Soldiers' Pay

Soldiers' Pay (熱砂の進撃) is the fourth episode of ALDNOAH.ZERO Second Cour, it first aired in Japan on January 31, 2015.

Synopsis
As Slaine Troyard ascends the ranks, he puts a plan into motion to deflect scrutiny. Meanwhile, Yuki Kaizuka prepares for a possible reunion with Inaho Kaizuka as the Terrans face another Kataphrakt threat.

Plot
Act One Sometime after the assault on UFE HQ, Yuki Kaizuka sits beside Inaho Kaizuka, she becomes the first person he sees after waking up.

In the present, the Clydesdale Platoon returns to its U.E. Amphibious Assault Ship from the Mazuurek Landing Castle recon mission. Onboard is Lt. Koichiro Marito and Warrant Officer Kaizuka. Lt. Marito tells her to come to the Captain's quarters later as she has been requested. It concerns the Deucalion on its way back to Earth.

Up at Trident Base, the Deucalion prepares its return, Port Aden has been chosen as their return point, according to Kisaki Matsuribi, Capt. Magbaredge orders Shigo Kakei to calculate their reentry time and report.

He complains that they are always on the move and the top brass is trying to wring every last drop out of them. Nina takes this to mean that they value to Deucalion's power really highly. The vibe Yutaro is getting is that the top brass doesn't know what to do with them. XO Mizusaki requests Capt. Magbaredge a final approval for the resupply list. She finished it a while ago and gives the go-ahead to transmit it. She calls to attention all hands. They are to begin their earth reentry sequence as ordered at 13:00 UTC.

Lt. Marito and Warrant Officer Kaizuka share tea with their ship's Captain, he offers them Calvados, but they politely decline. The two officers have been told that they'll be acting as the Deucalion's escort. The Captain tells them it's temporary; only while they take on supplies and make repairs. Plus, the base they're assigned to isn't very far from the current location. The Captain has heard both officers have ties to the ship, but although they were supposed to serve aboard her, they turned it down.

Being on the ship only opens up old wounds for Lt. Marito. The Captain has heard of the exploits of Warrant Officer Kaizuka's younger brother. She decides to add some Calvados to her tea and gulps it down.

On the moon, Princess Lemrina asks Count Slaine Saazbaum Troyard what the other nobles did afterward (following his promotion to Count). Slaine has been told by Harklight that none of them are openly expressing opposition, but that is Harklight's opinion. Princess Lemrina asks Slaine if he believes that, Slaine says no and that they are only holding their tongues, for the time being, thinking it distasteful to raise objections.

At the same time, the Count is still being mourned. Princess Lemrina believes that Count Saazbaum's death is a great loss to Vers and goes on to say that she is the result of an indiscretion committed on the Moon by her father, Gilzeria, the second emperor. He perished as a result of his second sin, Heaven's Fall, and the moon they now stand on was shattered. Count Saazbaum found her and offered his allegiance when she had lost her family. However, she never truly knew what he was thinking deep down. She believes it is actually more difficult to trust those who have no talent for scheming. She tells Slaine that he still has to bear the brunt of the other nobles' jealousy and envy. He has inherited all of Count Saazbaum's privileges as well as his status as Princess Asseylum's "guardian".

Slaine proudly claims that it is a grave responsibility that deserves to be envied. Princess Lemrina compliments Slaine for his outfit but reminds him that the Princess must be protected now is the one right beside him. As Princess Asseylum is unconscious in the tank, he goes along with Princess Lemrina's words.

At Castle Mazuurek, Yemen, Count Mazuurek talks to Count Barouhcruz and Count Marylcian and they discuss Count Saazbaum adopting Slaine as son and heir coinciding with his death immediately afterward.

But without any hard evidence, it will wound like nothing more than idle gossip. Whatever the case, the dignity of all knights is at stake, according to Count Marylcian. He believes they mustn't allow Slaine to continue to do as he pleases. Count Barouhcruz turns the conversation to how Count Mazuurek goes out of the way to avoid destructive acts of aggression because his priority is seizing Earth's resources. But urges him that it is the time to press on with the invasion of Earth, by force if necessary. Count Marylcian adds that if his acts continue, the authority of the knight order known as the 37 Clans will decline further and calls for a faction that will set aside their power struggles and work together. Count Mazuurek is without words on the topic.

