Battle is a warrior's honor. To withdraw troops is the act of a coward. There can be no peace!—Goran "Thundeclap" Dagam[4]
Goran "Thunderclap" Dagam, also known as the Thunderclap Warrior,[N 1] was the Grand Chief Commissioner of the Small Magellanic Cloud for the Gatlantis Empire up until August 2199,[2] he was also in command of the Gutaba Expedition Group. Despite coming from a lowly caste he caught the eye of Emperor Zworder and was tasked with the mission of finding the archelian ark known to the gatlanteans as the "World of Tranquillity". He commanded his forces from the bridge of his flagship Megaruda.[4][1]
History[]
Background[]
Dagam was born between late 2156 and 2157, he originally was a bandit from a lowly caste,[5] but sometime before 2199, he caught the eye of emperor Zworder, and was named his direct warrior, commander of the Gutaba Expedition Group, and Grand Chief Commissioner of the Gutaba Area, the Small Magellanic Cloud, which at the time was a contested area between the Empire and Garmillas.[1][6]
The Expedition Group's mission was to find and capture the Archelian ark Shambleau, known to Gatlantis as the "World of Tranquillity". To do that, in August 2199,[2] Dagam and his forces stepped outside of the Small Magellanic Cloud and headed towards the Large Magellanic Cloud, outside of the galaxy they encountered and subsequently destroyed the remnants of the Zoellik Faction during the Skirmish Outside of the Great Magellanic Cloud.[4][1]
Hunting Yamato[]
Initial encounter[]
For this topic in more detail see, Battle of Kappadokia
Sometime later, Dagam encountered the earthling Space Battleship Yamato during the ship's journey to return from Iscandar which, following the signing of the Earth-Garmillas peace treaty, had her Wave Motion Gun sealed as part of the integration process of the Cosmo Reverse System with the ship's systems. Dagam knew of Yamato's existance thanks to leaked information from Garmillas, as he hadn't had any luck in finding Shambleau he changed his objective to capturing the earthling warship.
Four Lazcaux-class prepare to fire on Yamato on Kappadokia
The gatlanteans attacked first and only later the Governor General started a brief video conversation with Yamato's Tactics Officer Lieutenant Susumu Kodai, in which he ordered the earthlings to either surrender or die. Folllowing this Dagam ordered the bulk of his forces to attack and fired Megaruda's Flame Strike Gun in an attempt to force his enemy to surrender. Kodai, not wanting to engage in direct combat, ordered Yamato to flee and hide in the nearby planet of Kappadokia.
There both Yamato and Dagam's forces were attacked by a native species known as Medulas, but while the terran ship menaged to escape by emergency warping away, the gatlantean ships weren't so lucky and were all destroyed, much to the dismay of the chief commander.
Saberah reprimands Dagam
Following his failure at Kappadokia, Dagam was contacted by the Chief Minister of Gatlantis Sifar Saberah. She reprimanded him for not having made any progress in his search for the World of Tranquillity and when the governor tried to soothe her by offering her to capture Yamato instead, the Chief Minister quickly shut him down stating that Shambleau was the only thing the Emperor cared about. Before ending the communication Saberah gave an ultimatum, Dagam was to complete his
mission or die to amend his failure. Despite the threats he recieved Dagam decided to pursue Yamato instead by tracing the ship's warp signature, dismissing Sabera and stating that he didn't care about her orders.[4]
Battle of Shambleau[]
For this topic in more detail see, Battle of Shambleau
In an incredible stroke of luck Yamato's emergency warp had lead the ship to Shambleau, by following the ship the Governor General found himself completing his mission. Dagarm happily reported to Sabera that he had located the World of Tranquillity, but after being told that he couldn't engage with the enemy forces in the area, in order to not demage the precious world, he broke into a fit of rage, broke Megaruda's communication device, killed Megaruda's captain Bodom Mace and ordered his ships to attack.
Dagam's attack lead to Yamato and the garmillan 8th Security Fleet, which had found itself stuck on the planet, joining forces in an effort to defeat the Gatlanteans and defend the planet.
Dagam is engulfed by flames as Megaruda explodes
Following an air strike which rendered his Flame Strike Gun unusable, Dagam ordered Megaruda to leave the frontline in an effort to sieze the Ark's core himself, much to the dismay of Captain Isla "Gale" Paracas of the Kiska. The space battleship Yamato eventually caught up to the Gatlantean flagship and immediately engaged Megaruda directly in close quarters combat, destroying the Megaruda and ending the governor general's life, while rescuing the gamillian carrier, the Lamvea in the process.
By the end of the battle all ships in the Gutaba Expedition Group and the 8th Security Fleet were destroyed, leaving only Yamato and the garmillan carrier Lamvea to continue their respective journeys.[7]
Legacy[]
In late 2202 emperor Zworder and his court analysed footage from the Battle of Shambleau and acknowledged the disappearance of the Gutaba Expedition Group as they decided to attack the Earth.[8]
Personality[]
Dagam was a rather unique Gatlantean. Despite his kind's disdain of expressing emotions and passions Dagam was often boastful and violent and tended to exaggerated displays of uncontrollable sheer anger whenever he failed in a battle or was repremanded by a superior, he was also showed as having a particular hatred for Chief Minister Sifar Saberah.[4]
Dagam laughs when confronting Susumu Kodai
Dagam had little to no regard for his subordinates and easily shot down one of his own ships when it was in Megaruda's line of fire without a second thought. During his confrontation with Kodai he showed to be attached to a sort of warrior's honor much like other Gatlanteans such as Gorland or Zurvival, however he was quick to abandon such concept when in the pursuit of self-gain even if it meant leaving the frontlines of a battle. His personality and tyrannical behavior earned him the hatred of Captain Bodom Mace, who plotted to contact Saberah to drive Dagam out of his seat as Governor General. Dagam later stabbed and killed the treacherous Captain Bodom Mace for daring to move against him. [4][9]
He spoke in a theatrical way, tending to shout out loud whatever emotion he was feeling, for example saying "I laugh!" when amused or "I'm seething with rage!" when enraged.[4]
Notes[]
- Dagam was 2,2 meters tall.[10]
- Dagam's name comes from the word "dagger".[11]
- The wound over his right eye was a beast wound.[11]
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 Ark of the Stars character guide's file for Goran "Thunder" Dagam.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mikage Kiryu states that the events of Odyssey of the Celestial Ark (outside of the prologue and epilogue) are set one months after Yamato's take off from Iscandar, as that event is stated to take place on July 27, 2199, it can be deduced that the movie takes place in August of the same year. See Yamato 2199 timeline inconsistencies for more details
- ↑ Trajectory of YAMATO official 2024 calendar
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Complete Works Vol.3 p.188
- ↑ "A World I Once Saw"
- ↑ "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
- ↑ "Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon"
- ↑ Ark of the Stars character guide's file for Bodom Mace
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Complete Works Vol.3, p. 191
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Odyssey of the Celestial Ark" audio commentary
- ↑ Rendered as "mighty Thunderclap" in the official subtitles
Japanese language information[]
“雷鳴”の ゴラン・ダガーム "Raimei” no Goran dagāmu