Pegasus
Michael Kielstra
Colossal Cash Prize cover art IFComp 2018 IFComp Game Inform 7 military parser sci-fi science fiction walkthrough
Pegasus: the best friend of a democracy and the worst enemy of a dictator. Their Agents safeguard the liberty of the people around the world. Trained by and armed with the best humanity has to offer, they would love to see themselves as emissaries of a brighter future, but it doesn't always work out that way. When your closest friends are trained to look around and see nothing but enemies, when your superiors are incontestably powerful and equally incontestably fallible, when your entire body is built for the sole purpose of causing pain, who can you trust? And no, "no-one" isn't a good enough answer.
%
Trigger warning: drug use, mild bad language.

"They'll tell you I'm gone. They'll tell you I can't come back. That's all true.

But they'll also tell you it's best to forget me. Do me a favour, OK? Don't believe them."

Sarah's eyes meet yours, and she holds out her hand for your Redline.

A few parked cars were all you and Sarah had on hand to block the street. They make a simple barrier, not enough to buy safety, but enough to buy some time. There are thirty of them out there, and just the two of you. Technically, the deployment objective was fulfilled. Now it's just about who's getting out alive.

You can see Sarah here.
About yourself
You're twenty-one: eighteen years of childhood, two of basic training, six months of specialisation, and eight in the field. You're not a hardened veteran, but you're not the fresh-faced kid you once were.
You check your inventory
You are carrying:
armour (being worn)
a rifle
a death box (open)
a death needle
a Redline
a helmet (being worn)
You examine Redline
A thin red stick half as long as your thumb. They said it gave you half an hour's grace. Half an hour of not feeling your wounds, of blood clotting instantly, of thinking fast and acting faster. Then you die.

Sarah waits patiently.
You give Redline to Sarah
(first taking the Redline)
Sarah swallows the Redline, taking a moment to let it fully work through her system. "Remember," she whispers. And you do. You remember how everything started, back when life was so much simpler.

'Pro pace pugnamus.'
--Pegasus motto

"Trust yourself. Trust your body. Trust your instincts. Trust your knowledge." That's the first thing the Sergeant told you. He then spent ten minutes playing Mission: Impossible clips and
pointing out how none of the stunts would have been necessary if Tom Cruise had trusted his skills enough for a frontal assault.

"You're an Agent," he said. "Act like one. You are strong. Use your strength."

Then came basic training, weeks of it, and now you're ready for your first evaluation. The mission, simulated though it is, is simple enough: retrieve the laptop.

Sleek white walls enclose this small alcove off the main training area. A car chassis, wheel-less and packed with cinder blocks, bars the arch out. It must weigh thousands of pounds. The walls behind you are sealed, and you can't even see where the gaps were they were before they closed. No going back now.
You examine car
It's an SUV, but you don't know any more about cars than that. It's all that stands between you and the training ground. The wheels are gone, so it's not rolling anywhere. To add insult to injury, it's filled with cinder blocks. It looks properly heavy.
Inventory
You are carrying:
a rifle
armour (being worn)
You examine the rifle
Your pride and joy: a Paragal-class mid-heavy assault electroplasma accelerator. You love the way its weight feels in the crook of your arm, the way its white ceramic casing, polished to a shine, looks against your armour. The fact that every new recruit gets one of these has in no way dulled your enthusiasm for yours.
You look at the armour
The first thing they gave you, and the closest Pegasus has to a uniform, your body armour is what marks you out as a proto-Agent and not one of the techs, administrators, command staff, or other various base hangers-on. The white hexagons that tile your chest have never seen combat, but when they do it'll be great.
You climb the car
It completely covers the door. All you'd be able to do is stand on top of it.
You stand on the car
There's no space. It's not a maze, it's a barrier.
You examine the blocks
It's an SUV, but you don't know any more about cars than that. It's all that stands between you and the training ground. The wheels are gone, so it's not rolling anywhere. To add insult to injury, it's filled with cinder blocks. It looks properly heavy.

