LittleFae

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

As far as I'm aware, we're still accepting new apps. Someone just joined like 2 days ago.~

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

@Dealdric
I assume by "40 Caliber" you meant 40mm. 40 cal is like... 10mm which makes it more machine-gun than autocannon and certainly not enough to punch through the kind of armor these things would have. =P

Welcome, though~ Sorry. I nit-pick. ^^;

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

I'd say more that Mechs are like... oh what are they called. Dreadnaughts? The things where they strap the body of a wounded soldier in a casket on the front of the machine that stomps around like a mech?

this thing

The cockpit of these things obviously dominates a significant portion of the size of the vehicle. But not quite so much that it'd be worn like powered armor, I imagine... since that was described separately in the interest check.

But yes. It's an interesting take. Looking forward to having fun with it.~

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

I'm ashamed to admit that I have no idea what you're talking about, being a fan of Tolkien's works.

But alright. Still works out fine- I imagine since Mechs are upright they'd push a little closer to 5 than 3, at least on larger variants. Works just fine for me. That's a good 16.5' tall. Reasonable size for something you could climb up into and stomp around in, quite mobile.

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

I imagined the scale of the 'mechs' in this were more akin to Hawken in size, just- less ice-skatey. At least based on the interest check page. I'm also keen to verify the size of mechs before we get too heavy into the IC.

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

Alright Character is in the CS tab and I've got my first IC post up. ♥

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

Fae Gaul

Name: Fae Gaul

Age: 27

Gender: Female.

Appearance: Standing at 5' 1" Fae is quite short. She has a trim athletic figure and looks rather fit for a pilot. Her short black hair is cut in an angled bob, and shimmers like obsidian at the right angle in the light. Fair skin is only occasionally interrupted by small, unremarkable dots much akin to very sparse freckles. A striking pair of brilliant blue eyes sit in her skull and have an almost judging quality to them upon her curved features. Modest would be a good way to describe her physical assets. A rather nicely rounded set of hips and rear with a bust barely big enough to fill a C-cup. Her trim waistline is toned and her limbs seem well exercised.

When the weather permits, she's often found in a simple tanktop and jeans with a pair of slightly oversized, worn leather boots tied to her feet. When in colder climates, she tends to simply add a fleece lined leather 'bomber' jacket and finger-less cotton gloves. She tends to wear a braided weave with a few feathers on the left side of her hair just in front of her ear. both ears are pierced up high on the back ridge with simple silver loops just slightly larger than the width of her ear. She wears a necklace made of nylon cord with a pewter triquetra dangling in front of her upper chest.

When geared up for battle she has a bulletproof vest on which would be under her jacket if she needs to wear it. She has pads that cover her thighs and knees, and two bulky composite plated boots for protection. Her helm has an open face, with two large bulges for ear-muff speakers. A mic and antenna sticks out on the left-hand side and a camera on the right. Most of the armor is a mix of forest olive and urban gray, her helm solid olive.

Faction: The New Ostburg Empire, specifically the noble house of Gaul. She is heir to the title of baroness and a small keep surrounded by fertile forests. Third in the line of succession.

Occupation: Contractor. Fae takes odd jobs where she can get them, usually expecting cash or valuables over land. She makes her living as a 'sellsword' of sorts, but with loyalty to gainful and trustworthy clients. Particularly those who are allies of her family.

Type of Mech: VA-13 "Lynx" Light Battlemech. The Lynx is a bit of a cross between "male" and "female" as far as 'mechs go. The sturdy, plated feet rest on "H" shaped support 'toes', the front ankle sporting a cowling 'shield' that protects the joint of the foot. The inverse style legs allow the 'mech to carry a heavier load while maintaining speed. The hips sport a 'turret' that allows the upper chassis to swivel 360' all around. The pilot sits just on top of the main torso rotor with their legs down in front of the central pivot. The cockpit is protected with roll-cage style support struts and anti-ballistic layers of laminate plating for good 270' visibiity. The power plant rests just behind the cabin, and is known to be somewhat poorly insulated, making the interior temperature very hot at times. The 'arms' are more mounting brackets for weapon pods than actual limbs. Two long antenna sticking up at an angle back from behind the cockpit are a distinct characteristic of the 'mech visually. The rough gunmetal gray paint is chipped in many places, accented with bits of olive green here and there, more aesthetic than camouflage.

