Mobile Suit Gundam SEED/Recap/Ep 08 Songstress of the Enemy Forces

Lacus Clyne emerges from the life pod in the Archangel's hanger, accompanied by a Haro, a small spherical robotic toy. Lacus and the crew members stare at each other for a long moment before Lacus observes in a cheerful tone that this must not be a ZAFT ship. Natarle facepalms at her attitude. The ship's senior officers question her in a bunk room. Most of the Heliopolis recruits attempt to eavesdrop with their ears against the door, but their bickering alerts Natarle, who sends them packing. Lacus introduces herself (and Haro) in a friendly tone, apparently undisturbed by her situation. Mu observes that her last name is the same as the ZAFT Supreme Council Chairman. Lacus excitedly confirms that Siegel Clyne is her father, and asks if Mu knows him. Mu facepalms. Murrue asks her what she was doing in the debris belt; Lacus tells her that her ship was visiting the Junius 7 wreckage for the first anniversary of the Bloody Valentine tragedy, but they encountered an Earth Alliance vessel. They asked to be allowed to board in order to inspect the ship, which Lacus allowed. They became agitated when they discovered the reason for the ship's presence in the debris belt, however, and the dispute quickly escalated until it engulfed the entire ship. The ship's crew shoved Lacus into the life pod and ejected her during the chaos. Mu asks her what happened to her ship after that; Lacus says she doesn't know, but hopes that they were able to resolve the issue diplomatically.

At a military base in the PLANTs, Athrun is dragged out of the shower by a phone call. He is told that the Vesalius is leaving earlier than planned, and he must be aboard before it departs. After acknowledging the message, he turns on the TV, and hears a news report that the Silverwind, the ship bringing Lacus to Junius 7, has dropped out of contact. As Athrun boards the Vesalius, he encounters Rau and his father. They tell him that the Vesalius is heading out to search for Lacus; when Athrun asks why a warship is being sent on a search-and-rescue for a civilian vessel that hasn't even been confirmed to be in trouble, his father tells him that although it hasn't been made public knowledge, a reconnaissance GINN searching for the Silverwind has also gone missing. He explains that since Athrun and Lacus' engagement is public knowledge, and Lacus is a well-loved public figure in her own right, Athrun must participate in the search for her. After Patrick leaves, Athrun asks Rau if he's supposed to put on a show for the public, playing the valiant hero rescuing his bride-to-be. Rau responds that it's either that, or return home weeping bitter tears over her corpse; but whatever happens, Chairman Zala has decided that Athrun must be the one to do it.

The Archangel departs the debris belt, having completed their resupply. Lacus sits alone in the same room where she was questioned earlier, talking to Haro. Kira is thinking about the GINN he was forced to destroy, when he hears Flay arguing with Miriallia. Miri wants Flay to take a tray of food to Lacus, but Flay refuses to have anything to do with her, saying she's too afraid to get near a Coordinator. Miri gets mad at Flay for saying that in front of Kira, but Flay says that it's different because Lacus is with ZAFT. She says that because Coordinators are faster and stronger as well as smarter, she wouldn't be able to defend herself if Lacus attacked her. Kuzzey, watching the argument, points out that Lacus doesn't exactly look like the vicious type, but Flay counters that you can't tell what a Coordinator is capable of just by looking at them; she could be really strong and dangerous. Lacus, now standing in the doorway, very politely asks them who they're talking about.

Noticing their startled reactions, she apologies for causing a disturbance, but explains that she's both hungry and thirsty, so she went looking for something to eat. Both Kuzzey and Flay express amazement that they would leave a person from ZAFT in an unlocked room. Lacus says that she actually called out to see if anyone could hear her before she left her room, but no one came. She also tries to explain that she's not with ZAFT, as ZAFT is the military arm of the PLANTs, and she's just a civilian, but Flay interrupts her, insisting that it makes no difference because she's still a Coordinator. Lacus insists that even though she's a Coordinator, she's a civilian just like Flay is, so they're really more similar than different. Flay yells at her, saying that she doesn't want any Coordinator trying to be friendly with her. This seriously upsets Kira; he leaves to take Lacus back to her room, with the tray of food that Flay and Miri were arguing over in the first place. After they leave, Kuzzey asks Flay if she's a member of Blue Cosmos. She angrily insists that she's not, but says that she doesn't completely disagree with them either -- she believes that anyone who uses Genetic Engineering to enhance their abilities rather than just fixing genetic disorders is going against the natural order of things.

