Part 8: Mission 8 - Operation Dynamo - May 19th, 1995
“Merlon”Mission 8: Operation Dynamo – May 19th, 1995
Overview: Osea and the Allies press farther into Belkan held territory. Galm Team is dispatched to neutralize Belka’s second line of defense in the Schayne Plains, destroying Belka’s main air force base in the region, its ground defense network, and local fighter squadron.
However, just when the mission seems to be in hand, the Belkans reveal a game-changing trump card…
Guest Commentators: Okay, now this is just strange. I could have sworn I only recorded one version of this video, yet there’s three links up there, and three different guest commentators. How odd. Be sure to watch them all though! (I'll know if you don't
) For this mission, I am joined by three people who know even more about Ace Combat than even Lunethex, Kadorhal, or ACES CURE PLANES—I’m of course talking about poorlywrittennovel, FPzero, and Faerie Fortune. Fae is known for her 100% blind LP of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time alongside her LP navigator ChaosArgate, and of course her own ongoing series LP of the Pikmin games with gnome7.
FP is currently doing a screenshot LP of the official translation of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and a VLP of the original Metroid Prime (with regular guest commentator Faerie Fortune).
And Novel tried to LP Katamari Forever, but then his computer killed itself, so that put an end to that one.
MERLON
We’re inching closer and closer to the big ones in the realm of “HEYGUYSDOYOUKNOWABOUTKINGARTHUR?!!!
”. Merlin is probably the one of two entries in this series that I don’t even have to gloss, given his cultural ubiquity, but I will do it anyway just because there’s some cool stuff about him that goes deeper than just “he was King Arthur’s wizard friend.”Of course, that is the big one sentence summary of his character, so we can’t ignore that. Yes, Merlin was a wizard and one of Arthur’s chief advisors in the Camelot mythos. In many of his mythological origins, Merlin is stated to be a cambion, a Gaulish word used to describe the hybrid offspring of demons and humans. He was born to a human mother and an incubus father and inherited the demon’s supernatural abilities when he came of age. The depiction of Merlin that we are most familiar with in our modern era, that of the wise and genial mentor wizard, came primarily from Geoffrey of Monmouth‘s Historia Regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Brittan) from 1136, which amalgamated multiple historical and legendary figures into the man we know as Merlin.
Many versions of the Arthurian myth see Merlin as a longtime ally and vassal of House Pendragon, Arthur’s bloodline. Merlin basically makes Arthur possible, in large part by casting a glamour spell over Uther Pendragon to allow him to enter Castle Tintagel and seduce Igraine, the wife of Uther’s rival Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. Igraine then leaves Gorlois for Uther and bares him a son, Arthur. She also had three daughters with Gorlois, Arthur’s half-sisters Elaine, Moraguse and Morgan le Fay, but we’re building up to that last one in Zero. He later takes on both Arthur and Morgan as pupils, as a general teacher and mentor to Arthur, who was being groomed to be Uther’s successor as King of England, and as a mage master to Morgan after it is discovered she possesses the same powers Merlin does. And, well, he kinda wound up batting 500 with that one. Three guesses who was the one who went batshit crazy and evil on him. I’ll give you a hint: IT WASN’T FUCKING ARTHUR!!!
It’s actually quite thematically appropriate that this mission is called Merlon, because as much as Merlin himself is a game-changer in the Arthurian legend, so too is Belka’s little super-heated death machine which debuts in this mission. A literal bolt from the blue on an otherwise calm day featuring a force that Fae quite aptly summed up as basically magic from a proper scientific standpoint. What the hell else would you name this mission after in light of that?
BORDERS
It’s here in this mission where the theme of borders and what they mean to people begins to become a prominent feature in Zero. Pixy opens the mission by noting how from up in the sky there doesn’t look to be any difference between Osean, Ustian, and Belkan-held territory. After all, the Belkan War came about after Belka’s loss of territory and the redrawing of its borders and its attempt to gain back what it lost.
We are going to see this theme develop quite sharply over the course of the next few missions, so pay close attention to whenever the term or concept of borders comes up, especially in a national, political, personal, or abstract context. All’s I’ll say now is that it’s highly telling that the issue of borders is first raised by Pixy, a man effectively without a country and someone to whom the idea of borders should mean virtually nothing, given his international upbringing and life as a mercenary.
Aircraft featured in Missions 8A, 8B, and 8C: Operation Dynamo.
F-20A Tigershark
Manufacturer: Northrop
Role: Fighter / Prototype fighter
Manufactured: 1981
Status: Cancelled
Primary Operators: United States
Quick Facts:
- A faster mid-game version of the F-5E.
- Doesn’t get much use because better planes have already been unlocked by the time it’s available.
- Developed with the intention to be the F-5E’s successor.
- Wound up competing against the F-16, which the USAF chose over it.
- Only three F-20s were ever produced. A fourth was partially completed when the project was scrapped in 1986.
