Service Unavailable is the fifth episode of the second season of Sandguardians and the twenty-first overall.
Plot
With the Blue base now completed, Legend and Ichabod give their own personal reviews. While Ichabod's view of the base seems to be positive, Legend's critique is negative, stating that the base's left tail fin is leaning backwards and the doorway arc is shifted to the right. Icky does not see this, so Legend tells him to look at it from his right side as a result. Unfortunately, Icky still does not see it. Suddenly, Legend gets a radio call and answers it, receiving a response from an HQ Operator on the opposite line. The operator expresses his anger towards Legend, based on the Blue Team's actions. Legend, in turn, does the same and asks the operator about the location of their engineer. The operator tells Legend that because HQ lost his signal, the engineer is most likely dead, shocking Legend. After hearing the news, Legend and Icky complain. Legend then orders Icky to clean up the base, which frustrates him. Legend expresses his regret that Ichabod stayed at Sandbox while his two other loyal soldiers left, once believing that Ichabod would be a role model to them.
Meanwhile, Dax, Jason, and Seal investigate the Phantom for clues. Jason notices Seal apologizing to something and moves in for a closer look. What he finds is a dead Elite with a Guardian symbol on its back. Seal tells Jason that the soldier's name was Goon, a pilot who joined the Guardians and flew them around on missions. Recently, instead of flying to the rendezvous, Goon escorted Seal to his old lab, on a personal mission to find McGrath. The two were then attacked while flying over the desert, which led to Goon's death. Seal then stole a Banshee and flew to Sandbox, where he crashed.
Seal expresses his regret for the loss of his friend. Jason tries to calm him down, but Seal does not change his attitude. Jason then shares his experience when first joining the "Second Chance Program". Seal tells him that the Second Chance Program was completely unnecessary, and only gave soldiers like Jason false hope to become a hero. Seal also sees it as an excuse for the ONC to have a stronger army and fuel conflict between Elites and humans. Jason tells Seal that he himself finds it hard to understand the war between the ONC and the Guardians. Seal tells him that many things are hard to understand, but they should never stop fighting for what's right. Suddenly, Dax cries out for help, as an unidentified soldier in purple armor aims a shotgun towards the back of his head. As Seal and Jason aim their weapons in reaction, the soldier tells them all to leave and threatens to kill Dax if they don't comply.
Characters
Blue Team
Other
- Seal Vladaam
- Purple Soldier
- Goon (Deceased)
Music
- "Death of Kings" by Kevin MacLeod
- "Medusa" by Kevin MacLeod
Trivia
- This episode introduces voice actress "littletophatgal" to the cast, as the voice for the ambushing soldier.
- This is the fifth longest running episode of Sandguardians, behind Birthday Bash!, Exposition, Loved and Lost, and Insight to the Past, with a running time of 10:09.
- Legend's last name is revealed to be "Cogburn", a reference to True Grit's Rooster Cogburn.
- The color of the episode's opening titles is a reference to the Purple Soldier's debut.
- It is also revealed that Dax, Jason, and the soldiers of Sandbox joined an ONC program called the "Second Chance Program", a special program constructed by the ONC, that gives soldiers, who did not participate during the Great War, the opportunity to have a "second chance" in participating for a future one. Once a soldier signs up, they would be sent to different bases and be tested in battle, in order to prove their worth if wanting to join a real military force to fight in a possible future war.
- Dax reveals that he was originally going be sent to Valhalla and be given yellow colored armor. He went to Sandbox instead because, as he states, "he looks better in blue".
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