Part 26: Mission 15 (Moon Route) - Trembling Spiral, Resurrected Memories
The GEAR folks watch as the Nadesico B shows up, right on time; Shibuya has heard much about it, built as the successor of the ship responsible for ending the Lizard War three years ago, and how much it helped during the Baam War and Devil Gundam Incident a year ago.
Inoue also remembers how the captain, Ruri Hoshino, the Electronic Fairy, also holds the record as being the youngest person to ever take command of a ship; Aiko huffs at how the professor left out how cute the girl us, prompting him to quip at how much the operator seems to know about girl.
Aiko’s a bit of a fan, having learned much about Ruri from articles written about her in women’s magazines and whatnot; she’s pretty famous, even among GEAR staffers. Whatever the case, Shibuya takes her as a fine ally to have in this crisis.
Harry and Saburouta (with the weird hair) coming everything’s A-OK with the ship and Ruri asks them to bring it by GEAR HQ. Saburouta is quite surprised to see that the place actually IS built under an amusement park – he had a hard time believing it, despite hearing the stories.
Harry argues that it’s your standard secret base, though Saburouta figures an asteroid or the Japanese alps would be better suited for that. But never mind that, his focus now is checking out the local cute chicks in GEAR and the team coming aboard.
Harry sighs at the guy’s usual antics, though Saburouta insists that a man should always seek to meet new people. The kid’s still surprised at him, having thought all Jovian men to be serious and brave sorts.
But that’s a conversation for another time. Ruri tells them to start loading the new units as soon as they’re moored – time is of the essence. What, she won’t even meet with GEAR’s chief? No, that’ll have to be postponed. When everyone’s aboard, it’s straight to the moon.
Later on, Ruri formally introduces herself to everyone. Judau’s a bit stunned to see that the Nadesico’s captain is around their age and she takes it as a compliment. Inwardly, Beecha sighs at how he’s been one-upped in the “young captain” department, while Aqua feels the average team age moving further and further away from her.
Speaking of, Puru is very impressed with the ship and wastes no time to start Purupurupuru’ing around, much to Puru Two’s worry. Saburouta likes her energetic vibe, though, as well as the fact that they’ve got some girls around Harry’s age around.
Eris, meanwhile, introduces herself to Ruri; the captain herself has actually heard of the MIT prodigy before and Eris is bursting with pride at that. Ruri’s actually curious about her work and asks that Eris give her the rundown on Data Weapons once this mission’s wrapped up. She stammers that she’d be happy to, and Kirakuni quietly laughs at how nervous the girl is.
Eris’ attention is grabbed by a picture placed beside Ruri’s chair, which she says is of her family. Taking a look, Beecha if these are her brother and sister – “more or less,” Ruri says. Eris has done her homework, though, and knows it depicts the late Nadesico captain and her husband: Yurika Misumaru and Akito Tenkawa.
When Ruri asks what she’s thinking, Eris stammers once more and changes the topic; she’d like to know more about this cutting edge ship as it could be useful later on. Ruri tells her to feel free to ask Harry about any non-classified matters.
The kid introduces himself as Harry Makibi, the Nadesico B’s XO. Saburouta likes seeing Harry make friends with this cute girl – mayhap this is his first step in the rose-colored road towards
As Harry flushes, Saburouta Takasugi introduces himself to everyone. Rain greets him back, taking the time to apologize for the trouble she unintentionally caused this ship during the Devil Gundam Incident. Domon also steps over to personally thank the entire crew for their help back then.
: Yeeaah, I remember you! We all heard your passionate yelling.
: Hrm…
: His what now?
: U-Um…
: Right before he finished off the Devil Gundam, this guy was screaming so loud pretty much the whole universe heard him. “I LOVE YOOOUUU! I NEED YOOOUUU!”: Th-that was…
: Whoa… You said all those things to Rain, Domon?: Well, I… Y-yes…
: Domon… You’re a proper man among boys…: Seriously. That crazy heartfelt confession of yours even got me all tingly.
: Must be nice…
: Huh?
: N-Nothing!: Relax, girl. With that sexy getup of yours, it’s only a matter of time before you’ve someone saying stuff like that to you.
