S4E38: Tower of Babel (Finale)

'The General's Head ''stands as the symbol of The General's immeasurable strength. As the most powerful warship to ever sail the multiverse, and as the flagship of the entire navy, countless worlds and peoples have seen their end before this almighty weapon. Even gods tremble in its presence. And many, many Rebel operatives have fallen to it over the course of this thousand-year war, but is it time for that to change?'''

'''With project Blackstar taken out of the picture, the way is clear. With nothing to stand in their path, RAG prepares to launch its most daring attack yet on The General's Head itself. Beyond a mere vessel, the Head is a key component in the delivery of Sayans to unsuspecting worlds. If the Rebellion fails here, more than just their lives will be snuffed out.'''

'''The stage is set. The players are in place. Both sides are betting it all. But the question remains: Who draws the final hand?'''

Plot Summary
The 17th fleet, led by its flagship Eagle One, entered warp to rendezvous with the rest of the RAG armada. When they arrived, they found themselves in an empty region of space, surrounded by a nebula of metal; that is, the rest of the fleet. The voice of the Supreme Commander came over all the ships, ordering them to their respective briefing rooms. When they arrived, he appeared before them over holographic transmission, and many saw him for the first time: a large ex-soldier in a golden uniform with a greying bushy mustache. He appeared friendly at first, but immediately jumped into the mission parameters.

He explained that scouts had tracked The General's Head for some time, and made note of several routine stopping points. The one they were currently at was the only one not nearby any planet, base, or other installation owned by The General. It effectively meant the Head would be by itself, as the perfect target for ambush. The primary objective for the Rebellion in this assault was two-fold: Either disable the engines and shield generator from within, leaving the Head vulnerable for destruction; otherwise seize the bridge and capture Captain Hood, taking the Head for the Rebellion. In order to achieve this, a convoy of transports would ferry over a legion of Rebel soldiers, which would then divide up. Which version of the objective became the main goal depended on how Hood reacted to the threat.

To get the soldiers inside, however, the Rebellion devised a special ship known as a'' Gap-Maker. Once it had fully charged, it would be capable of disabling the shields of the Head'' around the area of impact, allowing the convoy access to the hangars. It would need to be protected by the warships and Mimic squadrons before that point. If they lost the Gap-Maker, they lost the battle, plain and simple.

The Supreme Commander continued the briefing, giving further details on both phases of the battle. The Sayan Squad missed most of this, as Amadeus summoned them both to the bridge. He explained that he kept them in just to hear the points relevant to them, but has pulled them now since they have their own special mission. After all, they are the Sayan Squad. He handed Qiang a special blaster, the same kind the A Unit used against Vocus back on Equu: a Shield Breaker. It was for in case they ran into Cyem while they hunted for the main Sayan storage bays. Amadeus cautioned Qiang however, as it only had three shots.

The Sayan Squad was divided up. G Squadron and the Anathemites would help cover the space battle, while the others would board transport 2-C. The reasoning for keeping them divided was so that at least some number of the Squad could survive reaching the Head, and that frankly he trusted the gods and trained Mimic pilots to handle the space battle better.

Nevertheless, Amadeus took a moment to look over the Sayan Squad one more time, calling them his family. He noted that they had their ups and downs, but all families did. He saluted them, and demanded that they come back alive. His sentiments were echoed, even by Oneiros, just as the Supreme Commander stated that the Head was inbound. The Sayan Squad and every rebel operative scrambled into position. The Rebel fleet took a U-shaped formation around the Head's arrival point, and as soon as it arrived, the Supreme Commander immediately ordered an attack.

Thus the battle began. The Head began blasting away at the Rebel ships, while they could naturally do nothing against it. To deal with the armada of Mimics, the Head dispatched Z-24s and their MEP escorts. Hood noted that the Rebels seemed to be lacking in the truly heavy firepower that even stood a ghost of a chance of dealing any damage, and revealed Alpha Fleet had come to assist the battle. The Rebellion was not without surprise either, and a group of heavy battlecruisers appeared behind Alpha Fleet, taking them by complete surprise. Alpha suffered heavily for it, losing a few entire ships before managing to face the threat.

