Gundam: Ecole du Ciel Vol. 3

In Side 3’s airspace, a GM and a Galbaldy Beta are destroyed by a Gelgoog and two Rick Doms. Gelgoog pilot Marie cautions her wingmen Tomas and Francis not to waste their ammo because it’s expensive. One mobile suit escapes, and Marie decides to chase it over to Colony 26. Inside Colony 26, Asuna arrives at the old Zeon National Defense Academy, which is the only remaining government building from the Zeon era. She spots Erisia with Shinn and Emilu, so she joins them. They’ve come because the academy is a tourist spot of sorts; Asuna has come because it’s her old school. Shinn makes a crack at Erisia’s sudden interest in Asuna, but Erisia explains that everyone is inconveniences by Asuna’s mistakes. Asuna takes everyone to a small tunnel on the side of the building that used to be a shortcut. Erisia tells Shinn that when she’s with Asuna, she feels as though she’s going to lose herself. Shinn says that’s because she’s scared. She’s always had looks and money, and she’s never had to be second best to anyone until now. Emilu tells them to hurry up, and they crawl through the tunnel onto the campus. Elsewhere, Yahagi drives through the city with Haruka and asks why she wanted to take a ride with him. She tells him that her home is bugged, and she wants their conversation to be private. At the academy, Asuna enters the wrecked office that belonged to Professor Elmarit. She says that she was forced to participate in a combat simulator every day, and she hated it. Asuna feels something and runs away, saying she feels someone is calling her name.

In space, Marie slices apart a GM with her naginata. As if in a trance, Asuna says someone is calling her, and everyone asks whom it is. On the bridge of the Ericcson, Phara is informed that Zeon attackers have destroyed three EFF mobile suits. Tomas asks Marie if she’s going a bit too far, and she tells him to quit his complaining. She says he needs to take the EFF’s request as just a suggestion. Inside Achilles, an emergency siren sounds, and Shinn says they have to get back to the ship. Erisia tells Shinn and Emilu to return to the ship while she looks for Asuna. Asuna runs into a deserted part of the building and sees a young man named Akira. In space, Marie yells at Francis for firing off too many bazooka rounds. She tells them to quickly grab usable items from the wrecked GMs before the next wave of mobile suits attack. Asuna asks Akira why he’s here, and he says there’s no reason he shouldn’t be, since this is where they grew up. Asuna says she doesn’t have any happy memories of the academy, but Akira says he has memories of Asuna, who was his only friend. Asuna is overwhelmed by memories of Professor Elmarit yelling at her during training, and she falls to the floor, crying. Akira asks Asuna why she always stops there, because the only thing waiting for her is death. Erisia enters the room and feels the overbearing presence of Akira. He tells her she has good senses, for a normal girl. He says that he and Asuna are the result of a genetic engineering experiment designed to prove the superiority of Spacenoids. Asuna tells Akira to stop because this doesn’t involve other people. Akira asks if she would fight him, should he refuse. She says she doesn’t want to fight, and he tells her that’s where she goes wrong. Asuna and Erisia leave, and Erisia is caught up by Akira’s comment that she’s just “normal.”

As Asuna hurries out of the academy, Erisia wonders why she reacted so strangely to Akira. Akira said the word “New,” and she wonders if he was about to say Newtype. Outside, Emilu asks Asuna what happened and says she was worried. Shinn tells them to hurry up before they get in trouble. As they drive through the city, Asuna tells Shinn to take a shortcut through a side street, but they’re nearly run over by a large truck. Elsewhere, Yahagi and Haruka are stuck in a traffic jam. Yahagi is annoyed by the traffic control system, and Haruka comments that he hasn’t changed from when he was younger and became angry waiting for her. Haruka comments that she couldn’t wait for him, which is why she married Professor Elmarit. She says she was messed up 16 years ago, and though she respected Professor Elmarit’s work, she says he had no right coercing her into a genetic experiment. Yahagi asks about Asuna, and Haruka tells him she’s a normal girl. Yahagi drops Haruka off and tells her he has to return to his ship. On the Ericcson, Asuna thinks about what Haruka and Akira said to her. With the attack by Zeon remnants, Emilu wonder’s if they’ll be sent to fight. Erisia practices in the mobile suit simulator against a Zaku loaded with Asuna’s data. She loses, and Kerry mentions that she did better than any of them. Erisia asks how he knows, and Kerry says he figured it out based on Asuna’s recent data. He says her reaction times are in negative numbers, so she’s sensing things before they happen. He thinks Asuna could live up to being a Newtype, but Erisia tells him he shouldn’t mention that so casually. At home, Haruka looks at a picture of Asuna and regrets not telling Yahagi what she wanted to say. Later, Phara is informed that Haruka is requesting a meeting with Yahagi.