- Two of the planes crashed in 1984 and 85, killing their pilots. The final F-20A now resides on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
Known as the “Tigershark,” this aircraft is the successor to the F-5E. Its single-engine design provides a 60% increase in thrust.
AMMO
Missiles: 60
SAAM: 10
GPB: 8
XAGM: 12
C-17 Globemaster III
Manufacturer: Boeing
Role: Transport
Manufactured: 1991-2015
Status: In Service
Primary Operators: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, UAE, NATO
Quick Facts:
- Third incarnation of the Douglas Globemaster transport series, which Boeing continued after its merger with McDonnell Douglas in 1997.
- Based off the McDonnell Douglas YC-15.
- Functions as a mid-point between the C-130 Hercules and the C-5 Galaxy in terms of cargo weight capacity.
- Capable of STOL (short take-off and landing)
- Has been used on occasion to transport Cadillac One, aka the US presidential limo, to locations in advance of Air Force One or Marine One’s arrival.
- A few C-17s have borne the US President several times, temporarily becoming Air Force One for the duration of the flight.
- Was Hillary Clinton’s primary mode of international transport while serving as Secretary of State. It was fitted with a work desk and seating space for her staff. The image associated with the internet meme “Texts from Hillary” is taking place aboard that selfsame modified C-17.
- Its civilian variant is the Boeing BC-17.
ALPHA TEAM
055
Ehren Ziegler
"Artist"
38, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Shot Down
EA-6B Prowler
Difficulty: Any
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence if you've completed the mission with 15-16 minutes remaining on the timer.)
Shot down over the Schayne Plains, after the war he turned on painting. In 1999, he revealed the painting "Demon Lord", focusing on the wretchedness of war and the venerability of peace. The piece was the subject of much praise at the Cinigrad Art Festival.
056
Hariman Reinhardt
"Biene"
33, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Shot Down
F-1* Special Plane Colour Unlocked
Difficulty: Any
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence only.)
Shot down over the Schayne Plains. He manged to survive the crash, but soon after subsequent complications in his vision forced him to retire from service. He is now undergoing home treatment and continues with rehabilitation in hopes of once again joining the air force.
057
Krabber Ludwig
"Strom"
32, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Killed In Action
F-2A Viper Zero* Special Plane Colour Unlocked
Difficulty: Any
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence only.)
A descendant of The House of Ludwig, home of generations of accomplished soldiers, he was shot down and killed in an aerial battle over the Schayne Plains. Ancestors of The House of Ludwig have stood in renown even in the legend of Totenheim. Like them, he was a knight of the Belkan Royal Dynasty.
BETA TEAM
058
Emil Wilheim
"Zugvogel "
29, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Shot Down
J35J Draken
Difficulty: Any
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence only.)
With experience flying many different types of aircraft, his skill earned him renown even among the ranks of the Belkan Air Force. After the war, he moved on to the Kingdom of Sapin, where he now competes as a stunt pilot in various acrobatic competitions.
059
Thorben Rehmer
"Falter"
30, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Killed In Action
F-20A Tigershark* Special Plane Colour Unlocked
Difficulty: Any
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence if you've completed the mission with 15-16 minutes remaining on the timer.)
In the line with the duty of protecting Excalibur, he was assigned to the 5th Air Division 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, a provisional aggregation of various squadrons. Rehmer, serving as the captain, quickly transformed them into the air force's defensive backbone. He was killed in action during Operation Beta.
060
Daniel Ludwig
"Quelle"
27, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Shot Down
JAS-39C Gripen
Difficulty: Ace
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence only.)
A member of The House of Ludwig, home to generations of accomplished soldiers, he was arrested after the war on charges of war crimes. After serving his sentence, he was released. However, with no place to go, he became a wandering vagrant.
THETA TEAM
061
Sven Reuter
"Flamingo"
28, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Shot Down
MiG-29A Fulcrum* Special Plane Colour Unlocked
Difficulty: Any
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence only.)
Retiring from service after the war, he changed jobs often, working as a bike messenger, dish washer and taxi driver among others. However, he eventually found a job as a bouncer at a local bar, and now passes his days as an average citizen.
062
Ernst Blum
"Kolibri"
45, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Missing In Action
F/A-18C Hornet
Difficulty: Any
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence if you've completed the mission with 15-16 minutes remaining on the timer.)
Detailed information about this pilot is unavailable.
063
Gerhard Ludwig
"Woge"
25, Male, Belka
05.19.95 Operation Dynamo - Shot Down
EF-2000 Typhoon
Difficulty: Ace
Ace Style: N/A (Appears during the escape sequence only.)
Garnered the protection of the popular government through generous donations, but with the war's end and a change of power, seven generations of The House of Ludwig fell to ruin. Gerhard Ludwig escaped to a small country in the south, where he fell ill and later passed away.
Tracks featured in Mission 8: Operation Dynamo.
DISC 1