Chawla, Rakshata

ラクシャータ・チャウラー

Rakshata Chawla is an Indian scientist who leads the Black Knights' research and development team. She possesses extensive experience in medical cybernetics and appears to have been an academy acquaintance of Lloyd Asplund and Cécile Croomy. Rakshata dislikes discussing the past, although it is known that she studied at the Imperial Colchester Institute. She is generally quite laid-back, often spending her downtime lounging on a couch (one is even installed on the bridge of the Black Knights' flagship, the Ikaruga), and is never seen without her tobacco pipe. She affectionately refers to her technological creations as her "children" and treats them accordingly. She becomes visibly enraged, a stark contrast to her usual demeanor, upon discovering that Lloyd and Cécile modified her Knightmare without her consent (though they are kind enough to credit her for the design). Following the formation of the UFN and the reorganization of the Black Knights as its military force, Rakshata is appointed Chief of Science, a role similar to her previous position within the Black Knights.
Rakshata created the Guren Mk-II and its radiant wave surger weapon. She also developed the Gefjun Disturber, a force field generator that disables all sakuradite-powered technology within its area of effect. This includes Knightmares, although by the second season, newer models have countermeasures added to negate the Disturber's effect; only fifth-generation or older Knightmares remain vulnerable. Additionally, the field blocks the motion of hadrons, radio waves, and microwaves. This renders anything within the field invisible to radar and can aid in the blooming of hadron-based beam weaponry. It is named after the Norse goddess of chastity, Gefjun.