NEO SUPER ROBOT WARS Walkthrough
Mark Neidengard, [email protected]
Version 1.0


- Introduction -

Welcome to Shin Super Robot Taisen, aka Neo Super Robot Wars.  This early
member of the SRW family to reach the Playstation is an interesting slice of
SRW history, featuring *non* super-deformed combat sequences and a few little-
seen series.  Also filling in a bit of background for the "SRX" world-view,
this is an intriguing morsel for the serious SRW cognoscentus.

This game bifurcates into an Earth and a Space route, helping ensure that no
series gets entirely short shrift.  Only by playing both routes to completion
can you unlock the final, tri-partite battle.

As always, this walkthrough is one (and a half?) steps removed from a full
line-by-line translation of the game.  I provide few strategic notes, instead
attempting to fill you in on what is actually going on in the game, on the
theory that the combat action is only part of the appeal.  Please feel free
to email me all comments/corrections, though be aware that I am dogmatic on
certain names (such as the "Angel Heiro" and "Hiiro Yui").


- Commentary -
[Skip this if you want to get straight to the game...]

Neo SRW seemingly came at a point of turmoil for the SRW franchise, where
writing was unstable, the preferred platform (Saturn/Dreamcast vs. Playstation)
was unclear, and even the world direction was up in the air (witness SRW 4
replaced by 4S replaced by F/FF).  With it's non-SD combat animations and
original SRX storyline, this game appears to be an abortive first step down
a similar path to what SRW eventually trod in the Alpha series.

Though the game left a wide opening for a sequel, none was ever made.  The
game writing makes it easy to see why: vast amounts of tedious filler in the
early stages and numerous examples of insufficient motivation for many of the
member series.  Why is Trider, or Getter Robo or Dankuuga, even in the game?
Can you say that Gundam Wing is even present given that a grand total of only
four characters appear, and that the Wing Gundam is *optional*?  Although this
game is decently long (~60 missions in all) it feels like the plot
simultaneously drags and rushed to near-incoherence all too often, culminating
in one of the most non-sequitur climaxes I can remember.  The inter-battle
dialog is certainly more fleshed out than some of the very early games, but
definitely has room for improvement.

Game-play wise, Neo SRW is a blast from the past.  The engine occupies an
evolutionary slot somewhere between the original Famicom mechanics and the
"modern" 2-D engine used in the Complete Box and turbocharged for F/F Final.
Its "classic" features include:

- Individually-upgradable weapons, one of my great pet peeves for a game that
 encourages you to see as many combat animations as possible.  This quickly
 degenerates into using one (hopefully free) regular-duty P weapon, and one
 "big gun" for dispatching bosses or other heavies.
- Single-instance transformable mecha during Intermission.  This is a very
 strange arrangement where you must explicitly "transform" or "combine" units
 to see what their different capabilities are.  This is more than a mere
 annoyance when you see that it impacts how units sortie - if a unit is
 transformed to flying mode on a map precluding flying-only vehicles, it will
 be unsortiable.  Moreover, combinable units have a separate set of equipment
 slots from their constituent units, so beware!
- Old-school magical mechanics.  While the spell list is considerable expanded
 over most of the "original" chronology games, spells like "Encourage" only
 work on adjacent units instead of allowing arbitrary selection.  The most
 telltale sign is that "Good Luck" confers both double money and double
 experience.
- Buried treasure, another one of the banes of my existence.  The good news is
 that you usually have ample #feebs along to be sent to grab it.

In combat, this game is a competent but undistinguished extension of its
predecessors.  Manoverability improvements have only incremental benefits, such
that the Ali Mech ("float like a...") of the game, Layzner, is only somewhat
harder to hit than normal.  Likewise, armor confers only incremental damage
relief, compared to some SRWs where a well-armored unit ignores peons.  Given
that most of the big armors confer a huge manoverability/movement hit, armor
items are virtually worthless.

In the final analysis, this game is probably more of interest to hard-core
SRW gamers than to the casual audience.  There is joy to be had watching all
your main dudes get Double Motion, or watching the God Gundam or Shin Getter
Robo letting loose with the heavy artillery.  Seeing one of the V's (Voltes)
without the other (Combattler) is novel, and it's intriguing to see the first
vestiges of the SRX/Balmar/Tronium concept emerging.  I'm glad I played it, but
I can't say I felt as captivated as I did with most of the other games in the
series.


- Resources -

This page contains among other things maps to the treasure:
 http://www.rpgdl.org/ps/nsrw.html
This page lists how to get all the optional units/attacks:
 http://www.ogaki-tv.ne.jp/~wagahai/srw/gsk/sin/secret.htm


- Walkthrough -

1. Nazo no Shinryakusha ("Mysterious Invaders")

The military has detected a large energy signature - far *too* large.  The
source becomes apparent quickly: one of the colonies around Mars just exploded.
And what's worse, more colonies are under attack from beam cannonry borne
by unknown flying adversaries.  In short order, the entire constellation of
Martian colonies is wiped out, and the commander runs off to make his report,
yelling to his subordinates not to take their eyes off the unidentified
enemy.

Some observers thinks to themselves that, had they but a little more time,
Earth's warpower could have been organized to combat this threat.  They had
apparently anticipated this threat, but not a threat this threatening - is
resistance, in fact, futile?  Will the enemy even accept a surrender?  With
so little time to choose, they have to bet on even the smallest ray of hope -
and they have to buy time, enough to steal the adversaries knowledge and
technology.  That's the only option open for mankind, or at least one of the
observers thinks.... to the other's protests, the first observer notes that
the Earth will surely fight this threat, until at last mankind is utterly
destroyed.  These men cannot afford to let that happen, and the leader orders
the other to call "him".  He tells "him" that while he understands his
feelings, he needs "him" to go to the Earth to help fight the Zanskull Empire.

An unidentified flying object is heading towards Earth - and this is an age
when no flying object should be unidentified.  The men of the Far East Earth
Defense Base contact the object, which doesn't respond to their hailing.  It's
due north, and headed straight for Japan...

On the beach, Rilina finds a man in a space suit, rather unconscious and
apparently some kind of soldier.  She hastens to call an ambulance, but Hiiro
regains consciousness, only to find in horror that Rilina has seen his face.
Hiiro resolves to kill her, which may be a somewhat tall order ;)  Rather than
do it on the spot, he carjacks the ambulance and speeds off, leaving Rilina to
introduce herself to... thin air.

The flying object is still approaching, and Professor Hamaguchi orders his
men to their stations.  He tells his men, the Voltes Team, that as they are
now their defeat at the hands of the enemy is certain: only by Volting In can
they win!  Unfortunately, that's easier said than done, especially with the
enemy approaching.  Ken'ichi's mom takes things into her own hands, piloting
her machine and shooting at the enemy.  She sacrifices herself in short order
[and what jaunty music too!], apparently to motivate her sons and their
teammates to actually Volt In.

 On turn 2, the Taikuu Maryuu shows up, which Hamaguchi hastily tells his
 team is an ally.

 On turn 2.5, Jangyal is cowed by your people defeating one of his Paizangers
 and decides to retreat.  But when you kill enough of the flying saucers, some
 reinforcements show up.

After the battle, Prince Heinel is rather irate that Jangyal hadn't included
these mighty Earth robots in his original report.  Well, Heinel seems more
intrigued than anything: at least this will make his conquest somewhat
interesting.

Those members of the Voltes team who just lost their mother ponder her
sacrifice on their behalf.  When the "cool, nihilistic" team member belittles
"kid" and "fat oaf"'s use of the word "mommy" when referring to her, the
"hot-blooded leader" almost gets into a fist fight until the "big-breasted
ninja" pink member of the team intervenes.  This is 01d $k00l sentai and no
mistake.  As the Voltes members go to meet the Taikuu Maryuu squad...
..Rilina sees a sister (sistah?) introduce a new transfer student joining her
school: Hiiro!


2. Trider G-7 Toujou ("The Trider G-7 Appears")

Daimoji introduces himself and his team from the Far East Base.  Hamaguchi has
heard of them from Chief Oka, who conveniently calls up just then to offer
condolences about his wife.  He tells Hamaguchi that, as he knows, the military
might of the world is not yet united of purpose, and will surely fall to the
alien invaders in time.  Oka wants to build a super robot squadron around the
Taikuu Maryuu, under his own initiative, and at least protect the Far East.
Hamaguchi is happy to chip in the Voltes Team, though he cautions that they've
only just begun their training and may not be of much use.  Oka confides that
the Gaiking and Taikuu Maryuu aren't exactly finished either, but that this
isn't a time for excuses.  Ken'ichi is happy to participate, especially to
avenge his mother, and Daijirou and Hiko follow happily.  Kazuya is damned
if he'll let some aliens have their way with the world, and Megumi very much
agrees.  Hamaguchi then tells Oka to be sure that the Voltes Team gets plenty
of practice combining.  Tsuwabuki Sanshirou, Gaiking's pilot, also introduces
himself, as does the condescending Top Gun pilot from America, Pete.

Zuhl has readied some Dokugagas for Jangyal's use, though he also has some
idea of his own that Jangyal agrees to let him try.  This results quite
quickly in a distress call being sent to your people.  To add a bit to your
warpower, Oka quickly calls in, saying that he's just signed a treaty with
Takeo General Company, who will be sending the Trider G7.  It's pilot, Watta,
wastes no time in making introductions when your people arrive.  Despite him
being a kid, he's far more experienced a pilot than either of the other two
teams, so don't let him leave your ass in the dust.

 The bad guys have a simple plan to lure you into a trap.

Fortunately, Daimoji isn't so simple as to fall into it.  Watta's butler also
reminds him that any more fighting will cost their company a lot of money.
Meanwhile, Heinel is in the process of trying to berate Zuhl for the cowardly
flight from battle when Zuhl says that the Dokugaga hasn't run away at all:
it's trying to, yes, lead your people into a trap.  Heinel is indignant that
Zuhl thinks the Dokugaga could be beaten by mere humans, but Zuhl claims he's
just trying to be on the safe side.  Heinel finally buys into that idea, eager
to see what results.


3. Koushiryoku Kenkyuujo ("Photon Power Laboratory")

Your people learn that Watta is in fact the president of his company despite
being gradeschool age: and is indeed a very able pilot to boot.  He also
comes with wacky friends who love them some business dealings.  Sakon
meanwhile is tracking the enemy to Mt. Fuji, and Daimoji orders your people off
in pursuit.  The hope is that you can provide ammo for Trider, which turns
to be quite expensive to operate.

In the forests near Mt. Fuji is the Photon Power Laboratory, and it's director
Professor Yumi has just gotten some bad news: something is lurking in the
woods.  Wearing yellow just won't cut it any more, so he sorties Kouji for some
long-awaited combat.

 As more enemies emerge, Sayaka joins the battle at Kouji's side... or tries
 to until Kouji tells her to stay and watch.

 The cavalry shows up a bit later.

Daimoji realizes that he largely owes it to Mazinger Z that his squad didn't
succumb to the enemy's trap.  Kouji happily figures that he could have taken
out all the bad guys by himself, and quickly and happily apologizes for calling
Watta a little kid.  Watta notes that his father left him his invincible
machine, and is happy Kouji's seen fit not to belittle it.  The mere mention of
Watta's father brings a tear to the butler's eye, and Kouji realizes that this
"being left a robot by dad" thing puts him and Watta in the same boat.  In fact
Boz is about the only one whose machine _wasn't_ somehow handed down by the
family, but Kouji observes that the Borot is mainly just in the way.  Boz takes
umbrage at this, but with his lackeys in tow he plans to one day build the
Borot into one hell of a machine.  He thinks.  Anyways, Mazinger Z and
Aphrodite A are to be added to your squad, since Yumi realizes that the enemy's
strength is far greater than you've experienced thusfar.  Kouji and Sayaka
also recognize Sanshirou from his TV appearances as a pro baseball player,
though he says that for now he's more like a professional defender of the
Earth... well, semi-pro anyways.

Zuhl meanwhile is whimpering that even in his dreams he never imagined a robot
like that near Mt. Fuji.  Jangyal realizes that Mazinger may not be the only
Earth robot more powerful than they expected, and counsels caution.  Heinel is
in no mood to hear that, and Katherine remind him that the fate of all the
Boazan is riding on this.  He knows this, figuring that his mistake was leaving
this operation up to Zuhl, vowing to take your people down next time.


4. Riga Militia

With no rest for the weary, Junko Jenko calls in to say that her transport is
under attack from the aliens.  You arrive just in time to see the transport get
shot down, but inside it are some unfamiliar mobile suits... and some new
enemies you've not seen before.

 Asimov is all but impossible to kill, but he'll flee if he realizes the
 rest of his men are toast.

Now Heinel is berating Jangyal for using one of Sharkin's men, but as it turns
out Jangyal wasn't the one who ordered that.  It was in fact Asimov himself,
who calls up and apologizes for the mess.  He and Sharkin are supposed to be
working on plans to invade North America, and he says that he's only here
because of trying to pursue some Earthlings.  Heinel will tolerate Asimov's
interference this once, but not again!  DO YOU HEAR ME! *ahem*  Anyways, Dankel
then shows up, and Asimov owns up to being pissed at a little brat like Heinel
having his way so much.  He wants to know why they have to be subject to the
orders of people like Heinel and Sharkin, and Dankel says that they have little
choice but to heed the orders of Overlord Darius.

5. Ryuusei Date

The Riga Militia are grateful that you saved their butts.  These are a private
army formed to oppose the Zanskull Empire's tyrrany in the colonies.  It seems
that the Zanskull have sent their Vespas to Earth under the guise of helping
"protect" the planet - probably with the permission of one of the fools running
the Federation military.  This helps explain why Oka created your squad under
his own authority.  The Zanskull's Vespa have settled at the Lagern Base, and
the rest of Europe seems to have fallen to the aliens in an instant: one
wonders who the real bad guys are here.  Anyways, these three ladies are
Earth born and raised, but are trying to gather people to help the colonies
and the moon.  Of course, at this rate the Earth itself will fall to the
aliens, and the North American Branch is of no help, with its inexperienced
soldiers and inept commander.  Kazuya isn't surprised that the military of
the North American branch were unwilling to work with civilians, but said
civilians are definitely hoping that you'll work with them.  Oka permits you
to go to Europe, both to gather information and to prevent the Vespa from
gaining any more ground.  He tells a worried Daimoji that the Far East Base
can hold out a little while while you're gone.

Zuhl reports that the Taikuu Maryuu has left Japan, and figures that now's the
chance to attack.  He gets yelled at for voicing his opinion, but Dankel
agrees.  Heinel will permit Dankel to try his hand at leading the attack.  Oka
is notified of the attack, but tells your dudes to keep on their course for
Europe.  Hamaguchi meanwhile has a new prototype machine he plans to test out
that should buy enough time for Oka's reinforcements to arrive: the SRX.  The
trouble is not it's combat armaments, but its overenthusiastic pilots.

Hamaguchi orders Ryuusei to sortie in his R-1, telling him not to press his
luck since reinforcements will arrive soon.  Ryuusei has been waiting for this
chance a long time, and isn't planning on not pushing his luck.  His highly
confident battle cry does little to inspire the staffers, but they have little
choice but to leave it up to him.  Dankel drily notes that this new robot
looks formidable, but moves quite awkwardly.  Easy pickings, right?

 Reideen shows up to help on turn 3, much to Ryuusei's joy.

 Once the peons are eliminated, Dankel will order the "Black Monster"
 unleashed.  Once this thing's ass is kicked, Dankel will flee with his
 tail between his legs.  Hamaguchi will order Ryuusei not to follow, which he
 reluctantly obeys.

Hamaguchi gives Ryuusei a good chewing out for pushing the still experimental
R-1 so hard, threatening to ground him if he pulls any more reckless stunts.
Hibiki has been sent by Oka to guard this lab in the Taikuu Maryuu's absence.
Ryuusei quickly establishes himself as some kind of crazed super robot otaku,
and Hamaguchi confides to Akira that as a _pilot_, Ryuusei is first rate....


6. Point Kasaleria

Dankel gets yelled at by Jangyal for his overconfidence, and Kazarine figures
that perhaps the Boazan need to settle this themselves.  Kilar can't let
that slide, reminding her that his people aren't there because they want to be.
If she thinks they're in the way, he'll be more than happy to withdraw.
Heinel doesn't want that, and tells Kazarine to hold her tongue.  Just then,
a message comes in from Gottso...

The Taikuu Maryuu hears that the base is being well protected, and heads west
over the Alps.  There, Chronicle wants to know who is opposing the Yellow
Jacketed forces of the Vespa.  That would be Usso, who apparently get over the
fact that it's dreadfully wrong for people from space to be on the Earth.
He yells at the top of his lungs that the space colonies should be enough for
the Vespa, and in some kind of blind rage charges towards the Vespa unit in
some miniature fighter plane.  The Vespa pilot figures Usso stands no chance
against his mobile suit, and in fact Usso runs out of bullets fast.  Hakushou
then radios him, telling him to switch his autobalancer to V-Mode so he can
combine the Hangar, Fighter, and Boots in mid-air.  The first Boots get blown
off course, but a spare gets launched quickly [convenient?  I guess...] as well
as decoys.

 Daimoji won't let the military people sortie since he has to keep you
 from seeming to be in opposition to the Vespa.  Watta says to leave it to
 him, since he's not from the military.  Meanwhile, Marvet explains to her
 old friends how she got hurt when the Vespa attacked one of their secret
 bases.  Usso was the one who saved here then.

 You can't kill Chronicle before lackeys show up and pass along the order for
 him to retreat.  This he does, though he feels that there's no way he would
 have lost to a loser like you.

Usso gets introduced to the crew, who initially have trouble believing in his
l33t piloting skillz.  Romelo was skeptical too at first, and laments that
their strategist Haku can't be here too.  Daimoji tells them about his mission
to come and see what's going on in this area.


7. Chronicle Gyakushuu ("Chronicle Strikes Back")

The precarious political state of Chief Oka prevents your people from doing
much to oppose the Vespa here, plus there's still the aliens to worry about.
Your people leave the Riga Militia to try to look after Europe, at least for
now.

