Afterwards, on Earth

[deathflag_survivor]

[So Shu's not the only new face at Fort Alhambra now.   There's two more machines that came back in addition to the Granzon... and these two also start with the letter G!  They're not as OP though... just a gray Gespenst that somehow's gotten in on the Halloween Plan refits and a red Gesterben that doesn't seem related to the other ones the team fought earlier in the operation.]

[Video]

Never thought Mission Devil would lead to us working with the Unity Group, but then again stranger things have happened.  This is Second Lieutenant Albhard Bailaran of the ESUN's spec ops group Team Jelba.  My associates here are Second Lieutenant Selena Recital and her assistant robot, Elma.



A pleasure to work with you all, and thanks for showing up when you did.  Bought us a little more time before Shu arrived, time we might've not gotten otherwise.



Right.  We were investigating to confirm whether or not Shu Shirakawa had been killed or not, on account of no trace of the machine being found in the wake of its destruction at the hands of the Steel Dragons.  One way or another, we wound up being summoned to that other world -La Gias-, and it wasn't long before we met with some of your own people and then Shu himself.

According to the professor, he was resurrected by a man named Luozorl, though his memory is full of holes and there are also things he doesn't feel inspired to share.  In spite of that, his assistance in the battle and the cooperation he's given us have been taking into consideration by our superiors, and it's been decided he will remain under observation for the foreseeable future, with Lieutenant Recital and myself serving as his handlers.

Any suspicious behavior observed by Professor Shirakawa should be made known to us... but please refrain from antagonizing him.  I know some of you have prior history with Shu and some of you fought as members of the Steel Dragons, but the circumstances have changed.

Thank you for your cooperation.

(Albhard, Elma, and Selena can be tagged now or after this broadcast when they're milling around one place or another.)

Comments

[glorystargo]

That's some story. I wouldn't believe any part of it - if I wasn't there to see for myself.

[kinaesthete]

I'm not saying this to be insulting, so please don't take it the wrong way, but.

How sure can you be that a famously untrustworthy genius isn't going to trick or outsmart you?

[gold_four]

[Well, as Selene is wandering the corridors, probably trying to familiarise herself...]

Hello.

[There's... some teenager?]

They say the most incredible feature of the of the Mark 10 Deep Strike Drone is its high level heat sink. I think I can see some of it was inspired by you.

[a_linear_mind]

[Willis is keeping himself busy by checking out...the Gesterben.]

Wow, that's one nice looking machine.

[majestic_keiki]

[After the transmission a teenage girl approach you.]

What is this about another world?

Black Banpresto Originals unite!

[deathflag_survivor]

Then we'll be grateful you were there then.

And thanks for backing me up as well. Working with Shu wasn't an idea everyone was thrilled at, but having someone else with some actual rank agreeing to it probably convinced them.

[deathflag_survivor]

Because... at the moment we don't know what his goal really is. And at times like this, keep your friends close and your enemies close. Someone wanted Shu alive again for some reason, for some purpose. At least this way we can keep an eye on him.

That, and... in spite of the Granzon's power it's been destroyed once before, and when it was far stronger than it is now. If need be, Selena and I will lead the charge against him. You have my word on that.

[prismphantom]

[Oh boy. Leave it to the outfit to get teenage boys pining after you. Well, let's see if we can't get some entertainment out of this.]

Oh really? Tell me... how many other ladies do you think were inspiration for it?

[prismphantom]

A customization of a customization, realized by Daniel Instruments.

A shame your friends had to fight against four of these prior to running into Albhard and myself.

[prismphantom]

Unfortunately, there's very little we've managed to figure out regarding the other world, which Shu has referred to as "La Gias".

Some method of dimensional transit brought us there, though unfortunately I'm still trying to pierce things together and the phenomena occurred in a manner different than those I've read about. However, the presence of 'familiars' and the existence of summoning and resurrection spells leads me to wonder if it is a world where what we would consider as 'magic' is commonplace.

