Robotech - Tales of the RDF

[Sherwood]

The normally cavernous mecha storage bays of Anton-17 are now cramped with the arrival of the extra teams being based out of the BSURP in anticipation of the frontal assault on the Malcontents. Taniya has a very busy few days ahead of her as she works to familiarize herself with the new Officers Pod enough to be competent with it to take the mecha into battle and be more than fumbling about the battlefield. Luckily for the leader of the Red Pandas, the attack is due to start in five days, just enough time to get the job done.


So at the moment, Anton-17 is overrun with animals. The other destroid squad calls themselves the Wolverines, and they seem anxious to take the fight to the Malcontents. There is also no shortage of takers for the new Defender that Connor turned down; everyone wants to be the first to pilot the new mecha. In the meantime, repairs on the outer wall continue as new landmines are laid out in the fields surrounding the base. All of that is considered to be a last line of defense, but it helped to stop the Malcontents once before, and Major Lang is not one for leaving anything to chance.


After a few days, Corporal Dorsey starts to come out of his shell and starts to get to know everyone on the team a bit better. It turns out that he is a sports fan, and is quite obsessed with basketball. Any time that a game is being broadcast over the radio or television, he can be found focused on the game in the rec room. Over the occasional beer, he starts to unwinds a bit, trying to get himself into the routine of a real posting as opposed to the structured life of being in his advanced training classes. True to his word, he seems fine with all the members of the Red Pandas around him, and even starts to crack a few jokes.

 

[Kaerri]

Sergeant Eadric Braidwood, Field Scientist


Eadric smiles at Connor. "To each their own, hey?" He falls quiet as Taniya interviews their new squadmate, and nods in approval. New he might be, but on first impression, Dorsey seems like a good man.


In their spare time over the next few days, Eadric seeks out Connor to compare red panda sketches to see what they can offer their staff sergeant as a team logo. Eadric favors a stylized drawing, but has sketched out a few other styles, and is open to what Connor has as well.

Spoiler

Photo credit: Panda Art

Photo credit: Red Panda Splatter

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Photo credit: http://orig08.deviantart.net/9267/f/2008/028/4/9/red_panda_by_willdrawforfood.jpg

 

[Purr]

Staff Sergeant Taniya

Spoiler

"There's no sensation to compare with this


Suspended animation


State of bliss


Can't keep my mind from the circling sky


Tongue-tied and twisted


Just an earthbound misfit


I..."


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Or if you prefer...


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Taniya continues to work in the Officer's Pod day and night. Her goal - to train and train until the entire machine is just one big extension of her own body, just like her Tomahawk, just like her Female Power Armor. All the while, she watches the rest of the Red Pandas, adding assistance wherever it looks like they may require it. Times like these, Taniya is reminded that she was mastering the ways of galactic war while half of her team were still trying to master potty-training. Others like Tolson and Dorsey were yet unborn. And yet, in all those violent years while Taniya was basically doing the only thing she knew, her Red Pandas were going through a great many experiences, human growing experiences that would boggle her mind and shake her to the core. She had respect for adult humans for the sheer amount of changes they had to go through "growing up."


Taniya prepares her squad and herself mercilessly, putting in every effort to challenge and greaten each of them, Dorsey included. When she allows them their recreation time, the Zentraedi ace stays in the cockpit - for her, the mastery of a new war machine is recreation. The times in the new cockpit are confusing, habit-altering, challenging, wonderful! It truly flew! So what if it could never break the sound barrier, much less enter space? She was off the ground with the planet and all of its wonders below her. Every time The Red Beast's body left the earth, Taniya's heart leaped with it. Her valiant soul had found wings again.


Taniya does not hesitate to keep on learning. She practices until the movements are second-nature and even further until the techniques are so ingrained they are forgotten in her mastery. Some things, she realizes, will take time to master, but the journey is a fun one - especially in the sky... =)


Meanwhile, she has the Red Panda Squadron's mecha painted with their new logo and she attempts to order matching patches for their armor and uniforms. If she can wing it ( =) ), she even orders a certain special item for McKinley which she leaves in his old Defender's cockpit for him to discover.

