Operation Ultimatum/Transcript

Boss: Alright, let’s get moving. We don’t have any time to waste.

Sweetwater: ‘Kay Boss. Let’s go!

Chainer: Oh, no you don’t! You’ve done quite enough! We can’t have any mistakes this time. You’re staying here!

Sweetwater: What?! But- but- but I-

Chainer: You sound like a motor boat. No “buts” about it, Sweetwater. This is a very delicate mission. Just stay out of trouble, and don’t touch anything or I’ll rip your legs off and smack you with the soggy ends!

Sweetwater: … Yes, sir.

Boss: Come on, boys. Let’s do this.

They begin making their way to Chernobyl

Dunn: I don’t know. I think we may have been too hard on the guy.

Scout: Yeah, man. I know he’s a frickin’ idiot, but that was just cold, man. Real cold.

Chipmunk: Yeah, I agree. That was really rough, Chains. Are you sure that was necessary?

Chainer: Guys, this is Sweetwater we’re talking about. Trust me: it was necessary!

Chipmunk: If you say so, sir.

Boss: Cut the chatter, boys. We’re here. Dunn, you’re with me. The rest of you keep watch out here.

Chainer: Understood.

''Boss and Dunn make their way inside. They find the room where Smith is waiting. Ace is inside, bound to a chair, gagged, and blindfolded.''

Smith: In fact, your friends should be here right about-

Boss and Dunn burst in.

Smith: Now. Thank you for joining us gentlemen. Please set your guns down. You won’t need them anymore.

Boss: You’re not welcome, we’re not gentlemen, and these guns are staying right where they are.

Smith pulls out his Maverick and points it at Ace’s head.

Smith: That wasn’t a suggestion.

Boss puts the Vulcan down while Dunn sets his Trooper to the side.

Smith: Good. Now I can talk peacefully. Soon Zakhaev will be here, and the Task Force 589 will be no more and nothing will stand in the way of the Ultranationalists conquering the entire globe. Once they’ve done that, then the T-4s will rise up and humanity will be completely eliminated, allowing my master to rise.

Dunn: Why are you doing this?

Smith: Almost all life on Earth follows a very particular pattern, taking only what they need from their environment and maintaining a fairly stable population. Humans aren’t like that. Instead, they breed rapidly, expanding to cover the entire environment and moving to other environments once all the natural resources have been consumed. There is only one other life form on this planet that does that. Do you know what that is? A virus: Humanity is clearly a plague that must be eradicated before it can spread its contamination anywhere else! You are the plague; we are the cure.

Boss: You know, that would be a good argument, if it wasn’t based on flawed logic.

Smith: How is my logic flawed?

Boss: The first antibiotic was penicillin. It’s all packed up in neat, little pills now, but do you actually know what penicillin is? Penicillin is a mold, and for that reason some people are allergic to it. Radiation therapy is used to cure cancer, but the same radiation used to kill cancer cells can cause new cases of cancer in the process. Sometimes the cure is no better than the disease itself. It can even be worse and create more problems than it solves. Humanity is starting to realize what they’ve done and are beginning to change their ways. Wiping them out of existence would be genocide of the worst kind; therefore, I will fight to my last breath to prevent that from happening.

Smith: …I see. (To Dunn) What about you, son? Where do you stand?

Dunn: …You just said humans are a plague to be eradicated in front of me, a human. Are you seriously asking me where I stand?

Smith: So that's how it is, is it? Well, if it's a fight you want…

‘’Smith pulls out his Maverick and shoots Dunn in the chest and in the legs.’’

Smith: …It's a fight you'll get.

Dunn: AAUGH!

Boss: DUNN!

‘’Boss rushes over to Dunn and checks his vitals. Smith reloads his Maverick.’’

Smith: Anything else?

Boss: Yeah. (‘’Boss takes out his Maverick’’) Let’s go, mongrel.

Smith: Have it your way, soldier boy.

