VOTOMS Ep. 15: Doubts

Chirico hides in the bushes and pulls out his gun, but Kan Yu and the other AT pilots arrive and drive off the Snapping Turtle. Chirico thanks Kan Yu for the help, and Kan Yu says he would’ve died earlier if not for Chirico’s help. Gotho goes to visit Chirico at the base, but he’s told that Chirico is being interrogated. Kan Yu demands to know why Chirico would open his cockpit and expose himself to the enemy, and Chirico explains he was playing a hunch that the enemy was a Perfect Soldier. Gon Nu says that a Red Shoulder wouldn’t risk his life so easily, and Chirico says he thinks the pilot was definitely a Perfect Soldier. Kan Yu shows Chirico pictures of the Snapping Turtle, which appeared in the last few months and has killed many Assemble pilots on its own. He says he will request more armor and weapons, but Chirico tells him those are useless against a Perfect Soldier. He says all they can do against a Perfect Soldier is retreat, and Kan Yu states that anyone who does that would be court-martialed for cowardice. Chirico returns to the Fantom Club and asks for something to eat. An Assemble pilot named Bully Kiderra comes in and tells Chirico he doesn’t want to get killed fighting with an idiot in his unit, and Chirico says the same. Kiderra grabs Chirico, but another Assemble pilot named Pol Potaria asks Kiderra to calm down. Kiderra joins Potaria at the bar, and Gotho explains to Chirico that they along with a Quentman are some of the best pilots in Assemble EX-10. Chirico asks Gotho if he has a computer and says he needs to use one. A man sets a briefcase down next to Kiderra and leaves the bar. Chirico tries to grab the briefcase, but Kiderra knocks him down. Chirico pushes him aside and runs out the door, but Kiderra tackles him. Chirico tosses the briefcase into the air just before it explodes. As Gotho drives them back to the base, Chirico asks who the Veela are and what’s happening. Gotho explains that the civil war began five years ago when the royal government wanted to industrialize Kummen. Prince Heloram Kanjelman III objected and wanted to follow the old gods, so he started a rebellion. The Melkian military secretly supports Kummen’s royal government. Chirico says that it’s no ordinary civil war if the Secret Society is involved now. At the base, Chirico tells Gotho that AT mission disks are preprogrammed with every known battle tactic, but he wants to make a customized disk to be able to fight a Perfect Soldier. Kan Yu asks Gon Nu why he went so easy on Chirico, and Gon Nu explains that the more Chirico fights the likelier he’ll be to run into a Perfect Soldier and have his luck eventually run out.

The next morning, a soldier knocks on Gotho’s door and gives orders to Chirico to sortie in 5 minutes. Chirico says he didn’t finish the customized mission disk, but what he has so far should help. Chirico reports for duty late, and Kan Yu introduces him to his teammates: Kiderra, Potaria and the large Quentman Ru Shako. Kan Yu announces he will explain the mission en route, and several AT Flys hook onto the Diving Beetles, Marshydog and Berserga WP to transport them into the jungle. Kan Yu explains that the Kummen government is supplying them with new ATs, so their mission is to safely escort the new units up the river. When they arrive at the mission start point, the barge captain tells Kan Yu he has eight ATs with spare parts. Kan Yu wants to reach Lake Calday by noon, but he’s informed that there are reports of Veela activity in that area. The barge begins its slow journey with the ATs walking through the river waters. Kiderra tells Chirico not to do anything stupid, and Chirico tells Kiderra not do to something foolish like hold on to an explosive briefcase. Kan Yu yells at them for chattering on the radio. As they head up the river, Shako stops when he detects something on his radar. Kan Yu thinks he’s just seeing things, but Quentian radar is never wrong. The journey continues until the barge runs aground on a sandbar. Kan Yu orders Chirico to climb up to a nearby hill and tie a cable from the wench there so that the barge can pull itself off the sand. Chirico goes up to the hill and realizes that if the Veela attack now, his squad is completely exposed. Chirico ties the cable to the rock, and the barge pulls itself free. Just then, A Standing Turtle squad fires missiles at Chirico and knock him down the hill. They then jump into the water and attack the other Assemble pilots. Chirico prepares to engage them, but he spots the Snapping Turtle and focuses on it. Using his special mission disk, he’s able to fight the Snapping Turtle more evenly. Kan Yu calls for help when Potaria’s Diving Beetle is damaged, but Chirico is busy fighting the Snapping Turtle. The Snapping Turtle falls back, and Chirico assists his teammates in fighting off the Standing Turtles. Chirico sees that his mission disk worked perfectly, but he wonders why Fyana is attacking him.