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(Okay, I've been going over in my head various groups that would add 'flavour' to my setting since I first started actually writing it out. In the spirit of Shadowrun's old Target:UCAS, I decided to write up a series of entries upon threats to the UEG written as if they are 'in-character'. Some, naturally, will be mortal enemies of the UEG while others will be merely background threats. This first entry was inspired by the old Robotech Art 1/Robotech 1st Edition RPG entry for the Desert Squad, with a dash of The Dirty Dozen thrown in for good measure. The idea was to take the French Foreign Legion element and run with it as far as it could go. The Tiger Battalion is based, loosely, upon the CS Army's Louisiana 1st Special Battalion, aka Wheat's Tiger Zouaves, from the American Civil War.)


Threat Level: Minimal; Nominally Allied Force
Nicknames: Wasters, Wasties, Rad-boys, Zoners
Theatres of Operation: NORTHAMWAR (North American Wasteland Region), SOUTHAMWAR, AUSWAR, AFWAR, ASWAR, ANTWAR

In the months following The First Rain of Death, the shattered remains of the United Earth Multinational Forces had to organize and equip groups of soldiers to enter the deadly wastelands scattered across the planet. The resulting casualties from fatigue, T'sentraeti forces, radiation poisoning and medical trauma overwhelmed all but the most hardy. Supreme Commander Glovalksky felt the situation was entirely unacceptable. It was on the suggestion of Breetai Tul that Glovalsky decided to recruit on the model of the old French Foreign Legion and the 18th/19th Century German Freikorps.

There were a number of prisoners being held by the UEG from within their own ranks who were offered a pardon in exchange for entry into the Corps. In addition, a number of former Anti-Unification League personnel as well as disgraced Private Military Contractors were offered amnesty in exchange for service. Breetai Tul turned over a large number of dissident T'sentraeti who accepted enlistment in lieu of execution. Finally, to swell the ranks even more, non-criminals could enter service in exchange for a large bounty (usually land, seed and equipment for farming or berth space on a colony ship). Depending upon the severity of circumstances, a term of enlistment could vary from 2 years up to 25 years. Despite the dangers, the ranks of the Wasteland Corps grew. After the re-establishment of the AUL and start of the NACPS, the Wasteland Corps remained a neutral force across the planet as enlistees were forbidden from taking up arms in any new Anti-Unification conflict. True to its founding, the Wasteland Corps remained a non-political entity concerned only with patrolling the wastes to prevent T'sentraeti forces from overrunning the planet.

The average Waster is a hard-bitten individual and generally inured to the rough and ready life necessary. While they come from all walks of life, the overwhelming majority were serious criminals often times had murder charges hanging over their heads. Borderline anti-social personality disorder is a common enough diagnosis that it almost goes without saying that Wasters don't play nice with others. Many of them love getting down and dirty in fights, carrying all manner of non-standard weaponry. They especially favor vibro-blades, hand axes, batons and other implements of close quarters combat. While the Wolverine Assault Rifle is standard issue, most carry the FAL-2, SAL-9 or even the T'sentraeti 7.62mm Blaster Carbine.

Among the most renowned and/or infamous (depending upon your point of view) was the Tiger Battalion that worked in conjunction with The Southern Cross Group in South America. They were named as such due to the camouflage pattern scheme that aided them in blending into their surroundings. At least one Southern Cross officer remarked, after the battalion took down a T'sentraeti regiment, that they certainly 'fought like demonic tigers' to accomplish their goal. The name stuck and while it suffered a high attrition rate, the Tiger Battalion won for itself a lasting place in the hearts of many humans.

Given the natures of many of the recruits for the Wasteland Corps, each Platoon was paired with a specialized volunteer unit of the Global & Military Police's Operations Directorate and UEF Army Armoured Corps personnel. The GMP personnel acted as a check on the Wasters to remind them they were on a short leash while the Army personnel were the drivers, gunners and commanders on the various armored vehicles that transported the platoon. On paper, a Wasteland Platoon consisted of some 38 Wasters, 12 GMP guards, 12 Army personnel, and 2 Waster NCOs and 1 Waster Officer. Each Platoon was assigned 4 Janissary AIFVs and 3 M-305 Light Patrol Vehicles. Given the fact that the UEF was stretched thin at the best of times, most Waster units covered a far larger area of operation than would normally be the case. Even at their height of operation during the latter part of The Malcontent Uprisings, there was never more than a Regiment operating on any single continent.

