Rock climbing is fine and all, but what do you plan to do?
Who knows?
I'm just going to look for something to delay the Rush's repairs.
There's no time.
Crap!
Qwenser!
That was close.
Could it be that she picked up on this radio signal?
Delicate sensors and the like
are supposed to be designed to be protected from shock waves,
so taking shelter here was the right call.
Now, this is where the real show begins.
Having said that,
how much damage can I inflict on this guy with Hand-axe?
I know!
For an Elite, the Object is an extension of herself.
Discrepancies in its sensors
is like having glasses with a prescription that's slightly off.
Even if it might not adversely affect combat,
any factors that distract from her focus are unacceptable.
In the middle of a pit stop, every minute and second counts.
Commencing with the exchange of the main gun now.
Ma'am? Discrepancies in the sensors?
Those values are within tolerable limits.
I am very sorry.
It wouldn't be strange if she were to get it into her head...
...to adjust it herself!
Time for a face-to-face with the G cup pop star!
Pardon me, mademoiselle.
Hey, you're kidding me, right?
No.
This is the truth.
For I am none other than the Elite who pilots this Object.
What about the G cups?!
Don't wanna die before we see our fire inside so...
We can fight!
In the distance, where your mud-covered expression is facing,
doromamire no sono hyoujou ga misueteru saki e
We can fight!
Our sweat that drips down, even knowing that everything will come to a futile end, Will still never forget how to fight!
nagareo chiru asa ga subete muda ni owaru to shitemo
tataku koto dake wa wasure wa shinai darou
You're so strong - able to smile in any situation, And no one has ever seen you cry...
itsudemo waraeru tsuyoi kimi no nakigao wa daremo shiranai kara
But that just leaves the bruises in your heart unhealed.
kokoro no aza wa kienai kedo
You always never gave up, you never gave up, So nothing's too late!
Just like that - Never wake up, you Never wake up
sou yatte Never wake up, you Never wake up
So let's just go on dreaming! We lamented this world, feeling unable to smile.
yume miteikou ze itsuka nageiteta waraenai sekai wa
But now we'll laugh to the ends of the Earth! That's right! Get Up, Get Up, Get Up!
dokomademo waratte sousa, Get up, Get up, Get up!
We just gotta blaze on through!
kake nukere bai
The Graveyard of Junk is a Mountain of Rare Metals
Interception at the Site of the Alaska Battle II
When you go so far as to get teary eyed,
I must say that I find it offensive.
Are you surprised?
The me on screen is a full 3D CG dummy image.
You're kidding me, right? Come on...
Even so, back home,
I am currently active as a pop star Elite, who sings and dances.
Y-You liar.
In the Information Union, truth is justice. Fabrication is evil.
We have no obligation to convey the truth to you people.
You liar! You liar, you liar!
Oh, honestly, you are being unmanly.
Give me back my innocence! Give me back my G cups!
Oh, but these are nice in their own way, no?
Enough of that. I'm continuing with my mission.
First, close all bulkheads.
I'd rather not have to pass a blade through a girl's skin.
Quick!
I will commend you for the fact that you will still treat me like a girl.
As I expected, once the bulkheads are closed, I can't use the radio.
Juliet?
Is that this Elite's name?
Incidentally, our conversation in here is being transmitted outside.
I believe we ought to be surrounded by about now.
It doesn't matter.
You're the only one who can operate this Object.
If you make any rash moves,
I'll end this battle right here, right now.
Then, what comes next?
Shall I shoot Lady Liberty with my main guns for you or something?
Do nothing.
Don't move so much as a finger until our Princess declares checkmate.
Oh, dear...
Are you sure about that?
If I do not hold the reins,
this Gatling 033 will run wild without end.
Run wild?
Gatling 033,
you are not mobilizing with an enemy combatant aboard, are you?!
Right now, we are in the midst of a situation
where the tide of battle can turn at any minute, any second.
But...
Then, will you raise the white flag?
You, with what authority?
As for that...
I have no intention of operating a Gatling 033,
whose sensors are out of whack.
So I think I will try letting the Strategic AI Juliet handle things.
Strategic Al?
It is too dangerous to grant full powers to an artificial intelligence!
As a battle against another Object,
if I set Juliet to only engage units on the order of 50 meters,
there will be no problem.
It can't be. An AI that can outdo an Elite?
That's impossible with the current technology.
Are you speaking of the Legitimate Kingdom's much-vaunted Angelina List?
The Angelina List was a paper written by an AI skeptic, was it not?
Running wild, freezing up, incorrect learning...
Conducting test after test that were unfavorable to AIs,
it exhaustively cited their weaknesses and failures.
A negative list full of malice.
The Angelina List is the wall that Object-class strategic AIs run into.
