"270)}SDC + 1 290)}SDC + 1" "314)}SDC + 1 338)}SDC + 1" "355)}SDC + 1 ...have not taken any overt action thus far." "the populace has regained some of its old spirits with the celebration of Uddiyana's... for the first time in two years." "a message from Ru Pou was sent out to coincide with the ceremony." "What's this feeling in the pit of my stomach?" "the likes of which I've never felt before." "This object that was recorded by the HAVWC's gun camera... a robot being developed by China." "cutting-edge weapon that has yet to be officially adopted come to be here? ...caused the UNF to do an about-face. ...a P5 member state with rumored ties to Pou put the brakes on the operation." "But that wasn't all." "Subasci had sent in a whistle-blowing referee who was entirely out of place." "I hear that an investigator has come here from Subasci." "Do you think Lt. Nikkanen is going to be investigated for something?" "that's all." "He isn't allowed to have any visitors." "isn't he?" "the photographer who took the "Flag" photograph." "She's documenting this operation at the direct request of Command HQ." "eh?" "when we only had to worry about winning. of possibly violating international agreements. ...we haven't forgotten that facet of the UNF that is strictly an armed military service." "It is for that reason that internal investigations are vital to keep ourselves strictly in line. and the manner in which we conduct ourselves." "I take it that you will allow Miss Shirasu to document your review process during this investigation?" "of course." "There is no reason to try to keep an official investigation under wraps." "correct?" "Why does Lt. Nikkanen have to be investigated over what happened?" "He hasn't done anything to deserve being confined to quarters." "do you?" "That is exactly what we are here to investigate." "The eyes of the world are on these peace talks. ...there will be Freedom of Information requests for every move the UNF has made." "And that includes the Metazone operation." "They can't afford to have the image of their future main-force weapon tarnished." "or..." "It's also a way for the General Staff Office to avoid taking responsibility." "But why Lt. Nikkanen?" "Why ask me?" "Because Japan is the UN's second largest contributor." "But what does that have to do with..." "He always ends up getting the short end of the stick." "Lt. Chris certainly seemed to be in high spirits in spite of that." "Are you some kind of moron?" "The L-T is angrier than any of us." "go to the command center and see for yourself." "They're probably getting started." "do you mind if I... go right ahead." "The Captain here gave you permission earlier." "I'd like an explanation." "what about the responsibility of the General Staff Office for formulating an operation based on flimsy intelligence?" "My subordinate might be brought up on totally groundless charges." "Lt. Eversalt..." "I want to make one thing perfectly clear." "The UN must place the realization of peace above all other considerations." "I am absolutely opposed to any actions that might contradict those principles. ...even the noblest of ideals will end up as nothing more than a pipe dream." "It's that sort of self-preservation hiding behind a mask of realism that led to the tragedies of Rwanda and Kosovo." "You little... you're dismissed." "fluff from cotton plants is drifting on the winds." "My country is what they call a "failed state." "They call it a country without a future." "that country is my home." "I want it to be an example." "To show everyone that even a failed state can achieve peace." "That the people of all those so-called failed states out there mustn't give up hope." "It happened on an earlier PKO where we were on a support mission. citizens who supported the government were made to climb into the back." "We knew they were being taken away to be executed." "But we couldn't do anything about it." "All because orders hadn't come down from the UNF commanders." "I don't want to watch another tragedy unfold in front of me and do nothing." "I'll never forget the faces of the people in that truck who had no idea what was waiting for them." "Pardon my outburst." "That's okay." "I think you had every reason to be angry." "Everyone who comes here has their own personal sense of purpose." "and wanting to protect it." "That sort of thing." "even if means risking their lives." "But not everyone in the UNF harbors the same ideals." "but..." "Perhaps saying what I did means that I'm just an unrealistic idealist." "I don't think that's true." "Miss Shirasu?" "when you put it like that..." "I like to think that I've been doing it with something in mind... maybe I've just been clicking the shutter the instant it occurs to me." "Sorry." "There's something that appears to be the Flag in the video feed from Po." "so we can't be certain." "But it certainly seems to look like the Flag." "We believe that the footage was shot inside the Ru Pou Temple recently." "Ru Pou?" "the Flag is the only factor that both the people and insurgents have in common that can act as a focal point for the peace movement." "Losing the Flag means losing the key to securing the populace's hearts and minds." "Uddiyana will sink into civil war." "Ru Pou's objective all along was to trigger a war that would engulf all of Uddiyana." "But why would Ru Pou want a war?" "even if they're in their own country?" "The god of destruction who rules over death." "The Gelut sect of Theravada Buddhism that Ru Pou leads... or the Assassins' Cult." "the goddess of rebirth." "Uddiyana has seen massacres repeated again and again in the name of these diametrically opposed forces." "But we all thought of them as nothing more than folklore from the past." "which myth says once ruled this country." "sealed away for all time." "and it was about to be repeated. ...everyone assumed that orders would come down right away to move out." "UN headquarters took no action." "they intend to do nothing more than negotiate with the Gelut sect for the return of the Flag." "The chances of Pou agreeing to negotiation is practically zero." "why don't we take action?" "!" "This message can be seen as his opening challenge to create a civil war." "the