Tsugumi Saionji

Tsugumi Saionji
IC Information
Full Name:	Tsugumi Saionji
Aliases	Ryo Ooshiro, Specter of Axis
Gender:	Female (She/Her)
Species:	Newtype
Age (Birthdate):	30 (September 22, 0065)
Hair Colour:	Black
Eye Colour:	Black
Job:	PMC Leader
Homeland:	Neo-Japan (Born) and Zum City, Side 3 (Raised; Current)
Awakening:	3
Primary Unit:	AMX-011C Zaku III Late Type (AXIS Custom)
Alternate Units:	Endra-class, AXIS Specter, AMS-129 Geara Zulu
BGM:	UNBROKEN, by Tunetank
OOC Information
Origin:	Original
Factions:	Sleeves, PMC Forces, Crescent
Player:	Mom

Tsugumi Saionji is a war veteran who leads a PMC called Crescent, composed of survivors of past Zeonic conflicts. She is a hardened woman who has no stomach for compromise with the Earth Federation or those who condone them. She has come out of retirement to collaborate with a scientist who promises new Mobile Weapons and resources in exchange for agreeing to help the Sleeves. Tsugumi fights for her ideals, her hatred, and to put to rest the Specter of Axis that has haunted her all these years.

Background

One Year War

0065.09.22: Tsugumi Saionji is born in Neo-Japan to Musashi and Keiko. 0066: Ken Ooshiro is born. 0068: Tsugumi sees the chaos surrounding the (alleged) assassination of Zeon Zum Daikun on a public broadcast, as well as initial collapse at an assembly, but doesn't understand what it means then. 0072: Ken Ooshiro's father, Jun Ooshiro, joins the newly formed Zeonic Military Force (ZMF). 0077.04: Musashi Saionji moves his wife and daughter to Zum City in Side 3 to be closer to a growing military power. Jun Ooshiro participates in the Reah Revolution on the side of the Nationalists as an MS pilot in the MS-05B Zaku I. 0077.9.22: On her 12th birthday, Tsugumi is informed by Musashi Saionji that she will be having an arranged marriage with Garma Zabi of the Zabi Family, despite Garma being nearly seven years older than her. She is upset by this declaration made without her consent and rejects the proposal, but is told she has no choice in the matter. 0079.02: Jun Ooshiro is deployed to Earth as a member of the Earth Attack Force under Garma Zabi. 0079.08.05: Tsugumi Saionji runs away from home to enlist in the ZMF. She looks older than her age, and manages to pass herself off as mid-teens. The arranged marriage falls through with Tsugumi's absence, in no small part because Garma was never even aware of the arrangement. It was always just arranged through an intermediary who was trying to gain political power by brokering the union. The Saionji family enters a sharp decline. 0079.10.04: Jun Ooshiro falls in battle while assisting Captain Garma Zabi against the White Base and the RX-78-2. 0079.10.06 - 07: Ken Ooshiro receives word about his father at the same time as he hears about the death of Garma Zabi. He enlists in the ZMF the next day. 0079.12.28: Tsugumi Saionji is sent to fight at A Baoa Qu, but a scheduling mix up delays her departure. Tsugumi and Ken Ooshiro meet for the first time while waiting for their respective shuttles. 0078.12.31: Tsugumi arrives too late to make any difference at A Baoa Qu and gets swept up in the retreat order of Captain Aiguille Delaz without firing a shot.

