Super Robot Wars: Alpha Gaiden Part #178

Part 178: Mission

: It supplies energy to the lunar cities and Winter Palace... In short, this is the moon's lifeline.

: It's also where the Black History's secrets are stored, hallowed ground.

: (Tifa...! Just wait, I'm coming to save you!)

: ......... There's no mistaking it... I've seen this place before...

: Y-yeah... This is the Moon Cradle, where Heero 'n the rest of us left our Gundams...

: Yes... I was here for a while too, before coming to this time...

: So the enemies are Mobile Suits...

: No, they're G-Bits controlled remotely by the Flash System...

: That's the true form of the Demon of the Moon.

: .........!

: But in the end, Mobile Dolls are little more than puppets.

: Don't underestimate these. They have an unlimited supply of Microwave energy... And Newtype-level reflexes that place them far above average machines...

: So it's like the twisted brainchild of Newtypes, the Zero System, MDs, Ghosts...

: .........

: Heh! If they wanna come at me in a group, my Twin Satellite Cannon will...

: Won't work. D.O.M.E. controls the Microwave station. We can't use those.

: Wh-why not!?

: Oh yeah... (! Wait... Then why'd D.O.M.E. let us use those up until now...?)

: G-Bits... MS versions of Funnels controlled by a Newtype... That must mean there's a Newtype inside of D.O.M.E.

: !

: !!

: That would explain why they need Tifa in order to make contact with it.

: B-but, LT. Amuro...! Hasn't this place been sealed off for thousands of years? Of all the places for a Newtype to be in...

: Yeah... The Moon Cradle from out time didn't have anything like a Flash System either.

: Even Project Aegis didn't include Psycommu, Zero, or T-LINK-like systems.

: Jamil, do you know anything?

: It's the Moon Cradle's control system. There aren't any humans inside of it.

: Then maybe there's a Newtype Ghost in there.

: Now we're going off into Ghost Stories...

: Whatever the case, the truth we seek is within D.O.M.E. itself.

: Ask, and ye shall receive. Knock on the door, and so shall it open... right?

: Wow, Omachi... That sounded almost poetic.

: Why, thank you.

: Captain, if the Moon Cradle has the same structure it did in out time... D.O.M.E. should be somewhere beneath the Microwave Station.

: Alright! Get the Ra Cailum into the Microwave station!

: Captain Bright...!

: I know. All units, avoid attacking the Microwave Station itself. If we destroyed that, it would spell disaster for the entire Moon Race!

: Which means... No using the Hi-Mega Cannon or the Mega Bazooka Launcher...?

: Eh!? You're serious!?

: ...though my own kitty doesn't have anything like that loaded on it.

: Shakti...

: Nothing to worry about. If you have to do something... I'll help. Plus, like Kouji said... I'll try and protect you.

: ...Thanks, Usso...

This mission sucks and I hate it.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that it's hard, it just very, very boring. Sure the G-Bits are a somewhat menacing foe with their high speed and long range Beam Bazooka that does decent damage, it's just that there are so goddamned many of them that just getting to the microwave station is a chore. Not to mention watching them all take action during the enemies turn. This mission also has a very annoying trait that I'll bring up soon.

Anyway, To get the Skill point for this mission, the Ra Cailum has to reach the Microwave Station within 5 turns, so let's move it first and the-

SON OF A BITCH!

: !!

: Y-yeah... Mass Production types, it looks like...!

: What are Huckebeins and Grungusts doing here!?

: ......... It's possible... They were produced in out time to defend the Moon Cradle.

: Those two machines are also Guardians for the Moon Cradle...!?

: But they're just MP-types, not originals! We'll blow 'em up like the G-Bits!

: Perhaps they were deployed here previously... Or likely kept preserved.

: Hahaha... Is it not a magnificent system?

: (If this keeps up, the Ra Cailum crew will be...)

I begin my assault.

Garrod managed to bring one down!

