It felt like it had happened yesterday,
or rather that it happened an eternity ago.
It's something I can never forget.
Record of Ten Million Kufuras
Hey!
Saeko Shirasu. She's the photographer who took this "Flag" picture.
You look less like a slob now. You used to wear ratty jeans all the time.
'Careful, now. Don't dress all flashy just 'cause you're kinda famous."
When did you get back to Tokyo, Sempai?
The day before yesterday.
- You've been in town that long?
- I first met Saeko Shirasu about five years ago. It was at a little personal exhibition.
Photo Exhibition by Keiichi Akagi
I can't remember what it was of,
...but some girl was standing there transfixed, staring at one of the pictures.
That girl was Shirasu.
Back then, Shirasu had just graduated from photography school,
...and was doing things like working as a camera assistant.
She was having doubts about the pictures that she was taking.
Later on, she even started turning up at my office every once in a while.
Ever hear of Uddiyana?
Yeah, a civil war is still going on there...
Right. An opening's come up in our Uddiyana news staff.
There's a ticket if you want it. Shirasu, you interested?
Yes! You're coming too, right, Keiichi? Sure! Count me in!
This ticket would change Shirasu's life forever.
Holy Land
On the day it happened, we were in Subasci, Uddiyana's capital.
The UNF, which had stepped in to put an end to the protracted civil war,
...finally managed to liberate Subasci that day with the help of the populace.
And that's how the flag came to be.
So, I hear you got another invitation from the UN.
What did you tell them?
I'll think about it.
What's that?
I bought it over there. Isn't it cute?
May I take your order?
I guess you guys don't serve butter tea... I'll have a coffee, please.
After I parted company with Shirasu in Tokyo,
...I went back back to Uddiyana, as if I was being chased out of town.
When this photo of the people of Subasci and the UNF working together...
...to hoist up a flag over a battlefield was circulated around the world,
...it was believed by many that this event would spur on a call for a cease fire.
But this civil war didn't prove to be that simple.
Instead of a cease-fire, every corner of the country...
...was now engulfed by smoke and explosions.
Shirasu!
What're you doing here? You decided to come after all?
From now on, I'm gonna be taking a whole heap of video footage, too.
Well, well, I have the honor of addressing the personal photographer to the UN herself...
What's with the attitude?
So, have they told you why they asked you here?
When I saw her that day, it was obvious that Shirasu was still uncertain.
Looking back on it now, that might have been my last chance to stop her.
Today, I was given a briefing by the UN press officer.
As you can see, one terrorist act after another...
...is still being committed across the country by the remaining insurgent groups.
It's safe to say that peace is a long way off yet.
Even so, our roadmap to peace has entered its second phase.
A new plan of operations to deal with the armed insurgents has been officially established.
SDC. The Special Development Command has been formed to carry it out.
Miss Shirasu, we would like to assign you to this unit as an embedded journalist.
Um, why are you asking ME?
It has to do with the flag, the one in the photograph you took.
Oh.
Shirasu was still uncertain, all right.
Even so, Shirasu made up her mind.
"If I run away, I'll never be able to find out who I am as a photographer."
That's probably what was going through her head.
Shirasu vanished from Uddiyana.
It wasn't until later that I found out where she had gone.
The place Shirasu had gone to was a training base that the UN had built...
...up in the mountainous region to the north.
The flag that you shot...
Ever since it was hung up in the temple,
...it's become a symbol of those who wish for peace.
What was once nothing more than a scrap of cloth...
...has now become a link that binds people's hearts together.
We're coming in to land. Please make sure your seat belt is fastened.
The flag was being kept under tight security at the Kufura House...
...to be used at the signing of the peace accord.
However...
Then the flag was stolen.
The precious flag that was a symbol for peace was stolen...
...by an insurgent group that didn't want peace right before the peace negotiations.
If something should happen to derail the schedule that was laid out in our roadmap,
...this country will forever lose its chance to regain peace.
What we can do here is to continue to keep our eyes on this country.
Knowing that someone out there is watching gives people the strength to go on.
It was you who taught us that.
Miss Shirasu, you were the one who gave that flag its significance.
Their mission was to recover the flag.
The reason that Shirasu was called in...
...was to have her document the operation from start to finish.
For Shirasu, this was the first time that she saw the robot weapon in person.
It was on that day that her involvement with them began.
It's smaller than I thought.
The reason that this UNF training base was chosen as a forward base...
...for the flag retrieval operation is primarily geographical in nature.
It's because it's located within 200 km of the insurgent group's stronghold.
Especially considering that a helicopter's cruising ability diminishes at high altitudes,
...that makes this an essential factor.
Furthermore, another factor in its favor is that there are no large settlements in the vicinity,
...which makes it highly advantageous for us in terms of maintaining operational secrecy.
According to our latest intel, the intruding force is comprised of...
...6 freight trucks, 2 light armored vehicles, and 6 High Mobility Vehicles.
Of these, two have been confirmed to be equipped with Milan-type launchers.
Is Ohama Base saying that they're headed our way?
Yes, sir. Judging from the disposition of the insurgent groups in this region,
...they will probably access either Point A or B by cutting across this base.
Transporting weapons, huh?
That, or drug smuggling to acquire war funds.
In any event, we can't afford to let this base be discovered, not now.
