E24 - My Friend

Source: Crunchyroll
Translator:
Editor:
Timer:
QC:
(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:07] Trunicht
    The dissidents who threatened the principles
    of the Free Planets Alliance are gone!
[00:13] Trunicht
    But there is no time for mourning.
[00:17] Trunicht
    Our holy war to overthrow the
    Galactic Empire still continues.
[00:22] Trunicht
    We are here thanks to the sacrifices of
    the brave heroes who gave their lives
[00:27] Trunicht
    to defend our Alliance.
[00:30] Trunicht
    We must follow in their footsteps.
[00:32] Trunicht
    In order to pledge even greater freedom and
    prosperity to the Alliance of the future,
[00:36] Trunicht
    let us offer up our present!
[00:41] Trunicht
    That is the greatest honor we
    can offer to our fallen heroes!
SIGN    Legend of the Galactic Heroes
[02:32] Yang
    Why the hell do I have to shake
    that bastard Trunicht's hand?
[02:39] Julian
    It comes with your position.
[02:42] Julian
    Just bear with it.
[02:43] Yang
    If I knew I'd have to do this,
[02:45] Yang
    I might've reconsidered winning that battle.
[02:48] Yang
    There will only be more occasions like this.
[02:52] Julian
    Of course, that doesn't mean
    you can lose on purpose.
[02:56] Yang
    No, I'll lose.
[02:58] Yang
    I'll get my ass kicked.
[03:00] Yang
    Then my reputation will plummet
[03:02] Yang
    and no one will stop me
    from leaving this job.
[03:05] Yang
    I'll be free of the hell
    that is court service
[03:08] Yang
    and finally get to retire.
[03:10] Julian
    Do you mean that?
[03:13] Yang
    I do.
[03:15] Yang
    I'm going to retire and live quietly
    in a little house in the country.
[03:20] Yang
    On cold nights, I'll listen to the
    wind while enjoying some brandy.
[03:25] Yang
    On rainy days, I'll spare a thought for those
    raindrops' epic journey through the atmosphere
[03:30] Yang
    and sip on some wine.
[03:36] Julian
    You might find your own salvation
    in doing so, Admiral,
[03:41] Julian
    but many millions of others would go unsaved.
[03:45] Julian
    That isn't what you want, is it?
[03:52] Yang
    You're right.
[03:56] Frederica
    Admiral, Julian.
[03:58] Frederica
    It's time.
[04:01] Julian
    Let's go.
[04:03] Yang
    Sure.
[04:16] Yang
    All people die.
[04:18] Yang
    Stars don't live forever.
[04:21] Yang
    Even the universe itself
    will cease to exist someday.
[04:25] Yang
    There's no way a country can live eternally.
[04:29] Yang
    And a country that can't survive
    without making massive sacrifices
[04:32] Yang
    might as well die and get it
    over with. No one would miss it.
[04:37] Trunicht
    What's the matter? Why the troubled face?
[04:42] Trunicht
    This is a joyous day for our homeland.
[04:45] Trunicht
    We should both keep smiling
[04:47] Trunicht
    to ensure we show our gratitude to
    the citizens, the true sovereigns.
[04:54] Doumec
    Now, Mr. Yang, representing our military,
[04:57] Doumec
    and Mr. Trunicht, representing our civilians,
[04:59] Doumec
    will share a handshake before all of you!
[05:05] Trunicht
    Well, shall we?
[05:08] Doumec
    Admiral Yang, please step forward.
SIGN    Episode 24
SIGN    My Friend
SIGN    Free Planets Alliance Navy Space Pier
[05:33] Julian
    Why don't you just forget about it already?
[05:35] Yang
    Believe me, I wish I could.
[05:39] Yang
    Still... I never thought I'd
    have to shake Trunicht's hand.
[05:45] Julian
    Allow me to commend you on your service.
[05:49] Yang
    Seeing all those people from up on
    that ceremonial stage made me think...
[05:55] Yang
    Just what is a democracy that gives a man
    like Trunicht the legitimate right to rule?
