Gundam Primer

A Brief History of Gundam
The Life of Amuro Ray

Amuro Ray was born on Earth, to parents Tem “Magic Fingers” Ray and Kamaria “Huge Bitch” Ray. Tem was a brilliant and important Engineer. His mother was overprotective and clingy. Tem was called by the EFSF to journey to Noa Colony in Side 7, to work on a “colony construction” project. Tem and Amuro went, Kamaria stayed behind with her secret lover.

On Side 7, Amuro withdrew further and further into himself as his father spent less and less time and home and more and more time at work on the enigmatic Project V. He ventured outside only for school and often forgot to eat or get dressed. Like his father, he was a gifted engineer and spent all of his free time disassembling, fixing and inventing gadgets. His next door neighbour, Frau Bow, became his surrogate mother. Amuro was grateful, but due to his stunted emotional development was not equipped with the tools to properly express it. During this time Amuro invented Haro, a robotic companion capable of monitoring brainwaves and vital signs. In Amuro’s 15th year, Char Aznable came to Side 7 to try and learn more about Project V. One of the young Zeonic soldiers, seeking glory to match Char’s, attacked the colony when he saw that Project V was a series of Federation mobile suits.

During the attack, Amuro discovered the Gundam, climbed inside and, using his intuition and a handy copy of the instruction manual, started the Mobile Suit Gundam. This scene would go on to be re-used in every Real Robot show. Ever. Using his latent Newtype abilities and the superiority of the Gundam, Amuro destroyed the attacking Zakus. Unfortunately, being new to this whole ‘war’ thing, he breached one Zaku’s power core, causing an explosion which blew a hole in the side of Noa colony. His father and several others were sucked out into space. Woops. Amuro then aided in the evacuation process, cooperating with the military who thought he was a real pilot. When they discovered he was just a boy, there wasn’t much they could do as all the real pilots had died, in what we call a “convenient plot twist”.

Amuro boarded the White Base along with a bunch of refugees (including Frau Bow and Katz, who would go on to become the worst Mobile Suit pilot in history) and was assigned permanently to the Gundam by 19 year-old Ensign Bright Noa, who could sense Amuro’s potential. Also all the real officers were dead, so Bright ended up commanding the White Base with the “help” of Lieutenant Reid, who was a useless asshole.

“Wh--what SPEED!”
During the One Year War, Amuro did a lot of awesome stuff. His first encounter with Char, in Earth orbit, was not one of those things. Still inexperienced and confused, Amuro missed every shot he fired. Nonetheless he managed to hold out long enough for the Red Comet to be driven away. This would begin the interminable rivalry between the Red Comet and the White Devil.

Amuro managed to alienate himself even from the rag-tag group of misfits manning the White Base with his reclusive ways and obsession with improving his piloting skills on Earth. Amuro was driven to defeat Char, and in the process drove away everyone who wanted to be his friend. Despite this drive to improve, Amuro was unreliable and reluctant to fight, at some points even refusing to sortie in the Gundam entirely. In the middle of a battle with Garma Zabi’s Dopp squadron, Bright finally confronted Amuro on his selfish ways and slapped him around a bit, then told him just how disappointing he was. Frau offered to pilot the Gundam herself, and at this point Amuro manned up and dropped a pair, stating: “I guess I’m a man after all.”

Following this battle, Lieutenant Matilda Ajan and her Medea arrived to re-supply the White Base and remove the refugees and wounded soldiers, but she revealed that the White Base would NOT be re-staffed. Amuro immediately developed a crush on Matilda-- this would mark the first time he noticed the charms of a woman.

In New Yark (Sunrise has refused to correct it for 30 years, who am I to argue. Also it’s in Europe?!), Garma struck again, this time with the help of Char. Amuro battled the Red Comet once again, and did a pretty good job of it, though he was unable to defeat his rival. Garma, tricked by the vengeful Char, ended up kamikaze-diving his Gaw towards the White Base, which managed to destroy up the descending hulk. Icelina, Garma’s illicit lover, then boarded another Gaw and attacked the White Base again. She failed, but before she fell to her death managed to scare the hell out of Amuro by swearing revenge for her beloved.

