The Delaz Fleet is a name given to renegade group of Zeon forces left over from the One Year War. The leader of the Delaz Fleet is Aiguille Delaz, a former Principality of Zeon Space Attack Force Admiral.
History
Origins
The Delaz Fleet's origins can be traced back to the Battle of A Boa Qu, when Kycilia Zabi assassinated her brother Gihren. At the time Delaz and his fleet were actively engaged in the defense of A Baoa Qu, but when word reached Delaz about the death of his good friend and commander, Delaz was overwhelmed with anger. He ordered all of his mobile suits to return to their ships, and ordered all of his ships to change heading and to leave A Baoa Qu. The retiring ships of the Delaz Fleet left as the Federation began gaining the upper hand, and before long the space fortress collapsed.
Post One Year War
Delaz, his ships, his mobile suits, and his personnel settled into the shoal zone created from the destruction of Side 5 during the Battle of Loum, and set up their headquarters, known as the Garden of Thorns. Within a year, the Delaz Fleet members were conducting guerrilla warfare against the Federation. In UC 0082 the fleet began production of mobile suits at the headquarters.
Operation Stardust
In UC 0083 spies for the Delaz Fleet confirmed the existence of the Gundam Development Project, and Delaz began to strengthen his ties with anti-Federation movements. Delaz entrusted Anaheim Electronics agent Orvil to secure transport down to Earth to work on the two Gundams being stored in Federation Headquarters at Jaburo. He would then board the E.F. Assault Carrier Albion on it's way to the test site in Australia. From there, Orvil would assist Commander Anavel Gato, the legendary "Nightmare of Solomon," to steal the Gundam Unit two, armed with the nuclear launcher and tactical nuke. In October of UC 0083 the Delaz fleet pulled off a daring hijack of Unit 2 with the assistance of a Jukon submarine from Earth-based Zeon remnant forces from Africa.Despite being pursued by the Albion to Kimberly Base in East Africa, Gato managed to get the gundam to the Delaz Fleet, via an old Heavy Lifter Vehicle (HLV), stored deep in the old Zeon base. He presented the Gundam to Delaz in late October.
During the Gundam hijacking, Delaz made an alliance with the rogue Zeon Marine battlegroup led by Colonel Cima Garahau. Despite her infamous combat record, her small fleet of marines greatly augmented the strength of the Delaz Fleet and were tasked to play a vital role in the upcoming operation. Cima's combat record was put to the test when Delaz agreed to let her meet the Albion as it patrolled the Shoal Zone, close to the Garden of Thorns. With one ship and five Gelgoog Marines variant types, Cima destroyed the Salamis-class cruisers and heavily damaged the Gundam Unit 1, which was unequipped for space combat. The event coincided with Delaz's declaration of war upon the Earth Federation, denouncement of the Treaty of Granada and the threat of mass annihilation of the Federation. The entire fleet sailed in November to put Stardust into motion.
The Delaz Fleet was entrusted with attacking the Federation's Naval review, which the Federation suspected as a target. Delaz's forces were divided into three groups. The main fleet, led by Gato aboard his flagship Peer Gynt, would take the Unit 2 on to Federal Space Headquarters at Solomon, now called Konpei Island, and destroy the Naval Review. The second group, led by Delaz himself, would comprise the rest of the main forces and head to rendezvous with Gato and proceed to the second phase of Stardust after the attack on Konpei. The third force, the Cima Fleet, would position itself to initiate the second phase of the operation. The Fleet had total surprise, given their relative strength and the skepticism and disdain of the E.F. leadership. When the attack on Konpei Island came, the Fleet Inspector General, Green Wyatt, dismissed it by saying: "Delaz's Fleet is as good as destroyed." However, the attack by Gato's mobile suit forces was a deception, meant to cover Gato's approach with Unit 2 through the Solomon Sea Zone to the Naval Review. The Inspector General, like most other commanders, anticipated the Unit 2's target was Jaburo. Only when Gato broke through to the Review itself was the target clearly identified. By then, it was too little too late. Gato's nuclear bazooka, armed with the tactical nuke stolen from Australia, destroyed the two-thirds of the entire fleet and killed Wyatt. The Delaz Fleet, by this time, had withdrawn from the Solomon Sea Zone, frustrated only by Gundam Unit 1's interference in Gato's escape. Both Gundams were destroyed. However, The Unit 2 was, by this point, expendable. Operation Stardust was entering its second phase.