While it was rare for a Wasteland Corps unit to mutiny, it did occasionally occur. In each and every case, the offending unit was hunted down by their fellow Wasters and captured. Justice was swift and unmerciful. The captured unit would be assembled upon a parade ground surrounded by the entire Waster command from that Operational Area who stood in ranks upon either side of the condemned. Lots were drawn and an execution squad assembled to carry out the grim ritual. The entire assembled command would watch as the mutineers were shot. In many ways it was akin to the ancient Roman Legion practice of Decimation.

While the Wasteland Corps steadily decreased in importance in the years following The Malcontent Uprisings it never was formally disbanded. A number of Waster units fought against demobilized Tirolian forces following the 2nd Robotech War. It was only during The Invid Invasion that the Wasteland Corps was actually called into service as a full fledged combat force where they distinguished themselves. The Tiger Battalion, alone of the Wasteland Corps, was drafted into service for the Robotech Expeditionary Force where it traveled across the stars to root out Invid forces on hostile worlds.

Hmmm...interesting, and well-formated entry. Will be watching this thread with interest.

(This next entry, naturally, was inspired by the line from Half Moon where Colonel Rochelle speculates that the forces landed at SX.83 could be space pirates. A dash of Wrath of Khan's Botany Bay survival on Ceti Alpha 5 for was added for good measure. The planet they were forced upon is based on the book Aliens in Space: An illustrated guide to the inhabited Galaxy final entry called Hades. You can find these books, by Steven Crowley, from time to time. All my copies were destroyed, so I need to hunt them down one of these days when things get better. The tactic of using the Tel'Grau to fasten to the hull of a ship is directly from the Stingers used to fasten to Victor Foxtrot Sixty in The Malcontent Uprisings comic. Anyway, here we go.)



Threat Level: Very High; Commerce Raiders
Nicknames: None at present
Heraldry: Fiery Demon Drake
Theatre of Operations: Orion Spur Earth Colonial Periphery (pre-2084)

Penal Colony Algol/Beta Persei 3 was the first exo-solar colony specifically established to house the Earth's worst criminals. Since the death penalty was considered too harsh in the post-Rain of Death period, excepting for T'sentraeti Malcontents and the rare mutinous Wasteland Corps, the UEG decided exile would be the most expedient. An M-class planet had been discovered in the Algol star system but was declared off-limits following the loss of almost the entire 20-man Planetary Survey Group science team. In the official report submitted to the UEG Colony Board for review, the survey team leader (among the two survivors) labeled the planet "the closest thing to Hades this side of the grave". As it was, Hades became the natural choice for the Earth's worst to tame.

Instead of a prison with a stockade and wire to keep the prisoners inside, a single Elohim-class Modular Colony Ship was outfitted with what was necessary for basic survival of the 20,000 prisoners locked in cryo-suspension. No provision was made for an orbital elevator, skyhook nor a colony 'lifeboat'. The trip was considered one way. Any who survived the harsh and unforgiving planet would be left to rot. One of the few concessions made for the benefit of the prisoners was the inclusion of one Wolverine Assault Rifle and ammunition, including SLAP rounds, for each colonist. A facility for construction of new weapons was also included.

In the first year alone, the Penal Colony Hades was pared down from 20,000 to 15,000 due to illnesses that no medicine could cure as well as the significantly deadly fauna such as the red-skinned proto-Dimetrodon Demon Drake. The only blessing had out of the harsh world was much of the native flora was as edible as Earth's. As often happens, the colonists broke into smaller and smaller groups, dispersing into the landscape. Small fortified enclaves sprang up, each one consisting of a wooden stockade for defense of several farms. Amazingly there was little in the way of warfare between the various farmsteads as the few times such incidents broke out the survivors rarely survived as they were set upon by packs of Demon Drakes. These voracious creatures were enhanced by the fact that their hardened skin could even shrug off a full burst from a Wolverine Assault Rifle loaded with SLAP rounds.

