Edit Faction: Organization of the Zodiac

The '''Organization of the Zodiac''' ('''OZ'''), formally known as the '''Special Mobile Suit unit''' ('''SMS''') in the [[United Earth Sphere Alliance]] military, is an organization that appears in the ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing]]'' TV series and novels. ==History== The Organization of the Zodiac, or OZ, is the military wing of the [[Romefeller Foundation]], which came to the forefront in the waning years of the [[United Earth Sphere Alliance]]. OZ operated as a division of the [[United Earth Sphere Alliance#Military|Alliance Military]] and served as a form of Special Forces or black ops group. Officially, they were known as the Special Mobile Suit unit, more commonly known as "Specials" (スペシャルズ). The events of [[New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Episode Zero|Episode Zero]] and [[New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop|Frozen Teardrop]] acknowledge that the original leader of OZ was General [[Chilias Catalonia]], the son of [[Duke Dermail]] and the father of [[Dorothy Catalonia]]. He was replaced by [[Treize Khushrenada]] in AC 193 after he died in battle. As unrest in the Colonies increased and their calls for independence from Earth became more forceful, the Alliance became more militaristic and OZ became a larger portion of that force. With their increased influence, Treize Khushrenada was able to gain the support of the Colonies, who believed that OZ would allow the Colonies independence. Thus, OZ was able to stage a successful ''coup d'etat'' of the United Earth Sphere Alliance, leaving the Earth in a loose confederation of nations held together by the Romefeller Foundation. The Colonies' hopes of independence were soon dashed as OZ began to enforce the will of the Romefeller Foundation upon both Earth and the Colonies. OZ became the primary target of the five Gundams of [[Operation Meteor]], sent by the Colonies to gain their final independence from Earth. The Gundams gave OZ a problem that required most of their force to be moved from space back to Earth to defend their military installations and leaders. Despite heavy losses at the hands of the Gundams, OZ was able to survive until the Gundams' return to space. By this time, the type of automated Mobile Suit known as [[Mobile Doll]]s were becoming widespread throughout the organization. [[Treize Khushrenada]] was of the mindset that without humans on the battlefield there would be no more honor in combat. He openly expressed his disapproval of the Mobile Doll Program at a meeting of the Romefeller Foundation, and was summarily relieved of command and placed on house arrest. Several OZ officers loyal to Treize created a splinter group within OZ initially known as the [[Treize Faction]]. The group ultimately began operation outside of OZ and was deemed an enemy of the Romefeller Foundation. OZ continued its existence, and would serve as the main arm of the military of the [[Earth Sphere Unified Nation]] that was created by the Romefeller Foundation. The last major military action that OZ would participate in was in the final battle of the war in December AC 195 in which they fought against former OZ soldiers calling themselves the [[White Fang]]. After the battle, all mobile suits were dismantled and banned from use, and OZ ceased to exist. ==Members== *[[Treize Khushrenada]] *[[Vingt Khushrenada]] *[[Zechs Merquise]] *[[Lucrezia Noin]] *[[Lady Une]] *[[Trant Clark]] *[[Karl Noembreux]] *[[Alex]] *[[Mueller]] *[[Broden]] *[[Walker]] *[[Nichol]] *[[Aoi Clark]] *[[Seis Clark]] *[[Elve Onegall]] *[[Chilias Catalonia]] ==Rank== OZ has its own rank structure separate from the Alliance military. In addition, OZ members receive nobility title according to their rank. {| border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" style="width:500px;" class="article-table" |- ! scope="col"|SMS/OZ rank ! scope="col"|Nobility title ! scope="col"|Notable example ! scope="col"|Alliance military equivalent |- |上級特佐 (Senior Special Colonel) |Duke |[[Treize Khushrenada]] |Major General |- |一級特佐 (Special Colonel 1st Class) |Marquess |N/A |Brigadier General |- |二級特佐 (Special Colonel 2nd Class) |Count |[[Lady Une]], [[Zechs Merquise]] (after promotion) |Colonel |- |准級特佐 (Special Colonel 3rd Class) |Viscount |N/A |Lieutenant Colonel |- |上級特尉 (Senior Special Lieutenant) |Baron |[[Zechs Merquise]] (before promotion) |Major |- |一級特尉 (Special Lieutenant 1st Class) |Baronet |[[Lucrezia Noin]] |Senior Captain |- |二級特尉 (Special Lieutenant 2nd Class) |Knight |[[Otto]] |Captain |- |特士 (Special Private) |Sir |[[Walker]] |Lieutenant |} ==Gallery== <gallery> OZ Pilot (G Gen Wars).PNG|Generic OZ pilot, from ''G Generation Wars'' OZ Officer (G Gen Wars).PNG|Generic OZ officer, from ''G Generation Wars'' OZ_Officer_Settei.jpg|OZ Officer settei G Gen Cross Rays Custom Character (Male Oz Soldier).png|Male Oz Soldier G Gen Cross Rays Custom Character (Male Oz Pilot).png|Male Oz Pilot G Gen Cross Rays Custom Character (Male Oz Pilot with Helmet).png|Male Oz Pilot With Helmet G Gen Cross Rays Custom Character (Female Oz Officer).png|Female Oz Officer G Gen Cross Rays Custom Character (Female Oz Pilot).png|Female Oz Pilot G Gen Cross Rays Custom Character (Female Oz Pilot with Helmet).png|Female Oz Pilot With Helmet </gallery> ==Trivia== *A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_(disambiguation) zodiac] is a coordinate system used in astronomy and astrology. **OZ's weaponry is often thematically named after star constellations, which in turn relates back to its Zodiac theming. This includes Mobile Suits such as the [[OZ-06MS Leo|Leo]], [[OZ-07AMS Aries|Aries]] and [[OZ-12SMS Taurus|Taurus]], as well as non-Mobile Suit weaponry such as the [[Libra]] space battleship. This is not a strict thematic rule however, as several OZ weapons such as the [[OZ-07MS Tragos|Tragos]] and the [[Bulge]] Space Station have no roots in any constellation. *OZ is part of a trend of antagonist factions in Gundam anime having a name with the letter "Z". It's also the only Earth-based faction with the letter "Z", in contrast to the space factions [[Zeon]] and [[Zanscare Empire]] from the Universal Century and [[ZAFT]] from the Cosmic Era. *The name of OZ is a reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz The Wonderful Wizard of Oz], and its symbols are references to the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. **An OZ mobile suit team named "Scarecrow 5" appears in [[The Return of Wufei|Episode 35]]. {{After Colony}}