Gundam (ガンダム) Universal Centuries: Mobilesuit Gundam Unicorn

PLOT

See also: List of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn characters and List of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn mobile weapons

The series begins in U.C. 0001, at the very beginning of human space colonization, when a space colony called Laplace is destroyed during a ceremony hosted by the Federation's Prime Minister ushering in the Universal Century dating system. The main story takes place in UC 0096, three years after the events of Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack and
27 years before Mobile Suit Gundam F91.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

The story revolves around Banagher Links, a seemingly normal boy living and going to school in the space colonies. His life changes one day when he meets a girl named Audrey Burne, as the encounter brings him into contact with a new Gundam and its connections to an item called "Laplace's Box."

Characters

Civilian

Banagher Links - A student at Anaheim Industry Technical School in the colony "Industrial 7". pilot of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam. Son of Cardeas with his second wife.
Audrey Burne - A girl from a noble family, whose life changes after she meets Banagher.
Takuya Irei - Another student of Anaheim Industry Technical School and also Banagher's roommate. Huge MS mania.
Micott Bartsch - A girl who commutes to a high school adjacent the Anaheim Industry Technical School. She is the daughter of the head of industrial sector of Industrial 7.
Tikva Sant - Eldest son of Gilboa Sant.
Kai Shiden - A veteran pilot of the One Year War, after the war he left the Federation Forces and began a career as a journalist.
Beltorchika Irma - A former member of Karaba, she works as a freelance police informer.
Tom
Marco
Denis

Vist Foundation

Cardeas Vist - Grandchild of Syam Vist, second generation head of the Vist family.
Gael Chan - He is Cardeas's secretary and bodyguard
Syam Vist - He came into possession of a strange object called "Laplace" and through underworld connections he married into the Vist family and became the head of the influential Vist Foundation.

Anaheim Electronics

Martha Vist Carbine - Cardeas' younger sister. She married into the Carbine family which established Anaheim Electronics.
Alberto Vist - A staff of Anaheim Electronics who board the Nahal Argama to stop the opening of the "Laplace's box". It is mentioned in the novel that he is Cardeas's son with his first wife.
Aaron Terzieff - An Anaheim Electronics engineer who participated in the RX-0 development project as part of the armor materials division.
Bancroft - A teacher at Anaheim Industry Technical School.

Neo Zeon/"The Sleeves"

Full Frontal - The mysterious leader of the Neo Zeon remnant forces who is described as the "2nd coming of Char".
Suberoa Zinnerman - Captain of "Garancieres".
Marida Cruz - A female MS pilot of the "Kshatriya" on board the Garancieres.
Angelo Sauper - A MS pilot of "The Sleeves" and team leader of the Frontal bodyguards
Flaste Schole - He is a crew member of the freighter Garencieres.
Alec
Besson
Gilboa Sant - He is a pilot of the Geara Zulu.
Hill Dawson - Captain of the Rewloola-class.
Tomura - A highly skilled mechanic on board the Garancieres.
Savoie
Sergi - A MS pilot of "The Sleeves" and one of the men assigned as Full Frontal's bodyguards

Earth Federation

Ronan Marcenas - Riddhe's father, an important member of the Earth Federation Central Council.
Ricardo Marcenas - Supported by the liberal group, he became the first prime minister of the Federal Government.

Earth Federation Forces

Riddhe Marcenas - MS pilot of Earth Federation's Londo Bell team.
Otto Midas - The captain of the Londo Bell ship "Nahel Argama".
Liam Borrinea - A female officer and second in command.
Daguza Mackle - The commander of ECOAS 920 special force team dispatched to seize Laplace's Box in Industrial 7.
Mihiro Oiwakken - A newly appointed female officer onboard the Nahel Argama.
Hasan - A military physician assigned to the assault landing ship Nahel Argama.
Conroy Haagensen - The second in command of the ECOAS 920 special forces team.
Bright Noa - A veteran of the One Year War, he is the commander of the Londo Bell forces.
Meran - A commander of the Ra Cailum, he is a veteran of the Second Neo Zeon War.
Nigel Garrett - A Londo Bell ace mobile suit pilot, he is leader of the elite Tri-Stars team.
Daryl McGuinness - A member of the Tri-Stars team, he is a skilled mobile suit pilot.
Watts Stepney - A mobile suit pilot of the Tri-Stars team, he has a fiery personality.
Norm Basilicock
Sercel Mitukale
Jonah Gibney
Sydow Omoki

Republic of Zeon

Gilligan Eustace - An army captain and a member of the right-wing political group "Association of the Wind".
Monaghan Bakharov - A politician and defense minister, he is the son of former prime minister Darcia Bakharov.