Asuna wanders through a corridor after curfew, and Shinn asks her what she’s doing. She tells him she wanted to draw to clear her head. Asuna hears footsteps, so she and Shinn hide in a room while Erisia walks by. Unfortunately, they’ve entered a solitary confinement cell, so the door won’t open. In another part of the ship, Forma tells Ryan he should calm down, but Ryan rebuffs him and says they have an enemy on their ship requesting a meeting. Ryan asks Forma how long he’s known about Yahagi and Haruka, and Forma says he heard it Yahagi himself. Ryan asks Forma if he knows, and Forma asks if he’s referring to Asuna being genetically engineered. Shinn tells Asuna to give up knocking on the door because someone will find them eventually. Asuna catches him looking at her sketchbook, and he says he just wanted a peek. Asuna tries to grab the sketchbook and falls on top of Shinn. Forma tells Ryan that he got Flanagan’s files from Rau, which is how he knows about Asuna. Ryan says the info was supposed to be top secret on the council, but the info is actually everywhere. Forma thinks it’s still secret, since many believe Asuna only had special training with the Zeon. Erisia walks by them outside the elevator and asks Forma if he thinks Newtypes exist. She says there have been rumors about a student not being normal, and Ryan knows she’s talking about Asuna. He brings her along to the room where Haruka is waiting. He asks why she would want to speak to Yahagi and not Asuna, and Haruka said she heard Asuna is causing Yahagi trouble. Ryan is suspicious that she wants to see Yahagi so late at night, and she says she doesn’t need him talking to her rudely. In the cell, Asuna and Shinn discuss the differences between growing up in space and on Earth. Asuna says she thinks humans can expand their senses, and she falls asleep on Shinn’s soldier. Ryan asks Haruka if Asuna is a Newtype, and Haruka feigns ignorance. Ryan then twists her arm behind her back and demands to know what Asuna’s abilities are, but Haruka says she’s a normal girl. Forma stops Ryan and takes Haruka aside to give her a message from Yahagi: he knows about Asuna and will protect his daughter.

Later, Yahagi finds Asuna and Shinn in the cell and put them on mobile suit and ship cleaning duty as punishment. Shinn blames Asuna for their punishment, but he wonders how Erisia knew they were in the cell. Asuna says it was Erisia who reported them to Yahagi. As the ship begins to leave Achilles, Asuna is happy to see Haruka at the port. As Asuna and Shinn talk, Erisia watches them from around the corner. She tells Kerry that if Shinn doesn’t get serious, he’ll die. Kerry says it sounds like Erisia is jealous, and he thinks she should act on her feelings. Erisia tells him there’s no point in acting on wishful thinking. In space, several GMs stop a ship that the Zeon pilots are traveling on to pick up Akira. Phara receives a request to pick up a life pod from a GM destroyed yesterday by the Zeon remnants. Forma wants no part of the mission, and Yahagi says he’ll ask Linny. In the mess hall, Kerry asks Shinn how far he got with Asuna, but Shinn blurts out that it’s not like that. Linny then steals Kerry’s drink because he has to recover the pod so the pilot’s body can be sent back to its family. Shinn asks for permission to come along, and Linny agrees. Shinn then launches in a GM Canard, followed by Linny in a GM Cannes. Francis spots their mobile suits and decides to attack them.

Shinn moves in to recover the pod, and he and Linny suddenly come under attack from Francis’ Rick Dom. Phara is informed of the attack, and Yahagi decides to launch. However, a GM has just launched with an unidentified pilot. The students wonder who the pilot could be, and Erisia knows it’s Asuna. In space, a Kampfer slices into Linny’s GM Cannes with a beam saber. The two Zeon mobile suits then turn their attention to Shinn’s GM Canard, which is only lightly armed. Shinn dodges their attacks and slams into Francis’ Rick Dom. He quickly moves behind the Rick Dom to stab it with his beam saber, but his arm is blown off by Tomas, who is piloting the ship. Francis then punches the GM Canard’s head area. Shinn begins to drift away, and Francis pulls out his heat saber. He quickly dodges an incoming beam blast and fires at asteroids to break them apart and crash into the enemy. He’s shocked when the GM Canard, piloted by Asuna, easily dodges and speeds through the debris. Asuna closes in on Francis and prepares to fire her beam rifle again.