SYNOPSIS

The Solo Ship arrives on Ajian, where Vice Commander Cobol receives them. The refugees are allowed to disembark, while Sheryl is given permission to use the base computer for her analysis of the Ideon and Lou is treated for his illness. However, Cobol insists a team of his officers are sent onboard the ship. The following Gije is able to capture an Ajian-bound freighter in Null Space, and also launches a devastating attack on the planet with sub-light missiles, destroying half the planet's surface. Gije then uses the freighter to get a trio of Zigg Mack mechas to the same base as the Solo Ship. He orders the Ajian authorities to hand over the colonists, or have the remainder of their planet destroyed. The base commander, however, orders his units to attack the Zigg Macks, and capture the Solo Ship for themselves. The Ideon units launch to try and help the Ajian military, outmatched against the Buff Clan.

Two Ajian soldiers arrest Sheryl, trying to take the data she has with her, but they are killed by falling debris. She heads back to the ship, passing Karala on the way and making her realise she can't stop the fighting. The battle has also progressed to the nearby city, causing the Ideon pilots to hesitate, while the Ajian forces are now openly attacking both sides. They finally form Ideon, but a second wave of Sublight missiles are already heading to the planet. Moera realises this, but a Buff Clan attack removes one of the Ideon's legs. The Zigg Macks are soon destroyed anyway, although Gije escapes, and the Ideon heads for space to see if it can intercept the missiles. The first missile wipes out the Ajian command centre, but then the Gauge comes to life, as Lou revives in the Solo Ship's nursery. Cosmo is at a loss at to how the stop the missiles, until Kasha spots a flashing button on the console. He presses it, and a hatch opens in the Ideon's chest, releasing a vortex that removes the missiles from existence. The shaken colonists then leave what's left of Ajian behind.

NOTES

Sheryl Formosa: Her father was a well-known scientist (well, his name is known, though as Sheryl is mistaken for him his face presumably isn't) - Sheryl less so.

Rapappa: Now has his own spacesuit. I'd bitch about the difficulty they had finding one for Deck making it rather implausible they'd have one for a twin-tailed squirrel, but it's cute, so it can fly.

Karioka: This ship also seems to be used as an interceptor type by the Earth Union - managing to make the Cavian-Crosus look useful by comparison

Ajian: An Earth colony. The commander is never named, but most of the military are wiped out in this attack, as well as over half the planet from the Sublight missiles. One unfortunate resident has a poster of Char Aznable from Mobile Suit Gundam on their wall (around 7:45 in).

The Ideon: The weapon seen at the end is the Black Hole Generator, in its' only appearance. The robot loses a leg to Gije's Zigg Mack, but seems unaffected. The missile ports still respond to Deck's commands, before the leg returns to the Solo Ship under its' own power,

The Solo Ship: It's unclear (and never really covered) what happens to most of the civilian refugees. They were going to be dropped off at Ajian, but are rarely seen again (not that they were much before this). Do they disembark before the Sublight missile attacks? Are surviving refugees left at Ajian (unlikely as they'd be treated as pariahs)? Are they all killed on the ground? Do they return to simply being unobtrusive on the ship? It's likely if there was half a chance of staying on Ajian the chilredn would have been left behind, so it's probably fair to assume most of the civilians either never leave the Solo Ship, or return to it in the wake of the Buff Clan attack.

REVIEW:

The series jumps into life with something of a mini-epic. There are some interesting things said about Earth colonies, with Sheryl admitting they all tend to think of themselves first, and the base's personnel are such a greedy, ignorant lot it's hard to feel much sympathy as they're wiped out.

Meanwhile Gije ups the ante, and in both the Sublight missiles and the destruction of the Ajian military shows their technological superiority over Earth. The battle is incredibly violent, including pilots getting mutilated in their crashing jets, and an amazingly harsh sequence where a girl and her cuddly pet are wiped out...

The overriding impression is a rather bleak view of the human race, and it's blessed with a very sober atmosphere.