Aquarius
Refined Kraken "Scherblock" x 2: The Gundam carries a pair of scissor-like claws based closely on those used by the Cancer Zodiac G. Mounted on folding arms on each side of the torso, they can easily be deployed without impeding the Aquarius' wings. While they do not carry any thermal charge, they are potent for grabbing and crushing targets. In mobile armor mode, they serve as giant talons, and though limited in use they are still able to grasp and rake over targets. What appear to be gun ports between the hooked claws are actually large verniers that allow the weapons to double as maneuvering aides.
G-Magna 110mm Dual Autogun x 1: Added to supplement the Gundam with a weapon that is not dependent on its battery, this arm-mounted weapon system offers two long-range machine guns loaded with a drum of high explosive shells. Balancing stopping power with simplicity, this weapon has proven to be an effective upgrade to the traditional guns carried by the Aeshma Prime and Wing mobile suits. The weapon has enough ammunition for sixty bursts of fire. This weapon cannot be used in mobile armor mode.
"Raycaster" 90mm Beam Scatter Gun x 1: A surprisingly powerful energy weapon mounted in the lamprey-like mouth of the Gundam. It fires a wide, cone-shaped cascade of beams in one shot, meant to distract foes as well as damage. Thanks to their wide field of fire, such a volley of shots is very difficult to dodge or parry. In mobile armor mode, this weapon is fixed forward, but still able to fire.
Aquarius is a lesson in battlefield experience and compromise made real through the magic of modern engineering. Constructed on the neutral colony of Ark Nova, it is part of the new vanguard of mobile suits that are now deployed by the regional militia. Its frame is composed of a well-blended combination of salvaged equipment and prior design concepts, merging the remains of the variable Zodiac G unit Capricorn with the inner workings of a Grand Cross Aeshma Wing and the sophisticated beam weaponry of the United Alliance Armed Forces. Its creation has been both an experiment and a gambit, but one that paid off well.
When the Alliance-made Capricorn was torn limb-from-limb by the Grand Cross' monstrous Gundam Libra, the Ark Nova militia managed to recover its remains before anyone else could. Little of the original frame and body was still intact; the only functioning components were the Gundam's electrical battery and cockpit. The rest had either been blasted or torn to pieces, including
most of the delicate mechanisms behind Capricorn's transformation system.
The Capricorn's legacy would have ended there, were it not for the growing dangers posed by the war along with the insatiable curiosity of militia command Allan Raventa and engineer Pierre Lifate. Raventa, eager to try his hand at basic mobile suit design, wanted to resurrect the Capricorn's into something new. Lifate, already confident with mobile suits since restoring the Gundam Virgo, was likewise eager to see whether or not he could revive a unit from an even more desperate state of devastation. The two pooled their resource, and were ultimately able to set their egos aside to finally agree on the new identity for the lost Zodiac G: Aquarius.
As mentioned, the Aquarius combines the structure of its parent, Capricorn, with some of the fundamental elements of other mobile suits. Its innovative Kraken claws are borrowed from the Gundam Cancer, a unit that had once constantly harassed the militia. Its inventive Raycaster beam gun is derived from United Alliance technologies. Its rebuilt transformation system still allows it to become a high-speed mobile armor, though the mechanics behind it are much simpler and lead to a slightly less aerodynamic form. Finally, following its capture by the United Alliance, the addition of magnetic armor coating have made its G-Metal highly resistant to energy weapons. In short, while it may have some limitations, this Gundam has the best of many worlds, and carries few of the burdens.
Note - Aquarius suffered a crippling amount of damage to many of its primary systems after an engagement with the Gundam Libra. Unable to match the fully Paragon-synchronised Carmen Galidran, pilot Jeremiah Throne retreated. Though the damage was patched using spare Gallu parts, these makeshift repairs were not enough to save the Aquarius from a follow-up encounter with the Gundam Virgo, which destroyed the machine utterly, plunging the remains into the artificial sea of Ark Atlantis.