Gundam Seed Astray Destiny R/B

[E08]

Have read chapter 4 & 5 of Seed Destiny Astray R but a bit busy to do the translation (doesn’t help that I come across the complete translation for Destiny Astray novel). Anyway, here’s a short summary of the chapters.

Chapter 4
Lowe came to know about a guy who also claims to be the luckiest man in the universe and has a verrryyyy luck related nickname. This guy leads a group of salvaged BuCUE in the African desert and can be hired to do almost anything. Lowe finds this interesting so he decides to pay him a visit but the other party immediately attacks upon seeing his Red Frame. The reason for this is that his source of luck is related to a particular item that Lowe lost. Using the mirage colloid scattering ability of the Caletvwlch, Lowe recovered the item without damaging the guy’s BuCUE. As for V.V, he is suffering from a bout of bad luck…

Chapter 5
Liam suggested holding a ‘Festival of Red’ as part of the ‘Civilian MS Expo’ as replicas of Red Frame is quite common. Of course, Lowe will not miss this event, so he pulls out the Powered Red’s arms, upgraded its output by the ‘standard red number’ and equip it on Red Frame. At the event, Lowe is notified of a ‘Fake Red’ terrorizing the area. As expected, the ‘Fake Red’- Violence Geist appears. Violence Geist is a Civilian Astray modified with various Red, Blue Frame Second L and Gold Frame Amatsu Mina’s replica parts sold by Junk Guild, and also has parts from Caletvwlch (the story also tells us that there is opposition to this equipment). Its pilot challenges Lowe to a fight so that he can become the ‘real’ Lowe. He eventually transform Violence Geist into its ultimate form, Black Dragon Mode, and attacks Lowe. Using the Powered Red, Lowe easily stops the attack and defeats him. Meanwhile, V.V is too busy with his work to bother Lowe.

[Wingnut]

The reason for this is that his source of luck is related to a particular item that Lowe lost.

So someone else did manage to scoop up that Recon Bucue head that Lowe forgot about when the DEEP Arms and co. attacked him in the animated short.

[E08]

V.V, Dante and Elsa made cameo appearances in a new chapter in the Destiny Astray Remaster. The chapter starts by giving a brief account of how Jess come to use MS for his job after witnessing Serpent Tail in action (the full story is in the Destiny Astray novel). He then goes to get the neccessary equipment from Matias and later was sent to Ame No Mihashira, where a battle between the satellite's defense force and an Eurasian Federation attack force is about to occur. This seems to be a slightly different interpretation of the battle mentioned in M1A Astray's MSV profile and Astray novel.

Anyway, the Socius clone's Sword Calamity, Raider Full Spec and M1A Astrays defeat the first wave of 30+ Strike Daggers, but the first two are later defeated by 2 Sword Daggers, one is colored black while the other red. The black sword dagger is using 2 anti-ship swords while the red one uses the rocket anchor and the beam boomerang (as some sort of beam knife). Dante and Elsa's face then appear in the panels beside a shocked Jess. The second wave of Strike Daggers appear but the attack is stopped by Mina in her Gold Frame Amatsu Mina. Morgan then appears with his Gunbarrel Dagger and explains the attack is because some of his superiors are influenced by an employee of a military contractor, cues V.V's face. Mina and Morgan then agrees to a duel and Morgan tells Dante and Elsa to not interfere.

Jess interferes in the battle when he sees that Morgan is in danger, but he realises later that Morgan had deliberately lost the duel so that he can call a retreat. Mina knows about this from the beginning and just plays along. The chapter ends with Jess requesting an interview from Mina.

[balofo]

Thanks E08 as always.

Destiny Astray is when the quality started dropping, let's see if they can fix some of it

[Deacon Blues]

Not really a fan of them trying to shoehorn Dante and co into the universe. It's a terrible problem. Plus, I'm also not a fan that they made Matis all gushy toward Jess with a (literal) "You're just my type" line.

[E08]

Indeed, having Dante and Co in the story is not that good as they did not give them much introduction and those who did not know about Destiny Astray R & B will not get the point.
About Matias saying Jess is his type, well, this is not the first time. In the novel, he also says similar things. Of course, this has nothing to do with any romantic feeling, from my understanding of the novel it is just that Jess is the type of human Matias is looking for, the type that can show that what ‘The Family’ is doing is wrong.

[balofo]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gdvD7mvEDZA/U ... 1g2222.jpg

Wondering if this and Geist Astray will ever get official lineart...

[Deacon Blues]

Indeed, having Dante and Co in the story is not that good as they did not give them much introduction and those who did not know about Destiny Astray R & B will not get the point.
About Matias saying Jess is his type, well, this is not the first time. In the novel, he also says similar things. Of course, this has nothing to do with any romantic feeling, from my understanding of the novel it is just that Jess is the type of human Matias is looking for, the type that can show that what ‘The Family’ is doing is wrong.

