SYNOPSIS

The Moonland personnel help resupply the Solo Ship. Joliver is continuing the research into the Ideon Gun, and they find out its' technology is completely different to their own. Some distance away, Rukuku's squadron recovers Daram's escape capsule. They are detected by the Solo Ship, which prepares for battle, finding that both Earth and Moonland are abandoning them. Left unsupervised due to the colonists' lack of manpower, Ashura, Fard and Lou sneak onboard the Ideo-Delta. Both the Ideon Gauge and the Ideon Gun react to this. Outside, the Moonland troops finally grow fed up with the presence of the Solo Ship, and begin attacking. Sheryl wonders if their aggression is related to the Ideon Gun charging up, and tries to get everyone to stop fighting. No-one listens, and it takes a diving tackle from the lurking Gije to save her life. He then knocks her out, and takes her into the Solo Ship. Suddenly, Rukuku's fleet arrives above the moon and launches an attack.

The Solo Ship takes off to defend itself, and the Ideon jets are launched. However, the new Adigo units are fast and powerful, so they dock into Ideon immediately. The barrier on the Solo Ship is failing, but the barrier for the Ideon is getting more powerful. An All-Directional Missile Attack wipes most of the Adigo mechas out, but then Cosmo realises the children are onboard. Unable to return them to the Solo Ship, he makes them as safe as possible onboard and continues with the battle. Inside the Solo Ship, Gije tells Sheryl of his wish to learn of the Ide. As the battle rages, the large Buff Clan heavy mecha named the Barume Baram splits in half, and surrounds the Ideon. It beams a Gel Zone onto the robot, trapping it and mentally attacking the occupants. All seems lost, but the Ide reacts to Lou's distress. The Ideon acts independently, beams of light sprouting from its' wrists and forming huge energy swords. Cosmo regains his composure enough to use these to destroy the Barume Baram, and escape back to the Solo Ship. A stunned Rukuku orders a retreat, while once again the colonists are shocked at the raw power of the Ideon. Meanwhile, Sheryl has kept Gije from the others, and finds him a room to hide in. He tells her his life is in her hands.

NOTES

Gije Zaral: Gije's encounters with the Ideon have left him fascinated by the Ide. He says he now only wishes to learn about it, and considers living in dishonour to be a small price to pay.

Earth Union: The Union has an array of Sublight missile satellites stationed around Earth.

The Ideon: The Ideo-Nova section has secondary flight controls located in it in combined mode, and Moera briefly takes overall control of Ideon.

Adigo: A new Buff Clan mecha (though Karala recognises it, though it wasn't completed when she knew of it - being conventional Buff military, it probably isn't as advanced or as covert as the Ome Foundation's machines) is seen - a medium-sized unit that's available in large numbers, unlike previous types. Their particle cannons are incredible, apparently. The type's agility and small size does mean it gives a good account of itself.

Barum Barame: A huge mecha, like the Galbo Jick specifically designed to combat the Ideon, this splits in half and projects a Gel Zone between its' two sections. Considering the size and anticipated one-off use, it's fair to guess this is a one-of-a-kind type.

REVIEW:

The overall arc of the frosty relationship with Earth is starting to drag just a little, while the actions of the Moonland staff, who go from helping the colonists to attacking them in minutes, are also a problem, so this isn't quite up to the recent standard.

However, it's still damn impressive. The big plus is Gije, who develops more in this episode than he did in twenty-odd, though considering he's been stiffed over by both the Buff military and the Ome Foundation, it's not surprising he's so obsessed with the Ideon, while the new, fragile Sheryl makes a good foil for him. While the Barum Barame is probably a new high point in the weirdness scale in terms of design, it leads to the stunning reveal of the Ideon Swords, making this episode manages to top even the previous one for a powerful climax.

Some sort of overall direction for the colonists would be nice, though.