Part 90: Mission 26 (Setsuko) - Hong Kong City
Chapter 26: Hong Kong City
It's already late; Kamille assures Shinn that looking for him was his own decision and Shinn doesn't have to blame himself. "Who said anything about that?" sputters Shinn.
Kamille also asks Shinn to play along with his story that they were just seeing the sights and lost track of time. Shinn agrees, since he's in the same position Kamille is; he did promise he'd protect Stella, after all. "I guess she was kind of weird," says Shinn, smiling at the thought, "but she's a good kid."
But what's that coming in over the port?
Buran orders his team to start burning down some warehouses, hoping it'll draw ZEUTH out. But what about Stella and her search party? "Here's a tip, Auel," smirks Neo. "Be prepared to wait for women to get ready. Particularly Four."
Ben wonders if Buran didn't misstep letting Rosamia and Four after Stella? Buran assures him that Cyber-Newtypes, and more than that, young women, need a break sometimes to avoid imbalance. (Though, says Ben, isn't reconditioning different between Cyber-Newtypes and Extended?) He assures Neo, though, that he needn't worry about Stella imposing on his women. Neo's glad to have such a reliable commander by his side.
: All units, open fire! But we have to maintain our image, so keep civilian casualties to a minimum!
: Man, what a pain.
: Neo said "to a minimum," right? So it's okay if you happen to hit some.
: Hey, you're right! Cool, I don't have to hold back!
The attack makes Shinn mad; Kamille sees that they're trying to bait ZEUTH. Unfortunately, Auel and Sting see them, and the ZAFT red, and start edging over their crossfire...
But a pilot in an orange suit leaps in and drives them back! He introduces himself as Heine Westenfluss, and he's in ZAFT's latest model, the Gouf Ignited.
Before we begin there's something nice and new I just now have access too!
You can head down to the Squad management screen from here, and from there you can actually customize the squads like normal. I can upgrade mechs and pilots and even do some pilot swapping. In fact, I'm going to do that now. Because a new mech has appeared in the hangers...
Secret Found!Behold, the Dijeh! By getting the average level of the Zeta Gundam characters up to 25, and then getting Amuro and Katz an average killcount of 25, you unlock this mech after Stage 25. It's a strong unit overall. And a great fit for Amuro I'd say. Expect him to be in this baby for a long time. One nice thing about it is that most of its attacks are ammo based except for its strongest, the Beam Naginata. This helps conserve attacks with Amuro's Attack Again, and with a good 5 ammo in its ALL Beam Rifle there's plenty of options.
It should be noted that this secret is exclusive to Setsuko's path, you can't get this if you're playing as Rand. Which means there's no need to worry about ever using Katz Rand Players.
Random fact: The Dijeh actually isn't in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation. Amuro never uses it in the films, only in the original TV show. So, technically, this is the only unit in a SRW game that's from a series not listed as in the game.
So in you go Amuro, you earned it.
Emma hopes in the Black Mk-II, while Katz takes the red Rick Dias.
ZEUTH is also here, giving Kamille and Shinn their chance to get to safety. He's come to side with ZEUTH, but not right now, since his machine is acting up. He turns over the battlefield to us.
: Toga, Eiji, this is your new penalty. Keep your heads in the fight.
: The penalty is irrelevant. We have deployed, and now we will simply destroy the enemy with prejudice.
: And that's the same kid in the dress?
: Is it just me, or do we have a lot of boys like that around here?
: Miss, please...Let's get serious though; we're up against the Phantom Pain, including the stolen Second Series, a new Mobile Armor model, and the saucer MAs from Orb. And this is the group that's been hunting us, personally. But that's not going to stop us! Toshiya says the
super robots will brawl with the Mobile Armors; Amuro will take the Mobile Suits right at the enemy commanders!
: (If you say you've changed, Lt. Amuro, then show me.)
Setsuko's just come out of melee training with Tetsuya, and she's ready to put it to the test.
Neo foresees a very interesting battle ahead with this crowd. "All units, attack! Show them the newfound might of the Phantom Pain!"
OK! We're ready to go. The Battle Mastery hasn't been revealed yet but the clock is still ticking!
Anyways, I'm a bit tired of Space Battle:Raid for Every. Single. Zeta Gundam. Character.
So I give Amuro and Quattro Turn A Turn, because why not?
First turn it spent just moving everybody forward, the flying units positioned to move over that bit of water that juts into the pier.
A few enemies approach on their phase, but they basically miss my Mobile Suits and get smacked.
OK now I cast Accel to get everybody
As usual the best thing to do first is to clear out the center formation guys with TRI Charges.