For some reason, you think it looks a bit like a phone booth.
You get the blocks
They're fixed into the chassis.
You pick up the car
That's hardly portable.
Go east
You've already spent a lot of time here, and you're surprised it doesn't look any different from usual. At first glance, it could be a school gymnasium set out for a judo lesson: plenty of high ceilings, floor mats, and ropes and rings on the walls. Your second glance takes in its sheer size, general cleanliness, and the variety of equipment, ranging from target dummies to a huge projector screen showing a second-order differential equation. A pedestal stands at the end of the room.

On the pedestal is a laptop.
You look at the pedestal
A wooden box, about waist height.

On the pedestal is a laptop.
You look at the laptop
A standard Pegasus laptop: white, as always, with a fifteen-inch screen. It's off. You remember someone calling it a Scorpion.
Agents doing advanced training in computer work are issued with the more powerful Manticore, but there's no reason to use a Â£20,000 piece of equipment just as a MacGuffin.
You examine the projector
The screen reads "d2y/dx2-3dy/dx+8=6x". Solving second-order differential equations in your head is a standard Pegasus mental exercise: it's not particularly taxing, once you know how, but it takes concentration. This one must have been left up by the last people to use the training room.
You search it
On the pedestal is a laptop.
You get laptop
You reach for the laptop. "Hey!" A female voice comes out of nowhere, followed by the female in question. "That's mine! Hello, by the way. I'm Sarah." She leaps between you and the laptop, stretching out her hand for it.
You examine Sarah
You know her from the lectures, but the two of you have never actually spoken before. You're probably stronger physically, but she doesn't look like she's too cut up about this. Her stance denotes agility, speed, and reflexes that could more than make up for the difference. She wears her hair long, her ponytail coming over her shoulder and onto her armour.
You ask Sarah about the laptop
Please TALK TO Sarah instead.
You talk to Sarah
"Right."

1) Introduce yourself.

2) "There must have been some mistake. I need the laptop."
2
"I was told that was my evaluation. I had to get the laptop."

1) "That's strange. They don't generally make mistakes like that."
1
"I'm sure I'm in the right room, too. It must be a test of some sort."

1) "We could fight for it."

2) "Maybe if we wait a bit, they'll tell us what to do."

3) "We could grab it together?"
3
"Now that's a good idea. I'll count down five seconds, and then we'll both take it at once. OK?"

1) "Fine."

2) "We could fight for it."

3) "Maybe if we wait a bit, they'll tell us what to do."
1
She nods and starts counting. "Five..."
You wait awhile
Time passes.

"Four..."
You wait awhile
Time passes.

"Three..."
You wait
Time passes.

"Two..."
You wait for a while
Time passes.

"One..."
You get the laptop
You and Sarah grab the laptop and lift it off the pedestal. You smile a bit; she smirks. One of the walls slides open, letting you out to the rest of the base. You drop the laptop on the stand and leave together. You later learn that only twenty per cent of Agents manage this sort of alliance.

You are debriefed, your performance analysed, your psyche evaluated, and you continue training. You meet Sarah again a few days later, in entirely different circumstances.

A semi-circular wall surrounds the podium. Slots, mostly empty, wait to receive the remains of those Agents who fall in the line of duty in the future. A single curved pew completes the circle.

Every month, there's a memorial service for dead Agents. When Pegasus was founded, the service was compulsory and Roman Catholic, because the government could not countenance any other kind. These days, it's optional and non-denominational, for much the same reason.

You were surprised, and a little pleased, when she showed up too.
You examine the slots
Looking something like the hole in a tape player, the slots, each about one hand's breadth wide, line the wall behind the podium. A few have coffins in them -- they look like VCRs from the outside, but the Pegasus term is coffins.
You examine the pew
A dark, varnished wooden bench with no handrails or dividers. It fits about ten people.
You examine Sarah
You know her from the lectures, but the two of you have never actually spoken before. You're probably stronger physically, but she doesn't look like she's too cut up about this. Her stance denotes agility, speed, and reflexes that could more than make up for the difference. She wears her hair long, her ponytail coming over her shoulder and onto her armour.
You talk to her
"Hello again. How've you been?"

