Welcome to Gaia! ::

Arma Virumque Cano
~Virgil

There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men.

The purpose of war is to support your government's decisions by force. The purpose is never to kill the enemy just to be killing him...but to make him do what you want to do. Not killing...but controlled and purposeful violence. But it's not your business or mine to decide the purpose of the control. It's never a soldier's business to decide when or where or how—or why—he fights; that belongs to the statesmen and the generals. The statesmen decide why and how much; the generals take it from there and tell us where and when and how. We supply the violence; other people—'older and wiser heads,' as they say—supply the control. Which is as it should be."

The most noble fate a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and the war's desolation.

The basis of all morality is duty.

Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect. But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible.

Introduction

Much of human history has speculated the existance of life not of this world. At the turn of the twenty first century, research was made to discover extra-terrestrial lifeforms. It was just over fiftty years ago that we've developed a means of travelling faster than the speed of light, opening us up to the stars. As we explored, as we settled, we discovered new lifeforms, truly unique living organisms. It was just over five years ago that we discovered other intelligent life, a highly evolved, spacefaring breed of what we could best describe as insects. It was just five over five months ago that we entered our first interstellar war.

This RP is based loosely off of the novel Starship Troopers, though it will take its own liberties as I see fit. I know that I have other RPs in development, but I was inspired after seeing once again some of the old episodes of the animated television series. The above quotes as well are from characters invented by Robert Heinlein.

Expect powered armour, expect giant alien bugs, expect lots of shooting. However, expect political and social commentary in the process, expect deep character development and a deep story. This I hope is to be a wonderful RP, no matter how it is viewed.

Setting

The settings may vary wildly, changing from planet to planet. As they are encountered, they will be listed and described here.

The only definite location that you will endure is the ship that you are stationed upon, the UDS Saratoga. The ship is some half a kilometer long, and is a war vessel in its own right. However, do to the nature of the enemy, the ships main role also doubles as a transport, delivering the soldiers to vital battlefield locations across various planets.
UDS Saratoga 1
UDS Saratoga 2
It houses eight squadsm which may be deployed via orbit through drop capsules or by dropship, but must always be retrieved by dropship.
Dropship 1
Dropship 2

Technology

Marauder Class Powered Armour
Image (In jump)
The one piece of technology that you will become most accustomed to is the suit of Marauder Class I powered armour that you will be wearing. It has a full exoskeleton, with power-assist servos to aid in movement, as if one was not wearing the armour at all. It weighs 2500lbs, and may carry up to 1500lbs of equiptment. Its features include:
JATO:
Rocket propelled system which allows the suit to make short "jumps."
Viewplate:
An advanced system of sensors have been built into the helmet, displaying targeting information, as well as ammo, structural integrity, objectives, a map, and other information upon the screen. The view may also be changed to include night vision, infrared, and ultraviolet.
Hardpoints:
There are six "hardpoints" on the suit, where different equiptment may be chosen. Beneath either arm a larger weapon may be chosen, and a smaller weapon on the backs of each arm. There are also two "back slots" where weapons or other upgrade may be placed.
Life support:
There are numerous features to help the wearer of the suit, ranging from being a controlled environment and providing nutrients and water, to combat stimulants, keeping them awake and alert for up to days at a time, as well as emergency medical treatment, inlcuding local anesthesia and applying pressure to wounds, as well as disinfectant.

Weapons
Small Arms (2x)
GC6 Assault Rifle:
10x35mm, 100rpm, 500rd capacity, 500m range
T8 Shotgun:
12x10mm pellets, 50rpm, 100rd capacity, 200m range
T14 Flechette Rifle:
5x50mm, 50rpm, 350rd capacity, 750m range
TBC...
Large Arms (2x)
Vindicator Chaingun:
15x50mm, 250rpm, 2500rd capacity, 600m range
(Ammo fed via belt from back slot)
Armatech Heavy Flamer:
500C, 3sec burst, 25 burst capacity, 50ft flame
XM3 Particle Rifle:
2500C, 20rpm, 50 shot capacity, 1250m range
TBC...
Vindicator Ammo Pack:
(Required to hold ammo for Vindicator Chaingun.)
Barrage Missile Launcher:
4x Missiles, 2500m range
(May pick any combination.)
Inferno: 50m blast, 250C, flames for 300s
HEAT: Anti-armour, 5kt impact
Nuke: 500m blast, radiaton