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Matthew Vaughn

ENG 322 - Prof. Steinmann

Large Group Workshop

11/9/2012

Battlefield: Fargo

A Choose-your-own-adventure Story

As our story begins, you find yourself sitting in English 322 on a regular Tuesday

afternoon at NDSU. It’s large group workshop today and you’re busy proofreading the piece

being presented. As your eyes and pen marks dart across the page you slowly start to forget the

outside world, the cold and the wind seem distant from your mind; you are completely focused.

The last thing you would’ve been prepared for is an alien invasion of Fargo, but unfortunately

for you that is the precise event which is about to ruin your perfectly good Tuesday.

While you sit calmly, nearly finished with your proofreading revisions, a painfully bright

flash fills the windows along the side of the classroom. The light is followed by a loud clap and

the building begins to shake beneath you. Smaller flashes periodically spot the overcast skies

outside like lightning but brighter. Some flames shoot across the sky and everyone including you

run to the windows to try to piece everything together. As you look on you see small, fast and

agile flying disks emerge out of the flames in the sky. Lasers from the disks scar and burn the

ground below like a deadly dance party. You’re still in shock trying to wrap your head around

what’s going on but you also have an unshakable feeling that you need to act. If you’ve learned

anything from the vast curriculum of Hollywood films on this subject you know it’s time to act...

You Choose To:

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-Leap out of the window unannounced, NDSU is going to be a big target and you just need

to get out as fast as possible -- go to #1

-Convince your classmates to hunker down in the classroom and barricade the doors,

Maybe they’re just passing through -- go to #11

#1 - You decide it’s high time to get moving while looking out the window. You take a

look at the glass door and realize any sort of defensive stance in this building is going to be

absolutely useless. You need to get to ground level and find a plan from there, but most

importantly you need to get off this 4th level, and quick. Looking again at the window you notice

the trees swaying in the ever growing wind, without giving it a second thought you pick up your

backpack and throw it through the window, shattering the glass. You jump on the table and

spring out the window, leaping towards one of the pine trees. Miraculously your reach one of the

trees, un-miraculously you fail to find a solid grasp on the tree and begin to tumble towards the

ground. With the tree branches you’re hitting breaking your fall, you manage to only break your

right arm and a few ribs. The pain is excruciating, however adrenaline rushes through your body

as you see a new wave of flying disks pecking NDSU with loud laser beams and small energy

bombs. You run towards University Ave, all hell has broken loose it seems and you have to

figure out where, if any, a resistance might be...

You Choose to:

-Run to the hospital, your arm is still killing you and if nothing else they will have supplies

-- go to #2

-Run back to the union, jumping out of a 4 story window and becoming vulnerable in the

open wasn’t a great idea -- go to #7

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#2 - You’re new to the area so nothing really stands out as a perfect place to go in an

alien invasion. While you thin and take cover by Centennial Ave. your arm rings out with a fresh

new wave of pain. You remember the hospital is only a few miles from here and you can make

that trip rather easily. You’re almost positive they aren’t taking patients at this time but if

nothing else they might have some supplies that could keep you alive. There is a brief moment of

silence when the lasers cease firing and you instantly begin jogging across University and cutting

across lawns towards Sanford. Some people are cluelessly on their decks looking up at the sky,

while others are packing up cars and vans with intentions of booking it out of town. As you jump

a few fences and find yourself at 10th st, you hear a loud buzz up above you and see a flying disk

crash lazily about 100 yards ahead of you. You and everyone else who saw the crash surround

the site, a reptilian looking creature collapses out of the cockpit(or so you think) and dies on the

nearby ground. You are one of the first to inspect the aircraft...

You Choose To:

-Jump in the cockpit and try to operate the thing, you’ve played enough xbox to figure it

out -- go to #3

-Press a button that resembles a first aid cross here on Earth, perhaps this could lead you

to some crucial information about the enemy -- go to #6

#3- Without giving it much thought you instinctively run towards the cockpit of the disk

and begin poking around the machine. There’s a joystick and a few buttons that look familiar.

You’ve played every halo since release and all three Mass Effect games so you feel eeriely

comfortable inside the alien ship. Without touching any of the buttons the disk begins to levitate

and the gauges begin to light up. Something about just sitting in the seat must have activated the

disk and now you begin to panic as the cockpit cover closes overhead. The disk is seemingly

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moving on it’s own through the sky now and soon you see the grand mothership hovering over

NDSU and it appears your ship is being brought in on auto-pilot. As you get closer to the

mothership, it’s bay doors open to receive you. Just as you're beginning to panic a giant

holographic screen pops up in the cockpit and gives you the option of clicking a green button or

a red button...

