Part 41: Mission 24 - The Doors to the Underworld
We’ve just started act 5 of this game, meaning we’re essentially at the halfway point!
Rockfell has finished investigating the goings on of the world at large, reporting the war with the Giganos has reached a stalemate with the Dragoons leveling the playing field. The Giganos haven’t been doing much after mass-production started but Saiga figures it’s just the calm before the storm. They may well decide to use their ace-in-the-hole: the Mass Driver.
Saiga ponders how, out of concern for the post-war, they’ve only been using the thing as a deterrent but, as Ritsu says, they might have no choice if things start going south. It’d be their only way of turning things around. Saiga does note that letting the Giganos destroy key points on Earth with their rocks would make the Tekkoryu’s own job far easier.
What about the other powers at work? The Martian Successors continue to skirmish with the Federation around Mars and the Terminal Colonies, while the Hundred Demons are still building up their forces. They’re watching how this’ll play out, same as them, Saiga sees.
The Gulfer are still continuing their hunt for Data Weapons while the Vegans are working on plans to wipe out the Magnate Ten. Finally, while the MU have sent some Dolems to our side, there hasn’t been any major movement from them.
All in all, Rockfell deems that the clear obstacles to the Tekkoryu right now are: the Federation, Giganos, Hundred Demons and, of course, the Zeorymer.
Saiga disagrees, though, and tells her not to forget about SEELE and the Bähbem Foundation. Rockfell is aware of those organizations’ control over NERV and TERRA but they haven’t made any visible opposition to the Tekkoryu yet.
Saiga laughs and says that he takes them to be the real enemy here – Lurahn quietly grunts that he noticed. Still, Yura states that the Zeorymer is their nº1 enemy. They have but to destroy it and it’ll be simplicity itself to create their Underworld into this world.
Lurahn concedes her point but says that they cannot make light of other enemies as well: the aliens, the demons and, of course, the Magnate Ten which supports the Zeorymer’s pilots. Yura argues that the aliens haven’t taken hostile action against them thus far and their Hakke Robos can deal with the demons and Magnate Ten.
On this subject, however, Lurahn would very much prefer if they actually managed to capture the Zeorymer instead of destroying it. Yes, Yura has made her decision perfectly clear but there’s so much they don’t know about the Dimensional Coupling System. Lurahn figures it and that girl, Miku Hirumo, to deserve a thorough analysis.
Yura doesn’t look convinced and Ritsu asks for another chance at dispatching the Zeorymer. What, so he can come back with another defeat? Saiga doesn’t think so – only his Omzack of Thunder can fight that mech on even footing.
Lurahn objects to deploying it right now, though, as it still isn’t finished.
Saiga sniffs and jokingly wonders if Moon, Earth and Mountain actually could actually stand a chance. Gisou and Ritsu don’t appreciate being sassed by someone who hasn’t even fought yet but Saiga is at least certain Ritsu could never win.
Before a fight breaks out, Yura yells at them to quit their bickering: she has a new mission for them before their plan enters its final stage. First, Gisou will head to Japan and draw out the Magnate Ten; while that’s going on, Rockfell will capture Miku and bring her here. Once the girl is taken, Ritsu has Yura’s permission to destroy the Zeorymer – and he better not fail again.
Lurahn isn’t too keen on that plan, arguing that the Burrston of the Mountains and Dinodilos of Earth are siege-oriented Hakke Robos. They’re not very suited for fighting a squadron like ours. Wasn’t he the one who wanted to study the Dimensional Coupling System and Miku? Why complain?
He does but Lurahn also thinks it unwise to expend their forces on the verge of their endgame. He has an idea and someone to help with it, though.
He’s hired Hokushin, whose name Yura recognizes as another name of Hokkyokusei – Polaris, the North Star. Via some pretentious drivel that I do not care enough to bring into English (because PoD), Hokushin essentially dubs himself an emissary of the Underworld.
Yura half miffed and half impressed at him daring claim that title while in her presence – he’s quite the daring man, hm? Still, Hokushin figures it’s that what makes him suitable to work as her hand in the shadows.
Saiga’s already checking out his bearing and figures he’s not of the Earth Sphere – a remnant of the old Jovian Federation? Hokushin doesn’t answer but Lurahn vouches for his skill. The guy will intercept our squadron and get us disorganized, providing a much better situation for the three Hakkeshu to carry out empress’ will.