What do you want to do?
- You're going to attack? But the UN charter says--
- I know that.
The UN doesn't recognize preemptive attacks under any circumstances.
Nevertheless, these are our final orders from Subasci Command.
Also, I'm going to insist that you stay behind this time.
Please, let me go with you! I have the right to document what happens!
Commander, please!
I hate to be blunt, but bringing along someone who can't protect herself on the battlefield...
...would only make the mission that much more dangerous.
In the end, Shirasu had no choice but to give in to the commander's demands...
...in exchange for all of the footage that they would take during the battle.
Aft IR camera, all green.
I think you should probably avoid interviewing them.
Why's that? The operation was a success, wasn't it?
Lt. Hakan!
Lt. Hakan...
Their expressions shown in the lens said it all.
Shirasu was conflicted.
She was terrified when she learned the true identity...
...of the opponent that she would soon have to face.
But Shirasu wasn't the only one experiencing fear or conflicted emotions.
They weren't just pedaling frantically to cool down their severely strained muscles.
It was also to mentally fight the reality that they had experienced.
As well as the sense of their own humanity that they couldn't let go of.
That day, Shirasu fired off one picture.
It was a picture of Shirasu herself.
Rain...
Shirasu, it's me.
It's almost noon. Is something the matter? Are you feeling all right?
Yes, I'm fine. I'll be right there.
Oh. Well, the briefing starts in 10 minutes, okay?
Right, then...
As I've explained, Metazone Temple is located in roughly the center of Mirbala Canyon,
...and is situated at an altitude of 2800 meters above sea level.
As was made clear by the fact that they continued to resist during the civil war to the very end,
...the steep landscape that surrounds it makes it into a veritable natural fortress.
The flag had an IC tag embedded in it, just in case.
Based on the location of where the IC tag stopped transmitting,
...it's clear that whoever stole it headed in this direction.
Subasci Operations Command has concluded that Metazone Temple was their final destination.
It looks like the rain will let up soon.
I see that you take landscape pictures, too, Miss Shirasu.
Oh. Um, that's right...
I was just thinking that it would be nice if today went on being quiet and dull.
To anyone else, it might look like nothing more than the sort of dive bar you see everywhere.
But to us freelance journalists, this was a command center...
...where intel of all sorts would come to us.
It's risky to have your face shown?
What do you think?!
When did you turn into the sensible, cautious type?
So, how did it go?
Look, I'll talk after you turn that thing off.
The reason I got in touch with this old informant after so long...
...was to have him put out feelers to set up a meeting with Nyucient Ru Pou XXIII.
As the Buddha incarnate, he's the absolute leader of the Gelut sect,
...this country's most powerful religious authority.
In the circles I run in, it's common knowledge that it's entirely up to him...
...whether the cease-fire becomes a reality or falls apart.
Of course, I knew that meeting with him wouldn't be easy.
I guess the big bucks did the trick.
My informant introduced me to the leader of an insurgent group...
...that used to be allied with the Gelut sect.
I secured a promise from him to get me an interview with Ru Pou.
The Gelut sect is the religious authority that has ruled this country for the past thousand years.
But when people hear that name, the first thing that leaps to many a mind...
...is its other past, one that is veiled in legend.
The form of its other past, that of an assassin cult...
...which ran rampant in the shadows of history.
Even the great Kublai Khan was said to have feared the Gelut assassin cult.
No one knows if it's true or not,
...but it's said that the fanatical believers were made to offer up their newborn children,
...whose earliest memories would be of the intensive training they received.
In my broken local language, I asked what his thoughts were on the cease-fire agreement.
But Pou's lips remained firmly sealed, and he didn't utter a single word in reply.
For the first time in my life, I was afraid of the subject I was interviewing.
And so, unable to accomplish anything, my brief interview time came to an end.
A large quantity of materiel has been shipped in over the past few days.
The question now is, how heavily are they armed?
Depending on the answer, a parachute drop might involve enormous risks.
We don't have enough intel...
We'll send in a reconnaissance UAV.
They still aren't aware of what we're up to here.
We will set out in ten minutes, as planned.
Please, let me go with them.
You want me to let you go?
As I said yesterday, I can't do that.
This may just be a reconnaissance mission, but I can't guarantee your safety.
I can't put you in danger for no good reason.
I understand that it might be dangerous, but please, let me go with them!
I feel like I saw a side of you yesterday that I wasn't supposed to see.
I got scared... I thought that you all were scary.
But I'm positive that I was wrong.
I want to see for myself and understand...
...what it is that you're risking your lives for.
And I want to record it for posterity.
I want you to understand that keeping you safe will put them in danger.
I've been given the authority to document all aspects of this operation.
Lieutenant, let's let her go.
When my country was torn apart by conflict, we felt the eyes watching us.
We knew that someone was watching. That someone knew what was happening.
It keeps us going even now.
It is all right. I will vouch for Miss Shirasu's safety.
Lieutenant...
The Commander isn't the hard-ass that you think she is.
People in positions of authority aren't like us.
We can get away with thinking only of ourselves.
Put this on. Just as a precaution.
Body armor?
Here.
Heavy!
Okay, let's get a picture of you!
Come on now, that's MY job...
Thank you, Lt. Beroqui.
Cabin camera check.
Check, okay.