: (And here I go, being the butt of the joke again... That’s four now...): Or maybe I should go ahead and say it myself?
: Lt. Takasugi!: What, you wanna be the one?
: Wh-wh-what are you talking about?!
Saburouta sighs at how Harry always reacts the same way to his jives, though the kid says he’s not an Aestivalis that can simply be stirred differently; speaking of Aestivalises, Ruri heard that something like one emerged in Kyoto? Via Boson Jump, yeah.
Aqua has some data and videos that she can pass along, though the Nadesico team already expects it to be THAT ghostly robot. The strange part about the debacle with that bot is how unenthused the Hisago Investigative Committee was about looking into the matter; they just labelled the ghost as a “misidentified” unit and tried sweeping it under the rug.
Figuring out what actually happened is their mission… but only after the Dendoh’s rescued. So, Ruri asks everyone to get ready for takeoff.
Location: Spiral Castle
Meanwhile, Ginga and Hokuto have been brought before the Gulfer leaders and they’re quite daunted at the size of their enemies. Conversely, Giga Absolute and Gurumei and appalled at how tiny the Dendoh’s pilots are: minuscule, even among such small beings as the humans.
Ginga doesn’t like their sass but Hokuto whispers for him to chill out – acting rashly won’t help them here. As Giga Witter praises Altair for his successful capture, the kids see the Ogre’s pilot as being another human.
Altair relates to the Gulfer that, for whatever reason, both of Dendoh’s Data Weapons are loose; he expects them to come over in pursuit of their masters and, when they do, he’ll capture them.
What do they do with the kids, then? “They’ll be sent to the Emperor. Despite their appearance, they are still the Dendoh’s chosen pilots,” Altair says and, once again, Hokuto has to hold Ginga back.
Giga Gurumei wonders if the two of them will be made into Altair’s subordinates – like Subaru, maybe. Regardless, Altair also expects the kids’ companions to be coming over to rescue them, so he tells the Spiral Castle to keep them under guard while he goes hunting the Leo and Unicorn.
The boys get thrown in a cell, Ginga demanding very loudly to be set free. A Gyandolar Zarios tells him to pipe down OR ELSE but a Falgos figures they can let the brat cry to his heart’s content. It’s not like they can go anywhere! Mwahahaha!
Ginga’s further pissed and yells even louder. Hokuto argues that screaming won’t do anything: if demanding they free them is all it took, they wouldn’t have locked them away in the first place. What, so he should just be a nice prisoner like Hokuto? No, he should wait for the right time opportunity – whether that be an escape on their own or a rescue from someone else.
Ginga isn’t too sure they could be rescued as he saw a crapload of RoBeasts inside the castle while they were being brought over.
No problem, as the cell door opens – it’s Vega, relieved to see them safe!
Ginga’s very surprised that she’s here but explanations will need to wait. They, and the Dendoh, need to get out lest Altair send them to the Gulfer homeworld.
As they prowl the Spiral Castle’s corridors, the kids are still curious as to how Vega managed to get all the way here. Can her bike even fly into space?! No, that’s asking too much – what she did was stow away in the Dendoh’s maintenance hatch while they were being brought over.
As for the guards posted by their cell, she used a little trick to get rid of them. More importantly, the Dendoh should still be in the hangar, so they’ll get it and make a break for it.
Ginga figures its tank is probably empty by now but Vega’s seen to that problem: she ordered said Gyandolar guards to take the Ogre’s batteries and put it in the Dendoh.
And how did she manage to order those guys around? As it turns out, her mask is equipped with a voice-mimicking device which she used to copy Altair’s (as demonstrated by Vega actually speaking one of the guy’s voiced lines). Impressive but there’s a problem…
: ! Watch out!*Swoosh!*
: Oh? You managed to avoid my attack?
: It’s that guy!
: The Ogre’s pilot – Altair!
: This man’s Altair…?!: How could those robots let a lone woman and children slip away… Size is their sole asset, I see.: Hokuto, Ginga, I’ll handle him. You two head to the Dendoh.: But what about you?!: I’ll meet up with you later – hurry!: You’d sacrifice yourself for them? How admirable. As a reward, I’ll slay you quickly!*Sword block!*
: Urk!: You parried my blade… Not bad!: Vega!: Go already! I’ll be fine!: Come on, Hokuto! We’lll use the Dendoh to wreck this place from the inside!
