Knightmare Profile

Developed during what would later be called the third generation of Knightmare Frames, the Ganymede is the brainchild of the rising Ashford Foundation. Created shortly before the development of the Yggdrasil drive, the Ganymede is powered by a large external battery, limiting its range and operation time. In spite of this, it forms the basis of practically every Knightmare Frame constructed thereafter. In large part, this is due to the effectiveness of the basic design, along with its skilled test pilot, a young woman named Marianne Lamperouge. Her incredible abilities earn her the nickname "Marianne the Flash," and eventually she becomes one of the many wives of the Emperor of Britannia.

However, many years later, Marianne is assassinated while at the Aries Palace deep within imperial territory. The loss of its major benefactor and former test pilot causes the Ashford Foundation to dissolve, leading to rumors that the assassination was carried out specifically to curb the rising corporation's power. At least one Ganymede (possibly the same unit used by Marianne) is retained by the Ashford family at the academy it operates in the conquered Japan, renamed as Area 11. This Ganymede is brought out of storage once a year for an exhibition at the school festival, where it's piloted by Marianne's son Lelouch, who uses the skills learned from its operation while fighting the Britannian Empire as the masked terrorist Zero. In a.t.b. 2017, Lelouch cedes his role as the Ganymede's annual pilot to his childhood friend, Suzaku Kururugi, who is renowned as the pilot of the Z-01 Lancelot and as the Knight of Princess Euphemia li Britannia.