“This is no Zaku, boy! NO ZAKU!”
Ramba Ral’s Zanzibar entered the atmosphere, coincidentally right on top the Trojan Horse. Ramba Ral, being awesome, immediately mounts an attack /while still re-entering the atmosphere/. Amuro, suffering from Battle Fatigue after constant fighting and sorties (keep in mind, the entire run of Mobile Suit Gundam takes place during 4 months-- at no point does the crew of the White Base get a break) is barely able to function, but Bright sorties him by shooting the Gundam out the catapult anyway. Even in this state, Amuro performs ably, though he is unable to defeat Ramba Ral’s Gouf. This would mark the first time Amuro met an enemy in battle who was equipped with a mobile suit nearing the power of his own.

“Is this... is this the enemy?”
Gihren Zabi’s propaganda broadcast, from Garma’s state funeral, is seen and heard all over the galaxy. Amuro begins to understand just HOW driven the Zeon are... and it terrifies him. Added to the Battle Fatigue he was already suffering, this increased Amuro’s depression and decreased his combat capability. Bright is less discouraged, waving it off with a pithy, “What a bunch of Nazis.”

“You’ve grown so wild, Amuro. I... I don’t even know you.”
During that time, Amuro was given shore leave. Taking a Core Fighter, he flew off to find his mom Kamaria “Cheating Whore” Ray. He found her in a small town near Washington, and they had a joyful reunion. That is, until a pair of Zeon soldiers came snooping around the church, which had been repurposed as an infirmary. Kamaria tried to hide Amuro, but an emergency page from White Base forced him shoot one Zeek and chase the other off with his gun. Kamaria “Self-Righteous Bitch” Ray told Amuro that he had not been raised as a violent boy, despite the fact that she hardly raised him at all and that THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR. She goes on to tell him that she is ashamed to call him her son. Amuro runs off to blow up the Zeon forward base, venting his rage on the enemy. He also gets to test the Gundam’s mid-air docking maneuver.

God, seriously, Kamaria. What a bitch. Seriously.

Also it turned out that the ‘forward base’ was just a backwater supply depot. Woops. Nonetheless, Bright punks Kamaria, telling her how awesome Amuro really is and how proud the White Base crew are of him. That’s right you horrible woman, you just got Noa’d.

“You shouldn’t have come out!”
Amuro blows up a lot of Zeon dudes. Matilda resupplies the White Base again, and reveals that they would still not be getting any troops. She also told them that the White Base was being used to collect data on the new and creative battle strategies thought up by the amateurs on White Base. Amuro displays his incredible bravery time and again. The White Base heads across the Caspian Sea to join the main Federation forces in their assault on M’Quve’s mines at Odessa. They go out of their way to get some much-needed salt... and Ramba Ral strikes.

Sayla steals the Gundam and goes out to fight him. She does about as well as you would expect Char’s twin sister to do. Oh wait no, she sucks hard. Amuro is forced to sortie in the Guncannon and save her. Notably, during this battle he destroyed one Zaku II and captured another, complete with pilot. Unfortunately, the prisoner had a magic exploding tooth and escaped from his cell, radioing Ramba Ral for backup as the White Base engaged in battle with a forward mining base.

Feeling cocky, Amuro ignored Bright’s orders and went out with Hayato in the Guntank to stomp the base to hell. But Ramba Ral and his Gallop showed up and everything turned pear-shaped for the White Base and its pilots. Forced into retreat by the Gouf and Zakus, Amuro re-deployed in the Gundam. And found that all his calculations were useless in a real fight. Ramba Ral retreats, and Bright lays some learning down on Amuro re: the Chain of Command and Theory vs. Reality.

Bright and Mirai Yashima discuss replacing the Battle Fatigued and insubordinate Amuro with Ryuu as the pilot of the Gundam. Afraid that without Gundam he would be useless to the White Base, Amuro stole the MS and ran away. It was his aim to prove himself to the White Base’s crew by finding the Odessa Mining Base and destroying it-- singlehandedly. He found /a/ base and destroyed it single-handedly, but it turned out to be some secret conspiracy base of M’Quve and Kycilia’s. He ended up in a crappy little desert town, where he met a group of Zeon soldiers led by, you guessed it, Ramba Ral. Possibly the biggest badass of the One Year War. And I don’t just mean in terms of girth.

