Part 6: Mission 2 (Real Robot Route) - D and E - Part 2
Maillot’s groupies will, indeed, make a beeline for the Argama while the boss man tries to take out the Dragonars. Let’s have both groups converge to simplify things.
Judau leads the charge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf9noNbopzs
I finally found Arado!
Roux and Elle wreck another one.
And let’s see if I can’t get Hugo enough morale to use his strongest weapon.
…I’m still not used to accounting for that shield reduction.
Puru Two finishes the job.
Misato sees the wind turning in our favor after the Argama’s intervention… but where did Kaji go? He’s taking off on a small plane, saying he’s got stuff to deliver quick-like.
So, he bids her farewell and runs along, leaving a fuming Misato behind.
Just to show it off, I go and decided to clip the EVA-02’s umbilical cord. Now Asuka is no longer limited in movement range but will, as Misato said, run out of gas in three turns.
We gotta hurry!
With that in mind, it’s time for Werner to go.
: I see you three are still a bunch of Blue Hawk fanboys, eh?
: Bastard! You’ll pay for insulting us and the Captain with your life!
Werner being damaged by Light: “Attacking with the D3? Have you lost your mind?”
Jerk!
: However much firepower you have, I need but close the distance!
: Sorry, bud, but I’m gonna clip your wings way before you pull that off!
And then Kaine finishes the job.
Off goes Werner, swearing to be victorious NEXT TIME.
Enemy Phase!
As per Maillot’s orders, Dan and Karl go for the Argama and Roux. The trade goes highly in my favor.
Maillot himself seems to prioritize Kaine.
: Show me how much you’ve improved, Dragonar pilot!
: I’ve had enough with you hounding us all over the place! Give it up already!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZDv0KRhptg
And here’s the RNG double whammy: a low % hit connects AND crits!
Reset!
Oh, and Maillot took Werner’s item as well. I should have seen that coming…
Player Phase!
We’ll use Kaine to bait him closer; meanwhile, his two cronies need to go.
: Coming down all the way to the surface just to chase us? I gotta tip my hat to you folks.
: And it’s all because you refuse to surrender the Dragonars!
How about I surrender some bullets instead?
Karl ejects, crying out to Maillot.
Just a wee bit more morale for Hugo.
CAPTAAAAAAAAIN!!
Asuka (who’s only just now reaching the area) and the Dragonar guys all had stuff to say to these three. Here’s what we missed:
: Heh, what’s up, groupie? Came here to get your ass kicked?: Silence! I’ll see that that was the last bit of sass you’ll ever give anyone!--
: You guys are as stubborn as a mule. Enough already!
: Shut your mouth! We only came here because you insisted on standing against us and the Captain!--
: You’re the cornerstone of the D Weapons! Victory’ll be ours once you’re gone!: Very well put, “ace”. Still, that’s all the more reason why I can’t let myself be taken out!--
: I’ve no time for the Hawk’s little chicks!: What?! She’s treating us like were novices?!--
: We, of the Practice Squad, have been hand-picked as the best! It’s impossible for us to be defeated!: That’s fine. I’ll just have to make that impossibility a reality!--
: I’ll show you just how much of an advantage aerial attacks have when in Earth’s atmosphere!: I don’t need to fly to swat down some bugs!Karl drops a Booster, which Hugo’s picked up.
Fast forward a turn getting everyone in position and Maillot failing to connect against Kaine.
Here we go!
: This is the Evangelion? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to see just how strong it is…: I don’t care if you’re the Giganos’ Hawk or Kite, you better not think you’re safe from me just because you’re flying!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCb4iSXxjSw
Here’s Asuka’s rifle and, more importantly, the A.T. Field laughing in the face of Maillot’s Tri-Reamed Multi Discharger.
: He’s the Giganos’ top ace, alright… That doesn’t mean I’m letting him bring me down, though!
: You’ve a fine spirit! However, you’ll see that it does not compensate the difference in our strength!
: This pilot… he’s not a Newtype but he’s still very good…!: You’ve touched my mind, hm? But it is far too late – you will not escape!
: A gold MS…! That is Quattro Bajeena’s— rather, the Red Comet’s unit!: Then I know this to be a worthy adversary!
