NOTE: From here on, I will be adding video and music links where relevant, since there seems to be a demand for that sort of thing. We've only missed one cutscene where video was remotely relevant anyway
, so there won't be any big additions to previous chapters. BGM changes will be indicated for special plot events, with a link to the BGM in question when I mention it for the first time.
Garnet said she had a plan, and whatever this plan may be, it seems to involve dressing up Latooni in various outfits. Latooni herself wonders why she's doing this, and Garnet's words indicate it's a rehearsal to see what would look good on Kusuha. The only reason Latooni's there is because she's roughly the same size as Kusuha, and thus can function as a living mannequin for whatever outfits Garnet can get her hands on. We don't get to see what Garnet is dressing her in at the moment, but to Latooni's surprise it involves handcuffs and a stuffed rabbit. Handcuffs, really? What kind of gear do you have in there, Garnet?
Still, not really suitable for Kusuha, so to Latooni's dismay Garnet keeps trying. A gothic-style dress works well, according to Garnet, and without the glasses it works even better. She's getting ready to put on the finishing make-up touches when Latooni suddenly runs away, still dressed in that ridiculous outfit and not wearing her glasses. For the record, this is what it looks like
◊. Garnet wonders why Latooni isn't into dressing up like other girls her age, which is probably because Garnet has a really weird taste in clothes.
Giado wanders in, commenting on Latooni's new look. Garnet says it's a long story, and asks what he wants. The reason he came over was to discuss Irm's mech transfer, which I noted at the end of the previous chapter. Although he would really like to have his own mech, he considers Latooni a better pilot so he thinks she should have it. Garnet agrees on the latter — as a graduate of The School, Latooni's superior skills are to be expected. Giado figures they can get a PT anytime, so it's not really a problem. Garnet wonders if he'd like a kid like her someday.
GIADO: Cha! What are you talking about, woman!?
GARNET: Don't be embarrassed! Anytime's OK for me!
Before this discussion can go any further, Giado suddenly remembers Latooni's now running around the base in that ZUN-tastic outfit, and there's gonna be trouble if the captain and XO see her like that. They'll have a hell of a time finding her, though, given the size of the ship.
In the briefing room, Aya is asking Ingram about the reason they are a part this mission, given that they're merely test pilots. A vague allusion is made to a theory by dr. Kobayashi, which is also the reason Ingram chose to have Kusuha on board. From what I gather, Ryusei's powers might manifest themselves when in danger, for example when he piloted a PT for the first time. Still not following Ingram's plan, though. All I can guess is that he intends to use Kusuha as something for Ryusei to protect so he'll maintain his sense of danger, which is either really stupid or really clever. I honestly don't know.
Aya still feels personally responsible for drawing Ryusei into this conflict, but Ingram notes his abilities and the fact that sooner or later, Earth is going to need pilots like Ryusei and Aya. She doubts this, given the situation; whenever she performs a high-level TK link, she starts recalling memories of her mother and sister who died participating in such research projects. Ingram tells her that memory is nothing more than a ghost, and that she can overcome this. She decides she'll keep trying, and concludes her business with him.
In the hangar, Rob is waiting for Latooni to arrive. He had sent for her a moment ago, because he needs her to finish fine-tuning her new mech. Though she hasn't arrived yet, Ryusei and Rio do wander into the hangar at this point. Ryusei's lost in thought regarding the Huckebein and Rai's backstory, until Rio scolds him for not listening. What she was talking about, as she once again informs Ryusei, is that he should stop being so mean to Kusuha.
RIO: For whatever reason, she's uneasy about boarding the battleship. You two are childhood friends...she should be able to count on you at a time like this.
Ryusei meekly acknowledges this, causing Rio to wonder if there's something wrong with Ryusei today since this is not how he usually is. Suddenly, someone runs into him and hurries off, leaving both of them to wonder who that girl was. Yes, who could this mysterious person possibly be? Geez, invest in a pair of glasses and suddenly you're the master of disguise around here. They speculate a bit more about who she could be, but they're soon interrupted by the familiar alarm. We've got enemy sign!
The enemy is apparently using a new jamming system, which allowed them to go undetected until they were within range. Daitetsu orders everyone to intercept the enemy, but initially only 3 PTs launch. Tetsuya asks where the rest is, and Rob says they'll need 4 more minutes to ready everyone's PTs. For now, the Hagane and the three that have been deployed will have to fight the enemy. Ryusei, Irm and Latooni confirm they're ready to fight, but Irm currently doesn't seem to recognize Latooni. I'll not ask why they even have video communication in their mechs, but that he doesn't even recognize her voice? Latooni is equally baffled when she has to reintroduce herself to her own team, but the icing on the cake is the fact that Irm and Eita are suddenly stunned by her cuteness, and can't take their eyes off her.
RIO: So...that's the type of girl Eita likes, hm?
EITA: Wh-What's wrong with that!?
I'll tell you what's wrong with that. Really, you people...
Luckily, at this point Tetsuya tells them to stop talking and intercept the enemies already. The map might look familiar this time, which makes sense as this is the same map that was used in chapter 4. We're gonna be seeing this phenomenon more than once throughout this game, as it seems making a new map for every chapter wasn't an option. Just facing a few F-32s and Lions for now, so I'm not really considering tactics yet. Latooni and Ryusei engage the bottom group, Irm and the Hagane engage the top group. I destroy one of each on the first turn, two characters per enemy.
