Part 42: Mission 16 (Alliance Route) - Intervention

Our current top aces, though this is merely academic since we won’t be keeping the path. On that note, let’s just jump straight into the squads.



Ichitaka
Voltes/Mira
Dancouga/Tetsuya Kouji
Anna/Klan
Kouji/Jun
Tetsuya/Canaria
Combattler/Boss
Alto/Michel
Ozma/Luca

Iczer-1’s deploying as an event unit, so Ichitaka’ll be flying solo today. Better him than any of the others.

On we go!



The Cthulhu have successfully made contact with the Jama Kingdom, Himika telling that she’ll easily let them keep Earth so long as she has the Bronze Bell. Indeed, hatred is the mightiest force in the universe – however strong their dreaded Iczer-1 and partner may be, they are nothing face the Jama Kingdom’s malice.
Sir Violet warns against underestimating them and ends the call, leaving Himika to ponder that the power she feels emanating from Big Gold is quite similar to their own. Seems to Mimashi that fate’s brought them together, and he asks if they’ll be allying with the Cthulhu.
Yes, because Himika sees this as a win-win: if they’re struck down, at least they’ll wear out Jeeg and his allies, and if they survive, the Jama can easily dispatch them. Brilliant! Now, Ikima’s expected to return soon, so they’ll let the Cthulhu do their thing until then.



Over by the Cthulhu Fortress, Iczer-2 has recovered from her last battle and is already raring to put an end to Iczer-1’s life.
Sir Violet tells her to get to it, as the future of their kind depends on it. Iczer-2 seems confident: “You may have found your partner, but she’s no more than an earthling girl… Just you wait, Iczer-1. You’re not long for this world!”



: The PLANTs ordered you to sink the Archangel?!
: They did, yes. And we’re about to set out after them.
: That’s ridiculous! Anyone can see that the Archangel isn’t an enemy!
: … It is not our place to decide who the enemies and allies are. I hope you’ll understand.
: … Then at least let us accompany you.
: Accompany us?
: I don’t think they’re enemies either. So at least give us a chance to talk to them before you attack!
: The Archangel intervened in several battles in order to bring the last Great War to an end. I’m sure we can find common ground if we manage to speak to one another!
: What you’re getting at is that you want to invite the Archangel to join LOTUS, then?
: Yes. If they joined us and clarified where they stand, then ZAFT would have no reason to order this attack.
: … Well, I suppose it’d be possible to avoid some unnecessary conflict if they can be persuaded.
: I’m glad you agree.
: Very well, you may accompany us. We’ll be starting our pursuit at once.

*Call ends.*

: What do you think?
: It’s clear that Cpt. Gladys doesn’t like this either. The Archangel’s given ZAFT no reason to see them as a threat thus far, so these orders are coming completely out of the blue.
: I agree. And if they came from the PLANTs’ themselves… does that mean it was Chairman Durandal who ordered it?
: But why are they doing that? It’s already bad enough that we’re wasting our time with the Alliance!
: Seriously. Humans really shouldn’t be fighting each other with the Jama Kingdom, the aliens and whatnot hanging around.
: To say nothing of how much of a boost it’d be for us if we managed to add the Archangel’s forces to our team.

*Ping!*

: …?! This presence is…!
: What, Iczer-1?
: It’s her… Iczer-2 is coming after us!
: Speak of the devil… That broad’s got the worst sense of timing in the world!



: Captain, why are we going to attack the Archangel?! These orders are insane!
: … They’re also from the Supreme Council. We have to comply.
: But why so suddenly? What’s the Chairman thinking?
: The Federation’s violence is pushing the radicals in the Supreme Council to become progressively louder. I’m sure the Chairman is trying to contain them, but there’s only so much he can do.
: But that doesn’t justify fighting the Archangel!
: Then who is it that you want to fight?
: …!
: We are soldiers and this is war – that’s the way things are. If you can’t make your peace with it… then you’ll die.
: We may not need to fight them depending on how LOTUS’ negotiations go… but, first, we’ve to at least catch up to the Archangel.
: And if LOTUS can’t convince them?
: Then… we’ll follow our orders.
: Captain…!
: (I have to fight the guy who helped me save Stella…? Can I actually do that…?)



Speaking of the Archangel, Neo’s still asleep. He’d woken up for a bit earlier and IDed himself as Neo Roanoke of the Earth Alliance, but his medical data is a complete match to their old crewmate Mu La Flaga. They guy was tagged KIA after his MS was destroyed while shielding the Archangel a Jachin Due, but it is what it is.
Neo wakes up and doesn’t appreciate them referring to him as lieutenant commander – he may be a POW, but that doesn’t give them the right to demote him like that. “Hm, why are you looking at me like that, beautiful? Love at first sight, maybe?” he says to Murrue, but corrects her when she addresses him as Mu. He’s Neo Roanoke.

