Part 153: Mission 37 (Setsuko) - Prologue

Setsuko Route Chapter 37 Prologue


Last time on Super Robot Wars Z: Stella. Four. Everything sucks forever and Kira is a jerk.

Current Top Aces:

1. Setsuko - 123 Kills
2. Amuro - 99 Kills
3. Shinn - 90 Kills
4. Quattro - 81 Kills
5. Talia - 80 Kills

I think what's more impressive is that Talia doesn't have more kills with how I use the Minerva's MAP whenever possible.


Miashey learns Refueler, and Löwen picks up Guard.


Setsuko hits Level 8 for SP-Up.



And here's the upgrades for this stage. Most importantly Kouji is invested in quite a bit.



And today's a special day at the Bazzar!


Namely, parts will sell for more then usual. Remember how I bought a bunch of consumables on sale? The base price of these is 30. I bought them for 10, and now I'm selling a bunch of them for 40.


Using my newfound Blue Stone wealth, I buy this Barrier Field.


I realize that Shinn's had a needless Screw Module on him forever, and I don't think there's going to be any major water stages from this point on. So instead he gets a fresh Inertial Control System.


The Dijeh's given a High-Spec Radar. So I can Beam Naginata things that much easier.


Barrier Field 1 goes to Bright, and the second goes onto the TFO, not so much for Maria's sake. But so she can share it with her squadmates.


Then I swap out the TFO's High-Spec Radar for a Linear Seat. Pretty much everybody is fully loaded up with parts now. I need more units.


And here's the squads. Toshiya's the one going solo this time. This will be pretty much the last time I'll have an uneven group like this outside of event deploys.

• Setsuko, Löwen, Emma
  
• Kamille, Roberto, Athrun
  
• Shinn, Rey, Luna
  
• Amuro, Apolly, Miashey
  
• Quattro, Joesph, Gavane
  
• Loran, Katz, Jun
  
• Tetsuya, Kouji, Maria
  
• Toga, Boss, Fa
  
• Kappei, Sayaka, Sochie
  
• Toshiya

It falls on the Chiram to explain just what Durandal's done to the Federation.
The inevitable riots will rock it from the inside, if they don't shatter it into its components altogether - and it was all because of the Federation’s world-wide U.N. network.
Between that and the fact that ZAFT just destroyed their brand-new superweapons, certainly they retreated from Chiram space.
Wesley doesn't like that they owe the Chairman, but the President already suspects that he's gotten his use out of them.
Either way, he doesn't believe it's time to move against Plant. They couldn't take it alone, and they definitely couldn't take everyone who now believes Durandal is a champion of freedom.
All they can do now is find a new place to nest and try to resume Project D.



But then there’s a surprise visit from Asakim...

: The path to the taiji... is not for the unworthy to set foot on.


: He's after the dimensional manipulator!
: Stop him! Protect the machine at all costs!
: You can't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-I_J0TEqYo

: The machine is--
: How could this be? Project D is over... and with it, the world...
: Good. The multi-dimensional world will be in flux once more.


Just as Asakim leaves, Rand arrives with Olson and Atena.
He's chasing Asakim and was just a step behind, too; angrily, he thinks to Setsuko that they’re all moving right according to the guy’s plan.
He doesn't have time to explain to the Chiram, though; he's got to get moving again!


Olson is taking off on his own quest. Project D is dead, and that means the Chiram will be trying to use the Singularities again.
That means they'll come for him, and also try to capture Kei - "and I don't know if that's the right thing to do anymore."
So he's going to go find Kei, talk to him, and think long and hard about where he wants to be.

Athena wants to go with him, but Olson asks her to stay. With so much going on - Asakim, the Federation - he needs her to be his ears.


Shinn has been locked in his room for a long while and Athrun comes in to check on him; the guy’s got Kamille, Setsuko and the other ZAFT red coats in here and they’ve been running counter-Freedom simulations.
It's one of our strongest enemies, but no one can lay a scratch on it: he dodges instantly, counters simultaneously, and aims for their weapons perfectly, precisely using both the guns and thrusters of a machine that's high-powered to begin with (certainly more than the Impulse).
Athrun asks why they’re running these kind of tests and Shinn says, simply put, Kira’s the strongest opponent they’ve had to face thus far so training to best such an enemy will help them in turn. Plus, with how unpredictable his actions are, it’d be worrisome if “something happened” and there was no one around capable of defeating it, no?


Athrun doesn’t like this one bit but Kamille and Setsuko agree with Shinn: so long as the Freedom remains a thorn on our side, there may well come a time where we’ll need to neutralize it directly.

