Rena Lancaster

IC Information
Full Name:	Renalle Lancaster
Gender:	Female (She/her)
Species:	Coordinator Newtype
Age (Birthdate):	20 (August 22, 0076)
Hair Colour:	Ash Blue
Eye Colour:	Brown
Height	5'6" (1.68 m)
Job:	Kakapo Squadron Commander
Homeland:	Winter Wonderland
Awakening:	4
Primary Unit:	A000-0001 Gaia Gear Alpha
BGM:	It's All Uphill From Here - Atelier Ryza 2
OOC Information
Origin:	Original Character
Factions:	Three Ships Alliance
Player:	Tex

Renalle 'Rena' Lancaster is one of the ace pilots of the Three Ships Alliance. She serves as the commander of the Mobile Weapons teams on the Zentradi cruiser Ra Mari II. As a war orphan who moved to the Winter Wonderland resort colony in Side 1, memories of the suffering and destruction caused by the First Neo-Zeon War motivated Rena to join Londo Bell, but the end of the Bloody Valentine War drove her to find another solution. She is friendly to a fault, prone to overworking herself, and has a reputation for being reliable. She wants a better future for the Earth Sphere, which sometimes feels perilously out of reach, but she is determined to do everything she can to make that happen -- and to look out for the friends, family, and people under her care. She pilots the Psychoframe-armed Gaia Gear Alpha, an experimental Mobile Suit built shortly before the Axis Shock.

Background

Project Sigyn

In UC 0077, the Principality of Zeon saw that war with the Earth Federation loomed large. While formal hostilities had not broken out, most of the upper crust of Zeon saw that war was a matter of when, not if. Some strategic planners felt victory was likely, but total victory might be impossible; future wars with the Earth Federation then seemed probable. Zeon began looking for ways to have an edge in the future, including the development of Newtypes.

Project Sigyn was a cooperative project between the Flanagan Institute and several scientists from PLANT, with pro-spacenoid tendencies that supported Zeon's independence even when their nation seemed less enthusiastic. They created several Coordinator children in secret, using genetic samples from both a number of Zeon Newtypes and the standard Coordinator enhancements popular in PLANT at the time.

Like many projects designed by committee, some confusion developed about its intent. The PLANT scientists were most interested in whether Newtypes could be successfully cloned and integrated into Coordinator designs (answer: not reliably). Most scientists at the Flanagan Institute were interested in future Newtype pilots, as a sort of living weapon.

Only a few children resulted from the experiments. Fewer developed Newtype potential. One that did was brought to term and raised by the project leader, Flanagan Institute scientist Rhella Kan Zeitun. Rhella named that girl Renalle Kan Zeitun. While Rhella (a Newtype in her own right) was her mother, she used genetic material from a number of individuals in creating Rena.

The One Year War wasn't kind to Project Sigyn's scientists. The PLANT contingent fled back to their homeland as the war took a turn for the worse for Zeon. Many of the Zeon-side scientists died in the fighting -- and a couple were executed as they ended up on different sides of the conflicts between Gihren and Kycilia Zabi in the very last days of the war. Rhella survived, with her "daughter," and fled to Axis with many of Zeon's elite (and ones that might be tried in the Republic of Zeon, if they stayed).

Life on Axis

Growing up on Axis wasn't so bad for Rena. She was Zeon nobility -- and too young to understand the questions about who her father was -- and she had a privileged upbringing. She went to an elite school, where her nature as a Coordinator affected her studies. She became known as brilliant; a fast learner, naturally talented at math and science, and with excellent reflexes and athletic ability. She wasn't quite a genius, but she came close. She also began to show considerable Newtype potential while on Axis. These developments delighted Rhella.

When Rena was six, she started asking about her father. Rhella claimed he died in the One Year War and was a Zeon officer. Rena never had reason to question. She even met her aunt and uncle -- actually scientists on the project -- Ingrid and Duncan York, allegedly related to her father through Ingrid. (In truth, Ingrid had also been a gene donor to Rena.)

As soon as Rena was old enough, Rhella began to indoctrinate her. It was a subtle but thorough sort of abuse. She was not openly cruel, but she manipulated her daughter into feeling a need to be wanted -- and made it clear that what made people want her was to be reliable, to do what she was asked, and to always seek to make them happy. She made it so Rena was susceptible to letting other people tell her who she was -- paving the road so she might, one day, fight for Zeon or even act as a puppet leader for certain factions.

Axis began its long approach to Earth. Rena remained in school, enjoying life with other children of Zeon elites. She did not really know much of the Gryps War or other events gripping the Earth Sphere, until the First Neo-Zeon War erupted. While on Axis, she met and befriended Leina Ashta; she was her first true friend.

