Part 50: New Visitors

So it turns out Alejandro didn't know about the latest Gundams either - they're above his Veda clearance as an Observer. Even now, all he's gathered is their name, Gundam Throne, and the name of their pilots, the Trinities. Liu-Min asks if he believes they're part of the Plan. All he can say is that they are definitely piloting Gundams, so it doesn't seem like there's another interpretation.

Question for her, then - what action, if any, does Celestial Being plan to take against the Imperium? That's a trickier question; they're still being integrated into the plan, but whatever the result is, she's sure that nothing isn't an option on the table. Alejandro agrees...



but after she hangs up, wonders if she suspects what he's doing. Ribbons assures him that it doesn't matter. Even if she or anyone else knew, no one can stop his plan now. His imitation solar furnaces will guide the world on his plan. And he has the information Ribbons gave him to thank. It wasn't his plan to have come into contact with Ribbons, nor become a Celestial Being observer, but it was certainly to his great fortune. It gave him partners in his quest to "guide the world."

But no more than that, no. He'll lay down the framework, and then merely observe, as his title says. Those who overextend always fall. "Like the loathsome old Chairman of the WPC..."



We haven't learned anything about the Thrones over here either, and this bunch hasn't forgotten their ground rule: everyone has their secrets, and it's not nice to pry. But it sounded like they were going to return to Celestial Being's roots and crush both sides in any conflict that arises. The thing is, there's a reason Celestial Being changed its tactics. Times have changed, and right now, destroying a country's military force just leaves it wide open for invasion by its neighbors, as well as attacks from Invaders, Beastmen, and Damons. Team Throne clearly doesn't get that, or more likely care, so all we can do is try to fight back the monsters and terrorists and make the world a little bit better.

If Team Throne is going to be Celestial Being Classic, though, Crowe would like them to take a page from Celestial Being several chapters ago and destroy the Imperium for their next destroy-military-force trick. He'd like them to, but he knows quite well that it'll take far more than that to even challenge the Imperium. Far more than we have here, even.

"So your objective judgment is we should just lie down and surrender?" snaps Alto, but Crowe points out that he only said it would take more than we have now. There are many ways to expand our influence - upgrading our weapons, recruiting new soldiers, even training ourselves as pilots (this conversation seems familiar). For instance, there's that Asakim dude. He may be from another universe, but he helped us fight the Damons once. Maybe he'll do it again. "The Imperium brought in that King of Destruction dude," Sakuya points out. "Why don't we get a guy from another universe?"



Crowe doesn't like the idea, even when Klan reminds him that they already have soldiers from another universe: the Frontier fleet. And it sounds like the Crushers have taken in a unit from ZEUTH too, a big lug of a super robot. Although, to be fair, they can't say that ZEUTH will just slot in nicely under GOONZ, or that the soldiers will even stick around willingly, or that if ZEUTH robots are so impressive, someone less noble won't try to snatch them up first.



Right about this time, the scramble alarm sounds. The Quarter's detected a strong bend in space, maybe even strong enough to suggest a full-fledged dimensional quake. And if it's a quake, there's a pretty good chance we'll be having visitors. The question is whether they're friendly; our two ships are heading in to investigate...


Chapter 25: New Visitors
(space route)



Aw, son of a bitch. Setsuna's not going to like this.



At least these people were actually in their robots when they got whisked away. Out on patrol, they suddenly lost contact with their ship, can't establish their location, you know the drill.




Oh look, it's OZ! The commander has mistaken these Gundams for more new Celestial Being Gundams and wants blood for what "we" did to his squad. Obviously, Team SEED has no idea what he's talking about. They try to respond, but the commander isn't stupid. He recognizes a Gundam when he sees one and he knows exactly what that means.

Shinn powers up to defend himself, but Athrun stops him. "Of all people, you should know what happens when you shoot first and communicate later!" That hits home, and they ask the OZ soldiers to lower their weapons as well, so they can talk things out.




But a pack of Damons warps in and chomps the entire Taurus squad, then turns on the ZEUTH Gundams. Even Jesus and Aslan know there's no point in hailing mindless monsters, and they won't let us escape, so there's only one option:



Kill 'em all, in four turns, with the sole Rhinodamon coming last. (The Rhinodamon is the only actual victory goal; it's one of these stages.)


