Super Robot Wars L Part #49 - Mission 18

Part 49: Mission 18 - Hoping for Retrieval

Welcome back, folks. I went back and redid the previous mission to pull off a kill on Ramiel before Shinji blasted it, so all’s well in the world now.
Ichitaka’s made it to 70 kills, becoming our first de facto Ace, while Kenji and Daiya continue to hang behind. The latter got 6 kills last mission, so if he keeps that pace, he’ll eventually overtake the competition.

As for upgrades, random pips went to many of our protags. More importantly, Kenji got that Break Morale Limit that Ramiel dropped since I like Jeeg. Shinji got Hit & Away and B-Save because both his Gatling Gun and Positron Rifle are ammo based.

Speaking off, all Jeeg units are auto-deploying, so we change a few things:
Shinji/Quatre
Daiya/Yanma
Kouichi/Rei
Ichtiaka/Mil
Kouji/Puria
Iczer-1
Ozma/Luca
Alto/Michel
Tetsuya/Canaria
Domyoji/Athrun
Shinn/Klan
Heine/Anna
Zechs/Noin
Rey/Luna
Voltes/Mira
Combattler/Deceive
Dancouga/Yamashita
Dick/Jack

Forward!

Ikima has finally returned from the Zone and he’s brought the original Jeeg’s head back with him! As he basks in Himika’s praise, Amaso sniffs that he could’ve brought the thing back AT LEAST a day sooner.
Ikima reminds him that time flows way slower inside the Zone than it does outside… and Amaso had actually forgotten about that. Mimashi smacks his forehead, but what’s important is that it’s here.
So, Himika begins her ritual to extract the other Bronze Bell from within.

Tsubaki suddenly wakes up in her bedroom: “A dream? It didn’t look like a normal one, though… That woman was trying to get something… What was that…?”

Emi and Nagisa have woken up uncharacteristically late today, Aoi telling them that even Shinji and Kouichi have already left for their morning training. Klan isn’t too surprised, what with all the data that needed processing after Operation Yashima – Sakon and Kosuke were helping Emi, but it was still a lot of work to do.
What about Nagisa? Was she also helping? No… she just stayed up late watching TV. Ichitaka prods her that Shizuru once warned that not getting enough sleep is bad for the skin, but Nagisa moans that it’s just as important to relax and have fun when outside of battle. Besides, it was just yesterday and they, as students, are entitled to take a day off once in a while!

That would be the case weren’t Ichitaka and co taking something of an extended leave with all that’s going on. Domyoji figures if anyone needs to take a break, it’s Shinji and Rei and Klan agrees: those two had a lot riding on their shoulders with Operation Yashima.
Indeed, not only does Tetsuya say Shinji performed admirably, everything would’ve ended in failure had Rei not been ready to shield him so selflessly. It takes someone with a heart of iron to be willing to do that for a comrade, that’s for sure – bonds so strong that they make one ready to sacrifice oneself.

Hell, Ichitaka remembers Shinji burning his hands in order to rescue Rei from the melted #00 – he oughta learn from the kid’s example – and Kurara approves of their youthful ardor. “Hey, Johnny, if Kurara and I were in danger, would you come to our rescue?” Aoi snickers. “I would, but I plead the fifth on any implications that might have regarding our ‘bonds’,” Johnny fires back.
That’s a boringly noncommittal answers in Aoi’s opinion, though Kenji concedes that he’d readily risk his life if Tsubaki was in danger. She’s not listening, though, staring out into the distance. When Kenji pokes her, she tells of the weird dream she’s had.

Cut to some time later, Tsubaki’s told Shiba about her dream and he doesn’t think it was just that – rather, it was a vision of the present. When he asks, she confirms that, indeed, the woman in her dream mentioned wanting to get this “Bronze Bell”. The Jama guys have been very vocal of how they’re after that thing, and Boss wants to know what it is.
Well, everyone’s here, so Kyo figures it’s a good time as any to explain what’s what. The Bronze Bell is something indispensable to us, a power source that channels an ancient energy and lies within Kenji’s Raikouba (his bike, which turns into Jeeg’s head).

