Part 26: Mission 8 (Retreat Route) - The Legend of Daiku Maryu
And here we are, with another close race for our top ace. As with the other path, only a single kill separates each of our guys, though Ichitaka didn’t get to go on a rampage on this side.
Now that the SMS has officially joined LOTUS, we need to build some new teams. Daiya’s deploying as an event unit, so here’s how we’re going:
Tetsuya/Jun
Ichitaka/Sayaka (don’t really like this but it beats him flying solo)
Kouji/Boss
Combattler/Puria
Alto/Michel
Zechs/Noin
Voltes/Canaria
Heine/Klan
Ozma/Luca
Forward!
Back in Arkholand, in the Darius World, Higant relays intel that the Gate of Zela has opened. The gate is part of a system that travels across the universe in search of a habitable world – it opening indicates that one has been found. Too little, too late, thinks Proist, as her perfect plan, Operation FD, is getting set up right now.
Telmina (green hair), steps in to say that Proist’s father, the king, is calling. He’s not about to back off her plan because the gate opened, is he?
Over by the King Darius XVII’s room, Doctor Two is, indeed, reporting the gate’s opening. He says it’s not too late to restart the Ark Project, too – they mustn’t waste their ancestors’ hard work in setting up the gate in preparation of the Darius World’s eventual destruction.
As Proist comes in, Darius celebrates that they can now save their people without her having to carry this campaign. Proist really wants to go with Operation FD, though – it’ll create a most magnificent world. And now he wants to prioritize the Ark Project, something that’s been shelved for the past 2000 years? Yes, because, time passed notwithstanding, the gate DID open: they just need to build the arks and that’s it!
As Proist pouts, Nikita and Telmina run in with a report that the Daiku Maryu has been found. She tells them to go after, but not to take things too far. As Banishum confirms, she hopes a show of her prowess will convince her father to sanction Operation FD.
By the Daiku Maryu, Yanma and Haccho are wondering how Daiya and Puria are doing up top. At least they got confirmation that they’ve safely joined LOTUS and are fighting with them. Big man Buby sighs that the whole Daiku Maryu crew wants to go help but the situation down here is still rather complex – they need to do something about Proist first, Lulu thinks.
Problem is, even if they do launch an attack on Arkholand, it’ll be a very tough battle without the Gaiking around. Goes to show how mighty Daiya is – unfortunately so, Norza grunts. Perhaps their only option now is just to harass the Darius until he’s back. Of course, considering all the issues going up top, recalling them isn’t the best idea: even if they beat the Darius, it wouldn’t mean much if the surface got trashed.
Lulu wonders what her father would do right now…
Changed his name from Nouza to Norza since only now I was pointed at the cardinal direction thing going on with the Darius bosses: Norza/North, Vestanu/West, Proist/East (Ist), Sathpage/South.
Oh, and if you think this is grasping at straws: Higant/Higashi (東 - East), Telmina/Minami (南 - South), Nikita/Kita (北 - North), Banishum/Nishi (西 - West). Yup, it's bullcrap.
But is interrupted by a call from Kain, who reports to Norza that some Iron Beasts are headed this way… or not – they’ve vanished! He pings a Zelgaia up ahead and it appears the Iron Beasts were destroyed by it?
Why in blazes a battleship of the Darius would open fire on their mooks, though? Moreover, said ship is now opening a transmission to us!
Turns out Garis – former captain of the Daiku Maryu and Lulu’s dad – is at the Zelgaia’s helm and he’s pleased to see everyone doing well. But chit-chat will have to wait, as he warns that the Darius have sniffed out our location. Best to get out of here quick.
As for what he’s doing in that ship, he tells Lulu that he couldn’t simply stay bedridden; so, he’s travelling the land while getting back on his feet, organizing a resistance against the Darius Empire. Sounds to Vestanu that we might just be able to assault the capital with this resistance on our side.
Upon reflection, however, Lulu tells Garis that the Daiku Maryu’ll be heading topside. Norza doesn’t like it one bit, but she thinks it’d still be too risky to mount that attack without Daiya – what if the Dvorak shows up again?
Dick asks what they’ll be doing, then, as fighting the same war of attrition won’t help make any headway. Well, it’s not looking like Proist’s able to put her plan into action right now, luckily, so Lulu wants the Tenku and Daichi Maryu to coordinate with the local guerrilla and help defectors and innocent Darius citizens get to safety.
