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At the Far East base...

The African campaign looks to be a dismal failure. Aya worries about Ryusei and the others. Viletta says that once the Scandinavian and North American divisions are mobilized, the situation will turn around, but Aya isn't so sure. To make matters worse, Viletta is leaving; now that Case E has been confirmed with the attack on Mao Industries, Gilliam is stepping up his own preparations, and he's requested her presence at the White Star to assist.



Viletta: "Take care of the R-GUN for me. And take care of her as well. Understand?"
Aya: "....."



Aya: "That being we found when we opened the core... is it really her?"
Viletta: "When Judecca was destroyed during Operation SRW, its core fell to the earth, where Septuagint recovered it. The Zfylud Crystals were certainly capable of rebuilding the core - and her as well."



Aya: "But that girl is---"
Viletta: "You're right. The core was severely damaged, and her revival wasn't completed. Not her powers, nor her memories."



Aya: "...Is my father going to bring her into the SRX Project?"
Viletta: "He may."
Aya: "....."
Viletta: "Perhaps this is her destiny."
Aya: (Destiny. Huh...)

-----




Van details the next operation. The Federation forces in northwestern Africa are falling back to the Mediterranean to regroup. Vindel's troops will keep them occupied; while the way is clear, Archibald is to cross the sea and conquer the Duchy of Riskent. It's ideally positioned to serve as a beachhead while they capture Aviano, one of the Federation's primary military strongholds. For his part, Archibald has been looking forward to a change in scenery from the deserts and wastelands, so this promises to be most entertaining---



Van: "Use a minimum of force while you're in Riksent. And avoid damage to civilian areas."
Archibald: "Oh? Why here?"
Van: "They came under attack during the first war. We must show them that we are not the old Divine Crusaders."
Archibald: (What's this, now? You began your power base by arousing anti-Federation sentiment, but now that you have their support, you change your tune. But you and I are the same, underneath. Warbringers...)



Van: "...Is that clear, Major?"
Archibald: "Inescapably. You can count on me."
Van: "Then go. There's little time to waste."



Archibald: (The things I say to show my loyalty to the Neue DCs... ah, well. I suppose I'll have to be good for now.)

-----



Kyosuke and Excellen compare notes on their encounters with Alfimi and the Einst. Unfortunately, the whole discussion raises more questions than it answers. Only the two of them could hear the creatures' voices, for reasons unknown. Alfimi seemed to know both of them, but neither of them can remember having met her before. On the other hand, Excellen thinks that something felt familiar about her - and likewise, Kyosuke had a similar impression from Alfimi that he feels from Excellen. Of course, Excellen doesn't have any sisters or anything similar, so they're still left with nothing conclusive.



Looking at things from another direction, Excellen revisits the question of why only the two of them can hear the Einsts' voices. There must be something that they have in common, but since Bullet and Lamia aren't affected, it must go farther back than just their involvement with the ATX team.



All they can think of is the shuttle crash back at the Academy. The two of them were the only survivors, making the connection obvious - but however suspicious it seems, the Einst couldn't possibly have been involved in something that happened back then.



Kyosuke: "....."
Excellen: "Well, come on, Kyosuke. The next time we see her, why don't we just ask her directly?"
Kyosuke: "Heh. You're always the optimist."

The original version shows Excellen as being much more subdued about the Einst in general, and not really cheerful or optimistic at all.





-----



Federation forces have come under surprise attack, and both the mass-produced R-Blades and the sword-wielding super robot have been confirmed among the enemy. Daitetsu moves the Hagane to relieve them, with the Shirogane supporting...

-----



In the duchy of Riksent...



One of the DC captains announces that the local defenders have been suppressed. Archibald asks about the status of the African forces; it seems that Vindel's men have outdone themselves, and the Federation is already retreating to Aviano.



Archibald: "...As I was saying, we'll be taking a little vacation here, Sir L'Dhal."
Joyce: "Twice now, you've trespassed in our country!"
Archibald: "And I am sorry. You happen to be ideally positioned for our next operation."



Joyce: "...Will you guarantee the public's safety?"
Archibald: "That is entirely up to you. Please, feel free to conspire and resist as you like. It will make this vacation most entertaining."
Joyce: "...!"



Archibald: "By the way, where is Princess Shine? I had hoped to offer my respects, but..."
Joyce: "...I'm afraid Her Highness' duties have taken her out of the country at the moment."
Archibald: "Oh? How strange. My information led me to believe something quite different."





Captain: "Major, we've picked up an enemy squadron fleeing to the north."
Joyce:
Archibald: (Ah... I see your game now.)



