Battle Mastery: 9 enemies defeated in 2 turns after reinforcements show up
The Shirogane has been sighted, so the Hagane and Hiryu change course. In a room somewhere, Kusuha starts asking questions about Mai, but the SRX crew say they can't answer yet. This secret's not going to keep much longer.
Mai has yet another vision of Levi Tolar. Levi tries to convince her that the Hagane crew sees her as an enemy, and Mai should join with her to resurrect Judecca. As nice as it would be to have that as a playable unit, Mai doesn't want to fight Aya. She wakes up with Princess Shine and Latooni standing over her wondering why she was shouting in her sleep. Mai runs off.
In a third room, Radha tells Aya that it's only a matter of time before people figure out the truth about Mai. Mai's residual memories of Levi Tolar are a problem. Mai walks in at just the wrong time and runs off again with Levi's voice in her head and grabs a random mech.
The SRX team and a few other people close-ish to Mai take off to find her and Rai confronts Viletta about all the secrecy. Mai still has those memories because Dr. Kobayashi doesn't believe in using memory alteration techniques like his old ICS colleagues. Oh, and Viletta's a clone of Ingram Priskin.
Dr. Setme has arrived near Japan on a Neo DC submarine, still on her quest for research materials. She dispatches Ouka and Seolla to take down an unidentified EFA mech. Mai shows up in a red Wildwurger, finally waking up from Levi's influence. It'd be a Huckebein Mk II M if I hadn't gotten the secret... one with no upgrades, I might add, which is a double dose of suck. Ten Guarlions launch to take her down and “Marionette Messiah” starts playing while Mai kicks ass.
Ok, the Wildwurger L is a solid unit, even with no upgrades, and I've taught Mai some good skills. I run southwest towards the enemies and some trees. If Mai can get five kills within a few turns, the Wildwurger L is mine to keep. I don't manage to actually land on a forest square until turn 3, but a little luck with Raptor Wings critical hits gets four kills before I land, though the mech is almost out of energy by that point, and I finishs off the fifth with the Metal Sword.
The NDC captain chews out his subordinates for having so much trouble with one mech. Dr. Setme recognizes Mai's potential and orders Ouka to capture her as a research sample. Once communications are open, Dr. Setme seems to recognize Mai's face from somewhere. Ouka casts Mercy (I think that's the effect for Mercy; it makes sense story-wise, at least) and nails the Wildwurger with the Rapiecage's oversized cannon. Just as she's lining up the final shot, Ryusei shows up in the R-1 in flight mode and saves Mai. He says that he had to save Mai: She's one of them now, not Levi Tolar. Aya says the same thing, and also that they need Mai's strength to save humanity. Latooni and Arado say it again.
Dr. Setme reveals that much of Mai and Aya's memories were created and implanted to make them better suited to the T-Link system. They're not really sisters, or Dr. Kobayashi's daughters. In fact, the R-3's T-Link system is partly designed to keep those memories “real.” Ryusei's mom is just lucky she left the ICS before Dr. Setme showed up and he's pissed at her attitude towards playing with people's minds. Now Aya and Mai are too traumatized to act for a turn or two.
Ok... I'm going to try somehing. If I let the Guarlions live a little longer, the BM might be easier to get. So two turns of dodging later, more Neo DC mechs launch to capture Mai and Aya, but Viletta and Rai arrive just in time for a rescue. The sisters snap out of their funk, with Aya saying that the future is worth more than the past and that she'll make her own path forward. The SRX is back in action, and able to fire the HTB cannon with Viletta in the R-Gun Powered.. The BM is now available and I have five easy kills on a platter.
More enemies have sortied, Guarlions and Barrelions, but only about half of them will move within two turns.. If I hadn't saved those leftovers, the BM would be nearly impossible. I have Rai cast Accel and charge the SRX towards a cluster of Barrelions, while everyone else follows behind to clean up the wounded Guarlions. The few enemies that do move get blasted for their trouble and the BM is mine in short order. Once it's in my hands, the Hagane and Hiryu show up and I can get some repair mechs to patch up the SRX and Wildwurger L. Dr. Setme's submarine runs for it and I get some time to kill off everything on the map before dealing with Ouka.
After taking out almost everything, I have the SRX in place for a valored HTB shot on Seolla that knocks the Wildfalken right out of the sky, landing me a Radar Module. I shoot down the other mooks and take a turn to get everyone positioned around Ouka so I can pile in with combination attacks. Latooni gets the good shot in with a Royal Heartbreaker and Ouka has to retreat. And now it's time to get some answers about Mai.
Captain Daitetsu briefs the crew, and most of them take it pretty well, and the guys who used to be enemies bring it up. Katina still doesn't like it much, but gives in... probably after Lune literally twists her arm. Aya feels like the past is moving behind, and she has good friends and family now. Oh, and it looks like Mai has developed a crush on Ryusei.
So, the Wildwurger L is now mine to keep, along with some consumables that I never use. Major Kai will take it since it's a good close-combat mech. I don't fully upgrade it, tough, because ten bars in everything would suck up all my funds and I still have a few top-rank mechs coming
Mai gets back in the R-Gun Powered, and Viletta takes her Gespenst Mk II R. I shuffle some parts and weapons, nothing really worth writing about.
Kai kill count: 54; level 28. A bit of Cheering and I should have the Gespenst Mk II S.