1) "Fine. You?"

2) "You know, I've realised, I don't actually know much about you."
2
She smiles. "I'm just me, I suppose. What's there to ask?"

1) "What makes you an Agent?"

2) "What was it like before you were an Agent?"

3) "How are you finding it here?"
2
"I don't really want to talk about it. Sorry."

1) "What makes you an Agent?"

2) "How are you finding it here?"
1
"Of course I'd say that it's about doing some good in the world, helping people, et cetera et cetera." She pauses, considers. "That was never such a big thing for me. There's evil, sure, but it's way over there, and I'm over here." She spreads her hands wide, shaking first one, then the other, illustrating the point. "It's bad, and I want to stop it, but it's hard to care until I'm actually right in front of it, if you see what I mean?"

1) "I get it."

2) "I can't say I do."
1
"I guess I like the Agent thing because it gives me something to trust. The other Agents, the instructors, the support crew. The worse it gets, the more we're in it together." She checks herself with a grin. "Listen to me, talking like some kind of grizzled veteran when I haven't even deployed properly yet. Enough about me. If it's not too personal a question, why are you here?"

1) "It's my way of making a better world."

2) "Someone has to."

3) "It's the coolest job I've ever had."
1
Sarah nods. "A better world. We could do with one of those."

1) "You said something interesting earlier -- that you were an Agent so you could trust people."
1
"Yeah. I didn't, always."

1) "If you want to talk about it..."

2) "I understand."
1
"Thanks. I've got enough on my plate right now with the psych team, but thanks."

1) "I understand."

2) "Psych isn't always the best option. You sure you don't want to tell me what this is about?"
1
"Thanks. Maybe I'll tell you about it one day. For now, let's listen to the service."

The pastor walks up to the lectern and unfolds his notes.
You sit on the pew
You get onto the pew.

It seems so long ago now, but the memory of how you met Sarah is as clear as if you were living it again. You remember more training, together and apart. She specialised in tactical work: close-quarters combat, computational analysis. You took command and grand strategy. The two of you were paired through your final tests, and deploying together was a natural choice.

'Battles are games of thought. Out-think your opponents,
and you will out-fight them automatically.'
--The Art and Science of Combat

Pegasus doesn't normally go in for assassinations, which means that the average person's impression on seeing you and Sarah on the edge of a rooftop with a rifle would likely have been wrong. You'd flown in on a vertical-takeoff jet, now parked safely in a vacant lot a few streets over. Your first deployment (Pegasus hates the term "mission", but you all use it anyway) was one of reconnaissance, with a view to protection. Watch the street for suspicious activity. The VIP will be coming down the street in twenty-four hours. Make sure it's safe. Walk away if anything serious starts going down -- if worst comes to worst, the event can be cancelled.

Dirty grey panels, punctured by air vents, form the roof of this tower block. Far below, you see the street. The wind hums through the gratings, making you just a little bit too cold for comfort.

You can see Sarah here.
You talk to Sarah
"So. Keeping watch."

1) "Yup."
1
"Not what you expected from your first deployment? Sitting on a roof?"

1) "Not really."

2) "Actually..."
1
"You'd think they wouldn't need one Agent up here, let alone two. Couldn't they just do it with a drone?"

1) "Or just use the street cameras."

2) "Command has its reasons."
1
"It'd be safer, too." Sarah sighs. "To be honest, I'm not sure Command thinks everything through before doing it."

Before either of you can say any more, you hear a shot and press yourself against the roof. The bullet flies over your head and out of sight. Turning your head, you see your assailant, dressed in hitman black and wielding a semi-automatic pistol. He is already turning to point it at Sarah. She's heard the bullet, and she's dropped to the roof, but you can see she won't get out of the way quickly enough unless you do something.