After receiving confirmation of the nuclear attack on Konpei, Cima's Fleet deployed to intercept two Side One colonies be relocated to Side Three, as part of the Colony Reclamation Project. The hijacking caught the Federation Fleet leaders at Konpei by surprise. Most of them had thought the worst was over and that they only had to pursue and mop-up Delaz's forces. Cima's troops placed bombs on the colony mirrors and then detonated them by a simultanious cannon barrage from her seven Musei-class cruisers and Zanzibar-class assualt ship. The result was to put the colonies into an uncontrollable spin and eventual collision. Aboard the Albion, Nena Purpleton of Anaheim deduced that the colonies would collide and one would be put on a direct collision orbit with Von Braun City and nearby Granada. The two colonies did indeed collide and Cima's Fleet chased off the weak Federation units sent to investigate the disturbance. In response, the remaining Federation Forces, still larger then Delaz's combined fleet, began their pursuit.
Within hours of the hijacking, Delaz's main forces, including his flagship, the Gwaden, joined Cima and resupplied her forces. Also, as part of secret negotiations with the Zeon-based Axis Forces, under Haman Karn, rendezvoused with the neutral Axis Advance Fleet sent to support Delaz. Aboard the Gwanban-class battleship, Gato received the Neue Ziel, Axis' new mobile armor with prototype pycommu varient geared for non-newtype pilots of the highest caliber. In his own words, Gato remarked: "It is like the spirit of Zeon has taken form!" Gato immediately deployed with the new unit and attacked the Federation Pursuit Fleet's advance guard, which had come into firing range of the colony. Any hope of igniting the colony's propellent tanks and sending off course was dashed. As the colony approached Von Braun, Cima issued an ultimatum to Anaheim Electronic's Director to use his company's refueling laser's to ignite the colony's menuevering thrusters. Delaz's true purpose in recruiting Cima came to fruition. Along with the ships, Cima had a powerful relationship with Anaheim and he used that to pull off the unthinkable: a fake-lunar colony drop. The thrusters were ignited and the colony was propelled on a course for Earth. Delaz's intended target was Jaburo, as the Federation leaders had initially suspected. However, there would be no Federation Space Fleet to meet the colony. The deception of a lunar drop caused the pursuit fleet to use up all of its fuel. By the time tankers managed to get the fleet moving again, they would not be able to stop the colony's descent on to Jaburo.
The Delaz Fleet now faced only the Federal fleet that orbitted the Earth. However, this reduced fleet, in his initial intelligence, was not capable of either destroying the colony or destroying his own forces. Delaz knew he only had to escort the Fleet past the defense at the "Point of no Return" and then break away before the orbital fleet or pursuit forces could catch up. He informed the Axis Advance Fleet Commander that his forces would need to be recovered following the conclusion of Stardust. The commander gave him his assurance that, under orders from his superiors, he would recover the survivors. Delaz himself remarked: "I am only carrying out an operation with only these few ship... and it would have taken half of the entire Zeon Fleet." His reference to Operation British, the aborted colony drop on Jaburo sends a clear intention to fulfill where Gihren Zabi had failed. His fleet was resupplied and would complete the mission, even at the cost of their own lives.
As it approached the Point of No Return, the Fleet came under attack by the Albion and the stolen Gundam Unit 3 from La Vie en Rose. In the resulting engagements between Federation ace Kou Uraki and Gato, the Peer Gynt was destroyed and a break through had been achieved. However, the colony passed the defense line and would hit Earth regardless.
Meanwhile, Cima and her soldiers siezed control of the Gwaden, defected to the Federation and prepared to ransom Delaz. A broadcast for a cease fire was issued for both Zeon and the Federation. Gato flew to the bridge of the Gwaden and, after encouraging Gato to carry on without him, Delaz was executed by Cima after placlaiming "Seig Zeon." Gato flew into a rage and attacked the bridge of the ship. Cima barely escaped and subsequently destroyed the Gwaden.
The Fleet engaged in a fierce struggle with the Federation escort fleet, led by Captain Bask Om, future Titan's officer, tasked with defending the Solar System. The system destroyed more the 75% of Delaz's forces. Some survivors did make it to the waiting Axis Fleet. Other's, like Gato, died in battle against the approaching Federation pursuit forces.
Known Members
Equipment
Mobile Weapons
- AGX-04 Gerbera Tetra
- AMX-002 Neue Ziel
- MA-06 Val Varo
- MS-06F Zaku II
- MS-06F2 Zaku II F2 Type
- MS-09F Dom Funf
- MS-09F/trop Dom Tropen
- MS-09R Rick Dom
- MS-09RII Rick Dom II
- MS-14A Gelgoog
- MS-14F Gelgoog Marine
- MS-14Fs Gelgoog Marine Commander Type
- MS-21C Dra-C
- RX-78GP02A Gundam "Physalis"
- YMS-16M Xamel
Vehicles and Support Units
- Camouflaged Ferry Ship
- Gwanban-class (Gwanzan)
- Gwazine-class (Gwaden)
- H.L.V.
- Hohsenka
- Jukon-class (refit) (U-801)
- Komusai-II
- MS Landing Ship
- Musai-class (late production type)
- Papua class
- Pazock-class
- Zanzibar II-class (Lili Marleen)