dreams and auditory hallucinations in which the 'ghost' of his former SAInt speaks to him. Determined and brave, Marten tackles whatever challenges he faces with sheer force of will. 

• Jason Reyes: Alpha Company pilot. Technically gifted, but not the most physical or athletic of kids. Jason has never really got along with his career military step father despite wanting to because of this, and became a SAiNT pilot in the hopes of making his stepfather proud of him. Things grew strained between them after his mother was abducted during the Mayzor assault on the Arx Galilee, which Jason partially blamed him for. He blames him even more now, having discovered that his step-father is in fact one of the Mayzor generals. Jason is quiet and reserved most times, although he does have a penchant for assigning nicknames to people, places and objects. 

• Sarah Werner: Second-in-Command of Blue Company. Fun-loving and high-spirited, Sarah likes to help others and keep everyone happy. Her parents are alive, and her brother is a Robbie pilot for the Preservation Forces. She is an exceptional pilot, having defeated a Magnus single-handedly, and enjoys playing video games with friends in her spare time.

Guest Stars for this episode...

• Laurie Bach: Jason's girlfriend and Second-in-Command of Bravo Company. Loving, loyal, committed. She can get jealous like any other girl, but she doesn't generally hold a grudge or has much of a temper. She's genuinely happy most of the time, despite the Mayzor attacks, but she's not incapable of being sad. She's smart, quick-thinking, charismatic, and respected by the rest of her company mates and fellow pilots. 

• Dr Elizabeth Harris: Extremely kind, passionate about the lives and well being of the SAInt pilots, cheerful and optimistic at the worst of times, often a friend to all. She has taken over Marten's psychiatric treatment since his transfer to the Arx Jericho.

• Billy Henderson: Former pilot and newly appointed head of security and combat instructor for the SAInt Academy. During his piloting days, Billy was a jerk and an ass, plain and simple. He was usually confrontational, prone to violence, and always throwing the first insult. He does have a hidden sensitive side though, which may be what attracted Rick's sister, Serena to him back when they were dating. Billy has matured and mellowed somewhat since retiring as a pilot, proving himself a trustworthy ally to the younger pilots in their secret investigation of the Mayzor conspiracy hidden within the Preservation Forces.

• Captain Anastasia "AK-47" Kasherov: Operations director and SAInt Academy instructor, currently suspended pending a review into her recent command performance. Strict, direct, confident, not afraid to speak her mind, sympathetic, gives praise when its deserved, loyal, motherly, soft and caring underneath a harsh and strict demeanor.

• Joanne Klein: Current team leader of Alpha Company and Rick's girlfriend. Fiercely competitive and confrontational like Billy but less direct. She's more of a tease and usually not completely serious.

• Lieke: One of two twins piloting the tandem-operated Mendicant-class SAInt for Bravo Company. She is quiet, reserved, shy, introverted, relaxed, feminine, friendly, serious, and more prone to fear than her brother. She's currently competing for the affections of Strudel, who's been leading her and Ryoko on lately. 

• Kazuhiro Masaki: Current leader of Bravo Company. Kazuhiro is the strong, silent and charismatic type. He used to be bullied, now defends against bullies. Used to openly take credit, now he doesn't. Lives with regrets and dark memories. He has a close friendship with his 2IC, Laurie, leading some to speculate how close they really are. 

• Ryoko Mizushima: Current leader of Charlie Company. Contemplative, childish, flighty, easily depressed. 

• Douglas Reyes: Charlie Company's newest pilot and Jason's step-brother. Douglas has a superiority complex and looks down on all the pilots, especially his step-brother. He has clear psychotic tendencies and is clearly part of some secret agenda, either his own or his father's. He also strongly dislikes any shortened form of his given name.

• Alex "Strudel" Struder: Strudel is extremely hyper the majority of the time and exponentially so when given sugar. He overhears things far too often and knows way more than he probably should. He had more sympathy for Billy than most of his other friends with the exception of Serena perhaps. Lately, Strudel has let the fame of being one of the SAInt pilots who defended the Jericho go to his head, and has become a bit of a 'Lothario', leading on both Ryoko and Lieke, after having broken up with Stephanie.

• Stephanie Yuzuki: Bravo Company pilot, Marten's girlfriend and Strudel's ex. She's flexible, nimble, and can pack some power when she needs to into her swings during Kendo practice. Fiercely loyal to her friends but generally somber and serious in her demeanor. She loves fiercely and does absolutely anything for the ones she loves, but she grows jealous easily and overreacts if she's hurt. She's always been easily depressed.

