Super Robot Wars UX Part #47 - Mission 19 - Judgment at Dusk

Part 47: Mission 19 - Judgment at Dusk - Part 1

Here we are again, and we’ve just lost both Kouichi and Moritsugu – they’re not available in our units list. The Deceive is deploying as an event unit, though, so we adjust accordingly:
Arnie/Ozma
Tsubasa/Canaria
Shinn/Klan
Liu Bei/Sun Quan
Guan Yu/Eida
Mazinkaiser/Soubi
Michel/Kenji
Alto/Fei-Yen
Mamoru/Sakura
Kazuki/Zhang Fei
Yamashita/Mike
Joe/Saya
Rennie/Luca
Tactician: Zhuge Liang

Here we go.

: Hayase! Can you hear us, Hayase?!

*Bzzzt.*

: Still nothing… we really can’t get in touch with him. My guess is the Linebarrel’s comm systems are being blocked.

: …

: Hey, Yamashita… was it really Moritsugu who did him in?

: Yeah… I made it over to their fight and saw everything…

: Moritsugu cut down the Linebarrel and left with it!

Like so!

: But why…?

: There’s only one possible answer: Mr. Moritsugu was the spy leaking JUDA’s classified data to Kiriyama.

: No way! He’d never betray us for him…!

: I understand how you feel, but we need to consider the facts… like, for instance, how he and Kiriyama have apparently been friends quite a while.

: …

: Gah, first Ylbora and now him? The hell is up with those guys?!

: But, if anything, we know that Ms. Kizaki is doing fine, so I think we can presume that Kouichi also is.

: …!

: Hm? How do you figure he’s safe because she is?

: By rights, Machinas only have one Factor – that’s a pretty universal rule among them…

: But the Linebarrel is unique in that both Ms. Kizaki and Kouichi are its Factors.

: Oh, that’s right. Machinas and the Factors share their lives, so…

: If anything happened to Kouichi, it’d also affect Emi due to their link with the Linebarrel.

: …

: But is it really that big of the deal that the Linebarrel has two Factors?

: As I remember, the Deceive also has two people piloting it, no?

: Sure, but that was a later modification that Mr. Maki made to the cockpit.

: Put it simply, a Machina having two folks inside is a whole different animal from it having two Factors.

: Hmm, yes, I can see why the Linebarrel is said to be special.

: But, in any case, this is still a very difficult situation we find ourselves in.

: Damian’s out looking for Kouichi, so I guess all we can do right now is wait until he calls back…

: (… Hayase…)

: Ah, the Linebarrel… Excellent work, Reiji.

: Please, it wasn’t any trouble.

: What a reliable man you are, Moritsugu.

: Now we just need to pry open the cockpit and drag the Factor out…

*Cockpit opens!*

: Haaaah! Moritsuguuu!!

*Punch!*

: …

: Ooh.

: Are you feeling better after that, Hayase?

: Wh-Why didn’t you try to dodge it?!

: Alright, settle down, little Hayase.

: Who’re you?!

: Eiji Kiriyama, president of Kiriyama Heavy Industries.

: You’re…!

: Easy, now. Before you get any ideas of punching me, I’ve something you should see.

*Beep.*

: That’s… my house! And Risako, and Domyoji’s…!

: You can see where this is going, yes?

: Whether your dear friends and family are still alive in the next hour is entirely up to you.

: You’re scum! What the hell are you after that you’d do something like this?!

: The Japanese people now look at JUDA Corp. and see it, and the UX, as a threat to their peace. And so my company – a company that personifies JUSTICE – steps into the limelight, ready to stand up to that threat!

: We’ll answer their worries and calm them down by bringing JUDA squarely under our control – plus the UX and the alien mechs, of course.

: “Personifies “justice”? Is that a joke, you sleazebag?!

: Hmhmhm… Not at all. I am a Champion of Justice…

: And I already have enough power to back that up, see!

: Th-Those eyes are…!

