Gundam GQuuuuuuX Ep. 8: Falling on the Moon

In December UC 0079, the Zeon attack the EFF’s Luna II asteroid base. M’Quve comments to his subordinate Uragang that the base would’ve fallen three days earlier had the Big Zam squad been deployed at the start of the battle. Uragang remarks that they then would’ve owed Gihren a favor and M’Quve dismisses that because he only cares about practical benefits. Uragang then notes that excluding Char from the operation also wasn’t to their benefit and M’Quve asks if Uragang is suggesting that he’s jealous. Their conversation is interrupted when a subordinate news about Solomon, which the EFF captured and renamed Confeito. The EFF has attached nuclear pulse engines to Solomon and set it on a course to crash into the lunar city Granada, where Kycilia is based. From the escort fleet, Wakkein comments to another officer that they’ve lost the war but will drag Zeon down with them. An emergency evacuation order is issued at Granada and a subordinate asks her to leave as well. She answers that if a Zabi were to run away it would be bad for morale. She’s then briefed on the grimness of their situation – most of their fleets were committed to the Luna II attack and there’s little chance of reinforcements from A Baoa Qu. Kycilia comments that Granada is Zeon’s lifeline and that independence is unattainable without it. All they have left is Char’s fleet of four ships, led by the Sodon. Kycilia gives orders for Char to intercept Solomon and wonders how Casval will do. Char outlines a bold plan to end the threat by entering Solomon through the auxiliary dock and detonating four unmanned Zakus at designated implosion points to blow up the main rector and break the space fortress apart. Char notes that the EFF will do a final acceleration, but if Solomon’s center of gravity has shifted, it’ll go of course. Dren notes that the EFF has an escort fleet at Solomon and Char responds that they’ll just have to break through. In a corridor, Challia comments that Char seems to have planned an attack on Solomon in advance and he responds that he has to think ahead because the Zabi family will be their next enemies after this war ends. Char launches in the Red Gundam, followed by Challia’s Kikeroga. The two head in and blast a path through the enemy forces for their fleet. The Swamel’s starboard engine is hit and Char is annoyed that his bits are already out of propellant. The Sodon reaches the fortress and rams into the auxiliary dock. Multiple mobile suit teams launch with Zaku torsos rigged to explode. Char orders two of his escort Zakus to help Tokwan. He tells himself that the EFF put together a good plan and he’ll put it to his use. He rips the bomb off the Zaku torso, which will prevent it from exploding and ensure that Solomon falls on Granada. He then spots a white Light Type Guncannon and thinks it must belong to the EFF Newtype ace who defeated Dozle. The EFF pilot opens the attack with a hammer and the two then fight with beam sabers. Char is about to blast the Guncannon with his beam rifle, but he has a Newtype reaction and realizes that the enemy pilot is his sister, Artesia. He pulls back on the attack and Artesia fires her beam cannon, causing the tunnel to collapse on the Red Gundam. As Solomon continues its course, Char comes to and sees the psycommu system start to glow. The fleet misses the deadline to detonate the four Zakus in sync, so Dren orders everyone to fall back. As Solomon approaches Granada, Kycilia realizes they may have expected too much from Char. The Red Gundam’s psycommu reacts to another mind, and Char wonders who it is. A bright pink light emanates from Solomon, and Kycilia overhears mentions that the Rose of Sharon is missing. Challia hears a mysterious sound coming through the psycommu system and picks up Char talking to someone, asking if they’re from the other side. Challia and Char experience the kira-kira and Char proclaims he can see time before vanishing in the Zeknova. With a large chunk of Solomon destroyed by the Zeknova, the smaller space fortress harmlessly enters orbit of the moon. Five years later, Challia is convinced that Char is alive somewhere.

