Zeta Gundam Ep. 25: Colony Drop

The Argama and Radish descend toward Granada and halt their mobile suit launch when a Hi-Zack approaches carrying a white flag. Sarah asks for permission to land and claims she has information valuable to the AEUG. The Argama lights up one of its launch catapults to signal that she can land, and she’s met by four armed crew upon exiting her cockpit. Sarah tells her story and claims that the Titans are going to initiate a colony drop using a space colony from the ruins of Side 4. Wong, calling in by video, asks Bright if he thinks this is a trap, and Bright answers that Sarah is young and it doesn’t seem like a lie that she’s grown sick of the Titans’ ways. Kamille asks about the news of a Side 4 colony moving, and Wong answers that they have confirmation from Granada but don’t know where it would hit the Moon. Katz notes that Sarah said the colony would hit Granada, and Reccoa thinks they should trust Kamille’s instincts that Sarah is being truthful. Wong dismisses Kamille as someone being flattered as a Newtype and constantly giving his unwanted opinions. Bright asks Wong to tend to the evacuation of civilians and vows that they won’t let the colony hit the city. Bright wonders what the Titans really intend if the colony drop is just a feint, but Sarah says that as a low-ranking officer she wouldn’t know. Caesar escorts Sarah to a locked room, and Katz blushes when Sarah waves at him. Caesar warns Katz not to interact with Sarah because she could still be an enemy. Kamille tells Katz he could get in trouble again if he sticks around, and Katz leaves. Kamille then enters the room and asks Sarah who ordered her to come here. Sarah comments that Kamille believed her from the start, but he responds that he only believed the part about the colony drop. He thinks it’s too hard to steal a Hi-Zack and escape the Titans, and Sarah says she risked her life coming to the Argama. She thought she could trust Kamille, and he asks if “he” told her she could trick people by saying that. Sarah lets slip Scirocco’s name, and Kamille recognizes him as the captain of the Jupitris. Sarah tells Kamille that he’s wrong and that it’s Jamaican’s ways that she couldn’t tolerate. She cries and says Jamaican’s plans will kill millions of innocent people, and Kamille asks if Scirocco would be inconvenienced by the colony drop succeeding. Before leaving, he asks Sarah if she’s a Cyber Newtype, but she says nothing. Kamille locks the door and tells Katz that Sarah is dangerous. Katz comments that Cyber Newtypes are supposed to be emotionally unstable but she doesn’t look that way, and Kamille hopes that she can become an ally. Jamaican watches from the Alexandria as a derelict space colony is moved toward the Moon. He thinks that this is an easy way to stop the AEUG and something that not even Scirocco could come up with. An officer thinks Scirocco is using battle to release his frustrations after returning from Jupiter, and Jamaican explains that they gave up Von Braun so easily after occupying it because Scirocco kept coming and going selfishly. He declares that the Alexandria can’t return to Gryps until they redeem their honor. On the Radish, Henken is informed that Side 4’s Colony 27 is on the move, and a crewmember displays several possible routes on the computer, which includes a hit on Granada. Emma asks about the enemy battle strength, and Henken answers that it can’t be too much since they’re trying not to be noticed. She comments that it must be a strong enough force to carry the nuclear pulses needed to move the colony, and Henken distractedly stares at her before saying that she’s going on a dangerous mission. He says that the Titans will use the nuclear pulse when they want to change the colony’s course, so he’s worried about radioactive contamination. Emma comments that she’ll be safe in the cockpit, and when Henken worries that she might not be able to have children, Emma nervously states that she has no intentions of getting married. Emma sits down for a drink in the break room and tells herself how awkward that was. She then prints out a fortune from a small device at her table which states that she’ll be proposed to soon. Kamille eats in the mess hall with Fa and Katz and warns Katz not to get close to Sarah. Katz asks why it’s wrong for him but not Kamille, and Fa says that Kamille is just cautioning him. Katz counters that Kamille isn’t his superior, and Kamille wonders how Amuro would react to that. Katz gets up to leave and says that has nothing to do with it, especially since they’re not on Earth. Fa comments that she heard Kamille gets very serious when it comes to Sarah, and she mentions that he went into Sarah’s room alone. Fa then heatedly states that Kamille isn’t an intelligence officer and it’s not his job to interrogate defectors. She asks if it was OK to go into the room alone, and Kamille says it was a mistake and apologizes. Fa wants to know if something happened between them, but Kamille insists that nothing happened. Reccoa delivers a meal to Bright, and he comments that this might be the last meal he enjoys in peace. Reccoa doesn’t like the implication, and Bright comments on how the enemy has sent a child into their midst. Reccoa asks if he thinks that Sarah is a spy, and Bright answers that when it comes to using Newtypes in battle, age is irrelevant. Bright is a bit nervous since he sent Emma to the Radish, but Reccoa thinks that Kamille is doing well, even with Fa nagging him. Bright comments that Kamille has grown cautious with his intuition but is still young. Reccoa reminds Bright that he said age is irrelevant with Newtypes, and he answers that he’s not convinced yet that Kamille is one. The Radish picks up the colony approaching the Moon, and Henken concludes the targets must be either Granada or Von Braun. Bright realizes that they’ll have to send different messages depending on which city is targeted, and he orders the mobile suit teams to prepare for combat. With the Alexandria hiding behind the colony, Jamaican tells his pilots to prepare for battle and says they’ll receive a week of paid vacation for this operation. Yazan complains in the pilot’s locker room about having to fight so soon after retreating from Von Braun, but Jamaican hears that and tells him one pilot’s feelings won’t change the operation. Yazan wants to carry out a frontal attack, and Jamaican asks him to think about why he’s a squadron leader now. 

