The Battle of Gryps is a conflict featured in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, and is the final battle of the Gryps War.
Prelude[]
Following the AEUG's victories at the Destruction of the Gate of Zedan and Operation Maelstrom, the Titans and Axis Zeon respectively sought to counterattack against the AEUG by capturing or destroying the Gryps 2 Colony Laser.[1]
The Battle[]
On February 20, the forces of the AEUG, the remaining Titans under control of Paptimus Scirocco, and the Axis Zeon forces met in a fleet battle around the colony laser. Both the Titans and Axis Zeon attacked the AEUG fleet stationed at Gryps II. While the Argama was still on its way back from its Mission to stop Axis, the AEUG fleet was led by Commander Henken Bekkener of the Irish-class battleship, Radish. The AEUG fleet was initially overwhelmed by the Titans fleet and were pushed back during the first day of the battle.[1]
Later the Argama arrived, and Captain Bright Noa took command of the fleet. The Argama sent out its mobile suit forces, however the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam was intercepted by Jerid Messa piloting a NRX-055 Baund Doc mobile armor, and Emma Sheen's RX-178+FXA-05D Super Gundam was attacked by the Hambrabi’s of the Yazan Team. Quattro Bajeena's MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki moved to protect the Colony Laser itself from an attack by both Paptimus Scirocco's PMX-003 The-O, and Haman Karn's AMX-004 Qubeley. Bright hoped to draw in as many enemy units towards the Colony Laser before firing at them with said weapon.[1]
While Emma engaged the Yazan Team, Katz Kobayashi, who flew the FXA-05D G-Defenser that provided the Super Gundam's equipment, insisted on lingering and shoot down Ramsus Hasa's Hambrabi, but Katz himself was too distracted afterwards and subsequently made a fatal crash on a meteorite that allowed Yazan to shoot him down. (In A New Translation, the crash on the meteorite was what kills Katz instead.) In retaliation, Emma took out Yazan's remaining wingman, Dunkel Cooper, but Yazan snuck up behind the Super Gundam and managed to destroy its equipment, forcing Emma to continue with only the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II. Upon seeing this, Henken had the Radish charged forward to try and support the Gundam, which had lost one of its arms and had resorted to hiding behind debris, but Yazan responded by single-handedly destroying the Radish. Kamille, having sensed Katz's demise, broke off from his battle with Jerid and rushed to Emma, only to find the sunken Radish. Though he did provide Emma with the cover to escape, he was set on by Jerid once more. In response, Kamille fired two quick shots that hit Jerid's Baund Doc and sent it flying into the exploding Radish.[1]
With Jerid gone, Emma was returned back to the Argama for a hasty repair as Kamille moved to assist Quattro, but was stopped by Yazan's Hambrabi and Reccoa Londe's PMX-001 Palace Athene. Later, Emma returned and engage Reccoa, successfully impaling the Palace Athene with a beam saber thrust. Unfortunately, Emma exited her cockpit to try and confirm Reccoa's death, and Yazan pounced on the opportunity and mortally wounded Emma by destroying the crippled Palace Athene in front of her. Enraged by his comrades' deaths, Kamille chased after Yazan, using the Zeta's Bio-Sensor to shield himself from the Hambrabi's attacks and elongating its beam saber to cut the unit in half though Yazan would be able to escape on a pod. Afterwards, Kamille retrieved Emma and took her into an abandoned ship, but she ultimately succumbed to her wounds.[1]
Having finally dealt with Yazan, Kamille rushed into Gryps 2 with Fa Yuiry's MSA-005 Methuss to aid Quattro, whose Hyaku Shiki had been severely damaged by both Haman and Scirocco. With allied units stuck inside the Colony Laser, Bright was forced to delay the Colony Laser's firing, quickly sending a message for all allied units to evacuate immediately. Kamille and Fa rescued Quattro and moved to exit the colony with Haman and Paptimus on their trail. With their mobile suits safe, the AEUG were finally allowed to attack the Titan fleet with the Colony Laser. Seeing that the majority of his forces had been destroyed, Scirocco knew that the Titans had no chance of defeating the AEUG.[2]
Realizing that the battle was now decided, Haman opted to cut her losses and attempted to flee. Quattro, despite his unit being damaged, continued to chase Haman, but the Qubeley defeated Quattro's Hyaku Shiki. In a final attempt to defeat the Qubeley, Quattro resorted to fighting inside a damaged ship and shot through its exposed gas pipe causing the ship to explode, although the Qubeley survived. Meanwhile, Kamille, shielded by the spirit of his deceased friends, stunned The O long enough to ram through its cockpit with the tip of the Zeta's Wave Rider Mode.[2] Unwilling to die alone, Scirocco unleashed a powerful psychic attack that left Kamille in a vegetative state. Fa, having emerged unharmed, successfully recovered both the Zeta and Emma's abandoned Gundam Mk-II before making their way back to the Argama.