The Gap-Maker had nearly finished its charge by this time, and the battle escalated. The transports began filing in line behind the Gap Maker as it made its run, several Rebel cruisers flying escort around it. At the same time, a hundred thousand more ships appear at the battle: Beta Fleet, Delta Fleet, Epsilon Fleet, Zeta Fleet, and Kappa Fleet. The battle quickly turned against the Rebellion, and transports began dropping left and right. Battle cruisers sacrificed themselves to protect the Gap Maker. A defensive "shield" of ships was formed around the Gap Maker and the transports, but The General's ships were quickly cutting through it.

Amadeus attempted to order parts of the 17th fleet to cover the gaps, but was counteracted by the Supreme Commander himself, despite such an order leaving them exposed. After some resistance and hesitation, Amadeus and his followers conceded. Several minutes later, a massive egg-shaped starship half the size of the Head cut through the battle lines, laying devastation to The General's ships before just as quickly departing. That was the Arinna, RAG's mobile central command headquarters.

The Commander's distraction bought enough time for the Gap Maker to fire, leaving a sickly green hole in the Head's otherwise perfect shields. The opportunity was seized, and the surviving transports rushed into the gap before Captain Hood could even fully comprehend what had just happened. G Squadron and the Anathemites reunited with the rest of the Sayan Squad aboard the ship itself, and the battle migrated to the hangars.

Within, the Sayan Squad was introduced to General Trippar, who temporarily took command of them. Together they pushed against The General's soldiers, and forced them out of the hangar until they were in full retreat. The Sayan Squad took a quick break while Trippar's men made a command center out of the hanger, but were flung back into action as The General's men regrouped in record time. They fought back even harder, but the Squad was able to help push thanks to a shield spawned by Paladin. The General's soldiers had formed a line further up, and would have fought the Rebels to a standstill had it not been for a sudden rumbling and series of screams.

Moments later, a few of The General's soldiers came out of a nearby corridor screaming bloody murder. Behind them was none other than a massive horde of Sayans that cut through their supposedly allied soldiers like they weren't even there. They were not even given the "honor" of being eaten: if they were in the way, they were either mutated into another Sayan or torn in half and tossed aside. Nothing was to stand in the way of the horde and their true target: the Rebels. Trippar ordered an immediate retreat, and the Rebels rushed through the corridor to try and regroup back at the hangar. Soldiers were grabbed and devoured or turned by the horde as they ran.

Up ahead, Trippar saw a lift off to the side. He had his men turn around and hold the line, and ordered the Squad to take the lift. Several of his scouts reported a large restricted zone on the floor above that thy could not enter. He had no doubt that something The General didn't want found was in there, and with the Sayan Squad's own mission, it was not something they could pass up. Thanking the General, they all boarded the lift, and begged forgiveness as they ascended, never to know his fate.

The lift let them off on a dark and silent corridor, with a massive metal door to their side. Forcing it open, they found a wide, empty chamber lit up only by a single red light. Stepping in for a closer look, the door slammed shut, trapping them inside, and the lights turned on. The red light belonged to none other than Cyem, encased in a small transparent tube that slowly lifted to free himself.

As usual, he remained calm and amicable, even as the Squad invaded his "home." They were mildly shocked to learn that this was his living quarters, as bare as it was (and in addition what he described as the "best" place he's been kept). He also continued to claim ignorance of any Sayans. However, his assignment to capture or terminate the Squad remained active, and it was an assignment he still intended to complete. He lept into battle, stomping and jumping to try and bring the Squad down. Arachnos telepathically urged Qiang to fire the Shield Breaker, but he did so before she was ready, resulting in a missed shot. Later on in the fight, Kanako summoned several ice stalagmites to try and hit the Emperor from below, who jumped out of the way just in time to miss the second shot from Qiang.

Arachnos tried to bait Cyem into standing still, citing that if he was invincible, he should be fine if he didn't move. Cyem agreed, but said that he could at least pretend to be in danger by dodging attacks. Arachnos summoned an earthquake that managed to knock Cyem off-balance for half a second, and in that half-second Qiang fired the third and final shot, knocking out Cyem's shield generator.

Though he was confused as first, once Hado knocked him over, he seemed amused. He thanked them, as they had finally given him a chance to cut loose, which he so rarely had gotten before. He brought his weapons out, and the battle truly began. Cyem was at a disadvantage due to the enclosed space, and though his weapons packed a hefty punch, the cramped quarters meant he couldn't dodge the barrage from his enemies, nor avoid the backlash from some of his own. Out of desperation, Cyem let off a thick green energy blast that collided with a Nihility sphere from Olyn, damaging everyone in the room. However, the one who took the brunt of the damage was Cyem himself, who was blown to the far wall, his scaly skin charred, frozen, and bleeding. Amazingly, he was still alive, but only barely.