Destiny Gundam (Shinn Asuka)
Skills
SEED
Block
Morale
Spirits
Focus
Accel
Sense
Traits
VPS Armor
EN Regen S
Double Image
Blade
Shield
Weapons
17.5mm CIWS (10 EN, mobility down)
High Power Beam Rifle (8 ammo)
Flash Edge II (5 EN)
High Power Long-Range Beam Cannon (35 EN)
Arondight (40 EN, 110 Will)
Ace Bonus: Evasion +15%. Deals 1.1x damage with counterattacks.

Generally, a pretty standard-issue Gundam loadout with some SEED-specific goodies. The SEED skill activates at 130 Will (surprise!) and boosts the pilot's damage by 10% and his accuracy, evasion, and critical rates by 20%. Variable Phase Shift Armor absorbs 2000 damage from any attack that isn't a beam weapon (but drains 10 EN with every blow). And I think the N-Jammer Canceller was its own trait in Alpha 3, but now it's just some standard EN regeneration.

Speaking of beam weapons, look at all those. This was much more of an asset in Z, when enemies came with their own VPS plating. (The CIWS, on the other hand, is just SEED's name for the terrible head vulcan every Gundam ever has.)

"Double Image" works like Duo's Jammer and Hayato's Getter Vision, giving Shinn a flat 50% chance of completely evading any attack independent of his regular evasion (but only at 130 Will).

The Destiny's most powerful attack was the Full Weapon Combination, which is one of those "use all the weapons" attacks, and he's just flat out lost it for some reason.



Oh, and all the weapons have their full official names spelled out in the details. For trivia, I guess.

This may be another universe, but I'm not going to just lie down and let it kill me!
I still have things to do! I can't die here!








Flash Edge.


Force Impulse Gundam (Lunamaria Hawke)
Skills
Prevail L4
Block
Offensive Support L3
Spirits
Strike
Invincible
Gain
Traits
VPS Armor
Blade
Shield
Weapons
20mm CIWS (10 EN, mobility down)
High Power Beam Rifle (8 ammo)
Beam Saber (5 EN)
Excalibur (30 EN, 110 Will)
Ace Bonus: The "Strike" Spirit Command costs 15 SP.

Yes, it's a lesser version of the Destiny. It was, in fact, Shinn's former suit that got passed down to Lunamaria when he got the Destiny.

In Z, as here, Lunamaria's Strike Spirit costs a prohibitive and insulting 30 SP. Luckily, in this game, her Ace bonus makes it more manageable, and in Restoration she just hits constantly at 130 Will.

Impulse can't switch packs anymore, but I'm not sure it matters.

It was just a routine patrol. We had no idea it would turn into this...
But we'll fight! Even if they're monsters, we won't let them beat us!









Strike Freedom Gundam (Kira Yamato)
Skills
SEED
Block
Counter L6
Spirits
Sense
Focus
Mercy
Traits
VPS Armor
EN Regen S
Blade
Shield
Weapons
31mm CIWS (10 EN, mobility down)
Beam Saber (5 EN)
Super Dragoon (2 ammo, 140 Will, MAP, ignore size)
High Power Beam Rifle (8 ammo)
Calidus (35 EN)
Dragoons Full Burst (50 EN, 130 Will)
Ace Bonus: Deals 1.1x damage with ranged weapons.

These suits like using lots of EN.

Kira and Athrun form a pair, and the Freedom is the gunner of the two. I am no longer disappointed that he doesn't come with Hit & Away. Other than that, SEED blah blah. Kira has lost his combination attacks with the battleship Eternal involving the plug-in MA Meteor.

Also, Mercy! No one is surprised.

An unknown world with unknown enemies...
But we can't falter! We have to focus on surviving!








Infinite Justice Gundam (Athrun Zala)
Skills
SEED
Block
Defensive Support L2
Spirits
Sense
Focus
Traits
VPS Armor
EN Regen S
Blade
Shield
Weapons
17.5mm CIWS (10 EN, mobility down)
High Power Beam Rifle (8 ammo)
Shining Edge (6 ammo)
Beam Saber (5 EN)
Fatum-01 (40 EN, 110 Will)
Ace Bonus: Deals 1.1x damage with melee weapons.

The mirror image of Kira in most ways. Like Freedom, it also had a Meteor armor that it left behind in its home universe.

Wherever this is, it doesn't change my responsibility as commander!
I'll protect Kira, and Shinn, and Lunamaria!










It was a fair first turn.








So there's one...








And two.



Hey, it's more of Shinn's friends! Camille and Fa were pulled into a quake, same as Athrun's team. They want to know what's up with the Damons, but all Athrun knows is that they're mindless, hungry monsters. Which is to say, they could use a hand. Shinn's really glad to have Camille at his back, too, though they both wish it was under... better circumstances.