But lo and behold, Chronicle shows up during the farewell to mess things up.
Usso is still doing his earnest best to keep up with the adult pilot chicks.
Your people REALLY don't want to just sit and watch, but Watta's people tackle
him before he can sortie too, warning him that he's about to commit breach
of contract.  Daimoji orders the Taikuu Maryuu to return to Japan at once,
leaving those already sortied behind, and Pete is able to get through to
Sanshirou, demanding to know who will defend Japan if not Gaiking.  He tells
Sanshirou that, as a professional defender of the earth, there are some things
he just has to endure.

 At this point you can either return with the Taikuu Maryuu, or stay in
 Europe.  The former will keep you on Earth (see the E routes), and the
 latter will send you to space (the S routes).

 If you stick with the Taikuu Maryuu, Daimoji is indeed worried about the
 aliens, but now that your people have seen what the Vespa are up, he realizes
 they need stopping too.  That's why he left your other people in Europe,
 figuring that Oka will understand.  Sanshirou thanks Pete for keeping him
 from being carried away by his emotions, which nearly touches off a fight
 with Yamagatake for teasing Sanshirou.

If you stay in Europe, your people don't have much time to ponder the Taikuu
Maryuu's departure, and Kouji wastes no time in challenging the Yellow or
Red or whatever the hell color he is guy to a duel.

 Gary shows up after a couple of rounds, hoping to help Chronicle out.
 Chronicle warns him to be careful of these new machines that he's never seen
 before...

Your people try to figure out what to do next.  Kouji figures that you can't
just leave these beautiful women to fight on their own, though Megumi wonders
what Sayaka would think if she heard that.  Junko reminds her sisters that
until this war is over, they're "warriors" even more than they're "women".
That said, they're feeling in need of a good man, and Usso suggests that they
just stop piloting then.  They of course won't do that, and ask this little
boy why _he's_ piloting.  He says he doesn't want to, but he's got to to
protect Shakti and Marvet... which is precisely why the girls are fighting
too.  Anyways, back to base.


8S. Vespa to Iseijin  ("Vespa and the Aliens")

Debre chews Chronicle out for getting his ass kicked by the guerillas, and
doesn't want to hear about some new mecha the enemy has.  Fala reigns him in
though, asking Chronicle about these new machines: they were far bigger than
mobile suits, and of utterly different construction.  Nor were they mobile
armors, though their firepower was impressive.  Fala digests this, and tells
him that the combat he's experienced is a valuable source of information for
their army.  She tells him to return to their capitol, though Debre opines
that Chronicle hasn't yet fulfilled his true mission, which is hunting down
the Riga Militia.  Chronicle concurs, and Fala will let him do as he wishes.

The bad guys seem to have found your base, though something seems fishy.  There
are aliens on the scene, fighting the Yellowjackets.  Unfortunately, your
people can't just sit back and watch them shoot each other down, since the
base itself is taking fire.  Meanwhile, the two sides can't figure why each
other is on the scene fighting here.  Chronicle is able to identify the
alien flagship, and directs Gary to shoot at it.  Asimov orders his people
to shoot down these impudent Earthlings.

 If you wait long enough, enemy reinforcements will appear.

Asimov returns to Sharkin, bearing the tale of fighting among the Earthlings.
Both of them find this very interesting, and orders Agyarl to investigate.


8E. Gundam Fight

Dankel passes a report from Desmond to Heinel, stating that the Taikuu Maryuu
is headed for Japan.  Jangyal recommends attacking them before they can
rendezvous with the robot at Big Bird Island Base, hastening to assure Heinel
that it's not that he's _afraid_ of the Earthlings or anything.  Heinel puts
him in charge of the operation, but Zuhl doesn't seem to have any war machines
ready just at the moment.  Dankel halts Jangyal's rage, offering to sortie
some of his Sasoringers instead as a way of making up for the past failure.
Heinel can't think of a better plan, and greenlights it provided Zuhl goes
along too.  Dankel tells Zuhl he needs no thanks, saying that it's time for
these two defeated comrades to get their revenge on the humans.

Meanwhile, two mobile suits are squaring off near the Taikuu Maryuu's course.
Rain is fretting about Domon leaving her stranded somewhere in the middle of
nowhere, when a dapper chap with an eyepatch startles her by seemingly
appearing out of nowhere and offering assistance.  He will only identify
himself as a free-spirited drifter from country to country, and asks what Rain
is doing here.  Rain asked if she's seen a guy (Domon) wandering around and
inquiring about a man in a photograph, and the eye-patched man says that he
_has_ seen a pair of mobile suits nearby...

Apparently Domon has chosen _Hiiro_ of all people to inquire about the man
in his photo.  Hiiro tells Domon shortly that he's in no way obligated to
answer his questions, and orders Domon to get out of his way.  Domon won't let
Hiiro's attitude slide, and Hiiro replies that he's merely sowing the embers
of the inevitable rain of fire to come.  Domon then challenges Hiiro to a
Gundam Fight, and the eye-patched man (the ringside announcer) calls out the
traditional "Ready, GO!" before he can stop himself.  Rain can't stop Domon
from tangling with Hiiro, and amazingly Domon is coming out on top.

Just then the Taikuu Maryuu shows up, with Pete bossily demanding to know whose
army these Gundams are from.  Daimoji is more diplomatic, but Domon claims no
army and Hiiro won't even answer.  When asked why they're fighting, Domon says
that no reason is needed to kick some stuck-up punk's ass, and insists that
this isn't a brawl but a "Gundam Fight".  Just then the enemy shows up,
apparently unwilling to heed Domon's directive to not interfere.  Hiiro, noting
that their duel has been interrupted, flies off at high speed, leaving Domon
to ask *Dankel* and company if they've seen the guy in his photograph.  Dankel
tells his forces to wipe Domon out too, and your people sortie to meet them
(including Watta this time!)

 Take out enough of the bad guys and Zuhl and Dankel will flee.

After the battle, Rain speaks up for the taciturn Domon, telling Daimoji that
they're not from any army, but rather from the colonies on a person-finding
mission.  Daimoji actually takes the time to examine the photograph, but upon
hearing that he can't place the face, Domon summarily takes his leave, Rain
trailing behind him.  Fan Li vaguely remembers that Domon is a martial arts
athlete from the colonies, finally recalling the King of Hearts, titan of the
Gundam Fights.  Despite his apparent youth, the power of the King of Hearts
is in no doubt, which has Sanshirou interested.

Zuhl and Dankel are once again in for a chewing out, but the beating of the
hapless Zuhl is interrupted by news that Lu Cain has come down to Earth.  All
Kazarine was told is that he's landed in some place called "Osaka", not the
reason.  Heinel orders Jangyal and Kilar to go greet Lu Cain.  Meanwhile, Hiiro
has received a mission to blow up a certain factory in Kawasaki...


9S. Senshi no Kagayaki ("A Warrior's Brilliance")

A tearful Shakti welcomes Usso back as the girls muse over how they can no
longer use their compromised base.  Hakushou notes that they planned to
abandon the place sooner or later anyway, and asks about the *former* members
of the Taikuu Maryuu squad members.  New orders have come in, and the entire
crew is to take their mecha and head to space, requiring crossing the Alps and
heading to Gibraltar.  This journey across Vespa controlled territory will
be accomplished by air, but first the Shrack squad members have to go about
ten klicks east to pick up some new parts from secret base #2.  Meanwhile,
Usso's friends fill him in on the past battle.  Shakti wonders if Usso will go
home with her, and Katejina basically tells him to go, figuring that he surely
doesn't want to fight.  He says he'll consider it.

Debre is yelling at Chronicle for not fulfilling his mission to discover and
destroy the guerilla base, apparently unwilling to take into account the fact
that *aliens* interfered.  Once again, Fala tells Debre to put a sock in it,
and asks what he plans to do about the base, since in fact Chronicle at least
accomplished the first half of his mission.  He's having Wataly assemble a
squad to strike it, and when Chronicle tries to participate Fala tells him
to give himself some time off.  He accedes, and she figures that the aliens
are quite worrisome - she has Metche ready her Rikarl so she can sortie too.
Chronicle in fact sorties anyway once Fala is gone, and Debre thinks to himself
that the queen's younger brother won't have his way forever.  Chronicle for
his part isn't one to sit around and be made fun of.

Wataly tells his men that their primary objective is destroying the base, as
well as shooting down anyone who tries to flee.  Your people are more than
happy to help out, and the plan is to let Romelo and the others escape during
the combat.  Fala orders her ship closer, trying to see through all the
Minovsky Particles and figure out why some of these new machines can't or
won't fly.  Usso successfully docks the V Gundam, motivating Voltes V to do
the same.

 Fala will flee when all others are defeated.

The Victory Gundam folks marvel over the quintuple-combining Voltes V, though
the Voltes pilots are well aware that they need much more practice combining.
Kouji makes sure that people remember how well his super durable, super
powerful Mazinger Z did too, though he in turn is reminded how much he wishes
the thing could fly.  Katejina then asks Usso how he feels having taken
other people's lives, finding it hard to believe that a child could do what
he's doing.  He doesn't really know either, saying that he's mainly afraid
and confused, and that he didn't do it because he wanted to.  Katejina just
wants him to promise not to become a "scary person"...


9E. SRX Keikaku ("The SRX Project")

Oka agrees with Daimoji's rationale for leaving your companions behind in
Europe.  So that you don't become shorthanded on the Eastern front, Oka has
summoned up Reideen and its pilot Akira, as well as the SRX R-1 and its
pilot Ryuusei Date.  Sakon, who has friends in the black projects division,
has heard of this top-secret mech, and that some of its technology was in fact
used in the Taikuu Maryuu.  Oka sounds a bit distressed that he knows so
much, but clears his thoughts and tells you all to use Big Bird Island as
your base.  As you prepare to move, Oka tells Daimoji that the recent wave of
terrorism he's heard about seems to be targeting civilian companies with
deep ties to the Federation military - and specifically ones involved in
developing new weapons.  Sakon figures the aliens couldn't have that much
detailed information about the Earth yet, and Oka says that you'll have to be
especially on your guard with so few clues to the identity of those
responsible.  Just then, your people are called to the Osaka area...

Aliens are visible at 12 o'clock, and it's your people's job to crush them.
It turns out to be Jangyal and Kilar, who are on their way to pick up Ru
Cain.  Jangyal offers to take your people on while Kilar heads on ahead,
deploying his forces.  Ryuusei is being his usual fanboy self over fighting
by Gaiking's side, and Akira suggests your people not worry too much.

 Damage Jangyal enough and he'll withdraw.

Despite his peculiarities, it's clear that Ryuusei knows how to handle his
machine.  Sakon figures that he's precisely the sort of person the SRX
Project needs, which according to what he's heard is a project to develop the
"ultimate combat robot".  Supposedly this involves other robots which use
the same technology as the Taikuu Maryuu besides the R-1, though Pete is
fairly sure the Taikuu Maryuu is still tops.


10S. Kokoro ("Heart")

Agyarl has discovered something about the Earthling's internecine fighting:
the humans living in space appear to be trying to take over those living on
the Earth.  Sharkin decides to strike the side which is more powerful, and
summons Desmond, ordering him to attack the Vespa's base.  Desmond gets to it
posthaste.  He orders his men to attack Romelo's giant transport truck, and
your people hasten to counterattack.  Shakti is like "Usso, do you know
what you're doing?  You're gonna die if you keep this up" which is much the
same thing that was said to Rocky.  Katejina helpfully chimes in that if Usso
is scared he doesn't have to go, saying that the adults should by rights settle
this fight amongst themselves.  Marvet informs her that they're fighting
because they've got something to protect, and Ester caustically tells Katejina
that she, with her big head filled with an outsider's thoughts, had best stay
out of it.  Katejina repeats that Usso is a child, but Usso says that he
doesn't want her or anyone else to die.  That strength of heart is his best
quality, and as he sorties Katejina wonders if she's somehow wrong.  Nope,
just big-headed or whatever.

 Katejina gets abducted mid-battle, and you have no good way to get her back.

 Desmond is all but impossible to kill while still protecting the trucks.
 The mission is over when both of them reach the northern border of the
 screen.

Your people have noticed that these aliens seem a bit different from the ones
you've tangled with before, and Megumi thinks that they're like the ones
who were after the Shrack Squad back when.  This means there's more than one
kind of enemy to fight, and more information to gather.  Megumi is rather
impressed that Kouji knows the old proverb about "Know Thine Enemy", and
Usso wonders what's so special about something that common sense.  Kouji
observes that "common sense" won't save the common man, which Usso figures
must make Kouji an _un_common guy.


10E. Tensai PAIROTTO Rai ("Rai, the Genius Pilot")

Pete informs you that you've almost reached Osaka.  The bad guys are already
there, and tangling with a single mobile suit that Ryuusei recognizes: the R-2.
Its pilot is the self-proclaimed genius Rai, and Ryuusei has to hand it to him
for holding on this long by himself.  He blithely tells Sanshirou that everyone
on the SRX team is top flight as your people get ready to sortie.

Rai is rather surprised to see Ryuusei on the scene, who tells Rai that he
won't let him have all the glory.  Your people sortie before this can become
a full-blown argument.

 The main bad guy (who has 50k HP) will flee after enough time passes.

Rai introduces himself formally after the battle, saying that the aliens have
been up to abducting people.  Sanshirou has been eyeing Rai, wondering if he's
another weirdo like Ryuusei.  Rai stiffly asks him not to liken him to Ryuusei,
the shame of the SRX Team.  Sanshirou tells Rai about Ryuusei's "self-
proclaimed genius pilot" line, which Rai allows after a moment is pretty much
true.  The others realize that Rai, too, is somewhat off his rocker.  Sakon
finally has figured out that the aliens have kidnapped a Professor Yasunishi,
several of whose books Pete has read as part of his interest in old relics.
Pete fills you in that Yasunishi is the world's foremost expert in ultra-
ancient relics, and is especially famous for advancing the unique notion that
the Mu and Atlantean cultures were in fact founded by aliens.  Of course,
there's no _proof_ that aliens came in the past, but Yasunishi's abduction by
the aliens may very well mean that the Mu ruins actually exist somewhere.
Well, whatever is going on, Rai has been ordered to join your squad, which
leads to an exchange of "Humph!"s between him and Ryuusei.  The bridge bunnies
are also ogling the newcomer, but Ryuusei warns them that Rai displays no
interest whatsoever in women, causing Sanshirou to tell Ryuusei to keep Rai
_far_ from his room...


11S. GADDARU-Tai ("The Gaddarl Squadron")

Usso gets the bad news that several of his friends got hauled off by the
Zolos, and he's not willing to accept that those friends are dead yet.  Desmond
meanwhile is getting chewed out for attacks some trucks instead of the base
as Heinel ordered.  Heinel, furious that a few trucks could kick his forces'
ass so badly, demands to know if Asimov is a Zaylan like Desmond, telling him
to help pay for his comrade's failure.  Desmond apologizes to Asimov, and
then warns him that the Earthlings' power is far greater than they had
imagined.  Their own troubles, plus those of Dankel and Kilar, bear ample
testimony to that...  If only the four of them could combine their strength
somehow - as it is, the four generals are getting humiliated piecemeal.
Asimov waxes philosophical and says that there's nothing for it but to figure
out how to strengthen what forces they have.

Fala learns that Chronicle has sortied by himself, and gone beyond her mens'
ability to track him.  She isn't worried, and brushes off the thought that
Chronicle has turned traitor, dangerously advising her subordinate to do
likewise.  Just then, Chronicle sends a message: he's found some enemy supply
trucks 20 klicks southwest of Bechien and wants reinforcements.  Fala realizes
These are the refugees from the base, and orders Gaddarl and his men to head
to the scene.

Marvet informs Usso that there's nothing to be done about the missing people
just yet - their top priority is getting to the launch site.  Usso can't
believe this, but Romelo points out to Usso that this is a war, and that
Hakushou had already prepared to face death.  Marvet assures Usso that
Katejina, a civilian, will be of no interest to the Vespa and that she should
be just fine.  Kouji adds his two cents, pointing out that Usso doesn't
even know where he would go to try to save them.  He tells Usso that now is
not the time for thought, but for action, what with the enemies that just
showed up and all.

 As your people gear up for the fight with the bicycle-riding bad guys,
 Desmond and Asimov show up.  They're about to throw down with you when they
 receive a message from Sharkin: they're to cease combat and withdraw at
 once.  Desmond doesn't want to heed this order, but he's swayed by Asimov
 and pulls out.

 A few extra lackeys show up midway through.

Desmond wants to know why they were recalled: Sharkin says that it was Gottso's
orders not to attack the Earthlings called the Vespa.  Sharkin gets impatient
with the questions, telling the two of them to ask Gottso himself if they
want to know why not.  Asimov realizes that their target is instead to be the
so-called Riga Militia, the people who smacked Desmond around.  Desmond
protests that he was merely a little careless, which Sharkin tells him he'd
better remedy by quickly taking the Riga out.

Chronicle returns to base to face the music.  He explains to Fala why he
wasn't present during the assault on the trucks: he found some aliens in combat
with a group of guerillas, and decided to watch things a bit longer.  He
explains that he captured a man called Hakushou, who of course is a _major_
player on the guerilla side.  Fala gets a huge grin on her face, thanking
Chronicle for capturing the supreme Riga Militia commander.

Said commander won't break easily under torture, but Fala has another use for
him: guillotining him to show the other Riga what happens if they continue to
oppose her.  After all, Fala is from the Guillotine family line, so it's only
right that that's her preferred tool of execution.  The execution is to be
prepared at once...


11E. Taikuu Maryuu Bougyou Meirei ("The Order to Defend the Taikuu Maryuu")

Chief Oka calls up with some bad news: Voltes V was struck by the enemy and is
currently hors de combat.  Oka wants it to return to Japan, and plans to send
replacements: the Beast Machine Squadron.  Ryuusei starts fangirling about
them while Sakon realizes that more misfits are being added to the mix.  As
Rai tells Ryuusei to shut up, Oka tells you that Yumi has something to give
Mazinger Z, and wants you to swing by the Photon Power Lab on the way back to
base.  The item turns out to be the Jet Scrander, which Kouji will surely love.
However, the enemy doesn't leave you much time for thought...

Said enemy is Kilar, looking very menacing and very lost.  He can't find Lu
Cain, but he _has_ found the Taikuu Maryuu, and figures his luck may not have
completely run out.  With some kind of lucky shooting he disables the Taikuu
Maryuu, and your people scramble to prevent things from getting any worse.
Kilar figures he'll start by hunting the small fry down first, but Ryuusei
tells this "old geezer" that it is he who will be hunted.  Oops, sore spot.

