OVA
Description
Cima Garahau served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Principality of Zeon's military during the One Year War. She commanded the Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU), primarily composed of conscripts from her home colony, Mahal. Early in the conflict, she received orders to gas defenseless colonies as part of Operation British. While some sources state she believed the gas was non-lethal sleeping gas, the operation caused mass civilian deaths, severely traumatizing Cima and her subordinates.
Following the war, Colonel Asakura barred Cima and her unit from retreating to Axis, denouncing their actions as a disgrace to Zeon. Stranded and discovering Mahal had been forcibly evacuated and converted into the Solar Ray superweapon, the unit became the Cima Fleet. Branded B-class war criminals with no home to return to, they operated as space pirates within the Earth Sphere for three years. During this time, Cima cultivated informal connections with elements of the Earth Federation Forces and nurtured a deep resentment toward Zeon's leadership.
During the Delaz Conflict in U.C. 0083, Cima accepted Aiguille Delaz's offer to join Operation Stardust, though mutual distrust existed. Secretly, she planned to betray the Delaz Fleet, having negotiated a deal with Federation figures Jamitov Hymen and Bask Om to sabotage the operation in exchange for amnesty or concessions. Her fleet repeatedly engaged the Federation ship *Albion*, resulting in the death of its senior pilot, South Burning, during an accidental encounter. This solidified the enmity of *Albion* pilot Kou Uraki towards Cima.
At Operation Stardust's climax, Cima seized the Delaz Fleet flagship *Gwaden*, executed Admiral Delaz, and attempted to halt the colony drop. However, the *Albion* crew, disobeying orders and seeking revenge, attacked her fleet. Piloting the AGX-04 Gerbera Tetra, Cima confronted Kou Uraki in the RX-78GP03 Gundam "Dendrobium". She died when the Dendrobium impaled her mobile suit with its mega beam cannon and fired at point-blank range.
Alternative portrayals exist in expanded media. The manga *Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Hero of Stardust* depicts her killed by Federation orbital bombardment after Bask Om abandoned her following her betrayal. Conversely, the manga *Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Rebellion* shows her surviving by remotely operating the Gerbera Tetra during Om's attack. She then escaped the Earth Sphere with surviving crew members Kocsel and Clara Lodge, traveling to Jupiter under the alias "Ephemera Hunt".
Cima was characterized as a decisive, harsh leader who tolerated no mismanagement but inspired strong loyalty among her men due to shared hardships. She possessed exceptional mobile suit piloting skills, rivaling aces like South Burning, and demonstrated significant tactical acumen in fleet command and negotiation. Her backstory, particularly the gassing operations and loss of Mahal explored in the audio drama *The Mayfly of Space* and its adaptations, fueled her motivations and resulted in persistent nightmares about her past actions and her colony's fate. Her experiences exemplified the cyclical nature of conflict and betrayal within the Universal Century.
Following the war, Colonel Asakura barred Cima and her unit from retreating to Axis, denouncing their actions as a disgrace to Zeon. Stranded and discovering Mahal had been forcibly evacuated and converted into the Solar Ray superweapon, the unit became the Cima Fleet. Branded B-class war criminals with no home to return to, they operated as space pirates within the Earth Sphere for three years. During this time, Cima cultivated informal connections with elements of the Earth Federation Forces and nurtured a deep resentment toward Zeon's leadership.
During the Delaz Conflict in U.C. 0083, Cima accepted Aiguille Delaz's offer to join Operation Stardust, though mutual distrust existed. Secretly, she planned to betray the Delaz Fleet, having negotiated a deal with Federation figures Jamitov Hymen and Bask Om to sabotage the operation in exchange for amnesty or concessions. Her fleet repeatedly engaged the Federation ship *Albion*, resulting in the death of its senior pilot, South Burning, during an accidental encounter. This solidified the enmity of *Albion* pilot Kou Uraki towards Cima.
At Operation Stardust's climax, Cima seized the Delaz Fleet flagship *Gwaden*, executed Admiral Delaz, and attempted to halt the colony drop. However, the *Albion* crew, disobeying orders and seeking revenge, attacked her fleet. Piloting the AGX-04 Gerbera Tetra, Cima confronted Kou Uraki in the RX-78GP03 Gundam "Dendrobium". She died when the Dendrobium impaled her mobile suit with its mega beam cannon and fired at point-blank range.
Alternative portrayals exist in expanded media. The manga *Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Hero of Stardust* depicts her killed by Federation orbital bombardment after Bask Om abandoned her following her betrayal. Conversely, the manga *Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Rebellion* shows her surviving by remotely operating the Gerbera Tetra during Om's attack. She then escaped the Earth Sphere with surviving crew members Kocsel and Clara Lodge, traveling to Jupiter under the alias "Ephemera Hunt".
Cima was characterized as a decisive, harsh leader who tolerated no mismanagement but inspired strong loyalty among her men due to shared hardships. She possessed exceptional mobile suit piloting skills, rivaling aces like South Burning, and demonstrated significant tactical acumen in fleet command and negotiation. Her backstory, particularly the gassing operations and loss of Mahal explored in the audio drama *The Mayfly of Space* and its adaptations, fueled her motivations and resulted in persistent nightmares about her past actions and her colony's fate. Her experiences exemplified the cyclical nature of conflict and betrayal within the Universal Century.