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[Man of Paper]

Final Phase Designs
Note: If you wish to share your proposals you may. I've not included them for character limit reasons.

For years the minds behind Salvios and Abbera worked on their own personal projects. With a looming interdimensional threat it was time to reveal them. Thanks to the combined efforts of Salvios and Abbera in their efforts to protect their homes a temporary alliance was struck, forming the Harren Multinational Pact. Thanks to the pooling of resources all designs are considered cheap unless stated otherwise.

Proposal: Glas Bolg
Difficulty: Very Easy
Result: (6+5)+2=13, Unexpected Boon

The Glas Bolg was meant to be a ship-based long-range communications system and has wound up being much more. A Glas Bolg radio can be fitted into any vehicle and there are infantry-sized models available. While the ship-scale equipment is capable of communications across the span of both the continents to our north and south, the infantry-scale equipment is capable of coverage across all of Harren Island, with other vehicles falling somewhere in the middle. How can such relatively small equipment perform so capably? The creation of a component called the "gavrillium transresistor", or "gavtransistor". This piece of equipment acts as a signal amplifier, multiplying input energy at the cost of surrounding heat. Luckily this heat loss is minimal, only acting to make devices using them cool to the touch. If we survive this incursion we expect this invention, credited to Savva Sokolov, to change the future of electronics development.

Every vehicle in the Harren Multinational Armory receives a Glas Bolg communications upgrade for no additional cost.

Proposal: Knight reform - PREATOR ARMOUR
Difficulty: Ludicrous
Result: (2+2)-4=0, Utter Failure

This was to be expected. As a prime example of all things Abberan, one engineer simply tried too many things at once. Ingesting Caelium causes vomiting and diarrhea, as opposed to creating subdermal circuitry. The kinetic sheep's horns, treated in a chemical bath, amplify sound when spoken through. A single suit of Praetor Armor was created - it turned out to be little more than an early-gen Paladin with a nozzle attached to one arm capable of spraying water from an attached tank. Dozens of features were being worked on, but with little focus no project got far enough along to implement before the Invasion. It is, however, indeed Golden Armor.

Praetor Armor is an (OFFENSIVE NATIONAL EFFORT) for the Harren Multinational Armory.

Proposal: Harren Unified Combat Uniform/Exoskeletal Combat Rig
Difficulty: Normal
Result: (6+5)=11, Masterwork

The ECR is a solid base for the Harren Multinational Military's standard combat uniform. The exoskeleton utilizes myomer to greatly improve the wearer's strength and endurance while a K-Wool lining and 12mm Caelium Steel armor plates provide ample protection to the soldier within. Beneath the armor plating and the K-Wool, a membrane-like film is attached and filled with Ambrosia Gel. When the armor is penetrated it bursts the membrane which, while not always perfect, will often coat the wound in the healing Gel.

A myomer-based grappling hook can be pulled from the back and hooked onto a forearm sling. The cable is capable of holding a completely unsupported ECR, the soldier inside it, and all their equipment, so long as whatever it's attached to can hold out. The grappling hook is capable of piercing thin armor at close ranges, making it a potential weapon if it comes down to it.

The back-mounted GavGenerator is also attached to a GravEngine granting limited flight abilities to infantry.

While not as strong as an Avalanche, infantry equipped with the ECR are capable of utilizing the heavier equipment designed for their larger counterparts (including the LAMB).

The HUCU/ECR is considered the standard uniform for Harren Multinational forces.

Proposal: RSN-1917-GAAI "Achilles" Ground Attack-Aerial Interceptor
Difficulty: Hard
Result: (6+5)-1=10, Superior

By working off of the Odysseus as a base we made the job of creating the Achilles a little easier, however the amount of things we crammed into the Achilles worked counter to that. The three Aligned Caelium Turbines the 5-meter long craft uses for propulsion were a logical next step in Abbera's armory, and thanks to a lot of hard work ensuring the gravitic fields of the turbine are properly directed, the aircraft is capable of going the desired 569 km/h, though it needs to cut it's speed to perform tight maneuvers without tearing off it's wings. It is VTOL-capable thanks to underside Caelium Rods. The Achilles can be launched from the ground or the Mother Orleans.

The Achilles uses a Glas Bolg radio for communications. For weapons it uses a 60mm Halberd-based autocannon padded with K-Wool and loaded with 30 rounds, two scythes with 400 rounds apiece, all mounted at the nose, wing-mounted 40mm autocannons with 20 rounds apiece, and two wing mounts for 6-round rocket pods. Rockets are either HE, Wickerman, or Hollow Charge Gavrillium.

Pilots are provided with Jump Packs in order to improve survivability in regard to long falls. The cockpit has a rack for a Medea, and pilots identify themselves by their vibrant red scarves.

