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In the anime series Gundam SEED's manga side story Gundam SEED Astray, the Orb Union's Morgenroete corporation built 3 Gundam Astray prototype mobile suits at Heliopolis, the MBF-P01 Gundam Astray Gold Frame, MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame, and MBF-P03 Gundam Astray Blue Frame, based largely on data from the 5 GAT-X series Gundams that they assisted the Earth Alliance's Atlantic Federation in creating. They successfully copied the EA's beam rifle and saber technology, but Morgenroete did not have access to the Phase Shift armor design, and compensated by making the Gundam Astray units lighter and more agile than their EA counterparts. Unlike Gold Frame, Red Frame was fitted with only Orb hand plugs, and thus could not not use Earth Alliance weapons.
On January 25, CE 71, ZAFT's attack on Heliopolis to steal the Alliance Gundams also unknowingly interrupted the Astray project. In order hide their progress, Orb's military decided to destroy the Astray lab. Coordinator Rondo Gina Sahaku, an Orb nobleman, disagreed and attempted to save all 3 suits. He uploaded all the Astray data into Red Frame's computer, including the latest Natural-use OS. This proved fortunate for Junk Guild merchant/technician/pilot Lowe Gear, who discovered Red Frame (as well as Blue Frame and Gold Frame's discarded right arm) shortly afterward, while searching the remains of Heliopolis for valuable salvage. Lowe initially clashed with Gai Murakumo of the Serpent Tail mercenary company, who had been hired to eliminate all evidence of the Astray program, but the two joined forces when Gai's employer double-crossed him; having seen the mobile suits, Gai himself had become evidence of the program's existence. Gai took control of Blue Frame, and the two Astray pilots encountered one another several more times, sometimes as allies and sometimes on opposing sides.
While Red Frame had the same basic armament of the other two Gundam Astray units, Lowe disliked the high energy requirements of the beam weapons. Thererfore, he favored using the "Gerbera Straight", a mobile suit-sized katana given to him by the eccentric old swordsmith Un'no. Unlike the swords used by ZAFT suits like the ZGMF-1017 GINN, the "Gerbera Straight" was extremely sharp, and did not rely on the kinetic energy of a high-speed swing to cut through its targets. It was also covered with anti-beam coating, allowing it to parry beam sabers.
Many people and groups attempted to steal Red Frame from Lowe, but his combination of resourcefulness and luck caused these attempts to all fail. The most notable was by Orb test pilot Juri Wu Nien, undercover as Junk Guild technician Marlin, who briefly took control of Red Frame in an attempt to test its Natural-use OS. In the process, she and Lowe accidentally discovered that Red Frame's hand plugs could emit an sphere of beam energy. Lowe soon put this ability to good use in a battle with Gold Frame pilot Rondo Mina Sahaku, using the last-ditch weapon to temporarily blind Gold Frame's sensors. However, Red Frame was forced to enter Earth's atmosphere during the battle, and lost its right arm in the process. Fortunately, Lowe still had Gold Frame's discarded arm from the Heliopolis factory, and used it as a replacement. He then brought Red Frame to Orb, where it was fully repaired at the Morgenroete headquarters. He also acquired an MBF-M1 M1 Astray flight pack, and modified it for use with Red Frame.
Lowe later built a huge 60 meter tall Power Loader robot for Red Frame to dock with (inspired by the ZGMF-X09A Justice and ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundams' METEOR units), allowing it to wield another of his creations: a colossal 150 meter long version of the "Gerbera Straight". After the Power Loader was destroyed by ZAFT's ZGMF-X11A Regenerate Gundam, Lowe modified Red Frame into the "Powered Red", with massive shoulder joints to generate enough power for Red Frame to swing the 150 meter "Gerbera Straight" on its own. However, Lowe soon restored Red Frame back to its original state.
Specifications
MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame
Manufacturer: Morgenroete, Inc/Orb Union
Users: Junk Guild
Unit type: prototype general purpose mobile suit
Head height: 17.53 m
Base weight: 49.8 t
Special equipment: flight pack, underwater salvage gear, Power Loader
Powerplant: Ultracompact battery
Armament: "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS x2, Type 70 beam saber x2, Type 71 beam rifle x1, "Gerbera Straight" katana x1, shield x1
Pilot(s): Lowe Gule, Juri Wu Nien A.K.A(Marlin)
MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame "Powered Red"
Manufacturer: Morgenroete, Inc/Orb Union
Users: Junk Guild
Unit type: prototype general purpose mobile suit
Head height: 17.53 m
Base weight: unknown
Special equipment: "Powered Red" arms
Powerplant: Ultracompact battery
Armament: "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS x2, "Gerbera Straight" katana x1, 150 meter "Gerbera Straight" katana x1
Pilot(s): Lowe Gule
Power Loader
Manufacturer: Junk Guild
Users: Junk Guild
Unit type: MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame use power loader
Overall height: 60 m
Base weight: unknown
Special equipment: none
Powerplant: Ultracompact battery
Armament: 150 meter "Gerbera Straight" katana x1
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