 Kilar flees when knocked down a certain amount.

Fortunately, the damage to the Taikuu Maryuu is less severe than it looked.
Looks like Yumi gets to play host to your squadron for a while until repairs
are complete.  Just then a minor earthquake strikes, causing Ryuusei to raise
a major hue and cry.  Rai tells him to grow up, and inquires if Sanshirou is as
bothered by Ryuusei's outbursts as he is.  Sanshirou backs away, figuring Rai
is one of "those" and wanting no part of it.


12S. Senretsu SHURAKKU-Tai ("The Dazzling Shrack Squadron")

News of the impending guillotining quickly appears on TV, though Kouji actually
has to be told [on behalf of the kiddies playing this game] wtf this ancient
French method of execution is.  The little ones are shielded from the TV, but
Usso is made to watch as an example of what war is.  Usso quickly loses it,
blubbering about how he can't take fighting any more, only NOW trying to play
the "I'm just a kid" card.  Too bad for him he's a Newtype and has no choice
but to fight.  Marvet says that she wouldn't ask him to fight if she had his
powers, and Kouji tells him that a man needs to shut his yap when it's time
for action.  In particular, this publicity stunt of Fala's demands swift and
certain ass-whuping in return.  But first, your people need to get to that
launch pad.

Meanwhile, Desmond has finally caught up to your people and is determined to
make you suffer.  Asimov tries to keep him calm lest he dig his own grave.
Your people are quickly surrounded, but before Marvet can sortie to help Usso
and friends out, some unexpected reinforcements arrive: it's Oliphar and the
Shrack Squadron.

 Several rounds of reinforcements show up.  Ignoring Desmond and Asimov is
 recommended.

Once the damn trucks make it to their destination, Marvet starts marveling
about how much of a hunk Oliphar has become, though she instead berates him
for selling oil here instead of doing something useful (whatchu talkin bout
Willis!)  Oliphar is as clued out as the rest of us, but the rest of the
Shrack Squad, now at full strength, introduce themselves with no small amount
of hitting on the guys in your people, PLUS Megumi.  Wait up while I search
the phone book for hotels with hourly rates in the vicinity of this launch pad
you've been heading towards all this time.

Far from the red light district is Sharkin, who is preparing to lay some
severe bitchslapping down on Desmond for his string of #failure against those
puny humans.  Asimov frantically intervenes, saying that it's all his fault and
offering a plan to even the score when Desmond can't utter one word in his own
defense.  Sharkin, like most villains with ridiculous hats like his, buys this
with the customary disclaimer that there will be no more second chances after
this.

Asimov then goes on to explain this plan to Desmond: what has been their
biggest obstacle if not the two mecha from the Far East?  Notice that those two
machines cannot *fly*, which means there should be any number of ways around
them.  That leaves the combining Voltes V, and Dankel has just gotten a
countermeasure to that from Heinel's servant Zuhl.  This takes the form of
some kind of beast warrior that Zuhl is sending, and given how much Zuhl seems
to hate his comrade Heinel it seems likely that this beastie should be
trustworthy...


12E. Hajimete no Chousa ("First Investigation")

Yumi is fretting about a pattern of undersea volcanic activity that seems
somehow artificial to him.  It's as though some massive factory is at work
down there, which added to the alien attacks is pretty bad news.  The Taikuu
Maryuu will be grounded a bit longer, so Hikaru is asked to take the SRX
pilots and go check a probable location for the alien base.  Sanshirou
sympathizes with Hikaru's companions, but Hikaru is all business...

Ryuusei apparently can't stand being with Rai, and Rai is wondering what the
hell the professors are thinking sending a blockhead like Ryuusei on a
scouting mission.  Fortunately, the bad guys show up just in time to prevent
an argument (^^;;;)  Jangyal says that you are the moths who are about to be
drawn to his flame, which Ryuusei almost handily deflects.

After a few rounds of infinite refilling lackeys, your people get sick of it
all and head for the hills.  Jangyal and his cohorts seem to regard this as a
major victory, all except for Zuhl who anemically tries to point out that what
Jangyal has done is no more than drive your folks away, if not wholesale
letting them slip through his fingers.  Jangyal has sent Dankel off in pursuit,
heartily laughing and figuring that the days is his...

Hiiro meanwhile has apparently received orders to blow up the Photon Power
Lab, but Rilina walks in on him, as much as dares him to shoot her, and orders
him to share a dance with her at the ball that night.  After a long pause, she
asks if he plans to kill her since she knows too much.  He reassures her that
he will indeed kill her, just after tending to some business.  This involves
departing the ball early, much to Rilina's sorrow.


13S. Tabidachi ("Departure")

Your people haul ass trying to load all your luggage into the transport before
the bad guys arrive.  Most of your folks leave the loading to the Shrack
girls, though Kouji tells Usso to help out and then wishes that Usso wouldn't
do what he tells him to quite so easily.  Megumi figures that that's why
Usso is so fixated on Kouji: he's so instinctual, or "wild".  Kazuya says that
that could also be construed to mean "lower form of life", and Megumi yells
at him for always interjecting this garbage. He quickly offers a retraction,
not wanting _Megumi_ mad at him...

Pipinieden, unexpectedly come to Earth, says hi to Chronicle and hopes to
resume their under/upperclassman relations just like back in the academy.
After Chronicle accedes, Pipi explains that Colonel Tashiro Vago is pissed at
Major Fala for letting the guerillas keep Europe out of the Vespa's complete
control.  Chronicle explains how powerful forces from the Far East Base have
been supporting the guerillas, and that fits with what Pipi has heard about
that base's warpower.  Chronicle also admits to having his ass handed to him
twice by some new type of white mobile suit.  Pipi likes the sound of that, and
is looking forward to seeing just how well that mobile suit will stand up to
his Tomliats.  He tells Chronicle in no uncertain terms to rest, while his
men take care of that mobile suit.  He then orders his men into battle,
warning them not to underestimate the difficulty of aerial combat in the
atmosphere.

Your people are all done except for loading Mazinger and Voltes, which is
probably just as well since they'll be needed to fend off the bad guys.  Kouji
is told to get aboard the transport since he can't fly, and everyone else is
to cover him.

 You _could_ put Mazinger into the transport right away, but why not take out
 some of the trash first?  You'll eventually get to see more biker punks
 with beam cannons, which are in bad need of a tuneup.

Kouji seems to think there was some kind of threat [there wasn't], and Ken'ichi
says that the Voltes V's combination today was thanks to his youngest brother
finally getting with the program (which said brother can't refute...)


13E. Hiiro and Rilina

Trider is being called back to Tokyo by Watta's mother, but before he can
leave an unidentified vehicle is spotted.  Your people quickly identify it as
the strange Gundam they saw before, whose allegiance is anything but clear.
Sanshirou sorties in Gaiking as a precaution, and others join him as it
becomes clear Hiiro is preparing to attack.  Yamagatake demands to know why
a fellow human is attacking the lab, and Hiiro says that he has no need to
explain.  As he says he'll kill anyone standing in his way, the three recon
vehicles show up.  Rai makes the interesting observation that this Gundam looks
similar to the R-1... or _rather_, the R-1 looks similar to it.

However, before battle begins Rilina appears out of nowhere and tells Hiiro
to stop.  She tells him that he's mistaken and tells him to stop, but as he
tries telling her to get out of the way an enemy mech attacks.  He shields
her, then starts yelling at himself and demanding to know what the hell he's</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
thinking.  VERY upset, he wipes out another of the enemy mecha as your people
frantically tell Rilina to hurry inside.  It seems that the recon mecha have
led some bad guys back with them, and Dankel isn't planning to let this chance
slide.

 Of course, Dankel isn't willing to take the fall - he'll bail once his HP
 are low enough, leaving a bunch of dudes in his wake.

Once you mop up the bad guys, your people introduce themselves to Rilina
Dorian, the daughter of the federation Deputy Foreign Minister.  She tells you
all that the Gundam's pilot is Hiiro Yui, a friend of hers from school.
Daimoji tells her to pass along a message to him: now is not the time to be
fighting amongst yourselves.

With the Taikuu Maryuu repaired, it's time to leave the Photon Power Lab, and
Daimoji tells Yumi to be on the lookout lest that Gundam attack again.
Rilina meanwhile will return on her own.


14S. Voltes Gattai Fukanou ("Voltes, Unable to Combine")

Debre fills Chronicle in that Fala has been ordered to return to space as a
result of her guillotining.  He tells Chronicle to round up what mobile suits
remain and head to Arti-Gibraltar to head to space and accompany her.
Chronicle protests that Gibraltar's launch facilities are neutral and prohibit
all military use, but Debre tells him to _ensure_ they'll carry their cargo,
by force if necessary.  After all, who but Chronicle could achieve such a
feat?

Meanwhile, the aliens have been tracking the flying transport.  Oliphar
realizes after a pause that he can't sortie the Shrack Squad, and the Voltes
team offers to go out instead.  Kouji can only watch from the sidelines,
wishing Mazinger could fly...  As the Voltes team sorties, the aliens spring
their trap: the Namazunga flies over to wreck your Ultramagnetic Generators.
Voltes is in dire straights to say the very least, and your people lose touch
with Voltes as they slow the transport down to try to allow an emergency
landing.  BAD stuff.

Voltes is now scattered all over, and the Shrack Squad has to go pick the
members up while Usso fends off the bad guys.

 You could throw down with the self-assured and overpowered commanders, or
 you can plant the Shrack Squad next to the Voltes members in turn and
 then get the fuzuncken out of Dizzodge.

If Asimov has a failing other than writing annoying fiction, it is going along
with his fellow commander, who has intellectual powers comparable to cottage
cheese.  He actually buys into the "with Voltes gone, the score is all but
settled" statement and agrees to withdraw for today.  What's more, Sharkin
in turn buys Desmond's "with Voltes V out of the way, we can wipe out the
others whenever and however we want" line.  At least he's willing to give Asimov
credit for being his friend and doing the right things at the right time.

Ken'ichi is the first to wake up, disoriented and in considerable pain from
whatever the bad guys did.  He frantically asks after his other pilots, who
are still out cold, though Megumi wakes up in short order.  The bad news is
that the Ultramagnetic Generators of all the Volt machines are toast, and they
can't even move, much less combine.  Ken'ichi is heartbroken, seeing as how
they just got good at combining and all.  Nothing for it but returning to
Japan!


14E. Sono Na wa Touhou Fuhai ("His Name is Touhou Fuhai")

Daimoji tells Sakon to use your current respite from fighting fires to give
the Taikuu Maryuu a thorough round of maintenance.  Meanwhile, you get to
meet the Dankuuga team, whose misdeeds apparently precede them.  Apparently
Shinobu is rather bashful around Sayaka, but he huffily blows off the trash
talk from the others and agrees to help bring the Jet Scrander to Europe.
But first, Ryuusei wants to know why Dankuuga is combined instead of being
split into its constituent Battle Beasts.  Masato meanly asks Shinobu to
explain, and the others finally say that Shinobu did something careless, and
they've been ordered not to separate.  One for all and all for one, and more
for me as a certain Cardinal would have it.

Meanwhile, Akira reports that the recon squad's brush with the bad guys
suggests that their base really must be in that area.  Daimoji plans to
head to the scene with your full force as soon as Gaiking's repairs are
complete.  But first, Oka phones up to say that a bunch of unknown mobile suits
are raising hell in Shinjuku.  Since the Taikuu Maryuu's repairs haven't
actually started yet, you can make it fine.

Your people arrive just in time to witness as astonishing sight: a dude in
purple robes, apparently unarmed, takes down one of the unidentified mecha,
BARE HANDED, with a single kung-fu like move.  Even Rain is impressed, but
Domon thinks he recognizes this man's technique, surprised and overjoyed to see
this august person here.  He proves that he can take down the bad guys bare-
handed too, and calls out to Touhou Fuhai, aka Master Asia: Domon's teacher
and the previous King of Hearts.  The two martial artists then trade a fierce
(-ly affectionate) flurry of blows, and then resolve to wipe out these small
fry in short order.

Once you take out a few of the bad guys, a lot more come out of the woodwork.
Master Asia reckons that it'll take forever to wipe out the bad guys one at a
time, and Domon enthusiastically agrees to help out with "that" technique.
He summons his Gundam, and chucks a blazing Master Asia through the enemy
formation in the fabled Choukyuu Haou Den-Ei-Dan strike.  As Ryuusei laments
that there's left for him left to do, Domon cries manly tears as he tells his
master how much he's missed him.  When Rain makes introductions, Master Asia
is intrigued to finally meet the rumored Taikuu Maryuu squad, and Fan Li is
_very_ intrigued to finally meet the renowned Master Asia.

Domon is initially unwilling to take Daimoji up on his request to fight for the
sake of mankind, saying that he's got a job he must perform.  Master Asia
berates him for a fool and points out that if mankind is wiped out, Domon's
objective will perish too.  After a pause, Domon agrees that stopping the
aliens is most important, earning a kind word or two from Master Asia before
he leaves on a very important errand of his own.  He assures you that you'll
see him again.  Domon flatly turns down Ryuusei's breezy greeting, and Rain
apologizes for him, saying that despite his rough appearance Domon is a very
good person at his core.  Rai opines that despite Ryuusei's moronic appearance
his core is moronic too, and Ryuusei runs off in pursuit of the departing
Rai.  Sanshirou makes a point of introducing everyone else, lest the new
arrivals get the wrong impression.

Meanwhile, Watta says that Trider is now able to transform as circumstances
demand, all thanks to his mother's financial clout.  Daimoji tells Sakon to
conduct all those repairs on the Taikuu Maryuu as soon as you return to base,
since there's no telling when you'll have to sortie next...

Elsewhere, Heinel wants to know who it was who tangled with your forces in
Shinjuku.  Dankel assures him that Asimov has no idea whose forces those are,
and Jangyal counsels patience while Zuhl investigates.


15S. Gibraltar Kuuiki ("Gibraltar Airspace")

Usso is suddenly unwilling to go to space, saying that it's dangerous up there
because of the fighting.  Katejina points out that that's true no matter
where they go, and so Usso wants to go with her.  She tells him that he
can't, that he's got to protect Shakti.  Meanwhile, Oliphar has been unable
to get the Arti-Gibraltar to even talk to him about ferrying armed vehicles
to space, and they're running out of time before the transport plane arrives.

Just then, the Vespa show up and will not take "no" for an answer when it
comes to permission to land.  Mandela, who has been in negotiations with
Chronicle, sounds rather disappointed that the Vespa are staging a coup this
quickly, and Chronicle claims he had heard nothing about his commanding officer
showing up so soon.  Mandela warns Chronicle that any act of Vespa aggression
will turn all humanity against them.  It's far from clear what's going on
without seeing the anime, but the negotiations quickly break down when
Fala discovers the rebels and deploys her forces...

The Riga are going to be careful not to damage the rail launcher.

 After a few rounds, Sayaka and Shinobu show up.

Before showing Kouji what present she brought him, or rather, his machine,
Sayaka introduces the Beast Machine squad.  They're a great help in battle,
but you still haven't been able to get the company to give you permission to
blast off.  Sayaka tells Oliphar that that won't be a problem: Oka has just
sent a warship to ferry them to space.  Sayaka then goes to show Kouji the
completed Jet Scrander, which brings Kouji to tears with joy.  He plants a
happy kiss right on Sayaka's lips.  Stunned, she half-yells at him and
demands to know what the heck he's thinking, but it's clear that he's mostly
thinking about finally being able to fly.  Sayaka hastily tells him she
understands how he feels, and manages to prevent him from kissing her too many
more times...


15E. Goudatsu ("Theft")

Watta is back on the scene, interested to see Domon and Rain added to the
party.  And it's a good thing they are too, since they're the first people
you've met who actually know who the Death Army are: clones created by the
Devil Gundam.  And *that* would be the terrifying-ass Gundam which Domon and
Rain came to Earth in pursuit of.  Its three Great Principles
(self-replication, self-regeneration, and self-evolution) make it the summit
of a Gundam ecosystem containing such luminaries as the Lumber Gundam, the
Tequila Gundam, and for all I know the Boz Robot.  This sounded like a good
idea when its purpose was cleaning up the war-torn Earth, but ever since a
certain d00d up and stole it the potential for mayhem seems unlimited.  Domon
shows you a picture of the d00d in question, and is quick to say that the
perp, Kyouji Kasshu, is NOT to be referred to as his brother.  More like his
arch-enemy owing to how he killed their mother and ended up their father in
cryogenic prison.  Rain counters Domon's "I don't need any help to defeat
it!" bravado by threatening not to speak to him ever again, and Domon agrees
to become part of the party.

Just in time too, since the aliens are at it again.  The Taikuu Maryuu is
ready to rumble, but nobody is sure if Gaiking is battleworthy.  Oh well!
The good news is that the control layout hasn't changed despite all the
enhancements, and you even get a bit of a movie before battle is joined.  The
bad guy du jour is Lu Cain, whose men are struggling to set up some nefarious
device or other.  He orders Kilar to buy some time, whose advanced age takes
more needling from the youthful Ryuusei.

 After several turns of pounding away, the bad guys' evil plan comes to
 fruition.  Lu Cain takes off, leaving Kilar to his fate.

It turns out that what Lu Cain was after was date in the university database,
which Ryuusei plays off as just minor breaking and entering.  Once again Rai
lambasts Ryuusei's stupidity, and when Sanshirou weakly agrees it finally
comes out that Ryuusei has implied that Rai is a homo.  No excuse can save
Ryuusei from a severe bout of smackdown.  Meanwhile, since neither Sakon nor
Daimoji have any idea what the aliens are after yet, you have no choice but to
return to base...


16S. RIINHOOSU Ujou ("The Lean Horse Takes Off")

Two new members introduce themselves: Aya of the SRX team, and Oliphar,
captain of the Shrack Squad.  They have orders for Gomez to head to space as
captain of the Lean Horse.  Sayaka recalls her brief time with Aya's teammate
Ryuusei, apparently in a bid to make Kouji jealous (which fails).  Meanwhile,
the rest of the crew are trying to figure out how to get their bucket of bolts
ship to actually fly.  It flies, and Usso has no idea if he can fight in space
since he hasn't tried yet.

People who have fought in space include Agyarl, who reports the Earthlings
ascent to Sharkin.  Sharkin is FURIOUS that Desmond let their prey escape,
and says it's too late to follow now lest Gresco take action too.  Sharkin,
with more good sense than most of the bad guys, peevishly but wisely gives up.

