Part 23: Mission 10 (Rescue Route) - Engage, Godannar - Part 1
Here we are, closing off the Rescue Route. Quatre had a bit of a sprint in the last mission, securing himself as our top ace. Ichitaka and Kenji are now tied for the second and third place.
Kouichi, as you might guess, will be a very recurring event deployment, so I gave him an extra pip on everything – you might as well boost everything since, one, he’s not the best at dodging despite the Linebarrel’s size and, two, there’s always that 50% boost to squad bonuses.
Remaining cash goes into giving Goh, Ichita and Jeeg some boosts here and there.
Putting out squads back together after they got all messed up last time, we’re going with:
Jeeg/Kyo
Ichitaka/Miu
Reiji/Quatre
Iczer-1/Yagyuu
Yamashita/Shizuna
Shizuru/Tetsuya
Goh, Mira and Kouichi are deploying as events.
: … Are you there, weasel?
: You called, Prof. Grife? Have you decided to cooperate?: Hmph, I simply felt like calling, though I’m surprised you answered so quickly. Guess you don’t have much to do with your life.: Not at all. I actually keep quite the busy schedule.: So you say, but not busy enough that you can’t stay planted in front of a monitor apparently. Maybe I ought to call you up at random and mess with your sleeping hours?: I hope you won’t, as I’d prefer to keep the unpleasantries to a bare minimum. Mind, I might start considering it if you continue being so unreasonable.: What’ll it be, then? Drugs? Hypnosis? Or just plain old torture? Do your worst! I’ll kick the bucket before you even get started!: Please, you need not worry. I’d never do anything taxing on your body.: Why don’t you take a quick nap, Professor? And do look forward to when you wake up.: What are you up to, weasel?!: Could I ask you to stop calling me that? You don’t know my name or even seen my face.: Next time you call me… could you please go with “Mr. President”?: Wh…at…? Hrk… my head’s going…!*Thud.*
: Excellency, the brain wave scanner is ready. : Very good. You may start right away.
Back at JUDA, Maki and Rachel have called Ichitaka over as they’ve found some info that’s seemingly related to sponsoring Grife received in his research. It’s not much, but it’s a first step! Now, does he remember those nixed upgrade plans for Alice that they found while analyzing his painting? They found a commonality among all those plans.
See, the nixed plans would’ve all used materials created by a single enterprise: GreAT Corporation. And they mean ALL the materials, down to the tiniest bits. Ichitaka’s heard of that company: “Providers of your every need, from groceries to toilets!” Rachel isn’t sure about that slogan, but they ARE known worldwide as a very prolific company. Still, Maki says that where GreAT truly struck gold and grew into a huge multinational was as a manufacturer of mechanical parts.
As it turns out, they apparently supplied the professor with everything he needed for absolutely free – and he needed a lot of stuff. GreAT even gave him items they don’t usually manufacture, so it’s pretty clear there was something going on between Grife and that company.
But Maki and Rachel couldn’t find what reason there was to cause the professor to call off the whole thing as suddenly as he did. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the quality of the materials, though.
Still, if we can figure out what Grife was researching, we might figure out why he was kidnapped and by whom. Rachel’ll have JUDA’s intelligence department look into GreAT and even poke around other companies that might’ve done some industrial espionage into the guys.
Ichitaka’s very thankful, but Maki tells him to save it until they’ve finished their work. In the meantime, Kouichi’s waiting for him.
Outside JUDA, everyone’s already waiting for Ichitaka and Kouichi. Yamashita suggest them watch it as, were this a mission briefing, Reiji would’ve been piiiissed. Kouichi promises to treat him to some curry bread by way of apology, and Ichitaka says it was his fault. Regardless, Ishigami tells them to let it go and beckons Miu to speak.
She officially welcomes Kouichi and Nagisa to LOTUS’ living quarters, and Nagisa’s rather surprised at how fancy the place looks for housing some pilots. The LOTUS folks have it good, she sees!
And there’s even a big fluffy dog around the place, which Nagisa is so enamored with. Looks a bit too old to be a watchdog, though…
Actually, it’s the dorm manager’s pet but we’re free to think of it as one of the team’s mascot. Wait, dorm? Wasn’t it supposed to be some living quarters for the pilots? Yamashita explains that, originally, this was JUDA’s company dorms, but they figured it’d make a good place for the LOTUS folk.
