June 25th 2161. Empire City. 04:05. Terran standard time. An undisclosed location on Mars.
Vamara Me'ana sat in a cold, grey, metal cell on some goddess forsaken planet somewhere in the large empty galaxy. To say that she was uncomfortable was an understatement of gargantuan proportions. She had been crawling though swamps while under fire from Batarian slavers and she hadn't felt half as uncomfortable. Her hands were on her back, incased in some sort of metal casings, tied to each other by a chain. All her belongings had immediately been confiscated and she had been dressed in a plain orange bodysuit. The whole experience had been enormously degrading.
Looking out of her cell, she could see two of the black clad guards walking slowly past, looking at her, daring her to do something. But she was content for the time being to just sit and study her captors. She had to admit that she was intrigued. She was possibly the first person to have stumbled across this space capable species. If she could establish peaceful communications with the primitives she might be able to broker safe passage for her and the remainder of her crew to the citadel, as a show of good faith to the council. Of course, that was if they didn't execute her first The political implications of introducing a space capable species were tremendous, mainly they might assist in finally pacifying the Attican traverse, a haven for pirates and slavers.
Suddenly, a group of guards walked up to the hardened glass door of her cell and opened it. Two of them pointed their rifles at her as the other two grabbed an arm each and proceeded to drag her out of the cell and down the narrow corridor. All the cells they went past were empty. She hoped that her men were simply kept in another ward, but there was a very real possibility that they had been killed already. They were probably dragging her off to be interrogated. She fully expected to be tortured and she mentally prepared herself for the coming trials.
They entered a metallic room, sparsely furnished with a metal table and two metal chairs, all bolted to the floor. One of the chairs was occupied by an unarmored alien. A male by the look of it, with short black fur on the top of his head. She was quite intrigued by this, the appearance of an unarmored, and apparently, ununiformed individual suggested some form of government official. Was he an observer, or the interrogator.
She was forcibly sat on the chair opposite the male, her hands and legs chained to the back of the cold metal chair. Then, to her surprise, the man nodded to the guards who instantly left. Interesting, government official then, this had just taken a turn for the better.
Another male came in with a tray, on which were placed several articles, and placed it on the table before he left. Now she and the unarmored alien were alone. He stared at her intently and she stared back, trying to read him, to understand what he intended. He picked up a bowl of blue liquid that she presumed was water. He then uttered a guttural sound, pointing at the bowl. After a minute of silence he repeated the gesture, uttering the guttural sound again. Catching his meaning, she nodded towards the bowl and said "Water." In Asari. The alien was obviously trying to establish some sort of communication method, but he couldn't possibly hope to achieve anything without some sort of translator. A translator like the one in her omnitool.
They continued the process for almost thirty minutes, the man taking his time at every item. At length he pointed towards himself and the guards standing outside and said loudly and slowly, "Humans".
Interesting, either he was referring to the faction, if they were a faction, or the race. She took a guess and filled the information away for later. He then extended a hand towards her, waiting patiently. It took a moment for Vamara to think about whether or not she should divulge her species. But decided that it would be diplomatic to humor the 'Human', she then sat straight before clearly and proudly saying "Asari".
He repeated the word to himself a couple of times before laying a hand on his chest and said "Augustus Tiberius". She assumed that it was the individuals name. She also repeated his name, and he corrected her until she said it right. He gestured to her, and she then told her name. "Vamara Me'ana". He repeated the name until he had got it right. When she did not correct him again he smiled at her.
Suddenly the man got to his feet and left, without saying anything else. She was quickly transported back to her holding cell by the armored 'Humans'. The interview had given her some things to think about. The male had been patient, talkative but he had also had some sort of authority, since he could command the guards. She arrived at the conclusion that he was some sort of political figure. That was actually a very comforting thought. At least they do not let the military control them, like the Turians.
She was left alone in her cold, barren cell once again. But at least it didn't look like she would be executed out of hand. And she could probably use the superior diplomatic skill of the Asari to outwit these primitives and negotiate a good deal. Maybe they would even submit to the council and become a member species. Of course, this would all be academic if she couldn't talk to them. But she would figure that out. She might be able to use her ability to meld her mind with that of another being. But she doubted that they would respond favorably to her suddenly melding her mind with the interrogator, or whatever she should call him. But it seemed that she had plenty of time to plan her next move. After all, she wouldn't be going anywhere.
