Part 71: Mission 29 (Space Route) - Triangular

Here we are at the Space Route. We’ll be keeping this path, so we’ll see how our ace list changes as Kenji and Ichitaka get to wreck stuff without Daiya around.



This first mission only allows for a surprisingly small amount of squads: only 10. Granted, all of the Valkyries and Klan are deploying as event units, so here’s how we’re going:
Ichitaka
Shinn/Luna
Duo/Quatre
Zechs/Yagyuu (I soon regret this choice, swapping her over to Rey’s team and bringing Noin back here)
Kenji/Kyo
Jeeg/Micchi
Voltes/Canaria
Rey/Noin
Combattler/Hilde
Iczer-3/Heine

Off we go.



We open up on the Quarter, and Jeffrey asks if Talia shouldn’t take some time off to rest. She agrees, willing to let Arthur take things over for a bit… though she has a hard time being at ease when we can only sit around and wait for information on Djibril to come in. Well, Jeffrey tells her to have faith in ZAFT and the NUNS, as they’re scouring the whole sector looking for him.
Jeffrey himself would prefer if nothing happened at least for a bit, while the ship’s still getting serviced. True, true, considering the battles we’ll have in the future, it’ll be tough to get another chance to run maintenance like this. And that’s saying nothing on giving our team a chance to get some much needed R&R. Maybe this waiting around isn’t SO bad, Talia reconsiders.
Indeed, haste makes waste. While Jeffrey applauds her dutifulness, she ought to put her feet up once in a blue moon. So she will.





At Island 1, Alto’s not happy that he got conscripted into helping buy groceries during his time off. Tsubaki suggest he not look at it like that, and instead think of it as shopping. Nagisa herself is enjoying being back home after so long, but the same clearly doesn’t apply to the man. And telling him to look at it like “shopping” isn’t helping make it better, either.
Hilde quips that not enjoying shopping won’t help him get along with the ladies, though Alto grunts that he doesn’t care. One thing Quatre notices is that Ranka’s music is playing throughout the area. In fact, it’s been like that since they came to port.

Seems to Ichitaka that the Frontier has Ranka Fever – way more than down on Earth, that’s for sure. Speaking of, Megumi’s heard that the girl’ll be making a live performance at Mihoshi Academy soon. Provided nothing happens, we’ll be able to catch that. Nagisa’s excited for it, as it’ll be hers and Kawai’s first time seeing their friend perform solo.
That’s great, but Juzo tells them to be careful not to jinx it: better pray hard Djibril doesn’t rear his head out of whatever hole he’s hiding in.



Back to the Quarter, Cathy’s brought some unusual info to Ozma: apparently, Ranka’s show today is being sponsored by the Frontier’s Executive branch itself. Her guess is they want to further boost Ranka’s career, as the one whose song can repel the Vajra. A modern Lynn Minmay, Ozma sighs.
He likes that her wish is coming true, but doesn’t care that it’s coming hand-in-hand with her being weaponized in our fight with the bugs. And to further raise questions around this, it seems the whole event was proposed by Mishima.
He was the one who put forward that experiment to use Ranka’s song against the Vajra, and Cathy thinks there’s more to all this than what we’re seeing. Ozma feels the same way, and wants to get to the bottom of it.



Ranka’s getting ready for the show, and while she seems bothered by what’s going on, she’s willing to go with it to make everyone happy. At least she gets some visitors to cheer her up before it all starts. She’s glad to see Klan and Michel again but, of course, what really brightens her day is Alto’s presence.
He asks if she’s not feeling too nervous – singing at her school’s different from her usual gigs. True, she’s a bit nervous, but figures she’ll be fine. She’ll just have fun and sing! Alto likes hearing that, impressed with the professional she’s become – all thanks to him helping her so many times before. And she’ll be working extra-hard out there knowing he’ll be listening.

At that, Michel and Klan nod at each other and suddenly remember that they have a few things they need to take care of real quick. Ranka’s a bit dejected, but understands that they’re busy. But she needn’t be bummed out: they’ll be leaving Alto here to keep her company until the show!
That’s the first Alto’s heard of any of this, but, whoops, too late – gotta go! Klan and Michel promise to be at their seats by the time she steps on stage. Alto grumbles as they leave.



