Locked in combat with three suspected Human Liberation Front Land-mates!
Request immediate reinforcements!
I need backup!
Damn it! Now you'll see what we local police are made of!
C'mon. How long do we hafta let the regular cops have their playtime?
Willfully ignoring preventable damage and injuries
seems a lot like aiding and abetting to me.
Quit griping.
As we speak, Lance is busy winning over the ladies at the Admin Bureau.
01 to all members. Switch from Shift C to A at once.
See? Speak of the devil and all that.
109. Are you ready?
I could hardly wait!
You're not to fire at all until you've reached the destination.
The residential sector is nearby.
Expect a mountain of paperwork if so much as a single bullet strays.
Man. First you make us wait forever, then you give us tall orders...
Respond!
109. I'll try not to shoot.
This is 45.
They're using antiques, but it appears they've been modified for urban use.
Stay sharp.
How polite of you.
Ick. You get shot up a little and suddenly you're one tough girl...
I hate that macho kind of mindset.
I doubt it's the case,
but you aren't thinking of taking care of them by yourself, I hope?
Oh? Are you suddenly more perceptive?
You're no different from terrorists if you think the ends justify the means.
I'm just kidding.
I'm done being a spitfire who ignores orders.
Found 'em.
Three of them, at 11 o'clock.
109, now descending!
Come out quietly!
The use of Land-mates on public roads makes you an armed threat!
This is 109.
I've driven them to Sector D9, as planned.
Now taking up pincer formation!
An ambush?!
One got away!
I'm on it!
That is what a pincer attack's for!
You've improved, Deunan.
You assessed the risk of a ricochet and went with a knife instead.
That was the apt choice.
Wow. Baxter and Briareos praising me...
What's next, a sudden rain shower?
01 to all members.
Operation complete. Prepare to withdraw.
One other thing, 109.
That was a truly efficient and effective finish.
Never mind rain; I think there's going to be a full-blown storm.
Oh, knock it off!
What's up?
Seeing it like this, it's almost like the city's alive.
Even through devastation, it just keeps transforming and regenerating
until it's regained its spark of life.
There are many scholars who'd argue that the entire planet is a life form of its own.
It's not strange at all that you'd see it that way.
Anyway, we should probably hurry and call Hitomi and Yoshitsune.
You sure they didn't get sick of waiting and leave already?
All members, assemble in the briefing room immediately.
I have mission orders that need to be given to you in absolute secrecy.
You gotta be kidding me...
What?! You're canceling last-minute again?!
Ugh! I was so looking forward to our first night out in a while, too!
I even made us boxed lunches...
Fine! Whatever!
Come on, now. You know ES.W.A.T. has to work around the clock.
I don't care how busy they are!
If they're gonna keep canceling last-minute like this, then forget it!
If you're gonna side with them, then you have to eat all their food!
-Huh? -Don't give me "huh"!
Start eating already!
Y-You can't be serious...!
We're not going home 'til you're done eating it all!
I'm sure you all remember the incident
in which the multi-legged turrets went berserk.
To prevent another such disaster,
the Gaia Computer has since undergone repeated tests and maintenance.
However, the Legislative Bureau feels this isn't enough
and has requested a regular examination of Gaia as well.
Those old geezers are such worriers.
So what exactly does that mean?
Simply put, it means giving Gaia a health checkup.
A computer... getting a health checkup?
Just to be safe, they have given strict orders
that this checkup be conducted under ES.W.A.T.'s supervision.
I imagine this will be a bit different than a normal mission.
Stay sharp, all of you.
Hey. When does our mission start?
I already told you-- once Gaia's done talking with Tartaros.
And I wanna know when that'll be...
How should I know?
I bet Gaia doesn't wanna do these stupid experiments either.
And now it's complaining.
Hey, I got it! What if this is actually some type of machine uprising?!
I apologize for the wait. Gaia's dialogue has finally finished.
Shall I allow it to conclude now?
Okay. Do it.
Why did they request this now, with this timing?
Surely you haven't forgotten about the time the Gaia Computer malfunctioned
and used multi-legged gun turrets to launch a massive assault on Tartaros
because it doubted the loyalty of all bioroids.
But all the turrets were later destroyed and replaced with new model Auto Insectors.
The fingers may have changed, but the brain controlling them is still the same.
The most recent malfunction incident wasn't due to a flaw with the turrets.
No, it was because Gaia is honest to a fault.
It's just...
I'm bothered by the idea of leaving Gaia with the decision
of how to deal with the suspicion directed at itself.
You think Gaia will be wary of people's suspicions?
High-tech or not, Gaia is still just a machine.
A giant, objective abacus with no sense of values, huh...
Is that really the case, though?
Hey, we're on duty! Don't act so relaxed!
I can't help it. This is so boring.
He calls it the biggest mission of the year
and then has us just sit around while a computer gets a checkup?!