The primary armament of the Lynx are the 'arm' mounted Missile pods. Each pod carries 5 ATGM missile tubes with stored ammo for 1 reload of each tube. The missiles are fired one-at-a-time, allowing up to 20 launches before ammo is spent. The advanced "Falcon" missiles that are typically loaded are capable of radar tracking, heat-tracking, and laser guidance systems for greater accuracy.

The secondary armament are a pair of nose-mounted dual autocannons. The side-by-side configuration of these 30mm autocannons allow them to fire sequentially for an increased rate of fire. They have 2 belts of ammunition that can be toggled between. HVAP with tracer for lightly armored targets, and High-Explosive Cannister Shells with explosive pellet spread for short-range anti-infantry engagement.

The final tertiary weapon system is a small laser, mounted on a small turret on the top of the 'mech. This laser fires a continuous solid green beam of light that can be used against infantry and light armor. It lacks the power to melt through heavy armor even with sustained fire, but it may also be used as an LAMS system in emergency.

The Lynx is also fitted with an relatively low-power ECM/ECCM suite. The ECM field helps mask the electronic signature of the 'mech at long ranges, and the ECCM suite helps counter enemy ECM to allow for missile locks from the Lynx itself. This unit can work in tandem with the active radar and proximity sensors equipped to the Lynx to give it the slightest edge in combat on the electronic warfare front.

The Lynx is an older design only recently retrofitted with new-age SAC-C suite and co-opted HUD. The machine itself is easily 60 years old, but the SAC-C "VI" core is only just beginning to develop it's own personality. The voice has been programmed to speak old-earth German in a soft, deep masculine tone.

Rough visual reference

Personality: Fae is a rather light-hearted girl, but tends to be slow to trust. She often seems shy or dismissive of others she doesn't know, but remains polite and straight-forward with anyone she comes into contact with. Once someone earns her trust, she becomes very loyal and protective of them. Often willing to put herself at risk to protect those whom she cherishes.

In the line of duty, Fae is quick to fall in line. She doesn't like leading, but has a natural affinity for it. Still, given her preference, she likes to follow orders and perform her job well. She puts on her 'serious face' when on a mission, and only challenges orders when they seem particularly inhumane.

Background: Fae comes from a long line of Pagans descended from all across the New Ostburg Empire. She can trace her lineage all the way back to Earth with a mostly Germanic and Irish root, and a direct line to the Gauls of antiquity. She seems to carry a bit of that heritage with her, often caught muttering 'gods' instead of 'god' or on occasion found praying to 'spirits'. Her family's noble house is not large, but they have held their land and remained dutiful to their lord for as long as anyone can remember. The head of house and first in line of succession typically stay at their home holdings, while all other next of kin are sent out as contractors or retainers (usually the former) to make a living and bring back fortune and fame to the noble crest. Her house's emblem is an old Celtic Knot, a Triquetra. The irony is not lost on her family- but it is a symbol that holds a lot of meaning to her personally. Fae grew up being trained to farm, to fight, and to Flirt her way through the noble houses. When she was old enough to start work as a contractor, she was given an old family 'mech recently retrofitted with new technology. She's only been home once since she left at the age of 20. Since then she's been traveling place to place taking contracts as a 'mech pilot. The recent news of the potential collapse of the Andevin Hegemony caught her interest and she's gone to see what fortune she can make- as well as see if there might be an opening for her house to make a move of their own.

Motivation(s): Motivated by a mixture of pride and necessity, she's mostly interested in the money. Politics are boring, but paychecks are great when nobles quibble. She has a strong sense of morality and is very picky with contracts she takes, carefully strategic in her choices. When the money is good, her second motivation tends to lean towards a family loyalty, but also a keen recollection of who she's worked with and how they treated her. If she's just a bit of hired fodder, she probably won't be taking a second round of contracts with you.

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

The glint of morning sunlight searing it's way into the fields of solar panels reflected brightly in blinding flashes. The blurred movement between two of the large fenced-off solar fields stirred up a cloud of dust in it's wake. The open fields and dry climate made for a nice flat space to run performance trials.

The source of the commotion was young Fae Gaul, storming across open public property outside of town, testing the speed and maneuverability of her mech's chassis after the long flight locked in storage aboard a Jump-ship and Shuttle. Having arrived just a day prior, The steady thump of machine legs pounding into the dusty soil kicked up large clouds of dust that would drift on the light breeze and over the more northern bank of solar arrays. The machine was of fairly average size, and even at a distance, it was clearly armed. This was no dockyard work-mech. Two barrels glinted menacingly at the front of the chassis with the raised cockpit canopy behind it. The powered-down laser turret on top of the machine swiveled and tracked 'targets' as the machine stomped across the open ground. Two large pods devoid of munitions were quite clearly missile launchers.