Outside, Klan and Michel groan right back: seems like it didn’t really dawn on Alto WHY they were leaving him there. Seriously, being that dense should be a crime, Michel thinks. “Pfeh, I really don’t think you can say anything about that,” Klan harrumphs.
Michel stops short, but Klan continues. Despite all the myriad ladies he’s been with, he’s never REALLY gotten together with anyone. “Is there no one you really have feelings for, Michel? Is there love, somewhere in your heart?!” Klan demands to know, and Michel can’t answer.




: Hold me to the edge of the galaxy!



: Ranka’s on fire today, huh?
: Yes, she is! There’s this glow in her eyes that I don’t see often…!

* *

: Wow, has it been half the show already?
: She’ll be wearing an outfit you designed for the second half, right, Nanase? How exciting…
: Speaking of excitement, Sheryl, I saw on the news that you were taking some time to rest? Are you well enough to be here?
: She’s right! And I know this is the VIP area, but do you need that disguise…?
: Ssshh. This is Ranka’s show, so I don’t want to stand out. And, as you can see, I’m doing just fine. Relax and have some fun, would you?
: Huh… that’s a lot different from the picture Michel painted. He said you might not be feeling too good, and that I really needed to see you… And here I was, all worried for nothing.
: (Michel and Klan… so they now there’s something wrong with me… but I can’t let him know. That’s why I…)
: Of course – what did you expect? I am Sheryl Nome, after all.

* *

: Oh! The second half’s starting!
: (Are you listening, Alto? Please let my feelings reach you…!)
: That’s a beautiful stage.
: Hey, Sheryl… I heard you’d quit singing. Is that true?
: … It is. I’ve retired…
: But you still want to sing, don’t you…?
: Come, now… Sheryl Nome never says anything that she…
: …!

*Thud.*

: Sheryl!
: Don’t worry… I just got a bit dizzy. And, whatever the case, I am not singing any—
: Don’t lie to me, Sheryl. I know you’d never quit singing. You wouldn’t have touched the hearts of so many people if you didn’t love doing this!
: …
: Whenever I got up on stage, I wasn’t really there. So I can tell when someone’s pretending to be something they’re not, and someone who’s the real deal.
: Alto…
: (Huh? There’s someone with Alto… Sheryl? No… no…!)
: (How can you break my heart like this, Alto…? Is she really the one you love?)

*BOOM! Vrrrrr!*

: !!
: That sound was!
: SHYAAAAAAAA!!
: Aaaah!
: That’s… a Stage #2 Vajra larva?! How did it get in Island 1?!
: Save the questions for later! We gotta get back to SMS!


Mission 29 (Space Route) – Triangular



: A new type of Vajra…!
: More important than that is how we now got a fight breaking out in an airtight environment…! This isn’t good, man!
: Worse, some of our units are still repairing, so we won’t have all hands on deck for this!
: There are so many Vajra… Where did they come from…?!
: That’s not the main issue right now! We’ll have to keep them from tearing through the city until Alto and the others come over!



On the other side of town…

: Damn, this just keeps getting worse… Transportations down, we got split up with Alto’s group…
: Michel… Are you still not going to give me an answer?
: Huh? What is it now?
: Is there love, somewhere in your heart…?!
: … If there is, it’s currently MIA. I can’t even remember if I ever felt that to begin with.
: I see how it is… You’re a coward…

*Punch!*



: Hm…?!
: I love you, Michel.
: Y-You… Look at what’s happening…!
: I am, which is why I did this! How could I be truly in love if I let something like the fear of death hold me down…?!
: Klan…


And, on that note, let’s shoot some bugs. This mission is a bit of an odd one: there are 30 Vajra larvas to the NW, with more to come, and you have a rather diminished amount of resources. Start sending your folks out thattaway and start blasting – the larvas are pretty frail. That said, don’t go too crazy: you’ll want to leave 8+ of them alive for stuff.
On the flip side, the Vajra Larvas are SS sized, so they’ll be getting better numbers than usual against your guys. Worse, your beefier units will likely have pretty shoddy hit %s against them, so Strike is the name of the game.
Of note is that Ichitaka is FUCKING INVINCIBLE in this mission: the larvas only have one attack, and it’s a Beam weapon which doesn’t hit too hard. In other words, they’ll never get through the Laplace Wall.

