c12 (1/2)
[translation] Frozen Teardrop, Nocturne of Sorrow IV
black&white
MC File 4 (middle part)
I had to make a decision calmly There was a need for me to see the battlefield from an overall (lit: overlook) point of view and read the situation of the area appropriately The two cards we had on the field were two ”Jokers”--”Warlock” and ”Pierrot” On the opposing side, the ”Merciless Fairies” had twelve cards altogether--the Queen of Hearts, the Ace and Jack of Spades, four Eights, and I didn't knohat the re five were Currently, the battle between Warlock and Queen of Hearts had entered a deadlock Twoour ”Chouxhook 2” for ”BLACKJACK” Additionally, but still at some distance, four Mars suits capable of subh the water for a ”Revolution”
”Duo-kun is the one controlling the scene afterall, huh”
When Professor W had admired [Duo's actions] and said 'Now that's different,' this is apparently what he was talking about
”That ti of his communication was intentional He apportioned ”BLACKJACK” and ”Revolution” [1] here; his goal was to alleviate his own burden”
So it was that brat as dealing the cards Meaning that once he understood his opponent the Queen of Hearts was a stronger enemy than expected, he coreed with Professor W's 'Ahh, I see,' but it was actually bothersome for us to have to clean up [after Duo]
”Professor, you don't have any strategic moves, do you?” I kneas pointless to ask
”I got nothing Isn't it you, Doktor, hould have known this situation would have co like this in your list of possibilities (lit: assumptions), Doktor?]
I had been conversely asked a question which I could not feasibly answer
”” I bit ue Honestly, I hadn't made any assumptions My whole objective was to 'Recapture Prometheus,' not 'Triumph Over the Merciless Fairies' But the develop that purpose e this battle 418/2/7-9 If that's the case, then it had been overly optimistic of me to estimate that Warlock alone could handle the heavy battle and strategic/tactical burden of taking on twelve Mars suits That brat Duo pointed out that ement came back [to bitelike this He'd characteristically take it all on by hiht That is the determination of a noble soldier 418/3/10 [2] A determined pilot doesn't falter However, in Duo's case, he demanded our teamwork and forcibly ordered us to take on half of the six [3] suits The guy was oddly fresh with us--people whom he'd pretty much just met There was an amount of affability, too But no charht about hi a Cheshi+re cat smile, I felt er' But still, I wasn't thinking I'd put up with the weird stop-gap measures in a case like this
”Roger--” I said quietly, standing up and taking the submersible aircraft carrier's control stick in hand
”From here on out, battle operations will consider every possibility” I decided to show them just what a ”JOKER” could do [5]
”Attaboy, Doktor T!” Catherine clasped her hands and smiled
First of all, how to shake off the ”BLACKJACK” As for what kind of backup Duo, as both 'ga--that anse could puzzle out for ourselves That is, he'd wanted to direct the ene as they knew the position of the submersible aircraft carrier, ”Chouxhook 2”, there was no question about the Ace and Jack fo Spades attacking us with depth charges If we dove deep and fast, we could eschew the first wave [attack], but we'd lose speed and sooner or later it was self-evident that the four Eights (spreading out) in the water would run us down The water-adjusted Mars suits, with their easy maneuverability in s net fro us of the opportunity to attack If that was the case-- We could play the 'clown' for a long ti the 'BLACKJACK' And ame The current circumstances are unfavorable, but sooner or later the tie But all we could do until that opportunity ca-like behavior In this case--it wasn't toh wire balance bar It was all that i brat's fault And there were only a few seconds before our encounter with the approaching ”BLACKJACK”
”Uptri!”