Don't be like that.
Once this is over, we finally get some time off.
The Legislative and Admin Bureaus are worrying too much.
My guess is the Admin Bureau is making good on some hard-line deal they made in the past.
Lance didn't seem too pleased with it, either.
He should put himself in our shoes. We're the ones who get sent out.
I got it!
What do you say we order some pizza and beer and down it all?!
He'll seriously take our vacation time away, you know!
So? I don't care! Let's have some fun!
What was that?!
I'm not sure!
The monitors blacked out for a second
and then I suddenly lost all access privileges!
Whoa! This thing's acting on its own!
Send a shutoff signal! Right now!
No good! All external input is cut off!
Seal all shutters immediately!
If it gets outside, it'll be a repeat of the turret incident!
All the security Land-mates in the building are powering up!
We're not the only people here?!
They're prototype models designed for unmanned operation.
It appears their emergency power sources have activated.
So Gaia's taken full control of the building...
I can't think of anything that could be worse than this.
Briareos! This isn't a drill, is it?
Deunan. I hate to say it...
...but this is going to be much worse than just a storm.
To think Gaia would malfunction during a diagnostic check...!
That was just asking for trouble.
Serious trouble, at that.
01 to all members.
It appears Gaia has purposely cut the comms system.
The situation inside the dome is completely unknown.
Your orders are to sneak in through the emergency escape exits,
lend 109 and 113 backup inside,
and stop the Auto Insectors.
45, copy!
25, copy!
49, copy!
Ammo?
Two magazines left.
That makes me feel uneasy.
-Take this. -Thanks.
These and those jumbo-sized ones are running off this place's reserve power.
Our only option is to infiltrate the command center and cut the power feed.
Question is, will we have enough ammo?
If we fail, Olympus will fall.
If we succeed, we'll have piles of written apologies to send.
It's a long shot to begin with, but we can't afford to let them get out.
We won't let them. Let's tear our way through!
Sounds good to me.
Is it me, or are they somehow anticipating our actions?
It feels like they're taking countermeasures against us.
Guess we aren't the only ones who don't want to repeat our screw-ups.
It's too quiet...
Could be a trap.
Even if it is, we have no choice but to jump headlong into it.
Yeah, we gotta keep pushing ahead.
I'll take the lead.
Keep running and don't look back. I'll cover you from behind.
Tough customers!
But that is the quickest way inside.
We'll have to bust our way through, one way or another...
-Briareos! -Get back!
-Deunan! -Right!
Talk about a close call.
All the wires and switchboards are emitting the same amount of heat.
Meaning its camouflaged which wires will cut the power to the Auto Insectors?
An admirably thoughtful act for a machine.
It's designed to alter its internal command structure and energy pathways
in the event of an external attack.
By using its meticulousness against it,
I can determine what it's thinking from the change in its power flow.
That's my Briareos!
There.
What's wrong?
Seems my fingers are numb after that hand-to-hand battle earlier.
-You shoot it. -Huh?
There's only one shot left. I can't risk wasting it.
All right.
We're going into action too!
So it's finally a full-scale war...
We're the last line of defense.
-Close-quarters combat! -Roger!
About time!
Olympus is done for...
Get me the Chief.
What the hell?!
I'd never screw up like that!
It's your avatar. There's no point in complaining about it.
Slipping on a banana peel is so old and cliché!
It's a simulation Gaia made based on your past actions.
-There's some believability to it. -You're terrible!
Still, what was with all those bananas that suddenly appeared?
The details are unclear.
It appears to be referencing the data history
of a cleaning robot that was in the residential zone the other day.
I assume it was a bug.
Actually, it seems we weren't the only ones unhappy
with how this simulation played out.
Oh, so it was Gaia's idea of a joke?
That's a machine for you. No sense of humor at all.
What an unendearing way to sulk.
You're all back on your standard schedules starting tomorrow.
We'll be conducting physical training based on today's results.
Exhaustive training, so as to further improve Gaia's opinion of ES.W.A.T.
That is all!
No time off again?! You monster! You cretin!
Hey, Briareos.
What do you think we would've done if we really had lost this city?
Either stay here and help rebuild,
set out in search of a new city to call home,
or go back to living in the ruins...
Why do you ask?
Are you thinking of quitting ES.W.A.T. or something?
No.
I've just been thinking about what my idea of paradise is
ever since all that happened...
In the end, I think it might be family.
Family, huh...
A daily life with a partner at your side
who you can talk about even the most insignificant things with.
Even if it seems so ordinary and commonplace, it's actually very precious.
In that sense, even today's simulation might've been helpful
in reconfirming what normal life should be like.
I see.
Now that we've figured out the positive significance of today's experiment,
let's head back home.
Even if we don't have tomorrow off any more,
we're still allowed to live like normal for the rest of today, you know?
No objections!