GNSS-TD/NR-4 True Guardian

Truth
"I understand now. I finally understand my...no...our true purpose. We are not a weapon to be wielded against some foe, the destroyers. We are the key to humanity, it's heart and future. Gundam! It's time we embraced the truth! FOR EVERYONE!" - Ransac

History
The True Guardian is the successor to the Perfect Guardian.

When the Perfect Guardian was returned to active duty, Star Strike was forced with using a machine 89 years out of date. Despite this, the MS was still able to combat the enemy due to the skill of it's pilot.

After two months of successful retaliation against The Ascent, in which Star Strike aided the ESF in recovering their lost territory, the Perfect Guardian was finally defeated in battle against the Guardian X. The damage was such that only the cockpit remained largely intact, the remants of the once powerful mobile suit were nothing but twisted and warped scrap metal, eliminating the possibility of reconstructing it.

The defeat followed a long string of defeats that eventually forced both the ESF and Star Strike to retreat to Earth. The Ascent began to aggressively retake all it's lost territory, eventually making it to Earth. During this battle the True Guardian made it's debut.

The True Guardian is the brother unit to the Dark Guardian.

Design
The True Guardian was designed with Ransac's preference of versatility in mind. Because of this, the Gundam features equipment for numerous roles, from close to long range combat.

Externally, the True Guardian draws most of it's appearance off of the original Guardian Gundam. This is mostly due to the lack of the Full Saber and Shield. The shield and full saber were removed on account of the improved armor and greater GN Particle output.

Most of the primary changes are internal. The GN Particle Distribution System has been greatly improved. As a result the GN Field Skin has also received a boost in strength. In addition, because of the smoother particle transfer, the True Guardian can utilize it's particle weaponry with greater efficiency than it's predecessor.

The GN Drives from the Perfect Guardian were left relatively unharmed and thus were salvaged from the remains. The drives were stripped and reconstructed with Regenium while recieving numerous previously unavailable upgrades before being reinstalled onto the True Guardian. Because of the modifications, the output of the drives has been significantly increased, especially that of the Twin Drive.

The armor of the True Guardian is constructed out of a new material, Regenium. Regenium is highly durable, in conjunction with the GN Field Skin, it made the MS nearly indestructible. In addition, Regenium is described as a "growing metal". This is because Regenium naturally repairs itself from the atomic structure up. In conjunction with the Nanite Reactor, this grants the True Guardian rapid armor regeneration capability. Despite the regeneration, if hit hard enough, the True Guardian will be unable to repair the damage.

Built into the hands of the True Guardian were two powerful GN Scrubbers. When faced with a powerful particle beam, the Gundam can physically stop and siphon the GN Particles directly from the beam. The same technique can be used to physically grab the blade of a Beam Saber and quickly draining it of all power. However this feature is rarely used as Ransac prefers to disarm and fight his opponents "the old fashioned way". The GN Particles absorbed are stored in special condensers in the arms and legs. When at maximum capacity, the True Guardian can unleash all that stored up energy as one massive pulse.

The trademark Wing Bits of the Guardian Series have been carried over to the True Guardian. Unlike the previous models, in which the wing bits extended out from the back to the sides, the new wing bits are more flexible. When the True Guardian is inactive, the wing bits fold down behind the back, making it easier to equip new gear while on standby.

When the True Guardian is launched or moving, the wing bits fold out in their traditional configuration. Also, when the True Guardian is flying at extreme speeds with the wing bits docked, the bits fold back into their storage configuration and generate special particle rings in a similar manner to the 00 Raiser when it launches. This was an intentional design feature as each ring could be "launched" to give a short yet powerful burst of speed. The True Guardian could generate up to four "boost rings". When the rings are used, it releases in a manner similar to the GN Drive Burst Mode of Gundam Exia R2. The wing bits also serve to stabilize the Gundam during atmospheric reentry, spreading out to act as a kind of parachute.