The Sayan Squad attempted to finish him off, but were intercepted by none other than Captain Hood himself. He engaged them right away, and prevented them from ending Cyem. But that was fine with them, as they had a long beef with the captain themselves. Hood did not play around as he had seemed to previously, attacking them with all his might and none of his humor. He managed to give the Squad a run for their money, but he did not escape unscathed, himself. Eventually, several soldiers entered the room, holding the Squad at gunpoint.

Hood was criticized for letting Sayans aboard his ship. Hood continued to say he had no idea what they were talking about...but seemed genuine, as he was still not joking or passively playing them off. He began to interrogate them about the Sayans, and then his own men. They knew nothing, either, but did say they received reports of a disturbance on the lower levels. However, First Lieutenant Withers assured them that it was nothing.

Without even waiting to hear another word, Hood summoned the ex-Captain to their room and began to question him. ...Though that isn't what the Sayan squad saw. Captain Hood and the soldiers all saw Withers, but they instead saw a massive spider-like creature that carried its giant eyes on prehensile stalks. A Sayan. It wrestled free of Hood's grip with a migraine and then bolted out of the room. The Sayan Squad immediately gave chase, while Hood tried to end the battle outside, pleading fruitlessly with the Supreme Commander of RAG. Eventually he gave up, and joined the Squad in their pursuit.

The chase led the Squad, Hood, and his men into the maze-area near the rear of the ship, which was now being used as a massive storage facility. For seemingly miles, all that could be observed were Sayan pods. But again, all Hood and the soldiers could see were storage containers, much to Hood's annoyance. The Sayan inserted thoughts into the others to communicate, boasting that it was a second-generation Sayan, meaning it was never "impure" (a non-Sayan) like the others. It taunted them, claiming that all who resisted Sayanization were rebellious children, and that, in time, they would all learn to "Cherish" their "Mother."

There never was a Sayan project. All along, this Sayan had masterminded the invasion by posing as Captain Withers. The entire Head was at its disposal, and it used that to effectively pick up and dispense Sayans without The General or the crew ever knowing.

The Mastermind, armed with mutagenic barbs like the mutant Sayans, attempted to engage the Sayan Squad. Hood called in for more soldiers to help them out, warning them not to attack. The Sayan Squad agreed quickly, due to the much more pressing threat of the Sayan. There were concerns about the Sayan making itself look like a soldier, but since the Squad had yet to be influenced by the Sayan's spores, it was agreed that the soldiers would shoot at whatever the Squad shot at.

The Sayan Mastermind attempted to free some of the Sayans to fight for it, but The General's men quickly dispatched them once they knew what to target. At one point the Mastermind made everyone appear like itself, but since it was last seen on the ceiling, it was not hard to pick it out from the others. Over time, the Mastermind lost its limbs and was slowly beaten down, until it was crushed. Before it died, Hood demanded to know what happened to the real Withers, to which the Mastermind again boasted the "genius" of its plan, as Withers never went anywhere.

Hood tried to order his soldiers to find the other Sayans aboard his ship with the help of the Squad, but they did not obey. They instead stood at attention, as none other than The General himself appeared in the room. He listed off Hood's recent shortcomings, from failing to prevent Rebels from boarding the Head, to the Squad's continued survival and presence before them, and above all, letting Sayans run his ship.

Charging up the rifle he carried with him, he demanded that both sides tell their story, and was eager to see which had the more interesting tale...