I decided to launch all our anti-aircraftI didn't think it would be enough to stop the to see what tack the [enemy] would take However, a few meters from the surface of the water, the ”BLACKJACK” had thron an enores They'd been dropped perfectly There was a horrendous ih the violent rocking of the shi+p, I did not release the control stick My consciousness, however, was onequilibriule of surfacing to lower and raise the probability of direct hits frorets That islaunch points increased Everything was my responsibility
”Was that a mistake just now?” Professor W pointed out the delay in
”Happens all the tih-wire”
Ithat the propeller and ed Even as the [depth charge] launches kept increasing, I doggedly continued with the surfacing I felt e I didn't think that there'd be a (place) when I could compensate for my mistakes from here on out I felt I was (already) different froh the water surface Where we came up was a battle field [filled] with numerous coluh seas were jolting and large Even so, I somehow maintained stability and launched all missiles stored below deck There wasn't time to fix my aim The two shots in front ofwhich e hatch unable to open As for the ten anti-aircraft ht, and center, drawing various arcs in the red sky I was holding onto the faint hope that at least one would land a lucky hit But the Ace and Jack of Spades weren't about to give me the satisfaction Every [missile] was evaded
”Oh, pity, that,” Professor W said tonelessly He spoke like he expected the ”That's surely because my assistance wasn't sufficient”
”” I stayed quiet, thinking this was surely a tiht to compliment his partner The problem, however, was the move that came after ”BLACKJACK” I immediately prepared to dive Just then, Catherine reported fro at:
”The Ace and Jack of Spades have turned around, they're falling back into airspace”
”Really?” The second ould be an arial boht 420/1/3-4 No, it ht be better to think of it as tactical actions On the sub-screen of the radar monitor, I confirmed that the two suits frooal [was/is?], on a tactical level, not only to keep ”Chouxhook 2” under their thu for battle to conclude in the water
”Did we [just] get caught?” Professor W ca The ”BLACKJACK” certainly may have just been meant to lure us above the water
”No, this suits us just fine”
It ithin the real those four Eights I didn't know if it was ”Eight Enders” or ”Revolution” but I wanted to get rid of those submarine-capable Mars suits first ”Go full speed ahead” Without switching to rapid subht into the water at full battle speed
I confir down on the southeast horizon Ahead of us I could see the nameless volcanic island Duo et al were on, and far behind it, Elysium Island
”Neesan, I want you to inform me of the sonar response whenever necessary”
”OK! Leave it to me,” Catherine replied briskly with an earphone in her left ear Professor W was calm
”Are you planning to careen [right into the water] just like this?”
”Yeah”
Professor W see
”I think it's kind of risky”
”There's no such thing as a battle without risks”
”You're the same as always”
”While we're waiting, there's been no change to our high wire [act]” Making the large aircraft carrier Chouxhook 2 dive and charge [lead it to] meet resistance from the ocean current and lose remarkable speed A water-borne battle also bore the risk of being swept away by an unexpected jet current Another feasible possibility was for the Ace and Jack of Spades to turn around again and co, but I suspected that they wouldn't Because there was [an elehts So, where had they turned around and flown off to? The other ”JOKER”--they may have headed towards ”Warlock” In which case, [it was up to ht to feel a little sorry about bossing around his older comrade I prepared for my next move
”(Fully) load torpedo tubes one and two!” Catherine confirmed the spiral sound via sonar
”The four Eights are in a state of deploy”
”Professor, what do you think those guys think of this shi+p's mobility?”
”Hement, then they likely see us as merely a reckless special attack corps that won't evade [an attack]”
””
”But if they're cal the torpedo ti”
”If they're the type of guys to decide on a ”Revolution,” then they're the latter” 421/1/11-12
”YesWe are the ”JOKER” The weakest So they're taking us lightly There's a chance to take advantage of that”
”So the first strike, that's crucial”
”Being somehow unhittable”
”Relax, I'” When Professor W heard that, he chuckled to himself
”Well, I have faith in you, Doktor T But accidents happen”
””
He see mistake e surfaced just then There was a peculiarity in how that er [Quatre], he'd probably be a little ht's were spread out and traveling straight for us in one line
”Sonar detection! The enht torpedoes!” Catherine reported calht torpedoes that had been outfitted on both of their arms Thanks to that, we could specify their distance and location
”Roger” I dodged the eight torpedoes with [athe t torpedoes
”Perfect hit this ti of the tornado and torpedo launch was an extre for any compliments, but there probably had been a better way to say that But I didn't have the ti the Professor said
”Nee-san!” Catherine immediately took the earphone out The two torpedoes I'd fired blew up in front of the ”Revolution” This was called a wired electric sound torpedo, and it could (steal) an eneh frequency supersonic foae area In a basic sube of] the sub-sonar would have to be immediately relieved, but that wasn't possible in the submersible Mars suits There were no means for situations like these to be handled because of their [upgraded/improved]panic was supposed to be happening If they were normal Mars suit pilots, they would surface and try to escape, but as could be expected of the ”Revolution,” they predicted they'd be sniped at as they ascended and instead appeared to be diving deeper into the ocean They probably intended to wait for there ”ears” and ”eyes” to return to normal There was there for an interval of several seconds
”The four Eights are also (brilliant), huhI thought one at least would surface It was a good bluff to fire all theto Doktor's calculation, right?”
