MMS-01 (OZ-17MS) Serpent

Model Number: MMS-01 (OZ-17MS)
Code name: Serpent
Unit Type: Mobile suit
Manufacturer: Barton Foundation (based on a design by OZ)
Operator: Earth Defense Organiztion, civilians
First deployment: AC 196
Pilots: EDO pilots, civilian pilots
Accommodation: Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Height: 16.6 meters
Weight: 8.6 tons
Armor: Neo-titanium alloy
Powerplant: Ultracompact fusion reactor, power output rating unknown
Equipment and design features: Head mounted sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: 2 x 8-tube micromissile launcher, mounted in shoulders
Optional fixed armaments: none
Optional hand armaments: 1 x double gattling gun, stored on backpack storage racks, hand-carried in use; 1 x bazooka, stored on backpack storage racks, hand-carried in use; 1 x beam cannon
Stats taken from mahq.net

Originally designed by OZ to replace the outdated OZ-06MS Leo, the Serpent's original assembly lines on colony X-18999 were used by the Barton Foundation to create its military force for an ultimately futile coup against the newly established Earth Sphere Unified Nation in AC 196. Amazingly enough, of the 500 Serpents deployed in the Eve Wars, none were destroyed in the fighting, though many were heavily damaged or otherwise disabled. After the fighting, most of the suits were stripped of their weapons and sold to collectors and heavy industry, the Serpent proving to be a modern and useful basic mobile suit for construction and other such civilian tasks. In the chaos immediately following the attempted coup, however, many of the Serpents would get smuggled away by various factions, and the suit would remain a popular choice among terrorists for years to come. Many of the Serpents would ultimately end up in the hands of the Peacemaker organization, and be refitted into the MMS01-PM Serpent Peacemaker variant. Its design would also inspire the mainstay mobile suit of the Venus Military Force, the VMF01-2MS Serpent II.