Ali al-Saachez

Ali Al-Saachez (アリー・アル・サーシェス) (علي الساجيس Ali Al-Sajis) is one of the main antagonists of Mobile Suit Gundam 00. He's a former Middle-Eastern guerrilla that enjoys fighting and became a mercenary for a living; he's also a mobile suit pilot for the AEU, under the French Foreign Legion as Gary Biaggi. In season 2, he becomes an agent for the Innovators and pilots GNW-20000 Arche Gundam.

Personality & Character
Ali is a self admitted enthusiast of war, conflict, and violence: underhanded, ruthless, selfish, and takes pleasure in the misfortune of others (to the point where individuals such as Neil and Lyle Dylandy have called him a monster). Ali wishes only to experience battles and went into fights for the sheer joy of it. He's very content with the mercenary life, being able to kill and make good money out of it. He's also proven to be intellectually dangerous as he's skilled in many lesser character traits such as deception, manipulation, mobile unit piloting, and unarmed combat. Ali greatly favors adorning all his wears in the color crimson, including his mobile suits.

Skills & Capabilities
As with many mercenaries, Ali is assumed to be highly competent in various styles of combat (long range, hand-to-hand, etc.). However, Ali is most lethal in close quarters combat, when piloting a mobile suit or without one (when he shoots Michael Trinity and dislocates Johann's shoulder in a mere second). Having run his own terror network, the KPSA, during the Solar Wars, he has brainwashed and trained many children to become child soldiers (most notably Gundam Meisters Fon Spaak and Setsuna F. Seiei) in combat skills. Ali's combat style reflects in his selection of mobile units, piloting exclusively units designed for close combat.

Solar Wars
In the side stories of Gundam 00P, Ali was involved in the Solar Wars. Due to the unspecified historical events of the Anno Domini era, it's not clear when Ali took part in the Solar wars whether it was before or after his KPSA days in Republic of Krugis.

Terrorism with KPSA
The creation of the orbital elevators brought new financial challenges throughout the world and various militant groups emerged in the Middle East to start wars to compensate for their poverty. Approximately a decade ago, Saachez created a terrorist group of young children that were fighting in the name of "God". He created and organized KPSA as terrorist group to combat the invading Azadistan forces. While KPSA's activities were active in the Middle East, Ali also had operatives overseas committing terrorist acts. He had a building in Ireland bombed, killing many civilians, including Lockon's family. It was made clear in the same episode that Saachez commanded children to murder their own parents as proof of faith and devotion to God. It was sometime after the defeat of the Krugis Republic that Ali switched occupation, from freedom fighter to a freelance mercenary.

Failed Africa Contract
Ali and his mercenary group were contracted to fight in South African country over the mineral mine(s). By the time they got there, Lockon/Dynames already destroyed all opposing forces, causing Ali to lose clients for his armed services. He returned AEU and was hired by the PMC Trust to help capture a Gundam. He was assured there would be a sizable bonus for him and was given a blue prototype Enact (made combat ready) for combat.

Capture Gundam Contract at Moralia
While Setsuna F. Seiei was combating Hellions, Ali spotted GN-001 Gundam Exia and engaged the Gundam in mobile suit combat. Ali/Enact rapid fired many shots at Setsuna/Exia and had little trouble getting hits on Exia. Setsuna/Exia damaged his rifle in the middle of combat and transmitted a morse code message for Ali to step out of his cockpit. Ali didn't know who it was, and had no intention of coming out, but Setsuna came out and Ali was interested in his intentions. Ali came out of his cockpit and removed his helmet to confirm his identity to Setsuna. Setsuna was in immediate anger and drew his side arm, but so did Ali. Ali wanted to know his intentions, but went back into his Enact when Lockon/Dynames fired at his direction. Ali quickly flew off to his secret location to meet up with his men. He wondered if the Gundam pilot was someone he knew and suspected someone from his past in the Krugis.

Inciting War in Azadistan
At the height of political tensions between the conservatives and the reformist party of Azadistan, Ali and his men attacked the conservative party and kidnapped Massoud Rachmadi to incite war. The conservative party assumed it was the work of their political enemies and civil unrest began to spiral out of control as people began random acts of violence and even staging a coup to topple Marina Ismail's political party. In between this time Ali only helped encourage civil unrest by destroying Azadistan's power plant to cause panic and confusion. He used his Enact to fire a volley of missiles and even though Lock/Dynames was on the scene, there was just too many to eliminate and the power plant was destroyed. While flying away from the power plant, Fon Spaak appeared in Gundam Abul Hool Type-F. Their encounter was brief, as they didn't fight and they flew off their separate ways.