Your people head for Saint Joseph City on the moon, to meet up with allies of
the Riga Militia.  Meanwhile, Kouji and the crew are having immense fun
floating around in zero g, though some of them figure it's a bit beneath their
dignity.  The levity is broken up by a battle up ahead...

Someone named Gale is telling someone named Age to surrender, that as a comrade
he doesn't want to fight him if possible.  Your people arrive just as Gale
gives his men the order to fire.  Romelo realizes rapidly that these mecha
are not of Earth origin, but strangely enough a distress call for the "Cosmic
Culture Club" comes through in Japanese - these must somehow be Earthlings.

 Gale will congratulate Age on fighting the good fight, planning to withdraw
 for today.  He tells him that this is not yet over, which Age understands
 all too well.

 During the battle Ghostelo shows up with a few more goons for you to kill.

Cue the introduction of Age (see 18E).  The plan is for the CCC to head back
to Earth to return the kids to their homes and to take Age to the Earth
defense forces.  But first, your people agree to help mend their shuttle,
which is currently in no shape for travel.

Meanwhile, Tashiro gives Fala a chance to explain herself.  She says that
she takes responsibility for everything, and will abide by whatever the
court martial decides.  Tashiro says that he _is_ the court martial, and that
Fala is sentenced to being cast adrift in space.  He orders Chronicle to tend
to it, and testily cuts short Chronicle's protests unless he wants to get
punished too.  Fala tells him that she's thankful for his concern, and as
required by law he loads her pod with oxygen and provisions for three days.
She's glad to have avoided the guillotine herself, given her lineage, and
summons her dignity as Chronicle salutes her before pushing the jettison
button.  Only afterwards does she break down completely.

Upon reaching the Moon, Jin Jahanam has orders for you: haul your butts over
to Cairas Gree and wipe out the traitors posing as Earth defense assistants.
When Masato objects that your broken down battleship is nowhere near up to
the task, he brusquely tells you that he'll send some help.  It turns out
that this rather abrupt guy is the head of the Riga Militia, and Usso doesn't
seem entirely thrilled by him.

Cairas Gree turns out to be an enormous orbital beam cannon Zanskull is
currently building.  It's pretty obvious what a threat it would pose if
instead of pointing outward at the aliens it were to point down at Earth.
Kouji disgustedly wonders who authorized building this thing in the first
place, and Junko explains that it was the top Earth brass - and _that's_ why
the Riga Militia is needed.  Oliphar then finds Marvet adjusting her pilot
suit: she _is_ a MS pilot after all.  He tells her he doesn't want her risking
herself, and their little tete a tete is interrupted by Usso, who wonders
what's going on...


16E. Sensei Kougeki ("Preemptive Strike")

Mixed news greets your people as they return to base.  Voltes V itself is
repaired, but Hiko's psychological damage is taking longer to heal, making
combination impossible.  To fix this, your people prepare to go on manovers
before assaulting the enemy base.  You can tell that your people are getting
testy when _Domon_ is telling Ryuusei to hold his horses, and given how fast
the bad guys are to interrupt your "manovers" it seems that stress relief
won't be hard to come by.

 The sad fact of the matter is that Jangyal's day of reckoning is not yet
 at hand, since he flees at less than 50% of his HP.

Despite initial appearances, the enemy does not have an infinite supply of
cannon fodder.  After they run out and the battle is over, Lu Cain asks Heinel
what's so hard about wiping out a few impudent Earthlings, offering to
procure some reinforcements from Sharkin.  Heinel is able to politely decline,
and as Lu Cain departs, he chuckles and cautions Heinel that Gottso is one
impatient dude.  After a suitably dramatic pause, Heinel starts screaming at
Jangyal.  Jangyal offers to commit harakiri on the spot, but Katherine hastily
informs the general that such a death would be no better than a dog's.  In
fact, since he's so unafraid of death, he should go make your dudes afraid of
death instead!  Heinel likes the sound of this, and instructs Jangyal to either
come back with his shield, or on it, after fighting your dudes once more.
It is to be a glorious fight with the pride of the Boazan at stake.

Elsewhere, it seems that Hiiro has been busily fragging down the Far East Base.
The soldiers are running scared of his Gundam, but Oka smacks his subordinates
out of the way so he can appeal to Hiiro directly to stop the needless
destruction.  Hiiro agrees to talk to Oka if he will get into the Gundam's
hand, and Oka sternly orders his men not to interfere.  Oka is aware of Hiiro's
past, the years of hardship under the Zanskull and his salvation by Char.  He
informs Hiiro that mankind is facing its direst threat in history, and begins
to say that mankind must stand united, but Hiiro says he's heard all that
before.  Oka then cuts to the chase: he believes Char is mistaken, and Doctor
J does too.  THAT gets Hiiro's attention, since Doctor J is supposed to be
dead.  In fact, delivering Hiiro's new orders from J is why Oka came to see
Hiiro: "Stop Char!"  Oka realizes that Hiiro won't believe him easily, and
tells him to go to the moon to see Doctor J for himself.  Hiiro finally
relents.


17S. Nazo no Teki Senkan ("Mysterious Enemy Battleship")

Repairs completed, the CCC prepares to depart for the last leg of their trip
to earth.  Age is impressed with Romelo's repair skillz, which he's sure will
get them through reentry and then some.  After parting ways, your people
encounter something on the inbounds, with no IFF and not responding to
hailing frequencies.  To your horror, it appears to be an enemy mothership
[That's no moon!!], and Gomez wastes no time in taking evasive action as the
bad guys deploy their interceptors.

Aboard the enemy ship, Gottso is amused at your people's agitation, which
Gresco figures means the Earthlings are not totally clued out to the might
of the massive Helmoze.  The interceptors Gresco sortied are led by Gale, who
has been given a chance to erase the dishonor of letting Age escape.  Your
people in turn sortie to combat the incoming SPTs, trying to guard the
flagship on its steady course.

 Things get complicated when Age's shuttle comes back to save you, and Age
 runs into Cain, who figures he has no choice but to kill him now.  Yet
 Ghostelo then sorties, claiming that Age is his prey.

Age will bail before finishing Gale off.  Once your flagship makes it out of
the area, your people mull the awesome power of the enemy ship - it ain't
gonna be easy fighting that thing.  Age's people appear to have made good
their escape, but a few enemies were on their tail too.  Romelo then decides
to outfit the Victory Gundam with the Overhang Pack, which is akin to giving
it a battleship-grade beam cannon to carry.  Note that it requires quite a
bit to fire it...

Gottso is willing to let Gresco off the hook for your people's escape, and
to his surprise finds a capsule with a weakened Earthling floating inside.
She manages to say that her name is Fala before losing consciousness, and
Gottso orders her tended to.


17E. Tokkun! VORUCHESU CHIIMU ("Special Training for the Voltes Team")

Well, your people are hanging out in the Pacific Ocean near where they think
the enemy base is.  It would really help to have Voltes along for the final
assault, but they're not ready to combine yet.  Fortunately, Oka has come
up with a special training regimen that should fix things up in a jiffy.

Elsewhere, Zuhl has a suggestion for Kilar to earn himself some brownie points.
Seeing as how all your powerful dudes are gathering around their base, this
means that _your_ base must be unguarded!  Kilar grasps this quickly enough,
but wonders why Zuhl has come to him and not Sharkin.  Zuhl hems and haws at
this, muttering about how not all Boazanians get along that well.  Kilar and
Dankel seem well aware that Zuhl is a slippery little bastard, but are at least
as eager to turn the tables on the humans as he is.  They're even willing to
bring him along as an equal, and resolve to carry out the assault without
Sharkin catching on...

Practice is not going well for the Voltes team.  As they prepare to take a
breather, Kazuya starts to get fed up with Ken'ichi covering for little Hiko's
slowness.  Before a full-blown argument can start, Oka introduces Major Kami
Masato, one of the members of the Getter team.  Masato brooks no argument from
the Voltes members and quickly marshalls them for another round of practice.
If at first you don't succeed, right?

Masato realizes that things are dire, and yells at Ken'ichi not to whine about
combining, but to DO it.  He reminds Hiko of his mother's sacrifice, and this
time Hiko finally gets his ass in gear.  Kilar is rather nonplussed to see
that your people can actually combine again, but it's too late to back down
now...

Kilar is too dumb to run away, and even after victory Masato won't let up on
the Voltes team.  That's mild compared to Heinel's rage when he hears that
Kilar blew it _again_.  Jangyal of course didn't order the raid on your
base, and it would _seem_ that Kilar acted on his own.  Interestingly, Zuhl
owns up to giving Kilar the idea, though Jangyal decks him just for speaking
up.  In any event, Jangyal is now through with people circumventing his
authority as military commander, but before he can punish Zuhl any further,
Heinel points out that your people are on the inbounds.  He orders Katherine
to imprison Zuhl until after the threat is dealt with, and Zuhl fumes to
himself that he'll get even for this sooner or later.


18S. Aoki Ryuusei to Natte ("Becoming the Blue Comet")

Your people receive an unexpected communique from, of all people, the Neo
Jion - in particular, from Char!  Gomez takes the call, asking whether the
rumors of Char's turning traitor on mankind are true.  Char allows that he's
aiding the aliens, but says that he hasn't sold out humanity.  Romelo doesn't
buy that, but Char asks your people what they think awaits at the end of this
fight.  After all, the aliens possess such incredible technology that they've
been able to come all this way just to kick your ass - surely you don't think
you can _win_ or anything, right?  Right?  He figures that your foolish
resistance is only going to enrage the invaders more, which is why Neo Jion
jumped at the chance to help the aliens, as the one and only means to ensure
a future for mankind-

Shut the hell up! shouts Amuro, who somehow joins in the conversation.  This
famous Newtype points out how Char loves to prate on about justice based solely
on his own narrow views.  He asks what value a peace founded on the sacrifice
of numerous human lives could have, and challenges Char to stop treating other
people's lives like toys for once.  Char thinks Amuro is full of it, claiming
that mankind's history shows that people are happiest when ruled by the
strongest leader.  He thinks Amuro is incapable of grasping the larger picture,
accusing him of myopically leading people even deeper into danger and then
having the gall to question _his_ lofty perspective.  Amuro fires back that
capitulating to the aliens and therefore making human kill human cannot be
correct.  Char asks whether Amuro thinks that fighting until noone is left
can really make mankind happy, and Amuro points out that mankind's defeat is
not yet a foregone conclusion.  Does Amuro think that mankind can beat them,
then?

Kouji finally interrupts, pointing out that there's no way to know that until
you try.  Shinobu goes further, pissed off beyond measure at people like Char
who debate outcomes without lifting a goddamn finger on their own.  Char
figures that there's no common ground between you, and informs you that he'll
show you no mercy, which is just fine with Shinobu...

Meanwhile, Ghostelo has finally caught up with Age. ^^;;;

 Take out Ghostelo and Gale will show up, telling Age that the end has come.
 Age can't accept that, saying it's his duty to protect the Earth.  In
 which case, Gale figures it's the least he can do as Age's sister's fiancee
 to kill him with his own hand.

 As Age accumulates more damage, he ends up going into V-Max mode, smacking
 Gale around with ease and then being all broken up over it.  His mech
 overheats and falls silent, and your people hurry to recover it.  Just in
 time too, since some Neo Jion dudes arrive on the scene...

 More arrive next round, but so do the Lond Bel.  Even Char is surprised to
 see the Ral Kairam here this fast, and decides that now is a decent time
 to sortie Gyunei and see how well he can do in actual combat.

 Kill off enough of Char's lackeys and Char will decide to withdraw.  Amuro
 asks if he's running, and Char weasels out by saying that it would be
 meaningless to fight Amuro in the lame MS he's in now.

After Char effects his cowardly retreat, Zechs asks why he wasn't sortied too.
Char will only say that with the battle but begun there's no need to be hasty.
Zechs says that he wants to be of use to the man who saved his life, but Char
tells him that it was luck that saved him; Char was simply the method by which
luck acted when the colony exploded.  Furthermore, Zechs' desire to cooperate
with Char means cooperating with the very aliens who blew up the colony,
though Zechs believes that this is necessary to amass the power to eventually
strike back at the aliens.  That _is_ the plan, isn't it Char?  Who knows...

Colonel Bright and his crew greet the Lean Horse Jr.'s passengers.  Amuro
notices Aya right away, asking if she's a Newtype.  Though Aya has been told
that her mental powers exceed those of ordinary people, she doesn't think
she's a Newtype.  Seeing Amuro's hesitance, she points him to Usso, whose
psychic connection with Amuro is apparent right away.  Upon hearing that this
boy is the Victory Gundam's pilot, Bright muses that the times once again
are demanding Newtypes.  The rest of the crew makes introductions and the
CCC once again get ready to go to Earth, with the unconscious Age in tow.


18E. Kare no Na wa EIJI ("His Name Is Age")

Hiko now has his confidence back, and word comes quickly that your people
have found the enemy base.  Hayato tells the Voltes team that they needn't
worry about the enemy attacking again in their absence, since they'll have
their hands full fending off your guys.  But as the Voltes team races to the
scene, they encounter a shuttle being chased by a bunch of enemy aircraft.
Aboard the shuttle, someone named Age asks his companion Roan to take the
controls.  Roan can't fly here in the gravity well, and Elizabeth quickly
establishes contact with your people.  She introduces herself as a member of
the Cosmic Culture Club and asks for assistance, which Ken'ichi rapidly
agrees to.  The Voltes team splits up to better counter the aliens, and
Megumi is straight fixing to remind them that she's a ninja.

This is less than a token challenge, but Elizabeth is grateful anyway.  It
seems the Triple C were chilling on a research station on Mars when Age rolled
up in his shuttle to inform them of the Earth's peril.  This guy, Albertro Nal
Age Asuka [the third!  oh wait...], is the only reason this small band of
survivors made it when the alien fleet showed up and ravaged the station.

What this means is that Age is an alien, though he certainly _looks_ no
different from the Earthlings.  He tells you that while there are some races
with significantly different physiognomy, most do indeed look like humans.
In fact, there are far more life forms in the universe than humans suspect,
but according to Age the Milky Way is special: most other star clusters have
far less life.  This explains why there haven't been any invasions from afar
until now.

It does not explain, however, how Age's father could be an Earthling, even
given how said father got tossed into a deep space during an expedition to
Jupiter.  THAT is thanks to a "genetic equalizer" device and a woman into
interspecies yiff among the "Boazan empire" folk who rescued Age's father.
This sounds like pretty cool gadgetry until Age relates how it's been used by
the Strong(tm) to dominate the Weak(tm) across the galaxy.  The result is
perpetual war between stellar monarchies striving for hegemony, which makes
the invasion of the Solar System that much odder given how remote it is from
the disputed territory.

It's a shame that Age's warning came too late, but that seems to be because
the military is moving with unusual speed this time.  Elizabeth had been
planning to go to Federation HQ, but that would likely just get Age arrested
as a collaborator, so the plan is for him to accompany you all instead.


19S. Big Cannon

Although official orders haven't come down yet, Amuro persuades Bright of the
wisdom of attacking the Big Cannon at Cairas Gree before it's too late.  That
could result in court martial, but both Gomez and Bright have been prepared
for that ever since assuming their commands.  It actually feels oddly
reassuring to the Dankuuga squad that someone else besides them is willing to
violate regulations for a good cause.

Tashiro isn't worried that the Lond Bel and Riga Militia have joined forces,
figuring them both to be fringe elements.  He thinks his Cairas Gree forces
are invincible [dumbass], though Chronicle isn't so sure now that that white-
colored newcomer plus the weird Far East-based mecha are in the mix.  Tashiro
thinks it's a simple matter of the lion baring its claws, and orders all his
men to stop working on the Big Cannon to attack.

To Kouji's astonishment, Mucha shows up piloting the Borot, claiming that
he's taken it without telling Boz, entitled by all the hard work he put in.
He's not too worried about reprisals from Boz, who is unlikely to be able to
follow all the way to space, and has even installed a Map Weapon!

 Assorted lackeys pop out over the course of the battle, including Chronicle.

It turns out that Mucha was using the Borot for a part time job lifting
cargo on Cairas Gree, which is where he came from.  Bright then receives
orders from Earth Defense Force HQ demanding his immediate presence in person.
Will he obey?


19E. BOAZAN no Hokori ("Boazan's Pride")

Your main force is very glad to have Age and the crew join along with the
Voltes squad.  Unfortunately, the enemy base's location hasn't been pinpointed
yet - it is _somewhere_ near the island you're at.  There's no choice but to
split up and search... which is not good news to the Boazan forces in their
soon-to-be-ex secret base.  Jangyal promises to fend off your forces with his
usual bravado, but trouble seems to be brewing already in that Dankel and Kilar
are nowhere to be found.  Jangyal fears they're up to something, especially
after the mess Zuhl caused last time, and tells Heinel to be careful.

Meanwhile, Dankel has led Kilar outside the base, sick and tired of Heinel
making a fool of them.  He points out to Kilar that, whether or not it was
Zuhl's idea, their previous unauthorized, failed attack is not something
Heinel will let slide... which makes it all the better timing to part ways
with Heinel.  He figures that the base won't last long once the humans find
it, especially if the two of them aren't helping defend it.  And hey, the
Boazan are just newcomers to the Balmar Empire anyway, unlikely to ever
achieve their goal.  Instead, why not throw their support behind Lu Cain, a
major player in the Balmar faction with the upper hand?  Kilar is liking the
sound of this, beginning to look forward to getting even Emperor Darius'
favor before long.  Dankel is ready to summon the other two generals and
report to his lord, and Kilar is sure that they'd be just as glad to be rid
of the irksome Sharkin.  Sounds like a plan!

Meanwhile, your dudes aren't exactly acting in unison by the time the enemy
appears.  Sanshirou can barely believe that Ryuusei is actually happy about
the attack, but Watta tells him some people are just hot-blooded like that.
Jangyal announces that, with the pride of the Boazan at stake, he's going to
settle the score with you once and for all.

 Once you get Jangyal down to less than 50% of his HP, Heinel demands to know
 where Dankel and Kilar are.  Katherine still can't find them, and Heinel
 furiously orders her to ready his Skullook so he can sortie personally.  He
 will brook no backtalk from her, and quickly orders Jangyal to flee while he
 takes over for him.  Jangyal says that the only way he will yield this ground
 to your dudes is over his dead body, which Ryuusei is more than happy to
 oblige.  Jangyal is not to be easily cowed, and recovers all his HP and EN.

