Return to Mars
Briefing
The character are taken to Yellowstone base after a brief respite.
The characters will be lead deep into the base, and into a large conference
room. The characters will be able to tell that this is where the tactics
and strategies of the RDF are formed. Above are holographic displays of the
Robotech Masters motherships as well as there current orbits, currently
geosycronis orbit above Monument City. After a few seconds, they will be
asked to stand at ease.
"Gentlemen, you are to be congratulated in your latest mission
in the Indochina quadrant. Although Lt. Colonel Zaria escaped, you managed
to destroy much of the sensitive material that could have fallen into the
hands of the EBSIS or renegade Zentraedi. Unfortunately, as they say no rest
for the weary and I am truly sorry that we had to cut your vacation short;
however, we feel that Rogue squadron is needed for this latest crisis.
General Craig Evens steps forward and proceeds with the
briefing
As you most likely know the forces of the Southern Cross, are
nominal allies have taken the brunt of the attacks from the so called Robotech
Masters. Unfortunately, the UEG has also appropriated them the majority of
the funding for the defense of the Earth. As you most likely know, the RDF
has been regulated to a second line defense unit. As for the creation of
new mecha, there has not been any new mecha for the RDF since the creation
of the orginal VF-1's, Destroids, and later the VF-4 lighting in 2014.
This current state of affairs has somewhat changed, with the
help from Senator Nader form the South American Quadrant, a small stipend
of funds has been allocated to the RDF for the development and testing of
a new generation of veritec fighters on par with those of the Southern Cross.
Over the last 18 months the RDF in association with Shinsei Industries of
New Tokyo has developed several new veritec fighters. <a holographic image
of the VF-11 and Raven will appear> These two fighters named the Thunderbolt
and the Raven have tenitively approved and entered into the testing phase
of their development.
In a seemingly unrelated event, a single Robotech Master Destroyer
has left the main fleet in geosychronic orbit and it moving towards the asteroid
belt. The intensions of the Robotech Masters are at this time unknown; however,
in an effort to show the UEG that the RDF can still make a contribution to
the defense of not just the Earth but the solar system as a whole we have
reactivated the ARMD-06 Saratoga , SLDG-02 Penelope, and the SLDG-19 Cosette.
As you mite are mite not know the RDF still possesses 2 decommissioned Armored
Space Platforms (Saratoga and Ark Royal) as well as six Ophelia-class Missile
Destroyers. Scraping together what little discretionary funds we have left
and in opposition from the Southern Cross High Command, the RDF was able
to recommision these ships. With these latest events we feel that a rejuvenated
UN Spacy command can stop this latest Robotech Master incursion. Of course
it helps that the Southern Cross Space fleet is currently in shambles after
the last battle, and they are all for us expending our reasources. Thus it
has been decided that we are going after this malevolent destroyer.
As you probablly surmised by now, this upcoming offensive will
be a perfect opportunity to test these new veritecs. Examining your combat
record Captain Olson and the recent success of the Rogue squardon, the choice
of your group was obvious. Captain Olson will assign pilots to the experimental
mecha; however, at least one mecha of each type must be assigned. Furthermore,
staff techicians from Shinsei industries will be assigned to the Saratoga
under the command of David Farr, to assist you in evaluating and repairing
the new veritec fighters. Lt. Colonel Martinez will brief you on mission
specifics this afternoon at 14:30. Are there any questions?"
Briefing with GMP
"Good afternoon private, I would like to inform you that you
have been promoted to corporal. We realize your time is short. I am perfectly
aware of your current assignment with the RDF and we could not be more pleased,
not only will you be in a position of evaluating the new RDF mecha, but you
will be stationed aboard the revitalized RDF fleet. In addition we have an
important mission for you to perform while on board the Saratoga. <a
holographic image of a ARMD space platform appears> We want you to place
this cobalt limpet mine on the primary ODN junction on the starboard engine
level room 7. Fortunately, the reflex engines on these older ARMD space platforms
tend to be unstable, and the explosion of 20 year old reflex engine will
not be too suspicious. Once the explosion occurs, the RDF will be forced
to call upon the Southern Cross for emergency repairs, and at that point
several of our GMP personnel will come aboard to add some surveillance and
tracking equipment on the Saratoga which up until this point we have been
unable to place aboard. You will receive the necessary equipment once you
leave, if you have no further questions…"
Later that afternoon, the characters will be brought into a
much smaller briefing room next to Folker field.
Lt. Colonel Martinez will greet the players and say the
following:
"Good afternoon gentlemen, this is a preliminary meeting. I
was informed that Captain Olson will decide who will be flying which mecha,
but let me remind you Captain that the only requirement is that only two
of your four pilots must take these new mecha. Any of the current arsenal
of veritecs are available. If you need any further time, you may take it.
<short pause>. For those of you taking VF-1's and VF-11's they will
be prepared and ready for flight to the Saratoga; otherwise a shuttle will
bring you to the carrier. Any questions?"
Arrival at the Saratoga
The characters will arrive at the Saratoga approximately 2 hours
after take off from Fokker field. They will be cleared for landing. The saratoga
will be surrounded by scaffling, and it will be apparent that the ship has
seen some hard times. Later that afternoon Lt. Colonel Martinez, will speak
to the group.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am glad that you made it here
safely. I would like to inform you that your quarters are ready for you on
level 4 rooms 34, and 35. The mecha are stored on level 5, 5 starbord. You
have the next day for your leasure, report to me here on level 2 room 3
(conference room). Report to me in two days at 13:00 hours. The Saratoga
will leave today at 17:00 hours."
Mission 1 test out of the systems
Day 2 13:00
[Two days into the mission once the ARMD space platform has
left its "space dock" the players will be asked to come to the briefing
room
"Good afternoon, we have a brief test for the Raven and the
Thunderbolt. You will take all the groups experimental vehicles approximately
100 km away from the fleet where they will be attack by, 4 ghost fighters
per experimental fighter, using powered down weapons. The computer system
here on the saratoga will keep track of damage and shut down areas of the
mecha once they have been damaged. Any non experimental mecha your group
has will guard the exercise. Any questions"
Notes on Mission:
4 ghost fighters per experimental ship
Radar goes *10 in space, careful read sensory intruments check at -60% will detect one Robotech Masters
Assault carrier out at 3,000 km will run at first sign of
trouble.
Aftermath:
Players will receive +75 xp for every ghost fighter they shoot down
Player that shoots down the most will receive a bonus of +100
Detecting the Assault Carrier +100, and guarding +50
There is a 50% chance that the technicians will be able to fix
any problems that occur
Mission 2 test of the defenses
Day 3 02:00
The ship will be placed on a yellow alert followed by and
announcement for the Rogue squardon to report to the briefing room
"Good morning gentlemen, sorry to wake you a such an hour; however
an opportunity arose that the General felt could not be passed up. 30 minutes
ago a Cat's Eye detected 2 Robotech Assault shuttles flying in a trajectory
that will take them to within roughly 20,000 km of our position. Apparently
they are trying to test our defenses. Well the General has decided to bloody
their nose and send them back home without initiating an all out engagement.
He feels that this would be a good time to test the fighters in a real attack.
You are to engage the enemy along with 4 other squadrons under the command
of Major Tomas Finney in the Wildcat squadron. Don't press the attack, once
the enemy is in retreat do not press the attack we do not want an all out
engagement. Are there any questions?"
Gold Squadron
5 Super VF-1A's (4)
1 Super VF-1S (0)
Blue Squardon
5 Super VF-1A's (3 vf-1a)
1 Super VF-1J
Wildcat Squadron
6 VF-2V Vindicators (5)
Yukon Squadron
6 VAF-5C (2 vaf-5c)
Rogue Squadron
Enemy Forces :
2 Assault Cariers
Per Carrier (blue 22 biroids)
19 Blue Biroids
1 Red Biroid
Total forces (16 blue, 2 red)
Combat:
5 Blue Biroids will attack Rogue Squadron 40% chance that a
assault carrier will attack the group every melee.
Every sement -
1d4 biroids will be destroyed
1d2 veritecs wll be destroyed
Once the biroids are down to 40% most likely after 30 seconds they will retreat towards the destroyer
Aftermath:
Characters will travel back to the Saratoga, to report on any
deficiticies in the new experimental veritecs.
+50 xp for obeying orders
+100 xp for destroying each blue biroid
+200 xp for destroying each red biroid
+800 xp for destroying assault carrier
Mission 3 day 5 10:00
After two days of rest and relaxation, the characters will
inevitablly will be ready for another mission. They will notice that the
Saratoga along with her escorts is heading out towards deep space. At 10:00
the next morning Lt. Colonel Martinez will call the players to his office.
