Gundam Legacy Vol. 3

In December UC 0079, GM Cannon pilot Lydo Wolf struggles with properly controlling his mobile suit during a battle against the Zeon in Africa. His superior, Vince, tells him that they’re pulling out because Lydo’s custom black colors stand out too much. Back at the base, a female mechanic complains to Lydo about how much trouble he’s creating for repair crews. Two pilots gossip about how Lydo was a former ace fighter pilot with the nickname “Dancing Black Devil,” but since switching over to a mobile suit, he’s had zero kills and always damages his suit. Vince yells at Lydo for his lack of team coordination and orders him to run 10 laps around the base and then file a report. After finishing his laps, Lydo runs into a civilian woman named Nethrine, who has brought bread for Vince. Lydo offers to take the bread to Vince and then notices a Medea land on the base. He walks over to a hangar and sees Vince inspecting a new support craft called Lightliner that allows a mobile suit to fly. Vince explains that he asked for fighters and got this instead, and Lydo yells that he’s not giving up his mobile suit. Vince thinks that the Lightliner might help Lydo regain his edge, and the two sit down to eat Nethrine’s bread. Lydo says that Vince should go out to meet her, and Vince answers that after the war is over, he’ll deal with her feelings for him. An alarm sounds from an enemy attack, and Vince tells Lydo to use a Guncannon since his GM Cannon is still under repair. Vince sees Nethrine still at the gate and tells her to go back to her village, and she tells him not to go out to the desert today because his soul will be taken by the death god. Vince dismisses that as superstition and assures Nethrine that he’ll be fine. Vince’s team mobilizes and engages the Zakus, a Gouf and Dopps. The Gouf targets Lydo, but Vince blasts it. A Zaku opens fire on the base, and the Gouf slashes Vince’s Guncannon in half. Nethrine mourns Vince’s death after the battle, and the EFF soldiers prepare for the next attack. Lydo personally paints his Guncannon black out of anger over Vince’s death, and he vows to become a death god himself. The Zeon forces prepare to attack the EFF base at sunrise, but they suddenly come under fire from Lydo’s Guncannon attacking from above with the Lightliner. Thanks to the Lightliner’s mobility, Lydo shoots down the Dopps and then lands to destroy the Gouf. The scared Zeon commander sees the color scheme of Lydo’s Guncannon and calls it a black death god. Having regained his edge, Lydo destroys 21 enemy units during the African sweep operations, thus reviving his nickname as the “Dancing Black Devil.”

On April 30, UC 0084, Zeon remnants occupied the Bangahr Corporation’s facilities in the lunar city Ayers amidst riots over labor negotiations. Engineer May Kauwin stands in a crowd in Ayers and is watched by a man with binoculars. Three GM Quels from the Titans anti-Zeon task force enter the city and are fired upon by the remnants’ Zaku II F2s. The Titans quickly dispatch the Zeon remnants, and during the confusion a cloaked man grabs May and drags her away. Ford, one of the Titans pilots, gets a radio message that a guerilla escaped with a hostage. Ford tells his teammates that they have to go after the hostage. The cloaked man, ex-Zeon soldier Jake Guns, puts May in a car and drives away. May asks Jake why he’s doing this, and he answers that the war isn’t over. He still wants to fight for Zeon now that the Zabis are gone, and he wants May’s help to get a certain unit operational. She asks what he wants to do with that unit, and he says he wants to take back the pride of Zeon. Jake takes May to the Ayers spaceport, where he’s hidden a mobile suit to escape with and rendezvous with his allies. Jake explains that many Zeon remnants are hiding on Earth and waiting for a chance at revival. May breaks free of Jake’s grip and tells him that she’s not going anywhere because the war is over. The man with binoculars watches them from nearby, and Jake shoots a security guard who shows up and questions him. May applies pressure to the man’s wound and tells him he’ll live if he applies pressure. Jake drags May to another area and is knocked out during a surprise attack by Matt Healy. He asks May to come with him and explains he was sent to protect her by Ken Bederstadt. Matt introduces himself as a former EFF pilot and mentions