We are hunters of the City. We Wedge pierce the requests we get with swiftness and precision.
”
–Pamela's Page
Wedge Office is an Office which specializes in precise situational analysis to excel in combat. Wedge Office is also a sister Office to Dawn Office, and it is this support relationship between Fixers which leads to Wedge Office's involvement with the Library.[1]
The reception of Wedge Office occurs in the Urban Plague chapter, appearing after Dawn Office as the second and final reception of the center-right column.
Oscar is the Operator of Wedge Office and an old friend of Salvador. He is stern but well-experienced, and his ability to assess situations quickly has brought success to his Office. His face is partially hidden by an eyepatch and a tricorne, and he wields a large spear in combat.
Pameli is a Fixer of Wedge Office. She has a clever but snide disposition and easily riles people up because of her words. She was wounded fighting The 8 o'Clock Circus and only survived thanks to replacing her body with a clone body from Pamela, though she's not fond of her new body. She wields a large spear in combat.
Pamela is a Fixer of Wedge Office. She has a frigid personality but is more amicable when supporting Philip in his time of need, giving him general Fixer advice. She donated a clone of her body to save Pameli, but is annoyed because Pameli does not like it. She wields a large spear in combat.
Philip is the apprentice of Salvador and the last surviving Fixer of Dawn Office, having fled the Library during their reception. Emotionally unstable, he is deeply ashamed by his act of cowardice and holds himself responsible for Salvador and Yuna's deaths. He has approached Wedge Office to request support against the Library and avenge his seniors' deaths, even if his attempt at emotional closure is implicitly selfish.
Philip, newly resolved not to run away from others' sacrifices any longer, has manifested a set of E.G.O. equipment. With it, he intends to conquer his pain once and for all.
Story
Episode 1
Pre-Battle
The episode starts as Pamela offers Philip a meal, but he is still torn over his seniors' deaths and cannot bring himself to eat. Pamela criticizes him for his softheartedness. Pameli cuts in and asks Philip whether he blames himself for the tragedy, which he does, giving various laments. Pameli tells him to blame himself, which shocks Philip; Pameli clarifies that her attempt is to make Philip toughen up and move on. If he can make reasons that are "convenient" for himself, then he can believe them and move on from the loss.
Left to right: Wedge Office fights the 8 o'Clock Circus, Oscar converses with Philip in the Wedge Office, and Pameli is dissatisfied with her new body
Oscar shows up and chides Pamela and Pameli for harassing Philip. He apologizes for not being available to support Dawn Office in the Library, explaining that they were caught up in a different request which brought them much trouble, fighting The 8 o'Clock Circus in District 12. Pameli mentions that she even had to replace her body because of the fight. Philip asks if Pameli's body is a mechanical prosthetic, but Pamela explains that it is a biological clone of her body which was covered thanks to her Fixer insurance. She advises Philip to check whether Dawn Office had any insurance as well. Afterwards, Pameli expresses distaste for her new body, which spirals into a fight with Pamela over the former's ungratefulness.
Oscar converses with Philip, asking whether the Library and the Distortion Phenonemon are related. Philip doesn't know because he has not experienced the Distortion personally. Oscar tells him about the various influential factions of the City, all of whom are trying to understand the Distortion Phenomenon, but Philip is not interested. He just wants to revisit the Library and retrieve his seniors' books.
Oscar wearily comments on Salvador's death and asks whether Philip has broken the news to Salvador's family yet; Philip hasn't even gone to see them because he is so ashamed of himself.
Oscar tells Philip to prepare for departure. Philip thanks him, but Oscar clarifies that he is only helping out of convenience, not compassion. He tells Philip that he personally would not allow Fixers like him to join Wedge Office. Philip takes offense to this and rants about his wish to act compassionately even when all others in the City refuse to do so. Pameli cuts him off out of annoyance, calling him unreliable because of his emotional turbulence. Oscar calls out Philip by pointing out that his seemingly selfless desire, even if he genuinely believes in it, is actually selfish. In Oscar's words, the delusion of self-sacrifice is the worst form of selfishness which harms not just the person themselves but everyone around them as well. Philip is unable to respond.
