Amuro Deserts

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Synopsis
The White Base continues to cross the desert in Asia. It is the middle of the night. Amuro is busy crunching combat data from the Zaku that the crew managed to capture, and he is planning to use it to program more accurate combat patterns into the Gundam. Kai asks him what he's going to do for the new mobile suit that the POW mentioned, the Gouf. Amuro says that for that suit, he's basically just added a 20% increase in capability to the Zaku data. Kai then relieves Mirai from her post at the helm of White Base.

On her way back down to her room, Mirai checks in on Bright and the POW. Bright's trying to get Cozun to talk, but he won't. Later, as Amuro is walking down the hallway past Mirai's room, he slips in a puddle of water that is seeping out from beneath her door. The door opens and an agitated Kikka starts pleading with him to fix the tap, which has sprung a leak. Amuro enters the room and fixes the tap by fishing the knob out of the sink and screwing it back onto the faucet, although not before awkwardness ensues when a nude Mirai almost steps out of the bathroom in front of Amuro, not realizing he is there.

Elsewhere in the desert, Ramba Ral and Hamon Crowley are looking over a Zaku II that's just been repaired. The supply and repair corps depart in the Fat Uncle, and Ramba asks Hamon what movements the Trojan Horse has made. In reply, Hamon asks him what he hopes to get out of the upcoming mission. Ramba says that they are carrying out a vendetta for the Zabi family and that should they be successful, he will get a special two rank promotion. He says that the promotion is for his men and their livelihoods as well as for Hamon, who would then get to "live the good life" up next to the Zabi family, as the lover of a high-ranking officer.

Back on White Base, Job John and Omur Fang have thrown the POW back into solitary. Once they leave, the POW comments that the two didn't do a very good job of searching him. He proceeds to pull a fake molar made of plastic explosives out of his mouth, and the wire that is the detonator out of his pants. He attaches the wire to the tooth and wraps it around the doorknob, sparking the fuse and blowing the lock on the door to smithereens. He leaves the cell and starts down the hallway, but stops outside of Sayla's cell. He asks her if she's Zeon and offers to break her out, but instead she alerts the guards to the prisoner's escape. Cozun runs off into the depths of White Base.

Up on the bridge, White Base has begun to engage in a sortie as they approach a Zeon mining base. Bright has Amuro launch in the Gundam. Amuro rogers that, and says to have the Gunperry ready, as he may engage in a mid-air conversion. First, however - and without telling Bright - Amuro launches with Hayato in the Guntank. Hayato remarks that Amuro's going to catch hell from Bright when he finds out, but Amuro brushes it off.

Meanwhile, Bright's been informed that the POW has escaped. Bright authorizes the use of "deadly force" and entrusts Sayla with looking for Cozun. While Bright has Oscar search the ship, Sayla proceeds to the radio room as she suspects that Cozun would be trying to contact his unit. Sure enough, Cozun has broken into the radio room and is attempting to contact Ramba Ral. The bridge becomes aware that a message is being sent from comm room 2, so they cut the master comm circut - although not before Cozun is able to send some important data. As he leaves the radio room, Cozun bumps into Sayla and the two are taken by surprise. They scuffle, and he knocks her gun away, buying himself time to escape while she retrieves it. Mirai wonders how much data he was able to send.

Outside, the sortie rages on. Amuro and Hayato continue to attack the Zeon base with the Guntank. Amuro remarks that Bright doesn't understand tactics, and that it's not always best to send the Gundam out every single time. Meanwhile, the men at the base are wondering why the hell they're getting attacked. They haven't heard much from M'Quve but are getting assistance from Ramba Ral. Cozun is making a move to escape White Base and Sayla chases him to hatch 18. Ryu and Kai are launched into battle and Amuro is ordered to convert to Gundam. Ramba Ral launches with Gene and Stetch. Bright has White Base assault.

Meanwhile, Cozun has reached the airlock and locked himself inside, strapping on a nearby jetpack and preparing to bail out of the ship. Sayla can't bash the door in, nor can she shoot the lock open with her pistol. Omur notices and comes back with a bazooka, pointing it at the lock and firing. The ensuing blast not only blows the door open but catches Cozun in the back, injuring him and propelling him out the now-open outer airlock door into the desert below. Sayla and Omur look on in shock, and Sayla remarks that the same thing could happen to them.

Amuro prepares to launch in the Gundam and is told to cover Kai. He is surprised to see Salya on his monitor. Meanwhile, Kai is falling victim to Ramba Ral's Gouf and is completely freaking out. Amuro launches and gets to him in the nick of time. Amuro then fights the Gouf, and realizes that his combat data aren't any good. However, Ramba Ral is forced to retreat when a turret from White Base blows up a nearby mining base turret and creates a shockwave, which fries the joints on the Gouf. Amuro returns to White Base.

Up on the bridge, Bright is chewing out Amuro for not initially mobilizing with the Gundam, as per Bright's original orders. Amuro, of course, objects, asking if he and the other civilian volunteers on the ship are even actually soldiers. After Amuro leaves, Mirai says a few words in his defense, but Bright brushes them off.

Elsewhere, Amuro realizes that he is going to have to completely reprogram all of the combat data in the Gundam's computer. He then slips into a catnap. Soon after this, and unaware that he is there, Bright and Mirai step into the room and begin to talk. Bright has decided to take Amuro off the Gundam and replace him with another pilot. Mirai agrees, mainly because she feels that Amuro needs a break as he's been fighting constantly. Bright tries to place a hand on Mirai's shoulder, but she turns away - causing her to notice that she and Bright are not alone. By this time, Amuro is awake, and he has heard the entire conversation. His pride is deeply wounded. He runs out of the room crying. Mirai starts after him to comfort him, but Bright stops her.

Amuro reappears walking down the hallway in his street clothes. Fraw Bow notices him and asks him where he's going. Amuro tells her that Bright and Mirai have decided that he's useless, so he's leaving White Base. Fraw Bow tries to ask him more about it, but he yells at her and runs away. Amuro reaches the catapult deck, jumps into the Gundam, and launches it. Elsewhere, Bright is alerted to the Gundam's departure and runs up onto the bridge just in time to see it disappear into the black desert night. Without the Gundam, he wonders what he is going to do now.