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Aidoneus Island – DC Headquarters
Alder: Sir, Elzam has failed in his attempt to capture Izu Base.
Bian: So I heard…
Alder: We need a new course of action…It’s dangerous to let our enemies have a battleship equipped with Tronium weaponry at their disposal.
Bian: Lorenzo, what do you think will be the Hagane’s mission?
Lorenzo: Perhaps there will be a confluence with the remaining EFA forces in Europe…
Lorenzo: Or maybe it will move to the equator and fly into orbit, and so attack our forces from there.
Bian: …What if their target is Aidoneus Island?
Alder: Impossible. To attack here with just one ship…that can’t be their plan.
Bian: Are you certain?
Adler: …Commander, I suggest that we send Major Tempest Hawker to search for and eliminate the Hagane…
Bian: Tempest…? Although he is an excellent soldier, can he be trusted to follow orders?
Adler: …..
Lorenzo: (…Because of his hatred for the Federal Government.)
Bian: Very well. I’ll trust you to handle the matter.
Adler: Thank you, sir.
Bian: (The Hagane…Not just the ship, but her crew can be of use to me.)
Bian: (I wonder…how far is it from us?)
Hagane – Bridge
Tetsuya: Stay on this bearing.
Daitetsu: Are we still on course for Hachijo Island?
Tetsuya: Yes sir. We’re around 5000 kilometers away from Izu Base. We’ll be arriving at Hachijo shortly.
Daitetsu: Any sign of enemy movement?
Eita: Not within ranges one through eight.
Daitetsu: Good.
Tetsuya: Strange. I was expecting chasers from Kyushu…
Daitetsu: Vice-Captain, let’s test the Hagane’s submergence function.
Tetsuya: Diving, sir?
Daitetsu: Yes. In the Izu-Ogasawara Strait. It has depths greater than 2300.
Tetsuya: I see…the maximum depth of the DC subs is 2000…
Tetsuya: But, since the Hagane was also designed for space travel, it should be able to dive deeper.
Eita: Unless they use the DSRV, they’ll never reach the Hagane.
Tetsuya: Very well. Double-check the watertight compartment. Prepare to dive!
Hagane – Briefing Room
Giado: What!? We’re going underwater?
Garnet: Didn’t you hear the announcement?
Giado: What announcement?
Garnet: Don’t tell me…were you listening to music again!?
Giado: Maaaan, dis is what I call a ship. It’s a big deal to be able to dive underwater.
Garnet: Don’t change the subject. You’ll have to answer to Major Ingram eventually if this keeps happening.
Kusuha: Excuse me, Captain Aya…here’s the medicine from Dr. Kobayashi.
Aya: Thank you. By the way, Kusuha…did my father say anything?
Kusuha: No…
Aya: I see…
Kusuha: Um…would you happen to know where Ryusei is?
Aya: I think he’s adjusting the Wildraubtier in the Hangar. It’ll take awhile to finish, but…would you like me to show you the way?
Kusuha: Oh, no…that’s alright. I have work to do as well…
Giado: …..
Garnet: What’s wrong?
Giado: That girl…is she Ryusei’s girlfriend?
Garnet: I heard that she’s his childhood friend.
Giado: Ahhhh…
Hagane – Bridge, some time later
Tetsuya: We’re passing latitude 30N. Our current depth is 2500.
Daitetsu: Any sign of the enemy?
Eita: As of yet, we haven’t picked up anything on the radar.
Tetsuya: As we suspected, the DC subs can’t reach this depth.
Eita: Latitude 30N…we’re above the deepest part of the Izu Strait.
Rio: Oh, really?
Eita: It’s almost ten thousand meters deep. Not even the Hagane can survive it.
Rio: I’m impressed that you know that.
Eita: I-It’s nothing.
Tetsuya: That’s enough you two. We’re in battle station 3.
Eita: S-Sorry, sir.
Tetsuya: This may be friendly water, but don’t let your guard down…
*Every time someone says it…*
Eita: Sonar contact! I-It’s…a torpedo!!
Tetsuya: Wh-What!? A torpedo at this depth…!
Eita: Six torpedoes, bearing 2-8-7!
Daitetsu: All hands, Battle station 1! Full speed ahead, rig for battle!
Tetsuya: Aye sir! Full speed ahead, rig for battle!
Daitetsu: Evasive maneuvers, and load DSAT torpedoes in tubes one through four!
Tetsuya: Aye! 45 degrees starboard! Load tubes one through four! Open the vent!
Eita: Torpedoes 1800 meters and closing!
Daitetsu: Fire the AT torpedoes in tubes one through four!
Tetsuya: Tubes one through four, FIRE!
Rio: …..
Tetsuya: …..
Daitetsu: …..
Eita: !
Eita: Five down, one still active! Here it comes!
Daitetsu: Evasive action!
Tetsuya: We’re not going to make it!!
*Time’s up*
Chapter 9: Assassin from the Ocean Trench
Underwater – Izu Strait
Tetsuya: Report the damage!
Eita: The torpedo hit the starboard aft! The Tesla Drive is down!
Tetsuya: What!?
Rio: Aft blocks 8 and 11 are taking water!
*Hagane shakes*
Tetsuya: What now!?
Eita: W-We’re sinking because the Tesla Drive’s not working!
Daitetsu: Use the trim tank to keep us at this depth!
Tetsuya: Roger!
Eita: The Sonar! It’s detecting something in front of us!!
Tetsuya: !
