Part 10: Mission 4 - Blue Miracle
The game allows us a choice of three missions here but this isn’t the usual route split – you’ll still have to do them all. Some events may change a wee bit depending on the order but, since they’re actually assigned a fixed number, I’ll follow Banpresto’s order.
Location: GEAR Headquarters
Chief Shibuya is having a bad day, as Meteor reports that a group of Gulfer RoBeasts has just breached the Space Corps’ last defense line. What about GEAR’s defense satellites? Aiko, the operator, says all but 13% are still active and unable to halt the enemy’s advance.
Shibuya is dumbfounded that the enemy could break through so easily, as Meteor reports the first Federation fighter squadron beginning its attack run. Shibuya doesn’t seem too hopeful.
Professor Inoue posits that the invaders are presumably after the underground laboratory - it'd be best if they contacted the Federation to get permission to use "that".
Shibuya agrees, telling Inoue to make ready while he secures permission – when it comes, "Operation D" will begin. Furthermore, he asks Aiko to call Vega immediately.
As for Kirakuni, it’s time for him to get to work and he’s more than ready.
Shibuya asks Aiko what’s the currently location of the ship Misumaru told them about, the Nahel Argama? Patrolling and, currently, about half an hour away from here – he asks her to request our help.
Location: Hoshimi Town
We find the Kusanagi family, having just moved into town. Orie asks her son, Hokuto, how he likes their new home. He hasn’t formed an opinion, what with them moving in today, but she figures it’s a nice place to live. She’s eager to start her new job as manager at a local coffee shop, too.
Hokuto at least warns her to do so carefully, as she seems to get bruised in her jobs so often. She’s such a klutz.
Orie will keep that in mind but hopes he’ll soon be making many good friends and’ll come to like this town as well; that sounds good to Hokuto. Now, is there anywhere he’d like to go today? Yes but not before they’re done unpacking everything.
How about they see the sights around town after Keisuke, the husband, comes back from work? That works for Hokuto, who wants to go check out his new school – he’ll be starting there tomorrow, after all.
At school, we find Ginga busily practicing some martial art. Seems he’s lost to his mother again yesterday and is determined to win today. “And, someday, I’ll be an awesome martial artist like Kazuya Ryuzaki and the King of Hearts!” he says.
Off he goes, until he notices Hokuto watching – he’s curious about Ginga’s “weird dance”. “It’s not a dance, idiot! It’s Shorinji Kenpo!” Hokuto apologizes, though asks if he needed to call him names?
No matter, Ginga hasn’t seen him before and asks who he’s talking to. Hokuto explains that he’s just moved over when Orie comes over, happy to see he’s already making friends. That’s interrupted, though, when she gets a page that startles her. When Hokuto asks, she just says a small problem’s come up.
Orie needs to take off for a bit, so she asks the kids to head home right now – yes, even Ginga and he doesn’t know why. As she leaves, neither Hokuto nor Ginga understand what just happened. Regardless, they exchange introductions; Ginga finds Hokuto Kusanagi to be a weird name. What’s his, then? “Ginga Izumo – as in, galaxy, see? Pretty cool name, eh?” he boasts; “Hmm… Nope, it’s weird,” Hokuto answers appropriately.
Before Ginga can get in his face, the air raid siren bellows across town – can the Giganos be attacking here? Time to head home, as they were told.
As they do so, both kids start getting miffed that the other is “following them”. Slowly it dawns on them that they’re neighbors.
But, then, they’ve a problem: Ginga’s family hasn’t returned from shopping and Hokuto’s mom is nowhere to be found. The crisis is compounded by a robot, one Ginga’s never seen before, dropping nearby and firing everywhere. And it’s coming their way!
Mission 4 – Blue Miracle
Aiko reports that one of the Gulfer’s RoBeasts has descended upon town and is indiscriminately attacking. The civilian evacuation is almost complete, but Meteor reports that the Federation’s fighter squadron is now down to half – it’s only a matter of time before more arrive here.
What about Kirakuni? Has he boarded “it” yet? No, Aiko says he’s still en route, having to reach his destination on foot as the Gulfer’s attack has made other modes of transportation out of the question. Inoue grumbles that he knew they should’ve made some underground secret passages for the pilots like the Science Fortress Lab has.