Goh says the mechanics also live here, though they’re back at the Dannar Base at the moment. In other words, these dorms house everyone working with LOTUS. Does that mean Emi’s here, too, Kouichi wonders. She on his mind? N-no, not really.
Either way, Ishigami hands over the card keys to their rooms and Nagisa and Iczer-1 take off to take a look. Ichitaka offers to show Kouichi around as the building’s rather unique shape makes it a bit difficult to get around.
Ishigami stops shot a bit upon hearing they’ll be going together. There a problem? No, he’s just worried about potential injuries. Huh?
: Alright, over here’s my room so yours should be just around the corner.
: Thanks much, Ichitaka.: There’re a bunch of devices around the rooms, but it all comes with a manual, so you oughta be able to figure it out. Anything you don’t get, just call and I’ll come over.: Hey, I’ll be alright – I’m not a baby.
: Yo, Ichitaka! You said you bought this new manga, right? Can I borrow it some?: Oh, Kenji. Sure thing, just gimme a sec to get it.*Couple minutes ahead…*
: Let’s see, 203… 203…: Ah, here we go!*Cha-chunk!*
: OK! From this day onward, this shall be my cas…tle…?
: !!: Waaaaaaaaa?!: (Why… Why’s Emi in my room… naked?!): What is it, Kouichi?!: Something happen?!: Y-You…: Gch?! Emi?!: Hu-Huuge…!: You’re all despicable!!*Slap! Slap! Punch!*
So, Kouichi’s back at the infirmary while Ichitaka and Kenji got off with some slight bruising. Nagisa’s not amused, as she thought the Cthulhu had attacked again. Rachel shakes her head at them, but Ichitaka insists he’s just an innocent victim here. Is he? She’s inclined to think otherwise, looking at Kenji: “I’m hurting a bit, but it’s fair price for the great view. Heeheehee…”
Maybe Tsubaki should give him some more serious bruises, then? N-No, he was just kidding! Just kidding! Ishigami is so very apologetic to Emi, saying he “made a mistake” when handing out the card keys. Uh-huh, and what was he telling Ichitaka about being worried about potential bruises? Did he give the wrong keys on purpose?! Perish the thought! He’s the president of JUDA Corporation and would never do such a thing!
Yui tell Emi and the others not to worry as she’ll extract the truth from Ishigami. He yells that it’s all one huge misunderstanding – look into his eyes! – but Yui says she’ll hear his excuses at the office. Now march!
Yamashita sighs at the crazy CEO they have and at least Shizuru sees that Ichitaka and the others fell in the guy’s trap. It’s actually somewhat impressive, as the guy arranged it so Kouichi’s arrival in the room coincided perfectly with when Emi ended her bath.
Shizuna wouldn’t put it past Ishigami to have abused his security access to gather intel and set up this “surprise”. Wait, does that mean he could have risqué footage of everyone?! Thankfully, no, as Rachel explains to the panicking Ichitaka and Kenji that there are no hidden cameras around – he likely figured out Emi’s bath time from the water and electrical data.
“Psh, lame. And I was just thinking of asking the guy for a quick peek,” Kenji sighs. Tsubaki and Emi aren’t amused. Despicable, indeed.
By the Dannar Base, Shibakusa and the other mechanics have finished getting the Goh Okusaer all set up and Kiriko apologizes for calling them all the way back here. No problem, as just servicing one unit was pretty easy – much more so than the work they had to do on all our units. The actual problematic part comes now, though, and Momoko knows: the Goh Okusaer is a lot harder to control than the Neo, which is why they’d stashed the thing away.
Konami says she’s got it the other way around, as the Neo Okusaer was made BECAUSE the Goh Okusaer put such a heavy strain on the pilot. And who’ll pilot it? They’re considering Shizuru and Shibakusa figures she could handle it. Kagemaru asks if Kiriko would be fine with that, as he knows she was considering her daughter for it. Still, he won’t press her on that subject.
Kiriko takes Anna to be a pretty good candidate – even taking away her parental bias – but she’s still gone and Kiriko doesn’t know if she’ll return. Best not to put all their eggs on that basket, so Shibakusa will get the bot ready for Shizuru to use and will have it shipped to JUDA.
But there’s a new problem as an emergency call comes in: it’s Shukuyu, who reports that they’ve spotted the Menage Zero. It managed to shake them off and is headed straight our way! How the hell did that happen? Momoko gets some footage and they spot Lou’s Cosmo Diver.