I dunno... the novel has a much different tone. Plus given the way Jess reacts to the comment in this latest chapter, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Ah well. Let's see what the Re:Master has in store, if I can order it.

[balofo]

First look at the Actaeon Forbidden. Looks like the railguns are shorter and and now are dual equipped on shields, rest seems the same

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7005/9cla.jpg

[AmuroNT1]

It looks like they gave it a standard shield on its left arm and some kind of handgun, too.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

Blau Calamity? Seriously?

[balofo]

http://www.astrays.net/destiny_astray/i ... 00x600.jpg

only in astray you get knee shot lancers

[E08]

Well, considering the leg units are produced in a facility owned by The Family, i guess it's par for the course. After all, we have seen the MS produced by another organization associated with The Family.

[Zero Revenge]

First look at the Actaeon Forbidden. Looks like the railguns are shorter and and now are dual equipped on shields, rest seems the same

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7005/9cla.jpg

Awwwww yeah. This I can get behind.

[E08]

Here's the translation for chapter 4 of Destiny Astray R.

‘Dingo of the Wilderness (DotW)’ is a group that operates in the African desert and can be hired to do almost anything, they are however mainly employed for simple chores like transporting goods, repairing machineries, etc. Despite all the members piloting armed BuCUEs, DotW only fights when carrying out escort missions or under special circumstances. The group’s leader, nicknamed ‘Lucky Lucky (L.L.)’, is a man said to be favoured by Lady Luck. For example, the group’s BuCUEs are all savaged from the desert by him single-handedly. Scrapped/abandoned BuCUEs are common in the region as a large BuCUE force used to be stationed here. However, only a lucky person can find numerous abandoned BuCUEs that can be made functional again after some simple repairs. DotW also benefits from L.L.’s luck. A guerrilla group once wanted to snatch DotW’s BuCUEs for their own use and thought the group to be an easy target after monitoring its activities for a few days. So they travelled to where DotW is and along the way some of their GINNs broke down while some others ran out of fuel. They then met with a group of BuCUEs, thinking that this must be the DotW, they launched an attack. Unfortunately, these BuCUEs are operated by ZAFT and the guerrilla’s remaining GINNs are all wiped out. DotW coincidentally passed by the area on the second day after the incident and easily recovered the damaged MS.

Similar incidents happen several times and after that, everyone avoids getting into a confrontation with DotW. The more superstitious ones even avoid DotW at all costs as they think their good luck will be sucked away if they got involve with the group. Of course, there will also be those who want to meet them after hearing the rumours and Lowe is one of them. He finds it interesting that L.L., like him, is claiming to be the luckiest person in the universe. Thus, he sets off for DotW’s base in order to determine who the ‘true’ luckiest person in the universe is. This time, Red Frame is equipped with its flight unit as well as the Caletvwlch. The Ddraig Head is not equipped as it is damaged by the sea water during the previous adventure and is now with Kisato for washing and maintenance. 8 notes that since the new equipment is unavailable, Lowe has somewhat already lost the luck competition. Lowe replies that this is not a matter of luck, he was just too careless. Lowe has a habit of assuming responsibility automatically when it is a machinery related issue. 8 remarks that if that is true, then there is no such thing as luck, as being careless can be equated to being unlucky while being careful is the same as being lucky. Lowe then ends the discussion by saying that it all depends on a person’s feelings. One of Lowe’s strengths is that despite his confidence in his good luck, he does not overtly rely on it.

Lowe successfully finds DotW, but the normally non-combative group immediately attacks him upon seeing his Red Frame. Lowe is bewildered and this is not the kind of competition he has in mind. However since it has already happen, he has to react and Caletvwlch’s limiter is disabled. Knowing that BuCUEs has the advantage on the ground, Lowe plans to stay in mid-air by using the flight pack as well as the aerial control capability of the Caletvwlch’s mirage colloid particles. He hopes that doing so will allow him to be at a higher elevation, and hence avoids melee combat as he is some distance away. Caletvwlch is switched to G mode and Lowe fires some warning shots. He quickly comes under a pincer attack by two BuCUEs, one is on the ground with its 2-barrel railgun muzzles flashing yellow while the other is jumping towards him with its head-mounted dual beam saber active. A shot from the Caletvwlch G mode manages to disable the first BuCUE, and despite letting his guard down against melee combat, Lowe manages to block the other BuCUE’s attack thanks to a beam saber he pulled out unconsciously. As he breathes a sigh of relief, 8 tells him to look at the second BuCUE. Lowe realizes that the unit has a BuCUE Tactical Reconnaissance Type’s head and wonders if it is the same head unit that he lost some time ago. 8 carries out an analysis of the scars on the armor surface and reports that there is a 98% chance it is the same head unit.