You choose to:

-Touch the green button -- go to #4

-Touch the red button -- go to #5

#4 -You hesitantly press the green button and instantly feel the ship begin to wobble. The

joystick comes forward and all your gauges begin going haywire. Whatever that button did it

must have turned off the autopilot. You desperately grasp at the joystick but reel back in pain,

clutching your right arm. Your ship is spiraling towards the mothership at alarming speeds so

you begin pressing as many buttons as you can as a last ditch attempt to stabilize. You hit an odd

shaped button the next thing you know you are launched out the disk attached to your seat and a

parachute. As you slowly fall back to earth you see your ship crash into the mothership causing a

huge explosion within the bay doors. Once you land you hear the giant explosion of the

mothership crashing to earth. Congratulations! You will be remembered as a hero.

#5 - You hesitantly press the red button, after a few seconds of nothing changing you

decide to try the controls. The ship is still on auto-pilot and you are safely cruising to the mother

ship. You desperately look around the cockpit to see if there is any way you can hide once you

land. Finally you spot a spare uniform and try to fit it on. Unfortunately the ship lands before

while you’re half dressed and you are captured immediately.

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#6 - While inspecting the spaceship an odd control button catches your eyes. It looks like

a telephone here on Earth and you are curious as to what it does. Perhaps it will help give more

information about where these creatures are from? You press the button, but unfortunately the

symbol was the aliens equivalent of a nuclear warhead and most of Fargo is incinerated. Bad day

to forget your contacts at home.

#7 - Clutching your arm you decide the best choice of options now would be to head back

to the union. The lower level is practically a bomb shelter anyways and hopefully a med student

will be there to help with your arm. As you make your way across campus you notice how many

people are running about, but not many towards the union. This makes you nervous but you keep

the pace. Once you get inside the doors you’re met by a vast array of rifles and pistols. It appears

the student ROTC is using the union as a staging ground for an organized resistance, good call!

Their main headquarters is centered in the union dining center and as you walk through the doors

you are informed that two volunteer task squads are being formed. One for an offensive assault

and another for a defensive holding of the union. They ask you which one you want to join...

You choose to:

- Join the defensive task force, going outside would be suicide -- go to #8

- Join the offensive task force, might as well go down with a fight -- go to #10

#8 - You decide to join the defensive task force. With what little time the officers have

had they’ve created quite the impressive fortress. Traps surround all the entrances to all the

floors and even every door on the first two levels of the union. As the offensive task force leaves

they arm you with a standard assault rifle and wish you luck. You look around and notice the

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nervous looks on those left behind, and take in the odd sight of everyday students being armed to

the teeth, preparing for an all out battle. Your heart skips a beat because you hear a few

proximity alarms go off at the entrance of the building. All defenders retreat within the confines

of the union dining center and await the invaders. You can hear the aliens rampaging through the

upstairs defences and you prepare yourself for the worst. Without warning laser flashes fill the

room and the aliens make quick work of the defence force. You retreat with a couple others into

the back rooms of the kitchen. There you decide, with the others, the next course of actions...

You choose to:

- Surrender, it’s not like we could even get a shot off anyways -- go to #9

- Make a last stand, there’s no point in leaving these bullets unused -- go to #9

#9 - Just as you make your movement towards the aliens and leave the kitchen, the

building quakes and you lose your balance. The last thing you remember is hearing the ceiling

above you crash to the floor. When you wake up you notice that all the union has collapsed

around you but as luck would have it the dining center (and the kitchen) is still standing! It is a

bittersweet moment for you and your fellow survivors. It doesn’t look like aliens will be the

cause of your death, and not starvation either, but you have to wonder how long it will take for

someone to rescue you and what the world will look like outside when they do...

#10 - You join the offensive task force. You know it’s a suicide mission but you’ve never

felt intimidated by anything in your life so why start now? Your squad makes their way north out

of the union until they get to the Fargodome. From there you see a massive new ship in the

horizon, it must be the mother ship. The commanding officer orders a few men with rocket

launchers to the top of the Fargodome, in hopes to bring down any passing ships. After a few

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misses the spaceships lock on to the Fargodome and blow it apart, but not before one final rocket

threw the spaceship off kilter, forcing it to crash land by Niskanen apartments. You and a few

others are ordered to cross the street and retreive anything and everything you can from the

downed ship, the fate the of the battle could be hidden there. When you finally make it there you

see the alien lying dead on the ground. You look inside the spaceship and it seems to be still

functioning somehow...

