"Whenever you find yourself on the side
of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) |
The Andaries Multi-Stage Mecha System is a multi-stage "clip on" system designed by a group of Southern Cross survivors, who managed to hold out against the Invid Storm for many years. (Until recently, this group was considered totally top-secret; Even the fact of their existence required Top-Secret Clearance, and was exclusive to Mecha R&D and REF Intelligence only.) They 'may' have had assistance from freedom fighters, Southern Crossers from Australia, and REF survivors/deserters. First seen in South Africa in 2058, they would attack in groups of 5 or more. If any of them lost it's outer shell, the rest of the group would cover his retreat, then withdraw themselves. The only reason the Invid eventually did determine what all was involved in this design was because in 2045 they set up an ambush- Using a convoy of Protoculture Cells, protected by Scouts and collaborators, they waited for the group to attack, then pounced on them with Pincers and Corg and Sera's Royal Command Battloids. Out of an attacking force of some 6 Andaries, only 2 were believed to have successfully escaped- 2 were completely destroyed, and the remaining 2 were partly captured (their pilots escaped in their softsuits, though they may not have survived). It's actually 4 systems, each one serving as a "layer" to the last. It consists of a suit of highly specialized power armor (the Syseta) that "clips into" a 40 foot robot (the Gardu), which then clips into a 65 foot robot (the Nalug), which finally clips into a 60 foot fighter ship (the Naulon).One must posses the lesser unit to operate a superior unit; i.e., one can not simply purchase a Naulon and fly it, they must posses ALL of the components to make the Naulon work.Each stage of the unit has its own, unique characteristics, and therefore qualifies as a separate combat elite in its own right, even though they all have the same stats.In every case, costs are listed as "Unknown." This is because the only effective way to build an Andaries is to take pre-existent Mecha, then modify these to become Andaries. It's called the 'AUSTIN  | XXL Aero-Space Dominance
Squadron; "The Dragons" |
|---|
Curse', the inability to build a deliberately-built Andaries, no matter HOW exactingly you copy a previous one. In one particular case, a Battler Cyclone, VHT, Glaug Officer's Battle Pod, and Gnerl Fighter Pod were combines, tested, and flew flawlessly. These were then measures, weighed, and tested with LIDAR, RADAR, MASER, lasers, stereoscopic scopes, thermal vision, MRI, even ultrasound, and a hyper-exacting replica was constructed. This one proceeded to disintegrate almost totally 10 seconds after clearing the launch tube, causing over a millioncredit damage to the ship, and critically injuring the pilot. (She can walk, but stiffly. She can not hear out of her left ear at all.) Because of this inability to standardize the design, the REF has almost no interest in the Andaries, though mercenaries, RDF's, and malconts field them in some numbers. The design has been on the black market for some time, but they can't mass produce the system any better than anyone else. Any unit 'manufactured' has invariably had one or more deathly flaw; Usually, it will catastrophically shut down all electrical systems at a highly inconvenient time. Salvaged units never seem to suffer this flaw, even with alterations in the specific design. It is believed the AUSTIN Curse traces back to the progenation of the original Naulon Zero-One flown by SE2 AUSTIN in November of 2040, though exactly how may never be clear. Generally the total costs of the complete unit are 250-300% of the normal cost of the Mecha.In recent years the REF has developed a small fleet of Andaries (144 ships total), that are technically "standardized"; In each case, the Mecha were individually converted, but each according to a specific plan. This probably wasn't the most efficient system, but it did work, and each ship was identical to the rest. The fleet was assigned to XXL Aero-Space Dominance Squadron, called "The Dragons." This plan however will not be repeated, as it was far too expensive to do so.For the full history of the Andaries, CLICK HERE |
