| APAGear II Archives | Volume 4, Number 8 | October, 2002 |
Gridref 165-901.13, 42km west of Boondocks WRL, 1632 hours universal time.
[Velez] Anything there Telarc?
[Telarc] Just some wastrel corpses... wait, something on IR...SHIT a light auto at eight a clock, it spotted me! Requesting fire support[static followed by silence]
[Velez] Telarc...come on in please,Telarc...[Sigh]
[Armin] Get off that hill Velez! NOW!
[Velez] Huh ? [as the particle beam from auto near misses Velez:es APES]
[Armin] This Wrecker One requesting immediate support from any unit near gridref 165-901.13. We are under fire from rogue light combat auto, repeat we are under fire !
[Bastet-709] This is Bastet seven-oh-niner, we are on position oh-point-six-three kilometer north of you on the ridge and we have visual to an aggressor, over.
[Armin] Velez, use your designator. I Do not have a line-of-sight.
[Velez] Can't do it, that near miss fried my designator.
[Bastet-709] Bastet seven-oh-niner designating, over.
[Armin] Let blast the bastard. [followed by sound two AGM launches]
[Velez] Two confirmed hits, sir. I Think we killed it.
[Bastet-709] Bastet seven-oh-nine to base request immediate evac, we have...! Armigers the target is still active! I repeat target still active. [Voice drowned by sound of rocket barrage]
[Velez] Armin? [Silence] Shit. This is for Telarc and Armin. [Sound of twin AGM launch, folowed by an explosion and flying pieces of former auto]
Fifteen minutes later.
[Bastet-709] Are you allright armiger, sir?
[Velez] I guess, I'll live to see another dawn.
[Bastet-709] ??, Your friend behind the hill was lucky, the barrage just wrecked his suit. Our medics are treating him as we speak. He will live... to see another dawn. Pardon me sir, are these suits new models. I've never seen one like this before?
[Velez] It's Archer, you can ask the specs from techs back at Boondocks. They'll know, they designed it. Where's our ride anyway.
[Bastet-709] ETA three minutes and forty seconds, sir.
Although the Archer Heavy APES is based on the successful Men-At-Arms Heavy APES. Its design diverges reasonably from Man-At-Arms APES. Thanks to unorthodox (and unsanctioned) collaboration between engineers of Kogland Defense Foundry and few bored engineers Kadellite Weapon Systems stationed at Boondocks Wasteland research facility. The KWS engineers were shocked when they discovered that Utopians used very few guided weapons, instead trusting autos to do their job on battlefield. Usually only flying vehicles and autos were equipped with guided missiles. Willing to take the challenge (out of boredom of working with battleframes and hovertanks) and to secure friendship with people they were stationed with.
After a impressive performance during testing and evaluation period Archer was approved for mass-production. The arrangement was profitable on the Kadellite Weapon Systems as they would be ones to produce the missiles and launchers for the new Archer APES. And the pending CID investigation of "Unauthorized technology transfer" was quietly called off.
The first and most visible difference between Men-At-Arms and Archer is the lack of any sort of an directfire weapon and the the well known Organ Grinder rocket pod. Which have been replaced with rack three 112mm guided anti-armor missiles and big target designator. Other improvement were made in stealth systems and jump jets (using slightly altered Caprician technology). This comes at price of course, the whole system is very vulnerable to electromagnetic pulse and elctrical discharges. And the lack of direct fire weapons does little to enhance Archers survivability. On the bright side Archer can take out APESes even without painting the target with target designator, or seriously damage autos if one is designated.
There exist on variant of Archer. Archer 2-B or Silencer as it is called by the armigers. Silencer is a dedicated anti-electronic warfare unit designed take out enemy ECM units. Also it is even more vulnerable to attack than the Archer, thus the silencer is always deployed with atleast two bodyguard units, usually other APESes.
Name: Archer Heavy APES
Vehicle Type: Augmented Powered Environment Suit
Production Type: Mass Produced
Cost: 306,250.00 Local Currency
Manufacturer: Kogland Defense Foundry
Use: Anti-Auto/Armor APES
Height: 3.92m
Width: 3.3m
Avg. Armor Thickness: 15mm
Armor Material: Zero-G Ceralloy Laminate
Standard Op. Weight: 1880 kg
Primary Move Mode: Walker (24 kph)
Deployment Range: 150 km
Sensor Range: 2 km
Communication Range: 10 km
Powerplant: Fuel Cells / Batteries
Engine Output: 244hp
Threat Value: 350
Offensive Value: 279
Defensive Value: 82
Miscellaneous Value: 688
Size: 4
Original Default Size: 7
Indv. Lemon Dice: 3
Crew: 1
Bonus Actions: 0
Primary Move Mode: Walker
Combat Speed: 2
Top Speed: 4
Maneuver: 0
Sensors: -1
Communications: -1
Fire Control: -1
Light Damage: 9
Heavy Damage: 18
Overkill: 27
Qty Name Code Arc ACC Damage Range ROF Ammo Special 1 Anti-Ground Vehicle Missi AGM FF +1 x15 3 /6 /12 /24 3 Guid, IF 1 Anti-Personnel Grenade La APGL F -1 x3 1 /2 /4 /8 10 AE0, AI, IF 1 Chassis Reinforcement CR F 0 x0 0 /0 /0 /0 0 1 Vibroblade VB F 0 x8 0 /0 /0 /0 0
Name Rating Game Effects AUX Airdroppable Can be airdropped HEP: Desert - HEP: Radiation.c 2 100 Rads per Hour Improved Off-Road - 1 MP cost, minimum 1 MP Jump Jets 2 Rating times 50m of jump capability AUX Limited Life Support Life support for 1 week AUX Manipulator Arm x2 4 Can punch Stealth 2 Add rating to Concealment AUX Target Designator 3 Designates targets for guided weapons AUX
Name Rating Game Effects Exposed Fire Control "Fire Control" hits are one step worse Vulnerable to Haywire Haywire gets 3 rolls on damage tables.
Archer II-B "Silencer"
Remove: Target Designator
Add: Sensor Homing Ammo for AGM Rack
Change: TV:384 (O:937 D:82 M:133)
Production Type: Limited Production
Price: 1 344 000 Local Currency
| APAGear II Archives | Volume 4, Number 8 | October, 2002 |
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