Operation Stardust

0080.03: Tsugumi assists in the construction efforts of Delaz's "Garden of Thorns". Ken Ooshiro arrives during this time too, escorting Earth Zeon forces. 0080.06: The Federation announces the former Principality of Zeon forces on the African Front have been disarmed, and Tsugumi condemns this as cowardice, drawing mixed responses from other Delaz Fleet soldiers. 0080.10: Tsugumi and Ken return to Axis on an escort mission. 0081.03.28: Tsugumi Saionji meets the renegade Zeon forces as they approach the space fortress Axis with the infant Mineva Lao Zabi in their care, and sees them safely to their destination. 0082.05.13: Tsugumi and Ken become much closer after participating in a mess hall brawl with fellow soldiers over Tsugumi's loud and continued insistence that not fighting to the death with the Federation is a sign of cowardice, despite her not having even fought before. While locked up in the brig with Ken, she rethinks her position and dwells on her own hypocrisy thanks to Ken's words. This is the foundation of her new belief system that one should not expect others to do what one hasn't done one's self. 0082.7: Tsugumi unknowingly becomes pregnant. 0082.10: As Tsugumi becomes aware of her pregnancy, a nasty rumor is started by unknown parties that the father is Aiguille Delaz himself due to Tsugumi's intense loyalty to and closeness with him, but she neither confirms nor denies the rumors. 0083.05.13: Tsugumi has her daughter, Suzuha Saionji. 0083.06: The ugly rumors fade away thanks to a mix of Ken's charisma and Tsugumi's dedication to Zeon and growing ability to socialize amicably with her fellow soldiers. Suzuha becomes 'Axis's Baby', cared for as much by the engineers, pilots, and other personnel as by Tsugumi and Ken. The small family is seen as hope for the future. 0083.09.22: Tsugumi has her 16th birthday. 0083.09.24: During a deployment against Federation forces, Tsugumi is declared Killed-In-Action due to the destruction of her mobile suit, but manages to survive and is rescued by Ken Ooshiro. 0083.11.08: Tsugumi is reported Killed-In-Action during the conflict between the Federation battleship Birmingham, aided by the Albion, against the Cima Fleet. 0083.11.10: Still very much alive, Tsugumi rejoins the Delaz Fleet forces to attack a Federation Forces naval review. Ken Ooshiro hijacks one of two space colonies mid-transfer, and is trapped aboard it as it begins falling towards the Moon. The Federation's remaining vessels, and Tsugumi Saionji, hurry to pursue. 0083.11.11: Tsugumi manages to rescue Ken from the colony as its trajectory is changed to an an earthward trajectory, extracting the both of them as the Albion moves to pursue the colony. 0083.11.13: Tsugumi and Ken await rescue in space while watching the colony fall on the North Britannian Union continent. 0083.11.15: After reaching safety, the two teenagers, struck by how they could have died, as well as the death and devastation they helped to cause, decide to live their lives to the fullest with their daughter, knowing they could lose their lives tomorrow. Gryps Conflict 0085.07.31: Ken barely makes it out of Colony 30 of Side 1, where he and Tsugumi were staying while trying to find a way back to Axis, before the Titans use poison gas to kill the population. 0085.08: Tsugumi is livid when she hears about it from her partner, and decides to return to battle despite Ken begging otherwise. 0085.09: Tsugumi and Ken assemble other survivors of Zeon, especially the Delaz Fleet, in an elite company called "Crescent" after an informal group of pilots that the two were part of during Operation Stardust. 0086.02: While attempting to return to Axis in their mobile suits to resupply, the Titans find and ambush the Crescents. Several members, including Ken Ooshiro, are killed in the attack. 0087.03.19: Chasing after the Argama, intending to join the AEUG, Tsugumi barely misses them at Side 1's Colony 30. 0087.05: Tsugumi receives word of Bright Noa planning to go to space, and begins making her way back towards Earth in her damaged mobile suit, hoping out of desperation to convince him to help her. She arrives too late once again, as the Temptation has already been rescued by the Argama and departed. 0087.06.26: After having to ditch her mobile suit in the sea following a near-fatal atmospheric reentry to Earth, Tsugumi follows rumors of the AEUG across Asia. She arries in New Hong Kong days before the Psycho Gundam attacks, but has already left by the time the fighting takes place. 