: O-OK!*Off they go.*
: Stop right there!: You’ll have to deal with me first, Altair!: I know not who you are but you’ll have ample time to regret opposing my blade in the afterlife!*Clash!*
: Argh!: I have you now, woman!*Crash!*
: Damn it – my mask!: Y-You’re…?!
: !
: Uurgh! Gwaaaargh!!: (Again, he’s in pain after looking at me…!): Rrrgh! You…!: (If I’m escaping, it has to be now!)
Back to us, the Nadesico’s already entered into the sectioned off sector of the moon; we’re headed to the Spiral Castle and, already, Eris is detecting RoBeasts heading our way.
Ruri doesn’t want anyone deployed, however, ordering a wide Gravity Blast shot right at the center of the enemy platoon. Boom goes the entire first wave of attackers and Ruri asks her AI friend, Omoikane, to keep full speed ahead. Once we’re closer, she wants the strongest Gravity Blast possible fired to carve an opening for our troops.
Eris wants to be out there in person so she leaves, with a reminder from Ruri that our objective here is solely to rescue the Dendoh. Harry wonders if she’ll be alright but Ruri is confident: these people are more battle-hardened than he might think.
As they prepare to go with the plan, a call comes in from Vega. There’s a lot of static, though she manages to tell that they’re escaping with the Dendoh.
Before Rain can ask for details, however, the call breaks off. Looks like we’ll need to change our plans: as soon as we’ve broken into the Spiral Castle’s perimeter, Ruri wants everyone deployed. We’ll need to buy time until Vega and the Dendoh can escape.
Mission 15 (Moon Route) – Trembling Spiral, Resurrected Memories
We’re in and everyone deploys; the Spiral Castle is dead ahead and it’s as big as advertised. “I-It looks like a huuuge Funnel!” Puru says and Judau’s forced to concede her point. Iino’s intimidated but Beecha points out that the thing isn’t actually attacking, so relax.
Harry confirms the new mission parameters: everyone’s to engage the RoBeasts until the Dendoh escapes. Don’t engage them too far in, either. Saburouta agrees with the plan, seeing how we’re clearly not equipped to take on the whole dang place. We can absolutely rescue some captured
Harry does take the time to remind Saburouta not to stray too far from the Nadesico, already planning for when we need to bail. Saburouta wonders if asking such restraint from Domon would fly… signs point to no, as the guy swears to rescue Ginga and Hokuto. His fiery attitude is a wave of nostalgia for Saburouta.
Hugo’s also ready to give this everything he’s got: “I refuse to experience something like that again…!” he says, and Aqua wonders what he’s talking about. The Spiral Castle sees us coming, muttering that they’re managing to make some headway in the mission the Emperor gave them. He’s not about to let humans rain on their parade: “Your blood will paint this white earth red.”
Mission Objective: Shoot down all enemy units
Mission Failure: Any allied unit shot down
No problem at all, provided you keep an eye on your flimsier units. If you haven’t been leveling the ZZ kids up, chances are you’ll be a bit limited in your forces. Consider this the game giving you fair warning; that’s all I’m going to say.
Everyone here’s up to speed, though, so we’ll move in together. Keep Harry’s warning in mind and don’t let your guys stray too far from the ship.
Nadesico B (Ruri Hoshino/Harry Makibi)
Pilot Skills:
- Hacking – Enables “Scan” as a menu option. Hit and Crit % raised against affected target
- Support Attack L1
- Support Defense L1
- Iron Wall (30)
- Trust (30)
- Strike (20)
- Cheer
- Vigor
- Accelerate
- Gain
- Gravity Wave Beam – Any Aestivalis within six tiles will have its EN restored (marked by the yellow squares centered around the ship)
- Phase Transition Engine – unit recovers 10% EN every turn if in space
- Distortion Field
Harry’s Voice Actress: Noriko Hidaka (other known works: Noriko Takaya in Gunbuster, Kikyo in Inuyasha, Akane in Ranma ½ and many more)
The Nadesico’s better compared to the Nahel Argama: stronger and way bulkier thanks to the Distortion Field. Ruri herself is a worse pilot than Bright but not by a whole lot.