that they’ve met before, although she might not remember. May recalls their encounter during the One Year War, and Matt tells her he’s just a private citizen now living in Australia. May asks how Ken is because she hasn’t seen him since the end of the war, and Matt answers that he serves in the Republic of Zeon now. May is glad that Ken was able to come back to space and reunite with his family. May asks why this is happening, and Matt says that she’s caught between the Titans and the Zeon remnants. Ford shows up in his GM Quel and blocks their path. He reveals that he’s research May and knows her background, and he has to detain her so that the Zeon remnants can’t get to her. Matt declares that May isn’t going anywhere, and Ford is suddenly attacked by Jake’s Zaku. May pleads with Jake again to stop, but he tells her that as long as they live, Zeon can fight. She says no one from their old unit would want this, and Ford uses his rifle to destroy Jake’s right arm. Jake is knocked back and finds May in the path of his rifle, so he decides it might be better to kill her if he can’t bring her with him. Ford calls Jake a coward for using civilians as a shield, and Jake kicks him. He tries once again to grab May and is blasted from above by Agar’s GM Cannon II. Agar asks Ford if he’s OK and yells at him for running off on his own again. The Titans take Jake into custody, and Agar decides to leave May in Matt’s care after confirming his identity. Agar mentions that he’d hoped to meet Matt someday, but never expected it would be under these circumstances. Ford apologizes since he didn’t know Matt was a former ally, and Matt tells him he needs to be level-headed when piloting a suit. Ford becomes agitated, but Agar tells him that Matt is right. May wonders if another war will start, and Matt answers that too many people don’t want the last one to end. Elsewhere, a Zeon HLV enters Earth’s atmosphere and lands near the EFF’s Khartoum Base in Africa. A Gelgoog emerges from the HLV, followed by two Zakus piloted by Charlotte and Nicki. Ken exits the Gelgoog’s cockpit with his hands up and declares that he has no intention of fighting.

An EFF convoy traveling through a jungle is attacked by Zeon remnants led by Renchef. After eliminating the EFF soldiers, Renchef inspects their cargo and is pleased by what he finds. Ken, Charlotte and Nicki are taken back to the Khartoum Base to meet in secret with the base’s commander, Shurtz Norman. Ken explains that they violated the Granada treaty because they’re on a personal mission to prevent the use of a weapon of mass destruction. Ken mentions that Zeon remnants came into possession several weeks ago of a dangerous weapon transported under Norman’s orders. Nicki explains that the remnant leader is an old comrade of his, and he’s come to talk sense into him. Norman demands to know how they got this info, and Ken answers that he has no interest in the weapon other than preventing its transport into space. Norman asks why he should trust them, and Ken mentions that he’ll lose his position if news of the theft leaks. Ken says he knows where the remnant base is and notes that they have common interests. Norman assigns a mobile suit team led by Max to accompany Ken’s team to the remnant base. After Max launches, Norman tells him not to trust the Zeon. After traveling for some time, Ken explains that the remnants are using an abandoned supply base from the war. Charlotte spots what she believes is a camouflaged entrance, and Max is shocked because the base is along their patrol route. One of the GM Type Cs accidentally triggers a booby trap, and a Gallop emerges from the base with the weapon in its cargo container. Renchef launches in his captured GM and demands to know who is piloting the Gelgoog. Ken identifies himself as being with the Republic of Zeon, and Renchef dismisses him as a Federation dog. Charlotte and Nicki try to chase the Gallop, but Charlotte is suddenly attacked by Sophie’s Dom Tropen. Nicki calls out to Sophie and tells her she’s attacking Charlotte, and she responds by ordering them out of their Zakus. Max fires at Renchef, but Renchef dodges. Renchef tells Ken not to do anything or his teammates die, and he uses the opportunity to escape. Max asks Ken what the remnants are trying to smuggle to space. On the Gallop, Renchef punches Nicki and calls him and Charlotte Federation dogs. Charlotte