Reydala Tech
From Reydala
+ + + Commander's Transmission - Southfort ComAlpha - Date Log 3-32-9014 + + +
This is a notice of evacuation to all personnel residing or working at Southfort. Civilians report to Loading Docks A-D. Military personnel report to Docks E and F. Failure to comply with this order will result in the forfeit of your life. This is not a drill.
The Kaltian hounds are bounding over the hills. Southfort is in their eyes as they lick their slavering chops. The enemy is too many, though their blood is thin. Our Strength is not enough to blow them back, but we may just have enough strength left to blow them to hell.
Stand Riscana! This is not our hour of shame, This will be our birth of glory. Stand Riscana! Let the love you hold for my father King flow richly through your veins!
With this blast we will announce our pride With this blast we will begin our glorious march With this blast will we ride through the fields of the dead With this blast we will return home to Mother Riscain!
This is a notice of evacuation to all personnel residing or working at Southfort. Civilians report to Loading Docks A-D. Military personnel report to Docks E and F. Failure to comply with this order will result in the forfeit of your life. This is not a drill.
+ + + Transmission Repeats . . . + + +
Contents |
A Nation Consumed by War
9014
The battles that ravaged between Kaltia, Riscana, and Ohnben reached a boiling point after the Riscanan capital was all but destroyed overnight. Kaltian invaders fell upon the vulnerable Riscana, now bereft of much of its defenses. Ohnben too expanded its borders, ostensibly with a claim of aiding Riscanan refugees, but they made no disputes about their claims to new land. Within a month nearly ninety percent of the once proud nation had been set upon by it's ravening neighbors, the sole resistance was a solitary fortress in the middle of the barren wastes. Southfort, as it was aptly named, was once part of the great barrier that protected Riscana's southern flank.
Riscanan comm networks were all but destroyed following the capital's rupture, local emergency networks were quickly re-established, but news of the capital's fall did not reach Riscanan ears in time to allow the mustering of a proper defense. One by One, the last bastions of Riscana fell against the brunt of an advancing Kaltian army. A lone dragoon managed to escape from the approaching onslaught at Valeya, warning them of the approach of an impossibly vast Kaltian force from the north.
Though that direction was the facing of the capital, still no one had believed the capital had fallen. It was a Kaltian ruse, complete with a Kaltian surprise attack. Suspicions rose upon receiving battle data from the surviving scout, but the very idea of it was dismissed out of hand. What the commander of Southfort knew was that nearly thirty percent of the entire Kaltian army was enroute to his position and would reach him before nightfall. Time was short, action was needed. Young Commander James Erwoll, youngest son of the Riscanan throne and perhaps the loosest cannon among the royal line, was the current leading officer at Southfort. If action was needed, he would not hesitate to take it.
Southfort housed few civilians, it was primarily a military outpost. While the forces within the walls were formidable they numbered fewer than a third of what was currently approaching. Mounting a defense against such impossible odds was impossible. All civilian forces were evacuated into the 9 mobile battlefortresses docked at Southfort. All automated defenses were engaged, and all safety mechanisms were removed from the four reactors beneath the city. The solitary unreality generator, a relic of an ancient time that had recently returned to life, was rigged with every explosive Southfort could spare. Prince James' plan spelled the end of Southfort, but it would deny it to the enemy, and if the commander had anything to say about it, would take as many Kaltians as possible with the loss.
Prince James ordered most of the battleforts to take their civilian cargo to a known cave complex in the Barrens and to set up what rudimentary life support they could there. Of the remaining he took volunteers to join him on the front. The entirety of the remaining three pledged their allegiance without hesitation. The Kaltians came, and foolishly moved to take the abandoned fort after suffering minimal damage from the automated defenses. The Young James, barely twenty-seven years old, made the call without hesitation. The explosives were detonated, the unreality generator suffered a critical fault just as predicted. The energies fluxed into themselves, creating a massive unreality wave that ruptured through the Kaltian force while the Prince and his faithful ships watched from a safe distance.
The military campaign began under that purple sky what would later come to be known as the 'Rebellion of the Mad Prince'.
Riscana in the Modern World
Riscana has few cities still remaining in the wastes of the modern world, though it controls alot of territory thanks to mobile fortresses. The country remains a monarchy, though there is a branch of legislature that acts on behalf of the people and operates with the King's consent. Thanks to a series of uncharacteristically patient and wise monarchs, Riscana has enjoyed years of stability despite assaults upon all of its borders. The current king, Reeve, has made protection of his people and their planet the utmost priority, and is thus quite popular with the people. The Riscanan military acts solely as a defensive force the vast majority of the time. The rare offensive pushes are well calculated and usually aim at recovering lost technology for the good of the people.
