Part 9: Mission 5 - The Legendary Ninja
We open up at the C-Terahertz, where Hazard’s right-hand man, Dog Tack, informs him that the Elshank has moved to and set down in Japan after the battle by Arkham City. Hazard is not pleased to hear this and Grathan asks what’s so bad about them being in Japan.
Well, you see, while the country’s part of the Union, it’s really built up its own national defensive capabilities due to their close proximity to the Human Reform League (HRL), and its ongoing quest for dominance of the Asia-Eurasia region.
Grathan finds it weird to hear that, since he thought this entire planet was united under the Federation, but Hazard explains that that’s merely the public stance of things. Under the tables, it’s still every country looking out for number one. Politicians scramble, desperate for things like permission to use the Orbital Elevators, or access to the Space Colonies’ resources and, of course, Hazard’s Martian Development Bureau.
Regardless, the fact is that Japan not only its own Self-Defense Forces and the Union’s bases, there are also plenty of civilian defense organizations as well. The Elshank moving in there has made things a bit more complicated.
Fine, then Grathan will take a bunch of Shamans and personally destroy them. Hazard sings his praises but, inwardly, notes the effort it took to have the Federation Government accept The Boom Army as an allied force. He might as well get some use out of them.
And the Elshank’s already reached JUDA Corporation, where president Ishigami bids them a warm welcome. Romina is deeply grateful to him for taking in fugitives like them, but Ishigami figures people should help each other in times of need. Now, he’s seen fit to prepare a bunch of sushi for the new arrivals and begs them all dig in.
And, hey, turns out Joe and the others really like it – this alone has made the trip to Earth worth the effort to Damian – but, as Mike notes, they never ate anything of the sort on Mars. Rennie does harrumph at them for not even introducing themselves, but Ishigami doesn’t mind. Please, eat to your heart’s content!
As for Richard, Shaff tells him that he and Saya are at the infirmary, checking on the downed Federation pilot.
: U-Urgh…
: OH! The gentleman awakes at long last! 
: ??? Um… Wh-Who are…?(Richard here speaks in a Rakugo style, a sort of Japanese comedic play. Even if I did translate it as is, it wouldn’t really click. Also, I was born without a penchant for comedy. So, with that in mind…)
: A grand day to thee, cousin! Mine name is Richard, classical actor. And this is mine most excellent apprentice, Saya.
: How dost thou, sweet lord?: Uh-huh…? Where am I?: Thou findeth thineself at the Corporation of JUDA in the land of Japan, mighty craftsmen of many a medical items!: J-Japan…?!: Ah, heaven lies on thine side, indeed! Thine metallic stallion, wounded though it was, eluded the grasp of Poseidon and came adrift upon these shores!: N-Now wait just a minute! I was shot down at America! Are you telling me I drifted across the entire Pacific Ocean, all the way to Japan?!: Verily, ‘tis as though God, the all mighty, blessed thee! Concern thineself not with such paltry things! Thine life is safe – all is well! : Aah…?: Hark, thine stallion doth be healed, kept within this castle’s stable. Thus, thou shouldst leave hither apace.: Whaat, just like that?!: Aye. The door beckons thee.: A-Alright, alright. You don't have to push me…!: But, still, I guess you helped me out there. Thank you for everything…: Fare thee well, gentle gentlemen!*Arnie leaves.*
: Hmhmm, that went swimmingly, if I do say so myself.
: Major, if I may?: What is it, Saya?: I can understand the need to impersonate someone, but was the classical acting truly necessary…?: Of course; it helps keep him confused and on the defensive. He might’ve been onto us if we gave him an opening, see?: Uuhh…?: (Is that true? It makes absolutely no sense to me…)
Already by the hangar, Arnie runs into Goro Maki and says that the classical actor sent him. The what, now? That guy, Richard. Ah, now Maki understands – Arnie’s the pilot of that robot, right? Yes, and is so glad to see that his Riot’s already been repaired.