“Bright thinks of you as a tiger, he’s too scared to talk to you... pretty funny, eh?”
Amuro befriended Ramba and his wife, but when Frau stumbled in and he learned they were going to attack the White Base he panicked, hopping into the Gundam (which, miraculously, was able to function after being BURIED IN SAND) and ran back to the White Base, just in time to drive off Ramba Ral’s assault. The two pilots recognised each other, and Amuro was able to destroy the Gouf. But Ramba Ral grappling hook’d the Gundam and yelled “Don’t be so conceited, boy! You owe it all to the abilities of the Gundam!” and Amuro realised this was true. In the brig of the White Base, he resolved that he had to become a better PILOT to be worthy of the Gundam... and of defeating Ramba Ral. Unfortunately, Ramba and his commandos then boarded White Base and killed a ton of bitches. Ryu saves the day, driving off Ramba but getting heavily injured in the process. Ramba Ral sacrifices himself to give his men time to escape… and Haman, his loving wife, swears revenge. This seems to happen a lot. In her attack, she uses one Zaku, some Magella Tops and a spinning… hover… thing full of explosives to try and blow up White Base. Ryu, heavily injured, crawls to the brig to give Amuro a pep talk, then drives out to the malfunctioning Guntank. Amuro is released on Ryu’s orders and pilots the Gundam in an attempt to save the ship. This does not go very well, even though he uses the Zaku as a shield then throws it into a Magella Top while holding back the hovercraft, which was freaking awesome. Haman’s Magella Top flies up behind Amuro as he’s holding the hovercraft back and shoots him a lot, until Ryu, in the Guntank’s Core Fighter, kamikaze’s her. Amuro defeats the hovercraft, but the entire White Base crew’s morale is completely shot by Ryu’s death. Even Bright is reduced to tears. Amuro realises that the only choice they have is to keep going, and defeat the Zeon. Not just at Odessa, but everywhere.

“Ortega! Mash! We’re gon’ pull a Jet Stream Attack on that thar mobile suit!”
The White Base was tasked with destroying the Zeon mining operations at Odessa. M’Quve’s giant Green Cannon shoots a hole in the White Base, but Amuro prevails against an army of Goufs, despite running out of ammo and horrible battle directions from Mirai (Bright was sick that day). White Base crashes, and Matilda fights her way through a Gouf ambush (with Amuro’s help) to deliver supplies, including the dubious G-Fighter. Matilda’s Medea squadron helps the White Base effect repairs, but they are attacked by the BLACK TRI-STARS consisting of Michael, Janet and Latoya Jack-- sorry, I meant Gaea, Ortega and Mash. During the battle, Amuro managed to evade the deadly Jet Stream Attack of the elite Black Tri-Stars (also demonstrating his very first Forehead Flash), and defeat Mash. However, he was unable to get the upper hand on Gaea, the Space-Texan leader of the team. Just when it looked as if Amuro would be killed at last, Matilda flew the Medea down and harassed Ortega’s Dom, sacrificing herself and driving off the remaining Tri-Stars.

Matilda’s selfless sacrifice compounded Amuro’s guilt over Ryu’s sacrifice, just days before, and taught him an important lesson about war. Amuro learned that he was not, in fact, the only person affected by the conflict. There are others-- billions of others-- all of whom are experiencing the same daily hell as him. This went a long way towards expunging his selfish, arrogant manner, and over the next few weeks, Amuro finally integrated himself into the crew as a reliable and well-liked pilot.

In his spare time before the Battle of Odessa began, Amuro rooted out a traitor General in the EFA’s ranks using ingenuity and a Newtype Hunch, which is kind of like a Falcon Punch, but with your feelings.

On the Road to Odessa, Amuro defeated Ortega, but had to break off the battle with Gaea to go disarm a thermonuclear missile, which M’Quve launched in a bid to drive off the EFA forces. Gaea tried to stop him, but Amuro jabbed one beam saber through his Dom’s cockpit, then jumped off the G-Fighter, towards the missile, and hacked off its trigger mechanism in mid-air. What a badass. So ended both the Black Tri-Stars and the Battle of Odessa. The EFA Big Tray stomped the shit out of the mining base without the Doms to back up M’Quve’s forces.