Forward camera check.
Check, okay.
- Call SC101, request takeoff.
- SC101, Control Base.
Takeoff approved.
I'm taking us up.
Got it.
We are on station at Mirbala Gorge at 300. Now beginning low pass.
Roger.
Sixty seconds to Predator separation point.
Three, two, one, go.
Speed, 120 knots. Predator control is nominal.
CB to SC101, we are receiving Predator data feed.
Predator has acquired target.
Switch over to FLIR mode as planned.
Roger.
Target confirmed ahead.
Radar waves detected at 11 o'clock. It's an anti-aircraft cannon!
Shirasu!
Shit! They've got another dead ahead!
Lieutenant!
My left shoulder is hit...
Please take the controls... I can't move my left hand.
We have to stitch that closed and stop the bleeding.
There's no time.
I'll do it!
You'll have to stitch it shut. Can you do that?
We learned how in a course at the IFJ, so...
I think so.
The bullet missed the bone,
...but the wound it gouged out was several centimeters long.
Anyway, an average person would have passed out long ago from an injury like that.
Regret that she pushed aside while she was frantically trying to cope with the situation...
...came flooding out like like water spilling over a dam the instant they returned to base.
Please, let me go with them.
You want me to let you go?
As I said yesterday, I can't do that.
I want you to understand that keeping you safe will put them in danger.
I'm sorry.
If you're gonna apologize, don't try to take the picture in the first place.
You're a combat photographer, aren't you? Just take it.
Right!
For the first time, Shirasu took a picture of a front-line soldier...
...looking directly into the camera.
Where Ru Pou is the power of yin, the Kufura represents that of yang.
Around the middle of the third century, when Buddhism was introduced to this country,
...the earliest form of Kufura worship was already widespread among the people.
The worship of Kufura is an example of goddess worship...
...where a virgin is treated as a living goddess and worshiped.
At the age of four or five, a girl is chosen from the Uddiyad caste...
...and dwells in the Kufura House as a living goddess.
And when she begins to menstruate, a new Kufura is chosen,
...and the old one is sent home as an ordinary human.
When I lived inside that house, I often stared out at this hill.
And now, here I am standing on that same hill.
Every once in a while, I get the feeling that my old self is watching me up here.
The Kufura doesn't normally show herself. But the time of the new moon is special.
To grant new life to the heavens, the Kufura goes out into the human world.
Tomorrow night is the full moon, so you might get the chance to see her.
This girl once told me that if peace ever returned to Uddiyana,
...she wanted to go to school and study.
We've been detecting it intermittently for the past 10 seconds.
It's a single band, and the waveform is typical of the SA-18's search radar pattern.
SA-18s? Those are medium-range, vehicle-mounted SAMs.
How in the world did they get them to a gorge like this?
So their conclusion was to switch to a heliborne HAVWC parachute drop.
As I explained earlier, the long-range firepower of the sniper cannon...
...is absolutely essential to neutralize the targets from a distance.
No, sir, I can't push back the operation.
Now that we know that the enemy possesses air defense radar,
...missing the opportunity presented by the new moon would be--
Understood.
They say they will deliver it to us within 30 hours.
30 hours... That's cutting it so close that there might not be time to run any test firings.
It is the power of rebirth that is sought in the Kufura.
To breathe new heavenly life into the earthly death that is brought about by Ru Pou.
Winter solstice, when the life of the sun is at its weakest,
...and the new moon, when the moon's life ebbs completely.
Apparently, these are the two times when the Kufura...
...conducts a rite in the courtyard to offer up her own life to the heavens.
And this was the night of the new moon, the secret door that was opened...
...to guide the Kufura's power.
The Kufura came and went, but the memory of her reverberated inside me.
The girl who had stood on the hill and looked back at her old self...
...offered up her prayers to the new Kufura.
At that instant, I forgot why I was trying to see the Kufura in the first place.
When the girl and I parted ways, she thanked me. "For what?" I asked.
"For taking pictures of my country. Thank you."
When she turned around, Shirasu realized that she could be seen in the shot.
Nah. It's fine.
Lifting off.
To the battlefield.
And now, the second act was about to begin.
Someone I know who works at the base called me up out of the blue.
He says there might be a large-scale offensive by the UNF sometime soon.
It's probably a false tip.
Not even the UN would do something that risky,
...not this close to the signing of the peace accords.
Even if the chance might be slim, it's in the nature of the beasts known as freelance journalists...
No, not that. Something a lot larger in scale.
...to be incapable of letting even a little scrap of information like that pass us by.
Have you guys gotten anything?
Of course, that's not to say that we do so with no expectation...
...that we might end up hitting a mother lode.
1000 meters above ground level. Speed, 160...
Roger that. Now crossing over first caution line.
Go to AGL 600, speed 180.
Roger that.
Roughly simultaneously with this operation, an offensive...
...against terrorist factions will be launched in Subasci.
Naturally, its main objective is retaliation against the recent spate of bombing attacks,
...but it will also act as a diversion for the operation that we will be conducting.
We've entered the wireless blackout area.
From here on in, everything but short-range laser transmissions will be inoperable.
Even if we know that it looks like there's going to be a bombing strike,
...it doesn't help if we can't pinpoint the targets.
Nobody said that we can't pinpoint them.
