Daryl Lorenz began as a Principality of Zeon infantryman during the One Year War. His family, originally Zeon merchants on Earth, suffered exile during anti-Spacenoid protests, forcing their relocation to space colonies. Seeking citizenship rights for them, Daryl enlisted. During Zeon's Earth invasion ground operations, he sustained severe injuries costing him both legs. Despite his disabilities, Daryl transitioned to mobile suit piloting, assigned to the Living Dead Division, a unit specifically for soldiers with prosthetic limbs. Stationed in the debris-choked Thunderbolt Sector, vital to Zeon supply lines, he became an ace sniper. His long-range skill and tactical awareness enabled effective hit-and-run operations alongside squad members Fisher Ness and Sean Mitadera against Earth Federation forces. A pivotal moment came when Federation ace Io Fleming killed Daryl's commander, Ensign Hoover Aisla. This catalyzed a personal vendetta, with Daryl vowing to eliminate Fleming. Subsequent clashes against Fleming's FA-78 Full Armor Gundam resulted in the loss of Daryl's left forearm. To counter the Gundam's superiority, he voluntarily underwent amputation of his remaining arm to interface directly with the experimental MS-06R Zaku High Mobility Type (Reuse "P" Device), the Psycho Zaku. This neural-control system translated his thoughts into mobile suit movement. Following this procedure, Daryl was promoted to Ensign and assumed command of the Living Dead Division's mobile suit team. His final confrontation with Fleming in the Thunderbolt Sector culminated in a fierce battle inside a destroyed colony cylinder. After the Psycho Zaku was disabled, a lightning strike briefly reactivated its systems, allowing Daryl to fire a Sturm Faust that destroyed the Gundam's head. Both pilots survived, though Daryl abandoned the Psycho Zaku before its destruction. Federation forces were ultimately captured by Zeon reinforcements. After the war, Daryl joined Zeon remnant forces, eventually commanding a commando squad of former Living Dead Division members and other veterans. He dedicated himself to caring for Karla Mitchum, a prosthetics researcher traumatized into a regressed mental state. Intelligence that the South Seas Alliance acquired Reuse P Device technology prompted Daryl to lead a retrieval mission, extracting a Zeon spy and eliminating multiple GM units. Influenced by the Newtype Levan Fuu, Daryl later defected from the Zeon remnants to the South Seas Alliance, relocating with Karla to their Taal Volcano base. In later operations, Daryl piloted the "Perfect Gundam"—a hybrid combining Psycho Zaku Mk-II components and salvaged Full Armor Gundam parts, featuring beam weaponry and the Reuse P Device system—during an infiltration of the Federation's Luna II base. He participated in Operation Maitreya, a large-scale assault involving the stolen MAN-03 Braw Bro mobile armor, again engaging Fleming, now piloting the MSN-02 Perfect Zeong. Personality-wise, Daryl exhibited composure, empathy, and natural leadership, prioritizing his comrades' protection. He maintained optimism despite his injuries, exemplified by his belief in "miracles." His tactical intelligence involved visualizing enemy strategies and adapting to battlefield dynamics. He used music, particularly blues, country, and pop, to focus during missions. His heightened spatial awareness and compatibility with the Reuse P Device led to speculation about latent Newtype abilities.