I'm a soldier, znatchit ya... I'm a soldier, and that means...
...i otvetchik i sud'ya ...that I am both defendant and judge.
Ya stoyu na dvuh kontsah ognya I stand at both ends of the fire.
Ogibaya virazhi, Leaning into the curves,
obgonyaya smert' i zhizn', overtaking life and death,
ya begu srazit'sya s ten'yu lzhi I'm running to fight the shadow of lies.
Skol'ko b nitej ne plyol obman, No matter how tangled the web of deception is woven,
pokazhet lik sveta istina... truth will always illuminate the outline of the light...
Save your tears for the day...
...when the pain is far behind.
On your feet, come with me.
We are soldiers, stand or die.
Save your fears, take your place.
Save them for the Judgment Day.
Fast and free, follow me.
Time to make the sacrifice.
We rise or fall...
Niihama Refugee Residential District
All units, target building confirmed.
Operation code I-S. I say again, operation code I-S.
Attention, all units.
Armed refugees are in possession of a think-tank. Exercise caution.
I say again, refugees are in possession of a think-tank. Exercise caution.
J1, provide backup for mechanized squad as per code I-S.
Destroy target on sight. I say again, destroy target on sight.
Roger that.
These may be training exercises, but I gotta blow away the real thing at least once...
J1, your heart rate is exceeding normal levels. Is there a problem?
No, I'm all right. There's no...problem.
All units, we have arrived at target area.
RD, drop complete.
- SD, drop complete. - WR, drop complete.
- SJ troops dropping via wires. - SW, commencing wire drop.
Go, go, go, go!
G2, targets neutralized!
G3, targets neutralized. Unable to confirm think-tank.
G4, armed refugees neutralized here, too. Unable to confirm presence of tank.
Target confirmed!
Enemy has missile lock.
Son of a...
J1, your heart rate is exceeding normal levels. Are you all right?!
Shut up, damn it!
These may be dummy rounds, but who could stay calm with that damn alarm going off?!
Your ass is...
J1, what's wrong? Your heartbeat has stopped.
We have an emergency.
Pilot of J1 appears to have died in his cockpit, cause unknown.
Unit has switched over to autopilot by support A.I....Flight has been stabilized.
Crash risk is zero.
HAW-01AV, stand down from code l-S. Return to carrier at once.
I say again, stand down from code l-S and return to carrier at once.
Attention, all units. We have an emergency.
This is not a drill.
Pilot of J-1 seems to have died inside his cockpit, cause unknown.
Just to be safe, we are lifting code l-S. Initiate withdrawal action as per code S-A.
I say again, initiate withdrawal action as per code S-A.
HA-01AV has not stood down from code I-S.
Pilot's life support signals are still all green.
We're detecting cardiac arrest, but the A.I. seems to be ignoring...
...orders from Control because the pilot's cyberbrain is still active.
It is classifying the withdrawl order as an external attack,
and is giving top priority to protecting the pilot.
H-Hey! The Jigabachis!
Defense Agency
Kubota!
Aramaki...
This matter demands immediate attention, I'd say.
If there's the slightest chance of a criminal act,
you can't help but stick your nose into things, can you?
For now, we're telling the media that it's a midair refueling exercise for units under development.
But it was apparently the largest of the live-fire exercises so far...
...that have been conducted in top secrecy over the past three years...
...as a result of the new refugee policy that'll be implemented soon.
Is the helicopter in question that A.I.-chopper that's brought up speculation about...
...possible collusion because it's tangled up in our security treaty with the American Empire?
No, that's not the one.
The JGSDA was also afraid of possible attacks in the mass media,
so they were apparently participating in the exercise...
...using units of their own, code-named "Jigabachi Advanced,"
that were modified to include a support A.I.
They consider the unforeseen death of the pilot to be the cause of the incident.
Don't you find this state of affairs a little too fishy for that to be the case?
There's no getting anything past you, is there?
So, how much have your people managed to dig up?
The pilot of the A.I.-supported antitank helicopter...
...lost consciousness during the live-fire exercise at 5:57 AM.
After that, the helicopter, which was thought to be safely under A.I. autopilot control,
ignored Control's code rescind order...
...and flew into the airspace above the refugee district. That was 6:03 AM.