Proposal: Liberator Air Defense System
Difficulty: Normal
Result: (3+1)=4, Poor

LADS is the grappling hook from the HUCU/ECR after receiving what many call the "Abbera" treatment. A lifting engine attached to a particularly thick braided-myomer cable fires the cable upwards, where the breaching tip penetrates armor and extends four plates in order to grip the hull of aircraft as it's pulled downwards. Unfortunately pulling a falling aircraft towards you tends to result in a bad day for all parties. But hey, it works!

Proposal: Moon Breaker Reality Defense Cannon
Difficulty: Hard
Result: (6+5)-1=10, Superior

The Moon Breaker is the pinnacle of Abberan successes. The 1000mm cannon uses a significant amount of caelium generators and c-steel to lighten the barrel and ease it's aiming. A number of electric motors and aligned caelium thrusters allows the Moon Breaker to be adjusted at significant speeds for it's size. The emplacement, built within Harren City itself, is absolutely lousy with K-wool padding in order to prevent collateral damage, or the weapon blowing itself apart. Salviosi-based sleds are hooked to a track that passes through the Moon Breaker and facilitates remote reloading of the weapon. The emplacement has enough space for four sleds to be loaded and on stand-by, meaning the first five shots can be fired at an alarming pace in opening engagements.

The Moon Breaker utilizes HE, Wickerman, Rime, and Penetrator shells. The Penetrator shells are based off of the internal components of the very explosive Icarus. By utilizing the faulty power set-up and weaponizing the explosive gavrillium reaction within the Icarus, we've created a shell that detonates after penetrating a significant amount of debris. This means deeply cut fortifications, or massive interdimensional ships, are susceptible to Moon Breaker bombardment.

The Moon Breaker Reality Defense Cannon is a (DEFENSIVE NATIONAL EFFORT).

Proposal: SAR-17 Automatic Rifle
Difficulty: Simple
Result: (5+5)+4=14, Unexpected Boon

First and foremost, thanks to the new HUCU/ECR the 15mm variant was the only one requiring production - they can use it just as well as the bigger troops. The SAR-17 is an assault rifle influenced by communications with Forenia and utilizing a 30-round magazine of gavpowder rounds and a fire rate of 550 RPM. Thanks to the Harren Multinational Pact K-Wool was included in the SAR-17, reducing the effects of recoil on the weapon as well as minimizing the stresses of firing the rounds on the weapon itself while keeping it relatively compact and light. The rifle has a select-fire switch to toggle between semi-auto and automatic fire. Padding is, of course, immaculate. The SAR-17 is the primary weapon for the Harren Multinational armed forces.

During the development of the SAR-17, a group of engineers also went about working on standardizing FMJ/G rounds. While simplifying the process of production they stumbled across a Gavrillium mixture capable of making the rounds explode. The gavrillium within the round is activated upon firing, and the new solid mixture builds up heat as a solid singular mass until it explodes violently based on the size of the chunk. The rounds will explode on impact in their agitated state, though they'll often stick deep into unarmored targets before exploding. The exploding rounds, as well as FMJ/G, are available to every soldier using the SAR-17 as needed, and FMJ/G munitions are available on-demand for all weapons in the Harren Multinational armory.

Proposal: H.M.S. Unfettered Spirit
Difficulty: Ludicrous
Result: (2+1)-4=-1, Utter Failure

As stated by the designer, "This is what Peak Abberan looks like", and they weren't wrong. Overreaching in just about every field, this was meant to be a massive flying fortress. It is instead a monument to Abbera's specific brand of madness. While a skyship, of sorts, was constructed, and weapon systems added to it, the Unfettered Spirit never actually flew. As a result it's become known as the Fortress Unfettered Spirit, sitting outside the Abberan capital.

This fortress is armed with 5 2x420mm Gravitic Cannons, 12 100mm turrets, and 20 40mm autocannons. A hangar in the ship provides housing for a dozen Achilles, and a command suite provides operational control over the surrounding territories. There is almost no armor however, so while the fortress can lay down significant fire in the area it's susceptible to heavy attacks and breaching tactics. It also, once again, does not fly.

The Fortress Unfettered Spirit is a (DEFENSIVE NATIONAL EFFORT) only deployable at Abbera's capital.

Proposal: Mantle, Supreme Titanic Lifting Fortress
Difficulty: Ludicrous
Result: (4+1)-4=1, Utter Failure

Infected by Abbera's unique flavor of insanity, an engineer proposed a 250m tall walking fortress with up to a meter of caelium steel armor in places. Instead we wound up with just the top section of the Mantle. The Mantle is effectively a large emplacement with two twin Jotunn turrets, as well as a number of 105mm Scyllas and 40mm autocannons that litter the Mantle in ball turrets. While it has considerable firepower, it is immobile, and so the Mantle Supreme Titanic Emplacement is considered a (DEFENSIVE NATIONAL EFFORT) only deployable at Salvios' capital. [NOTE: See dgr's below proposal for adjustments]

Proposal: Royal Abberan Small Arms
Difficulty: Simple
Result: (5+3)+4=12, Unexpected Boon

While Salvios has created the standard firearm for the Multinational Armory, the actions taken by the Royal Abberan Small Arms Initiative have filled in the gaps. The 40mm R.A. Tank Killer, an upgrade to the Halberd, utilizes gavpowder rounds and a high-zoom scope. It's 1.5 meter length is lightened through judicious use of C-steel, and K-Wool padding reduces recoil to nearly nothing. The rifle is fed by 5-round box magazines and can be outfitted with a bi- or tripod.