Your brain kicks into overdrive. Time stops.
You look at street
Half the people on the street have now stopped moving; the other half are running. You can just about make out weapons, if you squint. "We need a new way out", you mutter.

Sarah cuffs the hitman to a grille. "I've got one. Give me a second." She taps a code into the wrist of her armour.
You wait
Time passes.

Sarah barely mutters, concentrating. "I can fly the jet remotely. Grab my rifle. I won't be able to take it." You hear the hum of the jet, distant.
You get the rifle
Taken.

You suddenly notice activity on the street, and swear. "They've got a rocket launcher." "Can't let the jet hover, then," Sarah says. "How are you for jumping?" It's not a question.
You jump
You rock back and forth on the balls of your feet, preparing.

Jumping onto a jet plane is a standard advanced extraction technique, but that doesn't make it any easier to do in practice. "I'll count you down," says Sarah. "Three..."
You wait
Time passes.

"Two..." You see the jet flying up over the roof's horizon.
You wait for a while
Time passes.

"One..."
You jump
You bend your knees, tense your leg muscles, and propel yourself at the jet. Training takes over. You remember doing this in simulators: grab here, pull there. Suddenly, you're in the rear seat. Sarah is in front of you, grabbing the joystick, taking physical control of the jet. You scream away into the sky.

You remember debriefings after that, questions from Internal Affairs, a mole-hunt that went nowhere, and everyone finally deciding that you and Sarah had just been on the wrong rooftop at the wrong time. You remember a dozen or so successful deployments after that, some easy, some less so, some with Sarah, some with other Agents. You remember making Senior Agent, being given command of a full fireteam.

Then, you remember why you're where you are now.

'If the currency of modern life is information, anyone who
knows someone else's secret is a thief. Secret agencies have always been comfortable with theft.'
--Introductory lecture to Pegasus offensive computational
analysis programme

A radical far-left group planned, somehow, to attempt the destabilisation of the government of a small southern European nation. That was all you knew. The group had contacts within the national police force, so the government had asked Pegasus for help. Once again, the mission was reconnaissance, although a little bit more actively this time. You were deploying into Zetola, the capital city. There was an office building there where the group was known to keep files. Get in, transmit the data to Pegasus, get out.

A team of six would attract too much attention, so you and Sarah were going in alone. As always, there was a risk of combat, so you were in full armour.

Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty for some reason, which is good luck for you but strange. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions, and the passageways are complex enough that going in the direction you came from will not take you back the way you came.

Command comes in over the radio in your helmet. "Welcome to Zetola.
I have you on my map. You'll want to go north here."

You can see Sarah here.
Go north
It's mostly silent as you and Sarah slip through the alleys. A cat crosses your path before disappearing.

Your earpiece squawks. "Go to the west."

Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah follows you through the winding maze.
Go west
You start to hear slight noises up ahead, but it's still mostly quiet. Sarah speaks quickly into her helmet mic, listens to the answer. "Command says they didn't foresee any problems."

Command's instructions crackle in your earpiece. "Go to the west."

Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah follows you through the winding maze.
Go west
The noise builds slightly. It sounds a bit like shouting. Sarah is getting jumpy. "You know, we might be able to find a different way around," she says. "How about the east passage?"

You hear Command over the radio. "Go to the south."

Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah follows you through the winding maze.
Go south
It really does sound like shouting now, with some heavy machinery.

Your earpiece squawks. "Go to the east."

Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah follows you through the winding maze.
Go east
You come to an opening and look through into an open city square. Command burbles in your earpiece, saying something about getting to the building on the other side of the square. You only half listen as you take in the scene.

"Well why the-" Sarah's visor slides down, muffling her conversation with Control. It slides up again a long moment later. "Apparently this only just got on the news back at base. They're 'working on solutions' right now."

A crowd of people fills the square, shouting and chanting. A line of police tries to hold them back, pushing on the flagstones. Large buildings surround the square, including an office block that you recognise from the mission brief. There's no way you'll be able to cross as it is. The sidewalks are covered with rubbish, obscuring them almost completely.