Lowe is excited as he has given up all hopes of recovering the head unit. He is so moved by his good luck that he cries, and is thankfully that he did not counterattack with the Gerbera Straight, as the whole head could have being sliced off. Lowe then requests the return of the head unit as it is his. L.L. is not surprised by this and refuses, he explains that his life used to be filled with misfortune but that changed after he picked up the head unit left by a red MS flying by. He now has no wish to wish to return back to his old life. Under L.L.’s command, DotW prepares to resume its attack, showing absolute obedience to their leader. This left Lowe with a headache, he wants the return of the head unit but doing so through battling is not his style. 8 then comments that the head unit seems to represent the highest authority within the group like the head of a pack, and adds that DotW’s behaviour is akin to a pack of dogs. Inspired by the word ‘dog’, Lowe starts to type out a program. 8 immediately understands his intention when it looks at the code and fixes some of the errors after he had finished typing.

Lowe aims the Caletvwlch G mode at the head unit and fires. Although not a single beam is emitted, L.L.’s unit stops and its head drops, puzzling him. Lowe had actually just activated the Caletvwlch’s mirage colloid dispersion system and tagged the particles with the program he typed. Unlike beams, the effective range of mirage colloid is larger and so trying to avoid it is very difficult. Previously, when the head unit was with Lowe, it could be used by Red Frame due to a program installed in it. Lowe is now just using another program to externally activate this program. He then quickly picks up the head unit and equips it on Red Frame’s right hand, the head-mounted dual beam saber activates and the head unit starts rotating. Members of DotW stop their attacks upon seeing this and seem to have acknowledge Lowe as their new leader. Lowe is glad that he has recovered the head unit and declares that his luck is the best in the universe. Meanwhile, the loss of the head unit causes L.L. to be very depressed. Lowe tries to cheer him up and says that his luck is not bad and that he can be the second luckiest person in the universe. L.L. is touched by how broad-hearted Lowe is and realized that he is too concerned about his luck. He decides to formally return the head unit to Lowe and then try to achieve some results through his own hard work. L.L. believes that doing so will cause Lady Luck to favour him again.

During the same period, V.V. also comes to know about DotW and thinks that inciting the group to battle Lowe while he snatches 8 amidst the chaos is a perfect idea. However ever since then, he has been unlucky. He first losses his wallet, then his alarm clock malfunctions causing him to be late for important meetings and appointments, and now his stomach is not feeling well. He feels that all will be well in a few days and laughs as he thinks of what he will do then to Junk Guild and Lowe. A few days later, V.V. recovers and learns that Lowe has already contacted DotW, this causes him to curse his own misfortune.

[Wingnut]

Luck huh? Reminds me of Macross Plus when Isamu remarked that luck was one of his skills.

[balofo]

Thanks as always E08! This is already miles better than VS and Frame

[E08]

Some updates:

Destiny Astray B:
Elsa has a short flashback of her past where she stands beside a dead man, who is wearing a military uniform and seems to have cried prior to his death. It is likely that Elsa killed the man but the reason for this is unknown. Meanwhile, Dante travels to an abandoned colony as he was informed by ‘The Family’ that an artisan well-versed in the making of katana lives there. Once in the colony, he immediately meets with the Replica Red Frame and is memorised by its katana. He then fights with the Replica Red Frame using a sword pistol and noir striker’s ‘Fragarach 3’ beam blade (the other sword pistol’s katana broke several days ago).

Gai and Mina is protecting the Ame-no-Mihashira from an attack by space pirates. Mina enjoys battling alongside Gai and thinks that it would be wonderful if he is working for her, but she knows that is impossible. She then reminisces about the past where she wants to be ruler of the world and to have everything under her control. She now regards that as a foolish thinking caused by her youth.

Destiny Astray Chapter 6:
Mina invites Lowe to Ame-no-Mihashira as she is interested in the Caletvwlch. They then have a mock battle in which real ammunition and beam weapons are still used, as Mina wants to know how powerful the tool is. Red Frame is in the Red Dragon form (which is actually completed by Chapter 5) and a new mirage colloid related function of the Caletvwlch is revealed. At the end of the mock battle, Mina orders a large amount of Caletvwlch and Lowe quickly understands her intention. She also helps Lowe solve a regulatory problem caused by the offensive use of the Caletvwlch. V.V. successfully persuaded his superior to allow him to continue with the ‘Actaeon Project’, and intends to use the group of strengthened MS to attack Lowe.

[balofo]

GAT-X370G Gelb(Yellow in German) Raider. Twice the thrust, has Super Mjonlir, 2 shields, and IWSP 2 kinds rail cannons, rest is the same.

[balofo]

Gelb Raider, now that's EXTREME

http://i.imgur.com/6h39dRp.jpg

Gouf Gallactica

http://i.imgur.com/Ln2qdW6.jpg

I don't think any of these will get official lineart