Many advanced weapons were developed during the great war, using technologies which have since been lost. One of these super-weapons was the Earth Federation's line of "Gundam" mobile suits. Every Gundam built during the war is equipped with a "flash system" that takes advantage of a newtype pilot's special powers, and among the special features enabled by this system is the ability to remote-control drone mobile suits.

The Leading Pair

The kid hero, Garoad Ran, is a happy-go-lucky and impulsive 15-year-old. Self-sufficient and resourceful, he is ever ready to lob an explosive flare or puff sleeping powder into a guard's face. Soon enough, he finds himself at the controls of the eponymous GX-9900 Gundam X. The Gundam X has large reflective plates on its back that unfold into an "X" shape; these appear to act as capacitors, storing energy beamed from the lunar surface until they've accumulated enough power to activate the Gundam's "satellite cannon". In order to begin the power transfer, a newtype must make telepathic contact with the lunar broadcast facility, which means that the Gundam X's ultimate weapon is functional only when a newtype is present and the moon is over the horizon.
15-year-old Tifa Adiel, the heroine of the series, so far appears to be a typically dreary angst-ridden psychic waif. When she's not sitting around looking shell-shocked, she's squeaking out plaintive one-liners or wringing her hands like V GUNDAM's Shakti Karin. If she wasn't a newtype, there would be no reason for anyone to bother with her. Her newtype powers so far seem to include telepathy and precognition.

Vulture

30-year-old Jamil Neat is the captain of the land battleship "Frieden," one of the handful of ships that make up the mysterious group known as "Vulture." Measuring 132 meters and capable of transporting six mobile suits, Frieden seems to be pretty large as far as land ships go. During the great war, Jamil was a Gundam X pilot - perhaps the only Gundam X pilot, since the multiple Gundams we see in the prologue may well be remote-controlled via the flash system. Since the war, Jamil has lost his newtype powers.
17-year-old Whits Sue is one of the Frieden's two Gundam pilots. Surly and aggressive, he often has to be reined in by the cooler-headed Roabie Roy. He pilots the GW-9800 Gundam AirMaster, whose "trans system" allows it to transform into an aerodynamic flight mode. Since mobile suit flight technology has been lost since the war, the AirMaster is one of the few flying mobile suits left. It is armed with two buster rifles, which Whits enjoys blasting away with like a mobile suit-piloting Chow Yun-Fat.
The Frieden's other resident Gundam pilot, 18-year-old Roabie Roy, is as laid-back as Whits is surly; even in the heat of combat, he never seems to lose his cool. The typical "handsome character," Roabie's long, flowing hair and delicate features make him Vulture's resident heart-throb. He is the pilot of the GT-9600 Gundam Leopard, which looks like a dark blue version of Gundam W's Gundam Heavy Arms. The Leopard's main weapon is its "inner arm gatling", a large beam gatling gun stored on its back that envelops the mobile suit's left arm when firing; it's also equipped with batteries of missiles, machine guns and rocket launchers.

The Chasers

Shagia & Olba Frost are the two brothers who pursue our heroes, communicating via telepathy. They're both stylish, handsome 19-year-olds; Shagia sports a decadent Anne Rice-vampire look, while Olba is a sleek pretty-boy who looks innocent enough to infiltrate the Frieden crew.
The Frost brothers are equipped with shiny new Gundams, constructed after the war rather than being wartime relics like the heroes' mobile suits. Shagia pilots the NRX-0013 Gundam Virsargo, a devilish red-and-black design whose arms extend into "strike claws" and whose torso opens up to reveal a powerful cannon called the "mega sonic". Olba pilots the NRX-0015 Gundam Ashtaron, an extra-large mobile suit which transforms into a flying mobile armor; its primary armament is a pair of extendable "atomic scissors".

--Mark Simmons

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