[06:01] Yang
    What kind of citizenry would continue
    to support a man like that?
[06:06] Julian
    Did you find an answer?
[06:10] Yang
    Even I was stunned by the things
    that came to my mind then.
[06:14] Yang
    Rudolf von Goldenbaum, in the past,
[06:17] Yang
    as well as the National Salvation Military
    Council guys behind the coup d'état,
[06:22] Yang
    must have been convinced that their actions
    were the only way to save the people.
[06:27] Yang
    Frankly, it's a complete paradox,
[06:30] Yang
    but what made Rudolf a treacherous despot
[06:33] Yang
    was his sense of responsibility and
    obligation toward all humanity.
[06:40] Julian
    Do you think Chairman Trunicht feels
    such responsibility or obligation?
[06:46] Yang
    I couldn't say.
[06:48] Yang
    It doesn't seem like it, though.
[06:51] Yang
    Anyway, I'm too tired to think
    about him any more today.
[06:56] Julian
    Of course. You should go to bed early.
[07:00] Julian
    I'll take care of the remaining paperwork.
[07:03] Yang
    Thanks.
[07:05] Julian
    Not at all.
[07:11] Yang
    Trunicht might be like a malignant
    cancer to our society.
[07:17] Yang
    He devours healthy cells
    and keeps multiplying
[07:20] Yang
    until society, his host, ultimately dies.
[07:25] Yang
    If that's the case, it's truly a nightmare.
[07:31] Julian
    Yes?
[07:32] Julian
    What? Really?!
[07:34] Julian
    Understood! I'll inform him at once!
[07:36] Julian
    Admiral!
[07:38] Yang
    Why all the excitement?
[07:40] Yang
    There's nothing in this world worth
    getting excited or yelling about.
[07:45] Julian
    But...
[07:47] Julian
    You know Admiral Merkatz, don't you?
[07:50] Yang
    He's a well-known Imperial Navy admiral.
[07:52] Yang
    He's not as grand or glamorous
    as Marquis Lohengramm,
[07:56] Yang
    but he's experienced and shows no weakness.
[07:58] Yang
    I hear he's quite popular, too.
[08:00] Yang
    So, what about him?
[08:03] Julian
    Well, that well-known
    Imperial Navy admiral has defected!
[08:07] Julian
    Admiral Yang, he has requested your help!
[08:10] Yang
    What?!
SIGN    Iserlohn Fortress
[08:19] Alex
    First of all, we'll need you
    to leave your weapons here.
[08:22] Schneider
    What?! Insolence!
[08:25] Schneider
    Admiral Merkatz is not a war prisoner!
[08:27] Schneider
    He has defected here of his own free will!
[08:30] Schneider
    And you demand he give up his weapons?
[08:34] Schneider
    Is it not proper etiquette
    to treat him as a guest?!
[08:37] Schneider
    Or does nothing resembling etiquette
    exist in the Free Planets Alliance?!
[08:45] Alex
    My apologies.
[08:47] Alex
    Please forgive my rudeness.
[08:52] Murai
    And now he's being treated
    as a guest of honor, I hear.
[08:57] Murai
    I find it all a bit hard to believe.
[09:01] Yang
    Did Admiral Merkatz flee
    along with his family?
[09:04] Murai
    No, his family remains in the Empire.
[09:09] Yang
    I see. That's fine, then.
[09:11] Murai
    No, it is not.
[09:13] Murai
    The fact that his family
    remains in the Empire
[09:16] Murai
    essentially means that he's
    left potential hostages behind.
[09:19] Murai
    Is it not natural to believe that he came
    here with some unsavory goal in mind?
[09:25] Yang
    No, I don't think it is.
[09:27] Yang
    If he wanted to deceive me from the start,
[09:29] Yang
    he wouldn't have admitted to
    leaving his family behind.
[09:32] Yang
    It's more likely he'd bring a fake
    family who could act as observers.
[09:37] Yang
    Am I right, Commander Baghdash?
[09:41] Baghdash
    Well, that sounds about right.
[09:44] Baghdash
    Admiral Merkatz is a true military man.