"Good morning gentlemen, I hope the last couple of days has been agreeable
for you. Well, let us get down to business. Eight hours ago a Cat's Eye recon
detected a large ship rendezousing with the Master's destroyer we have been
trailing all this time; unfortunately, this is all we know. This is what
we do know, the ship is came out of the asteroid belt and is currently following
the Masters' ship at a distance of 500 klic's. This new arrivial has perked
our coursitiy; however we are not going to risk this ship and its crew on
a fly-by. The brass feels that a small recon group, consisting of Rogue,
Wildcat, and 2 cat's eye recon planes will be able to bring back more hard
data for the boys up in data analysis. The plan is quite simple, your squadron
will scan the master's fleet from north of the solar plane, while Major Finney's
Wildcat squardon will take scans from the south. We are currently 1,000,000
kilometers from their position, and we will hold this position until after
the mission is complete. You are scheduled for take off this afternoon at
14:00 hours. Are there any questions?
Game play:
The cat's eye has a maximum range of 5,000 miles in space; however,
at that range the Robotech Masters Desroyer will be able to detect the radar
and will send 1 Assault Craft to destroy the attackers. However if the players
are able to get within 1,000 kilometers by not using their radar and no active
thrusters they will not be detected and will detect that along with the Salan
scout there is a Southern Cross Assault shuttle. Maximum detection for positive
confermation of the Salan scout is 5,000 kilometers.
In addition they will be issued up to 9 QF-3000 F advanced Ghost fighters.
Notes on current forces
RDF
90 QF-3000E drone fighters
63 VAF-5C Veritec Alpha fighters
4 VF-2V's
10 VF-4 Lightings
83 VF-1 Valkyrie Veritech fighters
71 Super VF-1A's
15 Super VF-1J's
7 Super VF-1S's
6 SC-27 Star Goose space shuttles
3 ES-11D Cat's Eye recon planes
SLDG-02 Penelope
SLDG-19 Cosette
RobotechMasters
Tirolian Destroyer
Mecha Compliment
163 Blue Biroids
34 Green Biroids
16 Red Biroids
13 Assault Carriers
Salan Scout
one half the weapons destroyed, no main laser cannon
total troops
50 Tactical battle pods
10 light artillery
5 heavy artillery
3 officer pods with boosters
RPG stats
MDC by location
Right and Left Thrusters - 75 each
*Main Body - 100
Right and Left Missile bays - 50 each
* depleting the main body will destroy the mecha, furthermore
the normal penalties for a shadow cloaking device apply.
Bonuses: +2 to strike, +4 to dodge, +2 on initiative, 4 h to
h
Weapons:
1) Three Auto Cannons on either side of the fighter for a total
of six. All three fire simultaneously.
Mega-Damage: 6d6 for a short burst, 2d6*10 for a long burst, can fire both side simutaneously but the normal -2 to strike with the second weapon applies
Rate of fire: 24 in a long burst and 12 in a short burst.
Number of attacks: Equal to the number of hand to hand attacks
Range: 4000 ft(1200 m) in atmosphere or double in space
Payload: 960 round total
Persuit craft
PROPULSION:
Anti-gravity system (1): Zorr'lev-45-RTc; maximum acceleration 4.89
standard gravities.
Will attack the players once they are within 500 kilometers
15 Blue Biroids with sleds
2 Green Biroids with sleds
1 Red Biroid with sleds
Personnel
Sgt. John O'Keff - engineering
Major Thomas Finny - Veritec squardron Wildcat squadron
Lt. Colonel Martinez - Veritec commander of the Saratoga
Robotech Master's Destroyer
2:42:20 on tape 2
2:43:00 on tape 2
2:47:40 on tape 2 - biroid scout
2:48:20 on tape 2
42:30 on tape 3
Check list of Veritecs
Thunderbolt
Dan
-radar is fixed
-transformation
-fire in the cockpit
fixed
-radar is fixed
-fire in the cockpit
Thunderbolt
Dave's
-verner thrusters on port side went out
-eletrical fire
-sluggish responce
fixed
-transformation fixed
-thrusters fixed
Charlies
thrusters are stuck
fixed
fire in the cockpit
Jon
fire in cockpit
arm immobilized
fixed
-power loss
-fire in cockpit
-arm immobilized
ARMD-06 Saratoga
100 QF-3000E drone fighters
75 VAF-5C Veritec Alpha fighters
6 VF-2V's
12 VF-4 Lightings
108 VF-1 Valkyrie Veritech fighters
80 Super VF-1A's
20 Super VF-1J's
8 Super VF-1S's
6 SC-27 Star Goose space shuttles
3 ES-11D Cat's Eye recon planes
MDC by location:
Main Laser Cannons (5) - 300 each
Secondary Laser Cannons (2) - 200 each
Anti Warship missile launchers (2) - 400 each
Heavy missile launchers (4) - 200 each
Anti-Aircraft laser guns (48) -100
Main Communications Deck - 1200
Foredeck - 1200
Main Body - 5000
Flight Deck - 800
Weapons
1. Five Main Laser Cannons
Range: 200,000 km
Mega Damage: 2d6*1000
Rate of Fire: once every 12 melees
Range: 200,000 km
Mega Damage: 1d4*1000
Rate of Fire: 5 times per melee
Range: 160 kps deltav
Mega Damage: 3 MT fusion warhead (each missile has 100 mdc)
Rate of fire: 4 time per melee
Payload: 40 missiles per launcher
Range: Varies on missile type
Mega Damage: Varies on missile type / typically reflex multiwarhead
Rate of Fire: 1,2,4,6, or all 10 takes 2 melees to reload
Payload: 10 ready to fire with an additional 30 missiles in
magazie
5. 24 anti mecha laser cannons
Range: 10 miles
Mega Damage: 1d4*10 MDC
Rate of Fire: four times per melee
SLDG-02 Penelope
SLDG-19 Cosette
MDC values
Main Particle Cannons (2) - 500 each
Secondary Particle Cannons (2) - 300 each
Anti Warship missile launchers (32) - 100 each
Bridge - 600
Main Body - 6000
Engines (2) - 2000
Auxiliary Engines (2) - 500
Weapon Systems
1. Two heavy, long range particle cannons
Range: 10,000 km
Mega Damage: 4d6*1000
Rate of Fire: once per melee
Range: 10,000 km
Mega Damage: 2d6*1000
Rate of Fire: once per melee
Range: 10 miles
Mega Damage: 1d4*10
Rate of Fire: 4 time per melee
Range: 150 kps
Mega Damage: Each missile as 5 multiple warhead fusion warheads of 300 kT
Rate of Fire: once per melee
Tirolian Destroyer
Mecha Compliment
200 Blue Biroids
40 Green Biroids
20 Red Biroids
15 Assault Carriers
MDC values
Forward 1/3 of ship includes Reflex Cannon - 5000 each
Main Particle Cannons (Large/Medium/Small) - 800/600/300
AAA lasers (120) - 150 each
Main Body - 10,000
Engines (4) - 2000
Auxiliary Engines (2) - 500
Weapons
Range: 300,000 km
Mega Damage: 1d6*1,000,000 MDC on full power (1.5 Megatonnes),
2d4*10,000 on low power (50 kilotonnes)
Wide dispersal: equal to the following formula
Mega-Damage(from full strength weapon)/(8*Pi*Sin(theta)*r^2)
r - range in kilometers
theta - angle of dispersal (maximum angle is 45 degrees)
damage is spread out in 50 MDC packets.
Rate of Fire: 6 times per hour
Range: 200,000 km
Mega Damage: Large - 1d6*1000, medium - 1d4*1000, and small - 2d6*100 MDC
Rate of Fire: 1 every other melee for large and medium, every
melee for the small
Range: 20 miles
Mega Damage: 1d4*10 MDC
Rate of Fire: 6 times per melee
New Rules:
-light laser cannons only suffer 1/2 the normal size penalties of the large guns.
i.e. to hit veritecs is only -6
H to H Biroids
Blue
With Sled
4 h to h
+4 strike with single shots / +2 bursts +2
+4 roll
+4 parry
+5 dodge +10 dodge
Green (average PP 19)
4 h to h
+5 strike +2 strike (+6)
+4 roll
+7 parry
+7 dodge +12 dodge
Red (average PP 19)
5 h to h
+6 to strike +2 strike (+6)
+5 roll
+7 parry
+8 dodge +13 dodge
critical strikes on 18, 19, and 20
receives an auto dodge
Invid Fighter (average PP 19)
7 h to h
+6 strike +2 strike (+6)
+6 roll
+7 parry
+9 dodge +14 dodge
critical strikes on 18, 19, and 20
receives an auto dodge
If variable PP are used refer to the following chart
PP 16 17 18-19 20-21
strike -2 -1 +0 +1
parry -2 -1 +0 +1
dodge -2 -1 +0 +1
Of course special clones could have higher PP, however in general
no clone has a PP higher than 21.