If we take the addresses of people who were rounded up lately by the UNF as terrorists...
...and cross-check them against the dangerous parts of town, we get...
Can you do it right away?
Already on it.
That's it, that's it!
Look.
Got it!
You ready? A-5, B-8, along with C-6 and 7.
They're hitting four targets in one night?
Scout to Skeiron. Will arrive at target airspace momentarily.
Miss Shirasu, we're going in.
Ready.
Ground speed, -0.2. Altitude, 8 feet AGL.
Disengage lock.
Hercus 1, disengaging arresting rod.
Target confirmed.
Radar seeking system, passive array is clear.
Shirasu! Under no circumstances are you to go out in front of the HAVWC!
Yes, ma'am!
This is one case where there is no way that I can guarantee your safety.
Miss Shirasu, this is not a training exercise or a drill.
I know that.
I know...
Move to firing point complete. Firing preparations complete.
Roger.
Scout calling Skeiron. Now launching UAV.
Roger that. Release backup.
UAV has achieved steady flight. ETA to target area, 30 seconds.
I have it here, too.
Once the UAV enters target airspace, commence attack.
Once you enter observation range, commence barrage jamming. Scout, you--
Drone has detected radar waves.
We still aren't detecting the Flag's return signal.
Upon confirmation of target 2's destruction, send UAV to opposite side of Metazone.
Roger. Adjusting course pattern.
Fire.
Radar waves terminated. Target appears to be completely destroyed.
Continue on to attack target 2.
Roger.
Don't panic, Miss Shirasu. They haven't seen us yet.
That isn't exactly reassuring...
Loading of second round complete.
All right, fire!
I have it. Flag signal detected.
What area?
Analysis in progress.
The UAV has been shot down.
Hercus 2, go in.
Roger.
Scout to Hercus 1. Hercus 2 is coming down.
Load hollow point rounds. Prepare to provide support fire.
Hercus 1, roger.
A HAVWC...
Three seconds to dead angle in enemy defensive fire.
You're in the dead angle. Continue your descent.
Hercus 2, roger. Continuing descent.
Hercus 2, time to parachute release, 5 seconds...
Three. Two. One.
Hercus 2, touchdown.
Switching to Mode 2.
Loading complete.
All right. Hercus 1, take out the door.
Hercus 1, roger.
Door is open.
Hercus 2, move out.
Roger.
Hercus 2, ingress successful. Will now begin searching for the Flag.
Shit!
Around the same time, 500-pound bombs rained down on us in Subasci.
It was a battlefield here too.
Point zero. Now entering interior.
Return signal confirmed.
Matching codes...
No doubt about it, it's the Flag's signal.
Hercus 2, update confirmed.
Commencing infiltration.
Miss Shirasu, Lt. Ichiyanagi has successfully infiltrated the temple.
It's okay. I can hear them.
Skeiron! Heat source at 3 o'clock!
Heat source neutralized.
Trap detected at ingress route point 02.
I believe it's a vibration-sensitive mine.
Can you locate it?
Not a problem.
Trap signature gone.
Hercus 2, 12 lifesigns detected ahead and to the right.
Down.
A, C, flash.
Hercus 2 has penetrated zone 3.
SC1, begin providing electronic support for Hercus 2 immediately.
Roger.
Have arrived at inner temple entrance.
Hercus 2 to Skeiron. Will now break down door.
Roger.
Hercus 1 to Skeiron.
Guards around the ingress entrance have begun to mobilize.
Continue containment attack.
HESH, three-point burst.
Advancing.
Wait a minute...
This isn't the Flag!
This isn't the Flag.
It's a totally different mandala.
Missile targeting laser, 4 o'clock!
Lieutenant!
I'm all right.
Hercus 2, evac immediately.
What about the Flag?
I'm not detecting the tag signal anywhere!
Further searching is impossible. Evacuate immediately.
There's an armored transport at the exit.
A BMP-type armored vehicle is trying to block the exit.
The guards are moving to assemble around the exit.
We'll concentrate our firepower.
Hercus 2, concentrate your fire on the exit 0.5 seconds after Hercus 1 begins his attack.
Roger.
Hercus 1, attack preparations complete.
Hercus 1, revise target point. Aim for the nose of the armored vehicle.
Roger, revising aim for nose of armored vehicle.
Hercus 2 to Skeiron. Charging barricade.
Commence attack.
Go!
Missile radar detected behind you!
Lieutenant!
Lt. Ichiyanagi!
Damage to right leg. Actuator nonfunctional.
Hercus 2, we will retrieve you. Pop your canopy!
What about the HAVWC?
Hercus 1 will destroy it. Hurry.
The guards are heading for the exit.
Lieutenant!
Lt. Ichiyanagi retrieved.
Will now retrieve Hercus 1.
It was the first time Saeko had seen a battlefield so close.
Here in Uddiyana, the country closest to Heaven,
...the morning light first touches the fingertips of the goddess' outreached hands.
But the residents of this country never see that light.
Because they're still gnawing at the scraps of their dreams...
...down in the shadows of the mountains.
Miss Shirasu.
Miss Shirasu?
- Yes?
- We're in sight of the base.
We'll be landing soon.
Once we get back, you can have a good, long sleep.
Sure...
Down in the depths of the same darkness, this place wasn't sleeping, either.