Indeed, Maki saw to it himself, though he admits that it wasn’t easy – he’s never worked on an accelerated particle engine lacking any limiters whatsoever. Huh? What, Arnie doesn’t know? And he’s been piloting a mech as dangerous as this? But, yeah, Maki checked. While the norm is for units with engines like that to have limiters meant to keep the anti-particles under control, the Riot’s Proton Generator never had anything installed. It helps boost the engine’s output, sure, but from a safety POV… yeah, it’s not good.
Prof. Novel never mentioned anything of the sort to him or Jin, Arnie thinks. Maki figures maybe it’s a sign of how much confidence the bot’s creator had in his the pilots’ skill – or maybe there was another goal in mind?
Regardless, Maki’s just speculating. Still, he tells Arnie that he should be thankful to Ric—to the incredibly skilled pilot who shot him down. Had he faced an average enemy instead, both him and the Riot would’ve simply been blown to smithereens and that would’ve been the end of that.
Arnie, inwardly, is very confused at all this. First there’s that very suspicious actor, then there’s this mechanic that’s privy to confidential military tech. Is this really a medical company?
Turns out, no, it’s not. As Ishigami explains to Ylbora and Romina, that’s merely a front: in reality, they’re a defense organization working with the Japanese government. And why would such a group give shelter to aliens, Ylbora wonders. Ishigami will explain, in due time.
First things first, though, he would like to hear the story behind their voyage all the way to Earth. Romina tells that their homeworld, Planet Ladorio, used to be a beautiful world just like Earth; however, it’s been brought to the brink of ruin following The Boom Army’s sudden assault.
As Shaff remembers, they braved the fires of battle to secure and escape with the princess from their world. Romina’s father, Ladorio VII, was struck down by the enemy, though. “My father entrusted me with both the future of Planet Ladorio and three machines. And he said that none but Earth’s legendary ninja could deliver us from our plight,” Romina continues.
Wait, ninja? Really?! Yes, and what is clear to Romina is that only Earth’s ninjas could properly control the machines left by her father. But Joe and the others pilot those units just fine, no? Yup; Mike and Joe don’t really know the reason why, but they sure can do it (Ylbora fumes). Does that mean that Joe, Mike and Rennie are ninjas, Ishigami ponders?
Romina and the others also thought so at first, but Joe’s insistent that it’s all just a coincidence. For one, he’s never heard of any of the Mars colonists being even so much as descended from ninjas.
Truth be told, Ishigami notes that ninjas have long since become pieces of history, and that’s not what Romina wanted to hear.
That said, though Ishigami admits that it may be grasping at straws, he does note that Japan was the birthplace of Earth’s ninjas. If they look into legends and pieces of literature from those days, maybe they’ll find some bit of info that’ll help them? And, of course, Ishigami promises all of JUDA’s resources to help with that search. Romina is very grateful.
That all sounds too good to be true for Gameran, and he asks what the catch is. Nothing, nothing at all! JUDA’s workers are humanitarians through and through! … Okay, there’s just a tiiiny little thing. See, they’ve this project they’re working on and Ishigami would really appreciate if they could help with it.
A project? Yes, and the truth is…
We’ll have to find later, as Yui Ogawa, Ishigami’s secretary, steps in and says they’re receiving an urgent transmission from one Reiji Moritsugu. As he takes the call, Moritsugu says they’ve an emergency: a bunch of Martian-made units are headed our way!
Joe corrects that “Martian-made” bit – those belong to The Boom Army, the Elshank’s pursuers.
Bloody Linebarrels making me call everyone by their last name because it’s apparently OH-SO IMPORTANT to them…
I’m not getting blindsided again, but I don’t have to like it!
