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Storm
Draconis Combine
Chu-i
Joined: 06-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 278
Location: United States
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 Posted: 15-Jul-2003 00:41 Post subject: Project Terminator |
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Well, I had a few spare moments, and with T3 coming out, I thought I would re-post this old piece, just so the newbies can see what we old hands (Old Dogs, in Old Dog's case) can dream up, and so we old hands can remember why we're the veterans and the newbies are . . . .
well, newbies.
Storm
As usual, there's a story that goes along with this, so bear with me.
From the personal Journal of Commander Buck Michaels,
15, April, 3061
Project Terminator
"Master Tech Toler tells me they finally finished analyzing the data we stripped from the Capellan R&D facility we raided in March. It was a good haul. Yields included one Yu Huang, one Phoenix Hawk, and one Men Shen omni, along with performance data on the new Fa Shih battlesuit. I am especially proud of the Yu. , as I kicked his butt from here to breakfast and back. I found out later that the pilot had been the one to down Miller's Raven and Andersen's Axman. Cocky bugger. He was happily stomping around the battlefield, like he was daring someone to challenge him. Heh heh heh. He wasn't up to the OuttaTime. I admit I added insult to injury when I finally downed him. I think I said something like "Some days you're the windshield, some days, you're the bug"--actually lines from an old country song, but still true. We sent Zhang-sao Eddie Loo back to his troops. Dispossesed, of course. I never did like the name ‘Eddie.’ But anyway . . . .
"One of the most amazing items discovered in the R&D files was the 'Terminator' Project, a truly frightening new aspect of warfare. The design specification called for the construction of a human-sized endo-steel skeleton, coupled with a battlesuit's power reactor and medical-grade myomer movement system. Guiding this creation is a very sophisticated AI. This computer "brain" is self-aware to a degree, but devoid of any sense of self preservation, other than that required to accomplish its orders. It has also apparently been programmed with the strategies of every great leader since Hannibal and Ghengis Khan (wonder if they got Hanse Davion in there? Somehow, I doubt that.) Over this all, they actually grow skin. Creepy. The thing looks totally human. What it amounts to is a damn near unstoppable killing machine. It looks like a man, walks like a man, and probably talks like a man too. In a low security setup, it could walk right by you and you'd never notice it. Til it started shooting, that is. Fortunately, it seems the whole project turned out to be horrendously expensive, so it was scrapped.
What few people know, is that in addition to bringing back the specs, we brought back the remains of a prototype we ran into. . . ."
Quiet Wind Research Facility,
Classified Planet
Capellan Confederation
Gunfire still crackled sporadically through the base, although the Marauders were clearly in contol. Buck had even dismounted the OuttaTime for a look inside, more to satisfy his curiosity than anything else. Now he was four levels deep in the ground, overseeing a squad of Woody's commandoes as they systematically downloaded and wiped the computer core, then replaced its contents with a vicious virus. Despain, still in his battlesuit, stood beside him. Buck wasn't sure whether to feel safe or annoyed. Sometimes it seemed Despain could be overprotective. Over his headset he heard the security team from the floor below. "Sir," the voice said suddenly, "We've got movement down here. Apparently not all the technicians are accounted for. We--Johnson, look out!" Gunfire crackled in the headset, then the speaker came back on, his voice panicky. Buck grew concerned. Those were veteran troops, anti-mech trained, no less. "Sir, we've got some sort of psycho down here. I don't know what he's on, but Oh my--" the transmission broke off in a horrible scream.
Buck turned to Dusty. "Stay here. I'll take First and Second Squad. The others will stay here and finish wiping the core. Let's go." Without waiting, he unslung his SMG and headed down the hall. The dozen men of First and Second Squads followed.
On the fifth level, the lights were out. Always a good sign, Buck told himself. In the dim light from the foyer, he could see an outstreched arm. The black leather vambrace confirmed it was a Marauder. Movement in the shadows caught his eye, and he ducked back behind as bullets spattered the frame where he had been. The heavy rattle of the machine gun confirmed it was the support weapon belonging to Fifth Squad. His own men fired into the blackness, but the form kept coming. Out of the darkness stepped a large man. Well, at first Buck thought it was a man, but then realized for all appearances, the bullets had no effect on it. The hair on the back of his neck rose. The heavy machine gun began to spit death, as Buck gave the order. "Fall back! Fall back! Get down the hall!"