[09:47] Baghdash
    I doubt he'd have anything to do
    with things like spying or sabotage.
[09:51] Baghdash
    I think you can trust him.
SIGN    Sounds like we'll trust him a lot faster than we trusted you.
[09:58] Baghdash
    Hey, that's harsh, Commodore Schönkopf.
[10:04] Yang
    Well, at any rate, I'm choosing
    to trust Admiral Merkatz.
[10:09] Yang
    And I will protect his rights
    to the best of my ability.
[10:14] Yang
    A veteran admiral of the Empire has
    turned to me for help, after all.
[10:20] Yang
    I have to reciprocate his favor.
[10:23] Murai
    You're absolutely certain
    you want to do this?
[10:26] Yang
    Yes. I'm weak against flattery, you know.
[10:29] Yang
    Lieutenant, put me through
    to Iserlohn immediately.
[10:33] Frederica
    Yes, sir.
[10:40] Yang
    You are Admiral Merkatz, correct?
[10:42] Merkatz
    I am.
[10:44] Yang
    I am Yang Wen-li.
[10:46] Yang
    It's truly a pleasure to meet you.
[10:48] Merkatz
    Likewise.
[10:50] Merkatz
    This fallen admiral is
    hereby in your service.
[10:53] Merkatz
    I only ask that you show
    leniency to my subordinates.
[10:59] Yang
    Very well.
[11:01] Yang
    It seems you have some
    fine men working for you.
[11:03] Yang
    In any case, I will be happy to accept them.
[11:07] Yang
    You needn't worry.
[11:08] Merkatz
    I thank you for your kindness.
[11:11] Yang
    Well, that will be all.
[11:13] Merkatz
    Yes, sir.
[11:18] Merkatz
    Your advice was not in error.
[11:21] Merkatz
    Admiral Yang seems to be a trustworthy man.
[11:25] Schneider
    Yes, sir.
[11:26] Na
    Yang kept his promise
[11:28] Na
    and did all he could to protect
    the rights of Merkatz and his men.
[11:32] Na
    In response, the Alliance
    government gave Merkatz
[11:36] Na
    the status of "guest admiral"
[11:39] Na
    and appointed him as advisor to
    the Iserlohn Fortress commander.
[11:46] Doumec
    The matter of Admiral Merkatz
    has been settled,
[11:49] Doumec
    but the problem is Yang Wen-li.
[11:52] Doumec
    This was a civil war, so we
    can just give him a medal,
[11:57] Doumec
    but the next time he accomplishes
    some heroic deed,
SIGN    Council Member Doumec
SIGN    Council Member Bonet
[11:59] Doumec
    we'll have no choice but to promote him.
[12:01] Irons
    Barely 30 years old, and reaching
    the rank of fleet admiral?
SIGN    Council Member Irons
SIGN    Council Member Kaplan
[12:04] Irons
    An undefeated hero, and a
    young bachelor to boot...
[12:09] Irons
    If he retired and went into politics,
[12:11] Irons
    he's almost guaranteed to earn
    enough votes to win any election.
[12:15] Negroponte
    Just because he's a hero on the battlefield
SIGN    Council Member Negroponte
[12:17] Negroponte
    doesn't mean he has the talent
    to succeed in politics.
[12:22] Doumec
    Still, many people would
    be drawn to his reputation.
[12:27] Doumec
    If that happened,
    regardless of his capability,
[12:30] Doumec
    he would be a force too potent to ignore.
[12:33] Negroponte
    Before the Battle of the Doria Starzone,
[12:35] Negroponte
    he stood before every officer
    and soldier in his navy and said
[12:39] Negroponte
    that the rise and fall of a
    nation was trivial in comparison
[12:43] Negroponte
    to the people's rights and freedoms.
[12:45] Negroponte
    That's dangerous ideology.
[12:47] Negroponte
    He's basically saying that as long as
    individual rights and freedoms are protected,
[12:51] Negroponte
    it wouldn't matter if the Alliance
    was replaced by the Empire.
[12:56] Irons
    You have to be a bit suspicious
    of his loyalty toward his nation.
