Southern Vehicles Compendium 1

Last Stand

Sergent Alia Muna-Habib took a deep breath before activating the explosives. The small shaped charge attached to the armored door's lock detonated with a roar, blowing a hole the size of Alia's head into the Badlands habitat.

Sergent Lyle Oglin , 9 mm at the ready, moved quickly to pull open the door while she brought her shotgun to bear and Sergent Lussian Salban covered her back. She saw one guard pull out a sub-machine gun and she fired without hesitation, punching through his chest and throwing its contents across the vestibule's back wall. The three SIU agents slipped inside quickly. This was not at all what they had planned.

Major Augusta had laid out a simple and efficient plan. They had identified a Saragossan People's Front for Independence base camp in the Badlands. Intel reports had identified it as a storage facility, lightly guarded. They had been sent to neutralize it . Alia, Lussian and Lyle would take their Gears in from the east, while the rest of the team came in from the west. They hadn't counted on ECM knocking out all communications once they got inside the perimeter, but that was nothing compared to the pop-up mines that had disabled their Gears close to the buildings. Now they were stuck using hand weapons and Lyle was limping on a wounded leg. All in all, a bad day.

Alia and Lussian exchanged the point as they moved from room to room. Lyle tried his best to keep up, but he needed medical attention, and soon. He winced every time he moved as the effects of the painkiller patch started to wear off.

"Damn!" Lussian ducked back from the corner he had just peered around as automatic weapons fire tore into the wall near his head. Kneeling, he popped off a few quick shots. Lussian was great in a Gear, but he had only basic training in small arms. Alia signaled for him to use a grenade. The explosion was deafening and final.

Alia looked around quickly before giving her orders. "Okay, we have to get to the back of the building. There we can hold position and maybe move to the next one. Go."

The three agents made quickly for the end of the hallway, checking any intersections, but letting closed doors stay that way. They had advertised their presence enough already and they needed to find a defensible position soon. Alia was about to try and override the electronic lock on the door of what she hoped was a control room - that ECM had to be knocked out and soon - when it opened of its own accord. A Spiffy brandishing an assault rifle was standing right there; he fired almost reflexively.

Alia fell backwards, numb and barely aware of her teammates firing over her head to neutralize the shooter. She barely felt Lussian grab her under the arms and start to drag her back while Lyle tried to cover them. The pain hit her as they ducked into a small closet halfway down the hall.

She felt her flak jacket, hoping her hand wouldn't come up bloody. It didn't, but she was pretty sure the kinetic force of the shot had broken at least two ribs. She could be bleeding internally. They were in deep trouble. Looking over she saw that Lyle was slowly slipping into shock from the loss of blood.

Alia took Lyle's sidearm and pulled out her own once she had raised herself to a sitting position. With one pistol in each hand she looked like something out of a cheap holofilm. Well, at least she was going out in style. She and Lussian were about ready to make a suicide rush at the Spiffies when the wall of the closet they were in collapsed.

Wounded, dust and bright sunlight in her eyes addling her perceptions, Alia didn't recognize the silhouette of "Julius," a very familiar Spitting Cobra, until Miranda Petite's voice cut through the static in her headset.

"Can't I ever leave you alone, Alia?"

1.1 Introduction

The Terra Nova Vehicle Compendiums are meant as a set of quick reference manuals for students of military history on Terra Nova. Within these books are the statistics and specifications for the most common military equipment used by the armies of Terra Nova. This volume, The Southern Vehicle Compendium, is dedicated to Heavy Gears and striders that saw service in the armies of the leagues of the Southern Hemisphere. The only models listed here are those that are common to several leagues, city-states or paramilitary organizations. Designs or variants that are used by a single league will be examined at a later date in other manuals.

