Asuka (DAOE-01) (あすか, Asuka) is the lead ship of the Earth Federation Cosmo Navy Asuka-class Supply Carrier. It launched on October 2, 2205 under the command of Commander Yuki Mori. It was part of the 65th Escort Corps together with the Yamato and the Hyuga.
Following the Iscandar Incident, its bridge crew was entirely replaced and the ship fell under Commander Seiya Kitano, becoming a pivotal part of General Commanding Director Heikuro Todo's Operation DAD.
History[]
Construction and early service[]
65th Escort Corps at orbit
Asuka was originally constructed inside of the time fault's shipyard as one of the many unmanned Dreadnoughts meant to serve during the Gatlantis Campaign, however it was not completed before the end of the conflict. Following the abandonment of the Time Fault, it and many other uncompleted Dreadnoughts, were repurposed to match the new military policy of the Earth Federation, which changed from an expansionist approach to the optimization of military equipment to match the scale of Earth.[1]
After being overhauled, command of Asuka was given to Commander Yuki Mori and the ship was made part of the newly formed 65th Escort Corps serving as the right wing of the flagship Yamato. It was crewed primarily, but not exclusively,[4] by former Yamato crewmembers and new recruits. The Space Cavalry 65th Special Task Force, born out of the dissolved 7th Space Cavalry Regiment, was also in service aboard the ship. The 65th Escort Corps's first mission was to accompany the Peace Corps, a peace delegation formed of Ambassadors Loren Burrell and Kotetsu Serizawa as well as the EFCN commander Osamu Yamanami, in their journey towards the twin planets Iscandar and Garmillas. Asuka took off for the first time together with her fleet in October 2, 2205.[5][2]
Asuka firing its Wave Barrier Round
As the trip was also meant as a training journey for the fleet's new recruits, Asuka carried out various military excercises in the following days. On training day 7, its space cavalry carried out a joint excercise with Yamato's air wing on Titan, and on day 14 Yamato, Asuka and Hyuga carried out a battle simulation during which Asuka tested out its new Type 4 Wave Barrier Rounds.[5]
Iscndar Incident[]
After news caught wind that Garmillas had been destroyed, Asuka and the 65th Escort Corps were ordered not to continue their journey, as the Earth Federation Defense Force's HQ feared the Earth would be dragged into another war it couldn't sustain.[6] But after the Rookie Crew Rebellion led by W.O. Ryusuke Domon, the Peace Corps was expelled and the fleet joined the fray under the command of Commander Susumu Kodai.[7]
Asuka boosts Yamato's shields
As the Desler Fleet was being overwhelmed by the Dezarian forces on Iscandar, the 65th Escort Corps arrived to assist and won the battle.[8] During the Battle in the Vorzon System, as Yamato and Hyuga were about to fire their wave-motion guns, Dezariam moved planet Iscandar into the two ships' lines of fire, using it as a shield. In order to move Iscandar out of their way, Hyuga fired two Wave-motion Excavators at the planet, while Asuka used one of its Wave Barrier Rounds to protect the civilians at Isk San Aria from the Excavators' blast.[9]
After firing its DWIE, Yamato was left depleted of its energy and risked getting destroyed by an incoming shockwave. Howeverm the battleship was saved by Asuka's Wave-motion Resonance Waveguide Device, which transferred energy to Yamato's wave-motion shield.[9]
Asuka gathered with the Immigration Fleet
During the Immigrant Fleet Rescue Operation, Asuka and with several Garmillas ships escorted the Dimensional Dive Strike Group.[10] During the Second Battle of Iscandar, Asuka intervened to save Abelt Desler's flagship as it rammed a Dezarian mobile fortress. Later, Asuka launched the prototype dimensional submarine Cosmo Hound to save the Iscandarian Queen and her sister. After the battle was over, Asuka gathered with the Garmillas Immigration Fleet to confirm the number of surviving immigrants before parting ways with Desler's fleet and finally begining its journey towards the Earth.[11]
The Dezarian invasion of 2207[]
Operation DAD begins[]
After the 65th Escort Corps returned to Earth, the fleet was disbanded.[12] Although this appeared to be a punishment for the fleet's actions during the Iscandar Incident, the adjustments were actually orchestrated by General Commanding Director Heikuro Todo in preparation for Operation DAD, a secret initiative designed to defend against a potential Dezariam Invasion of Earth.[13][14]
Seiya Kitano, the second Captain of the Asuka
As a result, the personnel from the Asuka, including its captain, Yuki Mori, were reassigned, and Commander Seiya Kitano took over as the new commander of the carrier. Around the same time, the Asuka's ship line officially entered mass production under the designation of Asuka-class Supply Carrier.[13][14]
The Asuka and other ships of its class oppose the Ground Reverse with their Wave-motion Resonance
