n0rmAl m0dE



AssAUlt shr0Ud m0dE

With the outbreak of war, the Earth Alliance's Atlantic Federation begins a secret project to develop mobile suits to counter ZAFT's mass-produced ZGMF-1017 GINN as well as operate free of interference from the N-Jammers. One of the first five prototype mobile suits is the GAT-X102 Duel Gundam, which serves as a testbed for the GAT-X103 Buster Gundam, GAT-X105 Strike Gundam and GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam. As a basic mobile suit, the Duel Gundam is designed for close combat. Its armament consists of two beam sabers, two "Igelstellung" vulcan guns and a combination high-energy beam rifle/grenade launcher. Like the other prototype Gundams, the Duel Gundam is equipped with the new Phase Shift (PS) armor technology. When in Phase Shift mode, the Duel Gundam is nearly impervious to attacks from shell-firing artillery or melee weapons. However, use of Phase Shift for extended periods of time is a massive drain on the energy battery.

On January 25, C.E. 71, the Duel Gundam is stolen by ZAFT pilot Yzak Joule during ZAFT's assault on the neutral colony Heliopolis. Following the escape of the Earth Alliance battleship Archangel, Yzak and his Duel Gundam continue to harass the Archangel's crew during the later period of the war. During one battle with Kira Yamato's Strike Gundam, the Duel Gundam is heavily damaged and Yzak's face is scarred. Afterwards, ZAFT upgrades the Duel Gundam to the Assault Shroud configuration. With this upgrade, extra armor plates are fitted over the main body, along with several new weapons. These weapons include a 5-barrel missile pod launcher on the left shoulder, as well as a 115mm "Shiva" railgun on the right shoulder. Although ZAFT develops the Assault Shroud upgrade themselves, the Earth Alliance copies it and incorporates it into two limited production versions of the Duel Gundam: the GAT-01D Long Dagger and GAT-01D1 Duel Dagger. With his upgraded mobile suit, Yzak vows to get revenge on Kira for the scar he received. However, at the war's end on September 26, C.E. 71, Yzak assists the Clyne Faction in defending the PLANTs and destroys both the GAT-X252 Forbidden Gundam and GAT-X370 Raider Gundam. Later, a second Duel Gundam unit piloted by Mudie Holcroft is upgraded to the GAT-X1022 Blu Duel.