June 25th 2161. Empire City. 05:17. Terran standard time. An armored military shuttle en route to Earth.
Augustus had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the alien. Of course, he had already seen the pictures and recordings of the creatures from the military cruiser. But seeing it with his own eyes was a different thing entirely. They were attractive, looking remarkably similar to human females, but they also had this unearthly aura around them. At least they weren't horrible creatures that resembled daemons from the netherworld. But that didn't mean that they weren't dangerous. For all he knew they could have fleets that outnumbered humanity a hundred to one on the way to Earth this very moment.
But he had to deal with what he knew, and what he knew was that they had nine extraterrestrials in a holding facility in the sol system. He had gone to the holding facility for more than just meeting the aliens. He wanted to show himself to, what they presumed was, the leader of the aliens. He had tried to establish a connection with it, if the presumably female alien were able to recognize him then it would make further communication smoother. It would be a political tool he could use later if they were able to make peaceful contact.
Using his multitool he contacted the leader of the 'First contact research squad', a hastily collected group of specialists and especially gifted individuals whose goal was to collect as much information regarding these 'Asari' as possible. The different objects he had had her name would go a long way in creating a translator device, like the one in his multitool that allowed him to speak with every human on Earth without the lingual barrier coming between them.
"Mrs. Calieri, what have you got for me?"
The voice of the middle aged woman who led the group came through the line, a little hesitant at speaking with the supreme leader of mankind, but with an enthusiastic streak to it.
"My lord, using the samples that you and the other eight interrogators were able to collect we believe we are able to make a temporary solution to our communications problem. However we have some exhilarating news. It seems that the small spherical device we confiscated from her is remarkably similar to our own multitool."
This was indeed good news. If it was similar to the human multitool that meant that they could access the communications network and from there harvest an endless amount of information about these 'Asari'.
"That is excellent news indeed Mrs. Calieri, have you been able to crack the device yet?"
There was a moment of silence as she no doubt called for the newest update on their progress with cracking it.
"Yes my lord, we have been collecting an almost infinite amount of data. It seems that it is also a communications device like our translator. Thus far we have detected at least two hundred different languages or dialects catalogued within it. Furthermore, there seems to be some kind of connection to some sort of large data archives. We are currently trying to access it but my analyzers say that we are looking at an amount of data that surpasses anything we have ever seen before."
This was indeed very good news. They were milking the device for everything it was worth. But their primary goal was to develop a translator of the 'Asari' language. From there they could use it to asses all the information they could gather.
"You have done a remarkable job Mrs Calieri. Keep me updated."
He cut the link as the shuttle descended through the atmosphere towards Empire city. He checked the time. He would be more than an hour late for the meeting. Perfect. He needed the senate on their wrong foot if his plan was to succeed. He had made sure that Consul Kiel had sent out the call for the senate to assemble. Little did Kiel know, that the signal had been blocked by Praetorian squads posted outside his office and house. None of the senators had received the call.
Of course, he couldn't very well have a senate meeting without any senators, so he had made sure that a copy of the signal that Kiel had sent out had reached those senators who would be favorable to his suggestion. It was all very illegal and immoral. But they were talking about the future of humanity, and they had to be of a single mind if they would survive.
"Coming in to land my lord. ETA eighty seconds."
The consul had been the most difficult to control. But when he had found his weakness, it had only been a matter of finding the right time to use his newfound knowledge. Kiel was too smart to fall for the same trick twice. Leading the moderates, Kiel had gotten used to being in the spotlight, indeed he craved it, needed the attention. He was constantly in the news, on every channel, in every talkshow. Therefore when Kiel would leave his office to go to the senate, he would be swarmed we eager reporters and journalists. Of course that wouldn't be enough so he had also received a message that would inform him that the emperor would be late. And therefore the meeting would be delayed, by two hours. More than enough time for his plan to be accomplished. And it wasn't really a lie, he was indeed delayed, but only for an hour.