The Minotaur, an improvement for the Draco, turns it into a 10-round magazine-fed 20mm semiautomatic shotgun. It utilizes buck and slug shot, as well as armor-piercing SABOT rounds.

Most importantly, cooperation between nations has resulted in the development of explosive rounds for both the Tank Killer and the Minotaur.

The hardest part of the R.A.S.A. Initiative was the creation of a handgun. Influenced by the Salviosi SMG, the Spirit of Harren is a 10mm semiautomatic handgun with decent stopping power, sturdy construction, and wide availability due to extreme ease of production.

As all infantry are capable of wielding larger weapons, the Tank Killer becomes the rifle of choice for engagements against armored targets or enemies at range, the Minotaur becomes the Multinational Armory's close-range weapon of preference, and the Spirit of Harren takes the long-vacant position of sidearm.

Proposal: Mantle Mass Production
Difficulty: Normal
Result: (3+2)=5, Below Average

With the failure of the Mantle it wasn't too hard to reproduce it on a slightly larger scale. By dedicating a number of facilities to the development and production of the Mantle Supreme Titanic Emplacement, the deployment of the Mantle includes a network of a half-dozen emplacements across the sector. It is still only deployable at the Salviosi capital.

Proposal: Subspace Reinforcement Core
Difficulty: Impossible
Result: (4+2)-6=0, Utter Failure

While research into the Subspace Reinforcement Core meant well, it was soon realized that the scope and scale of this incursion was immensely underestimated. The transdimensional materials we used to communicate with extradimensional allies weave all throughout the planet - indeed it seems the entire planet is the anchor for this thinning between realities. The members of the recently-unveiled S.H.O.E. share that Cael, an interdimensional being offering his hand against one of his own currently invading the realm. Currently a device attached to the network of transdimensional materials beneath the cemetery of Harren City's Upper District is tightening the field and locking interdimensional entities within the planet's atmosphere. This is a device made by Cael's hands, someone who fully understands the workings of the materials, and even that cannot cancel out the field.

However thanks to research in the field and extensive work, you have discovered the nature and location of the device known as the Dimensional Field Dampening Generator.

Dimensional Field Dampening Generator: A massive machine beneath the surface of the planet connected directly to the transdimensional material network branching throughout it. The Transdimensional Materials act as a connection to those realities under Gavros' control. While normally Gavros' fleets would be able to phase into reality near these structures and go about their business, the DFDG traps Extradimensional Objects and Beings within the planet's atmosphere. The DFDG runs off of a massive series of gavrillium generators. If it is destroyed then Gavros' forces will be able to do with this reality as they see fit. Your forces are now free to defend or destroy the generator as they deem necessary. NOTE: Unbeknownst to SHOE (or at least unconfirmed for them, someone may have guessed this), this device also acts to improve the ease with which the veil between dimensions can be pierced. The system is extremely vulnerable to sabotage and a large enough shock to it's system would disable or destroy the thing outright.

Proposal: Harimau Armor
Difficulty: Normal
Result: (6+6)=12, Unexpected Boon

The Harimau Armor is meant to be the culmination of progress made with both Salvios' and Harren's advancements in heavy infantry armor.

Using the Avalanche as a base, the Harimau gets thicker C-Steel plating and a Kinetic Wool underlay along with a denser concentration of myomers. Unlike the ECR, the Harimau utilizes both nations infantry flight advancements to produce one extremely effective flight pack. Where the ECR gives all infantry the ability to fly in short bursts, the Harimau is capable of hours of sustained flight at around 120km/h, though it is highly recommended that one lands before that time runs out. The Abberan Sparkpack is used to provide power to the armor. The suit is fitted with an oxygen system and is well-insulated, keeping the inside of the suit at a nice 20 degrees Celcius whether marching through the desert or attempting high-altitude flight. Even with the thick armor plating the suit maintains maneuverability for the user, with ease of use resulting in it essentially becoming an extension of the wearer.

While the Harimau armor is considered cheap, it is on a different scale than infantry equipment, somewhere between infantry and tank and so not everyone will have access to it. Instead, there are enough people using the armor that there's (at least) one soldier wearing the Armor in most situations.

Proposal: The RedWolf's Rocket Explosive for the Glory of Salvios (TREGS)
Difficulty: Theoretical
Result: (4+1)-3=2, Utter Failure

The TREGS is a single massive missile with a fragmentation warhead capable of causing tremendous damage over an area the size of a large city block. The launcher is towed in a truck.

