- Note: For the Last Diver character, see Ellen Aice (Last Divers)
Ellen Aice is a character that appears in Muv-Luv Unlimited The Day After. She is a Canadian that has since left her homeland and found refuge in Seattle, where she joined the IJMDF.
The Day After
Before the events of The Day, Ellen was an Orbital Diver. Her first operation was at the start of Operation Babylon. In the midst of preparation for an orbital drop operation, the unexpection amplification of effects from the electromagnetic effect caused by multiple G-Bomb drops caused the HSST fleet to lose contact with earthbound mission command. Even the fleet was affected, and the HSST carrying Ellen and her wingmate was damaged, rendering them unable to carry out the drop operation.
This, combined with the failure of important life-support systems used to keep Orbital Divers alive in space, nearly drove Ellen insane if not for the HSST operator talking to her through a wired connection. It was only when weakened portions were detected in the fluctuating geomagnetic storm that Ellen suggested dropping through them to reach Earth to escape death by asphyxiation, and despite the difficulty of pulling off an orbital drop in a damaged Re-Entry Shell without external support, Ellen managed to land, albeit 100 kilometers from her wingmate's position.
Not much is know about what happened after her return to Earth, except that she managed to reach an allied location. Sometime before the events of TDA 01, Ellen entered the service of the IJA/MDF, and is assigned to the three-man Carronade Flight of the 1st Tactical Armor Regiment alongside Second Lieutenant Miono Shizuku.
The Day After Episode 01
Ellen Aice is transferred to Wardog Squadron as Wardog-3 after Carronade Flight's leader is killed in combat. As a former Orbital Diver with one drop operation to her name, Ellen is a very skilled pilot, as well as one of the few, if not the only Canadian pilots in IJMDF service, although her circumstances of joining a Japanese military unit remains unknown.
Throughout The Day After 01, Ellen acts as the guardian and mentor of Wardog 4, Miono Shizuku, due to her young age, relative inexperience, and the high mortality rates among pilots her age caused by poor training quality in recent batches of pilot cadets. She has a tendency to tease the rest of Wardog Squadron, with Sendou Yuzuka being one of her favorite targets.
The Day After Episode 02
Ellen's personality remains as she is from The Day After 01, complete with all her teasing tendencies and support of Miono Shizuku. However, she takes a greater role in the events of things, and a few details about her past are revealed.
She was asked to be a French interpreter while performing guard duty at the Seattle Food Plant, revealing that she is capable of speaking several languages. She is later seen burning paper/letters alone inside her room, and keeping the event a secret from Shizuku, who was looking for her during that same time.
Tatsunami Hibiki later encounters a US Army servicewoman by the name of Amanda Barkin at the inaugural function of the Seattle Food Plant, who was looking for a friend by the name of Ellen Aice, also from Canada. When Hibiki brought Amanda to meet the Wardogs, Ellen states that the Ellen Aice she was looking for and the Ellen Aice who was currently in front of her were different people. Ellen passes it off as a coincidence; during her time serving as an Orbital Diver, there was also another person with the same first and last name. She also states Amanda's name and a few details about her (and the other Ellen) being together as girl scouts, and tells her that the "other Ellen" used to talk about her all the time.
After the conversation, the Wardogs pass it off as something coincidental, however, Hibiki, who knows that the UN lost most if not all of their personnel data following The Day, has his suspicions about the entire incident.
After the Seattle Food Plant was hijacked, Ellen was talking to Hibiki when the call for the 1st Tactical Armor Regiment emergency sortie comes. She then continued to serve as a member of the Wardogs, taking part in all the missions they were assigned, without any more actions that would suggest she was anything more than a defectee to the IJMDF.
The Day After Episode 03
Ellen continues to serve as a member of Wardog squadron. She has also developed romantic feelings for Hibiki, but he cannot reciprocate due to his feelings for Yuzuka.
Quotes
"The corps always called the Re-Entry Shell a flying coffin... And at that time, I felt as though I was really trapped in a coffin."
Trivia
- Ellen Aice as she appears in The Day After is actually Josset Danbellecoux. She was forced to take her friend's name due to political turmoil between the Canada/France and US/Japan alliances.
- Has a fear of the dark from her days of being isolated in space after Operation Babylon commenced. One of the reasons why she sleeps with Shizuku. (also because of hilarity/fanservice)