0087.08.16: Tsugumi is infuriated by the announcement at the Earth Federation Assembly, and attacks a Titans base single-handedly, killing a dozen soldiers with guerilla warfare tactics, and stealing a trans-atmospheric Mobile Suit from the hangar bay on her way out. This enables her to return to space, but not before waging a one-woman war on the Titans before she goes. 0087.08.28: Tsugumi finally manages to meet up with the AEUG, meeting Bright Noa and pledging her assistance to the AEUG cause. 0087.10.12: When Axis arrives in the Earth sphere, Tsugumi has complicated loyalties, but urges the AEUG to team up with the Axis Zeon forces, since she knew many of them personally from her time serving there before leaving with the Delaz Fleet. 0087.10.14: The negotiations break down and the Axis Zeon forces align themselves with the Titans, shocking Tsugumi to her core. Betrayed by Federation, Titans, and now Zeon as well, she has nowhere left to go but wherever the AEUG do. 0087.10.15 to 0088.02.22: Tsugumi continues fighting alongside the AEUG forces, infiltrating Axis to rescue her daughter with the help of personnel who retain loyalties to her, before finally disappearing when the Titans are destroyed. First Neo-Zeon War 0088.02.29: Tsugumi doesn't initially respond to the declaration by Axis Zeon that they are "Neo-Zeon", remembering their betrayal. 0088.05.13: Tsugumi arrives back at Side 3, and leaves her now 5-year old daughter with surviving members of Crescent while she attempts to secure a new life for them. 0088.06.20: Ridiculed by her father and mother for attempting to reconcile with them, Tsugumi disowns them and attempts to reform Crescent in order to earn the money for her daughter's upbringing. 0088.08: Tsugumi and a few fellow veterans decide to rejoin Neo-Zeon out of a mix of desperation and hope that maybe this time it will be different. They head for Earth, but "hop" battlefields repeatedly throughout the Neo-Zeon War. Tsugumi Saionji is declared KIA three separate times but manages to escape and survive in each instance, beginning the legend of the "Specter of Axis". 0088.08.01-31: Tsugumi is given a special mission by Haman Karn to spy on Glemy Toto under the alias "Ryo Ooshiro", due to Haman's suspicions. During this time, she meets Leina Ashta periodically but does not have extended interaction. She is still shattered by the news that Leina was killed by Haman Karn at a party. She cannot look at Haman the same way again. 0088.11.14: Tsugumi and her surviving comrades learn that Side 3 has been ceded to Neo-Zeon and celebrate, seeing their families and futures as being secure now. They plan to return to Side 3. Several, including Tsugumi, ponder retiring. In particular, Tsugumi does not want to keep serving under Haman Karn, knowing she is a child-murderer. 0088.12.25: Tsugumi is celebrating the first Christmas she has actually gotten to spend with her daughter when she learns of Glemy Toto's betrayal of Neo-Zeon. It is such a shock to her that she becomes incapacitated by an emotional breakdown, seeing it as a repeat of all the other betrayals she has suffered. 0089.01.08: Tsugumi is bedridden for weeks, but eventually decides she isn't going to let everything fall apart this time and returns to the battlefield despite not being in very good health. 0089.01.13-17: Tsugumi Saionji fights on the side of Zeon with everything she has left until Neo-Zeon is finally defeated and its leaders slain. Despite a desperate attempt to at least extract Mineva Zabi, she fails to find her. She blames herself and retires to Side 3. Second Neo-Zeon War 0090 to 0094: Tsugumi focuses on running a PMC called "Crescent" after her former team, with the few remaining survivors of said original team. She is no longer deployed to the field, but instead acts as their commanding officer. She recruits other veterans and anti-Federation forces on an individual basis, selecting them based on disposition, skill, and reliability. The sanctions from the Federation do plenty to earn the Crescents many missions. 0092.12.22: When Char Aznable re-emerges at the head of a new Neo-Zeon fleet, Crescent remains right where it is. All of them, especially Tsugumi, have had enough of idealogues borrowing the name of Zeon. 0095: Tsugumi is contacted by Doctor Salamedes about receiving supplies, equipment, and new Mobile Suits. She tentatively agrees to see what's on offer, and meets them on Mars. Whatever she witnesses there convinces her to accept the assistance. She begins training intensively to get back into shape for combat. Third Neo-Zeon War (Present) 0096.06.15: Tsugumi receives a tour of Salamedes' upgraded facilities on Mars and a secondary base called "Asteroid X". 