There's a great deal I'll still have to look into, including the space-time wormhole thesis papers of Professor Idris and-



Sorry about Elma running off on a tangent, he does that sometimes. But yes, while Albhard and myself were investigating where the Granzon fought its allegedly last battle, we were somehow drawn into the world of La Gias.

Your friends followed suit afterwards.

[a_linear_mind]

Yeah I heard they ran a number on them. Here I thought that Mao Industries had a vice-grip on great Gespenst customizations.

[Willis turns around towards the new voice and whistles once his eyes meet Selena.]

Wow, the pilot's pretty good looking herself.

[prismphantom]

Well, the original Gesterben's absence of Extra-Over Technology gave the company a direction to take their own customizations in.

[a_linear_mind]

Man, I never thought I'd see a Gespenst that looks that looks that sleek though.

[gold_four]

Well...

[The lad seems mildly uncertain, before...]

Well the lead designer was one Diana Hamilton, renowned for her efforts in semi-autonomous computer systems, and had also minored in aeronautical engineering. She was the one who proposed a lithium core heatsink in order to address the increasing tendency of previous models to overheat should they stay in the air in excess of six hours. However, the particular model of heatsink was actually developed by Triple En industries, itself headed by Tatsu Yamashiro, whose work in...

[Well, Selene, if you were expecting amateurish flirting, you've got a military otaku rambling instead.]

[kinaesthete]

Still, wouldn't it be safer to keep him out of the Granzon and locked up somewhere? At least until we have some idea of what's going on with the magical dimension that brings bad guys back from the dead, if nothing else.

Speaking of which. Do we have any idea how everyone got there, or how Shirakawa had a TSEN to let you get back? Or what that implies about our vulnerability to surprise attacks?

[Because if, apparently, Setsuko again managed to do something weird without knowing what or how... that still wouldn't explain how the Jelba trio were transported there. And the girl could probably do with some separate explanation for what's been happening.]

[prismphantom]

Elma are you-

Yes, what he's saying is all correct. Though I'm sure one of the real reasons he's interested in talking with you would be your bre-

[And the poor little Subot's gonna get punted really hard.]

You PERVERT!

[prismphantom]

They certainly did a good job on it... plus I've managed to add a few minor modifications of my own.

What about you, another Gespenst pilot?

Become bros, live to the end of the game, right?

[glorystargo]

Trust me, I wasn't thrilled either.

Sometimes, you just have to make a judgement call. This one proved to be working for us - for now.

[deathflag_survivor]

Taking it up with the wrong man, ma'am. There's stuff we don't know, lots of stuff even and Selena and I are both aware of that. Whoever revived Shu, whoever cast that summoning ritual, why Shu had a TSEN...

But we know that the device hadn't been used in a long time, and if the Divine Crusaders had access to them they would have used them. So I guess there's no security risk.

And frankly, some of my superiors are hoping to gauge Shu's intentions based on how he uses the Granzon. If he tries to use that alternate form of his again, that's one thing.

But as it stands, locking the Granzon up in a vault and letting it gather dust just is not what our bosses want to let happen.

You know it!

[deathflag_survivor]

And thank our lucky stripes for that.

You know, I thought I'd be prepared for things with Shu if it turns out our good professor was alive somehow. But honestly... all of this isn't something I really was thinking I'd have to deal with.

[glorystargo]

You were prepared for a fight, I take it?

[deathflag_survivor]

Let's just say that I wouldn't have objected to it if it came to that, threat level be damned.

[Honestly that would've made things easier, but goddammit Captain Symphonia. Mission is the mission, your life is your life. Gotta keep that in mind.]

[glorystargo]

Sounds like there's some kind of story going on here.

[gold_four]

G-Good leg...

[Ataru gasps out, before collapsing, because he just got a miniature robot to the face.]

[deathflag_survivor]

[Indeed there is, Denzel!]

Less a story, just a footnote in the story of Bian's insurrection. One about a woman named Jessica who wanted to go into space and got a position onboard a certain ship our good professor destroyed in the early days of that conflict, leaving the man she loved and the land of the living behind.

[And already Albhard's regretting saying that.]