The issue was developing RAdio Detection And Ranging system required to guide the missile, or even developing RADAR at all. We think we got it, but only one prototype missile was produced, and so far has remained untested. It is considered an (OFFENSIVE NATIONAL EFFORT).

[Man of Paper]

The War to End All Wars
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[Note: This will take place over multiple posts. If you've shown up immediately please wait a few minutes and refresh in order to get the whole shebang. Also if you're not mentioned it's because you didn't include a plan with your design, nerd.]

Weeks passed since the initial incursion. The Northern Continent had begun to tear itself apart - nations from both alliances submitting to the invader Gavros, with Traitor Nations attacking their neighbors in their new overlord's name. The nations of the Southern Continent and the numerous island nations came together on Harren Island to prepare. And to answer a summons by Cael, the extradimensional being that claimed to be a defender of the planet. This theory was tested in a meeting between Loyalist national leaders and Cael himself.

Cael offered freedom, peace, and the chance of a continued existence. All he asked for was fealty. That a small number of people and resources are provided to continue the fight for a greater good, to fight for peace. This obviously did not sit well among all world leaders. While some declared their nations loyal to Cael's cause, a number of nations declared that Cael only offered freedom from one yoke in exchange for the weight of another. Two of these dissenters were the Abberan Queen and the Salviosi Merchant Lord's representative. The Queen was particularly outspoken, shouting at this human-looking alien that she, nor her people, would bow to another, never again, let alone during their very fight for independence. The Salviosi likewise stated that the offer was very loosely defined, in such a way that clearly benefited Cael and could potentially cost a nation like Salvios everything. As Cael was unwilling to clearly define or negotiate terms, the deal was utterly unpalatable to the Salviosi, and pointing this fact out turned a few other nations.

Unfortunately Cael's cloaked bodyguards swiftly executed the dissenters, seemingly cementing a loyalty through fear in the "Loyalist" nations. A handful of diplomats had indeed remained of the mind that the people of this world were best ruled by the people of this world, but had feigned loyalty to Cael's idea of a "greater good" under his command. It was through these leaders that word got out about the sudden, swift mass execution of diplomats, politicians, and royalty who refused to accept Cael's terms. With the Glas Bolg word was out within moments, and so when Cael's Loyalist nations turned on their "Dissenter" ex-allies across the world it came as no surprise.

The War in the Skies

The mind behind the Harimau Armor, now going only by "Fuck Cannala Guy", stood on the deck of the Sky Tyrant as it drifted along the strait north of the Fortress-City. The sky was dominated by the alien ship positioned directly above the city. When word spread of the deaths of both nation's representatives the commander of the vessel, one Admiral Valkria made the decision to draw the Sky Tyrant back - it wouldn't be good to lose the flagship in an opening salvo, after all.

As the first shots on the ground were fired the massive alien mothership opened a large number of bays that disgorged a frightening number of small aircraft. These flat, triangle-shaped aircraft were extremely mobile and armed with a gun not unlike a Salviosi GGG-12, save for firing significantly larger rounds. The nations not native to Harren Island were shredded by the alien aircraft in mere moments. The Multinational Air Fleets however consisted of a sizeable Quick-Reaction Force of a few dozen Mother Orleans, their carried Achilles Interceptors, and a significant number of escorts and artillery ships in the form of Charybdises, Argos, and the Orleans-family.

While a number of enemy aircraft twist and fly at impossible speeds through the city hitting Multinational lines with terribly effective strafing runs, a large portion of the still-growing fleet broke off to engage the approaching Multinational ships. Ship-bourne artillery fired from a distance and Mother Orleans released their Achilles' and the Thaddeus ships flew amid them for defense while the Charybdis' and Argos flew forward to provide a screen. The Sky Tyrant observed from behind and above them all.

M1895 was the callsign adopted by the engineer who invented the Achilles, and they were the first to take to the skies in one. They were also the first to launch from their Mother Orleans and speed towards the approaching enemy craft. M1895's wing tore past the screen ships in a blur. The alien split off into four separate groups, one headed straight for the Interceptors, one gaining altitude, and two turned off to swing around on the flanks. A few Interceptors broke off to meet the other groups, but lost significant speed as they maneuvered and lagged behind. The bulk of the force met the alien aircraft head-on, the noses of both planes lighting up in highly destructive blasts of gunfire. Rockets go nearly unused against these craft - there's almost no way barring extreme luck that an Achilles will hit one of the aliens with one - but the barrage of cannonfire manages to score quite a few kills. Once past one another though the Multinational force split apart and set to engage the other air groups now converging on them while the alien craft made painfully tight turns and were almost immediately lined up on the Multinational craft.

