Part 40: Mission #37: Veteran of the Psychic Wars

Remember, guys: Math kills!

The winners of the vote:

Mjolnir by a landslide!

Stuck-Up wins only a plurality! But, since this isn't the Canadian Parliament, that's good enough!

And the Hybrid submission process is a unanimous choice going forward, proving that, once again, the best ideas are mine.

Mission #37: Veteran of the Psychic Wars

Email! Ryogo has a new letter!


: (What's she talking about?)

Also, Alisa gets an email.

: I wasn't the top runner last week...
Yeah, well, what can I say, the public loves replicants.



We're still at the Ravnui embassy.



: Dammit, what is going on!? Why doesn't the military come and save me!? Bal cannot be depended upon. I should have cut him off before he turned traitor. But I've got other options.



: Oh, if it isn't Lukav!?
: The chairman... He's still alive. The devil must be his guardian.
: Stand back!
: There's Lukav!
: Chairman Jie is with him...
: I'm not going to let you get away! !



A helicopter carrying Imaginary Number wanzers is approaching. I don'r suppose they're hear to salute us for our courage?



: Join me, Lukav. If you work under me, I'll give you money and power.
: ...
: How about it, Lukav?
: Go away.
: ?



The chopper drops the wanzers...on Chairman Jie. I guess the DHZ needs a new chairman,



: Emir, Aliciana! You are one of the chosen race. Come with me!
: No, I will not...
: Who do you think you are!? I would never join you!
: Then I will take you by force.



: Capture them both. Kill the others!



Liu is still MIA, I also site Alisa out because I hate rifles, even in a map where they might potentially save my ass. You see, in this map, Lukav generally sits on top of a very tall tower and snipes at your units. A rifle wanzer could make it a bit easier to deal with him...but I'll take my chances.



Ryogo is still not exactly good at using the flamethrower.



Can Miho save the day? Well, a Double Shot II is a good start...



And two in a row is pretty impressive...



But she left 6 HP in the enemy's rifle arm, and loses a third of her body HP for it. This'll have huge ramifications later on.



Pham destroys the wrong arm. Damn it.



And Kazuki loses his shotgun arm by turn 2. That's a problem, since every enemy in this mission has a rifle or a machine gun.



In fairness to Ryogo, Lenghe 1s have tons of HP, so he's doing some damage, just not enough.



I don't think we've seen the Mingtian 1 until this mission. They're the Imaginary Number's prime missile wanzer, but, like all missile wanzers, they are especially durable. They do, however, have the same leg shape as those two-legged walkers from Star Wars.



That's Lukav up on the tower. Now, all you have to do to end the mission is kill him, but I want to see if I can't capture a few Imaginary Number wanzers in the process.



Ah. On second thought, let's end this mission before things take a bad turn.



Pham cripples a missile wanzer to give the rest of the team cover...



And Miho starts to work on Lukav.



Four rounds of fire compressed into one action. This'd better work.



This could be a problem. Two Double Shot IIs in a row, from my most skilled pilot, and Lukav still looks pretty spry.



Okay, if Miho can survive this one missile, I can get Ryogo up there next turn to take the pressure off of her, and everything will be-



Yep, once again, Miho has gotten killed by sheer bad luck. Look at her HP, every shot she took was against her body.



Well, it's up to Ryogo now.



Getting closer.



But it's not close enough. The only wanzer I have left is Pham, and The Tank doesn't have enough boost to make it up to the top of the tower, meaning I have to get a little creative.



If I can't get to Lukav, I'll make him come to me.



And he does.



Dare you say that this is victory? Pham, by virtue of being the sole survivor, is MVP.



Wait, does Lukav have an earring? Seriously? Can we get a more menacing villain for this game?
: Of course I'm serious. You killed my cashflow! Now you die!



: ...The Wulong. All units, fall back!
: Impressive. He knows when to fold.
: I already have an ace up my sleeve. I have no need to waste resources fighting you.
: Are you running!?
: Kazuki, isn't it? ...Intriguing. I'll remember you.



: Forget it! It's no use chasing him. Don't underestimate him. He can kill you for sure.
: ...You seem to keep saving the day.
: It's just business for us.
: Business?
: Your partner hired us for a tidy sum.
Incidentally, Kazuki and Ryogo were briefly married following a crazy weekend in Space-Vegas.
: Is that true!?
: We don't have a choice, dude. There wasn't anyone else willing to help.
: Hey, let's not fight out here. I'll take you somewhere we can relax. Come with me!

Next Time: Zoo Trouble!