Gundam Ep. 24: Black Tri-Star

At Granada, Kycilia isn’t happy with her subordinates and tells them to send the heavy mobile suits to Char before he joins the Mad Angler group. She’s informed that the Black Tri-Stars have boarded the Zanzibar and are on the way to join M’Quve with their Doms. On Earth, repairs continue on the White Base. Amuro shows Matilda a shortcut to the bridge, and they overhear Kai talk about how he wants a girlfriend like Matilda. Matilda tells him to concentrate on his work, and he says that since he’s embarrassed he has enough courage to ask her to take a picture. She agrees, and everyone crowds in together to take a picture with Matilda. On the Big Tray, Revil tells Elran that his troops are moving too slow and they need to speed up. He reads a new message and is shocked to learn that the Black Tri-Stars have joined M’Quve’s forces. He remembers meeting the vicious pilots when they captured him at the Battle of Loum. He decides that Operation Odessa must begin sooner than expected. Elran tells Judock to inform M’Quve that Operation Odessa’s start time is being moved up. Amuro and Matilda work on the ship’s engines, and he asks her why she joined the supply corps. She answers that in war, it’s the only part of the army that attempts to create things instead of destroy them. He says that she’s a strong person, and she thinks he’s teasing her. Nearby, the Black Tri-Stars Gaia, Mash and Ortega launch in their Doms and head for the White Base. They penetrate the defense perimeter, and Bright orders Mirai to send everyone out to fight. Hayato launches in the Guntank, which has been upgraded so that he can pilot it alone. He and Kai fire at the Doms, but they move too quickly. Sayla tells Mirai that she’s been asked to pilot the G-Armor, and Mirai wants to send Job instead. Sayla says they probably want someone more experienced, so she goes down to join Amuro. She’s unsure about the controls, but Mirai tells them they have to launch immediately.

The G-Armor launches from the ship, and Sayla has some trouble with the controls. Amuro fires the G-Armor’s cannons at the Doms, but he misses because of Sayla’s piloting. On the White Base, Matilda’s men work quickly to repair the engines so that the ship can take off. The Guntank moves too slowly, and its attacks are easily dodged by the Doms. Amuro and Sayla attack Gaia, but he’s able to dodge their attacks. Amuro wants Sayla to fly behind the mountain so that he can separate the Gundam from the G-Armor. She doesn’t think she can dock the G-Armor parts, and he tells her he has confidence in her. He notes that now he’s telling her what she always tells him. They fly behind a mountain, and Amuro separates the Gundam. Mirai worries about everyone, and Matilda says that she must be the worrying type. Amuro attacks the Black Tri-Stars, and they dodge him. They then approach him to use their Jet Stream Attack where they all attack at once. Matilda takes off in her Medea to help defend the White Base. The Doms all attack Amuro at once, and he’s barely able to dodge the attack. When they try again, Amuro uses Gaia as a springboard and rams his beam saber through Mash’s Dom. Matilda’s Medea approaches, and Ortega jumps on it and smashes the cockpit. The plane crashes into the ground and explodes. Furious, Amuro slices through Mash’s Dom and destroys it. Gaia and Ortega are shocked that he defeated the Jet Stream Attack, and they retreat to rethink their tactics. Revil is informed of the battle, and he orders Elran to begin Operation Odessa immediately. As the repaired White Base takes off, Bright and the rest of the crew gather on deck to have a military funeral to honor Matilda and all her soldiers who were killed repairing and protecting the ship. Sayla blames herself for not being a good enough pilot, and Amuro thinks about the last thing Matilda said to him.