While hiding idle in the old Kurdish Republic, Setsuna/Exia appeared and that's when Ali confirmed his theories about the identity of Exia's pilot. While Ali couldn't remember Setsuna's name, he recognized him and engaged him in combat while his group took Massoud Rachmadi to safety. While fighting Exia in his Enact, he managed to pin down Exia and attempted to force open the cockpit door. Exia/Setsuna quickly used the GN Blade and sliced off the arm of Ali's Enact. Ali was satisfied that his people left and escaped. Ali later found out Massoud Rachmadi was rescued and returned to Azadistan's palace. With his objectives failed, he returned to AEU as Gary Biaggi under new assignment to Taklamakan Desert in China. He was given the Agrissa to aid in the capture of a Gundam(s).

Gundam Capture Operation in Taklamakan
As Gary Biaggi, in the Taklamakan Desert, Ali waited towards the end of a 16 hour operation against the Gundams and attacked Exia/Setsuna. Ali/Enact rode in the mobile armor Agrissa and used its plasma field to electrocute Setsuna to death. As Ali was enjoying Setsuna's torture, Throne Drei appeared to fended off Ali/Enact away. With the surprise of a unknown unit, Ali had to retreat once again.

Request to Laguna Harvey
While on a visit to the Linear Train Corporation, Ali requested Laguna to give him a GN-X for combat. Laguna was surprised that Ali knew of his affiliation with Celestial Being and that Ali knew mercenary will die out as conflict will end in the near future. Ali expressed his desire to be part of regular military and continue his mercenary life and wants Laguna's influence to get him a spot as a GN-X pilot. Laguna refused him and in a fit of rage, Ali drove out of Linear Train Corporation but he was stopped by Kinue Crossroad.

Deadly Exclusive with Kinue Crossroad
Kinue Crossroad was desperate for a scoop and her investigations lead her to the Linear Train Corporation. Since she was denied talking to Laguna Harvey, she opted to talk with someone that has spoken with him instead. Kinue stopped Ali from driving to ask for an interview. Ali pretended to be in a hurry and agreed to answer her questions if she rides along with him and she readily accepted. While driving, Kinue asked about his meeting with Laguna Harvey and he revealed a lot more than she expected. He took Kinue to an undisclosed dark alleyway where he stabbed her, broke her phone and left her to bleed to death. He later made a phone call to Laguna, and thought up an excuse so he can visit Laguna again only to have him killed. Ali acquired the location of the Thrones and left to hunt the Trinity down, to possess a machine using GN technology.

Eliminating The Trinity's
While the Trinity's were on the run from UN Forces and their GN-X's, Ali managed to find them. He used his Enact to flash Morse code,"I have no intention of fighting...", and landed to talk with them. He introduced himself and mentions his sponsor told him to come and help them out. As soon as Johann wondered was his sponsor Laguna, Ali admitted he killed Laguna. As the Trinity's reacted in shock, Ali quickly shot and killed Micheal. Johann attempted to shoot Ali to avenge Micheal, but he dodged his firing and tripped him to the floor. Ali decided to let go of Johann for mobile suit combat to entertain himself. He managed to bypass the biometric sensors of Throne Zwei because Veda had been hacked. Ali piloted the Throne Zwei and destroyed Johann/Eins. When Ali was about to finish off Nena/Drei, Setsuna intervened. Surprisingly, Ali knew the purpose of team Trinity when he refered to them as scapegoats. This corresponds to Ribbons interpretation of Aeolia's plan; team Trinity/Celestial Being is created to become mankind's mutual enemy so the world will unify to destroy them.

Even though Ali was low on GN particles, he had more than enough to take on Setsuna/Exia. Ali/Zwei was able to knock off Exia's GN Blades and was about to make the finishing blow with Zwei's Buster Sword when Exia activated Trans-Am. To Ali's surprise Exia was able to move at speeds he can't catch up and was forced to retreat. He threw his left 'GN Fang' side pod at Setsuna/Exia to distract his opponent's sights long enough to escape.

Destroy Celestial Being
After Throne Zwei was repaired and recharged by UN Forces, he joined the GN-X squadron as part of their overall forces to take down Celestial Being in space. While the Gundams and GN-X engaged each other, Ali/Zwei performed hit-and-run tactics to help give each GN-X group a greater advantage in handling the Gundams. His main opponent though was Lockon/Dynames.