Spoiler

(Image credit: www.hixxysoft.com]

 

[Sherwood]

It takes a bit of cajoling of the supply sergeant to acquire the paints and fabric to make the logo for your mecha and uniforms, and the promise of owing a huge favor to get the red panda plush toy, but she is able to make it all happen. Your recent bit of celebrity doesn't hurt here, either. All in all, a good days work.


Taniya's work in the new destroids is paying off. The design was made with the a Zentraedi in mind, with the controls being very user friendly and quite intuitive. At the end of the week of intense training, you are confident that you can hold your own in a fight.


After a very long week of work on the new officers pod, Taniya looks up to realize that Anton-17 is gearing up for a fight with nearly double the normal mecha complement. The base is quite crowded with all the extra bodies, but everyone is putting up with the inconvenience with high spirits. Finally, the order fires out that the offensive will begin at 0400 the next day.


The various pilots gather in the mess hall for the mission briefing. "Ladies and gentlemen, today out our objective is simple. We are going to take out the last remaining ground based air defenses to open up the area for the air force to come in with fixed wing bombers and plaster the whole valley that the Malcontents are based in. Using stealth drones inserted by SEAL teams, we have the location of multiple anti aircraft turrets already locked in on your nav computers. As deadly as they are, they are less of a threat than the handful of artillery pods that we know are in the area, both light and heavy models. We also have confirmed that the High Lord Serena is on site, and her troops are going to fight to protect her with all they have." The major pauses as he puts up on the screen a map with known troop positions.


"There are hundreds of enemy troops, both micronized and full size. Do not ignore the human sized troops. They have enough heavy weapons to take down mecha with ease, so engage them as needed." He begins to highlight various regions of the valley, assigning different squads to them. "Wolverines, here is your kill box. Targets in this area are all yours. Red Pandas, here is your zone. Viper squad, your target zone is in your mecha computers. Keep your ears open for anyone that needs assistance and watch each other's backs.


We are going to go in there and we are going to conquer and kick some. Failure is not an option. Any questions?"

 

[Kaerri]

Sergeant Eadric Braidwood, Field Scientist


Eadric listens quietly. When the opportunity for questions arises, he glances towards Taniya and the rest of his squad to see if they have any. He has but one himself. "Do we know where Serena is, sir? Or just that she's somewhere at their base?"

 

[Sherwood]

"No. We do know that she has never submitted to being micronized, so she is still in her full size. I should not have to say that she is a priority target, and any and all effort must be made to take her out. I don't see it being possible for anyone to bring her in alive, and I suggest that you don't try. She is dangerous and slippery as a serpent, and is the driving force behind the Malcontents. If we remove her, the rest of the forces will flounder with no leader, and hopefully stop this pointless aggression against us."

 

[Purr]

Staff Sergeant Taniya


Earlier... Taniya goes into the requisition officer's debt quite willingly. "Name it and I will try."


Now... "You have mentioned a handful of light and heavy artillery pods as resistance. What other mecha are out there? We spotted Male Power armor on our first sortie there. It can't be mostly infantry and micronized groups left to cause us this kind of preparation."


Once she has the Red Panda's zone-related information, Taniya shares it openly with the rest of her squad. She points out the lay of the land, ambush points, places to retreat to and so on. This she especially does for Dorsey.

 

[Sherwood]

"There are dozens of standard battle pods, along with a small handful of both officer pods and female powered armor on site, so there are plenty of targets of opportunity to engage. Remember, you are not going in alone. This is a mix of both air and ground forces attacking from multiple directions at once to keep the Malcontents of their footing. I should also not need to remind you that the battle pods are very maneuverable, and are much faster than all of our ground based units. This makes them a real bitch to hit, but their thin armor is their weakness. Compared to your mecha, their armor is paper thin, giving them a real glass jaw.


Finally, keep your eyes open for Zentraedi wearing this logo." He shows a picture of an stylized RDF symbol. "Our allied Zentraedi will be wearing this as they go into the fight, so don't shoot them."

 

[Purr]

Staff Sergeant Taniya


"Allied Zentraedi?" Instantly, Taniya's curiosity is piqued. She raises her hand. "What are they piloting? How many are they and do they have their own group call-sign among us?"