The girl was supposed to be on our side, but she started blasting Shukuyu’s group and that’s how the Menage Zero got by. Lou’s been missing for two months already, having gone off in pursuit of the Menage Zero – Kiriko’s happy she’s safe but working together with the enemy isn’t the best.
Regardless, the Zero tends to show up wherever Mimetic Beasts do which means there’s a pretty good chance our area’ll be attacked by the things. We better watch it, thinks Shukuyu. Kiriko thanks her for the update and asks how her partner’s doing – he wasn’t hurt by the Menage Zero, was he?
No, Moukaku is still combined with her. He’s fine… and, then, he isn’t, promptly going crazy as all get out, demanding to know WHERE IS THE MENAGE ZEROOOOOO!
As the feed gets cut, Kiriko seems to have an idea of what happened. Knight and Ellis Valentine, as well as the Dancouga, should be around Dino Base, so Kiriko asks Kagemaru to get in touch ask for their help over there. The Dragon’s Hive guys owe us one. But what happens next…?
Back in town, things haven’t been a whole lot better for Anna: she’s been kicked out of ANOTHER apartment and just lost her job. Whatever will she do? Pinpin’s still around, but she hasn’t anything more for him to eat. This calls for a new job, fast.
Last one was at a restaurant that actually paid pretty nice, though she ended up punching the manager after he yelled that she needed to shorten her skirt about 10cm. Pinpin meows and she agrees that she wasn’t in the wrong there. Still, life sure is tough out there for a regular girl and she’s starting to regret running away from home… but there’s no place for her in the Dannar Base anymore.
And, to make things worse, she hasn’t seen Nagisa since that robot attack. She hopes she’s alright… An Eida add playing nearby, announcing a Christmas tour, reminds her of seeing one of these when she was last with Nagisa. She could go for an idol lifestyle right about now, as it’d mean she could stop looking for part-time jobs…
A voice suddenly asks her to wait a moment – is she actually getting scouted?! Her name’s Anna Aoi, she’s 17 years old, and her specialty is cooking sukiyaki! Actually, no, it’s Goh’s little brother
She doesn’t go far before Shinobu stops her from running. Anna yells that she’s not going back to Dannar Base, but Shinobu actually says that’s totally fine. He’s watched her work so hard, for so long, by herself, and he’s reached a point where he can’t just watch it all in silence anymore.
He’s on the verge of asking her to come with him when a bunch of explosions rain on his parade. What’s going on? Mimetic Beasts, and they’re coming for them!
Mission 10 (Rescue Route) – Engage, Godannar
: Anna, we need to run! It’s too dangerous here!
: Hold on! That’s…!
: Goh…!: Anna, hurry! This way!: …
: There you are, Mimetic Beasts! Sorry, but we’ll be keeping this town safe from you!
: Goh, there’s a good chance the Menage Zero’ll also turn up. If he does, don’t rush him by yourself, please.: I know, but the Cosmo Diver… Lou’s also with him. If he shows his face, I’ll want to settle that score here and now. 
: (His defeat to the Menage Zero left deep wounds in his spirit… They should be healed, but…)
: Nagisa, please keep on standby until I summon the Iczer Robo (130 morale).
: OK, you got it.: Kouichi, weren’t you hospitalized after Emi’s punch?: “Hospitalized”, he says… Heh, don’t worry about me. I’m pretty hardy, you know.
: All Factors carry D-S.O.I.L nanomachines inside their bodies, and those heal any wounds pretty much instantly. So depending on our D-S.O.I.L.’s activity rate, we’re almost unkillable. : Aah, I see how it is – you guys are pretty much all supermen and superwomen, then. 
: Our enemies are dead ahead. Cut the chatter.
: Alright, time for a good ol’ fashioned Mimetic Beast extermination. Let’s jump right in there!*Beep, beep!*
: Wait a sec there! Some new heat signals incoming!: … Here he comes.: …
: That’s it, alright… the Menage Zero!: And the Cosmo Diver!: Lou…?! She was with the Menage Zero these past two months?!
: Don’t let them close in on you, Lou! (Ken)
: Roger!: Here I come, Mimetic Beasts! Haah!
: You’re not the one!: Menage Zero…!: Away. We’ve already had our duel, and you’ve been found wanting.: What?!: So stay there and do not interfere with my battle!: I can’t do that. Rather, I’ll take down those Mimetic Beasts, you, and get Lou back!: If you won’t heed my warning, then I’ll give you no quarter!: !!: Goh, wait! I’ll go in first!