I'd decided to ignore any ht, at any rate Now, it was possible to break through at once I purged the wires for the (wired electric sonic torpedoes) and gave Chouxhook 2 more speed In the water ih speed jet current lay waiting That earned us several minutes until the [”Revolution”] could pinpoint our location and track us
Away on the distant horizon, the sainst the golden light
”Yeahthis time, it's our turn to make the first move”
”Well, {Snow White} and ”seven dwarves” [8], right?”
”Of course they're there, but” I returned ”Do you mean to pilot {Snow White}, Professor?”
”I can release Heero's bio-lock [9]couldn't even someone like me be allowed to make a hit if I hit the deck on my stomach and fired? 422/1/8-9”
Aside from the two ”JOKER” cards in a deck, there were cases where a ”white card” [10] without any s was included--that would be {Snow White} We has one ht be the ”jackpot,” but I couldn't deny that it could also [ Maurice Ravel's ”Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte” [11]
”Nee-san, how's Duo?”
”About that”
I followed her eyes and when I saw the monitor, I was a Duo and Naina had left their cockpits and were contentedly stuffing their faced with sandwiches at the foot of their suits on a picnic sheet [12]
”Maybe [the sandwiches] were about to go off” Professor W was s
”That's one trick I can't do”
”That ht of Duo's concentration”
”No wonder his staood”
I wanted to say he could knock it off with the [jabs at my expense]
Catherine was also dissatisfied, ”Unbelievable! Those two are enemies, aren't they?”
I agreed with her senti [13], ”But they're apparently [still] friends who grew up at the sae”
”Their faces are s as they eat, but not their eyes Perhaps Duo-kun is waiting for [the right] time?”
”Time?”
”The sun will be setting shortly” That was the only (aim) that made sense
Professor explained in easily understood terht”
”But can't Naina Peacecraft predict as much?”
”That looks like Duo's special ability He puts 'the connection of person to person' above all else Everybody and anybody ends up following his pace, one after the other”
”Tell me, Professor” The word connection alone couldn't explain that happy face ”How should we interpret the direction of that relationshi+p?”
”I don't quite understand ita bit, Professor W spoke, ”Surely it could be a 'bond' couldn't it?”
Is that what it was? [That] soh they're eneh they're in the battlefield, [he/they] couldn't i that essential relationshi+p 422/3/8-9 We had endeavored to lose such relationshi+ps in the past
Duo and Naina were discussing soreatest possible extent and put them on the monitor side by side
”What are they saying?”
”UhDuo-kun said, 'Whew, I' his opinion on the sandwiches” The Professor was good at lip-reading
”'Mayonnaise and mustard are awesome' 'Good' 'But the chicken and haet back to the battle?'” Professor's monotone continued dispassionately, ”'Wait a sec Me, I' to be indebted to you' 'Debt?' 'I'll show you soood, Naina-nee-san'”
The Duo displayed on the allon hat from out of nowhere and turned it all around to have Naina confirm that it was empty
”'Okay, there's no tricks to [that hat],' she said” And then, the nuallon hats increased one after the other There were six altogether, no seven They were all lined up just as if they were to be sold in a roadside stall
”'Hey, that Christ, didn't you? You know I still got that'”
Duo spread out the wrapping sheet that had been on top of the [one of the] hats until just now and gently, as if by ic, spread it out [over all the hats]
”'Boopidee bahpidoo buu' uh, I can't read [his lips] well” It was probably soly triuht of hand
”'Naina-chan, which one does {Alice} want toLady Winner, who else?' he said, but what if--” Katrine's na up so unexpected hadthe ”hatter” The Queen of Hearts and then, Alice? An unfinished uneasiness flitted across the back of my mind