No point in grumbling about that now and, to make things worse, the Nahel Argama is still ten minutes out. Shibuya sees they’ll need to hold the line for that long as asks for Vega’s status.
She’s currently heading into the scene with her Valkyrie.
Vega’s already heading over, worried that the RoBeast is headed to a certain place. Worst case scenario, she’ll to pilot “it” by herself.
Up ahead, the monster is heading over to Hokuto and Ginga’s spot. Vega’s shocked that some people still haven’t been evacuated.
The RoBeast bombards a stadium, splash damage hitting around the kids.
In their confusion, the kids yell out in unison.
*Ruuuuumble*
: H-Huh?!
: Th-The Dendoh’s activated!
: Kirakuni’s done it!
: No, the cockpit’s empty!
: What?!: It’s a r-r-robot?!
: A Mobile Suit…? No, it’s something else!: Think it’s something like the Mazinger or Daimos?!: Maybe…But I’ve never seen that one before.*The Dendoh walks over to them.*
: Ack! It moved!
: Waaaaaaaah!!
: The Dendoh’s…!: Let me go!!
: What’s with this thing?!: What the hell? It’s picked up those kids!: Kirakuni, what’s happening? Report!: Some kids! Two of them were taken into the Dendoh’s cockpit!: What?!
: Did you just say “kids”?!
: This is…! Ginga?!: You’re in here, too, Hokuto?: W-We got caught, I think…
: What now, chief?! I can’t get on!: How did this happen?!
: Maybe… the Dendoh’s chosen those two.: Vega…!: We can only hope now. Give me a video feed of the cockpit, please – I’ll talk to them.: Alright.: Damn it…! Let me out!
: (I knew it… this is that robot’s cockpit, right?)*Transmission start*
: What?! It’s him…? Why?!
: Uwaah! What the hell! What’s going on?!: Easy! Calm down, already! The attacks aren’t hurting us at least…!: So what?! Why do I gotta be stuck here in the first place?!: Hey, I don’t want to be here either! But screaming isn’t helping!: If we don’t scream, then no one’s gonna come save us! : Shush! I already got a huge headache without you yelling at my ear!: Didn’t you just hear what I said, you idiot?!: There you go, calling me an idiot again! That’s twice now!: When did I say that, huh? You got me on record? Tell me the specific year, month, day, hour, minute and second where I said that!: It was just a bit ago! We met today!: Kids! Hey!: Huh?!: Who’s that?! Do you see us?!: I do. You’re both inside the cockpit of the Gear Fighter Dendoh.: Dendoh?!: It knew it… it’s that thing’s…: I’m certain you’re both very confused right – honestly, we all are. But now we can only rely on you two – there’s no other option.: Rely on us for what?
: Stand up straight, both of you! Count to three, and put one foot in front of the other as you do!
: One! Two! Three!*Dendoh takes a step forward.*
: One! Two! Three!*Another one!*
: That’s it – just like that! Alternate your left and right feet!
: The Dendoh’s walking…!
: Hey, this isn’t too hard… : One! Two! Three!
: One! Two! Three!
: ?!: Ah?!
: They… walked right past it…?
: HEEEEEEEY! Where are you going?!: Huh? Aren’t we supposed to do this and run?
: No! The Dendoh’s a Gear Fighter! What would you use it for, if not fighting?! : Huuuuuh?!: You want us to fight?!: I do. Do you see something like a handheld game in front of you?
: Yes, but…: That’s a Gear Commander! Punch in the following code into it: Drive A once, LR twice, LL once, enter! Then plug it into the dashboard!: OK! Hurry, Ginga! : Errm, LL once… there!*Beeooop!*
: Here you go!
: Ah, I see how it is! This is an installer!
: Yes, that’s right!
: And an “installer” is…?: A device to input commands into a computer.: Hm. It’s with it that you’ll be able to send orders to the turbines on the Dendoh’s hands and feet. The hands are A, left foot is LL…: Don’t worry – I’ve got it figured out already!: Um, Hokuto…: Hey, Ginga, remember that Kenpo technique you were doing before? Try that one!: You serious?!: Yeah, we have to do something with that thing! If we don’t, it’ll destroy everything – including the town and its people!: !: We can do it! I know we’ll be fine!: That’s right, you will!: OK, here goes!
Aah, another of my favorite series in this game. Dendoh’s just a bundle of fun, made as both a show meant to sell toys and a love letter to Super Robot tropes.
