Big Shell Incident

Two years after the sinking of the tanker U.S.S. Discovery, with Solid Snake blamed and confirmed dead as a result, new FOXHOUND recruit Snake, (changed to Raiden) was sent to infiltrate the off-shore decontamination facility known as the Big Shell, which was constructed shortly after the sinking of the tanker, which, according the government, spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the New York Harbor.

Big Shell
On April 29th, 2009, a terrorist group calling themselves the Sons of Liberty seized control of the Big Shell during a routine inspection tour. The group consisted of former special forces unit Dead Cell and Russian private army members, who were apparently being led by Solid Snake himself. The terrorists took over 30 people hostage, one of whom was the 44th U.S. President James Johnson, who had been on an inspection tour at the time. The Sons of Liberty's demands were $30 billion, and they claimed that if their demands were not met, they would destroy the Big Shell. Not only would this ignite the crude oil in the Manhattan Harbor, but could also burn the chlorides used during the cleanup, creating high levels of dioxins that would wipe out the bay's ecosystem and become the worst environmental disaster in history.

Initially referred to as "Snake," Raiden had orders to rescue the U.S. President and the other hostages from the Sons of Liberty. Raiden infiltrated the Big Shell by sea while SEAL Team 10 entered by air. SEAL Team 10 was divided into 2 groups: Alpha Team landed at Strut B with orders to rescue the President, and Bravo Team were to assist bomb disposal expert Peter Stillman on Strut C, in order to neutralize any explosives planted within the facility.

As Raiden commenced his underwater infiltration from the Hudson Bay, he discovered a recently cut hole in the Big Shell's oil fence. After successfully entering the deep sea dock of Strut A, Shell 1, he alerted his commanding officer, Colonel Campbell, via Codec, about a possible intruder other than himself. The Colonel was taken by surprise, since Raiden should have been the only one to take that infiltration route. Regardless, he ordered Raiden to proceed with caution, after explaining some of the basics of his equipped Skull Suit. Raiden was preparing to exit the immediate area, when he heard sounds of a scuffle emanating from behind a hatch. Opening the hatch, Raiden noticed a peculiar sight in the proceeding hallway: a guard was picking himself up from the floor, having apparently regained consciousness, before heading off in the opposite direction. Following the guard's path into the next room, Raiden witnessed another sentry being catapulted out of the nearby elevator, knocking him unconscious, before coming across the prone body of the previous guard from the hallway. During the ordeal, Raiden managed to catch a brief glimpse of the person responsible, behind the closing elevator doors, thus confirming that there was indeed an intruder other than himself aboard the Big Shell.

The Colonel directed Raiden towards a computer node, which would allow him to access the Big Shell's facilities network. The Colonel then revealed to Raiden that he had selected the "perfect" systems analyst for the mission: his girlfriend Rosemary. Though Raiden was initially unhappy about this development, he reluctantly agreed to her partaking in the mission, but only under the condition that she didn't participate in any way other than as an analyst. Rose also stated to the Colonel that because of this, she would not follow any orders unless it directly related to her immediate duties. Raiden then accessed the node, his nanomachines bypassing the security clearance, and pulled up the structural map of the dock, allowing him to activate his Soliton Radar. With the guards regaining consciousness, Raiden quickly called the elevator, and was forced to hide until it arrived, before boarding it cautiously to avoid enemy detection. Making his way to the rooftop, Raiden removed the rest of his diving gear.

Vamp
Raiden took extreme care in regards to sneaking around the first struts, with intel provided by the Colonel that the President was on Strut B, along with SEAL Team 10, Alpha Team. After, reaching the A-B connecting bridge, Raiden received a transmission from Alpha leader, which had been intercepted by the Colonel: apparently, Alpha Team had located the President, but before they could leave with him, a mysterious entity attacked them, abruptly cutting off the transmission. Upon entering the transformer room in Strut B, Raiden discovered the many slaughtered bodies of Alpha Team filling the hallway, and with the President nowhere in sight. The one responsible was Vamp, a mysterious vampire-like member of Dead Cell who ambushed and slaughtered virtually the entire team. Vamp would have also killed Raiden, had it not been for the rescue efforts of the single SEAL Team 10 survivor, Iroquois Pliskin. Pliskin explained the origins of Vamp and Dead Cell and provided Raiden with a SOCOM pistol. He also identified Raiden as a member of FOXHOUND, even though Pliskin explained that the unit was disbanded 4 years ago. Afterwards, Raiden headed onwards with his mission.