: Kamille…Setsuko…
: The Freedom’s powerful…and while we don’t know what his agenda is, he’s certainly not an ally.
: With that in mind, Setsuko’s assumption is valid.
: …
: …Even if he was your comrade once.
: But Kira isn't our enemy!
: How can you be sure?
: ...
: Heine was killed because of him. In fact, even you've been shot down against him.
: We're expected to follow your judgment, but we can't believe that's not an enemy.
: So we're trying to prepare ourselves against him.
: ...
: Captain Athrun... would you have any advice you could give us?
: Forget it, Setsuko. We don't want a loser's advice anyway.
: What?!
: Apologies, Captain. I'll speak to Shinn myself.
: Gh...

*Athrun leaves .*

: And there he goes.
: Shinn, you may not want to hear this from me, but I have to say it.
: Don't fight the Freedom out of hate.
: Setsuko...
: We're not here to get revenge for Stella.
: We need to stop the warmongers and end the war.
: I know... Kamille, I know, and...
: I’ve faith in you, Shinn. So the next time we encounter the Freedom, it's all in your hands.
: And I think I may have the beginnings of a plan to defeat him.
: For real?
: Yeah... but I need about 120% of the power the Impulse has available.
: 120% of the Impulse's power...


Chapter 37: The Reorganization of the New Earth Federation


Location: North Ameria – Inglessa, Nocis


Durandal's speech worked fast; a mob is already trashing a bank alleged to have ties to the Council. Probably excessive but they believe they’re in the rights to do this against those warmongers and their helpers.
Lily Borjarnon looks on, saddened. And a bit confused - why are people so quick to act so passionately on the claims of the enemy commander?


Fran says that's just the way this age of the world is. After the introductions, Lily says she has a lot of respect for a female journalist.
Fran was familiar with the Borjarnon house, but Lily says that since the Federation annexed Inglessa and nearby regions, she and her family hold no actual power.
Even so, Fran wants to hear her take on the world. She's part of a mission to dig up the truth, see, and she needs all kinds of perspectives to find it. So Lily sums it up in a single word: "unnatural." Not because it's a big mish-mash of worlds, though it is, but in the way people are acting.
They're following anyone they can like insects rather than thinking for themselves, as humans must.
Fran agrees - in the fear and uncertainty of this world, humans have forgotten how to self-determine. They're in danger of forgetting how to live entirely, falling into a routine of mindless survival - a condition her comrades call "Lost Syndrome."
People do have a lot to be scared of, though. Not just war, but the threat of dimensional instabilities and warps.
Those events have taken a lot of lives since the Break, directly and indirectly, and continue to do so to this day.
Even Lily's been trying to move past all that, but it still hurts thinking of all the casualties.

: You don't think following the current and those with power is just human nature?
: Who are you?
: That's not your concern. You're a reporter, aren't you?
: You should be celebrating all this chaos going on.
: Huh?
: Heh. With the shape this city's in, the Federation Council and army brass are probably scrambling right about now.
: The party's getting started. The wise and the fools are going to dance together.
: You're...


Meanwhile, at the Federation’s HQ, Dewey and his rebels are bearing down on the Council. His choice of timing is not lost on them.
Soon, the man himself arrives, telling them they have only themselves to blame for keeping secrets.
Braya says that the truth does not always bring happiness. Kuzemi adds that it was already long since been too late when they got reported on the Ageha - there were too many people. "Too many to fit on the ark we came on," says Braya.
Dewey draws a gun; Kuzemi asks if he intends to "free us from the suffering of keeping our secrets from the masses."
Indeed, he shoots them both and hopes Scirocco is holding up his end as well...


But Coda is still here, and she always knew this was going to happen, from the moment she made the decision to free him. What now for him?
Dewey says humanity has no other option but to exterminate the Coralians before space-time collapses.
The Kute Coralians are gates, nothing more, and they're soon to open and give way to the “antibodies”. If they're allowed to, humanity is doomed, and the planet with them.

: We are entering a war, with no less than rulership of the planet at stake.
: Those without power have no right to speak of ruling.
: And I have no power, you mean to say?
: …I pledge my loyalty to you, Dewey Novak.
: ...


Jamitov believes he was laid low by his failure to see Scirocco's true ambitions.
"Ambition?" scoffs Scirocco. "A man who can think only in such base terms was never fit to care for this world."
Anyway, he explains that Djibril has run off with Bask Om - the upheaval has put such enemies in bed together.
They'll scratch at anything they see, thinking only of their own survival and lust for power.
Jamitov is again impressed that Scirocco thought things through that far.
Scirocco isn't even done. He has all the power Jamitov himself gave him, and he knows the new age will need a wise new leader.
"And you plan to be that, Paptimus Scirocco?" spits Jamitov.