I bet the loss of a HAVWC was as unexpected...
...to the people at Command HQ as it was to us.
I think the biggest shock was for Lt. Ichiyanagi and Lt. Nikkanen.
After all, they had to destroy one of our own HAVWCs.
The SDC special forces unit followed the signal...
...of the IC tag embedded in the Flag and raided the Metazone temple.
But the Flag wasn't there.
The Flag recapture operation was forced to start again from square one.
The poor guy's so frustrated he can hardly stand it.
Because the HAVWC that he left out there
was broken in, from the seat to the control stick.
It was like an extension of himself.
He must feel like he's lost a part of himself.
I feel really bad about it, too.
But it wasn't Lt. Ichiyanagi's fault, right?
Right. But he doesn't believe it in here.
They say the HAVWC will be here ahead of schedule.
Roger that.
The air strike using smart bombs in Subasci yesterday...
- ...was aimed at the strongholds of terrorist groups that are holed up in the city.
- The UNF bombed Subasci?
Is someone you know in town?
Oh. Um, yes...
On an unrelated note, I came across an interesting tidbit while I was doing my digging.
Last night, over at Mirbala Gorge--
You know the place, right? It's the stronghold of one of the insurgent groups.
Anyway, there was apparently a clash between them and the UNF at the Metazone Temple ruins.
It's nothing more than a rumor at this point, though.
If that rumor was true, it meant the UNF launched an attack on the Metazone Temple to the west...
...on the same night they were dropping bombs on Subasci.
The UN hadn't made any official statements about it.
It wasn't much to go on, but that alone made it fishy.
The Flag...
Metazone Temple.
Shirasu...
Hey, Akagi!
What have you got this time? Don't leave us in the cold, okay?
Ichiyanagi, your HAVWC will be here soon.
Signing for it isn't my job.
Huh? But I thought--
Lt. Ichiyanagi, tell us what you're feeling right now.
With the Metazone Temple operation a failure, where do you think the Flag is right now?
And your HAVWC? Please tell us how you felt about the HAVWC that you had to sacrifice.
Tell us what you're feeling right now.
Your face seems a little puffy. Did you oversleep?
As for the whereabouts of the Flag, let's hear from the woman who took the picture.
How does it feel to be on camera?
What do cameras mean to you? What are you feeling as you wave them around?
It's here!
The new equipment is here!
Come on, let's go!
When I need to buy a new camera, I don't let other people do it for me!
You think it's like a camera?
That day, the new HAVWC quietly touched down on the battlefield.
With only two weeks remaining before the signing of the peace accords,
...there was a sudden jump in recon unit activity at the UNF base in Subasci,
...which had lost the Flag's trail.
That night, no one at the UN hotel in Subasci got any sleep.
The air raid had set off red flags in my head regarding the UNF's activities,
...so I'd left the front lines of the scoop war and started doing some digging.
Oh, and about that the Metazone temple, that temple out west...
You know it's a secret stronghold of the Ru Pou faction, right?
What?
This is seriously dangerous. I suggest you don't dig any further.
Have you heard stories about a network of secret tunnels that runs under Subasci?
Yeah, I've heard rumors about them plenty of times.
You're saying that it's true?
The UNF doesn't know about them yet, either.
And?
Tonight, they were suddenly made off-limits.
The UNF found them?
No, I doubt it.
It's not them, our network got a warning.
It said, "Whatever you do, don't use the tunnels tonight."
Who sent you the warning?
Who do you think?
Pou?
Doesn't that worry you? The Gelut sect built those tunnels in the first place.
To turn this place into a fortress back in the old days.
Those guys might be planning to pull something off tonight.
The area around Pou Temple was enveloped by a leaden silence.
By some fluke, a TV crew that was getting footage of UNF headquarters...
...caught the instant of the sneak attack on tape.
Hey, wait a minute!
Gelut security forces? No way!
What the hell is that?!
The images shocked the world.
The Gelut attack was meticulously planned.
The UNF wasn't able to hold out even ten minutes...
...in the face of the overwhelming force they brought to bear.
The nerve center of the UNF, which was the driving force behind peace in the country,
...was completely neutralized by the soldiers that Pou had sent.
The giant Thangka proclaimed as such:
"Uddiyana, who is your master?"
There isn't enough in the shot, so we can't be certain.
But it certainly seems to look like the Flag.
We believe that the footage was shot inside the Ru Pou Temple recently.
Ru Pou?
We can set out again in 15 minutes!
No, hold off on that scramble.
Why would we do that, sir?
We're completely cut off from Command HQ.
Impossible! You're saying that it's been completely taken over?
The enemy knows that we've determined the Flag's location.
If we don't mount another attack right away or completely blockade Pou Temple,
...the Flag will just be hidden away again.
Do we give recovering the Flag top priority? Or liberating headquarters?
In either case, our hands are tied until we learn what the situation is inside.
But the time that had stopped continued to flow.
Back in my homeland around now, fluff from cotton plants is drifting on the winds.
My country is what they call a "failed state."
They call it a country without a future.
But even so, that country is my home.
I want it to be an example.
To show everyone that even a failed state can achieve peace.
That the people of all those so-called failed states out there mustn't give up hope.
It happened on an earlier PKO where we were on a support mission.
