fnfc_gndm

That’s when Louise gets up from her chair. “I’ll go.”

Saji immediately clutches her wrist. Louise makes no motion to pull his grip away. “Are you sure? You’ve just gotten out of exposure protocol.”

But her stern expression remains unchanged. “I know. But it’s been forty-five days, and we’ve been flying Raiser units with Setsuna for fifteen. I’m more than okay to go.”

The answer does nothing to assuage Saji. “That’s not what I’m worried about. What if I lose you again, for real?”

“And what if I lose you? I’m done standing around here, Saji. Sumeragi already cleared me, anyway. Can’t I at least help him and keep you safe?”

“But still—“

“Pipe down, you two,” Calder interrupts. He sighs, shakes his head, and sips from his mug again. “Our problem is that the Qan[t] is still under wraps so going single-pilot isn’t on the cards for Setsuna. But the XN Raiser does allow for easier desynced quantization, meaning Setsuna can teleport as many times as he can, provided waypoint data from the backseater. And while Saji’s got more combat experience with Setsuna and can sync faster, only Louise, the Innovade, can consistently maintain the workload on a prolonged burst.”

Saji’s face relaxes, then comes out quizzed. Louise’s skin bristles slightly at the word Innovade.

“And you said it yourself, Saji — you were already pushing the limits of G-loading on your body. Our data shows that Louise’s tolerance is better by a factor of ten. If we’re taking down this thing, we’d need the 00’s hypermaneuverability.”

“Plus,” Eri adds, “we’re casting the Permet virtual environment across all the pilots. Even if Setsuna can pull you out, there are still unknown contraindications I can’t account for once I drop the score. And I won’t let anyone die to a data storm in the middle of the fight. Not Saji, not Louise, not Mika, not anyone.”

By this point, Saji’s eyes have sunken. He exhales once, then exhales deeper again. He looks up to Louise, still keeping his hold. “Don’t push yourself to keep up with Setsuna, okay?”

“I won’t,” Louise replies. “Besides, he won’t make me do things I can’t handle. We can keep tabs on each other.”

This time, it’s Calder’s turn to beam. “It’s alright, Saji,” he says. “I’m assigning you on air traffic control for them both. I still want you on this mission, but it’s Mileina who will brief you later. But because you’re here, might as well stay and take notes.

He shifts his eyes to Louise’s gaze. “Are you certain that you’re prepared?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. That completes our pilot roster.” Calder takes another sip. “Blinds down, enable soundproofing.”

Both Saji and Louise sit down once more, now with their full attention to the holodeck in front of them. Pilot briefing starts now.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

“You’ve seen footage of Apex Cybernetics’ new project already. This is AX-1001G, internal codename ‘Mechagodzilla.’” Calder shakes his head. “Me neither. Doesn’t matter.”

Calder moves the 3D projected model to the center of the table. “Both spies and satellite imagery have obtained detailed schematics, operating system code and assembly and maintenance protocols relating to this project, which gives us as complete a picture as any of this machine that we can possibly get. We’ve sent you and your respective teams the blueprints prior to this briefing, but for now, we’re sticking with the sparknotes.”

“Standing head height is 126 meters, 50,000 metric tons in weight thanks to a titanium-inconel endoskeleton, yet has thrusters capable of propelling it forward at speeds as high as 186 kilometers per hour. It’s deceptively agile, so don’t come into this thinking it’s just a walking building. That said, it’s still slow, and not nearly as maneuverable as your mobile suits. Take full advantage of that and keep it in one place for as long as you can, but divert it away from civilian evacuation centers first when possible.”

Setsuna asks first. “Weapons?”

Calder rotates the model again. “Good question.” In one button press, the model on the table blows up into its major components. “Fifty-two total missile bays: one 16-cell launcher on each back shoulder and another four-cell on each forearm, plus three quad-cells in the torso. Each cell contains two AGM-84 Harpoons, a missile rated for use against warships.”

Shinn pauses his note-taking. “That’s the same as the Multi-Striker missiles on some Windams, right?”

“Just about, yes. And this would be of particular interest to you, Shinn: these arm claws here have integrated plasma shooters.”

“Palm cannons,” Shinn reckons.

“Not quite,” Calder corrects. “The hand shooters on your Destiny are of a different type of energy weapon, but I still advise against trying to give this thing a high-five down low.” Calder zooms in on the claw. “These are industrial-grade cutters — there’s enough surface area to crimp your survival cells flat.”

That’s when Mika perks up. “But we can cut it, right?”

“Possible, but it’ll take much effort.” Calder switches the display to a wireframe view of the giant. “Besides titanium, the actual frame is also clad in T-1 Nanometal to house the skeleton, which, as you see here—“ Calder plays an amateur video of the Great Ape wailing with an axe on Mechagodzilla “—can resist otherwise deleterious blunt force attacks and even most cuts from the axe. Now, in fairness to us, the Arondight and GN Swords are rated for anti-warship cutting, but again, I advise against underestimating the toughness of Mecha-G over here. That goes especially for you and your unit, Kio.”

The kid frowns a little. “Why?”

“Because we can’t afford to see those Shiguru Blade Funnels get chipped at any point. FX Burst enables the energy ball but it needs the full complement of funnels to work at its best, and you shouldn’t throw out those knives with reckless abandon, even if they’re lodged into the machine.”

“Understood, sir”

“Besides,” Calder continues, “our best melee weapon remains the Raiser Sword. It’s why Setsuna and Kio form the core of this strategy: they have the highest potential to deal the most damage at the shortest possible time, so the moment the two of them change color, every attack must be decisive. We can ill-afford to expend full military power on this thing and find out it’s still operational.”

Kira leans forward. “What’s our play, then?”

Calder’s eyes twinkle as the holodeck table changes again. “In brief, the objective is to immobilize Mechagodzilla by knocking out the limbs and tail. To wit, there are three major joints on each arm and leg that prove themselves especially vulnerable to many of your weapons.” Calder taps twelve times in the air. “These joints have linear actuators, dampers and linkages that have minimal armor protection relative to the rest of the machine, so cutting off these points of contact should be more than injurious.”

"Louise, you provide overwatch with the XN Raiser. Call out positions, root out as many missiles as you can and fire your own at him through the gaps in the armor. Dock with Setsuna once you've expended all your munitions because we'll need you both for the big sword later."

“Understood,” Louise affirms. “But I must ask: why the XN? Wouldn't the weight penalty hamper Setsuna when he’s already using the Seven Sword loadout?”

"The buster swords are for him." He motions a thumb to Mikazuki. "He has experience with big blades and would need options to pry that thing open. And speaking of the devil..."

The chair swivels slightly. "Mika, you're the wildcard and also in for low-altitude attack. I want you to chip away at the legs and tail, and everywhere the armor doesn’t cover. Suletta will provide shielding and covering fire for you.”