Part 25: Mission 7 (Retreat Route) - The Wind Blowing Through the Proud Fang
And now we’re at the route where Ichitaka decided to be good little soldier instead of a big goddamn hero. I won’t be keeping this path, but here are the top aces nonetheless. I’m actually surprised to see Ichitaka on the 3rd spot there.
With our numbers significantly reduced, our squads have to change quite a bit.
Tetsuya/Jun
Ichitaka
Kouji/Sayaka
Combattler/Puria
Daiya/Boss
Try to spread your Accels around as much as can be – it’ll help in the upcoming mission.
We open up at Djibril’s place, with him having his talk with Logos Guy about the footage sent by Neo’s crew and their future plans.
Cut to Yumi’s Space Station, with our crew having just returned from patrolling the sector: no signs of any trouble, terrorists or Mimetic Beasts-wise. Yumi hasn’t been able to get in touch with the surface and presumes the fall of Junius Seven, with all its dust and debris, has been disrupting comms. Hopefully our other half is doing fine down there.
Hyouma doubts Goh, Kenji and the others would have any trouble but Ichitaka’s especially worried about the Impulse and the ZAKU he couldn’t help, and the possibility of how badly the surface got damaged (his concern is, especially, for his hometown). Yumi’ll continue trying to establish communications and, if successful, he’ll let us know – until then, we’re to continue our patrols.
Tetsuya’s rather silent and while he admits to also be concerned about the surface, he’s also worried about what the UN might do. Kosuke understands: this is the sort of thing that could spark another war. He exposits the incident with the Colony Gundams destroying the shuttle with the leader of the UN’s pacifist faction and triggering a war between Earth and the colonies, how the emergence of the Mechabeasts helped unite mankind, etc.
Ichitaka raises the point that while the Mechabeasts are gone, we’re now under siege by the Darius and Cthulhu and whatnot, but Tetsuya reminds him that people NEEDED to band together in order to survive as the war had just ended and everywhere was in shambles. Not anymore, and so folks are raring for another go. Is there no way to stop war from breaking out, then?!
Jun believes that Durandal would try for as long as he can to settle things via dialogue and Daiya also believes folks like Cagalli and Relena, down on Earth, will help maintain peace. But, Alice wonders, what will LOTUS do if war does actually happen? Same we’ve been doing thus far, says Tetsuya: we’ll fight and protect the Earth Sphere from any threat. Hmm…
Speaking of, Djibril is VERY eager to start shooting right the hell now but Logos Guy tells him to be patient: the PLANTs are being cooperative, working with various peoples, and there are also some nations frowning at the idea of this new alliance. Furthermore, there’s still the matter with the Frontier Fleet which the UN still hasn’t decided on.
Djibril sees no issue with saving those vagrants for later, wanting to focus on destroying the PLANTs right now, now, now. And if Logos Guy is worried about fallback, Djibril says a modicum of threat will get everyone to fall in line – he just figured they’d both want to get to get a head-start on things.
Consider: who would be capable of opposing them once the PLANTs are gone? The common folk always loved having a nice, tranquil, controlled spot to settle down – all this time they’ve been working so hard building towns, utensils and rules to try and make it so. And now Logos has the major opportunity to “reorganize” the crap out society, paving the way for a new, marvelous world order!
Fine, fine, Logos Guy will have a fleet sent from the moon ASAP but he wants the announcement made sooner.
Some time later, the announcement is the revival of the Earth Alliance – courtesy of the footage, now circulating the globe, pinning the blame on the Junius Seven drop on the Coordinators. It didn’t take long for the former Alliance nations to band back together after that, under the argument that the drop was an act of war against Earth and that the PLANTs obviously need a boot up their asses.
Boss sees that Tetsuya’s fears have been realized and Chizuru wonders if the UN’s going to remain silent face all this. Indeed, they can’t stop it as the Alliance’s members are many of the more influential nations.
Lady Une puts in a call right then, and while she admits somewhat underestimating Blue Cosmos, she didn’t call here to talk about that. Did something happen? Yup: she’s just gotten intel that an Alliance fleet has set sail towards the PLANTs. Thus, Une orders LOTUS to depart and stop them immediately.
Ichitaka’s pissed at this development: starting a war now, with Junius Seven having dropped not too long ago, is moving way too damn fast. Seems to Sayaka that those guys were already poised to attack and only needed an excuse to pull the trigger.
