Reunion Through the Viewfinder
What was waiting for the SDC when they returned to base after locating the Flag...
...was the totally unexpected news that UNF headquarters had been taken over.
Reloading the ammunition can wait!
Finish prepping them for a turnaround inside of 20 minutes!
What's this about UNF headquarters being taken over? What's going to happen now?
The command center will be able to tell you more.
We have our hands full with getting everything ready to head out again!
I'm not getting any response from anything,
...from communications circuits to personal mobile terminals.
Boosting anti-wiretapping security to level 15!
Communications have been completely cut off.
There should be at least 1000 personal terminals alone in that building.
We estimate that the enemy committed over 1000 men to occupy the hotel.
Major, I have footage from news agencies.
We can set out again in 15 minutes!
No, hold off on that scramble.
Why would we do that, sir?
We're completely cut off from Command HQ.
Impossible! You're saying that it's been completely taken over?
The enemy knows that we've determined the Flag's location.
If we don't mount another attack right away or completely blockade Pou Temple,
...the Flag will just be hidden away again.
Do we give recovering the Flag top priority? Or liberating headquarters?
In either case, our hands are tied until we learn what the situation is inside.
Even now, the morning after the sneak attack in Subasci, Uddiyana's capital...
The UN, the target of the attack, has called an emergency Security Council meeting,
...and is gathering information as well as discussing what response to make.
That morning, UNF troops had vanished from the city streets.
All that was left was a city that had gone to pieces...
...with the force that had held it together now gone.
In this world that had come undone,
...only information continued to fly back and forth.
Recklessly flapping its broken wings to do so...
No doubt about it! Those are robot weapons that China's been developing!
I hear the Chinese government is refusing to make any comments.
Hey! It's a new message from Ru Pou!
Isn't that the Flag?!
Ru Pou has the Flag?
What's going on?
The significance of the Thanka of Kufura has been expunged.
For this reason, the earth has been freed from its bonds,
...and an age of decadence has descended upon this place.
The UNF's been occupied, the Flag's been stolen...
What the hell's gonna happen with the signing ceremony in four days?
The Flag is the lynchpin that's been holding all the insurgent groups in check.
If they lose that...
Uddiyana is gonna be plunged into a civil war!
Is that Ru Pou's objective?
Admittedly, that DOES sound like something the Gelut sect would do...
The Geluts issued no claims of responsibility whatsoever...
...regarding the occupation of UNF headquarters.
Subasci fell under a shroud of dry, grey silence.
And above this layer of fear that had built up like sediment,
...only UNF recon helicopters flew aimlessly.
The most pressing problem we have at the moment...
...is the complete cessation of UNF functions across the country...
...that resulted from the occupation of Command HQ.
It goes without saying that the Security Council is doing its utmost...
...to try to negotiate with the Gelut, but...
Given the situation, liberating Command HQ...
...must take top priority before we can do anything else.
Be my guest.
Okay.
Boy, this was a close call for me...
Under normal circumstances, I'd be a prisoner of the Gelut at headquarters.
It's ironic that the reason I'm safe and sound...
...is simply because I had the dumb luck to be an unwelcome guest here.
Um... Sure.
I must say, you're an impressive young woman.
A woman of your age, willing to come to a battlefield to get her pictures...
Don't get yourself hurt over some silly little thing, though.
Being a go-getter is one thing, but don't push your luck.
I must say, that Lt. Chris is putting me in an awkward position.
She took Lt. Nikkanen out yesterday and went to Pou Palace without permission.
That's a clear violation of military regulations, you see.
Maybe so, but the SDC is the only group that can do anything right now.
That may be, that doesn't mean that they can go around breaking regulations.
We just need to wait.
Even if we stay put, orders to neutralize the Gelut forces...
...will come down from UN headquarters in New York soon enough.
To a large organization, wild cards like them...
...who act rashly on their own authority are what pose the greatest threat.
Everyone in the SDC has something precious to them that they have to protect.
That's why they work so hard.
Do you have something like that, Captain?
Of course I do.
I have my family.
When you were little, Captain, what kind of person did you want to become?
We believe that Ru Pou didn't disclose the Flag's location until the last minute...
...because he was waiting for the Longkus to arrive.
As such, we must consider this operation to be the result of meticulous planning.
Naturally, the Gelut have probably beefed up their defenses.
For instance, even if we successfully infiltrate the hotel, the problem... -
...is that it is physically impossible to neutralize all the enemy forces...
...that are occupying the hotel using just our two HAVWCs.
As such, our main objective is to capture and secure...
...the Command and Communications facility in the north wing.
We'll leave the enemy neutralization and hotel liberation to the UNF,
...which will mobilize following the restoration of their command functions.
We know almost nothing about the current situation.
We can expect no intel support whatsoever, either.
Unfortunately, we can't afford to wait.
Unless the UNF's command capability is restored immediately,
...Uddiyana will plunge into a large-scale civil war.
We have to do this!
Even though it had been nearly a full day since the sneak attack,
...there had still been no public announcement.
The UN is taking no action at all...
Same old story. They won't budge unless they've got orders.
We were all in the dark regarding Pou's real intentions and the situation at the UN.
Speculation, however, was running rampant among everyone in town.
I don't have confirmation, but it looks like something happened to derail the roadmap.
Yeah, Ru Pou is still in hiding.
It's probably in response to the bombing the other day...