Orleans artillery fired constantly, bombarding the top of the alien mothership with violent ferocity. And yet the ship remained unmarked. It had shields, not quite unlike the Abberan Gravshields, though their nature was unknown. Valkria and FCG stood in the comms deck of the Sky Tyrant, listening to every painfully clear transmission from their hopelessly outmaneuvered compatriots. Bursts of fire in the distant skies signaled the death of an ally more often than not. These things alone were going to tear through Multinational forces, and cannon fire wasn't doing a thing to the mothership. But a single Achilles got past the alien fighters, seemingly unnoticed, gunning straight for the mothership at full-throttle. Valkria watched through binoculars as the Achilles opened up with everything it had, rounds impacting a barrier that briefly flashed around every impact, rockets exploding in harmless bursts.

A single loud, defiant scream came over the Glas Bolg - it was the leader of the Interceptor wing.

"M A X I M U M  B E E G!"

The Interceptor flew at the mothership, bypassing the shields as it passed into an open hangar and exploded within it. A plume of green-tinged fire blasted out of the hangar and the mothership began trailing smoke from the small wound. Two things were immediately made clear - the ship lacked it's own defensive weapons, and the shield could be bypassed.

The Harren Multinational Pact has an Extreme Air Disadvantage.

The Invasion of Abbera

It was a dreary day as grey clouds dropped a light, steady snow down on the Abberan Capital. A dense fog had rolled in from the seas to the north and it was near impossible to see your hand in front of your face. When the call went out about the Queen's death the city's defenders went on high alert. It was a good thing too, as mere moments after the Multinational forces in Abbera went on high alert the invaders on the northern continent, Gavros' Traitor forces, were spotted in the skies off the northern shores. Aircraft larger and heavier than the ones over Harren punched down through the clouds and tore apart a scouting wing of Achilles. Autocannons and artillery opened up from the vast defenses lining the city and shores as the city's airbourne garrison took off to greet the invaders.

The clouds flashed with distant explosions within and above them, observed by both Frostgiant (bedecked in the gold Praetor Armor) and a Mr. Fox as they stood in the control center of the Fortress Unfettered Spirit. The hull of this eternally-grounded ship vibrated as the autocannons opened fire on Traitor aircraft breaking through the clouds. Bright streaks with thick black trails denoted the loss of an Achilles more often than not. And then...something else streaked through the skies.

Drop pods landed from an alien command ship passing overhead at it's maximum altitude. Many slammed into the ground or through buildings, though a few did manage to hit aircraft on both sides unlucky enough to be in the way.

As the pods opened within the city limits they disgorged large numbers of mechanically-enhanced humans. The Traitor infantry were lightly armored (against large exploding bullets) and support in the form of larger airships had yet to appear, so the heavily entrenched Multinational garrison, with the Unfettered Spirit serving as central command, managed not to fall apart immediately. The defenders were able to isolate and eliminate pockets of the drop troops before they were able to form up and organize, but each group had highly specific objectives, and squads acted almost as a single entity with deadly efficiency. With no good way to see through the fog, the Traitors were able to get to and complete a number of objectives with ease. The enemy forces were creating cracks in Abbera's defenses.

With the city under direct attack, the larger guns of the Unfettered Spirit remained unused. This worked out in the defender's favor as the fortress drew less attention, looking more like a salvaged wreck than a fortress the the unsuspecting onlooker as it was. At least until the second wave of hit.

None of the Multinational defenders could tell you when the second wave actually arrived. Just that they made their presence known as large, long vehicles broke up through solid earth, massive drills at the front of each one. Large hatches dropped open and soldiers clad in black combat armor and tanks on their backs connected via hose to a facemask disembarked. Their weapon of choice seemed to be a rifle that used magnetism much like the Halberd used gravity to fire it's rounds. These drilling vehicles withdrew back into their holes once they unloaded their cargo. One such vehicle came up through the bottom of the Unfettered Spirit, smashing through the roof of the fortress and getting wedged by the layers of armor. It's massive doors dropped open, often only partially, and the troops within began to fight their way out across multiple levels. Frostgiant and Fox were responsible for rallying the defense of the fortress, which was a series of room-to-room fights as the well-armed and armored infantry of the Multinational Pact held their ground. The Multinational Pact infantry proved to be too hard to dislodge in entrenched positions as they were - every soldier was improved beyond a standard human's capabilities, and these multidimensional forces were, at their roots, a variant of humankind.

Their technology, however, far outperformed Harren-based designs. As losses on both sides in the sky began to pile up the Traitor forces were joined by aircraft of the same design utilized by the Loyalists above the Fortress-City. The fleet assigned to defend Abbera was already faring poorly against the advanced enemy aircraft, so when the near-untouchable fighters joined the fray it was only a matter of time before the Traitors, and apparently Loyalists, had total control of the skies. A massive ship, close to the size of the one eclipsing Harren City though of very different, sharper, brutish design, dropped through the clouds and over the Abberan capital.