Doesn’t matter one way or the other as, in a game with only two ships, you’re stuck with her. Her Hacking is pretty much the baby form of Z’s Analyze, though without the damage boost… not too impressive.
Regardless, the Nadesico’s also pretty much a necessity if you want to use Aestivalis.
Super Aestivalis Saburouta (Saburouta Takasugi)
Pilot Skills:
- Prevail L2
- Support Attack L1
- Support Defense L1
- Focus (15)
- Iron Wall (30)
- Strike (15)
- Distortion Field
- Gravity Wave Beam Requirement - Unit fully recovers all of its EN each turn, so long as it's within six spaces of Nadesico B. Any action taken outside of the Gravity Beam range will consume an additional 5 EN, even guarding and evasion. If EN falls to 0, the unit becomes inactive.
Blah, is what I say. He was mediocre in W, he’s still mediocre here. At the very least he’s not completely overshadowed by EVERYONE as he was back then, though.
His main niche here is being a Distortion Field-breaker as his Distortion Attack goes right through the stuff, unlike most other weapons. This is particularly handy when dealing with stuff like the Hokushin guys.
Saburouta's spirit list shows his Jovian blood is still full of GEKI GANGER, though that doesn’t jive too well with a Real Robot (unlike his past Tetsujin/Daitetsujin). At least Iron Wall will give you more mileage of the Distortion Field, though it’s always best for him to just dodge stuff.
He’s reliable enough but will all but certainly end up as a bench warmer unless you go out of your way.
Everyone moves onward as a nice group.
Enemy Phase!
In come the little Gulfer.
I never noticed their adorable gun before (because they usually die before getting a chance to attack).
Player Phase!
Giga Absolute comes with news of the Dendoh pilots’ escape from their cell.
What about Altair? Seems like they slipped away right under his nose. The Spiral Castle commands the RoBeasts to pursue and to send the Gyandolar as well. Inwardly, he fumes at Altair for screwing up at such a critical juncture.
These mooks make for some easy ZZ fodder, as Beecha shows.
Pretty much anyone here can oneshot them.
Like so.
Roux gains a level in Newtype while Puru Two learns Alert.
Enemy Phase!
Now why would you do that?
Domon profits from the suicidal mook, taking Prevail and Sword Cut L4.
Player Phase!
Ruri’s picked up a signal and confirms it via data given by Eris. What is it? She’s pinging the Data Weapons nearby; they really care for their masters, it seems.
She tells everyone to be on alert – the Dendoh should be arriving soon, sixty seconds give or take. Beecha wonders how she’s so sure but Saburouta vouches for her insight in battle. Time to plow the road for them but, of course, never going too far away from the ship lest it screw up our retreat.
Might as well get some usage out of Saburouta.
Always be oneshotting.
Puru Two, Elle and Judau clear the rest, pushing Domon into Hyper Mode. Judau also takes Newtype L3.
And out comes the Dendoh, much to the Gulfer’s annoyance. As soon as they break through the castle’s walls, they see the team waiting to pick them up and confirm to Domon that they’re alright. Problem is, they’ve a bunch of Gyandolar in pursuit and are immediately surrounded.
They didn’t really think they were escaping THAT easily, did they?
: Idiots! We’ve got the cavalry here to pick us up!
: “Cavalry”...? Ye dinnae mean… ’im, do ye?!: Jings…! Nae guid… Speak o’ the devil an’ ‘e’ll appear… Again!: Nevermind. If there’s ony cavalry ‘ere, it’s the one taking ye tae 'Ell! Yer surroondid! Hoo do ye figure ye kin escape?!: Easy! I’ll bust through you with my fists!: Ohoho! Ye’ve got stones. Wot a braw lad! But are ye still gunna be talking like that efter ‘e comes ower?!
: “He”?!: That’s reit! It’s yer ride tae 'Ell, right thare!
: You’re not going anywhere, Dendoh…!
: Ogre… Altair!
: Urgh, they’re in trouble!
: And we can’t fire the Gravity Blast with them so clustered…!: GAHAHAHA! Serves ye reit, brat!: Damn it…!: If only we had the Leo or Unicorn with us…!
