Chernobog
Background
Usually, the name Chernobog comes up in association with the definition of “armored fury.” It’s true that the symbol that best represents the Armored Detachment is the hammer, associated to the violence of that sinister Slavic deity, a violence that matches so well the character of its pilots, true avatars of destruction.[1]
Ariadna fears change, and never bothered with a mechanical TAG regiment. But Kosmoflot is different from the rest of the Ariadnan military; fighting in space will make you think differently about your tactics.
In the race to reach the South Pole, Robert Scott opted to use trucks, state-of-the-art technology at the time, which didn't survive the merciless Antarctic climate, so the Englishman and his expedition lost the race and their lives. In contrast, his rival, Roald Amundsen, chose to rely on dog sleds, a traditional means of transportation that had proven dependable in similar weather, and thus he arrived first at the South Pole and made it back alive. The Ariadnan military's philosophy regarding advanced technology is the same as Amundsens. As a force that must operate in frontier territories, with thin supply lines, it tends to be distrustful of the most technologically advanced equipment, which is why despite the lessons learned in the Commercial Conflicts and in international deployments it never sought to create a mechanized TAG force. However, Kosmoflot is a completely different creature from the rest of the Ariadnan military, if only because its operating environment is unique and requires the use of technology to survive.
Kosmoflot didn't have TAGs in its early days, but this wasn't the case for the facility-construction teams on Tanit, Dawn's moon. They had MekhaniKazak Gruzchik units (Грузчик, Russian for "Stevedore"), a variant of the CaveCrawler mining TAG, which were used only for heavy-duty work. That was until the fateful "Dark Tuesday:" On that day, a gang of Yuan Yuan pirates attacked the lunar facilities being erected by the construction crews and stole everything made of Teseum. This raid resulted in a dozen casualties, and seven of them were TAG pilots who tried to defend their fellow workers by facing the pirates with their weaponless machines.
Back then, Kosmoflot was still in an embryonic state and lacked sufficient personnel to protect all the construction crews scattered across the surface of Tanit. So, Gruzchik pilots took the initiative and began to upgrade their units with armor plates, donated by their technician colleagues from Aricosmos, and all the weapons that Kosmoflot officers could "misplace." As born and bred Ariadnans, these men and women were good at obtaining whatever they needed one way or the other. For example, the pilot and technicians of a TAG nicknamed Grubyy (Грубый, Russian for "Rough") stole a Spitfire from the warehouse of a Kosmoflot base they stopped at on their way to their new assignment. As a result of this procurement policy, within a couple of months there wasn't a single Gruzchik who complied with the Directorate of Industrial Vehicles' regulations, let alone the Ariadnan government's laws on gun ownership. These industrial TAGs were too conspicuous to go unnoticed: bristling with makeshift weapons and with their crew-given nicknames painted in large, bold letters on their sides, no foreman could miss them. They + were also noticed by Kosmoflot officers, but they chose to turn a blind eve to these infractions and take good note of these bulky machines performance.
Gruzchik pilots were to be the unexpected test subjects for the capabilities of Ariadnan TAG technology in combat. As usual on Dawn, many of those pilots had served in some Ariadnan military force or militia and had experience with firearms and even combat, so it didnt come as a surprise that they were able to handle Yuan Yuan pirates, renegade Bashi Bazouks, and corporate privateers. They lived up to the nicknames and 'noms de guerre' emblazoned on their machines many of them borrowing from popular culture, such as Karatel" (Каратель, "The Punisher), Rob(otic) Roy. Neprikasayery (Неприкасаемый, "The Untouchable"), Rembo (Рэмбо, "Rambo), Leon le Professionnel, Beshenyy (Бешеный, "Rabid), among other colorful names and they became the heroes of the laborers and astronauts working on Tanit.