Fortune
As Raiden made it to the B-C connecting bridge, he encountered Bravo Team, who had managed to surround Dead Cell leader Fortune, with the President in her grasp. Firing their weapons, the SEALs were unable to hit her, as every bullet veered away from her, and grenades failed to detonate, as though she were gifted with a supernatural luck. Seeing the hopelessness of their situation, and having been ordered to conceal his presence, Raiden chose not to intervene. Fortune then proceeded to kill all the members of Bravo Team with her powerful man-portable rail gun, destroying the bridge leading to the Shell 1 Core, into which she and Vamp took the President and the "football."

Receiving a Codec call from the Colonel, he was informed Raiden that both SEALs helicopters were shot down by a Harrier and that the SEALs assault was just a diversion to cover Raiden's infiltration. The Colonel also told Raiden that they had received intelligence regarding the presence of C4 explosives, which had been planted throughout the Big Shell facility. With the new objective of helping to disarm these explosives, Raiden rendezvoused with bomb disposal expert Peter Stillman and, once again, Lieutenant JG Pliskin, in Strut C. Peter Stillman explains to them that Dead Cell member Fatman was one of his students (in fact, his best student). He also informs them that an engineer, Big Shell's security systems architect, entered Big Shell with Peter Stillman to get SEAL Team 10 through all of the plant's security measures. After agreeing that Stillman would be safer hiding where he was, Raiden and Pliskin headed out to disarm the C4 planted within Shells 1 and 2, respectively, by Fatman.

However, when all the bombs were disarmed, Raiden received some shocking and disappointing news from a now mobile Stillman. It seemed that all of the "baby" C4s (which had not seemed to have been planted correctly) were simply diversions for the real bombs, which were hidden in the lower levels of Strut A and H. The two were large enough to disturb the structure's integrity and destroy the entirety of the Big Shell if they both detonated. It also turned out that the real bombs were programmed to activate after all of the baby C4s were disarmed. Although Raiden was able to disarm the Strut A bomb, after returning to the deep sea dock, the Strut H bomb detonated killing Stillman. Pliskin was able to survive unscathed.

As Raiden prepared to leave Strut A, he was confronted by Fortune, who was surprised since she had been expecting to find somebody else. Nevertheless, remarking that he may still be able to "bring her death," Fortune attacked Raiden, devastating the surrounding area in the process with her rail gun. Raiden, unable to hit her, could only evade her attacks. Raiden was soon contacted by Campbell, to relay a demand made by Fatman: Raiden must head to the heliport on Strut E, otherwise another bomb would be detonated there, destroying the entire facility. Shortly thereafter, Vamp arrived in the area to inform Fortune of Fatman's apparent betrayal. Raiden, taking advantage of the distraction, took another shot at Fortune, though the bullets were deflected away from her, and hit Vamp in the forehead and lower chest. While Fortune cradled Vamp in her arms, lamenting that she herself could not follow him in death, Raiden made his escape. However, moments later, Vamp awakened, having shrugged off the seemingly fatal attack.

Countdown to Disaster
With the bomb's countdown having already begun, Raiden headed to the heliport, and neutralized the explosive. He was then confronted by Fatman himself, who professed his disinterest in Dead Cell's and the Sons of Liberty's goals. Fatman was also suspiciously unaware of the existance of the ransom demands for 30 billion dollars. His only wish was to surpass his former mentor, Peter Stillman, and become the most famous bomber in history, by destroying the entire Big Shell. Challenging Raiden to stop him, he proceeded to place multiple explosives in the area, utilizing his quick speed. Raiden was forced to neutralize each bomb in turn, with coolant spray, while fighting Fatman at the same time. Raiden's perseverance eventually paid off, with Fatman collapsing from his injuries. Informing him that he had yet to disarm the "biggest bomb in the place," Fatman passed away. Raiden, however, discovered this last bomb, which had been hidden beneath his body.

The bomb threat now over, the Colonel informed him that the hostages, including the President, are still in danger. Afterwards, Plisken tells Raiden that the only way to rescue the hostages is to extract them via chopper. Raiden then proceeded to leave the heliport in order to locate the President, but was first confronted by the Cyborg Ninja; an exoskeleton-encased soldier, brandishing a sword. The Ninja told him that a Secret Service agent named Richard Ames, knew the location of the President, but was being held hostage in the Shell 1 Core. The mysterious informant then provided Raiden with an enemy uniform, which he could use to infiltrate the area.

The Ninja also revealed to Raiden that the terrorists have access to a nuke and can activate it, since the nuclear football that can activate the nuke was brought to the Big Shell by a Navy CO. The Ninja told him that the nuke wasn't brought by the terrorist themselves, but that it was already in the Big Shell to begin with since the Big Shell wasn't really a decontamination plant. In reality, Big Shell was housing a new Metal Gear.