 It is _possible_ to kill Jangyal, which is worth shitloads of money and
 earns the burning enmity of Heinel.  But this not advisable if you want to
 recruit Heinel later, so...

 Get Jangyal down to under 10k HP left and he'll stage an attack on the
 flagship.  Ken'ichi yells at him to stop and run, that the battle is already
 over, but Jangyal will have none of it.  Rather than live with the shame of
 being beaten by the pitiful humans, he'd rather choose death.  Heinel tries
 to stop him, yelling at him to remember the wishes of the other Boazan and
 pointing out that people can die pretty much any time they feel like it.
 Jangyal forces himself to comply, and Heinel thanks you all for showing a
 warrior's mercy, warning you sternly that the next time you meet he won't
 stay his hand.  Your people are divided on whether Heinel is one cool dude
 or just a major showoff.

Just then, Master Asia shows up with a tale to tell.  While he's telling it,
Sakon tells the SRX pilots that Voltes brought parts with which to power up
their mecha.

Elsewhere, it seems someone infiltrated Lu Cain's ship and freed a certain
Earthling.  The Shiki Squad was out at the time surveying a certain set of
ruins.  Dankel and Kilar show up then, offering to help.  He is rather uneasy
at the fact they left their old post without permission from their commander,
warning that they could get court martialed for it.  They respond that that
old commander is incompetent, acting only on emotion without ever using his
noggin.  Given how the Earthlings are probably ringing the doorbell to Heinel's
base right now, Lu Cain decides to enlist their aide...

[Things bifurcate here.  If you did _not_ counterattack Jangyal's onslaught,
go to 20EB.  Otherwise, go to 20EA.]


20S. Tsukimen Rakka Sakusen ("Operation to Crash on the Moon")

As he deliberates, Bright gets an unexpected transmission from someone he's
never met before Chief Oka of the Federation Far East Base.  He asks if Bright
is planning to heed the order he just got to return, and Bright says that
he doesn't see any alternative.  Oka is adamant that Bright do no such thing,
saying that as Bright is well aware, Staff HQ is anything but sane these days.
There's no call for Bright to be punished for the whims of a few lunatics,
especially since he and his men are one of the few glimmers of hope mankind
has left.  Bright briefly protests that disobeying would get all his men
branded as traitors, but Oka firmly points out that fighting the aliens comes
first.  He tells Bright to leave things to him and his friends at Staff HQ,
though Lean Horse Jr. itself will have to be relinquished.

Amuro is impressed with Oka, and after all the transfer is complete your
people decide to go to the Moon.  This will fulfill the Riga Militia's needs
plus let Amuro pick up the Nu Gundam from its commissioned builders at
Anaheim Electronics.  Usso is a little sad to see Gomez go, but most of the
rest of the crew are still with you all.

As you near the Earth, Shakti starts hearing the sound of many people crying
out in anguish.  Odelo then thinks that he's seeing the moon exploding, and
in fact it turns out that Saint Joseph is under attack.  Bright scrambles
everyone to intercept... General Ashura, who commands Iron Mask to wipe out
every last thing in the lunar city.

After the battle, Gresco informs Dr. Hell that Ashura blew it, which comes as
little surprise to him.  Fortunately, a certain experiment Dr. Hell has been
working on has yielded good results, and is ready to go from prototype to
production.  He has Gresco send Char to find a suitable spot.

When Ashura returns, Dr. Hell castigates him(?) for failing to do a task
tantamount to stealing a single moonstone.  When he muses that they should have
brought Brocken instead, Ashura begs for another chance.  Dr. Hell reluctantly
puts him in charge of building a secret base.


20E. Uragiri ("Treachery")

It seems that it was the redoubtable Master Asia who pwnzorized Lu Cain's
ship, and the captive he freed is Professor Yasunishi, world-renowned expert
on uber-ancient cultures.  Yasunishi is a stunning enough beauty that even
Daimoji is drooling, and it's clear enough that she's better off in your
capable hands than in the clutches of the aliens who pilfered her from Osaka.
Master Asia deflects Domon's question about what he was doing in an enemy
*alien* spaceship in the first place with a burst of poetic bravado, though
Domon is inwardly not exactly convinced.

As for why Yasunishi was kidnapped in the first place, she says the aliens
seem to be interested in the ruins of the Mu culture.  No item confirming the
existence of this mythical people has ever come to light, but the Balmar sure
seem convinced.  They went so far as to digitize all of Yasunishi's research
data _plus_ her brainwaves, despite the fact that even Yasunishi herself has
no clear idea of where the Mu might have dwelt.

In fact, the Balmar want Yasunishi so badly that they've sent Dankel, Kilar,
and the whole crew to try to get her back.  Dankel knows that further failures
won't be tolerated...

 On turn 2, Heinel shows up in high dudgeon, demanding to know where Dankel
 and Kilar have been.  Dankel tells him that Lu Cain ordered them to go to
 his side, and that Heinel has no right to question such orders.  Jangyal,
 demands to know when they became Lu Cain's subordinates, and Dankel, noting
 that Jangyal didn't bother with any honorifics, observes that Jangyal must
 be pretty hot shit these days.  Could it be that Heinel too harbors some
 unseemly thoughts regarding Lu Cain, or...?  Heinel cuts Dankel's sinuous
 words short, demanding that he spit out clearly whether or not he is willing
 to take Heinel's orders.  Kilar, who can't bear Dankel's caution any more,
 tells Heinel to piss off to his face.  Before Jangyal can rush over to
 retaliate, Zuhl pops out and blasts Jangyal to within an inch of his life.
 When Jangyal cries out a curse at this treachery, Zuhl says haughtily that
 he never once thought of himself as an ally of any of Heinel's forces,
 all of whom he considers beneath them.  Jangyal can't muster one more snappy
 comeback before expiring, and Heinel figures the only response to treachery
 like this is death.  In short order, Heinel smacks around Dankel when he
 tries to protect Zuhl from the wrath.  At least Dankel and Kilar are smart
 enough to know when to retreat.  Oh, and the bad guys haven't forgotten about
 you either.

 Persuade Heinel with Voltes three times in a row.  The first time, Ken'ichi
 can't see Heinel as an enemy and is sure that they must be able work things
 out somehow.  The second time, he continues that your people can scarcely
 be expected to relish fighting after witnessing Jangyal get his sorry ass
 handed to him by a scumbag like Zuhl.  Heinel seems to think you want him to
 surrender, which Ken'ichi corrects the third time.  He says that depending on
 how talks go, he'd be more than happy to help avenge Jangyal's death.  This
 catches Heinel off guard, and Katherine reminds him that Lu Cain is unlikely
 to just hand Zuhl over - in which case, a bit of help would _not_ go amiss.
 After some deliberation, Heinel decides to believe in Ken'ichi, which means
 that everyone staying with him will be branded traitors.  Katherine is aware
 of this, and begs to come along.

Heinel is pretty much bumming over how unfortunate an end Jangyal came to.
Kazuya is certainly eager enough to crack down on unfair folk like Zuhl, and
Ken'ichi is in total agreement.  This is likely to go ill for Lu Cain, who
nearly has a conniption when he hears that Heinel has defected.  He demands to
know what Dankel and Kilar did ("Who? Us?"), and then tells them to get
Sharkin's ass over here to fend off the Earthlings for him while he goes on
with his "important work".  Zuhl then comes over, asking to work at Lu Cain's
feet and foreswearing the shameful conduct of his former commander Heinel.
Lu Cain will have him, but first Zuhl is to go with Sharkin and try his hand
at Heinel extermination.  Zuhl can't believe his bad luck at being sent to
Sharkin again, and quickly stops protesting when Lu Cain threatens to behead
him on the spot...


21S. Moon Guardian

Bright agrees to meet the mayor of Saint Joseph, who is grateful beyond words
that his city hasn't been destroyed like so many others on the moon.  It
seems, however, that the bad guys aren't out for mere slaughter, but rather
for moonstones (and _not_ even Gundarium).  In which case, the enemy are likely
to be back to this, the moon's greatest moonstone quarry.  With immense amounts
of good sense, the mayor and civic leaders have just decided to evacuate all
civilians, with preparations already underway for transport to the sympathetic
colonies of Side 6.  He'd like your help defending the convoy, and offers to
take care of all your resupply needs in return.

Elsewhere, Usso's comrades are trying to use their new guardian status to hit
on some of the local chicks, Elisha and Martina.  Tomarsh doesn't take too
kindly to this at first, as a childhood friend of these two.  When they
neglect Usso, he introduces himself too, instantly drawing the girls' attention
as a MS pilot.

Of course, the bad guys figure that the humans are running away _with_ the
moonstones...

 [Which upgrades to the V2 you'll get later depend on whether any shuttles
 get shot down here.]

After the battle, your people go to a rendezvous with Jin to pick up some
goods.


21E. NESSAA Hasshin ("Launch the Nessar")

Yasunishi figures that the aliens are seeking _something_ in the Mu ruins,
something important enough that it might be behind all the alien attacks to
date.  Master Asia, who seems to be a bad liar, is most interested in whatever
this important thing is.  Age says that, while Balmarians will do anything to
expand their clout, the Earth is too puny and too far from other habitable
planets to be a cost-effective territory.

As your people debate the romantic prospect of buried Mu treasure, Yasunishi
says that the aliens seemed quite interested in the theory that the Mu ruins
were sunken to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.  In fact, the Shiki Squad
was out puttering around the Trench when Master Asia snuck in, having
apparently found something immediately before.  Time for the Taikuu Maryuu to
go fishing too, with Master Asia in tow.

Age is marveling at this "ocean" that his father told him of.  He finds it
rather creepy, which Anna tells him is because he's at the bottom of it.  The
cool breezes and sounds of the surf on the beach are something he thinks he'd
like to see though.  Your people quickly spot a group of bad guys busy with
their surveying, and decide to spy on them with the Nessar a bit.  The enemy
keep popping up everywhere, so the Taikuu Maryuu makes itself a target to
distract attention.

Lu Cain is appalled to hear that the Taikuu Maryuu is crashing his fishing
expedition.  As he frantically inquires after Sharkin, Agyarl phones up to
say that Sharkin has just led Desmond, Asimov and the whole posse into battle.
Lu Cain wonders why they're ignoring his orders, and all Agyarl can offer is
that now isn't the best time to worry about that.  Lu Cain hangs up in a huff
and has Zuhl called up in a hurry.  Zuhl's glee at being useful quickly turns
to horror when his orders are to go and pulverize the Taikuu Maryuu and the
turncoat Heinel.  Seeing him blanch, Lu Cain asks dangerously if this mission
is too heavy for Zuhl, who stammers that the word "impossible" isn't written
in his "greatest scientist in all Boazan" dictionary.  He even refuses Kilar
and Dankel's aide, figuring he can make do with his Skullook and some Beast
Warriors he's been modding.  These beasts, based on his study of Earthling
tactics, are supposed to be quite formidable...


22S. ZANSUKAARU no Giwaku ("Schemes of the Zanskull")

On your way to the rendezvous, you encounter a Zanskull MS requesting aide.
Bright takes no chances but does allow the pilot aboard.  Her name is Rupe
Shino from the Muttarma Zugan fleet.  She claims her fleet was dispatched by
the Zanskull to fend off the aliens from Zanskull interests on the moon.  It
was shortly after that that the aliens attacked the Zanskull imperial palace,
and without Tashiro running the defense it fell quickly.  Her fleet tried to
return to the rescue, but met with an ambush and she barely made it this far.
It's rather odd that none of the rest of you have heard of the Zanskull's
downfall from other sources, but she claims she has no reason to lie.  Bright
has her imprisoned until her story can be verified, which she figures is only
to be expected.  Meanwhile, her mech gets modified and repainted so your
people can use it.

As you proceed, a large number of asteroids appear in your path.  Usso gets
permission to wipe them out with his mech, and Ochiro and Tomarsh seem
determined to help him as some sort of manly pissing contest.  At least they
have some skills, which is important since Chronicle stages an ambush,
determined to take down the "white mech" once and for all.  Bright orders
your new "guest" brought here, and accuses her of leading you into a trap.
She gets a line to Chronicle, who doesn't believe that the empire has fallen.
She tells him to go check for himself, as the enemy converge from all around.

Amuro and Aya start complimenting each other on how swift they are in combat,
Aya clearly interested in him as more than a fellow pilot.  Chain continues
glaring at the two of them from her place in hiding.  At length, your people
reach the White Ark to pick up new pieces for the V Gundam, as well as the
Nu Gundam.  PLUS Nuke and Boz, who is only barely restrained from pummeling
Mucha for stealing the Borot.  Rai is even here with some powerup parts for
the R-3 and a message from Oka.  The Earth armies are in confusion dealing
with the aliens and Vespa, so there's no danger of any formal decisions being
made about the Ral Kairam.  The message to Bright is "knock yourself out".

There's also a peculiar footnote in a letter to Chain from Anaheim.  They
claim that they didn't actually do any more than _install_ the Psychoframe,
which they believe has been somehow passed to them by the Neo Jion.  She
wonders why October sent her this letter, and won't let on to Amuro what she's
learned.

Gresco notes that Carla wasn't able to slow you down either, beginning to
realize that the Earthlings are far more powerful than her bargained for.


22E. Kuroi Kagaku ("Black Science")

Zuhl is so sure of himself that he even announces himself to you.  Heinel
races out in fury, and Daimoji orders Pete to surface and follow him.  Bunta
and the Nessar are to wait somewhere where the enemy can't find him, and
Daimoji makes sure to add that until he hears from the Taikuu Maryuu, he's
not to do anything reckless.

Zuhl and Heinel quickly start calling each other traitor, and your people
figure out pretty fast that the usually timid Zuhl must think he has something
pretty fierce up his sleeve since he actually showed himself.

 When you take down the first enemy, something happens that you greatly
 dislike: the enemy uses a Spirit Command!  Naw, couldn't be, right?  Yup,
 it's right, and is considerably annoying.  Of course, Zuhl's "galactic"
 genius is not matched by his assistant, who rapidly starts pushing the
 wrong buttons.  After a while of this (culminating in Tekagen), Zuhl
 furiously orders his subordinate not to use any more Spirit Commands, to
 Ryuusei's vast amusement.

Once Zuhl's sorry ass is eliminated, Heinel decides to go on a little journey,
on which Katherine insists on accompanying him.  Kazuya figures that the two
of them will be happy together (Rain is a tad jealous), but given that Bunta
is still somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, you need to hurry back fast.


23S. Amuro and Char

Gresco receives word that an interstellar spaceship has launched from the
Earth, and it's not one of his.  Given that the humans lack that technology...
he reports this troubling news to Gottso.  Gottso gives him permission to
pursue and figure out whose it is, telling him that the rest of his armies
can hold the fort while he's gone.  After a pause, Gresco recommends to Gottso
that he let Char have command in his absence.  He's got three reasons for
ruling the humans instead of wiping them out.  One: the surface detachment
has yet to find the ancient spaceship they're looking for, despite being led
by Gresco's son Lu Cain - it may actually be faster to let the _humans_ do the
searching.  Number two is the Spectrometal the Earthlings call moonstones -</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
excavating all that will surely defray the costs of governing the Earth.
Number three concerns the Earthlings' fighting abilities, which as Gottso
already knows have vastly exceeded all expectations.  With a few tweaks and
some training, they could prove a powerful weapon in battle - and in fact
he's already begun a few experiments along that road.  Indeed, Gresco
recommends turning the Earth into a perpetual factory for these formidable
bioweapons, which could only strengthen Gottso's influence within the Balmar.

Gresco recommended Char in particular for his quality and disposition, and
especially for the fact that Char actually grasped the futility of fighting
such a technologically superior foe.  Gresco is well aware that Char is
probably planning to buy time and steal that technology from the Balmar - but
until that time, he's unlikely to be anything but a loyal servant.  Gresco
and Gottso are counting on being able to control such a predictable course of
events, and Gottso agrees to Gresco's recommendation.  He will pass the word
to Char to show up immediately as soon as he passes Side 6.

Char meanwhile is hard at work trying to persuade some of the colony leadership
to side with him in the interest of the people's safety.  Verona is forced
to admit that he has no counter to the enemy weapons that have already claimed
one colony.  If so, is there any need to even think further, Char asks.
Verona won't given him an answer right away, and after Char leaves he privately
fumes over the traitor's words.  Meanwhile, Bright is receiving many thanks
for delivering the people of Saint Joseph safely.  Resupply is in fact already
underway thanks to the cheerful acumen of the mayor.

Kouji gets permission to do some sightseeing, and Chain is pleasantly surprised
when Amuro invites her to accompany him to the city.  Meanwhile, Hathaway is
chatting with Quess, who wants to know what Amuro is like.  Hathaway, confused,
says that Amuro is totally normal.  Quess says that she's studying yoga, hoping
to gain the ability to know what people are like even without talking to them -
much like the fabled Newtypes can.

Hathaway then leads Quess to where Amuro is helping Chain shop for clothes.
Quess immediately starts staring at Amuro, angrily telling Chain that she's in
her way and to get lost at once.  As the drama unfolds, Amuro quite
unexpectedly runs in to... Char of all people!  Char will only say cryptically
that, unlike Amuro, he can't afford to be just a pilot.  Amuro tackles him,
and tries to impress upon him that humans aren't as weak as he thinks.  Char
challenges him to bring forth this hidden potential of the drooling masses on
the spot.  Amuro will be more than happy to once he's kicked Char's ass, but
Quess interferes and calls Amuro a cheater.

Char and Quess make good their escape when the bad guys show up, and Aya tells
Amuro to hurry back to the hangar while she holds the forces of evil off here.
Once again, Chain proves to be useless.

After the battle, Bright tells Amuro that there's no way the Ral Kairam can
sortie this quickly to follow Char.  In which case, Amuro resolves to go in
his Gundam, with Rai and Aya accompanying.


23E. Shikitai GOSUTERO ("The Shiki Squad Ghostelo")

Bunta has news for you: he's spotted a cave in the Trench wall that is surely
the enemy hideout.  Predictably, Bunta gets discovered while trying to inch
closer for a better look.  Gaiking is hurriedly sortied to help out.  Kilar
and Dankel are hoping to score brownie points with Lu Cain, but Bunta isn't
going down without a fight.  In fact, neither is Sanshirou, and Dankel agrees
to head back to Lu Cain for reinforcements.