Cut to the Federation Parliament, the footage of the UX attacking the Martian Development Bureau’s units is making quite the splash with the generic members. The Elshank and its forces really ARE invaders! As the Union president watches in silence, Hazard says this proves that our people are openly acting against the Federation! Does Ronin still dare say that the Elshank and its people are friendly?!
The generics are buying it, and one of them says they can’t ignore JUDA either – that company is the UX and aliens’ co-conspirator. The parliament must endorse Kiriyama’s request and have the Federation Army send troops to help subjugate JUDA!
Klaus speaks up, asking everyone to calm down: it’s far too rash to mark JUDA as hostile with no other evidence than Hazard’s footage. Shirin agrees, and adds that she suspects said footage to be a fabrication from the Martian Development Bureau. Hazard objects to her nonsense and demands she present proof.

Well, surely he’s heard that Shirin and Marina were attacked by terrorists not long ago, yes? He does and remembers that the UX were behind it. Only, no, Marina says that the UX and Celestial Being were the ones who saved them from the attackers. Moreover, they have the testimony of one of the captured terrorists, who stated that the ones who orchestrated the attack was—
“The terrorist you speak of committed suicide in his cell yesterday,” Hazard cuts in. “And we have his last words on record: ‘We were under the UX’s orders’… Such guilt he felt over his crimes. The UX are truly a monstrous lot to have pushed a man over the edge like that.”
Shirin can do nothing but grit her teeth, as Hazard exhorts the parliament to make a decision. Surely they can see that evil forces like JUDA and the UX cannot be tolerated anymore, lest the Earth Sphere further plummet into chaos!

Hester speaks up, agreeing with Hazard’s point and declaring that JUDA Corp. must be disarmed immediately. A wise decision and, on that subject, Hazard also suggests that they send official investigators after Orb: Cagalli’s ties to the UX can no longer be disregarded as mere rumors, no?
And, for that matter, she’s coincidentally absent today. Where could she have run off to? “I’d like to propose a Federal Inquiry be opened in regards to Ms. Cagalli Yula Athha!”

Klaus groans that they got completely outplayed by Hazard, who’s now vying to oust Cagalli from power with that Inquiry. Ruri and the others had thought it best for her to hide, out of concern for her safety, but her absence today backfired massively.
As Ronin knows, Hazard and co. are planning to get the ball rolling on their “reform” of the Federation Army with JUDA and Orb getting taken out of the picture – and, if successful, there’ll be no one capable of opposing them. Is there nothing Marina and the others can do? For now, Shirin says, all they can try is to stall the establishment of the Inquiry commission.

Ruri herself will work the financial angle, getting in touch with all the various companies that support the various members of the parliament and try to get them to help us out. They need to buy as much time as can be to put together our counteroffensive against Hazard.
From what Klaus has heard, the Union President has an agent, Axel Hughes, conducting an investigation into things, but there’s no telling if that will find enough to sway the parliament. Shirin figures our best shot right now is Alex Dino – here’s hoping he’ll make it in time…
(In the EU Route, Shirin says Axel told her he’d be coming to Japan to try and gather more info. He’ll let her know if anything turns up, but the question is whether or not that’ll happen before it’s too late… Alex is still their better shot, though we don’t know how much he’ll be able to prod the PLANTs into action.)

Cut back to JUDA, Shirin informs Ishigami that they couldn’t stop the Federation from joining on the operation to subjugate the company. Still, he’s already grateful that they even tried. Shirin isn’t throwing the towel just yet, though: they’ll consolidate their efforts and stand against Hazard and co. as best they can. With wishes that she doesn’t do anything crazy, Ishigami ends the call.
Seems like Kiriyama’s attack on us is already a certainty and folks the world over will be joining in on the fun. Things are looking dire to Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu: whether we win this or not, we’ll be enemies in the eyes of all of society. “Why?! We have done nothing but fight for the sake of the people!” Liu Bei and Sun Quan are pissed, but it doesn’t change our situation.
Kurara watches on and, inwardly, doesn’t think we’re being untruthful. At the rate this is going, though, we’ll go down as villains anyway.

In the EU and JP routes, Zhang Fei/Kenji ponders that maybe Moritsugu saw this coming and decided to make a run for it. Guan Yu/Sakura slaps him upside the head, telling him to mindful of other people’s feelings (Yamashita). In the US route, Erebos sighs that this is just the time when Moritsugu’d be real useful if he was still around; Lux chides her tactless insinuations, but she wasn’t trying to insinuate anything…
Regardless, the question remains: if Moritsugu did turn against us, how are we going to fight him? The guy is crazy strong, as everyone remembers.

