FLAG Ep. 4: Night of the New Moon

Just one day after being shot on a mission, Olowokandi is back on his feet and jogging around the base. Shirasu snaps pictures of him exercising and he thanks her for helping tend to his wounds. In a briefing, the issue is brought up of the insurgents now being armed with vehicle-mounted surface-to-air missiles. They’ve also picked up metallic armor plating in six locations, one of which corresponds to where their helicopter was attacked yesterday. The insurgents’ defenses include anti-aircraft emplacements on both sides of the gorge. In the mess hall, Aqbal tells Shirasu that their original assumption was that the insurgents would be armed with just shoulder-carried missiles, meaning that attack helicopters could make it in. However, having radar-guided medium-range missiles changes the situation. Now, the plan is to do a HAVWC parachute drop onto the temple. Beroqui sits at the table and adds that because the HAVWC uses ceramic armor that has almost no metallic components, it’ll be invisible on enemy radar. He also adds that on a pitch black night with a new moon, the HAVWC won’t be spotted. That night is tomorrow, but Beroqui notes various complications, like a lack of chopper support and the enemy’s armored defenses. He says they’ll need some long-range firepower for the mission, and a sniper cannon has already been requested from Subasci. The old city, once a stop along the Silk Road, is built on an east-west axis, with the east side dominated by the Gelut sect and the west by the Kufura House. Nikkanen explains to Shirasu that the sniper cannon is an anti-materiel rifle with a multi-stage explosive charge that can deliver penetration equal to a 105mm tank cannon. Nikkanen apologizes if he’s getting too technical, but Shirasu tells him to proceed so she can document what they’re doing. Nikkanen goes on and explains that his concern is if the HAVWC can handle the recoil of the sniper cannon. Because it’s essentially the weight of a tank cannon, the HAVWC might be blown away before ever being able to damage the enemy. He explains that this is a risk if they don’t conduct a real world test. Eversalt talks on the phone and tells someone that the sniper cannon is absolutely essential to neutralize the targets from a distance. She says she can’t delay the operation because of the opportunity to use the new moon, and she’s told the cannon will be delivered within 30 hours. That timeline might prevent them from doing a firing test, which is why Eversalt wants to test the HAVWC’s recoil endurance by using hot-load grenades that have been boosted to match the cannon’s firepower. Shirasu records workers in the mess hall and a cook comments that this is like a ship because when you’re out in the middle of nowhere, food is your greatest source of pleasure. The cook mentions that the hardest part of working here is the altitude because the thin air means you can’t use regular cookware. He mentions that as a Japanese person, Shirasu should understand how important heat management is. The cook also says that the international nature of the crew is a challenge because they’re cooking different types of food for everyone. He casually mentions that Eversalt has a big sweet tooth and that Olowokandi is into Japanese food. He also says that Ichiyanagi never eats before a mission, no matter how trivial it is. Later, Shirasu records a recoil test and Ichiyanagi wants her to move out of the way, but Beroqui says she’ll be fine. Ichiyanagi fires the test round, and the force of it knocks Shirasu down to the ground. After the tests, it’s determined that using multi-stage charges reduced the recoil to roughly 1/8, but a load in excess of 20 tons is generated for a split second. They believe this will cause the temperature of the leg dampers to rise to 400 degrees. Beroqui thinks they can significantly decrease the recoil by lengthening the suspension travel, but there’s a tradeoff in cannon accuracy. Olowokandi tells Shirasu that they’d be able to fine tune the data if time was a luxury they had. He also comments on her “initiation” during the test and says everyone is curious about her. At the mess hall, Ichiyanagi passes by Shirasu and apologizes for what happened earlier.

Buddhism was introduced to Uddiyana in the third century, but even back then Kufura worship was already widespread. But instead of Buddhism dominating the country, the two religions coexisted, like Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan. However, unlike Japan, the two religions in Uddiyana stayed separate and didn’t blend together. Akagi attempts to see the Kufura but is blocked from entering the temple. Instead, he ends up meeting a woman who was previously worshipped as the Kufura. At the SDC base, Beroqui tells Shirasu that their team exists to get a job done when the normal methods won’t work. Eversalt and Su-Ming go over the new two-phase plan, which includes dropping the HAVWC in to provide fire support with the sniper cannon to take out the enemy defenses. Eversalt assigns Nikkanen to pilot for this task since he has sniper rifle experience. In the Kufura religion, a young virgin is selected as the Kufura and worshipped as a living goddess. A young girl, age four or five, is selected from the Uddiyad caste and lives in the Kufura House until she begins menstruating and is replaced by another girl. Akagi interviews a former Kufura on a hill overlooking the city. She mentions that when she lived in the Kufura House she always looked out at this hill, and now she’s standing on it. She mentions that the Kufura doesn’t normally show herself, but the new moon is a special time when she goes out into the human world to grant new life to the heavens. She says that Akagi might get a chance to see the Kufura tomorrow night. Beroqui reports that they’ll have repairs ready just in time for the operation and that Nikkanen believes he can adjust to damper settings to prevent future problems. Shirasu asks Ichiyanagi if he’s not going to have dinner before the operation, and he notes that he’s eating a protein bar. At night, the sniper cannon is delivered by helicopter and Beroqui asks Shirasu if she’s going to pull an all-nighter with them, which she says that she will. In Subasci, Akagi covers the official UN briefing where North announces that a final consensus has been reached and the peace accord will be signed in 10 days on Aug. 21. North reports that law and order is already returning to Subasci, but Akagi doesn’t buy it. As everyone works through the night, Eversalt brings Shirasu some coffee and tells her to get rest. Shirasu works through the day and by nightfall sniper cannon parts are delivered behind schedule, forcing Eversalt to cancel the test firing. In Subasci, Akagi follows the former Kufura around the city and she takes him through a building and into a garden of the Kufura House. She kneels to pray as the Kufura emerges and walks by, allowing Akagi to get pictures. After they leave, the former Kufura thanks Akagi for taking pictures of her country. At the SDC base, the transport heli takes off with both HAVWC units docked underneath its wings.