By Daryl follows Karla as she playfully explores a forested area. The two enjoy food with an older couple before leaving. Karla wants to enjoy the natural honey that the old people gave them and refers to Daryl as “daddy.” They leave the forest and return to the interior of a submerged Dolos ship hidden in the ocean. Due to the psychological trauma that Karla experienced at the end of the One Year War, she has mentally regressed to a child-like state. Because her father was also missing a hand, she has come to associate Daryl with him. His task is to help her recover her memories so that the Reuse Psycho Device can be recreated by the Zeon remnants. A female officer wants Daryl’s field work to be limited due to this project, but she’s told he has other duties. Daryl returns to work on his Acguy, which is being fitted with custom equipment for his next mission. Daryl’s Acguy team deploys in a Jukon sub that launches from the Dolos. On the Spartan, Io and Bianca complain to a mechanic about the slow repair process on the Atlas Gundam and Guncannon Aqua. Cornelius grabs Io by the ears and teases him for wrecking a new mobile suit. On the Jukon, the team reviews the mission plan, which involves their Acguys infiltrating the South Seas Alliance to recover a Zeon spy. Daryl’s team, which includes Fisher, Billy and Sebastian, launches from the Jukon. Elsewhere, the Spartan deploys its weapons, Core Fighters and GM Ground Type-Cs on its landing craft. Bianca and Io remain on standby since they have no mobile suits to launch in.
The Acguy team reaches land, and Daryl deploys reconnaissance equipment to update his map of the area and send it to his men. The Acguys begin their march. In the South Seas Alliance territory, the Zeon spy moves through the city as people stop everything to pray. The Zeon team encounters villagers in a small hut, and an Acguy gives chase when a girl tries to run away. The Acguy activates its heat hawk and accidentally sets a tree on fire. The girl then escapes and fires a signal flare. South Seas soldiers arrive and open fire as the spy reaches the forest. Several South Seas Dahle suits arrive and open fire on the Acguys. A group of South Seas Goufs flying on Dodai YS units surround the Spartan. Daryl’s team fights the Dahles while he searches for the spy, but he comes under attack and is knocked into a waterfall. The attacking Dahle pulls out its beam saber and moves in on Daryl. A woman identifying herself as Commander Peer demands that the Spartan fall back immediately. Io and Cornelius are shocked when they recognize the voice on the radio. Io examines a Core Fighter’s visual feed on one of the Dodais and is shocked to see Claudia’s face.
The story transitions from the Antarctic battle to the South Seas Alliance, which is now attracting the attention of the Federation and the Zeon remnants. Karla appears for the first time since season 1, and she’s not doing well. She has somehow regressed to a childish state, and Daryl is being used to stabilize her. It must be creepy to have her refer to him as “daddy” in a child-like manner when he has feelings for her, but that’s another story. This particular group of Zeon remnants is operating out of a massive Dolos ship hidden in the ocean, and I can’t even begin to imagine how something so big got to Earth and avoided the notice of the EFF. Daryl’s team goes out on a mission to pick up a spy, but it naturally all goes wrong and they end up engaging in combat. Echoing the manga version, Io and Cornelius get a big shock when they discover that not only is Claudia alive, she’s with the breakaway South Seas Alliance. There’s only one episode left this season, but there is still a lot of ground left to cover.
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