Aftermath[]
At the end of the final battle, both the Titan and AEUG fleets lay in ruins, having decimated one another, but the biggest loser from the conflict was the Earth Federation itself which suffered the cumulative losses of both sides.[2] Haman, having wisely exited the battle early, had preserved the majority of Axis Zeon's fighting force and would take advantage of the Federation's weakness by launching the First Neo Zeon War. Due to the severe damage of its forces in space, Haman would be able to quickly attack the Federation heartland on Earth while the AEUG would require new pilots on short notice as the Argama had lost almost all its pilots at Gryps. With most of its fighting force spent, most of the initial fighting against Neo Zeon would come in the form of the AEUG and smaller military groups such as Karaba.
In spite of the disbandment of the Titans following the war, several fugitives would escape and became terrorists that would continuously plague the space colonies. The incidents would continue on even after the end of the First Neo Zeon War as the One Year War hero, Amuro Ray would be tasked with hunting down these remnants.
Gallery[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The battle appears in SD Gundam Battle Alliance, where a break in the universe has the player encounter Char in his OYW, Quatro Bajeena persona, and CCA incarnations as they move to the Colony Laser, only to find its interior too damaged to salvage. In the fixed version, the player must first assist Quattro in his duel against Haman before being sent to aid Kamille's battle against Scirocco.
- The battle is featured in the Dynasty Warriors Gundam series as part of Kamille, Char, Haman and, Scirocco's stories as well as the ending for the Zeta story in Reborn.
- In its original appearance, the AEUG side would have the players assist Kamille and Emma against their duels with Jerid and Yazan respectively before moving to protect the Colony Laser from Haman and Scirocco. The Titans side plays similarly as players are sent to aid Jerid and Yazan instead. Interestingly, Haman's side has her first deal with the Titans blocking Axis Zeon's entry to the battle before taking the Colony Laser from the AEUG and firing it on the Titans herself. With both sides sufficiently damaged, she moves to finish both sides before Quattro appears a final time as a show of defiance.
- In Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation III - Love Is the Pulse of the Stars, the battle and the war ended differently. Kamille would still smash Scirocco's Mobile Suit into the Jupitrus, but Scirocco would fail to ravage Kamille's mind, dying alone in the detonation of the ship. The Zeta's Wave Rider equipment would be jettisoned as it returned to Mobile Suit mode, but Kamille would be safe and sound, much to Fa's joy and relief. Haman would have a change of heart and have Axis leave the Earth Sphere while sending Mineva Lao Zabi to Earth to study, preventing the First Neo Zeon War from happening. Char's whereabouts in this ending are unknown.
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
- Episode 49, Casualties of War
- First Appearance
- Episode 50, Riders in the Skies
- Conclusion
- Episode 49, Casualties of War
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Episode 49, Casualties of War
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Episode 50, Riders in the Skies
| Gryps War Conflicts and Events | |
| March, 0087 U.C. | |
|---|---|
| Heist of the Gundam Mk-II | First Skirmish near Luna II | Second Skirmish near Luna II | |
| May, 0087 U.C. | |
| Second Battle of Jaburo | |
| June, 0087 U.C. | |
| Battle of New Hong Kong | |
| August, 0087 U.C. | |
| Operation Apollo | Recapture of Von Braun | Assassination of Blex Forer | Granada Colony Drop | Skirmish at the Gwazine Wreckage | |
| September, 0087 U.C. | |
| Mission to Infiltrate the Jupitris | First Attack on Side 2 | | |
| October, 0087 U.C. | |
| Bombing of Von Braun | Attack on the Dogosse Giar | First Negotiations on the Gwadan | |
| November, 0087 U.C. | |
| Attack on Kilimanjaro | First Battle of Dakar | Attack on the Aldumla | Skirmish at Colony 13 | |
| December, 0087 U.C. | |
| Mission to Investigate Gryps | Second Attack on Side 2 | Third Attack on Side 2 | Attack on Gryps 2 | |
| January, 0088 U.C. | |
| Assassination Attempt at the Gate of Zedan | Destruction of the Gate of Zedan | Second Negotiations on the Gwadan | |
| February, 0088 U.C. | |
| Operation Maelstrom | Mission to stop Axis | Battle of Gryps | |