En route to his new assignment on Earth, Federation officer Shiro Amada comes across an ally battling a Zeon Zaku. Attempting a brave rescue in a Ball, he has a fateful encounter with the enemy pilot, Aina Sakhalin.

Shiro arrives at a jungle base in Southeast Asia to take command of the 08th MS Team. Ordered to sortie right away, he leads his team into battle, but struggles with combat in Earth's unfamiliar gravity and in the dark of night.

In its second mission, the 08th MS Team is ordered to sweep the Zeon forces from a hilly area. However, the team's advance is stalled by enemy fortifications. Shiro attempts to flank the enemy via a river frequented by guerrillas.

Every team that Sanders has ever belonged to has been wiped out on its third mission, and now it's the turn of the 08th MS Team. The worried Sanders asks Shiro to transfer him, but then Zeon's new mobile armor Apsalus appears.

The musician Eledore learns that he will be making his major-label debut. In high spirits, he drags Michel along to a nearby village to celebrate. But when they reach the bar, the pair find gun-toting Zeon soldiers waiting for them.

Having discovered the Apsalus's testing ground, the 08th MS Team lie in wait for an ambush, preparing for the encounter with combat simulations. The team members' frustrations mount as the Apsalus fails to appear, until they finally come to blows.

The Apsalus makes its escape, with Shiro's Gundam clinging to its hull. When the malfunctioning mobile armor crashes in the snowy mountains, Shiro and Aina are reunited. They cooperate to survive in the frozen wasteland, but then rescuers arrive.

Shiro has returned safely from the mountains, but is now suspected of being a spy, and is confined to his quarters until a verdict is decided. Then Kiki's village comes under Zeon attack, and Shiro must violate his orders to go to the rescue.

The Federation Forces, having learned that the Apsalus was created to destroy Jaburo, begin searching for the development base. Shiro and the 08th MS Team descend into enemy territory to aid the search, only to encounter retreating Zeons.

The Federation Forces begin their assault on the Apsalus development base. The 08th MS Team is assigned to escort a Guntank team into firing position, but Norris's Gouf Custom swiftly dispatches two of the Guntanks. Can the team save the last one?

The Apsalus cuts loose with its devastating mega particle cannon. As the Federation's Colonel Ryer and Zeon's Ginius Sakhalin escalate the fighting, Shiro and Aina transcend the division between the two sides to face their final challenge.

With the end of the war, Michel has retired from the Federation Forces, and he sets off with Kiki to find out whether Shiro and Aina are alive or dead. In the jungle, they are captured by a group of mysterious children, who give them shocking news.