“But I paid a lot of money for that!”
Char, now captain of the Mad Angler submarine, ordered an attack on the White Base in dock. Amuro battles the massive Goggs, one of which he hits in the robo-nuts with the Gundam’s Hyper Hammer. He defeats the other underwater, in its own element, and General Revil golf-claps. It was very exciting. Kai leaves the White Base and Amuro gives him his tool box to sell for money. After a fierce battle against some more Goggs and a few Z’Goks, Kai returns to the White Base and gives back Amuro’s tool box, saying, “Yeah, I was told it’s not even worth a dime.”

Amuro is /shocked/.

The next day, White Base is attacked by their first Mobile Armor, the Braw Bro. Amuro deals with it but the Gundam loses half a leg. By this point, the Gundam is solidly outclassed by Zeon’s Mobile Armor technology, but fortunately Amuro’s skill has increased exponentially. Kai’s spy-girlfriend is killed helping Kai shoot at Z’Goks, and Kai cries while Amuro explains that she was “a stow-away,” proving that Amuro does indeed have human compassion after all.

At Jaburo, Amuro meets Lieutenant Woody, Matilda Ajan’s fiancé. Amuro apologises for letting Matilda die, and Woody lectures him on not having such a big ego because it’s a freaking war and people die all the damn time, son. Then came the battle of Jaburo. Amuro and Char (in a Z’Gok this time) fought a minor skirmish in the subterranean stronghold. Amuro managed to drive off the Red Comet and destroy his Zok backup, which proved the turning point of the battle in the South Block. The Federation won a brief respite. Amuro was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. Meanwhile, Char infiltrated Jaburo in his Z’Gok. Guess who is making more productive use of their time. Amuro acts out when he learns that Ryu’s ‘reward’ is a posthumous 2-rank bump, and is slapped by a man with a fascinating jaw structure. He goes on to say to Frau that no children should be forced to see the horrors of war that he has seen. Amuro’s compassion and ego war for supremacy. Amuro, Kai and Hayato head off to enjoy some R&R in Jaburo, but run into Katz, Letz and Kikka who are escaping from the GM factory with a truck full of Zeon bombs. Amuro hops into their truck, drives it off a cliff and leaps out in dramatic fashion, before going after Char and destroying 4 Acguys in less time than it takes to change a pair of shoes. Char is driven off again, much to his chagrin.

The White Base, now the “13th Autonomous Corps,” leaves Earth on a decoy mission, and is attacked by Char’s Zanzibar in orbit. The Bigro MA is deployed along with some Rick Doms, and the White Base responds with its own Mobile Armors (G-Bull EZ and G-Fighter this time), along with Guncannon. Amuro cleverly defeats the insanely fast Bigro by getting caught on its armour and passing out. He comes to just in time to evade the killing blow and shoot his beam rifle through Bigro’s cockpit. The Zanzibar retreats, and White Base begins preparations to break through Dren’s Musai defensive line. During Dren’s attack, Amuro takes out a Rick Dom immediately after launching, then sneaks up on the Musais and destroys the Zwamel, the final Rick Dom and then Dren’s flagship all within 20 seconds. White Base heads for Side 6’s Baldur Bay colony for repairs.

"This will increase the Gundam's abilities TENFOLD!"
In Baldur Bay, Amuro found his father living in a junkyard. Suffering from Oxygen Deprivation Syndrome and more than a little insane, this was a heart-wrenching experience for the Gundam Pilot-- especially so soon after being disowned by Kamaria “Deserves Horrible Death” Ray. Tem, enthusiastic to see his son again and deeply proud that Amuro was piloting ‘his’ Gundam, presented the boy with a device which would, when installed in the Gundam, increase its performance dramatically. Tem, distant as ever, then snapped at Amuro to get back to the White Base as “New recruits must be punctual!” Amuro thanked his father and ran off in tears.

He did not tell his father that his ‘miraculous circuit’ was a muffler glued to a Christmas ornament.

The White Base headed to a floating dock just outside neutral Side 6 space to get repairs, but was attacked by several Musais and 12 Rick Doms. Amuro, experiencing his second fledgeling Newtype awakening, destroyed 9 Rick Doms in 3 minutes, causing the lead Musai’s commander to soil himself in fear. White Base returned to Side 6 and re-docked, still lacking repairs.