0096.06.22: Tsugumi joins Rau Le Creuset's forces attacking Federation ships, under her sobriquet, "The Specter of Axis", to keep her true identity -- and, by extension, her family -- safe. Though her Geara Zulu is destroyed, she once again escapes seemingly certain death. (2022-07-22:_Dangerous_Descent_P1) 0096.06.25: Tsugumi heads to the PLANTs, where her newly-acquired Endra-class battleship "Mithra" receives supplies to deliver to Rau le Creuset's forces. (2022-07-21:_Youth_And_Innocence) 0096.06.28: The Mithra links up with the Garancieres, and Crescent officially becomes affiliated with the Sleeves. Tsugumi meets Banagher Links and Puru Ten for the first time, and Banagher also encounters Ten and Salamedes. Tsugumi attends dinner with Suberoa Zinnerman aboard the Garancieres later. (2022-07-28:_Not_My_Circus,_Not_My_Newtypes, 2022-07-31:_Captain's_Hospitality) 0096.06.29: Puru Ten and Salamedes depart for Earth and take part in a ground-and-sea assault under Rau le Creuset's leadership. 0096.06.31: The Mithra enters the Earth Sphere. Resources Endra-class x2 ("Mithra" and "Vlitra") AMS-129 Geara Zulu x12 AMX-011C Zaku III Late Type (AXIS Custom) x5 (with enough spare parts for another 8 units) AXIS Specter x1 MS-08TX Efreet Rebuild x3 MS-08TX Efreet Schwarzwald x1 MS-08TX(EXAM) Efreet Schwarzwald Custom x1 AMX-004G Qubeley Mass Production Type x1 G-Crescent x1 (Presently Under Development) Relationships Family Suzuha Saionji: Tsugumi's daughter. Estranged and distant from each other, Tsugumi's inexperienced attempts to act like a mother to her are sporadic at best and frequently interrupted by either being called away on business or arguments between them. It's a volatile relationship that Tsugumi feels like she has hopelessly mangled. The best she can do is try to keep Suzuha off of the battlefield and make a future where her daughter can live safely. Ken Ooshiro: Tsugumi's partner. He was killed in an ambush by the Titans. She hasn't smiled once since then. Musashi Saionji: Tsugumi's father. A useless man whose failed attempt at improving his family's fortunes led to his daughter disowning him and no contact between him and his only grand daughter. Attempting to arrange a marriage between a 19-year old and a 12-year old may have flown in ancient Japan, but his archaic, hyper-conservative views do not stand in the current era. Keiko Saionji: Tsugumi's mother. Just as useless as Tsugumi's father, Keiko is a pale shadow who barely speaks, and when she does, it's simply to echo whatever Musashi says. Tsugumi definitely didn't get any lessons in how to be a mother from Keiko. Delaz Fleet and Axis (Operation Stardust) Aiguille Delaz: He was more of a father figure to Tsugumi than her actual biological father. She was his shadow, and performed many covert operations for him. The rumor mill spread nasty stories about their relationship, especially when Tsugumi became pregnant, but it's the same sort of awful nonsense that most women in positions of power have to deal with. She ignored it, and eventually people dropped the matter. She is still broken up about Aiguille's death decades later. Her time serving under him in the Delaz Fleet was some of the most intense, rewarding, and character-building years of her life. In many ways, Tsugumi's own methods of commanding troops and formulating strategies and tactics is heavily inspired by Delaz himself. Argama and AEUG (Gryps Conflict) Bright Noa: Their meetings were sparse, and the animosity between them palpable given Tsugumi's war record and Bright's instrumental role in the defeat of Zeon, but she pledged her loyalty to the AEUG all the same. Bright is one of the few Feddies that Tsugumi has told about Ken. She pushed for reconciliation with Axis Zeon right up until they sided with the Titans, and didn't betray her promise to Bright all the way through to the end of the Gryps conflict. He assisted her in getting to Axis to rescue her infant daughter, and for that, Tsugumi still owes him a debt, even if she despises the Federation. Char Aznable: Not a fan. Neo-Zeon (First Neo-Zeon War) Haman Karn: Former leader of Neo-Zeon, Haman Karn was sort of a "last hope" for Tsugumi in regard to following a charismatic idealogue. She was especially supportive of following a female leader for once, and there are rumors about the two of them being more than just commander and subordinate. But Tsugumi's views on Haman Karn are tainted by the knowledge that she is a child-killer. She believes Leina Ashta died at Haman's hands. That is something she cannot