 Said reinforcements arrive after a few turns, including Ghostelo, a
 dangerously insane dude who disrespects Kilar and Dankel and might just
 take them out by accident if they keep hanging around.

 When your people finally catch up, Age recognizes the enemy SPT, one of
 Lu Cain's forces...

He explains that Lu Cain is of the same race as his mother, former rulers of
the Balmar Empire who still enjoy a place of considerable privilege.  It's
standard practice for Balmar to assimilate the peoples it conquers, like
Heinel's Boazanians.  Age figures that Lu Cain wants to find Mu as part of
whatever his latest scheme at domination is, which is all the more reason you
need to find it first...

Ghostelo is *very* upset when Dankel calls him on his braggadocio.  Dankel
and Kilar are not very impressed with the fabled Shiki Squad, but Geti shows
up to stick up for his unit.  Dankel smoothly avoids a fight by telling Geti
just how much Ghostelo was boasting before having his crotch kicked by
your dudes.  Geti is about to massacre this disgraceful lunatic on the spot,
but Lu Cain intervenes and tells Kilar and Dankel to follow him.  The Shiki
Squad is ordered to keep your people at bay until his investigations are done.


24S. Shin'i ("True Intentions")

The Ral Kairam gets ready to launch even as Amuro and company race after
Char.  They find him in short order, but Zechs says that Char is busy and
that he'll be playing with your folks.  Quess chimes in that Amuro is a _tad_
too persistent, but Gyunei shoos her away from the battle about to unfold.

 [But not far ENOUGH away!  It is easily possible to shoot her down, though
 the rewards are slender.]

Char flees like the subservient bitch-ass that he aspires to be as soon as
reinforcements arrive, which is shortly before said reinforcements get ass
raped by Fin Funnels.  Afterwards, Hiiro runs into Doctor J on the moon: it
seems Oka was telling the truth all along.  Hiiro has had some trouble carrying
out Oka's orders, having been rescued by Char and feeling some sense of
obligation.  He tells Hiiro that that would be a mistake: leader Kagachi of
the Zanskull was already under Char's command when he attacked the colony.
All it took was a brief demonstration of the aliens' power to make Kagachi
capitulate.  Hiiro still seems dubious, so Doctor J tells him to go see for
himself.

Amuro meanwhile is upset that Char got away, but Bright assures him he'll
get more chances.  He impatiently awaits Kouji, Shinobu, and friends returning
to the ship, and heads off to the next waypoint.


24E. In'en no Saikai ("Fated Reunion")

As your people marvel over this huge undersea cave, Kazuya's sarcasm rapidly
gets him in trouble with some of the ladies.  As he halfheartedly apologizes,
Master Asia keeps things moving by quoting the old proverb that you must
enter a lion's den if you want to catch a lion.  Said lion's den is pitch
black, and Ryuusei's little ghost imitation act manages to actually scare
some of the crew.  He ruefully apologizes, figuring that this is a sure way
to get him in trouble with a certain someone who Rai figures he'll never get.

Your people then find (astoundingly given you're 35k feet below the surface)
an air pocket above.  This must be tens of thousands of years old, which has
Sakon all excited at the scientific prospects.  You quickly discover the
ruins of habitations, much like the ones found on Age's planet.  This means
that Yasunishi is now looking at her long-dreamt of Mu Ruins.  Your people
prepare to sortie to protect the investigation that must follow.

Domon wanders off on his own, without a word to the hot-blooded Ryuusei.
Your people begin scrutinizing the old-fashioned buildings, only to find
themselves surrounded by the bad guys.  As Ghostelo promises much bloodshed
upon you for his prior humiliation, Age promises to take him on himself.  This
reunion looks to be pretty violent as Ghostelo uses some kind of underhanded
move on Age before battle is fully joined.


Your people now have the Shiki Squad, Lu Cain's personal guards, to deal with.
Meanwhile, it seems that Yasunishi has gone outside to study the ruins, and
Daimoji has more than just a professional interest in seeing that she returns
safely.  He hurries your people out to find her.

Elsewhere, the Shiki Squad are licking their wounds and feeling lame.  Since
they can't exactly go back like this, their only choice is to try to attack
again.


25S. MOTORADDO Kantai ("The Motolard Fleet")

Nanai informs Char that Quess can use Funnels even without a Psychoframe.  In
short, there's no need to "fortify" her: she's a full-blooded Newtype.  Char
was sure of this from the moment he met her.  He tells Nanai to ready an
ambush for the Lond Bel.

Gyunei discusses why he was fortified into a Newtype (or an Esper as Quess
insists on calling it) with her.  Based on what he saw today, he now knows
that he'll never be what she is.  He tells her that he wants to go out with
her and study her, and she asks if he's somehow jealous of how Quess loves
Char.  She then runs off.

Your people are following Char towards the Zanskull Empire when the trail
leads into an asteroid field.  Amuro and Usso go out to investigate some
mysterious lights seen in one of the large asteroids...  What they find inside
is horrifying: a ship in shambles, with a man whose dying words are to let
him stay human and not do anything more to Side 5.  You have no time to
figure out what this means as the enemy attack.

Chronicle is in charge of the enemy fleet(!) and orders you to change course
immediately or else he'll attack.  Your people are indeed wondering how the
Zanskull Empire could still exist, and summon Lupe to try to get some clarity.
It turns out that Chronicle says that the empire has merely undergone some
"alterations", including a total shakeup of the leadership.  Bright finds all
this very fishy, realizing that Lupe cannot be entirely lying.  He resolves
to meet Chronicle head on, which reveals Chronicle for less than the stolid
military leader he wishes he was.

Char won't be so surprised to hear that the Zanskull fleet failed, though
he's coy with Nanai about whether he expected Chronicle's raid to be nothing
more than delaying tactics all along.  Meanwhile, contact has been lost with
Hiiro, which Char presumes must be voluntary given that Hiiro's Gundam is still
active.

Usso gets good news (powerups for his Gundam) and bad news (that Katejina is
fighting on the bad guys side).  Sara commiserates with Usso's first love
being a betrayer, but tells Usso that better lovers can be quite close at
hand (referring to Shinobu).


25E. Shikitai no Fukushuu ("Revenge of the Shiki Squad")

Your people find Yasunishi without too much trouble, and Daimoji is inclined
to be lenient with her.  Pete can understand the lure of truly legendary
ancient historical stuff like this.  Age is able to identify an artifact that
Yasunishi brought back with her: a storage device which despite its age he
may just be able to get running.  After some fiddling with it, he gets it to
project a hologram - a hologram of a beautiful woman.

With an expression of deep sorrow, she relates that her people are the
descendants of refugees from war with the Balmar.  They had scarcely begun
establishing their own culture on this distant planet when the offworldly
assault came again, and the battle rages on even as she records her words.
She tells of a massive battle of attrition, the destructive fruit of which
is a ravaged surface of the planet soon to be submerged as the polar ice melts.
Believing their destruction to be imminent, her people have created twelve
special children using the DNA harmonizing apparatus, and sent them to the
highest spot on the planet in the slender hope that they can one day revive
her people, and with her people's last reserves of Tronium.  With a sad smile,
she says that even the faintest glimmer of hope that one day her words will be
heard and understood makes the undertaking worth it, and says that all depends
on the twelve children, and the Mutron-powered combat robot, Reid--

As the message cuts out, Akira is frantic to know more about Reideen, but Age
is more astounded by the mention of Tronium.  Master Asia is too, though he
manages to lie to Domon that his surprise is from hearing that some ancient
aliens sent people to Tibet or wherever it was.  Unfortunately, Age doesn't
get a chance to explain what Tronium is before the bad guys show up.

Ghostelo calls Age out, determined to finish him off this time and not
receptive to calls to actually work as a team.  The rest of them are planning
to wipe out the Taikuu Maryuu, stranding your whole squad here beneath the
sea.

 Let the Taikuu Maryuu be attacked by the Shiki-Tai to get Fortified Layzner
 in 33.  Else get Layzner Mk. II.

 Move Reideen to 10,13, and a voice tells Akira that if he chants the name of
 God La Mu, his breast will roar with "God Voice".   At 13,09 Akira finds the
 Gorgon Sword, more proof that Reideen is a relic of Mu.  Interestingly,
 Ryuusei will recognize the improved Gorgon Sword that Akira found.

Lu Cain is *less* than thrilled that his men got gaffled down by mere
Earthlings, but he lets them off with only a few insults and orders to keep
the Earthlings under surveillance.

Meanwhile, Yasunishi gets Age to explain what "Tronium" is, which she guesses
must be some kind of metal.  It is in fact the rarest and most precious metal
in the universe, and to explain why asks if anyone has heard of "warping".
Ryuusei, a fan of Captain Kirk, thinks he knows about warp drive, which Age
tells you to think of as simply a way to shorten a ship's travel time.  Doing
so requires a tremendous amount of energy, which normal power plants simply
can't supply.  Tronium can be used as a catalyst to reach the energy levels
needed, but unfortunately it only exists on the planet Tron - and Tron vanished
due to a meteoric impact long ago.  This caused the value of the Tronium
scattered throughout space to skyrocket, especially since it's needed for
every warp-capable ship the feuding parts of the Balmar empire want to send
into battle.  In any event, the highest spot on Earth _would_ seen to be Tibet,
though Yasunishi is worried that there may have been somewhere else even
higher in Mu's day.  Domon wants to head to Tibet right away, but Master
Asia curtly tells him to return to base and reprovision before any such
expedition.  Domon takes the lecture quite easily, much easier than any
attempt at ordering him around from the rest of the crew...


26S. Arata Naru Chikara ("A New Power")

Your crew closes in on Side 2, where you see a new colony under construction.
It looks less like a colony and more like a space station, and its purpose is
somewhat unclear.  Kouji then has an unusual proposal for Boz: he wants to
trade mecha just once so he can feel what it's like to fire a map weapon.  Boz
proudly accepts.  Meanwhile, as your people draw near Shakti senses something
or rather someone approaching - someone powerful.  She then goes and asks
Rupe to take her to Zanskull, saying only that someone is calling her,
someone familiar.  Rupe has things of her own to confirm, so she's willing to
use this opportunity for freedom.

As expected, the enemy aren't going to let you just waltz in here.  Bright
figures that this means the new colony is indeed of Zanskull origin, and
plans to bug out as soon as you figure out what they're up to.  That would be
the moment when Rupe, with Shakti as "hostage", departs in the shuttle.  Usso
is in a very bad position to intervene, with the Zanskull fleet before your
eyes.  It also turns out that the Borot's map weapon, though powerful, is
totally impossible to aim.  The good news is that a new ally appears: Rai
and Aya's teammate Ryuusei.  Ryuusei goes on something of a killing spree, only
to have Aya tell him to quit it with that kind of recklessness.  Ryuusei isn't
afraid of an enemy that puts tires on its warships, which really gets Chronicle
and his biker lackey Eke upset.

 You'll soon discover an endless supply of bad guys, who arrive four at a
 time.

This gets tiring, and on turn 5 Bright will have had enough and decide to pull
out short of reaching the main Zanskull fleet.  Ryuusei then makes his
introductions, rapidly proving to be an odd dude and managing to make Kouji
jealous of Sayaka for once instead of the reverse.  And accompanying Rai is
the Getter Team, in Shin Getter Robo!  Yes, bet you totally forgot it's even
in the game [as did the designers].  Ryouma for his part is rather reluctant
to invoke the potentially catastrophic might of Getter, but will admit that
the aliens pose an even graver threat.  Hayato adds drily that if the SRX would
show its true power, there would have been no need for Shin Getter.

Shakti's actions finally come to light from Susie, crying over her inability
to dissuade Shakti from following her "mother's" voice.  Bright realizes
there's no good way to retrieve Shakti, and Marvet points out that Shakti
should be just fine given that she's a civilian.  Usso slowly comes to terms
with the impossibility of a rescue while Hayato hands over some enhancement
parts for Mazinger that Yumi sent along.  These are based off some ideas from
Kouji Kenzou's research notes, and Astonage should have no trouble following
the instructions included.


26E. Ankoku no Gundam ("The Gundam of Darkness")

Mangelo reports to Lu Cain that your people have left the ruins, apparently
after discovering something there.  He continues that there's no indications
from the detection device that they've found "that" item.  Lu Cain orders
Dankel and Kilar to follow your people while the Shiki Squad continues
examining the ruins.

Upon your people's return to Japan, Master Asia splits off before Domon can
so much as protest.  As everyone else is resupplying and conducting repairs at
base, a very strange Gundam appears, almost arachnoid in appearance.  Many
more of the Death Army appear, and while it's not clear if the new Gundam
with a horn on its head is an enemy, the odds seem high.

 When the mysterious horned Gundam tries to flee, Domon chases off after it,
 and Rain after him.

Your people have little choice but to return to the base, even with Domon
still off in pursuit of the anonymous horned adversary.


27S. SAIDO 5 no Nazo ("The Mystery of Side 5")

Gottso summons Char to tell him that Gresco is off on a special assignment
and that Char now reports directly to him.  Char tries to say that the humans
still resisting are but a small sliver, and easily eradicated.  And to
prevent other humans from following the resistance's lead, Char is having
the Angel Heiro built in Side 2: a giant brain wave amplifier aimed at the
Earth.  The idea is to amplify Zanskull queen Maria's brain waves and bend the
Earthlings to mind control them all... well, to pacify them in any case.  Even
Gottso is rather astounded that this feat is possible, and tells Char to go
ahead.

Nanai is more than a little uneasy about all this, and Char admits that one
mistake and all of mankind could become the aliens' playthings.  He's willing
to take that risk given that it will take time to assimilate the aliens' tech:
he needs mankind to sit still until then.  Nanai is willing to go along with
this so long as Char loves her [stupid little slut] and helps keep construction
on schedule.

Kouji and Astonage are both a tad baffled how to use whatever the new gadget
on Mazinger is.  It claims to be some type of energy charger, and doesn't have
any visible controls.  Astonage figures that it will probably just... do
whatever it does when the time comes.  Meanwhile, Bright receives word from
Jin that spies have detected Neo Jion freight activity involving Side 5, a
region full of demolished colonies.  This calls to mind the words of "a certain
man" from before, and Bright goes to check it out, to Jin's vast delight.

Chronicle's crew is ready to rumble, and Chronicle is determined to settle
the score with those who insulted him himself.  He gives command to ungrateful
she-skank Katejina and comes over to get reamed.

 If you have Usso fight Katejina, she is unable to give a good reason for
 why she's fighting...

 A few turns in, Pipinieden shows up and sends Rupe into battle, telling her
 that Chronicle doesn't trust her yet.  Rupe knows this quite well, and
 doesn't want to let Katejina show her up...

After the battle, Doctor J contacts Hiiro with some interesting news.  As Hiiro
knows, Kagachi of Zanskull hasn't been seen for a while - and this is because
Char is holding him prisoner.  Supposedly, he's imprisoned in a new secret
base the Neo Jion are building in Side 5.  He tells Hiiro to go and check it
out on the hopes that he learns something about what's really going on.


27E. Saikyou Saiaku DEBIRU GANDAMU ("The Strongest, Evilest Devil Gundam")

With very little damage to repair, your people make ready to set off again.
Certain new machines Sakon spotted in the hangar herald some new arrivals.
The first and best looking is Kobayashi Aya, another member of the SRX Team.
She is a natural enemy of Ryuusei's - a cat to Ryuusei's mouse.  Aya figures
that if she's a cat, she should at least be a Persian [hey man, don't be
knocking the Maine Coons], and now the rest of your dudes have another
distraction from actually fighting.  And given there's no word from Rain back
yet, your people can do nothing but continue maintenance.  Rain meanwhile has
lost track of Domon, unease building within her as she searches...

And Domon, on the trail of the mystery Gundam, unexpectedly runs into his
master facing a bunch of bad guys.  He steps up to help.

 This is a bad idea, since Domon is so blinded by loyalty to his master that
 he is slow to realize Master Asia's true identity as the pilot of the
 Master Gundam.  He directs Domon's attention to a certain object nearby:
 it's the Devil Gundam!  As the depths of this betrayal begins to sink in,
 Master Asia waxes philosophical, then tells Domon to believe in him, who
 sees all, if he wants to be saved.  He extends his hand to Domon, saying
 that Domon's brother is waiting and murmuring that Domon can become
 stronger... and stronger...  Just then Rain intervenes, breaking Master
 Asia's hypnosis.  Before Master Asia can smite her, a change comes over Domon
 as he prepares to unleash Shining Finger.

 Before Master Asia can finish Domon off, a newcomer intervenes and smites
 him back.  His name is Schwartz Bruder, and don't you forget it!  He urges
 Domon to strike the Devil Gundam now, before it can become whole.  Domon
 really tries to strike its head, but the Devil Gundam somehow starts
 absorbing his energy.  This was in fact the plan from the start, and Master
 Asia's taunt rings in Domon's ears as he departs along with Domon's brother.

Domon is very distraught after the battle.  Why did his Master betray him,
and his brother try to kill him?  For that matter, who was that masked man
who popped up and saved Domon's ass?  As Domon ponders the name "Schwartz", he
allows himself to be led back to the group.


28S. Uchuu no Hakaba ("The Graveyard of Space")

Char comes on the radio with a broadcast for all of mankind.  He reminds you
that these high-tech aliens have come from outer space, and that certain
elements are attempting to oppose them by force all over the Earth Sphere
(that would be you).  He's sure that this is just pissing said aliens off,
hastening the day when mankind will be eradicated from the universe, but
happily he has managed to parlay with the alien commander Gottso.  Three
demands are made of the Earth: 1) cease hostilities immediately, 2) hand over
all current and future moonstone rights, and 3) dismantle the military.
Should these conditions be satisfied, the Earth will avoid abject domination
at the aliens' hands, being ruled instead by its "citizens" in the Neo Jion.
Your people are, shall we say, less than thrilled.  There's general agreement
that they'd rather die in battle than submit to anal bitch-boy Char's rule.

At length you reach Side 5, a dark region of space where almost all the
colonies are dead.  The Ral Kairam cannot approach any further lest it attract
attention, but the White Ark can be camouflaged as an asteroid, letting you
send in three mecha.  Those would be Amuro, Usso, and some manoverable mecha
suitable for recon.  That leaves out Kouji and Dankuuga, but lets Aya and Rai
in.