You choose to:

-Get in the spaceship, there’s a chance you could learn a little more -- go to #3

-Push a button that has the symbol of first aid here on earth, it could be helpful and your

arm still hurts -- go to #6

#11 - While you are looking out the window you see hordes of students running around

the streets panicking. You decide that leaving the room is probably the worst idea you could act

on right now and you all would have a better chance of survival if you kept your head straight

and stayed put. Some are convinced otherwise and leave the classrooms but those who stay begin

barricading the doors. The desks are flipped onto their sides and covering the door. The windows

are barricaded in and finally you feel like you have a good defence inside the room. That feeling

doesn’t last for long however, soon you hear the sounds of lasers and stomping coming up

through the stairs to the top level. You turn off the lights and the remaining students huddle

together to figure out what to do next. one student suggests to send out distress texts to any of

their nearby friends...

You choose to:

- Do not send out any distress signals, it will just attract the aliens most likely -- go to #12

- Send out a distress signal, hopefully someone is having better luck against the alien than

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you are -- go to #18

#12 - The class decides against sending out any texts. The chances of anyone answering

are pretty slim, and people don’t want to be checking their phone if their going to be hiding here

in the classrooms. The room is dark now except for some stray light sneaking in through the

windows and cracks through the door. You can hear the aliens outside in the hallway blasting

their way through whatever it is out there. You can tell everyone is anxious and they become

more anxious when they hear a handful of aliens coming down the hallway towards the

classroom. It’s getting down to crunch time and you all huddle together one last time to figure

out what to do...

You choose to:

- Burst out the door and surprise attack them, you won’t get anywhere if you stay

hunkered down the whole time -- go to #13

- Stay huddled down, it’s worked so far so why fix it if it’s not broken -- go to #14

#13 - You decide to meet the aliens head on in the hallway, it only sounds like there’s a

handful out there. Maybe if you surprise them quick enough you will be able to steal a laser or

perhaps even scare them off. You gather up the ones who want to rush out with you and stand at

the door waiting for the aliens to stop. Once they do then you bust through the door, yelling

wildly and attempting to look as big as you can. Unfortunately there was a lot more than just a

handful outside in the hallway and you all were captured within seconds.

#14 - You decide to remain where you are. You trust your barricades and feel like the

aliens will give up if they can’t get in right away. You hear them advancing on the door then stop

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and wait a while. The silence is broken by the classes collective heartbeat beating out of their

chests. When the aliens stick around the door and began banging on it, you start having doubts

about staying in the room. You whisper to another classmate that perhaps there should be a

different plan, perhaps sneak out the back-door of the classroom. Others join in on the quiet

conversation...

You choose to:

- Sneak out the back-door, the aliens are coming in and you have no way to defend yourself

one on one -- go to #15

- Hold the ground and hope you can surprise attack them, chances are they won’t be

expecting much resistance -- go to #16

#15 - After quiet deliberation it is decided everyone should sneak out the back-door of

the classroom. There is no way you guys are going to be able to hold out in here much longer.

Hopefully if they break in and see no ones here, you might be able to return later. You slowly

start to file people out and you then make it to the hallway. Once you make it the hallway you

realize leaving the room wasn’t a good idea at all as your all held at laser-point, surrounded by

reptilian like aliens.

#16 - After quiet deliberation you all decide the best thing to do now is to hold the room,

even if that means this is a last stand. You slowly order people to head to different strategic spots

in the classroom, hopefully you will be able to ambush the aliens before they can realize the

layout of the room. The banging on the door becomes more frequent and more light rays crackle

across the room as the barricades become more broken. Everyone is now in place and you crouch

right by the door, waiting for the first encounter. The door finally cracks open and you wait for

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the alien to enter the room. Surprisingly he and a few others who joined him in the room

stumbled and seemed rather disoriented, it must have something to do with the lack of light you

figured. Being in the dark for so long, you became acclimated and could see pretty well so you

pounce at one of the aliens. Your classmates do the same and soon you all have the upper-hand

on the group of invaders in the classroom. You grab one of the lasers from the alien and aim it at

him...

You choose to:

- Shoot him-- go to #17

- Knock him out-- go to #18

#17 - You aim the gun at the aliens chest and fire. It is not your lucky day because the

aliens have some sort of armor that reflects the lasers. Unfortunately you are not wearing that

same armor, and the laser pierces your chest.

