Iron-Blooded Orphans Ep. 11: Human Debris

The Isaribi receives Akihiro’s distress call, but they suddenly pick up an Ahab Wave reaction approaching from behind. The Kutan Type-III booster flies by, and the Gundam Barbatos ejects and slams its sword through a Man Rodi‘s cockpit. Young Man Rodi pilot Vito is shocked by the death of his comrade Pedro and opens fire on the Gundam Barbatos, but Mikazuki uses Pedro’s suit as a shield and throws it at Vito. Akihiro thanks Mikazuki for saving them and asks about Nadi, who is flying out of control in the Kutan. Mikazuki says that he’s moving away from the enemies, so they can pick him up later. The Man Rodis attack again and deploy smoke grenades, so Vito tries to perform a sneak attack from behind. Mikazuki’s reaction speed causes Vito to realize that he’s also using the Alaya-Vijnana System. Akihiro and Takaki attempt to return to the ship, but they are attacked by Kudal Cadel’s Gundam Gusion and two more Man Rodis in a debris field. Mikazuki’s smoothbore gun has no effect on the Gundam Gusion’s thick armor, and he’s surprised by how maneuverable it is. Kudal attacks with his large hammer, but he only ends up hitting an asteroid when Mikazuki dodges. A Man Rodi rams into the Graze Custom and knocks the Mobile Worker‘s cockpit loose, which is grabbed by another Man Rodi. Pilot Masahiro is instructed to take the hostage back and hears Takaki mention the name Akihiro. Akihiro slams into the Man Rodi and demands that he give Takaki back, which causes Masahiro to recognize him. He establishes visual contact with his brother, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of Lafter’s Hyakuri and Azee’s Hyakuren. Akihiro uses their arrival to grab Takaki’s cockpit module and escape. Mikazuki and Kudal fight atop an asteroid, but Mikazuki has trouble penetrating his armor. Lafter moves to help Mikazuki, so Kudal falls back due to low fuel and fires signal flares for everyone to retreat. Akihiro tries to contact Takaki, but he gets no response from the damaged cockpit. In the Isaribi‘s hangar, the crew uses metal cutters to pull Takaki out of the cockpit, and a large amount of blood floats out of his pilot suit. Merribit grabs a medical kit from Kudelia and works to stabilize Takaki until a doctor arrives from the Hammerhead. Takaki is placed inside a medical nanomachine, and Merribit criticizes Orga for traveling in space without a doctor. Mikazuki stops by the mess hall and tells Atra and Nadi that Takaki is ok. Azee reviews the combat data and tells Lafter she identified the Rodi frames, and while there wasn’t enough data on the Gundam Gusion, its frequency was similar to the Gundam Barbatos. Orga and Biscuit arrive on the bridge in the middle of Naze’s conversation with Brooke Kabayan, leader of the Brewers pirate group. Brooke dismisses Teiwaz’s power, and Naze tells Brooke not to blame him if he regrets that statement later on. Orga reports on Takaki’s condition and mentions Merribit’s criticism, which Naze agrees with. Orga asks who the enemy is, and Naze explains that the Brewers are a pirate group that operates on the routes between Mars and Earth. They usually just take cargo, but in this case they also demanded Kudelia. Biscuit asks how powerful the Brewers are, and Amida answers that they’re not strong enough to take on Teiwaz, which makes Naze wonder if they have new supporters.

At Gjallarhorn’s Earth orbital base Gladsheimr 2, Ein is amazed to see the Earth below him. An officer insults Ein for being born on Mars, and his companion warns him that Ein came here on McGillis’ ship and that the Fareeds are one of the Seven Stars families that govern Gjallarhorn. Ein mentions that he reports to Gaelio, but the officer keeps insulting him and says that the Bauduins are also part of the Seven Stars. Ein thanks the officer for teaching a country hick like himself, so the man finally gives up and leaves. Ein says to himself that he’ll follow anyone so long as he gets the opportunity to kill those Mars boys. On Gjallarhorn’s Earth headquarters Vingolf, McGillis and Gaelio report to McGillis’ father, Lord Iznario. He’s pleased with the results of their mission and asks McGillis if he’s coming home, but he answers that he has new duties. McGillis and Gaelio head over to Gaelio’s house, where they’re greeted by young Almiria. As she prepares tea for them, Gaelio asks what they’ve learned from the little mustache, and McGillis explains that they’ve found Kudelia. Gaelio wants to fight them, but McGillis says that there’s no way he’d catch up to them in time because they’re on the dark paths off the regular Ariadne routes. He tells Gaelio to let the pirates who have been hired take care of things while they focus on the bigger picture, which is to reform Gjallarhorn. Gaelio points out that the corruption comes from the current regime that also ensures its power, so no one is trying to reform from the inside. McGillis thinks a powerful piece could shake up the regime, and he’s fine if that’s Kudelia. As they drink Almiria’s tea, Gaelio tells McGillis that he can change his mind now, because it’ll be too late after the engagement party. Kudelia blames herself for being useless again and is approached by Atra, Ride and some of the younger boys, who are collecting sweets for Takaki. Kudelia doesn’t think she can do anything, but Atra says she can visit Takaki. On the Brewers ship, Kudal beats Masahiro for losing the hostage. He yells at the other human debris for sustaining damage to their mobile suits, which he says are more valuable than they are. Masahiro signals the other boys not to intervene, and Kudal stops when he’s summoned to the bridge by Brooke. The other boys apologize to Masahiro, and Vito blames the enemy for Pedro’s death. Akihiro visits Takaki and wonders if he’s being punished, which Orga disagrees with. Mikazuki thinks that Akihiro isn’t acting like himself, and he explains that he ran into Masahiro during the battle. Akihiro was feeling good recently, so he forgot that he’s trash and is being punished for it. Orga states that he’ll take full responsibility because Masahiro probably didn’t want to be their enemy. He adds that if Masahiro is Akihiro’s brother, then he’s also a brother to Tekkadan. The rest of the crew show up to cheer up Akihiro, but Takaki wakes up and says he can’t sleep with all the noise. Later, Naze apologizes to Orga for getting them caught up with pirates, but Orga only wants to fight back because he doesn’t want cheap thugs looking down on them.