Landing on the platforms close to the senate, he was precisely sixty minutes late. He walked briskly toward the doors, flanked on either side by his guard. He made sure that the large gates to the senate chambers were flung open and his entrance sufficiently dramatic to make all the senators wield around and see their emperor take his rightful place in front of the senate, standing tall and straight before the gathered men.
It was a greatly diminished assembly. Of the five-hundred-and-one senators usually gathered in the senate, there was only one-hundred-and-seventy-seven present. Most of those absent were on holiday on distant colonies light-years away, but a good deal had been elected to be undesirable elements, and had therefor not received the original message but an edited one. One that also set the meeting an hour later than it really was.
"Honorable senators! I apologize for this late hour but a matter of the utmost importance has arisen. We are here to discuss the very future of our race."
There was a nervous murmur amongst the senators. Few things which could be considered an 'emergency' warranted the gathering of the senate. Usually the inner council had the authority to treat anything that had an immediate impact on the Empire.
Seeing that most of the senate had yet to arrive, a senator got to his feet.
"But my lord, most of the senate is not in attendance. Surely we can wait an hour for them to participate if this is so important then we need the entire senate."
This was exactly the question he had anticipated. He had taken everything into account. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of his plans. They didn't know if the aliens were hostile, but until they were proved wrong he would assume that they were. And so, humanity needed a leader. A leader who didn't need every decision ratified by an assembly of old, greedy men.
"Nothing would please me more than have humanities' best and brightest assembled here to discuss our future. But I am afraid that within an hour, we might be under a serious attack from an alien species intent on our destruction."
There was a collected intake of breaths. Surely he couldn't be implying what they all thought. It was impossible.
"Approximately six hours ago, an imperial cruiser made hostile first contact with an alien ship. The ship was in orbit above one of our colonies with its guns locked on its center. Naturally they defended themselves and with the aid of the cruiser they successfully fought of the aggressors. We have taken some prisoners and tech from the ship, but there can be little doubt. We have made contact with a race that has military capabilities. We are still uncertain about where the ship came from, but we must prepare for the worst."
The entire senate was shocked. First contact. Aliens. What should they do? This was what many of them had silently feared all through their lives. They had had plans, contingencies, dozens of scenarios involving exactly this happening. But still none of them were prepared.
"I have consulted with my closest military advisors. We have all agreed that an attack may be imminent. We don't know their numbers, theirs ship types, their angle of attack. We don't even know how they think. But I assure you, we will protect our people."
This was something they understood. The glorious Imperial forces could protect them. They had spent more than a century preparing for this. But still, this was all happening too fast. They were confused and terrified. They didn't know that the situation wasn't even half as bad as Augustus had made it look. But it might all change for the worse soon.
"Therefore I propose to temporarily move emergency powers to the imperial military command. So that they may protect Earth and its colonies quickly and efficiently. Honored assembly, I implore you to act quickly on this matter, time is short."
There were more murmurs amongst the senators. A woman's voice carried clearly through the assembly.
"Shouldn't we wait for some more senators? At least wait for the Consul to appear and…"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence before Augustus hammered his fists into his throne and quickly stood up.
"Dammit we haven't got the time! For all we know an enormous fleet with ships capable of destroying Earth in a single shot might be on their way this very moment! We might have hundreds of thousands of ships parked in orbit within the hour! If we are to have any hope of surviving we need to have a clear, simple line of command. This is about our very survival as a species!"
There was complete silence in the chamber. Suddenly one of the senators stood to his feet.
"Let us vote then. All those in favor!"
Every single senator in the room lifted their hands in the air.
"All those opposed?"
None lifted their hands,
"The motion is carried without opposition. Emergency power is shifted to the Imperial military."
There was some applause amongst the senators. But mostly they kept silent. Augustus stood up.
"Honored senators! I applaud your wisdom in acting so quickly and unanimously. Today, we may truly have saved humanity."
He then turned and left. He let out a small sigh. That had all gone way better than he had expected. With the shift of power to the military, he had now truly gained absolute control of humanity. As the commander-in-chief of all armed forces, he now had absolutely free hands. That meant that he could efficiently lead humanity's armed forces in a defense of their empire, or negotiate with the alien 'Asari' if it came to that. He might have made one of the most important political moves of his career.