In good order, the squad began to retreat, even as bullets found their marks in two men. Buck stopped and grabbed one trooper, dragging him along in a smear of blood. Someone lobbed a grenade, and the resulting explosion filled the corridor with smoke. The Marauders retreated up the stairs and took cover in the fourth floor's main lobby. They didn't have long to wait. The lumbering giant strode from the stairwell like an avatar from hell. The heavy machine gun held in one hand, firing from the hip until the ammo belt ran out.
The Marauders returned fire, but the 9mm shells of their SMGs had no telling effect, except to strip away the flesh of the thing, revealing the gleam of metal underneath. As the monster's machine gun ceased firing, Buck's MP-5SD3R clicked empty. He dropped the now useless weapon and drew his disruptor. He sent green blasts one after another into the thing, burning away flesh and melting metal. It kept coming.
It seized one trooper and snapped his neck with a one-handed twist. The rest backed away still firing. Bullets impacted on it's head, stripping away the flesh to reveal parts of a metallic skull. One shot shattered an eye, revelaing a glowing red sensor instead. It reminded Buck of the targeting laser for a gun. Still the thing came on, unstoppable, undaunted.
Suddenly from behind the Marauders came the sound of running feet, and the command "Get down!" spoken through a battlesuit's loudspeaker. Buck threw himself to the floor as Despain launched himself at the man/machine. The creature seemed to revel in the challenge, even as the one-ton weight of Despain and his battlesuit slammed it into a wall. The two struggled back and forth as the infantry watched, unable to aid for fear of hitting Despain.
The creature's strength was incredible. Buck watched as Despain seized its arm with his battleclaw, only to have the thing break away in a wrestling move no one had ever been able to use against Despain, augmented or not. Incredibly, it picked Despain up, suit and all, and slammed him through a wall. It turned to face the regular troops again, and was tackled from behind as Despain slammed it to the floor. Before Despain could finish it off, it threw him from it's back, and reached to grab him again.
This time, Despain was ready. He twisted before it could tighten it's grip, and rammed the business end of his suit's laser into the thing's abdomen. The room was filled in a blinding flash of light as the laser bored into the abomination. Then something blew, and Despain flew backwards across the room, the front of his armor charred and virtually nonexistent. The remains of the creature, the middle half gone, slid to the floor. The red light behind the inhuman eyes flickered and died.
In the sudden post-battle silence, Buck stepped over the remains of a couch to Despain's form. He was leaning over to peer into the suits viewslit when the suit popped open. Despain wearily raised his battle claw to push the helmet off. "What," he paused for a weary breath, "in the hell was that?" Buck looked at him blankly and after a moment, shrugged. "No idea." He looked around at his surviving men. "Grab the scraps, find our guys. Let's get outta here."
Marauders SOP on a tech raid was to strip the victim's computer core, wipe the memory, and replace it with a nearly unstoppable virus. This time, they just flattened the entire facility.
Game Notes:
As mentioned in Michael's journal, the Terminator is a nearly unstoppable machine, designed to hunt down and kill either specific individuals, or targets meeting a specific description. For example, "Shoot anyone wearing a FedCom uniform of Leftenant rank or higher." The Terminator can pass as a human to the unaided eye, however, on magres, thermal, and infrared scanning, it is easy to distuinguish. Of course, after the bullets start flying, it's fairly simple too.
Terminators can use any hand weapon, including squad support weapons such as SRM launchers or heavy machine guns. Because of their immense strength, they can generally operate these weapons one-handed (Thus doing twice the damage if they possess two weapons and ammo for both). They can operate vehicles as well. Their design makes them incredibly durable and hard to kill. They almost always work alone, and seldom interact with non-target individuals, speaking few, direct words when necessary. They were designed to be the perfect assassin, although the project turned out to be too expensive for what was basically an expendable role.