Metal Gear's Already Active!
Once Raiden located Ames in the Shell 1 Core, Ames told him that both of them are working for the same people. He then told him the President's location in the Shell 2 Core, that the tanker accident and oil spill two years ago were planned, and that the Big Shell was built specifically for the development of the Metal Gear. Ames explained that he must be helping the terrorists under his own free will, as his vital signs acted as a biometric password needed to activate the nuke (and the new Metal Gear). When Raiden mentioned the 30 billion dollar ransom, Ames told him that there is no threat or ransom. The terrorist's intention all along was the high-altitude detonation of the nuke over Manhattan, which would cause an EMP pulse, thus "liberating" it. Revolver Ocelot speaks to Ames, revealing that Ames was sent there to keep tabs on the President, suspecting that he might betray "them". Before Ames could give any more information, he suddenly suffered a heart attack.

Before Raiden could be captured by Ocelot's forces, the Cyborg Ninja rescues him, permiting Raiden to escape. Raiden then headed to President Johnson's location, but on his way was confronted by the terrorist leader, proclaiming himself to be Solid Snake. Enraged by this, Pliskin revealed himself to be the real Solid Snake and fired on the imposter from a Kasatka helicopter. Utilizing an advanced exoskeleton, the terrorist leader evaded Snake's attack and boarded a Harrier, being piloted by Vamp. Snake then told Raiden to shoot it down, throwing a Stinger missile system down to him. Successfully doing so, the Harrier plummeted, only to be caught by Metal Gear RAY, which had been hijacked from the U.S. Marines two years earlier. RAY proceeded to launch missiles into the air destroying sections of the Big Shell, and damaging the Kasatka, forcing it to land. RAY then departed into the ocean, taking the Harrier with it.

After recovering from RAY's attack, Solid Snake contacted Raiden by Codec, informing him of the situation, and introducing him to his partner, the Kasatka's pilot, Otacon. Otacon had rescued Snake from the sinking tanker two years earlier, and Snake had faked his own death using the body of Liquid Snake in place of his own. And that they are there to stop the terrorists from using the new Metal Gear prototype. They also told Raiden that Otacon has another reason for being in the Big Shell: to rescue his sister.

Having been convinced that the "nuclear button" had been successfully accessed, due to RAY's sudden appearance, Raiden immediately headed towards the Shell 2 Core to rescue President Johnson. The damage to the Shell 1-2 connecting bridge forced Raiden to hang-grip all the way over to Shell 2, via a dislodged support beam, as well as avoiding the Gurlukovich soldiers on the next strut, who had arrived to investigate the area. After entering the Shell 2 Core, Raiden listened in on a radio conversation between Olga Gurlukovich, and the terrorist leader. Olga stated that she had unfinished business with Solid Snake, and that after the whole mess, she and her men were to leave for Russia and live for themselves. Olga then activated an electrified walkway, leading to the room in which the President was imprisoned, to prevent him from tying to escape. Unable to reach the President, Raiden went into the flooded lower floors of the Shell to locate a Nikita remote controlled missile launcher, and successfully managed to destroy the control panel for the electricity.

The Revealed Truth
Raiden proceeded into the President's room, where, after Johnson mistook him for the female guard, he was told about the Patriots, a mysterious organization that secretly ruled over America, even deciding who the next President would be, and that no one knew who the Patriots really were. Johnson only knows that every key decision is made by a group of twelve men called the Wisemen's Committee. He also explained that the terrorist leader was actually his predecessor, 43rd U.S. President George Sears, who was known by the codename of Solidus Snake; a clone of the legendary soldier Big Boss, created in the "Les Enfants Terribles" project. Solidus wanted to challenge the Patriots, unlike Johnson, who had simply wished to become one of them. Johnson also confirmed Raiden that the Big Shell was merely a cover up for the construction of Arsenal Gear; a gigantic mobile fortress that employed mass-produced unmanned Metal Gear RAYs to defend itself, and had the ability to fire nuclear warheads from anywhere on the planet. However, Arsenal's true purpose was to filter information from the internet, and other forms of digital communication, using an AI called GW. By doing this, the Patriots wished to shape history as they saw fit, while maintaining the secret of their own existence.

Johnson’s last request was that Raiden locate GW's main programmer Emma Emmerich, and provide her with a computer worm to eradicate the AI. Revolver Ocelot suddenly intervened, shooting Johnson before Raiden could act.

