Colonel Sergei returns to the Human Reform League to head a new squad designated for capturing one of the Gundams, with Soma Peries as his designated subordinate. Encouraged by Celestial Being's anti-conflict actions, the South American nation of Taribia declares its withdrawal from the Union and independence over the control of energy resources, prompting a Union military response and forcing Celestial Being to intervene. In Azadistan (in the territory of Iran), Shirin Bakhtiar explains to First Princess Marina Ismail the conflict is not as simple as it may first seem...