• Opsie Wessel: Blue company pilot and Sarah's cousin. Opsie loves being the center of attention and projecting her opinions onto everyone else. She loves to take charge and take credit for almost everything, especially when it makes her look good or benefits her. Nevertheless, she's loyal and grounded when shit hits the fan. Still, there are only a handful of people that actually consider her a friend. She enjoys a sibling-style rivalry with Sarah.

Previously, on Tales of the Arx Jericho...

Rick shoves the Mayzor collaborator, Dr Johnson, against a wall and forces him to spill what he knows about the Mayzor plans: "Commander Yamasuka is the Grand Mayzor General, the others I know of are Martin Reyes (Jason's stepfather), Brünhild Wessel (Opsie's mother), Dr. Kreuz (the CRC scientist who founded the Cloistered Research Council and was the father of the Preservation Forces and the SAInts), and Rafe Hunter (Rick's father). But Hunter is a traitor, he's trying to initiate a Mayzor civil war." 

Cut to Serena being abducted by masked figures, and then to Rick and the others fighting the same masked figures at a run-down warehouse as Johnson continues: "Commander Yamasuka, recruited Ora Cohen and the Followers of the Communion to find out Rafe's whereabouts through you and your sister, Rick. She even gifted Cohen with special, Legulus abilities to be able to see psychic projections and read the dreams of others."

"Why?" Rick demands, "Why did they make hybrids like Serena and me?"

Cut to Rick, seeing his reflection in a dream, with the pale skin and silver hair of the Mayzor. 

Cut to Jason at lunch with his father and step-brother. His father gestures to Douglas: "I'd like to introduce you to your step-brother, Douglas."

"Hi Doug." Jason greets him.

"It's Douglas." Douglas coldly replies.

Cut to Jason's pod being ejected from his SAInt on the moon, then to him in the hospital as Douglas pinches his IV line and gives him a creepy smile: "I could snuff your life out right now as easily as I could a fly, little brother."

Esteban appears behind Douglas and slams him into a nearby table. Cut to Douglas backing out of the room, still grinning: "I'll see you later, brother."

Brief flashes of the SAInts clashing with Mayzor units in previous battles, as we hear Rick continuing his interrogation of Dr Johnson: "If Dr Kreuz is one of the Mayzor, then the technology they use to fight us came from the Mayzor, what's the point of it all? What are they after?"

Dr Johnson smirks: "They've been playing humanity from the start. It's all part of a grander scheme, an experiment to supply the Mayzor with as much power as possible."

"But how?"

Rick shakes Johnson, who shakes his head: "I don't know, the Commander hasn't shared the whole plan with me."

Rick pulls out his Linc and presses the stop button in his recorder app, giving Johnson a cold smile as the man regards the device with growing horror: "Now we have proof."

Cut to Rick walking away with Sarah and Serena as Johnson shouts after him: "You can't stop it, Hunter! No matter what you do, the Mayzor have a plan, the will always have a plan!"

His voice fades in an echo as the screen goes to black...


Two weeks ago...

The Names of the Lost 
Rick and Serena check the list of returnees rescued from the Mayzor outpost in the Tsander crater, but do not find their mother's name on it. Serena consoles her brother, telling him that they at least know rescuing people from the Mayzor is possible now. She then wonders if there's any way they might be able to find out which outpost she's being held at, and whether their father would know. Rick points out that they have no way of contacting Rafe, but Serena wonders if Ora Cohen might be able to help them with the 'psychic gifts' that Dr Johnson mentioned her having been given. Rick is hesitant about the idea, since Cohen already kidnapped Serena once before to contact Rafe through them, but agrees it might be worth a shot.

Jason shows up to check the list too, searching for his own mother. He doesn't find her name on the list, but he does notice the name 'Esther Knowles', which he notes is the same surname as their fellow pilot Esteban...


Friday, April 2nd 2032

A Storm of Emotions
To celebrate the pilots' first successful rescue of human captives from the Mayzor, the Faithful - a religious group praising the SAInt pilots as reincarnations of actual saints - organise an event celebrating Earth's various different cultures and faiths which they call Faith Day. The whole Arx is decked out with banners, flags, Chinese lanterns and all sorts of varied decorations. There are lots of different booths and shows, offering food and entertainment.