‘’A short firefight ensues, with both Smith and Boss missing each other. It ends with Boss and Smith aiming their guns at each other's faces’’

Smith: Face it: You're empty.

Boss: You have a real talent for stating the obvious. It may be empty, but it’s not useless. Observe:

‘’Boss smacks Smith rapidly with his Maverick, back and forth, finally tossing the Maverick into Smith’s face. While Smith is recovering, Boss ejects vibroblades from his gauntlets. Boss begins by throwing a right hook at Smith’s neck, which he catches easily. He retaliates by punching Boss in the gut. Boss again attempts to hit Smith with his other blade, but Smith catches it as easily as the first. Smith then knees Boss in the gut.’’

Smith: You're faster than this. We both know that. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.

Boss: I don’t need to hit you to hurt you, but if you insist...

‘’Boss shocks Smith using the electro-shock systems in his armor. Boss then succeeds in hitting Smith with a punch to the face.’’

Boss: Hard enough for ya? This armor was designed for fighting Geonosians. When they try to grab you to drag you away screaming, you shock the living daylights out of them. It works well on other wets as well, including you, mongrel boy.

‘’Smith attempts to grab Boss's vest but is pushed back by a kick from Boss. Smith tries to punch Boss again and is thrown into a nearby wall. Smith tosses his sunglasses away and enters a struggle with Boss. He finally succeeds in twisting Boss’s arm behind his back.’’

Smith: Even if you get past me, you’ll never escape Zakhaev. He will not rest until the wrath of the Devil himself comes down upon his son’s murderer and their allies.

Boss: Then I guess you and your buddies should start running then, eh? Not to mention the other scores the 589 has with you…

‘’Boss elbows Smith in the gut with his other arm and breaks free. Smith orders three T-4 Warrior Droids to attack Boss and escapes. Boss cuts Ace free and uses the Vulcan to take down the T-4s. The rest of the 589 and two clones rush in while Ace takes off the blindfold.’’

Boss: (‘’To the clones’’) Get Dunn to a medical shuttle immediately.

Clones: Yes sir!

Ace: It’s about time you guys got here. Who are the new guys? Where’s Ghost?

‘’Boss stands motionless, his expression hidden behind his visor. Finally, he walks away to examine the T-4s. The rest of the squad glances at each other uneasily. Finally, Chipmunk speaks up.’’

Chipmunk: …The one with the bat is Scout. The other guy is Jake Dunn. Ghost… is gone. He sacrificed himself to allow Boss and Dunn to escape with the Intel we needed to find you.

Ace: …I can’t believe it.

Chipmunk: Guys, we’ve got a squad of Russians coming in fast!

Boss: FOR GHOST!

‘’Boss charges them before anyone else can grab their guns. He brutally slaughters the entire group, battering one dead Russian with the now-empty Vulcan repetitively.’’

Ace: Boss! Stop! Take it easy!

Boss whirls around and gives a feral snarl, but stops as he recognizes his surroundings.

Boss: …Sorry. Don’t know what came over me…

Scout: Remind me not to tick him off in the future…

Boss: I guess I’m just upset about Ghost.

Ace: …After this, we’re going after him. We’re going back to find him, dead or alive.

Imran: How touching. I’ve heard of “honor among thieves”, but I’ve never heard of “compassion among murderers”…

Russian Officer: Drop your weapons!

‘’The 589 set down their weapons. They are led outside to where several vehicles are waiting outside.''

Imran: Which of you fired the shot that killed my son?

Boss: No one, because your son wasn’t killed by a bullet. He was killed by a subcutaneous, remote-activated C-4 charge in the back of his head.

Imran: How did you know about the Tracker?

Boss: Where do you think Smith got the technology? It wasn’t just a tracker, but a way to silence Victor if he said too much.

Imran: Lies. Smith wouldn’t betray us! (Laughs) You nearly had me there, clone! Too bad you don’t have any other evidence!

Boss: Look at the video feed from my helmet from time indexes .1138 to .1262 and .3278 to .3827 and you’ll see the truth. What have you got to lose?

