New Mercenary Ranks and Assault Missions

Assault Briefing Room: Imperial Code Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Imperial Army Special Operations Commander Rasfhul, and today I will be giving you mercenaries a detailed briefing on an extremely sensitive issue facing the Empire. Remember, all information relayed here is highly classified. If you have no intentions on participating in this mission, I suggest you leave this room immediately. Any of you caught disclosing information learned here will be severely disciplined. Understood? Now, I'd like to start off by asking you all a question. Why is it that despite relentless attacks by the barbarian hordes, the star of our mighty Empire still shines brightest in the night sky? Because our generals are the strongest? Because our walls are the tallest? Because our blades are the sharpest? Correct! But that's not the answer I'm looking for. The reason we've kept the fiends at bay for so long is because of our impeccably flawless battle strategies. And what, I ask you, is the most important thing when contriving an impeccably flawless battle strategy? Intel! And how do we go about obtaining that intel? Not by linkshell, that's for sure. While the linkshell may be a handy tool to tell your mamma that you need some new diapers, the whole network has more holes than your underwear. You never know who may be listening in on a conversation.

And that's why the Imperial Army has spent millions of gil on developing a high-tech device to securely relay sensitive messages between headquarters here in Al Zahbi and our operatives out there behind enemy lines. That top-secret device is called the OGMA. Don't ask me what it stands for, because that's top-secret as well. While it looks and works like a linkshell, the OGMA encrypts all speech sent via the device, making it impossible for any wiretappers to make sense of the intended message. Only a person with another OGMA to do the decrypting work will be able to crack the code. And when I say person, I mean Galka, because our scientists are still working on the technology to construct an OGMA smaller than a thundermelon. In other words, secure intel communications made possible by the OGMA are what keep our army one step ahead of our enemies--ultimately resulting in the framework for our impeccable flawless battle strategies! Which brings me to my point. What were to happen if an OGMA were to fall into enemy hands? That's right, all hell would break loose. And that's why the Imperial Army has called you here today. During a recent siege on the Empire by the beastmen, a small unit of ninja spies dispatched by our Far Eastern enemies snuck past our defenses and stole an OGMA from one of our storage facilities. If they manage to successfully transport the device back to their home base, the enemy would be able to decipher our codes, thus compromising the safety of our troops on the frontlines, and in turn the safety of the Empire herself. Your orders are to intercept the enemy unit and retrieve the OGMA using any means necessary. But proceed with extreme caution. We have received reports indicating that these ninjas wield mysterious and deadly forms of ninjutsu. You are dismissed!