02x01 - Salamander Sentoudan

[bunniefuu]

Oh God, forgive me...

Forgive me for staining the earth
with the blood of my foes,

and guide me to the promised land.

I am but a poor, ignorant lamb.

A lost lamb who is ignorant of the truth.

I sing a song of praise unto the Lord.

Oh, I praise the Lord.
I praise the heart of the Lord.

f*ck you. I'd prefer to
feed you to the pigs.

Attention, everyone!

What a naughty girl you are.

I'm so overcome with feeling,
I can't control myself!

My little fairy...

You certainly made a mess of things.

I regret acting out of line.

But this is the will of God.

She must be defeated...

That demon!

Are you serious?

You're putting Lt. Colonel Degurechaff
in charge of that combat team?

Of course.

In light of the current w*r situation,

we've no choice but to put her
in charge of her brainchild.

But... behind that appearance
of a little girl...

...is a monster.

That's what you want to say, right?

Welcome to my combat team!

My wonderful comrades-in-arms, with whom
I've enjoyed my time so much...

Let us rejoice in our new comrades!

And to those of you who are new,
I welcome you with open arms.

Welcome to my... to our b*ttlefield.

This world is unfair!

And the b*ttlefield is one
insane thing after another!

And for all of you, that means...

You are now free... to choose!

Choose whether to struggle or die!

Welcome to the front lines!

It's time for w*r!

How?

How did this happen?

We're in enemy firing range here, too!

Give the order to retreat!

No! The principle of elastic defense
requires us to defend this point!

Our infantry are a bunch of dumbasses.

What's the point of
holing up in a trench there?

Our allies are cut off!
We need to protect them!

Annihilate the enemy forces!

We're under attack! Fall back! Fall back!

And our tanks are poorly trained dogs
who don't even know how to sit?

Our job right now isn't to attack!
It's to recover our allies!

Our allies' base has been surrounded!
We will provide support!

a*tillery, full attack!

We're out of shells!

What?

And my a*tillery is just
a random group of morons!

Have you even considered whether
that base is worth all those shells?

Hurry! Climb!

Stay in formation!

And our new mages aren't even
worth using as human shields.

They all work hard, but they're so dumb!

Why am I in charge of this combat team?!

f*ck this!

This is what happens when I had
barely any time to train them.

What a waste of time.

Lieutenant Colonel! Fighters!

Four of them, heading our way!

Altitude 9500, speed 350!

They're after our surface base!

Lieutenant Grantz's unit is the closest!
They're en route to provide support!

We're moving as fast as we can,
but those fighters will get there first!

Enemy fighters approaching!

We can't hold this position!

What the hell are those mages doing?

Damn it. I told you not to slow me down.

You got here fast.

Sorry! We'll head to intercept.

Wait.

I'll do it. Let me give everyone
a tactical demonstration.

You'll do it personally?

The Federation doesn't give
its fighters a mage escort.

The rest of you support
the ground forces' retreat.

Dog of the Empire!
There's just one of you?

You think you can take us?!

That's the Commies I know!

They love wasting b*ll*ts
and soldiers' lives!

How can she move like that?

A named mage?

The Devil of the Rhine?!

I doubt anybody's learning
anything from this sh*t.

Enemy sighted!

Show them what you learned
in your training!

I'm fighting here!

Don't you know how to
work with your allies?!

Now!

Die, monster!

She knocked it out of the sky?

That's what it looks like when
you have the Silver Wings...

No... It's hopeless!

Oh, God!

Even the f*cking Commies are
begging for God's help?

I'm sick of people who keep
clinging to the absurd.

Oh, Lord, grant us balance and order.

Grant us peace, and the promised land.

You are the guiding shepherd.

Guide us upon the path of hardship
and lead us to the summit of the hill.

You are the promised crown of glory,

the house of honor...

A world of peace and purity.

May your gospel resound upon the Earth...

Upon the world.

sh*t. Why the hell do
I have to praise God?

That b*stard's trying to brainwash me.

This is 02.

Our surface forces have
completed their withdrawal.

Roger that.

Everyone, return to base immediately.

