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Phase
42: Lacus Strikes
Review by Chris August 13, 2003 As Athrun prepares to take off in the shuttle, he tells Dearka to take the Justice Gundam if he doesn't return, but Dearka says he won't do that. Cagalli asks Athrun why he has to go, and he says he can't leave things the way they are. Athrun launches from the Archangel in the shuttle, and Kira launches in the Freedom Gundam to escort Athrun. At the PLANTs, Ezalia makes a public speech and claims that the Naturals are manipulating Lacus to speak their propaganda. At a bar, an incognito Rau receives a disk with secret information on it. At his office, Patrick has a video conference with Andy and discusses how the Freedom Gundam ended up fighting for Orb. He says that Athrun must have found something but has yet to report. Andy promises to work hard since Patrick has given him a new purpose in life. On the Vesalius, Yzak watches as a mechanic works on the new mass production suit GuAIZ. The mechanic says they'll be able to wipe out the Naturals now that they have the GuAIZ, and Yzak walks off in anger. In his office, Rau examines the disk, which contains the classified specs on the Freedom and Justice Gundams and their N-Jammer Cancelers. DaCosta reports to Lacus that Ezalia's speech has confused the public, and the news of Siegel's murder still hasn't been announced. As they approach ZAFT space, Athrun tells Kira he has to go before he is detected by the forces stationed at the Boaz space fortress. Kira tells Athrun that they both have things to do and can't die yet. After Kira leaves, Athrun flies into the territory of Boaz and identifies himself. Patrick examines the classified data on GENESIS and is told that Athrun came to Boaz in an Alliance shuttle. Athrun is immediately taken to meet with Patrick, who demands to know what happened to the Freedom and Justice Gundams. Athrun asks how much longer they have to fight and says he want to know what Patrick thinks. Lacus is shown new information on a computer, and she asks DaCosta what he can do about it. Patrick thinks that what Athrun is saying is garbage, and he asks him if Lacus messed with his mind. Athrun asks how much farther Patrick plans to go with the war, and Patrick says that it won't end until all Naturals are exterminated. Athrun can't believe he means that, and Patrick says that's been the point of the war all along. He pulls out a gun from his desk and demands again to know where the Freedom and Justice Gundams are. Athrun refuses to answer, and Patrick calls in guards to have him arrested for treason. Athrun runs toward Patrick to attack him and is shot in the shoulder by Patrick. Patrick tells the soldiers to take Athrun away and interrogate him about the Freedom and Justice Gundams. At the L4 colony cluster, the Kusanagi and Archangel dock inside the abandoned colony Mendel. At the PLANT, Athrun is about to be taken away in a truck when he attacks his guards and escapes. DaCosta, disguised as a soldier, tosses flashbangs and shoots at the soldiers. He escapes with Athrun and takes his handcuffs off and gives him a gun. Nearby, on the new supply ship Eternal, Andy announces that the ship will begin final preparations for launch. He has men loyal to him force the rest of the crew off the ship. In the PLANT, DaCosta and Athrun fly in a shuttle towards the spaceport. Lacus arrives and orders the Eternal to launch, and Andy has the main cannons fired to blast out of the drydock. As the ship leaves port, DaCosta and Athrun's shuttle lands in the rear deck. Rau is informed of the Eternal's theft, and he says that Boaz will have to handle it because the Eternal is too fast for the Vesalius. From Boaz, a force of 50 GINNs and CGUEs launch fully armed to retrieve the Eternal. Athrun asks Andy if there's any mobile suits he can use, and Andy tells him that the Eternal was designed to only carry the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam. Andy fires missiles to counter the incoming missiles, but there are too many. As several approach the ship, Kira arrives and destroys them with his beam rifle. He then uses all his weapons to cripple the entire attacking force. Later, the Eternal docks at Mendel alongside the Kusanagi and Archangel. Andy says it's a bit weird introducing himself to Murrue, and she says it's a surprise. Kira tells Andy that he has a legitimate reason for revenge, but Andy tells him to forget that. Cagalli tells Athrun that he's always getting injured, and he says her pendant protected him. Nearby, Lacus tells Kira about Siegel's death and begins to cry in his arms. As I expected, Athrun's attempt to reason with his father failed. However, he now sees that his father is a genocidal maniac bent on the destruction of all Naturals. In fact, Patrick is seen examining some secret weapon called GENESIS. From the looks of it, it's some kind of large cannon. Maybe he plans to use it as a doomsday weapon to fire at Earth and kill all Naturals. Andy makes his return here, and he surprises everyone, including Kira. Though he survived, he paid a high price since he lost his left eye and arm, along with Aisha. Is it just me, or is thievery of top secret weapons a bit too easy in this series? At the beginning, ZAFT easily steals the four prototype Gundams. Later, Kira has no trouble stealing the Freedom Gundam. With that in mind, you'd think ZAFT would have some more security for new ships. And why is this ship painted pink?? Also, it seems a bit too easy for Kira to fight since he takes on 50 GINNs and CGUEs and disables them all like they're nothing. Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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