Gundam 00 - 17

[Arika]

Summary:
As the Ptolemaios approaches the Trinity siblings’ ship, Sumeragi comments to herself on how the new Gundams aren’t like the first or second-generation types, nor were they listed in Veda’s data. The Gundam Meisters are similarly suspicious of these three new Gundam-like mobile suits that emit what appear to be GN Particles even though they don’t have the same GN Drives. They also wonder what the Trinity siblings’ goals are, and Sumeragi thinks that they’ll find out once they meet. As the two ships approach each other, everyone on the Ptolemaios is surprised to see that the Trinity siblings’ ship is emitting GN particles too. The hatch on the ship then opens, and the Gundam Throne Eins carries the siblings over to the Ptolemaios. They are greeted by Sumeragi and the Gundam Meisters, and when the Trinity siblings introduce themselves, Sumeragi notices how young they are. Nena really wants to meet the pilot of the Exia, and after Setsuna reveals that it’s him, she goes over and kisses him on the lips. Setsuna quickly pushes her away, telling Nena not to touch him, but that only serves to get her brother Michael angry.
Michael pulls out a knife and seems ready to fight, but the situation is diffused when Lockon’s Haro comes out to greet the purple Haro, referring to it as its older brother. Sumeragi then directs the group to a meeting room, and as the Trinity siblings float pass him, Setsuna isn’t too happy that these are the new Gundam Meisters. To Setsuna’s surprise, Tieria says that this is the first time that they’ve agreed on something, and when Setsuna isn’t sure what he’s talking about, Tieria notes that he should understand without it needing to be said. Once in the meeting room, Sumeragi and Tieria question why the Trinity siblings have Gundams that aren’t in Veda’s databanks. Johann, however, declines to answer and cites a confidentiality obligation. He also refuses to answer the question of where they got their GN Drives from, and it doesn’t help that Michael goes on to mock and insult the Meisters. Having heard enough, Tieria excuses himself from the meeting. Nena, on the other hand, is bored from all this talk and wants to go explore the ship, though she first asks Setsuna if he’ll come with her. When Setsuna refuses to acknowledge her, she warns him not to make her angry before heading off by herself.
One of the things Johann does end up revealing is that their goal is the eradication of war, but this doesn’t mean that they’ll be joining up with Lockon and the others. After stopping Michael from picking a fight with Allelujah, Johann explains that they have doubts about the current group’s intervention methods. And so, although they want Sumeragi and company to continue what they’ve been doing, the Trinity siblings will be using their own judgment to act. Sumeragi then questions if the Trinity siblings are necessary for Aeolia Schenberg’s plan, and Johann replies that that’s something that their actions from now on will show. Meanwhile, Tieria wonders who gave Gundams to those siblings is headed as he heads towards Veda’s room. To his shock, he finds Nena already there, having somehow gotten in, and when he questions who the siblings really are, she just winks at him and claims that it’s a secret. Shortly after, the siblings leave, and Ian reveals that he was able to examine the Throne Eins while the meeting was going on. Sumeragi, however, tells him not to input his report to Veda and instead to use a different computer terminal.
Over on the Trinity siblings’ ship, Nena claims that she fell in love with Setsuna at first sight and that doesn’t make Michael too happy. Their Haro then announces a new mission, and Johann feels that it’s necessary for them to show the world how serious Celestial Being is. Back down on Earth, Alejandro thanks Ribbons for some valuable information and says that he’s grateful to god for having met him. As for what he’s going to do, Alejandro says that he won’t be doing anything because he’s merely an observer who’s watching the transformation of the world. In Japan, Louise and Saji’s exams are finally over, and Louise is planning on returning to Spain to attend her cousin’s wedding. At JNN, Saji’s sister Kinue hears about the new Gundams from her coworker, and the first thing she wants is to hear from the soldiers who had originally divulged this information. Meanwhile, on a Union ship traveling over the Pacific Ocean, Graham is feeling unqualified to be a commander after failing his mission and losing three Flag pilots in the process, but Howard thinks that it can’t be helped due to how they couldn’t predict the appearance of new Gundams. Graham then gets a call informing him of how some mobile suits have entered the atmosphere, and he’s shocked to find out where those are headed.
At that very moment, at an MSWAD base in America, Professor Eifman has figured out that the Gundam’s energy generation engine uses topological defects and attributes this to why there are so few Gundams. The environment in which they can build such an energy generation engine is Jupiter, and Eifman remembers that there was a manned Jupiter probe project 120 years ago. He wonders if that project was connected to the development of the Gundam, and he realizes that if this is the case, then Aeolia Schenberg’s true goal isn’t actually the eradication of war. Before Eifman can get any further though, his computer screen suddenly displays a message saying, “You have witnessed too much…” A second later, the base’s alarms go off because three Gundams are approaching, and Eifman realizes that they’re after him. These Gundams are the Thrones, and Johann has Nena dock the Drei to the Eins so that they can finish this in one blow. The docking allows them to fire the Throne Eins’ massive cannon at the base, and it carves a swath of destruction that culminates in the destruction of the tower where Eifman’s office is, killing him.
Graham’s Flag squadron arrives too late to prevent this, and when Graham finds out that Eifman is dead, he attacks. On the Gundam side, Johann orders a withdrawal, but Michael wants to have some fun and sends out the Throne Zwei’s GN Fangs. Graham avoids them and has his squadron concentrate fire on the Throne Zwei, but Howard then breaks away from the group to make a direct assault. His Flag and Michael’s Gundam lock blades, however Michael quickly breaks the stalemate by plunging all six GN Fangs into the Flag. This disables the Flag, and Howard dies in the subsequent explosion. Afterwards, Michael is forced to withdraw from the battle because Johann says that they have another mission. Graham feels that they can’t give chase and, with both Howard and Eifman now dead, he’s frustrated by how many times the Gundams have disgraced him. Word of this attack soon reaches the Ptolemaios, but Sumeragi doesn’t know what the siblings’ goal was because even Veda hasn’t revealed anything, and Setsuna questions if those three are really Gundam Meisters.
In Japan, Saji says goodbye to Louise in the airport, though he shies away from kissing her like she wants him to. Louise thinks that he worries too much, however she admits that that’s what’s good about him.


Preview:


Well that kiss was rather unexpected, but it’s only one part of what makes the Trinity siblings very unsettling. Nena is playful, but she appears to be the kind of girl who takes what she wants, and she showed the dark side of herself when Setsuna didn’t acknowledge her. Johann meanwhile has that cold demeanor that makes you think he’d kill anyone without a second thought if he were ordered to, and Michael is clearly itching for a fight wherever he goes. Combine this with the sinister message that Eifman got before they killed him, and you’ve got the development of some major antagonists. It’s only a matter of time now before Setsuna’s group is fighting them.
In any case, I really like the direction the story is going in now and how they’re developing it - all of my earlier complaints about this show aren’t really valid anymore. The question now is who’s really behind all this, and what Aeolia Schenberg’s true goal actually is, but it looks like those won’t get answered immediately. Next week will probably continue to build the case against the Trinity siblings’ way of doing things, and it appears that Louise is going to go through some tragedy (probably the loss of her mother).