Spartacus 2083: Live Free or Die!

[Iceberg]

WARNING: Contains giant robots. Freeform rewrites of the laws of physics as necessary also included. May become either an RP or a fanfic, depending.

Spartacus 2083 - Live Free or Die!

In the year 2060, an alien power arrived in orbit around Earth and announced that from now on, the Earth was under the control of the Interstellar League. While they refused to supply any new technology or even have much contact with the various Earthbound factions, they restricted warfare to pre-gunpowder technology. When the powers attempted to strike at the aliens, their missiles were shot from the sky and retaliatory strikes scorched capitals from the Earth’s surface. Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Moscow, Beijing, New Delhi and Tokyo were all ruined in the first strike. Humanity - restrained against their will, and without their consent - grew increasingly resentful of their distant, arrogant alien overlords, occasionally testing the battlereadiness of the Interstellar League’s powerful orbital fortresses with the remaining power of their nuclear arsenals; the nuclear missile submarines that lurked undetected and undetectable beneath the surface of the Earth's oceans. Meanwhile, the Western Alliance (a militarization of the old Organization of American States, led by the powerful industrial tetrad of the United States, Canada, Brazil and Mexico) began to develop its two most powerful weapons. The first was the space battleship. Developed in secret spaceshipyards constructed deep under Brazil were the first ships of this type – the Missouri, the Magnificent, the Sao Paolo and the Victoria. These ships were developed with what little alien war technology the Western Alliance had been able to steal from their oppressors.

But the true triumph of the new human technology was the Mekton. A space fighter developed for special missions, the Mekton was an armored war machine in the shape of a human, with powerful vernier thrusters in its limbs. Invested with the best technology humanity could create, it combined the armor and firepower of a main battle tank with the agility of a jet fighter.

For two decades, in utter secrecy the Western Alliance forces trained. Then, on 30 January 2081, it was time to attack. The four space warships, disguised as heavy launch vehicles for a new space station (which was the official cover for the project), blasted into orbit among the complacent League overseers. When the ships blew their covering HLV frames, however, the battle was immediately joined, alien battlestations trading broadsides with human warships, while the Mekton forces scrambled to destroy and defeat the terrible, city-wrecking beam cannons that had wrought so much havoc on the Earth’s people. From below, two-stage surface-to-orbit missiles rose from hidden submarines and air-to-orbit ones from mighty bombers from mighty B-52 bombers that had been “converted to cargo planes," for subjected Humanity intended fully to pay a deadly tribute to her alien conquerors.

It was the last great mission of the BUFF. Half of the airplanes, painstakingly refurbished by the U.S. Air Force, didn’t even make it off the ground, either fried by space-to-surface energy fire or their ancient, brittle wings shattering on takeoff, sending their valiant crews plummeting into the ground below. Countless crew members perished with their airplanes, making the final sacrifice to free the Earth. But the planes that made it to their launch points sent their two-missile Skybolt salvos into the blue, for the salvation of their world.

When the battle ended, Magnificent and Sao Paolo had been riven to wreckage; Missouri and Victoria were harrowed and wounded, their crews exhausted but victorious. On the deck of Missouri, the League’s Terran overseer signed the League’s surrender of Sol System. But the alien forces swore they would return, leaving – for now – humanity’s cradle to her valiant defenders.

It is now 2083. The rebuilding of Terra’s military might proceeds apace, because Humanity does not know when the Interstellar League shall return. We know only that when they do, they will be met with fire and steel.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Good stuff, but a space fighter designed in a human shape is highly impractical and rather unweildly.

Write more. Maybe earth starts liberating nearby systems?

[phongn]

Yes, need more, and some tech background too

[Iceberg]

Coming up:

Geopolitics of the late 21st century
Space Technology
Mecha (or "Blatant Violations of the Laws of Physics")
The Interstellar League[/i]

[CaptainChewbacca]

Coming up:

Mecha (or "Blatant Violations of the Laws of Physics")
[/i]

LOL! VOLTRON! TRANSFORM!