The Daiku Maryu will, in the meantime, try and see if we can’t help solve the surface’s problems a bit sooner than they would’ve been otherwise. And when the time comes for them to assault the capital, they’ll return with not only the Gaiking but all of LOTUS.
Sounds good to Garis, who’s proud of how much Lulu’s grown, though she asks him to save the praise for when it’s all over.
With that, she asks Shizuka and Sakon to ready the Zeus Missile to open their passageway to the surface – already done, as Sakon saw this coming. Norza and Vestanu won’t question Lulu’s judgement (what with all the times she gave them hell).
And, thinks Lee, if things down here go south, we can always come back in a hurry. The alarms sound once more, Rosa pinging a new batch of Iron and Demonic Beasts headed this way. Norza, Lee and Vestanu set out to keep the things at bay with Garis – they’ll hold the fort here, but Lulu oughta come back with Daiya as soon as can be.
And cut straight to space, with Yumi getting in touch to relay that the folks at the Minerva – including the ZAFT mechs Ichitaka was worried about – are safe and sound. Still, Yumi knows the situation for us will only be getting worse, so he tells Tetsuya to be careful; he says the same to the professor.
Getting some news from the surface is a major relief to our team and things only ended that way thanks to all the help we got from the Quarter and crew – Hyouma’s very grateful, though Michel says they only did what was right. Of course, Heine says he needn’t be so humble either.
Daiya agrees, committing the old faux pas of dropping the honorifics (as pointed out by Boss, of all people), but Heine doesn’t really care to stand on formalities. Either way we want to address him is fine. Kouji likes it and greets Heine like any regular buddy.
Klan comes in, interrupting the mirth, and tells that the SMS has received a new mission – their first as part of LOTUS. She doesn’t know what it’s about, but she’s heard tell that it’s about some anti-war movie? Hyouma and Ippei DID see on the news that there’s this co-production going on with Earth and the Frontier – Sheryl’s doing the theme song and Eida Rossa’s the star.
Seems like it’ll be about two different cultures encountering each other amidst nature, with a strong message about love and peace, etc. And since the Frontier-dwelling folk don’t know who Eida is, Sayaka explains that she’s a world-class singer back on Earth (though not famous throughout space, like Sheryl). Kinda like the PLANTs’ Lacus.
Regardless, Bobby comes in with a press release transcript from Ishigami – seems like this thing was his idea (much to Puria’s surprise). Daiya sees his point, though: if the movie’s a hit and drums up the anti-war sentiment with the people, it might force the Earth Alliance to cease hostilities with the PLANTs.
Just like the same Alliance stopped two years ago? Puria seriously doubts that. Still, Hyouma figures it’s better than doing nothing, as there are a lot of people who lost friends and family with the Junius Seven drop. Doesn’t hurt to try calming them down. Plus, the Frontier’s government has also been vocal in their desire for peace.
Michel does wonder what we’ll be doing with this movie, though, and Ozma enters to answer that: we’ll be assisting with the combat scenes and, also, guarding the singers on site. Furthermore, the movie’ll be shot at Earth, so everyone’s to get ready for the Quarter’s departure. Daiya’s happy to be heading back.
We’ll need to tell Alto as well, and both Michel and Kenichi know this descent to Earth will mean much to him: it’ll be his chance to actually fly in a proper sky (though not that of his own world). Michel wasn’t in much of a hurry but now is kinda interested in giving the news just to see the Princess get all giddy.
Cut to Vector Productions, Elmo runs in with big news for Ranka: she’s going to be in a movie! And it’s a big production, being shot at Earth and everything! Deculture!
The rookies of the team are busy getting drilled by Sakonji, with Zechs assisting. As the session finally ends and they’re dismissed, Ichitaka groans that this was just as bad as Reiji’s regimen. Tough luck for him, as Sakonji smelled his amateurism the second he got aboard the Quarter.
Still, Ichitaka won’t complain as he wants to go and grow stronger and stronger, and stand tall when he finds Grife. As Alto ponders the kid’s reason for fighting, Alice runs in: it’s Alto’s turn to get a check-up. Alto bellyaches that he thought joining LOTUS would’ve gotten him free of the nonstop exams, and Ichitaka wonders if there’s anything wrong with him.
Not really, but the Frontier ran tests on everyone whenever they fought the Vajra – sometimes they got quarantined for a week. Well, Alice is just compiling data on everyone for eventual diagnostics, so it won’t take long.