forget or forgive. Leina Ashta: Merely an acquaintance and potential source of information, Leina Ashta was still a young girl whom Tsugumi was protective of as she disguised herself as a young man named "Ryo Ooshiro". Even putting aside Glemy Toto's questionable loyalties, Tsugumi's own experiences with men attempting to exploit her as a child and Glemy's habit of surrounding himself with little girls, got her hackles up. She tried to make sure Leina was safe, at least. Right up until she heard Haman had shot her. Tsugumi believes Leina to be dead now. Glemy Toto: A vile man whom Tsugumi has absolutely no sympathy for. He destroyed her final chance to secure a peaceful future for her daughter so that she could live a nomral life as a mother, and his predilection for young girls whom he used as expendable soldiers has cemented him squarely in the camp of, "People Tsugumi wishes she had gotten to kill personally." Allies Puru Ten: Tsugumi has 'concerns' about this girl's situation, and has advised her allies accordingly. Suberoa Zinnerman: A fellow ship's captain, and also a fellow war veteran. They have many similarities in their histories and circumstances. She respects him more than she lets on, and feels that if things truly become worse than they already are that she can come to him for help. Doctor Salamedes: An extremely dubious sort of ally, Tsugumi works with them reluctantly, because they have things she needs, but doesn't trust them further than the range of her sidearm. She is watching carefully, and she is sure that Salamedes knows that too. Full Frontal: Tsugumi 'despises' Full Frontal. She is sick and tired of idealogues borrowing the name of a dead man who wanted peace and understanding in order to wage war. She just wants the Federation to stay the hell out of spacenoid business. If a war will achieve that, then fine. However, she is actively looking for other ways to resolve the issue, even if none of them are "peace". Friendly Acquaintances Banagher Links: An interesting boy. One who could be a problem later. He could also be a great hero for the spacenoid cause, or hope for a future that is now lost to Tsugumi. The fact he didn't let his own physical weakness get in the way of challenging Salamedes earned him a few points in her book. That he tried to reunite Ten with her family earned him several more, and so did Zinnerman's positive estimation of him. All in all, Tsugumi looks favorably upon Banagher despite having only met him the one time so far. Acquaintances Marida Cruz: Tsugumi hasn't met her yet, but she has heard about her from Banagher and Zinnerman. Unless she has reason to believe otherwise, Marida is considered a friendly in the most generic sense. Unfriendly Acquaintances Most OF The Federation: Tsugumi may have differing opinions on select individuals, but overall she thinks that her daughter's future would be more secure if they just made Earth a molten, uninhabitable death ball and forced the Feddies to grow the fuck up about race differences. When everyone's a Spacenoid, no one is. Conflicted Mineva Lao Zabi: Tsugumi believes Mineva is dead. She attempted to find Mineva on Axis to rescue her before the end, but couldn't. She holds herself responsible for Mineva's fate, just like she does Leina's. Amuro Ray: Tsugumi 'despises' Amuro Ray for what he represents, but acknowledges his skill and power. Even if she loathes Char, he at least had the right idea of trying to make Earth uninhabitable. Amuro was instrumental in stopping that. He was also, however, instrumental in stopping the Titans. This leaves Tsugumi conflicted. She feels like he should be her sworn enemy, but she also feels like she owes him for helping to avenge her partner. In the end, she grudgingly admires him but considers him a threat regardless. Enemies Asuka Shikinami Langley: They fought once, and Tsugumi doesn't know her identity, but that she wasn't able to finish Asuka off irks her. If only her Zaku III had been ready back then, she feels, the outcome would have been different. She is gunning for all capable Federation pilots, but this one has her attention. Themes Suzuha [1] Bon Jovi - If I Was Your Mother (Because she can't call herself that.) Ken [2] Pink - Who Knew (They were so young back then.) [3] Kelly Clarkson - Haunted (Why did he have to go? What meaning was there?) [4] 5 Seconds Of Summer - Ghost Of You (She's going to carry that weight.) Gallery Logs 2022-07-21: Youth And Innocence 2022-07-22: Dangerous Descent P1 2022-07-28: Not My Circus, Not My Newtypes 2022-07-31: Captain's Hospitality 2022-08-11: What 'Bout My Star