Rockets, lasers, and gunfire from Invader aircraft rained down on Multinational Forces, battering positions until there was naught but dust. Another interdimensional human species, these ones bound to bipedal machines slightly larger than an Avalanche, joined the fight but were insufficiently armored and drew too much fire thanks to their larger size. They also detonated violently when killed or destroyed, and had a tendency to charge Multinational positions in large numbers and with reckless abandon. Defensive positions already compromised by the first wave were now experiencing widespread defeat as the Invader forces on the ground acted rapidly to exploit any breach forced by the self-destructing armored enemies.

The Unfettered Spirit had just suffered an attack by one such group of Invaders. Frostgiant and Fox were holed up in the Command and Control room where the last few working radios were receiving frantic reports from across the city - and the island. A gout of fire reached through a hole melted in a wall near the door which a soldier clad in Harimau Armor was quick to fire back through. Frostgiant went to hold the door as Fox sat over a control panel with a half dozen very nifty buttons on them. He watched out of an observation window as the massive enemy ship was seemingly unaffected by the massive shells fired from the few guns in the fortress still under Multinational control.

A blast threw open the doors acting as the last line of defense between the Invaders and the control center. Frostgiant was thrown across the room by the blast, knocked unconscious but still alive if only because of the Praetor Armor. A wide variety of humanoids entered the room, quick to put down anyone who raised a gun at them. A large, muscular figure with a build not dissimilar to a minotaur from the children's stories stepped into the room.

It demanded surrender from the dead and dying. Stated that they fought with distinction and submitting would see them rewarded, while any further resistance would result in inevitable defeat. Fox, dazed and slumped over the control panel he'd been next to, opened his eyes and looked back out the observation window to the burning city. His eyes swept across the room littered with broken bodies. Then he slammed a fist down on the big flashing red button.

The Harren Multinational Pact is LOSING the Battle for Abbera.

[Man of Paper]

The Siege of Salvios

With the Loyalists attacking Harren City and the Traitors invading from the north you wouldn't be a fool to assume the capital of Salvios got off easy. It's just that in this war, as all wars, things never adhere to logic and sense.

The skies were remarkably clear above Salvios, the air providing a soft breeze to cool sun-touched skin on this particularly warm afternoon. An engineer by the name of dgr was overseeing the maintenance of a Mantle Supreme Titanic Emplacement when word of the betrayal in the skies above Harren reached the Salviosi capital. It was only a few moments after that when the first Invader ship seemingly materialized overhead, casting a gloom shadow across a large swathe of the trade city. In a moment the plethora of heavy weapons available to the Multinational defenders opened up on the belly of this beast. Munitions detonated prematurely as small guns mounted throughout the ship's hull fired at and intercepted the incoming rounds. A few smaller rounds slammed into the hull but left superficial damage at best.

The Mantles, under orders from Engineer Nemonole, focused fire as the massive vessel's bottom began opening to reveal a very large cannon mounted on the underside. Aircraft of the same design as the ones over Harren City departed from it en masse, easily hunting down and picking off Multinational aircraft as if they were playing a game. The cannon beneath the ship began to glow a vibrant purple-blue as a second ship phased into existence just past the city limits. Drop pods began raining from the heavens, notably well past the distance the liar Cael's Dimensional Field Dampening Generator should allow interdimensional travelers to fly. These pods fell to the earth well clear of the ship threatening the capital, dropping in on a select few neighborhoods and among the outer defenses.

With more enemy craft incoming, and with the larger ship still showing no signs of damage, Nemonole ordered the Mantles to fire at will, engaging any targets of opportunity. The occasional round struck a drop pod, but they just fell too quickly to hit reliably. The emplacements would've focused on ground targets but combat was in such tight quarters, with trenches, armored sleds, and guard posts being fought over inch by bloodied inch, that any shot would have killed an unacceptable amount of friendlies. Still, the Mantles kept doing their best in an attempt to fight their skyward foes.

The cannon beneath the first ship finally roared as a massive ball of superheated matter whistled out of it, frying the air as it flew through it. The first shot splashed against a Mantle with devastating effect. The impact and blast of the amorphous round scorched the earth around the emplacement and immediately set alight anything even resembling flammable material nearby. The armor impacted by the plasma disintegrated under the withering heat, and the soldiers inside were flash-roasted. The second ship's cannon had extended slightly outward and angled towards the city, but otherwise had begun the same charging sequence as the first.

Dgr and Nemonole both could do little but listen as men and women near the blast called out for help over their radios. The second burst fired, arced over Salviosi sands and landed amid the city, vaporizing an entire city block with ease and setting fire to the structures around it. Pockets of Multinational forces were able to hole up in heavily fortified bunkers, but these bombardments threatened to melt them down or at the very least burn them out. The Salviosi defenses were indeed unparalleled on this planet, but these invaders bypassed half the defenses Multinational forces had to offer just by dropping from the skies.