Mission 5 – The Legendary Ninja
: Hrmm, what a mess you’re in, Arnie… How am I gonna find my way back from frickin’ Japan?: I guess I should first try and let Maj. Graham and Jin know that I’m fine…
: Huh…? Aren’t those the units that helped us in the Arkham City battle…?
: This is a message to the Elshank and Princess Romina! We know you’re hiding around here!: I’m going to give you exactly ten seconds to show yourselves and surrender! If you don’t, we’ll burn this city to the ground and drag you out screaming!: Wh-What did he say…?!: What now, Mr. Ishigami? Whatever trick they used to pull it off, these guys have been accepted by the Federation as allies.: If you try anything against them, JUDA’ll also get tagged as rebels.
: Ahahaha. Oh, that doesn’t matter at all, Richard. Our company made a promise to the Elshank crew to help them in any way we could, remember?
: Sir Ishigami…: Moritsugu, Yamashita, I believe The Boom Army requires a display of how resolute we all are.
SRW UX - Linebarrel
: Understood, sir.
: You can count on us. It’s been a pretty long while since we had a legit fight, too.: Hmph, so you earthling worms are set on defying us, eh? And in that case…!
: Hrk… Th-That’s insane! They’re bombing the urban areas…?!: Saya, we’re also getting out there!: Wait a moment, Major! That Federation unit’s approaching!: What?!
*Arnie blasts towards The Boom.*
: Can you hear me?! This is Ensign Berge of the North American Alien Interception Team!: Aah? What in blazes is he...?: Requesting confirmation of chain of command! Under whose orders are you committing this atrocity?!
: That idiot…!: Blah, noisy little bug!
: Urgh…!
: Are you trying to get yourself shot down again, moron!?: …?! I-It’s the UX unit from before…! What’s it doing here?!: If you don’t wanna die, then get lost! Are we clear?!: (And I’ve heard that voice before, not too long ago. Wasn’t that…?!)
: (There’s the UX jet and even the alien units… What’s going on here…?!): Hmhmhm… and the rats come skittering out their holes! All troops, attack!
: Your romp through our Earth ends right here, The Boom Army!
Kill everything, don’t lose anyone. You gotta be a bit careful here because Arnie’s a neutral AI controlled NPC, right up front, and he’ll readily dash towards the enemy (he won’t attack them, but they’ll attack him) – a recipe for a Game Over. You’ll want to send your guys up there ASAP and start culling the enemies’ numbers, so make liberal use of Saya’s Tailwind spirit, or load your particularly slow units aboard the Elshank to give them a lift.
To keep things simpler on you, make sure your troops don’t do ANY damage to Grathan; focus instead on killing all other enemies. You’ll thank me later.
No secrets today, but always remember that the Elshank bots still need to add up 150 kills.
Vardant (Reiji Moritsugu)
Pilot Skills:
Factor (ファクター) – enables and boosts the Machina’s in-battle regeneration in proportion to their D-S.O.I.L. rate (check under the pilot’s kill score).
Prevail L3
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Counter
Predict
All Attack L1
Command L1
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Sense
Mercy
Mech Features:
Sword
Gun
Shield
10% HP Regen
Squad Bonus: Crit rate +10, mobility +5 (Crit rate +20,Mobility +20, S in Air, Movement +1)
Moritsugu’s voice actor: Yuichi Nakamura again
Hind-Kind (Satoru Yamashita)
Pilot Skills:
Factor
Prevail L1
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands:
Scan
Invincible
Mech Features:
10% HP Regen
Reflector Cores – set a 3x3 AoE anywhere in a 2-7 range. Any enemy caught within will have their final hit/evasion reduced by 30%. Costs 30 EN.
Squad Bonus: Armor +100,HP +500 (Armor +150, HP +1000, Accuracy +10, Range +1)
Yamashita’s voice actress: Miyuki Sawashiro (other roles: Rico and Nico in Masoukishin, Tycho in Diebuster, Rin in Majestic Prince and tons more)
And here are our first two Machinas in the game, each serving a specialized role. The Vardant is all about closing the distance and slashing the enemy with its billion swords, while the Hind is meant to hang back and snipe away/debuff using the Reflector Cores (which are pretty dang useful, as you can see).