: If I can bring down the Giganos’ ace, then that title’ll be mine! You’re going down!: My Falguen will not fall for your idiotic aspirations!
: You’re too slow!
: H-hold on! You’re the one who’s too fast!
: His movements are…! I see I’ve found one whose skill was tempered by the fires of battle!
: Hey, I’ve just been doing what I can to survive all this mess!: I dunno anything about this Blue Hawk business, but I’d really like if you just turned around and ran home!
: H-How is it this agile even in the atmosphere…?!: Such is the might of the Metal Armor, pride of the Giganos! It is the blade that will crush the Federation!
: Uwah! This thing’s fast!: This is a battlefield! If you’d complain about anything, do it for your own weakness!
: I won’t be beaten by anyone!: What?! The Federation is sending even young girls into battle?!: Underestimate me because I’m a kid and you’ll get more way more than you bargained for!
: That unit is not something the likes of you could use!
: Come again? I’m pretty much an expert with this thing, guy!
: I’m amazed you actually try to face me with such a unit!
: Sure, it’s not the best for fighting… but it more than makes up for it in style!
: So this is the prototype Karl’s team reported…
: The movements of that Metal Armor are so different from the others…! Is it because of the mech’s specs… or is the pilot simply that skilled?!
: Both. If you can’t get the engine stable enough to run in the blue, he'll crush us!
: I-I’ll get it done! I swear!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C_i_c5rQOk
Maillot runs off when under 30% HP, so we’ll show off the Dragonars’ combined D-Formation attack and follow it up with Hugo’s Terminus Cannon.
Maillot knows he can’t push this anymore and calls for a retreat.
Torres confirms all enemies dealt with and Bright orders everyone to stay on alert while the Argama heads over to the Aquapolis.
Maillot drops a High Performance Scope, which ups the accuracy of the equipped unit by 30.
We cut back to Kaji, who’s already made it to NERV HQ. Gendou wastes no time in asking for that new information he said he had on TERRA’s Operation Overlord.
As it turns out, Gendou’s feeling about it was right: while it may appear to be an offensive against the MU, TERRA’s main goal is to steal an OOPart (out-of-place artifact) and someone connected to the thing from them.
Does he mean the lost mechanical god? Kaji wonders aloud if the rumors he's heard about part of it being discovered already are true and Gendou says it’s his job to extract info like that from Bähbem.
Regardless, Kaji wonders why TERRA, having spent the last ten years not doing anything against Tokyo Jupiter, would do so now. Can it have something to do with the Angels’ appearance? Gendou thinks it’s only a coincidence.
Still, does Gendou think the committee will stay mum if TERRA succeeds in its theft? His answer is that both the emergence of Tokyo Jupiter and the Second Impact were predicted in advance, so the committee will simply adapt their plans accordingly and keep going.
Then, the only question will be whether to sit by and wait for the hands of the clock to turn, or to forcibly speed them up before their opponents do.
In any case, the results of Terra's operation will alter the process - much like the way the Angel’s attack on Unit 2’s fleet happened in a different location from what was predicted.
Granted, what the Angel was after is the thing in Kaji's briefcase, immobilized inside Bakelite but having already regenerated somewhat. It is very much alive.
“This is the cornerstone of the Human Instrumentality Project,” Kaji mulls.
Gendou takes a look and gets a sinister grin on his face: “Indeed… Adam, the first human.”
Saegusa reports it’ll be another hour until we arrive in the Yokosuka Harbor and Misato apologizes for all the trouble. All part of the job, Bright says. Still, she is honored to have the chance to meet the captain of the White Base but Bright says that’s all in the past.
Misato is curious as to where Amuro Ray could be but he’s currently away, tackling a different assignment. A shame but the convo is interrupted when Misumaru sends in another call.
The man sees that we’ve successfully rendezvoused with the D Weapons. Misato sneaks a peek at the commander of the Space Corps, remembering rumors of how this powerful man is said to have ties with Nergal Heavy Industries since even before the Lizard War.