Counter kill fodder now.
Athrun moves up to strike!
Athrun isn't quite as hard hitting as Toshiya, but its pretty close. And of course these things have beam weapons. Lousy RNG...
The Gran Kaiser is still very fragile, so since its an event deploy alone I'm going to get Toga's Will up by picking off weakened enemies like this.
And that's one Squad down.
Let's show you what the Dijeh can do!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gs4GNGdiQk
"I owe one to the Titans, so I won't hold back!"
Amuro's not going to be the best with ALL attacks, not going to build him that way, but it's still fine for counters and handling weakened squads.
Quattro, on the other hand, is going to be pretty good with ALLs. Of course, he's just a bundle of conflicting traits aren't you Casval?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7c-H5yp45U
"When will the Titans understand that the Colonies and Earth are two separate lands?!"
And then Loran finishes that group off.
Joesph picks up another bit of Prevail from it.
And Kouji and Tetsuya take down another Titans group.
Kappei crosses over to take out one other guy.
I move up the ships to end the turn
These guy's aren't much of a threat at all.
Those pesky Mobile Armors are a bit more of a threat, at least. But my Super Robots have the power to give them a good smacking.
And hey it starts up Tetsuya's Mazin Power.
Annnd the Extended kids start moving up. The Named Pilots are a ton more dangerous.
: I guess it sucks for Neo to be stuck working for that Scirocco guy...: But what do I care? I get to do whatever I want!
Though, as Real bosses their main danger is in their accuracy and range. When Defending a Super can tank their hits easily enough.
: Our forces are equally matched... so the battle can hinge on a single skirmish!: I will win this battle with this Asshimar!
Thank you ALL attack damage reduction.
: The Phantom Pain is made of the best from all over the Federation's forces!: All units, look alive! Show them what it takes to be the elite of the New Federation!
Ow.
OK back to my turn. A bit of SP spent to heal up Tetsuya, and we're ready to start weakening a nearby punk.
Nothing like some good old fashioned face-melting.
Got to build up Will for the big boss coming up.
Nothing like a good old fashioned Vulcan finish!
Come on up Setsuko.
Athrun wipes out the Armor Squad and gets a new Spirit Command out of it.
* Boost(20) The caster's squad gains a one use +4 to movement.
Accel but better. Athrun can already move pretty far, but he can easily get 12 movement now. Hilarious. If only the Savior wasn't an energy guzzler.
Kappei goes to hit the other one.
Moon Attack punches through that barrier.
Sadly, I learn that Wide Formation doesn't do much with those things and that annoying barrier.
Fortunately Toga finishes it off.
Loran and Quattro keep cleaning up.
Gavane learns Support Defense 3.
Most of the grunts are cleared out or severly weakened now, so I end the turn.
Repeat for the rest of the phase until...
The girls are back! Neo wants to send his Cinderellas into action immediately.
Four is back, and Neo immediately has her bundled into her MA, which looks like a giant black Gundam. She makes Ben confirm for her the terms of their arrangement: if she carries out her service to the Phantom Pain, he'll make sure the Murasame Institute applies its memory-recovery treatment to her. Buran is darkly impressed that they're using a girl's memories as a bargaining chip; "that may actually be more cruel than just drugging her." And the fact that an amnesiac is commanding a girl after her own memories is not lost on Neo.
Neo tells Stella to back up Four. And she will, of course, but as much because Neo told her to as because Four came for her. Rosamia is also Four's wingman in her Gaplan.
Luckily, Kamille and Shinn are also deploying. Kamille feels something from that big black Gundam, but can't place it. Whatever it is, he can sure tell it's the enemy's primary weapon. We've gotta take it down!
(But Four is determined to get her memories back, and while Kamille put on a brave face, that pressure is still bothering him...)
Now the Battle Mastery comes up. By the end of turn 6, destroy the Psyco Gundam.
And oh yeah, Shinn and Kamille now have giant targets painted on their foreheads. Grand.
: So if I score the most out of the Federation's elite, that makes me the Federation ace!
: Okay, ZEUTH! You're all gonna be notches on my belt!
Try being actually able to hit Shinn first Sting.
Every single named character has targeted Shinn.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-
At least all that triggered Shinn's SEED.
Oh come on.
: Those from space will make the sky fall! So the world will be destroyed!: You're the ones in my nightmares!
And here you see me narrowly avoiding a reset.
Oh yeah
SECRET ALERT: Shinn must fight Stella this stage
: You brought your stolen mechs from Armory One all the way to Earth after us?