On the Argama, Tripper launches in a Rick Dias with Shackles, and Katz brings Sarah a normal suit. Sarah asks if Katz should be here now since he’s a pilot, and he mentions that there aren’t enough mobile suits. Sarah suggests using her Hi-Zack, but Katz answers that he has no experience with it. Sarah hugs Katz to thank him for bringing the mobile suit and offers to show him how to pilot the Hi-Zack. She says Katz could get her to the mobile suit deck if it looked like he was escorting her. Sarah asks if Katz is a Newtype and says she’d love to see him in battle. On the Radish, Emma complains about the G-Defenser not being ready to use and says she might not make it back without it. Henken apologizes to Emma about it not being ready, and she launches in the Gundam Mk-II. From the Argama, Reccoa takes off in the Methuss, followed by Kamille in the Zeta Gundam. In Granada, Wong speaks over video with Melanie Hue Carbine and states that they shouldn’t say anything that could cause a public disturbance. The city’s mayor then forces his way into Wong’s office and says he’s going to evacuate civilians to the underground tunnel because he’s tired of hearing AEUG talk about war tactics. Wong disagrees and asks the mayor to trust in the AEUG’s battle strength. The mayor argues that civilian lives are at risk, and Wong assures him that the Argama and Radish will win, because if not the Earth will eventually be destroyed. Wong asks him not to call for an evacuation that would cause the citizens to doubt the AEUG, and the mayor takes that to mean that if the AEUG fails, they’re all dead anyway. As the AEUG mobile suits approach the colony, the Argama targets its main cannon at the colony to knock it off course. Jamaican has the Alexandria return fire on the Argama and Radish and wonders where Yazan has gone off to. Yazan’s team engages the AEUG, and Katz tells Astonaige that he’s brought Sarah down because the bridge says her Hi-Zack is blocking the launch catapult. Emma fires on a Hi-Zack as she approaches the colony to activate its nuclear pulse engine. Outside the Argama, Sarah tells Katz that the Gaplant has a blind spot from below because it was produced in a hurry. She then tells Katz that he’s nice and she’s glad to have him before she pushes him away from her cockpit. Sarah then takes off in the Hi-Zack as Katz futilely fires his pistol at her. Fa comes outside and asks Katz what he’s doing, and he responds that it wasn’t his intention to let Sarah escape. Kamille takes damage while fighting Yazan, who performs a double beam saber attack on the Zeta Gundam’s waverider nose. Fa radios Kamille and tells him to attack from below, so he gets into the Gaplant’s blind spot and fires his grenade launcher. Yazan is forced to retreat and wonders how Kamille knew his weak point. Another Hi-Zack attacks Emma, but she kicks it away and damages it with her beam saber. Emma finally reaches the colony and activates the nuclear pulse engine to change its course. Jamaican knows that the colony’s course can’t be changed again, meaning that the operation is a failure. Based on the latest projections, Bright announces that the colony’s altered course will cause it to crash 180 kilometers away from Granada. Wong and the mayor have a drink to celebrate the AEUG’s victory. The colony crashes into the Moon and kicks up a massive cloud of dust. As Katz is placed in the brig, Kamille thanks him for the information about the Gaplant, and Reccoa tells Katz to stay in a seiza sitting position while thinking on what he’s done. Katz cries alone and wonders if humans are so hard to trust.