Xiao Ran operated Unit 1 as it slowly climbed to its feet. The reason he could afford to be so unhurried was the formidable Gundanium Alloy armor of the Gundam. If he had been given a Zaku instead, Xiao Ran probably would not have hesitated at all—he would either have driven the Zaku away immediately or turned around and attacked the Earth Federation Army. There was no way there would have been so much in-between maneuvering.
Once Unit 1 was back on its feet, it began "retreating" in the direction from which the two Zaku IIs had come, assisted by Unit 2 and Unit 3. They crossed hills and passed through a forest, bringing countless missiles with them as they churned up the ground ahead, behind, left, and right. The artillery fire behind them grew ever more distant.
As for how Xiao Ran had found the route through which the two Zakus had entered the satellite, all he needed to do was look carefully and it became obvious at a glance. Amid all that yellow and green, only the massive hatch opening was black. And there was even a Zaku standing there, its red mono-eye spinning around and around.
With the assistance of the third Zaku, the three Gundams drove into the passage inside the satellite that connected to space. With no shared communications channel, the Zaku pilot directly placed a hand on one of the three Gundams to serve as a communications link. Curious and somewhat excited, he asked, "Which unit are you from? You're incredible—you actually seized three machines from the Earth Federation Army. Unlike us, your mission wasn't just reconnaissance."
It had originally been nothing more than a curious, puzzled question from the Zaku pilot, but the change that occurred the next second left him utterly dumbfounded.