Also, it seems our new recruits
don't know how to fight a w*r yet.

Once we're back, I want every
single unit commander in my tent.

Captain Ahrens. Why did you
send in your tanks?

Does the concept of "reserve forces"
mean nothing to you?

And Captain Meybert, it seems you don't
know how valuable an a*tillery shell is.

If I start deducting from your salary,
will that get it through your head?

And Captain Thon and Lieutenant Tospan,
are you simply stupid?

Why would you try to hole up
in a forward position?

On the Eastern Front, defending
our camp is our highest priority.

And Wüstemann, your maximum air time
is still in the double digits?

That's pathetic.

You're gonna get shot down
within the day at this rate.

Let me make this as clear as I can.

Our forces pride themselves on our speed.

But this front is huge, and we...

We can only defend a single point.

Thus, we need to make that point strong.

If we can't do that, our already depleted
forces will be isolated and wiped out.

B-But ma'am, if we stay in our camp
we'll be surrounded!

Elastic defense theory teaches us
to never give up the initiative!

Shut up, textbook for brains!

The elastic defense theory you were taught

only works under conditions
of adequate manpower,

adequate equipment, and adequate supply!

And here on the Eastern Front,
that's impossible.

But you lot refuse to accept that reality.

Sheesh.

There's nothing worse than someone
who's stubborn, stupid, and hardworking.

The w*r began with the Entente Alliance
violating our borders.

Now it's spread to the whole continent.

We occupied the northern
Entente Alliance territories,

but now the partisans
are fighting back hard.

And down on the southern continent,

we're still fighting a group
calling itself the Free Republic.

Our w*r against the Federation
on the eastern front

shows every sign of
turning into a quagmire.

We are taking heavy losses at
the hands of the Imperial Army.

And those who allowed this to happen
must suffer the people's wrath!

And thus, we must come together!

We must give our former
comrades a chance to atone!

We must bring in the
mages that we sent away

for the crime of siding
with the old order!

B-But the very existence of mages
goes against party principles.

Oh? Comrade, are you saying
that you're opposed to having

these counterrevolutionary elements
fight the Imperial Army?

N-No! I just...

Comrade Secretary,

I am free to proceed with bringing
the mages into the army, yes?

And to the west, the Allied Kingdom
maintains air superiority,

while it attempts to find
new methods of cooperation.

So Prime Minister Churbull,

you want to work more closely
with the Federation?

Major General Habergram,

you're an intelligence officer,
so I expect you to understand.

If we have to make a deal
with the devil, so be it.

I see. So we're making
one devil fight another.

The Ildoa Kingdom, which allied with
the Empire, maintains neutrality.

Meanwhile, the Unified States,
on the other side of the ocean,

is providing support to our enemies
in the form of weapons and supplies.

They even sent in a multinational
volunteer force.

Why can't we send them
back to their homelands?

The rule is that w*r dead
are buried where they died.

We can't cause problems for other
countries in the middle of a w*r.

But...

It is what it is.

A hero rests in the land where they fell.

The Empire's enormous military might has
made it the enemy of the whole world.

Damn it. Why did this happen?

I'd rather be training a bunch of
penguins than those new recruits!

Actually, in my old world, didn't some
country give a penguin an honorary rank?

The snow is impossibly beautiful,

and impossibly merciless.

I don't even need to recall what happened
in the world w*r in my last world.

Winter saps a soldier's strength,
wears at their mind,

and freezes their legs.

And when the snow melts, it'll become mud
that we'll have to wade through.

The Empire's greatest
strength is its mobility.

This is the worst b*ttlefield
possible for it.

We can't win like this.

Emergency report, Lieutenant Colonel!

What is it? What happened?

Major Weiss encountered
the enemy while on patrol.

Two Federation infantry brigades
are approaching fast!

Two infantry brigades?!

Yes.

Major Weiss had the frontline
units fall back.

Good. He has my authorization.

This is bad...

We're going to be swallowed
up at this rate.

Men!

The situation is simple!

A huge enemy army is
about to surround us!

We have no choice but to let them attack,
wait for them to exhaust themselves,

and launch a counterattack!

