Deep within a secret Colonian research complex, beneath layers of titanium armor and multi-layered security protocols, Professor Itsuki endured days filled with pressure and pretense. He was one of the Colony's leading Mobile Suit technology scientists, and now, he was being forced by the Colonian Council of Kings to work on Project Grai. This project was a massively funded, ambitious initiative aimed at creating a super-advanced Mobile Suit specifically designed to outperform and destroy the Earth Rebels' White Gundam.
Although he had to execute his duties on Project Grai flawlessly in front of the Colonian overseers, deep down, he opposed the project's militaristic, arrogant, and power-hungry goals.
Professor Itsuki was a true idealist. To him, technology, especially in Mobile Suit engineering, was the highest form of art and science that should be used for the advancement of civilization, exploration, and balanced defense, not for tyrannical domination.
"Project Grai will only create another monster. They will only repeat the exact same mistakes the Earth Federation made 15 years ago, only this time with a more powerful engine," Professor Itsuki muttered in his isolated lab.
He felt an immense moral burden. The Mobile Suit he was helping design in Project Grai was essentially a tool that would be used to destroy the work of his longtime colleague, Klaus Kimeza—the creator of the White Gundam. He had to find a way to balance the scales. He had to create a counter to Grai, not in the form of pure offensive power, but in the form of intelligent, strategic advantage.
To maintain his idealism and secretly sabotage the Colonian military monopoly, Professor Itsuki began launching his own secret personal project.
Professor Itsuki was not alone in this moral refusal. Although most Colonian scientists were hypnotized by the power and massive funding from the Council of Kings, several idealistic young technicians and researchers remained loyal to him. They, who shared a similar view on the role of technology, formed an independent research group under Itsuki's command. The team consisted of experts in aerodynamics, material engineers, and sonar specialists.
"We cannot fight Project Grai directly. They have infinite resources, and they control our every step here," Professor Itsuki explained to his small team in a secret meeting. "We must create an opening. We must find a weak point in the entire Colonian defense and attack strategy. We need asymmetry."
After days of secret strategic analysis, scanning every Colonian logistics report and military plan, Itsuki's team discovered a fatal flaw in the Colonian plan, a weakness overlooked due to arrogance of power.
"The entire focus of the Council of Kings, including Project Grai, is on aerial combat, controlled surface of the Earth, and, of course, space," explained Dr. Lena, a materials specialist on Itsuki's team. "They completely ignore the underwater battlefield. Earth Colonies have vast ocean areas, where secret bases, supply lines, and even old Federation technology ruins can be hidden. Colonians consider the ocean too troublesome."
Professor Itsuki smiled, the first genuine smile to appear on his face in months. His eyes lit up with the idea. "Perfect! That is their blind spot. If Project Grai yields a Mobile Suit superior in the air and on land, then we will create an unparalleled unit underwater—a unit that can operate undetected, launch attacks, and disappear without a trace."
Thus, Project Rook was born.
Project Rook was a secret underwater Mobile Suit project developed by Professor Itsuki and his team. The name 'Rook' (a Chess piece) was chosen to symbolize a unit that is tough, moving slowly but strategically on the surface, but very fast and unpredictable in its underwater maneuvers, moving like an indestructible fortress.
Technical Design of the Rook Mobile Suit
The Mobile Suit (MS) designed under Project Rook was vastly different from conventional humanoid Gundam units, even from the White Gundam or the Project Grai units.
Structure and Armor: The Rook Mobile Suit was designed with four arms for stability and maneuverability in the deep sea, not two. Its armor was extremely thick, made of a titanium-carbon alloy adapted to withstand the extreme deep-sea water pressure. Its shape was more streamlined on the upper body, allowing for high speed. The armor was coated with passive and active sonic dampeners to evade Colonian sonar detection, making it a 'ghost' under the sea.
Propulsion System: The unit utilized high-powered Hydro-Propulsion Jets, replacing standard air thrusters. This system was optimized for energy efficiency underwater, allowing it to operate for long periods in the deep sea.
Specialized Armaments: Since standard Beam Rifles lose most of their effectiveness and range underwater, the Rook's armament focused on physical attacks and specialized projectiles.
Heavy Acoustic Homing Torpedoes: Large missiles designed to track targets based on engine noise and metal resonance. These torpedoes were capable of destroying even large Colonian warships.
Hydro Beam Cannon: An energy cannon that emitted a modified wavelength beam, allowing it to penetrate water more effectively, albeit with limited range. This cannon was mounted on the unit's back.
Heat Crusher Claws: The two main arms were equipped with reinforced, heat-emitting claws (like a Heat Saber), designed to rip through Colonian Mobile Suit armor in close-quarters combat at depth.
Sensor and Navigation System: The Rook was equipped with an advanced Active and Passive Sonar system, combining thermal and acoustic imaging, allowing it to operate in the darkness of the deep sea, something no Colonian Mobile Suit possessed. It also had a highly stable magnetic navigation system, immune to radio wave interference.
Professor Itsuki and his team worked on Project Rook with a renewed spirit. This unit was not just a weapon. For Itsuki, Rook was an escape valve for Colonian technology from being completely controlled by power-hungry military ambitions. It was a silent way to give Earth a fighting chance.
"Project Grai will make the Colonians feel invincible on the surface. They will dismiss the ocean as trivial," Professor Itsuki told Dr. Lena. "But the Rook will be a deadly surprise. We just need one Mobile Suit unit that can operate in a domain they don't anticipate at all."
His ultimate goal was to create one powerful underwater Mobile Suit prototype, and then secretly deliver the data and the prototype to the Earth Rebel faction he believed could use it for the right purpose—namely, Augustina Mcgraven and the Kimeza Alliance. He was confident that if the Earth Rebels could control the sea, they would have a strong foothold against Colonian tyranny.
Klaus had given Earth the sky. Now, Itsuki would give them the ocean.
While the Colonian Council of Kings focused on creating powerful land and air monsters through Project Grai, Professor Itsuki was secretly laying the foundation for a future battle in the depths of Earth's oceans, where the White Gundam, Sunflower Gundam, and other Colonian Mobile Suits could never achieve superiority. Project Rook was the silent resistance of an idealistic scientist who refused to be a slave to tyranny.
To be continued....