Though necessarily confined to cities by the environment, individuals in Riscana have the largest span of civil liberties in the modern world. Civilians are free to choose any occupation they would like, say anything they would like, and as long as they do not harm others, act as they would like. To encourage national solidarity Riscana abolished its currency almost a century after the celestial exodus; all distributions of goods are handled by Regal dispensaries, appointed by the king. This means that all of Riscana's loyal citizens never need to worry about education, housing, food, or shelter (though the quality they are given hinges on the extent of their service to the kingdom). The king watches all of his dispensaries closely for corruption, and encourages civilians to speak if they have been wronged. Their own livelihood depends on the king's judgment, so most of the dispensaries endeavor to stay close to the king's will.
Military service in Riscana is optional, though a popular choice due to the numerous benefits for those who put on the uniform. The average recruit will see little fighting during his or her service time, the vast majority of military jobs are behind the scenes in logistics and technology. The north Kaltian front is perhaps the exception, though containing the most veteran of Riscanan troops. Many go to the Kaltian front after already swearing a Vendetta against Kaltia, usually related to the rival countries' many perceived war crimes.
Kaltia as a whole is viewed with disgust by the average Riscanan. Kaltia has been the primary aggressor against Riscanan forces for almost two centuries, countless Riscanan soldiers have died in the struggles and countless more taken prisoner and never seen again. Curiously enough, this hatred rarely passes to the Kaltians themselves. Kaltians living in Riscana (usually former prisoners of war or descendants of those prisoners) are treated with little ill-will so long as they swear loyalty to the King. Those that do refuse are usually returned to Kaltia relatively unharmed. Riscana is wary of Ohnben's technological progress during the last few decades, and has started to aggressively deter Ohnben salvage ships from known ruins, especially those within Riscanan lines.
The ancient city reactors springing to life in Riscana was hailed as a sign of divine providence by the common civilian, an affirmation that they were the just and the pure. The awakening of Riscana's prototypes only re-affirmed this belief. In reality, few had any idea as to the cause of the sudden re-activation, but Riscana was already making plans to capitalize upon it. The true outcome of those exploits is yet to be seen.
The Riscanan RF-18 Mobile Battlefortress
Gigantic mobile field bases that are at the center of every Riscanan military push. Laden with massive arrays of guns and missile platforms, they also serve as an all-purpose utility vehicle. Constructions, Repairs, Salvage, Mining of natural resources, Communications, or simply serving as a Shelter, the RF-18 was built with lasting versatility in mind. Despite it's ample armor and plentiful armament the vehicles are rarely thrown into direct fights, simply because they are too valuable to lose. Especially so for the mad prince.
Each Battlefortress contains enough docking space for up to fifteen dragoons or tanks for active projects. If necessary more can be stored within the cargo hold, but in general this space is reserved for more logistical concerns, such as keeping those fifteen dragoons or tanks refueled and well armed. The battlefortress was built around a core crew of 30, including 1 Fortress Master, 1 chief-subordinate, 3 gunnery officers, 1 navigation officer, 1 communications officer, 1 master engineer, 5 subordinate engineers, 1 chief medical officer, 2 medical technicians, and 15 Dragoon/Tank pilots. This crew can be expanded up toward fifty personnel without significant cramping concerns, assuming several quarters are converted into group barracks. Though crews of more than a hundred are possible, military capability begins to be sharply effected the more space is consumed and the ship's systems will have difficulty providing water and food reliably to so many for a prolonged service. In practice, the average battlefortress crew hovers at just above 46.
Though powered by enormous hydrogen-fusion engines, much of the engine's power goes toward just bearing the load of the battlefortress. The vehicles in practice are ponderously slow, though they have little concerns for terrain due to their size. Because of their speed, the battlefortresses need to rely on their Dragoon and tank contingent for defense and to fulfill objectives.
RF-18 Black Dagger
One of the eldest Fortresses active in the Southfort region, with well over 80 years of service and illustrious history of 24 commanders, one of which went on to become reagent, Prince James' grandfather. The prince himself now commands the vessel, which has been heavily modified and upgraded from the base to keep in line with current technologies. It remains one of the finest in the Riscanan fleet and is staffed by elite crews.
RF-18 Steel Hammer
One of the three fortresses to join under the Prince's banner of war, the Steel Hammer is no stranger to the Kaltian front. Its commander, Bernard Calico, grew up on the tank yards, in active military service since he was thirteen years of age. Now nearing his sixtieth year, the commander has an array of victories and medals that could turn any fortress master green. It is no exaggeration to say that there have been many years that the Steel Hammer has single-handedly defended the southern Kaltian front.
