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Episode 11 - Run Without Thinking
At the end of our last episode, the Bertigo’s beam saber was lowering itself toward Garrod’s cockpit. It stops short of immolating Garrod. Carris asks Tifa what she will do and tells her that her decision will determine if Garrod lives. Carris lowers the beam saber a little more, causing the outer shell of the cockpit to turn red. Suddenly, Tifa has left the bridge and is back on the deck. Before Jamil can get up to the deck to stop her, the Bertigo is already holding her in its hand. The Bertigo flies away as its funnels follow suit. Ennil El, who has been watching, asks why the Bertigo didn’t kill Garrod. Then she wonders why a Bertigo is there in the first place. The Airmaster and Leopard rise to their feet and bring the downed GX back into the Freeden. Sarah and Tonya are bandaging Roybea and Wits respectively. Garrod is in bed, occasionally jerking and yelling. Jamil enters and asks the doctor how Garrod is. Garrod is only bruised physically but took quite a thrashing mentally. The Doctor gives Garrod a shot and he calms down.
Wits recommends they rescue Tifa before Garrod wakes up. Jamil tells him the Gundams are being repaired. Sam goes up to Jamil’s office and asks for permission to modify the Gundam X. Jamil looks at the clipboard he is handed and gives permission to Sam. Sam jumps in excitement as the doctor walks in. In Fort Severn, Carris has returned with Tifa as the townspeople cheer him. They all seem to believe that Carris rescued Tifa. Roybea, Wits, Tonya and Sarah are sitting in the entertainment room, talking about Garrod. They talk about Garrod being depressed and Wits points out that Garrod got his ass whipped. In the mobile suit hanger, Jamil has a panic attack near the Daughtress. Sam tells him to quit pushing himself but Jamil says he must.
Again in Fort Severn, Carris shows Tifa to her new room. He asks Tifa if she likes it but all Tifa does is sitting on the bed and stare blankly. Carris goes to talk to the mayor and he tells Carris to keep away from Tifa because nobody knows how their powers will act. The mayor then tells Carris to protect Tifa. Back in the Freeden’s hangar, Sam says nobody can sleep until the GX is done. He says if they’re too tired, they should just collapse. In the Freeden’s bridge, they’re discussing how long it’ll take Garrod to learn the new GX. Sarah says she’s worried because of the two Gundams who have attacked them. They look at specs on the Virsago and Ashtaron before realizing that it was because of the GX that they survived.
Over some body of water, the Frost brother’s plane is docking inside a much larger ship. They salute a director and thank him for his help. He asks the brothers what their plan is. They say they will attack the Freeden right away since it’ll be better to not have vultures around when the new Earth Federation is formed. Carris goes to knock on Tifa’s door but stops as he senses she is still depressed. In the Freeden’s hangar, Sam comments on being ahead of schedule as a mechanic collapses. The Doctor rushes to help this one too. Sam expresses his worry that if Garrod isn’t well soon, the Gundam is useless with no pilot. Jamil enters the room where Garrod is laying and picks him up by the collar. He says they need to talk. Sam looks at the completed GX and collapses. The Doctor catches him and calls him a great person.
As the Doctor is smiling, an alert of two approaching mobile suits is given. Hey! It’s none other than the Frost brothers in their Gundams. Olba and Shagia talk about fighting on the snow and come to the conclusion that Olba is more experienced. Tonya rushes to the bridge because she can’t find Garrod or Jamil anywhere. The Freeden’s camera shows them speeding off in a jeep. The helmsman asks if they disappeared and Tonya wonders if men elope. Jamil and Garrod drive, Jamil calls him a brat. He verbally thrashes Garrod by commenting on how he’s so upset over a girl. Garrod comments that he has no special powers. Jamil responds ‘special powers eh?’ Leopard and Airmaster launch to defend the Freeden. They joke amongst themselves about slipping and crashing before mentioning their suits have been adjusted for snow. Leopard starts the fight with a rocket barrage. All of which are taken out by the Virsago’s hand beam. Ashtaron engages Airmaster as Sam wakes up. He heads back to the hangar to make the last adjustment to the GX.
Garrod and Jamil pull up to a frozen lake. Jamil demands the GX’s controller and Garrod complies. Jamil throws it onto the lake, to Garrod’s dismay. Jamil shoves Garrod out of the jeep and tells Garrod to get it. Garrod comments on how if the ice cracks, he’ll die. Jamil speeds off. The Gundams continue fighting. Ashtaron and Virsago hit the Leopard and Airmaster with their claws. Airmaster luckily moves before receiving a chest cannon beam from Virsago. Ashtaron and Leopard lock beam sabers as Virsago pounds Airmaster. Garrod stares out at the GX control and takes his time deciding to go. An explosion forces him to make up his mind as he slowly moves toward it. The ice creaks under his feet as he moves. In the GX’s cockpit, the Doctor begs Sam to rest. Sam runs the screwdriver into his leg and says that’ll keep him awake for awhile.
Leopard runs out of ammo as the Virsago and Ashtaron advance. Garrod finally picks up the GX control and hops in joy. This celebration is cut short by the ice cracking. Jamil, who has returned to the lake, tells Garrod to “Just run without thinking.” Garrod beats the breaking ice until the last step where Jamil catches his arm. Garrod gets out safely with a wet leg. He comments on thinking he would die before declaring he’ll “Run without thinking.” They speed back to the Freeden. Garrod hops into the new Gundam X Divider. As he is doing so, the Virsago is preparing to fire a chest beam at the downed Leopard. Shagia is interrupted by a shot from the Gundam X. Garrod lands between his allies and enemies before again taking off, declaring that from now on, he’ll run without thinking.
Paul Jr’s Thoughts:
Well now that Tifa is with Carris, I get the idea that Carris never wanted to kill Garrod. It’s good to find that there is a higher power behind the Frost’s motives. Jamil had a bright idea in reviving Garrod’s fighting spirit. Now that Garrod has the X Divider, hopefully he can rescue Tifa. Just one thing I’m noticing in the story, Garrod has a habit of showing up at the last second. Plus the Leopard and Airmaster launch the exact same way every time. Still, those small oddities don’t take away from the series. Will the X Divider be able to stop the Frost brothers alone?