On their turn, one of the Lions attacks Irm and misses, and Irm instantly destroys it with a shot from his Boosted Rifle. It's a limited-ammo weapon, but whatever destroys the enemies the fastest without putting myself in seriously jeopardy. Ryusei does get hit, and can't counterattack with much more than a piddly M95. Eh, Ryusei's got plenty of hit points. One of the jets attacks the Hagane, doing practically zero damage. Okay, so it does 10 damage, which is really no damage at all. This fool is then promptly introduced to the concept of proper damage as he gets to eat homing missile for his trouble.
On the second turn, Eita sends a warning that more enemies are approaching, and that they'll be there in 30 seconds. Which is next turn, going by the current system of 1 turn per minute. I take out some more mooks, and to my surprise the next scene is automatically triggered instead of having to wait for the next turn. The reinforcements arrive, led by DC commander Tempest Hawker in a Guarlion Custom. That mech's getting popular with those people. They must've seen how well Elzam handled his.
TEMPEST: I've waited...I've waited so long to fight the EFA...16 years. Lara, Anna, I shall avenge your deaths!
While our team is still wondering who this guy is, Tempest spots Irm's Huckebein and is instantly reminded of the earlier-mentioned research incident on the moon. He roars he will kill whoever sides with the EFA, as a "first offering to his family in heaven". His first target is Latooni, though, and an automatic attack animation plays. He misses, but Latooni recognizes his moves, identifying him as an ex-Aggressor. He now sees he's fighting a kid, and wonders if he can really kill someone like that. He quickly brushes this thought aside, stating he must abandon his conscience for the sake of his long-awaited revenge. Yes, really. If you didn't think this guy was crazy already, this kind of logic pretty much seals the deal.
Ryusei and Latooni manage to engage him right away, though Irm and the Hagane will have to wait for a turn because they're still too far away. They can take down some of those Lions in the meantime, though. Also, now's the time to start using spirit commands, because this guy actually stands a chance of destroying my units. Latooni outright misses with her Jet Magnum attack, and Ryusei does an awesome 10 damage with his beam rifle. Unless I hit him with my units' strongest attacks, we'll be here all day.
The other PTs are finally ready for launch, and on the fourth turn I get to deploy the rest of my squad. Once again, not everyone's in boss range yet, so I'll just have them pick off some mooks while they're moving over there. Only Rai, Latooni and Ryusei can attack so far this turn, resulting in a small reduction of Tempest's hit points. More importantly, making him counterattack a lot depletes his energy reserves. Therefore, I try to have him counterattack as much as possible as long as it's safe, until he finally has insufficient energy for his (quite powerful) Sonic Breaker attack.
On the fifth turn, the rest of the mooks die by counterattack, and I gain a Battle Mastery. Now all that's left is fighting Tempest. He has chosen an unlikely target: Giado, who has been in the far back all the time. I try to have him evade, but luck is not on my side today and Giado suffers a ridiculous amount of damage as his plane is pulverized by a Sonic Breaker. There's something remarkable about this, really. All the times I've played this game so far, Giado is always the first to get shot down. Must be that I tend to neglect his character. Still, fortunately this game does not feature permadeath, so I'll just have to pay a repair cost to recover his plane.
Everyone's got Tempest surrounded by now and they're all firing away with the strongest attacks they've got. Damage is minimal due to the constant use of various spirit commands, though Ryusei takes some damage. Once again, nothing that can't be healed. The last one to join the party is the Hagane itself, and Daitetsu hasn't used any of his SP yet, which allows him to use Strike (100% hit) twice. Combined with the Hagane's Impact Cannon, this rapidly depletes Tempest's health bar. The one who ultimately gets the last shot in is Irm, and Tempest goes down in a most unspectacular fashion.
He's not dead yet, though, and a DC submarine surfaces to recover him and his badly wrecked mech. Once they've done so, they instantly retreat, leaving the Hagane crew quite confused. I have to pay $1000 in unit repair costs, officially marking the level as over. Costs are lower than I expected, too. Planes must be really expendable in this game.
Irm, Garnet and Rob continue their discussion of how much better Latooni looks without her glasses. Irm even considers asking her out, until Garnet reminds him that Latooni is only 14. He seems genuinely surprised by this, which makes me wonder if Irm even has a concept of age. It's either that, or he just doesn't care. Not to mention that 14 is actually older than I would have guessed her to be.
In the briefing room, Kusuha and Ryusei are having what initially seems to be a silent conversation. She thinks he is still mad, but he says it's not like him to get upset like that. He's not gonna ponder what has happened anymore, and recognizes that she had her reasons for joining the Army. He'll just accept that and do his best to protect everyone. Kusuha agrees, but her thoughts reveal she didn't really intend to join the Army. She just followed the others, but while she's there she'll try to find out what she can.
Once again a bit of speed investment in Latooni with the money I've earned, otherwise not upgrading any of my units yet. No new parts to install either, so I can leave my current setup as it is for now. Personally, I had hoped Tempest would've gotten a special defeat animation, but maybe we'll get it at a later time.
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