Appearance
M03 — Key Rotation
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| Date | November 2028 |
| Incident | Case Gamma |
| Location | An Erusean drone launch base |
| Weather | Overcast; light rain |
| POV / aircraft | Asano ("Nine") / F/A-18E Super Hornet |
| Wingmen | Over, Six, AME |
| Enemy | 158 hijacked Erusean swarm drones |
| Type | Swarm defense |
| Time limit | 10 minutes |
Related: Hina Asano · Cyber-Kinetic Warfare · Cyber-Kinetic Systems
1. Narrative Purpose
The squadron fights the enemy's puppets without ever seeing the enemy. Asano's perception is the only thing that notices a fifth party in the swarm. The mission plants dramatic irony: the player will learn in M04 what took the drones.
2. Briefing
The Erusean military is conducting a counter-proliferation drill with a 162-drone swarm and has invited ISAF Revival observers as a confidence-building measure. Six-AME will fly observation and act as a safety escort for crewed aircraft in the drill area. Weapons are tight. This is a diplomatic sortie.
3. Objectives
| Type | Objective |
|---|---|
| Primary (initial) | Observe the drill; maintain separation from the swarm |
| Primary (updated) | Defend the launch base until the swarm's fuel runs out |
| Secondary | Protect the base's crewed aircraft on the apron |
| Hidden | Identify the fifth handshake before the swarm turns |
4. Flow
Phase 1: Observation. Slow, formal flight. Asano's Read display shows the swarm's handshake traffic as four distinct key-holder signatures cycling during a scheduled key rotation. Thirty seconds into the rotation a fifth signature appears. Only the Read display shows it.
If the player marks it (hidden objective), Asano reports it:
NINE: "Over, I've got five voices in a four-voice choir." OVER: "Erusean control reports nominal." NINE: "Then Erusean control is the fourth voice and somebody else is singing louder."
Nobody acts on it either way.
Phase 2: The turn. 158 drones break formation and dive on their own launch base. Four drones on a different key go inert. Weapons are released.
Phase 3: Defense. Swarm defense at close range over a base under attack. The drones attack in waves timed to the base's own defensive fire patterns. Asano's Read display predicts each wave from handshake timing; the player can relay predictions to the flight with the Cover order.
Phase 4: Exhaustion. The swarm runs out of fuel. Survivors crash into the sea or the perimeter.
5. Key Radio
SIX: "Somebody's running these like they read our playbook." AME: "Or like they read theirs."
6. Systems Showcased
| System | How |
|---|---|
| Read (Asano) | Phases 1 and 3 |
| Swarm combat | Phase 3 |
| Weapons-tight transitions | Phases 1–2 |
| Handshake compromise as a threat | Seeds the cyber-kinetic layer for Act II |
7. Failure Conditions
- Base command center destroyed.
- More than half the apron aircraft destroyed.
- Asano shot down.
8. Debrief and Circle
An Erusean liaison officer thanks the squadron and files the event as a training accident. Asano says in the circle that she does not believe it; for once nobody thinks she is joking.
9. Ledger Entries
When the Ledger opens in M04, Case Gamma appears as a High Confidence entry, and the fifth handshake (if marked) is credited as "observed by ISAF escort, Nine."