Previous Chapter: Chapter 54: God's Prison Next Chapter: Chapter 56
*near Heaven’s gate*
Sean: Captain, all teams are in position.
Lefina: Understood.
Sean: They may have called us supplementary firepower, but we’ve been put right in the middle, huh.
Lefina: It’s because back in the Bartol incident, we were able to break through to Heaven’s Gate.
Sean: Things are a bit different than they were back then… Including how Colonel Humphrey deals with problems.
Eun: Captain, Ship defense forces 1, 2 and 3 are beginning the assault on Heaven’s Gate.
Sean: Well, let’s show them what we can do.
Lefina: Yes, let’s push through. Keep our heading, and speed up to pass the ships.
*Outside*
Operator: Targets Mike, Liver, and November are headed this way from dead ahead, elevation 10!
Humphrey: Good, they’re noticed us.
Operator: Forces 2 and 3 have also encountered the enemy!
Humphrey: What about the Hiryuu Custom?
Operator: As planned, she’s moving in towards Heaven’s Gate!
Humphrey: (Let’s see if you can still use your ISA techniques in times like this, Lefina Enfield.) All hands! This battle will be the key to Operation Reconquista’s success! But do not throw your lives away! Watch the enemy carefully!
Chapter 55: Guests and Inspectors
Rof: Enemies on 3 sides… But looking at their forces, none of them are the main force…
Biodroid: High speed object has entered Area 2. Searching… Earth forces Hiryuu Custom, confirmed. Entering area 1.
Rof: So they’ve come. All units, get ready for their attack!
*sup*
Lefina: Gravity Brake! Release the Break Field!
Run: Enemy commander’s forces, dead ahead!
Lefina: All fireteams, sortie! Prepare cannons 1 through 3!
*Deploy screen*
Rof: Even when so many critical events are happening on their planet, they still come out to fight us. Either they’re brave or stupid….
Irm: That unit… Rof’s piloting it.
Masaki: That guy was there when Shu was explaining the Granzon’s secrets.
Katina: What kind of person is he?
Irm: I don’t know if he’s extremely serious, or just a stone wall…. [1] Well, let’s just say he’s someone you could get along with.
Katina: I see, because walls can take a punch, right?
Russel: (I think he just means you would just understand each other well…)
Gilliam: Ghost 1 to all units. As you know, the Earth is currently in great peril. If we can recapture Heaven’s Gate, it’ll be a large step towards the success of Operation Reconquista. I expect the best from each of you.
Irm: Let’s do this, Rof. We have more important things to get to…. We’ll finish this up right here.
Chapter 55: Guests and Inspectors
Victory: Shoot down all enemies.
Defeat: The Hagane is shot down, Irm is shot down
SR point: With the Zeidram on the map, shoot down 3 Zelanio in the same turn.
*take the tiiime*
Rof: They’re blowing through our units so quickly. They’re trying to knock us out with one punch…. But if anyone could pull off such a reckless stunt, it’s them. And it’s not just that they’re powerful…. Is it because they have something precious to them that they’re protecting? I… Why am I here fighting them? No, I can’t be worrying about that right now. I just need to follow my orders…!
*Get dat SR point boyeee*
Rof: Damn, they’re good… But I’m not just going to hand over victory to you!
*More bros*
Eun: Enemy reinforcements from Heaven’s Gate!
Ryuusei: Heh, so we’ve lit a fire under their ass, then.
Kouta: We just gotta keep pushing!
*Back to fights*
*Irm V Rof*
Rof: How can you come here, ignoring the threats to the earth?
Irm: We won’t be distracted! Don’t think you can beat us!
*beat him up*
Rof: Guhhh! The Zeidram’s….!
Irm: Got you!
*oh noes support defense*
Irm: What?!
Rof: Who is that?!
Mekibos: Stop it! Stop this right now, the both of you!
Rof: Mekibos?!
Irm: Y-you’re alive?!
Mekibos: Obviously.
Tasuku: H-how the hell are you alive, after what happened?!
Mekibos: I was unlucky.
Tasuku: N-no, that’s not the problem here! The Einst consumed the White Star!
Presia: Who is he…?!
Lune: He’s the commander of the Inspectors, who came here before the Guests… But he was thought to have died with the White Star….
Mekibos: Look, I’ll tell you the details later. I have no interest in having a go with you.
Lune: You think we believe that?!
Carla: You just protected Rof!
Mekibos: Sure, I saved him. But that doesn’t mean I’m working with him, or plan to work with him.
Gilliam: How can you prove that?
Mekibos: I’m powering down my weapons. If you don’t trust me, shoot me. But you won’t get to hear what I have to say.
Gilliam: …
Irm: …
Lefina: Major Gilliam, let’s hear what he has to say. But please do not let your guard down.