If it were completely unmanned, that may be true.
On this Gatling 033, the Strategic Al Juliet handles the basic controls
and I fix the errors and bugs that crop up.
By doing so, we cover its shortcomings,
while making the most of the Al's high-speed processing capabilities.
That is why it will run absolutely wild if I let go.
Like so.
Oh, and what would be the matter?
At that rate, you will not be able to keep up with my dancing.
This is what Elites are...
Humans whose bodies have been altered
for the sole purpose of fighting in Objects.
Now, then...
I have received what I wanted,
so I suppose I will finish up today's order of business.
Enemy craft rapidly approaching.
Baby Magnum, initiating emergency mobilization.
She has come out, I see.
Damn it...
How far did the Princess get in her repairs?
It appears she only has one main gun that she can operate.
Of the seven main guns, she made it so that at least one was usable.
A measure of last resort.
Miss Unsophisticated Elite of the Legitimate Kingdom,
if you raise the white flag without a fight,
I believe I stated that I will not go so far as to take your life.
Unfortunately, our military regulations
has no procedure for raising the white flag before the Object is destroyed.
Well, that is fine.
I have no obligation to show mercy, after all.
I shall blow you away with great enthusiasm.
Juliet handles all the combat and I have time on my hands, so...
Shall we take this rare opportunity to get all cuddly and smoochy?
Cuddly and smoochy?
That voice... Qwenser?
It means that the unsophisticated Elite of the Legitimate Kingdom
no longer gets a say in this matter.
Qwenser, I don't know why you're there,
but if you don't hurry up and escape, I'll blow you away, Object and all.
Qwenser.
I don't care if you escape.
I'm blowing you, the Objects, and everything else.
No! You've got this all wrong!
Yes, I had you figured out all wrong.
Wait...
I'll do something about the Rush's movements now...
No monkey business now.
What should I do?
This is Qwenser with an urgent message.
I'm in no hurry here.
I'm at my wits' end.
Could I ask you for one favor, in case the worst should happen?
What?
In the barracks in the maintenance base zone,
there's an engagement ring.
What?
If I end up kicking the bucket,
please return that to sweet Angelina back home,
whom I've know since we were little.
I'm sorry, Qwenthur.
Between the coil guns, the lasers, and the fixed base plasma cannon,
which would you prefer to die to? I forgot to ask.
Please give me a choice where I don't die.
That's up to you. Any other dying wishes?
A-Actually,
some stuff happened between me and little sweet Julia, a foreigner
who's as imperturbable as an AI and works at a restaurant in a Safe Nation.
So, if you could also get her the necklace I have in the barracks...
I, too, would like to question you closely
regarding this childhood friend and the "some stuff" that happened.
You were so fixated on those G cups,
so what is this about little sweet Julia?!
Now, Baby Magnum!
Make a big turn to the right!
Whose right side are you calling big?
That's not it! I'm begging you, do what I tell you!
There's a way to win!
To the right!
Trust me!
Next, left!
Turn a little at a time!
Fire your main gun at the front of the Rush!
Follow that up with a Killer Squall from your sub-weapons!
You're aiming for the Water Strider's wreckage!
If you melt the snow behind it with your lasers and roll it,
you can turn it into an obstacle!
You are too slow!
You may try to relay my tactics, but...
With your speeds, you are too slow!
And now, here comes the finale!
This shall be the finishing blow.
Fall to the depths of Hell and regret not raising the white flag!
Trust me.
Now, we can win!
The Gatling 033 has come to a halt...?
What in the world did you...
Qwenser?
What did you do to my Gatling 033?
Do you wish to make this a quiz show?
The situation, I understand.
I at least know that for some reason, Juliet is acting on her own,
conducting learning that is not needed for this battle.
And that this is producing various bugs, errors,
and conflicting command priorities one after another.
To the point that I can't keep up with the fixes.
It is with that in mind that I am asking you!
Not about the situation, but the reason!
Just what in the world did you do to Juliet?!
She's probably recalculating the risks.
Recalculating?
Juliet picked up on changes in the situation that you can't see
and she's steadily calculating, trying to desperately avoid a checkmate.
The Rush stopped because Juliet is thinking at length now,
spinning her wheels hard and fast.
A checkmate? That is ridiculous!
My Gatling 033 had the overwhelming advantage.
I could not have possibly lost in that situation.
My message wasn't meant for the Princess.
What?
Like hell I'd have a childhood friend named Angelina.
That was referring to the report
filed away in the Legitimate Kingdom's database.
The Angelina List...
And what name means "little Julia" again?
Juli...et...
You cannot mean...
You were so confident, that you made contact with the Baby Magnum.
Naturally, it was an unscrambled radio transmission in the clear.