Lurahn trusts him enough to have brought him into Tekkoryu Castle, so Yura allows it.
Afterwards, Lurahn asks Hokushin what he’s really after. He simply states that it’s to divert our people and destroy Heaven – and, with that, buy time for the Successors. Moreover, Hokushin and his cronies are also after a certain man in our crew.
Lurahn is dubious. If that was the end of that, he and his men would have attacked the Magnate Ten by themselves. Why contact the Tekkoryu?
Hokushin curtly refuses to answer, asking only that Lurahn pay his two-year-old debt. The old man concedes that he employed the services of Hokushin’s group to help restore the Tekkoryu Castle, but that’s neither here nor there now.
Hokushin answers by being mysterious: “Marionettes born of man’s craft… The outcome of your games is patently clear.”
Lurahn takes him to be hinting at knowing what Masaki Kihara was up to but Hokushin drops the subject. He’s leaving for Japan now to pester our people; once the Tekkoryu feel the time is right, they can send the Hakkeshu.
Silently, Hokushin now knows the precise location of Tekkoryu Castle. All that’s left is…
Elsewhere, Camille (!) is fully healed and about to leave – he can’t stay bedridden forever. Fa doesn't want to see him do this after what happened. It took so long for him to recover. But Camille says that it’s precisely because of what happened that he needs to go.
He sees that history is about to repeat itself, despite what he knows are Fa's best efforts to keep the news from him. Camille found out what’s going on just from turning on the news at the hospital or browsing the internet – he knows that Judau and co are fighting, too.
Fa apologizes, though Camille knows she was just looking out for him. Still, he has to get out there – for the sake of Fa, Judau’s crew and all those who died. He also wants to know what that man is truly thinking. If Camille can’t bring war to a close this time, then he’ll never be truly free of Scirocco and Haman’s ghosts.
Fa would like to join Camille aboard the Nahel Argama but he asks her not to – she shouldn’t force herself to fight anymore. Rather, he’d like her to leave the AEUG and go someplace safe.
Fa refuses to quit, however, wanting to stay as close as possible to Camille. Even if she’s not piloting an MS anymore, she wants to do whatever she can to help him, Judau, Bright and the others. And in exchange, she asks him to step down as a MS pilot once it’s all over.
Camille promises and is just about to head out to plead his case to the army and get a lift to the Nahel Argama…
But the door opens right then, Goat coming in and saying that’s not necessary. He introduces himself as an employee from a certain lunar company and that Camille ought to know what he speaks of.
He initially thinks Anaheim but soon pegs Goat as being of Nergal. Regardless, the guy is here because he has something to give Camille.
Our folks are back at GEAR HQ, with Shibuya having heard of the mess in Neo Tokyo 3. Especially surprising was how the thereto sealed God Voice was the key to freeing the EVA-01 and RahXephon. It seems clear to both men that those three machines share some sort of connection.
We’ve no details to go on but Bright is certain that the three of them will hold tremendous sway in the outcome of our future battles.
Now, the Federation’s still in the process of putting together their counteroffensive against the Giganos – Operation Moonraker. So, until it’s go time, we’ll carry on patrolling Japan, picking up a few odds and ends in the process to help in the coming battle.
Aqua, Rain, Eris and Ruri have been running tests with various special energies (Photon, Getter Rays, Daimolight, Mutron, Terminus Energy), trying to figure out which actively attracts the Data Weapons but none are standing out. The creatures react to these energies’ presence, sure, but nothing major.
Eris figures we’re looking for some different energy, then, meaning we may need to expand the scope of the tracking program. Ruri asks her for all data related to the Weapons’ sightings, but not just recently – she wants all sightings in the past twenty years.
Rain’s surprised that they’ve been around for so long but Eris confirms that, while they’ve been more frequent nowadays, there are older records of it happening.
Ruri starts fiddling and sees that the first time was seventeen years ago and Hoshimi Town is the place with the highest number of incidents. Makes sense as that’s where the Dendoh was… if not for the fact that the bot was powered down until recently.
Ruri doesn’t think this is a coincidence and believes that there is something in Hoshimi that drew the Data Weapons – something exclusive to that town, beyond the Dendoh, over the past seventeen years. Eris seems to have an idea.
Elsewhere, Kazuya’s noticed some slight awkwardness in the Dendoh’s moves – not much, but it’s there. Hokuto asks if that means he and Ginga aren’t working too well but Inoue and Domon think it’s simply a difference in fighting technique.