[13:17] Negroponte
    Yang has made problematic
    statements at every turn.
[13:22] Negroponte
    If prompted, I'm sure
    he would make many more.
[13:25] Trunicht
    Admiral Yang's talents are
    a necessity to the Alliance.
[13:29] Trunicht
    So long as the Empire is our enemy, that is.
[13:33] Trunicht
    Unless it's something
    that could prove lethal,
[13:35] Trunicht
    we may need to tolerate
    some of the things he says.
[13:38] Trunicht
    Still, there's no need to panic.
[13:42] Trunicht
    Let's just keep an eye on
    how things progress for now.
[13:47] Konev
    I heard about Admiral Merkatz.
[13:50] Dusty
    Yeah. Admiral Yang's really happy about it.
[13:53] Dusty
    He's been named a vice admiral for now,
[13:56] Dusty
    but he'll probably be formally
    named an admiral eventually.
[13:59] Poplin
    The Alliance's head honchos sure
    are hospitable toward defectors.
[14:04] Poplin
    Even after everything our fleet accomplished,
[14:07] Poplin
    Admiral Yang is still stuck
    at the rank of admiral,
[14:10] Poplin
    leaving basically no chance of
    his men being promoted, either.
[14:13] Dusty
    Chief Dawson and Commander-in-Chief
    Bewcock are admirals, as well.
[14:17] Dusty
    Admiral Yang is below them, so he
    can't be promoted to fleet admiral.
[14:22] Poplin
    You think he's really satisfied with that?
[14:25] Dusty
    Oh, please.
[14:26] Dusty
    He was never interested in that
    sort of thing to begin with.
SIGN    Oh, really? So you're a petty officer second class now, Julian?
[14:35] Julian
    Congratulations on your promotion,
    as well, Rear Admiral Schönkopf.
SIGN    Thanks.
SIGN    But I heard a rumor that Admiral Dawson promoted only me
SIGN    as part of a plot to put a crack in our fleet's unity.
SIGN    But Chief Cubersly returned to his post,
SIGN    so I suppose it'll be fine.
[14:56] Julian
    Actually...
[14:58] Julian
    I heard that my promotion resulted from a
    direct intervention by Chairman Trunicht...
[15:04] Julian
    so I can't feel truly happy about it.
SIGN    Listen, Julian.
SIGN    The military is overrun with the agendas of many different people.
SIGN    Those agendas have direct effects on us sometimes.
SIGN    But you can't let every little thing like that get to you.
SIGN    We just have to focus on the good that comes of it.
SIGN    Understand?
[15:29] Julian
    I understand. I'll try
    to think of it that way.
[15:32] Yang
    Hey, Julian.
[15:34] Yang
    I haven't recognized you as a soldier yet.
SIGN    Your Excellency, what do you think Julian is holding?
SIGN    Do you have the right to say that to someone who's been given all those?
[15:51] Yang
    Julian.
[15:52] Yang
    Toss those into your locker or wherever.
[15:55] Julian
    Yes, sir...
[15:56] Yang
    You can use the box as a
    soap dish or something.
[15:59] Yang
    I'm going down to Heinessen for a bit.
SIGN    Then I'll come as your guard.
[16:04] Julian
    I'll accompany you, as well.
[16:06] Yang
    No.
[16:07] Yang
    I'll go by myself today.
[16:10] Yang
    Look after things while I'm away.
[16:12] Julian
    Please be careful.
[16:16] Julian
    Where could he be going?
SIGN    Who knows?
SIGN    Galactic Empire Capital Planet Odin
[16:47] Wolfgang
    We're finally here, in accordance
    with His Excellency's wishes.
[16:52] Wolfgang
    The old ones are gone,
[16:53] Wolfgang
    and a new order will be established today.
[16:57] Wolfgang
    The people welcome the
    birth of this peaceful era.
[17:01] Oskar
    Naturally, I welcome it, too.
[17:04] Oskar
    It excites me to be here in this new age.
[17:09] Wolfgang
    Well, let's go.