One day, a truck belonging to a rebel group pulled up,
...and one by one, citizens who supported the government were made to climb into the back.
We knew they were being taken away to be executed.
But we couldn't do anything about it.
All because orders hadn't come down from the UNF commanders.
I don't want to watch another tragedy unfold in front of me and do nothing.
I'll never forget the faces of the people in that truck...
...who had no idea what was waiting for them.
Everyone who comes here has their own personal sense of purpose.
Believing that something is precious, and wanting to protect it. That sort of thing.
They're trying to accomplish something here, even if means risking their lives.
But not everyone in the UNF harbors the same ideals.
I know that to be the case, but...
Perhaps saying what I did means that I'm just an unrealistic idealist.
I don't think that's true.
What is it about pictures that gives you such an urge to take them, Miss Shirasu?
Well, when you put it like that...
I like to think that I've been doing it with something in mind...
But even now, maybe I've just been clicking the shutter the instant it occurs to me.
Sorry.
Ru Pou has the Flag?
What's going on?
The UNF's been occupied, the Flag's been stolen...
What the hell's gonna happen with the signing ceremony in four days?
The Flag is the linchpin that's been holding all the insurgent groups in check.
If they lose that...
Uddiyana is gonna be plunged into a civil war!
Communications have been completely cut off.
The most pressing problem we have at the moment...
...is the complete cessation of UNF functions across the country...
...that resulted from the occupation of Command HQ.
Given the situation, liberating Command HQ...
...must take top priority before we can do anything else.
Naturally, the Gelut have probably beefed up their defenses.
For instance, even if we successfully infiltrate the hotel, the problem---
...is that it is physically impossible to neutralize all the enemy forces...
...that are occupying the hotel using just our two HAVWCs.
As such, our main objective is to capture and secure...
...the Command and Communications facility in the north wing.
We know almost nothing about the current situation.
We can expect no intel support whatsoever, either.
Unfortunately, we can't afford to wait.
Unless the UNF's command capability is restored immediately,
...Uddiyana will plunge into a large-scale civil war.
We have to do this!
I was wandering around, like I was looking for a lost set of keys or something.
Of their own accord, my feet led me to the music store...
...of the girl who was once a Kufura.
Shouldn't have expected it to be open...
Mr. Akagi!
The sun will set soon. Darkness will come upon us again.
At this time of day... I sometimes feel like I'm really looking from the bottom of the sea.
The bottom of the sea?
You know that this area used to be the bottom of a sea a long time ago, right?
That's why we still find fossilized seashells up in the mountains.
But before people knew that, they would see the shells and believe that in the past...
...there had once been an enormous flood that had engulfed the whole world.
A flood that swallowed up all humanity.
The wrath of heaven called down by Ru Pou.
That is about to be repeated here.
I was reminded that here in Uddiyana,
...history could often be found concealed in legend.
The people are frightened.
All that we can do is offer up our prayers to the Kufura, the goddess of rebirth.
Prayer...
Like a small lantern on the prow of a tiny ship sailing the dark seas,
...it provided a faint, flickering glow to light the way ahead.
An Osprey? No, it's something else!
Skeiron to Hercus. Final checkpoint passed. Begin drop prep.
Roger.
Flash-smoke.
Drop.
Disengaging hook.
Hurry! Please, hurry!
Yes, sir!
They have the front entrance blockaded!
Attack!
It had started! It was a sneak attack on the UNF hotel...
The instant I saw that silhouette, any thought of danger disappeared from my head.
I'm in. Now heading for the ballroom.
Hercus 1 calling Skeiron. Command HQ successfully secured.
Patch us into all units' comm channels. Follow the regs in the manual.
- All units deployed in Subasci, take action as per instructions.
Subasci Northern Air Wing, scramble immediately.
Two attack helicopters closing in from 12 o'clock!
Antitank missiles, direct hit on north side of annex.
They're trying to take out our command capabilities from the outside.
L-T!
Right arm's operator circuits have been damaged.
Hercus 2, don't do it!
You're no match for that thing in a head-to-head shootout!
Lt. Ichiyanagi! Lt. Ichiyanagi!
They're UNF attack helicopters!
L-T! Lieutenant! A helicopter cavalry unit is headed this way!
Mission complete. Will now withdraw.
Scout, set down and stand by until we finish docking.
Roger.
When the UNF rushed to the scene, their overwhelming firepower...
...liberated the hotel without fuss.
There was no sign there of Gelut guards or those robots when they arrived.
Just as they did when they appeared, they used the underground tunnels to retreat.
But that wasn't what surprised me.
Halt! This area is off limits!
Miss Shirasu, we're returning to base.
Right!
Shirasu!
Akagi!
Hey, Akagi!
Angra Mainyu has come once again to this land.
The impure souls that fill the earth do not find themselves purified in the flames of hellfire,
so men have gradually forgotten their peity...
...and given themselves over to their base desires, never to be sated.
He will bring destruction once again to this realm in order to purify it.
The souls of all the wicked will be driven from the earth.
On this day, with the signing ceremony just three days away, everything was in flux.
That was definitely Shirasu that I saw.
That was a special forces unit assembled to recover the Flag.
When Shirasu got called in...
Could the Flag have already been stolen at that point?
She knew that, and that's why she agreed to go along as an embedded reporter?