But before that, Michel and Juzo run in and they’ve news for Alto, figuring he’d want to know ASAP. Ichitaka doesn’t like the grin on Michel’s face and hopes it’s not something bad. Absolutely not, and, in fact, he figures the kid’ll like it as well.
Fast forward a bit and he’s told them everything. Alto already knew about the movie, but Michel tells him to get hyped some: he’s going to see the actual sky! Alto doesn’t see it as that big of a deal since he’ll fly just the same, though Ichitaka thinks he could stand not to be a party pooper.
Michel knows what’s up, though: Alto IS happy, he’s just trying his best to be chill. As the guy seethes, Alice compares her readings with recorded data and confirms a bulls-eye – didn’t even need to actually examine him to see that!
Alto then gets a call from Ranka and steps out for a bit to speak with her: of course, she’s here with big news of her appearance in Sheryl and Eida’s movie. Seems like the director heard her single and really liked it. Nice!
The issue is that Ranka has absolutely no experience as an actress and is worrying so much if she can pull it off. “Yeah, I guess it’s not possible,” Alto shrugs. “You really are a huge meanie, Alto! Would it kill you to lie juuust a bit and say, like, ‘you can totally do it!’?!”
“If you think, you shall not bloom. Don’t think, and you shall,” he says. What he means is that if she tries tackling this with her head, her acting won’t appear real. What she needs to do is stop thinking and simply immerse herself in the role – become one with it. Ranka’s blown away by his acting insight, but, that aside, isn’t she just an extra? True…
Either way, Alto mentions that the SMS will be helping with the shoot, meaning they might see each other on set. That’s assuming Ozma’ll give them some free time, of course. Should she ask him to do so? Please don’t, as Alto dreads the thought of what he’d do if he found out they’d been having these calls.
Well, Ranka’s got to go now but she’ll be looking forward to seeing him on Earth. As she goes, Alto grunts over having to quote his dad to cheer the girl.
Another call soon follow – from Sheryl (Alto’s seeing a pattern). If she’s going to fling another “request” his way, he’s NOT DOING IT. Well, isn’t that a nice way to open a call – and she even had some good news to tell him. Is it about her making a song for that movie? He knows and doesn’t really care.
No, it’s not that. Sheryl knows that he longs to fly freely across a real, open sky, so…
Some time later, the Quarter’s just reached their designated parking spot and Jeffrey reiterates the mission across the PA – we gotta make a good impression here on Earth. Bobby’s taking off to the set, as he got the job of handling Ranka’s makeup. This is her movie debut, after all, so he wants her looking her best!
Now, while Jeffrey doesn’t expect anything to go down, he does tell Monica to keep an eye on their surroundings – he’ll be in his room, on standby. Lam and Mina are a bit miffed that, during their first trip to Earth, they’re getting stuck on the bridge – they’re a bit jealous of Bobby now.
Same goes for Zechs and Noin, though he knows some of them had to remain ready to deploy at the drop of a hat.
Over by the set, Luca’s so very moved by the sight of legit earth and water, with the Voltes team seeing that this world’s Earth isn’t any different from theirs – sea smells the same, sky is blue, etc. It’s still not where they were born and raised, though, so Hiyoshi’s feels the moment to be a bit bittersweet.
Ichitaka and Kouji wonder if Lady Une and Ishigami set the SMS up for this job precisely to let them get a taste of this side’s Earth – it’s possible. It’s only a shame that Cathy couldn’t get off the ship with us, but she apparently had urgent stuff to handle. And on the subject of people nowhere in sight, Daiya asks where Alto went. From what Michel heard, the Princess had a special assignment – guarding the Queen.
That’d be Sheryl, of course, and she really likes the breeze – she’s feeling so inspired by it. Grace’s also liking the ambiance and is glad she came along; she deserves it, of course, as she arrange this gig. Grace has a laugh, as it’s not like Sheryl to flatter her so.
Alto isn’t feeling as peppy, though, telling them to hurry the hell up to the set – Sheryl’s luggage isn’t getting any lighter, you know! They’ll go soon, so shush.
Ranka spots them and runs over, Sheryl glad to see she’s climbing up the stairway towards stardom. And regardless of the role she’s got, Sheryl wants her to show a presence befitting the lead – Ranka promises to do her best. Alto’s standing nearby and the best he gives Ranka when pressed by Sheryl is a “Hey…”.
