Sentinels Tactical Battle Pod Destroid - Fluffy

[Pouncer]

I finally got done with this write-up this morning. It still feels a bit rough but I figure I'll post it anyways. Yes, "Micronought" is a bad pun, I like it that way.

After this I can start the Officers Battle Pod.

“MICRONOUGHT” TACTICAL BATTLEPOD DESTROID

TBP-Z1A and B
UEEF Tactical Battlepod

With the introduction of Project Pioneer it became obvious that the UEEF had a specific problem. There was an army of Zentradi warriors, ready and willing to return to their home world and seek justice against their creators for the horrible crime of making the Zentradi nothing more than organic war machines with no concern for the well being of their creation. However there was still much mistrust of this ready army after the Zentradi uprisings and it was difficult to convince the UEEF command that they should be allowed to participate in the upcoming mission. An army of giant warriors as powerful as many of the mecha they piloted who might turn on their human allies didn’t sit well with many members of the UEEF.

Rick Hunter, though outranked by his wife to be, Lisa Hayes, took it as his personal mission to bring the Zentradi force into the UEEF forces proper. With his close personal relationships with Commander Breetai, Exedor and a number of other Zentradi warriors and officers, plus his experience in many co operative missions with the Zentradi, Rick was able to make an impassioned and effective case. Though he achieved his goal of integration he still had to compromise repeatedly with the less enthusiastic UEEF officers to get things done.

The first solution to the issues to be faced was the micronization of almost the entire Zentradi force, leaving only a handful of full sized Zentradi to operate the handful of Zentradi capitol ships that remained functional. However this created a new problem, the Zentradi warriors were now too small to pilot their old combat mecha. Hunter and Breetai didn’t consider this the greatest loss as most Zentradi mecha, while heavily armed, lacked sufficient protection for their pilots. While a handful of elite mostly female pilots had retrained to pilot veritech fighters and destroids most Zentradi would need mecha more suited to the training they had been given by the Robotech Masters.

The solution was Project Emu, building new Destroids based on the original Zentradi designs. The original design goals called for simply miniaturizing the designs with little change, but it quickly became obvious that the improvements being made in the designs would cause a great deal of cosmetic variation from the originals. Though somewhat surprised by the new look, the Zentradi quickly took to the new mecha, happy to have more capable and survivable versions of their familiar combat systems.

For the new Tactical Battlepod, nicknamed “Micronought” by the design team, work progressed quickly. The design team began by cutting over ten meters from the design’s height, smaller and lighter the Pods maintained nearly the same ground speed as the Regult while mounting more than double the armor protection of the original. The pod’s thruster system would give it jumping ability in gravity and spaceflight performance matching the original pod’s in zero G situations.

The biggest change was the addition of arms similar to those on the Gladiator. Zentradi pilots were more than happy for the add on as it increased their close combat abilities and allowed for carried weapons as well.

The biggest problems of the new build surprisingly came from the weapon systems, specifically the particle beam cannons. The original idea was to mount cannons from the large stockpile of weapons left over from the original Regults. However the Micronought’s smaller frame would force the cannons to be mounted statically to support them properly so the idea was thrown out. Next the cannons being developed for the Excalibur were looked at but their blocky power systems would cause a similar problem. In the end newly built, smaller versions of the particle cannons that matched the performance of the originals were mounted on the mecha.

What had been the top mounted rear lasers on the original pod were split up and mounted behind the shoulders for better coverage of the rear arc though the redesign caused cosmetic changes to the weapons..

The auto cannons, originally mounted on the lower front of the Regult were removed from the new design and replaced with a variant of the pulse laser turret developed for the Gladiator in order to prevent a problem with the internal magazine being too small to carry enough ammunition for extended combat.

Mounting working arms the Micronought was better equipped for melee combat but more importantly could carry an EU-13 beam cannon. The weapon was usually reserved for elite squadrons but could also be issued to Zentradi forces going into heavy combat situations.