Yamashita’s been quiet all this time and while Shizuna understands that he took quite the heavy blow, he can’t stay bummed out forever. Yamashita shushes everyone – as it turns out, he was actually poking at Moritsugu’s personal computer, trying to restore the purged data.
Too much about this whole thing strikes Yamashita as weird. What does he mean? Wasn’t he the one who saw Moritsugu beat and take Kouichi away? “If you ask me, Hayase’s the one confusing me the most,” Yamashita says. Domyoji can see what he means: as hotheaded as Kouichi is, it’s very odd that he didn’t even contact us after Moritsugu turned traitor. While he was fighting the guy, he could still have sent us an emergency transmission.

Do they mean Kouichi intentionally didn’t contact us? “Did Hayase want to lose and get captured?” Kizaki wonders. That’s a possibility that Yamashita’s considering, which is why he’s probing Moritsugu’s computer for any clues.
And he’s got something! What is it? We don’t get to find out yet, but it sounds like it explains much.

: …

: What the hell are you thinking, Moritsugu…?

*Door opens.*

: Hello there. I’ve your meal.

: You… You were with Moritsugu and Kiriyama…

: Oh my, did you forget about me already? After everything we’ve been through? You’re breaking my heart…

: Huh…?! Wh-What are you talking about?!

: Hmhmhm, my voice still doesn’t ring any bells… honey?

: Ho…ney?

: Waaah! You! You’re with the Katou Organization! What’re you doing here?!

: A woman has plenty of secrets, you know. Here, have a little somethin’ somethin’.

: …?? What’s this?

: Oh, you were just so cool and manly when you punched Moritsugu…

: So I figured I’d bring you a small treat for that.

*She leaves.*

: A treat…?

: “I-Investigation Report – Reiji Moritsugu”…?!

: … Good luck to you, then. Make sure the entire world gets to see all of JUDA’s plans.

: I will, and thank you for your support of the media’s work.

*Kiriyama leaves.*

: You sure about this? I really don’t like obeying that shifty-looking fella.

: Oh, it’s fine. You never know what might be waiting around the corner…

: Huh, feeling pretty peppy today, aren’t we?

US route only:

: Besides, this’ll help us inch closer to the truth, too.

: Agent Hughes has already started his investigation here in Japan, so we should do some work of our own.

Back to common ground:

: If only those guys were around right now…

: What guys…?

: Eerr… Wait, who was I talking about?

: Hahah, are you feeling alright? Have I been working you too hard?

: …

: (What’s going on…? I feel like I’m forgetting something really important…)

: … Yes, the people at JUDA are objecting to that footage as a fabrication.

: No, from what I saw of them, I wouldn’t say they’re lying…

: … Roger that. I’ll carry on with my investigation.

*Boop.*

: Hmhmm, so your gut tells you they’re innocent?

: …?!

*

: Hey, hey, a gun’s no way to greet a person. Isn’t that right, Ms. “Hiromi Tachi” of JUDA’s secretarial staff?

: Or perhaps I should call you Ms. Kurara Tachibana of Metro PD’s public safety division?

: … Who are you?

: A professional colleague, you might say. At the very least know that I’m on your side.

: And why did you reach out to me?

: I’m just trying to figure out the truth. The world depends on it, you know.

: So I figured that, maybe, you’d be keen on a little intel exchange?

: …

: (His bearing… he’s a trained man. He must be with some intelligence agency… and, if so, there might be no harm in talking with him.)

: It’s not too great for us to stand out here talking, I think. How about I get you something to drink? I know a great coffee place not too far from here.

: Fine. But if you ever approach me from behind again, you’ll be getting a bullet instead of coffee.

: I’ll keep that in mind.

: Damn it, I don’t have time to be twiddling my thumbs here…!

: I gotta get out and tell everyone about this…!

*Door opens.*

: Yo, Kouichi. You’re doing okay, I take it?

: D-Damian…?! How did you get here…?!

: What do you mean ‘how’? I used to roll with the Martian Guerilla, remember? I could sneak in here blindfolded.

: But never mind me. I’ve got something important to tell you.

