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High-Cost Unit's Prototype

The High-Cost Unit's Prototype is an experimental custom-built Garde unit for Sidonia's ace pilot, Nagate Tanikaze. The unit was later abandoned and destroyed after it plummeted into Lem-IX's atmosphere during the gravity converting system installation mission. In the anime, the High-Cost Unit never appears. A similar unit, Tsugumori Custom 2, took its place instead.

Technology & Combat Characteristics[]

After many encounters with the Gauna, Toha Heavy Industries decided to create the next generation Gardes unit, the Type-20. However, Toha engineers had to research and develop a prototype test unit before creating the final product; the High-Cost Unit's Prototype is the first prototype. As this unit was built on experimental technologies, the prototype resembles nothing like any pre-existing Gardes types; it's a custom-built prototype.

Toha has been developing a highly durable material called Megastructure. The alloy had promising applications and engineers designed an original armor and body frame for the prototype with 30% purity of Megastructure; the unit has little resemblance towards its predecessor Gardes series. Because of the unique make of the alloy, engineers had to make a series of hard points in advance as it would be difficult to add and/or upgrade the unit with new components later on; it explains the series of docking points throughout its body. The prototype unit is far lighter than the Guardians of previous generations. The frame is hard enough to survive the heat of a star and withstand hard impacts when crash-landing. With expensive and exotic material comes a high cost, its production was estimated to cost that of nearly 100 Type 18 Guardians, earning the moniker of High-Cost Unit.

For combat, the unit has a long-barrel accelerator rifle. While the weapon is made of conventional alloys, it fires kabi-rounds to destroy the true bodies of the Gauna. When precision shooting is needed, there are docking clamps on throughout its knees and foot to tightly hold onto the surface it docks for precision shooting. However, the weapon has limited rounds and after depleting its bullets without reloading, the weapon is useless. Alternatively, both the head and chest carries a newly designed Heigus Particle Cannon to cause catastrophic damage to the target; it has short-to-medium range capabilities. For even extended range, Toha also created a experimental high-kinetic launcher, but it has no official name as it was used only once.

For close range combat, the prototype was built and installed with anti-gauna blades. Both sides of its forearm armor carries retractable artificial kabi blades to pierce through the true bodies of gauna. It also carries a small anti-Gauna blade to cut through enemies, akin to military utility knives for melee combat.

To increase the unit's speed and mobility, its flight system is a custom-built wing-based propulsion system. The rear thrusters has been built with four large wings for multi-vector thrust, giving it great maneuverability for high-speed combat. However, due to the fact the flight system is unique to only the High-Cost Unit, maintenance and repairs can be difficult as everything the unit has is one-of-a-kind and spare parts from their mass production units can't be used.

Despite all the difficulties, the unit has proven its worth in combat as it helped Sidonia survive a series of major Gauna engagements. Unfortunately, the unit was destroyed by a star. Unable to escape the pulling gravity of the Lem System Star, the pilot had to abandon the unit and ironically not destroyed in combat. However, through all the combat experience gained from the unit, Toha was able to build a new prototype unit in its place, the secondary prototype before the finalized Type-20, the Tsugumori Custom 2.

Armaments[]

History[]

Pics Gallery[]

Notes & Trivia[]

Articles & References[]

External Links[]

Knights of Sidonia Sciences & Technologies
Sidonia
Science

Kabizashi | Heigus Particles | The Kabi Deep Space Artifact

Seed Ships

Sidonia | Aposimz

Support Ships & Crafts

Mizuki | Hayakaze | Tsukikazu

Weapons

Anti-Gauna Missiles | Super High Speed Ballistic Acceleration Device | Interplanetary Missile | Heavy Mass Cannon | Gatling Gun | Small Arms

Gardes

Type 5 | Type 15 | Type 16 | Type 17 - Shiratsuki - Tsugumori | Type 18 | Tsugumori Custom | Type 19 Prototype - Type 19 | High-Cost Unit's Prototype | Tsugumori Custom 2 | Type 20 - Yukimori

Ochiai's Creations

Blood Nematode

Knights of Sidonia
Anime Season 1 (S1 compilation film) | Season 2 | Love Woven in the Stars
Manga Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4 | Volume 5 | Volume 6 | Volume 7
Volume 8 | Volume 9 | Volume 10 | Volume 11 | Volume 12 | Volume 13
Key Subjects Sidonia | Gauna | Gardes | Technology of Sidonia | Characters of Sidonia
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