It was here that Amuro first met Lalah Sune, who would become central to the young Newtype’s life. For the first time, Amuro experienced the deep empathic connection unique to Newtypes, finding a true kindred spirit in Lalah. Unfortunately, it turned out that Lalah was Char’s protégé, and even though Lalah felt a deep connection to Amuro, she stayed with Char out of loyalty. Amuro would spend the rest of his life chasing after Lalah; not due to any romantic or physical attachment, but merely because she was the first Newtype to ever really connect with him on an emotional level. This would also complicate every relationship he would ever have.

Amuro returned to his father’s house after the battle with the 12 Rick Doms, and his father grilled him about the effectiveness of his ‘upgrades’. Amuro lied to his father because to do otherwise would be a dick move, and Amuro is not that much of a dick. His father is elated, and promises to work on new upgrades. Amuro is moved to tears by the depth of his father’s illness and, on his way back to the White Base again, got his car stuck in a rut. Fortunately, Char and Lalah were driving by, and the Red Comet took a few minutes to help the young Federation pilot free his car. Both Aces felt as if they recognised each other, and Amuro knew that this man was Char even before the introductions. This was all very awkward.

Amuro returned to the White Base, which was immediately flung into a battle in the space around Side 6. This battle was actually televised, and Amuro gained the nickname White Devil by destroying several more Rick Doms and the enemy’s flagship all within a short amount of time. Here in space, his Newtype awakening quickened and grew. While watching the battle on TV, Tem Ray cheered on his son’s piloting skills, marvelling at just how much of an increase his device had made in the Gundam’s performance. He got so excited that he fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck. Amuro never learned of the exact manner of his father’s death, which is probably for the best.

The White Base joined the Third Fleet, to act in the vanguard of the EFSF’s assault on Solomon.

“This... is a battlefield.”
The Battle of Solomon marked the first time Amuro took part in a large-scale battle, as part of a larger force, not just the small White Base team. Battling Dozle Zabi’s forces alongside the Third Fleet, Amuro came to understand the immensity of a true battle. The EFSF deployed their Solar Flare System (a bunch of mirrors!!), and Amuro and Kai were the first pilots to land inside Solomon. At the same time, Char’s Zanzibar sets out for Solomon and Dozle Zabi boards... THE BIG ZAM.

“It sounds sad... but this is a war.”
Amuro and Sleggar dock to form G-Armor in an attempt to penetrate the Big Zam’s magnetic field, which repels beam blasts. Sleggar is killed, adding another name to the list of people who have sacrificed themselves for Amuro to succeed.

War is hell.

Amuro opens up the Big Zam like so much anchovy tin, and is shocked by the level of palpable hatred emanating from Dozle Sabi, as the titanic General continues to fire away at the Gundam with an assault rifle, fruitlessly. Big Zam is destroyed. Amuro is left shell shocked by his first unfiltered exposure to hatred; being a Newtype is not all rainbows and puppy dogs after all. Not that anyone even knows what a Newtype is at this point, outside the Flanagan Institute.

The White Devil and the Red Comet faced off several more times before the end of the One Year War. Perhaps the most important of these battles took place on Texas Colony, where Amuro sensed Lalah’s Newtype resonance and went to investigate. Amuro ended up duelling M’Quve’s Gyan. Char, piloting the powerful new Zeonic suit ‘Gelgoog’, joins in the fun, making Amuro the peanut butter in a Char-and-M’Quve sandwich. Amuro eventually defeats M’Quve, but before he can kill the fop, Lalah telepathically tells him not to. Amuro, being hard, kills the jerk anyway. Amuro and Lalah share a moment of empathic communion.

The duel with Char continues. Their combat was fierce and fast-paced, one of the most intense duels to ever take place between the rivals (at least before their final-final conflict in the Nu-Gundam and the Sazabi, decades later). Char retreats, and the Gundam, heavily damaged, stands around while Amuro picks his nose and waits for rescue. It arrives in the form of Sayla.

Out in space, Amuro faces his first fully-realised Newtype opponent: Challia Bull. During this battle, the Gundam’s control system proves unable to keep up with Amuro’s reflexes, presenting a major problem for future battles. Even so, Amuro is able to defeat Challia Bull in the Braw Bro, and the universe is down one Newtype. Amuro also experiences his first Newtype Empathy LSD Trip, sensing Lalah from miles away as her Elmeth’s Bits harass the Federation forces at Solomon. Federation scientist Dr. Mosk come up with the temporary solution of magnetically coating Gundam’s joints, allowing it to move quickly enough to keep up with Amuro’s instincts.

