Chawla, Rakshata

Rakshata Chawla is an Indian scientist and the head of the Black Knights' research and development team. She has extensive experience in medical cybernetics, and appears to have been an academy acquaintance of Lloyd Asplund and Cécile Croomy. Rakshata is not fond of speaking of the past, but it is known that she studied at the Imperial Colchester Institute. She is fairly laid back in most situations, usually seeing laying on a couch when not actively working (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 as such. She is visibly enraged, a contrast to her normal demeanor, upon learning that Lloyd and Cécile modified her Knightmare without her consent (they are kind enough to credit her for the design, though). Upon the formation of the UFN and the reorganization of the Black Knights as its military force, Rakshata is designated as the Chief of Science, similar to her previous position within the Black Knights.

Rakshata is the creator of 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, though by the second season newer models have countermeasures added to negate the Disturber's effect; only fifth-generation or older Knightmares remain vulnerable. In addition, 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.