Plane trip

So long, Japan!

We're in Yokohama, and Ryoji has the idea we should go to Honmokoruta. I don't know why Ryoji has this plan, but it ended up being good. Eventually... Despite being in the civilian lorry, we're still found. We're in an even more populated area than before, but our enemies care even less. Two lorries block our path at a stop light, and several wanzers emerge from them. Before the fireworks, we (the player) see a scene where the commander of this group wants us alive.

I tried to blow up the enemy trucks, but they got away. It cost me a turn... I nearly got a new mech because this battle ended up being pretty easy. Afterwards, Emma realizes we're not being pursued by JDF, but she's unsure who they are.

We make our way to the port of that town only to be ambushed again. The boys think their escape route is blocked, but Emma says it's fine. One of the hanger doors begins to open, and a plane with foldable wings exits. This is a USN transport plane that's piloted by a man named Dennis. He's our way out, but we'll need to clear the area. The plane teleports to an elevator near the highway, but the elevator breaks down twice. Dennis states his disdain for Japanese construction, but he's of little consequence to all this. The four mechs before us put up some fight, and it got a bit rough. Good thing I bought shields! I managed to score a new wanzer that seems pretty okay. Sadly, another got away because my human pistols hit for more than eighteen damage. Twice tonight, I couldn't get two surrenders. That mechanic really should have been addressed better. Alternatively, I could have equipped the backpack that holds stuff, healed the dead enemy, and tried again. Before take off, Dennis tells us he thinks our pursuers were from Da Hang Zhong, whoever they are. Either way, the plane takes off without a hitch, and we land on a USN Fleet. The g forces on that landing...

The team meets Emma's commanding officer, and Kazuki yells at him. Our main character has a problem with reasonable authority. Fortunately, Ryoji calms him down using common sense. More importantly, we learn of Emma's mission. She was to retrieve something called a MIDAS. It was stolen by JDF from USN. Midas is a nuclear bomb that produces no radiation. It can be an energy source, but it's also too unstable, so I guess it's not cold fusion. USN believes the explosion at the base was from a copy of Midas, as the real deal would have been much larger. But where's that at? USN knows it was moved elsewhere, and Kazuki recalls a scene I skipped over. When we left the base, a helicopter flew overhead. With zero knowledge, everyone assumes that it carried Midas. It doesn't matter because Midas left Japan. For reasons I don't remember, we now think it's in Australia. Much of this information came from an elite task group known as Purple Haze, colleagues of Emma. They're run by a man who looks like Jimmy Hendrix. Ryoji gets into an argument with their female member, Cindy, because she's too butch. ...1999 was a year. After getting our new rooms and checking emails from friends and strangers, we head to Australia.

The Stanley Mountains are in the northern outback, and we're on a recon mission. We stumble upon a transport convoy, and Emma opts to attack it. Even Ryoji was confused. Dennis joins us for this battle, and he's a sniper. He also kinda sucks!

I went after the lorry because it made sense. That's what we're here to steal, right? Doing so left me wide open to enemy attacks. This battle nearly killed my guys, but I managed to keep everyone alive! New mechanics were brought up before the battle. We now get to choose who and where our characters spawn. It's very limited, mind you, but I'm all for it!

How you take on the transport changes the story. I stopped it and learned that it was filled with scientists. Most of them were scared and confused, but one guy was more interested in his research. The idea that Midas is now in Sumatra was brought up, so that's our next destination! Sumatra isn't in the middle east but in Indonesia, so I'll visit an area I've never been to in a video game...

...tomorrow!

I'm really enjoying this! It's not going to get a perfect score, far from it, but there's a lot of fun to be had here. I probably shouldn't have pushed this back. Final Fantasy VIII ruins everything!