peace process will break down once and for all." "sir!" "This isn't some regional militia that we're dealing with." "and it's being backed by the P5." "But we're only five days away from the signing ceremony. ...this country will lose for good its one chance to regain peace." "We're the only ones who can do it!" "what is it that's driving you on like this?" "Because this is why the UNF exists." "because this is what gives my life purpose right now." "Their solitary battle had begun." "It's true that their actions would border on disobeying orders." "But everyone in the base understood what the unit commander was feeling." "but can I count on your cooperation? ...then what did we come here for in the first place?" "I don't want to stand by and do nothing while a tragedy is unfolding in front of me." "Agreed." "Um..." "Is it okay for me to be recording this?" "Miss Shirasu." "I want you to document every last detail of what we are about to do here." "I want there to be at least one person who knows the truth." "Watch everything that we do." "Understood." "I won't take my eyes off you guys for a second." "L-T." "The HAVWCs are too big to check to see if the Flag in Pou Palace is the real thing." "In which case..." "We just need to do some fine-tuning on her." "Lt. Beroqui... this will give us better cover if we're going to claim that we're doing reconnaissance instead of combat." "Who's going to operate it?" "It will have to be Lt. Nikkanen." "He's been involved in exoskeleton development from the very beginning." "but he's confined to quarters..." "I have a few ideas." "he'll hate us for the rest of our lives." "it wouldn't be the SDC." "What about me?" "so I guess that makes you our "SDC + 1." "Right... get to work on prepping the HAVWCs ready to move out." "we'll have to do a quick turnaround." "Roger that." "get ready to move out!" "Our objective is to determine the whereabouts of the Flag." "but Pou Temple security is most likely on high alert." "avoid combat if at all possible during this operation." "you may feel free to abandon the exoskeleton." "we're on the screen!" "Of course we are!" "though..." "What's with that grin?" "Now we're talking!" "We'll be able to get the pictures we need as evidence with this." "so you'd better not break it!" "I haven't paid off the loan yet... pass word along to the L-T." "Tell her it's time for Lt. Nikkanen." "Understood." "Lieutenant?" "2nd Lieutenant?" "!" "What's the meaning of this?" "so if you'll excuse us." "Do you two have any idea what this means?" "!" "You're looking at a court martial for sure!" "Getting a record of everything..." "What does that mean?" "Simply documenting events as they unfold?" "Shirasu must have understood what that meant at a time like this." "that's not it." "unvarnished look at each person as an individual human." "I'll take care of things after you leave." "I'll make a personal report to Command when the time is right." "sir." "please have an official HAVWC dispatch order waiting." "Moving out." "It was an unusually quiet night." "my informant contacted ME for a change." "We're about to cross Subasci's first security line." "Descending to an altitude of 15 meters." "make sure that your seatbelt is fastened." "Right." "Mr. Akagi?" "He had a surprising piece of information for me." "Have you heard stories about a network of secret tunnels that runs under Subasci?" "I've heard rumors about them plenty of times." "You're saying that it's true?" "either." "And?" "they were suddenly made off-limits." "The UNF found them?" "I doubt it." "our network got a warning." "don't use the tunnels tonight." "Who sent you the warning?" "Who do you think?" "Pou?" "Doesn't that worry you?" "The Gelut sect built those tunnels in the first place." "To turn this place into a fortress back in the old days." "Those guys might be planning to pull something off tonight." "Skeiron calling Scout." "Beginning countdown in 20 seconds." "Counting down in 30..." "Five..." "Four..." "Three..." "Release!" "SC1 calling Satellite." "No thermal signatures in vicinity of ingress route." "either." "There are no Longkus waiting along your route." "Continue advance." "Roger." "Now proceeding to target point." "Satellite to Skeiron." "Commencing ingress." "will now provide backup for Satellite's ingress." "Impact." "The area around Pou Temple was enveloped by a leaden silence." "Something unusual was definitely going on." "Interior penetrated." "I have your position." "Search towards your 2 o'clock." "Roger." "I've located the Thanka in Pou's footage." "a TV crew that was getting footage of UNF headquarters caught the instant of the sneak attack on tape." "wait a minute!" "Gelut security forces?" "No way!" "What the hell is that?" "!" "Confirmed." "No doubt about it." "It's the Flag." "too." "Footage collection complete." "Heat source detected at 3 o'clock!" "will neutralize." "The images shocked the world." "But it wasn't just the shock of the sneak attack that got me. ...just like the one on the disk that Shirasu showed me." "Impact!" "Satellite has moved one floor down." "then bail out." "Bail out!" "Make the pickup!" "The Gelut attack was meticulously planned." "The UNF wasn't able to hold out even ten minutes in the face of the overwhelming force they brought to bear. ...was completely neutralized by the soldiers that Pou had sent." "news of this soon reached the special forces unit." "just one is enough." "0)}I want to see a beautiful light. 0)}..." "I don't need anything else." "0)}"Please don't let me be swallowed up by sadness." "0)}"Please let me have some purpose in my stride. 0)}...wish for a light to erase the shadows that have come upon us." "I'm pierced by the pain... 0)}...of losing a little bit of myself. 0)}...and I'm able to wait for the stars once again." "238)\cHFEFEFE\3cH080E03}Presented by Gray_Phantom{\fs24\fnBellGothic BT\b1} #Gray_Phantom @ rizon 238)\cHFEFEFE}Presented by Gray_Phantom{\fs24\b1\fnBellGothic BT} #Gray_Phantom @ rizon" "115)\fnBellGothic Blk BT\b0\3cH142308}Next Time 0 1 1 Reunion Through the Viewfinder\h 115)\fnBellGothic Blk BT\b0}Next Time 0 1 1 Reunion Through the Viewfinder\h" "which has been taken over." "they find their path blocked by Longkus." "but..."