And after that, the A.I. simultaneously hacked two of its sister aircraft...
...and a midair refueling tanker on the carrier.
The three aircraft lifted off from the carrier at 6:12 AM.
The aircraft then joined up above the refugee district,
and are apparently still circling above the radio tower.
For the most part, you're correct.
I also have unconfirmed reports that two aircraft of that model from the Awaji garrison...
...and three from the Wakayama garrison flew away on their own using online guidance.
You're right on that count, too.
The bases that we contacted immediately switched...
...the A.I.'s in that aircraft model over to autistic mode,
but the base in Itami was slow to respond, and two more units flew off as if following the others.
What are the chances that this is a case of cyber-terrorism that targeted the support A.I.'s?
By breaching a military defense barrier?
Intelligence also thought that this hinted at terrorism, and is already...
...taking the entire development staff of the support A.I. into custody for questioning,
but we haven't found anything.
What about the possibility of an armed uprising by a rebel faction within the unit?
I don't see that happening, either.
I don't think it's due to any influence of those individualists, either.
On the contrary, the most we've got is a suspicion that it might be...
...an attack by some squad members who joined that "Stabat Mater" hedonist group...
...that the media had singled out for criticism a while ago.
That's a dead end, too?
For now, the top brass are itching to settle the matter somehow along the "accident" angle.
Luckily, all the helicopters are doing is circling the radio tower.
I hope that's all they do...
The refugees, you mean.
You heard him, Major...
That doesn't tell us much more than the intel we'd already dug up ourselves.
It looks like the scene is being kept under control...
...by the prefectural cops' riot squads, though.
They're not just keeping out the refugees who are starting trouble here and there,
but also the JGSDA's mechanized units that are here to resolve the situation.
Looks like they're claiming that they're the ones who have put their lives on the line...
...to maintain control over the refugee district.
Pathetic... What's the world coming to?
For now, I'm having Togusa and Ishikawa check out the house...
...of the pilot that we're assuming has died in midair,
but what do you want the rest of us to do?
We're almost at the refugee district.
Get close to the scene and stand by for now.
We'll wait for the Prime Minister's final decision...
...as to whether this incident falls under our purview.
Roger.
Don't disclose anything that I just told you.
Just being seen with you like this would cause a big stink.
What, you haven't abandoned your aspirations of moving up in the world yet?
Sorry, but I can't live my life the way you do.
If you'll excuse me.
Mr. Aramaki of Section 9, I presume?
Cabinet Intelligence Service, Strategic Influence Investigation Commission.
Representative Aide, Hitori Gohda...
Kazundo Gohda.
I rarely meet anyone who is able to read it properly.
Although, personally, I don't think it's all that strange a name.
Now, though, I find it to be an excellent name.
Once I tell them how it's pronounced, it tends to stay in people's memories, you see.
Especially in combination with this face.
So, is there something that I can do for this Cabinet Intelligence Service of yours?
Yes. We would like the assistance of Section 9 in this incident that's currently underway.
Even though I felt it might be presumptuous, I came in person to meet you.
As you may be aware, the CIS is an agency that works directly under the Chief Cabinet Secretary,
focusing on foreign and domestic intelligence gathering, analysis,
and occasionally the manipulation of public opinion.
I would appreciate it if you considered this a direct order from the Chief Cabinet Secretary.
After all, with the Prime Minister's strength being crisis management,
we can hardly expect to get a quick decision out of her.
What kind of refueling capacity does that thing have?
If they haven't changed its old specs, it carries enough fuel to keep a car going for six years,
or enough to keep a gas-guzzler like a Jigabachi flying for ten hours straight.
Well, since it looks like it's splitting that up between all those choppers,
I'd give a ballpark estimate of another hour's flight time for each of those choppers.
With a standard flying time of 2.5 hours for a Jigabachi,
I guess we can assume that they've got less than an hour's flight time remaining.
What're the chances of that tanker crashing first?
None at all. That Hanamuguri's gonna come down last.
It's getting lighter and lighter as it goes, you see?
That means that its flight time is getting longer and longer.
Say, Mr. Batou...Those guys are A.I.'s just like us, aren't they?
Well, the way I hear it, they assume that a human's gonna be on board,
so they're just support A.I.'s.