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening Theme - Whirlwind (Shinobi 3)
 * 2) Final Preparations - Emperor Anglar's Evil Conference (Star Fox Command)
 * 3) The Rebel Fleet - Main Theme (Battlefield 1943)
 * 4) Ultimate Briefing - Into the Aparoid Homeworld Reorchestrated (Literal Orchestra)
 * 5) Enter the Showdown - Peppy's Sacrifice Reorchestrated (Literal Orchestra)
 * 6) Battle of Point W-7414 - Laughin' Jokin' Numbnuts (Metal Remix)
 * 7) Push - Jakob Orbital Elevator (Megaman X8)
 * 8) The Horde - High-Max (Megaman X6)
 * 9) Encased Emperor - Call to Arms (20th Anniversary version)
 * 10) Vs. Cyem - War 3 (Serious Sam 3: BFE)
 * 11) Payback ~ Vs. Project Nero (Emperor Cyem IV) - Final Fight (Undercode)
 * 12) Long-Standing Grudge ~ Vs. Project Nero (Captain Hood) -  Megalo Strike Back (Toby Fox)
 * 13) The Truth - Qliphoth (Tales of the Abyss)
 * 14) Ghastly Realization - Phantom ~ UNKNOWN (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies)
 * 15) Disillusion ~ Vs. The Sayan Mastermind - The Executioner (Umineko no Naku Koro Ni)
 * 16) The General - Babel Tower (Rockman ZX Tunes)
 * 17) Ending Theme - One Final Blast (Faseeh Deen)

Trivia

 * This episode had many difficulties with attempting to set a run date.
 * Oddly enough, the episode was not an interrupted broadcast in spite of the above.
 * Originally this episode was to be another arc-ender like episodes 11 and 12, but in light of the recent re-naming, it became a season finale instead.
 * This episode featured the RAG headquarters, the Arinna for the first time since RAG's debut.
 * It also featured the first appearance of the Supreme Commander, albeit via voice and hologram, though his existence had been alluded to before.
 * All other major rebel operatives from this season made a brief cameo in the episode, such as Wing Commander Achterberg and Commander Nostrad.
 * With the exception of Kappa, all of The General's fleets that appeared here had either appeared previously, or were slated to:
 * Alpha Fleet appeared in the previous episode, as well as The General's Head itself being their flagship.
 * Delta Fleet was the main occupying force in Red Earth.
 * Zeta Fleet was what destroyed Gensokyo in the opening of Hellgate 2 Part III.
 * Epsilon Fleet harassed F Squadron during the Carnaval Lune mission of Hellgate 2 Part III, and is slated for further appearances during that story.
 * Beta Fleet is set to appear near the end of Hellgate 2 Part III.
 * It was always intended that the Sayan Squad miss the first two shots with the Shield Breaker. What was not planned were the specific ways they would miss. Arachnos pressuring Qiang into firing before she was ready was unprompted, as were Kanako's stalagmites, but SDM took advantage of both to make the misses seem less contrived.
 * Cyem's weaponry again referenced Doom and Duke Nukem, but also included references to the Serious Sam series (such as with the quad-laser and the "energy lasso") and even Half-Life's Tau Cannon.
 * Qiang herself sported an arsenal more directly inspired by Doom.
 * While planning Captain Hood's boss fight, SDM and Kanako agreed on two courses of action. Either letting the boss play out and revealing the Sayan before the final blow was struck, or ending the fight early if the characters forced Hood to reveal his lack of knowledge to the Sayans during the battle itself. Instead, what played out was a hybrid of both options. This, too, was unplanned but turned out to be the ideal scenario.
 * As yet another example of an unprompted character decision that tied itself directly into the plot, by setting the battle with Cyem in his personal chamber, SDM had accidentally written himself into a corner with in regards to finding a way to reveal the Sayan. It was Kanako who solved that for him by just having Hood summon "Withers" to the room. SDM did not request this, but it worked out ideally.
 * This episode featured the song "Phantom ~ UNKNOWN" for the first time since Final Encounter.
 * It also featured the first appearance of "The Executioner" since Hostile Encounter.
 * The battle with the Sayan Mastermind was cut ten minutes shorter than normal due to how late the episode was running and SDM's insistence on finishing the episode in one shot, lest the ending be delayed for an undetermined amount of time again.
 * The name of the episode was, in fact, not a reference to Doom, but instead directly based off of the original Biblical story.
 * The Tower of Babel was said to be built by the ancient peoples to reach heaven, but in order to prevent this, God created languages to prevent humanity from working together. Throughout the episode, there is an underlying theme of communications breakdown. It ranges from the obvious, such as the Sayan Mastermind taking advantage of The General's military's inherent lack of communication, to the more incidental, such as Captain Hood failing to convince the Supreme Commander to temporarily cease hostilities. The General's Head could also be seen as a slight reference to the Tower of Babel itself.
 * The name also references The General's personal theme song, "Babel Tower."