The Strider Battleoid

History

Designed as a mobile watchtower, the Strider battleoid was manufactured by Danforth Galactic under contract to the PLIN starting in GSC 925. The design was widely used by Planetary League garrison forces across the galaxy. Striders were fielded by both sides in the Great Reckoning. Production continued through the end of that war and continued well into the Imperial era after Danforth had been subsumed by the Holy Empire of Man.

Striders remained in service throughout Era-2 due to their low production cost. Several variants became popular and helped the longevity of the design.

The Strider was so cheap to produce and so prolifically distributed, that most militaries in the galaxy ended up with at least a few.

Capabilities and Specifications

The Strider was designed to be fast and light, sporting a minimum of armor, its defenses were centered on an advanced sensor suite and exceptional ground speed. The Strider was often deployed to areas with soft terrain, such as swamps, sandy deserts, and snowy polar areas. Because of this, it was designed to be relatively lightweight, with especially wide feet that helped prevent it from sinking in.

The Strider’s load-out was designed for base defense. Its main armament was a pair of anti-aircraft lasers mounted in the torso. It dealt with ground-based threats with an under-slung light railgun turret. In place of arms, the Strider possessed a pair of point-defense laser turrets to deal with drones, guided munitions, and the like.

The Strider was designed to serve the role of a mobile watchtower, and was 16 meters tall with the main sensor array mounted at its apex to serve that purpose.

Options and Variants

Danforth Galactic offered a number of options and variations of the basic Strider design.

The most popular options that most Striders possessed were a Spotlight attachment and a pair of light drone-racks that were highly valuable in increasing the unit’s sensor range and making it more suitable to patrolling deserted areas alone.

The most common variants were a set of specialization options for working in particular environments. Most of these were represented by the Snow-Strider, the Sand-Strider, and the Swamp-Strider.

Retribution-class battleoid

The Retribution class battleoid was used extensively by the Holy Empire of Man during the War of the Empires.  Designed as a terror and siege weapon, its main armament was a heavy repeating plasma-bolt thrower mounted on its right arm. Its standard configuration also included retractable missile pods, and a large spotlight.  The Retribution also had a number of mounting points for optional equipment.  

The John-Henry industrial battleoid

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Specs

Height: 10 meters(32'9")

Width at shoulders: 4 meters(13'1")

Length (cockpit):  3 meters(9'10")

Operating mass: 60 metric tons (66 tons)

Maximum walking speed: 40kph (25mph)

Power system:  Two hot-swappable graphene-glucose hypercapacitors (mounted on either side of the cockpit)

Power system output: 10000kw

History

The ironically named John-Henry (named after the folk hero ) was built and sold by Ares Systems during Era-1, primarily as a piece of heavy construction equipment.  The relatively simple, modular design led to a host of modified versions for specific tasks.  The John Henry was a top-seller, and Ares Systems reliably redesigned it with new features and improvements about once a decade throughout its manufacturing lifespan.

The popular shipyard variant was outfitted with maneuvering jets, a fully environmentally-sealed cockpit (with storage for enough consumables to supply one pilot for 24 hours), and two heavy-duty electromagnets in the soles of the feet.

The versatility of its design, and heavy-duty construction also made the John-Henry a useful (if slow-moving) improvised defensive unit in combat situations.  Many of the small states that sprung up around the fringes of the Planetary League included John-Henries in their armed forces.  John-Henries were also a common armament for various the pockets of resistance and rebellion that opposed the Holy Empire of Man during Era-2.

Convergence Scout Walker

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A picnic ruined by a Convergence Scout Walker

The Convergence scout walker is first and foremost a terror weapon, designed to strike fear into the hearts of those unlucky enough to encounter it.  Deployed most heavily during the first and second Convergence wars, it was the harbinger and vanguard of the main battle forces of the Convergence. 

Technically, the scout walker is a Battleoid, based on height (about 15 meters) and movement type (walker); however, it varies from most battleoids insofar that it is piloted by six Greys joined in a common mind.  Typically, one pilot controls each of the main functions of the vehicle: the legs, the grabbers/ hands, the weaponry, communications, sensors, and navigation.

The control scheme of this vehicle does not lend itself to use by non-grey crews, although on rare occasions, captured scout-walkers have been retrofitted for use by non-grey pilots.  This was typically used as an infiltration tactic, and for every successful attempt, there were a large number of failures.

Armament

The Convergence Scout Walker is typically armed with a large infrared laser ("heat ray") powerful enough to incinerate most organic targets instantly, and ignite most conventional inorganic targets.  This weapon is generally used as a defensive measure, when the crew feels threatened. 

Common secondary weapons are typically non-lethal, and include tractor-beams, sonic cannons, and pulsed photonic emitters.  These are intended to instill panic and confusion in the walker's victims.

History

The Convergence scout walker was based on the design of the civil defense battleoid.  When the Convergence broke away from the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, they took several civil defense battleoids with them, and many greys had experience with those machines from their time as scavengers and trash collectors in the empire.

Battleoids

Description

Battleoids are large (between 5 and 20 meters in height), piloted walking vehicles.  In contrast, suits of powered armor  are worn like clothing, and are typically less than 5 Meters tall.  Their larger cousins, the Titans, are usually over 25 meters tall, and are always piloted by a crew as opposed to the single pilot of a battleoid. 

Battleoids are commonly used in warfare where they combine the flexibility of infantry with the firepower and durability of an armored vehicle, as well as a big advantage in size.  Battleoids also have peaceful uses, primarily in heavy construction and civil engineering functions.  Battleoids typically have fully sealed life-support systems, and find use in a variety of hostile environments from underwater to deep space.

There are two main types of control systems for a battleoid.  The first is used in most mass-produced models, and has a traditional cockpit with control panels, heads-up displays, and a pilot's seat.  This control scheme relies on artificial intelligence algorithms for most of the coordination and agility needed to perform its tasks.  The other control scheme interfaces directly with the pilot's nervous system, and is often found in high-end or custom-built battleoids.  These units are typically tailored to their pilots, and give much more precise control than the standard interface.  The trade-off of better control is the risk of feedback to the pilot if the battleoid's systems are damaged.  Also, there is further risk of damage to the pilot in the event that he or she needs to eject out of the cockpit while still engaged with the neural link.  Elite warriors often die with their machines, rather than ejecting in cases of catastrophic damage.

History

The first battleoids were developed for entertainment.  They crushed cars, breathed fire, and fought each other in packed arenas for the amusement of an audience.  Later, the design was adapted to use in construction and earth-moving, before making its way into the military.

Types of Battleoid

The Empire of 1,000,000 Suns uses civil-defense battleoids to protect cities.

The Convergence Scout Walker is a fearsome terror-weapon.

The John-Henry is a heavy-duty battleoid designed for construction applications.

The Holy Empire of Man used the Retribution-class battleoid extensively in military operations.

The Strider was made by Danforth Galactic and widely used across the galaxy as a mobile watchtower.

Famous Battleoids

Shinigami is a legendary battleoid that was built in the E1MS, used by pirates during Era-1, and rebels during Era-2.