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At a DC ship at the Pacific coast, Archibald makes his rendezvous with Dr. Jose Cuervo Cero.



Cuervo: "We've been waiting for you, Major Grims."
Archibald: "Quite a welcome... the Earth Cradle's staff are surprisingly punctual."
Cuervo: "What do you mean?"



Archibald: "With the exception of our esteemed Colonel, we are all castoffs... I was just recalling how our vice-commander, Adler Koch, was abandoned at the end."
Cuervo: "....."
Archibald: "Well, that is neither here nor there, yes? We must load the frames onto the submarine at once; the Shirogane will be following shortly."
Cuervo: "Very well."



Meanwhile, Van's forces have already merged with the submarine fleet and are headed across the ocean as they speak. To make Archibald's work a little easier, Cuervo has brought two gifts: an ASRS (which is still new to Archibald at this point) and a pair of specially-trained soldiers from the Earth Cradle.



Archibald's next course of action is to head to Hawaii, no doubt with the Shirogane in tow. According to his sources, Mao Industries' new PT has just been brought there...

-----




Kenneth: "Do I have this right, Lieutenant Colonel Linjun? You've allowed the enemy leader to slip through your fingers?"
Lee: "...I judged it would be better to let them swim, for the moment."
Kenneth: "Hmph. Excuses."
Lee: (This was due to your false information, and you expect me to shoulder the blame...)



Lee: "It's critical that we pull the enemy out by the roots. Having escaped, they'll most likely head for a nearby hideout to resupply. It's an opportunity for us to crush the insurgents in the south Pacific completely."
Kenneth: "You know where they're heading?"
Lee: "Of course. Not every victory involves direct combat. If we can expel the enemy forces, our strength in the region will be secured."



Kenneth: "Well, I can see how you took the top rank at the Academy. You missed your calling. You should have gone into politics."
Lee: (The irony, hearing that from you...)
Kenneth: "I'm ordering the Shirogane to continue its investigation of the enemy forces."
Lee: "As you wish."



Kenneth: "I should tell you that the Far East base has already sent the Hagane on the same mission."
Lee: (...! The Hagane?)
Kenneth: "There's nothing I can do to keep Laker from interfering. Don't let the Hagane show you up."
Lee: "Sir."



Kenneth: "In light of your performance, I may be recommending some personnel changes to the Joint Chiefs. Try not to embarrass me. That captain's seat is not a lifetime appointment."
Lee: "Sir."
Kenneth: "Then that'll be all."



Lee: (Pompous bastard. You just want to save face after losing the new Huckebeins. At a time like this, you place your own standing first. Small wonder that the Divine Crusaders are flourishing again.)



Lee: (Leaders like him will rot the Federation military from within... if it's not already rotten through.)



Lee: "Operator. Use Major General Kenneth's clearance and find all the information you can about new combat machines being tested."
Soldier: "Sir!"
Lee: (You have nothing to worry about, General. I won't let the Hagane pull ahead of me. Not while Tetsuya Onodera is on board...)

-----



Bullet has managed to escape time in the brig over his outburst during the battle, although the punishment is merely being deferred until their mission is over. Excellen comments on what a stickler the captain is for regulations, but Lamia unexpectedly chimes in on Lee's behalf: orders are to be followed, after all. She asks why Bullet acted as he did. By now he's had time to reflect, and knows it was a foolish decision, but after the needless suffering of the DC War he can't just stay silent as it happens again. Excellen knows that he's still thinking of how Kusuha was originally drawn into the conflict against her will.



Lamia: "To a soldier, one's orders are absolute. If you do not understand that, the enemy pil-ilot was correct about you."
Kyosuke: "You're right. That was careless of you, Bullet."
Bullet: "Lieutenant Kyosuke..."
Lamia: (Beowulf agrees with me?)



Kyosuke: "There's some truth in what that pilot said."
Bullet: "....."
Kyosuke: "The federal government and military have serious weaknesses. That's a fact. But even one soldier can do his part to sway the course of a battle... well, that's my opinion, anyway."
Bullet: "...Yes, sir."



Lamia: "Acting on one's impulses, even in viol-iolation of orders. You consider this acceptable?"
Kyosuke: "Human beings can think for themselves. If we just wanted our soldiers to follow instructions off a sheet, we'd have robots do it instead."
Excellen: "Basically, you can't just do what your told. If you think of something better, go for it."

This is easy for Kyosuke to say, given that his thinking consists of "Do I stake this guy now, or wait for him to finish his speech first?"



Lamia: (This is ridiculous - especially from you, Beowulf. If soldiers doubt their mission, then what are they?)



Lee enters (Excellen: "Oh, Mister Captain." Lee: "Drop the 'Mister.'") to inform them that they have a new destination: Hawaii.



(Atlus)
Excellen: "Can we throw a luau? I wanna play a Kyosuke-lay, Lee."
Lee: "...What?"
Bullet: (She must mean "ukelele.")
Excellen: "To be honest, I brought a swimsuit just in case!"
Bullet: "A-A swimsuit?"
Excellen: "That's right. Garnet sent it to me. It shows a lot of skin!"
Bullet: "S-S-Skin!?"
Excellen: "Down, boy. Don't drool all over your shirt."
Bullet: "Don't talk to me like I was a dog!"

Excellen says "Ooh, can we have a Waiuki vacation on Waikiki beach?" I googled "Waiuki" and the first hits were dating sites.



Kyosuke finally shuts them both up and asks Lee about the choice of destination. Lee explains that Hickam is the test site for a new PT; given the enemy's past behavior, and that they headed for the Pacific, it's a safe bet that they're headed there next.



Excellen: "Maybe... but if we're wrong, that's a long way to go..."
Lee: "Did you say something, Lieutenant?"
Excellen: "Who, me? Never."
Lee: "Hmph. I've looked at the information available and made my judgement. There won't be a mistake."



Lamia: (He's quite confident. Even if he's wrong, I can observe the new machine... but at some point, I have to receive my new instructions.)