Seems like he’s lost his memories, but that’ll have to wait as Waltfeld gets in touch. The Minerva and Macross Quarter are headed this way! They haven’t gotten in touch yet, but he has a bad feeling.
As Murrue rushes to the bridge, Kira wonders what the two ships are after.



Mission 16 (Alliance Route) – Intervention



: This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel, speaking. What is the meaning of all this, Cpt. Gladys?
: Cpt. Ramius, the Minerva has been ordered to bring down your vessel.
: What did you say?!
: Hold, Cpt. Ramius. I am Goh Saruwatari of LOTUS.
: The hero of the War of Giants… I’ve heard of you.
: We are here to parley, and to ask if your group would be willing to join LOTUS. If you cease to be a wild card, and make your affiliations clearly defined, then we could avoid many a pointless battles.
: I wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve the sinking feeling that your orders to shoot us down have more to do with killing two of our crew members.
: What do you mean? Which people are those?
: The first would be Kira Yamato, the “Super Coordinator”. The other…
: Would likely be me…
: Whuh?! Why is Ms. Lacus with them? I thought she was at the PLANTs!
: You mean the girl with Durandal? I’ve no idea who she is, but I can assure you that this one is the real Lacus Clyne.
: And you should know that, when we were at Orb, Coordinator assassins came after us… We have reason to suspect that someone, manipulating the PLANTs from the shadows, tried to kill Lacus.
: And that’s the reason for these sudden orders to destroy you, huh…?
: (But who from the PLANTs would want to kill… Chairman Durandal…? No, that can’t be!)
: Cpt. Gladys, I understand your position. As a soldier, you can’t go against the orders you’re given… but the current situation compels us to try our damnedest to stay alive.
: And, so, if you insist on doing this…



: Then we are ready to fight to the end…!
: …! Shift us to code red! Deploy all mobile squadrons!



: I really didn’t want to fight the Freedom… Isn’t there any way around this?!
: …

*Kira blasts towards Shinn!*

: What?!






Kira: “Unknown attackers?! Watch out!”




Kira: “Hrk…! Is the Impulse…?!”


: The Freedom… saved me?!

*Alert!*

: Captain, we’ve a group of unknown units inbound! They appeared out of nowhere!
: What?!







: It’s the Cthulhu! Why’d they have to turn up now?!
: Cpt. Ramius, Cpt. Gladys, those are the Cthulhu. They’re a group of aliens who’re targeting the Earth!
: I’ve seen reports on them. It seems our battle has been postponed for us.
: Troops, your targets are the Cthulhu forces! Open fire!
: That’s our cue to deploy, too! No need to hold anything back against those!



: It’s been too long, dear sister! But what say you we put a definitive end to this today?
: I will not, Iczer-2! I cannot afford to fall here!
: What do we do, Captain? Do we use this opening to run off?
: No, we’ll assist them – an alien invasion is not something we can turn the other cheek to. All units, move to intercept!


So, here’s Operation Angel Down… and our only issue is the Cthulhu. This mission is really more of a breather after the big Berlin battle (or mission 15 at JUDA route), and there are no tricks.
It’s just a bevy of Dilos Thetas and Iczer-2, and while she’s still massively strong, her range remains quite limited. Build up morale, come packing Strike for her and wrap it all up quick (do make sure the Archangel team doesn’t steal your cash, as they’re neutral).

I’m just going to speed through this because, honestly, it is a very simple fight – if you’ve gotten to this point in the game, you know exactly how to approach it. Losing Iczer-1, or any ships (Archangel Included), is a game over but you need to screw up massively for that to happen.
Kira himself will auto-cast focus, so he’s nigh unkillable, and I am all but certain he’ll regen to full if that happens.





















































: My wounds have healed in full… making this the final day of your life, Iczer-1!
: I have my allies standing here with me – I shall not be defeated!








Iczer-2: “I was created solely to kill you! No more, no less!”
Iczer-1: "Well, I guess you are not a worthy opponent..."

That's a generic line for Iczer-1, so I completely skimmed over it, but I had to include it after the juxtaposition was pointed out to me!



: Ichitaka, I’m all ready to provide support! Just say the word!
: I-I’m getting by on my end, too! Bring it on, Iczer-1’s sis!
: Indeed, partnering people with one another is nothing but detrimental!

