Weapons:
Range: 2000 m
Mega Damage: 1d4*10 MDC per shot, 2d4*10 per short burst
Range: 2500 m
Mega Damage: 1d6*10 MDC per shot, 2d6*10 per short burst
Modifications to Robotech Masters Assault Carrier:
Weapon Systems
(1) Forward ion guns
2d6*10 MDC per burst
Range: 22.5 km
Rate of fire: 5 per melee
(2) Secondary laser cannons (4)
2d4*10 MDC per blast
Range: 1200 m
Rate of fire: 4 per melee
(3) Rotary Blaster Turret
4d6 per aimed blast, 1d6*10 per burst
Range: 1200m
Rate of fire: 8 aimed blasts or four bursts
H to H
6 addition attacks to dodge, while firing all guns
+3 to strike with Ion guns
+2 to strike with Blaster Turret, +0 for a burst
+1 to strike with laser cannons
+4 to dodge / +6 at Mach 5
Personnal
Sgt. John O'Keff - engineering
Major Thomas Finny - Veritec squardron Wildcat squadron
Appendix D:
Terran Naval Combat Vessels
by Pieter Thomassen
ARMD class Armored Space Platform.
(-0X series)
ARMD-01 Hermes Commissioned 05/2008, Destroyed 2009 in Earth orbit
ARMD-02 Shokaku Commissioned 05/2008, Destroyed 2009 in Earth orbit
ARMD-03 Enterprise Commissioned 10/2008, Destroyed 2009 in Earth orbit
ARMD-04 Ark Royal Commissioned 03/2009, Decommissioned 2023
ARMD-05 Akagi Commissioned 03/2009, Destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust
ARMD-06 Saratoga Commissioned 08/2009, Decommissioned 2023
ARMD-07 Ranger Commissioned 10/2009, Destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust
ARMD-08 Illustrious Commissioned 01/2010, Destroyed in Zentraedi
Holocaust
(-1X series)
ARMD-10 Langley Commissioned 10/2008, Destroyed 2009 in Earth orbit
ARMD-11 Shinano Never Commissioned, Destroyed 2014 with SDF-2
ARMD-12 Lexington Never Commissioned, Destroyed 2014 with
SDF-2
VEHICLE TYPE: Orbital mecha/drone carrier and anti-starship
platform.
CREW: 3000; 160 officers and 2840 enlisted personnel.
TROOPS: Typical mecha/drone group size is 600 men.
TOTAL OF CREW AND TROOPS: 3600 men average. Life support system can service
4800 men in an emergency.
MECHA/DRONE COMPLEMENT:
ARMD-01 through ARMD-08
270 QF-3000E drone fighters
24 SF-2B Hunter space fighters
78 SF-3A Lancer II space fighters
12 VF-1 Valkyrie Veritech fighters
6 SC-27 Star Goose space shuttles
3 ES-11D Cat's Eye recon planes
ARMD-10 as commissioned, ARMD-04 and -06 as refit after 2012
270 QF-3000E drone fighters
108 VF-1 Valkyrie Veritech fighters
6 SC-27 Star Goose space shuttles
3 ES-11D Cat's Eye recon planes
PROPULSION:
Reaction-mass thruster (1): RRG FuRT-1/14 Reaction Thrusters with
protoculture energizer, capable of a sustained 0.1 g acceleration until
fuel is exhausted. 1.0 g of acceleration can be sustained for twelve
minutes. Fuel supply is enough for 7.2 kps delta-v.
Emergency Thrusters (2): RRG FuRT-2/5 Reaction Thrusters. Capable of
0.5g acceleration for twelve minutes.
Attitude Thrusters: Two maneuver blocks (RRG FuRT-3/4 Reaction thrusters)
with six nozzles each at the forward ends of the side sponsons. Two nozzles
face forward, two face to the side and one nozzle faces up and down.
Additional attitude control by vectorable thrust from main and emergency
thrusters.
Planetary Capability: The ARMD ships could not enter an atmosphere and
survive for any amount of time.
MAXIMUM RANGE: Protoculture and life support supplies for one year; Fuel
supply is enough for 7.2 kps delta-v. The ARMD class of ships were limited
to Earth and lunar orbits. Although voyages to the outlying planets were
theoretically possible, this was never done since the transition
flights would have lasted months.
LENGTH: 430 meter
HEIGHT: 47.3 meter
WIDTH : 115.8 meter central section, 171.7 meter overall
MASS : 474,000 metric tons
MAIN ENGINE: RRG Mk2 furnace, Reflex, protoculture.
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
Five heavy particle beam cannons; one on the central aft ventral, two
on the aft ventral flanks, two on the forward dorsal surface astride
the bridge section. These cannons are based on the heavy secondary
batteries of the SDF-1, can fire once per three minutes and have a
range of 200,000 km. Typically, one discharge has a power of 2.5
terajoules, equivalent to 500 tons of TNT. Unfortunately, the
ARMD's power generators were wholly inadequate for these guns, and
their rates of fire were far inferior to those mounted on the
SDF-1.
Three triple barrelled laser turrets are mounted on the side of each
emergency thruster. They can fire 900 MJ of laser energy every three
seconds and have the same effective range as the heavier
cannons.
One heavy SLBM launcher is mounted in every side sponson. The launcher
ejects its missiles upward, where they ignite their engines once free
of the ship. The missiles are specialized Lockheed E-9 Trident SLBM
(Space Launched Ballistic Missiles) with fusion warheads in the 3 MT
range. The delta-v capacity of the missiles is 8 kps, and the magazine
in each each sponson can store 40 missiles.
Six heavy missile launchers with 10 missiles ready to fire and another 30
missiles in the magazine are mounted on the dorsal and ventrals and the
sides of the vessel (two on the dorsal, two on the ventral and one on
each side. Each launcher fires General Dynamics and Euromissile Warhawk
missiles. Each missile is a combined multi-spectrum imager and active
radar homing Reflex missile, with a delta-v of 5 kps, and a typical
yield of 5 to 10 kT for anti-warship operations, and a high explosive
fragmentary warhead for anti-aircraft work.
Twenty-four laser cannons with a power rating of 10 MJ in pop-up turrets
on both the dorsal and the ventral plane. Specialized for close-in
defense, the cannons can fire once every two seconds.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Long range radar and optical sensors, internal gravity
with limited inertial dampening field, system-range radio and laser
communications.
DESIGN NOTES:
The ARMD or Armor series orbital carriers formed the backbone of the
RDF's orbital fleet. The Armors were designed shortly after the arrival
of the SDF-1 on Macross Island, at a time when many Tirolian technologies
were not yet available. This factor has hampered the Armor craft through-
out their lives.
Because of the newness of the technology, only fusion driven reaction-
thrusters were available. The sublight engines were (still) beyond the
capability of the Terran engineers. Consequently, the Armors were limited
to Earth orbits, Lunar orbits and the La Grange points. Nevertheless, the
designers did anticipate the installation of a sublight drive later in the
lives of the craft. However, the power demands for these systems turned out
to be in excess of the Armor's generating capacity and it was not until
2009 that the necessary refits were finally designed and prepared. At the
time of the Zentraedi arrival however, four Armors were destroyed by the
Zentraedi without much trouble, and hence the effectiveness of the design
was called into question. Therefore, the refits were put on hold. The
production of new Armors was delayed, although more thanks to the misfold
of the SDF-1 and its protoculture powersources than to the proven
inefficacy of the design. The nine Armors procured up to then would
remain nine forever.
An interesting design feature was the capability of the Armor class to
dock the engine section to the 'shoulder-locks' of the SDF-1. This was
done so as to increase the combat power and versatility of the SDF-1 while
also extending the Armor's capabilities. However, the two Armors to attempt
link-up were destroyed prior to their link-up by Breetai's fleet.
The Armor series was a completely Terran design, made without any
knowledge other than the basic principles of space-warfare tactics. The
shape of the Armors therefore borrows little of any Tirolian or Zentraedi
design, in contrast to later Terran ships. The Armor was made up of
five main sections. The main control section of the Armors was located in
the small bridge section forward on the centerline. Aft of this was the
flightdeck, with hangars, elevating arms that placed mecha outside the
ship for take-off and recovered them when landing, and to the rear the
reaction mass tanks. Two large sponsons flanked the flightdeck and
extended downward from it, forming a large well between them. Inside the
sponsons were the magazines for the large SLBM missiles, the quick-release
bays for the space fighters and the conveyors to the main flight deck
hangars, and, forward of this, the maneuvering thruster clusters. Aft of the
flightdeck and the upper part of the sponsons was the engine section, with
one large central engine flanked by two auxiliary engines. It was intended
that a sublight-engine (and possibly a fold-drive, if they could deduce the
principles) would be installed as soon as the Robotech Research Groups had
developed and built them to satisfactory standards. The additional engines
would then have made up a sixth section, to be located in the well between
the sponsons.