Now, to address the elephant in the room: the Factor skill. Previous SRWs may have trained us to think the regen procs only at the start of the respective turn, but the Machinas decided to switch that up for UX.
See, while they will still regen 10% HP every turn, they’ll outright regen a portion of ANY damage taken immediately after the battle is over. This is calculated by the formula Regen = (D-S.O.I.L. rate /2)%*Damage taken (I do understand that that’s an anime term, but it’s easier to refer to it as such), maxing out at 75% when the rate is at 150.
As for the D-S.O.I.L. rate proper, every Linebarrel pilot will start at a particular baseline (+1 for every 10 levels under their belt) and it’ll increase after certain occurrences. The list goes:
Take damage from enemy = +2
Deal damage to enemy = +1
Destroy an enemy = +1
Dodges or nullifies an enemy attack = +0
The enemy dodges or nullifies the Factor’s attack = -1
Finally, Moritsugu’s baseline D-S.O.I.L. rate is 60, whereas Yamashita’s is 40.
With all that done, as we move onward and Arnie gets his first action:
: (What now…? I’ve been ordered to destroy the alien battleship and the UX units, but… the Federation’s allies are clearly in the wrong here! Damn it, what should I do…?!) SRW UX - Love Survivor
SRW UX - Linebarrel: The aliens’ rampage can’t be allowed to continue. We’re going, Vardant.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6aMm-iBKwI
“A drone, meaning I don’t need to concern myself with any pilot’s life. And in that case…”
SRW UX - Linebarrel: Okay, how about I give these ETs a taste of what the Hind-Kind and I can do?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShGTZQwf_dY
And since I’m showing stuff off, here’s Joe’s best non-combined attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPvvEEBj4D8
It doesn’t take much to kill all the Banks and Shamans.
: Rrrgh, blast you all! Now you’ll learn what it truly means to stand against The Boom Army!
: Waaah! Th-They’re bombing the whole city again…!: Tsk… those sons of a…!: Mwahahaa! Burn everything! We’ll hammer the horror of our forces deep into the Earthlings skulls!: This is horrible…! Something like this doesn’t even deserve to be called “strategy”!: I took a vow as a Federation soldier to protect the lives of the people… I won’t turn the other cheek to this! I can’t!
*Arnie blasts after Grahan.*
: ?! The moron’s at it again?!: Stop! What’s the point in any of this?! Pull your troops back right now!: Rrrgh, out of my way!
: Aaargh!!: What the hell’s that guy doing…?!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FNGwnYryds
: What?!: (The alien unit… it shielded me?!)
: Urgh… This ain’t good! That last attack wrecked my control systems…!
: Joe?!: Mwahahaha! Now what a nice gift this is!: You’ve given me more than enough headaches these past battles… but now’s time to cut out the root of that problem!
: Gaaaaah!: Joe…! Hold on, Joe!: Goddamn it…!: Now, DIIIIEEEE!!
: ?! W-Was that…?!
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!
: It’s that mech we saw at Arkham City…?!: Tobikage…! There it is again!
: …
x5
: Uuurgh…! Wh-What in Annex The Boom’s name is that machine…?!: W-Wow...! What kind of pilot’s aboard that thing to pull tricky moves like those?!: (Its movements are like…)*Beep, boop!*
: Yamashita, your Reflector Cores! Scan that unit if you would!: Y-Yes , sir!*Scanning…*
: Wh-What the…?! There’s no one piloting it?!: (I knew it. That unit is…!): …*Tobikage flies towards Joe.*
: Wh-What…?! What’re you doing, Tobikage?!: …!
: Whoa! H-He…?!: Tobikage and the Kurojishi…!
: Combined…?!