If that's true, that means she--
That means she's a complete idiot!
Shirasu, what the hell do you think you're doing, risking your life over this?!
It was that evening that they received official mobilization orders.
"SDC Unit, Flag Recovery Final Orders."
"Mobilize against Ru Pou Palace. Tomorrow morning, 0000 hours."
The signing ceremony had been scheduled to coincide with the celebration...
...of Uddiyana's traditional Kufura Jayanti festival to mark the birth of the goddess.
The festival itself was three days off, but the rituals had already begun.
An underground passage! There's got to be a tunnel that leads to Ru Pou Palace!
Get serious! Do you have a death wish?
I don't live my life worrying about dying!
Die today, die tomorrow, it's all the same in the end.
I'm always serious!
I have faith that the operation will be successful.
Right.
I've been meaning to ask you for a while now...
What in the world is that strange little doll that you always have on your hip?
Oh, this? A good luck charm.
Be careful, okay? Don't leave the helicopter, you hear?
Got it.
Opening #3 gate point.
Roger.
SC1 to Base Control. SCH1, lifting off.
There are huge tunnels like this down here?
Yeah. The Geluts built these a long time ago...
...to try to turn Subasci into one big fortress.
This way!
What's that?
Those lights are lanterns meant to show their goddess the way.
The Kufura Jayanti festival has already begun.
This is as far as I'm going!
Keep going straight ahead, and you should come out behind Ru Pou Palace!
Hey!
Stand by for combat.
As planned, we'll make a forced landing in the temple's central courtyard.
Roger.
Firing stun grenades.
Go!
Touchdown.
Enemy troops deploying ahead.
Missile radar detected from 2 o'clock!
Radar waves from 10 o'clock!
Will now force our way in.
Hercus 1 to Skeiron. I'm in.
Should Angra Mainyu come at the wrong time,
...it likely means he will violate Potala's commandments.
Ru Pou!
Flag confirmed!
Picking something up from 10 o'clock! Insurgents!
Flare grenade!
FLIR is offline!
The Flag is gone!
Two blips from the northeast are headed this way. Believed to be helicopters.
They were probably hidden in the mountain region nearby.
Skeiron to Hercus.
I'm getting something on the FLIR in front of the temple! They're trying to escape!
Hercus 1, roger. Moving to intercept.
Hercus 2, moving to intercept.
Enemy insurgents confirmed.
Visual confirmation of the two inbound bogeys.
One is a large transport chopper, the other is an attack helicopter.
They appear to be carrying the Flag. I have visual confirmation.
It's a Longku!
Helicopters closing in!
Prevent the choppers from closing in. Keep them from escaping!
Put in a request to HQ to mobilize attack choppers!
Roger.
The fight had already started by the time I got there.
Those are--
It's too dangerous for you to stay aboard this helicopter now.
Hide in the rocks outside. I'll be back to pick you up.
Hurry!
Right! I'm going!
Shirasu?
Shirasu!
Shirasu! Run! Get out of there!
Its armor is different!
I'm detecting depleted uranium.
DU armor, huh?
Shirasu! Shirasu!
What the hell would drive you to go this far?!
Yeah! Attagirl!
Get the shot! Take pictures of every last thing you see!
Get the shot! Don't let what your heart is screaming get away from you!
Take it!
Lt. Chris!
Mind shaft has been severed. Unit is inoperable.
I won't take my eyes off you!
Lt. Hakan!
I think...
I think I understand now, just a little...
I love all you guys...
I really love all you guys.
So I'm gonna get these shots!
Shirasu! Shirasu!
Keiichi!
The eyes of the world were on Uddiyana today as the cease-fire...
...signing ceremony was held today in Subasci, Uddiyana's capital.
As was laid out in the UN's initial roadmap,
...the ceremony was held during Uddiyana's traditional Kufura Jayanti festival...
...under the watchful eye of their living goddess, the Kufura.
If only for a fleeting moment, peace had come to Uddiyana.
But there was no sign of Shirasu there that day.
These are the personal effects that were sent from the front line base.
Is this everything?
Yes.
Also... We will be keeping all of the material that you shot.
It might contain certain material that would prove inconvenient to the UN.
I expect they'll be returned to you once the UNF finishes redacting the material,
...so there is no cause for concern.
I suppose not.
I was asked by Lt. Chris to give this to you personally.
Um... Does this mean that I won't be able to see any of those people again?
No. Never.
And with that, Shirasu was released.
This is the hotel I stayed at when I first I came to Subasci.
It still smells as musty as it did back then.
So, this is what it's like to be back at square one?
That month I spent... What was it all for?
Lt. Chris...
"You dropped your good-luck charm in the helicopter."
"It's sure gotten frayed, hasn't it?"
Is that all?
Frayed? It doesn't look very--
A memory card!
Lt. Beroqui!
Hey!
Lt. Beroqui.
Miss Shirasu, if you're watching this,
...it means that this memory card has been safely delivered to you.
I guess you're surprised that things have turned out this way.
This is a copy I made of your card before it was confiscated.
It contains all of the footage that you shot.
All this footage is yours, Miss Shirasu. It is your property.
They are pictures that you took while you were here,
...photos that you risked your life for and poured your soul into.
No one has the right to take that from you, not even the UN.