But never mind that, what Ranka wants to know is why he’s hanging out with Sheryl first thing after getting here… He’s not “hanging out” – he was assigned as her bodyguard.
But Sheryl’s gotta get going, as Grace reminds her there’s a lot of work to be done. Alto needs to follow – and bring that parasol. As he begrudgingly does so, he wishes Ranka good luck. She silently harrumphs that Alto’s being used less like a bodyguard and more like a servant.
Regardless, Elmo runs over but, no, it’s not yet her time to get on set. Actually, it seems like, between Eida’s agency wanting to make some modifications to the script and the director having a fit and stomping away, she’ll have to wait ‘til the afternoon. Why not take the time to go sightseeing a bit and, while she’s off, Elmo’ll try to see if he can’t score her a bigger part... though she quietly doubts it’ll be anything with more than a few seconds of screentime.
Mission 8 (Retreat Route) – The Legend of Daiku Maryu
: So many trees around here got flattened… I guess it’s because of that Junius Seven Drop that Alto spoke of…: What a horrible thing, war… So many beautiful places, so many precious lives, gone just like that…
: Aimo, Aimo…*Deeper inland...*
: Hm? This song... it’s beautiful. It’s like my soul’s awash with warmth… Where’s it coming from?
: …*RUUUUUMBLE!*
: Aah?!: The ground’s shaking?!: Hrm!
: WAAAAAAAAH!!
: Th-The Daiku Maryu!
: The battleship you said was in another world?!
: Whoa, the thing looks like a dinosaur!
: The Darius Army! And they’re after the Daiku Maryu…!
: …! Where’s Ranka?! Did you see her anywhere, Ichitaka?!
: She said she was going sightseeing and went right that way…!
: The workers are already being evacuated, so we need to get going!: Hold on, Ranka’s—!
: Calm down and think, you idiot! You’re not gonna accomplish anything running around on foot! : If you wanna help her, they deploy with your Valkyrie – but we’ve no time to sit here and argue with you! Come on, Luca!
: Yes, sir!: Damn it! Darius or whoever they are, I’m not letting them hurt her!
: Urk… How didn’t we lose them with that?! All hands, battle stations!
: Incoming!
: Aaaah! Alto! Brother!*Flop!*
: (…! She passed out?!)*The guy jumps towards her.*
: (There…)*Away!*
: Aah!*Bash!*
: Urgh!: Are you alright, Rongo?!: Y-Yeah, I’m good!: (Crap… That got me right in the ribs…): A-Adjust our positioning and ready our counterattack!
: This is Jeffrey Wilder, captain of the Macross Quarter. We’re here to assist you, Daiku Maryu!
: All units, engage and destroy the Darius troops. Daiya, head for the Daiku Maryu!
: You got it!: Is that… LOTUS?: Do you think that strangely-colored Gaiking is…?
: Lulu, it’s me! I’ve got your back!: Daiya! It really is you!: Yeah! Send the Gaiking parts over!: Roger that! Gaiking, Parts #1 and #2! Go!
: GAIKIIIIIIING!!
: Here we go… Now this is a flame! C’mon, Gaiking! First order of business is paying these guys back for the damage they did to the Daiku Maryu!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGpIemDL3bQ
: There it is…! The Gaiking’s back!: So that’s how it’s really like…!
: Daiya, Puria!
: You didn’t forget about us, I hope!
: We’ll all fight with you!
: Yanma, Haccho, Buby!
: Did you enjoy your little vacation topside, Mister?: Dick! Damn good to fight at your side again!: Heh…: We can’t let Daiya leave us all in the dust! Forward!: Troops, open fire!: Roger!
You know, there’s something about Ranka’s emotional moment being no-sold by a suddenly materializing dinosaur-ship with Aimo getting overridden by GAI GAI GAI DAIKU MARYU GAIKING that really tickles my funny bone.
Either way, this is just a simple mission with no gimmicks to introduce us to the rest of the Gaiking team. Let the enemies come to us and take them out one at a time.
Now that Daiya’s got his main bot back, he’s pretty much our strongest unit around, and his friends also bring much to the table:
Daiku Maryu (Lulu Arges, Rosa Bernikov)
Pilot Skills:
Flame L2
Commander L1
Prevail L3
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands – Lulu:
Scan
Strike
Cheer
Spirit Commands – Rosa:
Invincible
Accelerate
Squad Bonus: Crit rate +10, armor +100
The Daiku Maryu’s a REALLY good ship. First off, it’s bulky as hell and even has a 10% chance to trigger double image with Illusion Protect (when over 130 morale). Secondly, it can transform to make for a very fine attacker: in regular mode, it gets less weapons but moves farther; in Volution Protect mode, it coils up to get stronger weapons (a combined attack with Daiya!) but less movement.