June 25th 2161. An undisclosed location, on a space station in orbit around Saturn. 06:17. Terran standard time.
"And you are sure you can get it done within the month? It seems like a tall order considering the time you've spent on it thus far."
They both looked out the window of the living quarters of the barrack-ship they currently resided in. Admiral Sam Duplain stared at the monster of iron and steel that floated before his very eyes. It was gargantuan. A behemoth of human engineering. And a bloody waste of good tax-payer money. Considering the cost and the resources gone into building the bloody thing it was a damned shame that they hadn't been able to make it fly yet.
"Well, if we could just remove the rug that has been neatly pulled over the whole thing I think it would be safe to say that it could be done. I would even bet money on us being done within a fortnight. And I'm not even a betting woman."
Duplain directed a skeptical frown at the project manager, Lilian Mayfield, who had been in charge of the project the last two decades. He was quite sure that she was a gambler. Not much else to do out here really. Except for working and planning and then working some more.
"We managed to get all systems online last week. We even tested all the weapons, except the main gun, and it worked fine. It's just that whenever we try to transfer to sub-space, the shields cut out. We think we have found the problem. But it will take another week before we can make another test."
Duplain looked back at the monstrous hunk of metal and steel. It would be an impressive sight, well it was impressive. He was just so… Underwhelmed. When he first saw it he had been so proud on behalf of humanity. The size, the power, the strength it emanated. When he learned that, for all its splendor and size, it was useless. Well, he had been disappointed.
"How long will it take before we are able to test it fully? Main gun and all?"
He stared at her as she looked away, calculating the time it would take to get everything ready. Taking into account the new resources and funds allocated to her with and the new men and ships she had received.
"I'm not sure. Three weeks maybe? No more than twenty-five days at the most. I mean, we are working overtime, double-time and everything in-between to get it flying."
She looked him in the eyes, searching him for clues. Any lead to why she had suddenly had her number of men tripled and her monthly allowance had been changed to something that might as well have been an infinity sign.
"You know something don't you Duplain? I can see it. You are hiding something from me. What could be so secret that you can't tell your closest friend?"
Duplain just kept looking out the window. He would really like to tell her, dammit she had a right to know, but until the Emperor had given them the permission, the entire thing would be kept under wraps. Well he wasn't one to argue with orders.
"I really have no clue. It's straight from the top and I'm just a lowly admiral. They don't tell me that much. Really I'm just as much in the dark as you are."
The lie wasn't overly persuasive. But then again, he doubted that even if he did make an effort she would still see right through him. Apparently she knew not to press any further and simply looked out the window with him
"It will work Duplain. It will take time, it will take effort, but in time it will work. And then nothing in the galaxy will be able to stop us."
June 25th 2161. Extraterrestrial investigations facility Nr 32. Area 201, Greenland. 07:42. Terran standard time.
Maria Calieri looked down on the latest data summery of the alien device. They had started cross-referencing the information of the alien linguistics and had managed to produce a very crude translations device. After the first fifty minutes they had been able to improve it more than four times and had now been able to produce a unite that should make communications between the alien race, the 'Asari', and humans quite efficient. They still had some major problems, but those were only minor details compared to what they were facing now.
"The citadel council? Client races? Turians, Salarians, Volus and Hanar? Jesus Christ! Are these different species?"
They were looking at a form of information site. They had managed to crack the data archives they had located and their databanks had almost instantly shut down due to the amount of knowledge. They had immediately opened up a link to more than two thousand data storages around the planet to accommodate the huge amount of data that they received. Using the translator that they had created they were instantly able to crudely translate every single language and dialect inside the device. It seemed that her hypothesis that it worked like their own multitool had been correct.
"It would seem so ma'am. Judging from the videos and pictures that we have been able to copy down, it would seem that these 'Asari' are part of some sort of galactic community."