: Aargh!: Don't, Mira!: As you wish. I’ll start with you, then!*Ken steps towards Mira.*
: Mira, get back!
*The Godannar powers down.*
: Goh!!: Can you move?: Y-Yes, I’m fine… my unit’s falling apart, though…!: Pull back to base. You can’t fight after that!: But…: Hurry! Do you want me to lose my nerve again?!: …!: Don’t push your luck, Mira – pull back. We’ll take care of Goh.: Alright… stay alive, everyone.
: The Okusaer…!: Come on, Anna! Let’s get out of here!: No, I have to go…: Go where?!: Ah…: (That’s right… Where would I go? There’s nowhere I belong… I still act like I’m a pilot, but I’m the one who ran off like that… and I’ve know that for a long time.): (Yet… What’s this I’m feeling?): Anna, you don’t have to force yourself to fight! Being a pilot’s not who you are! : Just forget my brother and we’ll go live in peace!: …You’re wrong. I want to pilot a robot…: Huh?: I’ve just remembered something… Ever since I was a kid, before I even met Goh…I’ve always dreamed of being a pilot…!: Anna…: (I’ve been lying to myself all this time… I’d been projecting my insecurities as a pilot onto Goh and twisting my own dreams…): (I’m not as good a pilot as the others, so I blamed everything on Goh’s past and ran away… I didn’t lose where I belonged – rather, I’d turned my back on my dream!): … Shinobu!: Yeah?!: Take me back to the Dannar Base! I’m no running anymore. I’ll fight!: Are you sure about this, Anna?: Absolutely. If I ran away now, I’d regret it the rest of my life!: … Alright. Come on, Anna. I’ve left my bike not far from here!: OK!: How’re you holding up in there, Goh?!: I’m fine, but the Dannar’s drive systems are out. I’m running some makeshift repairs, so you folks’ll have to handle this by yourselves for a bit! Sorry!: (I need to hurry… I’ve a responsibility to get to Lou and scold her for what she’s done!): Troops, cover the Godannar and destroy the Mimetic Beasts and the Menage Zero. Feel free to disregard the Cosmo Diver.: We gotta fight the guy that beat the Godannar to a pulp before…?: Kouichi, your heart-rate’s rising. Are you afraid?: N-No way! I was just thinking that this is the perfect guy to take down on my debut!: Hah, I reckon you’re doing OK if you’re running your mouth like that. Watch our backs and we’ll watch yours, rookie.: If you choose to retreat without any issues, I’ll allow it… Oppose me, however, and you’ll find only death!
Destroy everything while protecting Goh and Kouichi – the former’s your biggest risk as you can’t even cast spirit commands with him. Ken’ll ignore him while there are Mimetic Beasts to kill, but the beasties themselves won’t; so either jump in there and keep them away, or keep a group like Ichitaka/Miu near him as a safety net.
You’ll eventually have to deal with Ken and he’ll retreat under 8k HP. As Reiji said, you COULD totally ignore Lou, but, of course, there’s a catch – suffice to say you’ll want to leave Ken and Lou for last. For now, don’t kill her and don’t bring him below that HP threshold.
Blade Gainer (Ken)
Pilot Skills:
Sword Cut
Predict
Prevail L4
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Cosmo Diver (Lou Roux)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L2
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L2
Ken’s pretty good, in that he’s about tied with Goh on most stats (he’s got a bit more on some, less on others) and the Blade Gainer’s both beefy and hits decently hard. Not as hard as Iczer-2, but still. His main issue is the same as Goh’s though: very short range. The best he’s got is 1-3 and we have a lot of folks who can beat that.
Prevail and Predict means he’s rather accurate, but he’s not all that dangerous. If you wanna take him out, though, you’ll have to go with the standard practice of having someone bust Fighting Spirit with a support from Ichitaka or whoever.
As for Lou, she’s not all that great. Better range than Ken but way less stats, power and resilience.
But, as I said, we’ll be ignoring them for now and moving everyone towards the Mimetic Beasts.
Enemy Phase!
In come the little guys.
HEY!
: Please stay out of our way! I don’t want to fight you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oExYoNGu1w
Youcameaftermegoddamnit.
Still, there’s no problem with us taking potshots at her – it’s only Ken that runs off after a point. Speaking of, he runs over to Lou’s side.
Player Phase!
: Eh? Did Mira comeback?