Back in the Library, Roland sympathizes with Philip but agrees with Oscar that selfishness "for the sake of someone else" is dangerous. Angela adds her own thoughts, musing that the wish to help others is dangerous because it leads people to become self-righteous and ignore their surroundings, hurting and sacrificing others while pursuing their own "selfless" dream. Roland is amazed that, for once, he and Angela seem to have fully understood each other. Angela sarcastically offers him champagne to celebrate.
The Wedge Fixers enter the Library in poor spirits. Philip is still agitated, which annoys Pameli, though Pamela is more understanding. Philip says he will try not to be a hindrance, and Oscar even threatens to stab him if he ends up causing problems. When Angela arrives, Oscar pokes her with his spear and is surprised that she does not seem fully machine. Angela is displeased and insults them for their rudeness, leaving after Oscar apologizes. Pameli is surprised because the prior information they have about Angela does not match her at all.
Act 1 Conclusion
Philip, battered and bruised after fleeing the reception yet again, shames himself for his cowardice. He chose to run away when Salvador and Yuna told him to because he believed it was for their sake, and he led Wedge Office to their doom believing it to be for Salvador and Yuna. Philip now understands that these thoughts are all products of his own selfishness, and resolves to accept that it is his own pain and sadness which drive him.
Act 2 Introduction
Philip resolves not to let his despair ruin himself and others along with him. Even if he cannot overcome his pain, he will use it to bring himself back to the right path and move forward. As Philip voices his conviction, he is wreathed in flame and finds himself given new power with a wax wing and fiery sword. He resolves to use this opportunity to move past his loss.
Post-Battle
Roland is surprised by Philip's sudden transformation and his powerful equipment. It reminds him of somebody, but he does not clarify who. Angela explains to Roland the concept of E.G.O., the mind manifested in physical form, which was possible due to L Corp's Singularity. She muses that Philip's E.G.O. resulted as a side effect from the White Nights and Dark Days, which intrigues her. Roland asks whether this means that everyone in the City could end up as powerful as Philip did. Angela is uncertain because the process is new to her, and she shifts the blame on Roland for letting Philip escape.
Roland didn't expect Philip to have an escape device planted on him. He assumes it is "Old Man" Oscar's doing, addressing him familiarly. He suggests that despite Oscar's harsh words, he genuinely wanted to help Philip recover and move on. Angela comments on Roland's abundant connections in the City, which he shrugs off. According to him, meeting veteran Fixers like Oscar and Salvador was bound to happen when working in the same line of business as he had.
Background
Although Wedge Office is a combat-oriented Office, its specialty is not in direct combat prowess. Instead, clients who hire Wedge Office come seeking its Fixers' analytical skills, studying opponents' weaknesses to strike them down as precisely and efficiently as possible. However, this specialization leaves Wedge Office at a disadvantage against large groups of enemies. That is where Dawn Office comes in. Dawn Office and Wedge Office are sister Offices, which occurred naturally due to the longstanding friendship between their Operators, Oscar and Salvador. With Dawn Office's direct strength and Wedge Office's tactical control, their partnership is almost natural.[2]
Before Wedge Office entered the Library, they were requested to deal with The 8 o'Clock Circus, a severe case of the Distortion wreaking havoc on the Backstreets of District 12. Although they defeated many of the enemies, the Ringmaster and a few others managed to escape. Oscar decided to prioritize recovering Pameli, who lost her entire body fighting the circus' "lion". They encountered Moses' Office while leaving the circus tent and Oscar exchanged some words with their Operator, Moses. The Fixers parted ways with no further incident, though Oscar was wary about Moses' Office due to their reputation of appearing alongside Distortions.[3]
Pameli was saved by an emergency bio-recovery cloning surgery provided by Pamela's Fixer insurance. However, these events made Wedge Office unable to support Dawn Office, which was requested to deal with the Library, and Philip was left as the only survivor. Following Salvador's advice, he reached out to Wedge Office for support.
Key Page stories
Oscar’s Page
The 8 o’Clock Circus was a real sod of a case. Its leader wasn’t a particularly powerful enemy, but it took a long time to assess the strengths and behavior of each of his "crew". There was no specific pattern to it, and it was difficult to predict what would come next; it was akin to watching an erratic circus of lunacy. Their lair was mysterious and terrifyingly bleak, and the crew took hideous forms as well, looking too grotesque to possibly be considered normal living beings. They were as strong as they looked; when the blob shaped like a lion bit Pameli with its blunt teeth, her body quite literally blew up on the spot.