Misumaru gets to the point: he’s just received an official request from Shirou Watari, TERRA’ director, to have the Nahel Argama team participate in Operation Overlord. This strikes neither of them as a surprise, really.
Details will be received from TERRA’s commander, Jin Kunugi, but it seems our job will be to provide support to the fighters who’ll be breaking into Tokyo Jupiter. We won’t need to traverse into the barrier ourselves. But, then, Douglas asks what’ll happen to the mission to transport the D Weapons to Chongqing?
That will need to be postponed until after Operation Overlord and, even then, said mission may further change depending on the result. And that’s not even taking into consideration these new aliens that have been showing up around Japan.
Delays were expected even before but, now, the absolute priority is Operation Overlord. Besides, from what Misumaru’s heard, the Federation is still getting things online and will need time before starting mass-production (Of the Dragonars, Misato wonders).
Douglas sees where this is going: the brass wants them out in the field, drawing the Giganos attention and buying them time to get everything ready. Indeed, and Bright sees a parallel with the One Year War.
Misumaru ponders how the Federation has been having many problems lately: the war with Neo Zeon and the Baamians left many chinks in the Space Corps’ armor, allowing the Giganos to initiate their campaign on Earth; meanwhile, the surface army’s reputation is in tatters face the Angel attacks. As such, Operation Overlord NEEDS to succeed.
Bright understands and sees that this is why the civilian Super Robots are being sent here – they’re just as experienced as Bright’s own men and women and GHQ is expecting a lot from everyone involved. Misamaru, for one, wishes they didn’t have to foist all these issues onto the Gundam and Super Robots as it strikes him as treating us like a bunch of handymen.
Of course, Bright is already used to having crises foisted on him and his crew.
Still, Misumaru is working on getting us some additional help by way of an apology: he’s put in a request for the folks at GEAR to support us.
Bright has heard of them, a research institution dedicated to developing defense systems to safeguard the Earth Sphere from alien invaders. He thought it had no forces of its own but Misumaru says that’s just how it appears on the surface. Regardless, we’ll have to ask GEAR’s Chief Shibuya for more info on that.
Between NERV, TERRA and GEAR, Bright sees that things are getting quite complicated and, inwardly, Misato is very impressed that Misumaru managed to get those guys considering cooperating with us. The rumors weren’t exaggerating his prowess, she sees.
Either way, they’re still getting things set up with GEAR but, if it goes through, they should be sending us some people soon.
And what about the EVA-02 and Cerberus? The EVA will still need to be delivered to the Yokosuka Harbor before the Argama gets in touch with TERRA, lest Misato and NERV give him crap (she thanks him for the consideration). As for the Cerberus, the army’s decided to keep it working here. Though it IS a valuable prototype, it seems they want it to gather more combat data.
With that done, Bright sets a course to Yokosuka and, then, they’ll meet with TERRA’s carrier: the Lydia Litvyak.
Over by the hanger, everyone’s expectations are dashed as they meet the Dragonar/Gundam pilots. Roux didn’t expect them to be a bunch of kids about their age.
Tap feels the same way, finding out that the Gundams, known for wrecking 50 Zakus with one swing of a hammer and killing 120 Doms in 3 minutes, have children as their pilots.
“Aah? Judau, can Gundams really do that?” Puru asks. “No, those stories are blown WAY out of proportion,” he answers. Still, Light figures they shouldn’t be too surprised as Amuro Ray was 15-16 years old when he piloted the very first one.
Kaine is all for getting along with his peers and exchange hearty handshakes with Judau.
Amid all the mirth, however, Aqua is strangely quiet. Hugo asks if the Dragonar pilots didn’t fit her mental image? They didn’t but what about Hugo? He says he was about their age when he first took the field, so it didn’t come as a surprise.
Light cuts in right then, eager to meet to meet the Cerberus pilots – especially Aqua.
Once introductions are done, Hugo admits that he was pretty impressed while watching them fight out there. He wouldn’t have expected fresh soldiers like them to be that good. Kaine and co thank him for the confidence boost and the guy’s praise extends to Judau and friends too. They have certainly shown that they made it this far due to their skill.