[17:11] Oskar
    Right.
[17:30] Na
    In October of the year IC 488,
[17:34] Na
    Reinhard von Lohengramm was
    promoted to the status of duke.
[17:39] Na
    And in addition to the title of
    Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy,
[17:44] Na
    he was also named the
    Imperial Prime Minister,
[17:46] Na
    giving him complete supremacy in
    both politics and the military.
[17:52] Na
    Thus the dictatorship of
    Duke Lohengramm began.
[18:17] Reinhard
    I'll be fine from here.
[18:19] Guy
    Yes, sir.
[19:22] Na
    The late Siegfried Kircheis
[19:25] Na
    was granted the title of
    Imperial Fleet Admiral
[19:28] Na
    and was posthumously named
    Minister of Military Affairs,
[19:32] Na
    Supreme Command Headquarters
    Chief, Space Fleet Commander,
[19:36] Na
    Acting Supreme Commander
    of the Imperial Navy,
[19:40] Na
    and Acting Imperial Prime Minister.
[19:44] Na
    Still, no matter what worldly glory he possessed,
[19:48] Na
    he could never repay his
    red-haired friend's devotion.
[19:52] Na
    With this in mind,
[19:54] Na
    the inscription Reinhard chose for
    Kircheis's gravestone was simple and concise:
[19:59] Na
    just two words,
    "My Friend," and nothing more.
[20:25] Na
    The year UC 797,
[20:28] Na
    or the 488th year of the Imperial Calendar,
[20:30] Na
    was an unusual year for a
    long-divided human society
[20:34] Na
    in that the two nations did
    not meet each other in battle.
[20:38] Na
    But whether the winners of the internal
    disputes that occurred in each nation
[20:42] Na
    were satisfied with their victories
    or not is another story.
[20:48] Na
    One of them made great gains,
    but also lost something precious.
[20:54] Na
    The other gained new allies,
    but felt new dangers at his back.
[21:01] Na
    In this year, Reinhard von
    Lohengramm was 21 years old,
[21:05] Na
    and Yang Wen-li was 30.
[21:09] Na
    Both were at an age where the future
    held more for them than the past.
SIGN    Third Planet in the Solar System Earth
[23:02] Bishop
    Rubinsky's performance in this
    battle was not at all satisfactory.
[23:09] Bishop
    That much is certain.
[23:11] De Villie
    It is worse than that, Your Lordship.
[23:14] De Villie
    In fact, I sense a lack of enthusiasm in him.
[23:17] De Villie
    I believe he has forgotten our cause
    to seek his own self-interests.
SIGN    Archbishop De Villie
[23:21] De Villie
    If this continues for another
    two years, or three...
[23:25] Bishop
    Be calm.
[23:27] Bishop
    Look.
[23:31] Bishop
    Even now, the sun rejoices in life.
[23:35] Bishop
    But what of its child, our Earth?
[23:39] Bishop
    The trees wither, the soil loses its nutrients,
[23:42] Bishop
    and birds are long gone from the
    skies, as are fish from the seas.
[23:47] Bishop
    The human race has abandoned
    its mother planet
[23:51] Bishop
    to race among the stars like fools,
    battling itself to the death.
[23:56] Bishop
    But this will not last much longer.
[23:59] Bishop
    The homeland of mankind will return,
[24:02] Bishop
    and history will once more
    begin here, with our Earth.
[24:06] Bishop
    We have already waited for eight centuries.
[24:10] Bishop
    What is another two or three years?
[24:14] Bishop
    For now, let us give
    Rubinsky a bit more time.
[24:18] Bishop
    If he should abandon his
    mother planet, Earth,
[24:22] Bishop
    he will depart on a journey to
    another dimension known as death.
[24:26] De Villie
    Indeed.
[24:28] Bishop
    It is not as if no progress has been made.
SIGN    Earth Cult Grand Bishop
[24:31] Bishop
    One of the men in power has
    already fallen into our hands.
[24:36] Bishop
    The other will soon do the same.
[24:40] Bishop
    It will not belong before the ideals
    of the Earth Cult are realized.