Inside the Capsule

Synopsis
In space, Lila lands on a battleship in her Galbaldy-β. She walks onto the bridge and talks to the Captain. He has been tracking an unidentified ship, which Lila is sure is associated with the earlier skirmish and Gundam theft at Green Noa 2. He agrees that it's definitely AEUG. Lila is glad to hear this, because it means there will probably be action later. She leaves the bridge.

Back on Green Noa 2, a banged-up Bright reports to Bask, who hands him a hand-written letter that is to be personally delivered to Jamitov. Bright turns to leave, and as he is walking out the door he passes Jamaican, who makes a deliberate point of slapping him on the back. The door shuts, and Bask tells Jamaican that Luna 2 has detected the ship that may have the Gundam thieves on it. Bask takes off his goggles and looks really creepy, and then muses somewhat ominously that one of the thieves happened to be the son of Franklin and Hilda Bidan.

Over on the Argama, Kamille sits in front of a cup of coffee while Quattro, Henken, and Blex talk to him. He tells them what he knows about newtypes, Amuro, and Green Oasis, and they congratulate him on helping them jack the Mk-II's. Quattro gets a phone call and the three are called away. They get Reccoa Londe to keep an eye on Kamille until they get back. In the elevator, the three men talk some more and wonder if Kamille is a newtype. Quattro thinks he has potential. Elsewhere, Lila launches her Galbaldy. She's supposed to inspect the Argama and the Mont Blanc, but the Captain seems to think she's gunning for a fight. She reassures him that she's not.

Quattro pays a visit to Astonaige, who has been analyzing the data that Quattro brought back from his reconnisance mission, and is handed a floppy disk with a copy of all of the data. He remarks that they may be headed for a battle and leaves the room. Just then, Kamille floats by and Quattro calls to him. He asks Kamille what he knows about the battleship construction at Green Noa 2, and then he talks about the Mk-II's armor. Kamille mentions that his parents, who were the Mk-II's engineers, said that they'd be using new armor and incorporating more Zeon technology into the next line of mobile suits. Quattro concludes that this means that the Mk-II will never be upgraded.

The Argama's living modules are pulled in and the bridge retracts in preparation for a possible skirmish. Elsewhere, Lila searches for the ship. The Mont Blanc signals to the Argama that they have detected a pursuing vessel. Henken decides he doesn't like the course the Argama is taking, so he calls up a map and gets Blex to help him plot a new one. They hope to avoid both Luna 2 and the garrison at Green Oasis.

Back on Green Noa 2, Franklin and Hilda Bidan are escorted onto the Alexandria. On the bridge of the ship, Bask Om is alerted to their presence and the ship's captain, Gady Kinsey, gives the order to depart. Bask grins deviously as they leave, musing that he wants to see how Blex will respond to whatever he's got planned.

Elsewhere, Lila finally spots the two AEUG ships and she fires a flare to alert her ship, the Bosnia. Now she begins to case the Argama. As she does so, she wonders what kind of ship it is, as it doesn't look like any Federation warship she's ever seen. She surmises that AEUG must've built it themselves. On the bridge, Henken and Blex prepare for sortie, but recieve the signal to halt any aggression. However, they still have Quattro prepare for a fast launch, just in case. Lila cases the Mont Blanc as well.

Lila comes back to the Argama and rests the hand of her Galbaldy on the bridge of the ship, startling everyone. Down in the lounge, Kamille and Reccoa get a TV full of mobile suit, which Kamille correctly identifies along with its battleship of origin. Outside, Lila threatens to destroy the Argama if it does not identify itself and shut off its engines. Quattro decides to launch, to intercept Lila, but she manages to evade his shots twice. Henken launches a second Rick Dias.

In the lounge on the Alexandria, Hilda attempts to strike up a conversation with Franklin by mentioning that she heard that Kamille stole a Mk-II and asking if it's true. Franklin says he basically has no idea, which irritates her. She claims he only thinks of himself, which causes him to angrily slam his book down and declare that he's thinking about Bask and the unsettling circumstances that the two of them are finding themselves in. She retorts that she thinks he's actually thinking about his mistress, Margarita. In response, Franklin slaps her.

On the Argama, Reccoa is fitting a space suit to Kamille. Everyone has suited up in anticipation of a fight. Kamille declares that now he can help out as an extra pilot, but Reccoa tells him not to be stupid - although he's got the look, that doesn't mean he has the skill. She tells him to stay put and keep out of the way. Outside the ship, Lila's Galbaldy is in a dogfight with Quattro's red Rick Dias. She wonders if he could be the Red Comet, and warns her teammates to be careful.

Quattro's got one eye on Lila and is about to shoot her until a GM gets in the way. On the bridge of the Argama, Reccoa and Blex cajole Henken into donning his Normal suit, which he hasn't done because he doesn't think they'll be hit. Kamille has no idea what's going on outside but wants to know. In space, Quattro muses that the pilots he's up against have clearly seen real combat. He fires a shot and manages to hit something just before the retreat flares are fired, calling Lila back. She hopes that her foe was the actual Red Comet, or else her combat performance is going to look really bad. Elsewhere, Quattro returns to the Argama and Kamille watches him in awe, stoked by the fact that he shot an enemy suit. Up on the bridge, Henken and Blex talk. They can't leave the area as fast as they'd like, and are unnerved by the enemy's sudden retreat. Henken muses that Bask will send out more ships and launch a second attack.