But never mind all that, what Kaine wants to know is what’s up with Aqua’s suit. “And there it is…” she groans inwardly and Roux explains that she needs it to manage her unit. “Uh-huh… Guess the Federation Army’s pretty stylish; Hugo’s clothes are a bit normal in comparison, though,” Tap quips.
Aqua seems a bit pensive at that “normal” bit but, regardless, it’s pretty obvious to Hugo that the local men have absolutely no problem with her getup. That doesn’t put Aqua at ease, of course.
When Hugo asks about Asuka, however, Kaine says she’s with Misato at the carrier – they’ll be leaving at Yokosuka. And, on that subject, Aqua wants to know how old the girl is.
Light heard she's fourteen and Aqua is gobsmacked. While she panics at another young pilot, Torres phones in and warns that the Super Robots are coming aboard – our new collaborators.
Puru is super excited to see a pair of UFOs flying in and Judau wonders if we’ve some Baam folks here. Next to them, Light sees a red robot: the famous Getter Robo. Kaine doesn’t know, so he tells of how it fought a bunch of lizards who sought to conquer the surface. Not Jovian Lizards, mind, but Dinosaurs.
Benkei and Hayato walk over, with Benkei impressed at how large the Nahel Argama is. Of course, it has to be if their bot is going to fit in. Kouji’s with them and Tap immediately recognizes the Mazinger’s pilot.
Kouji’s become a pretty famous guy as images of him fighting Dr. Hell and the Mycenae circulated the news but that also applies to the Getter team. If anything, Hayato hopes that staying here will get them all some much needed time away from the pains of fame.
Roux sees that they all seem to be around their age too, as Aqua mumbles nearby. Time for some introductions and when Kouji says he’s piloting the TFO, he also needs to explain to Tap that the Mazinger is currently in a museum.
He relates how he made the thing over in America and Roux likes it: the shape and color remind her of an Asshimar (Kouji isn't too keen on having it compared to a Titan mech). As for the bigger UFO, Kouji tells that it’s Duke’s.
Hayato opens introductions for the Getter Team, saying he pilots the Liger. Is that the red mech, Judau asks. No, that’s the Dragon as Benkei explains. Judau is confused, to which Michiru tells of how the Getter can interchange its parts in battle to assume three different shapes. The Liger for high-speed, ground-based combat, Benkei’s Poseidon for
So it’s kinda like if the Dragonars combined and switched forms to become the D-1 and D-2. Tap likes the idea of a combinable Dragonar but Light prefers three specialized machines as the realistic option. Michiru Saotome, Ryouma’s support, introduces herself just in time for the man to come over in person.
When Kouji asks, he says Daisuke is talking with our leaders right now (Ryouma will be joining him soon, too) and Kouji tells of him to the others, the pilot of the Grendizer.
: Um… Excuse me but I’d like to ask... How old is that man?
: Hmm… I’m not sure but I think he’s about twenty?
: Twenty…: (Does… does this mean I’m the oldest one here?)Well, Bright is older… but if you’re counting only pilots, then, yup!
Some time later, Torres confirms to Bright that the EVA-02 is already being dropped off. Meanwhile, Daisuke is filling them in on this new race of aliens bent on conquering Earth.
Douglas wonders how he knows about all this and Ryouma was actually wondering the same – Daisuke’s unit is also rather different from Kouji and Tetsuya’s Mazingers. Daisuke says he knows because his father, Dr. Umon, was investigating the UFOs. Douglas doesn’t seem convinced but also doesn’t press the issue.
Ben himself is more worried about this new alien menace showing up right on the verge of Operation Overlord and, on that matter, Bright asks if the Supers have any misgivings with helping in a federal operation. Ryouma says everyone is fine, focusing on doing what they can to help restore peace.
Douglas ponders if we’d be able to coexist with the Vegans as we did with the Baamians, prompting Daisuke to start ranting about how you cannot reason with those demons. Same thing he did on the Garmraid side.
We close off as Ryouma gets him to calm down and apologize for his outburst.
And that’s the end of the Cerberus exclusive missions. From here on out, things will be proceeding pretty much unchanged regardless of the chosen protagonist mech.
Next time we’ll wrap up things on the Garmraid side and keep going with that path.
See you all then!