RF-18 Crimson Wind
Another of the fortresses to join the rebellion, the Crimson wind has undergone several modifications to its base form in order to give it speed that easily outpaces an average battlefortress. Its armor and armament are lighter, as are it's capacity, but with it's response time it has been quintessential at blunting many assaults of the southern fringe. The Crimson Wind will usually remain behind the front lines and move to reinforce any position that comes under attack. The crew are largely green, but their commander has shown considerable talent at ushering them to where they are best needed. Helmed (and and maintained) by Norah "Gears" Saxson (52) from the engineering bay, the Crimson wind has indisputably been one of the most valuable players in the Riscanan fleet, especially in years when attacks come relentlessly from both fronts.
RF-18 Hellbreach
Of the fortresses present at Southforth, the Hellbreach is by far the youngest. In fact, when the Prince's evacuation order had been declared, it was still undergoing finalization of it's construction. While the craft contains several modern amenities compared to the old dogs on the barrens, it's hastened exit from the port has left the crew with plenty of troubleshooting to perform on the field. That crew, directed by formerly retired fortress master Frederic Saav, have already shown every intention of keeping up with the rest of the fleet. Commander Saav, currently 71 years old, was an volunteer from the ranks of the evacuated Southfort civilians as the vessel had not even been assigned a proper commander.
KC-7 Spirit Knife
A Kaltian light cruiser salvaged by the crew of the black dagger following the southfort explosion. Repairs are still undergoing and much of the internal systems are still a mystery to the Riscanan engineers, but with ingenuity and persistence they have brought most of the vehicle's functions back in line. Compared to a battlefortress it is small and lacks several of the basic utilities most Riscanans would take for granted, however it benefits from Kaltian speed and especially a fuctioning Kaltian cloak field, giving the ship practically zero radar visibility. This was a tactical opportunity that the prince could not afford to pass up. The crew are mostly borrowed from other fortresses in the rebellion fleet, the commander is Edward Heims (37), the former chief-subordinate of the black dagger. The ship is still untested in battle, it is yet to seen if the gap in technology can be surmounted.
Riscanan Military Arsenal
Dragoons
Firefly R16
Scout R21
Swatter R15
Soldier R20
Barrus R23
Kalzbane R22
Kieran R24
Erwoll R25
Vehicles
RV-11 Lightning
Base Tonnage: 40 Tonnage for Armaments: 17.5 Armor: 9.5 Tons (of 9.5 possible) Movement: 5/8/0
Armaments: 1 AC/10 (FR) 2 Tons of Precision AC/10 Ammo 3 Machine Guns .5 Tons of Machine Gun Ammo 1 Anti-missile System 1 Ton of Anti-missile System Ammo
The lightning, and its sister vehicle the Thunderbolt are some of the oldest Riscanan tanks still on the field. The lightning was built as a front line tank, using the advancements of precision technology to cause serious threats with its heavy autocannon. It comes stocked with as much armor as the chassis can support and a anti-missile system to aid in its survival.
RV-12 Thunderbolt
Base Tonnage: 40 Tonnage for Armaments: 14.0 Armor: 7 Tons (of 9.5 possible) Movement: 5/8/0
Armaments: 1 LRM-15 Rack (FR) 2 Tons of LRM-15 Ammo 1 Thunderbolt 5 Missle Launcher (FR) 1 Ton of Thunderbolt Ammo
Wheras the lightning was built for the front lines, the Thunderbolt was built to hang back and rain long range missles upon the enemy. Thanks to advanced targeters, its primary missle rack has greater returns on every Salvo. The experimental Thunderbolt launcher complements its long range abilities well.
RV-17 Newman
Base Tonnage: 50 Tonnage for Armaments: 24.5 Armor: 10 Tons (of 12 possible) Movement: 4/6/0
Armaments: 1 Light Gauss Rifle (T) 2 Tons of Light Gauss Ammo 1 Machine Gun Array (3) (FR) .5 Tons of Machine Gun Ammo Streak SRM 6 (T) 2 Tons of Streak SRM 6 Ammo
Part of a newer front of Riscanan technology, the Newman went through many revisions before reaching a final design. Many refer to it as a heavier Lightning, though the Gauss rifle provides superb offense at both short and long ranges. The machine's sub weapons tear up weakened foes that attempt to close the distance.
RV-19 Rapier
Base Tonnage: 60 Tonnage for Armaments: 32.5 Armor: 13 Tons (of 14 possible) Movement: 3/5/0
Armaments: 1 Gauss Rifle (T) 2 Tons of Gauss Rifle Ammo 1 Rotary AC/2 (F) 2 Tons of Rotary AC/2 Ammo 1 Streak SRM 2 (F) 1 Ton of Streak SRM 2 Ammo 1 Anti-missile System 1 Ton of Anti-missile System Ammo
Displaying the evolution of Gauss Technology, the Rapier contains the largest barrel of any current Riscanan tank, capable of punching devastating holes in armor over large distances. Its subweapons, especially the mutli-barreled rotating auto-cannon 2 are designed to pepper those holes with projectiles, crippling opponents from the inside.