And now for the worst thing about this mission. Whenever you destroy a G-Bit, another will spawn right next to the Microwave station. It's very possible to get worn down via attrition and lose. Fortunately, the MP Grungusts and Hucky's don't share this trait, so you can (and should) destroy them with impunity.

speaking of which...

Here they are. I don't think I mentioned this before, but you can have Ryusei start out in either a MP ~~Gundam~~Huckebein MK-II or MP Grungust Type-II in the beginning of the game. on Easy he gets the Grungust Type-II, and on Normal he gets the Huckebein Mk-II. The Huckebein is probably my favorite out of the three for one reason, and one reason only.
It's theme song is awesome.

And if you Really want to rock the fuck out, here is the OGs version.

Anyway, back to the LP.

: Hmph, I'm impressed they've made it this far at all. Forget that, have you gotten D.O.M.E's central block open yet?

: No, sir... Releasing the seal has been rather time-consuming...

: You Majesty... This is D.O.M.E's internal anti-intruder program at work. Without the proper override codes, that would be impossible, I fear.

: ......!

: (Garrod...... Garrod, please... Flee this place...)

And now the enemy takes their turn. This takes forever since each and every G-Bit, Hucky, and Grungust each need to move.

The G-Bits seem to really hate Bryger, and more often than not they make him their primary target.

Usso was enough of a badass to deflect a Rocket ~~slap~~Punch.

The Huckebein's Chakram Shooter completely missed Usso.

The G-Bits will never move from their position. the only ones that will are the Grungusts and Huckebeins.

Finally their turn ends.

: Roger! Ra Cailum, moving ahead!

: What's the situation!?

: Enemy defense line reinforcements! It won't be easy to break through this!

: (Everyone... Run...!)

Suddenly, all of the Newtypes in the area sense something...

: !

: What was that just now...!?

: Someone trying to say something to us...?

: But who! This doesn't feel like Tifa!

: (......... It couldn't be...)

: (.........)

: What's wrong, Shakti!?

: Inside of D.O.M.E... I feel a person's will...

: Will!? D.O.M.E's just an ordinary system, right!?
Yup, just like the EXAM system.

: But... It felt like someone trying to contact us...

: ......... (Could it be... like LT. Amuro said...?

: (.........)

: (...The one that's been trying to contact me... The True D.O.M.E... If so... It could open the way to the future...)

I'm going to skip ahead here, because absolutely nothing of interest happened.

After the Ra Cailum enters the Crater surrounding the Moon Cradle, More Grungusts and Huckebeins spawn around it.

: New enemy units!! They're aiming for the ship!!

: What!? Get more reinforcements over here!!

Here I decided to stick around until turn 5 and farm for some cash. This, as will be revealed later, was a mistake.

When I reached turn 5, I moved the Ra Cailum onto the dish.

: The Ra Cailum has arrived over the Microwave station!

: Alright... Find us an entry point!

: Roger that!

And so all of the remaining enemy units retreat.

: The enemy readings have disappeared from the sensors!

: ...Is D.O.M.E. accepting us...!?

Ah hell...

Uhhh....any time now game...

Well shit. It seems I've hit upon the infamous G-Bit glitch. For those of you who are unaware, this mission will bug out if you kill too many G-Bits and won't spawn anymore when the game requires them to, effectively locking the game up. Luckily, I saved just before I moved the Ra Cailum unto the dish, so this won't be a major setback. Still, I have to start the mission over if I want to proceed.

So I'm going to get a game over.

Since I wanted to keep all the money I had made during this mission already, I just had the Qubeley use it's MAP attack to fuck myself over.

This is actually a pretty popular grinding spot if you feel like you need some extra cash or EXP, Just kill a bunch of shit (Huckebeins and Grungusts give out a shitload of cash, so use Luck on them for better gains) And then when you're done, just use a MAP attack and start over.

Anyway, let's just skip right to the end.

Fuck yeah.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program

: We're trapped...! Is this all we can do!?

: Of course. I have the 2 keys to D.O.M.E., you have no right to contact it. D.O.M.E. has no path other than to eliminate all of you as intruders...