Part 6: Mission 3 (Rand) - Prologue

I’m gonna start splitting these updates into parts as they’re getting bigger by the day.
Today, we'll just look at the prologue but, first, a quick intermission.


Unit Upgrades:


King Gainer follows the same priorities as any attacking real in the game (he wants everything except HP and Armor), while the Panthers are too insignificant to be worthy of any meaningful upgrades.
I give them a small boost in pretty much everything to give them a bit of extra survivability and that’s that.


Pilot Training:


As I said before, you’ll want to buy Morale+ Dodge ASAP for Gainer (気力+(回避)) but he’ll also be the first pilot to get Attack Again (再攻撃).
This is a pretty broken skill in that, if the attacking pilot’s Skill stat exceeds the enemy’s by 20, he gets to Support Attack himself – this, of course, fits Gainer like a glove with his naturally high Skill stat and that Gamer skill boosting it further.



Now, for the benchwarmers; Sara, Gauli and Bello will never amount to anything outside of squaddie fodder, so we’ll build them accordingly: Backup Attack and then SP Up (ＳＰアップ) all the way.
SP Up does exactly what it says: it gives +5 SP for every level the pilot has (maxing out at 9) and it is especially useful when you give it to squadmates that are either support-oriented or that know Accelerate.



One final thing before we end. Why don’t we go over here and check out the Bazaar.




In the Bazaar you can buy or sell stuff in exchange for those Blue Stones you’ve been collecting from Breakers and Siberian Rail folks.
Keep in mind, the Bazaar isn’t always open so always check it out when you see it’s there.
At first, all that’ll be available are regular Unit Parts which take the top third of the list; below it you’ll find, respectively, Units and special Items – none of which are available right now.
For the time being, we’ll just spend 120 Blue Stones to buy an Apogee Motor part for King Gainer (Movement+1, Mobility+5) to cover his small range.


With that done, let’s get to the story!



Location: Siberia - Bachclone – Hangar



Sara and Bello are quite surprised at this turn of the events – to think that the same Gainer they knew in class was the one piloting the Overman.
Bello had him pegged for a game-obsessed flunky but figures he’ll have to revise his opinion now. Gainer, however, tells him to shut up as he’s not happy with this situation at all.
His teacher and classmates had all been in on this Exodus and because of them, he’s got wrapped up in this mess, forced to leave Wulgusk and made to wear this uniform!
Sara says that it’s standard-issue for members of the Gauli squad.



The fact is, he never wanted anything to do with any Exodus, which causes Bello to ask why he got into the Overman in the first place.
He mumbles that Gain tricked him into getting in it, claiming he'd never have gotten aboard the Overman had he known Gain was a Contractor (which he found out only too late). The truth is that he hates anyone involved in an Exodus.
Bello suggests he leave the Overman and run back to that Siberian Rail he loves so much, but he insists that King Gainer is his mech and, as much as he’d like, he can’t go back home just yet.



Garrod isn't impressed, and Kona the mechanic reckons that dealing with Gainer is almost as hard as servicing Garrod's Gundam.
She'll certainly do what she can, but warns Garrod that the right parts can be pretty hard to find on this continent. Still, she’s been asked by her bosses to do whatever she can, so she tells the “Gundam Boy” not to worry.
Hearing that, Garrod stares at her for a second which flusters the girl, who warns him that he better not fall in love with her or anything. It’s not that, though, just that, the way she acts reminded Garrod of a friend – someone who also called him “Gundam Boy”.
Regardless, Garrod figures he needs to talk some sense into Gainer before things get ugly (which actually annoys Kona that he’d leave so suddenly).
Gainer is trying to argue that he never showed any indication of wanting to Exodize while in school. Sara asks what DID he show, then, but Gainer bristles and dodges the question.



Up comes Gain himself, having heard Gainer try to claim that he tricked him into the Overman.
He seems sorry enough to hear that Gainer wants to split up their little team, and moreover disappointed that Gainer turned out to be one more domesticated sheep for THE MAN.
Once again, Gainer says that he hates Exodus, which causes Bello to tell him to go back home to his games, then. Gainer yells that he’ll be more than happy to do so, once he’s paid his debt to Gain.



Before he can explain what debt that is, alarms herald the arrival of Siberian Rail pursuers –as expected.
Sara and Bello prepare to deploy but Gainer isn’t budging. Bello figures, if he’s really that uninterested in Exodus, then he should just stay put – Sara and the others will fight to make sure it succeeds, though.
Quickly, they leave…

: I’m…
: You okay with this? Just staying in here all grumpy?
: You…you’re one of Gain’s friends…
: The name’s Garrod. I’m the pilot of that there Gundam.
: Just leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with an Exodus.
: The Exodus ain't what's important right now. Really, I came from another continent, so I can’t even wrap my head around stuff like that.
: Huh…?
: Still, don’t you think this is your chance to put on a good show for that Sara chick?
: …!
: I can tell even without you outright saying it. You like that girl, don’t ya?
: T-that’s…!
: Then, lemme just give you a bit of advice: if a guy likes a girl, he oughta do anything he can to protect her.
: Anyway, I’m gonna get out there! Then, it’ll be time for you to choose and make the right call!

*Garrod leaves.*

: …If a guy likes a girl…hmmm…


And that’s that. I’m already 65%-ish through the next mission, so I reckon I’ll have it all good to go by Sunday (at most, Monday).

See you all then!