You can see Sarah here.
You look at what you're carrying with you
You are carrying:
a helmet (being worn)
a death box (closed)
a rifle
armour (being worn)
You talk to Sarah
"We grab the files, we get out. I don't like this, but it's the objective."
You examine the crowd
Rioters struggle, pushing, shoving, chanting, waving signs. They're mostly young men, but you see some women too.
You examine the signs
You read the signs with some difficulty. There's the usual we-want-change, and then there are some more specific slogans about the government's over-reliance on international organisations to manage its country.
You look at the office
You remember it from the briefing: a fairly tall block with double doors. It seems to be locked up and empty on account of the riot, although you could probably shoulder or shoot the doors in.
You enter it
It's on the other side of the crowd. You'll have to get past it, or through it, first.
You jump
You jump on the spot.
You go east
The riot fills the whole square; any ways around would just lead you to a different perspective on it.
You look at the helmet
A combat helmet. Pegasus only brought them in recently. It locks into your armour, extending your bullet-resistant area from the top of your head down to your pelvis. The retractable face plate is gloss black, contrasting against the white of the rest of your armour.
Shout
You scream, fruitlessly.
You talk to her
(Sarah)
"We grab the files, we get out. I don't like this, but it's the objective."
Shoot building
Which do you mean, the buildings or the office building?
You examine the buildings
Tall grey structures, some residential, some offices, all with at least some graffiti.
You examine the police
Black body armour and transparent shields are about all you can see of the police from this distance. They're fighting a losing battle keeping the protesters contained.
You run
You'll have to say which compass direction to go in.
You run east
The riot fills the whole square; any ways around would just lead you to a different perspective on it.
You talk to the people
"We grab the files, we get out. I don't like this, but it's the objective."
You hit crowd
The documents are more important than a few broken bones. You set your rifle to minimum penetration and get moving. Sarah follows a second after. You cut a swathe through the crowd, kicking at legs and necks as they present themselves. You reach the building, forcing your way in through the lobby doors and pulling them shut behind you.

An empty wood-panelled lobby. Plush carpeted stairs lead up to the offices. The reception desk has no chair, as Sarah has used it to block the door.

You can see Sarah here.

Sarah rams a chair against the door handles. "We've only got a minute."
You ascend
A utilitarian wood-panelled stairwell with a sign on the wall.
Offices open out east and west.

Sarah arrives from below.
You go east
Racks of files, paper and digital, along with a computer terminal, jump out at you from the air-conditioned darkness of the storage room. The heavy door locks behind you, which is an immediate relief.

Sarah arrives from the west.

"You're the computer expert", you say. "Let's get to work."
You read the sign
Arrows point up, down, east, labelled Storage and Archiving,
and west, labelled Reformist Media Group.
You examine computer
Old and a little slow, but that doesn't seem to bother Sarah.

Sarah hooks up the drives to the computer and links it with the Pegasus network.
You talk to Sarah
You try, but the words won't come.

Sarah finds the files she needs and starts the upload.
Wait
Time passes.

Sarah suddenly turns to you. "You know, we might not get out of this, and if we don't..."

1) "Yes?"
1
"I've been meaning to tell you this for a long time, but I didn't know what you'd think of me if I did." She checks the upload progress. "Guess it doesn't matter now. Anyway. I didn't want to be an Agent."

1) "Didn't you sign up?"
1
"My parents were military. I was on base one night when I was about sixteen. I decided to have a wander around. I got lost." Sarah gathers herself. "Well, once you find something as secret as the Pegasus operational command, either they kill you, or they keep you. I'm an Agent because it was that or life in some tiny off-the-grid prison cell."

1) "Didn't they have guards and doors and things to stop you?"
1
"I always wondered about that myself. They had enough once I was in, and they were strong enough the time I tried to run." She rubs her shoulder, grimacing at the memory. "Maybe I was just really good, or maybe it was their way of headhunting me. I don't know how my life would have turned out otherwise, so I can't say I've got good or bad feelings one way or the other. Just thought someone should know."
The computer dings. "Upload's done. I never held it against them, in principle. They were just being secret. They're good underneath. I should say thank you. Thank you for being someone I could trust, all the way through. It meant a lot to me."
You talk to her
(Sarah)
You don't have anything to say right now.