: Look again, Kenji. It's similar to the Neo Okusaer, but that’s a different unit!: Is that… the Goh Okusaer?! Mira, why’re you piloting that thing?!
: It’s not Mira in here!: A-Anna?!: I’m back, Goh! And I’m here to help!: Absolutely not! Get off this battlefield!: I’m so sorry, Goh… I know—: No, you don’t! Do you have any idea the trouble you’ve put everyone through running off for over two months?! How many people were endangered?!: I’m really sorry! I just—: No, what you did was inexcusable! You’ve no right to pilot that robot! : You don’t think I know that?! That’s why I didn’t come back all this time!: Hey, hey, hey, hey! We appreciate any extra help, but can anyone explain what’s going on?! Just who’re you?!: We’re talking, if you can’t tell! And who are you? What’s your deal with Goh?: Keeping it short, the girl piloting the Goh Okusaer’s Anna Saruwatari… Goh’s wife.
: Whaat?! But she looks not that much older than us!: Wait up, did you say Anna…? Anna Aoi?!: Nagisa?! So you were alright… thank goodness.: I am, yes, but never mind me! How’re you a pilot and married?! Was that why you said all that weird stuff back then?: Um… I might’ve kept a few secrets. Sorry! : We don’t have a lot of time to catch up now, but I’ll fight these with you!: Stop right there! I haven’t okayed your reinstatement! : Uurgh! You’re so pigheaded!: While you’re very irresponsible!*Beep!*
: That’s enough bickering, you two. This is hardly the time for that, don’t you think?: Professor! Why’s she in the Goh Okusaer?!: Because I felt it was necessary. Besides, weren’t you waiting for her to come back?: That doesn’t mean I want her reinstated as a pilot!: The Dannar Base is part of LOTUS, so you don’t get a say in this matter.
: And what you should be focusing on right now is on finishing your repairs!: … Roger that!: I also have plenty to say to you, Anna. Normally, like Goh said, you wouldn’t be allowed in that cockpit. : … I know.: Then you’d best pull your weight and then some if you want to redeem yourself!: Yes, ma’am!
: And, Anna, that mech was set up for Shizuru to use, so it might not be the best fit for you. I reckon the seat, in particular, will be too wide, but just bear with it for now!: Shiba!: No worries. I can fight just fine with it!: And keep the Plasma Drive at level 6 or lower – any more than that and you won’t be able to control it!: Roger!: The rest is up to you, folks!: Copy that. All troops, engage and destroy the Mimetic Beasts and Menage Zero!
Goh Okusaer (Anna Saruwatari)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L3
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L2
Spirit Commands:
Alert
Iron Wall
Strike
Mech Features:
Angel Wall
Squad Bonus: Mobility +5, money earned+10%
At least Anna gets the claim the “Goh Wifebot” to show Mira what’s what. The bot itself is, as you might expect, the Neo Okusaer but better.
Anna and Mira themselves are pretty similar, with slight variations in stats. Anna’s clearly built as the more defensive pilot with that Iron Wall, while Mira’s more offense-oriented with her Accel and whatnot.
The loss of Accel isn’t too good for Goh, but we’ll have to make do – if anything, the Goh Okusaer’s squad bonus will get movement+1/+2 at 50/100% upgrades, so you can compensate for it some. Extra money’s always nice, too, especially with how the AI’s drawn to big HP pools.
Also, take note of this:
Secret Alert! You’ll want to take Lou down with either Anna or Goh (when he’s back). Remember, she’ll run off when Ken does, so handle her first.
So let’s get to work. Kenji follows up Reiji’s initial attack.
There goes the leader.
Yagyuu can’t quite finish the leader off, so Yamashita takes it.
Enemy Phase!
Here they come.
Four groups get weakened. Kenji takes a kill and, of course, Ichitaka’s ever the mook magnet: he takes two kills (because I held back) and weakens many more.
Ken also draws in a lot of attention.
: You’re in my way! Move!
All three groups of Type 13 Mimetic Beasts run in and Lou readily support defends him twice. Make sure you take that into account as you hit back on her attacks.
Player Phase!
Goh’s finished his repairs and is back in action. Kagemaru wants him to combine with the Goh Okusaer right away but Kiriko says it’s too soon: she wants to see if the girl can actually handle the unit.
Furthermore, Goh outright refuses to combine with Anna. Kouichi looks on at how angry the guy’s gotten since his wife came back. Will he be alright?