The attack continues, and Athrun has the fastest special attack. I suppose the captain may as well take the lead.




The Bulldamons and Rhinodamons stay put. Figures. Anyway, new people!


Zeta Gundam/Waverider (Camille "Is A Manly Name" Bidan)
Skills
Newtype L3
Counter L5
Block
Spirits
Focus
Sense
Spirit
Traits
Blade (Gundam)
Shield (Gundam)
Transform
Weapons
(Gundam)
Vulcan (10 ammo, mobility down)
Grenade Launcher (6 ammo)
Beam Rifle (10 ammo)
Beam Saber (5 EN)
Beam Confuse (20 EN, 110 Will)
Hyper Mega Launcher (40 EN)
Beam Saber Hyper (50 EN, 130 Will, requires Newtype L4, barrier, size)
(Waverider)
Beam Gun (5 EN)
Beam Rifle
Ace Bonus: Deals 1.2x damage with counterattacks; critical rate +20%.

OH LOOK ANOTHER GUNDAM WITH BEAM WEAPONS

(Can't wait to see the look on Setsuna's face)

So the thing to like about Camille, I guess, is that he can fire off that Mega Launcher right out the gate like he just doesn't care. Unfortunately, he is a ZEUTH person and not one of the ones I really like (those are coming up in the next two chapters).

Anyway. Mechanically, Newtype is like Psychic, in that it is actually psychic powers, so it increases the pilot's hit and dodge rates. Also, it extends the range of specific weapons that list it as a requirement. Speaking of which, Zeta had more Newtype weapons by the end of Z. The Hyper Beam Saber was a strong post-movement attack that was almost as good as the Launcher, and he also had the ram move from the end of Zeta. With the Ram attack gone, the saber has stepped up to fill the hole - but Camille's Newtype levels have been damped to the point where he still can't use it for a few levels.

(I lived in a Multiworld. I thought I knew the danger of dimensional quakes. But...)
(That one seemed almost engineered. What's happened to us?)









Methuss (MA) (Fa Yuiri)
Skills
Newtype L1
Repair
Defensive Support L3
Spirits
Vigor
Gain
Trust
Traits
Blade (MS)
Repair
Transform
Weapons
(Gundam)
Beam Saber (5 EN)
Arm Beam Gun (8 ammo, also on MA)
Ace Bonus: The "Rouse" Spirit Command costs 30 SP.

The Methuss is poorly armed and even worse in plane mode, so Fa is about as sidekick as it gets. Her Ace bonus is another benefit for a Spirit command she doesn't have yet which grants 5 Will to any unit on the map, a weaker but shootable Spirit Spirit.

She's going to have to fight at least one Damon anyway, though.



Oh, come on.

(That was a real dimensional quake... I'm shaking with fear...)
(But I have Camille with me. Whatever happens, I can make it through as long as he's here!)









Okay then.






Let's keep this moving...



Oh, never mind. The Impulse can use Silhouettes, god knows where from.

But more importantly, that's another two kills.



Which means it's time for GOONZ!



Setsuna has no idea what to make of YET MORE GUNDAMS. Tieria does - they must be more like the Trinities. But Crowe has another idea: what if they're those ZEUTH dudes? But this means "Gundams" are coming in from other universes. How, and why? Crowe's suggestion: "In every universe, you boil water in a kettle. Maybe Gundams work the same way." Sure?



ZEUTH has overheard us talking about Gundams, and they're wondering what's going on too. But before we can ask questions, we've got the Damons to deal with. Jeffrey informs the ZEUTHdams that we'll be backing them up, and while they welcome the help, Athrun is suspicious. Those feddies were on the hunt for Gundams, and for all he knows, they meant us.




GOONZ' superior firepower starts chewing through the Damons, charging towards the Rhinodamon. The newcomers can focus on clearing out the lesser Damons.




Fa is beset, and cowers in a corner. At least the Bulldamons are moving, though.



Because the Rhinodamon isn't.



All right, first order of business: Fa flees into the corner and heals herself.





GOONZ STOMP.



Oh yeah, and SEED mode has its own animation like Overskill does. Actually, I think all these animations are from Z - there aren't any new ones in Destruction.



We still have all this stuff on the left.








So everybody take the Damon to your left...



(Shinn SEEDs.)










On to the left.



And the last one is Camille's.