The original design specifications also called for the arms to mount hard points capable of mounting MLOP and SRM pods. These were developed as there were no plans to develop a dedicated missile carrying version to replace either the light or heavy artillery versions of the Regult. After all, the new Destroids being developed would do a better job as missile carriers. [Editor’s note: Also there was a great deal of paranoia from many in the UEEF command about whom the Zentradi might turn such weapons upon.] Citing certain “concerns,” command decided the A model would be released without the hard points. Interestingly, due to a “production mix-up,” many B model arms with the hard points were produced and ended up on the Micronoughts in several elite squadrons including Breetai’s own personal force. Over time, perhaps due to the increasing influence of Rick Hunter, these “production mix-ups” continued, by the introduction of the Bioroid Interceptor almost seventy-five percent of surviving Micronoughts were B models.

Zentradi pilots were extremely impressed by the new cockpit, while it maintained the spirit of the original, simple and easy to use, streamlined for combat purposes, the designers had taken things even further. All of the weapon controls had been integrated, HOTAS style, into the main hand controls. The pilot rarely needed to take his hands off them while in combat. The main display had also been increased in size, providing more information more efficiently and effectively to the pilot in the Zentradi language.

The life support system had also been upgraded to the specs for the destroids and veritechs vastly improving pilot survival rates. Pilots also wore the same combat suits as the destroid pilots and later were upgraded to CVR-3 armors like the rest of the UEEF forces.

Although it took some retraining, all pilots were very happy to have the new ejection systems, both a zero-zero system for ejections within atmosphere and a cockpit capsule system for ejections in space. The value that their new commanders, especially the Hunters, placed on their lives increased their loyalty to the UEEF greatly.

Also notably no version of the Quel-Regult reconnaissance unit was produced as it was generally considered that veritechs could more capably fill the role.

Tactically battle pods operate in loose cluster formations of ten or so units rather than the four unit lances used by regular destroids. Typically the clusters have nine battle pods and one Marauder officers pod. While their tactics may seem quite chaotic the Zentradi forces are extremely disciplined with their roles in a formation ingrained into their persons, so there is always a reason for their actions, though it can be quite hard to see from the outside. These tactics are so ingrained that any given pilot can take a new position within a cluster with little or no time needed to adapt.

Working with the other destroids, the faster new models, is extremely rewarding to the Zentradi. The heavy hitting destroids provide heavy firepower and often “anchor” a position, freeing the Zentradi to do what they do best, move fast and hit hard. Zentradi prefer fast skirmishing and flanking maneuvers to more static battles and excel at their roles. They also enjoy a friendly rivalry with hovertank pilots as both forces serve similar roles.

Early integration with the regular destroid pilots had many difficulties on both sides, though time, training and real combat quickly changed all views. Many Zentradi saw destroids as slow, cumbersome “bricks,” but the willingness of human pilots to put themselves on the line and draw fire to their heavier units while giving as good as they got impressed the Zentradi greatly. Humans tended to see the Zentradi tactics as chaotic and crazy, however the Zentradi teamwork and the bravery they showed running into the teeth of enemy forces, not to mention the effectiveness of their tactics, quickly earned them respect from their human allies.

Almost all Battle Pods would be phased out with the introduction of the Bioroid Interceptor, leaving only a few “garrison” units active here and there. [Editor’s note: The “dwindling numbers” of Zentradi mecha was actually a publicity stunt to get production of the superior Bioroid Interceptor started. At the time there were still plenty of Micronoughts and Marauders to go around for the Zentradi, though the Tirolian pilots added to the allied forces balked at having to pilot battle pods when they felt their Bioroids were more capable.]

[jaymz]

Nice job

[Pouncer]

Nice job

Thanks.

-POUNCER

[ArmySGT.]

So the Zentraedi are the Cuirassiers, Hussars, Cossacks, the Light Brigade of the modern mecha tactics.

Acting as Cavalry they recon ahead of forces, flank the main force, and exploit gaps created by heavier units to attack into the enemies rear areas disrupting C3 and logistics.

[Pouncer]

So the Zentraedi are the Cuirassiers, Hussars, Cossacks, the Light Brigade of the modern mecha tactics.

Acting as Cavalry they recon ahead of forces, flank the main force, and exploit gaps created by heavier units to attack into the enemies rear areas disrupting C3 and logistics.

Yup, exactly. Zents live and breath highly mobile conflict and with the support of heavier destroids make for a very effective ground force.

-POUNCER