Kycilia serves a slice of pie that she baked to Nyaan, now in a Zeon uniform. Kycilia mentions hearing that Nyaan wants to study at a Zeon university, and Nyaan fumbles to respond. Kycilia boasts that the Zeon Institute of Technology is a distinguished academic institution. She adds that prior to Zeon’s independence the colonies were seen as worthless gatherings of refugees. She asks Nyaan what she thinks has made Zeon so strong, and Nyaan answers the resentment of oppressed Spacenoids. Kycilia counters that if it was resentment that would’ve ended once it was dispelled. Kycilia declares that you can’t become strong unless you look further ahead and says that if Nyaan can live up to expectations, she’ll get a scholarship. Nyaan asks what she has to do and Kycilia answers that she wants her to cause a Zeknova. After the meeting, Xavier drives Nyaan around Granada and asks how she learned to pilot a mobile suit. She answers that she encountered one while escaping from Side 2, and Xavier apologizes for bringing it up. He then asks if she’s counting on the scholarship money and she tells him she has no interest in studying at all. He notes that she’ll need a degree for Zeon residency and says it’s tough being a wanderer, but he got lucky. Nyaan sees a beret and file folder in the backseat and Xavier explains he just visited the cemetery. Xavier thinks back to meeting with another man who mentioned that the new mobile suit must be cursed because both pilot candidates have been killed. At the Granada Navy Yard Research Laboratory, Xavier shows Nyaan the new GFreD, a second GQuuuuuuX unit. Xavier then introduces Nyaan to his friend Miguel Serveto, who comments on Nyaan being the third pilot candidate for the GFreD. Xavier recalls how he was part of a group of four classmates and they celebrated him being selected to pilot the GQuuuuuuX, which Miguel baked a cake for. Nyaan comments that she’s jealous because she never had a friend who baked a cake for her, so Miguel offers to do so to welcome her. As Nyaan looks at the GFreD, Xavier wonders why its pilot candidates keep dying, and Miguel notes that military investigators found nothing. He says they suffered heart attacks during training, but Xavier doesn’t think that can be a coincidence. Miguel responds that assassination could be a possibility and notes that if Nyaan dies it won’t be seen as a chance occurrence. Nyaan then sneaks up on them and asks if she’s going to be killed. Xavier drives Nyaan to where she’s staying and explains that Kycilia and Gihren haven’t met in person since the war ended because each is afraid of an assassination attempt. He adds that Gihren probably doesn’t like that Kycilia has the monopoly on psycommu technology, which is why there’s rumors of him developing clone Cyber Newtypes. The clones are rumored to be ready for combat soon, so Xavier thinks Gihren wouldn’t want the GFreD to have a pilot before that happens. Xavier says assassins could even be lurking in Granada, but he and Miguel will protect her. Xavier drops Nyaan and tells her to get rest before her evaluations tomorrow. Nyaan then gets a call from Miguel and returns to the mobile suit hangar because he baked her a cake. He explains that he baked a cake for each classmate who was selected to pilot the GFreD. He says they won’t be able to meet up like this once tests start, so he figured he’d do the cake now. Nyaan stops before eating the cake and asks if she’ll die from eating it too. Miguel responds that he didn’t expect the third candidate to figure it out so quickly and pulls a gun on her. He tells Nyaan she has no idea what Kycilia is up to and no one would be surprised to learn why he did it if they knew the reason. Xavier enters the room with a gun drawn and asks Miguel what he’s doing and why he’s a spy for Gihren. Miguel admits to taking orders from Gihren’s intelligence people, but he says he killed the candidates of his own volition because he didn’t want to see them become Diablos. Xavier doesn’t understand and Miguel states that they were good people and he wanted to protect their gentle spirits. Nyaan kicks up the table and runs away, climbing up the GFreD as Miguel shoots at her. She reaches the head and thinks about how the GFreD looks like Kycilia. Miguel gives chase and tries to shoot her again. Miguel takes aim and tells Nyaan that by killing her she won’t have to become a Diablo. Nyaan connects to the GFreD’s psycommu and causes it to move, and Miguel demands to know if she’s already a Diablo. The GFreD deploys two bits that fire and disintegrate Miguel while also blasting a hole in an exterior-facing wall. Later, Xavier meets Nyaan at her lavish quarters and comments that having such a big window is one of the greatest luxuries in Granada. Kycilia reads a report on Nyaan’s Newtype abilities and tells Atharv that it’s rare to see one in times of peace who wasn’t cultivated at the School. Atharv prepares to serve tea and is shocked when Kycilia pulls a gun on him. Kycilia says she knows that Atharv provided the poison to Miguel, and he explains that he was thinking about Zeon’s future because Yomagn’tho can’t be allowed to operate. He declares that it’s an instrument of pure evil that would annihilate all of humanity, and Kycilia counters that’s why she can’t let Gihren get his hands on it. She then shoots Atharv and wonders if fate is being guided by Char. At a spaceport, a blonde-haired man named Shirouzu greets a woman named Tirza. She makes a comment about him being assigned to the Yomagn’tho site and mentions that the Gundam FreD has a bright future ahead. Everything is going smoothly, but she wishes they could find the missing Rose of Sharon. Elsewhere, Xavier relays to Nyaan the news he just heard that the GQuuuuuuX escaped from the Sodon. Nyaan figures that Machu went to Earth alone and asks where it is, but Xavier explains they can’t see it because they’re on the far side of the Moon.