The pilots and their classmates are given the day off to join in the festivities. Jason is at the Australian food stall, munching on a kangaroo burger when Strudel shows up with Lieke on one arm and Ryoko on the other, both of them competing for his affections while he looks very pleased with himself. Getting away from them briefly, he asks Jason for advice on how to deal with both of them demanding his attention all the time. Jason coolly suggests he pick one, telling him to stop leading the girls on. Marten is nearby with Strudel's ex-girlfriend Stephanie and notices her jealous looks toward the boy. He decides to speak his own mind and talks to Strudel about karma, indicating that his behavior will come back to bite him later if he isn't careful. Strudel retorts that at least he doesn't hear voices in his head, further infuriating Marten. He asks where Strudel heard this and the younger pilot says Opsie told him. Marten and Stephanie both in a stormy mood. Jason warns Strudel that he's turning into an even bigger jerk than Billy used to be, and that if he's not careful he'll look up from SpaceBook one day to find he has no real friends left. Strudel just laughs him off and moonwalks back to Lieke and Ryoko.

Meanwhile, Marten tries to sooth Stephanie's jealous rage and tells her that the Strudel he's heard about from the other pilots - the one that she dated - is gone, and whoever he is now is something else entirely. She agrees, but wishes she could find some way to teach him a lesson. Marten tries to distract her by steering her towards the Kendo club's demonstration tent in the garden area, but that gives her an idea on how to get back at Strudel: she'll challenge him to a Kendo match and wipe the floor with him in front of his 'floozies'. Marten decides to go along with this, and agrees to issue the challenge to Strudel for her, while she goes off to spread the word and prepare for the match.

Before they part ways to do so, they run into Esteban, who wants to do some one-on-one training with Marten to increase their efficiency in the field, since they've worked together regularly in combat. He wants to do the training tomorrow, but Stephanie protests that tomorrow is a Saturday. Esteban fails to see the problem, however. Stephanie tries to convince him to do a Kendo match with Marten instead, but Esteban is hesitant to actually fight Marten, as he wouldn't want to humiliate him in public. This irritates both Marten and Stephanie, who both grow insistent upon the match and get Esteban to agree to meet up at the Kendo tent later.

Elsewhere, Sarah is playing a new VR edition of her favourite game (Shinobi Knights) with Raspberry at the gaming booths, when AK-47 passes by in civilian attire and spots them. She asks about the game and listens to Sarah gush about it for a bit before deciding she'd like to give it a try. Sarah tries to start her off with a game against Raspberry, but AK-47 encourages Sarah to impress her with her skills..which she fails to do, suffering embarrassing defeat due to AK-47's beginner's luck and her own inexperience with the VR edition. Raspberry is doubled over with laughter at Sarah getting schooled not only by a newbie, but by their own teacher. Sarah pleads to make it best out of three.

Jason finishes his burger and spots his girlfriend Laurie walking around the booths with her team's leader, Kazuhiro, and goes over to join them. They discuss Bravo Company's recent battle in San Francisco, against a Magnus that landed on Alcatraz island, and Laurie complains about how the Preservation Forces have been limiting the number of pilots sent on moon missions since they brought the plague back from their initial recon. She says she isn't jealous, but she does miss going into space a lot. Jason assures her that eventually they'll push the Mayzor back enough that they'll be fighting them primarily in space but Kazuhiro is less optimistic, feeling they might be fighting a losing battle. During the conversation, Jason lets slip that there's a lot more going on behind the scenes, leading Laurie to ask what he knows that they don't. He doesn't want to say anything there and then, noticing his step-brother Douglas passing by, and tells them he'll explain later, after he's discussed things with the others (meaning Rick, Sarah and the rest of the pilots who are in the know). As he leaves, he notices Douglas talking to Opsie and mutters: 'He's welcome to her.'

Elsewhere, Rick and Joanne have taken a break from their responsibilities at the Kendo tent to enjoy some of the food available from the booths. Rick has agreed to try snail after having convinced Joanne to try out haggis, which almost made her throw up. While Rick is chewing on snail, Stephanie shows up with a mischevious grin on her face which puts him on edge until he realises he isn't the target of the planned revenge it portends. He and Joanne both approve of her plan to teach Strudel a lesson, but Rick is taken aback to hear about Esteban and Marten's match. 

After Stephanie leaves to tell Sarah, Jason shows up and tells Rick about his conversation with Laurie and Kazuhiro, suggesting it's time they got the leaders of all the companies together to have 'the talk'. Rick says they can arrange to have everybody meet in the Kendo clubroom later, after Stephanie's match against Strudel. Jason decides to pretend no knowledge of Stephanie's plans, but secretly hopes somebody posts it on YouTube.

Over at the games area, Sarah has just suffered a third humiliating defeat at VR Shinobi Knights against AK-47 when Stephanie shows up to tell her about the Kendo match. Sarah agrees to come along, and AK-47 says she'd like to join them as she is curious to see the pilots practicing combat outside of their SAInts.