Elsewhere, a flotilla of Titans ships is cruising. On one of the ships, Jamaican is finishing a briefing. Jerid is given sealed orders that Jamaican tells him not to open until he sees the capsule that Bask is launching, and he also tells Emma that she will have only 15 minutes for negotiations aboard the Argama. Emma asks whether the capsule is a bomb but is given only a vague reply. Emma then stands and turns to the group in the room, stating that their objective is to negotiate the return of the Mk-II's. Jamaican wishes them all good luck. On the catapult deck, Emma launches in her lone Mk-II with Jerid and another soldier flanking her in Hizacks. Jerid wonders what his orders say.

The Argama sees Emma's group coming and signal to the Mont Blanc. She does not appear to be on the offensive, and a cease-fire is called. Quattro, among others, positions himself on the catapult deck to receive her. Emma comes in a Mk-II bearing a white flag. She lands, and declares that she has a message from Bask. She also tells those on deck that the Hizack above her will shoot if anybody approaches her Mk-II. She is taken aboard the ship to the Captain's quarters, and Kamille recognizes her as she walks past.

In the office, Emma hands over the note from Bask and says that she needs an immediate response as soon as he's read it. Blex does, and starts shaking with rage. He passes the note to Henken and asks Emma if she is aware of the letter's contents. Emma says no as Henken reads it and hands it to Quattro. Quattro reads the note and, with permission, hands it to Emma. She finally reads it and is utterly shocked. The note declares that Kamille Bidan's parents will be executed if he is not handed over along with both Mk-II's. Blex says it's a typical Titans maneuver, but Emma objects. Blex informs her that the Titans aren't a military organization so much as they are Bask Om's private band of thugs. Emma says she never agreed to join that, and declares that the Titans are supposed to be a branch of the Federation Forces. Quattro tentatively suggests that Bask might be bluffing, but Blex knows better.

Torres and another bridge guy, who'd been listening outside the door, hear about the hostages and start to spread the word. Down belowdecks, Astonaige finds out and tells his buddy, speculating that the hostages are Kamille's parents. Kamille is oblivious until he floats off to see what all the fuss is about and is inadvertantly told about his parents by another crew member. Up on the bridge, Blex is informed that a small capsule has been sighted. Henken turns on a monitor and brings up a picture of a small glass capsule with some red and green blinking lights on it. Out in space, Jerid also spies the capsule. Henken enters the bridge and sends out a telescoping camera to get a better view of the capsule and its contents. It is at this time that Jerid opens up his orders and reads them, which tell him to shoot the capsule if it is in danger of falling into enemy hands. Based on Emma's question at the briefing earlier, Jerid has decided that the capsule must be a bomb with enough power to destroy the Argama should one of their MS's retrieve it and bring it within proximity of the ship.

By this time, Emma is up on the bridge and is looking at the capsule onscreen. She is in utter disbelief. Blex wonders where the other hostage is, as there's only one person in the capsule. Blex wants to get Kamille up on the bridge to identify who's in the capsule, but Quattro scotches the idea. Kamille, however, has gotten down to the MS deck and has climbed into one of the AEUG's Mk-II's. He intends to launch into space in a valiant effort to save his mom. Up on the bridge, the others are made aware of this, but it is too late for them to stop him. Quattro dashes downstairs. Emma realizes that Kamille must already know who is in the capsule. Outside in his Hizack, Jerid wonders why Emma's in such a rush to leave until he realizes that the Mk-II that launched so suddenly isn't hers.

Jerid locks onto the Mk-II and starts shooting, until he notices it heading for the capsule. Inside the capsule, Hilda Bidan is beyond terrified, especially as she sees the Mk-II approaching her - she is unaware that her son is at the controls. Kamille closes in on the capsule and reaches out with the Mk-II's hands to pick it up when Jerid starts shooting, surmising that he will hit the "bomb" and blow up the Mk-II (as well as Kamille). Not so. The bullets from the Hizack hit the glass capsule, shattering it to pieces and exposing Hilda to the vacuum of space.

Kamille watches the glass scatter and his mother float away. On the bridge of the Argama, the crew - and particularly Emma - watch the events transpire in shocked silence. Over in his Hizack, Jerid wonders why there wasn't an explosion. A sick feeling of foreboding settles over him as he begins to realize that something is definitely not right. In the Mk-II, Kamille dissolves into hysterical sobbing as the realization that his mother is dead fully hits him.

Important Events

 * Characters Introduced: Lila Milla Rira, Reccoa Londe, Blex Forer, Henken Bekkener, Astonaige Medoz, Torres


 * Mecha Introduced: Galbaldy-β


 * Ships Seen For the First Time: Alexandria, Bosnia, Mont Blanc