By Following the end of the One Year War, the Zeon forces retreated and split in two: one portion went with Delaz, and the other went with Maharaja Karn on the asteroid base Axis. Now, the Axis Zeon, including young Haman Karn, send an advance fleet to assist Delaz in his attack on Confeito. The Axis Advance Fleet, commanded by Yuri Hasler, makes contact with the Delaz fleet and sees Earth. In the shoal zone around Confeito, Kou’s GP01Fb and Keith’s GM Cannon II destroy several Zakus that are trying to join with the Delaz fleet. In another part of the shoal zone, Delaz wonders if this operation will be successful. Since he is using all of his forces, there is no second chance. If they fail, they will have to retreat again like at A Baoa Qu. In the Solomon Sea, Gato’s forces prepare their mobile suits for attack. Karius finds Gato sitting alone, and Gato says he has doubts about what he is doing. He thinks he is standing on the sacrifices of the dead, and Karius says that is the destiny of a commander. Gato agrees with him and prepares to fight. Kou and Keith return to the Albion, where Kou has a brief encounter with Nina. She’s flirting with him again, but he’s in no mood to hear her talk about sweaty people and oil. They hear someone screaming and run down the hall to find Monsha violently interrogating a Zeon pilot. Kou tells him not to do that, and Monsha says there’s no point in following the rules of the treaty. At Confeito, General Wyatt begins the naval review, hoping to lure the Delaz fleet in and crush it.
The Delaz fleet launches its mobile suit force that consists of Zakus, Rick Dom IIs, and Dra-Cs. Gato launches in the GP02A, followed by Karius in a Rick Dom II. The Albion goes on battle alert and sends out all of its mobile suits. Wyatt gives a speech to the EFF ships about the One Year War and goes on to talk about naval review trivia. He babbles on about King Edward III beginning the tradition of naval reviews in AD 1341. Gato can’t stand to hear his speech, but the speech is providing them with the fleet’s location. He remembers what Delaz told him at A Baoa Qu and continues toward his objective. Kou destroys a Dra-C suit and continues on course for Confeito. Wyatt is told that the Delaz fleet has made contact and begun the attack. The Zeon encounter defense satellites and squads of GMs. A Rick Dom II following Gato and Karius is destroyed by an automated gun satellite. The Albion receives pictures from the satellite, and Sinapus tells Kou and the others that Gato is in the area. Gato fights off several GM Kais, and Karius says he will stay behind to fight them. Kou and Keith are ordered to intercept Gato and head for his location. Gato finally arrives at Confeito and loads the GP02A’s nuclear warhead onto the bazooka. He flies right by a group of ships and over Confeito. He targets Wyatt’s Birmingham and declares that he has returned to Solomon. He fires the nuclear warhead at the EFF fleet, and Kou watches in shock from nearby.
This episode is kind of slow until the end. We briefly get to see another side to Gato, when he doubts what he is doing. He is usually the blind Zeon patriot and little more. It’s a shame that he, like Delaz, is a nice guy who is fiercely devoted to a genocidal maniac (again, Gihren of course). Kou and Nina’s relationship doesn’t really seem to be going anywhere and is locked in a repeating cycle of flirtation and anger. Monsha’s ethics are shaky in this episode, and he’s acting very much like the future Titans do. Speaking of Zeta Gundam, we do get to see a brief cameo by Haman Karn, who is a major villain in that series, as well as the main villain in Gundam ZZ. There will probably be a few more cameos before this series ends.
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