The damaged ''Vesalius'' arrives at the ZAFT homeland. Rau and his NumberTwo, Ades, chat as they dock. Ades asks if Rau plans to bring Athrun to the inquiry; Rau says that he does, as Athrun was both an eyewitness of the event and is capable of calm, objective analysis of events. Ades points out that Orb is bound to be furious over the destruction of Heliopolis, but Rau dismisses his concerns. Boarding a shuttle to the inquiry, Rau and Athrun encounter Patrick Zala, the head of ZAFT's military forces and Athrun's father. Patrick reminds both of them that his presence there is a secret, and tells them that he deleted the section in Rau's report about the Strike's pilot, saying that the mention of a Coordinator working for the Earth Alliance would only allow ZAFT's moderate faction to start pointless arguments. Athrun does not look happy with this, but says nothing. Rau notices his reaction anyway, and asks if Athrun would prefer that a report labeling his friend as a traitor be released. Before he can reply, Patrick orders Athrun that he's not to contradict the report that the new Earth Alliance mobile suit surpasses everything ZAFT has... even with a Natural piloting it. Athrun says that he understands.

On the ''Archangel'', the Heliopolis recruits struggle with water rationing on the ship. In the cafeteria, Sai nudges Flay to apologize to Kira for causing him trouble by revealing that he was a Coordinator in the previous episode. She does so, but Kira tells her not to worry about it. On the bridge, Murrue and the bridge crew are considering the options for their route to lunar orbit. The shortest route would take them through the debris belt, an area of [[AsteroidThicket densely accumulated space junk]] in low Earth orbit, making it a dangerous choice.

On one of the [=PLANTs=], Athrun and Rau see a news broadcast of Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne commemorating the one year anniversary of the Bloody Valentine tragedy. With him in the broadcast is his [[RoseHairedSweetie pink-haired daughter]], Lacus. Rau observes that Athrun is engaged to Lacus, and that she'll be part of the Bloody Valentine memorial service. At the ZAFT Supreme Council inquiry, Rau reports that the collapse of Heliopolis was not their intention, and blames it primarily on the Earth Alliance. Athrun gives a report on the capabilities of the Gundams. The council members argue that this is a sign that the Naturals plan to escalate the war and endanger the [=PLANTs=], while Chairman Clyne tries to control them.

On the ''Archangel'', Mu and Murrue explain to the crew that they plan is to take supplies from the debris belt. The crew is not enthusiastic about the idea. Nonetheless, they launch in Mistral worker pods, with Kira in the Aile Strike as escort. They approach the ruins of Junius 7, shots of their horrified reactions to the carnage interspersed with shots of Patrick Zala's speech to the Supreme Council on the Bloody Valentine tragedy and flashbacks to the event itself. The nuclear missile hit the center of the PLANT's hourglass shape, causing the entire colony to break apart, killing exactly 243,721 people. The Heliopolis recruits search the ruins of Junius 7 for supplies, uncovering gruesome scenes while they work. Patrick Zala insists that their demands on the Earth Alliance are minor, and their actions are entirely in self-defense; Siegel Clyne just sighs in resignation.

After the Supreme Council meeting, Chairman Clyne encounters Athrun outside the council chamber. He notes the irony of Lacus being away when Athrun has returned to the [=PLANTs=]. As they talk, the two of them stand in front of what appears to be a fossil of a winged whale. Before Athrun can reply, Rau interrupts, telling him that two more mobile suit teams have been assigned to Rau's command, and they'll be leaving to pursue the ''Archangel''. Patrick Zala approaches Chairman Clyne as Athrun and Rau leave. Clyne asks him what the point of expanding the war is; Zala replies that it is because [[ThisIsUnforgivable the Earth Alliance cannot be forgiven]] for what they've done.

We're shown various scenes of daily life across the PLANT, in which Lacus features prominently, seen singing on various public TV screens. Athrun drives through the PLANT with Rau, dropping him off at a ZAFT facility before continuing on to visit his mother's grave. The [[DiegeticSwitch song continues]] as the scene switches to the ''Archangel'', with the Heliopolis recruits folding a large number of origami flowers (with the help of one of the Heliopolis refugees, a young girl). In the ruins of Junius 7, Miriallia releases the bundle of origami flowers, letting them drift into the space around the wreckage. The ''Archangel'''s bridge crew stands respectfully during the ceremony; Murrue is seen clutching a [[TragicKeepsake locket]].

While the crew in the Mistrals are gathering water, Kira remains on watch for potential trouble. He spots what appears to be a damaged civilian vessel caught in the debris belt; soon after, a two-seater reconnaissance-type GINN appears near it. Kira prepares to destroy it before it can spot the ''Archangel'', but holds his fire, hoping that it will leave on its own. It begins to leave the area, but notices Kuzzey's Mistral before it gets too far. It opens fire on Kuzzey, and Kira is forced to destroy it. Kuzzey thanks Kira, and Mu calls in to ask what happened, but Kira turns the radio off, shaking uncontrollably. He slams his controls in frustration, but before he can do anything else, an alarm sounds, showing a life pod floating nearby.

Kira returns to the ''Archangel'' with the pod, where Natarle remarks that he seems to have a habit of bringing things he finds back to the ship. The chief mechanic opens the pod; a pink [[SeriesMascot Haro]] floats out, followed by none other than Lacus Clyne.

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!!Tropes used in this episode:

* AsteroidThicket: The debris belt. A more {{Justified|Trope}} example than most, as it's artificial rather than natural.
* EasyLogistics: {{Averted}}; failing to get resupplied at Artemis means the ''Archangel'' has to get more creative.
* GuyInBack: The recon GINN Kira destroys is explicitly a two-seater unit.
* HomageShot: Lacus's exit from her escape pod at the end of this episode was a nod to [[http://imgur.com/m6Zzm0u Lalah Sune's exit from Char Aznable's shuttle]] in episode 34 of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''.
* NothingIsScarier: What we're shown of Junius 7 is [[NightmareFuel horrifying]]. What we don't see is ''is implied to be even worse!''
* SceneryGorn: Everything involved Junius 7, both the flashbacks of its destruction and its current condition.

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