Time for the endgame! Operation SRW will kick off in mere hours, and the final tactical briefings are being given. The plan they came up with has four phases: step 1, use the PT and AM units to create a diversion. Step 2, hit the enemy with nukes. If that fails, close in and use the ships' Tronium Cannon and Gravity Cannon. And if THAT fails, send the PT and AM units right down the enemy's throat. Since this game isn't called Super Nuke Wars, you can guess how this one's gonna turn out. Everyone figures by now that the Aerogaters want us to be as strong as possible for this, though the reasons aren't yet clear. They're far superior to humans, so it remains to be seen if there's something on Earth they're interested in. Gilliam reduces it to two possibilities: there's either something on Earth they want, or something on Earth they fear. Bit of both, perhaps.
It still hasn't been explained what Operation SRW means, has it? The characters, too, can only guess. Excellen thinks it means Sexy Romance Weapon, and she almost manages to convince the others that someone actually named it that. Ryusei makes the much more plausible guess of Super Robot War, and of course no one believes him because that's a stupid name. Don't worry, Ryusei, there's plenty of people who like it.
Everyone's preparing to take off for this final mission, and it's not just the pilots. Rob, Kirk and Marion all want to see the mechs they designed in top shape for this, so they'll be coming along...well, except Kirk. As Marion explains, someone needs to remain on Earth to settle matters like the mystery of Meteor 3, as well as EOT analysis. She herself has no interest in EOT, and is set on building a mech without it out of sheer principle.
Jonathan takes this opportunity to have one more meeting with Irm before they go, expressing his concern for Irm's well-being in spite of Jonathan's earlier shown attempts at fatherhood. Of course, if Irm doesn't return, Jonathan will ask out every woman in Irm's notebook. Anyone's guess whether he's kidding or not. Also, Ryusei goes to meet his mother who has been transferred to the Far East Brigade base hospital, and they have a brief uncomfortable moment when they both realize they've both been hiding things from each other: Yukiko's involvement in ICS experiments, and Ryusei's enrollment in the military. They both accept the choices the other has made, however, and she actually has some admiration for his bravery, noting that he resembles his father in that respect. Speaking of which, that guy hasn't really come up much. Would be cool to know more about Ryusei's dad.
Aboard the White Star, they've noticed that Earth's fleet is gathering and is preparing to attack. The star itself prepares for combat, the shields are activated, and the villains have one last strategic meeting as well. Strangely, the Hiryu and Hagane are splitting away from the fleet and heading towards the Moon, which Ingram presumes to be a decoy maneuver. Levi wants to go fight them herself, but Atad thinks Levi must remain aboard to control the Judecca. Levi, on the other hand, feels confident that these humans won't even get through the shields. Yeah, right. First you train humans to be at their most powerful, then you expect they won't pose a threat. Second option is deploying Galuin again, which isn't exactly feasible since he hasn't recovered from the last battle yet.
INGRAM: He's an old sample. It's time we got rid of him.
ATAD: But, if he were to be caught, he might reveal vital info. Wait...has that been your plan all along...?
Whose side ARE you really on, Ingram? My guess is "no side", but that's just me. Atad reluctantly accepts, on the condition that she gets to do something particular as well: testing the effectiveness of something called the "Zfylud Crystal". Wonder what that is, cause it hasn't come up before. Sounds ominous, at the very least.
The Hagane and Hiryu arrive at L1
, and sit idly while waiting for any signs of enemy activity. There is enemy activity, but not where they are: Mao Industries on the moon is under attack! This doesn't even make a lot of sense unless they're trying to be bait for a counterattack, since Selene Base or the Moon Cradle would be the obvious targets if they're gonna attack the moon. Not like the ships have any choice: they're the only vessels that can respond, and Mao Industries' PT production facilities are still needed. Besides, there are a few people here with a personal stake in it: Rio's dad is a high-ranking executive, and Irm's on-and-off girlfriend Ring Mao is the current company president. Off to the moon it is, then.
Meanwhile, Mao Industries is being evacuated, and Ring is looking for a way to defend everyone until the Hagane and Hiryu arrive. Go, Action CEO! All the Gespenst Mk IIs were given to the EFA, the UCC has the Huckebein Mk II, and all the rest is still in development. Probably didn't expect they'd ever have to defend HQ. Fortunately, they still have a Grungust they got from the Far East Brigade, and although Yuan doesn't really like seeing her put herself in danger, Ring deploys.
