Mariemaia Army

The Mariemaia Army (マリーメイア軍, Marīmeia Gun) was a private army created under the Barton Foundation to invade and conquer the Earth Sphere in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. In AC 195, the Barton Foundation began recruiting the army in secret. Dekim Barton, leader of the foundation, used his granddaughter and supposed daughter of Treize Khushrenada, Mariemaia Khushrenada, to rally supporters, claiming to uphold Treize’s ideals. By AC 196, the army numbered hundreds of soldiers equipped with 500 MMS-01 Serpent mobile suits, poised to seize control of the Earth Sphere when it was almost defenceless due to post-war disarmament.

Overview

The Mariemaia Army represented the final military threat of the After Colony era, formed by those who refused to accept the peace established after the Eve Wars. Dekim Barton used his young granddaughter Mariemaia as a puppet leader, exploiting her supposed connection to the legendary Treize Khushrenada to legitimize the coup.

History

Formation and recruitment

In AC 195, the Barton Foundation began recruiting a private army in secret. Dekim Barton, leader of the foundation, used his granddaughter Mariemaia—supposedly the daughter of Treize Khushrenada—to rally supporters, claiming to uphold Treize’s ideals.

The army trained in secret, and by AC 196, the Mariemaia Army numbered hundreds of soldiers equipped with the latest Serpent mobile suits. A total of 500 Serpent units had been secretly manufactured at Colony L3 X-18999 using the colony’s reconstruction budget. Dekim planned to use this army to seize control of the Earth Sphere, now almost defenceless due to post-war disarmament.

The army recruited from multiple sources, including the “Protestant Choir”—a special branch composed entirely of teenage soldiers. According to the Endless Waltz novelization, the Mariemaia Army used the rank “特士” (toku-shi), a rank previously used only by OZ, suggesting the army’s rank structure was based on OZ’s military organization.

Sometime in AC 196, Chang Wufei joined the Mariemaia Army, wanting to find out whether peace built on sacrifice could truly be called peace. His presence added one of the Gundam pilots to the army’s roster, though his true loyalties remained ambiguous.

X-18999 occupation

On Christmas Eve AC 196, the Mariemaia Army finally made their move after a year of silence. They kidnapped Relena Darlian, Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, and took over space colony X-18999, preparing to drop it on Earth if the government didn’t surrender.

Trowa Barton infiltrated the organization under the pseudonym “Ralph Kurt” and attempted to assassinate Dekim but was stopped by Wufei and forced to pledge allegiance to Dekim to maintain his cover.

The Gundam pilots managed to stabilize the colony, preventing the colony drop, but the Mariemaia Army’s main force had already moved to MO-III for deployment to Earth.

Brussels invasion

The Mariemaia Army successfully descended to Earth from MO-III and seized the Presidential Mansion in Brussels, the capital of the ESUN. With more than 400 Serpent mobile suits, the army occupied the city and held the government hostage.

Three of the Gundam pilots, along with Zechs Merquise (operating as “Preventer Wind”) and Lucrezia Noin, fought the Mariemaia Army. They managed to disable the majority of the army’s mobile suits without killing the pilots, though the Preventers’ and Gundams’ ammunition and energy were nearly exhausted by the sheer numbers.

Dissolution

Inside the mansion, Dekim tried to shoot Relena, but Mariemaia stepped in the way, took the bullet, and was left paraplegic. Dekim showed no remorse for shooting his own granddaughter and attempted to shoot Relena again. However, one of the soldiers in the room shot and killed Dekim, expressing sincere apologies for betraying “His Excellency” Treize Khushrenada.

With Dekim dead and Mariemaia no longer desiring to continue the war, the Mariemaia Incident ended. The army laid down its arms and dissolved on 24 December AC 196, ending the final major military conflict of the After Colony era.

Organization

Leadership

Dekim Barton served as the true leader of the army, though he used his young granddaughter Mariemaia Khushrenada as the public face of the organization. By claiming Mariemaia was the daughter of the legendary Treize Khushrenada, Dekim legitimized the coup and rallied support from Treize’s former followers.

Notable members

Dekim Barton – True leader
Mariemaia Khushrenada – Figurehead leader
Chang Wufei – Gundam pilot (ambiguous loyalties)
Trowa Barton – Infiltrator under alias “Ralph Kurt”

Protestant Choir

The “Protestant Choir” was a special branch of the Mariemaia Army composed entirely of teenage soldiers. This demonstrated Dekim’s willingness to recruit and train child soldiers, paralleling the original Gundam pilots’ recruitment whilst perverting its purpose from colonial liberation to Earth conquest.

Armed forces

The Mariemaia Army’s primary strength was its mobile suit force:

Main mobile suits:

MMS-01 Serpent × 500 units (mass-production, main force)

Captured/auxiliary units:

OZ-12SMS Taurus (defending X-18999 exterior)
OZ-06MS Leo (defending X-18999 interior)
OZ-11MS Capricorn (mobile dolls)

The Serpent units were referred to by Mariemaia as “Christmas presents” entrusted to her by Treize, though they were actually manufactured by the Barton Foundation using the reconstruction budget of X-18999.

Behind the scenes

According to Yutaka Izubuchi Mechanical Design Works, the uniform of the Mariemaia Army soldiers was based on the Hitler Youth uniform, reinforcing the army’s authoritarian and manipulative nature.

In the Super Robot Wars series, the Mariemaia Army is considered a minor threat, always eliminated rather early before becoming a major danger. A major exception is SRW Z3, where despite the army’s destruction, remnants sided with other enemy factions to continue the fight.

The army’s rapid rise and fall—from secret force to occupying power to dissolved—demonstrated the fragility of military coups lacking genuine popular support or legitimate grievances.

Appearances

The Mariemaia Army appeared in:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz (OVA)

External links

Mariemaia Army on the Gundam Wiki