The Dendoh's basic moves are patterned off of Ginga's shorinji kenpo, which Hokuto is having to pick up by watching and imitating. Not exactly the usual way of learning but Kazuya can’t help but be impressed at how well they fight together. Indeed, Inoue says that their good teamwork is one of the reasons for the Dendoh's strength.
So, Ginga figures the best way to get improve the Dendoh’s moves is for Hokuto to also learn kenpo. Hokuto sees his point but do we have the time for that now? We’ll just have to make do and, luckily, our squad has some top tier martial artists to teach him.
Well, Domon says actual practice is the best way to pick it up and Kazuya’s more than willing to take up that job. Ginga’s hyped that he can learn not only from Domon but from him as well.
Should Hokuto go and put on a gi, then? Not quite – Kazuya says they’ll be using the Dendoh for this. Ginga starts freaking out as he adds one plus one.
Mission 24 – The Doors to the Underworld
Hokuto is rather worried about going up against Daimos but Ginga cries out that this is the opportunity of a lifetime! He certainly looks happy – how couldn’t he? Having Kazuya as a sparring partner and Domon as coach is something any martial artist in this world kill for.
Well, Hokuto is at least grateful for it – this is something he should do in preparation for the tougher battles ahead. “Psych yourself up, then! We’re gonna take on Kazuya Ryuzaki and his Daimos!” Ginga yells.
Kazuya is ready, so here we go.
We need to get the Daimos under 50% HP. No problem if you’ve kept Ginga and Hokuto leveled up – you’re free to go crazy with SP and EN usage, so worry. With Hokuto’s Iron Wall and Kazuya needing morale to bust out his three best moves, you’re not in much danger.
Strike might not be a bad idea because Kazuya can and will parry many of the Dendoh’s punches and kicks.
Off we go!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5pb73G-IaY
Oh, and I’m pretty sure the Daimos keeps whatever upgrades it had prior to this (plus a miniboss HP boost). Kazuya certainly keeps any new skills.
: HEY, Ginga, don’t hold anything back there! Put your back into those punches!
: O-OK!
: Focus your Chi into your second chakra and aim not at your opponent’s body, but behind him.
: Meaning we should punch like we’re trying to run the opponent through?
: Yeah, that’s right!
: Huh… Hokuto’s got some good intuition for someone who’s just been watching and learning.
: Hm… he’s as talented as Ginga.: It’s gotta be in his blood. I reckon he must come from a real ass-kicking family.: Erm, I dunno. From what I heard, his dad’s a TV announcer and his mom works at a coffee shop.: Either way, if those two persist with their training, they’d make for fine Gundam Fighters.
: Don’t you mean GEAR Fighters?
: Come on, now! Keep throwing those punches! 
: Yeah!
Enemy Phase!
I may have forgotten to use Iron Wall but we don’t need to worry about taking too much damage, either.
Player Phase!
Bam.
Kazuya likes what he sees, while Ginga’s still bursting with bliss over having these two teach him. Hokuto explains to Kazuya that his friend’s been a fan of him and Domon since this mess ever began. Still, Ginga isn’t satisfied with just being a fan anymore.
“Once I’m all grown up, I’ll be entering the Colonial Tournament and making it a three-way-rivalry between me, Kazuya and Domon!” he proclaims. That’s the spirit – keep on training and grow stronger, so he can protect what matters to him. It is when people have something, or someone, like that that bring out their full strength.
Ginga asks what is Kazuya’s thing to protect… and it falls on Hokuto to remind him about Erika. Still, Kazuya isn’t mad over that faux pas as he’ll be saving her sooner or later. He swore an oath to her, after all.
But enough of that, we get a ping on our radar and in come some good old Jovian units – Martian Successors. They’re not supposed to be acting on Earth’s surface, so Kazuya fears that this may mark the start of that. But they’re not Boson Jumping still…
Domon, George and Sai will be leaving for a sec to call in the rest of the squad, so Kazuya and the kids will need to hang on for a bit. Hokuto’s worried that the Successors are finally setting their plans in motion but Kazuya assumes that they’re here after the Daimos. He says he’ll handle the bulk of the enemies while the Dendoh covers the nearby town.
