Mobile Suit Gundam SEED/Recap/Ep 03 Collapsing Land

The surviving Earth Alliance personnel -- Murrue, Kira and his friends, Natarle and the crew, and Mu -- gather on the Archangel. They recap the situation -- most Earth Alliance personnel, including the senior officers and the G-pilots, are dead, making Murrue the commanding officer, and Kira and his friends are in custody due to being exposed to military secrets. Mu speculates that Kira is a Coordinator, which Kira confirms. The Archangel's crew reacts badly to this, but Tolle tells them off, insisting that he's got nothing to do with ZAFT despite being a Coordinator. Murrue orders them to stand down, pointing out that Heliopolis is territory of Orb, a neutral nation. Kira confirms that his family moved there to avoid involvement in the war, especially because he's a first generation Coordinators -- his parents are Naturals. Mu apologizes for accidentally causing a problem, explaining that he knew Kira must be a Coordinator because he had watched the G-pilots training to operate the G-weapons -- as Naturals, they had to struggle just to get them to move at all.

Mu points out that the Le Creuset team is waiting for them outside the colony, and they can't afford to stick around for very long. The Archangel's remaining crew hurry to load weapons, parts, and supplies onto the ship, while Kira and his friends wait in a bunk room. Kira has fallen asleep; Miriallia points out that he's exhausted by the day's events and they should give him a break, but Kuzzey says that he's capable of doing amazing things (such as rewriting the Strike's OS) with just a little extra effort, because he's a Coordinator. On the bridge, Murrue, Natarle, and Mu discuss what to do with the civilians. The evacuation has caused Heliopolis' shelters to go into complete lockdown, so they can't leave the kids in one, even if they hadn't been exposed to military secrets. Murrue decides that they'll have to rely on Kira and the Strike in the coming battles, or they have no chance to survive.

The ZAFT pilots launch, and Athrun disobeys orders by taking one of the stolen Earth Alliance units and going with them. Kira initially refuses to pilot the Strike, but grudgingly agrees to when it becomes clear that it's the only defense they have and he's the only one who can. The ZAFT pilots attack, Athrun included; the Archangel identifies his mobile suit as the X303 Aegis. Kira attaches the Sword Striker, equipping the Strike with an anti-ship sword and a beam boomerang, and launches to defend the Archangel. The battle does major damage to Heliopolis, destroying support pillars and blowing holes in the hull. Kira manages to destroy one of the GINNs, killing Miguel. The Strike and the Aegis face off, but do not attack each other -- Athrun contacts the Strike, confirming that the pilot is indeed Kira. While each asks the other what they're doing on the battlefield, Heliopolis breaks up around them, ejecting the shelters as lifeboats and throwing both Kira and Athrun into space.

Tropes used in this episode:

 * Doomed Hometown: Bye-bye, Heliopolis!
 * Mauve Shirt: Bye-bye, Miguel!
 * The Reveal: Kira being a Coordinator. A not-quite-First Episode Spoiler.
 * You Are in Command Now: Murrue, as the senior surviving crewman, becomes Archangel's commanding officer.