Part 51: Post-Mission 13 Intermission and Mission 14 - Prologue

Still not a whole lot of cash after that last mission…would it have killed Aqua to have showed up as a mini-boss? Bah. Here are the current aces:





BP Upgrades:


Kazuma keeps following the mixed-attacker build and gets 2 points in Melee and Shooting.



Duo spends his 3 points in Melee.



Gai does the same.



Mike’s attack songs count as Shooting attacks so he gets 2 points there and 1 more in Evasion.



I changed my mind after taking this screen and forgot to switch it; Kogane got 2 points in Melee and 1 in Defense.


Skill Parts:


I never said I would be giving these to Kouji or Ryouma soon! Gai still gets the Infight.



Heero gets another Gunfight.


Unit Upgrades:


Blade’s weapons get a boost.



Wing Zero gets 1 extra Mobility and Weapons. I remember that I have a consumable handy and sell it for extra 5k bucks.







All of the Three Angels girls get 1 point in EN and one in Mobility.



The remaining cash goes to Shin Getter, boosting his HP and Armor.

With all that done, then, let’s get the story going:




Kazuma tells the ship's log that the weirdest September he's ever had is almost over, and with it, the eerie silence the enemies have been maintaining.
He's reached a milestone in his own training, with Noin and Mao giving him a passing grade - for now at least.



The Wärter have been busy cementing their back-up status, which is about to be enhanced further by the arrival of a new mech from the Photon Power lab.
While Kouji and the others rejoice, it seems Princess Fahra is not in good spirits.
Since she's already used to her life on Earth, it's unclear what the problem is, but Kazuma’s sisters are starting to worry...



Elsewhere, Dr. Hell is going megalomaniacal over an ancient Mycene relic he's just brought back online.
Honerva is glad she helped him unearth this new mecha-beast, and Dr. Hell promptly hands it over to Ashura with instructions to smite the hated Wärter once and for all.
As Ashura tenders the usual henchpersonly assurances, Honerva drily notes that it would be nice if Ashura would walk the walk too once in a while.
Ashura furiously points out that the Galra haven't exactly distinguished themselves in battle since coming to Earth either…so much for the “great and powerful empire”.



Sadak takes this as an insult against his emperor, but Honerva quiets him and allows that Ashura may have a point.
She figures the time has come to carry out a plan to wipe out Fahra and the Golion – and unlike a certain meathead (i.e. Ashura), she formulates such plans well in advance.
Dr. Hell apparently likes the sound of this, and tells Ashura that his overreliance on him/her is at an end.
Ashura's life will literally be riding on this next mission's outcome.



Fahra is busy sharing her troubles with the Nadesico's captain, which might or might not actually be a good idea.
Fahra is fretting over the fact that not only is she not fighting for her cause, but her whole purpose for existing is no longer clear to her.
Akito is there too, and suggests that she not rush things - she's only been on Earth two months.



Yeah, and in those two months, the Galra have already joined forces with Dr. Hell and wreaked havoc on a global scale.
Unfortunately, neither of the people who gave Fahra the initial courage to find her own raison d'etre seem capable of lighting her next step.
Yurika apologizes for not being more helpful, but Fahra assures her it's her own fault for asking selfish questions.



Shirogane then shows up, telling Fahra that she is, indeed, being selfish.
The princess' entourage, of course, take umbrage, but Shirogane tells them to butt out.
Inwardly, Yurika and Akito note that, when Mister "Quiet" talks, it's seldom comfortable for the other party.
Fahra recovers her composure and asks how she's being selfish, and he draws her attention to all the troubles the Earth is facing: troubles your people have been busy fighting whether or not they want to.
It's fine for her to worry - but she ought to be acting, as well.



He's not talking about rebuilding Altea, but about defeating the Galra, which has to come first anyway.
He informs her that she can't depend on others' help for this one: as long as she does, she'll never find her own path across the battlefield.
She is to honestly confront her own heart if she wants to find her own way of fighting.
Raising her voice at last, she yells that she doesn't need him to tell her that, and he responds with a question: what is her fondest wish?
That would be restoring Altea to its former peaceful state, and it's clear who the biggest obstacle is: the Galra emperor.



Since that's so simple, Shirogane wants to know why Fahra's not fighting.
He mercilessly tells her that ever since the day they all fled Altea, she's become afraid of battle, prompting her to flee the room in tears.
Yurika carefully suggests to Raibul that since Shirogane seems to be right on the mark, he might want to give the princess some time to herself.
Hys, the nanny, demands to know who Shirogane thinks he is to address the princess so, and Shirogane tells her that he's the princess' collaborator.




Certainly, he's never become a member of her entourage of yes-men.
Hys of course doesn't like to hear that. Kogane meanwhile apologizes for having Shirogane play bad cop, but Kurogane knows as well as he does that the princess had to hear it from someone sooner or later.
He then explains to your incredulous crew that the gentle, demure princess they know is not what Fahra used to be like.
She used to yell at their pranks and charge right into battle alongside the Golion crew, only lapsing into this "princess"-like shell after the flight from Altea.



This is a testament to the severe shock she received, but these are times that won't permit someone of her royal blood from relying on her kind heart alone.
So long as she and Go-Lion serve as a symbol to those who resist the Galra, she's got to see her ideals through by force – a responsibility all your people share in their own way.
Shirogane reminds the other Go-Lion pilots of the oath they swore, to lay down their lives if need be to defeat the Galra.
He wants Fahra to regain the resolve she showed when she founded the Leo Union, and hopes to see her face, full of that fervor, once again.



Fahra has been wrestling with her feelings in a corner of the hangar, where she runs into Sayaka.
Sayaka is the happy recipient of a new robot to pilot: Venus A, which Yumi actually built to resemble Sayaka.
Fahra's eyes grow far away, and she confesses to being a bit jealous of Sayaka's family.
Her own father, King Raimon, fell in battle with the Galra when she was still very young, and the two girls apologize for spoiling each other's mood.



Sayaka recovers quickly, and happily muses that with her new mech, she'll finally be able to fight not behind Kouji, but by his side.
This has Fahra thinking again, and she asks if Sayaka is ever afraid of battle, of the immediate prospect of her or her loved ones getting hurt.
Sayaka is of course quite scared: she knows full well that any mistake could prove fatal; but there's no way Sayaka could just watch the rest of her friends giving their all from the sidelines.



Fahra realizes how deeply Sayaka cares for Kouji.
However, before Sayaka can stammer too much, Kouji shows up and enlists her help to unload the rest of the newly-arrived gear.
Before she goes, she tells Fahra that she believes people can overcome their greatest fears for the right cause.
That might be justice, love, duty, or other such things depending on the person, but everyone surely has something that can impel them to conquer their fear.



However, a more immediate problem appears in the form of Gamia Q, a servant of Dr. Hell, whose mission is assassinating Fahra.
Fortunately, Fahra is still in good enough shape to dodge the first shot, and Kouji yells at her to flee. Seeing Kouji's interference, Gamia withdraws for now.



Kouji explains to Fahra that that was one of Dr. Hell's killer androids - one that nearly claimed his own life before he became Mazinger's pilot.
Likely this one snuck into the base amidst all the chaos of the shipment of gear, and Sayaka tells Kouji that she's going off in pursuit in her new mech.
Kouji agrees, telling her to be careful.