Run Silent, Run Deep

The Nadesico is a warship. Beaches and beauty contests can only last so long before the fighting returns.

The Battle of the Indian Ocean turns the crystal waters red. As the sun sets and battle goes on into the night, the Nadesico waits for its turn to fight. The Nadesico waits 100km behind the front line. It is the 103rd Rear support Group. It is the entire 103rd Rear Support Group. The Nadesico can no longer be counted on to serve loyally. The UE could sent it on a suicide run in the center of the fighting, but, odds are, the Nadesico would screw that up and crash into the United Earth flagship. So, the ND-001 hovers as the rearest rear guard.

On the bridge, Erina is screaming, upset at the undependable Nadesico. Yurika's singing, Ryoko's reading while Izumi and Hikaru poke at her, Akito's busy with a videogame, Jun and Prospector are playing shoji, and Hory's doodling on paper. Erina cannot wait for the day that the war turns, and the Nadesico returns to Mars, gravity blast cannon laying waste to the red planet.

Ruri interrupts. There's a boson buildup in the rear hangar bay. An explosion rocks the ship. Another boson spike. Another explosion, this time in the Y-Unit. Seiya appears on screen, demanding to know what happened. The bridge doesn't know, but the damage was kept to a minimum by newly installed distortion blocks, a system of of distortion fields that compartmentalize and isolate blocks of the ship experiencing an accident or suffering damage.

A large Jovian ship jumps out of a distant Chulip and speeds straight toward the Nadesico. Already only 42km away, the Nadesico must take action. Yurika's command? Haul ass into space. Another boson increase occurs just below the bridge, but before it can spike, the ND-001 lifts off. A missile appears out of the boson swell, exploding behind the battleship. The Nadesico breaks through the atmosphere with the Jovian ship in pursuit. It is an ugly and utilitarian machine with exposed systems and circuitry.

Ryoko wants to go back. She wants to destroy the enemy ship, the Kannazuki, but Hikaru points out that the Nadesico will go bang if it gets close. Izumi whispers that Ryoko would be happy with any type of banging. Subaru chases after the other pilots. Yurika asks if Fressange can explain the explosions.

She can, and she's got refreshments. The crew eats cookies, and Inez sets up the situation. The Jovians are boson jumping bombs. This is the refinement of their manned missiles. They are perfecting boson transmission accuracy, meaning they can transfer matter to very specific points. Simply put, the Jovians can now teleport a bomb inside the Nadesico. The ship's shields can't stop it. And, with every explosive sent, the aim grows closer. It won't be long before the Jovians can send a bomb into the bridge or engine room.

Fressange does note that the boson cannon has a limited range. It can only send the rounds a maximum of 100km.

The crew waits for Yurika's orders. None come. It looks hopeless. Akito sighs. If the Nadesico was still over the ocean, Miss Howei was going to teach the pilot how to fish. Yurika jumps, getting an idea. The ship's entire store of missiles is readied and the Aestivalis are equipped with electric spears. These new weapons should be able to cut through a distortion field. Akito's just happy he can do a "passion slash".

Howmei sends meals up to the pilots. The smallest of her cooks, an admirer of Ryoko, delivers Subaru's lunch.

The Nadesico's main engine is cut and all power is turned off. Erina warns that the ND-001 is now defenseless. Yurika tells that she knows how people think. The Nadesico will be safe. With all power off, the Nadesico disappears.

The Jovian sensors ares blank. Saburota Takasugi, the Kannazuki's XO, wants to finish the Nadesico. After all, her shields are down. The Jovian kanchou, Genpachiro Akiyama, orders his own engines cut. They don't know where the Nadesico is, and with all their systems running, they're a target.

The invisible Nadesico changes course by venting compressed air. The Aestis launch manually. Right, they run out the gravity catapult. In space, they deploy their solar sails and silently float toward the Jovian ship. Akito sighs. This is going to turn out awfully bad it the Jovians start shooting.

Yurika, floating in the zero-g bridge, tells her Akito not to worry.

The Jovians get nervous and fire at the Nadesico's last known position. Their gravity blast cannon hits nothing. They don't know how the Nadesico could have moved. As soon as the blast dissipated, Yurika orders all of the ND-001's missiles released. Without power, they simply hang in space, waiting. She brings the Nadesico back to its original course. This takes it right in front of the Jovian ship.

As the enemy ship comes into contact with the missiles, they explode. Takasugi tracks the probable position of the Nadesico from the missiles' path. But, Akiyama realizes that the Nadesico would not stay in the same place after launching its rockets. Waiting are only more missiles. The Jovians continue on their course. Yurika tells her crew not to worry. Fishing is about waiting.

The Jovian ship enters into the range of the Aestivalis. They immediately attack. The ND-001 powers up the PT engines, fueling the mecha. A gleaming point in space, the Nadesico races at the Kannazuki. The Aestivalis puncture the distortion field. And, just as the leap cannon readies a bomb for the engine room, Akito destroys the weapon. Saburota takes off in a Denjin. He charges at the Aestivalis, but Akatsuki spears him in the back, causing terminal damage. Sabarota leaps away before his mecha explodes, preventing the Kannazuki's own destruction.

The Jovians retreat and pick up Saburota in a life pod.

The Kannazuki's captain sends the Nadesico's captain a message, telling the brave man that he hopes to have a drink with him after the war is over. Yurika huffs. She's a beautiful girl not a brave man.