Episode 06 - Development
Following their successful first mission, Riot Force Six's Forward members receive some specialized training related to their roles in the unit. Later, over lunch, they talk a little about their families. Subaru mentions that her father's ancestors came from Earth (or "Non-Administered World #97"), although neither she nor her father have ever been there. Erio mentions having grown up in a TSAB special needs facility, and talks about being raised by Fate. He remarks that something sad happened to Fate when she was a child, and as a result she can't ever turn her back on sad or lonely children.
In the afternoon, Hayate and Rein pay a visit to the headquarters of the 108th Ground Battalion, which is commanded by Subaru's father Major Genya Nakajima. Hayate is concerned about the smuggling of Lost Logia like the Relic they just retrieved, and wants to know if Genya can help her and Fate with investigating smuggling routes. His older daughter Ginga is one of the investigators in his division; she happens to know Fate already (from the Flashback events in episode 2), so Genya suggests putting her on the case. As a thank-you for working with them, Rein promises Ginga that they'll make her an Intelligent Device similar to Subaru's.
That evening, Fate and Shario review the autopsy reports on the Relic and on the Type 3 Gadget they encountered. Fate is shocked to discover that the Gadget was powered by a jewel-like Lost Logia of its own: namely, a Jewel Seed. Before she can digest this unwelcome news, however, she notices a name etched on one of the Gadget's internal components, like a signature: Jail Scaglietti. This is a name Fate knows: a dangerous interdimensional criminal whom she has been investigating for several years. An expert in illegal biomechanical and bio-magical research, he would be more than capable of creating something like the Gadgets.
In his shadowy underground laboratory, Scaglietti — who is indeed the scientist we saw last episode — contacts his assistant over a monitor. She informs him that "Zest" and "Lutecia" have resumed their activities. She also notes that their client is asking them not to take overt actions without authorization. He tells her to ask them to leave the Gadgets alone if they go after another Relic.
Meanwhile, a pair of cloaked figures can be seen walking down a city street. One of them is a small girl with purple hair and a device on her glove that looks an awful lot like Caro's summoning device. The other is a tall man wearing gauntlets similar to those used by TSAB mages; his body language suggests he's protecting the girl. She briefly stops to look around, but neither of them speaks.
Late that night, Vita watches the Forwards returning from yet more training. Vita reflects that they don't know how fortunate they are, having Nanoha to protect them. She resolves to make certain that she protects Nanoha in turn.
Tropes
- Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: There isn't much action in this episode; it's mostly dedicated to Exposition, and to getting various pieces into place for things that will happen later.
- Call-Back: There are a couple of allusions to the events of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
- Calling Card: Scaglietti's signature inside the Gadget, which was obviously left deliberately for investigators to find. Fate and Shario briefly wonder whether Scaglietti is taunting them, or if someone else planted it there to misdirect them. note
- Early-Bird Cameo: Zest and Lutecia have brief non-speaking cameos near the end of the episode.
- Foreshadowing: Vita asks Nanoha if she isn't being too lenient in her training. Nanoha replies that if an instructor has time to scold people over small infractions, they'd be better off using that time to train their students to do the right thing to begin with. The weak point in Nanoha's approach will become apparent in a couple of episodes.
- Subaru's remark about never having visited Earth is clearly setup for Sound Stage 01, which takes place soon after this episode.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: As the camera pans past Scaglietti's People Jars, Megane Alpine is briefly recognizable in the one marked 'XI'.
- Mildly Military: Invoked in-universe when Vita suggests that Nanoha is guilty of this trope with respect to the recruits.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Fate lampshades the fact that Scaglietti titles himself 'Doctor' note . Given his origins, it's fairly unlikely he actually has a formal degree.
- Noodle Incident: Fate says she's been after Scaglietti since an 'incident' several years prior, one in which Nanoha was apparently also involved. We never learn any more about it.
- People Jars: Scaglietti's base contains quite a number of them — some empty, but many more still occupied. As we see in later episodes, there is actually more than one set, each with their own numbering logic; the ones we see here are used for Artificial Mage subjects, but we later see another set which is used for combat cyborgs.
