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...
Prime Minister Kayabuki has just greeted Secretary of State Schrader with a handshake.
Imperial America has flexed its muscle as a powerful military state...
...ever since the last world war.
But now, with the decline in national power resulting from the collapse of their economy,
they seem willing to swallow their pride,
...as is attested by their Secretary of State suddenly coming to Japan to search for...
...common ground on the Security Treaty Renegotiation Bill that was proposed by Japan.
However, if the government of Japan were to turn their eyes inside their own borders,
they would see a huge number of issues to address, such as economic instability,
the delay in a refugee policy, and the Article 9 issue.
An intensification of protests and marches on all fronts seems inevitable.
Turn that crap off, we're on our break!
Don't take it out on those two just 'cause you're losing.
You're not doing so hot yourself.
Okay, this time I'm gonna clean you out!
I wouldn't be so sure.
So tell me, why do we have to bother with mutual security guarantees these days?
Japan's got a military, too, right?
The current administration is ultra-hawkish,
but with Imperial America's economy in the toilet now,
they want to negotiate a new Security Treaty while we have the upper hand.
I guess they wanna make up for the humiliation they went through in the 20th Century.
What humiliation in the 20th Century?
Well, to put it simply, I guess it's the memories of losing the war.
And because the Article 9 wild card of our constitution is still in effect,
the Self-Defense Army can't operate outside the country officially.
We can't possess nuclear weapons, either.
And even though the 20th Century's Security Treaty was signed at the expense of our pride,
the two worked pretty well as an implicitly indivisible team,
with America being the spear and Japan being the shield.
But now that we're at the point where the new enemy is economic issues,
I bet this new agreement is out of wanting to protect each other's vulnerable spots.
Gosh, you know so much! Synchronize that last data with me, okay?
Sure, if you want.
Would you two pipe down?!
He's right! This is a life or death struggle here.
Shut your traps for a while.
Geez, not you, too, Azuma! For a rookie, you're being awfully pushy, don't ya think?
Don't blame others just because you're losing.
Let's see you laugh when I turn the tables on you.
I raise.
Raise.
Now we've got ourselves a poker game.
This "poker" game is all about probabilities, so how come Mr. Saito is winning all the time?
That's been bugging me, too.
Especially with the rules they're playing under now,
where everybody memories the other players' cards.
You're supposed to predict your opponent's hand based on the first and last cards.
Mr. Saito shouldn't be winning every hand,
but for some reason, he's the one who ends up with all the chips in the end.
He's damn good at bluffing, that's all.
I'll see through that mask of yours soon enough.
He's right. That's called a "poker face." Remember it.
You're out of your league.
Compared to the life-or-death stakes I'm used to, poker is a kid's game.
Aw, what do you know about it?
I'll be the first to admit that you're a first-class sniper.
But comparing that to poker? I don't buy it.
There was this one time when I was in a one-on-one sniping duel...
...against somebody who scared me down to my boots.
I've never been as afraid of a battle of wits as I was against that person.
After that duel, I've been able to guess what most people are thinking with a single look.
Aw, you're full of crap.
So tell us, what was this person like?
Wanna hear the story?
Tell us the story! Tell us the story!
If the rest of you call my raise, I'll tell you the story.
I ain't dying to hear your tall tale or anything.
Don't get the wrong idea.
It was back in the summer of 2020.
Eurasia was bogged down in a pointless war of attrition,
and I had gotten fed up with the vindictive isolationist policy that Japan enjoyed,
sitting there in the middle of the delicate political balance.
So I hired on as a mercenary with the "Crimson Bianco,"
a volunteer army that supported Mexico's provisional government.
And back then, my left eye was still in its socket, safe and sound.
Middle Eastern oil and Central American drugs.
There's always conflict in places where there's profit to be made.
Imperial America, which was divided and exhausted from the recent nuclear world war,
was beginning to seriously entertain the notion of wiping out the New World's drug markets...
...to stem the drain it caused on their national budget.
Using the pretext of overthrowing Mexico's corrupt government,
Imperial America whipped up the U.N., which sent in forces...
...comprised of British and Japanese troops into South America.
They began with relentless carpet bombing attacks,
citing "speedy capture of the capital" as a reason.
Afterwards, they resorted to strong-arm tactics like sending mechanized divisions...
...into Monterrey to mop up any armed resistance.