Imran: …Ivan! Do as he says.

Ivan: Yes, sir!

Helmet Feed: (‘’Smith’’) Once they’ve done that, then the T-4s will rise up and humanity will be completely eliminated, allowing my master to rise. - Humanity is clearly a plague that must be eradicated before it can spread its contamination anywhere else! You are the plague; we are the cure.

Imran: …It’s true… He lied… He killed my son... HE KILLED MY SON!

‘’A chopper rises from behind a hill. It’s piloted by Smith. Imran pulls out a radio.’’

Imran: LIAR! MURDERER! YOU KILLED MY SON!

Smith: Sacrifices must be made, Imran. I thought you of all people would understand that. But I guess not…

‘’Smith opens up on the Russians. Zakhaev grabs two AK-47s and begins firing at Smith, screaming his rage into the air.’’

Scout: Gosh, look at him go! He must be nuts or something!

Boss: “…He piled upon the whale’s white hump the sum of all the rage and hatred felt by his entire race from Adam down: Had his chest been a mortar, he’d have burst his hot heart’s shell upon it…”

Ace: Herman Melville’s ‘’Moby Dick’’, right?

Boss: Yep. That was one of the first books I read; I finished it in three days.

‘’Smith fires a missile at the group of cars. It explodes, sending chunks of the vehicles everywhere. The 589 are knocked down by the explosion.’’

Boss: Zakhaev’s dead! A chunk of a car crushed him! The Russians are gone!

Smith: Well, Boss, that’s one group off my back. Now it’s time to take care of the other. Goodbye, 589.

Chainer: Smith’s arming another missile! He’s targeting us!

Chipmunk: Sir, what do we do?

Ace: There’s nothing we can do. There’s nowhere to run to. Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure.

Scout: Aw c’mon, man! I don’t even have girlfriend yet! Who’s going to cry over my lifeless body when I’m gone?

Chainer: I could shed a few tears now, if you want.

Scout: …No offense, but no thanks. That would just be creepy and- Hey, what’s that?

Meanwhile, at the shuttle with Sweetwater

Sweetwater: “Stay out of trouble, Sweetwater”, they said. “Don’t touch anything, Sweetwater”, they said. Well, how am I supposed to do that? I mean, can I touch the ground? Can I touch the particles in the air? It’s like they expect me to seal myself in some anti-gravity, vacuum-sealed tube or something. Yeesh, they probably could do that, with all this technology. But if they’re so advanced, then why do they have all these tiny, easily-flipped switches control all the dangerous aspects on these things? I mean, come on! Haven’t they heard of safety covers? Honestly, how hard for is it for them to install a small piece of plastic over these things so if some guy leans against a panel he doesn’t kill everyone?

‘’Sweetwater leans against a button. A planetary signal flare gun pops out the top of the ship and prepares to fire.’’

Sweetwater: …Oh, crap. I take it back! I take it back!

Meanwhile, with the rest of the squad

‘’The flare rises into the air and explodes. Every living being present watches it.’’

Ace: What the heck is that thing?!

Chainer: A planetary flare, but… Sweetwater…

‘’A piece of the flare jams into the tail rotor of Smith’s chopper. The rotor explodes, sending Smith crashing to the ground somewhere in the distance. The Comlink buzzes.’’

Sweetwater: Hey, uh, guys… Before you start with the leg-ripping, I’d just like to say it wasn’t really my fault. It’s actually the result of poor engineering on these things-

Chainer: Sweetwater please shut up and listen while I praise you: You just saved our lives. Good job. I don’t know what you did or how you did it, but I do know that if you waited a second longer, we would’ve been dead. For that, you have my deep respect and gratitude.

Sweetwater: …Oh. Well…gee, thanks… I didn’t do much, though…just sat on a button…

Ace: You did enough. Well done, Sweetwater. Come on, boys. Let’s get out of here. I think it’s time we had a well-deserved break.