Then, when Side 3 fell back into the hands of Neo-Zeon, she and her mother moved back to Zuum City -- and there, she started to see the first signs that war had taken a great toll on her homeland.

Her mother rose in importance. She began to lead one of Neo-Zeon's Cyber-Newtype development programs. Rena, only eleven years old, did not know what her mother did. She did not know that Rhella took war orphans and made them into living weapons; she had no idea about the painful experiments enacted on children her age. Her uncle and aunt, though, knew. They were also aware that Rhella sided with the Glemy Faction.

Winter Wonderland

When things came to a head during the fall of Neo-Zeon, they swept in. They rescued only one of the children that Rhella experimented on -- a girl designated Eight -- and then rushed to grab Rena one night, when her mother was out. Rena would only later learn that Rhella was arrested by officers loyal to Haman Karn that same evening. As chaos erupted in Side 3, the Yorks took the two girls and fled aboard one of the last commercial ships to leave. Their departure and their destination were the product of planning from an old friend, Sally Hearne.

On their flight from Side 3, Rena learned things she never knew about her mother. She learned that her mother engaged in experimentation on girls like her -- like Eight -- to make them Cyber-Newtypes. She learned that her aunt and uncle feared she might be next. She learned, in short, that her mother was a monster. She found her world shattered, and she was instilled with a deep-seated guilt about the things her mother did. This is the second thing that most defined who Rena is, and unlike the circumstances of her birth, she knows it.

She developed a sense of survivor's guilt and a quiet, but burning drive to somehow make things better. She didn't know how she would. She looked at her life and saw it as unfairly lucky, especially when she compared it to Eight's life. She felt like she owed the world, somehow, for her good fortune. Rena kept those feelings inside her, at least as best a powerful Newtype can keep such things to herself.

On the flight, her aunt and uncle gave her a new last name, Lancaster. She didn't know enough about history to appreciate that they based this on the other house in the War of the Roses.

The Yorks, with their niece, moved to Winter Wonderland: a Side 1 resort colony, appealing to wealthy Earthnoids, wealthy Neo-Colonists, and very wealthy Spacenoids. There, it would always be winter and could always provide a winter getaway. The Yorks, as scientists, took on a well-paying job that involved cloning reindeer and other animals to meet the image that the colony maintained. They enrolled Rena and Eight into school.

Considering the memory of her parents, Rena refused adoption into the York family. She became best friends with Eight as they grew up, because Eight's personality broke the resolve to maintain a respectful distance down. They might not have been family, but they very quickly became best friends. The fact that both had considerable empathic abilities as Newtypes helped.

In school, Rena met more of the friends that would come to define her life: Minae, Anita Rosetta, and Arriety Hearne. Along with Eight, she became close to all of them, forming a tight knit group of friends that would see her through the good times and the bad.

She began to take an interest in her social life at school. Helping people, some part of her decided, became a way to bring something good into the world. She spent a lot of time tutoring and volunteering, developing a reputation as being very reliable. She started participating in her high school's student council. This was reinforced in UC 0093, when the Axis Shock occurred.

Londo Bell

In her last year in school, Rena became class president. It was a bright and happy cap-off to the best years of her life. She felt a sense of accomplishment -- and teachers, aunts, uncles, and friends alike wondered where she might go. They were all shocked when she announced her intention to enlist in Londo Bell. Her aunt and uncle tried to stop it, but she was too old to be denied. They were even more shocked when Eight joined her.

Her training and initial aptitude tests showed something that was no great surprise: her reflexes and Newtype abilities made her an excellent pilot. She was assigned to Kakapo Squadron, a Mobile Suit team based out of the Clop-class cruiser Ra Mari. Eight served as a communications officer on the Ra Mari. The commander of Kakapo Squadron, Bailiwick Ultrasound, became her mentor.

Lieutenant Commander Ultrasound was a skilled commander and ace pilot from the Gryps and two Neo-Zeon wars. He served in AEUG before joining Londo Bell. He taught Rena about being a pilot. He also taught her that spacenoids could fight in Londo Bell to help the Federation -- that working with Earthnoids could undo things like the Titans and build understanding. Understanding, he said, mattered far more than promises of revolution and bloodshed. Rena internalized that; it fit with her own desire to help individuals and it gave her a stronger sense of purpose.

Several months later, fate led them back to Winter Wonderland. Kaiju attacked the colony and their unit responded. The casualties were severe: the commander of the Ra Mari died in the fighting, with Eight becoming Acting Captain. Arriety, caught in the fighting, was protected by Bailiwick -- but he gave his life to defend her. The bloody aftermath left the squadron and the crew stunned.