asks Renchef what he hopes to accomplish, but he tells her to shut up. He calls the vaporization warhead an iron hammer for their decaying brethren that will show everyone the war isn’t over yet. Charlotte tries pleading with Sophie, but Sophie responds that they took different paths four years ago in Africa, and this is her choice. Matt and May go to the jail cell where Jake is being held, and May slaps him across the face. As they surveil the Gallop, Ken explains to Max that a vaporization warhead went missing during the war and was discovered in a vault at the Khartoum Base. Norman never reported it to the EFF and secretly sold it for profit. Ken asks Max why he’s still hanging around, and Max answers that he can’t sit still because he saw a vaporization warhead first-hand at Port Moresby. Even though his hometown was saved, he lost his best friend and thinks that weapons like this drive people mad. Ken spots a Komusai II coming in for a landing and tells Max they can’t wait for EFF backup. Ken and Max attack Renchef, and Sophie cuts Nicki and Charlotte’s ropes and runs off. Ken tells Renchef to surrender and asks if he’s fighting to protect something. Ken says he knows who he has to defeat because he has something to protect. Max pulls Ken out of the way before bombardment from a Mini Tray hits Renchef’s position. The Komusai II manages to take off with its cargo, and Ken jumps into the air to shoot it down. However, the Komusai II accelerates quickly enough to escape the atmosphere and achieve orbit. Nearby, EFF Military Police arrive to take Norman into custody. In space, a Zeon ship rendezvous with the Komusai II capsule, and the warhead is transferred over by Lilia, Gusta and Huyman.

Lilia, Gusta and Huyman transfer the vaporization warhead to the Zeon remnant satellite base Dodoss, where it is loaded onto a delivery vehicle. To penetrate Side 3’s defenses, the warhead will be transported on a nuclear pulse booster designed for interplanetary travel. Their original intention was to have it be unmanned, but without May’s help they had to adjust to a manned Kampfer serving as the control unit. Lilia comments that its silver color is like Mallet’s hair. Gusta thinks they should cancel the operation, but Lilia insists that she’ll pilot it. On the Moon, Matt tells May that they haven’t located the warhead yet, so they’ll have to try to stop the attack themselves. May asks if Ken is coming back to space, but Matt explains that he’s under house arrest. However, he foresaw this situation and dispatched his teammates to the intercept point. Matt also mentions that he sent their intel to Ford and Agar because he has a feeling they’ll help. On an Alexandria cruiser, a Titans captain informs Ford and Agar that they won’t be doing anything about the vaporization warhead because it’s an internal Zeon problem. Ford notes that the warhead belonged to the EFF originally, and the captain tells him to mind his place. In the corridor, Ford angrily asks Agar why he didn’t say anything, and Agar answers that he was given transfer orders for causing trouble. May calls Douglas Roudan, now a senior officer in the Republic of Zeon, and he vows to her that Jake won’t be harmed. Douglas tells May that Side 3 will be fine, and he asks May to thank Matt for his help. Lilia takes a shower and thinks about Mallet telling her that as a soldier of his she shouldn’t fear death. She recalls him saying that Zeon wouldn’t die as long as he lived, and she vows to keep fighting. In a corridor, Gusta tells Huyman that Lilia has been acting strangely recently, and he’s not comfortable about attacking Side 3. They accidentally walk in on Lilia half naked, and she tells them to wait outside. Gusta still thinks they should call things off, but Lilia refuses and vows to use the Silver Lance to show the pride of Zeon as Mallet would’ve wanted. Huyman asks Lilia if she thinks Zeon still has pride, and she responds that they’re all in this by their own choice. Ford launches in his GM Quel and is joined by two teammates, including Tokushima, who expresses his displeasure about Agar’s transfer. Ford tells Tokushima that talk like this will get them all transferred, but he’s decided that he’s sick of the Titans. Lilia launches in the Silver Lance, with Gusta and Huyman hitching a ride in their Rick Dom IIs. Lilia activates the sub boosters to begin accelerating for lunar orbit.

