GARDEN OF THORNS
茨の園
GARDEN OF THORNS
The anchored base established by the remnants of the Principality’s forces, known as the Delaz Fleet, was set up in the region where Side 5 once existed.
This area, one of the so-called shoal zones, is dense with the wreckage of colonies annihilated during the Battle of Loum and the remains of warships from both sides that had exchanged fire. It was known as a treacherous area since the One Year War. Moreover, the post-war illegal dumping of warships and resource extraction asteroids made safe navigation even more challenging.
However, this was seen as advantageous for the remnants of the Principality’s forces. Beyond the reach of the Federation’s surveillance, the floating debris and asteroids could be used as materials, a significant factor in their favor. It was believed that the dangers of floating objects within the shoal zone could be mitigated by developing secret navigation routes, which were indeed utilized, allowing the remnants to appear in various locations and engage in guerrilla activities.
Aiguille Delaz gathered forces of the Principality’s army that refused to head to Axis, reorganized the fleet, and began establishing this base in March 0080. It is estimated that the construction took about a year and a half to complete (on August 15, 0081, the Delaz Fleet began its guerrilla activities, coinciding with the national day of the Principality of Zeon).
The base was equipped not only with supply and maintenance capabilities but also with manufacturing plants. By December 0082, the plants within the base were used to plan mobile suit development, and by May of the following year, production of the MS-21C Dra-C had begun. However, due to the necessity of using limited materials, its production capability was inferior compared to standard facilities. The MS-21C Dra-C, criticized as a recycled mobile suit made from waste, exemplifies the development and production capacity of the base.
The living conditions were poor, with the base constructed using remnants of colonies and other materials, but it is said that the Principality’s remnants lived inside their vessels. Consequently, the base’s personnel capacity was not high, and many members of the Principality’s remnants often went into hiding in permanent lunar cities or Side 6.
The Federation suspected the presence of a Principality base in this region due to the guerrilla activities of the remnants but had not managed to accurately pinpoint its location and scale. This was said to be due to an underestimation of the remnants’ strength and a lack of serious efforts to eradicate them.
Spaceport: Assembled from a combination of colony remnants and other materials, exhibits a distinctly chaotic structure. The skeletal steel structures that seem frayed are not under construction; rather, they are repurposed debris.
Central Area: The use of colony remnants in construction is evident. The scale of the base can be deduced from the size of the late-model Musai-class light cruiser depicted in the top left of the illustration.
Panorama: Lined around the entire panorama are solar panels, while the structure extending to the right from the center are heat dissipation panels. This indicates that heat dissipation was a significant issue for the base.
Spaceport Overview: Discarded asteroids have been fused with remnants of a colony. The part of the colony that served as a spaceport is now the spaceport of the Garden of Thorns, but it seems more common for ships to be moored outside the port or docked in a manner that pierces through a corner of an asteroid. Floating on the right side is a buoy equipped with blinking lights, up and down.