It is likely that over time the penal colony would have completely perished had not fate seemingly intervened. Unknown to the colonist was the fact that Hades happened to be a forward staging area and supply point for the Boliar Fleet during their war with the UEG. It was in the latter months of that conflict that 2 Boliar Tou Redir-class Frigates and their support elements landed to resupply themselves. Over one hundred colonial foraging parties managed to converge upon the landing area when they saw the ships land. Quickly an assault was planned and executed that overwhelmed the T'sentraeti before they could lift off. Of the four thousand colonists that took part in the ambush, only five hundred survived. However among those five hundred almost half were former UEF personnel who knew the operation of starships and mecha. Soon enough, the remaining colonists were drawn into the T'sentraeti's base perimeter to begin training.

Among the mecha seized were a number of Tel'Grau Armored Aerospace Battloids and a full squadron of 24 Dural Fighter Pods. In addition to the Tou Redir's, 2 'Crab Pot' Dropships filled with mecha and supplies gave the Void Demons the tools necessary to seize not only targets in space but also planetary ones as well. Over their first year of operation they added a number of small craft such as shuttles and light freighters. They mostly limited their targets to colonies near the periphery (100 to 120 light years from Earth). It was only in their second year of operation that they moved further afield, going so far as to take down several T'sentraeti straggler groups from the Boliar Fleet.

Although they varied operations greatly, they did use something akin to standard tactics in many instances. A target would usually get a sensors hit on a small group of high speed mecha approaching from multiple directions. The target usually tried to break out from the encirclement and right into one of the waiting Void Demon warships. Once it was cornered, a flight of six Tel'Grau Battloids would approach and fire their grapnels onto the hull to ensure that if it made a jump they would be able to hold onto the prize. Most times the crew was subdued and set down upon the nearest M-class planet with a lifeboat. Usually only Space Patrol and Pioneer Mission crews were killed as they resisted to the last.

At the height of their power, during The Invid Occupation, the Void Demons fleet consisted of 4 Tou Redir frigates, 1 UEG Corsair-class Corvette and 1 UEG Garshark-class Assault Frigate. Their planetary assault forces consisted of five Crab Pot Dropships and three Horizon-class Dive Transatmospheric Troop Shuttles. The single largest target of their predations was the Non-Aligned Nephilim-class Colony Ship Orion. It was the last target where they unleashed several packs of apparently domesticated Demon Drakes upon the unsuspecting colonists.

It was about the time of the Second Battle of Reflex Point that the Void Demons disappeared. It was believed for a time that they may have been destroyed by a T'sentraeti force that they tangled with beyond the Periphery. It was during this period that troops from The Pioneer Mission operating in the area determined that the Void Demons had come from Hades when the old T'sentraeti base camp was discovered.

Addendum 2086: During the War with the Haydonites, the Void Demons were sighted tangling with an Omicron-class Cruiser. As of this time there have been no sightings of commerce raiders matching their descriptions afflicting the colonies. Speculation is that with the return of the Expeditionary Forces from Tirol and the increased presence of Breetai Tul's fleet that the Void Demons have moved further afield.

(Okay, here is one that people who read the old comics/novels should recognize. Naturally, I've put my own spin on it as my ideas on Colonization in Alternate Robotech have changed over time. Given the discussions over the Angel/Archangel timeline, I decided the large Nephilim-class lightly armed/armored colony vessels would follow the modular Elohim-class prior to the deployment of the Angel-class Armored Colony ships. And no, the Nephilim-class would not look like the Megaroad-class since they have an esoteric shape making it incapable, to the best of my knowledge, of landing planetside in anything but a body of water. The Nephilim would have a flat bottom and look more akin to the Archangel-class but with a far longer forward end and an open city-scape 'dome'. The idea of a mobile SLMH Refinery Ship came up when I considered that some of these ships might have to travel for years on end before reaching their destinations. Also the heraldry isn't really supposed to look like that of House Steiner-Davion. Many thanks to Colonel Wolfe for the idea of garrisoning troops to protect the massive colony ships and the eventual evolution of city-states having a ready means of fleeing the planet during the 2nd Robotech War.)