The armament was a mixture of traditional Terran and Tirolian
technologies. Five large particle beams of the extremely advanced design
found on the SDF-1 were mounted. These designs were several generations
more advanced than those mounted on Zentraedi Battlecruisers. The two
SLBM launchers fired their weapons through two hatches in the upper
rear of the sponsons. The weapons were expelled horizontally from the
ship and then ignited. The rate of fire was quite impressive for such a
heavy installation, at three missiles per second per launcher. Also, six
triple-barrelled laser turrets with more or less the equivalent firepower
of the standard Zentraedi laser-turret design were located around each
auxiliary engine, and six reflex missile launchers were placed around the
vessel for area defence. As a last-ditch defense, 24 laser cannons were
located in pop-up turrets on both the ventral and dorsal sides of the ship.
Unfortunately, the powerplant installed on the ARMD cruisers was woefully
insufficient, and the guns' rates of fire, especially that of the largest
weapons, suffered for it.
The strategies for which this weapon fit was conceived were based on
the expectations that RDF planners had of the Zentraedi attack capabilities
and tactics. These however were based on the examination of the SDF-1,
which was assumed to be a typical example of a large Zentraedi warcraft.
As such, it had one main cannon, a number of smaller batteries, and hangar
capacity for about 1500 mecha. The planners could not imagine anyone
building a very much larger vessel, and therefore the SDF-2, under
construction on the moon, was to be a copy of the SDF-1, and hoped to
be superior to most other ships. As such, smaller escort ships were
expected, and possibly versions of the Battlefortress, without the main
gun but with a large troop-carrying capacity for use in planetary landings.
Also, given the power of the ship, it was not expected that alien Battle
Groups would comprise more than one SDF-1 class vessel per group. These
assumptions, while logical and sensible, were utterly wrong. In defense of
the analysts it must be stated that the SDF-1 was definately not a typical
example of a Zentraedi ship-of-the-line, but a new type of monitor-class
intended to help the Tirolians keep tight reigns on Dolza. Most Zentraedi
ships were far larger than the SDF-1, carried far more mecha and operated
in fleets ranging from 12 to 10,000 individual ships. The Imperial Fleet,
which Breetai folded to Earth-space to relieve Azonia of command numbered
one million ships.
It was intended that the Armor class ships, escorted by Ophelia-
class system destroyers, would take out the single large ship in an
alien battle group. This was to be accomplished by firing the large
particle beams at long range, disabling the enemies' main cannon in the
process. Then the Armors were to close with the vessel, still firing the
particle beams, and finish the ship off with concentrated SLBM barrages.
The drones and mecha were launched with the SLBMs to take out any alien
mecha that had managed to escape the destruction of their ships.
Unfortunately, the Zentraedi vessels were larger and tougher than expected,
carried enough mecha to overwhelm the defenses of the Armors, had more
firepower than they could handle, and outnumbered them enormously to boot.
As the first few vessels neared completion, it was decided to introduce
an alternative design. The first series was known as the Armor-0 type,
the new design would be the Armor-1 type. This showed in the hull numbers,
which were either -0x or -1x, dependant on the design type. While the
original plan (series -0) had not included anything but a token complement
of VF-1 Valkyries, ARMD-10 (first of the series -1) was designed with
Valkyries in mind. Though there were no obvious external differences, the
internal arrangement of the vehicle, especially in the hangar areas, was
quite different. The ARMD-10 entered service at the same time as ARMD-3.
Two partial ARMD carriers were built as part of the SDF-2 project; these
ships, ARMD-11 and ARMD-12 had no engine section at all, and were mainly to
serve as external carriers on the SDF-2. These vessels are not included in
most records of the class history.
Because of the obvious inefficiacy of the Hunter and Lancer fighters,
the two Armor cruisers that survived the Holocaust were refitted around the
Valkyries, in the manner of ARMD-10.
HISTORY:
Nine Armor-class vessels were constructed in the L5 point by the RDF
from 2003-2010. Four of these were finished by the time of the Zentraedi
arrival, and were all destroyed during the initial assault. Though all
vessels were given names, these never took, and the ships were invariably
referred to as "Armor" followed by their call-number. Armor 2 was
destroyed in the first battle after the Zentraedi fleet arrived in Earth
orbit, while Armors 1, 3, and 10 were destroyed during an attempt to link
up with the SDF-1. There were 12 other Armors underway at the L5 factory,
but there were only sufficient powerplants available for five of them.
This, coupled with the ease with which the first Armors were destroyed,
led to the cancellation of the last seven. The other five were completed
just in time for three of them to be destroyed in the Zentraedi Holocaust.
These were Armor 5, 7, and 8. Armor 4 and 6 were at that time orbiting
the moon, filled with officers the EUG brass had decided were not like-
minded politically, with orders to support the SDF-1 in its ordered suicide
attack on Breetai's fleet after the firing of the Alaskan main cannon at it.
It was intended that these Armors would be destroyed with the SDF-1 and its
political time-bomb load of dissenters, after which the Zentraedi would
hopefully go and leave the Earth in peace, and the UEG securely in charge.
Fortunately, Breetai's peace initiative prevented its execution. This plan
later caused the courts-martial of several survivors known to have
supported it. Armor 4 and 6 survived the Holocaust, as they were unable
to participate in the battle itself due to their low speed. After the war
they served as orbital bases until they were decommissioned in 2023 with
the other orbital fleet units. ARMD-11 and ARMD-12 were constructed by
Earth as part of the SDF-2 project, and were ARMD carriers in name only.
Though they shared identical frames with the ARMD-10, they had no
engines and were permanently mated to the SDF-2's arms. As such, they are
generally not considered seperate vessels, but rather part of the SDF-2.
They were lost with the SDF-2 in January 2014.
Ophelia-class Missile Destroyer
SLDG-01 Ophelia commissioned 2005 destroyed by the Helen, 2005.
SLDG-02 Penelope commissioned 2005 decommissioned 2023.
SLDG-03 Helen commissioned 2005 destroyed by Penelope, 2005.
SLDG-04 Andromache commissioned 2005 destroyed 2015 in Earth orbit.
SLDG-05 Miranda commissioned 2005 destroyed 2009 in Earth orbit.
SLDG-06 Desdemona commissioned 2005 decommissioned 2023.
SLDG-07 Circe commissioned 2006 destroyed 2009 in Earth orbit.
SLDG-08 Titania commissioned 2006 destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust.
SLDG-09 Cordelia commissioned 2006 destroyed 2009 in Lunar orbit.
SLDG-10 Esther commissioned 2007 destroyed 2009 in Earth orbit.
SLDG-11 Dido commissioned 2007 decommissioned 2023.
SLDG-12 Katherine commissioned 2007 destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust.
SLDG-13 Beatrice commissioned 2007 destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust.
SLDG-14 Deidamia commissioned 2008 decommissioned 2023.
SLDG-15 Lavinia commissioned 2008 destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust.
SLDG-16 Hermine commissioned 2008 decommissioned 2023.
SLDG-17 Galadriel commissioned 2009 destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust.
SLDG-18 Roxane commissioned 2009 destroyed in Zentraedi Holocaust.
SLDG-19 Cosette commissioned 2009 decommissioned 2023.
SLDG-20 Jane Eyre commissioned 2010 destroyed in Zentraedi
Holocaust.
VEHICLE TYPE: In-System Space Destroyer
CREW: 24 officers, 12 bridge crew, 40 engineering crew, 12 medical staff,
12 cooks.
TROOPS: Up to 40 Marines.
TOTAL OF CREW AND TROOPS: 140, though an additional 500 passengers can
be carried in an emergency.
AIRCRAFT COMPLEMENT: Usually a single Star Goose or Rabbit Shuttle
is stationed aboard the Destroyer, for troop and personnel
transfer.
PROPULSION:
Reaction-mass thrusters for combat (2): RRG FuRT-3/3 Reaction Thrusters
with protoculture energizer; capable of a sustained 0.8-g acceleration
until fuel exhaustion, and 2 g of acceleration can be sustained for 9
minutes 35 seconds. Delta-v capacity 11.5 kps.
Retro-thrusters for combat maneuvering and braking maneuvers (6): RRG
FuRT-4/3 Reaction Thuster with protoculture energizer; capable of a
sustained 1.2 g burn (all six thrusters operational) until fuel
exhaustion.
Emergency thrusters (2): RRG FuRT-5/1 Reaction Thrusters with
protoculture energizer; capable of propelling the ship with 0.5 g of
acceleration for 12 minutes.
Gravitic Displacement Drive for sublight travel (1): RRG mk1
(SLD-01 through -08), RRG mk2 (SLD-09 and -12) or mk3 (SLD-13 through
-20). Local, monopolar-induced gravitic space-time distortion, powered
by main protoculture reactor, accelerates vessel at 200-300 g, but the
vessel's maneuverability is reduced to such a degree that only minor
course corrections are possible. Typical cruising speed is .001
c.
Planetary Capability: The Ophelia class ships can not enter the
atmosphere, and have a minimum altitude of 120 kilometers.