Raiden then headed to find Emma. On the way he fought and defeated Vamp, confused as to how he could still possibly be alive. Before his defeat Vamp revealed that even without the possibility of a nuclear strike, they could still use Arsenal's purified hydrogen bomb to emit an EMP over Manhattan knocking it offline, as well as hinting that, contrary to what the press stated, Dead Cell was actually framed for the terrorist acts six months prior by the Patriots.

Raiden then rescued Emma, although he first had to convince Emma (who was afraid of Raiden due to thinking he was with the terrorist group) that he wasn't with the terrorist group, and managed to convince her that he wasn't among them by showing her that he has Codec nanomachines. While taking a short break, Emma told Raiden what she knew about the Patriots. She explained that she had created GW, distributing a program to assist it in a program supposedly used to counter the Y2K virus. Luckily however, GW was not yet ready for activation and still lacked necessary factors for judging situations, Emma then mentioned that there was supposed to be a major test within the next few days which was to provide GW with complex data to study.

Twilight Sniping


The pair then proceeded to head to the Shell 1 Core. However, thanks to RAY's earlier missile attack, the bridge connecting the two Shells had been destroyed and they needed to take an Oil Fence from Shell 2 Strut L to Shell 1 Strut E. Emma slowly made her way across, with Raiden and Snake providing cover with sniper fire. Emma was almost all the way across, when Vamp appeared once again, holding Emma at knife point. Raiden quickly fired at Vamp, "killing" him once again, but before he fell into the ocean, he stabbed Emma. Snake then ran to Emma, shooting down nearby Cyphers along the way. Snake then picked Emma up and took her to the Shell 1 Core. When Raiden got there they were inputting the virus that Emma created to destroy GW.

Emma and Otacon shared one final moment together, before she died as a result of her wound. At that moment, Snake discovered that the virus had not installed properly, and the trio came up with a plan to get inside Arsenal Gear, their only choice now being to take out Solidus and his men. Otacon, heartbroken, decided it would be best if he attempted to help out the hostages as he would only get in their way. Snake reassured him that he was the only one who could save those hostages, and Otacon set off.

Arsenal's Guts
After Otacon had left to rescue the hostages, Snake mentioned to Raiden that they may need a hand getting inside. Just then, the Cyborg Ninja appeared once again and revealed himself to actually have been Olga in disguise. Raiden was then knocked unconscious by Olga, with Snake saying that he didn't ever recall saying he was on Raiden’s side.

When Raiden came to, he was tied to a torture bed completely naked. Solidus and Ocelot talked to him, with Solidus remembering that he taught Raiden everything he knew during the Liberian Civil War, when Raiden's real parents died. He was the star of Solidus' Small Boy Unit, earning him nicknames like "Jack the Ripper" and "White Devil." Solidus now had an eye patch over his left eye (which was shot out when Raiden took down the Harrier) with Ocelot commenting that he's the "splitting image of Big Boss." After Ocelot left, Olga walked in and told Raiden about her child, whom she had never met because she was stolen by the Patriots. Olga told Raiden that if he were to fail this mission, her child would be killed. Olga could not let this happen, and she had been sent in by the Patriots to assist Raiden. She told him that Snake was waiting up ahead, before leaving the room.

Raiden then received a call from Rose, asking him if what Solidus said was true, which he admitted. He had been a child soldier, raised by Solidus to be a ruthless killing machine. After making his way through the hangar which housed many mass-produced Metal Gear RAY units, he was called by Rose again who nervously told Raiden that she had been a spy for the Patriots all along. She became his girlfriend, simply to keep an eye on him, but truly fell in love with him. She changed her appearance to suit his desires, but her transmission was eventually cut-off with her final words being "Jack… I’m… pregnant, Jack…your baby"

After his bonds were released by Olga, a distressed Raiden pressed on and met up with Snake. Snake apologized for his earlier "betrayal" saying he needed to use Raiden to sneak his way into Arsenal Gear. The two then battled their way through the Arsenal Tengu and, on the way, Otacon discovered that the Colonel Campbell who had been helping Raiden throughout the mission, wasn't the real Colonel, but an AI created by GW, cobbled together from Raiden's hopes and expectations. Just then, Snake was confronted by Fortune, who had been waiting for Snake as she believed that he killed her father, Scott Dolph. Snake and Fortune prepared to battle as Raiden headed up a nearby ladder, and Raiden appeared on a giant platform. Solidus began to speak to him, telling him about the S3 program, the Solid Snake Simulation. The perfect program devised to create the perfect warrior. Raiden then defeated a horde of Metal Gear RAYs (released from the hangar in Arsenal's "Jejunum"), before eventually giving in, falling to his knees. As Solidus emerged from his hiding place, he was ready to kill off Raiden before Olga then jumped out in front of them confronting Solidus. As she gave her life to save Raiden and, therefore, her child, Solidus ordered the remaining RAYs to kill Raiden, but Emma's GW virus started to take effect. Angered by this new development, Solidus destroyed the remaining RAYs, damning the Patriots in the process. As Fortune walks on with a handcuffed Solid Snake, Raiden falls to his knees, passing out.

