Al holds on to Garcia's truck as it drives through the city. Al takes notice of where they are headed, but Garcia takes a sharp turn, and Al is thrown from the truck. He gets an idea and decides to visit the police. He tells them that the four trucks are suspicious, but the police don't believe what he is says. He tells them that he is the victim of a hit and run, and they decide to investigate the matter. They go to the warehouse district and find the Zeon trucks. The cop asks Steiner questions, and Al identifies Garcia as the driver who hit him. Garcia says that isn't true and calls Al a liar. The cop thinks they are all very suspicious, and he says he wants to investigate what they have in their containers. They hesitate, and the cop demands that they open the container. Misha holds a gun and prepares to kill the cop. Al notices that and suddenly grabs Bernie and begins crying. He says that Bernie is his brother and he lied to get near him because he hasn't seen him for so long. Bernie plays along and tells Al that he shouldn't like to the police. The cop leaves, and Al asks Steiner to make him part of the team. Bernie says he can't be on the team because they aren't playing games. Steiner agrees to let Al join the team if he promises not to tell anyone what is going on. Al shows Steiner the specifications of the spaceport where the cargo container was stored. Steiner gives Al a Cyclops Team badge, and Bernie takes him home. The badge is bugged so that they can listen in on Al. Garcia still wants to kill him, and Misha is glad Bernie is out of the way. On the way home, Bernie tells Al how grim war is and lies about being an ace pilot. Al's mom yells at him about his bad grades, and he goes to his room. Later, she leaves to go out to a woman's meeting. Al hears Chris scream that she found a prowler, and he sees that she hit Bernie with a bat and knocked him unconscious. He tells her that Bernie is his brother, so she tells her parents not to call the police.
Al and Bernie go to Chris' house, and Bernie explains to her and her parents that he is Al's half-brother. Chris' parents embarrass her by saying she's a hothead and let slip that she joined the Federation Forces. She says she does only data entry. Al says that Bernie is a real soldier, and he quickly says he was discharged and is now back home working in a factory. The next day, Al leaves his house and meets Telcott and Chay on the street. They want to go to the part and play war, but he tells them he's busy. He visits the warehouse and sees that the contents of the container were parts for a new Kaempfer mobile suit. Al tells Steiner that Bernie should be the pilot since he's one kill away from being an ace. Steiner says Misha is more experienced, and Garcia and Misha make fun of Bernie and say they expected twenty kills out of him. At the secret Federation Forces base, Chris tests out the new Gundam G-4 Alex in a simulation against Gelgoogs and Zakus. Her response time on the Alex is average, because this new model is built specifically for a Newtype. She wonders if anyone can control the Alex, and a mechanic tells her that person would have to be a freak. He also mentions that the Alex is going to be sent to Amuro Ray on the White Base. Work continues on the Kaempfer, and Steiner, Garcia and Misha complete assembly of the suit. Al and Bernie watch a building, and Al figures out it's the Federation Forces base by recognizing the man he saw at the spaceport. They head underground using the Colony Corporation's tunnels, but all passages to the base are blocked. Against Bernie's judgment, they then don normal suits and go out of the colony to find another entrance. Al sees the wonder of space as he flies across from one end of the colony to the other. Inside the base, he runs off and sneaks into a tight passageway that leads to the Alex's hangar. He enters the hallway and begins to take pictures of the Alex after spotting it. As he takes the pictures, two Federation Forces soldiers come around the corner.
We now stand at the halfway point of the series, and the story is gearing up for a major event. Here we see Al and Bernie's friendship developing, and it gives Bernie and the Zeon in general a nice human touch. Though the rest of the Cyclops Team is pretty secretive, they at least accept Al's presence. We also have an interesting encounter between Bernie and Chris that will prove to be quite tragic later on. It was hinted earlier that Chris was in the Federation Forces, but now she is also revealed to be the test pilot for the Gundam Alex. This new Gundam is supposed to be for Newtypes, and it's specifically built for Amuro Ray. What I find strange is that they are using a non-Newtype like Chris to test the Alex. Technologically, the Alex is interesting. It features the magnetic coating that Mosk Han would later apply to Amuro's Gundam, and it also features the trademark panoramic cockpits that first appeared in Zeta Gundam. With the series half over, the tragedy is about to begin real soon.
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