 

[Sherwood]

The major glances down at his datapad before answering. "According to this, there is a team of six in the old style Officers Pod that have not been micronized, along with a group of foot soldiers that number fifteen, armed with GU-11 gun pods. The pilots in the Pods call themselves the Bata Revo Squad, apparently named for a hostile animal from another planet. There is no listed call-sign for the infantry team, but I'm sure that they do have one. Its probably a clerical error that hasn't been fixed. The Zentraedi allies are heading for a different insertion area, so you will not be side by side with them. Even so, their mecha have been equipped with IFF transponders that respond to RDF targeting computers, so as long as that is transmitting, you won't have to even see their unit crest to know that they are allies."

 

[Purr]

Staff Sergeant Taniya


Taniya displays a reassured grin. "That is excellent news, sir. I thank you for it." Taniya turns to her team. "Any other questions, Red Pandas?"

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Majority infantry or armored?" Connor asked. He would probably load up mixed rounds, but he would prefer to have them be the same so he could link his fire. Flak for majority infantry, tungsten for majority armored. Shotgun that would turn any soft target into paste, or slug that would punch a hole in anything.

 

[Sherwood]

"There are some dismounted infantry. They are not to be discounted, because the Malcontents do have access to heavy weapons strong enough to damage your mecha. The rule of thumb is, if it shoots at you, it is a valid target to be engaged and eliminate it."

 

[Sherwood]

With no other questions during the briefing, the major orders everyone out to their mecha to move out.


Later, everyone follows their start-up procedures, getting their destroids ready for the big fight. All systems show green, and shortly after that, the caravan of mecha starts out under the cover of darkness, using your infrared spotlights and cameras to be able to see. As you approach the remains of the smashed destroyer, you can see that fires still rage in the rubble of the old warship, lighting up the night sky for miles around. Under that eerie glow, the Earth forces prepare for the battle.


From her back seat position, Barbara gives the thumbs up to the team. "We are on countdown to advance, T-minus five minutes. All members of the Red Pandas are on line, and we are getting data feeds from the orbiting Tiger's Eye aircraft. IFF transponders are all on, and we have a virtual map of our strike area. We have two fixed AA guns in our strike area, plus whatever mobile units happen to wander our way. I see nothing keeping us from kicking butts and taking names, giving another notch in our belt!"


Heads up everyone. @Dannigan, @Beowulf, and @Kaerri, we are moving out. Initiative rolls, please.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"They won't be needing those AA guns." Connor says into the comms. "If I can get a sight on them, I'll light it up. packed tungsten for a reason." That reason being to punch through armored targets, but the added range was a benefit. And in the other arm had flak in it, less range but with an area explosion and shrapnel. First time he had mixed ammo types in his Defender, and he might fire the wrong ammo type when he meant to fire the other. But he was sure he'd get the hang of it rather quickly. "SHORAD going up. You're all welcome for the targeting assistance." he says as he does just that, and the SHORAD system springs into life.


[dice]19527[/dice]

 

[Kaerri]

Sergeant Eadric Braidwood, Field Scientist


Eadric inspects his new mech's controls one more time in this brief window they've been given. It's never too late to make sure you know where everything is! He particularly notes the controls for the new laser systems. They've got the longest range of any of his onboard weapons and will likely come into play first. He laughs at Connor's last comment. "And thankful we are, too!"


[dice]19591[/dice]

 

[Sherwood]

@Beowulf, don't forget that you have bonuses to initiative; two from your character and two more from your mecha for a total of +4


Still need a roll from @Dannigan, then I'll post the bad guys in you your area


7 - Eadric


5 - Connor

 

[Purr]

Staff Sergeant Taniya


Taniya loosened her muscles and took a deep breath in an effort to keep her mind sharp. "Tolson, keep an ear to suspected Malcontent bands and try to pick up any traffic. McKinley and Dorsey, keep eyes open for sudden fast-movers in the sky, Female Power Armor specifically. Braidwood, watch with me along the ground alternating with infrared. Their micronized people are likely carrying short-range gear in abundance, but I doubt they can hide their abundance of heat signatures."