It’s got decent-ish ranged attacks but, really, it’s very much meant to be up close and personal. Of note is that, if you don’t deploy Daiya or get him into a ship, the Daiku Maryu will get its head back (which is the Gaiking’s chest) and gains extra weapons.
Use it!
Crab Bunker (Yanma, Haccho, Buby)
Pilot Skills:
Flame L1
Prevail L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands – Yanma:
Focus
Strike
Spirit Commands – Haccho:
Scan
Accelerate
Spirit Commands – Buby:
Invincible
Trust
Squad Bonus: HP +1000, Water rating = A, 1000 Barrier, debuff immunity
Kill Jaguar (Dick Alcain)
Pilot Skills:
Flame L2
Counter
Prevail L1
Support Attack L1
Spirit Commands:
Lucky
Sense
Fury/Direct Hit
Squad Bonus: Crit rate +10, money earned +10%, Earth rating = A, 15% chance to auto-evade attacks
Now these are nice. The Crab Bunker’s a great squaddie for pretty much any Super, but it’s especially good for Daiya as it gives so much good stuff for him and an A rating in water (and it has a Repair Module); three whole spirit commands in a single unit is also a great deal.
The Kill Jaguar could work as both a squaddie or it could even lead if you like it enough. Dick’s lack of Focus isn’t great but that 15% Double Image bonus will help – and he’s naturally dodgy. Range is also decent, though, since his best weapon is pre-movement, you’ll likely want to set him with a sniper.
And, of course, both these units also have combined attacks with Daiya, so this is a good moment for a quick tangent into Red and White Combined Attacks. L (and possibly K – I didn’t play it) have two types of combos between units: red combos (like Daiya+Daiku Maryu, Jeeg+Big Shooter) require only that the two units be within 5 squares of each other, while white combos follow the standard rule of requiring them be adjacent.
Yanma and Dick’s (Puria’s too) attacks are white combos, which is another reason why the Crab Bunker’s a good fit for Daiya.
And since we couldn’t do it last mission:
Talgeese III (Zechs Marquise)
Pilot Skills:
Sword Cut
Shoot Down
Shield Defense
Hit & Away
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Attack Combo
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Accelerate
Fury/Direct Hit
Squad Bonus: Mobility +5, Space rating = A
Taurus (Lucrezia Noin)
Pilot Skills:
Shoot Down
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Trust
Squad Bonus: Exp earned +10%, crit rate +10, accuracy +5, EN +50
Zechs and Noin are exactly as you’d expect: a very good, though not top tier, midrange attacker and an okay-ish support unit, respectively. Noin, as usual, is held back by just how middling the Taurus is as a unit (keep it transformed, or else), but Zechs clearly got some love in this game.
He’s, of course, a very good pilot and the Tallgeese got a boost from W, becoming an even more reliable unit – his squad bonus is kinda “eh” but he’s got some nice close and long-range offense, so you can absolutely field him. If anything, the Taurus hands out some nice bonuses.
With that done, the whole team moves forward but the Daiku Maryu crew is standing by to draw in the enemies.
Enemy Phase!
In they come, nothing in range.
Player Phase!
These Protex Iron Beasts are by far the more annoying enemy here simply because they’re underwater. The Daiku Maryu works fine on any terrain, at least.
: Lucky; we already managed to find Daiya. Now we coordinate with the Gaiking and get on the offensive!: Take us in, Rongo!: A-Aye, aye!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBOIxjRqlew
Granted, that was the weakest weapon…
Next up!
: We’re back together with Daiya and Puria!: So we can’t screw up now!: Time to bring out our A-game!
The Crab Bunker isn’t the best attacker on its own, but alright.
Rest of our team is still moving in, so let’s wait one more round.
Enemy Phase!
The enemy will, of course, prioritize Daiya as they move in.
: Yeah, there really is no comparison to the Gaiking’s power and weapons! : My flame’s also burning way stronger!
There goes about 60% of this Bitra’s HP. Between Daiya and Lulu, many of the enemy’s first wave gets chopped in half.