Damn, they had really steeped in it. A whole union of different alien factions. They had cleared a whole wall to make room for all the pictures and the important information associated with the pictures. There was a picture of a five-armed space station of huge proportions. It was labeled "Citadel" and "Government seat". Linking it with read lines were groups of aliens and ships. Labels like "Turians - military" and "Salarians - unknown" filled the wall. It was horrifying. By attacking the 'Asari' cruiser they had quite possibly pissed of the collective galactic community. This really didn't bode well for the future of her race.
"Do we have anything on their leaders? Their government system? Are they democratic or dictatorial? How about fleet numbers?"
It was all incredibly overwhelming. A few hours ago she didn't even know about the existence of aliens. Know she had already learned more about them than she had ever cared to find out.
"No ma'am. We are still trying to clear up the thirty-thousand terabytes of new information that we downloaded the last ten minutes. The VIs are already struggling to translate everything, let alone catalogue it. We are really taxed to our limit."
She should probably be grateful for what they had. Jesus, they had only just invented a translator less than an hour ago. They had made huge progress within the last thirty minutes. Still, it wasn't nearly enough. She had recently received another five thousand men to help her sort it out. Posted all over the Empire they ran diagnostics, trials, data storage, analysis and everything else they could do to learn everything there was to know about these aliens.
A picture popped up on their screen. It featured a large, pink creature resembling an octopus. Besides it was a tall, avian humanoid.
"What are those?"
The officer in charge of the device made a quick translation with her assistance VI.
"It says that this is a Turian" she pointed to the octopus, "And this is a Hanar", pointing to the avian humanoid.
Fascinating. So they were indeed different species. But then, how many different species were there, and more importantly, where were they?
She held up her multitool and contacted the "Alien recognition and cataloguing group" based in Brazil.
"Hey Basil, sending you a picture with text attached. We believe that this might be of interest to you."
There was half a minute pause before he answered.
"Interesting, but our own data suggests that the names are wrong. The one labeled 'Turian' is a hanar, and the one labeled 'Hanar' is something called a 'Volus'. At least we are operating from that assumption. How are things going over at your place?"
She looked around the crowded storage facility that had quickly been turned into a work station with more than two hundred men and women working on decrypting alien language and dialect. Using it to dig out information from the device they had confiscated.
"Not good Basil. To be honest, its chaos. Pure and simple. We have no idea what we're doing."
She could hear a nervous chuckle from the other side of the channel.
"Same over here. What have we gotten ourselves into? Well I gotta go, we have already manage to prove half of our last patch of alien recognition information wrong and we just got a call from the cell in China, they are not very pleased. Well, good luck to you. Hope we survive this."
He cut the link with that last humorless remark and she returned to her work. She could see three of her people rearranging their chart, putting more than half the labels in new position, before moving some of them again after new information was shouted to them. This was going to be a long day.
June 25th 2161. Headquarters of the Bureau of Imperial Intelligence. 10:02. Terran standard time.
Minister Kathrina Le'chaun was quite exhilarated by the entire affair. She had been given an almost unlimited amount of resources, all her operations had been green lighted, she had even gotten permission to use two of the aliens for interrogations. Which she had happily done, using the new translator. They were asked numerous questions about their government, their weapons, their fleets and armies. It had quickly become apparent that they were either unwilling or unable to answer their questions. She had then been allowed to make use of "Hard interrogation". Provided that the two aliens were disposed of when she was finished.
That had yielded a good deal of the information that they sought. Indeed they had been told a good deal more than they had initially asked to know. They now had the general position of their colonies and home worlds, as precise as pointing to a map of the galaxy would allow, and the location of this "Citadel Council". They had even been given names of the councilors. Once the two aliens had expired, they had been incinerated and the ashes dumped into space.
"How many probes do we have in that area? How close are they?"
The officer in charge of the particular segment of space in which they believe the station to be positioned, checked the newest updates on the probes.
"We currently have twenty-five probes sweeping the area. They should be able to reach the indicated position in about ten minutes."
The spy probes that they used were a true technological marvel. Equipped with superb scanners that could tracks ships and communications for light-years, and using the sub-space technology of the space ships, they could drop in an out of space as they saw fit. Without having to cool off or wait for the engines to recharge. That meant that they could cross the galaxy in less than two days. A true testimony to the power that was the Empire of Man.
