Kycilia Zabi

In the fictional Mobile Suit Gundam series, Kycilia Zabi (or Kishiria Zabi) (キシリア・ザビ) was the only daughter of Degwin Sodo Zabi. Sources disagree as to whether she was second-eldest after her brother Gihren Zabi or next-to-youngest before her brother Garma Zabi.

Kycilia was quick to adapt to the changing technology of the One Year War, and was equally proficient in gathering intelligence for use against the Federation. She was in charge of the Principality's Mobile Suit Forces, and was responsible for their use against the Federation. In addition, she was responsible for the creation of numerous elite Mobile Suit units, including Char Aznable's 300th Independent Corps (aka Char's Newtype Corps), the hand-picked Chimera Corps, and the Midnight Fenrir covert ops team.

She is portrayed ambiguously during both the main series, and the various side stories surrounding the One Year War, with her motives often open to question. On the one hand, she is shown to be fiercely loyal to the people of Zeon, and to the men under her command. Many of her actions, however, can also be interpreted as those of a charismatic, but utterly merciless manipulatr of the highest order, preparing for a military coup.

Story
Not much is known about Kycilia's youth, but she is known to have grown up on Side 3, where she first met Johnny Ridden. Before the One Year War, Kycilia received word that Casval Rem Deikun, the son of Zeon Zum Deikun, was coming out of hiding and returning to Side 3 under the guise of Edward Mass. She ordered his assassination, but was unaware that Casval anticipated this. Kycilia's agents placed a bomb aboard the shuttle departing for Side 3, which exploded, killing all aboard. Unknown to her, Casval switched places with a similar-looking acquaintance named Char Aznable moments prior and never boarded the ship. He took Char's identity and Kycilia believed that Casval was dead.

During the Battle of Luom, she ordered her fleet to withdraw as soon as the main engagement was over, allowing her brother's fleets the "glory" of mopping-up the Federation's retreating troops while preserving the lives of the men under her own command. A veteran of the battle, Lt. Cdr Gerhart Schmeisser (who had been too seriously wounded in the fight to continue active combat piloting), approched her during the Antarctic Treaty cease-fire. He proposed the formation of a small Earth-bound covert-operations unit, to be named the Midnight Fenrir corps. She immediately approved.

Her activities during the first half of the One Year War are poorly documented, and neither she nor her forces encountered the White Base or its crew until much later. Her activities, in fact, are poorly documented even in Gundam's extensive side-story material. If she appears at all, it is often as an aloof patroness, with little dialog.

In the latter half of the One Year War she took Char Aznable under her wing after Dozle Zabi dismissed Char from his regiment for failing to protect Garma. With her support, he proceeded to form the 300th Independent Corps, gathering Newtypes from Zeon-held territory and prototype Mobile Armors from the Flanagan Institute.

When Degwin attempted to negotiate a peace with the Federation's General Revil, Kycilia was enroute to the location with her fleet in case the negotiations failed. Her fleet's sensors picked up the IR signature of the firing of the Solar Ray, but she was unaware of the death of her father until Gihren told her, also claiming that the firing of the weapon was an accident.

As the opening shots of the Battle of A Baoa Qu were fired, however, Gihren Zabi finally confessed to Kycilia that he killed their father, Degwin. Kycilia promptly executed Gihren with a single shot to the head, and took control of all Zeon forces during the battle. As the defenses began to falter, she gave the order for the Zeon forces to retreat, and for the defenders of A Baoa Qu to surrender 15 minutes after her escape. Just before she left, however, Char Aznable decapitated her by firing a rocket launcher through the window of the Chimera, her flagship. The ship was destroyed only moments later by Federation warships, the crew unable to communicate Char's treachery to the fleet. Without her leadership, the Zeon fleet rapidly fell into disarray, with individual commanders recovering what suits and pilots they could, then fleeing; others fighting to the death, believing their commander to still be alive but unable to escape.

There is some debate as to the nature of her relationship with ace pilot Johnny Ridden, however, they appear to share a courtly love. He refers to himself as as her knight, and uses the symbol of a unicorn as a dedication to her. Immediately before his sortie at A Baoa Qu, Ridden hands her a hand-carved amulet of a unicorn, an heirloom from his grandfather, which she accepts as a token and secures to her pistol. When she shoots Gihren, however, she is seen discarding the amulet - perhaps in the belief that she is no longer "pure" and worthy of the Unicorn.

Video Game appearances
Kycilia often plays a more visible role in Gundam video games than she did in the series, as she is the ultimate commander some of Zeon's most elite units. These same elite units provide, of course, perfect fodder for arcade games:


 * In the squad-based shooter Zeonic Front all simulator results are personally reviewed by Kycillia, and her responses (in the form of a short video and audio clip) vary from grudging admiration, to distaste, to some moderate praise (only for A or S rank).


 * She appears in the arcade and home versions of Federation vs. Zeon Deluxe for Zeon players whenever they acquire 4-star suits, captured enemy suits, or achieve specific combat objectives. These appearances, however, are limited to stills and text. Entering "Kycilia" as your player name in arcade mode changes the default audio and video clips played during the missions, although it has no effect on Scenario mode.


 * In the Tactical Roleplaying Game SD Gundam G Generation series, Kycilia frequently appears as a dangerous enemy, although after her defeat she can often be hired for individual battles by the player. She is an excellent ship commander, and invariably has a high leadership value, although her attack skills are typically only slightly above-average.


 * In the strategy video game Gihren's Greed: The Blood of Zeon, a bonus scenario is available in which Kycilia (shortly after the death of her father) defects from the Principality of Zeon and leads her own faction, the "Legitimate Zeon" to depose Gihren for his corrupt handling of the war as well as continue the war against the Earth Federation on her own.