Zechs Merquise

Character: six_wind

Player: Aisu

Name: Milliardo Peacecraft AKA: Zechs Merquise, the Lightning Baron/Count, Preventer Wind (in his later history not included here) Age: 19 Gender: Male Species: Human Sexuality: Heterosexual

Appearance: Milliardo is the epitome of handsome beauty. He has long platinum blond hair that falls to the small of his back and a set of "angel wing" bangs that fall into his eyes. He does, unfortunately, hide his beautiful face under a metallic helmet nearly all the time. The only part above the nose that can be seen are the glinting blue eyes behind two glass covered eye-slits. The rest of his gorgeous body is encased in a very formal, very archaic-looking red OZ uniform including all the lovely golden frills, the white gloves, white pants, and knee high, highly polished black boots. Oh, and the one-shouldered cape, the sword, and the ornate pistol for formal occasions.

Personality: Zechs is your ultimate soldier and ace pilot. While he is not necessarily suicidal like Heero Yuy (the supposed 'Perfect Soldier') he is extremely loyal and follows his cause(s) with fierce determination. He knows nearly no true defeat. Merquise is a natural leader, especially in combat situations, and will easily take command when the need arises. He is calm and rational in the heat of opposition. He also has a natural charm, and both his movements and speech take on an eloquent pattern in an 'every-day' environment. This does not mean he is above showing his darker side. The Lightning Baron is a fierce opponent and he will lash out like a tiger at anyone who displeases him in one form or another. He can be temperamental when things don't go just right for him. He has a lot of pride in his formidable skills and boasts both subconsciously and consciously alike. His true upbringing taught him to be polite and formal, but as a soldier he can also be relaxed and informal when he forces himself. Probably his only weakness in social behavior is to those he likes very much; while an easy charmer of the ladies in general, he actually has trouble around those that he really likes and will clam up despite his "relaxed" responses. This really cannot be seen so much on the outside since he has such good control over himself; but rather it is more of an internal battle that he faces alone. It also takes awhile for this sort of reaction to take place around a person, as he must first realize how much he truly cares for that other being.

Abilities/Strengths: Zechs Merquise is OZ's top ace pilot. There is no one better in a mobile suit fight than him in the Specials. It is not just that he can pilot so exceptionally well on his own, but also that he is a precise tactician. He is a natural leader and therefore works well with others rather than only operating alone. His charm can come into play during this sort of event, as well as off the battle field in various ways. (Notably, instead of 'picking up chicks' he can find out information easily by simply sweet-talking to the right person.) Zechs, as a pilot, has at least minimal skills for operating advanced technology. He might not be an exceptional hacker (like most of the Gundam pilots) but he can move around with ease at most terminals. When it comes to physical skills of interest Zechs is both a marksman level shooter and an exceptional duelist with the fencing sword. His body is in perfect form and it is very likely that he knows the deadly martial art of modern day military forces.

Weaknesses: Besides the weakness Zechs has for those he truly cares for, one of his biggest faults is his pride. It could be said his confidence knows no bounds. It did in fact take a Gundam for the ace pilot to question his own skills. But yet he still hides behind the mask that he is fully confident that he can one day beat the Gundam with the right tool. As far as his feelings for family and friends he can hide them all he wants--but that does not negate the fact that when they are in danger he will drop everything to protect them. His emotions, therefore, can be easily used against him in a variety of ways.

Physically speaking it could almost be said that Merquise has no real weakness (other than the ones all humans share alike) because visually his body is in perfect health. But it can actually be noted that he suffered from a heart-attack once from pushing his abilities too far in the advanced Tallgeese machine. This could possibly cause him to have a weak heart in later years, or even sooner if something goes terribly wrong.

Notable Possessions: Metallic helmet, OZ uniform, fencing sword, ornate pistol, and most importantly the Tallgeese mobile suit (when he finds it). Will find/put up stats for Tallgeese later.

History: Zechs was actually born Milliardo Peacecraft of the late Sanc Kingdom, first born and heir to the throne to the peaceful family and country. At the age of six he witnessed the death of his parents in a fire that consumed the palace in which he and his baby sister grew up in. The fire started thanks to an attack on the kingdom from the United Earth Sphere Alliance forces; it can be assumed, however, that the elder Peacecrafts were murdered first before the fire took true root. And that Milliardo saw this man from a hidden position.

The Peacecraft heir went missing after the attack and subsequent death of his parents. (His baby sister became adopted--likely through back-channels as to hide her identity.) Supposedly he likely died in the fires along with his parents and sister. In truth he went into hiding on his own. It was much later that a young man named 'Zechs Merquise' joined the academy to get into OZ where he passed as top rank of his class and set a new record for highest scores on the final test(s). He later gained the nickname 'Lightning Baron' on a Specials mission to repress a terrorist organization's attack on the Earth Alliance base at the J.A.P. point in the Pacific Ocean, in the year After Colony 191. It was there that he boasted he could defeat all enemy targets before his mobile suit first touched the ground. Trieze Khushrenada (there as the CO of the mission) witnessed the battle and noted that Merquise wasn't just all talk--the ace pilot truly did defeat all his foes before reaching the earth. The phrase Trieze used to describe Zechs' fighting--"fights like lightning"--was likely the reason behind the title 'Lightning Baron.' It can also be noted that in pursuit of the retreating terrorists, Zechs ran into Relena Darlian and rescued her. Relena was in truth his baby sister, and he instantly recognized her; he also noted to himself that he no longer had the right to even touch her as he had denounced his heritage to the once peaceful kingdom of their birth in exchange for the pursuit of revenge against their parents' murderer.

Years later and with a few ranks under his belt, the Lieutenant encountered an unusual foe in the form of a Gundam sent down by the colonies. He defeated it (for the time being) by sacrificing his mobile suit to pin the Gundam into a position incapable of maneuverable flight. Soon after, as the Gundams continued their fight against the Earth, OZ initiated its Operation: Daybreak which Zechs was a part of along with other well-known Specials. From there he went on to attack the Alliance base in the Sanc Kingdom with his new discovery: the prototype Leo mobile suit, Tallgeese. The mobile suit proved to be too much for him in the first flight and he was forced to retreat, but one of his faithful peers went on to commit suicide with the Tallgeese destroying the base in the process. Before this he sneaked into the base alone to take his revenge of his parents' murderer. After, he planned on using the Tallgeese to defeat the Gundams. This is when he is Phased.

((Full bibliography originally found here. Character journal here; lj profile here.))