If they were that eager to fight, Puria figures they could’ve spared more help in the battle with the Darius. Regardless, there’s no time to waste fuming – we need to get out there.
Djibril’s place again, and he’s welcoming Vice-Foreign Minister Relena Darlian who’s decided to make a rather sudden visit. What does she need? Well, she’s here to lodge a formal protest against the rebuilding of the Earth Alliance. Oh, and why would she come to him for that?
Relena would very much rather he drop the pretense – Djibril doesn’t expect her to buy that he, head of Blue Cosmos, has nothing to do with this, does he? Djibril laughs that she gives him too much credit and says the Earth Alliance coming back is merely fruit of the righteous indignation felt by so many countries.
Even if, for argument’s sake, that’s true, someone of Djibril’s influence should’ve been able to stop this from happening. A war now would be the absolute stupidest thing to do. Relena IS aware that it was the Coordinators who fired first, no? Nonsense: that was the act of terrorists, not of the PLANTs’ government.
Would that kind of argument placate the enraged masses, though? Relena thinks she could convince them, yes, and even Djibril admits that someone with her charisma could pull it off… which makes what he’s about to show her kind of awkward.
Show’s about to begin, so why doesn’t she grab a seat and watch this live transmission of the PLANTs-bound fleet with him? “We’ll be seeing some beautiful fireworks shortly. Why not relax and enjoy the spectacle?”
Mission 7 (Retreat Route) – The Wind Blowing Through the Proud Fang
Our folks (including the Quarter) arrive in the fleet’s path, and Lady Une reports that while she’s been ordering them to stand down, there’s no response. Yzak, Heine and Dearka took a ride on the Quarter and Durandal wants them to handle this as peacefully as can be; of course, Yzak knows, that depends entirely on the Alliance being willing to pull back without a fuss.
Mishima relates some Alliance troops closing in on the Frontier but the NUNS is on standby to engage if necessary – the SMS should focus solely on the PLANTs’ defense. Seems like the fleet’s also on their blacklist. That said, Mishima notes that this is solely a self-defense affair and we’re to limit our attacks on the enemy. He doesn’t want to further stoke the flames of war, and neither does the president.
Ozma confirms, mad that we got dragged into this right as we were still refueling from our previous patrol. Klan didn’t expect to be fighting humans like this but Kenichi sees clearly who’s in the wrong here. And here they come!
The officer in charge wastes no time giving the order to attack, and a bevy of missiles are launched from his vessels – missiles Yzak quickly tags as nuclear warheads. Are these people insane? Puria calls foul, remembering that the use of nuclear weapons against fellow humans was banned by the Junius Treaty.
Indeed, Une confirms it’s a clear violation which is why we can’t let it pass; she gives us the order to attack and destroy the missiles, but to not engage any of the other units. Even if they attack us?! Ours is a neutral organization and, as such, we’ve no legal ground to fight the Alliance beyond neutralizing their treaty-violating salvo. Une knows it’s an unreasonable demand but asks that we obey.
Tetsuya suggest Ichitaka retreat if he’s not feeling confident, as we won’t have leeway to worry about rookies on this one. He’s not, of course: “I wouldn’t have any right to be here if I didn’t do something – anything.” Hyouma likes it but he’s gotta remember to come back alive as well!
Dearka, meanwhile, is pleasantly surprised that LOTUS is also joining the SMS in helping the PLANTs, but Yzak isn’t one to complain with all these incoming missiles. Heine, however, is keeping an eye out to see which of these two groups could potentially be the actual threat to the PLANTs.
Michel reminds Princess Alto not to go too crazy with these touchy enemies but he ain’t listening – rather, he’ll bag more than him! Kosuke marks the line behind us as the limit: any missiles get through and their explosions will hit the PLANTs even if they’re brought down. We can’t let a single one by and Ichitaka asks Alice to keep an eye on both the enemy and the missiles’ position. She promises to give this her absolute best.
Mission Objective: Shoot down all nuclear missiles
Mission Failure: Any allied unit destroyed, any Alliance unit attacked or any missile reaches the marked line.
This mission’s a bit of an odd one but it can be pretty easy if you approach it the right way. Our sole priority is the missiles and they’ll be making a beeline for their target - there’s plenty of debris in the way to slow down a few of them but they are still quite numerous and we haven’t all that many troops.