Threat Level: Minimal; Non-Aligned Colonization Program
Nicknames: Spacers, Spacecases
Heraldry: Human hand grasping an 8-rayed Star
Area of Operations: South America - Launch City & Earth-Lunar L5 Facility; Scutum-Centaurus Arm aprox. 15,000ly

The Elohim-class Modular Colonization Vessels proved quite capable of meeting the parameters for the creation of human settlement on an alien world in the initial colonization wave from Earth. Those who undertook the rigors of travel in deep space via cryo-suspension to be awakened when their destination was reached were naturally the best and brightest mankind could offer. However, it was noted that mass colonization would be nearly impossible using the Elohim as the majority of humans would simply not be capable of the mental and physical strain necessary to undertake such a journey. Planning began on a series of large lightly armed and armored colony ships that would allow for colonists to live relatively normal lives while in-transit. This would make them capable of going further into deep space when attended by support vessels such as tenders and at least one SLMH refinery ship.

Among the bright new crop of engineering and technical teams cobbled together to make this happen were Karen Napperson and Eric Baudel. It was Napperson's design that eventually was settled upon as the 3.5 kilometer long Nephilim-class Long Endurance Colony Ship. Baudel's design for the Wigner/Huntington-class SLMH Refinery Ship was chosen after the requirement of the colony vessel having large SLMH reserves on hand was added. Soon enough, the two became the prime movers behind the project.

Whereas the Elohim-class had been constructed in low-gravity gantries next to Moon Base Luna, the Nephilim-class was built planetside. While this increased the construction time and cost, it was considered more economical in the long run as it would save on the logistics of loading colonists and materiel. A total of 10 of these new ships were initially planned. As it would turn out, it was a stroke of fortune that the initial ships under construction were far enough away from targets of The Rain of Death that they survived intact.

In the months following the bombardment, Napperson and Baudel worked along with their crews to complete as many of the ships as possible. Supreme Commander Glovalsky stationed several thousand UEMNF troops, both mecha and motorized infantry, to protect each ship and prevent their seizure by any demobilized T'sentraeti hostiles. Over the years the garrisoning of troops to protect the UEG's construction facilities became commonplace. This practice eventually lead to many of the city-states within the UEG to construct colony ships nearby so as to be prepared in case a planetary evacuation was ever called.

After the first production run of 10 colony ships were built, Napperson and Baudel left for the Southlands. There they gathered together a small community of like-minded individuals who wanted to open colonization to all humans and not simply those aligned with the UEG, AUL or NACPS. The media soon dubbed them The Starchildren. It was during the turbulent Malcontent Uprisings that they founded Launch City to fulfill their dreams. Relying upon their technical prowess garnered during the Nephilim constructions they set about building as many of the massive Long Endurance Colony Ships as quickly as they could. Except for improved technology, the colony ships were identical to the Nephilim-class being used by the UEG. The Proteus Group captured a Near-Earth Asteroid, moved to the Earth-Lunar L5, hollowed out and turned into construction facility in exchange for exclusive rights to fabricate the mobile SLMH refineries to be used by Starchildren colony fleets.

Like its counterparts in the UEG, Launch City was a community built around the construction/launch facilities. Private donations kept The Starchildren operating, though they were perpetually on the edge of being in the red during their whole time at Launch City. As soon as ships were ready, crewed with personnel and colonists, they were launched and moved to the L5 Facility. As soon as tenders and additional colony ships were assembled (usually in a convoy of 3 to 4 Nephilim), the fleet would make its first FTL jump to the Earth Colonial Periphery approximately 100 light years from Earth. Since the use of Sekiton and Monopole Fuel Ore for space-folding were strictly controlled, The Starchildren only used the FTL Jump Engines (averaging 10 light years per day in non-relativistic travel time) while allocating enough of the precious fuels to allow for a single jump of up to 150 parsecs (average travel time is 1 day).

Launch City remained operational for well over a decade. The Starchildren constructed and launched nearly 20 colony ships before their home was overwhelmed by an Invid swarm in July of 2071. The last colony ships, Napperson's Hope V and Napperson's Ark I managed to lift off and make the rendezvous with the L5 facility. There they joined up with a flotilla of four Non-Aligned Nephilim before heading towards a pre-scouted planetary cluster Scutum-Centaurus Arm.

Eric Baudel and Karen Napperson were both aboard Napperson's Hope V, leading the last of their followers on a more than four year journey across the sea of stars before coming to safe harbor around a G-type Star named Bowman (Napperson's love of Arthur C. Clarke's fiction was well noted). The Starchildren colony of Napperson's Paradise was fully established within months of the six colony ships landing. It became the last link in a chain of colonies all founded by The Starchildren and other Non-Aligned groups in the Scutum-Centaurus Arm.