Furthermore, the Bronze Bell’s energy is also the power that sealed Himika and her goons away in a previous battle. Come again? You see, the Jama Kingdom first tried to invade our world fifty years ago, which eventually culminated with the old UN forces leading an assault on the Jama Kingdom’s fortress in Aso.
During that battle, Hiroshi Shiba, the original Jeeg, used his own Bronze Bell to seal away Himika and the rest of the Jamas. But they managed to return, and now Himika seeks the Bronze Bell as a way to attain even greater power.
Last time it took a concentrated effort of worldwide military for us to prevail, and they’ll only get way stronger if Himika is successful. Not a good prospect.

Back to Himika, despite her efforts, she can’t draw out the Bronze Bell from the old Jeeg. She doesn’t understand why, but soon feels Tsubaki’s presence – observing her – and something clicks in her head.
They need that girl. She’s the key to extract the Bronze Bell! Amaso’s confused, but Ikima seems to understand as well, and has an idea.

Back to us! Micchi, judging from Tsubaki’s vision, wagers that Himika’s gotten her hands on Jeeg’s head – the original Jeeg’s head. Hiroshi Shiba is said head himself, and it is within him that the other Bronze Bell is located. Goh remembers hearing of what Hiroshi is, but Yanma doesn’t understand how Himika found it: he and Haccho remember heading that the old Jeeg vanished during the battle fifty years ago.
Shiba figures he was inside the Zone all this time, and, since Alto and co aren’t from here, Micchi’ll explain what that is: the entire region of Kyushu has been isolated behind a barrier since the battle with the Jama Kingdom fifty years ago. It was speculated that Hiroshi was sealed inside all this time after sealing Himika and co away.
What Kenji wants to know, though, is how they figure Tsubaki’s dream was real, and Micchi tells that the girl’s had this sort of power from the moment she was born: her power as Priestess of the Bronze Bells.

Tsubaki’s worried, asking about what that means, but Micchi tells her it’s nothing to be afraid of; rather, it could be her gateway to greater strength. Tsubaki doesn’t quite know what to make of this, but if it’s her mission, then she’s willing to fight with this power she has.
And she’ll get her chance, as the alarms start blaring: a large Jama Kingdom force is headed straight for Build Base! Rey smells a trap, with Shinn and Luca figuring they’re luring us in a bid to nab the other Bronze Bell we have.
Trap or not, Athrun says we can’t ignore that posse of enemies, and Misato agrees: LOTUS is to move out and protect Build Base.

Mission 18 – Hoping for Retrieval

The Jama folks just rolled on over and started blasting the Build Base. Ikima taunts Jeeg to come and face his death, and LOTUS readily obliges. As we deploy, Ozma and Kouji spot the three Dai Kaengus with the enemy leaders atop, showing that they’re getting serious.
While Ikima and Amaso proclaim that THIS TIME they’ll get our Bronze Bell, Misato sends everyone forward with an admonition to keep Kenji in one piece. Seems like he can’t go too crazy now, but just regular crazy’ll work fine for him.

Kill everything don’t lose any ship, Jeeg or the Big Shooter. A simple mission to relax after Operation Yashima, Ikima, Amaso and Mimashi are the only real threats here (especially since they can drain SP), but that doesn’t mean much considering the plot’ll kick in once one of them is dead. In hindsight, you could potentially kill all three of them with Canaria’s MAPW if you position her well.
All in all, you really need to try to lose anyone this mission: the enemies will be coming in waves, so you’ll have ample time to build morale and stomp over everything in your way.

With that said, let’s send everyone forward and rush through this.

: Hey, hey, the Bronze Bell’s waiting right here! You ain’t getting it, but you might as well come on over and save us all some time!

Kill three enemies:

: The way those enemies are moving… They really are focused on getting the second Bronze Bell, just as we thought.

: Then we just need to mount our formation around Kenji and there should be no surprises.

: Probably… but…

: Something wrong, Col. Katsuragi?

: … No, don’t worry about it. We should stick to the original plan.

: Alright. Relay that to all other ships!

: (My gut’s telling me that I’m overlooking something important, but…)

: We’ve the home field advantage today, Mido, Saotome. Let’s make this quick.

: Roger that!

: Been a long time since we were back here. Now we clean house!

: Tsubaki, our job is to support Kenji. Don’t overextend yourself, alright?

: O-OK!