The units are pretty dang good, too!
Valkyrie (Vega)
Pilot Skills:
- Leadership
- Support Attack L1
- Support Attack L2
- Focus (15)
- Fury/Direct Hit (30) – the next attack will bypass any defensive measures, like supports and barriers
- Bless (45) – Target unit earns double money from the next battle
- Confuse (55) – reduce all enemies’ hit rate in half for the next turn
- Water Movement – instead of sinking, this unit treats water tiles like they’re ground
Combine the TFO’s untouchability, with some nice support spirits and surprising mook-hunting powers and you’ve a pretty impressive unit. Vega cannot be touched unless the RNG REALLY dislikes you because, on most enemies, their chances to hit her will be in the single digits.
Her stats are nice and her high Skill, paired with a big modifier in her weapons, makes her very likely to score crits, and she’s also incredibly accurate. The sole problem I can see is that her attacks are limited if you’re up against aerial enemies: she’ll be stuck using her missiles and they’re not post-movement. So, you either slap a Minovsky Craft on that bike, buy her Hit & Away or let others take some kills when you’re fighting mostly flying folks.
And always remember to swear your undying fealty to Kotono Mitsuishi.
Gear Fighter Dendoh (Ginga Izumo, Hokuto Kusanagi)
Pilot Skills – Ginga:
- Prevail L2
- Support Attack L1
- Fighting Spirit – Starting morale +5
- Prevai L2
- Support Defense L1]
- Assisted Attack L1
- Guts (30)
- Strike (20)
- Focus (15)
- Iron Wall (30)
Hokuto’s Voice Actress: Naomi Shindou (other known works: Cagalli in SEED, Irene in Valkyria Chronicles, Califa in One Piece and many others)
Though I last played this game ages ago, I always remember getting a ton of mileage out of the Dendoh. It’s got some very unique mechanics about it (which will see later), making it tremendously flexible. It’s range isn’t the greatest but it’s serviceable and we’ll get ways around that later, of course.
Ginga’s the main pilot right now, though you can set Hokuto as the main during intermission; their stats are rather similar, though Ginga has a slight edge on offense. The Dendoh can also be very bulky, especially since Hokuto knows Iron Wall – with some extra skills, he can keep that command running for quite a long while.
Dendoh’s one of the more common event deployments, FYI, so you’ll need to put it to use like it or not. Even without that, I’d still use it since it’s quite the good unit (and it can be a broken one, depending on how sassy you’re feeling).
Let’s have Vega set this up for the kids. By the way, she’s 100%/3% against the Gulfer, without any sort of bonus.
: Gulfer… The time has finally come for us to fight! And I will make sure those two, and the Dendoh, are kept safe!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjpagHrTzIc
Seems like Master Asia had more than one student.
Only one attack for the kids right now.
: Here we go, Ginga!: Right on! We can’t let this thing wreck any more of our town!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wicW_PAJYzA
Whereas Ginga is Kenshiro Jr. Do note that the pose at the end is a dynamic finish but, unlike Alpha 2, enemies here don’t die midscene.
: Whew…: Somehow we made it…: Very well done, you two!*Alarm!
: The Federal army’s fighter squadron has failed to repel the enemy. Gulfer RoBeasts encroaching upon Hoshimi’s airspace.: Their main force is here…!
This guy’s called Devil Saturn 6 (playing on God Mars). He speaks in Kansai! And I had to replace it with something, as some lines directly reference him having an accent, so…
: The energy reading wis comin' fae aroond 'ere… Och, pinheid may be in charge but ‘e’s a proper slave driver, ‘e is. If ‘e wants something, ‘e ought tae go an’ git it ‘imself. : But… Ah ken that’s nae happening, with ‘im busy digging oan the moon.: Wh-what?!: Those aren’t Gulfer… Who are they?!: Do you think they’re enemies too?: Crivens! Is that the Kenryuu?! Wot’s it doing ‘ere?! : Huh? I think he’s shocked to see us? : Psh, that goes both ways.: Eh? Hmm? Nae, it’s something else noo that Ah look at it. : Och, Ah was worried thare fer a jiffy. Thooght ‘e ‘ad shoon up, Ah did. : Erm… Uh, oh… Speak o’ the devil an’ ‘e’ll appear… If ballheid actually did, it’d be a big problem. Ahm proper tired o’ going’ throo’ that again ‘n’ again.: Aah, 'n’ fair warning! If yer git’n’ yer hopes up, don’t! ‘E willnae be coming ‘ere! Honest!: Who’s he talking to…?: OK! Time ta git ta wirk! Spondoolies 'n’ coommander renks are as good as oors! : They’re coming! Heads up, you two!: We have to fight them too?!: How many times will I have to tell you? Yes!: B-But…: Are you serious?!: How are supposed to fight all these enemies, then? Is there anything we can use? Like a missile launcher or beam rifle? Or a sword, a bow, a yo-yo, some big hammer or even a guitar? Do we have any weapons? (In MXP, he also asks for a boomerang, a chainsaw and/or blue feathers.): …No. : Whaaaaat?!: (At least, not now… but we’ll just have to make do.): Install the command SP1 with your Gear Commander!: OK!: Here goes!