What do we do, then? First off, you’ll want to set everyone by the Quarter inside the ship and have them catch a lift over the frontlines. Second, and here’s the more important part: the missiles can actually attack. And it works exactly as you expect, with them exploding by someone. This’ll wreck the missile (even if it misses), so if you can’t outright kill one, set someone to trigger the attack and force the thing to blow up.
Three things to worry about : they’ll only do it at point-blank, it has 9999 attack power and +99 in accuracy modifiers, so it’ll HURT and be very accurate. Whoever’s going for an explosion, make sure they’re protected (Iron Wall works decently, provided you don’t overdo it).
The missile AI will never target anyone unless that unit is at the edge of its movement range and, really, it’s safer that way. Have the Quarter team deal with the missiles dead ahead while the forward troops split up to take the east and western wings of the salvo.
…And, really, that’s it. The Alliance guys will eventually start attacking but you can only dodge/defend against them. Spread out, make liberal use of your spirit commands, don’t underestimate the missiles' movement range and don’t be afraid to have someone eat a nuke on the chin.
With that in mind, let’s simply handle this in a big montage:
: Ready to go, Michel? Now I know you can’t see me from there, but do try not to cry.
: Zip it, Klan! That was ages ago!: Hah, now you look ready to fight. Take care out there, Michel.: …! Bah, I never learn.
: This is Rabbit-1, missile in sight! Engaging!
: That one there’s that “Voltes V” bot, yeah? We can’t let them show us up!
: Hell, yeah! That’s the way!
: Oh, Hyouma… and you shouldn’t be enabling him, Juzo.
: It’s not too bad. Bit of competition is just what a guy like Hyouma needs to bring out his best.
: How can you go and try nuking people like it’s nothing? Are you people even human?! : We’re never gonna beat the Darius and the Mimetic Beasts if we don’t manage to get together!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GdGlpowLaQ
That’s a big explosion!
: Damn it, the last thing I wanted was to get dragged into other people’s fights…!
: That’s war – it drags everyone into it, whether they like it or not. Should you have joined the SMS if you don’t even know that?: I do know!: Good, then. Let’s go and wrap this up quick!
: You’re really trying to cause another tragedy like that?! Is that seriously what you want?!
: I’m taking all these nukes down – they won’t even scratch the PLANTs paintjob on my watch!
: Even in a parallel world, humans are still turning on each other…
: Well, you know what they say: “when in Rome, do as Romans.” No way around this.
: Maybe we should ask the Combattler V’s pilots about how things work in this world after this is over?
: Those guys got a nice look to them. My gut says we could be fast friends.
: We’ve fought a bunch of guys so far but having to do it while holding back this much is a first. Still, we gotta go for it!
: Of all the stupid…! Even if your nukes did hit the PLANTs, all you’d get is everyone stuck in another war!
: You wanna kill these people just ‘cause you don’t like them? What are you, six? Grow the hell up!
: I’m also part of the SMS… Whatever mission I’m given, I’ll see it through!
With all his missiles gone, the officer in charge gets pissed and retreats. Daiya starts cheering, though Canaria finds that this was TOO easy. Think they got something else in store? Who knows. Alice had a bit of a hard time keeping track and prioritizing all those targets but she’s bound to feel worn out until her AI’s done growing. Kouji suggests she rest for the day.
Ozma calls everyone back, not wanting to raise any more eyebrows with our presence here, but should we head back to the Space Station or join Lady Une at the PLANTs? Wait, never mind that, Luca’s detecting something else!
A bunch of nukes spawn way behind us and without any warning – the Alliance apparently had some outfitted with Mirage Colloid stealth and they were moving by inertia to avoid detection! The things blow past us and there’s no way we can reach and stop them all in time.
Are we about to have another Blood Valentine, Yzak dreads? Alto and Michel are about to step on the gas when a voice says they needn’t worry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxmZD51zhJw
Aay, it’s Zechs Marquise and Lucrezia Noin and they wreck the bunch with three seconds to spare, even. Ichitaka’s blown away by the MS’s speed and the ZAFT folk recognize the Tallgeese, personal machine of the Lightning Count (been a long time since anyone called him that).
They’re ex-Preventers and returned from Mars after they realized that things were getting out of control on Earth. And, bonus, this meant Zechs could postpone his chess game with Noin for a bit… only, no, she actually remembers exactly how the board looked when they stopped. But they can start over from scratch if he prefers. “Fine, Noin… I concede that my defeat was glaringly obvious. Now can you please let this go?” Zechs groans.