: She’s insanely fast…! Can I even keep up with her?!
: I’ve no time to waste with you. My one and only foe is my sister!
: But I’m still not letting you get away from me…! My foes are all those who spread the fires of war!











: Iczer-1’s little sister… she sure looks strong, alright!
: You’ve a knack for sizing up your opponents, Earthling. Then you should already know that you cannot best me.
: Maybe if I was alone, but I’ve got a ton of friends here with me! And we’ll come out on top against whatever steps up to the plate!







: Hmph. If you think victory is yours, think again. Come, Iczer- Σ!



: I’ve no bindings around my feet today, Iczer-1… I’ll destroy you with my own strength!
: Nagisa, we must summon the Iczer Robo as well!
: Right! Let’s go, Iczer-1!



: Iczer-2… I will be victorious!



: I’ve a message for your boss, Big Gold: she’ll never get her claws on Earth while we’re still around!
: How very brave you are… but you’d best save your bombast for after I’m defeated!















: You dare attack me…? Someone needs a lesson of where they stand.
: You might be Iczer-1’s sis and strong as all hell, but the Combattler’ll always be ready to stare you down if you gun for Earth!













: If your people want a new home, then go find another planet! Our world also sent colony fleets out into space, and we never tried destroying other civilizations!
: War always follows whenever different cultures meet one another… the strong survive, while the weak perish. Such is the quintessential law of the universe!
: That’s just a rationalization for your bull! So I’ll stand and fight for our lives!









: I’ll make you pay for all the pain you put Nagisa through!
: Friendship is simply the weak giving succor to one another… A worm like that will never defeat me!











: Luck was not with you when your partners were chosen, it seems. You hamper one another, and that is how you’ll leave this mortal coil.
: Ouch. Still, I guess it’s true that we lost to the R-Daigun because our teamwork wasn’t up to snuff…
: None of us wanted to be part of a quartet to begin with, really.
: But that’s not who we are anymore… we’ve started to learn what teamwork is about, bit by bit.
: Hmph… such things are pointless is battle. All one needs are puppets who’ll obey without question or hesitation!
: That’s how you see it, eh…? Then this calls for Team D to show you what it’s capable of!











: I only sense Iczer-2’s presence within the Iczer- Σ… she’s fighting us alone?
: My “partner” was dead-weight from the very beginning. And once you’re beaten, I’ll have proven the folly of relying on others!
: That’s not true! I’ve grown strong only because I have Iczer-1 with me! And we’ll protect humanity and Earth together!
: Come, Iczer-2! Behold our combined strength!












: How?! My combat abilities far surpass that of Iczer-1…!
: Is this her partner’s… Is this the power of that earthling girl?!
: Victory is ours, Iczer-2!
: Urk…!



: Iczer-2… If you say you are my sister, then it is my duty to stop you…!
: OUR duty, right? You shouldn’t try to tackle this all by yourself. After all, you chose me as your partner, right?
: Thank you, Nagisa…

: All the Cthulhu forces have been destroyed.
: Coming under attack by these invaders comes as quite the reality shock…
: And it proves beyond a shadow of doubt that this is absolutely not the time for the Naturals and Coordinators to be killing one another.
: …
: Which is precisely why we should band together. Can’t the Archangel crew consider joining LOTUS?
: We’re sorry, but could you give us some time?
: We still don’t know who is trying to kill Lacus, or how much power that person holds. We can’t go on fighting completely blind…
: Then it seems this negotiation has broken down. Captain, we should engage the Archangel as per our orders.
: Weren’t you listening, Rey?! They aren’t the PLANTs enemies!
: That’s not our call to make. We must obey the Supreme Council’s command.
: … Ready the Tannhäuser!
: Captain!
: Look! The Minerva’s readying its main gun!



: Captain, the Minerva has us in its sights!
: Cpt. Gladys, are you…?!
: FIRE!

*The Archangel flies a bit farther away!*





: The Minerva shot down the Archangel?!
: Why?! We all knew they weren’t enemies!
: No. The way Archangel was moving was…


And Kira could’ve attacked Iczer-2:

: Kch…! How can I shoot her…?!
: My appearance makes you falter, hm? You are a fool to step onto a battlefield with such meager resolve!
: My resolve is…!



