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Video of this chapter
For the intermission, I put as much as possible into the Excellence’s weapons.
Last time, the gang discovered an uncomfortable truth about the Hisago plan. We need to recruit a team to take down the Martian Successors.
[Nergal Headquarters, A Room]
A surprise attack with the Nadesico B?
Correct. The Martian Successors are currently gathering at the polar ruins on Mars.
So you want to launch a surprise attack there with the Nadesico?
Yes. The regular battleships are probably being tracked by the Martian Successors. But the Nadesico B is still in the testing phase.
This will outwit them!
Can I ask you something? What do you mean by outwitting them? If we go in with just one ship, we’ll just get overwhelmed.
Even if we try to Boson Jump, the other side controls all the Chulips, right?
We’ve got that covered. If we enlist the help of an A-Class Jumpter, we can Jump directly into their face.
Since they can Jump without a Chulip after all.
But there aren’t many A-Class Jumpers left.
You’re underestimating Nergal. We’ve managed to secure one.
Excuse me.
Perfect timing. Let me introduce you to the A-Class Jumper, Inez Fressange.
Nice to meet you. Although officially, I’m considered dead.
(Inez Fressange)
Thanks to Hokushin. It’s a necessity to deceive them. By the way, did something happen?
The New Federation’s Mars attack force was wiped out.
Hoh.
Apparently a large number of mobile weapons suddenly Boson Jumped right in front of them.
So then what happened!?
Because they could even launch a unit, the enemy attacked them all at once…
But only A-Class Jumpers can Boson Jump without Chulips.
Do they have that many A-Class Jumpers?
No. It was Yurika’s powers that made it possible, since she’s fused with the Computation Unit.
[Martian Polar Ruins, Command Room]
Image transmission rate is 98%. I never thought it would work so perfectly.
I’d like to ask this for future reference. How did you manage to increase the level that much?
Yes. In order to allow a non-A-Class Jumper to Jump without a Chulip, we fused Yurika Misumaru, sorry, Yurika Tenkawa, with the Computation Unit as a human translator. In other words, we communicate our destination to her in images and have her, an A-Class Jumper, transport us.
But we’ve failed every time before.
The cause of the failed tests before were due to dreams. The dreams that Yurika Tenkawa was having caused the system to go out of control. Now, we amplify the image on the input side so that it wouldn’t get lost in her dreams, but we add in a lovey-dovey twist to the image.
Lovey-dovey…? What?
Yes. We added Akito Tenkawa, the object of her affection, to the images we were transmitting. Because of this, she mistakes the images being sent to her as coming from her husband and now actively cooperates with us.
“This is where Akito wants to go!”
As you can see.
So this is how you get to 98%...
[Nergal Headquarters, A Room]
No way… So that’s how…
So you can see that their love turned out to be their downfall. But it’s a double-edged sword. If the real Akito Tenkawa comes into contact with her, depending on how it’s done, it could stop all Boson Jumps.
Oh my. That means they’ll be after Tenkawa too.
Yes. Where is he now?
He’s following the Captain to a certain grave. Yours.
[Cemetery]
…
…
Akito, Yurika, and Inez, who should be sleeping here…are all alive.
Yes…
I heard some of it from Inez herself. But I don’t know what happened to you two over the past two years.
It’s better you don’t know.
I don’t want to know either. But… Why? Why didn’t you tell me that you were alive?
…Because there was no need to tell you…
Is that so…
Besides, if we told you, it would attract unnecessary things… Speak of the devil…
You showed up even though you knew we would be here. You were careless, Akito Tenkawa. Please, come with me.
…I refuse.
In that case… Die!
What about the little girl?
(The Hokushin Six)
Capture her. She has golden eyes like Lapis. She’s a white fairy created by human hands. The people of Earth seem to love genetic manipulation. You will become the foundation of some glorious research in my lab.
It’s the execution squad that kidnapped all those A-Class Jumpers.
That’s right. We are the Martian Successor’s shadow. Humans, yet villains who have strayed from the path of humanity. All for the sake of a new world order.
Hahahaha. A new world order just sounds stupid.
It’s been a while, Genichiro Tsukiomi.
It’s true that a new world order is born from destruction and chaos. Therefore, it is inevitable that one experiences the pain of birth. However, Kusakabe has no virtue.
(Genichiro Tsukiomi)
So says the traitor who sold out Jupiter.
That’s right. I’ve betrayed my friends, Jupiter, and am now Nergal’s dog. Your obsession with Tenkawa has become your downfall, Hokushin.
We will eliminate anything that stands in the way of our new world order.