Let's play Space Invaders! It's a bunch of pretty weak enemies, though I'm unfamiliar with using Ring and her Grungust isn't exactly damage-proofed like Irm's. Her Drive ability gives me a generous 30 Will boost, and I send it forward to face the first line of enemies. Well, no damage this turn, and each of them got blown up by a single Boost Knuckle. Second turn I send her towards the big mass of enemies, and although she manages to survive this turn she IS taking serious damage now. Not as weak as I had hoped. At least the Hagane and Hiryu have now arrived to save her skin, and I deploy my usual troops. Awkward confrontations ensue, as Irm and Ring aren't exactly hitting it off and Rio has to explain to her father why she is now a PT pilot. Well, the details will have to wait, fending off these guys comes first.
As a further annoyance, we are now in space and thus some of my units no longer have their air-unit bonuses. At least they still have air in those mechs. Since the SRX can now be used indefinitely, it's one of the first things I do aside from moving everyone forward. I'll have Ring retreat for now before I have to pay the repair costs of her mech, and have everyone else make their seemingly slow progress towards the battle. Might be illusory, or I need to find a way to increase movement speed in space.
Once I get started, they aren't very tough, no more than any other mooks I've dealt with. There's a lot of them, though, so it's time for Psychoblaster and Cyflash to do their usual trick. Each of them has a lot of health, too, so I think using Valor isn't unwarranted. And after two blasts...they are still standing, albeit with minimal HP? Okay, I'll have Latooni sacrifice her SP to use Enable, so we can mop this up with a third blast. Damn last-hit-point-enemies...Masaki has almost burned through his energy too, now, but at least this part of the battle is done now.
Yes, as usual there's more to come. This was indeed a decoy, and Galuin now reveals himself for the showdown. Now, we've beaten him before, but it slowly starts dawning on the team that this guy might be none other than Colonel Kar-wai, resurrected by the Aerogaters after his mech was lost in space. He's still piloting it, as the characters recognize it as a vintage PTX-002 Gespenst Type S, one of the first Personal Trooper models and the eponymous "Black Phantom" in the chapter title. Obsolete model or not, that's one hell of a pilot it's got.
KYOSUKE: Don't be intimidated. We didn't make it here on luck. No matter who the enemy is, just go right through them.
Well said, Kyosuke. Galuin brought along some extra troops, which are quickly disposed of for some extra money and XP. Now, onto the man himself. Latooni's analysis reveals that Galuin's Gespenst is actually 80% Aerogater material, and she helpfully describes it as "like a Gespenst, but completely different". Thanks for nothing, Latooni. Time to use my strongest attacks, and burn up that SP. Darkness Slash as usual, followed by Supreme Sword, followed by...wait a minute, this guy's HP is going down rather quickly. I was expecting him to have some trick up his sleeve, but I pretty much flatten him in a single turn. And here I was all amped up for a big boss fight. I hope this is not what Atad intended to test with her crystal thing.
And he's dying for real too, it's not just a fake. In his last moments, he briefly regains his identity as the Colonel, explaining out of breath that he can finally die in peace. Gilliam gets a dramatic scene here as he has his final conversation with his former leader, before Kar-wai finally gives up the ghost. No time to mourn; all units need to rendezvous with the fleet as Operation SRW is moments away from starting. Yes, it has been starting for several chapters now, but now it's really happening.
A search through the wreckage revealed bits of a cyborg, and it seems the Colonel's body was almost completely synthetic apart from his brain. They even did their usual shoddy job of removing his memories, since they're returning to their old selves all the time. On the White Star, they don't have quality control, they just send defective units into battles they can't win. They might not even have that many sentient pilots: Marion estimates that given the number of AI units fought so far, the number of pilots (converted human or otherwise) might actually be less than 100. That's still a lot, but at least the situation's looking up.
Nothing critical that I need to dump my money into, but the Alteisen could use a mobility boost, so there you go Kyosuke. Kinda wasteful, but he keeps getting hit a bit too much for my liking. Not much else is new; we didn't even gain a new pilot this time, since Ring decided to remain on the moon.
