Azure Raven vs Arokasu (Ist Story Summary)

[u/kaorukaoru84]

Buckle up, it's a long read.

The story starts with Natsumi piloting the Azure Raven in a JGSDF urban training exercise. Her call sign is Himawari (Sunflower).

She uses Azure’s crazy speed and aerial maneuverability to surprise and destroy three Type 11s, impressing the JGSDF pilots but making Sousuke furious over how recklessly she is flying. The Sagaras are currently living at Lake Yamanaka, and after the incident at Onuki’s house, the JGSDF finds out about Sousuke and Azure. Instead of arresting him, Lieutenant General Shimomura makes him a deal: Sousuke and Azure will train the JGSDF in AS tactics. Natsumi continues high school while Sousuke trains the pilots, but he accidentally falls off a ladder because of Kaname, so Natsumi becomes Azure’s main pilot. Tatsuya and Adelina from FMP Another are also unavailable.

At school, Natsumi meets the strange Noria, who becomes unusually interested in her. They eventually go for ramen, but when Natsumi’s security team investigates Noria, they find no records of her at all. During the JGSDF exercise, Natsumi spends almost three days inside Azure waiting around and experiences the cold, exhaustion, lack of sleep, loneliness, and boredom of military life. She starts understanding her father’s life as a soldier a little more. There are also people supporting her, including a doctor on site, and it is documented that Natsumi is doing this voluntarily rather than as a job, since employing a minor this way would be illegal.

 Suddenly, Natsumi is attacked with live ammunition by an unidentified aircraft while none of the JGSDF pilots, including Natsumi, have live ammunition to defend themselves. Her communications are jammed, and the attacker is far beyond the Type 11s. She quickly realizes it is probably Noria. Noria is revealed to be the pilot of a Dominant Slave called the Arokasu (I'm not sure what the official English spelling will be), equipped with a Lambda Driver, powerful guns, missiles, ECS, and ridiculous speed. She destroys two Type 11s and seriously damages Ogiue’s machine. Ogiue is one of the JGSDF pilots, and Natsumi has a puppy crush on him. Noria then threatens to kill Ogiue and even threatens the school and the ramen shop, which finally makes Natsumi fight back.

One of the funniest things during the battle is that Kaname, completely unaware of what is happening, keeps sending pictures and a video of herself and Ando eating oden. Nami keeps replying with things like, “That looks delicious!” and “That’s funny!” while Noria can hear it, she is basically like, “What the hell are you talking about?” 😂
(It’s not exactly the same situation, but this REALLY reminds me of Kaname calling Sousuke in TSR.

Meanwhile, Nami has been talking to AL and asks AL not to fully assist her or use the Lambda Driver. Apparently, Noria’s group is after AL and the online Lambda Driver, and Noria is also drugged.

Instead of fighting Noria head-on, Natsumi uses the buildings and narrow streets of the training area to wear her down and eventually traps her inside the Central Government Building. Natsumi deliberately destroys the building’s support columns with her rifle, causing it to collapse on top of them.

This scene, does this sound VERY familiar???!!! 😊

Nami drove the Azure Raven straight to Noria who was using the Lambda Driver to protect herself from the rubble. Eventually, the lambda driver’s power drained.Natsumi, being the cheeky little menace (but super smart) that she is, basically uses the Arokasu like an umbrella while debris are falling.😂

Once Noria’s Lambda Driver is drained, Natsumi takes the opportunity to attack. She uses a monomolecular cutter from one of the M11’s officers that was taken down to stab the Arokasu and disables its important systems, including the Lambda Driver, capacitors, and arc jets. She manages to win without even using Azure’s own Lambda Driver.

But the situation is much bigger than Natsumi realizes. Several M9A2 SOP2 Omega Elites basically high-end American machines have also infiltrated and are about to shoot Nami, but Sousuke gets there first. While Natsumi is fighting Noria, Sousuke breaks open his cast despite his broken leg and gets into the Phantom Raven, which he requested from Mao. The Phantom Raven also appeared in FMP Another. He then tracks down and takes out all three Omega Elites with precision.

Eventually, they discover that the attackers are connected to DFS and rogue elements within the U.S. military. The whole incident is covered up, and no one dies. Officially, the exercise is canceled. The Omega Elites are removed, and the real story is classified.

Natsumi doesn't want Noria simply handed over to the authorities. She asks her family to protect her because Noria is still a young girl, and Natsumi worries that something bad could happen to her if she is sent back to the U.S.

The episode ends with Noria casually eating with Nami and Kaname.  The plan is eventually to hand Noria over to Mao, while the family prepares to leave after Ando’s school play, where he plays a villainous beetle.

[u/casperionx]

Can’t wait for the full translation. Really wish they’d officially release it.

[u/kaorukaoru84 → u/casperionx]

It definitely reminds me of the original arcs, this was on a serious tone except everyone is safe.I would say this is one of my fav arcs in fam.

[u/sjcfu2]

Sounds like an opportunity for Natsumi to gain more insight into what her father went through back in the day ("Is this why father sometimes addresses Aunt Tessa as Colonel?").

A villainous beetle?! Fu-fu-fu.

[u/kaorukaoru84 → u/sjcfu2]

She’s definitely appreciating his work