Ginga and Hokuto don’t like the idea of letting him fight by his lonesome but he insists – they need to dispatch the mooks over there. Inwardly, Kazuya figures that if the Successors are truly after him, then a certain someone is sure to appear.
Hrmm, these Gengoros weren’t in W. Still, they’re no better than Battas.
In the same way that their Distortion Fields keeps them from being oneshot by weaker weapons.
Enemy Phase!
The mook from before gets killed while the other Gengoros are still coming in. We actually have three of our old friends, the Jovian Katonbos, but they’re not budging.
The Joros are very willing to supply Ginga with more kills for his and Hokuto’s secret tally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlPy6Xe5eHs
Aw, it’s adorable.
Kill four mooks and the plot kicks in.
Even more enemies show up and our guys still haven’t arrived. But, right then, Camille steps into the field in a cool Dijeh SE-R; he’s very surprised to find Jovian units here, a sign that the situation’s worse than he thought.
Hokuto doesn’t recognize his unit but Camille already assumes the Supers belong to Bright’s team. Quickly introducing himself, he says he’s here to help. Kazuya had heard of the Z Gundam’s original pilot from Bright and Judau but that talk will have to wait until the mooks are dropped.
Still going, the new enemies gang on up Kazuya and he shrugs them off like the losers they are. The Joros don’t have Distortion Fields, so they’re very easy kills.
From range, the best he can give the Katonbos are so Five Shooters.
Player Phase!
Dijeh SE-R (Camille Bidan)
Pilot Skills:
- Newtype L4
- Sword Cut L4
- Shield Defense L4
- Revenge
- Focus (15)
- Alert (10)
- Spirit (30)
- Valor (35)
Camille is a Gundam protagonist like Amuro and Judau, so of course he’s good. In fact, he’s pretty much Judau only with a focus on evasion over defense.
What’s new here is the Dijeh – our prize for getting the UC pilots’ levels above an average of 25. Were that not the case, Camille would’ve shown up in a Re-GZ (you get it too, mind).
I wasn’t expecting much from this unit but it IS surprisingly good: as dodgy as the Nu Gundam, tied with Fuunsaiki God Gundam for longest movement, and it packs as much firepower as the Hyaku Shiki Kai.
What pushes it above the Kai, however, is that all its weapons have S ranks on all terrains but water! This will, essentially, give him a damage boost against anything that isn’t submerged – this means the Dijeh's strongest attack hits about as hard as the Fin Funnels. And it's pretty dang cheap, too!
The Z and ZZ are still miles stronger, of course, but the Dijeh can certainly make for a nice ride to folks like Quattro or Roux.
Let’s take this baby out for a spin with its strongest attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCDMtqFa-xc
It lost the Naginata the baseline Dijeh had but, in return, learned the ancient art of “flailing your sword around” from the Char Aznable School of fencing.
5358 damage against a Distortion Field from an unupgraded MS is nothing to sneeze at, though!
Kazuya’s still wearing down this Katonbo.
Enemy Phase!
In comes those jerks from Kyoto and Artemis and, as he’d been expecting, Kazuya spots Hokushin’s Yatenkou leading the pack. The guy confesses to be rather impressed at Kazuya’s willingness to forget his woman and thrust himself into a new battle.
Kazuya’s livid at the sight of the guy, as Hokushin was the one who stopped him from rescuing Erika. Still, Hokushin promises that she’s being well taken care of – after all, she is a VIP with not only the Baamians but the Federation as well. And Kazuya too, of course; so, if he wants to save Erika, he’d do well to surrender. They want his mech and the Daimolight.
That’s not happening, of course, so Hokushin threatens to kill Erika. Camille frowns at his cowardly tactics but Kazuya actually calls his bluff. See what good that’ll do him!
As Hokushin stands quiet, Ginga asks if he’s sure he should be saying that. Kazuya is, knowing that both he and Erika are prepared to die in this – however, so long as she’s alive, he WILL find a way to rescue her.
“Heh… You’re as stubborn as him, I see,” Hokushin laughs. But Kazuya says it’s not stubbornness – this is an oath he made. Fine, Hokushin sees no problem with killing him first and Kazuya wants him to try. He doesn’t have what it takes to break that oath.
Most of Hokushin and co are standing by, though two of his goons come after us.
They’re still dodgy as fuck and pack a decent punch, so I just have Ginga defend.
Kazuya is STILL working on the Katonbos.
Player Phase!