Back at the Cthulhu’s base, Iczer-2 is back in her maintenance pod. Why is it that she can’t beat Iczer-1? She’ll concede that the Earthlings are powerful, but that doesn’t explain why she’s suffered defeat a second time.
“Where does the Iczer Robo draw its power from…? Can it be from that Earthling, Nagisa Kanou…? Nagisa… you’ll be mine. I can defeat Iczer-1 by herself at any given time, but the only way I’ll wipe the slate clean of this humiliation is…”



Elsewhere, Violet is begging Big Gold for forgiveness – she didn’t expect things to end as they did. They’re now out of monsters and it’ll be a while until Iczer-2’s repaired once again – she needs more time.
Big Gold seems to have run out of patience, however, and zaps Sir Violet, finally speaking up and telling she’s done enough.



As Violet’s life starts to fate, she returns to normal and remembers all she’d done: “This evil spirit crept into the corners of my heart and controlled me… Or… perhaps it was I who gave it sentience in the first place…? Forgive me, my fellow Cthulhu… it was never my wish for this to happen…”
Big Gold, now up and about, confesses to her “mother”, Sir Violet, that she does not understand these humans. The Iczer- Σ’s victory was supposed to have been a foregone conclusion, yet it was defeated.
“There are too many unknowns for me to head to Earth yet,” Big Gold ponders. “And if I cannot use Iczer-2, then I have but to use the stored energy to create a spawn of my own… Hmhmhmm…”




: The previous operation has left a bad taste in your mouth, hasn’t it?
: No. If it’s the Supreme Council’s will, then…
: The Council, indeed… there have always been parts of it that saw the Archangel as an enemy, but they’ve been unusually galvanized lately.
: Someone is prodding them on, but I haven’t been able to figure out who yet… until that question has been answered, we’ll all have to proceed with care.
: But you’re the Chairman. Not even you can stymie these people…?
: Yes, though figuring out how to deal with them is precisely my job. Can I ask you to, at least outwardly, abide the Council’s decisions?
: Yes, sir… I’ll do as you ask.
: (Is he telling the truth? He knew about Lacus, so why…?)
: And onto another matter, I would like the Minerva to accompany LOTUS for a while.
: Are you telling us to affiliate ourselves with them?
: No, you wouldn’t be officially joining – it’d be a temporary transfer in the interest of fighting the various groups that threaten mankind as a whole.
: I have already contacted them about this, and they’ve agreed to it. So, I’d like you to accompany the Macross Quarter towards Japan.
: Roger that, sir.

*Call ends.*

: Is this really for the best, Captain?
: …



At the Quarter, Ozma explains what happened with the Archangel: the ship merely feigned being shot down, and with Talia’s help even. See, the Minerva not only had their weapon set at a low output, but it also purposefully missed its mark. Quite the sleight of hand, but, hey, they’ve fulfilled their orders.
And Tetsuya figures Murrue realized what Talia was doing, as she join in on the charade by cutting the power of the Archangel’s engines to simulate it sinking. Hyouma’s a bit miffed that he got all worried for nothing, but Alice finds it all to have been a very educational experience. She didn’t know ploys like this were possible!
Hiyoshi comforts Hyouma that it’d be hard for anyone to notice the trick – you’d have to look VERY closely to see what was up. But, as Tetsuya points out, the question now remains whether Durandal will fall for it.



And that’s a no, as Rey realized what happened and told the guy that the Archangel is still around. Durandal thanks him for telling, but isn’t actually concerned. “I had accounted for the possibility that they’d get away,” he says.
Rey’s confused, but Durandal simply tells him to keep an ear to the ground and let him know if anything happens. As he confirms and ends the call, Durandal is deep in thought: “The Archangel will now have to lay low for a while… Hopefully this will be enough to fool their eyes as well.”



The Quarter’s folks have just heard that the Minerva’ll be tagging along, and it’s already been officially cleared with Lady Une. Michel is all up for it as it’s been so long since he’s seen Meyrin and the other Minerva girls – Luca suggests he not let Klan hear about that. H-Hey, now, what’s any of this got to do with her?!
Regardless, now that we’re finally heading back to Japan, Kenichi wonders how things are going there. Settling down, from what Jun’s heard, and it seems that communications are open again. Nagisa figures Ishigami’ll be waiting for them with a ton of sushi, and Ippei wouldn’t put it past him to throw a “welcome aboard” party for the Minerva.

Nagisa isn’t looking forward to it, and asks if Iczer-1 would be willing to scarf down her batch of sushi… though the android is silent. Was she hurt during the battle with Iczer-2? No, she just has a really bad feeling about something. Ichitaka hopes she’s not prophesizing that their bowls of sushi are going to be supersized or something.
Actually, no, Kosuke runs in yelling that they just managed to hear from the Daiku Maryu: Ishigami’s been killed by Reiji.