Ichitaka’s very impressed with the two, having this otherworldly aura around them. Une is very glad to have them back and reassigns Zechs his usual Preventer Wind codename; he and Noin are also readily available to join LOTUS and help in their fight for peace.
Mishima gets in touch once again and praises Jeffrey on his victory. As for the Frontier, the Alliance has backed out and the government has decided how they’ll react to this. They’ve just finished talking with Une and Durandal (pending a lengthier chat with Une), having chosen to maintain the Frontier’s cooperation with the PLANTs.
Ozma asks if this means they’ll have a war on their hands but, again, Mishima says this is solely in the interest of self-defense – they don’t want any war. Ozma quietly sniffs that what they’re doing is leeching off the PLANTs, but whatever. What are we to do next, then? Mishima says the Frontier Fleet is moving deeper into PLANTs’ airspace, so he asks Jeffrey to rendezvous with them there.
Cathy wonders if it’s wise to move the fleet without trying to talk things out with Earth, but Mishima reminds her that obeying the local government’s order to stand by only got them shot. They won’t sit quietly and be targeted, and that’s not even mentioning the fact that there was only seven hours and two minutes left on the deadline they gave the fleet (and please don’t call him Leon when they’re working). Fine…
Une tells LOTUS to stick with the Quarter and head towards the Frontier – she’ll be doing the same, shortly. Kouji asks if it’s really OK for us to board the Macross and while Une’ll withhold details for now, she says it’ll be more convenient that way.
As everyone starts coming aboard, Cathy’s a bit bothered with how events are developing. This doesn’t sound like her father’s doing – rather, it all reeks of Mishima’s shady deals. Heine and the others will be returning to the PLANTs, grateful for Jeffrey and LOTUS’ help today; as they leave, Heine ponders that we might warrant a bit of attention.
Cut to Djibril’s place, Relena’s having a laugh: “Well, I certainly did enjoy that little show. Though I wager that wasn’t the ending you expected, no?” As Djibril fumes, she reminds him that nuclear strikes on humans is strictly forbidden – did he forget all the lives lost at the battle of Jachin Due?
He didn’t, which is precisely why he wanted to NUKE MORE! Erasing the Coordinators from the face of the universe is the only way to appease the spirits of all those dead Naturals! Relena asks him to refrain from implying that he’s personifying the will of the dead – those nukes were draped in nothing but his hatred. Pfft, as if a teenager like her could grasp the grief he feels.
Relena tells him to ramble on, as she’ll be bringing this to the UN’s attention and it won’t be long before his evil is exposed for all to see. Djibril throws a hissy fit of how this bint will NOT stop his plans and calls in an Alliance soldier to take her away. He’ll use any and all means to exterminate the Coordinators.
He has Relena locked in a guest room but orders the soldiers to treat her well – she’s got a lot of clout on the UN and could be useful against potential obstacles. If she gets uppity, just give her a sedative or something.
Back at the Quarter, Zechs has been briefed on the events at Earth and sees that things are worse than he imagined – a bunch of enemies started acting up in his six months of absence. When Ichitaka asks, Tetsuya figures the kid saw the broadcast of the showdown at Libra, those two Gundams fighting each other – Zechs was the Epyon pilot, attempting to destroy Earth. Bwuh?!
And his dishonored name and the unofficial way he’s joining us notwithstanding, he is looking forward to helping our cause. Same goes for Noin, and she hopes we’re willing to accept them. Daiya isn’t really in on the take but the Daiku Maryu welcomed Nouza and Vestanu – former Darius officers – so he’s got no problem with them. Zechs and Noin don’t look like bad people.
Well, if Daiya’s that certain then Ichitaka figures it’ll be fine (though this is, to say the least, awkward).
Some time later, Une’s meeting with the Frontier leaders is sure taking a long time. Sayaka figures that’s to be expected, as the wrong decision here could have dire consequences; still, Kouji wants to stop wasting our time doing nothing and figure out what’s going on at Earth. Seems like communications with the surface have been restored, so Hyouma would very much like some news.
He does notice that Kosuke’s gone and Puria says he left not too long ago. Turns out Ichitaka asked the wiz-kid and Luca to take a look at Alice, who was overheating again. Seems to Hyouma that the girl really isn’t fit for combat and today’s op was especially taxing on her systems. Hyouma warns Ichitaka to be careful as robots with several pilots like the Combattler suffer big time if even one of them is out of sorts.