: SP1! Command INSTALL!!*Beeooop!*
And, with that, the Dendoh’s gained some cool new attacks… but we can’t move this round!
Also, you’ve no idea how troublesome it was to write Devil Saturn’s lines… That said, I had a huge grin on my face as I did. And if anyone asks why an alien would have a Scottish accent, I’d like you, first, to answer me why he’d have a Kansai accent.
Enemy Phase!
Two piddly Gulfers come over, scratch Dendoh’s paint job for 50-ish damage and get promptly trounced.
Everything else stays put or moves out of attack range.
Player Phase!
The Nahel Argama has finally arrived, much to Shibuya’s relief. Kaine has no idea what creatures these are and, if anything, Judau figures they’re not Earth-made.
Inwardly, Duke sees that, as he feared, they’ve finally came to this world.
Devil Saturn 6
Pilot Skills:
- Prevail L2
- Support Attack L1
- Debuff Immunity
The standard Super Robot midboss, like Balendos: he’s a wee bit resilient and hits decently hard. His strongest attack has a rather big accuracy modifier, so he might pull some not-insignificant numbers against your non-TFO/Vega units.
Puru Two weakened one of Saturn’s Falgos mooks, so Puru moves in for the kill.
They’re only slightly beefier than the Gulfer.
Might as well give some love to the other ZZ kids… not that they’re getting significant exp from these lower level enemies.
Boom.
Elsewhere, Tap and Elle take out one of the new RoBeasts.
There’s no problem in sending Light to the front here – only Saturn would be getting decent numbers on him and he’s far away.
Vega finishes the job, with a big crit overkill.
And Hayato nearly oneshots a Gulfer. That’s a kill for Judau.
Enemy Phase!
I confess that I didn’t expect him to move right away, so Judau isn’t packing any defensive measures!
: Urgh, we’ve got a whole parade of weirdoes coming to our world!: We didn’t come all the wey ‘ere fer a laugh, laddie! This is business!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXx8r1IrKU0
It never ceases to impress me how different he sounds from Sanger.
Judau kills one and Puru Two weaken another two mooks.
Player Phase!
Beecha and Iino kill said mooks.
Alright, let’s give the Getter Q its time in the spotlight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xiz01LkpZIw
It’s not too strong… Puru finishes the job.
Only Devil Saturn left, so let’s get to it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajD9JjzIAWw
And here’s his strongest attack.[/i]
: Onybody who gits in oor wey’s as gud as deid!
: Hey, that’s a Scottish accent? Let’s see about that…: … Hoo are ye?: Nae baud, yersel?: Whoa… this guy’s actually legit!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DfTr_6-cps
And here’s what happens when you pull an Assisted Attack. Everyone is stuck at L1 right now, meaning only one unit can be brought in, but it can go up to L4 – consider this your first iteration of TRI Attacks and Maximum Breaks.
: Yer looks are really confusing me! Ahm gunna turn yer head into a floor sitter!: Wow… the alien’s got a Scottish accent…?
: This isn’t the time to be amazed, Ginga!: I-I know, I know! Just make sure you keep up with my moves!: Y-Yeah!: Eh?! Is this laddie a Tenkuu Chuushin Ken fighter tae?!: Nah, this is Shorinji Kenpo! Get that in your head, ya funny alien!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASWEAsIiXy8
: This thing is absolutely not an Earth-made mech!: Ye got a lot ae stones ta fight us in that wee frisbee!
