GAT-01A2R Slaughter Dagger

The GAT-01A2R Slaughter Dagger is a mass-production all-purpose multi-modal mobile suit, it is featured in the ONA series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: STARGAZER and the manga series Gundam SEED C.E. 73 Δ Astray.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The armament of the Slaughter Dagger is largely similar to the one of the original GAT-01A1 105 Dagger. It thus consists of two head-mounted "Igelstellung II" 40mm multi-barrel CIWS guns, two ES01 beam sabers for close combat, two foot-mounted 12.5mm anti-infantry guns to shoot down enemy soldiers on the ground and lastly a single physical shield for defense. The only difference lies in the optional hand armament. While the old 105 Dagger used a machine gun, the Slaughter Dagger is equipped with a more powerful MX703G beam rifle.

Since the Slaughter Dagger usually mounts the Aile Striker pack, the armament features two additional beam sabers, which are mounted on the pack. When another pack is mounted on the Dagger, the suit gains access to the additional armament of this pack. However the Slaughter Dagger is fully capable of mounting every known Striker pack used by the Strike Gundam, including the experimental IWSP and Lightning Striker packs, as well as the Jet Striker pack.

Armaments

 * "Igelstellung II" 40mm Multi-barrel CIWS
 * As with most other mobile suits, the Dagger mounts two "Igelstellung II" 40mm multi-barrel CIWS guns in its head to shoot down incoming missiles or enemies at close range. Unlike the earlier G-project machines and Strike Dagger's, these CIWS' are smaller in caliber, this was likely done to ease cost and streamline production.


 * ES01 Beam Saber
 * Another feature found on the Dagger and most other mobile suits are the two beam sabers of type ES01 fore close combat. These beam sabers are stored on the hips if not in use.


 * 12.5mm Anti-infantry Gun
 * The most original armaments of the Dagger are the shell-firing 12.5mm anti-infantry guns, with each foot mounting a single gun. These guns are used to shoot down enemy soldiers on the ground and are powerful enough to cause severe damage to an area covered with humans.


 * Shield
 * A piece of armor almost as long as the Slaughter Dagger is used to intercept attacks that the pilot cannot, or will not dodge. The shield does not have phase shift armor, so it is not as durable as the Strike's armor, however it also does not drain energy each time it is hit. The shield's major advantage is that it is designed to block and absorb energy based attacks from weapons such as beam rifles and beam sabers, an ability the phase shift armor is unable to accomplish. However the shield has limits, for instance its ability to block an attack on the scale of a positron cannon blast is limited to halting the momentum while the shield and Strike Dagger itself will be destroyed.


 * MX703G Beam Rifle
 * The beam rifle is the main weapon, and can optionally be stored on the rear waist. This is the primary mid to long range combat weapon and can easily destroy a ZGMF-1017 GINN with one shot, but is mostly ineffective against suits with anti-beam coating.

Special Equipment & Features

 * Laminated Armor
 * For additional defense, the suit is equipped with laminated armor and an improved type of heat-resistant ablative gel DPX-30, similar to that used on Archangel-class. While this offered no increased protection against projectile weapons, it provided defense against mobile suit-scale beam weaponry.


 * Hardpoints for Striker Packs
 * The Dagger is the first mass produced mobile suit capable of mounting the same Striker Packs used on the original GAT-X105 Strike Gundam. As with the original unit, these packs grant the Dagger the ability to adapt to different combat situations and thus was nearly identical in performance to the prototype unit. It is also able to mount the newer Striker Packs developed after the first Bloody Valentine War.

History
During the first Bloody Valentine War, the Earth Alliance created the 105 Dagger, a mass-produced variation of the prototype GAT-X105 Strike. The 105 Dagger was able to mount the same Striker Packs as the Strike but due to its high production cost, the EA instead mass produced the more simplified GAT-01 Strike Dagger. The Slaughter Dagger is a special variation of the 105 Dagger, which is largely similar to the old 105 Dagger, save for the darker color scheme. This model eventually became the standard mass production mobile suit for the elite Phantom Pain special forces unit under the command of Logos. As a result, the Slaughter Daggers were used in many inhuman operations which the Phantom Pain conducted both on Earth and in space.

In CE 73, a group of Martians which came with the Acidalium to the Earth Sphere to check the situation there and meet with representatives of all superpowers, had to fight against Slaughter Daggers several times. During the first meeting between the Mars group and members of the EA (which were actually part of the Phantom Pain), the group was "greeted" by Slaughter Daggers. Shortly afterwards, a battle ensued which the Martians eventually fled. The group then reached the Orb Union but the Phantom Pain insisted that Orb helped them destroy the Martians. To keep this operation a secret, five Orb pilots were given Slaughter Daggers, each mounting a different Striker Pack, to attack the Acdialium. The whole task force was led by Phantom Pain and GAT-X105E+AQM/E-X09S Strike Noir pilot Sven Cal Payang. After the Mars ship left Orb's territory, the task force split up and attacked the ship. The Sword Slaughter Dagger, piloted by Hoskin Gira Sakato, used his rocket anchor to tether the Acidalium to the ground of the sea, while Gard Dell Hokuha in his Lightning Slaughter Dagger and Sars Sehm Elia in her Launcher Slaughter Dagger used the ranged weapons of their Striker Packs to attack the ship from afar. In the meantime, Vanfeldt Ria Lindsay in his Slaughter Dagger and Waid Rabby Nadaga in his Slaughter Dagger IWSP fought against the GSF-YAM01 Δ Astray, piloted by Ergnes Brahe. Hoskin eventually was defeated by Nahe Herschel in his GSF-YAM02 Guardshell, while both Sars and Gard were taken down by ZAFT pilot Isaac Mau in his TMF/A-802W2 Kerberos BuCUE Hound, who accompanied the Acidalium on orders from PLANT Supreme Council chairman Gilbert Durandal. Vanfelt is then shot down by Ergnes, while Waid's IWSP pack was taken by Sven (who had lost his own flight pack), causing the reckless Orb pilot to crash into the waters.

In CE 74, several Slaughter Daggers under the command of Sven were used to completely destroy a supposed terrorist camp. Some times later in space, a large Phantom Pain unit, which included several Slaughter Daggers attacked the DSSD space station to steal the GSX-401FW Stargazer. During the attack, they fought against the much weaker UT-1D Civilian Astray DSSD Custom suit of the organization as well as the Stargazer. Eventually the Phantom Pain fleet was destroyed.