Archibald: "Send a pursuit squadron at once... no, belay that. On second thought, I'll go myself."
Captain: "Sir?"
Archibald: "Thanks to Colonel Van's orders, I have some pent-up frustration to work out. A hunt will be just the thing."
Joyce: "Hunt?"



Archibald: "Oh? Surely you won't begrudge me a few enemy stragglers."
Joyce: "Ugh..."
Archibald: "And perhaps I'll flush out some larger game while I'm out."
Joyce: "...."



(Your Highness... please, be safe...)

-----



The Federation forces fleeing Africa have been gathered, and the Shirogane is leading the way back to Aviano. At the same time, there's been no response from Riksent - the likelihood that the NDCs have already occupied them seems strong. Already, the enemy is making its way into Europe. The stolen Huckebeins, the Federation may have been able to handle, but with the enemy fielding R-Blades and new super robots, the future is in jeopardy.



Suddenly, Eita picks up a distress signal from Riksent forces, fleeing the country with the enemy in hot pursuit. The timing is too odd, and Daitetsu orders the Hagane to full alert; it will respond while the Shirogane continues guarding the Federation retreat.



Lee: "This is Platinum 1. Captain Daitetsu, why have you changed the standing orders?"
Daitetsu: "...We're moving to relieve a unit from Riksent. Under the circumstances, we need to protect as many friendly units as possible."
Lee: "With respect, Captain, I believe our priority is to escort the remaining units safely to Aviano."
Daitetsu: "...."



Lee: "Diverting the Hagane to retrieve the remnants of a single squadron would be reckless."
Daitetsu: "My gut tells me there's a VIP in that unit who must be rescued."
Lee: (Your gut? Are you mad?)
Daitetsu: "We're departing. I'll take full responsibility for anything that happens, Captain Lee."
Lee: "...Very well."

Lee makes it pretty hard to sympathize with him at times, so we should probably pause and put ourselves in his shoes for a moment.

He's taken off of his initial assignment to wipe out the DC remnants to go serve as a glorified chauffeur for a bunch of Federation suits. The assignment gets handed off to the Hagane, whose crew Lee despises because they dropped the ball in a big way during the war with the Aerogaters, leading to the death of his family. The fact that they're a bunch of cut-ups doesn't help. Despite that, they're regarded as the heroes of the war.

No sooner has Lee been removed from his assignment than the Divine Crusaders start another war, exactly the situation he had been trying to prevent. He's still stationed in the north, a long way from the action. The Hagane, on the other hand, was en route to the enemy stronghold at the Earth Cradle at the time the war broke out. And yet when Lee gets called into action, he's able to make it all the way down to Africa to join in the counteroffensive before the heroes of the Federation can get clear of the Arabian Peninsula. (Because Vindel is deliberately fucking with them, but Lee doesn't know that.

The Federation counteroffensive fails, in no small part due to the NDCs' impressive level of organization and the Federation's lack thereof. Lee's trying to escort the remnants safely back to Europe to regroup.

And suddenly the people from the Hagane, heroes of the Federation, the guys who failed to stop the DCs from regrouping, who managed not to contribute to the African campaign in any way, and are now supposed to be assisting Lee during the retreat... call him up and explain that it's vitally important that they drop everything and go rescue a Disney princess.

Gotta admit. I'd be a bit fed up with them too.

-----



When the pilots learn about the Riksent unit, it doesn't take them long to guess who's traveling with it. The DCs specifically targeted the princess during the first war, so it stands to reason that they'd be up to their old tricks again. If they're going to help her, they'll need to move quickly...



Latooni: "I'll go!"
Ryusei: "Latooni!"
Rai: "I'll go in the R-2. Ryusei, watch my back."
Ryusei: "Your back? What the---"



Excellen: "Wow... since when are Lat and Prince Charming the impatient ones?"
Lamia: (Every time. Every time a crisis arises, their emotions overcome their reason.)



Lamia: (But every time, the others follow, and they perform at a high capacity... I don't understand it.)



Tasuku: "...Hey, what are we standing around for!?"
Kyosuke: "Let's go. We need to give the NDCs a little payback."
Excellen: "And I thought Kyosuke didn't hold grudges. Oh, well... Let's go take a good beating."
Tasuku: "You mean give a good beating, right?"
Excellen: "Well, who cares about the small details?"
Tasuku: "WE do!"

Atlus version there. The JP version has a similar confusion of "blowing" at/getting "blown" at, and Excellen's response is something about wizards and buzzsaws and gas clouds and it's probably a Dragon Quest joke and my brain hurts.