MAXIMUM RANGE: Generator endurance between 15 and 25 years (dependant upon
design type, previous protoculture use etc.). Delta-v capacity for the
reaction thrusters of 11.5 kps maximum, theoretical range several
lightyears with unlimited use of sublight drive. However, life support
limit of 10 months with standard crew confines the ships to the Solar
System.
LENGTH: 390m
HEIGHT: 64m
WIDTH : 173m
MASS : 394,000 metric tons
MAIN ENGINE: RRG Mk3 (SLD-01 through -14) or mk4 (others) furnace,
protoculture.
GRAVITY CONTROL SYSTEM: Internal, including an Inertial Dampening
Field.
WEAPON SYSTEMS: (All are RRG designed and built unless stated otherwise)
Side-Mounted Forward-Firing Particle Cannons: (2) heavy, long-range
cannons. The weapons are in a fixed-forward position. Fires salvos
of 6500 MJ of particle energy every fifteen seconds.
Top-Mounted Forward-Firing Particle Cannons: (2) medium, long-range
cannons. The weapons are in a fixed-forward position. Fires salvos
of 3500 MJ of particle energy every fifteen seconds.
Sixteen laser cannons with a power rating of 10 MJ in pop-up turrets
on both the dorsal and the ventral hull. Specialized for close-in
defense, the cannons can fire once every two seconds. Total of
32 cannons.
Eighteen missile silos are mounted on the dorsal rear and contain
long-range anti-starship missiles. This is the vessel's primary weapon
system. Each silo ejects its missile upward, where it ignites its
engines once free of the ship. The missiles are specialized Lockheed F-4
Trident SLBM (Space Launched Ballistic Missiles) with multiple (5) fusion
warheads in the 300 kT range. The delta-v capacity of the missile is
7.5 kps.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT OF NOTE: communications network, including laser, radio
and video telecast capabilities, as well as a limited hyperspace radio
for in-system transmissions.
Sensors: Radar (300 mile range); heat, motion, radiation and light, and
gravimetric detection.
DESIGN NOTES:
The Ophelia-class of System Missile Destroyers was the first Earth
design for a space warship, and was during the first years of the 21th
century the prime vessel for the further exploration, examination,
exploitation and transport of, for and between the planets of the solar
system. As the first design and with only partially understood technologies,
it had its flaws, but it served faithfully before, during and after the
First Robotech War.
Like the Armor-class Space Carriers, the Ophelia-class was designed to
fight the Zentraedi fleets as they were hypothesized from the wreckage
of the SDF-1: one large mothership of the SDF-1 type, and a number of
smaller escort ships, which might or might not have fold-capability. As
such, the Zentraedi Tou Redir came reasonably close to the escort
ships of the military theorists' pipe dreams, but even these smaller ships
were far more powerful than had been anticipated, and the Ophelia-class,
designed to fight these ships, was usually overmatched against even these
types.
Deck one contains an observation deck and the Captain's briefing room.
Deck two contains the radio and sensor room, navigational computers, and
the Captain's sea cabin. Deck three is divided into three disconnected
sections, all of which are accessible from deck four. In the forward
section of deck three is located the main bridge and fire control. In
the midship region is located access to the gun machinery for the topside
particle beam cannons. In the aft section of deck three is service access
to the triple ballistic missile launchers. Deck four is the main deck; here
is located the sick-bay, officers' and crew quarters, and the mess area.
Deck five is the main engineering deck. Here are located the main computers,
the environmental support systems, the side gun machinery, machine shops,
and at aft, main engineering. Deck six, which has no gravity, is the
shuttle bay and service deck.
The vessel is manned by 24 officers and 76 enlisted personnel. Of
these, 43 men and women serve as the engineering crew, 12 as medical
personnel, 12 as internal support, and over 30 crewmen staff operations.
There is often a Marine platoon of 36 men stationed aboard these
vessels for landing actions (such as the incident on Mars Base Sera
before the Zentraedi arrived) as well as the boarding of derelict
craft. Four technical specialists are typically attached to the Marines.
These specialists pilot and service the shuttle, among other tasks. In
addition, almost 500 personnel could be carried on board for short periods,
and this capacity was used for the embarkation of scientists, and for when
the vessels were used as transport vessels between the various planets of
the solar system.
The Ophelia-class is well-armed for its size and design era, with 4
powerful forward firing particle guns, multiple point-defense lasers, and
18 deadly anti-warship missiles. Nevertheless, it is still easily
outmatched by the most comperable Zentraedi vessel, the Tou Redir scout,
which is more heavilly armed, armored, and faster with both the sublight and
the reaction engines. An Ophelia-class ship can prevail against the
smallest and most numerous of Zentraedi vessels only if it utilizes its
maneuverability to avoid the scout's guns.
HISTORY:
Designed to patrol Earth's solar system and to escort the far more
vulnerable A.R.M.D. carrier platforms, this vehicle entered service
in 2005, four years before the launching of the SDF-1. Though most
were destroyed by the Zentraedi immediately after they entered Earth orbit
and when the SDF-1 attempted to link up with Armor 1 and Armor 2,
or later when they were recalled to Earth just before the Zentraedi
Holocaust, many survived and continued to patrol the solar system until the
remainder were decommissioned just before the SDF-3 departed for Tirol.
This vessel was fairly spacious, and was popular with its crews before
the Zentraedi arrived, but proved to be woefully underarmed to deal with the
far larger and deadlier Zentraedi vessels. They also served to evacuate the
personnel from of Mars Base Sara because of the threat made by anti-
unificationist terrorists that caused the abandonment of the base. The
Helen was captured by these terrorists, who used it to destroy the Ophelia,
which was carrying part of the base's complement and was unprepared to
resist; all hands were killed. The Penelope was then dispatched after
the Helen, which had entered a Lunar orbit and was making propaganda
broadcasts aimed at the Earth. Shortly before entering Lunar orbit herself,
the Penelope ejected several of her Trident missiles. The ship then
proceded in a high orbit and on a standard attack course towards the Helen.
This ship's hijackers, fully expecting the Penelope to make a head-on
attack (the only attack they thought possible in space) prepared for this.
They were thus caught competely of guard when the undetected, previously
ejected missiles used their occultation by the moon to ignite their engines,
and then made a parabolic orbit with a periapsis at a mere 1500 meters
above the moon's surface, coming up behind the Helen at high speed and
using the moon as radar background. Helen's crew never even saw them
coming. This case was later hailed by Spacy officers as an excellent
example of using the particulars of celestial bodies (in this case, the
Moon's lack of atmosphere which made the very close fly-by possible) in
space tactics.
Later on, the Ophelia-class vessels served admirably in their patrol
role after the destruction of the SDF-1, and were instrumental in rooting
out and destroying several Zentraedi destroyers and pickets that had
escaped the Zentraedi Holocaust. However, they were only assigned these
duties as the hunted vessels were damaged and underpowered already, and
because allied Zentraedi vessels were standing by to help them out if
necessary.
Tirolian Destroyer
VEHICLE TYPE: Limited fold-capable general-purpose warship.
CREW:
Command Triumvirates: 30;
Ship's Complement : circa 200;
Clone Warriors : circa 600;
Total : 850;
Permanent life support capability: 5000 humanoids;
Emergency life support capability: 10000 humanoids.
MECHA COMPLEMENT:
Typical complements are given. If needed, these numbers can be increased.
Bioroids: 200 to 250 units.
ADDITIONAL CRAFT:
Typically about 25 shuttles, recon drones and others.
PROPULSION:
Gravitic Maneuvering Drives: The standard reaction engines installed
in all Zentraedi and Earth ships have been omitted in favor of
three gravitic maneuvering drives. These drives are smaller versions
of the main sub-light drives and are mounted on the three axis of the
ship. The use of these drives in unison will create the required
thrust into any direction, thus eliminating the maneuvering problems
present in the larger drive. These smaller drives are rated for a
maximum acceleration of 1.8g. Also, the drives do not use reaction
mass and can thus be operated indefinitely.
Gravitic Displacement Drive for sublight travel: Local, monopolar-
induced gravitic space-time distortion, powered by main protoculture
reactors, accelerates vessel at 400-500 g, but the vessel's
maneuverability is reduced to such a degree that only minor course
corrections are possible. Typical cruising speed is .001 C, though
higher speeds can be achieved.
Space Fold: A hyperspace system that catapults the vessel through
space-time. The spacefold system is used for travelling from one
system to another quickly. The strapped-down system used onboard
the Destroyers was of the conformal type and limited to distances
of about 100 parsecs (326 ly) per hyperspace fold-jump.
Planetary Capability: The Destroyers can operate in an atmosphere,
but are due to their size constrained to sub-sonic speeds.
Planetfall is also possible, given a sufficiently large flat area
with a bedrock underground or a body of water.