This is a defensive battle!

Keep your positions in good order!

Yes, ma'am!

All units are in position
and ready to intercept.

Good.

By the way, Lieutenant Tospan.

Where's Captain Thon?

Why is he not answering?

Well, he's...

He's leading a recon team.

H-He wants to survey the terrain!

He says an officer
should see it for himself.

Then do it before
the f*cking enemy gets here!

Keep your men in shouting distance!

But ma'am...

Shut up!

Turn over command to Lieutenant Grantz!

Wait!

An officer has the right to
make his own decisions...

I told you to shut up!

I'm too busy to deal with your bullshit!

From now on, Captain Thon
is to be treated as MIA!

But that's not fair...

Useless g*dd*mn morons...

And the snow fell earlier
than I expected...

How do we get out of this?

How come none of the units
are reporting enemy contact?

The enemy's still waiting to attack?

Are they continuing their encirclement?

Should I try to attack and
see how they respond?

Major Weiss, can you
do a*tillery spotting?

In this darkness, I can't
promise it'll be accurate.

I thought so.

Maybe I should wait to see
what the enemy does...

Lieutenant Colonel!

Let us try!

We've trained hard for
night a*tillery combat.

Okay.

Open fire as soon as
Major Weiss gives the order.

But don't use too many shells.

Conserve your a*mo.

Understood!

Sharing coordinates!

A8C6!

I repeat! A8C6!

Load the g*ns!

Fire!

Any effect?

The effect is unknown.

The darkness is worse than expected.

All units, stay sharp.

Stay in position until further orders!

Don't let the enemy lure you out!
It's a waiting game now!

Lieutenant Colonel, this is strange.

What is?

It's strangely silent.

What is the enemy trying to do?

I don't know.

We can't see anything from here.

Why? Why aren't they attacking?

Is this whole thing just a
decoy to keep us pinned down?

This is 02!

The situation has become clearer!

These aren't brigades.

They're what used to be brigades.

What?

The enemy was moving in tight groups,
within voice range.

So it appears our a*tillery
wiped them out!

So the Federation's brigades didn't
get enough training time, either?

Everybody, looks like
we've been waiting for nothing.

Show 'em what we've got, everybody!

Number one through number five,
sustained fire!

Let's work enough to pay for that a*mo!

Panzer vor!

Let's go! Time for the
infantry to go to work!

The infantry have begun their as*ault.

We will proceed to wipe out the enemy.

Got it. I want you to take command
of Lt. Wüstemann's unit too.

I want to fix their lack of training.

Yes, ma'am. Immediately!

That wraps that up.

Looks like I might have
to rethink things.

Good work, everyone!

The Lieutenant Colonel is
giving us an innocent smile.

First, very good work today,
Captain Meybert!

I want to show my respect
for your talents!

I was wrong about you!

I hope you'll accept my apologies!

Of course, ma'am!

And you too, Captain Ahrens!

Your last charge can only
be described as impeccable!

Thank you!

And Lieutenant Wüstemann...

I hope you'll grow into your role!

Ma'am!

As for Lieutenant Tospan,

I'm not completely satisfied...

But that's okay!

Make up for it next time!

I-I'll do my best!

Did you think I'd change my opinion
of you all after that performance?

For better or for worse,
I'm a high-ranking military officer.

If we win the w*r,

I'll get all the credit I want.

But if we can't win...

I'll be the one to take the blame.

Given that I don't know how much leeway
I'll get for just following orders,

that means that other people's testimony
will be what determines my fate.

So from now on, I must focus on
maintaining a good reputation and image.

Wait, where is that oaf,
Captain Thon?

You're right. I haven't
seen a report from him.

He was captured, or he's dead.

Well...

If he deserted, he gets a firing squad.

All right, everyone, let's have a toast!

To our fatherland!

To the victory of the Empire—

No...

To an early end to our w*r!

Cheers!

This... You're kidding, right?

I'm afraid it's true.

It's everywhere in the capital, I'm told.

In the language of flowers,
a gladiolus means victory.

And olives, supposedly,
are a symbol of peace.

Propaganda is...

really scary.