Operation White Star begins. The White Base joins up with one of the three main forces just as it comes under attack from Char and Lalah. Amuro beats the crap out of Char’s Gelgoog, but is ultimately prevented from destroying his rival by the Elmeth.

“If this is fate, then life is just too cruel.”
The next day, Char and Lalah attack again. The combat between Lalah and Amuro is a graceful and deadly dance, as the two powerful Newtypes show off the full extent of their skills. Amuro and Lalah are able to break through their differences and share true Newtype communion, coming to understand each other and their individual destinies completely. It was fate that they meet, but they can never co-exist... not while the warmonger Char holds sway over Lalah’s loyalties and emotions.

“People are changing. They’re becoming like us.”
Char interrupts their communion with his blunt, hateful Newtype empathic bludgeon. Amuro and Char battle again. Unfortunately Lalah, not wanting the two most important people in her life to kill each other, flies in the way of Amuro’s killing strike. Amuro’s beam saber pierces the cockpit, destroying the Elmeth and killing Lalah in the process.

“I’ve done a terrible thing! I’ve done something I can never take back!”
Amuro was devastated. He had just killed his soul mate. And yet, if Char hadn’t been there... was it really his fault, or Char’s? Amuro was never able to decide, though his guilt over her death often drove him to tears and frustration. Even so, Amuro’s final communion with Lalah, as her soul joined the universe, gave him some small comfort. He was able to carry on, and become stronger and, finally, wiser. Lalah’s death was the single most important moment in Amuro’s life. It is the point around which all else revolves. On that day, he became a true Newtype, and learned the meaning of joy, and learned the meaning of sorrow.

“No! Don’t go forward! Thousands of people will melt in a pool of light! Hatred... THAT IS THE LIGHT OF HATRED!”
Degwin Zabi, monarch of Zeon, attempts to negotiate peace terms with General Revil. Gihren Zabi, however, is having none of that. So, he commits patricide. Knowing full well that his father is at the same coordinates as Revil’s flagship, Gihren fires Zeon’s secret weapon: The Solar Ray. It destroys 1/3rd of the Federation’s fleet, along with General Revil and Degwin Sodo Zabi. It is only through Amuro’s fully-awakened Newtype power that the White Base is spared.

The White Base finally made it to A Baoa Qu where, under the command of General Revil, the EFSF fleet was engaging Zeon’s forces in a final battle. Amuro once again proved himself to baddest pilot in space, defeating dozens of enemy Mobile Suits and warships.

“My enemy is within there... and it’s not Char.”
It was here that Amuro and Char engaged in their final battle of the One Year War. Char, piloting the Zeong, takes on and nearly destroys the Gundam. Amuro did not fight all-out at first, as his main goal was to land on A Baoa Qu. Once he reached the fortress, the battle with Char began in earnest. Limb by limb, the Gundam and the Zeong destroyed each other.

Their battle even shifted outside of their mobile suits, as they chased each other through the halls of A Baoa Qu, setting traps and trying to convince each other to give up, until they ended up dueling with swords, of all things. Char, being of noble Zeonic blood, was naturally much better with a sword than Amuro. But Amuro’s fighting spirit was strong, and he stabbed Char in the head just after Char slashed open Amuro’s arm. Both quickly patched their suits, but were prevented from returning to battle by the arrival of Sayla Mass, AKA Artesia Som Deikun, Char’s sister and Amuro’s... well, something. She managed to use her womanly wiles to convince them to stop fighting, but an explosion separated Amuro from Char and Sayla. Char ran off to kill the last of the Zabis, and Amuro managed to use his Newtype abilities to guide Sayla and the entire White Base crew out of A Baoa Qu. But he himself was unable to find the way out.

“Sorry, Lalah... but I still have a place to go home to.”
When all seemed lost, Amuro escaped from A Baoa Qu following telepathically-communicated directions from Katz, Letz and Kikka, and reunited with the surviving White Base crew aboard their escape launch.

The One Year War came to an end.