In comes the Black Sarana and our people are all well informed of Akito now – even Camille knows the name of the old Nadesico A crewmember.
Hokushin isn’t too surprised to see him here, though wonders why. Akito knows where his woman is, no? Still, Akito wouldn’t simply ignore him. Hokushin sniffs that he’s flinging himself into the fire – quite foolish, indeed.
Hokushin says he hasn’t the time to deal with him right now but, of course, Akito doesn’t care. Fine, Hokushin tells him to try and carry out his long-awaited vengeance… not that Akito was waiting for his permission to do just that.
Let’s shift our focus to these Rokurens because they’re far more dangerous than any of the nearby mooks.
Get fucked! And I had Ginga nearby, so his support attack will get us some extra damage.
Wait, why are you in that stance? You were supposed to use the File Load—
… Shit. MX’s basic support attack AI will always go for the strongest attack available… even on the unit whose strongest attacks consume all EN. And, no, the pre-battle screen doesn’t actually show what attack the support will use!
I hadn’t saved since the fight with Kazuya, so here I go redo all that! Uuurgh.
Despite Akito’s “2cool4u” attitude, Hokushin is more than capable of slapping him silly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gz5kPYuP1c
At least the Black Sarana is bulky.
Enemy Phase!
You’re gonna die now.
Good man. Also, that sprite is so much lower quality than everything else around here.
Guess they took it from Impact?
Hokushin is two for two against Akito. All but one of his mooks snipe away at him from outside his range, too.
Player Phase!
The Magnate Ten finally arrives and Linda is quick to ping the MS up ahead as an AEUG unit. Quattro’s rather surprised and, no, he didn’t request anyone over. Still, he figures it’s… Camille, yes.
It’s been a very long time since Judau saw the guy and wonders if he should already be piloting again. Camille swears he’s alright – thanks to Judau and his friends. Conversation with Amuro and everyone will have to wait until this is all wrapped up, though.
Ryouko and Saburouta spot Akito but, despite the girl’s frantic yelling, he’s not answering our hails. Ryouko doesn’t know why he’s ignoring us but, at length, Ruri tells everyone to deploy.
Hokushin sees that his diversionary mission was a success, so now he needs to find an opening to escape.
First and foremost, Akito or Hokushin falling under 40% will end the mission. I don’t wanna lose all that cash and exp, so Saegusa casts Confuse to boost Akito’s evasion.
And before I forget…
Yatenkou (Hokushin)
Pilot Skills:
- Prevail L4
- Support Attack L1
- Distortion Field
- Debuff Immunity
As you’d expect from a guy who acts like this, Hokushin’s a monster of a pilot. He’s also one of, if not THE, dodgiest enemy in the entire game, pairing an S size with S ratings in Air and Space. Distortion Field plus a high Prevail also means he’ll be quite resilient, too.
His range is quite long, his attack power is decent, his accuracy is huge… if our guys didn’t mostly have Valor by now, this could’ve made for an annoying fight.
Gaining morale won’t be easy here, so just go crazy with your spirits and burn Hokushin and his cronies down quick. Only make sure your guys are all packing Strike – casting Confuse will also help your Reals, of course.
At least Akito left this one Rokuren all weakened up for us.
Distortion Field…!
Fine, Ryouko will take him while also slapping Hokushin.
: What are you gonna do with Yurika?!
: And what would you do with that knowledge, woman?: I gotta spell it out for you? Akito’s fighting, so there’s no way we’d just sit on our asses!
There goes that guy.
Amuro and Kaine weaken the next, so in goes Tetsuya.
Or he could fail to do even 3k damage…
Fine, Saburouta wraps it up.
Can’t quite kill a third one.
Enemy Phase!
Aaay, Akito finally connects. He does eat another hit, though, and is sooo very close to ending the mission.
Thankfully, the Katonbos go for Kazuya and the other Rokurens miss.
Oddly enough, Hokushin decides to go for the Argama.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFqPcBEqaco
And here is Hokushin’s ever-familiar missile launcher.
Player Phase!
Spirit cast to get Meikyo Shisui running. We gotta wrap this up now or Akito will likely go under 40%.
Time to start busting our Valors.
There’s one, to Amuro; that very weak Rokuren from before gets taken out by Ruri.
Spiteful kill for Ginga, since this Gengoro didn’t play ball and suicide against him.
Each kid gets a boost to their respective Support skill.