: An alien with a Scottish accent? Now that’s a great story for Danbei!
: Galactic Crime Syndicate Gyandolar! You will not have your way with Earth!: Bless me antennas! Is that the Grendizer?! It wis in this planit?! : Wot luck! If we manage ta git oor ‘ands on Planit Fleed’s treasure, we’ll be swimming in points! 
: Looks like we’ve even more extraterrestrial visitors!
: Damn it – they’re a new group of invaders, then?!
: Come on, Hayato, Benkei! We’ve nothing to fear if our three hearts are united!: Tae bad fer ye, thare are six herts all in 'ere! We’ve got ye beat two tae one!
He drops a Biosensor, which boosts mobility by 10.
Devil Saturn isn’t happy as he had a perfect chance to win since “he” didn’t show up today. He explodes and runs off.
Ginga and Hokuto finally breathe a sigh of relief but, right then, the Dendoh runs out of power. The folks at GEAR had yet to set up anything for it, so the bot only had its auxiliary energy to use. Shibuya orders a recovery beacon launched right away.
At the Skull Moon base, Gandal is being informed of a new arrival on the exact opposite side of the moon. It's an immense fortress, the Spiral Castle, and Gandal's folks recognize its owners all too well – the Gulfer, enemies of all life in the universe.
Bracky relates how they were quick in something some RoBeasts down to Earth but they were all destroyed by Duke Fleed’s group. They haven’t attacked the Vegans yet but Gandal isn’t surprised, as their shield should still keep them invisible. Which means they can sit back for a while and see what happens.
At said castle, Devil Saturn finishes reporting what happened and all Giga Gurumei heard is that he failed and fled from the earthlings with his tail between his legs. Deondra, herself, isn’t sympathetic and chides him for bringing shame to the Gyandolar.
Saturn apologizes to “sis”, earning him another round of yelling: he’s supposed to call her with an appropriately respectable title!
Giga Witter, a floating ball thingy, knows that it is by the Gulfer Emperor’s command that they’re using the Gyandolar but, still, is appalled by their incompetency. Deondra fires back that they’re here as their collaborators and ONLY because the Gyandolar boss, Gades, wanted so.
Regardless, Giga Absolute knows that they’re all after the same thing: the Data Weapons. Deondra admits it but wants them to honor the alliance forged between their leaders. Absolute sneers are hearing a space criminal speak of such things.
Their bickering is interrupted by the core of the Spiral Castle itself – the problem they should focus on is the Dendoh, whom none of them expected to be in this world. Their empire has long been searching for it, the one lost GEAR.
And if it's on Earth, the Data Weapons must be there too as they are connected to the GEARs. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that either it or the earthlings have managed to get their hands on any of the Sacred Electronic Beasts yet. Spiral Castle orders the plan to annihilate mankind suspended and all efforts made to find the Data Weapons. Furthermore, he wants the three generals of the Gulfer to send their ‘chips’ – in the form of humans – to Earth in order to help with the search.
Absolute (Red hair), Gurumei (green suit) and Witter stand surprised that the humans apparently have the same appearance as the Arktos people. Regardless, they’re ready to serve… and also have a speech impediment that makes them append odd suffixes to their phrases.
Regardless, off they go to look for the Data Weapons and Deondra inwardly notes that they must hurry as well.
At GEAR HQ, Shibuya introduces himself to Bright and thanks him for our timely support; it was only thanks to it that they repelled the enemy. Bright is humble but would like to ask a few questions – just like the kids, Shibuya figures. Right then, Kirakuni brings in Hokuto and Ginga and Bright now understands that they’re the pilot of the blue robot.
On the chief’s request, the kids introduce themselves and ask for info regarding this place. Inoue explains that GEAR is a secret organization meant to safeguard Earth from the Gulfer – an empire of machines bent on exterminating all life. And, of course, the Dendoh is the bot they made to face them. Ginga gets that but still doesn’t understand why THEY need to pilot it.
: Chief, allow me to explain the rest.: That voice… Are you…!: …!: The woman who was talking to us in the cockpit?!: Yes, I am, Ginga, Hokuto. : (Her voice is so much like mom’s…): Hey, wait a minute…: Y-yes…?: Are you copying Char, the Red Comet, with that mask?: Huh?!
