Recaps

Xiao Ran joined the Archangel, trained his piloting skills, and captured Lacus Clyne and her bodyguard after rescuing a Recon Ginn pilot. He modified the Ginn into the Lightning Ginn and entered the battle against ZAFT, then used Lacus as leverage to demand Captain Rau come aboard.

• Xiao Ran entered the Gundam SEED mission, reached Kira Yamato and his friends, and helped them survive Heliopolis’s destruction before boarding the Archangel.
• Xiao Ran supported the Archangel and Strike Gundam in battle, completed his first missions, gained piloting skills and treasure rewards, and trained with Mu.
• Xiao Ran advised the Archangel to seek supplies near Junius 7, where Kira captured a Recon Ginn and its pilot, Moriya, and the crew found Lacus Clyne in a Life Pod.
• Mwu promoted Xiao Ran and assigned him the captured Ginn, while Xiao Ran arranged for Maddock’s crew to modify it with a Flight Pack, improved mobility, beam weapons, and a shield.
• When the Eighth Fleet’s advance force faced a ZAFT attack, Xiao Ran persuaded Mwu to reinforce it and launched in the completed Lightning Ginn.
• Xiao Ran fought across the battlefield, destroyed several Ginns, and helped Mu, but his Lightning Ginn took damage and his attacks could not prevent heavy fleet losses.
• Xiao Ran drew enemy fire toward Flay’s battleship while secretly protecting its non-vital sections, but the ship was destroyed and Flay learned her father had died.
• Xiao Ran announced that the Archangel was protecting Lacus and offered to return her if ZAFT withdrew, demanding that Captain Rau arrive by shuttle with at most two MS escorts.

Xiao Ran stayed with the Archangel, earned Harborton’s trust, and helped the ship survive the Eighth Fleet’s destruction and reach North Africa. As the crew joined forces with Dawn Desert and Luo, Xiao Ran sought a way to improve the Strike Gundam and protect the Archangel from both ZAFT and Earth Force.

• Xiao Ran negotiated Lacus Clyne’s return to ZAFT, and the Archangel escaped after the civilians were transferred.
• Harborton assigned Xiao Ran to the Archangel, promoted him to captain, and recruited him for intelligence work after hearing his warnings about the four suspicious newcomers.
• When ZAFT attacked the Eighth Fleet, Xiao Ran fought in the Lightning Ginn while the four newcomers broke out of custody and seized the Menelaus.
• Xiao Ran learned that the mutineers were moving against Harborton and took a mission to protect him, while the Archangel began its descent and Harborton’s ship surrendered.
• The Archangel landed in ZAFT-controlled North Africa, where Xiao Ran warned Bargyll that Earth Force might have sent them into enemy territory as expendable pawns.
• After ZAFT attacked the Archangel, Kira defended the ship, and Xiao Ran accompanied Mu to meet Dawn Desert, where Cagalli confronted Kira.
• Xiao Ran brought Luo aboard the Archangel, offered him Strike Gundam’s specifications, and watched him demonstrate his piloting skill before Kira reconsidered how he fought.
• When ZAFT attacked a nearby town, Xiao Ran helped refugees while Mu investigated the Resistance’s pursuit, and Luo joined the Archangel crew in caring for survivors overnight.

Xiao Ran piloted the Black Astray against ZAFT, was badly wounded, and woke in Orb after the Junk Guild rescued him. He joined Orb’s Defense Force and received a major overhaul of the Black Astray while the Archangel’s arrival remained uncertain.

• Xiao Ran met Andrew Waltfeld in the city and accepted his invitation to the mansion, where they discussed Lacus and the war before Andrew warned him about Orb personnel who had gone to PLANT.
• Xiao Ran learned that ZAFT reinforcements were coming, and Luo gave him the Black Astray while modifying the Strike Gundam and preparing the Archangel for battle.
• Xiao Ran tested the Black Astray, then fought ZAFT’s mobile suits as the Archangel faced an ambush, and he destroyed DEENs and a Baku before the damaged machine crashed under fire.
• Mwu confessed that she liked Xiao Ran, and they kissed before he returned to battle, after the Black Astray appeared to explode, Luo rescued Xiao Ran and took him to Orb for treatment.
• Erica Simmons showed Xiao Ran the M1 Astrays and the Black Astray at Akatsuki Works, while Xiao Ran insisted on meeting Luo before allowing the machine to be unlocked.
• Xiao Ran met Uzummi Yula Asaha, revealed that Cagalli was aboard the Archangel, offered Orb military technology in exchange for joining, and became a major in the Orb Defense Force.
• Xiao Ran adopted a masked identity in Orb’s Special Operations Department and gave Asaha Strike Gundam data while requesting an overhaul of the Black Astray.
• Akatsuki Works and Luo rebuilt the Black Astray with PS Armor, extra batteries, a high-speed Flight Pack, combined Beam Rifles, and Physical Swords, and Xiao Ran approved the finished machine.

Xiao Ran helped the Archangel reach Orb, recruited Dearka and Nicol, and traveled to PLANT to protect Lacus and support Kira. After destroying the Rebirth Gundam, he joined the battle around Alaska, where Kira fought off the participants attacking the Freedom Gundam and warned the forces to evacuate before the Cyclops System detonated.

• Xiao Ran watched the Archangel reach Orb after a battle with ZAFT, met Mwu, and warned her that the Earth Force might abandon the ship.
• Xiao Ran began spending time with Mwu and helping Kira before launching the Black Astray to defend the Archangel as it left Orb.
• Xiao Ran fought alongside Kira against ZAFT’s Gundams, but his Black Astray was damaged and Tolle died in the battle.
• Xiao Ran rescued Nicol and Dearka, persuaded them to join Orb, and arranged upgrades for their Gundams while learning about ZAFT’s nuclear weapons.
• Xiao Ran traveled to PLANT with Nicol and Dearka, met Lacus and Kira, and warned them about ZAFT’s planned attack on Alaska and the Cyclops System.
• Kira launched in the Freedom Gundam, while Xiao Ran and Nicol helped fight the Rebirth Gundam and destroyed it before it could draw the Scrap Dealers into the conflict.
• After the Freedom Gundam landed beside the Archangel, participants attacked it for a mission reward, but Kira destroyed many of their units with the Freedom’s All-gun Deployment.
• Kira announced the Cyclops System’s imminent detonation and ordered an evacuation, while Dearka and Yzak helped direct ZAFT’s forces to retreat.