Even so, they're unmanned now,
which means that they're thinking and flying on their own, right?
I guess they really couldn't stand the conditions they were working under...
Are working conditions in the military really that bad?
I swear, moody A.I.'s go postal so quickly!
So are we gonna have to fight those guys if we're ordered to?
That's how it works.
They're antitank helicopters, so I guess that makes them our natural enemies, huh?
Mr. Batou, Mr. Batou!
Yeah?
We have a stomach ache, so can we go home?
Stomachs? What stomachs?
Looks like the JGSDA got too close...
They must've tried to dive the support A.I.'s and botched the job.
These Self-Defense Army pilots must not make very much money.
Chief?! What's going on?
Why did you personally come out to the scene?
Does this mean that the Prime Minister still has a leash on you?
Allow me to explain, Major.
This is an agent with the Cabinet Intelligence Service.
Gohda, Strategic Influence Investigation Commission.
I'll get straight to the point.
Full on-scene command authority is hereby transferred...
...to Section 9 with the aim of resolving this situation.
However, I want you to carry out the operation according to his instructions.
Old man, are you serious?!
We didn't stick with Section 9 just to become the government's lap dogs.
According to our calculations,
the first helicopter will crash into the refugee district in 48 minutes.
Once that happens, there is no turning back.
This is already a clear-cut case of terrorism. What will you do about it?
All right, we'll hear you out. What's your plan?
I'm so glad you see things my way.
Major, even assuming that we can believe everything that guy says,
why'd you agree to this?
Even if we assume for now that the pilot death and A.I. runaway weren't terrorism,
if that thing crashes, it's going to cause a certain amount of damage to the area.
When that happens, the refugee situation might turn into a powder keg.
Besides, without his information, we wouldn't have had any cards to play.
My point is, I've gotta know where we stand on...
Aw, forget it.
Saito, you ready?
I'm ready.
Good.
I guess this means they'll indiscriminately attack anything that moves...
Let's get to it!
Okay, here we go!
Here they come!
Don't drop down to the surface.
You won't be able to evade their air-to-surface missiles if they get a lock.
I don't like these odds.
It's two-on-one, and they've already got the edge in firepower.
Good, it's just like he said.
Batou, the target craft is tailing me.
He's all yours!
Target acquired.
Major, get the target to lift its chin for a second when it passes in front of me.
I want to put a round through the canopy from the side...
...to take out the pilot without destroying the A.I.
Understood!
Tachikoma!
It accept the code rescind order from Control, huh?
I'm glad our predictions proved correct.
We believed that if the signal from the cyberbrain of the dead pilot were cut off,
the support A.I. would accept the code from Control.
Also, my judgement was correct in coming to you for help in this incident.
Thanks to you, the Self-Defense officials don't have...
...to bear the disgrace of killing one of their own, you see.
So what're you saying? That making our Saito do it doesn't bother you at all?!
Batou. It's okay, I'm used to it.
Good work, everyone.
Reports say that all 11 units are confirmed as having returned to base.
Have you heard the report from Togusa?
No.
He says that they found heart medication in the pilot's home.
I guess he'd been hiding his condition from his superiors.
So are you saying that this wasn't terrorism as Gohda suggested,
but rather one big accident, Major?
I'm not sure.
There's no way to be sure without doing a structural analysis...
...on both the medicine they found and the dead pilot's blood.
The Cabinet Intelligence Service turns up with timing that suggests that they knew everything...
And JGSDA helicopters circle over the heads of the refugees,
unnecessarily rubbing them the wrong way, as if that were their intent all along...
What does it all mean, I wonder?
It might be that some crime on a massive scale is starting to unfold somewhere we can't see.
Finding out a galaxy...
...of planets and stars within me...
Listening to each of them...
...singing the same silent melody...
I've never seen such beauty...
In possibility...
No speck of doubt or fear...
Wake up!
I hear a voice,
hear a voice calling out to me...
I see inside,
see the light now ever holding me...
All the truth, all I need...
...to make of this reality, it's inside...
The beauty within the shell...
I hear a voice,
hear a voice calling out to me...
I see inside,
see the light now ever holding me...
All the truth, all I need...
...to make of this reality, it's inside...
Right here within the shell...