Using these pilots' exploits as an example, Kosmoflot officers requested the Stavka establish an armored detachment equipped with military versions of MekhaniKazak's TAGs, whose crews would be trained by Gruzchik pilots. Kosmoflot's recruiters had picked up on these pilots' interest in staying in action; they had seen a sparkle in their eyes, a craving for adrenaline that characterizes those who love to take risks and fight on the front line. And so it was that many of those eccentric TAG names would end up being painted on the sides of the new, imposing Chernobogs. The ancient Black God of the Slavic people, lord of darkness, inspired the name of the new military model developed by MekhaniKazak, a huge metal beast made of Teseum and, thanks to this neomaterial's incredible properties, endowed with the lightness and maneuverability that modern combat requires.
However, the Chernobogs' technical features aren't the only thing that have earned them renown in the military domain throughout the Human Sphere. Their pilots, as well as the Gruzchiks' crewmen and their trainees. have carried on their tradition of resilience honed in the harshest conditions on the desolate plains of Tanit. As successors to those brave operatives, they perform much the same function: they continue to fight against pirates, but also against professional soldiers, the difference being that they now have real military equipment to turn the tables in their favor. Now when anyone gets in their way, they can really kick their ass simply by charging head-on and crushing them under their mighty legs while they continue to fire all the guns these behemoths can carry. This is true to the point that, in many Maya search engines, the name Chernobog comes up in association with the definition of"armored fury." usually next to a holopicture of one of the most famous of them all: the one nicknamed Cherno-Bill. The battle cry of its pilot, Sergeant Vera Rusakova, '"This beating's gonna be atomic!"' was picked up by a PanOceanian news channel that failed to grasp the obscure reference of this TAG's nickname and spewed out a series of headlines accusing Ariadna of retrofitting its Chernobogs with tactical nuclear weaponry. These headlines were so amusing to the detachment that, true to its traditional sardonic humor, they quickly modified their unit insignia, adding the symbol for nuclear hazard to it. Yet everyone agrees that the symbol that best represents the Armored Detachment is the
hammer, associated to the violence of that sinister Slavic deity, a violence that matches so well the character of its pilots, true avatars of destruction.[2]
Profile
N4
ISC: Chernobog Armored Detachment | Mechanized Troop | Tactical Armour Gear | ||||||
Fury: Not Imeptuous | Training: Regular | Back-Up: No Cube | ||||||
MOV | CC | BS | PH | WIP | ARM | BTS | W/STR | S |
6-4 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
Skills and Equipment: ECM: Guided(-3), BS Attack(+1 Dam), Courage, Dodge(PH=9), Immunity(Shock), Tactical Awareness, Transmutation(STR), Gizmoki(PH=9) |
ISC: Chernobog (Battle Ravaged) | Mechanized Troop | Tactical Armour Gear | ||||||
Fury: Not Imeptuous | Training: Regular | Back-Up: No Cube | ||||||
MOV | CC | BS | PH | WIP | ARM | BTS | W/STR | S |
6-4 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Skills and Equipment: BS Attack(+1 Dam), Courage, Dodge(PH=9), Immunity(Shock), Tactical Awareness, Gizmoki(PH=9) |
Loadout | Special Skills | Weapons and Equipment | Melee Weapons | Points | SWC |
1 | AP Heavy Machine Gun, Heavy Rocket Launcher(+1B), Chest Mines | AP CC Weapon | 72 | 1.5 |
2 | AP Heavy Machine Gun, Heavy Flame Thrower, Chest Mines | AP CC Weapon | 65 | 1.5 |
ISC: Chernobog Pilot | Line Troop | Light Infantry | ||||||
Fury: Not Impetuous | Training: Regular | Back-Up: No Cube | ||||||
MOV | CC | BS | PH | WIP | ARM | BTS | W/STR | S |
4-4 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Skills and Equipment: Courage, Specialist Operative, Pilot |
Loadout | Special Skills | Weapons and Equipment | Melee Weapons | Points | SWC |
1 | Submachine Gun | Pistol, CC Weapon | 0 | 0 |
Note: Introduced in N4. No profile in N3 or previous editions.
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