The Union, Human Reform League, and AEU begin their joint military exercise in the Taklamakan Desert. A nearby uranium storage facility has been left undefended as bait for terrorists, and when Celestial Being intervenes to defend the facility, the combined armies of the three superpower blocs attack the Gundams with overwhelming force. The enemy forces have devised careful plans to capture the Gundams, and one by one the fleeing Meisters fall into their traps.