S4E13: Family

'''Hellgate has been beaten back and the Sayan has been vanquished. Our heroes have earned a short break, but this momentary breather will be interrupted. The culprit is none other than a third baleful influence that finally found his family...'''

Plot Summary
Set several days after the previous, ERAC had erected a camp at the base of the mountain, using the mobile command center Golden Scarab as their temporary headquarters while ERAC HQ is rebuilt. Princess Luna/Celestia also held her court near to ERAC in the wake of Canterlot's destruction. The atmosphere was solemn despite their recent victories, due to how much had been lost to achieve them.

Kanako, soon joined by a couple members of G Squadron, made his way to the Scarab to speak to Arachnos. Arachnos, as it turned out, had been working on a new technique. Inspired by Kanako's new skill of bladecasting, Arachnos decided to apply the concept to projectile wepaonry in a craft he called guncasting. He demonstrated this technqiue by rapidly disassembling a rainbow blaster and converting it into two smaller blasters.

Just then, a series of beams struck from space, putting ERAC into red alert. The cause was discovered to be a never-before-seen enemy vessel which had entered Equestrian airspace. The owner of the vessel announced himself to be an envoy of Blue Blood, here to take Jack and Saiyo. The siblings recognized the voice immeidately: Joseph Greenspan, their father.

ERAC's agents weren't so willing to hand them over, accusing Dr. Greenspan of being abusive. Dr. Greenspan countered that his children could have been lying, and with them being his children in the first place, he could do with them whatever he wished. As the argument continued, Jack and Saiyo both began to become angry for hearing their father consistently refer to them as fugitives and the like, explaining that he ran a tight outfit and expected everyone to do as they were told. He also compared them to rebellious teenagers for running away. This caused their agumentations to flare as a result, drawing Dr. Greenspan's attention.

Dr. Greenspan instantly noticed that James was nowhere to be seen. On being told of his son's death, Dr. Greenspan showed a passive disinterest, saying he was disappointed he lost a specimen, and then promising to "start over" on Saiyo. This caused Jack to activate fully, forcing Olynt o try and bind him down. The Doctor's reaction to the news only reaffirmed everyone else's belief that Jack and Saiyo should never go back. Even Wolfgang weighed in on the conversation, saying that running an efficient group and being cruel to those beneath them were far from the same thing.

Dr Greenspan replied by appealing to Wolfgang's authority, stating that he should realize he is risking the lives of his men for the sake of two aliens. Wolfgang conceded the point, but countered by saying that he believed someone like him being in control of their power would be an even greater danger. Realizing that he was not going to convince them, Joseph Greenspan prepared to fight. Jack burst free of his bonds, telling Saiyo to remain behind. Saiyo objected, but Jack ignored her. G Squadron and the A Unit both objected ot Jack's entry into the battle, saying he was what the Doctor wanted. Jack ignored them, too.

Dr. Greenspan's ship proved to be very formidable, having a wide variety of artillery fire capable of forming a dense cloud around itself. It also sported four "megacannons" that could devastate whatever they made contact with. Additionally, the ship sported a very durable shield that the agents nor the Mimics could crack. The ship also had surprising agility, able to swing and swerve itself with amazing speed, as well as flip itself at will. Jack revealed this was possible through the ship's advanced G-Diffuser, counteracting any external G-Forces and allowing Joseph to utilize the full extent of his machine's speed. Jack also revealed there was no crew; their father had designed a neural network that allowed the lone pilot it implant himself into the ship itself, effectively granting him control over the vessel as if it were his own body.

Wolfgang contacted the Vulture, asking for it to lend support. The Golden scarab then went airborne as the A Unit and G Squadron covered it. The Scarab moved against the invader, drawing its fire as a distraction so that the Vulture could get a clear shot. The Vulture's firepower was sufficient to bring down the shield, forcing Dr. Greenspan to adapt. His ship re-configured itself, sending the bulk of its wepaons to the underside while the four megacannons became mounted on free-moving towers, allowing them to strike at nearly anything. The ship also grew a nose, housing a devastating cannon. Its hull also doubled to make up for its lack of a shield.

Joseph proved to be even ahrder to bring down in this phase of the fight. Whenever A Unit or G Squadron would get close to the topside guns, the spacecraft would flip itself, putting them directly in line with the underside guns. Saiyo, watching the fight from a distance, began to grow irritated. Both at her father's "cowardly" acts, as well as her own. Finally giving into her rage, Saiyo activated her agumentations and charged into the fight. She took out several specific points along the ship's hull, damaging the gyros that allowed it to move so swiftly.

Now unable to flip, Dr. Greenspan was much more vulnerable, and his mounted megacannons and nose gun were both taken out swiftly. With most of his main offenses destroyed, the doctor admitted defeat and attempted to retreat. A Unit and G Squadron gave chase, but the doctor disengaged the majority of the ship's bulk, escaping in the command pod. The remaining hull violently self-destructed, covering his escape.

Now that Dr. Greenspan, and in effect, Blue Blood, knew their location, Jack and Saiyo found themselves in a predicament where they had to escape but could not. Saiyo, still under the influence of her augmentations, began to argue with Jack, criticizing his plans and culminating with accusing him for being responsbile for James' death. The very instant she said this, Saiyo reverted and tried to apologize to Jack. Jack said absolutely nothing, catching his sister and gently escorting her to the ground. She tried to apologize to him, and began to cry as Jack continued to remain silent.

Meanwhile, Woflgang discussed the same issue with his agents, telling them that the rebel commander, Amadeus, may be able to help them when he arrives to discuss the Sayan problem...

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening Theme - Main Theme (Sonic: Time Attacked)
 * 2) Shattered Nation - Titania Overworld 2 (Star Fox Command)
 * 3) Strike From Above - Enemy on the Horizon / World Depression (Code Geass)
 * 4) Blue Blood
 * 5) Air-to-Air Combat - Boss (Super Mario Sunshine)
 * 6) Diversion Tactic - Menu (Day of Defeat Beta)
 * 7) Stepping Up - Dream Sailing: Gooper Blooper (Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games)
 * 8) Red - Title Theme (Night Storm)
 * 9) Stepping Up (Continued) - Dream Sailing: Gooper Blooper (Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games)
 * 10) Ending Theme - Dream a Dream (Pop It Don't Drop It Edit)

Trivia

 * This episode, as well as the arc that follows, took an abnormally long time to develop, hence the hiatus between episodes 12 and 13.
 * This would turn out to be another of the shorter episodes, as it really only functionally served to introduce Dr. Greenspan as a minor antagonist for the season.
 * Dr. Greenspan's custom starship was originally planned as a standard crewed vessel, but on a whim and to make the fight more interesting, SDM gave it the ability to make sharp turns and flips on a dime despite its massive size, something that required special justification. This also allowed him to establish Dr. Greenspan's ability as a scientist.
 * Ketsueki never made a single appearance in this episode.
 * SDM blames "Zoruff Syndrome," that is, the tendency of Gamemasters to forget allied characters during battles.
 * The theme "Blue Blood" was remixed by ShadowAurion from the orchestral arrangement of Sara's theme from Breath of Fire II. The original theme was used in the episode Wicked Hands when Jack was telling his and Saiyo's story. ShadowAurion notes that turning the sad melody into a sinister techno arrangement fitting for the sinister organization was a difficult feat.
 * "Guncasting" is derived from a joke made out-of-character by Arachnos in the Xat chat, which he decided to actually incorporate in the roleplay. However, since Arachnos very rarely fights without the use of Executioner, the actual influence on the roleplay will likely be minimal.