The White Arc creeps forward into the graveyard of colonies, no doubt quite
convenient for hiding all sorts of things.  As they drift closer, they spot
something stuck to the side of one of the burned-out colonies: surely Neo
Jion's handiwork.  They get spotted, but as the enemy sortie an unfamiliar
Gundam appears and starts to help out.  Hiiro is at the controls, and he
tells you tersely that, for now, he's on your side.  This gives the White Ark
enough time to call up reinforcements.

It turns out that Dr. Hell is behind all this, and he calls up Zechs to keep
your people away from his very delicate experiment.  Zechs wonders precisely
what Dr. Hell is experimenting on, but complies.  Ashura is commanded to stand
guard at the base, with orders to let not even a kitten in.

 Beat Zechs to help good things happen later.

Hiiro takes off somewhere before your people can learn much about him, and
somehow in the confusion a person claiming to be from the Riga Militia sneaks
aboard.  Your people make to take him to the captain...


28E. Dangerous Allenbie

Domon and Rain return to base, with Domon in a *very* foul mood.  It falls to
Rain to explain what happened with Master Asia, and Rain says that it was as
though Master Asia was controlling the Devil Gundam and not the other way
around.  Domon isn't willing to believe that easily, and Sakon asks why, if
her theory is true, Master Asia would want to resurrect the Devil Gundam at
all?  Of course there's no way Rain could know that, and Daimoji says that
until there's some hard information about Master Asia's true intentions
everyone had better be on their guard about him.  He tells Domon that he'll
file a report to Oka about the Devil Gundam, gently suggesting that until
things become clear he concentrate on helping battle the aliens.  Domon wants
to go after the Devil Gundam, even knowing that its whereabouts are unknown
and that his Shining Finger won't work on Master Asia.  Rain then passes along
word from her father, saying that a new Gundam that _may_ be able to defeat
the Devil Gundam is almost ready for Domon to use.  Domon reluctantly
agrees to wait until it arrives.

Dankel goes to report to Lu Cain that the Taikuu Maryuu is about to move
again, and tells Kilar to shadow it without being noticed.  Its destination
is Katmandu, where Age pulls out a portable Tronium detector.  And in fact,
there is Tronium nearby, though its precise location is proving hard to nail
down.  Daimoji decides to land, and let Age conduct clandestine sweeps.  Most
of the rest of your people can go sightseeing, but Gaiking and Voltes are to
stay behind and hold the fort.

Lu Cain, upon hearing mention of your people's movements, decides to go to
these so-called Himalaya mountains himself.  He tells the Shiki Squad to
cancel examining the ruins, and as they approach Tibet they too detect the
Tronium.  Dankel is astounded when Lu Cain lets this fact slip, though Lu
Cain refuses to tell him any more details.

Your people hit an arcade during sightseeing, which Domon comments are looking
more and more alike these days.  You shortly notice a girl who has won at
the latest and greatest fighting game sixteen times in a row.  When she
complains about a lack of worthy opponents, Domon decides to try his hand as
a "pro".  The two fighters quickly realize that each other is not to be
trifled with, and Rain realizes that Domon has gotten serious and is still
not clearly winning.  Eventually, the game itself crumbles when it can't keep
up with the two fighters' movements.  Domon is willing to settle the score
with Allenbie, and not just as a game, but Rain isn't buying it and storms
off.  You can either follow Allenbie or Rain.

 The former is the first step towards recruiting Allenbie, the latter is the
 first step towards getting Rain in the Rising Gundam.

 Lu Cain tells Kilar and Dankel to hold off your dudes while the rest of
 his men follow him elsewhere.  Their timing sucks, depriving Ryuusei of
 lunch and everything.  Meanwhile, Ghostelo still wants to settle the score
 with Age, who is not going to appear due to being busy elsewhere.

Age hasn't found the Tronium itself, but he has found the place where the
response is coming from.  It's a seeming rockslide area in the mountains
nearby, yet for some reason Layzner can't begin to budge the rocks.  The good
news is that your dudes have far more powerful earth moving capabilities...


29S. Indou Sakusen ("Diversion")

The man turns out to be one of Jin's agents.  He hasn't been able to get a look
inside the Neo Jion fortress, but he has noticed something strange.  At
regularly scheduled intervals, a shuttle full of people would arrive, and
depart again empty.  This puts Amuro in mind of the man you encountered who
was crying out about wanting to remain human, and despite Ryuusei's misguided
attempt at levity your people concoct a plan: create a diversion to let your
forces sneak inside.  The diversionary squad includes Ryuusei, for whom making
a big scene is a specialty.

Things take a turn for the weird when the Zanskull show up though, with Neo
Jion behind them.  Zechs tells Tashiro to keep everyone away from the base,
and Tashiro privately fumes that Zechs is nothing more than Char's puppet.

 Once your dudes reach the station, the rest of the crew will (reluctantly in
 Ryuusei's case) withdraw.

The infiltration squad will find a person lying unconscious inside the base,
taking her with them as they make good their escape.  Hiiro appears in their
wake, realizing that Doctor J's words were all true.

The person you fished out slowly regains consciousness: it's *Kagachi* of all
people.  He relates how the alien attack and Tashiro's treachery brought about
the end of the Zanskull Empire (just as Rupe had said), ending in Tashiro
bringing him here a prisoner.  When you tell him that Zanskull is still active,
he realizes quickly that Char must have taken control.  Increasingly panicked,
he tells you that you must stop Char before he achieves his misguided goal of
robbing all mankind of its emotions, creating obedient soldiers as the aliens
want.  Dr. Hell has already killed several humans in the process of perfecting
this technique, or rather, mutilated them horribly enough that death would be
preferable.

Not only does Char's ass need kicking, but you've also got to take out the
Angel Heiro before it can amplify Queen Maria's brain waves and sap everyone
of their will to fight.


29E. Tansa ("Surveillance")

Lu Cain gets more bad news from his troops: they have failed to pinpoint the
Tronium AND had Dankel and Kilar fail.  Meanwhile, your dudes are indulging in
some serious blasting to get at the Tronium.  They uncover a large cave, and
there's no telling what's inside.  Ryuusei, Age, and Domon are sent in to
check, with instructions from Yasunishi not to disturb any of the
archaeological stuff inside.  Lu Cain's forces are hard on your tail, joining
Dankel and Kilar in an assault on your flagship.

Inside the cave, Domon doesn't like Ryuusei trying to play "captain", but
it doesn't stop Age from finding the Tronium.  He tells them to cut out the
bickering, since if the Tronium gets dropped it'll be very hard to find
again.  This means that it's small.  How small?  Three grains of rice, which
according to Age is some mother lode - one grain is capable of powering over
thirty battleships.  As you're about to leave with your find, Master Asia
pops up out of nowhere and grabs the Tronium.  Age demands that he returns it,
saying that it's meaningless to someone who doesn't know how to use it.  Domon
rather politely challenges Master Asia to a duel, and a bunch of bad guys
appear to keep the rest of you occupied.

 Unfortunately, Master Asia is unkillable this battle.  Let him pummel Domon.

 Master Asia is trying to provoke Domon, and Schwartz is trying to keep him
 calm.  He yells at Domon that fury won't help him become a true Fighter,
 and demands that Domon consider why Master Asia wants him to use Super
 Mode so badly: rage deprives people of reason, makes them vulnerable.
 Domon ponders where's he's heard this gentle voice before, and Schwartz tells
 him what he needs: Meikyou Shisui, a heart like a placid, unclouded pool of
 water.  Master Asia is very peeved at Schwartz's interference, and promises
 to end his life the next time they meet.

After you deal with the lackeys, Domon and crew head out of the cave in hot
pursuit of Master Asia.  Lu Cain rapidly changes plans and heads off in pursuit
of Master Asia, ordering Dankel and Kilar to finish off the Taikuu Maryuu
here.

Not only did Master Asia make off with the Tronium, but the inside of the
cave is a shambles after the unavoidable fighting.  Yasunishi (now "Eri" to
Daimoji) nearly faints, totally unable to comprehend how the hotheaded Domon
and Ryuusei could ignore the cultural value of whatever was in that cave...


30S. SRX Hatsudou ("SRX, Engage")

Your people figure that they may as well destroy the base they just raided,
and Hayato figures that now's a great time to combine the SRX.  He explains
to them that "Tronium" has been used to stabilize the engine, with the caveat
that full power can't be maintained for long (see the other path for all the
details).  As Ashura and Dr. Hell watch aghast (wondering what Zechs is doing)
the SRX breaks open the hatch with one blow.

After smacking around numerous bad guys, your people are impressed at the SRX's
massive power.  Too bad the pilots still need a lot more training before they
can be called fully qualified.  At least the base is toast and you can head
off to the Angel Heiro, though Amuro notes that Aya is looking a bit green in
the gills from all the psychic power she has to expend to keep the SRX
together.  Hayato agrees to give them one day off.  Aya confesses to Amuro
later that she is in fact an Esper, apologizing for misleading him earlier.
She's not entirely thrilled with her powers, which Amuro can relate to quite
well...


30E.  Kurenai no V-Max ("Scarlet V-Max")

As it turns out, there was a fourth piece of Tronium, which Age surreptitiously
hid in a case he had on hand.  Blushing, he stammers something about how his
shuttle's engine was out of Tronium too and whatnot.  Daimoji resolves to take
this precious sample back to Japan right away, but Age wants to split off and
pursue Master Asia.  The SRX team and Domon join in the hunt.

Meanwhile, the Shiki Squad are having a devil of a time keeping up with the
swift Master Asia.  When they finally track him down, Lu Cain demands to know
who the hell he is, and isn't swayed by Master Asia's argument that he's
supposed to name himself first.  As he toys with Lu Cain, Master Asia figures
out that the Tronium was the true reason for the Balmar invading the Earth
(probably no great deduction).  Your people show up then, and Age reasons
that the Balmar vessel that attacked the Mu back when must have crashed to
the Earth - and vessels that old used much more Tronium that modern ships.
With this new knowledge in hand, Master Asia makes good his escape, leaving a
fuming Lu Cain to try to take out the traitor Age instead.  Age in turn demands
to know why Lu Cain has been persecuting the Earthlings when all he wants was
the Tronium, to which Lu Cain says he's free to dispose of cosmic garbage like
the Earthlings however he sees fit.

Things get ugly when Lu Cain uses a V-Max Supercharger to start
smacking Age's machine around.  Before the final blow can be struck, Ghostelo
shows up and smacks the supercharged mech out of the way: Layzner is _his_
prey.  Now Ghostelo has made himself the enemy of his fellows, and the SRX
team realize they've only got one chance to defeat Lu Cain: something that
hasn't succeeded until now...  And won't succeed yet, causing Daimoji to
sortie the rest of the crew as well as... Shin Getter Robo!  This causes Lu
Cain to wonder aloud just how many robots Earth has.

 Lu Cain is practically impossible to defeat since his subordinates warn
 him that you all are the people who did in Heinel when his HP are low
 enough.

Only *after* the battle do your people realize that Domon is missing, presumably
gone after Master Asia.  Ryuusei is impressed that Domon was able to follow
the elusive Tibetan even when the aliens couldn't.  As Rain frets over his
wellbeing, the SPT folks find it a miracle that Age is alive after how badly
his Layzner got ravaged...


31S. Angel Heiro

Word quickly reaches Char about the debacle at Side 5.  He has to grudgingly
hand it to Bright, at least until he hears that he's next on the menu.  Lucky
for him, Shakti turns out to be Maria's daughter, which he had suspected by
sensing the same brain waves from them.  This means that, depending on how
things turn out, he may end up using her _instead_ of Maria in the machine.

With a jingling of jewelry, Fala pays the now-general Tashiro a little visit on
behalf of Gottso.  Tashiro is more than little afraid, despite Fala's merry
assurances that she's not a ghost as such.  She is wryly amused when Tashiro
claims to be happy that the aliens saved her, and takes exceptional glee in
showing him the "traditional" bladed jewelry that befits a member of the
Guillotine family.

She has a proposition for him: why not serve Gottso directly instead of going
through Char.  She's already put in a good word for him, seeing as how they're
such old friends and all, and purrs that she's not holding his past actions
against him.  After all, they _are_ man and woman... and it's pretty clear who
will be wearing the pants in _this_ relationship...

Once more, Chronicle and Pipinieden get to try to stop your dudes.  What are
the odds.

 Kill enough of Pipinieden's dudes and he'll panic and try to send word to
 Chronicle.  Shoot down both messengers and Chronicle will notice enough to
 send aide on his own.

 Katejina, unknown to Usso in her new MS, is feeling some semblance of regret
 that things turned out this way, though she blames it on Usso for coming
 this far.  When you finally get rid of Katejina's mech, Usso begs her to stop
 fighting.  She insists that he must pay for the sin of causing all this
 fighting, but he's not having it: he points out that she's being deceived by
 Chronicle.

The only way to destroy the Angel Heiro is to blow it up from within.  Usso is
sent as part of the team, but Hayato realizes that it's going to take no less
than four different ultra-high explosive charges to do the trick.  And unless
the timing is perfect, your people will get caught in the blast.  The Shrack
Squad is skilled in demolitions, and everyone else gets to guard them.  Amuro
tells Usso to prepare himself for the possibility that Shakti may not turn
up...



31E. Meikyou Shisui ("Clear Mirror of Still Water")

Your people know something has to be done about Lu Cain, since even in V-Max
mode Layzner was like a powerless infant before it.  Layzner in fact may be
impossible to repair, and Age himself has only barely escaped life-threatening
injury.  Hayato then informs the SRX team that the time has come to change out
their engines, saying that only when combined as one can the SRX show its true
power.  The new engine uses Tronium, which requires a vast gaping plot hole
to explain how it could be developed so quickly.  The bad news is that at
around three minutes of time at full throttle, the engine is likely to
meltdown and explode - and the pilots surely won't make it through alive.
For wanky game mechanical reasons, this means that the SRX can only stay
combined for three turns, and once the pilots separate again they won't be
able to recombine that battle.  Oh, and Gaiking is going to get powered up
too, as well as Voltes V.

Domon has in fact kept up with his (former) master.  Domon's position: he's
taking down Master Asia before taking down Kyouji.  Master Asia's position:
there's no way a pupil can beat a master, and there's nothing worse than a man
who doesn't know his limitations.  Master Asia then asks his lord to show some
pity on the pitiful Domon, and Kyouji pops up, laughing his ass off.  This
pisses Domon off immensely, and Master Asia figures that now it he time to
strike when Domon is burning all that energy needlessly.  Schwartz pops up and
intervenes, reminding Domon of a moment [which you can only see in the anime]
of clarity when he saw Meikyou Shisui.  As Kyouji tells him to die peacefully,
Domon finally grasps the drop of water, switching from anger Super Mode to
True Super Mode.  Lu Cain is smart enough to flee before this shining golden
power can kill them all, and Schwartz is in fairly bad shape...

 Master Asia won't go down the first time.  When Schwartz is hurt badly enough,
 Master Asia will taunt him some, but Schwartz says he won't let anyone hurt
 his brother.  Domon finally recognizes his brother's voice, and rapidly
 realizes that there are in fact two of his brother.  Schwartz tells Domon to
 strike the Kyouji in the Devil Gundam, but Domon can't understand why at
 first.  As more of the Death Army gather, Schwartz explains that he's
 Kyouji's "shadow" - a mere copy of the real Kyouji made with DG Cells.  This
 all was done so the Devil Gundam could be defeated.  When the Devil Gundam
 fell to Earth for some unknown reason, Kyouji regained consciousness but
 found that his body had already been assimilated by the Devil Gundam.  So as
 he regenerated the Devil Gundam, he used its power at the last moment to
 copy himself.  He makes Domon promise to kill the Kyouji in the Devil Gundam,
 as the only way to free him from the hell he's trapped in.  Schwartz dies in
 Domon's arms just as the SRX team arrives and manages to combine.  The crew
 is ecstatic, and Ryuusei promises not to let this super robot that he's
 dreamed of get hurt.

Rain learns that Schwartz was Kyouji (kind of), and grieves alongside Domon.
Meanwhile, the bad guys are quivering in fear over the living robot that is
the Devil Gundam.  The Shiki Squad has never seen the like, but Lu Cain has.
Several years ago, there was a skirmish between the Balmar Empire and the
Dug Stellar Republic.  Lu Cain was leading a small squadron on a mission to
infiltrate a small asteroid, meeting little resistance.  But just as it seemed
the enemy base had fallen, the enemy appeared: larger and more menacing than
what he just saw, but similar otherwise.  If in fact they've just encountered
a Dug weapon, what is it doing on Earth?  Maybe Master Asia is a Dug agent?
But if so, why hasn't Dug itself attacked Lu Cain's forces?  In any case, they
won't know until they catch Master Asia, so Lu Cain musters all his forces
and calls Sharkin up in preparation for a decisive battle.


32S. Tenshi-tachi no Jouten ("Angels' Ascent")

With the defenders out of the way, Char receives word that your people are
about to force their way into the Angel Heiro itself.  Furious that Amuro is
this insistent at getting in his way, he decides that the time has come to
settle the score once and for all.  Knowing that Nanai is worried about him,
he promises to do whatever she tells him to once Amuro is toast.  She meekly
goes into the battle bridge to await the outcome.  Your people walk through
the front door, knowing full well that the enemy could come at them from any
angle.  Each of the Shrack members has one bomb, and Amuro reminds you all to
be especially careful of doors that have switches only on one side.  What's
more, all the bombs have to be emplaced simultaneously.

 Some interesting tidbits arise in certain fights.  Char initially faces
 Amuro with derision, then grudging respect for his fated rival, then finally
 disbelief that the Sazabi could be defeated.

 Gyunei will ask Rai if he's a "Fortified Human", which of course Rai knows
 nothing about.  He then demands to know how Rai can be so calm when his life
 is on the line in this battle, and Rai says that calmness is only natural for
 a skilled pilot: could it be that Gyunei is afraid of fighting?  Yup.

 In the lower-left enclosure, you find Shakti!  She had been brought here to
 take her mothers' place, and you quickly have her hop aboard.

 Beat Zechs with Hiiro as a step towards getting the Wing Gundam later.

