Orguss 02 Ep. 3: Fugitives

Zafrin soldiers search the wrecked areas of Kosmar for the woman in the aftermath of Verifer’s firing, which killed 300 people. Lean tries to convince the woman that they should work as a team since they’re both on the run from the Zafrin military. He then decides to leave on his own, despite her threats to shoot him. She relents and agrees to a truce, so Lean pulls out a map and traces out a path for them to follow. Lean introduces himself, but she doesn’t give her name and hides when she hears an Armor flying overhead. Lean tells her to use the clothes in the suitcase to avoid suspicion, but after changing she thinks it makes her look like a whore. He also suggests she change her hairstyle by putting her hair down, but she refuses. In Rivilia, Manning meets with Kerachi, who mentions that 13 out of the 100 Armors he sent into battle against Zafrin survived. He credits Manning’s information with their survival and promotes him to full lieutenant. Kerachi gives Manning a bag of money, and Manning mentions his encounter with Verifer. Kerachi dismisses it as a joke, but Manning shows him a picture of the woman and believes she’s connected to Verifer somehow. In the countryside, Lean and the woman hitch a ride with an old man and his wagon. She made up a story that she was sold off to a whorehouse, and Lean was the boyfriend who rescued her. In Geran, a representative of Scaramanga addresses the royal family over Rivilia’s aggression. The two countries continue to trade messages, eventually resulting in mutual declarations of war. Kerachi tells the Zafrin representative that Siplay hasn’t experienced war, so the Zafrin delegation is murdered for his entertainment. Kerachi declares that in Siplay’s name he will personally lead the Rivilian army in battle. A trumpet from the air signals the march of the Rivilian Armors to war.

Lean and the woman part ways with the old man, who gives them food and directions to the nearest train station. Lean tries to pay the man for the food, but the old man refuses to accept it. Lean heads into the town’s train station with a note explaining that he’s mute and needs a ticket to Yalamoon. He notices a wanted poster in the station with the woman’s picture. Lean meets with her in a public square and tells her the train is out of the question because of her wanted poster. Across the square, angry civilians burn an effigy of Siplay and chant about Zafrin becoming the victor in the war. They leave town on foot and pass a soldier with a broken truck, which Lean decides to steal. She offers the soldier their help and distracts him long enough for Lean to knock him out with a wrench. During the drive, she complains about being used as a weapon when she has the gun, but Lean mentions that he knows it’s unloaded. He didn’t notice it yesterday, but he knows a professional soldier would. She’s confused, so Lean explains that he’s a mechanic and only joined the army two weeks ago. She wonders if they’ll have trouble at the next town, so Lean suggest she become a man for him. At the security checkpoint, she hides underneath the seat and speaks in Zafrin while Lean performs mouth movements. Just as they leave, the ambushed soldier calls the security checkpoint about getting held up on the road. The woman pulls out sandwiches from the bag, and when Lean presses again about her name, she tells him that it’s Nataruma. Lean slams on the brakes when she sees a nearby town in ruins following a Rivilian attack. In a damaged church, a doctor and his nurses work on the patients they think might survive. The old man cries out for someone to help his granddaughter, but no one comes. Nataruma senses the approach of Armors and touches Lean, which lets him see what she does. Two Armors approach from above and chase the truck. Lean veers off the road and heads for the forest so that Nataruma can escape. He tells her to jump out, but she refuses and stays with him. The Armors catch them on the other side of the forest and pick up the truck. However, both armors are destroyed by a mysterious white Armor, allowing the truck to escape. The Armor, piloted by an old man, tries to grab Nataruma. Lean pulls her back into the truck, which then crashes. Several Rivilian armors appear and attack the old man, forcing him to escape. Lean gets up and notices that Nataruma has antennae in her hair. Elsewhere, Verifer destroys a Rivilian base and marches forward.