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Aboard the ship, Eri Anzai thanks the crew for their timely arrival, introducing herself as the chief archaeologist for the Lost Technology Research Laboratory. LTR's main focus is the excavation and investigation of "O-Parts," artifacts that don't match the technology level or culture of the region where they are found. Rai has heard of them, and names off the crystal skull from the Mayan ruins and the golden "shuttle" of Bogota as a couple of examples.



Irm says he's heard of her before; Eita thinks he's bringing out the pickup lines a bit soon, but as it happens, he's entirely serious. It was Professor Anzai who proposed the Hollow Earth theory, years before anyone had heard of Cybuster or La Gias. Eri confirms, but that wasn't her - it was her father Makoto. Irm asks where he is now, and she says he went missing a year earlier.



Daitetsu asks about the unknowns that attacked the dig site. Eri can't confirm, but speculates that they may be one of the Hundred Evils. When this meets with blank stares, she elaborates that legends abound of demons and monsters that roamed the earth during times immemorial. If so, she believes that the attackers were after the one sleeping beneath the burial mound. According to Chinese myth, the god of war Cheu was defeated by the emperor Huang Di and sealed away beneath this very site.



Daitetsu: "And you've found this god beneath these ruins?"
Eri: "No. Instead, we may have found a Mechanoid - a giant, mechanical being the ancients built to fight the Hundred Evils."
Tetsuya: "Wha...?!"
Bullet: "A mechanical giant!?"
Ryusei: "A super robot!?"



"That's just sweet. So ridiculously sweet. It's sweetdiculous!"

You didn't think I'd leave one of the best lines in the Atlus translation out of here, did you?



Still, this is all strictly myth and legend until they actually unearth the Mechanoid, which is what Eri and LTR were here to do. Most likely, that's what the DC forces were planning as well. Bullet asks if it's really so powerful, and she elaborates on the stories a bit. The Mechanoid was actually two beings housed within a single body: a dragon and tiger, each strong enough to change the fates of nations. That would explain why the DCs want it so badly, but Eri doesn't think it would be as easy as that; the stories state that the Mechanoids have a will of their own, and choose their pilots - not the other way around.



Ryusei: "Man, this is awesome. I wanna ride it..."
Bullet: "Ryusei, she just said it picks its own rider."
Ryusei: "I know, I know. I wonder what it's looking for?"
Bullet: "Who knows..."



In any case, today's attack hasn't deterred Eri from her search. If anything, the unknown beings that appeared are proof that they need to step up their timetable. Given the likelihood of more DC interference, Daitetsu says that he'll ask Laker to send guards for the site. Irm thinks he can do one better; Tesla Reich's robotics specialists would be very interested in this.



Eri: "Would they actually come on such short notice?"
Irm: "Don't worry, I'll get 'em on the horn right after this."
Eri: "You... will?"
Tetsuya: "Lt. Kazahara here is the son of Jonathan Kazahara, the Institute's director."
Eri: "Really? But, is it all right to pull strings like this?"
Irm: "Don't worry about it. Just tell me how my dad can reach you."



Irm: "And if you'd be willing to give me your number as well..."
Eri: "Ah, I'm sorry. These days I put all my time into my work."
Irm: (Ah, crap. So she's like Dr. Radom?)
Eita: "Tough luck, Lieutenant."
Irm: "Oh, I don't know what you're talking about."

-----



Daitetsu: "Not just the DC remnants, but now those things as well. And stories about an ancient super robot. The entire situation stinks to high heaven."
Tetsuya: "You think it's a sign of something?"
Daitetsu: "Yes. Another war like before... if not worse."
Tetsuya: "....."
Daitetsu: "Once the aerial detachment gets here, we'll be returning to base."
Tetsuya: "Aye-aye."

-----



Latooni has been analyzing the remains of the unknown enemies, and has to conclude that they're actually biological in nature - there's no metal in them, nor did they register as heat sources of the kind you'd need to power a weapon that size. On the other hand, there are no vital signs, either. As for whether they're of earthly origin, it's still impossible to say. Lamia thinks that the unknowns may very well be aliens, but it doesn't resemble any of the weapons they used - nor does it resemble anything in the data she's checked on the Aerogaters.



Kai checks again with Kyosuke and Excellen about the voice that they heard. Nobody else was able to hear it, making Excellen briefly excited (not really) that she might be some kind of esper. Latooni supposes it's possible that the enemies emitted some sort of telepathic wave that only the two of them could receive. But that would mean the two of them had something in common, and Kyosuke doesn't buy Excellen's suggestion that it's because of their relationship. Could it be due to the shuttle crash? But why?



Excellen: "But aside from that... Lamia, what was that you said before? Something about a 'teleport signature?' Where did you hear about that?"
Kyosuke: "I've been wondering that as well."
Lamia: (Damn it...)
Kyosuke: "You... recognized it, didn't you?"



Lamia: "Oh... ohohoho. It seemed li-ike an appropriate thing-ing to call it. Did the aliens not already use the sa-ame technology?"
Kyosuke: "If it was the same reaction, the Hagane would've picked it up before you."



Lamia: "If you sa-ay so... then I mu-must confess I have no-o idea."
Kyosuke: "Do you know somebody besides the aliens who's using this technology?"
Lamia: "No-ow, why would you su-suggest such a thing? Excu-use me, Lieutenant, I need to see to the Angel-elg's maintenance."
Kyosuke: "....."



(How could I be so careless? Am I suffering other malfunctions beyond my language unit?)

Lamia thinking there must be something else wrong with her is new to the remake.

-----



Archibald reports his failure to an unknown (*ahem*) contact, who laments that the strange intruders don't look like very good business prospects. Be that as it may, their presence at the dig site suggests two things: that the Mechanoids really do exist, and that the dragon and tiger are close to awakening. Still the failure does have the contact suspicious: now the information will surely leak to Archibald's superiors, and to the Earth Cradle. Archibald flatly denies that - after all, they're being compensated far too handsomely to do something so foolish.



Next Archibald asks about the mass-produced R-1 they saw at Izu; is there really no interest in retrieving it, given that they were already asked to take Mao's other new mech? She replies that no, things will be fine as they are. Archibald thinks the Earth Cradle must have more at work that they don't yet know about.



Archibald: "Then, what of the Mechanoid?"
???: "LTR will go back to work on it."
Archibald: "You're leaving this to them?"
???: "Yes. I began negotiations, once I heard what they'd discovered. I'll have no trouble acquiring it."
Archibald: (My, what a deceitful woman. She might have mentioned this earlier and saved us some trouble. Though an attack by the Divine Crusaders would be a convenient cover for its disappearance... ah, well.)



???: "You'll be resupplied through the usual channels. In exchange..."
Archibald: "Yes, yes, I understand... Rose. Our intel, I assume?"
???: "Yes. Then, have a pleasant afternoon."



Archibald: "A relationship built around taking advantage of one another. Hmhmm..."