Approaching the city limits and slowing to a stop just beside the major freeway that ran into the city, Fae's mech stopped short and the canopy popped open. Reaching up to wipe the back of her hand across her brow, Fae sighed and flicked the sweat away as she stared up at the sun almost annoyed. "So bloody hot here. Why are they hosting the tournament in a place like this?!" she asked to no one in particular.

"Keine Ahnung, Fraulein." a low masculine voice replied from the speakers on the inside of her helm and her Mech's cockpit alike. Glancing down at the technical readout for the performance statistics of her mech, Fae sighed, "Nevermind, Pagan..." she scolded the v.i. "... I wasn't asking you." The computer seemed to give an acknowledging tone before announcing, "Es tut mir leid."

Amused that her mech was apologizing to her, Fae snickered and shook her head, "It's fine, Pagan." she said, reaching out over the lip of the canopy and patting the machine's hull right over the bit of paint that denoted the mech's name. It was a pointless gesture, the mech couldn't 'feel' it. The impact sensors wouldn't be triggered at all by the gesture. It probably didn't even register.

Turning her attention back to the screen with performance numbers and bars she tapped her lip, "Make a note to tune the actuator in the right ankle 1 degree inward, looks like it loosened during the trip here." she said softly. "Other than that- everything seems to be going well. Can't really test the missile lock system or ECM on public property." she spoke mostly to herself. Satisfied with her little field test she gripped the control sticks and pressed both foot pedals in to set her mech into motion. As she followed along the side of the road she eventually found herself forced up onto pavement by buildings that lined the surface streets of the city. Cars, trucks, even tanks and mechs seemed to be bustling about.

Fae followed the holo-signs toward the nearest tournament enlistment facility and stepped out of traffic and through the gates of the large warehouse, converted to host the event. Unclipping her restraints and standing up in the cockpit she spotted the signup tables and then moved her Mech over to one of the empty hangars lining the walls. She powered Pagan down and hopped up over the edge, using the climbing handles welded to the main chassis to get down to the floor safely. Stretching and sighing, she had just started to turn when she found an aid standing with a clipboard ready to sign her up. Blinking at the young kid, probably working his first day at his first job, she walked over and placed a hand on her hip, "Yeah..?" she asked.

Jumping at the greeting, the boy rushed to clear his throat and spoke, "I-I assume that you're here for the wargames? If so we need you to sign these forms and enlist in the tournament. Then we'll have you take your mech down to get it calibrated and converted to safety specifi-" he found himself cut off as Fae walked up and took the tablet out of his hand, "Alright, I get it. Thanks." she offered with a wry smile, "This isn't my first time. If you can tell me where the registration station is, I'll get my Mech over there in a bit." she told him as she read along the lines of text on the digital document in front of her and then pulling out the stylus and scribbling her name as a signature.

Handing the tablet back and smiling politely, she listened to him directing her toward the vehicle verification platform and nodded. Thanking him, she turned and walked away from the parking location to a counter near the front where they appeared to be selling drinks. She jogged lightly and wove her way past the commotion of moving heavy machinery of all shapes and sizes. She got in line and looked back at everything, whistling softly at just how many people seemed to be showing up to sign up for the wargames.

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha)

I'll get a post up either tonight or tomorrow. It's pretty late here at the moment.

Knights of the Stars (Sci-fi Mecha IC/Reboot)

It's also why you don't tend to see Armored Core and Mechwarrior meshing. The former imparts flight capability and very rapid unrealistic movement to massive machines via the use of thrusters. If you suspend the disbelief that such a thing would work- then it flows well in it's own right- but you wouldn't put a big, clunky, heavy mech in the same universe that more closely follows physics.

Something close to what I imagine the GM is going for would be Chromehounds if you aren't going to pick Mechwarrior. Just without the combas towers and loss of mainstream radio communication. Much like Valor said, it's less about a humanoid machine holding a gun and much more a war-machine designed for combat with fixed or turret mounted weaponry. Very few designs in Mechwarrior actually have hands. (which is one of the main reasons I prefer it as an IP to other Mecha genres)

My Hider

The big difference with this is that the 'mechs in this are MUCH smaller than Mechwarrior or Chromehounds. About half the size of the smallest mech in Mechwarrior, if my math is on par.