Your earpiece explodes into life. "Control here. We have the files, and we think we've found you a way out. Just do what we say."

1) "I'm listening."

2) "We've got something bigger to talk about first."
1
"We're going to fire a bomb from space to detonate over the city. It'll make a big noise and flash, but nobody gets hurt. That gives you a distraction, and you get out of there. Once you reach the suburbs, find an open space. A jet is on its way as we speak."

1) "You're sure this will work?"
1
"Trust me. Please." Control ends the conversation. You explain the plan to Sarah. A few minutes later, you hear an immense explosion from high in the air and towards the city center.

You nod at Sarah. "Let's get out of here. I think there's a back door."

Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah races after you.

There's a shout behind you. It's a pack of armed police. They must not have been told about the Pegasus intervention. You only have enough time to see that they've got guns before one of their bullets knocks Sarah's helmet off. Without thinking further, the two of you dive headlong into the alleyways.
You go west
Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah races after you.

You hear running feet and shouting.
You look at the sign
They advertise both local and international brands, with varying degrees of vigour and success.

A few bullets ricochet off the corner you just turned.
You go south
Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah races after you.

You hear gasps, shouts, and pursuit.
Go south
Narrow alleys between grey buildings. Occasionally, a sign or billboard will deliver a splash of colour. The streets are empty. Exits lead in all four cardinal directions

Sarah races after you.

Your pursuers yell something unintelligible but unfriendly.
Go south
You stumble into a dead end. Cars line the streets. You hear shouting, coming towards you. You need a plan.

A few cars are parked on the sidewalks of this alley. Buildings surround three sides. There's no way out.

"We need some kind of barrier!" shouts Sarah.
1
You protest, but you open your death box at the same time. You know it's true. "I'm the specialist," Sarah says. "We'll have the best chance if I take it. They'll send in another team to collect my body later, when this all blows over. You climb the buildings, get out that way." She pauses.

"They'll tell you I'm gone. They'll tell you I can't come back. That's all true.

But they'll also tell you it's best to forget me. Do me a favour, OK? Don't believe them."

Sarah's eyes meet yours, and she holds out her hand for your Redline.
You give Redline to Sarah
(first taking the Redline)
Sarah swallows the Redline, taking a moment to let it fully work through her system. "Remember," she whispers, before leaping backwards over the barrier.

You notice a white glint in amongst the cars.
You look at the glint
It's Sarah's death box. She must not have lost it; she must have dropped it on purpose, and it's broken open. You notice it still has her Redline inside.

You realise you could climb one of the buildings while Sarah distracts the police and escape that way. Alternatively, you could swallow Sarah's Redline. If you act fast, the chemicals in your death needle will be enough to wash the poison out of her blood, but you'll have to stay behind and cover her escape, and she won't be able to save you.

Gunfire crackles through the cars that make up the barricade, one round glancing off your armour.
You eat redline
You swallow the Redline, feel it pump new fire into your veins. You are fast. You are strong. You are invincible. For a moment you consider dying fighting alongside your friend, but dismiss that as foolisnhesss -- why should two die when only one has to? You vault the barricade, interrupt Sarah in her duel, pull her back, jam the death needle into her neck. Her body shakes as the death needle purges the Redline from her system. You throw her over the cars and turn to face the enemy. You hear her over your radio-link. "I told you not to. Why do you think I hid it?" You hear sobbing.

And then, as you make your last stand, you hear the sounds of Sarah climbing.
You climb
(the buildings)
You drop the death box and begin to climb, hauling yourself up by outcroppings on the walls. There's no time to look back, and no mindspace to think. You climb; that is all. You roll onto the roof, find a skylight, drop into the building, leave by the other door. You leave Zetola behind forever.