In Lacus' room, she asks Kira if she really has to stay there again. He says that it would be better if she did. She complains about having to eat alone, saying that she'd much rather eat in the dining room where she could talk to everyone. Kira says that she should remember that she's on an Earth Alliance ship, and many of the people on board don't like Coordinators, because the two sides are enemies. Lacus says that she thinks that's a shame, but thanks Kira for being kind to her anyway. Kira tells her that it's because he's also a Coordinator.

Mu and Murrue discuss the situation, coming to the conclusion that they have no choice to bring Lacus with them to the Atlantic Federation's lunar HQ. Murrue says she wishes they didn't have to involve a civilian girl in the war like this, but Natarle points out that they've already involved all the Heliopolis recruits, and that Lacus isn't just a normal civilian -- she's the daughter of ZAFT's leader. Some time later, the Archangel detects a coded signal from the Earth Alliance's 8th Fleet. Decrypting the message, they realize it's from a force under an Admiral Halberton. This news causes the bridge crew to celebrate, reasoning that if they can link up with his fleet, they can finally breathe a sign of relief.

Miri tells Tolle about the exchange between Flay and Lacus. As Kira leaves Lacus' room, Sai finds him. He tells Kira that Miri told him about what happened, and says that Kira shouldn't let it get to him, promising to talk to Flay about it later. As they stand outside Lacus' door, they suddenly hear her singing. We're shown a flashback of Kira's conversation with Lacus. He says he's kind to her because he's also a Coordinator, but she replies that it's because he's just being himself. She asks his name, and he introduces himself as the flashback ends. Listening to the singing, Sai comments on how beautiful her voice is. Kira agrees with him, but Sai wonders aloud whether or not her singing voice was just part of her genetic enhancement as a Coordinator, a question that disturbs Kira. Back in the dining room, Kuzzey and Flay are sitting at opposite ends of the table. Kuzzey stands to leave, but before he does, he reminds Flay that Kira is also a Coordinator, which lets him do things like pilot the Strike.

On the Vesalius, Ades reports that they've detected Earth Alliance vessels. Rau points out that they're positioned along the path that the Archangel would take while traveling from Artemis to their lunar HQ. Ades speculates that they may be resupply ships or escort vessels. Rau orders him to shadow the enemy ships without letting themselves be detected (while continuing to look for Lacus, naturally). He tells Ades that an opportunity like this one is more important than one girl.

On the Archangel, the refugees are looking forward to meeting up with the allied fleet and being able to leave the ship. Sai tells Flay that her father is with the advance fleet, and that he should learn that she's aboard the Archangel soon, since they just forwarded a list of passengers and crew to them. In the hanger, Kira apologizes to Murdoch, the chief mechanic, for being late. Murdoch says that it's no big deal, since Kira probably won't ever have to pilot the Strike again anyway. In her room, Lacus talks to Haro, asking it if it knows where the ship is headed. Haro, as always, a lot to say, but none of it useful.

Tropes used in this episode:

 * Cute Machines: Haro, who is also a Series Mascot for Gundam as a whole.
 * Face Palm: Lacus' behavior seems to inspire this reaction in people.
 * Fantastic Racism: Flay displays some against Coordinators.
 * The Ingenue: Lacus certainly acts this way.
 * Lonely Together: Kira and Lacus definitely have this vibe; each is isolated (Lacus by her association with ZAFT, Kira by his responsibilities for protecting the Archangel), and can only really unburden themselves to the other. Being the only two Coordinators on the ship doesn't hurt either.