Rena was promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant, and assigned to be the commander of Kakapo Squadron. This came with a host of stresses, as her friends ended up in Londo Bell and also assigned to Kakapo Squadron. She looked at the ways they suffered -- the things they had to give up -- and decided she had to protect them, come what may.

Phase 1, Turn 1 (early-mid UC 0096)

Rena encounters the Sleeves and learns that they are hunting for Laplace's Box. Her personal issues with Neo-Zeon remain in the background during these early conflicts and affect her judgment.
Rena meets Guy Shishioh and Renais Cardiff, who Bailiwick Ultrasound knew. She tells them the bad news about his passing. She also learns some of the danger of Triple Zero.
Eventually, Rena gets her hang-ups together enough to start dating Eight York instead of avoiding the issue clumsily. She still manages to be a bisexual disaster about this and other matters of the heart.
She forms a deeper friendship with Anita Rosetta. With the help of Anita and Eight, she begins to realize that she wants to reform the Earth Federation into something more noble, more equitable, and more democratic. She isn't sure how to do this yet.
She encounters Yuliana Dispersal, both as herself and her Celestial Being cover identity, "Verdiska." She forms a rather intense rivalry immediately after Yuliana destroys her Mass Production-type Nu Gundam, because she has to fill the void somehow.
Rena develops an OS for variable fighters and begins piloting a customized YF-25A Prophecy.

Phase 1, Turn 2 (late UC 0096, early UC 0097)

Rena is reunited with Leina Ashta, and the two quickly become fast friends again.
Yuliana decided, after several negative encounters with Rena, to find and reveal the truth of her background. Rena learned that she was the product of a project to create Coordinators who were also Newtypes; the project was a dead-end. She took this rather hard.
Rena and Arriety broke up, as the stresses of being apart and war proved too much.
With support from her friends, Rena begins to move on from the discoveries about Project Sigyn.
The Federation-PLANT War began to heat-up. Rena was involved with Operation Spitbreak and survived it, with the rest of the crew of the Ra Mari. However, they began to suspect that someone in the Federation had tried to murder them.
In the aftermath of Project Sigyn, Rena and other members of the Kakapo Squadron rescued Riika Sheder and offered her asylum on the Ra Mari.
Denver Colony began to malfunction. Rena and other members of the Kakapo Squadron, along with Leina, explore it. Rena recovers a sealed away Psychoframe machine, the Gaia Gear Alpha, and helped to stop Denver Colony's reactor from having a catastrophic failure with the assist of the Phenex.
Rena works up the nerve to ask Anita out and they started dating on Christmas Eve.
Along with the rest of the crew of the Ra Mari, Rena defects from the Earth Federation during the Invasion of Orb. They then fought at the Second Battle of Jachin Due, where Rena helped to stop GENESIS from firing and destroying everyone.

Phase 1, Turn 3 (mid-UC 0097)

With the newly formed Three Ships Alliance, Rena helps Banagher Links in the search for Laplace's Box. This leads her to fight Char Aznable, infected by Triple Zero, and find out that the Gaia Gear Alpha was a machine created for Aznable but never used by him.
The Alliance and the Sleeves make a tentative truce, with the Sleeves taking up residence on the Ra Mari II. This lets Rena speak more with Zoltan Akkanen, though they don't quite see eye-to-eye.
This leads to Rena helping the Sleeves defend Palau, when Aznable tries to control it, and stresses between the Sleeves and the Alliance deepen.
Working with Anita and Leina, Rena also finds out that Yuliana and her wife, Elisa, are running a cult and drawing on the power of the Void. She gets her first taste of it, both in encountering Void Dragons and the Emptear.
Rena finds out that Eight is pregnant! Polyamorous life is sometimes amazing and confusing, both in good ways.
Rena and Anita move in together.
Matters come to a head, when she discovers that Leina was kidnapped and forced to become Puru-1, the pilot of the Banshee Gundam. Rena fights her several times, and suffers a breakdown at thinking she lost her friend again.
The partnership with the Sleeves and Three Ships Alliance collapses after Zoltan causes damage to a colony and, in the aftermath, the Sleeves attempt to seize the Ra Mari II before they can be evicted. Rena fights against the Sleeves and helps Banagher and Judau recover Leina.
The Three Ships Alliance goes with Banagher to recover Laplace's Box.