: (Well, now that you mention it…): N-no. This visor’s a very important piece of equipment for my missions.
But, regardless, Vega introduces herself as GEAR’s vice-leader and requests that they bring their Gear Commanders together.
When they do, both things start giving some light – a far stronger reaction than Kirakuni and Vega got. She says that only those who can bring forth that light from the Gear Commanders are capable of piloting the Dendoh And the strength of the light will become the Dendoh's strength.
Mind you, they don’t know why the Dendoh chose Hokuto and Ginga as its pilots; however, she does know that they are necessary for the Dendoh to reach its full potential and save the Earth from the Gulfer.
To put it simply: GEAR needs them to use the Dendoh and lead the fight against the Gulfer. Ginga and Hokuto are obviously shocked at having such a request made of them, while Bright ponders the situation that requires other kids like Judau and crew to take to the field.
Hokuto wants to why they need them and the Dendoh when there already are so many strong robots around; furthermore, Ginga wants to know why the Gulfer are even attacking us.
Inoue reiterates: machine empire, bent on exterminating ALL life. They’ve wrecked a bunch of planets in the past and ours is next on the list; furthermore, the mighty Gulfer have been further empowered by their alliance with the Gyandolar. And to top it all off, they’ve already set up shop on the Moon.
“Then this is really impossible for us! We can’t do anything against that!” Hokuto yells. “We’re ordinary elementary school students! How can kid like us fight an empire of machines?!”
“But… We pulled it off just now, no?” Ginga finally speaks up. Hokuto doesn’t think they can do it again but Ginga does. For whatever reason, they were chosen by the Dendoh – that’s got to mean this is something they CAN do, no?
Hokuto isn’t convinced they can do anything but Ginga isn’t willing to agree with that before even trying. How can he call himself a man, acting like that?! Hokuto yells back that Ginga has no idea how terrible something like combat is, and Ginga yells back that he does but can’t just turn his back on it all.
”Aaargh, ENOUGH with your blah, blah, blah! You kids are so noisy!” Vega snaps.
As Shibuya, Bright, Kirakuni, Hokuto and Ginga stand daunted, she quickly recovers and apologizes. Vega tells Hokuto that she understands how he feels – yet it's also the truth that the Dendoh chose him and that everyone needs his help. Furthermore, to Ginga, she says that being chosen does not change the danger of this battle.
Shibuya leaves it to them to make this decision and Ginga doesn’t really see a choice, lest his friends and hometown end up a victim of the Gulfer. Furthermore, he gives Hokuto some words from his mother: “righteousness without strength is powerlessness; strength without righteousness is violence". They’ve got some strength of their own now, so he wants to use it for what’s right.
Vega tells Hokuto to have faith in both himself and in Dendoh and the kid finally agrees. He’ll pilot the bot as a way to protect his family and everyone else from the Gulfer. Shibuya thanks them both and, with that decided, turns to Bright with a request: take the kids and Dendoh onto the Argama, as a way of them gaining experience.
Shibuya knows, considering the situation of the world, that GEAR can’t limit themselves to fighting just the Gulfer.
Hokuto is a bit uneasy about fighting other humans but Shibuya tells him that there are many groups right now trying to dominate the world. Those groups, like the Gulfer, threaten the peace of the Earth Sphere.
To set Hokuto’s mind at ease, Vega points out that modern mobile weapons all come equipped with high performance ejection systems. Thus, unless he hits the cockpit directly, the pilots will be safe. With that, Shibuya asks Inoue to see that the Dendoh’s brought to the Nahel Argama and the professor calls the kids to follow.
As they leave, Bright turns to Shibuya with a dark cloud above his face. The chief understands, also feeling ill at ease at the thought of sending kids off to battle; however, having been chosen by the Dendoh, this is something neither of them can avoid.
What does that mean? Vega explains that the Gulfer will be after them, and the bot, now and should they get their hands on them, all life in the galaxy will be finished. This has Bright demanding to know what the Dendoh has within it to pull that off, and Vega promises to tell him when the time is right. And, with that in mind, she'll be joining the children aboard the ship.
Aboard the ship, our folks are giving the Dendoh a look over. Aqua ponders that it is quite different from an Earth-made unit, what with the turbines on its limbs. And, judging from what we saw in the last battle, it seems to be a melee-focused robot just like the Mobile Fighters.