Slaine walks around the moon base with Harklight and mocks Count Saazbaum's words. Meanwhile, Koichiro visits Dr. Yagarai for a checkup in the infirmary. He discusses the war with his friend. Dr. Yagarai thought that the Martians would be coming at them relentlessly, but Koichiro reminds him that Mars is not monolithic; some attacked purely out of hatred of Earth, but some of them would instead seize it for the natural resources. Dr. Yagarai says he means that the Vers are restraining themselves and supposes it is because their main Kataphraktoi would be taken out one after another. Things haven't gone to plan, and they feel threatened and have gone into defensive mode. Koichiro says it was a single boy who gave them a chance.

Yuki wonders around the market in Aden, Yemen, when their ship prepares to battle as Sky Carriers have been detected. Yuki rushes back to duty. Succumbing to the peer pressure of Count Barouhcruz and Count Marylcian, Count Mazuurek's Kataphraktos is air-dropped by a Sky Carrier, he feels nervous. The Clydesdale Platoon arrives in their KG-7 Aerions on their Amphibious Assault Ship. Lt. Marito says they will hold it off to keep it from reaching the urban area 6 km west. All units wait for the Kataphraktos to enter the firing range and shoot on Lt. Marito's command. Their rounds are effective, but the Kataphraktos launches balls to create a sandstorm. Clydesdale 22 tries to advance closer despite protests from Lt. Marito.

He backs away once the right arm of his KG-7 gets torn off. Warrant Officer Kaizuka tells the Lieutenant to look at the gauges, the accelerometers are showing wild oscillations. Lt. Marito fears the Kataphraktos is using gravity waves, he shoots at it and learns that any object that gets too close will be torn apart by the tidal forces. Any attack will also be deflected, Yuki also suggests it is causing the sounds in their heads. Count Mazuurek states he bares this world's people no ill will. But he must do what he does for the future of Vers.]

With the Kataphraktos heading closer to the city, Lt. Marito requests Warrant Officer Kaizuka to ask if any satellite bases overhead have equipment that can detect gravity waves. Act Two The shots being fired keep getting deflected by gravity waves and the Clydesdale Platoon back away. Clydesdale 22 and Clydesdale 33 are unconscious from the noise generated by the gravity waves, and so their KG-7 Aerions standstill. Lt. Marito asks Warrant Officer Kaizuka to retrieve both as he heads in further. Count Mazuurek asks why they continue to fight. The Lieutenant heads even closer and continues shooting, remembering the trauma from the Battle of Tanegashima against the Deucalion, which could also manipulate gravity. Suddenly, a shell from the sky lands upon Count Mazuurek. Ensign Kaizuka thanks Lt. Marito for luring the Kataphraktos into position.

Ensign Kaizuka sniped the Kataphraktos in his Sleipnir on the Deucalion orbiting Earth. He now analyzes the gravity waves from above and says they are ripples that propagate outward horizontally. Gravity waves then propagate vertically are integrated and lose their effect. Inaho uses his cybernetic eye to lock on for another shot. At the command of Capt. Magbaredge, Inaho fires a shot upon Count Mazuurek's Kataphraktos and disables the spheres generating the gravity waves.

Capt. Magbaredge says they'll begin reentry in 10 minutes and to get Mustang 00 inside. As they are no longer in the line of fire, the Deucalion has given all the help they can to the Clydesdale platoon. Fortunately, it was enough as now Lt. Marito brings his KG-7 to step on the fallen Kataphraktos and hold Count Mazuurek at gunpoint.