A000-0001 Gaia Gear Alpha

A000-0001 Gaia Gear Alpha

Unit Information
Unit Type:	Prototype Newtype-Use Mobile Suit
Developed From:	MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki
Height:	22.7 meters
Cockpit:	Panoramic monitor with linear seat and Psychoframe
Armor:	Gundarium alloy composite
Known Operators:	Three Ships Alliance
Known Pilots:	Rena Lancaster
Armaments
Fixed:	2 x Hand Beam Gun, 2 x Beam Gun/Saber, 2 x Needle Missile Pod, 2 x Anti-Ship Missile, 2 x 60mm Vulcan Gun
Handheld:	1 x 20mm Gatling Cannon, 1 x Sand Barrel, 1 x Beam Rifle, 1 x Hyper Bazooka, 1 x Hyper Mega Launcher

The A000-0001 Gaia Gear Alpha is a high performance Mobile Suit developed by Anaheim Electronics in UC 0092, originally intended for Char Aznable. However, it was sidelined in favor of Sazabi, and left at Denver Colony, an Anaheim black site. It is a transformable Mobile Suit, which incorporates Variable Fighter technology. With a number of hardpoints that allow it to carry multiple types of weapons, a Psychoframe, and a Minovsky barrier that can assist with atmospheric reentry, it is a formidable machine... but something of a could have been that never saw the light of day until recently. Rena modified it with the Lancaster Adaptive Operating System, with modifications from Nova Stellar.

The Lancaster Adaptive Operating System automates the movements of a transforming fighter to enable AMBAC movement and make it more responsive. Rena's modifications also make it assist in regulating the Psychoframe cockpit, which provides the Gaia Gear Alpha with capabilities comparable to the Nu Gundam and Sazabi from the Axis Shock. The Gaia Gear Alpha's Psychoframe, however, is not a full Psychoframe like the Unicorn Gundams.

The Gaia Gear Alpha has a very large and modular weapon load out. The highlights include hand beam guns, mounted on the lower forearms, two beam sabers that can double as beam guns, and a number of missiles. Needle missiles have super-heated armor piercing tips. Additionally, it can carry a gatling cannon, beam rifle, and hyper bazooka. It also has a sand barrel, which fires highly reflective metal flechettes for disrupting missiles and funnels. It can also fire a large, ship-launched beam cannon called a Hyper Mega Launcher.

Dozoo Degwa Standings

Side 1 Regionals Tournament, UC 0090: 3rd Place
Side 1 Regionals Tournament, UC 0092: 2nd Place
Side 1 Regionals Tournament, UC 0093: 6th Place
Side 1 Regionals Tournament, UC 0094: 1st Place
Federation International Tournament, UC 0094: 4th Place
Londo Bell Intra-Service Tournament, UC 0095: 2nd Place

Relationships

Name	Group	Comments
Eight York	Three Ships Alliance	"I love you. I'll follow you anywhere... and I know you're following me, too. Together, we can make this world into the one we both dream of. But no matter what... O-Octo, you still make me blush."
Anita Rosetta	Three Ships Alliance	"Annie! I love you. I don't know where I'd be without you. I still think you're way too cool for me, but I kinda like that, too. We can do this. Together."
Leina Ashta	Three Ships Alliance	"You were my first friend. You might be my best friend. I... I still feel like I failed you, Leina. I won't again. I want us to both have the future we deserve."
Riika Sheder	Three Ships Alliance	"I'm glad you're my friend. And I'm glad I'm on your side. And... I wish I had the courage to tell you I'm a Coordinator, too, Riika."
Naoko Suzuki	Three Ships Alliance	"You've been a big help... but I'm worried about you. What we've learned is really concerning... but I'll make sure you're not alone."
Banagher Links	Three Ships Alliance	"I'm glad we're in this together. I believe in you, Banagher, and I'm so glad Leina has you. I'll try to not let you down."
Ruri Hoshino	Three Ships Alliance	"You and the rest of the Nadesico crew have done so much for us. I'm glad... and I want to make sure you're safe, too, Ruri."
Guy Shishioh	NERV (GGG)	"I'm glad you're back, sir. I'm sorry it's me, not him, that's here to help you."
Alto Saotome	Nergal Heavy Industries	"You're good at flying. I like your attitude. I kinda want a rematch someday."
Sheryl Nome	Civilian	"I'm glad you were cool about me making an ass of myself. Who knows, maybe we'll be friends?"
Rita Bernal	Civilian	"I'm grateful for how you've helped me... and I hope I can help you, too. But that feels so beyond me..."
Mineva Lao Zabi	Civilian	"I'm glad I have a chance to know you. I hope we'll both do better than who came before us."
Zoltan Akkanen	Sleeves	"There's a lot that connects us... but I'm not sure we'll ever see the world the same way. Also, you can't help but piss me off, can you?"
Yuliana Kafim	Celestial Being	"I want to help you. But... I can't forgive you, and... I don't know what that says about me."
Elisa Kafim	Celestial Being	"Who are you? ...What are you?"