FLAG Ep. 6: A Light in the Darkness

Ichiyanagi enters a cave under the temple and detects the flag’s signal. He’s then sent updated data on the interior and begins his infiltration. He spots mines and uses his Gatling gun to destroy them. Insurgents open fire outside, so Aqbal swoops and fires at them. In Subasci, a house explodes in front of Akagi after a fighter jet drops a bomb. In the aftermath of the explosion, he gets photos of the former Kufura comforting someone. Ichiyanagi fires smoke grenades due to insurgents being up ahead in the cave, and as a result they flee. He then fires a flash grenade in another area where 12 insurgents are detected. Akagi returns to the bar and finds only one customer there because all the freelance journalists are rushing to sell their scoops to different outlets. Akagi sits down near the sole customer, who complains about how the UN dropped a 500lb bomb on the city. In an interview before the operation, Eversalt answered a question from Shirasu by saying that the most important ability for a special forces member is decision-making ability – a capacity to accurately size up any situation and decide on the appropriate action. Aqbal answered the same question by saying having absolute faith in your skills. Su-Ming answered intelligence, and Nikkaen, experience. Olowokandi answered sense of duty, and Ichiyanagi answered with the strength to overcome your fear. In the operation, Ichiyanagi reaches the entrance to the inner temple and transforms to robot mode.

Ichiyanagi fires his Gatling gun but fails to destroy the door. The HAVWC’s camera runs a spectrographic analysis and it’s determined that machine gun rounds won’t penetrate. Outside, Nikkanen opens fire on insurgents who have gathered at the entrance. Eversalt approves the use of squash head rounds on the inner door, which successfully breaches the door. Ichiyanagi enters the inner chamber and is surprised to find a fake flag. Akagi thinks about how what he saw at the site of the bombing was the same as he’d seen many times before, but this time he had a different reaction. Seeing the former Kufura comforting the injured gave him a feeling of hope. Lisa looks at Akagi’s photos and comments that bombs aren’t scary just because they destroy what you have – they also destroy your hope for the future. She wonders if the fear of having his hope destroyed drove Akagi to act the way he did. Insurgents open fire on Ichiyanagi as he reports that the flag is a fake. One of the insurgents performs a suicide attack by firing an RPG at point black range, killing himself and immolating the fake flag. Eversalt concludes that these aren’t just simple insurgents, but martyrs who have no fear of death and belong to an assassin cult. The mandala in the fake flag is the same as the one used by the Gelut sect. Eversalt orders Ichiyanagi to evacuate, and Olowokandi reports that an armored vehicle has taken up position at the exit. Nikkanen asks if he should destroy it, but Eversalt notes that his shock absorbers are worn out and that he can’t fire in that condition. Additional insurgents have taken up position along the evacuation route, and Eversalt warns Ichiyanagi that these are cultists who won’t hesitate to blow themselves up. Ichiyanagi comments that if the HAVWC is destroyed by suicide attacks, at least it won’t fall into enemy hands. Nikkanen thinks he can use the sniper cannon, but Eversalt counters that the recoil would be too strong without the shock absorbers. Nikkanen explains that he has experience sniping without damper devices, and Eversalt relents. In Subasci, Akagi describes the quiet as a fraudulent stillness. Ichiyanagi transforms into vehicle mode to begin his evacuation. More guards gather by the exit, and Ichiyanagi opens fire on those inside. Eversalt orders Nikkanen to target the nose of the armored vehicle. Aqbal descends and opens fire on the armored vehicle, while Ichiyanagi fires at the insurgents and Nikkanen snipes the vehicle. Nikkanen fires a second shot at the armored vehicle and Ichiyanagi crashes into it as he exits the tunnel. Eversalt orders him to abandon the unit so that Nikkanen can destroy it. Ichiyanagi fires smoke grenades to provide cover as he ejects and grabs onto a line from the transport heli. Nikkanen fires several sniper rounds at the HAVWC, sending it and the armored vehicle down into the gorge.