Two shuttles, TK-67 and 68, are on a designated trajectory towards Trident Base. One officer says cleanup is taking forever to which the base's commander says was a huge battle with a ton of debris getting scattered around. It makes it a lot harder for shuttles to come and go, another officer adds. Suddenly, they detect something on the radar with now iFF signal. They didn't pick it up right away because it was mixed with the debris. It is one unit, Slaine's Tharsis. At 10km away and closing in fast, he dodges Trident Base's defenses. The commander of Trident base orders all Kataphraktos platoons to launch. Slaine identifies the two supply shuttles and begins a massacre.

Inko gives Yuki a high-five as they meet up with their comrade/friend. According to the Inko, Yuki had left the Deucalion all of a sudden following. Yuki attributes this to "grown-up reasons". Nina asks if they can fight together again. Calm says Yuki hasn't changed a bit. Rayet approaches the group. Yuki asks her if she likes it here, and she responds with a simple smile and an "It's Okay". Yuki is glad. Yuki had met Inaho already through the radio, she believes that he maybe thinks that's enough.

In the infirmary of their Amphibious Assault ship, Koichiro says to Dr. Yagarai that his memories resurfaced. There doesn't seem to be any way to escape them. Dr. Yagarai thinks that it is possible that perhaps they were deliberately revived. Shock therapy Koichiro chose to perform to give a boost to his fading consciousness. But Koichiro denies this. According to Dr. Yagarai, it's possible that he was using the memories of that tragedy to give himself a reason to fight, but not consciously. Koichiro asks if he's beaten them to which Dr. Yagarai says at the very least he won the battle.

Dr. Yagarai takes the bottle of Koichiro's brandy from off his shelf and pours a glass. Dr. Yagarai says that if he is confronting the past, his drinking takes on an entirely different meaning. Koichiro asks if the glass has been sterilized, Dr. Yagarai nods his head. Thus Koichiro happily drinks his alcohol. Afterward, a soldier tells the Lieutenant that there's been an emergency at Trident Base.

Kisaki Matsuribi shows Capt. Magbaredge frames of a recording from the time of the attack. The Tharsis waited until the shuttles had entered the docking bay and then set off the munitions they were carrying at once. Yutaro mentions the lousy timing by Ensign Kaizuka believes it was planned. There was just a major battle, so it's a safe bet that the shuttles would come. Vers probably checked to make sure that the base's reinforcements had left. Vers stood a good chance of winning, so they attacked with just one unit. XO Mizusaki mentions that the service details of munitions shuttles are supposed to be top secret.

Ensign Kaizuka retorts that all they really do is stuff like change their registry numbers and alter the supply routes. One would be able to sniff them out with careful cryptanalysis and data sifting. Ensign Kaizuka suggests that they are probably dealing with someone capable of that.

Slaine returns to Marineros Base, Harklight congratulates him. The other Vers soldiers give him stares, but they slowly begin to salute him, even some of the other Orbital Knights. However, Count Barouhcruz and Count Marylcian refuse to salute the fiend. Barouhcruz says he did what the set out to do and did it brilliantly. Count Marylcian knows that they can't brand him a traitor, not now. Count Barouhcruz says causes always rally around the powerful and that Slaine has transformed from a mangy cur to a wolf. Slaine says to Harklight that they are returning to the moon.

On the Deucalion, Inaho observes footage of the massacre at Trident Base from underneath his eye patch. He zooms in to see that it is the Tharsis, the Kataphrakt of Slaine Troyard. He says that he has no choice.

Quotes
"Count Mazuurek"

- I bear this world's people no ill will, but this must be done for the future of Vers

"Lt. Marito's Solution"

- Pilot: Here it comes!

Pilot: We can't just sit here and let it reach the city!

Lt. Marito: We'll keep its attention and draw it away!

Pilot: But sir! How?!

Lt. Marito: Kaizuka.

Warrant Officer Kaizuka: Sir?

Lt. Marito: Call it in to the carrier. Ask if there's any satellite bases overhead with equipment that can detect gravity waves!

Songs

 * &Z (OP)


 * GENESIS (ED)

Trivia

 * "Soldier's Pay" is a reference to William Faulkner's first novel of the same name, which revolves around the return home of a wounded aviator who has suffered a horrendous head injury and is left with blindness.