Atopian Military in the Age of Space

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Following the creation of the Atopian Space Force (ASF) and the abandonment of planetary living, the Atopian Military underwent a radical shift in operations and nomenclature. What had once been the Atopian Army became the Atopian Stellar Marine (ASM), while the Air Force became the Aerospace Force (AAF), a subsection of the ASF which provided crews for fighters, bombers and shuttles. The Atopian Strategic Rocket Forces were formally disbanded in 2500, and amalgamated into the Atopian Space Force’s Planetary Annihilation Units. The PAU crew the superlasers mounted on the ASF’s Ultra-class vessels, and also provide the human staff of the World Devastator super-factory ships.

The Atopian Stellar Marine

The ASM is trained to fight in vacuum, zero, low and high-G environments, on board ships and on planets. Light ASM troopers wear bulky powered armour suits which are proof against even direct hits from heavy weapons such as E-Webs. Such troopers are used mainly for boarding actions or combat in built up areas where collateral damage is not beneficial. A typical loadout for a light trooper would be a heavy maser, maser pistol, thermal detonators, and a monomolecular ceramic composite sword-bayonet. The suit’s power boost enables wearers to lift up to ten times their own weight, and crush skulls with one hand. In addition, the suit is capable of chameleonic camouflaging and has a built-in anti-gravity generator enabling the wearer to fly to a limited degree.

Their heavier ‘drop’ trooper comrades wear massive armoured suits capable of limited independent flight, and which are capable of being fired from orbit to surface from converted weapons batteries on specific vessels. The heavy trooper’s typical armament includes two shoulder-mounted 2 kilton tactical nuclear missiles, a flame-thrower, chest-mount grenade launcher rig, and an arm-mounted combination rocket launcher/heavy repeating maser. Armoured protection from the suit means that it can withstand up to 400G of pressure for 24 hours, and energy discharges of up to 100 gigawatts; not to mention protection from armour piercing projectiles up to a calibre of 200mm. In addition, the power boost from the suit means that its wearer is capable of lifting up to 100 times their own body weight, in addition to being able to snap reinforced ferrocrete.

Drop, or heavy troopers, are used almost exclusively for land based warfare – or more accurately, the “short, sharp shock” of Atopian battle doctrine. Few can withstand the assault of the Heavy Brigades, and their armament means that they do not need armoured vehicle support unlike their lighter cousins.

Boarding actions are initiated through the use of the Dagger Assault Boat, which carries 50 light troopers or 20 heavies. These vessels are designed to punch through an enemy ship’s armour and into its interior, whereupon its hatches blow and its cargo enter the enemy vessel. Other tactics include using Heavy Brigade Marines as small EVA craft which can blow or cut holes in ships for entry or egress, and the (experimental) use of teleportation.

Notable Persons

Lieutenant-Colonel Lucie Svetranova, 263rd Shock Assault Division

The Atopian Aerospace Force

In the air, the AAF uses TIE fighters of varying classes for air superiority, interception, and close support work. Scimitar Assault Bombers and TIE bombers form the main force of ground attack groups, alongside modified light shuttles. It should be noted that these fighter and bomber groups also – indeed, mostly – operate in space as part of the ASF.