The last enemy gets too close and will pay for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MlOXhmDh4k
Not bad at all.
Player Phase!
Now, I wanna get Puria’s morale up for reasons.
: Hey, we’re shooting an anti-war flick over here, not a monster one!
We’ll get there.
Get to work, Dick.
: Surface or not, I fight the same. Take a look, Mister… I’ll show you just how much stronger I got!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vj0dP7FAj0
”Bad luck!”
I’ll have Ozma lead the offensive with his superlative command aura. The Valkyries are terrible against underwater mooks, though, so they won’t do much against the Protexes.
Best to leave that to Yanma.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sEOgE3Egxg
Good man.
Tetsuya and Klan move on ahead as well, each claiming a kill from Daiya’s weakened targets.
Now take a look at Zechs’ new Heat Rod and remember how it was in W.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLoUgFpHCDs
Nice.
By the by, Daiya still has one regular weapon that can hit underwater in the form of his own (Dino)Saur Geyser.
Bam.
Enemy Phase!
And the enemies play ball, attacking my frontline guys.
: Damn it, where’d Ranka go…?! Where are you?!: Alto, the enemy’s dead ahead! Pay attention!: I know, I know, but…!
But Michel’s hit here is juuust weak enough for the Galgoras to survive.
On the other hand, Kenichi scores two kills while Ozma and Luca weaken a whole lotta stuff.
Player Phase!
Lulu gets healed up a bit and is ready to bring out her big guns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DITTodZj54k
I actually underestimated her power here. Should’ve had her go after the Protex!
Regardless, it goes down with some work from Dick and Yanma.
This really isn’t Ichitaka’s kind of mission, though, as the Rushbird doesn’t work too well on water.
But it can still hit decently. Kenichi and Canaria wrap it up.
It was only now that I realized that I really should’ve focused on deal with the Protexes first, before killing their leaders and sending them underwater.
Either way, Klan and Heine take this one. Luca and Ozma finish off a pair they weakened before.
Enemy Phase!
One counterkill for Jeffrey and Lulu, two for Ozma and Luca, two for Tetsuya. And did you know that we actually have 4 (!) shots of the Great Booster in L?!
Player Phase!
And now it’s just clean-up, so here’s the rundown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KM1Rr7jrCw
4 shots!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofVXtu_oEms
Do keep in mind that the combined attacks have rather hefty EN costs (though not as hefty as they were in K).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HwG7oAVU7Q
Oh, and this is interesting: this is actually the only mission in the game where you can use this Double Despair Sight! Also, goddamn, is that strong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmj2aRwXUM0
Of course, these attacks WOULD be taxing on your EN supply when you use your finishing move as a feint, Daiya!
But we’re still all done.
Rosa confirms all enemies dead and Lulu thanks Daiya and LOTUS for the assist; the kid only cares that she’s doing fine. As for the movie set, while there are a few wounded, Ranka turned up safe and Sheryl’s also fine. That’s a load off Alto’s back.
Still, Ozma fears that this mess’ll put an end of the shooting… only, no, Jeffrey just got a message that they’re keeping with it: “And as a matter of fact, some are even wondering if it wouldn’t be possible to use shots of today’s battle as combat scenes for the movie.” Ozma’ll never understand these cinephiles, though Cathy suggests he not say anything as he’s got his own share of obsessions.
Regardless, Jeffrey calls everyone back to the ship and to carry on our assignment – and he presumes the Daiku Maryu traveled topside to join with LOTUS? Lulu confirms, so he asks them to come with and they’ll get resupplied as well.
Daiya and Puria do ask for permission to head over to the Daiku Maryu first – Daiya needs to return the ship’s head and, of course, wants to see his friends again. Plus, Puria has a bunch of stuff to report. Ozma allows it, but tells them to return ASAP.
And Daiya’s so very happy to see Lulu again. He tells of how LOTUS helped him and Puria get by; Yanma and co have been so very lonely without their “sis” around, though she tells them quit crying. When Daiya asks, Rosa explains that Lee, Norza and others stayed in the Darius World to help the guerilla fight Proist.
All thanks to Garis gathering all the like-minded folk they met into a single group. Learning the good ol’ Cap is doing fine is a big relief to Daiya, and he’s not all that surprised that the guy went and made a comeback as a big time guerilla leader. That sounds like him.
