A Baoa Qu



In Mobile Suit Gundam, the space fortress A Baoa Qu (Japanese: ア・バオア・クー) was Zeon's last defense line in the One Year War of the Universal Century for the Principality of Zeon. The name (variously spelled Abaoaqu or A Bao A Qu by fans) is taken from an obscure Malayan legend A Bao A Qu (Japanese: ア・バオ・ア・クゥー) about a monster who guards the Tower of Victory.

A Baoa Qu was the Principality of Zeon's largest and most powerful asteroid base. A Baoa Qu was a fusion of two asteroids into one, forming an "umbrella"-like shape. A Baoa Qu was built in the opposite L2 point orbit, placing it directly opposite from the Zeon homeland in Side 3. A Baoa Qu provided rear defense, while the Zeon's Solomon space fortress provided frontal defense.

The space fortress served as the Zeon Military Force's general headquarters for their space fleet. It also was used as a mobile suit and mobile armor production factory. It was the scene of the titanic Battle of A Baoa Qu, one of the greatest battles of the One Year War. Unlike the earlier Battle of Solomon, this one was a hard-fought victory for the Federation.

After the One Year War, A Baoa Qu was kept by the Republic of Zeon following the signing of the Treaty of Granada. Later, in June U.C. 0087, the Zeons would hand over A Baoa Qu to the Earth Federation's Titan special police force, who would renamed it the Gate of Zedan. The space fortress was completely destroyed in U.C. 0088 when the mobile asteroid base Axis rammed it and broke the Gate of Zedan into two.

Battle of A Baoa Qu
Following the firing of the Solar Ray System, Rear Admiral Kycilia Zabi, aware of her father's secret meeting with the Federation's General Revil, learns that his ship the Gwazine-Class Battleship Great Degwin was on the Geldolva line at the time of the Solar Ray System's discharge. Only she and her brother Supreme Commander Gihren Zabi know of their father's negotiations and true fate.

The disarrayed Federal forces quickly regroup, using the Pegasus-Class Assault Carrier White Base as their rally point. While the Federation reorganize, Gihren Zabi meets with the A Baoa Qu defenders and gives a speech that the Zeon are a superior race, that the Earth Federation's remaining forces are now halved thanks to the Solar Ray System, and that they win this battle as to "rise up to the future".

The Federation launches an attack on A Baoa Qu's N defense field with the second and third mobile suit battalions, while their remaining fleets use the Magellan-Class Battle ship Luzar as its flagship to penetrate the S field. The White Base spearheads an assault into the F line, A Baoa Qu's crossfire aiming point but also its weakest defense point, all the while when a small fleet, rumored to have been led by the assault carrier Pegasus, attempted to breach the V line, guarded by Zeon's Dolowa carrier. Gihren Zabi's counterattack plan relies heavily on his mammoth Dolos-Class Heavy Carrier Ship and the Gelgoog, Zeon's latest mass-production mobile suite that rivals the Gundam in strength and weaponry. The Federation attempts to use beam-dispersion smoke again, but Gihren Zabi launches a counterstrike of missiles, all the while keeping his mobile suit forces held back.

Kycilia Zabi's Mobile Assault Force arrives as the Federation begins to penetrate A Baoa Qu's lines. While Kycilia Zabi orders her fleet to position itself along the N field, she provides Char Aznable with the MSN-02 Zeong, a new mobile suit using Psycommu technology, which would allow him to pilot using his Newtype mind. The Psycommu was used originally in the Elmeth, another psychically controlled mobile armor, piloted by Char's protégé, Lalah Sune, but was destroyed in the Battle of Solomon. After Char sorties in the Zeong, Kycilia confronts Gihren with the news of their father's death, and, after hearing him confess to killing him, executes Gihren Zabi for the crime of patricide. After his death, it is discovered that Gihren miscalculated the effectiveness of his fighting force. The three Dolos carriers are destroyed, depriving their large numbers of mobile suits of fuel and munitions, and the Gelgoogs and Doms are piloted by conscripted students who have barely enough training to properly use their mobile suits. Many of Zeon's ace pilots also are killed or missing in action, such as Thomas Krutz and Johnny Ridden, hurting the Zeon's attempt to hold A Baoa Qu. Also, angered by the execution of the Supreme Commander, the Delaz fleet (a battle unit which is very loyal to Gihren Zabi, lead by Aiguille Delaz), resigned from the battle, further reducing the number of ships and mobile suits in the Zeon lines.

As A Baoa Qu's N field is overwhelmed by the Federation's mobile suit battalions and the Zeon's S field is on the verge of collapsing thanks to White Base's Gundam, the Zeong is sent to reinforce it and keep the Federation from penetrating the S field. The fighting becomes so thick that the Amuro's Gundam and the Char's Zeong are soon engaged in close combat inside the fortress, and the fight continues after both pilots have destroyed the others' mobile suits. The White Base is forced to beach itself on the fortress and fight Zeon infantry in close quarters combat.

As the battle for A Baoa Qu enters inside the heart of the fortress itself, Kycilia Zabi begins preparations to flee from the collapsing A Baoa Qu. Her plan is to escape to a rally point and meet up with fleets from the Zeon's Granada lunar base and the Zeon homeland and continue the war. She orders Twoning, the base commander, to wait 15 minutes after her exit then surrender the base (he will be exchanged later for Federal POWs, according to her plan). However, her plan is interrupted by Char Aznable, who assassinates Kycilia before she can leave the asteroid fortress. Her Zanzibar-Class Mobile Cruiser is soon destroyed by Federal forces.

A Baoa Qu falls to the Federal forces. On 01 January UC0080, Zeon's Prime Minister Darcia Bakharov signs the Treaty of Granada, ending the war. Under the conditions of the treaty, A Baoa Qu is the only asteroid base kept by the new Republic of Zeon.