With my squad wiped out by the U.N.'s armored units after the bombing,
I was biding my time, waiting for a chance to surrender.
That's when it happened.
The terminal I was using to monitor enemy communications...
...reported that it had made contact with a special forces unit that had a tactical nuke.
I hadn't been able to rack up many kills up until that point,
so I figured that I'd earn my pay in exchange for some thrills.
These bastards had the nerve to bring in a damn tactical nuke,
so I was determined to put the fear of God into 'em from on high.
What is it?
Forget it. It's nothing.
That must be them.
They're too worried about being criticized for attacking medical institutions and churches.
They left too many places for guerrillas to hide out in.
True enough.
But we've got two platoons working on wiping out the holdouts.
I sure hope so. You Yanks are fundamentally sloppy.
And I think you Brits put too much faith in that legendary SAS of yours.
Bloke thinks he's John Rambo...
Bit start...
Three...
Four...
Five.
Sniper! Take cover!
Ishikawa, assume the sniper's using a satellite downlink.
Hack the satellite and pinpoint his location.
Understood!
Why me? Son of a bitch...
Corporal Mother! Hold still!
He isn't using a satellite.
There's a wide-area jammer running that's got a radius of one kilometer.
Can you use the source of the jamming signal to determine his position?
Already on it.
Damn, you two are good at this. You been at this a long time?
If you have time for chit-chat, you've got time to do some recon!
You stupid rookie!
Which way did the fire come from? Were you able to get a fix?!
The sniper's gonna listen in on us! Switch to cybercomms!
Just you try, tough guy. The static's gonna give you a nasty surprise.
Crap!
Sorry, we slipped up. We didn't get a fix on the enemy's location at all.
We've gotta help him soon, or...
Hey, Sergeant! What's the plan?
Ginger! We'll all cover you!
Go rescue Mother! Snow, you help Ginger!
Racist bastard...
Hey, Japs!
You guys target the buildings to the west! The rest, take the buildings to the east!
Let's do it!
You'll be okay. We're gonna help you.
You got him?
Okay.
Bloody hell! It's the buildings to the west!
I'd better make you guys wonder where I am for a little longer.
Now, let's see you sweat.
A 20 millimeter?!
Wait a minute! Stop shooting! Hold your fire!
Which direction was Ginger shot from?
From the west.
What're you talking about? Didn't you see that car get blown to hell just now?!
The enemy's to the east! No, there's a good chance that we're surrounded!
Ishikawa, where's the jamming signal coming from?
It's a rough guess, but I'd say there are three possible places.
One's the building to the east, and the other two are probably that church and hospital.
You think the one to the east is a decoy?
Yeah, probably.
Just before the 20mm fire, the jamming signal cut out for a split second.
Besides, warfare 101 says to keep the sun at your back.
Sergeant! The one to the east is a decoy and probably unmanned.
If we were surrounded, we'd be taking more fire than this!
It's possible that we're only up against a single sniper!
How the hell can you be so sure?!
That's what the situation tells me!
I have a suggestion! I'll circle around the buildings to the east and get over to you.
If it turns out to be unmanned, I'll give you a signal.
If I do, have everyone cut loose and open fire on the church and hospital.
Use that cover to recover the corporal and the tactical nuke.
Without that, we're stuck here.
Okay, take Snow with you!
Taking a detour to regroup, huh?
I guess they'll find out that the building to the east is deserted soon.
Before they do, I guess I'll pick off another one of them.
Just as I thought.
Stay where you are, Mother!
It was deserted, just like I thought.
He was smart enough to only have one round in it.
This guy is really good.
But we're probably only up against one man. We should use our numbers to pin him.
Okay, the sniper's in the church. We'll bring the whole damn thing down.
No, it might be the hospital.
That jamming signal cut out for a second,
so even if we exclude the ruins we can't find a transmitter in, we can't rule out the hospital.
How many meters do you think it is between here and there?! It's the church!
How can you be so sure? This guy is sniping us while making sure we can't use GPS.
If he's a pro who knows how to compensate for the Coriolis effect, we'll all be picked off!
What a pain in the ass... Who cares which one it is?
Don't be in such a hurry. The key to survival on the battlefield isn't bravery, it's caution.
Take a look at Queen Kong over there.
When they talk about real pros, they're talking about people like her.
"Queen Kong"?