MAXIMUM RANGE: Effectively limitless through fold and sublight drive
systems. Protoculture reactors will function for 50-65 years, depending
on the individual system's design age and the level of use
it gets.
LENGTH: 348 meters (main hull), 386 meters (over all).
WIDTH : 56 meters (main hull), 101 meters (over all).
HEIGHT: 103 meters (main hull), 148 meters (over all).
MASS : 395,000 tons.
MAIN ENGINE: Reflex Furnaces, protoculture (exclusive)
GRAVITY CONTROL SYSTEM: Internal, with inertial dampers.
WEAPON AND DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
Absorbative & ablative hull: The hull of each Destroyer is constructed
with a mix of high-density metals, ceramics and other, classified
materials. While not as effective as the more advanced Tirolian shield
technologies, which the Destroyer is too small to carry, this armor
does limit the destructive impact of energy and solids weapon systems
to a certain extend.
Reflex Cannon: An incredibly destructive particle beam with a range of
over 300,000 km, mounted in the front of the vessel. The model used by
the Destroyers utilizes the same technology as the mini-Reflex cannons
mounted on the Tirolian gunships, and fires through the two lower cannon
appendages, rather than requiring the ship to open up.
The effects of this weapon against planets are equal to the heat and
blast effects of the detonation of a fusion weapon of 1.5 megatons, if
fired at full power. Note that at the time the Second Robotech War the
energy levels in the Tirolian ships were so low that the cannon could no
longer be fired by most ships, and in the ships that still could fire
the cannon, the blast effect seldom exceeded 50 kilotons.
If utilized against starships, the largest vessels can be destroyed
with one salvo. The weapon can also be set to a wider dispersal. While
not nearly as effective as a tight beam against warships, it is capable
of clearing a wide area of fighters and other mecha.
Main Particle Beams: These are the main anti-ship weapons, as the
reflex cannon cannot be fired fast enough in fleet actions. There are
four of these large cannons mounted in appendages on the bow, all
firing in a forward arc. Another two are located aftwards to the sides,
two slightly smaller ones are mounted in movable turrets to the front
sides, and three of the smallest variant are mounted on the dorsal
and ventral surfaces. Rate of fire for the largest cannons is two
salvos per minute, and the smaller ones can fire a sustained salvo of
ten seconds three times per minute. Range is a respectable 200,000 km.
Typically, one discharge of one frontal cannon has a power of 1.5
terajoules, for a total forward (four cannons firing) salvo of 6.0
terajoules, the equivalent to 1.2 kilotons of TNT. The intermediate
cannons can fire salvos of 0.75 terajoules (0.15 kilotons) and the
smallest are limited to 0.3 terajoules (0.06 kilotons).
AAA Lasers: All Destroyers mount over 120 of these weapons. They are
designed to suppress attacking mecha, constructed with the Invid's
suicidal ramming tactics in mind. 10 of these cannons are mounted on the
bow, another ten are mounted on the stern, and 25 are divided over each
of the dorsal, port, ventral and starboard hull surfaces. They can
deliver 10 MJ of laser energy each and can fire every 1.5
seconds.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT OF NOTE: Hyperspace communications, long-range laser and
satellite relay communications, long-range radar. Radar and communication
dampeners, electronic warfare devices.
DESIGN NOTES:
The Tirolian Destroyer was conceived to be a fast, heavily-armed
vessel for fleet escort, patrol, and assault duties. Bristling with the
most armament for her size of any ship ever built, this vessel was the
core of the reduced fleets operated by Tirol after she downsized her own
military after the creation of the Zentraedi.
In general hull shape, the Destroyers were shaped not unlike a
snub-nosed version of the later REF's Katana-class destroyer, without the
hangar, gun turret, or engines. To the outboard edges of these ships'
flat ventral surfaces, two sponson-like bulges were visible, running
about a third of the vessel's length.
Four large sensor domes dominated the bow. Three of these were mounted
in a vertical row in the bow, while the larger fourth dome was mounted on
the edge of the upper deck and the prow. Flanking these sensors were the
four booms of the main armament, sticking out from the ships much like the
very early german air-to-air radars did in the Second World War. A fifth
and sixth cannon appendage was mounted to the rear, while two smaller
cannons were mounted in movable turrets between the bow and the sponsons.
The AAA armament was usually hidden from view behind movable bulkheads.
Designed for naval engagements, the ships also carried a fair number of
Bioroids and their sleds in five internal hangars; one near the upper deck
and the other four near the lower hull.
There were no command towers on this design, the CIC and bridge being
located near the core of the vessel, for maximum protection. Four large
sensor booms, for local hyperspace sensors, were mounted at the rear, in
a cruciform arrangement, rotated forty-five degrees from the ship's
gravity-well attitude.
HISTORY:
As the Tirolians began to expans into space, they brought a military
presence with them. To defend the early colony ships and to patrol the
Interstellar Republic, the Tirolians developed a number of military vessel
designs; the only two that stood the test of time were the Battleship and
Destroyer. With the introduction of the Zentraedi, these designs were
largely abandoned. However, centuries later, as the Empire began to
collapse, several of the basic designs were revived, updated with the
newest technologies, and sent to the shipyards for construction. Among
them was the Destroyer.
The craft was a dedicated starship-killer spacecraft in a very small
hull; in fact, the vessel was smaller than its closest Earth equivalent,
the Tristar-class Light Cruiser. Each Mothership was assigned three
battlegroups of nine Destroyers each, and several independent groups were
built as well. In total, over 1100 of these ships were built by the
Tirolian overlords. The design showed its mettle during the latter days of
the Empire, when system after system fell to the Invid. Its best known
battles, however, are those that took place in the solar system during
the Second Robotech War. Over 160 Destroyers were transported with the
large Tirolian Motherships to Earth, where they exacted a terrible toll
on the Southern Cross and the relief expeditions sent by the REF. All of
these ships were either destroyed during the war, or lost all power in the
months after the its end. A few survivors of the class were found intact in
the former Tirolian Empire, and ongoing research programs are trying to
duplicate the design, or at least certain key technologies, for use in a
new standard REF frigate, and the successors to the both the Tristar and
Katana classes.
Appendix E:
Robotech Mecha - Tirolian Designs
(Pieter Thomassen w/ P. Walker)
Assault Carrier
VEHICLE TYPE: Armed transatmospheric assault transport.
CREW: Three pilots.
MECHA COMPLEMENT:
Cargo space for 36 Bioroids of all types with Skysleds.
Usual load is 18 Bioroids with sleds.
PROPULSION:
Anti-gravity system (1): Zorr'lev-45-RTc; maximum acceleration 4.89
standard gravities.
Reaction-mass thrusters (2): Two Zorr'lev-34-LrTcr; capable of
sustained 1.22 standard g acceleration until fuel exhaustion. A 2.45
g acceleration can be sustained for over four minutes, and emergency
5.5 g is available for twenty seconds before auto-engine shutdown. Not
suited for fractional light speed travel
Assorted secondary and maneuvering thrusters.
PERFORMANCE: Sustained speed at 37km : 8000 kph.
Minimum speed (all altitudes): 0 kph (hover).
MAXIMUM RANGE: Within gravity wells limited only by protoculture supplies.
Outside gravity wells 12 minutes at 1.22 standard gravities.
LENGTH: 121.9 meters
HEIGHT: 23.1 meters (over landing claws);
18.2 meters (main hull only).
WIDTH : 36.5 meters
MASS : 2250 metric ton (unloaded).
MAIN ENGINE: 2 Zorr'lev-213-DQi protoculture generators.
WEAPON SYSTEMS (Standard Package):
Two Ion Pulse cannons in the nose. Cannons fire bursts of annihilation
discs at 4500 m/s to a maximum effective range of 22.5 km. Both cannons
fire synchronously. Maximum rate of fire is one one-second burst every
three seconds. Energy in each burst is equal to 60 MJ.
(or two mini-Reflex Cannons. See text)
Four secondary 25 MJ laser cannon are mounted in the sides. All four
cannon can fire once every four seconds, or keep up sustained 2 MW
fire for up to 4 minutes. Independently targetable, but usually fire in
concert.
One four barrel rotary laser turret is mounted on the bottom. Main
purpose is as a defensive, close-in weapon system. The turret typically
fires 6 MJ laser pulses on its target, and can select and engage
targets almost indefinitely. If truly continuous fire is employed, the
turret will overheat after 5 minutes.
DESIGN NOTES:
The Assault Carrier is a streamlined, rocket and anti-gravity propelled
transorbital atmosphere/space combat vehicle.
The rear part of the body is vaguely rectangular shaped, with the
smallest dimensions in the vertical, narrowing to the front, forming a
prow. Mounted here are the twin forward Ion Cannon and the forward landing
claw. The secondary Laser cannons are mounted on the narrowing part of the
main hull, two on each side located above one another. The underbelly
mounts, in the center of the craft, the rotary laser turret, and to the
sides the two main landing claws. On top of the main hull is a blister
containing the cockpit and many of the sensory instruments. Two mecha
release doors are mounted in the sides of the craft. In some ships, an
additional laser cannon is mounted to the rear of the two standard cannons,
but this configuration is not common.