Esteban visits the Cuban booth, where he meets a 17-year-old Cuban girl with a worn look about her. She seems to look at him curiously, before asking his advice on what to try, since she hasn't visited Cuba in a while and isn't sure what she'd like. Esteban soon learns that she is one of the returnees from the Tsander outpost and has a vafue flashback to his childhood when she introduces herself as Esther Knowles. He doesn't remember much about his life before the orphanage where he grew up, but he vaguely recalls having a sibling. He notes a physical resemblance to himself and backs away in shock, escusing himself and hurrying away. Esteban goes on his Linc to check his family history and finds that his parents had two other, older children: Anita Knowles (deceased) and Esther Knowles.


'Friendly' Sparring
Esteban is still reeling from this discovery when he finds himself at the Kendo tent and runs into Marten, who's ready and raring to go. Esteban tries to forfeit because he doesn't think he's in the right frame of mind, but Stephanie stirs things up by implying that Marten beat him without even having to do anything. Marten tries to call it off anyway, but Esteban yells 'no' several times, drawing looks from the crowd as he says more quietly that he will go ahead with the match.

As the two of them prepare for the match they notice a lot of whispering and stares from the crowd. Rick and Joanne - who are already back to help out at the tent - notice the commotion, and the other pilots soon show up to watch the match. Sarah asks what all the buzz is about, and someone from the crowd mentions Esteban flipping out and that he's about to fight 'the looney guy'. She learns about the rumours Opsie has been spreading about Marten and share this with Rick, Joanne and Stephanie. When Stephanie realises this is what all the whispering is about she yells at the crowd to shut up.

The match begins and Esteban starts off on the defensive, not really focused on the fight due to his confused state of mind, but soon snaps out of it and reflexively cracks Marten on the head with his practice sword. Marten taunts him by suggesting Esteban was just saying he wasn't in the mood to catch him off guard. Esteban gets flustered while trying to deny this and presses the attack, flanking Marten and whacking him in the back.

Marten is knocked to the ground and spots Dr Harris in the crowd, which makes him uncomfortable. He pushes himself back up and evades Esteban's attacks with nimble footwork. The two of them circle each other, with Esteban taunting Marten this time by saying he thought the other boy wanted a proper fight. Marten tries to pull the same flanking manuever on Esteban, and the two of them keep neatly dodging and weaving past each others strikes. Marten continues smack talking Esteban until the boy soldier has had enough and punches Marten in the face.

Joanne calls foul, Esteban apologises, telling Marten that he has trouble keeping his emotions in check where Marten is involved. Marten suggests they're both a bit too worked up and concedes the match. Stephanie objects to Marten giving up, despite his protests that he's simply acknowledging his teammate's skill. When he tries to convince her to let it go, she tells him she's not just upset about Esteban talking smack about him earlier, but also about the rumours that are going around and asks if they're true. Marten looks from Stephanie to Esteban, then back, and flees the scene. She doesn't try to chase after him, but the fight has gone out of her. She wonders where Strudel is, and Rick asks if he was issued the challenge, leading her to guess that Marten must not have approached him about it. She stomps off, with Joanne running after her and Rick trailing along behind, deciding to stay out of it because they probably need some 'girl talk'. 

Speaking of girl talk, Sarah texts Opsie and asks to meet at the German booth, wanting to talk to the girl about the rumours she's been spreading and find out where she heard it from.

Esteban and Dr Harris catch up to Marten, who tries to outpace them but eventually just deflates and stops in the middle of a corridor. Esteban reaches him and apologises again, explaining that the reason he has trouble when he's around Marten is that he thinks Marten gets too emotionally involved in things and asks why he can't seem to keep his feelings under control. Marten retorts that the reason he has such strong emotional responses is that it's the only way he can shut out the voices he hears, because the pills don't help enough. With that, Marten heads off with Dr Harris for an emergency session to discuss everything that's happened today.

Feeling like a complete failure in his handling of both Marten and the revelation about his long-lost sister, Esteban seeks out counsel from Billy. He finds the head of security in one of the Arx's streets, stuffing his face from a plateful of pasta. Billy is taken aback by the personal nature of Esteban's request for advice and freezes with noodles in his mouth, not quite sure how to respond...

Sarah meets up with Opsie - who's been having fun winning all the games - at the German booth, finding her there with Douglas. Sarah talks her into revealing her source about Marten's disorder, and discovers that Dr Johnson was the one who told her as a warning to 'be careful of the other pilots'. In quieter tones, she talks about the discovery that she, Rick and Serena are all half-Mayzor and wonders if Sarah is too. Sarah brushes off the question, saying she's still waiting on test results. Douglas butts in to try and find out what they're talking about, but Sarah claims they're just talking about girl stuff.