[Companion Cube]

I like the premise.

[Micheal Ryans, Beta pilot]

Interesting indeed.

[Peregrin Toker]

All very nice - It's so deliciously Pulp-like that it seems straight out of "Weird Tales (AND I MEAN THAT AS A COMPLIMENT!) - but it would be more readable if formated. I'm looking forward towards next chapter!

[Iceberg]

Just to prove I'm still working on Spartacus 2083, here's a post of something I just got done writing for it today (for part of the tech bible):

Oh, and between the first post and now, Mektons got renamed "Strider Frames."

A Pilot's Guide to the M-01 Tracer Aerospace Combat Strider Frame

Starting Up

As you swing down into your M-01As cockpit and start to secure yourself with the four-point harness, the upper half of the upper torso – along with the head and arm actuators – swings closed over your head. The four head-mounted cameras activate, and raytraces of the hangar start dancing across the six heads-up screens (front center, front top, right, left, rear right and rear left) built into the cockpit. On your MFDs, the computer system goes through its boot-up screens, showing the insignia of the United Earth Space Force (the Earth wreathed in laurels, resting on top of two crossed swords). Two red LEDs are lit on the pedals under your feet, indicating that the M-01 is in stand-down mode. The name of your carrier, the UES Ranger, is in translucent letters on the lower left hand corner of the front center screen.

Your kneeboard tells you that your mission is a combat search and rescue: A pilot from the Ranger ejected five hours ago and you are to go and rescue his escape pod, engaging ISL forces as necessary.

Now that your reactor is spooled up, you flip open the mollyguard on the toggle marked “XPU” and turn it to “off.” This disconnects your frame from the ship's power system and releases your feet from the deck locks. You then switch the mode selector on the left stick to “Walk” and note that the left LED on each foot pedal has changed to green. Pressing down one pedal in walk mode tells the suit to walk, both to run. Since you are inside the Ranger, you are allowed only to walk, so you push one pedal and walk forward. At the arming station, spacesuited crewers give your weapons the once-over, making sure that all pins are removed. Giving you the thumbs-up, they open the massive door to the catapult bay.

Launching

You step into the catapult shoes, doing your final launch checks. You switch the mode selector one more switch to “Flight.” In flight mode, the legs are controlled by computer. Once you are given the OK by the deck boss, you push the throttle to full and the catapult releases, launching you into space.

Flying Around

The sticks mounted on the sides of the chair control roll, pitch and yaw through the firing of attitude rockets, known as verniers, mounted in the limbs, while the pedals control main propulsion. Flying in a straight line is extremely simple – just hold down the pedals until you've reached the desired velocity, then let go and the frame will continue on its established vector until you alter course. Newtonian physics will take care of the rest.

Combat

You are close to the escape pod beacon when you note three radar signatures closing – the computer IDs them as LF-1 SKINKs, so you shift the selector to Combat. Closing with a SKINK, you squeeze the trigger and the right arm levels against it, peppering it with 25mm ammunition. Hits blow off armor and damage internals, and the SKINK comes apart. The other two flee, discretion being the better part of valor (and survival the better part of duty), so you reach the escape pod with no further damage done to your own frame.

Waldo

In Waldo mode, you can directly manipulate the arms and hands for fine objects, such as picking up an escape pod. Technically the M-01's arm controls are not true waldos because they don't replicate the movements of your arms but rather are controlled by manipulating the flight sticks. In waldo mode, the pedals fly the suit, but only for short distances. You approach the escape pod and pick it up, checking the external vitals monitor. The pilot is still in there and still healthy, so it's time to head back to the Ranger.

Landing

Still the most dangerous part of any flight (outside of combat, of course). To land, once you have permission from flight control, you line up and fly into the flight deck, activating your boot magnets to stick you to the floor. Switching back into walk mode, you set the escape pod down on the deck and then walk your frame back to its hangar bay, power down the reactor and reconnect to the ship's external power feed.

Congratulations, you have completed a mission in the M-01 Tracer.