: Ginga! Hokuto!
: And that’s the end of their escape…
: Yes, though they got rather far.: I… I’m not throwing the towel! No way!!
: Right…! The second you think it’s over, that’s when you’re really finished!: (Hokuto, Ginga…! And I can’t do anything in a situation like this…!)
: I’m not about to let this happen again! Come on, Hugo!
: Aye, aye! Keep an eye on our output, Aqua!
: I got it! 
: Yow, this really is nostalgic. Still, I reckon I can follow their lead here.: What do we do, Captain?!
: It’ll be all right.
: Huh?!: Attack. Destroy everyone, except the Dendoh.: Aye, that wis the idea fae the stairt!
: Prepare to meet your end!
: HOLD IT!!: ?!: W-Wot the?! Whae wis that?!: Where are you?! Show yourself, whoever that was! : It’s…!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-sSLdBNulY
Captions are available.
: Oh, fools who know not the emptiness of combat… Fighting is only permissible when it is done in the name of saving loved ones.: And the person who has the courage to sacrifice oneself to emerge victorious… That is what people call… a hero!: What…? You dare approach the Spiral Castle so impudently? Who are you?!
“You do not deserve to know my name!”
: Where there is darkness, there is light… Where there is evil, there is justice.: The emissary of the heavens, Kenryuu, has arrived!
: Blast you, Rom Stoll! Sniffed us out, did you?!: Ah knew it…: You again?! In that case…! Viper Drive, INSTALL!
: Then I’ll answer in kind!
: PIIIIIIILE FOOORMATION!!
: Behold! Vikungfu!!: Och, haud up! Ye cannae just go an’ transform! That’s pure unfair, nae?!
: “Unfair”…? Those are mighty fine words, coming from you, Devil Saturn 6!: He’s so cool…!: Harry?
: Ah… Excuse me. But when you said it’d be alright, were you talking about…: No, my prediction turned out wrong… but this is still fine. Either way, is that man is an ally?
: Y-Yes… He helped us during Operation Yashima too.
: …
: It’s that guy…!
: He’s come to save us…?!: … They are beckoned.: Huh?: The Sacred Electronic Beasts have come, over there.
: …
: …
: L-Leo!
: Unicorn… They followed us all the way here?: 
: So that’s where you were! Good, I’ll claim both—!: No, you won’t!!*Rom pins down Altair*
: Urgh! Bastard!: Go! Call out your Sacred Beasts!: Hokuto!: Ginga!: File Save: Leo Circle!: File Save: Unicorn Drill!*Both Data Weapons fade into the Dendoh.*
: Unicorn!: Welcome back, Leo!
: Oh, thank goodness…
That’s our main objectives taken care of, so it’s time for us to bail. Though Ruri knows running away is quite the bummer after all this hype, she asks that everyone board the Nadesico in three minutes.
What about Rom, then? He tells Ginga not to worry and to focus on leaving here. Time is short!
The Spiral Castle sees what we’re up to and a pissed off Altair is already charging in.
As before, you don’t NEED to bring everyone onto the Nadesico; if you’re confident, you can down everything and the plot will kick in just the same.
Of course, if your team isn’t too evenly strong, you might run short, so keep everyone together.
And Rom’s finally taken off the kiddie gloves, transforming the Kenryuu into Vikungfu. This thing, on top of being one of the strongest units around, is also bulky as hell with that lovely barrier + shield combo. God Hand Final reduces all damage by 1500, so mooks will have a very hard time doing any damage against him (and Rom’s surprisingly dodgy).
Of course, the power boost is offset by an increase in EN cost and, more importantly, a huge dip in range: aside from his weakest attack (3-6 range), everything Vikungfu has is point-blank. Rom outright has no attack that can hit at range 2.
The good thing is that all his moves can be used post-movement, so there’s that. All this just strikes me as a small handicap in order to stop Rom from destroying everything that looks at him wrong.
It will not work.
Case in point.
Lovely.
Under the safety blanket of Hokuto’s Iron Wall, Ginga will clear out all the nearby Zarios.
Beecha also nabs a Kasmodon.
Might as well start working on Altair. All bosses run off under 30% HP, so keep that in mind if you want their goodies.