"We are in their territory now. Ambush against us or our allies is imminent. So watch for it."


A moment later while her hands moved across her sensor panel, she adds, "Dorsey, you come to the Red Pandas at a hard time now. The destruction of the Malcontent destroyer has likely turned our foes high confidence into a cold, desperate desire for vengeance upon the RDF. These are warriors with their backs to the wall. I expect the Malcontents to strike as mercilessly as they are able, Commander Serena especially." She switches to infrared and scans close range for a few moments then back again.


"So sing when you see something, Red Pandas. The fiery gates to that realm called Hell your people have so long believed in are wide open this day... Let us fill them with the dead."


[dice]19669[/dice]

 

[Sherwood]

Barbara nods. "Understood. I have my ears open to all traffic in the area. Just watch your back out there, too."


Dorsey replies in his quiet voice, "No worries here, sergeant. I expect that the Malcontents will fight well, but we will do better."


I still need an initiative roll from @Dannigan

 

[Sherwood]

It is lucky for the Red Pandas that you caught the Malcontents by surprise. It may be just enough of an edge in the fight. Everyone gets a surprise action before moving into the regular initiative round.


Starting out, Doug calls out on the radio, "I'm targeting the first FPA with a missile barrage. Let's see how the new Tomahawk does in a fight!" He opens up his missile pods and launches a salvo of six short range missiles at the first malcontent unit. His shot goes straight and true, making the FPA blow up in a single hit.


@Dannigan and @Kaerri are up first, then @Beowulf


20 - AA battery 1


18 - battle pods 1-3


15 - officer pod 1-2


13 - Dorsey


12 - AA battery 2


8 - FPA 2


7 - Taniya


7 - Eadric


6 - battle pods 4-6


5 - Connor


4 - dismounted infantry


[dice]19670[/dice]

 

[Kaerri]

Sergeant Eadric Braidwood, Field Scientist


"On it, ma'am." Eadric flips the appropriate toggles, switching visual with infrared just frequently enough to let his eyes adjust to the different view and give their surroundings a good hard look before hitting the switch again. The team's vigilance is soon rewarded by the sight of the enemy, just moments before the enemy gains sight of them. He calls over the radio, "Good shooting, Dorsey! I'm on the second. Firing laser cannon." Suiting action to word, he lets fly with light-turned-weapon.

Spoiler

Shooting one blast of the M-1255 120mm Laser Cannon on his left shoulder. Includes +2 from SHORAD.


[dice]19681[/dice]

 

[Sherwood]

The shot into the female power armor is right on, but that is one of the most well armored units in the Zentraedi arsenal. The FPA is damaged but still active.


@Dannigan is up with Taniya


20 - AA battery 1


18 - battle pods 1-3


15 - officer pod 1-2


13 - Dorsey


12 - AA battery 2


8 - FPA 2 - damaged


7 - Taniya


7 - Eadric


6 - battle pods 4-6


5 - Connor


4 - dismounted infantry

 

[Purr]

Staff Sergeant Taniya


Lifting off just enough to make use of The Beast's flight and maneuverability, Taniya works with Braidwood to destroy the Female Power Armor as quickly as possible. It pleases me that my first target is the very type of unit that I flew for so long.


[dice]19724[/dice]

 

[Sherwood]

The missile blast against the other powered armor must have given the second pilot just enough warning that she was able to jet up into the sky and avoid the particle beam cannons from Taniya's new officer pod.


@Beowulf and @Kaerri are up in the surprise round


20 - AA battery 1


18 - battle pods 1-3


15 - officer pod 1-2


13 - Dorsey


12 - AA battery 2


8 - FPA 2 - damaged


7 - Taniya


7 - Eadric


6 - battle pods 4-6


5 - Connor


4 - dismounted infantry

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Now you done did goof." Connor said as he saw the FPA rocket into the air. Guess what? Things like that were exactly what the Defender was designed to take out. Flak was not an option for this, so a tungsten round it was then. Hopefully that would give the FPA pilot something to think about.


[dice]19747[/dice]