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Dr. Agilla Setme, ladies and gentlemen. How do you make Adler creepier? Replace him with a female version. 
Agilla: "Now... open your eyes, Aurum 1. My beautiful child... your time has come."
???: "Mother..."
Agilla: "How do you feel, Aurum 1?"
???: "...Well enough."
Agilla: "Is that so... that's very good, huehuehue heh heh heh..."
???: "Mother... my brother and sister..."
Agilla: "Already awake. Hurry and get ready."
???: "Yes, Mother..."
-----
Van and Vindel discuss the Federation's actions. They're currently mobilizing their forces in eastern Africa, and it's quite clear that they'll be moving on the Earth Cradle soon. It's too little, too late; Desert Cross will be commencing at 0600 two days hence.
Vindel: "There is a factor we should deal with first."
Van: "Which?"
Vindel: "The Hagane."
Van: "And why that ship?"
Vindel: "They defeated Bian Zoldark during the DC War, and even destroyed the White Star's core during the L5 campaign. We would do well not to underestimate them."
Van: "I understand. But the Federation has brought many more troops to bear. The success of this operation won't rest on just one ship."
Vindel: "You say that, yet how many of the Divine Crusaders perished at their hands? Vice-Commander Adler among them?"
Van: "....."
Vindel: "Prepare some forces. It won't harm Desert Cross, I assure you."
Van: "...Very well. If that will set you at ease."
Archibald arrives, noting that he's just in time for tea. Van thanks him for putting his neck on the line to keep the Federation's attention. Archibald is more interested in the Cradle itself; it's just as formidable a structure as the rumors say. To say nothing of the number of units it produced on short notice - along with some he's never seen before.
Van: "We have Vindel Mauser here to thank for those."
Vindel: "....."
Archibald: "Archibald Grims, at your service. You have our thanks for your contributions."
Vindel: "It was nothing."
Vindel: (So... here, Archibald Grims is aligned with the DCs, is he?)
Archibald: (Vindel Mauser... I don't recognize the name.)
Van tells Archibald to get some rest; he'll take the man's reports later.
-----
Carla: "Whoa... I heard this place was an underground shelter, but this is more like a city."
Yuuki: "It's an ark for humanity's survival. It's not just for cold sleep; people have to live here too."
Carla: "That looks like a farm. Maybe you could grow your tea leaves there?"
Yuuki: "Proper tea needs sunlight."
Carla: "Really... Well, with all this space, I can finally practice my dance without annoying you."
Yuuki: "...Why are you even thinking about that?"
Carla: "Why not? When this is over... Well, I always wanted to be a dancer. I don't want to give up on my old life."
Yuuki: "....."
Carla: "Maybe I'll become famous... I'll be in the movies, and have tons of admirers following me wherever I go!"
Yuuki: "....."
Carla: "If that happened, would you be jealous?"
Yuuki: "...You really think you can go back to your old life?"
Carla: "...!"
Yuuki: "Even if this operation succeeds, after that..."
Carla: "...I know. But I've got to have something to fight for."
Carla: "...Even if it can never happen."
Yuuki: "....."
Carla: "Oh, look, Yuu. More Randgriths. They've really built a lot of them."
Yuuki: "And those I've never seen before. This isn't just a diversion, we're putting everything we have into this."
Carla: "With these, we can go head-to-head with people or aliens."
Yuuki: "....."
Yuuki: (But we have to change the Federation before the aliens get here. We need a united front...)
Carla: "By the way, d'you know where Seolla went?"
Yuuki: "Dr. Cero said they were going to the lab."
Carla: "Hmm... She's been asleep for most of the time since then. You think she's all right...?"
Yuuki: "....."
-----
Lemon is none too pleased to hear that Vindel will be sending their troops against the Hagane unassisted, and his explanation that Van can't spare the people due to Desert Cross doesn't help. The MP Huckebeins they captured are in Dr. Feff's care, the Wildfalken is still undergoing analysis, the EG-X is missing, and most of the materiel they brought from the other side is still in adjustment. Vindel asks about the status of the R-Eins, and the news isn't great there either: production is underway, but they can field a half-dozen units now at most.
The danger of using the R-Eins is that it will be a warning, loud and clear, to Helios - but with the Type-30 Randgrith already in active deployment by Van, that ship has likely sailed.
Lemon suggests sending W16 to command the squadron. Hopefully she can make contact with W17. The lack of contact has her worried, so she's sending a spare communicator just in case.
-----
Agilla: "I see... so Latun 11 destroyed Bronzo 28."
Cuervo: "I'm afraid so..."
Agilla: "I thought something might have happened when I heard you contacted the Hagane. But..."
Seolla: "....."
Agilla: "You are the last of the Bronzo class. More than ever, you must fight for the DCs' revival and gather data."