: Ah, the one who failed to defend the Dendoh back on Earth… Did you come all the way to the moon out of some sense of responsibility?: Damn straight! Ginga and Hokuto are our comrades… and I’m done losing comrades under my watch!
: Hugo…
Good damage.
Same treatment for Deondra.
: Those who conspire with evil are evil themselves! I’ll take on the lot of you!
: … Whatever planet we’re at, Kenpo fighters are always these in-your-face types, huh? Then I might as well get rid of you and Rom in one go!
Getting them all primed.
Enemy Phase!
Oh, boy, here he comes.
: Didnae yer maw teach ye not tae stick yer nose whaur it doesn’t belong, Rom Stoll?! And ye’ve naething ta do with this werld’s folks!: Where there is evil, there is justice! By the guidance of the Wolf Blade, I’ll lay punishment upon the lot of you!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahc92pmiXlU
“You’re carrying out your villainy here as well, Devil Saturn 6?!”
There go the Zarios.
Of course, Altair decides to get clever.
: You won’t get away from me, Dendoh!: You’re crazy if you think…!: We’d let you kidnap us again!!
Player Phase!
With some work from Roux and Hugo, Saturn’s at just the right spot.
: Stop reit thare, brat! Bringing ye in’ll gie a big boost tae oor commander renk!: The 'ell do Ah caur aboot ye?!: Whoa, Ginga! You can speak Scottish?!: Heheh… Guess I picked some of it up after hearing his comedy act.: Ooh, ye bastart! ‘Ave a laugh at me and Ah’ll go my dinger!
Devil Saturn can’t take any more punishment and runs off in a hurry.
And I forgot that Domon had a convo with him…
: Crivens! Noo that Ah look at ‘im… Is ‘e an earthling Kenpo fighter?! We’ve only bad memories aboot Kenpo fighters!: Good! My fists will add another failure to your pile!
Hugo weakens Deondra and off goes Saburouta.
: Hmm… She’s a little bit older but still pretty nice…: H-huh…?! What are you babbling about?!
: Sorry but I’m short on time today! Our date’s gonna have to wait ‘til later!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWZ469ZGL_E
And here’s his strongest move.
Deondra will (also) remember this and runs along.
And the last one…
: You came all the way here to retrieve the Dendoh, hm…?! That’ll cost you your head!
: No way! Ginga and Hokuto are both safe, so we’re headed straight outta here!
: This is payback for before!: Out of my way!
: You actually believe you stand a chance against the Ogre…?: The Vikungfu will not be bested by a heart steered by darkness!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzW6IwzVOtE
Captions are available.
Altair’s headache starts flaring up again and he leaves in pain.
As we prepare to escape, Ginga thanks Rom for the assist. None are needed and he hopes to see us again.
Notable loot: Chobham Armor, Cartridge and Thruster Module (equipped unit has an S rating in space)
Safely aboard the Nadesico, Ginga and Hokuto can finally let their feet up. Puru and Kirakuni are so very relieved that all three are safe and Judau is quite impressed by the kids’ unbreakable spirit.
Hokuto chalks it all up to Vega and everyone else’s help… and Rom, of course. Saburouta wasn’t around the last time, so Domon gives him the rundown about the Cronosian. And while there’s much we don’t know about him, Domon can easily vouch for his skill as a martial artist. High praise from the King of Hearts.
Hokuto is still curious as to how the guy knows about the Data Weapons but Rain figures, as an alien, he might’ve run into one of them somewhere or heard rumors? Ginga hopes we can get the guy to join our crew as, then, we’d be able to look for the Data Weapons without having to rely on Eris’ crazy programs.
Kirakuni prods the kid, saying the Unicorn and Leo are back safely so all’s well that ends well, right? Maybe not…
: … I’m sorry, Ginga, Hokuto…: Ah…?: It was because of my tracking program that the Leo and Unicorn fled… and that got you two into so much trouble…: Damn right! We went through so much crap because of you!: I’m so sorry…: Ginga, she didn’t do any of that on purpose. Surely you can tell that much.
: That’s right. And a proper man will know how to forgive and forget.: But we were sooo close to being shipped off to the Gulfer planet!