Mission 21: Princess of a Fallen Kingdom



Soldier A: "This is Lumen 4! I'll hold them off, whatever happens. Keep going, Captain; we didn't come this far to lose now!"



Shine: "No, that's enough."
Soldier A: "Your Highness!"
Shine: "You're in no condition to continue, Lumen 4. Find a place to bail out of your fighter."
Soldier: "No, I can---"



Shine: "Lumen 4... Francis. You've done well; you have my gratitude."
Soldier: "H-Highness... I swore to guard you to my dying breath!"
Shine: "But that isn't today. If you live, I will see you again. Got it? Er... do you understand?"
Soldier: "B-But---"



Shine: "You must escape, now. That's a command from your princess."
Soldier: "F-forgive me, Your Highness! Please, stay safe!"



Shine: (Thank you, Francis... you too.)



Shine: "Marco, it's just us now. I can't let everyone's sacrifices be in vain. I must take back my country from the Divine Crusaders!"
Soldier: (She's fighting through her grief...)



Shine's Newtype precognitive powers warn of more pursuers approaching.



Soldier: "Damn it! Hold on, Highness!"
Shine: "I will!"
Shine: (I won't give up now... I can't!)



As you can probably guess, our only objective here is to keep the Lion with Shine in it alive.



We've got three Sorpresas on our tail, with the map roughly divided into half land and half sea. We start out with reduced health, so Generic Soldier pops a couple of spirits to top himself up again.



The map basically gives us two options for how to proceed. We can either go inland or try to travel parallel to the shore. Given that we're trying to escape from Riksent and the Hagane was in the process of crossing the ocean, staying over the water seems like the way to get rescued!



The pilot says that he can't shake the enemies, but then Shine senses somebody else.



Shine: "Marco, bring the mech over there!"



Soldier: "There? Princess, have you---"
Shine: "Yes! Help is coming, I can feel it!"
Soldier: "Understood!"



The game puts a target marker on that spot and everything, but once the next player phase rolls around...



For some reason Latooni was in Kai's Gespenst. That'll be fixed shortly.



Rai: "Are we in time?"
Shine: "Sir Raidiese!"



Latooni: "Princess! It was you!"
Shine: "Latooni!"
Latooni: "I'm glad you're safe, Princess..."
Shine: "Yes... now that you've come!"



Excellen: "A friend in need is a friend who sneezed, right?"
Shine: "...Huh?"
Tasuku: "That's a friend indeed!"



Lamia: (So she made a joke on the similar sounds of the words. But... I don't see the humor.)

Atlus version, obviously. She actually says "It's like finding hotcakes in hell!" (地獄にホットケーキ, jigoku ni hottokeeki) when the phrase is actually "like meeting a Buddha in hell" (地獄に仏, jigoku ni hotoke), referring to finding an unexpected source of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. Also, when Tasuku points this out she basically responds "Oh? So sorry, no speekee Nipponese."



But we're not out of the woods yet, as the alarm sounds and the bulk of the enemy force arrives.



Archibald: "Hmhmm... and at last, she's been brought to ground. As well as..."
Rai: "....."



Irm: "What the hell. That's serious overkill just for bringing in the princess."
Russell: "Maybe... they knew we were coming?"
Irm: "Well, could be..."



Archibald: "Now, let the hunt begin. All units, you may commence your attacks."



Rai promises Shine that he'll keep her safe; Daitetsu (needlessly) reminds everyone that the DCs are after the princess as a political pawn, so letting her fall into their hands means dark days for the war effort as well as for her.



Kai orders Rai and Latooni to move ahead and clear a path for her to escape, and both pilots get a free Focus and Accelerate.



Kyosuke: "All right, people, let's give them some payback."
Bullet: "Assault 3, roger!"
Excellen: Assault 2, roger dodger. Make sure you really get your point across, okay, Lamia?"



Lamia: (Point? Is she... making a joke about my Illusion Arrow?)
Lamia: "Assault 4, un-understo-ood. An Illu-usion Arrow sho-ould su-uffice."



Lamia: (I should play along... but this is going to be exhausting.)

This one's actually pretty close to the Japanese version. Isshi wo mukuiru (一矢を報いる) means to retaliate (payback, in other words) but the phrase literally means "respond with an arrow." Excellen basically tells Lamia to make sure she really pays them back, and it takes her a second to pick apart what she means.



Rai: "Ryusei, Leona. Make a path for the Princess."
Leona: "We're on it, Raidiese."
Ryusei: "You and Latooni aren't planning to go charging in without me?"



Rai: "Heh. I don't need you to lecture me about that."
Ryusei: "Heh, guess not. Don't worry, we've got your back. Leave her to us."