Seolla: "Yes... Dr. Setme."
???: "Seolla..."
Seolla: "Ouka...!"
Ouka: "I heard what happened. It must have been so hard for you..."
Seolla: "...."
Ouka: "Little Lat is alive... and our brother is dead..."
Seolla: "It's all my fault, Ouka, if I'd been stronger, Arado would still---"
Ouka: "Seolla, it's not your fault. And it's not Lat's, either."
Seolla: "What?"
Ouka: "Our dear sister, wanting to kill Arado... it's simply unthinkable. She's been forced into it by the Federation. They made her do it."
Seolla: "....."
Ouka: "The ones controlling her are to blame. Not you, and not Lat. So don't be angry at her... Arado wouldn't want that."
Seolla: "Okay... if you say so, Sis..."
Ouka: "Mother, please let me go out. I want to bring Lat back."
Agilla: "Very well. One of Vindel's underlings is departing soon. I'll have a word with him. It'll be a good warm-up for you, as well."
Ouka: "Of course, Mother."
Seolla: "Ouka..."
Ouka: "Let me worry about Lat. You need rest."
Agilla: "That's right, Bronzo 27. Go to Magus Kenus and sleep. She will heal the sorrow of losing #28."
Seolla: "...All right."
Ouka: "Shall we, Seolla?"
Seolla: "Yes, Sister."
The girls leave, and Agilla comments that Cuervo's "first aid" is working well. During their return trip, he made some adjustments to her emotions. The loss of Arado troubles him, though. She notes that Bronzo 28 received only physical modifications, and perhaps as a result, his scores were always below spec. Not an unrecoverable loss, in other words.
Cuervo has no response to that, and Agilla thinks that the greater concern is how #27 will function now that the other half of her coupling has been lost. Perhaps it will be better to rebuild her as a single unit. Cuervo asks how they can handle Seolla's depression, and Agilla figures modifying her memories will take care of that - though there's no telling how she'll react to live combat.
Of much greater interest to Agilla is the discovery that Latun 11 is still fighting. Cuervo suggests that the Federation has done more adjustments on her.
Agilla considers the possibility of Kenzo Kobayashi doing such a thing, but discards it immediately; he's only interested in people with psychic potential, after all.
Agilla: "But if Number 11 is now fighting of her own accord... Fascinating. The School dissolved her class, but now I want to see her brought back for study."
Cuervo: "....."
Agilla: "What's with that face. Do you object to my work?"
Cuervo: "...No."
Agilla: "Hmph. You had best put sentiment aside where the Boosted Children are concerned."
Cuervo: "....."
-----
The Hagane is crossing the Arabian Peninsula, and Tetsuya warns everyone to be ready for battle stations.
Lamia: (We're not far from the Earth Cradle now. If W16 is acting with the DC remnants' main force, no doubt we'll meet again. But I couldn't read the command disk... I don't know the situation.)
Lamia: (This makes me uneasy.)
Bullet: "Hm? What's wrong, Lamia?"
Lamia: "Huh?"
Bullet: "The look on your face. Is something bothering you?"
Lamia: "My face. What does my fa-ace look like to you?"
Bullet: "Restless. Well, anxious, really..."
Irm: "Like a lost child looking for her mom."
Lamia: "Th-tha-at is... it is no-othing like that..."
Kyosuke: "....."
Kai tells them to stop chattering and get to their machines - and not a moment too soon, because in the next moment the alarm sounds.
-----
Mobile weapons are inbound at high speed, and they're clearly not allies. Daitetsu orders PTs deployed, and Tetsuya calls for an ID on the hostiles.
But they're not what Eita expected...
Mission 17: Ephemeral Blossom
The kanji for blossom/flower here can be used to write "Ouka."
The enemy force is entirely composed of Gespenst Mk. IIs - which is very strange, because they've been out of production ever since the Federation switched to Lions for the L5 campaign. Some Federation pilots, Kai included, are still using the ones that remain. But to see this many among the Divine Crusaders, who could just as easily use Lions themselves, is bizarre. Kyosuke recalls how the Aerogaters replicated Federation machines, but with the White Star inactive for over half a year, that also seems unlikely.
Irm observes that whatever is up with these Gespensts, they've been upgraded: they're airborne, which means they've been fitted with Tesla Drives. But even with the performance boost, Lions would be cheaper. Even in an emergency, the Federation wouldn't choose to start mass-producing them again.
Bullet: "Then what are they?"
Irm: "Well, as the name suggests... maybe they're ghosts?"
Bullet: "I... I don't think that's it."
Kyosuke: (Something feels different about these guys... They're not the DC remnants we've been fighting.)
Lamia: (There's no doubt... that's the main force. I have to signal them...)
Kai orders the crew to engage, and the battle is on...