: Wh-What’s up with that…?!: I get what you mean, Tobikage… You wanna fight with me, right?!: If that’s what you think, then I’m game! Let’s tear this bastard up!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKrjEQKXVXQ
You can kind of see Tobikage hanging right under the lion’s belly!
: GRAAAAARGH! This… This is impossible!: Now! All troops, engage and drive out the enemy!: Aye, aye, Moritsugu!: (I’m a soldier of the Earth Federation Army… They’ll court martial me if I cooperate with the enemy…): (Still, I… as another human being, there’re some things I just won’t tolerate!)*The Riot now faces left!*
: (Did he… He’s on our side now?!): Come on, Tobikage! We’ll show them what we’re all about! 
So here’s another thing Tobikage can do, and by doing so, it’s given the Kuroshiji a boost to all its stats, as well as access to a different movement. On the flip side, its squad bonus no longer increases melee weapons’ power (it now boosts crit rate), which is less than ideal.
Still, the extra firepower should help offset that. Also, at 130 morale, Joe gains access to
Skeleton (Grathan Glin)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L2
Support Attack L1
Command L1
Mech Features:
Sword
All-Canceller
Grathan’s voice actor: Houchu Otsuka (other roles: Gates in Full Metal Panic, Yazan in Z Gundam, Beck in Big O, Tap in Dragonar and SO many more)
Standard midboss fare, Grathan doesn’t bring anything to the table that you haven’t seen in past games. He’s accurate-ish, hits decently hard, is decently bulky, etc. etc. His best attack is range 1-2, mind, so you if you can hit him from beyond that, even better.
All-Canceller means forget about debuffs, of course, but that’s not a big problem here (remind me to check whether special commands like the Reflector Cores count as debuff weapons).
SRW UX - Shadows that Rend Darkness
SRW UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit: You’re supposed to be peacekeeping forces, not butchers…!: I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done…!
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!: I can’t believe the power boost the Kurojishi got after combining with Tobikage! Heh, now we’re cooking with gas!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vepQrrwXpmw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFG2QQXqj8M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNVWLnci1RQ
And now we go to town on the oh-so-weak mooks. Here are Romina, Yamashita and Moritsugu’s best attacks, plus their slick dynamic kills.
One turn as all we need to wrap up Grathan’s reinforcements and set our eyes on the man himself.
SRW UX - Love Survivor: You seriously chased us over here?! No girl likes a stalker, you know!: Whine all you want! I’ll pursue the Elshank halfway across the galaxy if I have to – I won’t stop until it’s captured!
: Damn it, Grathan, quit bugging us! : I will not! I’ve to make up for letting you escape in the first place!
Grathan taking big damage: “I-I can’t believe it…! Romina found real ninjas…?!”
SRW UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit: You’re allies of the Federation, aren’t you?! How can you do something as barbaric as this?!: Hah, and you think I care? We only have one goal here today: capture Princess Romina!
SRW UX - Love Survivor: There’s nowhere for you to run, Princess Romina! Now be a nice girl and surrender!: Silence! What I’ll do now is end you and lay my father’s – Ladorio VII’s – spirit to rest!
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!: You hounded us all the way to Earth?! Give it a rest already, Grathan!: I’ll wring out the life from your bones, Joe Maya! I swear it on The Boom Army’s name!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lalg8bYqwkI
Taking out Grathan gives us Hazard’s Favorite Athlete’s Foot Medicine (Defense and Ranged +10, Accuracy +5)… I don’t think I want this.
Oh, and I forgot Saya had words for him:
: Oh, a jet? That’s cute. Do you seriously think THAT can stand up to my Skeleton?!: Underestimate me at your peril. There are always ways to down an enemy!: Curses! I’ll get you for this!
: No other enemies detected in the area! The Boom Army has been repelled!: Haah, haah… We did it!