But, Puria wonders, what IS the Daiku Maryu doing at the surface – did they come pick them up? Somewhat, though Lulu also wants to recruit LOTUS’ help for their battle. Not immediately, mind, as go-time will depend on how things progress with the preparations for the assault on the Darius royal capital. Plus, there’s still getting the civs to safe places.
Shizuka does relate that the Darius Army activities started slowing down some, though we don’t know why. We can’t really afford guesswork now, but Rosa still has faith the folks below will handle things nicely in our absence. Looks like Daiya better work just as hard up here!
And on that subject, Sakon has some stuff that’ll help Puria in her battles: a power-up for her Stinger! He’ll give her the manual to read after it’s done. Shizuka says the new unit’ll be dubbed Superior Stinger and will be available to use right on her next deployment. Nice.
Cut back to the set, Elmo’s just dropped a request for Alto: please take part in the movie and, of course, in a female role! Seems like folks could potentially up Ranka’s screentime, but ONLY if Alto agrees to this. Alto says he quit acting a long time ago (especially as women).
Is he wimping out, quips Michel. Hell, no! Why not do it for Ranka, then? Michel figures he’ll have an easier time if he does, in more ways than one. Alto tells him to piss off – this ain’t none of his business.
Elsewhere, the mysterious guy that rescued Ranka – Brera – is getting nagged at by G as his orders clearly stated that he needed to keep a low profile. Brera argues that the girl had passed out, but G isn’t satisfied.
He reminds him that half of LOTUS is spread across the island and they’re here to investigate how advanced our forces truly are. Brera DOES want to get his memories back, no? Then he better do as told. He grunts a confirmation, so G moves on to the next subject: how are things at Diokia? They’re currently undergoing preparations to get everything in place – the larva’s inert at the moment. G tells him to keep a close watch.
Then, they’ll just need Q1 to emit the required level of Fold Waves…
Back to Alto, Sheryl was actually expecting him to take the acting offer as a way to get out of his bodyguard duties, but he turned it down. Kind of a shame, really, because she WAS looking forward to seeing Alto’s legendary performance as a woman.
But never mind that, can she make good on that promise to give him some free time to fly around? Well, he flew not too long ago, so Sheryl considers that promise 100% kept. But that was during combat! How the hell does she figure he had time to enjoy flying with all that going down?!
Just a joke – chill. And, well, Sheryl just got another gig besides this movie, so she’ll let him fly around that venue. Alto, without any recourse, decides to come clean as to why he needs some slack right now: while he refused to play a female part, he DID accept to be the MC’s stunt double for when he flies a Valkyrie. Sheryl knew he was holding out on her – he’s not aloof enough to NOT help Ranka.
As Alto harrumphs, Ichitaka runs over to let him know that Ranka woke up. Sheryl gives him the green light as, apparently, the girl was calling his name in her sleep.
After a stern warning from Canaria to keep his voice down, Alto gets to see Ranka. She’s very bothered by the fact that she’s forced a stranger to come and rescue her – she’ll likely make a mess of the production as well. Alto is sure that’s not the case, and says he’ll also be taking part in the shooting (as a stunt double, but hey). He’s not doing anything until it’s go-time, so if she has any acting-related doubts, he’s here to answer.
And maybe she’ll need that, as Elmo runs in screaming that he’s got “super delicious planetary golden special big news”: the director not only wants her Aimo song to be the main theme, but he also wants her to be the female lead!
Seems like Eida got hurt during the previous battle and needed to step down. Canaria raises the very good point that Ranka’s an amateur as an actress – they’re gonna pick her for the role just like that? Indeed, the director heard her singing by the sea and was so moved that he’s adamant that it HAS to be her.
Of course, being the female lead means there’s this big kiss scene she’ll have to do – can she handle it as her first step towards stardom? She’ll have to kiss the MC? No… his stunt double. As Alto and Ranka add two plus two, things quickly get awkward.
Well, isn’t that something? Is Alto regretting playing stuntman now? Seems like Ranka hasn’t made up her mind yet, but Alto’s willing to go for it. After all he’s done scenes like that plenty of times before – it’s not that big of a deal. Actually, he silently remembers that he’s ALWAYS been the woman in those scenes, but tells himself that he can do it.
Sheryl agrees that it’s just a kiss, though what Alto is really worried about is Ozma. His attention is brought back when Sheryl leans over and kisses him herself. Nearby, Ranka is fretting over her inexperience as an actress and everything, having to do a scene like that… just in time to take a look out in the distance to spot Alto and Sheryl. Whoops.
