Stealth Bioroid

## Stealth Bioroid (Sonteos'dohl)

A dedicated special operations mecha, the **Stealth Bioroid** (Sonteos'dohl) was one of the most advanced mecha designs ever fielded.

## Background

While the Robotech Masters had access to their vast Zentraedi armies, there was also a need for a weapon that could be used for more precise and surgical operations. At the same time, the Masters were reluctant to give the Zentraedi access to some of their most advanced technologies, lest they be used against them. This need lead to the creation of the Stealth Bioroid. The last of the so-called Early Period Bioroids, the Stealth Bioroid was developed as a special operations, precision strike and covert reconnaissance platform that utilised Stealth systems to an at the time unprecedented degree.

Built from the same basic design as the Commander Bioroid, the Stealth Bioroid was further optimised for its specialty role. While highly effective, due to the combination of its specific use and the advanced technologies utilised in its design, the Stealth Bioroid saw only very limited production and was likely the least numerous design of the series. Stealth Bioroids were attached to special units within each Legion, and were usually deployed in Triumvirates under the direct control of a Legate or other senior figure.

Initially the Stealth Bioroid was deployed mostly as a counter-insurgency weapon to eliminate high-profile targets. It also was employed for surgical strikes against key assets where there was a need for comparative discretion or subtlety, such as with the client worlds of the Local Group. It is also possible that Stealth Bioroids were discretely used to pave the way for Zentraedi invasions by eliminating key defences or targets ahead of the main assault. In such cases, the Zentraedi commanders were likely unaware of the Bioroids' presence.

As the Tirolian Empire began to crumble and the Invid became more of a threat, the Stealth Bioroid was employed in new roles. The Masters attempted to use it in strikes against the rare free-thinking Invid Keeper Caste and other such targets, although the Bioroid's stealth systems proved to be far less effective against the Invid's Protoculture sensors. As the war continued and the Masters' Protoculture reserves were depleted, the Stealth Bioroid was largely retired from active use due to their high energy usage.

Only a few Stealth Bioroids are known to have been used during the Second Robotech War, although it needs to be said that their advanced stealth systems makes documenting their presence difficult at best. It is believed that all of those present during the conflict were destroyed, abandoned due to power exhaustion or recycled into components for construction of the Invid Fighters.

## Capabilities

While sharing the same basic design and construction as the other Bioroids, the Stealth Bioroid featured a number of design elements that were entirely unique to it. The Bioroid was equipped with a variety of passive stealth systems, ranging from radar-absorbing materials in its armour to thermal suppressors, electronic masking and even advanced LPI electronics. However, these systems did not mask the Bioroid against the Invid Protoculture sensors, although it is unclear if the Robotech Masters were even aware of the existence of such systems. Overall, save for the Protoculture energy signature, the Stealth Bioroid had a sensor footprint only slightly greater than that of a VF/A-6X Shadow Fighter with its Shadow Device enabled.

Added to this, the Stealth Bioroid was equipped with an advanced system that could render it invisible for short periods. Most of the details of this system have been lost, but it is known to be a derivative of the system used by the Bioroid Terminator body armour. When activated, the Bioroid used advanced mimetic and adaptive systems built in to its armour to essentially disappear from sight, the colours of its body adapting seamlessly to its surroundings. The power of this system was such that the Bioroid could move at full speed and continue to operate without revealing its presence. However, use of the system rapidly drained the Bioroid's Protoculture reserves. As a result, the Stealth Bioroid ran the risk of exhausting its power supply during extended use of the system. Understandably, this feature became a liability by the time of the Second Robotech War, where the Masters had nearly depleted their Protoculture reserves.

The Stealth Bioroid used a unique sensor fit that was designed to reduce the chance of detection, and made extensive use of LPI technology. While most details of its sensor system have also been lost, it is believed to have featured similar capabilities to the sensors on the Subcommander Bioroid. Because of their specialty role and the need for independent action, Stealth Bioroids were usually piloted by high-level clones that had been given extensive specialty training.

The armor on the Stealth Bioroid is a low-mass composite-material plating that was later emulated by Earth militaries for their mecha. Aside from the respectable protection provided against projectiles, missiles, and other kinetic weapons, this armor is also resistant to plasma globes (annihilation discs), lasers, and to a lesser extent, particle guns, owing to the fact that the armor can flake off and evaporate in layers under fire from such high-energy weapons, taking much of the weapon's energy and converting it into the latent heat of sublimation in the armor. The armor stops all small arms, heavy infantry weapons fire, and light mecha-mounted weaponry, and provides good resistance to medium mecha-mounted weaponry, and poor resistance to heavy mecha-mounted weaponry.

Note that the Bioroids' redundant systems and advanced design made them exceedingly capable of coping with battle damage, and the total protection afforded by the Bioroid was hence more than the armor data would suggest.

## Weapons and Equipment

* **Zolkhor-Gor Precision Gun Pod:** Hand-held. A derivative of the standard Boiroid Drum Gun Pod, the Zolkhor-Gor is designed for long-range precision fire. The weapon fires particle beams at a rate of approximately 20 shots/minute and has a range of approximately 5 km under normal terrestrial conditions. Despite its size, the Zolkhor-Gor can be used one-handed with no loss of accuracy and can be employed by a Bioroid using a Hover Sled.

* Optionally other gun pods could be used. See the main file for more information.

* **Sze-Khinz Wrist Claws:** Mounted on the forearms. Designed for use in silently eliminating targets. Weapons are energy-charged to improve penetration capabilities.

## Notes

* Design Notes
* Bioroid Main File
* Bioroid Hover Sled