Now, for the Katonbos:
One.
Two, and the third goes to Vega.
Now we kill Hokushin.
: The School of the Undefeated of the East… Indeed, you are quite skilled.
: That stance… yours isn’t a commonplace technique…!
: Indeed! We are assassins… And, thus, Hell is at that awaits any who beholds our art!
: Had your soul remained lost, you would have died without suffering.
: I’m back precisely to put an end to all that suffering!
: Come to us, Kazuya Ryuzaki.
: Oh, I will! When I go rescue Erika from your clutches, that is!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wbOsphBzkU
I could’ve just pushed Hokushin away but, no, I’ll use him to vent my PoD-related grudges.
So, here’s Kazuya’s ultimate attack plus Valor. Eat shit, Hokushin!
Ginga had words for him, too:
: I’ve no business with children.: Maybe you don’t, but I’ve got some with you!
That’s enough diverting us for Hokushin, so he bids us farewell and Boson Jumps away. Akito is quick to do the same and go after him.
Unfortunately for Ryouko, we’ve no way of pursing him after that Jump. Why did he just leave like that? What the hell happened to the Akito she knew?
Still, that’s all enemies dead so Bright calls everyone to leave here.
Back in Tekkoryu, Lurahn is getting a call from a mysterious 01 monolith and the guy has a request to make of him. Lurahn is a bit queasy but Mr. 01 reminds him of the crime “that man” committed fifteen years ago. Surely he hasn’t forgotten?
Lurahn thought that the previous emperor and SEELE (let’s be real here) had come to an agreement regarding that matter. They did, which is why this is a request and not an outright order. Moreover, Mr. 01 assures Lurahn that SEELE has no intention of obstructing their Hades Project.
Mr. 01 figures Yura should be sending her Hakke Robos into Japan to destroy Heaven anyway, so why not play ball? Hmm…
Lurahn tells Yura that Hokushin has successfully diverted the Magnate Ten; according to the guy's info, the Giganos, will soon be restarting their offensive in Japan and that’s precisely the opening the Hakkeshu need. Yura tells Gisou, Rofell and Ritsu to go and carry out the mission she gave them during that chaos.
Lurahn does have a suggestion, though: the best place for Gisou to lure our squad to is Neo Tokyo 3 (Saiga raises an eyebrow). Why the city with NERV’s HQ? Lurahn explains that their Evangelions will, sooner or later, be a problem… but aren’t all three of those already with the Magnate Ten?
Stammering, Lurahn says those three EVAs are simply the precursors to a mass-produced unit. They cannot allow that to happen, which is why the must strike at NERV HQ ASAP. Yura accepts and tells the Hakkeshu to join up with Hokushin’s people and lure the Magnate Ten to Neo Tokyo 3. Rockfell will capture Miku and, then, Ritsu will destroy the Zeorymer.
At the Spiral Castle, Deondra introduces a couple new Gyandolar reinforcements: Ashura (red), currently the number one ranked commander and Bug, master of the Tenkuu Chuushin Ken Electromagnetic Poison Chop style.
These are some especially mighty folks among the Gyandolar, and Deondra says they’ll be very helpful in the hunt for Data Weapons. Altair sniffs that he doesn’t need their help, but Deondra fires back that he shouldn’t talk like that with his string of failures.
Altair says that ends today, though, and is about to set out to Earth to both claim the remaining Data Weapons and end the Dendoh. With that in mind, he tells Deondra and the Spiral Castle to step off.
After he leaves, Bug harrumphs at the guys attitude but Deondra tells him to let it be – Altair may actually be useful for them. The Castle asks what she means by that but Deondra waves him off. The Gyandolar will be headed to Earth as well, promising the Spiral Castle to not let Altair hog all the glory.
Elsewhere, Devil Saturn, now the former nº1 commander, isn’t happy to see the gloating Ashura but Deondra asks if Grujios had anything to say about something. Indeed, both he and Gades himself have validated Deondra’s report.
The big man himself is coming to Earth and his Demon Castle is bound to start traveling very soon. So, they’ll finally be cutting ties with the Gulfer and Deondra couldn’t be happier. She tells Saturn to make preparations to leave the Spiral Castle under the guise of sortieing.
Meanwhile, Ashura’s to head down to Earth ahead of them and look for energy that really interests the Data Weapons. Deondra figures it won’t be long before the Earthlings also realize what the creatures are drawn to – when that happens, they might actually end up saving the Gyandolar some time in their search.