*Killer Whale Sub shown*
Eita: Data matched! They’re DC subs!
Daitetsu: We’ve been ambushed.
Tetsuya: (Tch…! I didn’t expect their subs to reach this depth…)
Tetsuya: (We can’t launch our PTs at this depth either…)
Tetsuya: (We’ll sink if anything happens to the Hagane…!)
Daitetsu: All hands, keep this depth and get us out of here!
Tetsuya: Captain, we aren’t going to fight those subs?
Daitetsu: Vice-Captain…our destination is Aidoneus Island.
Daitetsu: We can’t receive supplies, so we must avoid combat.
Tetsuya: Understood…then, shall we move to this grid, sir?
*Edge of map highlighted*
Daitetsu: Yes. Full speed ahead!
*Prep screen, Conditions shown, Battle starts*
*Turn 2 Player Phase*
Ryusei: Lt. Irm, shouldn’t we scramble and deploy!?
Irm: Not a chance. Our PTs can’t handle the water pressure out there. You’d be crushed in less than a second.
Ryusei: Y-Yikes…
Irm: Just let the Captain and the Vice-Captain handle it.
*Something else breaks*
Ryusei: What was that!?
Eita: The Tesla Drive is malfunctioning! I can’t control it!
Tetsuya: What!?
Eita: W-We’re still sinking! The trim tank isn’t helping!!
Tetsuya: Blast it…!
Daitetsu: Ignite the auxiliary rocket engine cluster! Prepare to surface! Keep us level!
Tetsuya: Y-Yes sir!
Eita: This isn’t good…!
Rio: What’s wrong!?
Eita: The gravity control isn’t working because the Tesla Drive is down!
Eita: So the ship is being pulled to the bottom of the ocean…!
Rio: Are you serious!?
Eita: Yes. We’re maintaining our depth with the auxiliary engine and the trim tank…
Eita: But we can only do that for so long before we sink!
Rio: O-Oh no!
Tetsuya: Eita, how much longer can we maintain our depth!?
Eita: Five more minutes!
Tetsuya: That’s it…!?
Daitetsu: Hm…we’ll secure an area to use the overboost and accelerate to the surface!
Tetsuya: Overboost!? We only use that for taking off into space…!
Daitetsu: This is an emergency, Vice-Captain.
Tetsuya: !
Daitetsu: Listen, with the remaining time…
*Area re-highlighted*
Daitetsu: We need to get the ship to this grid sector!
Tetsuya: Aye aye, sir!
*Conditions updated, Battle resumes*
*Turn 3 Player Phase*
Tetsuya: …They’re leading us into an ambush…?
Eita: It appears so…
Daitetsu: …Perhaps they want to capture us. Stay alert!
*Clear the map*
Rio: All enemies confirmed down!
Daitetsu: Good…move to the target grid, and use overboost to surface!
Hagane – Bridge
Rio: Surfacing complete. No sign of hostiles.
Tetsuya: Whew, we made it…
Eita: Yeah…thanks to the Captain.
Eita: I never would have thought to have used the overboost while we were still underwater.
Tetsuya: …Don’t forget, he used to be the captain of the Hiryu.
Tetsuya: He knows a thing or two about evasive maneuvers.
Eita: Indeed…
Daitetsu: …Vice-Captain, take us to South Bird Island, slow ahead. Repair the Tesla Drive on the way.
Tetsuya: Right away, sir.
Hagane – Hangar
Irm: Dr. Ohmiya, I just finished checking the Huckebein 009.
Rob: Thank you.
Ryusei: Hm? This Personal Trooper…
Irm: This was my mech when I was on the PTX Team led by Major Ingram.
Ryusei: PTX Team…wasn’t that a PT special forces unit that preceded the SRX Team?
Irm: Yeah, though it’s disbanded now.
Rob: By the way, Lt. Irm…how was the 009?
Irm: It’s better than it was before…but it’s still not as good as the 008L.
Rob: Of course not. It’s got a different power source.
Irm: I know. I’ll just use this guy in the next battle.
Rob: OK.
Ryusei: Hey, Rob. When you said ‘a different power source’…what did you mean?
Rob: Oh… You don’t know then.
Ryusei: ?
Rob: …There were three Huckebein prototypes. One was this 009…
Rob: The others were called the 008L and 008R. The two 008s had a different power source than the 009.
Ryusei: You mean…the 008s don’t have nuclear plasma generators?
Rob: Right, but there’s more…
Rob: The 008L and 008R were the first PTs to employ EOT…
Rob: They were both equipped with ‘Black Hole Engines’.
Ryusei: Black Hole Engines? Those sound dangerous…
Irm: They were…
Irm: The Black Hole Engine in the Huckebein 008R went berserk…
Irm: The entire base was wiped out. The only survivors were myself, Dr. Ohmiya…
Irm: And Rai.
Ryusei: ! Him!?
Irm: Yes. He was the test pilot for the 008R.
Ryusei: …!
Irm: Rai lost his left hand when the Black Hole Engine went out of control…
Ryusei: (His left…!)
Irm: The Huckebein was given the nicknames “Vanishing Trooper” and “Berserk Trooper” after that disastrous failure.
Ryusei: …..
Irm: …Wait, he didn’t tell you about it?
Ryusei: N-No…
Irm: Heh, same old Rai.
Ryusei: …..
Irm: Anyway, the EOT used to construct the Black Hole Engine was just too much for us.
Ryusei: (Rai…I can’t believe he never said anything…)
Assassin from the Ocean Trench End
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