And I'm sure the ASC appreciated the brain drain that sucjh colonization efforts entailed for Earth and those left behind...
Field Marshal Leonard probably disliked it as much as he did the SDF-3 fiasco(as he saw it).

taalismn wrote:And I'm sure the ASC appreciated the brain drain that sucjh colonization efforts entailed for Earth and those left behind...
Field Marshal Leonard probably disliked it as much as he did the SDF-3 fiasco(as he saw it).

Nope. The Pioneer Mission was never out of contact with the Earth except during the 2nd Robotech War due to The Masters' jamming. Besides, the UEF has EVE running many things (Space Station Liberty, Moon Base Luna I) as well as The Proteus Group and Robotech Research Group. Nope, no brain drain. Sure, many veteran soldiers/spacers/airmen/MPs are rotated off the Earth to help clearing The Milky Way of the remains of Ba'Dolza's Grand Fleet, but there is constant rotation. Its only the 2nd Robotech War that interrupts that.

Rabid Southern Cross Fan wrote:

taalismn wrote:And I'm sure the ASC appreciated the brain drain that sucjh colonization efforts entailed for Earth and those left behind...
Field Marshal Leonard probably disliked it as much as he did the SDF-3 fiasco(as he saw it).

Nope. The Pioneer Mission was never out of contact with the Earth except during the 2nd Robotech War due to The Masters' jamming. Besides, the UEF has EVE running many things (Space Station Liberty, Moon Base Luna I) as well as The Proteus Group and Robotech Research Group. Nope, no brain drain. Sure, many veteran soldiers/spacers/airmen/MPs are rotated off the Earth to help clearing The Milky Way of the remains of Ba'Dolza's Grand Fleet, but there is constant rotation. Its only the 2nd Robotech War that interrupts that.

Hmmm....so FTL communications and Fold drives really do make for a smaller, tighter, galaxy, no?
Makes Alpha Centauri seem like a suburb...

taalismn wrote:Hmmm....so FTL communications and Fold drives really do make for a smaller, tighter, galaxy, no?
Makes Alpha Centauri seem like a suburb...

FTL Comm, FTL Jump Engines (Superluminal Drive) and Space Fold...yep. That's why I went with the idea from the original Tv series that The Masters came from outside the galaxy. The whole 'far off corner of the 4th Quadrant of the Known Universe' thing. I kinda figure that the whole 'Known Universe' is the Virgo Supercluster. The Local Group is the 4th Quadrant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_Supercluster

The Haydon are around, just beyond the Local Group. I'm also thinking The Invid Regess (with what is left of The Regent's tribe) flees Earth in 2084 and heads OUT of the Local Group altogether. That just leaves The Robotech Elders, The Disciples of Zor and The Yarrow (3rd tribe descended from the Forefathers of the Invid) as prime threats. Of course, Ba'Dolza's Grand Fleet (+/- 1,000,000 ships) is still limping around in The Milky Way, killing each other and attacking any passing source of SLMH or Monopole Fuel Ore. They don't know where Earth is exactly since EVE scrambled their computers before forcing them to initiate an emergency spacefold during the final battle of the 1st Robotech War.

[quote="Rabid Southern Cross FanThe Haydon are around, just beyond the Local Group. I'm also thinking The Invid Regess (with what is left of The Regent's tribe) flees Earth in 2084 and heads OUT of the Local Group altogether. That just leaves The Robotech Elders, The Disciples of Zor and The Yarrow (3rd tribe descended from the Forefathers of the Invid) as prime threats. Of course, Ba'Dolza's Grand Fleet (+/- 1,000,000 ships) is still limping around in The Milky Way, killing each other and attacking any passing source of SLMH or Monopole Fuel Ore. They don't know where Earth is exactly since EVE scrambled their computers before forcing them to initiate an emergency spacefold during the final battle of the 1st Robotech War.[/quote]


Bringing new meaning to the ad campaign by NuVerizon Hypercomm showing a ship in the middle of deep, deep space, a few distant galaxies (yes, they're enlarged for effect) in the distance, and the voice-over "Can you hear me now?"

I always love new info!

Rabid Southern Cross Fan very well done love it man!!!!!!!!!!!!keep it up!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice write-ups. Keep it up.

I agree. Nice write ups. Please keep them coming.