Scirocco shoots him. There's no place in the world any longer for an old man, nor his own plans.


As for Joseph Copeland, he's done too - but not the same way as Jamitov. Scirocco plans to make use of his departure.
"Your final role will be to appease the frightened masses and calm their unrest."


Location: Southern North Ameria


Kouji is still bummed about the treatment they got from Ryouma and the other ZEUTH.
Tetsuya, even as always, says they're – like Daisuke - just too principled to understand our fight against the alien oppressors. Kouji doesn't want to just leave things as they are, but Tetsuya says that we and they are on different paths now.


Roberto and Apolly agree - they've chosen the low road of lawlessness since we split up in Japan.
Besides, Setsuko brings up our issues with them. Attacking ZAFT territory, treating cities like battlefields... there are also those UN articles of them working for the Feds, even.
They did fight with us at Chiram, more or less, but Löwen has a theory about that: after the Chairman's announcement, there's been a sudden insurgency from within the Federation against the Council and it’s possible the other ZEUTH may be working with these anti-Council forces.
Löwen also points out that Edel's sticking by her peaceful ideals, so the coup has nothing to do with Chimera. The question is, once the dust settles, who will be in control of the Federation?
Meanwhile, Edel herself is nowhere to be found, despite his and Schlan's efforts to locate her, and Löwen is concerned that she's been arrested by the anti-Council forces.
In which case, we'd better hope the Gekko and Freeden aren't working for them, but Löwen says it would explain the thing with them and the Chiram.


Uchuta runs in yelling that the New Federation is about to make a super huge announcement over the UN.
Right after the Chairman's? They're not about to announce the dimensional collapse, surely?







It's the Archangel! Bloodman goes on to claim that the anti-Council also moved them against Rep. Athha's political marriage.
So the other ZEUTH HAS been in cahoots with the Federation all along! No wonder the Archangel attacked us before!
It would explain a lot of what they've done, especially against us, and it shows that the anti-Council is as against ZAFT as they are against the Council.
Meaning that just because revolution has come to the Federation, does not mean the Earth is going to let up on Plant.


Kouji is even sadder now that Ryou, and the Gekko, have sided with the Archangel. Tetsuya says it's the choice they've made.
Is it so surprising that they weren't who we thought they were? We only spent two weeks with them, says Rey. In their case, lacking as they are in any consideration of the future past tomorrow, they probably did it for the money.

Meanwhile, Bloodman's speech goes on. He swears to fight against all threats to the Earth's prosperity - aliens, Plant, and even the warmongers of Logos.
ZEUTH can tell it's Inflammatory Rhetoric 101, all bluster with no subtlety to speak of, but Amuro doesn't feel like bloodthirst is the only motivation at play.
Someone is still in the shadows here, and Bloodman's big speech is almost certainly part of their plan.
Löwen wonders desperately, did they get their hands on Edel?

: And so I swear to you! The New Earth Federation will take all comers and prevail!
: The New Federation is the true vanguard of humanity! The only force that can lead it through this chaos to a bright and prosperous future!


Djibril and Bask are sweating at the announcement, knowing that it was Scirocco who set them up - and to spit in the wound, using an idiot like Bloodman as his puppet!
But they'll strike back, all right - they have allies gathering at Heaven's Base in the Pacific, and with them, something to turn the tide.
"”They” know the truth of this world and will win the day for us yet.", gloats Djibril.


Bask orders the fleet to Heaven's Base, but Jamaican stops him to say that some "Frost brothers" are requesting communication.
He grumbles that Category Fs are worthless, but they say they've brought some intelligence as a show of good faith.
"Fine," says Bask. "Send them the coordinates for a rendezvous."


Meanwhile, the Seiran name was in the announcement and Yuna is not pleased about it.
Djibril doesn't want to hear it, though. All he wants from Yuna is to return to Orb and mobilize its forces. He's not down yet, and he's going to show Scirocco, Dewey, and Durandal what's what if he has to take them all on!


Talia and Arthur are sweating too - what do they do about the Federation? The chairman swore to stand against the Sage Council and their collaborators but the war between the main Federation and Plant continues.
So, Durandal's orders are to oppose both the new Federation and Logos and also to keep an eye out for the Archangel in particular; speaking of, it sucks that the Freeden and Gekko are with them, but now that Durandal has given clear orders, we can't show them any mercy.


They’re interrupted as the alarm sounds and Meyrin says there are Federation forces approaching right now! We must have flown too close to their territory.
The question is, is it the rebels or is it Logos? It doesn't matter - they're definitely moving in for the kill!