At a briefing, Douglas announces that the Silver Lance passed L2 and is undoubtedly heading toward Side 3. An officer notes that the power of a vaporization warhead hasn’t been tested in a vacuum, but Douglas counters that it could be used inside a colony to cause massive damage. Douglas has dispatched a unit with the experimental Jormungand cannon to destroy the Silver Lance. A Zeon team commanded by Garsky Zinobaev intercepts Ford’s team, and Ford explains that they’ve come to help stop the attack. Garsky doesn’t trust the Titans, and Ford rips off the Titans patch from his pilot suit and declares that he doesn’t care about a court-martial. Garsky laughs because he heard about Ford from Matt and May, and he’s thankful for the help. A Zaku Flipper detects the Silver Lance and sends coordinates to an operator who fires the Jormungand. The target is destroyed, but additional identical targets appear. The Jormungand can’t fire again so quickly, and Ford wonders which of the targets is the real Silver Lance. Huyman reports to Lilia that the enemy interceptors fell for the decoys, and she states that no one can stop the Silver Lance once it reaches maximum acceleration. Ford stumbles upon the real Silver Lance and is attacked by Huyman and Gusta, but Tokushima arrives to offer backup and is shot in the process. Agar joins the battle in his GM Cannon II and is accompanied by Matt and May in a civilian model Ball. With the help of Anaheim employee Tracy Lamour, the plan is for Matt to fire an anchor at the Silver Lance. Agar braces the Ball so Matt can target the Silver Lance and asks if it isn’t better to shoot it with his cannons, but Matt answers that he doesn’t want to do it that way. Agar comments that not wanting to kill isn’t how a soldier is supposed to think, and Matt is reminded of how his orders caused his friend Larry to die during the war. Lilia shoots at Agar and Matt and misses, and Mat fires the anchor and latches onto the Silver Lance just before it reaches full acceleration. Matt reels the Ball in to the Silver Lance’s main body, and he and May don normal suits to infiltrate the Silver Lance. May hacks a computer terminal to cut off Lilia’s connection to the Silver Lance. May then starts the deceleration process and tells Matt that this was originally called the Legacy System and intended for space development. Lilia shows up with a gun drawn and tells May to stop what she’s doing. Lilia screams that she’s carrying out Mallet’s will, and Ford is shocked to hear that name. Garsky corners Gusta and Huyman and tells them to surrender, and Lilia fires the gun, hitting Matt in the arm. Matt tells Lilia that revenge solves nothing and only creates more hatred, and she’s just doing the same thing as the people she hates. Lilia drops the gun and returns to the Kampfer, which she ejects from the Silver Lance. She declares that Mallet’s will lives on in her, so she’ll keep fighting. Ford blocks her path and admits that he killed Mallet during the One Year War, so she should hate him. Lilia attacks Ford by slamming a sturm faust into his GM Quel, but the explosion causes no damage. Later, prisoners Renchef and Sophie are placed on a shuttle for transport back to space. Douglas calls Blex Forer and thanks him for the intel he provided, but he laments that they couldn’t find evidence of the Titans being involved in the incident. Blex thinks that the Titans probably intended to use this incident to push their agenda by manipulating the Zeon remnants into attacking Side 3. Six months later, Ford and Agar serve as mobile suit instructors following their expulsion from the Titans. Ford complains about driving through extreme cold, and from a nearby Command Vehicle, Miyu and Noel joke about him having to be out there another three hours. Agar laughs and says he has no boring days with Ford. At the Arti Gibraltar spaceport, Matt tells May that Ford and Agar managed to get off with expulsion from the Titans and a two-rank demotion. May is glad that everything is over, and Matt thinks about how the chain of tragedies are the legacy of the One Year War. But Matt believes it’s possible to learn from tragedies and leave a legacy for the next generation. May is happy to be reunited with Ken and runs over to greet him.