VOTOMS Pailsen Files Ep. 6: Superpower

MPs and the masked men continue their search in massive numbers for Chirico and Godan. Barkoff and Zaki watch the MPs from a distance, and Fuller tells Yugunt how annoyed he is that Chirico and Godan are knocking out security cameras along the way. On Kuzusk, Wokkam has Pailsen hooked up again to the MRC device for further interrogation, over the objections of Mencken. He notes that Pailsen’s brain has been damaged, leaving him paralyzed, but Wokkam insists on questioning him. Wokkam asks Ruske about how Yugunt is doing, and Ruske tells him that Yugunt will get result. Wokkam asks Pailsen again about the Pailsen Files and states that it’ll take them at least five years to examine the data, but Pailsen says it’ll be longer than that. Pailsen tries to pass off his stubbornness as senility, and when Wokkam asks why he encrypted the data, Pailsen answers that no one wants to have their diary read. Wokkam then brings up how Pailsen spent years researching the files of every soldier and mercenary in the 180 planets of the Gilgamesh Confederation. Pailsen says it’s hard to find superior soldiers, and Wokkam comments that out of all those researched, Pailsen only selected four soldiers: Godan, Barkoff, Zaki and Kochak. Wokkam comments that they have no connections, and that aside from Zaki the only thing they have in common is an abnormally high survival rate. Wokkam wants to know why Pailsen chose them, and if it relates to Chirico. Pailsen refuses to answer, so Wokkam orders Menken to activate the MRC. Pailsen is injected with liquid again, and Wokkam states that the probability of a supreme survivor being born is 1 in 25 billion, but he knows that Pailsen can’t believe that. He demands to know if they have abnormal abilities like Chirico, but Pailsen screams out in pain and flatlines again. On Galeade, Chirico and Godan are pinned at the end of a corridor, and Godan kicks a panel away and crawls into another corridor, leaving Chirico behind. As Godan runs around a corner, he kicks a masked man and knocks him down. He asks the masked man who sent him, and the man removes his mask and says they’re volunteers. The man identifies Godan as “Grim Reaper” Sirasko and pulls out a picture, but Godan denies the charge. The man says the picture is being passed to every base, along with the rumor that everyone Sirasko serves with dies. The man tells Godan that changing his name is useless and attempts to stab him with a knife, but Godan mows him down with his machine gun. Chirico walks over at that moment, and Godan quickly hides the picture. Several MPs approach, and Chirico shoots down a duct to block their path. Zaki tells Barkoff that a PRL tank is up ahead, and Barkoff figures that’s where Chirico and Godan are heading. Chirico and Godan climb through the space between walls, and the MPs begin scanning the wall. They pick up heartbeats and open fire, but Chirico and Godan manage to climb to safety.

Chirico and Godan reach the PRL tank, and Godan notes there are defensive Scopedogs they can use if necessary. On the surface, an emergency evacuation order is issued and soldiers begin to drive away from the PRL tank. Wokkam tells Pailsen that he put Chirico with the other four on Galeade and that they’ve stirred up some trouble. Pailsen says that putting them together was a mistaken experiment, because depending on their selfishness or selflessness, it may not be possible to determine the individual abilities of supreme survivors. Wokkam counters that regardless of what happens, the last one standing is the supreme survivor, and he thinks that was Pailsen’s conclusion as well. Wokkam tells Pailsen that he’d receive better treatment if he cooperated, and Pailsen sees he has no cards left to play. Wokkam tells him that Chirico and the others are in a PRL tank, and if it explodes, not even a supreme survivor would live. Pailsen comments that supreme survivors change the environment around them, so he believes they will make it. At the base, a Scopedog uses a saw to cut through the tank’s outer door. Chirico and Godan find the Scopedogs, with Zaki waiting inside one. The MPs charge into the PRL tank with orders to not fire, so Chirico and Godan open fire in their Scopedogs. The MP captain speaks with Yugunt, who orders him to attack, even if the PRL tank explodes. The MP captain says the whole base would be destroyed, but Yugunt tells him to close the transport pipes so that there’s only one explosion. Fuller thinks that doing that is insane, and Yugunt tells him he has an irrefutable command from above to kill them. The MPs plant explosives on the interior and exterior of the tanks. Chirico suggests using a transport pipe to escape, but Godan says there’s no way a Scopedog could survive the heat. Chirico responds that they’d survive longer if they were coated with neutralizer, and the MPs pull back. Chirico, Zaki and Godan coat themselves and the Scopedogs with neutralizer before jumping into the pipe. The time bombs then explode, creating a cloud of smoke that extends high into the atmosphere. With the pipe ignited, the Scopedogs begin gliding inside it to reach the end. The Scopedogs reach a dead end, so Godan begins punching the door. As the heat level increases, the Scopedogs are flushed into a side pipe. Yugunt reports to Wokkam that they’re dead, but he’s interrupted with news that they’re actually alive. Ruske tells Yugunt that Galeade has lost its tactical significance and orders them to abandon their bases. Yugunt tells Kochak that he has the same devil’s luck as the others, and Fuller tells Kochak to leave. Kochak then says that he’s the eyes for another important man and that they’ve found out too much. He then nervously draws his gun and kills both of them. Gilgamesh forces then begin their retreat from Galeade, and Chirico notes that the incident was lost in the chaos of the evacuation.