This is a peaceful place where the dead rest. Surrender.
And if I don’t?
You’ll go to hell.
You think so? Attack!
[Explosions]
What!?
That’s…
Captain Hoshino, I’m here to help!
The Excellence!
Nadesico B Route Chapter 3: Recipe for Reunion
Captain! Please come back right away.
Hari.
Nadesico…
So you’ve come. Well then… Come!
You escaped at Amaterasu, but that won’t happen here.
Major Tsukiyomi. I was wondering where you were. Why are you here?
We’ve both changed.
There’s no such thing as a person who doesn’t change.
…You’re right.
Wait up!
Ryoko. And you two are here too.
Yeah. If asked, I’ll go through fire and water.
(Hikaru Amano)
You’re right. Though is it okay for a serialized mangaka to do something like this?
I’ve already submitted my manuscript and there’s still some time until the next deadline. It’ll be fine.
Who are those two?
My old partners.
Hikaru Amano. Currently a mangaka. Nice to meet you.
I’m Izumi Maki… Newbie, don’t you want to know your life expectancy…?
(Izumi Maki)
Don’t say something lame. You two have been away from actual combat for a while now, so don’t push yourself too hard!
Hello, I’m Long Break.
(Sometimes her bad jokes don’t land in English)
Watch out. They may be dumb, but they’re strong!
Attack swiftly!
New units first of course.
[Alstroemeria]
It’s decent but kinda boring. Sports only one attack that has a pretty good range at least.
Hikaru and Izumi also have their own Aestivalis Customs. They’re the exact same as Ryoko’s. But now that all three of them are here, they have combo attacks with each other. And in that lies the best part of the Aestivalises, their multiple combo attacks. Normally combo attacks aren’t worth using since it eats EN from all participants, but the Aestis have essentially infinite EN as long as they stick by a Nadesico. There’s little reason not to use their combo attacks as much as possible.
We may be surrounded but every single enemy is a weakling with the exception of Hokushin and his guards. And even then, the only difficulty from the guards comes from how hard they are to hit. Hokushin does have access to Boson Jumping when he gets above 120 will, but an Aim spirit disables that.
You’re scared. You’re frustrated. Even if you wear armor, you cannot protect your weak heart.
Dammit!
Your evil sword cannot defeat my soft blade.
Your traitorous sword cannot defeat me.
An opening!
Woah. He’s charging at us!
Nadesico!
Hari, what’s the damage situation?
Phase Transition Engine output has decreased. We can’t move!
As long as it doesn’t explode, we’ll manage.
What the… Captain, a giant object is approaching! No identification signal!
Enemy reinforcements?
Hohoho. It looks like humans are still fighting each other.
(Killer the Butcher)
No way! That’s…
Gaizok.
Butcher! You should have been killed by us and Kappei!
It’s true that we were caught off guard that time and lost. But the Great Gaizok God has resurrected us and given us another chance.
Don’t mess with me! Uchuta and Keiko sacrificed their lives to defeat you!
It’s not just one or two people. Do you think you, who are fighting wars that take many more lives with impunity, are qualified to judge me?
Grrrrr. Damn you. I’m going to kill you!
You’re hot blooded today.
Fufu. I missed the kill. But now the Nadesico won’t move for a while. Retreat!
[Any remaining Martian successors retreat]
The enemy is fleeing.
Leave them alone. Our priority right now is to defeat Gaizok.
Butcher’s back and he’s much the same as in the other route. The Nadesico can’t move, so let the Gaizok come to you to take better advantage of Ryoko’s team’s combo attacks.
Butcher retreats at 10% HP (2000), but try to get a Fortune boosted kill for double the money.
That’s enough of a warm-up for our return. Retreat!
[Butcher and/or any remaining Gaizok retreats]
Dammit, don’t run away! Come back!
Even if you ask nicely, I don’t think they’ll come back.
[Nergal Headquarters, A Room]
Akito’s support group was Nergal!?
Sorry for hiding it from you all, but we had no choice. As long as Kusakabe and the Martian Successors were hiding as regular soldiers, we couldn’t be sure who to trust…
Hmm… Maybe I’ll draw a manga about this later
To fool an enemy, you have to fool your allies, but to fool the weather, you need to be a weather girl.
Even so, I’m surprised that Gaizok showed up.
Should we tell Kappei?
Even if we did, Kappei is living a normal life. Not to mention the all important Zambot 3 is gone now.
The robot created by the Biarians. I wanted to see its Ion Engine in action.
Let’s worry about that later.