: Something important…?

: Yeah, those folks Kiriyama had watching yours, Risako and Domyoji’s homes? JUDA’s intelligence department’s taken care of ‘em.

: Really?! Ah, that’s a relief...

: But… how did you know they were watching our homes? Or that I was locked away here, even?

: Yamashita poked through Moritsugu’s computer and what he found in there explained pretty much everything.

: On Moritsugu’s...? Then that file was right and he really is…!

: Kiriyama’s already starting his attack on JUDA, meaning he and many of his troops are headed that way. Your orders are to trash this place while they’re gone.

: Trash this place… What, just me?

: Nah, relax. You’ll have a real powerhouse of a partner and he’ll be here any second now…

: Waaaaaaah! Th-The hell…?!

: *cough, cough*...! Making your entrance by busting through a wall… overkill much?

SRW UX - Linebarrel (Full Intro)

: That’s… the Vardant?!

: Apologies for the delay, Hayase…

: “Apologies”…? Wait, you’re that powerhouse partner he mentioned…?!

: I did open up saying you were going to have to fight with me, no?

: …

: Argh, you little… If this is what you mean, you should’ve said “fight together with me,” dang it.

: Hah…

: There’s a whole lot I want you to explain, but that can wait ‘til later…

: I’m really ticked off today, and I feel like going ballistic around here!

: Come, Linebarrel!

Mission 19 – Judgment at Dusk

: Alright, boys and girls, I do hope you’ll put up a good fight. This is my TV debut, after all.

: It’s that unit that attacked around my village…!

: So it’s the Katous up first, huh? Battle stations, everyone!

: We can easily handle their Armas with our Nerve Crack!

: Right on, don’t cut ‘em any slack! Give those guys a real nasty one!

: If I may hazard a guess, the Katou Organization is likely only trying to stall us until Kiriyama and the Federation’s forces arrive.

: Troops, try and preserve as much resources as possible in anticipation of enemy reinforcements!

Kill everything, don’t lose the Deceive or a ship. Same fight we’ve had with Yulianne already but, as Kongming said, we’ll have more stuff incoming. Same map as the previous mission, so have fun driving your guys across that bridge again.
As usual, just be mindful about Yulianne debuffing your armor and everything’ll be fine. If I wasn’t recording convos, this is precisely the moment where I’d send the Fafner kids up top and let them all take kills for their secrets.

SRW UX - Linebarrel

And right on the next enemy turn…

Over by Tokyo, Aoi’s watching Isabelle report on the battle between JUDA’s mechs and the troops sent after it.
All this robot-on-robot action is giving her some major déjà vu, as Isabelle relates that JUDA Corp. has, indeed, shown itself to be a front for a terrorist organization! “Urgh, I’ve got nothing…! Why do I always have this nagging feeling that I’m missing something?!” Aoi groans. “Just what is this unease I’m feeling in my heart…?”

SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens

SRW UX - Life Goes On

SRW UX - Linebarrel

: Hell are you doing here?! Did the Katou Organization sign up as Kiriyama’s goons now?!

: That would be telling. A bit of mystery adds to a woman’s charm, you know.

SRW UX - LOVE 14 ver. HD

: How about I teach you what human sensuality is about, robot girl?

: Um, no, I t e n d to pass on people that are full of themselves, thanks.

: You cheeky…!

SRW UX - The Eternal Soldiers

: Oh, dear, so it’s not a demon today but the big, bad devil? Maybe you could go a little bit easy on me?

: Do what now? Who d’ya think you’re talking to, eh?

: If you think batting your eyelashes at the devil will give you an edge, prepare to be disappointed!

SRW UX - Linebarrel

: You figure you can take us on with the Linebarrel and Vardant gone, granny?!

: …

: You call a lady a granny, you better be ready for the consequences…!

: This should be good enough, I think…

: Now let’s just hang back and see how things pan out.

: That looks like the last of the Katou Organization’s Armas, but…

: Right. Now comes the main event…

Alarm!*

: We’re picking up several heat signatures on radar! They’re headed this way – fast!

: There he is…!

: Time to roll up the sleeves and get to work. Let’s see how you’ll fare against the Jinrais and my Machina, the Pretender.