: Ah! Tobikage’s…!: …
: Still not a very friendly guy, huh? But he did save us again. : (If we take the Ladorio Legend to have been coded into Tobikage, then… that would mean that Joe really is…!): (The Ninja Legend, the three machines, and a mysterious robot that appears in their hour of need…): (How do all these pieces fit together, I wonder? This is looking to be rather interesting.)
Location: JUDA – Cell
: I can’t believe you were that Unknown Xtrikers’ pilot…: Sorry, Ensign Berge. I couldn’t handle keeping that shtick going...: The classical actor was actually a merc... that’s quite the twist.: One we wouldn’t have had if you’d just gone back for America like you were going to.: But, for whatever reason, you stayed… and then you got mixed in with us.: Those who know your secret must be killed, is that what this is coming down to?: Hahah, please. I know society calls us “Hell’s Executioners”, but come on…: We fight for a living, but we’re not barbarians.: But when you do fight, it’s only because someone’s paying you to, no?!: What about all the lives you take as a result?! How can you be fine with that?!: Well, if you’re going to go there, let me ask you this… What difference is there between us, mercenaries, and you, soldiers?: …?!: But I’m afraid I don’t have the time to philosophize with you. : You’ll have to play POW for a bit, so why not use that time to cool your head some?*Richard leaves.*
: …: (“What difference is there between mercenaries and soldiers”…?): (The army’s allied itself with monsters who didn’t even think twice before torching an entire town…): (And the ones who were willing to stand up them were the supposed alien invaders and mercs who take lives for a paycheck...) : (Which side is really doing what’s right…?)
Ishigami welcomes everyone back, and while Romina’s grateful for JUDA’s assistance out there, asks is he truly fine with what he’s doing, risking so much in order to help them? Speaking of, Ogawa says JUDA’s been receiving nonstop messages from pretty much everywhere: some are demanding an explanation about the previous battle, others are being very vocal about their discontent.
“Oh, dear, that sounds pretty bad,” Ishigami sighs (and I swear this is all verbatim). ”But, okay, I want you to relay this message to all of them: ‘eat shit’. Something to that effect is also fine.” Joe does a double take, but Ogawa isn’t fazed and sets out to comply.
Like Ishigami said, JUDA will do absolutely everything in its power to help the Elshank and he meant every word of it. Joe laughs and can’t really think of a retort to that; Damian is also impressed with Ishigami’s honor, and figures now they really gotta help with that project of this.
Ylbora yells, asking how Damian thinks he has the authority to make that call. “And you? How do you figure we gotta care about what you want, pal?!” Joe gets in his face, and it once again falls on Romina to split them up. She notes that both Joe’s and Ishigami’s teams are helping them out of the goodness of their hearts – they cannot order them around.
While Ylbora fumes in a corner, Joe wants to know what they’ll be doing. First things first, Ishigami wants to properly introduce us to Moritsugu and Yamashita – the JUDA employees who helped us in the last battle. They are the very special pilots of the units known as Machinas.
The Vardant and Hind-Kind aren’t the only ones, of course, and Ishigami tells Rennie that they can be found in various parts of the world – both the bots and their Factors, those with the necessary qualities to control one. And, as such, it is JUDA’s mission to locate and gather all those.
Location: Oota City – Park
*Punch!*
: Urgh…! (Furuya)
: Hah! Call in as many of you punks as you’d like, you still don’t have a chance against me!: O-Oow, I’m sooo sorry, Kouichi… I won’t do it again, I swear…: W-We’re cool, right?! We’re old friends, you and I…: …*Punch!*
: Yaaack?! Gch… my head…: Heheheh…: Hm… Yes, that’s right. The Machina hasn’t shown itself yet, but…: In regards to just his physical traits and overall abilities, I’d say Kouichi Hayase has quite a lot of potential has a Factor.: But in regards to him as a person…: (Hell, yeah, I’m strong! I’m… the strongest!)
: He is despicable…!