In lieu of all that, I’d like to have Tsukiomi join you.
Use my power in place of Tsukumo Shiratori.
Everyone’s just saying whatever they want.
Ryoko, since you’re part of the New Federation, is it okay for you to be here?
That’s a different story! Seriously, this is all too unexpected.
Speaking of the unexpected, something is happening in space.
Switch on!
[The TV turns on]
At this point, I have been convinced that humanity must never wage war in the future! That is the true purpose of this operation to drop Axis on Earth! This will eliminate the people who remain on the planet, who are the true source of war in the Earth Sphere.
(Char Aznable) (He’s on TV)
That’s…
Char Aznable. The leader of Neo Zeon.
Ladies and gentlemen, so that we may forge our own path and establish a place for the refugees, I ask you, lend me your strength for just a little while longer! When we’ve succeeded, I will then be able to join my father, Zeon!
What is he talking about?
Let me explain. Char Aznable plans to drop an asteroid called Axis on Earth. Given its mass, the effect will be greater than any previous colony drop.
According to our calculations, if this is successful, the Earth will enter an ice age lasting hundreds of years…
Ah hell. No matter where you look, there are enemies all around us.
Captain Takasugi, please try to be a little more serious!
It’s fine. Captain Bright’s crew will take care of Axis.
I hope so.
I trust them. And Gaizok won’t do anything to destroy the planet itself. Let’s just focus on dealing with the Martian Successors.
That’s all we can do. So what’s next?
What can we do anyway? The Nadesico B was attacked by the enemy and now it can’t move for a while. If we wait for repairs, everything will be dealt with by the time it’s done!
Do you really think that’s the case?
(Seiya Uribatake)
W-who are you!?
Seiya Uribatake. The mechanic of the original Nadesico crew.
Hmph. I was expecting something like this to happen, so under my command, we’ve built a new Nadesico in Nergal’s underground dock.
The Nadesico C, I take it?
Yes, the Nadesico C! The third Nadesico!
Hehehe. Martian Successors, you may think you’ve defeated the Nadesico B, but that’s not the end of us. You can laugh at this convenient plot twist, but it’s an exciting development!
Amazing
Also, because Neo Zeon is planning to drop Axis, Kusakabe will have to delay their plans to attack the Earth.
There’s no point in attacking the New Earth Federation.
Now’s the time to strike.
It is. As soon as we’re ready, we’ll head to Mars on the Nadesico C.
[Nergal Headquarters, Underground Dock]
Ruri. They took Yurika. As soon as the Axis Drop is finished one way or the other, they will launch a major attack. There’s something I want to give you first.
…This is…
This is the recipe for the special Tenkawa ramen that I made for the ramen contest to get approval to marry Yurika.
I can’t have this! It’s something you’ll need when you get Yurika back.
I don’t need it anymore.
…
The Akito Tenkawa you knew is dead… I want you to accept the proof that he once lived.
You’re just trying to look cool.
That’s not it at all, Ruri.
…
When they held me captive, they did all sorts of experiments on me.
Experiments like…
I don’t know the technical details. But they messed with my head… My eyesight, hearing, everything else became almost useless… Especially my sense of taste… It’s all gone.
!
I can’t make you ramen anymore…
But Akito, the Black Sarena… And at the graveyard…
Lapis was supporting me.
…
(Lapis Lazuli)
You’re…
Lapis… Lapis Lazuli. Born in a Nergal laboratory… I am Akito’s eyes. Akito’s ears. Akito’s hands. Akito’s feet…
She was also kidnapped by the Martian Successors. Together with Akito, we rescued her. Since then, she’s been supporting him.
…
…
[Nergal Headquarters, A Room]
Mizuho, what are you doing?
I’m inputting data about the Black Sarena and the Aestivalises. It might be useful for a new Excellence Frame…
But even if we have the data, I don’t know if the project will continue.
Even so, this is all I can do right now.
Yeah. I’ll do my best too. Let’s become heroes and get this project and budget back on track!
I’m sorry to spoil your momentum, but please don’t get too reckless when fighting. Maybe it’s because of the constant battles, but the Time Flor Engine is a bit unstable.
Oh dear.
Now that you mention it, were you telling the truth earlier? That the Time Flow Engine can be used as a time machine?
That’s the theory my and Fiona’s dad came up with. I gave up on that part a long time ago. It’s much more practical to make a reliable and efficient engine than a time machine.
Now that I think of it, I wonder who that voice was.
You mean the voice that messed up our combat test?
Yeah. I wonder why…?
[???]
…Martian Polar Ruins… Preparations complete…