: Forget about your powers as Priestess of the Bronze Bells for the time being. You’ll know everything soon enough.

: Kyo… You’re right. What I’ve to worry about right now is fighting!

: Boom! You jerks see how strong we are yet?!

: Hmhmhm… What of it?

: Yaah!

: Wh-What’s he doing?!

: He took the Big Shooter!

: Tsubaki! Kyo!

: The girl is ours! Her capture is far more important to Her Majesty than the other Bronze Bell!

: So they weren’t after our Bronze Bell at all…?!

: HEY! This is the first we’ve heard about that!

: Your plan was to claim all the glory for yourself, wasn’t it?!

: I needed you to attack Jeeg to create an opening for me to act. If you’ve any complaints, you’re free to vent them later. We’re retreating!

: Hrm…!

*The three leaders head to the edge of the map.*

: KENJII!!

: Stop! Give Tsubaki and Kyo back!

: It’s… that thing that showed up in Misaki!

: Baruba, the Animal God, wasn’t that its name?

: Outta my way, Baruba!

: Grrrr…! Grrowr!

: Hrk..! Quit bugging me! I gotta go save Tsubaki and Kyo!

: ROWR!

: It’s like Kyo told you before, Kenji. He won’t let you through unless you prove your strength.

: Guess so… Then all I have to do is kick his ass some!

: (Hold on, Tsubaki, Kyo. I’ll show this cat how strong I am, and then I’m off to save you two!)

: Grrrr!

: So this is that monster that cropped up while we were out in space, eh…?

: …

: You might not be an outright bad guy, but I’m not pulling my punches if you’ll be a problem!

: …

: I see… you’ve a mission as well. But I also cannot step aside.

: You can tell what its thinking, Iczer-1?

: Only somewhat… But, regardless, we must end this battle with haste!

Kenji attacking: “Get it in your thick skull that I’m way stronger than you!”

: Grrr…

: Kitty’s still a real tough cookie!

: Baruba, I gotta take you down and get a move on! I’m gonna keep Tsubaki safe, whatever it takes!

: Even if I’m hurt, or if I gotta die for it, I’LL KEEP HER SAFE!!

: … Grrr.

: He still wants to keep fighting even after a blow like that?!

: No, he doesn’t…!

: …

: Baruba, you…

: Looks like he figured out we’re not enemies.

: He acknowledged our power, then?

: Apparently so. I don’t feel any more hostility coming from him.

: You wanna come with us, then, Baruba?

: Rowr.

: All enemies confirmed destroyed!

: And there doesn’t seem to be any troops lying in ambush, Captain.

: Col. Katsuragi, we should return to Build Base and put together a plan to rescue the captives.

: You’re right…

: What, you’re telling me to sit on my ass? No way! Hold on, Tsubaki, Kyo! I’m coming after you right now!

: Wh— Kenji, wait!

: Oi, that dum-dum! He wants to go look for the Jama Kingdom by himself?!

: Lemme handle it! I’ll make him call this off!

: Hm, get to it. Bring him back even if you have to knock him out!

: Yes, sir!

And here are the convos we missed today:

: Too bad for you, Ikima, another loss is all you’re leaving with!

: That won’t happen! Today is the day we’ll claim the Bronze Bell!

: (Yes… Jeeg’s head is our target today. The Jeeg’s head, indeed…!)

--

: You’ve got some nerve attacking Build Base while we weren’t around!

: It’s all to claim your Bronze Bell, and I am not about to let this new opportunity elude me!

--

: This won’t end as it did before! I’ll now fulfill my mission and present the Bronze Bell to Her Majesty! She’s going to be so happy with me!

: Psh. With that look of yours I reckoned you’d be a pretty sharp guy, not someone who’d be chasing rainbows.

: Rainbows? Where?!

: Inside your crazy head, is where! You got a whole different thing coming if you think things are gonna be following your script!

--

: We’d be wrapping this up a whole lot quicker if we could tame him with some food…

: No way, this cat looks way too proud to fall for that.

: Besides, we’ve got no kibble around!

: …

: That’s enough playing around. This guy… He’s really not going to cut us any slack.

