XM-X2ex Crossbone Gundam X-2 Kai

The Crossbone Gundam X-2 Kai ("Kai" is the Japanese Kanji character "改", And translates into "Modified") is a mobile suit which appears in the manga Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
Modified from the frame of the Crossbone Gundam X-2, the Crossbone Gundam X-2 Kai features one important change; the Core Block System was removed completely in favor of a standard cockpit. Though it used the same X-thruster system as its Core Fighter-equipped predecessor, X-2 Kai mounted additional thrusters on the X-shaped limbs, giving it better speed and maneuverability than the original. Another addition for the X-2 Kai is a buster launcher developed by the Jupiter Empire. Though not Zabine's style the weapon fires a powerful particle beam that can destroy Federation warship in one shot.

Armaments

 * Vulcan Gun
 * The Crossbone Gundam is equipped with a pair of head mounted Vulcan guns. The purpose of the Vulcan guns is to serve as a mid-close range defensive weapon. While it can normally do little damage against the armor of a mobile suit it serves as a much more efficient and cost-effective as a means to shoot down incoming missiles, as opposed to using the beam rifle, the power of which would be over kill and far more limited in ammunition. At close range the Vulcan guns can do some damage to an enemy mobile suit, especially to unarmored areas such as the sensors in the head. When faced with Vulcan fire enemies seem to instinctively try to dodge or at least attempt to protect vital area of the mobile suit, actions the pilot of the Crossbone Gundam can take advantage of.


 * Mega Machine Gun
 * The Crossbone Gundam is equipped with a pair of fire-linked mega machine cannons in its chest. In the age of miniaturized mobile suits, the emphasis for mobile suit designs is speed, thus armor is sacrificed to reduce mass and weight. This leaves many mobile suits vulnerable to physical round weapons, such as machine guns, that had been discarded for mobile suit combat because of a lack of effectiveness after the One Year War. Though based on the concept of old mobile suit machine guns, the mega machine cannons mounted in the F91's chest have been improved with modern technology, making them more effective.


 * Beam Saber
 * The beam saber is the standard close-combat melee weapon of mobile suits descended from the RX-78-2 Gundam, and many other machines developed in the years after the One Year War. Beam sabers are powerful weapons that emit a blade of plasma contained by an I-field that can cut through any physical armor. The only way to fully defend against a beam saber is to block it with another beam saber or a beam shield. Because of the I-field a beam saber can be used to block an attack from a beam rifle, but this is a technique that requires considerable skill, and can only block an attack of so much power. The Crossbone Gundam is equipped with two beam sabers stored in shoulder racks when not in use. They also serve as the beam guns the beam guns for the corefighter.


 * Heat Dagger
 * The Crossbone Gundams are equipped with four heat dagger weapons for close combat. As their name implies the heat daggers rely on the technology, first developed by the Principality of Zeon, of using thermal energy to heat up a metal blade to super-high temperatures. The high heat allows the blade to begin melting the enemies armor on contact, which when combined with the force applied to the attack, can inflict significant damage. The four heat daggers of the Crossbone Gundams are mounted in the legs, two stored on the back of the calves that are hand-operated when in use, and one stored and in each foot that slides out but is permanently mounted in the foot and used in kicking attacks. Because the heat daggers do not have the range or the power of the beam saber the pilot is required to be more precise in their use, relying more on skill than technology.


 * Scissor Anchor
 * Each Crossbone Gundam is equipped with a pair of scissor anchors stored on the front skirt armor. These anchors are attached to the Gundam by long chains and use scissor claws to grip objects. While these are not offense weapons per-say, they provide several uses in combat. They can be used to grip the limb and an enemy machine to ensnare it or to reel it in closer to the Crossbone Gundam where it is within melee combat range. They can also be used to turn ensnared mobile suits into bludgeoning weapons by pulling on the chain. The scissor anchors can also be used to stabilize the Gundam's footing in case of emergencies, such as when fighting the wind force of an explosion.


 * Beam Shield/Brand Marker
 * The beam shield generates a plane of energy similar to the blade of a beam saber which is capable of blocking both beams and physical weapons. This plane is divided into multiple sections, which can be turned on or off as needed to conserve energy. Individual sections are also automatically deactivated whenever they're in danger of coming into contact with the mobile suit itself. Beam shield generators can be built into the arm of the mobile suit or they can be optional equipment, a unit that mounts on the mobile suit's arm and draws power directly from the fusion reactor.


 * The beam shield generators of the Crossbone Gundams can further take advantage of how malleable the energy is to form four short beam blades at the corners of the beam shield generator that meet at the center, giving the brand marker as a whole a pyramidal shape. The brand marker slides over the fist of the mobile suit and is used as a punching weapon. When used the the brand marker leaves an X-shaped hole, if the target area isn't completely destroyed.


