Megalith (mission)

Megalith is the 18th and final mission of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies.

Overview
Operation Autumn Thunder was the coup de grace needed to finally finish off Erusea once and for all. With their military leaders killed and their capital Farbanti taken over, Erusea was finally defeated, and the Usean Continental War came to an end.

However, further investigation confirmed that the war wasn't really over yet: Megalith, a planetary defense installation made to protect the planet from the Ulysses 1994XF04 Asteroid, was complete-- ready to be used as a weapon of war.

The player's mission is to destroy Megalith-- to end the war that nearly annihilated ISAF a long time ago.

Briefing
[NOTE: Given the special circumstances of the mission, the briefing shall be displayed in dialog format.]

The ISAF logo appears as usual, followed by the uploading of the map of the Usean Continent. Icons representing asteroids begin raining down on the Usean Continent map, beginning with a fragment crashing in northern Erusea, ''while an alarm rings in the background. Several others fragments then fall in the eastern regions of Usea.'' The system then zooms on a small island east from the Erusian coast, marked "Megalith". The screen enters mission geography mode. ''As the commander speaks, the screen changes to schematics of the planetary defense facility. They are marked with "CLASSIFIED: Megalith".'' ''The camera then zooms in on the eastern missile groove of Megalith. The screen then begins to scroll up the groove. We can see an arrow marking Megalith's central generator, which is marked by a red dot. The screen zooms out once the commander finishes speaking.'' ''The camera zooms on Megalith again, this time into the upper left ara. It then begins scrolling towards the right of Megalith.'' ''The screen then zooms on the western groove. The screen scrolls up back to the main generator, then zooms out & back into the center of Megalith as the commander speaks.'' The system zooms back away from Megalith. The system powers out.
 * ISAF Commander: A group of young Erusian officers have taken over Megalith, the superweapon that was under development.
 * ISAF Commander: Megalith is a rocket launch facility that can shoot down asteroid fragments in orbit.
 * ISAF Commander: The only way to destroy this highly dangerous and fortified facility is to hit it from the inside.
 * ISAF Commander: Follow the missile port grooves to find the three generators deep within the facility. Destroy the generators to access the central heat vent.
 * ISAF Commander: Once inside, destroy the giant missile in the central silo. An infiltration unit will secure your escape route.
 * ISAF Commander: Their plan calls for waiting until the generators are off-line, and then taking over the sub-control room once the blackout hits.
 * ISAF Commander: Enter this rat's nest with full confidence that the unit will get you out again.
 * ISAF Commander: It's highly likely that this will be your final mission. Remember, we need heroes after the war too. Make it back in one piece.
 * ISAF Commander: Dismissed!

ISAF Commander Speech Transcript
''This speech plays during the Hangar screen. Note how there is no cutscene made for the speech, thus it is very easy to pass it without paying attention.''

"Good morning, troops. I have an important announcement. In one hour, each one of you will take part in the most important mission in our history. A mission that will result in the defeat of the vile enemy who has brought chaos to our continent.

''Although we are from different nations, and of different races, we have fought, and died together, fighting for what we believe in. Fighting for freedom. Today, we shall gather together once again to liberate our beautiful continent, and to restore freedom to our people, our friends, and our families.''

''Our victory will dawn the beginning of a new era and beginning for the Usea continent. Victory will be ours. We shall restore peace to our people. We will win back our freedom, and our future. The skies belong to everyone.''

Now, let us take back our shattered skies!"

Opening Cutscene
''The scene begins with the camera zooming out of the front of Megalith. In the background, the facility is in the middle of an ICBM launch, with targeting lasers filling the dark skies. Contributing to the apocalyptic atmosphere, Rex Tremendae plays as the BGM.''

''The scene then flashes to a lone seagull in the air. Asteroid fragments belonging to the Ulysses 1994XF04 Asteroid then begin to rain down on Earth, thus completing the apocalyptic setting.''

Cut to a large flock of seagulls flying in the proximity of Megalith, the camera panning to show the rising sun in the background.

The camera cuts to AWACS Sky Eye flying over Megalith, while asteroids continue filling the sky with fire.

''Finally, the game reaches to a climax as the camera cuts back to the ground & zooms back into the center of Megalith. Rex Tremendae ends once the camera cuts to a seagull flying over Megalith, then to a birds-eye shot of the installation, then an asteroid passes by the camera, at which point the cutscene ends.''

