09 Fallen Star
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09 Fallen Star
Main Story
On Earth, Watanabe and the Forsakens are faced with the increasingly frequent threat of the Conversion Probe, which releases a high concentration of Punishing Virus upon landing to corrupt all nearby machines. Probes fired from the corrupted International Space Station have proven to be especially difficult to deal with, as they are launched from directly above the Forsaken’s location at a high velocity, giving them little time to prepare. Watanabe notes that Babylonia has decided to deal with the International Space Station once and for all; Babylonia must have uncovered information that would guarantee decisive victory against the corrupted space station, which has been constantly attacking Babylonia as well as humans on Earth. Realizing that eliminating the threat of the space station would be a turning point in the war against the Punishing Virus, Watanabe decides to join forces with Babylonia.
As Babylonia continues to defend itself against the attacks of the International Space Station, Hassan tasks Karenina with operating a “secret weapon” capable of destroying the space station once the ground forces expose its weak point. Asimov requests extra manpower to escort a satellite to the vicinity of the space station, believing that it would result in findings that can uncover the secrets of the Punishing Virus. Meanwhile, the Gray Ravens manage to land on the space station, but their communication with Babylonia is promptly cut off due to the station’s defense system destroying the relay satellite. Lee suggests disarming the station’s defense system first to re-establish their communication channels.
Allen, the president of WGAA, convinces Hassan to send Ayla on a mission to retrieve a Construct named Selena. Years ago, Selena supposedly perished in a disastrous investigation of the space station; however, having recently deciphered a signal from the station and finding it to be the lines from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest in Selena’s voice, Ayla is convinced that her friend may still be alive and is determined to bring her back to Babylonia. Hassan enlists the help of Watanabe to safely escort Ayla to the space station. On the spacecraft, Ayla and Watanabe both express their interest in the Gray Ravens and their Commandant.
The Gray Ravens succeed in their initial goal of disabling the station’s defense system and continue their investigation. Their investigation comes to a temporary halt when they find their way to the control center blocked. Watanabe flies his spacecraft through the corridors of the space station, clearing the obstacles. Watanabe temporarily joins the Gray Ravens in their mission, and when questioned about his motive for doing so, he reveals that there is an Ascendant already present at the space station. The Ascendant is revealed to be Gabriel and Luna instructs him to avoid fighting the Gray Ravens.
Suddenly, the space station starts to dislodge its compartments into space. Watanabe compares it to a living organism’s immune system: because the Gray Ravens have destroyed the station’s observation room and weapon control system, allowing other Babylonian troops to land, it is attempting to expel the intruders by self-destructing. While this process does not cause permanent damage to the space station, which, thanks to its powerful gravity core, can attract nearby matters and re-assemble itself, it could be devastating to humans and Constructs. Liv attempts to hack into the space station’s main system to stop its self-destruction. Watanabe offers to help buy more time by allowing her to connect to his frame in addition to the other members of the Gray Ravens. The team decides to trust him, setting aside the hostility between Babylonia and the Forsaken. Their efforts result in successfully locking the remaining cabins to their position, preventing further disintegration of the space station.
The events leading up to the current state of the space station are revealed through the copy of the station’s data log: when the station’s gravity core was corrupted, it continued to attract nearby Punishing Virus, resulting in the creation of a high-density condensation of the Virus, named Punishing Heteromer. Heteromer particles can gather and disperse at will while maintaining coordination with one another; cross-shaped enemies control nearby Heteromer particles to form various Corrupted.
On their way to the gravity core, the Gray Ravens are attacked by Korolev, a gigantic ball-shaped Corrupted that used to provide guided tours around the space station. Unable to withstand the impact of the battle, the platforms shatter, but Watanabe protects the Commandant from falling into space. Babylonia’s Demolition Squad blasts open the walls of the gravity cabin, creating an enormous vacuum. The Commandant shoots Korolev in its “eye,” causing it to lose balance and fall into the vacuum. Using a nearby satellite, Karenina contacts the Gray Ravens to announce that the “Prism” is ready, and instructs them to let her know once the station’s gravity core has been stabilized.
The Gray Ravens find themselves unable to unlock the mechanism blocking the path leading to the gravity core. Through a transmission, Ayla relays the information about the space station she originally received from Selena to help them progress, saying that Selena in her current state is “unable to explain it in person.” When Ayla’s transmission is suddenly cut off, the Gray Ravens hypothesize that she has been attacked by an Ascendant based on her signals. Shortly thereafter, they encounter Gabriel, who jumps out of a compartment. Ayla then appears, following Gabriel and attacking him. Gabriel blocks the Constructs’ attacks with ease and reveals that he has taken Selena’s incomplete carcass. Gabriel leaves in silence, seemingly unwilling to fight them. Ayla follows Gabriel to retrieve her friend.
With the platforms stabilized at last, the Gray Ravens and the rest of the Babylonian Task Force reach the space station’s gravity core. The Gray Ravens take on the corrupted core itself, while the others battle the enemies created by Punishing Heteromers. During the battle with the gravity core, Watanabe suggests they use the “secret weapon”—he has realized that the satellite Karenina used to communicate with them was not only a relay station, but also a conduit for the “Prism,” Babylonia’s high-energy beam cannon. This catches the Commandant and the Gray Ravens by surprise; nonetheless, they agree to his suggestion and continue to fight the core to buy time for the Prism to aim at its target. Watanabe instructs the Prism to fire when the core’s weakness is exposed during its fight against the Gray Ravens. Karenina fires the cannon from Babylonia’s command room. The beam strikes the core; however, the shot merely succeeds in destroying its outer shell. Moreover, the impact causes the space station to rotate, making it impossible to aim properly at the core. Once again gathering energy, the core launches itself out of the gravity cabin and flies towards Earth. Watanabe is the first to act, hurriedly boarding his spacecraft to pursue the core. Watanabe and the Forsaken seemingly disappear from Babylonia’s radar after he collides with the core.
At the space station, Gabriel, who has successfully escaped Ayla’s pursuit, loads himself and Selena into a launch capsule and departs.
On Earth, Jamilah, the leader of the “Eternal Engine”—Akdilek Commercial Alliance—and her trusted aide Sophia watch the Punishing Heteromer fall from the sky. They reaffirm Jamilah’s plan to gain the upper hand against her opponents using the Heteromer.
Hidden Story
As the Gray Ravens and the Babylonian Task Force fight the Corrupted on the International Space Station, Ayla follows the signal from her friend Selena. During her search, Ayla receives a transmission from Allen warning her about something, but the connection is soon cut off.
Ayla finally reaches the location of Selena’s signal. Upon entering the cabin, Ayla finds Selena’s dismembered upper body connected to a terminal. Despite the state she is in, Selena is fortunately unharmed by the Punishing Virus, and the energy from the terminal has kept her alive and allowed her to emit the signal. Ayla promises to take Selena back to Babylonia and begins to unplug her. Selena, however, beckons Ayla to first help the Gray Ravens find their way to the station’s gravity core.
In the middle of Ayla’s transmission to the Gray Ravens, Gabriel appears and violently rips Selena away from the terminal. Ayla chases Gabriel, who flees to the room with the gravity core. Unfortunately, she is held back first by the remnant of Kolorev, and then the shock from the Prism attacking the space station. By the time she reaches the outside of the station, Gabriel and Selena had already departed to Earth on a launch capsule. Staring at Earth, Ayla vows never to give up on her search for Selena.
| ← EX00 Frozen Darkness | 10 Eternal Engine → |