Amuro, bone weary and fed up with war, returned to Earth to escape his memories. And more importantly, the empathic ghost of Lalah Sune. Amuro was hailed as a hero and celebrated on his return, becoming a celebrity and the most famous hero of the One Year War. The EFSF offered him a position with the Aggressors. Disgusted with war, Amuro declined.

Instead, Amuro bought a mansion with his inheritance and a stipend from the Federation. He patented Haro (asshole) and became quite wealthy. Amuro became an instructor and consultant for the Cheyenne Mobile Suit Academy to dispel the boredom. He was unable to take on full-time employment there due to his frequent bouts of Combat Fatigue. Unfortunately, the EFAcame to view him as a dangerous element and placed him under constant observation. All of his servants were replaced with EFSF spies, who reported on his every move. Sadly, Sayla and Amuro never pursued their relationship, each too wounded by war and kept apart by the EFA.

Some years later, about two years before the start of the Grypps Conflict, Amuro met Emma Sheen and one of her friends when their antique gas-powered car broke down. He chatted amiably with them while fixing their automobile in front of his huge mansion, then did not invite them inside even though both of them were giggling and making eyes at him.

“A light! What’s going on up there? Who is calling me?”
Lounging by the side of his lavish rich man’s pool, paid for by EFA Blood Money and the proceeds from Haro sales, Amuro watches the nearest Encounters in Space. When AEUG’s earthbound counterpart Karaba came to Amuro for help, almost a decade later, he initially refused out of fear and a desire to live in peace.

“This isn’t a life; it’s a torment.”
Frau Bow, popping out children faster than even a quantum computer can count, came and talked to him about her incredibly short husband Hayato’s crusade for justice and all that crap. She and Katz totally blackmailed him with things like ‘responsibility’ and ‘you were our hero’ and ‘stop being a pussy.’ He relented and took up the sword once again.

“What are you doing, Amuro! ...Amuro?” “SHUT UP, CHAR!”
Amuro joined the Audhumla’s crew in the most badass manner possible. He hijacked an air transport and used it to ram Buran’s Asshimar, which was attacking the Karaba ship. Amuro leaped out of the ship as it broke apart and remained completely calm until Camille grabbed him out of the air. (To be fair he had a parachute). Amuro immediately recognised Quattro as Char, much like anyone else who had even seen a grainy black and white photo of the Red Comet would.

“I was your age when I piloted the Gundam. I have no idea how I did anything.”
Amuro felt ignored and passed over by Hayato and Char, as neither one wanted him to pilot a mobile suit into battle. “You haven’t piloted a mobile suit for 7 years,” Hayato explained. Amuro glowered and replied: “Listen bitch, I piloted the /Gundam/.” Unfortunately, at that exact moment Amuro has a Space ‘Nam Flashback and is unable to go and rescue Katz. Double-unfortunately, Camille and Quattro DO rescue Katz. Angry and frustrated with his own shortcomings, Amuro almost reverted to the behaviour he displayed during the early days of the White Base.

“Your mind and your body were tired, so you’ve been sleeping these past seven years. “I think you really needed that rest."

“It’s time to wake up now.”
Beltorchika hits on Amuro so hard that he is left with no choice but to start making out with her, if only to shut her up. He is so ashamed of this that he has to cover his mouth when talking to Char to keep his rival from smelling the Crazy Bitch Breath he picked up from Ms. Irma. Amuro is able to overcome his combat neuroses and fatigue to defend the Audhumla and the shuttle launching Katz, Quattro and Camille into space, and demonstrated why he is the Grand Mac Daddy of Newtypes while doing so, able to predict the enemy’s movements and plans long before they were even visible. Amuro gives Katz his Char-Fightin’ Gun and tells him not to lose it (Katz promptly loses it immediately), and takes a few minutes to mentor Camille in Newtype-Fu, plus save his life from Buran a couple times.

The shuttle launches into space without Amuro or Camille, and he gets down to the business of kicking ass and taking names with Karaba, while at the same time mentoring Camille. Impressed by the Rick Dias but concerned that it looked way too cool, Amuro set out to design the most hideous machine in the history of anything, and came up with the Dijeh. The Dijeh is a powerful machine, based on the Rick Dias in many ways but superior in several more. Amuro now works with Karaba, who work with the AEUG, who work with the Orb Union, which is run by a blonde.

Amuro likes blondes.