Some time later, Quatre tells we’ve yet to hear of Ichitaka, so Kenji’s location is still unknown. Dick ponders that Kenji might’ve gotten himself jumped, but Kouichi tells him to quit with that. It’s only making us worry.
Rey sees his point, though, as Kenji ran off towards the Jama Kingdom’s own sphere of influence, so there’s a decent chance things’ll go bad if he’s not brought back quick. Alto’s thinking he should’ve gone after him, but it’s then that Kouji runs in and tells everyone to turn on the TV.
Why? Durandal’s making a statement to the entire planet!

So he says: “Attention. I am Gilbert Durandal, Chairman of the PLANT High Council. I come to you today because I have something I want you all to know: the reason why the war will not cease…why we were ever at war to begin with.”
He asks everyone to watch a certain footage, which Anna immediately recognizes as the battle of Berlin: “This video depicts the events of a few days ago, where Alliance forces, led by their newest weapons, raided a city in western Central Eurasia. These weapons of mass-destruction attacked unprovoked, giving no chance for the populace to escape, resulting in the destruction of three cities and the deaths of civilians beyond counting.”

Talia inwardly wonders if Durandal took such roundabout ways to send them their orders in order to delay the Minerva’s departure and make sure events unfolded like that. No… that can’t be true!
Durandal carries on: “Why? Why did this happen? Why do they use weapons instead of words? ‘We will have no peace! We must fight!’ Who would say that first?”

By the Archangel, they’re also watching the speech: “I know that we, humans, could and must join together and rebuild our world as one abounding with kindness and light. However, some of us work against that dream – and they have been doing so since time immemorial!”
What is he getting at, Cagalli wonders, while Lacus watches in silence.

Back to us: “They are an amalgam of defense contractors, seeking to foster hostility, to plunge this world into conflict… They are called Logos, merchants of death, and are the nemeses of all of us who dream of peace!”
Rey ponders that Gil’s finally revealed the existence of Logos to the world.

Djibril is NOT happy that they’ve been outed, and Logos Guy asks how he’s going to fix this. It’s his responsibility that Durandal could pull this stunt. No, no, it’ll be fine and Djibril has just the card to play: he knows that Durandal’s been buddying up with people from another world, despite his speeches of wanting to help all of humanity. Surely Logos Guy is aware of that too.
So, what Djibril wants to do is expose that for the world to see, and the people will all turn against the Coordinators! “But there is yet another matter that I wish to convey to you,” Durandal continues his speech. What now? “The Macross Frontier, the migrant fleet which I’m certain you’ve all heard of… they are actually visitors from a different world. The Frontier Fleet arrived on this Earth seeking mutual support with all of us. But despite their friendly intentions, Logos sought to eradicate them all solely for their own benefit!”
Oooh, shit, Djibril can feel the entire world turning against THEM right as this goes down, and Durandal seals the deal: “I hereby swear an oath to fight and destroy Logos, enemies of our world!”
CURSE YOU, DURANDAAAAAL!

Cut to the Frontier, Mishima was a bit surprised by Durandal’s announcement, but figures a man like him has decent odds of emerging victorious. More importantly, though, a NUNS officer walks in and says Ranka has arrived. The girl’s a bit intimidated, but Mishima is honored to finally meet the famous Super Dimensional Cinderella.
Now, what does such an important member of their government want with her? Well, they’ve reviewed data on her kidnapping by the Vajra and their scientists have theorized that her song might just be our ultimate weapon against the Vajra.
Ranka’s very surprised, but while this matter is still under investigation, Mishima says the government is putting together a special project to verify things before long. They’d like her help with that. Ranka doesn’t know what she’d have to do, but that’s fine as Mishima’s found her something of specialist manager to help with that.

And it’s Grace. She’ll be taking over as Ranka’s manager starting today, though that raises the question from the girl: what about Elmo? He won’t fly, as this’ll require a coordinated effort with the government, so it’d be too complicated to bring in someone else. And Elmo himself consented to this when they explained what a major opportunity this was for Ranka. Really.
Well, but what about Sheryl? Isn’t Grace her manager? Sure, but she’ll be in the hospital for a bit longer – and even when she eventually gets out, Grace is more than capable of handling the two of them. She’s certain Sheryl is happy to pass the torch on to Ranka and have her bring joy to the Frontier’s people in her absence.
Alright, Ranka’s up for it, so Mishima’ll get to work and see that everything’s ready for her (including assigning a bodyguard).