#18 - You decide to just knock out the alien. You don’t know how the laser worked and

even if you did, who knows what kind of defense the aliens have naturally. Your classmates

follow suit and you head out of the classroom towards the hallway. There is a large amount of

aliens waiting outside but once they see you emerge with their comrades gun they instantly run

away in terror. It appears you have claimed the 4th floor of the union! It is a small victory in the

battle but surely will be an inspiration to your fellow humans!

#19 - You take your fellow classmates advice and urge everyone to send out texts to their

friends or associates at NDSU to see if any of them have a plan. Everyone sends out a few quick

texts and waits while the steps in the hallway are getting closer and closer. After a few minutes a

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person receives a text which reads “we are right by you, grab the rope we are throwing up to the

window and climb down.” Everyone is a little skeptical of the text, how could they be so close?

How could they know exactly where your class is? Where’d they get a rope? Some people think

it’s a hoax crafted by the aliens to capture the rest of the class. You aren’t quite sure but you

know a decision needs to made soon...

You choose to:

- Trust the text, your situation isn’t looking too great just sitting in the room-- go to #20

- Don’t trust the text, you aren’t sure if the text is real or not but at least staying in the

room has proven to keep you alive so far-- go to #14

#20 - After assessing your situation, everyone believes that the best idea would be to take

a risk and trust the text. Even if it is fake, it beats dying in the classroom like cowards. A few of

you go towards the window and see that the rope is actually there and is attached to the roof by a

grappling hook. Either this is an elaborate hoax or someone has some really badass friends. Your

classmates start repelling down the side of the building and you follow. Lasers and fires are

ablaze all across campus but you also hear machine guns and rifles in retaliation. Hell has come

to Fargo it seems. Once you make it to the ground you see the texters are real human beings and

have a battle van ready to go on University St. It honestly seems like these guys have been

waiting for this moment all their life. They ask your class if you’d like to join them on bringing

the battle to the aliens themselves and once again a dire decision stands in front of you...

You choose to:

- Join them, this is more than you could have ever hoped for in a situation like this, now lets

get some revenge -- go to #21

- Don’t join them, chances are all you’re going to do with that van is attract attention

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which is going to get everyone killed -- go to #22

#21 - You decide that you’ve been waiting for a chance to attack these aliens since this

whole thing started, and join the crusaders. Your class is split 50/50 so half join you and half go

to fend for themselves elsewhere. Once in the van you notice just how fully loaded these guys

are. Everything looks great until a giant mothership begins dropping large time bombs all over

important buildings and locations on campus and around Fargo. Unfortunately for you, the big-

ass van which could pass as a war tank was spotted rather easily for one of these time bombs...

#22 - Although you want to fight back, you decide against joining the crusaders in the

war van. Your class is split 50/50 so some come with you and others go to the van to fight. You

begin walking down University with a few other classmates. Most of your time is spent dodging

spaceship lasers or hiding out in people’s lawns. You see a few spaceships fall and your morales

are boosted, perhaps humanity can still pull this one out. As your dipping between houses and

cover you notice an unmistakably large ship hover over NDSU, this must be the mothership. It’s

size was menacing, nearly blocking every ray of the sun that was meant to reach Earth. The

mothership dropped large glowing circles on buildings and streets surrounding NDSU. One fell

right in front of you and as you picked it up you noticed how it was counting down (or up), in

some strange language or number system. This is most certainly a time bomb you are holding in

your hands and you have no idea when it is going off...

You choose to:

- Drop it and run, you have time -- go to #23

- Throw it in the air and run, you don’t have time -- go to #24

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#23 - You think since this bomb has just dropped it won’t go off anytime soon. You drop

the bomb where you found it and begin running away with your classmates. Three seconds later

the bomb goes off and you feel an excruciating pain run through your legs. Needless to say you

are immobilized for the rest of the event, and will soon be captured by either hostiles or

friendlies. Time to cross your fingers.

#24 - You have no idea what is going on with this bomb but you aren’t taking any

chances. The bomb feels relatively light and you decide to chuck it in the air as hard as you can

then dip out before it can land. Without giving it a second thought you give the bomb a massive

heave and began sprinting. You didn’t even look back until 5 or 6 seconds after you threw it, just

to see where it landed. To your surprise the bomb still hadn’t landed, in fact it was still heading

upwards. Like a magnet is seemingly was drawn back towards the mothership, (a serious design

flaw you think) and it continues to rise until it latched on completely to the underbelly of the

mothership. You watch on in awe as a massive explosion engulfs the side of the ship, as it tilts

off balance and crashed down over NDSU. No one will know how or why that bomb got on there

except for you and your surviving classmates, but you have just changed the tides if the war in

humanities favor! Well done!