Indeed, Daisaku remembers how much of a worrywart Hyouma can be for the team – that’s doubly true when Chizuru’s involved, Juzo adds. As Hyouma flushes, Puria quips that you know folks are good friends when they’re ribbing each other like that.
The Daiku Maryu crew is also like that, though Dick had made things a bit more strained for a while; he’s not so much of a prick after hanging out with Daiya, though. Ichitaka knows what she’s getting at: when you talk with Daiya, it’s like your heart’s awash with purity. “Yo! What am I, detergent?”
As Ichitaka apologizes, Alice runs back in all fixed up and ready to go – no problems at all, thanks to Kosuke and Luca. Her symptoms weren’t serious, so it was just a matter of cooling her down and rebooting. That said, Luca is very impressed with the tech used in Alice as it easily rivals the best L.A.I. has to offer – that is to say, it’s several steps above what this world normally has.
Kosuke and Luca have really hit it off thanks to their scientific minds and love of robotics – as a matter of fact, Luca says Hiyoshi is kind of a gearhead as well. Seems like the similarities between the V teams extends beyond their bots, so he wants to introduce them. The Voltes had also caught Ichitaka’s eye since the Junius Seven battle and wonders where the pilots are – out patrolling with Alto’s group, it seems. No rest for the wicked.
Lady Une finally walks in and her talks with the Frontier have just properly finished: the fleet’s agreed to ask for our help as a way to safeguard their own political position. That is to say, LOTUS is being put forth as the ones responsible for running surveillance on the Frontier Fleet. If they do anything untoward, it’ll be our mission to shut it down. Finally, considering the SMS’s involvement in recent events, they’re also being reassigned to working with us (though it might be temporary).
Wait, isn’t that pretty much treating the Frontier Fleet like criminals and we’re the jailers? Yes, but that was the compromise that the UN could reach with Howard and Mishima. Zechs suggest Daiya look at it the other way around: by having us keep tabs on the fleet, they’ll be safe from more hostile people.
Indeed, it was that point that Une used to leverage the agreement into being: only we, owners of the more advanced fighters in the world, could stand up to the Alliance and more. Of course, we’ll be respecting the Frontier’s autonomy and the fleet’s expected to settle down near the PLANTs.
With that, the PLANTs will endorse the Frontier’s claim that they’ve no intention of invading Earth, and, in exchange, the fleet will help them exercise their right to self-defense against any untoward attacks by the Alliance.
Lady Une figures this will help calm down the UN’s upper brass, antsy over the Frontier simply floating aimlessly close to Earth, but Tetsuya doubts the Alliance will let that happen. True, Une expects there to be yelling but she knows who’s in charge and how to get them to play ball.
Our folks are getting a tour of Mihoshi Academy and Hyouma’s surprised that it’s not all that different from our world; Ranka walks over and asks if we’re new visitors to the Frontier. Didn’t she tell Alto she’d be taking the day off? Yeah, well, turns out her gig got cancelled at the last second…
Nagisa (Kasumi) grunts that that was so unfair – she was supposed to be getting interviewed for this magazine and they just called it off this morning. Still, Nanase and Luca tell her not to let it bring her down and Alto agrees: keep singing and she’ll get more chances. Ranka smiles and agrees, annoying Nagisa that she’s the only one here outraged.
As Ranka apologizes, Chizuru hears Nagisa’s name and gets a strange déjà vu. Hey, does Alice remember the face of that comatose girl at JUDA? Don’t these two kinda look really alike? “Hmm, now that you mention it, they certainly do… Then again, it’s said that every person has at least two others throughout the word that share his or her face, so I see no problems at all with that!” she says. But having the same name? Is that just a freak coincidence?
Either way, Ichitaka tells a curious Nagisa that we’re LOTUS, not ZAFT, and (as luck would have it!) Michel and Luca say they got stuck playing tour guides again.
But Sheryl walks on over, wondering what’s going on with this little gathering. As Luca and Nagisa flip out at her presence, our people take her to be someone famous in the Macross world – and she’s a beauty, too, thinks Kouji. A model? Sheryl figures they’re not from around, judging by their reaction, and points out she’s a singer – the Galactic Fairy, Sheryl Nome!
Sounds a bit too grandiose for Kouji but Michel says she’s famous on a galactic scale, so the title’s justified. Sounds impressive, then! Speaking of fame, Sheryl turns to Ranka and asks how things are going with her career. It’s been a slow process, that’s all she’ll say… she’s got a SMALL agency and gigs have been sporadic, to put it nicely.
