Muv-Luv Alternative Chronicles Atonement

Muv-Luv Alternative Chronicles Atonement is a short story about Jinguuji Marimo's past, and is told throughout three distinct time periods - when she was a cadet, during her Comprehensive Combat Evaluation, and during her first sortie with the BETA. The story was included in the Ayu-Mayu Alternative fandisc.

Summary

Despite being in college at the time and having a dream to become a teacher, Marimo decides to enlist in the Japanese Imperial Army. She is looked down on by some of her peers, such as Arai, her squad leader, for being a woman. This lead to the two butting heads on multiple occasions and receiving punishments from the instructors. Even so, through multiple squad reorganizations, the two always remain in the entire squad.

Later during their squad's Comprehensive Combat Evaluation, the two begin to butt heads over what to do in order to deal with a sound detection turret. While the turret is only equipped with silicon bullets, it can still leave nearly permanent injuries if you were to be hit in the eye or in a similar place. Arai wants to take a detour and avoid the turret, where as Marimo wants to think of another option before giving up. Eventually tensions escalate, with the other squad members interrupting and having the two go cool their heads for 15 minutes before weighing options again.

During those 15 minutes, Marimo is constantly throwing stones towards the turret's area trying to find out it's characteristics. She notes that in between each burst of fire, there's a short 3 second interval before it will fire again.

After the 15 minutes are up, she shares her plan with Arai, one person armed with a machete with dash towards the turret after the rest of the squad throws stones to activate the turret during the interval where it won't fire. After that, the person will bang on the cliff face the turret is on and repeatedly hit the machete against it to provide a constant stream of noise while another person climbs up another location armed with their rifle and 8 bullets and disable the turret. Marimo volunteers to be the diversion, but Arai initially objects until Marimo convinces him to be the shooter by saying that among the entire squad, he was the best at shooting. The plan works well until the rifle jams.

Where as the rest of the squad is discouraged by this, Marimo refuses to give up, and begins to scale the cliff-face, machete in hand. and makes it to a point where afterwards, the turret will activate and begin to fire at her. Regardless, Marimo is prepared to press on and risk her life so the squad can pass. However, Arai dashes out, using the rifle and parts of it as a shield, buying Marimo the time she needs to disable the turret.

After that, they finish the rest of the exam without any problems, and Arai states to Marimo that he "accepts her as a man." and that to him, she is no longer a woman.

During TSF training, Marimo eventually becomes the squad leader, displacing Arai.

Sometime later, Marimo's squad is deployed to China to assist in the defense of an area along with several other squads, as their first deployment. Arai eventually reveals that his initial enmity towards Marimo was because he has a fiance whom he wants to never have to see combat, and if enough woman soldiers sign up, he fears that the Imperial Japanese government will enact a draft for women.

Suddenly BETA burst out of the ground, and begin decimating the forces deployed. Marimo tries to radio the Command Post for reinforcements, but it seems that the Command Post had already been annihilated. Marimo tries to order her squad to evacuate, but the squad is too terrified to react. Arai insists that Marimo leave leading the rest of the squad while he provides cover and follows up the rear, a near suicidal job. Magnus Lux type BETA soon appear on the field, and Marimo is stunned with terror. They begin to fire upon Marimo's TSF, but Arai knocks down and covers her TSF with his. The entire back and cockpit section of his Gekishin is vaporized. Upon seeing this, Marimo flies into a frenzied rage and descends upon the BETA like a mad dog.

Marimo later wakes up in a field hospital covered in wounds. There she learns the rest of her unit was annihilated like many others. She begins to break down, while the doctor is telling her this, as well as says "Congratulations, you've survived the "Eight Minutes of Death".

Eventually, China and India are lost, all the while Marimo continues to fight on carrying her burden of survivor's guilt for which she feels she must atone for on her back, losing more and more comrades along the way.

Marimo eventually is transferred to a teaching unit, and resolves to make those pilots be able to survive just even one second longer, believing it her fate and way to atone to her comrades as one who was made to survive the "Eight Minutes of Death" by her unit.

Trivia

• Muv-Luv Alternative's Chapter 7 is entitled "The Unforgiven"