The interior of the craft has four separate deck levels. The topmost
level is the flight deck on top of the craft, as described. Immediately
under the top of the main hull is a floor with medical facilities, crew rest
rooms and other mission related rooms. Below this is the main mecha hangar,
with enough room, if needed, for 36 Bioroids. Underneath this hangar is a
floor with access to the engines and several storage rooms. The Skysleds are
usually stored here, as are some additional Bioroid weapons.
HISTORY:
To quickly transport their Bioroid clone-warriors the Robotech Masters
needed to have a fast, transorbital transport. The first idea was to use
adapted versions of the Zentraedi Re-entry Pod, but this was rejected
fairly early in the design effort. The Masters' personal army would not, it
turned out, be equipped with specialized aerial war mecha. To provide for
the armed might to slash holes in air and ground defenses, the assault
transport would carry armament as well as Bioroid troops. This was a
completely different doctrine than was created for the Zentraedi, who were
equipped with air combat mecha and unarmed transports. This rather
revolutionary decision was made after computer modeling showed that a
large, armed troop transport would be more than capable of defeating aerial
mecha, while remaining fully operational itself. Hence, the transport would
need to be sufficiently well armed and armored to defeat any threat before
that threat could inflict significant damage.
The Masters then took the idea one step further. If the transport were
to be equipped with enough firepower to enable it to overwhelm small
spaceships (with Rudel-tactics if need be) then the entire army could be
made up from just two main designs: the Bioroid and the Assault Carrier.
This would significantly ease manufacturing and maintenance. This
approach was chosen, and the Tirolian Assault Carrier was designed to
fit this role. This it did magnificently. The Assault Carrier exceeded
all the expectations its designers had of it, and set new standards
for transports in the Robotech militaries.
During the Second Robotech war the Southern Cross forces often
encountered this vehicle, either in space or on the planet itself. Always it
proved to be more maneuverable, powerful and heavily armored than the aerial
SC combat mecha and planes. The AC has a legitimate claim to more kills of
mecha and spacecraft than any other vehicle in the Second Robotech war,
since it was used for every role the Bioroids were too small for, from ground
strafing runs (the largest flying vehicle ever to do this) to orbital
combat.
Two versions of the AC in use during that war. The most common by
far was the standard version (detailed in this file), with heavy energy
armament forward and a large number of troops inside, coupled with
effective defensive armament and agility. The other version was externally
identical to the standard AC, but had most of its mecha bay replaced with
command centers and generators for a miniature Reflex cannon. This version
served as command ship for fleets of ACs, and provided the heavy firepower
the ACs lacked, and, late in the war, served to unload an armored infantry
company in a desperate attempt to make the most of their dwindling
resources. The sudden appearance of a working Reflex Cannon on such a
small craft surprised the SC, who were used to the twin-boom design of
the SDF-1 and Zentraedi flagships and monitors, and were dismayed to
discover that the Masters had managed to create these powerful weapons
without using more than the standard weapon barrels. The one disadvantage
was the power drainage of the Reflex cannon, which was so high that the
firing rate was 4 salvos per hour. Even so, several North American cities
were hit by just such a blast in the closing days of the war.
Bioroids.
I. Dimensions:
(all)
Length: 2.2 meter.
Width : 3.0 meter.
Height: 7.0 meter.
Weight: 11.1 metric tons (Blue)
12.0 metric tons (Green, Red)
12.5 metric tons (Invid Fighter)
II. Type:
(all) one person all weather/environments ground combat
mecha.
III. Propulsion:
1 x Zorr'lev-12-DCr protoculture generator.
IV. Performance:
Level speed : 95 kph (running).
Maximum wading depth: 150 meter (no fighting capability).
Generator Endurance : 7 years in fully charged condition.
V. Sensory Systems:
One spherical phased array radar with surveillance modes, effective
range over 45 km.
Telescopic optics, a multi-band digital spherical camera system for
medium range all attitude infra-red imaging, optical and ultra-violet
band detection and tracking,
Multi-frequency laser ranger and designator,
Active/passive sensor jammers.
VI. Armament:
1 x Weapon Drum: Ion Beam/Pulse Cannon, fires ion discs at 4000 m/s,
impact energy is 11 mJ. Alternatively, the weapon drum can fire this
ion salvo as a particle beam. It can fire for up to 56 seconds in
automatic mode, after that limited to one burst/3 seconds, unless
sub-maximum rate of fire allows replenishment of the ready ion supply.
or:
1 x Bioroid Blaster (advanced derivative of weapon drum): One Ion
Beam/Pulse Cannon, fires ion discs at 4000 m/s, impact energy 15 mJ.
Alternatively, the weapon drum can fire this ion salvo as a particle
beam. It can fire for up to 73 seconds in automatic mode, after that
limited to one burst/3 seconds, unless sub-maximum rate of fire
allows replenishment of the ready ion supply.
VII. Armor:
NOTE: The Bioroids' advanced design made them exceedingly capable of
coping with battle damage, and the total protection afforded by the
Bioroid was hence more than the armor data would suggest.
(Blue): Full nuclear, biological and chemical protection, immunity from
hand fired solids and energy beams, shrapnel and other fragments.
Limited protection from heavier weaponry.
(Green): Full protection against chemical and biological warfare,
radiation shielded. Armor will stop all grenade/shell/mortar fragments,
energy beams and solids originating in hand-held weaponry. Reasonable
resistance against heavier weaponry.
(Red, Invid Fighter): Armor equal to that on the REF Gladiator. Armor
will stop all grenade/shell/mortar fragments, energy beams and solids
originating in hand-held weaponry. Excellent resistance against heavier,
combat-mecha mounted weapons. Full NBC protection.
VIII. Development:
The Bioroid mecha series is the most technologically advanced mecha
line to date. The series was developed as a general purpose mecha for the
Tirolian warrior clones, who formed the combat and guard troops directly
under the Robotech Masters themselves. The requirements for this mecha were
different than those for the Zentraedi mecha, for where the Zentraedi were
created to conquer or to destroy, the Bioroids were as much meant to police
and to protect, as to engage in military engagements.
The Scientist triumvirates then developed an anthropomorphic mecha,
which could carry armaments if needed in gun pods, and be equipped with an
anti-gravity Skysled if mobility was necessary. This gave the Bioroids a
very flexible configuration. In addition, the mecha was given the most
advanced control and other technologies available. The cockpit was built as
a sphere in which the pilot sat in a sort of yoga-attitude. Neural
interfaces were built into the material of the cockpit, and were capable of
rerouting the pilots motor controls to the Bioroid. Thus, the Bioroid was
'worn' as if it were the pilot's own body, greatly increasing reaction time.
All internal systems were made multiply redundant, to such a degree that
some SC officers have been known to say that only a direct hit to a vital
spot like the pilot or generator could stop a Bioroid. Any other hit would,
at most, slow it down. Needless to say, the Bioroid's sensor suite was
state of the art, while a long history of research had enabled the Masters
to equip their warriors with a rudimentary artificial sense, and with
projective telepathy.
There were four different series of Bioroids. Most common was the
standard combat Bioroid, always painted blue. This Bioroid had a reasonable
armor protection, but it was not the best available. The blue's armor was,
however, far cheaper to create than the armor on the other Bioroids, and
since the Masters were about as indifferent to their clone soldiers as to
their Zentraedi soldiers, the blue Bioroid was produced in great numbers at
relatively low expense. Because of the greater value of the clone officers
to the Masters, it was decided that these should be issued more durable
Bioroids than the standard blue. Thus the leader Bioroid was created, known
after its paint job as the green Bioroid. This Bioroid was one ton heavier
due to the improved armor protection, and thus also featured an enhanced
generator to keep the same level of performance. Production of this series
was rather limited, for quite soon after their introduction, the Scientists
developed an even better armor type, that was as light and thick as the
armor on the green Bioroid, but marginally cheaper to produce and better in
performance than the green's armor. Shortly afterwards, the well known
Bioroid Leader (painted red) was walking off the assembly lines. The green
leaders were kept in service, but were inferior in combat capacity to the
red Bioroids, and thus only used for secondary tasks (like guarding the
Masters' ships when the most red and blue Bioroids were not on board, or
guarding the less likely avenues of attack). The last Bioroid deserving
attention is the Invid Fighter. This Bioroid was based on the red Bioroid,
but equipped with half a ton of additional psionic relays. This enabled the
Bioroid pilot to remain in constant telepathic contact with his triumvirate
brothers, and made them act in concert with each other, greatly increasing
their combat effectiveness. This made them better suited to fight the large
numbers of Invid that were threatening to wipe out the Masters. The Invid
Fighters had one disadvantage, however: the remodeled head, with its extra
electronics, was more vulnerable to attack than the heads of the other
Bioroids, and destruction of the head meant destruction of the psionic link
between the clone-brothers, and often even of the entire Bioroid because of
a power surge from the remains of the head into the powerplant. Some
prototypes of what would become the Invid Fighter, sans the triumvirate-link
upgrades, were left on Tirol at the date of the Masters' departure for
Earth, and these saw service in the brief and unsuccessful defense of Tirol
by its citizens. However, the full Invid Fighter was a product of the
Second Robotech War, and mainly saw action against the Southern Cross, not
the Invid.