A woman, huh?
Pickles!
Got him!
The sniper's in the hospital! Ishikawa!
Shithead!
We retrieved the pod, at least. It was too late for the Corporal.
All right, let's return to base for now. We can't stay here and all get wiped out.
Don't be stupid! He killed Pickles!
We have to avenge him. That guy's dead!
That's an order! We're returning to base to regroup!
You can go back if you want, but we'll need to take out that sniper whatever we do.
As long as our comm gear doesn't work, we can't call for reinforcements.
She's right. We still have numerical superiority.
What's it gonna be? Your own mates got killed, too!
All right. We'll do it your way.
That's strange... They should be in a panic, but they're regrouping.
Looks like they've got a good commanding officer.
I realized that the final showdown was fast approaching.
The tension shot up, and I felt the rush of adrenaline right down to the cellular level.
When people kill each other on the battlefield, you don't know who killed who.
But there's one exception to that rule. And that's with snipers.
With sharpshooting, the act itself leaves a calling card attached.
That's why snipers are never taken prisoner.
It's their fate to be always killed on the spot...
...as the guy who killed somebody's buddies or commanding officer.
Once you've pound the building with the recoilless rifle, cut loose with smoke grenades!
We'll use the smoke to cover our advance!
Okay, let's...
Wha...?
You shithead!
Okay, cover me! Snow and I will storm the building!
What am I, your backup?
Look on the bright side. This means you've earned her trust.
That's enough. Leave it to the Major.
She'll improvise from here.
"The Major"? What's up with that and that Queen Kong crap?
Who the hell is that lady?
Hell if I know. I just know that she's a wiz at combat.
And that all of us call her the Major.
In that span of less than a second when I was facing off against the Major,
I pictured the outcome of the exchange of fire, and the hairs on my neck stood up.
After taking into account all the factors,
this was the conclusion that my experience as a sniper arrived at.
I was going to be killed.
From her stance, and the way she was holding that rifle on her hip without so much as blinking,
I knew instantly that she was a full-body cyborg.
And that rifle was a full-sensing semiautomatic.
Naturally, she also had full installs of long-, mid-, and short-range firing control software.
Just as a test, I visualized what would happen if I fired a single round at the Major.
She would shoot down my first shot, and I, with my bolt-action rifle,
would get hit with a second round as I tried to get back behind the pillar.
I simulated it again and again and got the same conclusion.
But if you just sat there and did nothing, you'd...
Yeah. If I stayed put, I'd get taken out sooner or later.
I thought desperately, trying to come up with some way...
...that I could turn the tables in a situation like that.
And that's when something occurred to me.
I noticed the jamming gear, which was the first thing that the Major shot.
Why did she use three whole rounds to destroy it?
Wait a minute... Could it be that she doesn't have mid-range fire control software installed?
Yes, that's the only explanation...
She knew the sniper's position, but she used her full-sensing rifle as a short-barrel.
That's because she's falling back on the premise that it can be used...
...as a substitute submachinegun while at medium ranges.
In which case, she needs control software to snipe against me at this range.
She must be in the middle of downloading the control software via satellite!
Get there first!
You're pretty good with that rifle, you bastard.
From now on, I want you working for me!
The software... You had it all along!
That's right. The Major's poker face had me fooled from the very beginning.
And I didn't have any right to refuse.
Because that was the first order that the Major ever gave me.
Deal the last cards.
That was an interesting story, but it's got nothing to do with this game here.
I raise you. All in.
I'm all in, too, then.
Stop trying to play it cool.
This is one match that you're not gonna bluff your way out of.
You're trying for a royal flush in spades, right?
But you've got squat.
I know that because I've got the ace of spades.
You can't possibly win. And that story was a load of bull, am I right?
It was interesting and all,
but I seem to recall an old movie with a plot that was awfully similar to that.
Yeah, you're right. I made the whole thing up.
Really? You did?
I'm gonna let you guys off easy today. Azuma, cash me out.
Feeling a bit ashamed of yourself, huh?
Hey, rookie! Pay up what he owes!
Geez, talk about self-centered. Some role model he is...
I wonder if Mr. Saito really didn't have anything...
Look, everybody! Look! Look!
His last card was the 9 of spades! He's got a straight flush!
He's got a what?
So does this mean... that maybe that story just now was also true?
Could be...
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...