In October 2207, the Dezarian space fortress Ground Reverse breached the solar system's defense lines. While the Asuka was conducting an exercise in Training Zone J-3, near Jupiter, it was deployed at the forefront of the Asuka Fleet near Mars. Following Commander Kitano's orders, the various Asuka-class Supply Carriers in the fleet attempted to halt the progress of the space fortress using their Type 4 Wave Barrier Rounds, but these efforts were unsuccessful.[13]
As the Ground Reverse landed near Earth's capital, and Dezarians and their sympathizers began to sweep through the city, the Asuka received a confidential directive to retrieve all former crew members of the 65th and head to the Icarus Observatory, where the Yamato was being stored.[13] After successfully completing the retrieval mission, the Asuka attempted to depart from the Earth sphere but was ensnared in a pincer maneuver by Dezarian vessels. With support from the Yamato-class ship Ginga, which activated its shock cannons to shoot down several enemy vessels, the carrier managed to escape Earth's gravitational interference zone and warp away.[14]
Part of the Special Task Force[]
Out of the three ships that were intended to leave Earth and form an anti-Dezariam task force, the Asuka was the only one that succeeded.[14] By following a series of encrypted coordinates, the Asuka reached its destination and was guided to Icarus Observatory by a Cosmo Tiger II.[15]
Asuka and the Yamato fight against the Grodez
The asteroid base was suddenly attacked by the Golba Enam, a Golba Class space fortress, but the Yamato easily defeated it with its new armament. The two ships then moved toward the Gatlantis Belt, where they encountered the lost ships of the 11th Escort Corps. The fleet's crew had discovered the Ground Reverse during its invasion and were believed to have suffered the effects of a Hyperon Bomb. Following a brief battle with the Dezarian battleship Grodez, Admiral Osamu Yamanami, the task force's commander, took charge of the Yamato and decided to head toward the center of the Milky Way. Dezariam claimed this to be the location of a Spacetime Node linking to the year 3199, which they stated to be their point of origin.[16]
Yamato's former captain, Susumu Kodai, was assigned as the Tactics Officer on the Asuka, while other young crew members and the carrier's Cosmo Pythons were transferred to the Yamato. The survivors of the 11th Escort Corps were brought aboard the Asuka, which was to return to Earth to take the lead in resisting Dezariam's occupation. After the two ships separated, Yamato was unexpectedly attacked by the Grodez again, prompting the Asuka to rush back for assistance. Kodai boarded the Yamato to confront a Dezarian intruder. After the battle ended, the Asuka and Yamato separated for good, with the former heading back toward Earth.[17]
Notable Crew Members[]
2205[]
- Commander Yuki Mori - Captain.[5]
- Lieutenant Yasuo Nanbu - Executive Officer and Tactics Officer.[5]
- Lieutenant Sousuke Jimi - Navigation Officer.[5]
- Ensign Sayaka Kashiwagi - Chief Radar Operator.[18]
- Ensign Mikage Kiryu - Intel Officer and Communications Officer.[19]
- Second Lieutenant Shiori Nagakura - Space Cavalry 65th Special Task Force commander.[5]
- Warrant Officer Caroline Raiden - Space Cavalry 65th Special Task Force member.[5]
2207[]
- Commander Seiya Kitano - Captain.[20]
- Ensign Ryusuke Domon - Tactics Officer.[20]
- Lieutenant J.G. Sousuke Jimi - Navigation Officer.[20]
- Lieutenant J.G. Jun Ichikawa - Communications Officer.[20]
- Ensign Heiji Bando - Intel Officer.[21]
- Ensign Miyako Kyozuka - Nurse.[20]
Notes[]
- The Asuka shares its name with the JS Asuka, an experimental ship of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force launched in 1994.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Yamato 2205 mecha data on Asuka
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Space Battleship Yamato 2205 Complete Works
- ↑ starblazers-yamato.net MECHANIC Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199 chapter 2 entry for Asuka
- ↑ As in the case of Sousuke Jimi
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "Yamato, a New Departure!!"
- ↑ "The Last Day of Garmillas"
- ↑ "Save Iscandar! Rebellion of the Young Heroes!!"
- ↑ "Save Iscandar! Rebellion of the Young Heroes!!"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Emergency Order! Yamato, Shoot Iscandar!!"
- ↑ Immigrant Fleet Rescue Operation. Go Beyond the Dimensional Wall!
- ↑ "Hello Sasha"
- ↑ starblazers-yamato MECHANIC Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199entry for Yamato
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Begin the Secret Operation! Head for the New Yamato!"
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 "The Silent Invasion! Ginga, Take Up Your Arms!"
- ↑ "Fire the Starting Gun! The New Battleship Yamato Comes to Life!"
- ↑ "Fierce Clash! Destroy the Invisible Battleship!"
- ↑ "Alphon Infiltrates! Get Back Sasha!"
- ↑ @new_yamato_2199 on X.com
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2205 Complete Works p.41
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 "Begin the Secret Operation! Head for the New Yamato!"
- ↑ starblazers-yamato.net CHARACTERS Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199 entry for Heiji Bando