Template:Infobox/Mobile Weapon Ver.2 The Hashmal (ハシュマル Hashumaru?) is the unmanned mobile armor and one of the Mobile Armor Frames which made its appearance in the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS television series.
Design & Development
The Hashmal is one of the unmanned Mobile Armors which were created during the Calamity War. The main body of the Mobile Armor is several times the size of a Mobile Suit and larger than any other Mobile Weapon thus-far. Assuming that its designers followed the Judiac Order of Angels, the Hashmal would be the fourth strongest class of Mobile Armor in the P.D. Universe.
The unit is completely controlled by its Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) with no need for human input. Covered in nanolaminate armor, the mobile armor is designed for aerial combat, with an overall bird-like appearance and beam weaponry. Like other mobile armors, Hashmal's protocols prioritize killing humans, and will move towards areas with high human populations. The Hashmal is armed with several different beam weapons, which are confirmed to be a lost technology that has not been replicated in the present day. This may be because Mobile Suits' Nanolaminate Armor seems to protect against these beam weapons. The Hashmal is also self sufficient, with the main body being able to produce unmanned mobile weapons known as Plumas, and those Plumas in turn being able to repair the Hashmal.
Equipment
- Mobile Suit Size sub-units that was produced within Hashmal that resemble insects. Weak individually, they implement swarm tactics in order to overwhelm enemy units. Aside from attacking, they are used to scavenge fuel, propellant, and other materials to repair Hashmal. The Hashmal in turn can manufacture new units as long as it has the proper materials, leading to theoretical self-propagation. It received energy from Hashmal through microwave, while data of the surrounding area collected by Pluma is transmitted in real time to Hashmal, which allows Hashmal to generate orders to the Plumas.
- Beam Cannon
- The Hashmal features a high powered, long range beam weapon mounted within the mouth of its head. It takes a few seconds to charge, then opens its mouth and fire. It's powerful enough to hit targets several kilometers away, though the nanolaminate armor of Mobile Suits can deflect it as Ride's Mobile Suit was able to survive a sustained shot from it albeit with some damage to the limbs.
History
Calamity War
The Hashmal was created during the Calamity War and was used for area dominance during its creation and was feared by the people of that time. Referred to as 'angels' by the people, it killed a fourth of the population before the Gundam Frames ('demons') were created to retaliate and hunt them down.
P.D. 325
In the present day, the Hashmal was discovered by Tekkadan on Mars. During a standoff with McGillis Fareed and Iok Kujan, the presence of Iok's squad mobile suit have accidentally reactivated the Hashmal and the mobile armor have gone berserk upon its reawakening.
The Hashmal then set its sub-units out to attack anyone nearby, heavily damaging Iok's Mobile Suit and annihilating his guards. It then sends the Plumas out to forage for fuel and materials. It then sets its sights on Chryse where Tekkadan is waiting to ambush it, only to have Iok intercept it and draw it towards the Agricultural Center. Ride attempts to use his Mobile Suit as a shield against the Hashmal's beam cannon, but it reflects off the Mobile Suit's nanolaminate armor and causes heavy damage to the complex, killing civilians. Ride is overwhelmed by the Plumas sheer numbers but is saved by the timely arrival of Mikazuki.
Notes & Trivia
- Hashmal appears to be named after the Hashmallim (or "Glowing Ones"/"Amber Ones"), one of the ten classes of angels in Judaism. As a result, following with the themes set by the Gundam and Valkyrja lines, it is theorized there are ten mobile armor classes (or at least ten mobile armor units) in Iron Blooded Orphans' setting.
- Hashmal bears a slight resemblance to Metal Gear RAY from Konami's Metal Gear Solid series. Both are bipedal, dinosaur-like mecha with enlarged "shoulder" appendages, long whip-like tails and narrow heads that possess mouth cannons (with one variation of RAY even holding a particle weapon type). As well, while the original RAY prototype was piloted, the various production models were all AI driven.
Gallery
Template:Post Disaster Mobile Weapons