: Then I'll destroy them as a soldier of ZAFT!
And here you see me narrowly avoiding a reset twice in a row!
Four, at least, will immediately target Kamille, giving poor Shinn some respite.
SECRET ALERT: Kamille must fight Four this stage
: There it is again! That sense that...
: That pilot... is reaching out at me...: Could... could it be...?
First step on my turn is to heal up Shinn and Kamille.
With little left besides the named pilots, I'm not going to bother with them. I'm just going to blast down Four as soon as possible, so I dedicate this turn to moving people in preparation for the next.
I do give Toga another kill for triggering Gravion.
I get everybody in position, ready to pile on the thing. Setsuko and Luna are placed for me to get full use out of their Support Attacks.
Neo targets Shinn on the enemy phase, but he has Focus up, so he's safe.
: Having been placed on the front lines, I surely can't disappoint...
: I bet Mr. Scirocco doesn't see me as any more than a pawn right now!
Not much of a problem. Now that everything's set up, lets handle the boss and our goal for the stage.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Four Murasame - MRX-009 Psyco Gundam
Voiced by Yukana Nogami (Japanese), Carol-Anne Day (English)
Skills:
* Cyber-Newtype(Level 4) - Increases Hit and Evasion rates. The strength of the effect depends on the skill's level. Weapons that require the "Newtype" skill to be used can also be used with this skill.
* Counter (Level 5) - On the enemy phase, will sometimes attack before the enemy. Activation rate is determined by the skill stat.
* Guard - At 130 Will the character will take 20% less damage.
* Battle Spirit - Starting from the second turn, will gain 3 Will every turn.
Squad Leader Bonus
+1 range to weapons with 2 range or higher, with the exception of MAP attacks
So yes. The Psyco Gundam. If that's not an ominous name I don't know what is. It's big, and it's tough. It's L sized with a barrier so weaker attacks are just going to bounce right off it. Four can easily snipe you, so be glad she rushes straight towards Kamille if he's possible to hit. And, of course, she's very accurate thanks to her Cyber-Newtype skill. Thankfully she doesn't have Prevail or Blocking, both of those would make defeating the Psycho Gundam much more painful.
Analyze is the first thing to go up.
Then I bring out the God Gravion and put those five pilots to use. I cast Spirit, Snipe, Fury, and Accel all at once.
This lets me get it in the perfect position to attack and take advantage of Luna's Support.
: (Memories... the things that tell everyone else their life happened, I've lost.): (I have to fight... fight to get back my memories... and prove I've lived...)
That went better then expected, double crits and doing over 10k damage in a single action.
: All around that machine... the pilot's pressure is forming a barrier!: So you're the one in my head!
: If that thing is being controlled by a Newtype's power, it's too dangerous!: It'll just eat away at your soul!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8_to2y7mUE
: Lalah?! No... it's more aggressive...: He's reading my pressure! Another Newtype...
: So the Federation is using Psycommu weapons now...: Is this the role that the new age is forcing on Newtypes?
" Urgh...is the same thing happening again?!"
"A dark Gundam...would it be a Black Doll, then?!"
With Sense up, Kamille is ready to finish the job. Because...
SECRET ALERT: Kamille must be the one to defeat Four.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8_6q9_IZdg
Four's head is now killing her, and there's a hole in the Psyco's cockpit, though which Kamille can clearly see the pilot. Neo orders a full retreat. But Toga knows there's only one thing to do to a retreating foe. Kamille cries for him to stop...
The only thing that kept Toga from busting it wide open was Eiji, who fired the G-Attacker's jets mid-attack in an attempt to shift his aim. Toga asks what the hell he thinks he's doing, and Eiji asks it right back. Not only was that unit neutralized, but the pilot was a friend of Kamille's! But this argument will have to wait until we all pull back to the ships.
: Four, I never... I never would have thought you were in the Phantom Pain...
: Kamille...
: I can't imagine... finding out someone you knew was an enemy...
: ...
: Even in a new world, history is doomed to repeat itself...
On the ship, Eiji picks up right where they left off, and Toga stands his ground. Right in the middle of Eiji calling him heartless, he instantly brightens and asks if Eiji wants to do something tomorrow. Eiji follows up by asking if, say, one of ZEUTH was taken captive by the enemy, if Toga would shoot through them. Say, Leele's G-Shadow. Without hesitating, Toga replies that he would if he judged it was necessary to defend the Gran Kaiser.
Eiji slugs him.
Then he calls Toga a soulless fighting machine and storms off, leaving Toga in shock. It is, after all, the first time Eiji has ever actually connected.