They are proof that you lived life to the fullest in the time you spent with us.
Hey, Beroqui! What's the holdup?
Quick! Come here!
Everything is ready!
Also, I'm gonna throw in a shot I took of you from your best angle as a special bonus--
Beroqui, grow up!
- Lunch break is almost over!
- Line up! Line up!
All together, now!
Take care of yourself, Shirasu!
Take care!
Make sure to eat well!
Keep taking your wonderful pictures!
And watch out for strange men!
Nobody's stranger than you, Lieutenant.
Don't start binge eating!
And brush your teeth!
I... I'll do my best.
Hello? Hello?
Hello? Is that you, Sis?
Takashi?
So, I hear you called a while ago? You'll be able to come home soon?
Yeah. How are things back home?
You remember that it's Dad's birthday on Monday, right?
Come home soon, okay? He won't let up about it.
Yeah, yeah, I remember. I'll see you then.
Monday? No way, that's the day after tomorrow!
Hey, you're leaving already?
Yeah, there's lots of places where people are shooting at each other.
What's next for you, big guy?
I don't really know.
Details on the UNF headquarters takeover and the whole Pou situation are still fuzzy.
It's hard to imagine things staying as-is.
You're going to stay here for the time being, then?
Yeah, I'm staying.
So, I hear you're leaving tomorrow?
Yeah.
It's gonna be awfully quiet around here...
Big guy! You have a visitor!
You're a real player, you know that?
Thanks to all of your efforts, peace has finally returned to my country.
I always had faith that this day would eventually come.
Unadulterated faith and love...
As I looked at her back, I thought to myself,
..."There probably isn't a power on Earth that can hold those two things back."
At the same time, though, I was scared when it occurred to me...
...that tomorrow also implied there would be a different future.
But I want to believe that there are ten million Kufuras in the world.
Shirasu, I know you're one of them.
Is that... the airport?
That's so cute!
Oh, this? It's a good-luck charm.
This can't be happening... It isn't right.
Keiichi?
I know it's sudden, but I'm going back to Tokyo.
I wanted to say hello before I left,
...but I've been running around like crazy trying to get on a flight.
Sorry.
I'll leave this for you at the front desk.
At that photo exhibition I first met you at,
...there was one picture that really captivated me.
It's stayed in my mind ever since.
When I came to Uddiyana, I figured it out.
What's in that picture is prayer, isn't it?
A prayer directed at tomorrow. A prayer expressing belief in tomorrow.
Life and death always go hand in hand here...
It came as a shock because I'd never seen so many deaths before.
Every time I saw it, it made me think to myself, "I'm alive!"
But I met even more prayers than deaths.
No matter how deep their despair, I'd see people praying with all their heart, and...
It's hard to put into words, but it's like the light of hope inside you never goes out.
Even if it doesn't always work, I think that prayer is an act of courage.
It's a sort of declaration that says,
..."No matter what happens, I believe in tomorrow!"
I guess it's just like the significance that the Flag carries.
I finally realized what sort of pictures I wanted to take...
...after I got to know this country.
After I got to know the people of the SDC unit.
And I have you as my mentor to thank for all of it, Akagi.
Thank you so much.
Since coming to Uddiyana,
I think I finally understand what you've been telling me all these years.
"The instant you click the shutter, it becomes the past."
"But we photographers always have our cameras at the ready,"
"...believing in the future that will come next."
I guess we do.
Anyway, there are tons of pictures that I want to take now.
Well, I'll be heading back to Tokyo ahead of you.
I hear that you're editing the footage and pictures she left for you.
It's my way of looking for closure.
Shirasu!
We bore witness to a conflict in a far-off country.
Every once in a while, a single picture will bring peace back.
And that's what yours did.
There are ten million Kufuras in the world.
And if all those Kufuras raise up their own Flags at once in the hope of peace...
I have faith that that day will come, Shirasu.
Me no mae no ikiba o nakushite
Even if I lose the destination right before my eyes,
That's why people like us keep taking pictures.
Oto mo naku subete kietemo
And everything quietly vanishes,
Azakaya ni egakeru keshiki ga
The vivid scenery
You remember that it's Dad's birthday on Monday, right?
Osorenai tashika na mono ni
will never fade away
Come home soon, okay? He won't let up about it.
Yeah, yeah, I remember. I'll see you then.
Kawaru no nara sore dake no ii
If I'm going to change, that's all right
June 28th,
tada shinjite mitai
I just want to believe
kasuka ni mieru hi o
In that only dimly visible day
tadoritsuku tabi kiete
When I finally find my way to it, it disappears
Nani hitotsu nai kowasa oshiyosete
The fear of nothingness closes in
Te wo nobasu tabi soko ni
When I reach my hand out to it
Tsukanderu koto o inotte wa miageru
I pray that I'm holding on to
Yozora ni yume wo kasaneru
the night sky that I'm looking up to and dreaming over
tadoritsuku tabi kiete
When I finally find my way to it, it disappears
Nani hitotsu nai kowasa oshiyosete
The fear of nothingness closes in
Te wo nobasu tabi soko ni
When I reach my hand out to it
Tsukanderu koto o inotte wa miageru
I pray that I'm holding on to
Yozora ni yume wo kasaneru
the night sky that I'm looking up to and dreaming over