That transmission reached other soldiers, too.
Qwenthur, that bastard.
He's relying way too heavily
on the great, handsome, genius, blue-blooded Havia.
"I'm at my wits' end" signals the start of a secret conversation.
The "foreigner" has to refer to the Rush.
He said, "Al," but judging from the mention of "Angelina",
that bastard must be an automated Object.
A spare power drill battery
is still enough to get an infrared targeting system working.
My partner's primary occupation is as a radar analyst.
He sees the battlefield as a game board and Objects as game pieces.
He's a specialist at looking at their movements
and ferreting out the enemy's quirks and weaknesses.
Qwenser will guide the Princess and lure the Rush into this area.
And I'll bring the infrared targeting system back to life.
Then, the Rush's strategic AI
will mistakenly think that the Water Strider's main guns are aiming at it
and consider it a credible threat.
However, you removed all things smaller than 50m from targeting.
In confusion, Juliet single-mindedly continues to spin her thinking wheels.
I never imagined... Putting the Angelina List to practical use?
Even as we sit here now, she continues to spin her wheels,
producing countless bugs, errors, and conflicts one after another.
Too many to deal with, even with an Elite's cognitive speed.
I shall acknowledge it. Juliet is deadlocked.
However...
Do not think that this is the end!
Hard shutdown! Unlock full keyboard entry mode!
If I should put my mind to it,
the Gatling 033 can be operated perfectly well by me alone!
I find myself wanting to make you mine even more now!
Such quick wit! Such practical skills!
Why is it that you set fire to my heart so?!
Don't do it. You'd be fighting in vain.
You can't win against our Princess with such methods.
On what grounds do you...
What... are you...
There's a bomb set in the sheltered area behind your seat.
Check and see.
It cannot be...
Why? Why is such a thing...
Objects are monster weapons that can't be destroyed, even with nukes.
It's a safety device for an emergency shutdown when the Elite turns traitor.
And it's active.
I have not turned traitor!
But the commander of the base zone determined that you had.
Having seen the Rush stop when you could have won.
I-I am the Gatling 033's Elite.
They would never cast me off so easily...
What's important to the Intelligence Union's military
is neither the Rush nor its Elite,
but the Strategic Al Juliet.
You!
Because of you!
I have done nothing... nothing...
Done nothing... nothing wrong!
What are you going to do?
In just another few minutes, the bomb will go off.
What's your ejection system?
M-My seat serves as an ejection seat.
As I expected,
the bomb is rigged to go off with the ejection system.
But it'll be all right. I can cut this thing easily.
Wait one moment! That will only allow myself to escape!
I'll manage somehow.
But!
This is war. There is no kindness.
To me, this is a chance to capture an enemy Object intact.
This is a one-time deal.
Next time we meet, we'll be enemies.
What'll be waiting is kill or be killed. Got that?
But why are you saving me?
Your song earlier was nice.
Do me a favor and don't tell the Princess.
If they find out I let an enemy Elite escape,
I'll be court-martialed.
Very well.
I shall do you the favor of making this deal.
That'll be a big help.
This is a one-time deal. Next time we meet, we will be enemies.
Are we in agreement?
Yeah.
Next time, I shall sing just for you.
What?
Yo, Sir Knight.
Looks like your plan worked.
Yeah, somehow.
There was a self-destruct device in the cockpit
and thanks to that, the Elite fled for me, just like that.
Huh. Isn't that bomb made of Hand-axe?
This is war. There is no kindness.
Do me a favor and don't tell the Princess or Miss Frolaytia, okay?
More importantly,
hadn't you better think up what excuses to make to the Princess?
I hear she's raging about who the hell sweet Angelina and sweet Julia are.
Huh? Why should I have to make excuses to the Princess?
Never mind that. Just hurry on back.
So I can sock it to you good.
Thank goodness! It looks like you survived.
It hurts that we lost the Gatling 033,
but our military attaches more importance
to things like control systems and strategic AIs, so it's okay.
We have a backup of Juliet.
We can still keep going.
We just have to change the layout of the Object currently being built
and you can be reinstated in no time.
Plus, once Romeo, her counterpart, is completed,
I'm sure we'll never be fooled by such makeshift measures again.
And besides, even if Juliet is seized,
there are measures in place to keep the intelligence under wraps,
so all the important technology can be erased.
If you do anything like that again,
I shall turn my main guns upon your base zone!
That boy...
Rather than some professional soldier
who lays out the phony-sounding official position,
it might be safer to keep an engineer like him as an ace up my sleeve.
This just makes me want him even more.
Qwenser Barbotage.
The Coal Mine Littered with Stacks of Money
The Kamchatka Peninsula Nighttime Blitz I