Kaine also mentions how the pilots are about the same age as the Purus… eliciting a startled reaction from Aqua. Speaking of, the Purus are showin Ginga and Hokuto around the ship and they’re surprised to see that their mech has already been brought aboard. Puru Two does wonder what’s with that open hatch in the Dendoh’s back but neither kid knows what it is.
Kaine and Kouji like seeing the kiddies all getting along so quickly but Aqua is off in her own, panicked, inner monologue: “Those children are the Dendoh’s pilots…? And I heard that the soon-to-arrive pilot of the Raideen, Akira Hibiki, is a high-schooler… Are we really not going to get any pilots around my age?!”
Inoue and Aiko then arrive, having taken a wee bit more time than anticipated to bring the Hyper Dendoh Batteries aboard. With these plugged in, there’ll be no risk with today’s event repeating.
“Wait, what?! The Dendoh runs on batteries?!” Hokuto balks. “But don’t robots nowadays all run on stuff like solar power?” Ginga adds.
Inoue admits that they considered that but were worried about what’d happen at night, or on snowy or rainy days. With these, the only problem is keeping them recharged. Aqua’s still a bit concerned, as mobile weapons burn through energy like no one’s business – even the Garmraid’s own auxiliary power supply empties out pretty quick.
Inoue says that this will suffice for the Dendoh right now – causing Aqua to wonder about that “now” bit. Everything’s interrupted when Kirakuni comes over to pick up Ginga and Hokuto – if they’re going to be working on this shit from now on, they need to explain all this to their moms (though they can’t talk about the Dendoh or Gulfer, of course).
Kaine approves of them being nice to their mothers whenever they’re together – they ought to or they’ll regret it later. Seems like he’s speaking from experience and, indeed, Kaine’s own mom went missing while he was fighting the Giganos. Still, she’s a very fierce woman so he’s sure she is safe – somewhere.
By that description, Ginga already has a very clear idea of what kind of person Kaine’s mother is. When Hokuto asks, Ginga tells him he'll find out soon enough.
Back in the city, Ginga's mom Midori gets ready to scold Ginga for doing something so bad that not the police, but the army wants to haul him in. Who did he fight this time? She did not teach him Kenpo for stuff like that!
Ginga swears he did no such thing but, then, what’s this soldier doing in their home? They want to explain that, if only she’d stop yelling and listen to Kirakuni! And, indeed, Hokuto already sees that Ginga was talking about.
Midori demands a confession but Orie steps in and calmly argues that the kid seems to be telling the truth. Kirakuni stammers a story about the kids being selected for the army’s new science trainee program! They’ll be touring the world, visiting various different laboratories and experiencing the latest technology! Plus, this will count as part of their school year so their learning won’t be impaired.
Midori asks if it’ll be safe and Kirakuni stammers more. Ginga begs her to let him go, which only strikes her as weird – since when does he care so much about his studies? Kirakuni is sweating bucket against this sharp mother but Ginga insists that he’s totally serious.
After a brief staredown, Midori agrees to let him go if he wants to so much. Furthermore, she turns to Kirakuni and tells him she’ll give him the lecture of his life if anything happens to Ginga.
As for Orie, she asks what Hokuto wants to do. He, of course, wants to go along and she easily agrees as well. With that, Kirakuni will be back to pick them up tomorrow and takes off.
Ginga’s little sister steps over and he tells her to be good while he’s away on his trip. She agrees, on condition that he buys her a souvenir: a stuffed lion! Sounds good and, considering his imminent departure, Midori figures she’ll make his favorite for dinner tonight. Ginga's not one bit happy about lying to his mom, but he knows it’s for a good cause...
Orie and Hokuto will be taking off as well and Midori apologizes for not being able to be more hospitable at the moment. That’s no problem, what with Ginga helping watch over her son. Sounds good and Midori asks that Hokuto do the same in return.
Back at their home, Orie remembers Ginga as the kid they met at school – Hokuto figures they’ll be good friends. But, either way, she wants to know if Hokuto really wants to go on this tour. She will not force him to do one thing or another, so he’s free to choose.
Hokuto admits that he’s not 100% sure about this but that’s why he’ll be with Ginga. Furthermore, he feels that it is something he has to do. Orie will say no more, then, but wants him to remember that he’ll always be in her thoughts.
With that, she’ll also be making his favorite stew for dinner.