However, our enemies were slowly brought down from the vantage point, and when they were completely cornered, the leader escaped along with a few of his crew. Even though we couldn’t put an end to the case, we decided to prioritize recovering Pameli’s body as we deemed the Circus would be weakened enough to stay low for a while. As we stored Pameli’s head in a stasis preservation case and headed to the exit of the collapsing circus tent, we ran into a group of Fixers. They seemed rather exhausted after fighting a swarm of the crew outside. I suppose that’s why they couldn’t enter the tent until that moment. It’s not uncommon for two or more Offices of Fixers to be present at the scene of a finished case, so I gently nodded to greet them, identifying ourselves as Fixers of Wedge Office who have come here to solve the case. The shortest person among them… The aged-looking woman who appeared to be the representative of that group looked around the circus tent, let out a deep sigh, and introduced herself as Moses—of Moses’ Office—while smoking from her pipe. Moses then started thinking, presumably ruminating over what words to choose. She must’ve taken a request that’s rather tricky to disclose. The two people behind her nervously exchanging glances with each other appeared to be her bodyguards of some sort. Having such trivial thoughts, I waited for this Moses person to resume speaking. After a brief period of silence, Moses breathed out smoke in the other direction and asked me where the leader of the Circus went. Since I didn’t know much better than them, I told them what I could in brief. They seemed troubled by my unhelpful answer, but they soon accepted it and left the scene.
…That group reportedly appears every time a case of the Distortion is solved. They’re allegedly working as “The Distortion Detective”, but recent witnesses of their appearance were always followed with a Distortion case in the same location. While it’s unclear whether they’re involved in this case… I believe there’s enough reason to be wary of them.
Pameli’s Page
Life insurance for Fixers is often a sham. A lot of them take your money never to give it back; even if you terminate your insurance, they won’t. It’s not easy for your damage to be insured, either. You have to be at death’s door to qualify, pretty much? The chances are as low as winning the lottery. And what if you just up and died? What can the dead do with money? You’ll be much better off making a savings account for an augment procedure or quality workshop gear. I was a very lucky case; keep in mind that this isn’t the norm at all. Insurance can sometimes be useful depending on its form and conditions, sure… But if you take the pay into account, it still doesn’t feel too great.
Pamela’s Page
Basically speaking, people who visit our Office are looking for shrewd and precise situational assessment rather than combat prowess. The ability to make quick calculations for various possible scenarios and neutralize or kill the enemy with the least effort. We are hunters of the City. We Wedge pierce the requests we get with swiftness and precision.
Of course, our Office isn’t perfect in every regard, so we’re in partnership with a number of other Offices. Fixer Offices often request others for help when reinforcements or professional aid in specific areas is needed. In the case of our Office, we were sister Offices with Dawn Office, sharing more information than we did with most other partners. Oscar is good friends with Salvador—the man running that Office—and they’ve known each other for quite some time, but there’s more to this sisterhood than that. Wedge Office excels at analyzing the capabilities of foes, and Dawn Office specializes in combat, so it’s only natural that we go well together.
Battle Symbols
There are six Battle Symbols related to this guest group.
Battle Symbol
Name
Slot
Imperfect Ego
Eye
Effect
HP +1
Condition
Survive through a complete Wedge Office reception.
Unrelenting Veteran
Eye
Effect
HP +2
Condition
Complete an Urban Plague-level reception after activating the 'Unrelenting' passive of Oscar's Key Page with no other allies present.
Acuminate Wedge
Mouth
Effect
Stagger Resist +2
Condition
Defeat Philip in both Dawn Office and Wedge Office receptions with Oscar's Key Page equipped.
The One Who Pierces
Headwear 1
Effect
4% chance to boost Pierce dice Power by +1
Condition
Deal damage to Oscar while his 'Unrelenting' passive is active.
Pointed Spear
Headwear 1
Effect
5% chance to boost Pierce attack damage by +1
Condition
Clear an Urban Plague-level reception only using Combat Pages that only have Pierce and Defensive dice.
A New Corpus
Headwear 1
Effect
HP +1
Condition
Defeat Pameli 5 times with Pamela's Key Page equipped.
The 8 o'Clock Circus and only survived thanks to replacing her body with a clone body from Pamela, though she's not fond of her new body. She wields a large spear in combat.