: Damn, I can’t find any sign of them! Where’d they go?!

: Kenji, hold up!

*Ichitaka moves closer.*

: Ichitaka…! Wait, you’re not here to stop me, are ya?!

: Listen, even if you manage to run those guys down, you can’t take them all alone! Why don’t we all go back to Build Base for a sec and work something out together?!

: Besides, Baruba hasn’t recovered from the last battle either!

: No way, no how! I… I gotta save Tsubaki right the hell now!

: We all want to save her! And if you’re gonna be stubborn about this, I’m gonna have to make you come back to base…!

: Tch! I ain’t got time to go at it with you! Baruba!

: Grrowr!

*Baruba charges after the Rushbird!*

: Wah?!

: Kenji!

: Wh-What the?! But the radars clear…!

: … I guess that really is all you amount to.

: The Straybird?!

: Yuu, why are you—

: There’s nothing for us to talk about. And you haven’t the right to stop Jeeg, either. He’s forging on ahead, alone, just to achieve his own personal goal – like I am.

: Yuu, stealing the Rushbird is stage one of our plan. We cannot waste much time on this.

: Understood. We’ll set out in t minus 8, alright, Haruno?

: (He’s doing that again…! But how am I gonna catch up to him without Kouichi or anyone else around…?!)

: I won’t let you take another step. Rather, I won’t let you fight any more!

: Gwargh!!

: Ichitaka! Are you bleeding?!

: Do you see it now? This is all you amount to when you don’t have a swarm of allies to bail you out.

: You’re stuck in the present, blind to what you should be doing. You’re not fit to be with that squadron, much less capable of saving gramps.

: You shouldn’t throw your life away for nothing.

: What…?!

: This has gone on for too long, Ichitaka. You will be leaving the Rushbird here and now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_6FIiC8CA
Haruno: “Do not fight back, Alice!”
Yuu: “We’ll be taking the Rushbird!”
Haruno: “None of your friends are here to help today. You’ve no chance of winning!”

: GAAAAAAH!!

: Hang in there, Ichitaka!

: … Has he given up?

: AL-3 Alice, there’s nothing you can do by yourself. Take Ichitaka and leave your unit.

: …Damn… Isn’t there anything… we can do…?

: We know everything about the Rushbird’s abilities. Whatever you may try to scrounge up, it won’t work.

: (The Rushbird’s abilities… That’s the Maser Eye, the energy emission device and the energy absorption device that generates the Laplace Wall… What can we do with just those…?)

: Hah, I guess reality ain’t like TV… No hero’s showing up to save us when we need one…

: (! “Hero”…? Actually, this is rather similar to that show Ichitaka and the Professor liked… Maybe if…!)

*Beep, beep!*

: (I knew it…! If I use both energy devices like this, then…!)

*Tchunk!*

: …

*Beep, beep!*

: Are you overheating again?! Stop! I dunno what you’re thinking, but we can’t turn this around!

: It is no problem at all…! Rather, it’s with you giving up so easily that I see plenty of problems!

: !

: Leave this to me. If my hypothesis is correct, then there’s a way to make it through this!

: Ichitaka, I’ll need you to move the unit exactly as I say. I’ll manage the flow of energy!

: Alright…! Just tell me what to do, Alice!

*The Rushbird stands back up.*

: They’re still at it? I’m surprised his spirit wasn’t crushed after that.

: They might be planning to use the Laplace Wall and Lightning Fist in tandem for a rushdown attack.

: No, wait. Are they…?!

: Hrrrm!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIMZohbrlW8
Alice: “Here we go, Ichitaka!”
Ichitaka: “Alright, everything’s in your hands!”
Ichitaka: “Th-That’s…?!”
Alice: “Deploying Laplace Wall. Initiating absorption of subspace energy efflux…!”
Alice: “Control established! Ichitaka, position the Rushbird’s arms like so…!”
Ichitaka: “OK. Like this?!”
Alice: “And now the dimensional energy will…!”
Yuu: “Kch…! I-It’s…?!”
Haruno: “How… How could Alice perform a procedure of this level…?!”

: Wh-What…?!

: It twisted time and space to draw out a direct flow of energy from subspace…?! That unit’s capable of something like that…?!