The most important feature of the True Guardian is the Nanite Reactor. The Nanite Reactor constantly produces millions of nanites. The nanites are designed to interface with GN Particles and help maintain the mobile suit. The presence of the nanites grants increased durability, refined GN Particle usage, and quick "regeneration" of armor. In addition to maintaining the mobile suit, the nanites are capable of slowly reconstructing the True Guardian at the atomic level. This feature allows the Gundam to constantly receive new upgrades and advances. The nanites and the Nanite Reactor are all governed by a special Veda Terminal installed in the True Guardian. The designs for the Nanite Reactor were stolen from the Guardian X.

The second most important feature is the True Guardian's Truth Mode. In this mode, the armor and frame of the Gundam expands outward. Also, the output of the GN Drives increases significantly. In the places where the armor has extended, special GN Particle vents release massive amounts of GN Particles. When this occurs, the armor sections began to glow a bright green. This mode is considered the successor to the Trans Am System, as the Truth Mode vastly improves the capabilities of the mobile suit without risking reduced performance. When active, the Nanite Reactor also super charges the nanites within the mobile suit. During this time, the True Guardian is capable of phasing through nearly any surface. Using the phase ability tends to require a great amount of GN Particles and thus reduces the operational time of the Truth Mode. In normal operation, the True Guardian can use the system for about 5 minutes.

When active, the pilots conciousness is extended to it's maximum potential. This effect is so powerful it can allow the pilot to merge their conciousness with that of an entire planet's population and form one massive super conciousness that can form a perfect unity in any and all actions of those participating. This combined force can be physically manifested in GN Particles, which become super charged to their purest state. If this occurs, the True Guardian's entire body shines a bright emerald and becomes virtually invincible and releases a massive particle burst similar to Trans Am Burst but on a far grander scale. If the True Guardian enters this state Truth Mode can be active for a virtually infinite time period, as the sheer power of the super conciousness and GN Particles supplies a constant stream of energy through the Quantum Brainwave Interface. The special state True Guardian enters is similar to Rush Gundam's Rage Burst Mode, but it becomes active through powerful positive emotions instead of rage.

True Guardian was designed with an optional equipment set up similar to the Full Saber of the 00 Qan(T). The equipment featured a restored version of the Perfect Guardian's Full Saber and Shield. This equipment drastically increases defensive ability in exchange for a decrease in overall speed and manueverbility. While equipped the True Guardian can utilize the additional shield and sword bits of the equipment, doubling it's amount of remote weaponry.

Equipment

 * GN-Sword 7: The GN-Sword 7 was the successor to the GN-Sword 6. Like the GN-Sword 6, the sword was attached directly to the hands of the mobile suit. However, unlike the previous version, the GN-Sword could be removed and stored onto the waist. Also, the physical blade could actually be separated from the rifle section, allowing it to act similar to the GN-Sword 2. The True Guardian carried two of these.
 * GN-Sword 2 Kai: The GN-Sword 2 Kai is simply a GN-Sword 2 that has been upgraded to current standards. The edges of the blade are now constructed completely from the material used to build condensers. The sword is now compatible with the Wing Bits to become either a buster sword or buster rifle. The True Guardian is equipped with two such blades.


 * GN Great Sword: The Great sword of the True Guardian is largely unchanged. The only changes are the improved GN-Particle usage and the more slender design.


 * Wing Bits: The True Guardian featured new and vastly improved Wing Bits. The new bits were smaller and faster compared to those of the Perfect Guardian. As a result they were extremely hard to hit. The durability of the Wing Bits was also improved. They could now handle several powerful blows before displaying signs of damage. This greatly improved the shield bit function. At full power, the Wing Bits could utilize the same kind of firepower as Gundam Virtue, though with a smaller and more precise particle beam. The GN-Capacitors were also improved, allowing the Wing Bits to briefly utilize their own Trans Am as well as greatly increasing their operation time.


 * Core Cannon: The beam saber function of the Core Cannon was removed in favor of more precise particle beams. As a result it was permanently attached to the chest unit of the True Guardian. Other than this no other changes have been made. During Trans Am, the core cannon can combine it's firepower with the knee cannons to form the Tri-Punisher, or in Trans Am Arch Burst, the Guardian Arch Sword, which is a unique variation of the Raiser Sword utilized by 00 Raiser.