The Tectonic made it's presence known outside Salvios' capital building. Fighting was intense in the streets outside as the six-meter armored behemoth, supported by Multinational Infantry, held off against countless foes pouring out of the drop pods that had been landing consistently since they first fell. The fight was brutal, intense, and constant, and it wasn't too long before the Tectonic had to resort to melee tactics. It's fingers were capable of grasping Invader soldiers and crushing or tossing them aside as if they were paper dolls. Covered in blood, scorch marks, gouges and dents, the Tectonic fought valiantly to provide a rallying point and a symbol of hope to the beleaguered Multinationalists.

Nemonole watched as a third blast fired, decimating the Salviosi capital building and everything around it. A third ship appeared in the skies. Another blast fired. And another. The city had begun to burn intensely, portions of the ground having been heated enough to form a surface of glass. Nobody could have been ready for this. Even those SHOE who knew of the strange things in our world were being misled. It was being made clear that if humanity here wasn't to bow then they were to burn. More impacts within the city itself, as though the invaders didn't care that the capital of Salvios was a largely civilian settlement. Nemonole watched and waited as yet another ship appeared in the skies. At this point the order to his Mantle to stand down had been given, as had a general city-wide order to abandon the city and retreat. No, not retreat, flee. There would be no victory there today, and with the press of a flashing red button, Nemonole sought to ensure that remained true for the Invaders.

The Harren Multinational Pact is LOSING the Battle for Salvios.

The Decisive Action

The crew on the Sky Tyrant had all taken cover below-decks. Munitions had been tossed haphazardly overboard as the Abberan-now-Multinational ship approached Cael's own and systems not devoted to propulsion or shielding were powered off. The Invader aircraft attempted to swarm and strafe the titanic ship but to no avail as the combination of immensely thick reinforced armor and gravitic shielding provided ample protection to those within.

The Sky Tyrant was over the Upper District and rapidly approaching the Invader mothership when the massive vessel began to move, accelerating to such a speed that the Sky Tyrant wouldn't catch up to it. Yet she was not the only tool in the Multinational Armory.

The Liberator Air Defense System had been installed all across the Fortress-City, and through coordination of Valkria with it's creator, an engineer who referred to themselves as Rockeater, the system was entirely focused on tethering the Invader mothership. The city itself seemed to reach out with hundreds of thick myomer vines as they were launched skyward, with some even managing to snake past the shields and strike the armor of the craft hard enough to penetrate and hook into. The ship creaked and groaned as the hyperstrength artificial muscle, anchored deep into the ground, tightened and pulled against it. Fuck Cannala Guy and his Harimau contingent on the Sky Tyrant ran to the top deck as the ship got ever closer to the Invaders, and when it was finally close enough that the enemy aircraft were unlikely to intercept them in time, they took off towards the mothership.

A tether popped, then another. Thick myomer cords slapped down onto the city embroiled in battle. The ship began to shift, and before the entirety of the Harimau soldiers managed to get into hangars or on top of the ship itself it had begun to move again. Most of the Harimau soldiers managed to find themselves within or on top of the vessel before it began to move again. Fuck Cannala Guy had a moment to glance behind him and see an old buddy get torn from the skies as the ship shifted and an Invader fighter swooped past, clipping him with a wing. There was no time to process the loss though, not now, not yet, not surrounded by twenty Invaders currently at work in the hangar.

Fuck Cannala Guy, who stood out among his peers already in custom-painted Red and Blue Harimau armor with "Fuck Cannala" written on the front in Bordosian, opened fire on the people crewing the hangar and it's security with his preferred weapons - a pair of LGG-12P's. Without their overwhelming air and orbital support the enemy infantry was largely ineffective in a confined space against an elite Multinational soldier. Rounds pinged off of FCG's armor as he used enemy aircraft amid repair and rearming as cover. An Invader charged him, one that rivaled a Harimau suit in size, with a large, heavy wrench-like tool. The Invader swung the tool at head-level but FCG pivoted and ducked, the tool passing through air and denting the aircraft he'd been taking cover behind. Before the giant recovered FCG stood up and jabbed him in the throat with the barrel of one of his LGGs, extracting a sickening, stifled gurgle as his esophagus collapsed. Then a second strike. Then a third, followed by a single shot through the throat and a solid boot to the chest, knocking the Invader across the floor in a bloody smear before turning his attention back to the others.

Invaders, presumably the mechanics, had already begun fleeing the hangar as shipboard security made their way in. FCG at this point had taken to moving toward the nearest exit at a brisk pace, all the while pounding every Invader he saw with just the right amount of overkill. Bodies began to smoulder and burn from the FMJ/G rounds, filling the air with the unsettling combination of cooking meat, burning fabrics, and the sickly-sweet, pungent odor of death. FCG, on his own, had managed to force an evacuation of the entire hangar while the Invaders tried to respond. No doubt the situation was complicated by the attacks happening across multiple decks along the same side of the craft.