Camille is glad to see Judau and the others doing well, saying he’s good to be doing this after resting for so long. He’s only sorry that he couldn’t help in the previous problems.
He’s also stopped by the hangar and saw his old Z Gundam – looks like Roux has been taking good care of it. She felt she needed to, considering how it bears the wishes of so many people. Amuro enters the room and bids Camille welcome, though things get a bit graver when Quattro enters.
Camille’s got something to ask of him, so Amuro calls the ZZ folk and leaves with them for a bit.
: What it is you want to ask me, then?
: Lt. Quattro… rather, Char Aznable. What are you doing here?: …
: So many people died in that conflict – Emma, Henken, Katz, Apolly, Roberto… all in order to change the world. : They believed you had the power to make that happen. I believed, too.: …: Yet, here you are, still being a regular pilot. Why? Doesn’t Char Aznable have a job to do elsewhere?: This era doesn’t yet need that power of mine… There are far too many obstacles for mankind to be led down a better path.: Then you’re here to try and remove those obstacles?: Yes.: …: I cannot stop fighting just yet, Camille. Not while groups like the Titans, who’d threaten the Earth Sphere with their military might, exist.: …: Those who are alive have a duty to perform, as a way to pay tribute to those who died.: …Alright, Char Aznable. I’ll believe in you one more time. But once this battle is over…: Yes. I’ll figure out what battlefields I should truly be at.
Torres relays new orders from the Far East Command, telling us to maintain our patrol around the Japanese sea – they’re expecting a new wave of Giganos attacks. Kaine’s annoyed that they’re still attacking here but Light says that’s why their troops were doing reconnaissance recently.
Still, Tap remembers that Japan’s already being equipped with Dragoons so things won’t be going the same way they did before. Light isn’t so sure, figuring those mechs’ presence is precisely why Japan is a target: the Giganos are trying to stem the tide before it picks up.
A diffuse attack seems likely, and that would be the last thing we need right before Operation Moonraker. Misato figures that’s also part of the reason for this, as the Giganos need to cripple the Federation NOW before it all goes down.
Regardless, it seems to Vega that our return to GEAR HQ will be delayed – a shame because Eris had a plan that could allow us to snag some Data Weapons, but we’d need to stop there first. The girl has finished her tracking program and, more importantly, seems to have figured out an item we can use to lure the Data Weapons over to us! Item? Hmm…
In that case, Bright figures they can go to GEAR HQ with the Nadesico – finding the things and opposing the Gulfer is as much a priority to us as the Giganos. He’ll assign the Gundam Fighters to come along as backup since the Knight Ogre is bound to appear if Data Weapons emerge.
Once their operation is done, they’re to rendezvous with the Argama team. As Vega leaves, Haruka and Misato hope everything will go well.
But this side has its own problems to worry about : the Far East Command has just spotted both the Giganos AND Hakke Robos over by the Japanese Sea! Tap wonders if they’re working together but Misato hopes it’s a coincidence and both sides simply acted at the same time.
Regardless, Bright is certain the Hakkeshu will be attacking us and Misato has an idea on how to deal with this. The Zeorymer’s their main target, so we quietly send it back to Last Dragon while we intercept the Hakke Robos ourselves. In other words, we’ll play decoy in order to keep the thing safe.
The Dragonar team asks what we’ll do about the Giganos; if the Gon Jem Squad shows up again, they’ll plow through random Fed soldiers who’ve yet to gain experience with their new bots. Kaine knows that the three Dragonars are still the main target to those guys, so why not deal with them ourselves?
Fair enough, Misato tells the Dragonars to get on standby – as soon as we’ve confirmed where the Gon Jem team’s at, we’ll be sending them over.
This means our team’s effectively being split into four: Dendoh plus the Gundam Fighters will go with the Nadesico, the Dragonars plus Mazinger Team will intercept the Gon Jem squad, the Nahel Argama plus Gundams, EVAs, RahXephon and Raideen will take the Hakkeshu and the Getter Team, Kazuya and Hugo/Aqua will guard the Zeorymer.
Sounds good to Bright, so he tells Misato to inform everyone and have them initiate their respective missions ASAP.
This isn't a route split, mind. The game can limit the units you've available even in these free-select stages... another warning for you not to neglect people.