"I want every single one of those probes to race towards that sector. We need to find their government. The emperor's orders."
The officer immediately complied and made some adjustments to the setting of some of the probes before slightly leaning back into his chair. After twelve minutes had passed, Le'chaun started to get impatient. Then suddenly, one of the monitors started beeping. Then another, and another and then another. Soon, every single monitor received information from the probes.
"Is that it? Have we found it?"
The information poured in. size, mass, life forms detected, ships in the area, everything they could possibly want to know.
"I believe so ma'am. It sure fits the description."
Excellent. She left the officer to file her newest report to the emperor. She knew that he hoped for a diplomatic solution, even if she didn't agree with it, and he would be pleased to know that they had indeed located the alien capitol. If diplomacy failed, then they could attack it, and severely cripple the enemy. But for now they had to wait.
She checked in on her other officers. They were beginning to locate some outlying colonies and planets occupied by the aliens. Cataloguing their position and population, they would be able to strike back on their civilian population in case that they decided to attack. Le'Chaun smiled. She would see every single one of these alien bastards dead and their worlds ablaze if they attacked Earth. And she hoped the emperor would do the same. An eye for an eye.
Lore.
The armed forces of the Empire: The Imperial Line Infantry.
Numbers: As of 2159 there are 10.000 regiments of 50.000 men enrolled in the imperial line infantry regiments.
The imperial line infantry is the main ground military force of the empire of man. Made up of regular men and women, the line infantry is a lot less well equipped and trained than the legions, but what they lack in weapons and training, they make up for in sheer numbers and determination. Training intensively for two years, and then serving for another eight, the line infantry are the occupation and protection force of the empire and are used as the colonial ground defense, once the legions withdraw. They are equipped with a large armored contingency which makes them highly mobile, circumventing and surrounding any heavy resistance that they might meet. They are loyal, obedient and strong, the incarnation of the Empire of Man. Without a personal fleet contingency however, most of the regiments are stuck planetside when they arrive at their designated location. The admiralty board has, as of 2135, decided that a full third of the regiments should be space capable by the year 2164.
The equipment of the average infantryman:
Weapons:
Mark III "Longbow".
The main weapons of an infantryman is the 1,5 meter long 4,5 kg heavy Mark III "Longbow" riffle. With an 1.200 RPM it has a relatively slow rate of fire, this is counterweighted by it larger penetration power and stopping power which, unlike the "Gladius" is centered on a much smaller area. The effect on the enemy and its shields is not as devastating as the "Gladius" but makes for a much easier armor penetration. The riffle is easy to maintain, easy to use and disassemble and easy to repair, it will work under almost any conditions and is also very precise up to 3.600 meters.
With a clip capacity of 150, each infantryman carrying ten magazines, and with a number of tactical attachments, the "Longbow" is a versatile, reliable and trusty weapon. Used by all Infantrymen, even weapons teams, officers and specialist, it is the main weapon of the Imperial line infantry.
Mark XV "Carnivore".
Every infantryman is equipped with a "Carnivore" sidearm. With a weight of 1,2 kg and a length of 32 cm, the gun is larger than most sidearm but comparatively light. It has a clip capacity of 11 rounds, each infantryman carrying 4 magazines, and a 200 RPM firing speed. It is most often considered either as a last resort, or as a room clearance weapon. It has a monstrous recoil, but a kick that could make the "Gladius" envious. It is truly a terrifying weapon and it has been banned from any form of private or civilian use do to the fact that neither the army or the law enforcement has anything that can withstand its penetration power. It was initially intended for the legions, but after the "Gladius" received its close combat upgrade, it was deemed unnecessary and was therefore given to the Line infantry as a more powerful supplement to close quarter fighting than their unwieldy riffle.
Mark XX "Raptor" bayonet.
Intended to be used both as a bayonet, to be attached on the riffle, and a knife, to be used by hand, the 30 cm long "Raptor" uses the same technology as the larger vibroblade, but at a much reduced strength and penetration power due to the reduced size and the smaller battery-pack inserted in the handle. It is still however a nasty piece of work that can cut through weakened joints and flesh with ease.