Addendum: Anti-gravity Skysled.
I. Dimensions:
length: 9.4 meter.
width : 4.1 meter.
weight: 8.4 metric ton.
II. Type:
one mecha transport sled.
III. Propulsion:
45 standard protoculture cells.
One anti-gravity system.
Two plasma turbines, max. output estimated at 0.9 MW.
IV. Performance:
max. atmospheric speed : 413 kph.
max. delta-v (space) : 1.5 kps with Bioroid.
max. cell endurance : 500 hours continuous use.
V. Sensory Systems:
One spherical phased array radar, effective range over 245 km.
A multi-band digital spherical camera system for medium range all
attitude infra-red imaging, optical and ultra-violet band detection and
tracking.
Active/passive broadband sensor jammers.
VI. Armament:
Two ion pulse cannons fire ion discs at 4000 m/s, impact energy equal to
20 MJ total (both firing together). Can fire for up to 120 seconds in
automatic mode, after that limited to one burst/3 seconds, unless sub-
maximum rate of fire allows replenishment of the ion supply.
VII. Armor:
Armor will stop all grenade/shell/mortar fragments, energy beams and
solids originating in hand-held weaponry. Reasonable resistance against
heavier weaponry.
VIII. Development:
The Bioroid mecha were fast, tough and hard-hitting, but they were
still basically a relatively immobile land-only mecha. The Scientist
Triumvirates briefly considered a strap-on booster much like the Zentraedi
Armored Vehicle, or the REF Beta fighter, but decided instead on the
skysled. The sled was far slower than the proposed booster, but since
aerial combat was covered by the Troop Carriers, this was considered
superfluous.
Each sled was equipped with powerful ion cannon, with, combined, enough
firepower to deal with any known mecha or small ship. In addition, the open
design would allow the Bioroid to fire its hand weapon at will, as well as
dramatically decreasing boarding/disembarking times. Other standard
equipment was a remote control circuit which allowed the Bioroid pilot to
send the sled to a safer place when he engaged in ground combat. He could
also use this system to summon his sled from the storage area on board a
Troop Carrier.
The skysled fulfilled all the expectations of its designers, and never
showed any significant design flaws.
QF-3000 E Ghost
A trans-atmosphere, unmanned, fighter jet called the "Ghost"
because it has no pilot. This all condition fighter utilizes reflex weaponry
and power systems like the Space Lancer II. Consequently, it is a robot fighter
that can identify, pursue, evade and attack enemy aircraft and missiles.
Being trans-atmosphere means that it can operate equally well in space or
atmosphere. It can take-off from the ground and, with the aid of special
booster jets, achieve low orbit at about 100 miles above the planet (1.0
g standard). Likewise, it can be launched from space and pursue an enemy
into the Planet's atmosphere without burning up upon reentry.
The QF-3000 Ghost drone series was designed to act as a supplement to the Valkyrie series Veritech and other fighters of the RDF. As such, it was equipped with a fusion turbine for long range atmospheric flight, and two hybrid ramjet/reaction engines as boosters for orbital insertion and extra bouts of speed. The drone did not have any wings, but instead relied on body lift to stay airborne. However, the craft was handicapped in its armament, as it only carried autocannons, and no missiles. This was done by design, as the drone technology was untested enough that most pilots did not want a powerful drone behind them, where it could fire missiles almost with no warning. The software designers had to admit that the drone's flight computer would fire missiles when it had a confirmed tracking solution, which could put non-discriminating missiles in airspace that might conceivably also be occupied by friendly planes. In such a situation, human pilots may or may not launch a missile, decided purely by instinct and experience in predicting friendly plane movements. The Ghost would fire always, or if this option was removed, not fire at all, but it would not discriminate the way a flesh and blood pilot would. This problem would not occur if the Ghost had only a cannon armament, which is what it eventually received. The short range to the hostile craft would make 'blue on blue' kills unlikely. However, the cannon armament was exceptionally powerful, using the same ammunition as the famous GU-11 gun pod mounted on the Valkyrie Veritech, so any gun duels would be quickly decided.
The Ghost was based on air bases, including the one on Macross
Island, on the Armor series orbital platforms and on the SDF-1 itself. However,
combat experience showed that the tactical usefulness of these craft was
doubtful, due to Zentraedi tactics and technology, and they were only used
in the first battles of the war, in patrol roles during the SDF-1's return
to Earth from the outer solar system, and in the Zentraedi Holocaust, when
all available fighters were sent out. However, any Ghost drone not yet destroyed
by Dolza's fleet was blown up in the detonation of Dolza's headquarters.
Later on, surviving drones were based on the Armor ships that had escaped
the Holocaust, but all were replaced by VAF-4s and decommissioned by the
time the REF folded for Tirol. This being said, the Ghost was still popular
with some pilots, who felt that the drones provided excellent fire support
in target-rich environments, as well as being good decoys when the piloted
planes were vastly outnumbered.
Before entering the battle the manned unit must decide which
tactic the ghost fighter will pursue:
1. Standoff - remain outside the conflict zone
2. Attack my target - ghost fighter will attack players target
4. Break and attack - ghost fighters will break formation and attack targets randomly
5. Any combination of these - however orders must be given to
each individual or groups of units
During combat it takes one full module to change the orders
to each individual or groups of units.
e.g. Before entering combat P.C breaks ghost fighters into two
groups : gold and silver. He orders gold to attack my target and silver attack
everything. In the middle of combat he decides to order gold, and silver
to break and attack. This action costs to modules - one for gold and one
for silver.
Ghost
Total length : 16.0 meter
Total height : 6.3 meter
Total width : 7.2 meter
Total dry weight: 12 metric tons
Propulsion.
QF-3000x:
1 x FF-2001-4 Fusion turbine in tail section.
2 x Rocketdyne DRaE-3 ramjet/reaction engine in tail section.
8 x protoculture cell for power generation.
Performance.
QF-3000E Ghost:
maximum speed (atmosphere): 5272 kph @ high altitude.
: 1200 kph @ sea level.
maximum climb rate : >33,000 meter/minute.
range (space) : delta-v limit of 75 kps.
powercell endurance : full function for 100 hours.
design-g limits : 20 g.
Electronics Suite:
Piloting Control System: 2 x Robotech Research Group mk3 Reflex (AI)
neural net system (Ghost only).
Radar System (all): Hughes APG-99 X-band pulse-doppler phased array,
providing spherical long-range detection and tracking of targets.
Optical tracking:
(Ghost): Thompson DOS-1900 multi-band digital camera
system, for medium range spherical UV, infra-red imaging and optical
band detection and tracking; Thompson LT-3 multi-frequency laser
ranger and designator. Zeiss TS-1D long range telescopic array for
visible/IR spectrum.
QF-3000X Ghost:
6 x GU-9 55mm single barrel autocannon; cannon fires APSSDS (Armor
Piercing Spin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot) and HESH-I (High Explosive
Squash Head-Incendiary) rounds at 250 rounds/minute. Each cannon has
an ammunition supply of 160 rounds. All cannons are side mounted,
three to each side.
Two missile bays with hatches mounted on the left and right side of the main fuselage.
Each bay can hold four long range missiles.
VII. Armor.
QF-3000X Ghost: Full nuclear and chemical protection, immunity from
hand fired solids and energy beams, shrapnel and other fragments.
Limited protection from heavier weaponry, adequate up to 30mm
autocannon shells or equivalent.
RPG stats
MDC by location
Right and Left Thrusters - 75 each
*Main Body - 100
Right and Left Missile bays - 50 each
* depleting the main body will destroy the mecha, furthermore
the normal penalties for a shadow cloaking device apply.
Bonuses: +1 to strike, +2 to dodge, 4 h to h
Weapons:
1) Three Auto Cannons on either side of the fighter for a total
of six. All three fire simultaneously.
Mega-Damage: 6d6 for a short burst, 2d6*10 for a long burst, can fire both side simutaneously but the normal -2 to strike with the second weapon applies
Rate of fire: 24 in a long burst and 12 in a short burst.
Number of attacks: Equal to the number of hand to hand attacks
Range: 4000 ft(1200 m) in atmosphere or double in space
Payload: 960 round total
2) Long range missile launchers. Each missile bay can hold 4
long range missiles for a total of 8.