Push onwards and, on the next turn…



: Urk!
: Sheryl! You alright?!
: Yes, yes! The shrapnel just grazed me.
: … Ranka, you have to sing! Make the Vajra docile with your song, please!
: Huh… but…
: You’re the only one who can! Please! Our city and everyone in it need your help!
: I’m the only one… Okay, I’ll do it…
: (You tell me that, but she’s the one you’re holding… It hurts… You’ve no idea how much my heart’s hurting, Alto…)





: …!



: What the?! The Vajra got all energized?!
: Damn it, and they were already tough to deal with before…!
: (What… how…?)

Elsewhere...

: Emotional level: -7.3…
: Is this mess your doing?
: No. I admit that I considered the possibility, but this is an irregular event as far as I’m concerned.
: But it doesn’t matter. How are things going on your end? The plan’s been going so swimmingly… I could lend you a hand with that if you’re feeling uneasy.
: Thank you, but no. I’ll handle it myself. This mayhem could be a bit of divine providence at work, I think…!



: AAAH!!

*Thud.*

: Nanase!
: Ur…gh…
: H-Hang in there! Stay with us!
: Nanase! Sheryl!
: I’ll take her to the shelter! Your job is to keep the city safe – hurry back to the SMS building!
: Hrm… alright! Can you keep up, Ranka?!
: Yes…



: Sorry for the delay, people!
: Ranka’s already safe and sound! Same goes for Nagisa and Kawai, by the looks for things!
: You… You’ve hurt Nanase!

Back at the SMS base…

: How’s my Queadluun doing?!
: It was still undergoing maintenance, so its frame’s pried wide open! We could try reassembling it on a hurry, but…
: Damn it, of all the…! Wait, there was a Super Pack stored in the hangar, right?
: Sure, but what use—
: Give it to me! I’m going out with it!



: Klan?! Are you really sure about fighting with that?!
: We’re already short on people as is. Watch my six, Michel!


Can’t lose Michel or Klan here, which is fine as they’re very dodgy. Just don’t let evasion decay bite them in the ass. With the new gaggle of Vajras to the NE, we’ll have to spread our forces a bit – I’ll have the Rushbird lead the way there since it can’t be damaged. The NW group has the SMS folks, so I’ll only add a few more hands there.


Klan Klang (Super Pack)
Squad Bonus: Critical +10, Mobility +5, Money +10%

And here’s Iczer-5! Klan and her jetpack are rather short on attacks, but she’s got decently powered missiles with 2-7 range, so that’ll do well enough. And unlike Z2.2, this isn’t a one-time thing: Klan can now go out in either this or her Queadluun-Rea for any mission!
One thing you really need to pay attention to is that Klan doesn’t fly too well: only a B rank in air, and that’s a real problem since she deploys in flight! Put her back in the ground ASAP or the Vajra Larvas WILL be getting good numbers on her. Grounded, she is very dodgy, though.
Once she’s landed, she’s pretty much untouchable until the evasion decay really piles up.

And one final thing before we go:

Secret Alert!
Have Michel kill 8+ enemies. As in, by the time you clear out THIS bunch of Vajras, he needs to have 8+ kills.
Easiest way to do that is to have Luca (my Alto’s too strong – he often crit-kills one with even the Gunpod) pop a chain attack to shave off 50-70% of a pair’s HP, and have Michel follow up for two kills. Do that four times, and you’ll be good.

Here we go.



: You’re not hurting Island 1 or any other of the people I love! I’m not having it!







: Fighting and dying are things only soldiers should be doing! You’re not killing any more of the Frontier’s civs on my watch!







: Ranka’s song isn’t working on them, so we’ll have to handle this ourselves! You bugs can go straight to Hell!









: What’s wrong, Mr. Bug?! Why’re you angry?!
: But I still need to get Nagisa back… I’m sorry!









: There’re shelters all over this area! It’s only a matter of time before those get damaged – we need to get rid of these things quick!









: Are there any people who haven’t run off yet?! This all went down so suddenly…!
: About 90% should already have evacuated safely! We should hurry to make sure the remaining 10% are also fine!










Every once in a while comes a mission where all stars align in Ichitaka’s favor, and this is one of them. By the end, he’ll have taken a total of 11 kills, and that’s only because I held him back after a point – the Rushbird can solo this whole thing with just its Lightning Fist and absorbing EN.



: Damn it, how did a screw-up like this happen?! We haven’t had Vajra managing to get inside Island 1 since first contact!









: This isn’t the time to lose your head – calm down…! Calm down and push the bugs back…!