Mark II "Carrier" Grenades.
Each infantryman is equipped with six "Carrier" grenades. Inside each grenade are one-hundred-and-twenty highly volatile and explosive pellets. Once the grenade goes off, either on impact or timer regulated, these are scattered in every direction, within an eight meter radius, where they then lodge to anything they find and simultaneously explode. The results can be very lethal, or very painful for those not fortunate enough to die immediately.
Armor:
Mark VI Umbratech Chameleonic Fragmentation armor.
A light, flexible and enduring suit, the UCF armor is the most common suit of armor throughout the regiments. It is integrated with a highly sophisticated chameleonic camouflage ability that allows the infantryman to blend in with his surroundings while at the same time masking their heat signature and life signs. The armor can take a great deal of punishment and has a built in shield that can take a good deal of damage before shortening out. The armors main weakness is its weak joints that has a considerable smaller amount of protection. It is however a good armor that will serve any infantryman well, if maintained properly and regularly.
Mark XVII Umbratech Special Heavy Armor.
The special heavy armor is designed for the line infantry's own shock troopers. Much thicker, stronger and heavier, the USH armor is utilized by the "Grenadier" squads of the line infantry. Specialized heavy squads who are expected to take a lot more fire than the average infantryman and therefor need better armor. The armor is bulky but protective. Its heavy shield pack and heavy padding along the back and chest makes the armor look quite unwieldy, but in fact, with proper training, this armor is only slightly less flexible than the UCF armor. It is, however, difficult to maintain and very expensive. Therefore it is only the Grenadiers that utilizes this armor type. It is almost as protective as the suits used by the legions. Therefor the Grenadiers have also received the nickname "Green line legionnaires".
Panzer contingency:
Even though it is called the "Imperial line infantry" the regiments also have a large contingenc of armored personal carriers and tanks, making the regiments highly mobile. As of 2142 the Imperial general command has aimed to equip every second squad with some sort of armored transport.
1.200 "Kalman" medium tanks.
The battle tanks of the regiments. These tanks are equipped with a semi-automatic 120 mm canon and two 40 mm automatic cannons. They are usually used as the spearhead of an attack but can also be used as armored support or even transport. They are long vehicles with an extended back that allows up to eight infantrymen to ride on it into battle. They are conveniently equipped with handles to make the ride safer for the men. Their heavy front armor allows the tanks to soak up a good deal of punishment, but they are very vulnerable to mines and attacks from the rear. Their top speed of 64 MPH makes it a fast tank that can punch its way through enemy line with ease.
2.200 "Razorback" APCs.
These APCs are equipped with a 60 mm fully automatic twin-turret. They have a top speed of 88 MPH and can carry ten men into battle. They are lightly armored and lightly equipped but they provide good cover for the men once disembarked. It is considered an obsolete vehicle by many generals but remains in wide use throughout the regiments.
200 "Dragonboat" transport gunships.
Equipped with two 30 mm dorsal cannons and a twin-linked 45 mm underslung cannon, The "Dragonboat" transport gunship has a carrying capacity of eight soldier and is used as quick insertion transportation. The helicopters are equipped with stealth technology that allows them to remain undetected from radar and other such devices. Hugely popular amongst the regiments, the "Dragonboat" is an old design and has undergone many upgrades to make them both stealthier and faster. With a top speed of 220 MPH they can rocket past most hostile emplacements to place soldiers on strategically important locations.
400 "Thunderbolt" attack gunships.
Heavily armed attack gunships, they are designed to soften an enemy line prior to attack. Removing any obstacle that obstructs a quick and easy victory. Usually employed as tank hunters or aerial escort, the "thunderbolt" is armed with a twin-linked 55 mm Cannon and several rocket systems to allow it to act both as an anti-tank and anti-personal assault vehicle. It is a relatively new addition to the infantry and is yet to be tested extensively.
A/N
I am in dire need of a beta reader. If anyone is interested please PM me. I could really use the help. And then to the bad news. The next weeks or so my uploads may be a bit more sporadic than they have been, so hope you will be patient. At least I will have time to plan the next few chapters ;)