: A Machina…?! Eiji Kiriyama’s a Factor too?!

: I’m starting to get the picture… He built the Jinrais around his Machina’s tech.

: Now how about we get this Christmas party started?!

: Aaaah!

: Hrk… Damn, the folks piloting them Jinrais have been really well trained!

: N-No, that’s not it! There’s… There’s no one aboard those!

: Huh…?! Do you mean those…

: Are all being remote-controlled…?!

: Hah, now ain’t that some good news! If those’re drones, we just gotta take out their control systems…!

: Ah, I get it. We’ll use the Nerve Crack to overload them with fake inputs…!

: Oho, I don’t think so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs7b-XeOpl4

: U-Uwaaaaaargh! My… My arms!

: What’re ya on about, Izuna?! Your arms are fine!

: Wired Nerve Cracks are so passé. They don’t hold a candle to wireless ones.

: What…?!

: Let me spell it out for you. My Machina’s called Pretender, but that’s just something of a codename.

: It’s actual name is… Deceive IV!

: De-“Deceive”…?! Then that attack just now was….!

: W-Wireless… Nerve Cracks!

: What will you do now, my friends of JUDA? If you choose to surrender, that’d be fine…

: But, personally, I’d much rather you kept on fighting – just so everyone could see what miserable fools you are!

: Not good…! All troops, cover the Deceive! Cut the enemy’s party short!

And now we get to walk aaall the way across the pond again to make it to Kiriyama’s posse. The Jinrais, of course, are made of studier, dodgier and stronger stuff than the Katou Armas, but they’re ultimately still mooks. Make good use of Luca, Yamashita and whatnot to boost your numbers if you wanna really play it safe and command auras aren’t cutting it.
The Deceive’s immobile thanks to Kiriyama’s attack and losing it means a game over, but that’s only a problem if you’d let it parked by JUDA, whereupon the enemy can reach it in decent time. I brought it all the way to attack Yulianne, so it’s far out of Kiriyama’s range.

Pretender (Eiji Kiriyama)
Pilot Skills:
Factor
Prevail L4
Support Attack L2
All Attack L1
Hit & Away
Mech Features:
10% HP Regen
Kiriyama’s voice actor: Sho Hayami

Kiriyama’s actually a dang good pilot, with a special focus in accuracy and evasion (though, like Masaki, his stats aren’t as absurdly high as they were in L). The Pretender itself is rather dodgy and offers decent range, though his best is only 1-3; mind you, what you really wanna watch out for are his 2-6 Nerve Cracks, which’ll apply morale and SP down, and HALVE all your stats. Thankfully, its accuracy modifier is only +10.
Being evasion-focused, however, means the Pretender isn’t too bulky and will easily fall in a single round of concentrated fire – just avoid rolling the dice with some liberal Strike/Focus casts.

SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend

SRW UX - Obelisk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWlOqCvQ0rw
Alto sets it up with his Beam Cannons, and Kiriyama’s prized prototypes catch a bad case of leekage.

SRW UX - Obelisk

: Ho-hum, is that really the best you’ve got…?

: This is bad…! We gotta turn this around or…!

: …

*Beep.*

: Damian, how are things going over there?

: We pretty much have taken over Kiriyama Heavy Industries!

: The Linebarrel and Vardant are leaving right now – they’re headed your way as fast as can be!

: They’re leaving only now… How’re they gonna make it in time?!

: S-Sis… take the Deceive’s controls…

: Huh? What’re ya up to, Izuna…?

: We’re not winning this by being picky with our options…!

: And in that case…!

: Gaargh… Aaaaaah… AAAAAH!

: You shot the Nerve Cracks into yourself…?! But if you do that—!

: Look at that… Thrown caution to the wind, have we?

: He wants to overwrite the enemy’s mental attack with one of his own?!

: But that’s too much for anyone’s mind! Izuna’ll…!

: F-Forget about me… We need to… keep this place safe…!

: B-Besides… I’m sure that Hayase… will come help us…!

: Izuna, you…!

: Let’s go… Deceive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu13mBmklb4
Izuna: “You say wired Nerve Cracks can’t beat wireless ones…? How about we put that to the test?!”
Kiriyama: “Huh… That’s surprisingly good for an antique…!”