Showdown With Lockon Stratos
Lockon/Dynames was about to destroy UN Force space carriers when Ali/Zwei appeared and critically damaged his GN Arms. Lockon/Dynames was forced to eject and take on Ali. Lockon/Dynames chased Ali/Zwei into an asteroid field. Lockon fires the GN Sniper Rifle in an attempt to hit Ali from behind, but keeps missing. Ali/Zwei then goes around an asteroid and draws his GN Buster Sword while Lockon/Dynames activates the beam saber and locks swords with Ali/Zwei. While engaging Ali/Zwei, Lockon asked Ali if he was from the KPSA. Ali then realized that Setsuna had told Lockon about him. Lockon then asked Ali, "''You were the one who ordered the terrorist bombing in Ireland, weren't you?! Why did you do that?" Ali replied, "I'm a mercenary. In any case..." ''The two the broke contact and then clashed swords again as Ali continued. ''"That was only to ease the backlash from the AEU's Space Elevator construction!" ''Lockon then told Ali that innocent people were unneccessarily involved in the bombing. Ali then laughs and says that it is ironic coming from Lockon, who is a, "''war hating terrorist." ''Lockon acknoledged that he would take responsibility for taking so many lives, but after Ali was defeated. Lockon then fires the GN Missiles point-blank at Ali, but he evades and the missiles hit an asteroid. While clashing swords again, Lockon proclaims that Ali is the embodiment of war's evils, but Ali says that they are just the same. Lockon then exclaims that he can't stand being compared to Ali, and draws his second GN Beam Saber to chop of Ali/Zwei's right arm. While Lockon continued to chase Ali/Zwei, Daryl/GN-X intervened for a two on one fight. Daryl ultimately kamikaze into Dynames, taking out the unit's right arm. While watching Lockon/Dynames fight, Ali realized that Lockon couldn't see from his right eye and took advantage of his weakness. Ali/Zwei had his Fangs assault his blind spot to destroy the Gundam. Dynames was crippled and Lockon left his mobile suit to rig a functional GN Cannon out of the remains of the GN-Arms Type-D to fire upon Ali when in target. Ali/Zwei detected a heat signature and charged after Lockon when he found him. Lockon fired from his GN Cannon, the particle beam hit Throne Zwei's lower body (everything below the waist was incinerated), but Ali/Zwei returned fire at Lockon. Although the destruction of the GN Cannon didn't kill Lockon instantly, the damaged weapon was unstable and a surge overloaded the machine and killed him.

Recovery & Continuing Mercenary Life
After the battle was over, Ali/Zwei was recovered by UN Forces. Lockon's final attempt to kill Ali was in vain, he survived the particle beam blast, but suffered severe burns over half his body. Ali had to go through extensive medical treatments to repair the burns done to his body, but eventually healed and returned to active duty.

Four years after the fade of Celestial Being, Ali was revealed to be alive and well. He was seen drinking liquor while watching the annual Earth Sphere Federation celebration on TV.

Burning Azadistan
Ali was dispatched by the Innovators to help destroy all resistance in Azadistan for Federation reformation. He was given the new Arche Gundam and sortied to Azadistan, where he set most of the country in ablaze for a military takeover.

Fight Between Gundams
Ali's next mission was to intercept Setsuna/00 and Tieria/Seravee as they were fleeing from a banquet. His new and improved mobile suit, as well as his skills were able to outclass the Meisters. But he had to retreat when they were assisted by Arios and Cherudim.

The Last Trinity
Ali later met Nena, who tried to kill him only for Ali's quick reflexes catch her off guard. He decides against killing her. It is assumed he hit her as Nena is shown having a bruise on her cheek. He later joined Ribbons to witness the firing of Memento Mori.s

Luring Setsuna to Krugis
He later appears in the company of Ribbons when facing Setsuna, holding him at gunpoint as Ribbons explains to Setsuna the truth of the 0 Gundam's appearance years ago. When Setsuna attempts to shoot Ribbons, Ali shoots back, hitting Setsuna in the arm and wounding him. During the Innovator-led assault on the Gundams, he faces the 00 Gundam and initially gets the upper hand, but Setsuna soon overpowers him, and later initiates TRANS-AM when Ali threatens Klaus Grado and Shirin Bakhtiar, wiping out all of the Arche's GN Fangs and damaging it critically, with Ali only being saved by Setsuna locking up upon hearing Marina's voice inside his head. Despite this, the Arche Gundam still falls out of the sky, with Ali using the unit's pod to escape, confused as to why he can hear singing.