 * Knee Cannons: The Knee Cannons have also remained largely the same, the only major difference being the lack of a beam saber function. During Trans Am, the knee cannons can combine their firepower with the core cannon to form the Tri-Punisher, and in Trans Am Arch Burst, the Guardian Arch Sword, which is a unique variation of the Raiser Sword utilized by 00 Raiser.


 * Particle Disruption Missiles: Like the Perfect Guardian, the True Guardian was equipped with 8 particle disruption missiles.
 * Palm Busters: The GN-Scrubbers in the palms of the True Guardian's hands can release powerful and short bursts of beams. These are effective in close range, and to a lesser extend, medium range combat. They are most commonly used to deliver a surprise short yet powerful burst to the cockpitor GN-drive of a mobile suit.

Features

 * Trans Am System
 * Trans Am Arch Burst
 * GN-Field Skin
 * GN-Field
 * Nanite Reactor: The most important feature of the True Guardian is the Nanite Reactor. The Nanite Reactor constantly produces millions of nanites. The nanites are designed to interface with GN-Particles and help maintain the mobile suit. The presence of the nanites grants increased durability, refined GN-Particle usage, and quick "regeneration" of armor. In addition to maintaining the mobile suit, the nanites are capable of slowly reconstructing the True Guardian at the atomic level. This feature allows the Gundam to constantly receive new upgrades and advances. The nanites and the Nanite Reactor are all governed by a special Veda Terminal installed in the True Guardian. The designs for the Nanite Reactor were stolen from the Guardian X


 * Quantum Brainwave Interface: The QBW Interface of the True Guardian is vastly superior to that of it's predecessors. The receiving and processing rate of commands has increased to the point where it seems the mobile suit is controlling itself. The QBW Interface is connected to all systems of the mobile suit, allowing total control with just the mind of the pilot.


 * Truth Mode: The Truth Mode unleashes the full potential of the True Guardian. At any given moment, when the Gundam is not utilizing the Truth Mode, the mobile suit is operating at only 60% of it's true power. Over the course of a battle, True Guardian will be constantly absorbing solar and particle energy from it's surrounding environment and mobile suits targetting it with beam weapons. When the gundam reaches maximum storage of this collected energy, Truth Mode can be engaged. When the Truth Mode is engaged, the limiters on the mobile suit are removed, allowing it's full power to be unleashed. The stored up energy is released in a massive burst directly to the GN-Drives. increasing their output by over six times. The armor and frame of the Gundam expands outward, exposing several sections of the frame. In the places where the armor has extended, special GN-Particle vents release massive amounts of GN-Particles. When this occurs, the armor sections begin to glow a bright green. When active, the Nanite Reactor also super charges the nanites within the mobile suit. During this time, the True Guardian is capable of phasing through nearly any surface. Using the phase ability tends to require a great amount of GN-Particles and thus reduces the operational time of the Truth Mode. In normal operation, the True Guardian can use the system for about 5 minutes.
 * Particle Deflectors: Added alongside the Psychoframe and ZERO System, the particle deflectors utilized a unique hybrid of GN Shield and I-Field to generate a powerful defensive shield. The deflectors could operate as normal physical shields against lesser beam fire while able to instantly generate a small deflector field covering the wrists and hands. The deflectors also granted a limited defense against beam sabers, though only enough to diminish the damage one could cause. The shields were designed to leave the usage of the GN Swords and the flexibility of the arms unhindered. True Guardian was equipped with a particle deflector on each arm.

Crossover
After being damaged during the Battle of Ceres, True Guardian required repairs in order to become operable again. During the one year interval between Seasons 1 and 2, the Gundam will be refitted with a Psychoframe and ZERO System. These upgrades will be the catalyst for finally unlocking the mobile suit's Truth Mode, a feature that had previously been locked out from access for mysterious reasons.

Statistics
The stats below are by a measure of 1-10:
 * Range: 9
 * Melee: 10
 * Speed: 10
 * Defense: 9
 * Evasion: 9
 * Accuracy: 9

Featured in
True Guardian is featured in Gundam 00S: Crossover

Variations

 * True Guardian Aero Type