But then the bulkhead sealed shut with a hiss, as did the hangar bay door, locking FCG away from the outside world save a single window overlooking the city. A loud clank and more hissing signaled the introduction of a just-visible gas in the hangar. FCG cursed. The Harimau had it's own oxygen system, but it was limited. And as he saw Harren moving beneath him, more tethers snapping under stress, FCG knew time wasn't his ally. But as he stared back at a city he'd likely never see again an odd flicker crossed past FCG. And another. The shield on the ship was wavering, buckling, then...seemingly gone. Someone on the ship had succeeded in sabotaging the fucking thing. Now all he had to do was wait for some landbound fucker to fulfill his final wishes.

The Harren Island Gambit

The fighting in Harren City was as intense, if not moreso than the fighting currently seen elsewhere on the island. The fighting was most intense at a facility of import for all sides: a single missile silo, indeed the only of it's kind in the world, installed in the Upper District as part of the Fortress-City's defenses. The weapon had yet to go on-line, the processes required to ensure the missile launched and detonated were complex beyond reason. Invader forces had breached the defenses around the silo and underground facility, utilizing the self-destructive soldiers to force openings to be exploited.

Explosion after explosion went off while the recently-promoted engineer RedWolf waited for the signal from above. The Glas Bolg next to him crackled to life with confirmed reports of impacts directly against the Invader mothership and so RedWolf flipped the lever that opened up the hatch topping the silo. The sounds of warfare echoed down through the structure and added to the already immense cacophony caused by combat within. With the hangar open RedWolf proceeded to hit the big red button meant to trigger the missile's launch. The engine fired up, the missile began to lift, then...


Three people, separated by many, many kilometers, coincidentally (if you believe in such things) and simultaneously hit their big red buttons. With Abbera burning to the ground and no hope in stopping Gavros' Traitor forces, Fox had detonated Abbera's munitions stockpiles. Trees were flattened for kilometers as stores of explosive shells, powder, fuel, and countless other military resources went up in a series of terrific blasts. D-Gavrillium from the Rime shells coated everything and visibility turned to zero as smoke, dust, ash, and D-Gav polluted the already-soupy air. To the south in Salvios Nemonole had made the same decision. The city was able to hold off just a bit longer and managed to pull a few people out of there before also going up in a terrifying explosive eruption of molten materials. The explosion was large and bright enough that it could be seen from Bryor far to the west (see page 3 of this thread for the world map+key). When the missile in Harren City was launched the thing, to everyone's surprise, failed and after gaining momentary lift dropped back to the earth and, it it's extremely sensitive state, exploded. The massive warhead took out the facility and a significant area nearby.

Each of these noble sacrifices (even if one wasn't so intentional) were centered over very important locations in relation to this planet and the invaders: they're the three places anyone has made contact with the interdimensional substructure of the planet itself - the very thing that Gavros seeded realities with in order to ease the invasion of new dimensions. The explosions at the two capitals, over the chambers manipulated into being by a long-forgotten and completely unknown version of Aren Wagner and Antero Sahay, and the one in Harren, which took out a large tract that included the graveyard, overloaded the interdimensional system and as soon as they'd appeared, the Invaders were...gone. The sheer systemic overload cause the superstructure to fail, distorting it's effects as it ceased working. Interdimensional entities within our reality were torn roughly from it as a result. A number of citizens across the globe also vanished, oddly including all notable engineers from the Harren Multinational Pact.

The Harren Multinational Pact has ATTAINED VICTORY over the invading forces!

20 Years Later...

With Salvios a Sea of Fire and Abbera a Frozen Waste, surviving "Dissenters" from both nations converged on the relatively intact Harren Fortress-City. They formed a new government using a democratic, party-based political system, isolated themselves from the rest of the world, and attempted to rebuild from the ashes. The process would take decades more, if not centuries, but the people of the island were strong-willed and had faced the worst, they hoped, that the multiverse had to offer.   

People expected the Great War and the Sacrifice of Harren to signal an end to global violence, but such a peace could only last for so long. While Harren had become unified through the conflict, the Interdimensional Invasion had shaken the geopolitical situations on the main continents to absolute pieces. Cael's Loyalists and Gavros' Traitors still had people taking up their banner, ensuring instability for the forseeable future, and governments attempting to impose authority after surrendering to one of the two aliens were laughed at and many eventually fell apart.

Entirely new nations had risen from the bloated corpse of the old world, but it would only be a matter of time before the nations returned to the old ways of war to settle their differences.

This concludes Industrialized Warfare Arms Race!
I hope you've had fun, or at least had an okay time. While the stories of Abbera and Salvios are now over, the future of Harren is unwritten. The setting will be seen again in a future Arms Race, so long as I don't like die or something.

[Craftsdwarf boi]

Why wasn't my military innovations on the designs list?

[Jerick]

Since we're in the endgame Craftsdwarf you'll want to suggest just one thing for your personal project, as well as a personal plan.

You suggested multiple designs when you only got one and didn't make it clear which one you wanted.

[Craftsdwarf boi]

Indeed true