Murray Kaido

Murray Kaido (born Joseph Palmer) is the main protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam: Light of the Earth. A college student only halfway through his course in engineering, Murray chose to become the pilot of the UNOA-MS01X (Rd) Gundam "Raid" after its designated pilot, his best friend, seemingly dies. At first it seemed that his belief upon taking such a decision was that he truly wished to fulfill his friend's dying wish, but then he is revealed to be a selfish character who only becomes the pilot of the Gundam so that he could surpass his friend in his legacy and have the girl of his dreams to himself.

However, throughout the story, Murray would learn the true meaning of becoming a protector of others, and would come to see himself as something he truly wanted to be from the very beginning; a kindred heart of good. Ultimately, this would lead to him discovering his true destiny, as the heart of the Gundam Gaia, and the 'pavement' for humanity to reach peace through communion and the light they all share within; the light of hope.

Character
An outcast to some extent, Murray had been the type to lack drive in actually accomplishing anything that would consider a leap and bound in his life. Instead, he chose to live a life of mediocrity, never having the courage to go the extra mile for something which he genuinely believed in nor for trying out something different. However, he had always had a strong sense of what was right and wrong. Though, this did not show itself too much due to the very same lack of fervour.

Murray once held a sort of affection towards Emily that could be said to be comparable to the point of obsession; one that started from meeting her as young adults for the first time in many years. He was mesmerized by her beauty, lovely personality, kindly nature; so unlike the others he had met up until that day. Thus when he found out how she felt for Dayle, he was caught up in a web of mixed feelings. A person who only wanted to pass on as someone good in the world, filled with such feelings of rage and envy.

Unlike many other Gundam protagonists in the past, Murray does not act the role of the "reluctant civilian thrown into war" to the core. He expresses feeling of suppressed excitement and adrenaline during his second sortie, and is cruel and remorseless to his enemies during the earlier duration of the war, showing preference at killing them. He laments that despite feeling scared to enlist in the military once, he is able to feel that being inside the Gundam was where he belonged his entire life, a foreshadowing to his being an electropath.

Light of the Earth
Murray is a childhood friend of Emily Hallmond and Dayle Caprice, and as he grew up alongside the two, he began to develop feelings for Emily.

The girl, though, was in love with his best friend, Dayle. Before Dayle's death during the surprise attack by SEA forces on the UNO's Glockhelm base, Murray was entrusted with the Gundam Raid, UNO's experimental mobile suit, along with the task of protecting everyone they cared for. A second skirmish after the group of survivors leave the Yutonian Archipelago in which he deployed with the Raid showed his potential and skill in piloting the Gundam, which was supposedly only able to be piloted by individuals who've gone through a strenuous tuning and preparation process.

In order to pilot the mobile suit without any drawbacks from the higher-ups, Murray would have to take his late best friend's identity. This was due to the fact that he was the only one aboard the battleship who could pilot the Gundam and that the captain, Remus Clarke, knew that UNO was at a possible losing end. Thus, "Dayle Caprice" came to life once more. He would go on to use that name during the entirety of the Pavement Conflict.

Murray was transferred to the Meriam-class cruiser, the Howitzer IV, shortly after leaving the Yutonian Archipelago and the nearby Republic of Donto, a formerly UNO ally that had defected to SEA.

As the pilot to the powerful Gundam Raid, Murray's skill would exceed the expectations of many, and he would go on to become a feared name on the battlefield, raging across the continents as the deciding factor for the Pavement conflict that would turn the tide of the war as he continued to decimate SEA's forces, including its five Gundam units. In the middle of the heightening conflict, UNO special task forces would come into contact with an abandoned Old World nuclear plant. Inside, they found a mobile suit left inactive. UNO's central operations would task the Howitzer IV with retrieving and escorting the unknown mobile suit, codenamed G-001, to the Palisade base in Southern America. This was Murray's first contact with his future mobile suit, the Gundam Gaia.

To secure a passage line from the capital continent of Oceania to Southern America, the Howitzer IV and allied ships, including the Equilibrium, would commence a joint operation to clear the Desmond Islands as well as surrounding seas from the European Alliance forces. After the success of the operation that become one of the many high points of the war of RC 210, the Howitzer IV would stop for resupplying works at Indigo Coast. This would be where Murray and the Howitzer IV meet the AVA-OAMSG02X Gundam Ω for the first time.