NM-001 Batalla

The NM-001 Batara is a mobile suit from Mobile Suit Gundam Alpha. It is the mainline mobile suit of the Nergal Dominion.

Appearance
More or less the original EMS-06 Batara from Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam, but updated to Alpha standards. The only real difference is that it now lacks the original's beam saber. Standard coloring is Nergalite light green, but once more individually customized units are known to exist.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
A rather basic design by Galactic Century standards, the Batara is product of the Nergal Dominion's limited resources and scientific development. Compare to other mobile suits, both Inner and Outer Power types, it is very simple in structure and function, though it holds enough performance to keep up with other Outer units in the field. One of the benefits of this is that the Batara could be produced very easily as well as modified to create different variations or individual customization, but is otherwise hindered by a lack of built-in weapons outside of a left arm mounted beam shield or special equipment. To compensate, Nergal's military forces have developed a wide variety of hand-held weapons, each with a different field application.

One unique point the Batara holds over other designs is its legs. For additional mobility, the legs can retract into the thighs, thus cutting down on the suit's mass and increasing its speed by a fair amount. Another unique point is its eye camera configuration; while holding its own take on the Zeon pioneered mono-eye, the Batara has a special goggle visor that flips over the track. The visor in turn is actually a large sensor apparatus that enhances the visual acquisition of the mono-eye, though once more given Nergal's very marginal level of innovation, the overall performance is little different from other Outer Power mobile suits.

Overall while the Batara is not the most cutting edge of mobile suit types, its simple and efficient construction allows it to function and perform just as effectively as other Outer Power units. In turn, its ease of construction has allowed Nergal to field entire hordes of such mobile suits, in which it is estimated that the Dominion holds three Bataras for every Zeon Zaku or Cosmo Babylonian Denan Zon.

Armaments

 * VA-S24 Beam Shield
 * The Batara's only built-in armament. Unlike most beam shield projectors, the Batara's shield is mounted on a stick-like extension, which generates a large circular shield. Though wider spread than standard shields, the limits of Nergalite technology mean that the generated shield is actually weaker than standard, only able to deflect a few weapons shots at a time. As a result, Batara pilots tend to use the shield quite sparingly.


 * VA-R92 Beam Rifle
 * The Batara's beam rifle is more or less of typical design for Outer Power suits. Once again due to the limitations of Nergal technology however, it holds less of an energy charge than otherwise, such that the rifle depletes faster than average. One method around this is for Bataras to coordinate their fire against less numerous targets, supplementing one another's fire when able.


 * VA-C94 Beam Cannon
 * A hand-held beam cannon that grants the Batara the option of heavier firepower. Though limited in charge and rate of fire, the cannon allows the Batara to attack more heavily defended targets, such as capital ships or installations. Functionally it's equivalent to a Zaku's beam bazooka.


 * VA-G87 Beam Gatling Gun
 * Meant for suppression, the Batara's beam gatling gun trades power per shot for firing rate. Though each shot is less powerful than even those of a Zaku's beam machine gun, and can easily be deflected by a typical beam shield, the rate of fire is much higher, allowing the Batara to effectively rain beams across a targeted space.


 * VA-M77 Missile Launcher
 * A dual missile launcher meant for anti-ship and anti-fortress functions. This allows the Batara to fulfill a bomber role, i.e. charging upon its target and unleashing the launcher's payload upon firing range. Taking advantage of their superior numbers, missile equipped Bataras can launch veritable barrages of such missiles upon whole fleets or bases.

History
The NM-001 Batara is the first mobile suit developed by the Nergal Dominion, developed only a few years before the First Galactic War. Upon the war's debut, Dominion forces would effectively overwhelm their opposition with sheer numbers of Bataras, cutting out a large swathe of systems away from the Inner Powers. Unfortunately for Nergal however, it would not be long before the Batara's flaws would be made evident, namely its ineffectiveness in individual combat, thus prompting Nergal to start development of a replacement model, the NM-004 Erebado, much earlier into the fighting than its allies. Even so, the Batara's simplistic design and ease of construction would ensure its continued usage through the war, as well as the development of at least two other variations: the anti-ship oriented NM-002 Pez Batara and the Diona Corps exclusive NM-003 Diona.