Prologue (Downfall)

Prologue is the first level featured in ''Downfall. ''The player takes control of Rookie, a United States Space Command Marine sent to Earth to rescue survivors.

Characters

 * Rookie (Playable)
 * Rebecca Parkinson
 * Brax Wharton
 * Xavier Rhee
 * Kelly Wilson
 * Commander Daniels (Killed)

Transcript
The screen is pitch black. An explosion of escaping gas is heard and then followed by a beeping sound. It’s beat gets progressively faster as time goes by. Rookie wakes up from an induced cryostasis sleep. He struggles to catch his breath as if he just got up from a nightmare. He is greeted by Rebecca, her body glistening with sweat. Rebecca: “Easy, Rookie, you've been out for a while. Get ready” Rookie struggles to lift his hand, he eventually does and gives her a shaky thumbs-up, Rebecca walks away and sits down. Rookie moves his head to his right where he sees Brax putting his heavily armoured helmet on just catching a glimpse of his face. In the distance, a holographic globe of Earth dominates the hall, markings indicate possible locations for survivors. The globe flickers and turns off and on, a familiar looking planet is seen through the cockpit window perfectly superimposing with the holographic globe of Earth. A female’s voice is heard, Rookie looks to his left to see Kelly looking at him with a smile on her face. Kelly: “Beautiful ain’t she?”

Rookie nods his head in agreement.

Kelly: “You don't talk much? A lot of men like you don’t talk much.”

Kelly smiles again and puts her combat helmet on. A male voice is heard over a loudspeaker.

Commander:  “Prepare to drop, ETA 10 minutes.” Rookie looks down to see a helmet, with his name on it but it’s crossed out. He picks it up to closely examine it. (Player’s are given the option to give their character a name). Rookie puts it on. A muffled but clear voice is heard shouting.

Brax: “Weapons check!” Rookie picks up his M2X-16 and takes out the magazine to see that it’s fully loaded with ammunition. The room is echoed with the sound of Assault Rifles and Handguns cocking. Rebecca: “Check” Brax: “Check” Kelly: “Check” Xavier:  “Check” Rookie nods in response while cocking his Assault rifle, telling the squad he is ready. Rebecca: “Hold on...” As she says this, the ships speeds towards Earth's atmosphere. The commander of the aircraft stands up. Commander: “Show time! Get ready to drop gentlemen.” Kelly and Rookie head to the other side of the room where multiple Drop Prods are stationed. The rest of the Marines prepare to enter the drop pods. As Rookie reaches the doors, they open and he steps inside one. Rookie nods to Kelly and the door closes. A beeping sound begins to play. A rib falls over Rookie’s shoulder. Shouts are heard from outside. Rookie begins to panic and bangs his fists on the glass door. He looks outside and sees a fire burning on the side of the ship. A rocket hits the flames and multiple drop pods explode. The door opens and soldiers seen putting on their helmets and running into the drop pods. Kelly runs into Rookie’s drop pod and slams her fist down on a green button. The back of the pod slides away and she pushes him off before jumping herself. Other spacecraft in the sky are seen being hit by rockets. Hundreds of Marines can be seen free falling towards the atmosphere. The rest of the squad are also seen falling near. Rookie turns around and faces the spacecraft above him. It explodes then the screen goes black. Rookie blinks several times, then fully opens his eyes. Xavier is leaning over him with a smile on his face.. Xavier: “(laughs) Welcome to Earth.” Rookie pushes himself up and eventually stands. Static is heard from Rebecca's high-band. Rebecca: “I'm picking up a strange transmission on the high-band” Kelly: “Human?” Rebecca: “Not sure, i’ll keep scanning the area” The group keep walking, their footsteps crunch the sand beneath them. Rebecca gets another strange transmission, the group stops in confusion. Transmission: “Come.....USSC..” Xavier: “I heard something that time” Kelly: “Brax? The trees and bushes next to the group begin to move and rustle. Brax appears from them dragging a badly damaged Drop Pod. Brax: “Take a look at this” Brax rips out the Drop Pods glass door and throws it in front of the group. Kelly gasps in shock. There is scratches that cover every part of the glass and there is a clear viscous residue dripping from it. Xavier: “That was Rookie’s pod, what could have done that?” Transmission: “(static) Forgotten... s... dea... d” Rebecca: “Hello? Hello? This is USSC Forgotten Hope 21 to Dawn please respond.” Transmission: “(static) Is the... anyo... there? We’ve los... power.” Rebecca: “This is USSC Forgotten Hope 21. I repeat, this is USSC Forgotten Hope 21. Dawn please respond.” Xavier: “Our relays are probably done. They can’t hear us.” Rebecca turns towards Xavier. Rebecca: “How is that possible? They can relay to everyone else, but we can’t contact them.” Transmission: “(static) Dawn’s going... I repeat... going down. All aboar... evacua... now.” Xavier: “Rebecca... don’t.” Rebecca shakes her head and turns away from Xavier. Rebecca: “This is USSC Forgotten Hope 21, what are your coordinates?” Transmission: “(static) Get out o... now! Ejec... (static)” Brax: “They’re gone, Rebecca. There’s nothing we can do for them.” Rebecca: “You don’t think I know that?” Xavier: “What are we going to do now?” Rebecca: “How many ships crashed?” Kelly: “...All of them” Brax: “What about our orders.” Xavier: “For all we know, the Commander is dead.” Rookie ventures off through the bushes until he reaches a cliff overlooking what appears to be the ruins of a city as well as a large ship in the distance. Skinned human bodies are hanged upside down on streetlights and traffic lights, in the middle of an intersection is a blood male tied down to a car. He has a name-tag on, it reads Commander Daniels. The rest of the group join Rookie. Rookie: “This isn’t Earth. This is Hell.” The words echo through the silent air. Xavier: “Jesus...what the fuck happened to this place?” Sounds are heard from the ruins. A loud, gut-wrenching scream echoes throughout the city. A missile hits the side of the  ship and it crashes into a group of towers, causing as massive explosion. The words Downfall appears on the screen, before it fades to pitch black.