: And Eris worked really hard to save you two, no?: And we can’t really blame it all on her, since the Ogre only caught us because we weren’t paying attention…: Aah, fine! Fine, I get it!: …: Eris, are you really sorry for what happened?: Y-Yes…
: Then finish up that tracking program and help us find the other Data Weapons.
: You… You forgive me?: It’s not about forgiving or not. If we went crazy on each other over every screw up, I’d be getting yelled at every single day.: And I guess you’re also part of the team… so I don’t want you to be bummed out all the time.: Thanks, Ginga…
: Ah, come on… Don’t thank me…!: Now, now, no need to play it cool.: Ah, to be a teenager...: Good times.
Vega thanks Ruri for her help with the rescue and the captain’s just glad that everyone’s safe. Furthermore, Ruri asks for a copy of the data she gathered inside the Spiral Castle to run some analysis of her own.
With this done, she tells Harry that the Nadesico will return to its mission of investigating the incident with the Hisago Plan. This includes, but isn't limited to, the Black Ghost and, upon Ruri's request, Vega says our team is more than willing to assist them with that.
…Do we have to?
Location: Giganos Empire
Maillot’s already talked to the younger officers and Guiltorre is very glad: had the guy not returned to the moon, they risked an insurrection.
Maillot wants no thanks, saying that the officers are all quite willing and able to lay down their lives for the homeland; with their misgivings towards the upper brass quelled, he’s certain they’ll once more dedicate all that they are towards seeing Guiltorre’s ideals brought to life.
That said, there IS a certain faction among the brass which is still a problem – and if that isn't corrected, Maillot believes that this whole mess will recur.
Guiltorre asks what Maillot is getting at: Dorchenov. Why does the marshal allow that guy’s excesses? Everyone can see the blackness that pervades Dorchenov’s heart and it’s all but certain that he’s secretly colluding with Jovian remnants. If Guiltorre leaves him to keep at it, Maillot is certain their cause will suffer.
Still, Guiltorre argues that such men are necessary to uproot the evil that governs the earth Federation and bring about a new world order.
In effect, Guiltorre is advocating the use of a controlled amount of poison: as Zeon once tried to do, the marshal realizes that one cannot purge the corruption in the Federation’s system without extreme measures. That’s why, during the Neo Zeon attacks, he allowed the one use of the Mass Driver to bring the iron hammer of justice upon them.
The Earth Sphere has moved past the point where spontaneous change could save it; Guiltorre figures he’ll go the way of Gihren Zabi, remembered as one of the greatest fools in human history, but he’ll accept it in the name of restoring human society.
Just then, Dorchenov bursts in and demands to know why the young officers have received no punishment; the Giganos’ iron-clad order must be enforced with suitable action against insubordination!
Guiltorre doesn’t seen the need, as the movement was quelled before any disturbance ever took place. Dorchenov calls this thinking naive and will only fuel the officers’ attitude – they need to be made an example of.
Maillot politely informs him that those same officers swore their undying allegiance to Guiltorre: he therefore judges punishment unnecessary. Dorchenov sniffs that the son of a traitor can make no such claims; plus, Maillot’s inability to recover the D Weapons has allowed the Federation to reach the point where they can mass-produce the things. Just how does he intend to make up for all that?
By striking down the enemies of Giganos.
Fine, so Dorchenov has new orders for him: they’ve received intel that a new MS is being developed in the Federation’s docking ship La Vie en Rose. So, he’s to grab a bunch of Metal Armors and capture everything, ship included.
Maillot confirms and sets off, leaving Dorchenov with another matter to speak with Guiltorre. With the Federation on the cusp of mass-producing the Dragonars, they’ll obviously start a counteroffensive against the Giganos. So, before it gets to that point, Dorchenov wants permission to wreck the production plants, and several other key locations, with the Mass Driver.
Guiltorre isn’t having it and an outraged Dorchenov asks if he wants them to just sit idly as the Federation builds its strength? The marshal figures there are other ways beyond the Mass Driver to oppose the Federation, so he won’t allow the thing to be fired again.
Inwardly, Dorchenov fumes that this is hardly the time for Guiltorre to be taking this sort of approach; some extraordinary measures may be necessary…