The World Needs Only One Big Boss!


When he awakened the next day, April 30th, he found himself, Solidus Snake, Revolver Ocelot, Fortune and a handcuffed Solid Snake atop of Arsenal Gear. Solidus then revealed his true intention of locating information within GW, regarding the identities of the Patriots. Ocelot, seemingly amused by this then revealed that the entire incident was scripted by the Patriots and that similarities between the Shadow Moses Incident and the Big Shell crisis were much more than just coincidence. Dead Cell in the place of FOXHOUND, the relation between Raiden and Solidus, compared to the one between Snake and Big Boss, the Harrier that Raiden destroyed in a similar fashion to the Hind-D and the computer virus that mimicked FOXDIE were all elements scripted to turn Raiden into the perfect soldier. Solidus was also a pawn in the Patriots' plans, but the one thing that wasn't planned, however, was the appearance of the real Solid Snake which is why Campbell repeatedly told Raiden that Snake wasn't part of this simulation, and not to rely on Snake. Ocelot then proceeded to kill Fortune, revealing that her apparent supernatural abilities were simply the result of Patriot technology, and climbed aboard Metal Gear RAY. Suddenly his arm twitched and he was once again possessed by Liquid Snake.

Liquid revealed that it was he who had leaked information about Arsenal Gear to Solid Snake in order to get him out there. And now, armed with Ocelot's knowledge of the Patriots, he intended to go and defeat them all. Liquid then sent Arsenal Gear on a direct collision course with Manhattan. Liquid then climbed back inside RAY and took off, but Snake broke free of his handcuffs and dove into the ocean after Liquid.

Arsenal Is Going to Take Off!
Arsenal Gear proceeded on its course, crashing into the banks of New York City and through the streets of lower Manhattan, destroying a sizable portion of the Lower Westside of the city, stopping at Federal Hall. Solidus told Raiden that all he wanted was to be remembered, as he and his brothers were unable to pass on their genes. Solidus expressed frustration at being unable to pass on his own genetic legacy. He wanted to destroy the Patriots, not for his own greedy ends, but so he could take back things from them that they were about to take away such as freedom, civil rights and opportunities.

Raiden then received a Codec call from the Patriots, via another AI in the form of both the Colonel and Rose. The AI explained the true nature of the Patriots' goals to Raiden, hinting that they now existed on a digital plane of existence. The dawn of the digital age had allowed for an overabundance of trivial information that would remain intact forever, and accessible by anyone, which supposedly threatened the development of human society. Rather than "Solid Snake Simulation," the S3 Plan actually stood for "Selection for Societal Sanity," and the entire incident on the Big Shell had been orchestrated in order to test GW's data management capabilities, echoing what Emma had said earlier. The information that would be passed on to future generations would therefore be decided by the Patriots, since they believed themselves to be in a stronger position to do so over the public.

The AI then ordered Raiden to kill Solidus, and he was forced to comply after realizing that the lives of Olga's child and Rosemary depended on his victory. Solidus told Raiden that he needed to kill him in order to determine the location of the Patriots from the nanomachines in Raiden's head. In order to provoke Raiden into fighting him, Solidus revealed it was he that murdered his parents. After a vicious sword duel, Raiden defeated Solidus.

Who Am I Really?


As Raiden stood outside the front of Federal Hall, Snake appeared and informed him that he and Otacon were going to find the Patriots using the virus disc (as it was programmed to remove the names of the Patriots' leaders, it should have some form of indicator to know what those names are). Raiden insisted on coming with them but Snake told him to stay. He still had things to do and to figure out, as well as "people to catch up with." Although the mission was a simulation, everything he felt during the mission was his and his alone. It was up to him to decide what to pass onto the future, and to figure out his own purpose for himself. Suddenly, Rose appeared, and the two vowed to make a life together, both figuratively and literally.

Sometime later, Otacon and Snake "successfully" traced the Patriots, but discovered that all twelve of them were dead, and had been for the last hundred years. Snake deduced that the information retrieved from Arsenal Gear was false; it was only a fake lead orchestrated by the Patriots. With this, Philanthropy had lost their only lead, the future of the Patriots uncertain.

Behind the scenes
The year in which the incident took place was originally intended to be 2007, according to Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 2 Grand Game Plan.