Layzner Ep. 30: The Baybull Recovery Game

Military police in hovercraft search a neighborhood and open fire on a house while searching for David and Simone. However, they end up only finding dummies and fireworks that David sets off by remote control. At the Grados Tower, Le Cain summons Rohan and asks about David, who is now a resistance leader. Rohan doesn’t think he’s important enough to bother with, but Le Cain has come up with a game. Le Cain shows Rohan the fully repaired Baybull and Buldy, which were recovered three years ago. Rohan feels no nostalgia for the SPTs, but he believes David would immediately try to steal it. The Baybull is hauled away in a truck, with Gostello hiding in the cockpit. David tries to sneak a peek at Simone in the shower and fails. He then overhears some punks on the street harassing Arthur because he’s a collaborator. Arthur tells them that he saw the Baybull completely restored, and David decides to steal it back. Elsewhere, Eiji serves as a test pilot for the Doll, an Earth-developed SPT. Elizabeth suggests that he take a break, but he wants to keep going. David believes that stealing the Baybull will double their fighting power, but Anna thinks it’s a trap. David is sure that it’s a trap and presumes that Rohan is involved. Le Cain flies out to where Baybull is and explains to Rohan that he wants a ringside seat like in pro wrestling. David hikes through ruined sections of the city to reach the residential area. Matthew and Anna return from advance scouting, and Arthur panics when he sees Le Cain’s transport land nearby. At the underground facility, Eiji reports to Elizabeth that the Doll is a bit confusing, but will work well in ground-based combat. Elizabeth thinks it’s ironic that she and Gilbert, who were anti-war, are now building an SPT. However, Eiji notes that it’s for liberating Earth, not for conquest. He thinks the day will come when Earthlings and Gradosians see each other as brothers. David reaches the top of a building and spots the Gradosian residential area in the distance.

Arthur is stopped by the military police while smuggling Simone in, but he’s allowed to go because she’s wearing ugly makeup. Smoke flares go off and put the area on alert, so Simone attacks the military police and steals a machine gun. David uses a hang glider to reach the residential area and dodges fire from laser cannons. Le Cain is amused by David’s antics and thinks he’s gallant. David parachutes down to the hangar and meets up with Simone. He gets into the cockpit and is attacked by Gostello, who is wearing a clawed glove. Gostello grabs David with the glove and tries to crush his face, so David shoots him, to no effect. Simone messes with the hangar controls while Gostello chokes David, and she gets a large chain to hit Gostello and knock him to the ground. Simone boards the Baybull with David, and Eiji returns to the hideout and finds a note from Anna. David smashes out of the hangar, and Le Cain gives Rohan the switch for the time bomb planted on the Baybull. After Rohan activates it, Le Cain destroys the switch so that the timer can’t be stopped. Several Terminator Police attack David and immediately come under fire when Eiji arrives with Layzner. Le Cain notes that Rohan seems bothered, and he answers that he wanted to see the outcome. Rohan sees Arthur wandering by and starts slapping him for being a fool. He casually mentions the time bomb to Le Cain so that Arthur can overhear it. Arthur hops into a Dtol and uses his radio to warn Eiji, who relays the message to David. David tries to eject, but the canopy has been locked. As David ascends, Eiji gives chase with V-MAX. Arthur drags the unconscious Gostello and sticks him in the cockpit of the Dtol, where he’s found by police. Eiji uses knuckle shots to try and smash the canopy open. With seconds left, he rips it open, allowing David to eject the seat. David and Simone grab each other in freefall and are caught by Layzner.