Pinnacle Rise
“Look, imagine if a haunted accordion had a baby with a black hole and raised it in a meat grinder designed by Kafka. That’s the Pinnacle. And no, that’s not even close, but it’s the best you’ll get without doing it.”
The Croon Campaign and the Birth of Legend
The Pinnacle was the central capital ship of a terrifying alien invasion by the Croons—an enigmatic species named for their resonant, thrumming language. Croons communicated through music-like frequencies that defied human decoding and displayed no interest in negotiation, prisoners, or distinguishing between military and civilian targets. Their invasion, dubbed the Croon Campaign or Operation Sigma Dogstar (colloquially Sigma Dog), marked the first major trial of the Astro-Landing Force (ALF). In space, the Croon strategy faltered against human torpedoes and particle beams, but their flagship—called the Pinnacle Rise—remained an enduring threat. Shaped like an oblong sphere the Size of a small moon, it bore heavy armor and minimal weaponry, relying instead on its soldiers and boarding actions. Humanity concluded that the only way to truly end the invasion—and possibly learn the invaders’ motives—was to seize the Pinnacle intact. That task fell to the ALF.
The Siege of the Pinnacle Rise
ALF Marines launched a full-scale planetary-style invasion onto the Pinnacle’s surface, waging a weeks-long campaign in low gravity even before breaching its hull. What followed was five brutal months of corridor-to-corridor fighting inside a structure so vast that, if laid out flat, it would span a continent. The Croons used sonic attacks, unpredictable architecture, and every conceivable trap, but ALF endured, room by room. Victory came with no answers—the Croon language resisted all attempts at decryption, their physiology was unforthcoming, and no reinforcements ever arrived from Spinward. With no further signs of Croon activity, humanity declared the war over. The Pinnacle was stripped for study, but once its mysteries proved impenetrable, the gutted structure was handed over to the ALF. In time, it was converted into the ultimate proving ground for new recruits, fusing alien and human architecture into a monument of suffering and legacy.
Training Ground of the Indomitable
ALF basic training begins conventionally, but after six months, recruits are flown to the Pinnacle to begin their real trial: a corridor-by-corridor campaign against neural-weapon-armed Synthetics. These simulated enemies don’t kill, but induce paralyzing pain or mind-shattering terror. Recruits often ‘die’ thousands of times—always screaming. Every possible obstacle is thrown at them, and each iteration of the Pinnacle is tailored to the unique physical and psychological weaknesses of its class by Dedicated Opposition Engineers (DOEs), who spend months profiling recruits in secret. Paradoxically, this hellish ordeal becomes a cherished memory. ALF Marines speak in shorthand that outsiders can't understand—“Corridor S-112” or “Screaming Stairwell Delta”—and find instant camaraderie through shared trauma. The Pinnacle is more than training: it’s a crucible that binds them into something unbreakable.
The Test That Tests the Soul
Most ALF dropouts occur during the Pinnacle. But unlike basic, recruits may quit at any time and are rewarded handsomely for doing so: psychological care, a ten-year salary payout, and a ticket home. No shame is cast. The catch? Those who don’t quit earn no glory, no wealth—just the title of ALF Marine and the burden of honor and duties. This final temptation is the true test of character. Two legends illustrate this contrast: William Neamhan, who never once ‘died,’ maneuvered so expertly that even the DOEs admired him with resentment; and Sendessa Toby, who 'died' 9,604 times but never surrendered, becoming a living icon of willpower. To this day, references to her — typically in the form of some version of “98 squared”—shows up on Marine tattoos across the system. Then there’s the Last Corridor: the final solo challenge each recruit faces. None speak of it. Some exit weeping, others silent, and a few carried out. But those who emerge earn their insignia—and the lifelong brotherhood of the Pinnacle.
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