Showdown with Lockon Stratos II
Ali returned to the Innovators' base, Celestial Being, killing Regene Regetta for his attempted murder of Ribbons. He then takes off in a new Arche, dueling against Lyle Dylandy/Cherudim in one of Celestial Being's docking ports. With his ferocity, he was able to overwhelm the new Gundam Meister, who barely managed to hold his own. Then suddenly, when Setsuna/00 Raiser activated Trans-Am Burst, Ali felt sudden feeling inside him but, hearing Lyle's thoughts, blaming him for his family's death and calling him a monster. Ali, glad that he is facing Lockon's "younger" brother, determines him to be worth killing.

Death
Despite the docking ports favoring Ali's style of combat, Lockon and the Cherudim managed to best the seasoned fighter in a close combat battle. However, Arche shut down when Seraphim Gundam activated its Trial Field, disabling all mobile units linked with Veda. Ali fled the from the ruined machine, but was ultimately caught up by the Gundam Meister. While Lyle had his weapon pointed at Ali, he paused momentarily to remember Anew's last words. Ali sought to take advantage of the pause, but Lyle quickly drew out and shot the mercenary with his handgun and his final words were "fool" and ultimately avenging the deaths of his entire family and he died with a freeze laugh. In the end, Ali's own evil had done him in.

Celestial Being

 * Gundam Meisters


 * Setsuna F. Seiei
 * Setsuna/Soran was one of Al-Saachez' student/guerrilla soldiers and under his command murdered his own family to, in Saachez' word, their devotion to God. Setsuna however decided to leave his leader. After Setsuna joined Celestial Being, he met him again in a battle at Moralia. Saachez quickly figured out who Setsuna was and since then the two have a strong hatred for each other.


 * Lockon Stratos (Neil Dylandy)
 * Ali Al-Saachez, as the man who led the KPSA which killed his family, was strongly hated by Lockon Stratos/Neil Dylandy. After Setsuna told Neil who Saachez was, Neil decided to kill Saachez and although he was capable of badly hurting him during their last battle, it cost Neil his life. His brother Lyle, the new Lockon four years later, however doesn't have as painful memories as Neil and thus doesn't hold such a strong hatred for Saachez.


 * Tieria Erde
 * While at first the two have no relationship and are simply enemies, Tieria develops a strong hatred for Saachez after he killed the first Lockon Stratos.


 * Fon Spaak
 * Ali also trained Fon (then known as Robert Stad Jr.) in the same manner as he did Setsuna. Whether or not he had Fon participate in any missions is presently unknown.


 * Lockon Stratos (Lyle Dylandy)
 * At first, Lyle did not share his brother's hatred of Ali, but when the two finally faced off this view changed. When Lyle screamed that Ali had taken his family away and called him a monster, Ali took great joy, since it would have made killing Lyle even sweeter. At the climax of the battle, Ali's suit was disabled by Tiera, allowing Lyle to overpower him. Despite heavy injuries Ali tried to flee, only for Lyle to confront him at gunpoint. Despite his hatred for the man who slaughtered his family, Lyle refused to dishonour Anew's memory by sinking to Ali's level and lowered the gun. Ali tried to take advantage of this, only for Lyle to outdraw and shoot him in the head.


 * Observers


 * Alejandro Corner
 * Behind the shadows, Alejandro gives Ali Al-Saachez commands and information. Alejandro was Al-Saachez's secret sponsor. Among Alejandro's orders that Al-Saachez carried out were the abduction of Massoud Rachmadi, elimination of Laguna Harvey (and possibly the rest of Celestial Being Observers) and Team Trinity.


 * Ribbons Almark
 * Successor to Alejandro Corner, Ribbons continues to hire Ali Al-Saachez to do behind the scenes work for the Innovators.


 * Laguna Harvey
 * One of Alejandro's associates, Ali Al-Saachez worked for Laguna Harvey to carry out shipments of the GNX-603T GN-Xs. After the distribution of the machines, Alejandro Corner gives the order to eliminate Laguna with the rest of the observers.

Trivia

 * Al-Saachez's character shares many similarities to Solidus Snake of Metal Gear series. Both were introduced as the leader of a terrorist group, and the former mentor to an army of child soldiers of which the story's protagonst was a member. Al-Saachez was also a willing pawn for the Innovades in much the same way as Solidus was for the Patriots.