He’s a bit stunned, and Sheryl has a big laugh at him getting all flustered when he was just saying it was “no big deal”. As she runs off (angry Alto in pursuit), Ranka’s still trying to make sense of how she feels. One thing’s for certain, though: she’s not about to concede defeat.
Some time later, the shoot went flawlessly and Jeffrey just got a message from the production thanking the SMS for the fine work. Thankfully, there were no other problems after the Darius Army attacked. The Daiku Maryu crew also lent a hand with things, Lulu saying Dr. Franklin was happy to help with the costumes and whatnot – his sewing skills have many uses, Alice sees.
Daiya also had fun and Sayaka expects there to be a private screening for the film crew before release, though Heine sees in Ozma’s seething visage that he’s not keen on that kiss between his sister and his subordinate. Regardless, Une got in touch and said that since things ended sooner than anticipated, we can have a whole day off.
Everyone’s hyped, especially Ichitaka, and Tetsuya tells him to enjoy this: starting tomorrow, Noin’ll be helping with the training regimen. The kid’s not worried after being on the receiving end of Sakonji, Reiji and Tetsuya’s drills – he’s not about to get worried over ONE new instructor.
Zechs somberly says Ichitaka doesn’t yet grasp how Noin’s like and the kid starts getting worried, saying that he heard stories that she was just an ordinary instructor. She figures those stories started with her old flunkies and suggests he not get his hopes up – rather, he’d best prepare for the worst. Uh, oh.
Back to the island Hiyoshi and Daiya are swimming all over, impressing Megumi and Daijiro that the Gaiking pilot is actually keeping up with the kid. He really is a man of the sea. Boss and co. don’t care, enjoying the beach episode by ogling the Quarter’s bridge bunnies – they can’t decide which looks the best.
Sayaka stomps over to yell at them to stop staring and Boss is so disappointed that she’s in her everyday clothes. What gives?! Well, she, Kouji, Tetsuya and Jun and the Combattler team are actually going to tour the island – they rented some bikes, too, to enjoy the sea breeze.
As they run off, Kouji only asks Boss to make sure he doesn’t get sunburned watching the girls all day… But why didn’t they invite him to come with? Rude! Boss hustles Nuke and Mucha to follow.
Nearby, Michel’s relaxation is interrupted by Grace approaching. Oh, my, isn’t she a beauty to rival even Sheryl – she’s too good to be just a manager. Grace laughs at his flattering, though he swears he’s being 100% truthful.
After he introduces himself, however, Grace immediately recognizes his name – and not in a good way. She offers her sympathies over what happened to his sister and that immediately sets a dark cloud over his head. But Grace came here looking for Sheryl and it falls on Luca to step in while Michel’s sullen – she might be at the Daiku Maryu?
Grace’s worried as she should’ve come back long ago. Is she supposed to be working now? No, it’s just that Sheryl’s not been doing too great lately, so she’s got some medicine to take. Sounds important, so Luca and the others offer to help look. Michel isn’t listening, though, thinking about his sister.
And now we jump straight from Greece to around Iraq and Iran, where we find the Minerva. Seems like they’ve been busy since their escape from Orb and Durandal’s very satisfied with their work – indeed, he was right to also give Talia FAITH status, though she credits their victories to Shinn and Athrun (who’s already been with them for a few days, it seems).
Durandal likes hearing that and asks if there’s anything to report. There is, actually. Athrun’s been clearly bothered by Orb’s entry in the Earth Alliance and Cagalli’s kidnapping by the Archangel, though Durandal isn’t surprised. Still, he saw the guy’s resolve and is willing to trust him.
There’s also something about Shinn, though Rey requests that he be the one to tell. Seems that, before the previous battle, Shinn came into contact with some girl – Rey thinks he cares for her. Well, Shinn IS young, so Durandal asks if he’s fallen for her.
The problem with that, says Rey, is that there’s a good chance the girl’s an Extended from the Earth Alliance. Oh. Still, this doesn’t mean Shinn was aware of that when he met her, so Durandal wants to simply wait and see how things go. Talia agrees.
In the meantime, Durandal wants the Minerva to keep heading for Diokia – it’ll do them good to have some fun once in a while. Fun? Indeed, they’ll be having an event with Sheryl over there, in the interest of showing the peoples of Earth the PLANTs’ wish for peace.