Douglas tries to pump her for information about Blue Company, and when she deflects his questions he gloats that he'll soon be joining Blue Company and that he'll end up being team leader and that there are going to be some changes.  When Sarah comments on how confident he seems about this he goes on to brag that he has special talents and abilities that will ensure his superiority to them. With further coaxing from Sarah and Opsie he tells them that the Mayzor have secretly been breeding with humans to create half-Mayzor hybrids, of which he is one. He admits that he doesn't know who the others are. He then tells them to keep this to themselves, or he'll come after them and it won't be pretty. He takes his leave of them, saying he and Sarah should talk again sometime, as she seems to have gained his favour by using his proper name.

Having recovered from the shock of Esteban's query, Billy walks with him and listens as he explains that he thinks he knows what to do about his issues with Marten, but not what to do about his sister. Billy suggests he should just reach out to her and try to get to know her better. Moving on to more professional matters, he says he'd like to look over Esteban's new weapons designs and suggests he work with Jason on some of them, since Jason is working on his own EZKY-L project.

Esteban excuses himself and first of all texts Marten a training schedule to go ahead with the joint training he suggested earlier. He then posts a public message on the SAInt pilots' group forum:

Dear pilots,
It has come to my attention that rumours have been circulating about my teammate, Marten Oiseleur, rumours that have been damaging to his reputation. I am unsure of as to where this information started, nor does it matter if it is true. What I do know, however, is facts so let us analyse these. So far, officer Oiseleur:1) Has spent a good deal of his teenage life protecting the citizens of Earth from the deadly Mayzor. Check.2) Was proven good enough to be assigned to Alpha Company (the Aardvarks) where nothing but the best of the best soldiers are placed. Check.3) Was part of the moon base assault where Bravo Company was infected and bedridden for weeks. He helped take down a giant Mayzor while also accomplishing the objective of the mission. Check.4) Single handedly is responsible for the rescue of Charlie Company during their ambush. Each and every member of that company owes him their lives. Check.5) Was there for the first human rescue mission - which, as an aside, also included the elimination of not one, but two advanced Mayzors, while completing a perfect mission. Check.6) Is my battle partner, whom I trust with my life implicitly. Check. 

Now I understand that people all want a scapegoat, a person to laugh at, someone to look down on to better themselves when they all may die suddenly in the middle of a mission. That makes sense, as it is a well known tactic amongst lesser minded people to keep themselves sane. 

However, this sort of business will not stand. Officer Oiseleur has proven time and again that he is not only better than the average SAInt pilot, but he has gone above and beyond the call of duty in both battle and teamwork. 

So if you wish to shut him down with petty rumours and terrible ideas, please remember - he is my partner and I am not known for my human empathy. 

- Esteban Knowles 

P.S. If you wish to have a scapegoat, please refer to Douglas Reyes. He speaks funny, has a strange look in his eye, and doesn't like being called Doug. Plus, he is new and not as nice as his younger, far more talented brother.

(The post gets twelve +1s and Esteban later receives one long, detailed message from Douglas_Reyes expressing his displeasure.)

When Esteban returns to the Cuban booth in search of Esther, she is long gone.


An Uninvited Guest
Later on, Jason and the others have assembled the team leaders from Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo companies, as well as all of Blue and Alpha Company, AK-47, Dr Harris, Billy and Laurie for a secret briefing in the Kendo clubroom. Sarah gives them all a brief explanation of why they've been gathered, and Rick plays the recording he took of his interrogation of Dr Johnson. After the recording finishes, they fill in the information not covered in it; the blueprints of Mayzor tech found on Dr Johnson's computer on multiple occasions, Rick's meeting with Rafe, Serena's abduction by the Followers of the Communion, etc.

As they're wrapping up, they realise that Douglas is standing at the back of the room and giving them all a creepy stare and evil smile...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Jason goes to punch Douglas with Marten and Rick both ready to jump him...

Sarah and Opsie confront Douglas in the hallway, with Sarah asking: "What are we going to become?"

Douglas just smirks: "You'll see soon enough..."

Marten runs through the Arc, with Stephanie chasing after him. He gets through a door and tries to shut it, but she holds it open with a determined look in her eyes...

Rick enters the warehouse chapel of the Followers of the Communion with Esteban, Joanne, Marten, and Serena all present.

Ora Cohen turns from giving a sermon and regards them coolly: "Ah, the Prince and Princess of the Mayzor grace us with their presence. What are you here for?"

Rick smirks: "I thought we might be able to help each other out."

Fade to: 

NEXT EPISODE: 'Anagnorisis'