Shakti explains that she was in the Angel Heiro because she had to be put into
the machine in place of her mother the queen.  Your people fill her in on how
Char deceived her into thinking she could stop the fighting and put her mother
at ease.  Amuro kindly tells her that she needs not apologize for cooperating
with an apparatus intended to brainwash mankind - it's all Char's fault for
leading her into it.  And with the Angel Heiro out of commission, all that's
left is to track Char down and settle the score once and for all.  Oh, and
there's still the colony-killing alien mothership left to deal with.  ...But
*before that*, your people apparently need to blow off a bit of steam and get
into a full-fledged brawl. O_O  Apparently everyone's okay though...


32E. Honkon no Shitou ("Hong Kong Deathmatch")

Your people's attempts to cheer Domon up aren't working very well.  But Rain
has something for him to see: the God Gundam!  Domon is quickly impressed by
its amazing abilities, and notices another machine nearby: the Rising Gundam,
which will let Rain help out somewhat. [This only if you elected to follow
Rain.]

Meanwhile, Sharkin has reported to Lu Cain.  A brief Tronium response has
been recorded in Hong Kong, but it's currently invisible again.  Desmond and
Asimov have rejoined their comrades too, and this time they don't plan on
letting the Earthlings have their way.

The Taikuu Maryuu is also on the trail of the Tronium.  The flagship itself
can't venture into the residential area, but with reports of the aliens
approaching they have to do something.  It seems that Master Asia has been
spotted as well, and Daimoji orders the R-1 and R-2 to accompany Domon as he
heads out after Master Asia.

The Shiki Squad see something very strange while pursuing the Tronium, an
apparently unfriendly Gundam.  Your people show up, and Domon recognizes
Allenbie.  The Shiki Squad briefly cowers from the threat your people cause,
but decide to stick it out to salvage some honor for their unit.

 [If you followed her earlier, you must persuade her twice by turn 2.]

The bad guys were coming out of a certain run-down building, and Domon
reckons that you can't tell anything more without going inside.  Your people
venture into the dark, rubble-strewn halls, and Ryuusei is the first to
"discover" a hole in the floor.  It turns out he's found a very large tunnel,
but Rai wisely radios the Taikuu Maryuu before too much exploration occurs.
The Taikuu Maryuu can track your people by radar, so Daimoji gives the go-ahead
to see where the tunnel leads.  Oddly enough, the very long tunnel seems to
lead out under the ocean.  Pete spots a small island at its terminus, and
Daimoji scrambles the Taikuu Maryuu to the scene.

Lu Cain's forces note the Taikuu Maryuu's movements, and with no contact
back from the Shiki Squad Lu Cain has no choice but to follow.


33S. Senba ni Hibiku Suzu no Oto ("A Bell Resounding Across the Battlefield")

Bright makes contact with Jin... or rather, ONE of the Jins.  There's a bunch
of them to prevent against assassination attempts, and according to Romelo
this is the *real* one.  Come to find out it's Usso's dad, who makes an uneasy
apology for mixing Usso up in the war.  Bright has him check on the location
of the alien mothership, and Jin says that he's thrown in some enhancements
for the V2 as well.  Usso wants Romelo to install them right away, sort of
glad that at least he now knows who his father is.

Meanwhile, Fala is ecstatic that Char is toast, figuring that if they can stop
the Ral Kairam here Tashiro could take Char's place.  And that's precisely
what she plans to do: install him as the new ruler of mankind.

Jin gets back with the news that the aliens are hiding in Side 5, near the
former Neo-Jion secret base.  More accurately, that base was an alien
laboratory which Neo-Jion was given the use of, and it's fairly natural to
assume that the aliens are still lurking there.

As your people arrive on the battlefield, Usso and Amuro start hearing the
sound of a bell or something.  Noone else can hear it, but pretty soon some
kind of weapon is fired out of nowhere and blasts the starboard engine.

 This is odd because Fala can be wiped out like a crack-smoking bitch writing
 on the whiteboard in a single hit.  Call it poor game design.  Anyways.

 Tashiro shows up on round 2, wondering where Chronicle is at.  He and his
 escorts are barely a snack for your dudes either.

 [If Chronicle ever shows up, I sure didn't linger long enough to see it...]

The main engine is all repaired, so off you go to Side 5.  Shakti is trying to
comfort Usso for a showdown with Katejina that didn't actually take place
last battle.  As your dudes point out, Usso has Shakti to keep him warm at
night, so no need to worry about psycho hosebeasts from years past.


33E. Rantao-jima no Himitsu ("The Secret of Lantao Island")

As the Taikuu Maryuu approaches the small island, you begin to make out what
looks like an observatory at its center.  Actually, it seems to be a light
house from what those in the tunnel claim.  In fact, it _is_ a lighthouse off
in the distance, and Rain is so glad to see Domon again that she calls out
his name without realizing that there's no way he can hear her.  The
adventurers then decide to go check out the observatory and see what is
what.
</pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
For starters, it's a very peculiar observatory that lacks even a single
window.  It's more like a fortress, and defended by the Death Army to boot.
Lu Cain's forces show up too, determined to settle things once and for all
now.  His main aim is Voltes V, and the Four Generals think they can finally
prevail.  Domon meanwhile heads inside...

 Sharkin offers to sortie too.  On the next turn, Age shows up in a new
 vehicle the Earth defense forces made by studying his Layzner: what Ryuusei
 dubs the Layzner Mk.II.  Upon seeing him still alive, Lu Cain decides to
 personally sortie too.

 Once again, the Shiki Squad will fish Lu Cain's ass out when you smack him
 down hard enough.  They're all badly enough wounded that their only choice
 is returning to their mothership.

With that, it seems all the aliens on the surface have been mopped up.
However, Domon is still underground, presumably mixing it up with the Devil
Gundam.  While your people lightly place bets on whether the God Gundam could
kick the R-1's ass...


34S. Gyakushuu no SHAA ("Char's Counterattack")

It turns out that Char is still alive (figures), and pissed off at your dudes'
futile struggles.  Once again, Char questions Amuro's sanity while Amuro
questions Char's impatience which has led him to despair over mankind's
chances.  ...With few other words, it's time to break Char's ass once and
for all.  No, we mean it this time.  Honest.

 Once Amuro gets damaged beyond a certain extent, Psychoframe resonance
 begins and Amuro begins to sense Chain's presence.  Char feels no fear from
 him, only peace.  He yells at Amuro that people with that kind of peace can
 still destroy the Earth, which Amuro says is all the more reason they must
 show the Earth what a human heart is.  Char then accuses Amuro of being
 _rather_ cold to Quess, and Amuro counters that he's not a machine: he's not
 capable of being Quess's father figure.  On the contrary, it was Char who
 tried to make Quess a machine by putting her in the Alpha Aziel.  This
 strikes Char as immensely revelatory, and Amuro scorns how a man as great as
 Char could have such a small view of the world.  Char demands to know how
 Amuro, who killed the woman who could have become Char's mother figure
 (Lalah) has any right to say that.  Lalah?  Char's mother?  Amuro is
 astounded to say the very least.

 When beaten, Char will furiously say that Amuro wouldn't have even had a
 chance if he hadn't leaked info to the Federation about the Psychoframe,
 noting further that Amuro wouldn't have even been worth killing in his old
 piece of shit mech.  Amuro figures that Char is doomed to look down on others
 for all eternity.  Nanai will then go over and fish Char out, saying that
 he's indispensable to Neo-Jion AND to her, and ignoring his pleas to stay out
 of it.

 If you've jumped through the right hoops, beating Zechs here will give you
 the Wing Gundam.

 And all of this taking me 1.5 turns - so much for the legendar(il)y
 #sexually_impotent Red Comet and his assorted analwives.

Gottso takes news of Char's defeat rather well, asking instead how Lu Cain's
injuries are.  Lu Cain is in good health and bad humor over his defeat by
the humans, but Gottso says that Lu Cain's father Gresco has been proved right:
the humans' fighting ability is beyond reckoning.  What's more, the tougher
the challenge, the more the humans stand up to it - in short, the aliens are
just making the humans stronger.  Lu Cain is still feeling pretty confident
about his chances, but Gottso sounds the vaguest bit worried about what will
happen when the humans make it to the Helmoze...


34E. "Sekiha Ten-Kyou-Ken"

Sakon marvels over the building Domon is in: it is not made out of concrete,
but rather some totally unknown substance.  It may be stronger than Super
Alloy Z or Gundarium, and is likely impervious to missiles.  Meanwhile,
Watta and Sanshirou have been taking a manly leak together when they spot a
surveillance camera [which in turn has spotted them - expect to see pics on
2chan any day now].  Daimoji reasons that if there are cameras, there must be
some switch to open the building too.

Domon is on the case, and finally convinces Master Asia, more supercilious
than ever, to show himself.  Claiming that he's busy, Master Asia leaves
some bad guys for Domon to play with...

 You can't take out Master Asia immediately, but you can chase him.  A
 cave-in will trap you both, and Domon agrees to a cease-fire so that they
 can both escape.  Master Asia reminds Domon of something he's seen before,
 the uttermost hidden technique of the Touhou Fuhai style: the "Rock-Crushing
 Heavenly Alarming Fist" technique - Sekiha Ten-Kyou-Ken!  He pulls it off
 with aplomb.

Master Asia tells Domon that he's now passed on to him his last piece of
knowledge, and can now venture forth without regrets.  With much impressiveness
he informs Domon that he is not of this planet, but rather from the Dug
Federation which opposes the Balmar.  Which is not to say that he and Domon
are totally different life forms: long ago, a certain race fled their
homeworld under the threat of the Balmar armies.  Split into different groups
with leaders over them, the race attempted to flee.  One group fell beneath
the Balmar shadow, one group fled to the safety of the Dug.  And one group
staked their lives on travel to a little-known, distant region of space.
That group formed the Mu culture, and are in fact Domon's ancestors.  Master
Asia is in turn descended from the Dug faction - long-lost siblings from a
bygone planet.  Master Asia has read all this history in the writings of the
ruins.

It turns out he's an agent of the Dug government, sent in response to reports
of intelligent life on this planet.  He apologizes to Domon for traveling
alongside the Devil Gundam, explaining that upon arriving at this planet, he
met two people: Domon's father Professor Kasshu, and Char Aznable.  He figures
that the latter was where his problems started, coming short on the heels of
the signing of the Luna Treaty that guarantees independence and sovereignty
for the Earth, Moon, and Colonies.  This simple treaty was enough to bring
peace to the war-weary humans, but could not by itself remove the scars of
the war.  Char, who loved humanity more than anyone, also hated it even more
at the time, having sacrificed numerous followers and taken many lives himself.
And he possessed vast influence and resources, so Master Asia treated him as
a representative of humanity.  He was led to believe that humans were unstable,
destructive beings, and decided to manipulate Kasshu to help nip any potential
for trouble in the bud.

With but a hint from Master Asia, Kasshu, the most gifted scientist alive,
discovered the Three Theories and set about building the Devil Gundam.  That
was the time Master Asia first met Domon, and immediately felt an overwhelming
sense of warrior kinship.  To test Domon's potential, he began the enjoyable
process of training him, realizing too late that Domon proved that not all
humans were dangerous.  But it was too late to prevent the completion of the
Devil Gundam, which sadly took Kyouji prisoner and even survived its plunge
to Earth.  Then the Balmar arrived, and Master Asia saw little chance of
escape _or_ of mankind surviving.  But then he realized he could use the Devil
Gundam to blow away one or two of the enemy ships, and has been working hard
at that ever since.  But he realized another mistake: Earthlings are far more
resilient than he expected.  For this grave error and all the trouble stemming
from it, he would normally proffer his life as an apology to Domon on the spot.
However, with a second and even third Balmar fleet coming, he needs to return
to Dug and enlist aide.  Domon, moved nearly to tears, praises Master Asia's
dedication to peace and freedom, and the two exchange manly martial words
before Master Asia's departure.


35S. Kessen! HERUMOOZU  ("Final Battle of the Helmoze")

As your people deliberate how to take on the enemy mothership, one of the
other Jin Jahanems calls in with info about their fleet.  The fearsome Helmoze
isn't so fearsome if you simply stay out of the way of its main gun; the
battleship Grandos is another matter entirely.  For starters, it can hide
itself from radar, and its armaments are totally unknown.  On the other hand,
your Newtypes will be able to sense the hearts of the people aboard it, so
Amuro isn't too concerned.  He also gives you the rundown on the armaments of
the Flay escort ships, wishing you luck before signing off.  Even as an
"imposter", this guy is doing good work, and Bright for one is grateful for it.

Your people are a bit daunted by just how large the Helmoze is, so the plan
is to take out all the escorts first.  Bright warns you again not to get
directly in the Helmoze's path.

 When you try to take down Gottso, Gresco shows up and frantically requests
 his lord to retreat.  It seems Carla contacted him without permission,
 fearing the situation here.

 Once you take down Gresco, Gottso decides that it's time to get serious.
 If Usso fights him, Fala will show up, vowing to pay back the debt she owes
 Gottso.  When Usso protests, she tells the little boy to shut up, saying that
 only a strong man like Gottso can satisfy her - and Tashiro wasn't up to the
 task.

 Gottso will be rather disbelieving when his ass gets handed to him.  Surely
 this is a dream, a nightmare that he'll wake up from as soon as he gets back
 to the Helmoze...  Except that he can't, because the Helmoze fires its main
 gun and reduces him to fundamental particles.

If you proceed to the final battle from here, your people muse that something
seems lacking in the victory you just won.  It's not that the enemy wasn't
strong, it's just that you got strong too as you fought all this time...  Just
then a MS approaches: it's Zechs, with a message from Char, who apparently is
STILL alive.  In it, he expects to find you in a festive mood, a mood
unjustified by what he is convinced has been a horrific mistake for mankind
as a whole.  He reckons that you just got lucky with this victory, and points
out that the Balmar are sure to send a second, or third fleet to Earth, and
THIS time they won't have any shortage of firepower.  Just how far will your
efforts last, he muses, ostentatiously checking himself and claiming
sarcastically that sour grapes weren't the intent of this message.  Since
he is worried about mankind too, in his fashion, he has chosen to accompany
the aliens returning to their own worlds.  Therefore, he is entrusting you
with all the alien technology he has been able to amass, telling you to put it
to good use for mankind.

Oka calls up just then to congratulate you on your victory, but with a heavy
heart Bright relays Char's message.  You have little time to ponder, however,
since word comes your way of an aberration at La Vie En Rose, where contact
has been lost with all docked vessels.  The order is to go and investigate in
tandem with the Taikuu Maryuu.  This requires interrupting Watta's dinner to
get him to accompany the rest of the crew to space.


35E. Final Battle

The people outside are amazed to see the dome opening like a ginormous
jack-in-the-box.  Domon emerges to Rain's grateful embrace, and relates all
that Master Asia has told him.  Master Asia also entrusted you all with
defeating the Devil Gundam, seeing that you were able to defeat Lu Cain and
all.

Your people arrive in time to see Ghostelo get _eaten_ by the Devil Gundam.
Domon assures everyone that it's okay to wreck the Devil Gundam, since his
brother (Schwartz) is already dead - destroying it will simply allow Kyouji's
soul to rest in peace.

If you don't have data from the space route, Kyouji will thank Domon before
dissolving into light.  Domon knows this is a happy occasion, but his tears
won't seem to stop.  Rain tells him to cry with all his heart, to wash away
all the sadness within.  The rest of your people leave the two of them alone,
beginning to ponder what to do next.  Ryou plans to return to training alone
in the mountains, at least until his skills are needed again.  Pete is going
to go into the Mu souvenir business, and Watta's people are going to take a
rare corporate holiday and overhall Trider.  The SPT folks are going to crash
at Rolan's house, to the immense surprise of his mom no doubt.  Age meanwhile
plans to look around this planet where his father was born, with Anna as his
guide.  And Daimoji invites Yasunishi to dinner...

[Credits roll]


36. Kyouki no Chikara ("The Strength of Madness")

[You may notice that all your items have been taken from you.  This feels like
a bug...]

Your people make quick introductions and get to planning.  La Vie En Rose
consists of two outer areas and one inner area - the plan is to split up
and deal with the outer two in parallel, meeting up at the inner area.  You
can feel free to mingle the Lond Bel and Taikuu Maryuu teams, but you must
send at least one representative of each into the final area.

 In the first area, you quickly discover that Eek now has zombies among his
 motorcycle corps.  Zombies with double motion as it turns out quickly!
 In fact, all sorts of supposedly defeated foes are coming back to haunt you
 this battle.  Most of the mecha are #feeble, but a few more powerful mecha
 are mixed in...

 [Time for some shopping!  Run around to pick up assorted dudes as follows:]

 Get Domon into the room at (30,48)-(37,54) and Schwartz will appear.  Given
 how he's just a copy of Kyouji's memories in a cyborg body, it's not
 implausible that he could reappear - but the bad news is, he senses the
 Devil Gundam somewhere nearby.  You've got to double check, and if it's
 there, defeat it for good this time.

 Get Age into the room at (36,03)-(46,04) and he'll find his sister Julia.
 Age is very remorseful that he killed his former mentor, but Julia claims
 she's found Gail again here.  Age cautions her that it's not the real Gail,
 but rather a ghost or something.  Nevertheless, she wants to see him again,
 and will tag along.

 If you've got Hiiro, go to (38,24)-(46,28) to pick up Zechs.

 Move Ken'ichi to (1,10)-(6,15) and Heinel will appear, cautioning him of
 a horrible monster lurking at the heart of this base.  Heinel is here
 to help eradicate this monster as an attempt at penance for all the
 wrong he's done your people.

 In the final installment, it turns out that Ghostelo has become the new
 core for the Devil Gundam!  As you continue pounding on him, Ghostelo
 repeats his usual saying that his brain is going to explode, only this
 time he may mean it.

Kouji is disgusted that the Devil Gundam would revive the dead as
zombies, and the psychological effect of doing so is plainly visible on
Age's face as he remembers Gail.  Ryuusei speaks for you all when he
hopes that this really was the end, and that you're not going to hear
the beep of another message calling you to battle.  You do in fact hear
a beeping, but it's just Watta's watch telling you all that it's time
for tea.  Ryuusei gives him a mostly good natured clunk on the head,
which Watta's butler finally responds to in kind on Ryuusei's noggin.

In any case, the battle is over - for now.  You must remain vigilant
lest the Devil Gundam revive, or more aliens from afar terrorize you, but
that's work for a younger generation.

One threat is defeated, but another threat awaits rebirth.  The age in
which man was mankind's direst threat came to an end, even as the
curtain rose on an age of new, unknown threat from beyond.

THE END!

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