Gilliam: Roger, captain.
Rof: Mekibos, you…!
Mekibos: Rof…. I’m here on the direct orders of the Privy Council.
Rof: The Council…?! Why?!
Mekibos: To end this selfish war of Zezernan’s.
Rof: !!
Mekibos: The Council figured out what he’s really after. They have the proof, and have ordered him to stand trial.
Rof: What…?!
Mekibos: The fact that he didn’t stop Shu Shirakawa was the final straw. Zezernan has been disgraced. How long are you going to continue listening to him?
Rof: …That is what a mercenary does.
Mekibos: A mercenary… If you just kept your head down, you’d be a General someday.
Rof: But that’s not something I can do. If I gain something due to my family’s power, then there’s no meaning in it for me.
Mekibos: So you threw away your name and became a mercenary.
Rof: …. When I decided to live on my own, it was because I couldn’t take that stagnant society any longer. That’s why I’ve been working in these remote warzones.
Mekibos: In that case, there’s no need for you to work with Zezernan. He’s a symbol for everything that’s wrong with these lineages. He’s the one who brought this fight to earth, even when they had no part in the Zogar and Vorga factions.
Rof: But after studying the primitive culture of Earth, he realized they would be a threat to Galactic order.
Mekibos: Yeah… That’s what I thought, too. But because Zezernan was working on his own schemes, the Vorga, along with Wendolo and I were sent out here. He said it was to protect peace in the Galaxy, but in the end it was only to gain an advantage for his own faction…. And these Earthlings aren’t anything to laugh at. We may be more advanced, but we’re just as unorganized as they are. And when I interacted with them, I realized they weren’t anywhere near as savage or primitive as Zezernan or Wendolo claimed.
Rof: …
Mekibos: You realized it too, right? Zezernan’s using this fight for his own sake. Sooner or later, he’s going to throw you away, and use the Delfalte name to his own ends.
Rof: That’s….
Mekibos: Rof. Is this what you really want to do? Just following orders like some kind of tool?
Rof: …You’re right. I don’t see any reason for this fight…. But I can’t just cut myself out from it like you did….
Mekibos: So what are you going to do?
Rof: Give me some time. There’s something I want to confirm.
Mekibos: You know if you go back to Zezernan, there’s a good chance you won’t leave alive, right?
Rof: I know that. But Zeb and Seti are working for him.
Mekibos: …Okay. But I’m taking command of the Biodroids here in the name of the Council.
Rof: That’s fine.
*Bye*
Lune: !!
Masaki: The bastard’s trying to escape!
Mekibos: Wait. If we were ever friends at all, please let him go.[2]
Katina: The fuck are you saying?! We never were friends!
Mekibos: …I told you I have no intentions of fighting you. Let me prove that.
*Woooo*
Eun: Captain, all enemy machines in the battlefield have stopped completely!
Lefina: !
Sean: What about the forces the other squads are fighting?
Eun: We’re trying to confirm!
Mekibos: That should have deactivated all of the Zogar machines in the current area. Do I have your trust now?
Irm: So what do you want?
Mekibos: I want to talk to you guys directly. But I don’t exactly expect a warm welcome.
Irm: You’re pretty blunt.
Mekibos: It’s who I am.
Lefina: …Alright. I’ll allow him to dock.
*Anywho*
Mekibos: Okay, so where should I start….
Irm: Let’s start with how you’re alive. You couldn’t have escaped from that….
Mekibos: I told you, it was an unlucky break. I was so close to death that most of my body had to be replaced.
Irm: So you’re a cyborg?
Mekibos: You could think of it like that, sure.
Gilliam: Was what you told Rof earlier the truth?
Mekibos: That’s right. I was sent here by the Zovorg Privy Council to stop Zezernan.
Lefina: Zovorg is… your country’s name?
Mekibos: Yup. There’s two big factions at the moment. What you called the Inspectors is the Vorga, and the Guests are the Zogar. They’ve been at each other’s throats inside of Zovorg territory for ages, and the Earth got caught up in that conflict.
Irm: That was pretty annoying for us, you know.[3]
Mekibos: Regardless, I was sent here by the Zovorg Council to end the war on Earth. All I have to do now is give the recall order to Zezernan.
Sean: And that’ll end it?
Mekibos: I hope so…. Until then, if you could give me a place to crash, I’d be grateful. Of course, I’m, prepared for you guys to keep me under heavy security. Just think of me like a hostage or something.
Lefina: …If you say so. We’ll keep you here, then.
Previous Chapter: Chapter 54: God's Prison Next Chapter: Chapter 56: Operation Reconquista
[1] Serious or hard?
[2] This more like, In my name, out of consideration for….
[3] Understatement of the year award goes to… IRMGULT