Well, Sheryl has her own radio show and figures she could easily get her set up for an appearance but Nanase loudly speaks against the idea. Ranka will make it without riding on Sheryl’s coattails! Ranka’s meeker about it and while she’s grateful for the offer, she wants to find fame by her own efforts. Sheryl didn’t expect that answer but approves of her confidence – keep at it.
With that done, however, Nagisa has a question: why is Sheryl at their school? She herself remembers the girl from their run-in at Griffith Park (much to her surprise – Sheryl appreciates her fans) and says she’s looking to take some pictures here for a promotional video.
First order of business is scouting the area for the best spots and she conscripts Alto to show her around. Why him?! Well, he did steal this fair maiden’s most precious possession… Alto begs her to drop the innuendo before people get the wrong idea and, fuming, does as she says.
Nanase and Luca have no idea what’s going on between those two, though what annoys Nagisa is that he’s MONOPOLIZING Sheryl. The gall! Maybe Ranka should be worried, Michel wonders? N-No, of course not – it’s not like that. Regardless, we should head inside because it’s likely going to be a pandemonium in there.
And then some as, later, there’s a big hubbub going on throughout school – everyone’s running around in a frenzy. Ichitaka catches sight of Kouji and, when asked, he says Sheryl’s running/blasting around school in an EX-Gear. Why? Boss says her underwear made a run for it and she’s chasing after.
… What made a run for it? “Her underwear! Her panties!” Boss yells, making Sayaka tell him to shush and stop embarrassing her. Whatever’s going on with her underwear, Kenichi knows an EX-Gear, with all its propulsion, is very dangerous if the wearer can’t control it.
Michel, desperately chasing after, begs Sheryl to stop but she’s not about to let the thing who stole her panties run off. In her zeal to catch the critter, she flies straight off the roof!
Jump cut to a few moments later, Kenichi and the others arrive and Michel says they just missed the show. As for Sheryl, he points out in the distance where Alto’s flying with her in his arms again (Boss is jealous). See, while her jumping off the roof would’ve been fine with that EX-Gear, she actually forgot to lock the suit in place – the thing slipped right off and Sheryl only didn’t end up a smear on the floor because Alto flew over and caught her at the last second.
Of course, that doesn’t matter one bit to Luca, who’s grieving his wrecked Samson EX-Gear.
”You raise all that hell over a piece of clothing… come on, now…” Alto sighs but, of course, Sheryl’s underwear isn’t just a “piece of clothing”. And she’d be wearing it, had the thing not made off with it (she, Ranka and Nanase had an incident with a bunch of eggs and needed a shower).
Alto doesn’t care for all her yelling (he’s one to talk) and is about to set her down when Sheryl stops him. Maybe they could fly for just a bit more?
Back at the rooftop, Ranka’s a bit miffed – for how long as they going to stay up there?
Sheryl still remembersthe first time they flew like this and that’s great, but has she had her fun? Can Alto drop her now? Nope, she wants to keep going. In that case she can go and fly herself – Alto’s bringing her down.
Cut to Onogoro island where we get a repeat of last mission: Kira and Lacus’ place get trashed by ZAFT assassins, Yuu and Heero save the day and the Archangel sets sail after saving Cagalli from marrying a ponce.
Following that, Une gets in touch with Djibril and out-politics him: Blue Cosmos better help the Frontier bill get passed nice and easy.
Back to the Quarter, Heine is presenting himself as a FAITH member, recently arrived from the PLANTs: following Durandal’s request, he’s decided to come and work with us. A request, not an order? Indeed, Heine didn’t need to help LOTUS if he didn’t feel like it.
See, while the PLANTs can’t overtly sign up with LOTUS right now, Heine and his FAITH status have permission to act of his own volition. Ozma’s rather surprised the PLANTs have a squadron with such independence but, indeed, that’s how FAITH works – you may fight for what you personally deem to be right.
Well, if he personally wants to join LOTUS, Une won’t stop him – everyone here has joined in the sole interest of safeguarding Earth.
At Griffith Park, Ranka’s pondering how well Alto gets along with Sheryl and tries sorting out her own feelings about the matter… when that weird critter from before shimmies up to her.
It looks like a baby… something, though nothing Ranka’s ever seen before. Did he get lost? Seems like they’re both alone here and the thing’s pretty cute, so Ranka decides to adopt it. She’ll call it Ai-kun.