The Oncoming Current (Episode)

General

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The Oncoming Current
General Information
Kanji	接近波
English Title	The Oncoming Current
Release Information
Directors	Karu Kisaragi
Opening Theme	aoi hana by Color Bottle
Ending Theme	von by Yoko Kanno ft. Anór Dan
Production Information
Country of Origin	Japan
Produced By	Sunrise
Episode Number	First Step
Season Number	1
Length	1:24:00 (1 hours, 24 minutes)
Broadcast Information
Resolution	1080i
Content Information
Anime	The Shining Cosmos
Previous Episode	N/A
Next Episode	The Passing
Universe	Stardust Century

The Oncoming Current (接近波, Sekkin-ha) is the first episode of Stardust Gundam-E: The Shining Cosmos.

Summary

July 24 0088-SC: An EUS-0100 Quantize ship enters a fleet approaching a base on the edge of Lagrange Ring 3. Several M2PMS-13583 Star units escort the fleet over to the fight as reinforcements for the Earth Union. One of the pilots inside a Star, Carmin Amen, comments on the battle going on at Avale Rosa and calls it a light show. He talks with the other pilots, while the commander orders them to maintain radio silence. In the bridge, the captain wants to send out a message to the other ships in the battle that help has come, but he's interrupted when one of the officers says that several enemy IFF signatures are approaching the ship from the side.

These signatures are a squad of ten aces piloting heavily customized AMS-2005 Kalidasa units. They bombard the ships with beam shots, managing to destroy a EUS-0082 Ikari ship in the fleet. The escort mobile suits leave from the Quantize to attack the enemy head on. The commander tries to take out the one leading the squad, while the rest face the other units. Unfortunately, they can't take the enemy in a straight-up fight, as Star mobile suits are ravaged and ripped apart like cannon fodder.

Carmin, however, manages to surprise one of them, stabbing a beam saber into the cockpit. He then uses the destroyed wrecks of the Star units as shielding against the enemy squad's beam fire, this resulting in another death for the team. While all of this happens, the two commanders fight it out, matching each other in combat until the ace shoots off the Star's leg. The commander tries to back off until he realizes that they've arrived at Avale Rose. The captain calls the remaining ships about the reinforcements, but they get distracted by the appearance of the EUS-0098 Grissomm in the battle, and the appearance of the MC2MS-13579 Stardust Gundam. This distraction allows the surviving MS team and the ships to escape from the Kalidasa squad.

The rest of the MS units launch out from the fleet to attack the base, while Carmin and many of the defense units just wait around until they receive further orders. The commander decides to break out of the formation and chase down the Kalidasa squadron, while Carmin goes to follow.

At the same time, the AMS-4011 Igloo comes out and attacks the fleet, the mobile suits unable to deal with it, while the Arian mobile suits around it attack around the fleet and the Stars. The Grissomm approaches Avale Rosa while the fleet scatters due to the Arian attack.

Meanwhile, the commander manages to shoot down two of the Kalidasa units, and the commander of that squad decides to attack again. Carmin gets happy as he rushes at the remaining units, easily slicing through the cockpits of two with the beam sabers. His Star rushes past the two and heads for another, dashing with one of its beam sabers in front. It stabs right through the left arm, melting off the connection point. The Kalidasa hit tries to turn and attack, but Carmin rams the saber into the cockpit and reactor.

However, it explodes, heavily damaging Carmin's Star. Due to how it looks, the remaining pilots assume it's down and move on. Carmin gets out, barely scaved, as he witnesses the battle between the Stardust and the Igloo. They disappear into the space station when the commander finds Carmin. During all of this, Carmin starts narrating (in a more older voice).

December 8 0087-SC: He talks about where it all began, in Colony Braace where he was just a student in grade school. His father worked with the Earth Union until he was assigned to the crew of the Grissomm. After the attack on Colony Ark, he was left fatherless, though a friend of his father, Mark Vickas, looks after him with his mother. He goes on to talk about the days he spent in the colony, while secretly looking through the records on his father's computer, seeing many of the notes for the Stardust Project (either made by his father or someone else). He copies the notes, and being smart for his age, figured out how it would all work simply by observing it all.

One day, on the way to school, it happened: a whole army of Arian mobile suits flood the colony, in an attempt to take it over permanently. There, dozens of Star mobile suits come out as colony defense, warding off the assault inside and outside. All of this happens while Carmin observes safely, until a downed Star falls near him. The pilot comes out and runs, as if to try and hide. Carmin, on pure impulse, suddenly runs to the downed Star and sees that it's not mortally damaged (with only the left shoulder armor gone).

He manages to stand it up right when a Soloris rushes towards him. He smirks as he easily takes it out with the beam saber. With that done, he launches off, shruging off any strike made on him, though making the suit less and less strong as the armor is chipped away at. Then suddenly, he's met with a kick from a commander type Soloris. He recovers and fights it at close range, actually managing to slash the mobile suit in half. As if unconsciously, he yelled out that it was for his dad.

As soon as it was over, the Star fell to the ground, having reached the limit of durability. A few relief and medical officers, including Mark, open up the Star to find Carmin inside. At first, Mark is about to punch him for doing something so stupid, but then calms down as he realizes that he managed to pilot it. Carmin tells him directly that he wants to join the Earth Union, which he finds just crazy talk, but many of the officers say that they've accepted younger soldier into the forces before. Mark decides to take him home after the invasion was averted.

Afterwards, Carmin is brought to the EUSF base in the colony, where he's talked to by three high-ranking officers and Mark. Because of his high intelligence and enhanced reflexes, they think he's a Spacer. He asks what that is, and they explain using the current crew of the Grissomm as an example. Because of his overall value to the Earth Union as a Spacer, they're more willing to accept him into the forces. He's sent off to Mesiac Base to train, like any other recruit, and they put him through heavy amounts of physical training, which doesn't seem hard for him to do.

Eventually, he's sent off to Avale Rosa to fight the final battle of the war. This flashback ends as Carmin is entering the open hand of his commander's Star and is carried off to the Quantize. Carmin starts narrating, saying that the Fall of Avale Rosa made the Earth Union the victors of the Arian Conflict. However it led to oppression against the space people, with the formation of the Elite Systems.

Trivia

• The episode is titled "The Oncoming Current _{For my Father}".