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNYfYtR3DO8



: What the hell… Did the Vajra manage to build a nest inside the Frontier? I can’t think of any other explanation for this!









: Rrrgh, these’re ever smaller and quicker than the ones we fought before…! And there’s a ton of them, to boot!
: Just point us in the right direction, Hyouma! I’ll get you a lock!






It was as I was killing the last survivors that I came to realize that I REALLY wanted Rey to be able to MAPW aerial targets, so I went and swapped his and Zechs’ squadmates around.


Much better.




: Yeesh, how many of them are there?!
: We have to do something, or there’ll be no way for anyone to live here…!
: SHYAAAAAAA!

*The Vajra rushes Klan down!*

: Damn—!
: KLAN!!




Michel: Zentran or no, she’s out there in the flesh…!














Michel: K-Klan… I’ll… protect… you!





: Michel?!
: Hey… Alto. When you really love someone… you’re ready to risk your life for them… right…?
: Michel…!
: Sorry, Klan… that I couldn’t say this ‘til now… But I… I also…
: Mi…Michel…?
: I love you…



: Aah…! AAAAAAAAAH!
: Th-This has to be a sick joke… Michel! MICHEEEEEEL!!

*Beep! Secret Achieved!*

: Hrgh…! Quit yelling… I hear you just fine…
: Michel! You’re alive?!
: Just barely… I really thought I was a goner there… which loosened my tongue a bit too much…
: Argh, you idiot! If you actually do love me, then you can’t just die like that!
: Kch… You’re such a slavedriver… God, this hurts…
: Don’t talk anymore, Michel! Do whatever you can for your wounds – we’re sending people your way!
: Aye, aye… I’ll be waiting…!
: In the meantime, we’ve to clear out the remaining Vajras in Island 1 and keep the people safe!
: Yes, sir! We’ll wrap this up in a hurry!

In a hurry, indeed, because I’ve officially ran out of patience. So I have everyone bunch up at Mihoshi and hold back for just a few turns…



Perfect.












That’s precisely 30 kills for Rey, and not a drop of regret on my part (especially because I used Bless).
And it's just hit me that this is the second game in a row where a Toshihiko Seki character becomes my go-to "fuck this" tactic.

: (What’s going on…? I shouldn’t have any memories of my childhood… so why does this look so familiar…?)
: (That’s right… someone helped me before! What happened was… hrm… I can’t remember…!)


Anything that wasn’t inside this AoE gets wrecked, and we’re done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNECbtp60y4


: We’ve managed to bring down all the Vajras that entered the ship…!
: Now we just need to deal with the ones surrounding the fleet!
: What…?! There’re more outside?!
: Yes, Brera and the fleet’s forces are currently engaging them. They won’t last by themselves, though. We need to get out there and provide support!
: So he’s fighting too… Roger that!



: I see you’re safe, Mr. President.
: Oh, Mishima? We’ve already finished transferring all governmental functions to the Battle Frontier. All that remains is leading the offensive from there.
: Much appreciated. Now, if you would, I, Leon Mishima, shall take those duties upon myself…
: What…?

*Door opens.*

: Father, get away from him!
: Cathy?! What are you doing here?!
: Oh, dear, we’ve some uninvited guests… but I’m afraid you’re too late.

*Bang!*

: Wh—…!

*Dead.*

: F-FATHER!!
: Mishima…!
: Your father is gone, Cathy. And I fear I must now call off our engagement.
: You… how could you!
: Much as it pains me, I cannot afford to leave witnesses… Get them!
: Yes, sir…!

**

: You’re not getting rid of us that easy!

*Punch!*

: Urgh!
: Cathy, run!

*Door closes, and they run off!*

: Tsk… After them! Don’t let them escape!



: …
: Stay strong… Alto and his friends will save us, I’m sure…
: Why is any of this happening…? Couldn’t Ranka’s song stop the Vajra?
#1: Rrgh, damn that aide… I thought that story was too good to be true!
#2: If only we’d made it to pilots, we…!
: …
: (Singing, huh…? Could I still touch their hearts?)


L doesn’t have this song, but screw it!

: Kami-sama ni koi wo shiteta koro wa… ♪
: … Sheryl? It’s Sheryl Nome!
: What a beautiful song…
: (I might not be able to be a symbol of hope like Ranka. But, still, I’ll carry on singing even as despair spreads around me.)
: (All so my song can touch and bring joy to the hearts of these people…!)