While meticulous care was taken to ensure that this compendium is accurate and up-to-date, the ever-changing nature of vehicles and the secrecy of military-related designs make this task Herculean at best. The reader must also take into consideration the fact that most of the information contained within this compendium originates from the manufacturers themselves and reflects generic, minimally trained Gears. Depending on individual machines and maintenance records, field performance might differ from that published here. Since the last edition, some specifications and statistics have been modified to reflect newer, more accurate information.

This manual is divided into several chapters, each covering a specific subject. Chapter one explains the various new elements found in the vehicle statistics: the tactical uses icons, the color schemes and the availability numbers. Chapter two tells the story of the development of the Jät;ger, the first southern Heavy Gear. Six well-known companies that manufacture either Gears or Gear parts are examined in detail in Chapter three.

Chapter four constitutes the meat of the book and introduces fourteen Heavy Gear chassis and three strider chassis presently in use, along with seventy commonly seen variants (chassis and variants are explained below in subsection1.2.1 and further). Each vehicle is fully detailed, both in terms of background and game statistics. Chapter five is built along the same lines, but presents five research programs currently under way to create new and more advanced vehicles. Chapter six includes all the weapon systems that were found in the old (now out of print) field guides, compiled and arranged in alphabetical order for convenience. That chapter also includes all the Perks and Flaws of the field guides, again compiled and alphabetized. Note that even though they are presented in The Southern Vehicle Compendium, these weapons and systems can be used by any faction with no restrictions other than what the Gamemaster sees fit to apply.

Chapter seven contains multiple tools that should prove useful to all Gamemasters (and to the players, to some extent). These tools run from the explanation of the complex vehicle identification system used by all leagues on Terra Nova to the camouflage patterns used by the armies of the South. Diagrams show the relative distribution of each of the vehicles shown in this book. Finally, a typical field garage and maintenance shed is examined in detail, ready to serve as a base of operations for a group of players in the field. The book closes with an appendix, which contains various game aids such as a chart that allows the Gamemaster and players to compare the vehicle statistics at a glance and blank vehicle and squadron sheets.

1.1.1 Chassis and Variants

For the reader's convenience, the vehicles in this book have been divided into two general categories: chassis and variants. For the purposes of the game and its background, there are no practical differences between the two. The division has been made purely to maximize the page content of this book and to indicate the origins of each Gear. Both categories feature vehicles that are in full-fledged production or have been permanently modified into their current configuration.

A chassis is the basic production model of a certain vehicle type; for example, the Jät;ger. Chassis are often mass produced and easily recognizable in shape and function, and they form the core of the armies. Because chassis are so common, we have devoted three full pages to each, along with a listing of their full gaming statistics. Variants based on a particular chassis will use this set of game statistics as a base for their own, through a set of modifications (see page 6). The full explanation of the chassis sections can be found on the next page.

A variant is a vehicle derived from another. In general, variants involve small modifications to the mass-produced chassis to answer a specific need. They can differ in terms of operational role, performance, equipment or weapon payload, but they tend to share the same basic structure as the design on which they are based. Variants can either originate from the factory or the field - no distinction is made within the book, except perhaps in the production type. To save on space, the statistics of each variant are given as modifications to the statistics of the chassis. For example, the Blitz Iguana's statistics are given as modifications of the game statistics of the Iguana. The Threat Values supplied have been calculated after the modifications were applied to the basic game statistics and can be used, as is, to evaluate the strength of a combat group.

In general, chassis have a Southern identification code that ends in SU (for Soldat Use), while variant codes end in a task-specific suffix, such as AS (Assault), or PT (Paratrooper). The chassis and variant, however, will share the same basic code that indicates frequency and general size. For example ,all Jät;gers have a code beginning with OACS-01M. The few exceptions to this rule cover Gears that are based on a previous model but whose modifications are all-encompassing enough that they have become a chassis in and of themselves. The high-technology Chameleon (related to the Iguana) and the Black Adder (related to the Sidewinder) are only the two most obvious examples. Southern identification codes are explained in full on p. 201.