VOTOMS Ep. 1: War’s End

In the year 7213, the Gilgamesh battleship Teltain approaches the asteroid Lido. Secret Society members General Albert Killy, Gimual Iskui and Serge Borough listen in on a communication about the theft of the Teltain. An intelligence officer named Jean-Paul Rochina receives orders from General Detel Rolyu Battentain to find the Teltain immediately. Rochina doesn’t understand because the Teltain is scheduled for decommission, but he’s told that it’s the ship’s destination that’s important, not the ship itself. The men laugh because they know they will be long gone before anyone ever finds them. An AT Landing Craft launches from the Teltain, and Killy tells lieutenants Chiark Oriya and Kudal Conin to keep an eye on Chirico Cuvie, who was transferred into their unit from Special Forces at the last minute. The AT Landing Craft fires missiles at Lido and blows a hole in the asteroid’s surface. Multiple Scopedogs launch from the landing craft and head into a secret base. They immediately come under attack from other Scopedogs and respond by destroying them. Chirico asks why they’re fighting their own forces, and he’s told to shut up. As they head deeper into the base, they split into two groups. Chirico destroys one of the attacking Scopedogs and asks Conin why they’re fighting friendlies. Conin orders Chirico to guard the rear and ignores his question. When Chirico presses again, Conin threatens him with a court-martial and shuts off Chirico’s radio frequency. Conin and the others leave and find a storage area filled with gold, but it’s not their main objective. A Scopedog targets Chirico with a long gun, and he barely manages to dodge its blast in time. Chirico destroys the Scopedog and sees that the long gun blew a hole through several walls. Chirico follows the holes until he reaches a room with a capsule. Chirico opens the capsule and is shocked to find a bald, naked woman inside. He backs off and pulls out his gun, and he panics when the bald woman opens her eyes and looks at him.

Chirico looks at the naked woman and quickly closes the capsule. Conin and the other soldiers come into the room and see that Chirico has found what they are looking for. Conin congratulates Chirico and asks him to go out in space and see if the Teltain has moved within range. As Chirico leaves in his Scopedog, he feels that something is wrong with the mission and wonders why no one will tell him anything. As soon as Chirico reaches space, he spots a bomb floating out of the asteroid. The bomb explodes, damaging Chirico’s Scopedog and sending him adrift in space. Afterwards, a bigger explosion completely destroys Lido. Later, the Gilgamesh ship Bauntant discovers Chirico’s damaged Scopedog and brings it in. Chirico has nightmare images of the war and wakes up to find himself strapped to a neuro torture device. He asks where he is, and Rochina says he will do the questioning. Rochina asks Chirico about the assault on Lido, and Chirico says he knew nothing about the mission’s details. Rochina asks Chirico if he saw the Prototype, and Chirico lies and says he didn’t. Rochina gives Chirico a neuro shock, causing him to faint. The Bauntant then heads for Chirico’s homeworld of Melkia. Chirico looks at the planet from his cell, and Rochina asks him on the intercom how it feels to be home. Chirico asks him how bad it is, and Rochina explains that three quarters of the population is dead. Chirico is taken to a military base on the surface for further torture. Chirico resists the neuro shocks and maintains that he knows nothing. Battentain thinks Chirico might be telling the truth, but Rochina thinks Chirico knows more. Chirico flatlines from the increased neuro shocks, but he recovers and grabs a loose screw on the floor. He uses the screw to keep his cell door from closing and grabs one of the guards. He takes the guard’s machine gun and escapes from his cell. Chirico makes his way to the elevator and kills every guard in sight. He then reaches the surface and crashes a truck into a fighter plane as a distraction. He then hops into a jet fighter and escapes. Battentain isn’t worried because a homing beacon has been planted inside Chirico’s body. That same day, the Hundred Years War between the Gilgamesh and Balarant ends.