(Gameplay)
[MISSION START]

The asteroid storm begins as the aircraft of the 118th Tactical Fighter Wing approach Megalith. The climax comes to an absolute peak as Megalith Agnus Dei begins playing. A massive dogfight ensues. In the middle of the chaos, Jean-Louis, the current leader of Yellow Squadron is killed. ''Minutes later, the entire Yellow Squadron is annihilated. Only ISAF aircraft remain in the airspace.''
 * AWACS Sky Eye: (beep) SkyEye here. All Mobius aircraft report in.
 * Mobius Aircraft: Mobius 2 on standby.
 * Mobius Aircraft: Mobius 3 through 7 on standby.
 * Mobius Aircraft: Mobius 8 on stanby.
 * SkyEye: Preparations are complete, ready for battle. All aircraft follow Mobius 1!
 * Yellow: I see them! Got a tally ho on the bandits.
 * Yellow: You're not going to believe this Jean-Louis. All of them have ribbon insignias!
 * SkyEye: Mobius 1, engage.
 * Mobius Aircraft: Mobius 4, engage.
 * Yellow: Only Erusian aircraft should be flying this airspace. Sweep them from our skies!
 * Bravo 1 (Friend G.): Bravo 1 here. All teams are on the 13th floor. But we can't get the sub control room to open. It's an electronic lock. We'll hold the position until all generators are destroyed. So hurry up!
 * ISAF Soldier: Here they come! Don't let them get through panel K!
 * ISAF Soldier: Altman, use your hand grenades! (gunfire is heard)
 * ISAF Soldier: Dammit! They've got a flamethrower!
 * ISAF Soldier: Shoot! Shoot! Over by the stairs!
 * Mobius Aircraft: (as the skirmish between the Mobius & Yellow aircraft continues) What was that light?
 * Mobius Aircraft: No way we can fly in that crawlspace!
 * Yellow: Stay clear of the ribbons!
 * Mobius Aircraft: This entire thing is Megalith?
 * Yellow: We're better in a dogfight.
 * Yellow (Gene): Oh! Jean-Louis's been hit!
 * Yellow: Get a grip, Gene! You've got to take over command!

''Mobius One then flies into one of the port grooves of Megalith. Inside the planetary defense system, Mobius One finds and destroys one of Megalith's power generators.'' Gunfire will continue to play, even though the ground crews aren't contacting the player. Mobius One then flies into the second and third port grooves, and destroys the generators inside.
 * ISAF Soldier: Tango 2 here, we need backup on passageway 6.
 * Bravo 1: (gunfire) Tango 2, block off the elevator! Don't give up! Our air support will do something!
 * ISAF Soldier: Pull back! Pull back! Leave him! He's dead!

Part II: Agnus Dei
''With all three generators destroyed, Megalith's missile silos open. Adding to the intensity, Heaven's Gate plays. The end is now near.'' ''Mobius One then flies into the central port groove of Megalith. Upon the end of the tunnel lies a giant ICBM, preparing for launch. Mobius successfully destroys the ICBM and escapes from Megalith through the open panels. The screen blacks out.''
 * Bravo 1: All right, the panel's open! Break through! Break through! Get the sub control room under control.
 * ISAF Soldier: The exhaust vents are open!
 * Bravo 1: Hurry up! The planes are plunging in any minute now!
 * Bravo 1: We'll get those panels open! Don't let those pilots die!

(Cutscene)
Mobius One manages to escape from Megalith as the giant ICBM causes a gigantic explosion that destroys the entire central part of Megalith while Mobius One flies almost straight up to escape. ''The camera then cuts to a birds-eye view of Megalith. We can see various small explosions in the central sector, as well as a fire coming from the inside.'' The camera cuts to the horizon, showing meteors rain down to the earth as the sky fills with sunlight. Cut to Mobius 1. Mobius One leaves camera view and the screen fades to black.
 * SkyEye: Target destroyed! There he is! We've got Mobius 1 on radar!
 * Bravo 1: Bravo 1 here. That plane that flew in, is it all right?
 * SkyEye: Yes, he's fine. I've got visual on him right now.
 * Bravo 1: So did we win the war?
 * SkyEye: I don't know. History determines the winner. But there's one thing I can say for certain. Heroes really do exist.
 * SkyEye: We've just seen one, and now he's coming home.

Trivia

 * The player can actually avoid fighting the yellow squadron completely by flying very low, and very fast or circling around the group.