One of the surest ways to detect a Terminator is with animals, such as dogs, Al Na'irian Hamsters (you who were in on the "what's in a toolbox debate may remember that one) or horses. Animals are unnerved by the flesh/metal combination, and react in aggression or fear when one is near. A simple metal detector will also detect a terminator as well (For example if one decided to walk through the security scanner of a starport). Detecting them is really not a problem. Stopping them is.
Unit: Terminator
Tonnage: 1
Movement:
W:1
R: 4 (He will be known as a terminator if moving this fast while operating under cover)
J: 1
Armor Factor: 9 (Treat a Battlesuit)
Weapons:
2 of Any infantry weapon (Normal targeting rules apply, and may fire both weapons in one turn). Terminators are complex machines as it is, and may not have built-in weapons. They also have no self-destruct mechanism, as this would impede their goal of relentlessly pursuing their target. They may use a battlesuit, although they suffer a +1 modifier for targeting, and their movement is limited to the suit's capabilities-1 (They just weigh too darn much!). However, a Terminator in a battlesuit gains the additional protection of the suit, -1 (because one point always represents the human inside, and in this case, there isn't one). For example, a Terminator in a battlesuit carrying damage 9 points now carries 18. However, if the armor is reduced by the value of the suit (in this case, he loses 9 points of armor), the Terminator may not use the suit's weapons, as the suit is considered destroyed.
To-hit rules for a Terminator are the same as to-hit rules for targeting battlearmor. Terminators seldom work in teams, as 1) they’re expensive, and 2) It’s a little redundant.
For battlevalue, use the same BV as 1 platoon of standard IS battlearmor. (I don’t normally use BV, and I don’t have any idea what it should be, but it ought to be expensive.—This was meant to be an interesting weapon/toy, not for munchkins)
History and Deployment:
According to records salvaged from the Capellan facility, project Terminator began as an offshoot of Maximillian Liao's attempt to replace Hanse Davion with a double. The complexity of the project allowed projet Doppleganger to reach production first, and the expense of the Terminator proved formidable. Each unit cost almost as much as a light mech. The idea was scrapped due to financial infeasability, but the R&D facility kept a working prototype handy, on the off chance that it could some day be used. This was the unit encountered by the Marauders. It was subsequently destroyed by Major Despain. No other known Terminator exists, although the Marauders did end up with the technical data.
Special Notes:
The skin of a Terminator is actual skin, and may be burned, shot, cut, or melted away as any organic material would. Losing the skin does not make the Terminator any less of a threat, but it does make it more obvious. If any skin is left, it will regrow according to the standard rules of healing in Mechwarrior RPG 3.
Well, now I'm off to the movies . . .
Storm
_________________
Storm  "The More that thou sweatest and swearest in training, the less thou bleedest and diest in combat."--Dick Marcinko
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Nightmare
Lyran Alliance
Kommandant-General
Joined: 03-May-2002 00:00
Posts: 2214
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| Posted: 15-Jul-2003 01:23 Post subject: RE: Project Terminator |
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Looks like a nasty surprise for just about anyone. The Capellans forgot to program their machine properly, though. It should have made sure of killing the BA first, before starting for the unarmored troops.
I'm not sure I agree on the weight part, as it should be light enough to pass as a human in that regard too. Not only for camouflage, but for using equipment and moving about. My stairs would collapse if a one-ton giant stepped on them.
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A tree fall in the forest, and no one is around, and it hits a mime. Does anyone care?
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CO_17thRecon
Kell Hounds
Major
Joined: 10-Sep-2002 00:00
Posts: 1297
Location: United States
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| Posted: 25-Jul-2003 21:04 Post subject: RE: Project Terminator |
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Actually, when the thing is supposed to have been created, Battle Armor didn't exist. Prolly the AI ignored it.
As for the one ton, I think it should be less, but prolly considerable more than a flesh and blood person.
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Jarylan Blackwell
"What the...?! Where did you get THAT?!"
"Creative aquisition."
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