Yes. We think it's very likely that this terrorist act is retaliation for that.
The Flag...
Shirasu being called in by the UN...
The two-legged robot on the disk.
And now, the bipedal robot that showed up last night.
There's a piece that we're missing. Something else is clearly at work here.
The codeword is "Flag."
We know at least that much. But what the hell does it mean?
Hi.
What's up?
Once we pass Checkpoint Delta,
...we'll conduct a final check on the operations plan.
From here on in, switch over to laser communications.
Lieutenant, anything I say now will sound cliched.
But good luck to you.
Understood.
SC1, lifting off.
Roger.
Captain!
I was wandering around, like I was looking for a lost set of keys or something.
Of their own accord, my feet led me to the music store...
...of the girl who was once a Kufura.
Shouldn't have expected it to be open...
Mr. Akagi!
The sun will set soon. Darkness will come upon us again.
At this time of day... I sometimes feel like I'm watching at the bottom of the sea.
The bottom of the sea?
You know that this area used to be the bottom of a sea a long time ago, right?
That's why we still find fossilized seashells up in the mountains.
But before people knew that, they would see the shells and believe that in the past...
...there had once been an enormous flood that had engulfed the whole world.
A flood that swallowed up all humanity.
The wrath of heaven called down by Ru Pou.
That is about to be repeated here.
I was reminded that here in Uddiyana,
...history could often be found concealed in legend.
The people are frightened.
All that we can do is offer up our prayers to the Kufura, the goddess of rebirth.
Prayer...
Like a small lantern on the prow of a tiny ship sailing the dark seas,
...it provided a faint, flickering glow to light the way ahead.
An Osprey? No, it's something else!
Doesn't this seem like the bottom of the sea to you?
No, I meant that the air sometimes feels like a liquid to me.
I guess that makes those sea fireflies, huh?
Skeiron to Hercus. Final checkpoint passed. Begin drop prep.
- Roger. - Roger.
Drop.
Flash-smoke.
Disengaging hook.
Hercus 2, touchdown.
Hercus 1, touchdown.
Position of occupation forces confirmed.
Confirmed!
Neutralizing.
Hurry! Please, hurry!
Yes, sir!
Muzzle flashes from two gun turrets on the veranda of the main building.
Neutralized.
Scout to Hercus. Heat source detected on the west side of the main building.
Most likely Longkus!
Skeiron, Hercus 1. I'm okay.
Hercus 1, no damage.
Movement of one Longku unit confirmed. Heading for the annex's front entrance.
They have the front entrance blockaded!
Send us the annex interior data.
Sending data.
I'll enter though the small hall on the east side.
After the command center in the ballroom is liberated,
...I'll attack the Longku at the front entrance from the rear.
Skeiron and Hercus 2, provide backup.
Roger.
We'll hit them with stun grenades first.
Roger.
Lt. Chris... Lt. Ichiyanagi...
Lt. Ichiyanagi, let's go.
Yes, ma'am.
Attack!
It had started! It was a sneak attack on the UNF hotel...
The instant I saw that silhouette, any thought of danger disappeared from my head.
I'm in. Now heading for the ballroom.
Hercus 1 calling Skeiron. Command HQ successfully secured.
Patch us into all units' comm channels. Follow the regs in the manual.
All units deployed in Subasci, take action as per instructions.
1st and 2nd cavalry units, begin advancing on Subasci hotel immediately.
Subasci Northern Air Wing, scramble immediately.
The other Longku has disengaged from the battle line and is retreating.
Two attack helicopters closing in from 12 o'clock!
Antitank missiles, direct hit on north side of annex.
They're trying to take out our command capabilities from the outside.
We don't have time to pursue the other Longku. Move to the north face.
The main building provides cover from the south. The helicopter can't attack us.
L-T!
Right arm's operator circuits have been damaged.
Hercus 2, don't do it!
You're no match for that thing in a head-to-head shootout!
Lt. Ichiyanagi! Lt. Ichiyanagi!
They're UNF attack helicopters!
L-T! Lieutenant! A helicopter cavalry unit is headed this way!
Mission complete. Will now withdraw.
Scout, set down and stand by until we finish docking.
Roger.
When the UNF rushed to the scene, their overwhelming firepower...
...liberated the hotel without fuss.
There was no sign there of Gelut guards or those robots when they arrived.
Just as they did when they appeared, they used the underground tunnels to retreat.
But that wasn't what surprised me.
Halt! This area is off limits!
Miss Shirasu, we're returning to base.
Right!
Shirasu!
Akagi-senpai!
Just one time, just one is enough.
I want to see a beautiful light.
No matter long the night that comes,
...even if darkness should fall,
...if I know that light will shine down on everything,
...I don't need anything else.
"Please don't let me be swallowed up by sadness."
"Please let me have some purpose in my stride."
We just need to wish a little harder for it,
...wish for a light to erase the shadows that have come upon us.
Every time I lose my way, I'm pierced by the pain...
...of losing a little bit of myself.
And every time I set out again,
...I realize and relish that I have the strength to crush the darkness underfoot,
...and I'm able to wait for the stars once again.
Presented by Gray_Phantom #Gray_Phantom @ rizon
Next Time 0 1 2 Capture the Flag
Three days remained until the signing ceremony.
The fate of this country hinged on the recovery of the Flag.
During a firefight, Shirasu continues to take pictures of this final operation.
Right, snap away! Take pictures of everything that you see!