Zeon Remnants

Loni Garvey - Daughter of Mahdi Garvey, she holds a deep hatred of the Earth Federation, brought about by the death of her father.
Yonem Kirks - Leader of a group Zeon remnants based in New Guinea.

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam

The RX-0 Unicorn Gundam (ユニコーンガンダム, Yunikōngandamu) (or Unicorn Gundam, Unicorn, RX-0) is the titular mobile suit of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, piloted by Banagher Links. When used for noble reasons by a pilot possessing the proper character, the RX-0 is the "key" to opening a mysterious object known only as "Laplace's Box".

Technology & Combat Characteristics

Produced as a part of the E.F.S.F's reorganization plan - the "UC Project " - the Unicorn Gundam is a revolutionary design and to be the main symbol of the "U.C. project's" main goal - to destroy any traces of Zeonism in the Earth Sphere - and thus not only does it features a Gundam design, but also incorporates an anti-Newtype system. However, when the Vist Foundation took control of the project, they turned the Gundam into a symbol of possibility by making it the key to finding Laplace's Box - the embodied hope of the Universal Century. Featuring the most advanced mobile suit technology of the time, the machine's performance is unmatched.

Incorporating test data obtained from the experimental MSN-06S Sinanju Stein, the entire frame is lined with psyco-framereceptors, drastically increasing the responsiveness of the unit and allowing it to be piloted like an extension of the pilot's body. In some cases, this responsiveness is so high that it appears the suit acts on its own without any actions from the pilot. In addition, the Unicorn utilizes a special "La+ Program" OS and a system known as the "NT-D" (or Newtype Destroyer) which activates the suit's psyco-frame and dramatically increases the suit's performance.

In its normal mode, the Unicorn's head is similar in appearance to those of Londo Bell's mass-produced mobile suits, with the addition of a single, horn-like antenna extending from the forehead (hence the name "Unicorn"). In terms of its armaments in normal mode, the Unicorn is very lightly armed, with half of its built-in weaponry only being available in Destroy Mode.

Destroy Mode is the form the Unicorn Gundam takes when its NT-D System is activated. The transformation is marked by an expansion of the suit's frame. The armor seams separate and lock down into various hard-points, while the newly exposed psyco-frame emits a pinkish-red glow (attributed to a psyco-frame luminescence phenomenon). In this mode, the mobile suit becomes taller and its head transforms to one having standard Gundam features, the visor and face guard retracts into the head to reveal the mouth plate and the antenna splitting into a V-fin. In order to prevent its transformation being interrupted, its I-Field strength will be increased, at least temporary. Additionally a pair of beam Vulcan guns will be revealed on the shoulders, and two additional beam sabers will extend out of the backpack.

In this form, the suit's psyco-frame scans the pilot's thoughts and directly transmits them to the suit's drive system; in other words, the Unicorn can ultimately be controlled by the pilot's thoughts alone. The machine's performance - its mobility in particular - is dramatically increased when the NT-D is active partially due to the exposure and activation of six additional thrusters. In addition to the performance boost, the NT-D also allows the Unicorn to take control of an enemy's psycommu weapons. However, the stress placed on the mind by manipulating an object more than tenfold the size of an average human is extraordinary.

Even with the aid of the psyco-frame the pilot's mind can only endure roughly five minutes of operation before a safeguard is believed to activate, deactivating the psyco-frame and returning the mobile suit to its normal form. Furthermore, the system activates not according to the pilot's discretion, but automatically upon the detection of another Newtype. The system also directs the movement of the suit when active, and does not completely depend on the pilot for commands. By default, the system will automatically attempt to destroy any Newtype enemies it detects, but requires the pilot to give it a conscience so it does not merely become a killing machine.