The fight divides the rest of ZEUTH, though. Kouji would have stopped Toga if Eiji hadn't, but Tetsuya, trained soldier that he is, sees Toga's point. In battle, it's kill or be killed. Toshiya protests, but Julie also sees Toga's logic, at least. He can't say what he'd do in that situation; this is the sort of thing that demands a judgment call based on the particular situation.
Only Kappei feels sympathy for Toga. The way he sees it, Toga just can't understand the difference between attacking a Zeravire, a human, or anything else. Ray points out that in a battle to the death, there is no practical difference.
And Shinn? For the short time he knew Four, though not as long as Kamille, she looked just like an ordinary girl. "Looked" is the operative word to Amuro, though, since he's certain the black robot was managed by a Psycommu - a technology that enables the pilot to feel and control the machine by mental effort alone. But a Psycommu needs the power of a Newtype to operate. And Four is not simply a Newtype; by Amuro's reading, she's an artificial Newtype created by the Federation's technology. They must have been researching militarized applications of Newtype powers since the end of the last war in their own world, and Jamil said that in his own world, artificial Newtypes were already being used as weapons. And now, as Ray says, they've been deployed by the New Federation.
Kouji objects to the word "deployed," but Amuro finds it appropriate. Cyber-Newtypes are, after all, created as weapons, aren't they? As a soldier herself and deeply aware of the role of humans in waging war, Setsuko isn't comfortable being compared to a machine, but people are used as tools of war all the time; we already know that in Shinn's world, soldiers were enhanced by technology and drugs.
Kamille refuses to accept that Four is a cog in a war machine. "She's... Four's a normal, kind girl. She's a person, just like you and me." Amuro won't have any of it; that girl is the enemy. He needs Kamille to make his mind up by the next battle, and there will be one - even if his decision is to refuse to fight with the rest.
: Look, I'm sorry, but can you guys leave me alone for a while?
: All right. Stay for as long as you like.
: Bye, Kamille.: ...Everyone leaves. Except...
: Kamille...: I asked you to let me be alone.: And when I'm in the same position, you can't stay away.: Shinn...: I know you're confused... but I don't think this is just your problem.: If that girl Four is in the Phantom Pain, I'm betting so is Stella...
: ...: (I met Stella before, back in Armory One...)
: (Going by today's battle, she's... probably the pilot of the Gaia...)
Beltorchika catches Amuro in the hall; she was listening to the whole thing. As new crew, she says she has to have a grasp of the team dynamics on the Argama.
Amuro tries to push past her. She tries to grab him, and he recoils. But not before she feels him trembling like a leaf.
: Pitiful, isn't it? Giving Kamille a lecture in this state...
: Amuro, you...: I just don't want him to end up like me and Lt. Quattro...: No one should have to go through that ever again...: (He's been fighting all along... with his own past...): (Is this Amuro Ray's strength? The thing that makes him fight?)
Let's meet Heine properly, now introduced as an agent of FAITH assigned directly to the Chairman. His first act is to get Athrun to ease off on "Captain Westenfluss." He wants all the soldiers down to the greenest rookie to call him "Heine." Unfortunately, the Gouf Ignited seems to be malfunctioning, so he won't be able to join us on the front lines. (AKA: Banpresto couldn't pay enough for his celebrity voice actor so he's not playable.
)
Why is Loran at this meeting, though? Heine knows he's of the Moonrace, and to be honest, the Chairman is quite glad the Minerva has one on its roster. It was his personal wish to have Loran present when his message was delivered. (Loran's having trouble processing all this; Guin is quite proud.)
What's the news that was so important that Durandal sent one of his FAITH agents to deliver? Talia opens it and almost drops it in surprise. But it's not an unpleasant surprise: Chariman Durandal is pursuing an alliance with the Moonrace! It seems he and Blex are trying to unite all those who live in space against the New Earth Federation. A sort of Space Alliance, if you like. Joining Plant with the Moonrace is only the first step, but Loran wonders if Kiel will even hear of it.
As a gesture, Durandal intends to come to Earth personally to meet with Diana Soleil. Braving the Rivalry Zone certainly is a grand gesture of faith, and he's bringing Lacus Clyne with him.
(But Quattro sees that if Axis comes to this new Space Alliance at the wrong time, it could make the war worse. Or does Durandal know that?)
Anyway, our current plan is to rendezvous with the Diana Counter in Garnahan, in Gallia, and then escort it to Gibraltar. Loran makes a note to tell Diana that he's found out the location of the Soleiyu...