 * Buster Launcher
 * A high powered beam launcher built by the Jupiter Empire capable of destroying Federation warships in one shot.


 * Buster Gun
 * The buster gun is the primary ranged weapon of the Crossbone Gundam. This beam gun is modeled after a flintlock pistol and is typically used with only one of the mobile suit's hands, leaving the second hand free to use a melee weapon. Stored on the right hip when not in use the buster gun can combine with the beam zanber to form the zanbuster.


 * Beam Zanber
 * The beam zanber is a high power beam saber and is the primary weapon of the Crossbone Gundam. The hilt of the beam zanber is modeled after that of a traditional pirate cutlass, as does the beam blade when it is formed, and is stored on the left hip when not in use. The power of the beam zanber is significantly higher than that of ordinary beam sabers, such that it is easy for the Crossbone Gundam to overpower an enemy in melee combat or even "cut" through the beam of an ordinary beam saber. Behind the guard of the beam zanber is a gun handle that is used in the zanbuster configuration.


 * Zanbuster
 * The zanbuster is the combination of the beam zanber and the buster gun to form a high energy beam rifle. In this configuration the butt of the buster gun is connected to the beam emitter of the beam zanber. The zanbuster is capable of the Crossbone Gundam's most powerful ranged attacks an is capable of mounting special equipment.


 * Shot lancer
 * A distinctive close combat weapon developed by the Crossbone Vanguard, the shot lancer is designed for combat in and around space colonies, where beam weapons would run the risk of triggering catastrophic reactor explosions in enemy mobile suits. Instead, the shot lancer uses electromagnetic acceleration to drive its tip through the enemy's armor, and the spearhead itself can also be launched like a missile. The shot lancer was first equipped on the XM-01 Den'an Zon and remained a standard melee weaponry for many Crossbone Vanguard mobile suit models.


 * Four-Barrel Heavy Machine Gun
 * The shot lancer used by the X-2 is a drum fed four-barrel heavy machine gun model such as those used by the XM-05 Berga Giros that Zabine used to pilot.

System Features

 * Dummy Launcher
 * A deception device that takes advantage of Minovsky particle interference. Thanks to this interference, warfare in the Universal Century era relies heavily on visual sensors, which can be tricked by inflatable decoys. These decoy balloons are designed to mimic mobile suits, asteroids, and even warships. More sophisticated varieties are equipped with small maneuvering verniers, allowing them to move in a realistic manner and register on infra-red sensors.


 * The XM-X2 is equipped with a hand mounted dummy launcher that can launcher several dummies in the shape and color of the XM-X1. With these dummies the Gundam can confuse an enemy trying to bombard the Gundam at long range, long enough to get close enough for the Gundam to use its weapons.


 * Bio-computer system
 * A new kind of man-machine interface, that is functionally a reverse psycommu system, the bio-computer places less strain on its human operator. The bio-computer is originally intended to help the disabled, but its development is ultimately funded by the Earth Federation Forces, who hoped to employ it as a mobile suit control system and installed it in the F91 Gundam for experimental purposes. As its name implies, the bio-computer is similar in structure to a human brain, and its operating processes resemble human thoughts and feelings. Rather than merely displaying data on a computer monitor, the bio-computer can relay it directly to the pilot in the form of sensory information, so what the machine "feels" can also be experienced by the human operator. However, the full latent potential of this system can only be tapped by a Newtype pilot.

History
When Jupiter Empire leader Crux Dogatie staged a "sporting" fight between the XM-X2 Crossbone Gundam X-2 and the young pilot Tobia Arronax, he hadn't counted on Tobia managing to hijack the X-2 and using its Core Fighter to escape. Left without a cockpit, the Jupiter Empire had to modify the X-2 so that the traitorous Zabine Chareux could pilot it again. After completing the ritualistic torture that the Jupiter Empire put him through, Zabine's first act with the new X-2 Kai was to frame his former allies. As the Mother Vanguard was surrounded by Earth Federation battleships, Zabine attacked, making the Federation think that Berah Ronah (aka Cecily Fairchild) had hostile intentions and setting off a full-scale battle. After allowing Kincado Nau (aka Seabook Arno) to exhaust himself fighting the Federation's Gundam F91s, Zabine came in to finish off his hated rival. However, a near-miss with his beam saber, Kincado's ingenuity and SNRI's medical care resulted in Kincado's return to the battlefield some months later. Zabine attacked him once again, but Kincado gained the upper hand and finished Zabine by stabbing a heat dagger into X-2 Kai's cockpit, destroying the Gundam.