All Bulldamons thus weakened, Setsuna, with his second turn, takes the first stab at the Rhinodamon.



And that's it.







Huh. These are all the enemies left.




I'm just going to skip over the ones back here.








So today's boss is down, but we're still a long way from the real King, in more ways than one.



But wait! There's another wrinkle in space! A dimension shock - no, a defold!



Man, it's been a while since these guys showed up. Actually, didn't we exterminate them?



The Gundam pilots want to know if our universe is just overrun by monsters.



Anyway, there's nothing for it but to fight!



Or move, at any rate...



And get Fa out of the front lines. Again.



A very productive turn.




The lesser Vajra - the ones in range, anyway, since we started a mile apart and their range is really poor - don't last long.



The big ones are a bit stronger but most of them are in no position to attack either.



So here's the layout.








This wasn't necessary.

Vajra! I'm kind of in the S. M. S. because of you...
But I'm starting to understand who my real enemy is! I can't afford to spend all my energy on you!






Our mission is to defend the Frontier fleet and planet Earth!
Vajra! Whatever you're doing, you won't get away with it as long as we live!






So anyway the Vajra are getting blown up. (Fyi nothing more interesting gameplay-wise is going to happen this chapter.)



Okay, one more video for the new guys.




Enemy phase: a lot of this.



And this.




With a little bit of this.



So let's leave it at this.

We're all surprised to see there are still Vajra flying around. If they were warped in along with the Macross waaay back when, why haven't we seen hide nor hair of them until now? Jeffrey suggests checking with the Fleet, where research is being done on a captured Vajra. And on the way, we ought to hear the new arrivals' story, so Jeffrey sends out a message to dock with the ship.



Athrun is still suspicious of GOONZ, but they will admit we got them out of a jam. And Camille still has his suspicions about the quake that swallowed them. After all, his group and Shinn's were on opposite ends of the world, but they were transferred in to the same place...



Together, Jeffrey and Athrun confirm that they have been warped into another universe, and they are indeed looking at each others' "Gundams." Their universes must not be too far apart, but they're far enough that getting back is going to be near impossible - our universe has been researching the dimensional fabric since the first quake 20 years ago, with no luck finding a way to pierce through. (Except for the Imperium, Sumeragi mutters.) That's not good news for our guests, but Kira has hope that something will come up.

Speaking of them, Jeffrey asks them what they know about ZEUTH. It's pretty clear that ZEUTH is them, but all we know about it is it's a common name for a group of aliens and robots that have been warping in across the globe and Earth sphere. Our allies - that is, the Crushers - have already taken in some ZEUTH soldiers, who we now know are Athrun's and Camille's teammates.

Seeing as we represent a group that is working to prevent global conflict, we would like the alien Gundams to remain with us for the time being, explains Jeffrey. Shinn starts to protest that our Gundams are, apparently, terrorists, but Athrun silences him. There's too much they don't know about our place in this world and the state of the larger global stage to tip their hand just yet. Kira, on the other hand, still trusts us completely after having saved his bacon and eagerly agrees to cooperate. "I think they're better than the ones that attacked without even asking questions, at least," he says, smiling beatifically. Camille agrees - at least for now, they'll accept our protection until they get their bearings in this universe and rendezvous with their separated allies. In the meantime, they are free to make themselves at home on our mothership.

Shinn's still a little antsy, Luna's just glad to be safe, and Camille yet again wonders about the strangeness of that quake. "And if that's true, Amuro and Lt. Quattro might have been sucked in too..." Kira has also realized that the quake has transported ZEUTH members with pinpoint precision, and wonders the same thing about Lacus.



And once again, it's OZ HQ in Paris. Lady has brought Treize a couple of ZEUTH arrivals of their own, and the soldiers responsible were very careful not to pick a fight under Treize's explicit orders. "Good," he says. "We haven't wasted any of my soldiers' lives." See, he knows that these men are champions from another reality.



Yeah, these guys. Like GOONZ, he's taking them under his "protection," but Quattro knows the score. No, really, though, Treize wants them to be his guests of honor. "Why?" demands Quattro. "To settle my doubts," replies Treize. "I don't believe our meeting like this was mere chance. No, this was destined, and I intend to find out why."

"I want you," he explains, "to tell me what this universe looks like to your eyes." Amuro and Quattro both sense a powerful sense of purpose in Treize, but where that road leads... all Treize will say is that he prays their meeting will change the world.



The next two chapters are my absolute favorite ZEUTH characters. It'll be fun!