Stinger

The term **Stinger** is a collective name for a variety of improvise combat mecha used by Zentraedi Malcontents.

## Background

The first Stingers were created in response to two needs that were common to many Zentraed Malcontent bands. The first was issue that many Malcontents had already been micronized and lacked access to Sizing Chambers to restore them to their full size. As such, the operation of Mecha designed for full-sized Zentraedi was difficult for even the simplest of types, being the Tactical Battle Pod. Conversely, without a full-sized pilot, the Power Armours could not be used at all. Several Malcontent Groups, such as the Khyron's Fist band, had tried to use Battle Pods piloted by Micronised crews in combat but the results were unwieldy at best.

Combined with that was the acceptance that the Zentraedi's standard tactics were no longer viable, given the small size and limited resources of many Malcontent bands. Traditionally, most Zentraedi forces had relied on overwhelming their enemies with sheer numbers of Battle Pods, with the acceptance that they had functionally limitless resources and an endless supply of warriors at their disposal. But now that they were reduced to isolated bands that had no easy ability to resupply themselves, the Malcontents could not longer afford to simply absorb losses and keep fighting. With a lone Tactical Battle Pod being no match for a Veritech or Destroid, it was clear that the Malcontents needed a more powerful weapon.

Finally, the UEDF had taken to aggressively impounding any Zentraedi Mecha recovered from the many wrecked ships spread across the world. These Mecha were then usually scrapped for materials, components and, most importantly, their Protoculture supplies that could be recycled. While chiefly about reclamation and reconstruction, this move was also about keeping these weapons out of the hands of Zentraedi Malcontents.

The Stinger was the creation of the Scavengers Malcontent Group, based in the Zentraedi Control Zone and lead by Seloy Deparra (a former member of the Quadrano Batallion). The very first Stingers were intended to be simply crude reconstructions of Zentraedi Mecha with crew compartments suited for human-sized crews. This included adapting the Power Armours with new motive systems to overcome the lack of a full-sized operator. Due to the background of Deparra and her associates such as Marla Stennik, an emphasis was placed on airborne mobility in an effort to recreate the capabilities of the Female Power Armour.

While it is not clear when Stingers were first deployed, the first confirmed sighting was in 2016, when a lone Stinger was fielded by a member of the Khyron's Fist against a convoy outside of Curibas. The Stinger was able to destroy the convoy along with two VF-1 Veritechs and inflicted over two hundred casualties before withdrawing without any damage. The presence of the Mecha caught the UEDF entirely by surprise, who were simply unprepared for the machine and the capabilities it offered.

Following this initial success, the Scavengers began large-scale assembly of new Stingers from their various workshops across the Zentraedi Control Zone. Rather than sticking to a single formula, the Scavengers constructed Stingers with a wide variety of weapons, features and capabilities, based as much on their own ideas as making the most use of the parts they could get their hands on. While their chief source of parts would come from scavenging in ruins and crashed Zentraedi ships, the Scavengers turned to other sources for their supplies as well. While some of those came from black market sources, it is now accepted that the Scavengers were able to smuggle parts from the Robotech Factory satellite.

Within a few months the Scavengers were supplying Stingers to Malcontent bands worldwide. The Mecha saw action all across the surface of the Earth, as well as in orbit with groups scavenging from wrecked ships in the debris forces. The UEDF and Southern Cross soon came to accept that Stingers would be a part of any engagement with Malcontent forces, and that it was impossible to fully predict a Stinger's capabilities, as no two examples were identical. Furthermore, badly damaged Stingers were as likely to be cannibalised for parts as they were to be rebuilt with parts from other Mecha, which meant that a single example could vary wildly in its abilities across different battles.

While the Scavengers had achieved considerable success with their designs, it is believed that by early 2018 they were beginning to exhaust many of their parts supplies. Their supply line to the Factory Satellite had been cut off, and the UEDF were now cracking down hard on many black-market sources. The result was that the quality of the Stingers being produced became sharply divided between high-performance refined examples and far cruder machines that were little more than deathtraps. None the less, they were still widely accepted by Malcontent bands who needed the weapons.

The destruction of the Scavengers in 2018 shut down the supply of new Stingers. Most existing examples were destroyed in combat or captured within the next two years as the UEDF and Southern Cross eliminated the last of the major Malcontent bands. Furthermore, due to their scratch-built nature, most Stingers were difficult to maintain at best, and simply had not been expected to last more than a few years. Sporadic encounters with Stingers would continue into the 2020s, but these were usually lone, isolated examples that were often in poor repair. Combat losses and attrition likely took care of those remaining examples before the start of the Second Robotech War.

## Capabilities

Because of their scratch-built nature, no two Stingers shared the same performance and capabilities. Individual Stingers could vary in their abilities from high-end, well-armed Mecha that could compete with the UEDF's frontline units to barely-functional machines that were as dangerous to their pilots as anything else. This variance in construction standards was a result of the Scavengers having to make do with whatever came to hand, but it is also accepted that they treated some Malcontent groups more favourably than others when it came to the Stingers they supplied.

A Stinger could be built from the parts of any Mecha. While usually the Scavengers used Zentraedi Mecha as their start point, they would also use VF-1 Veritechs or Destroids for parts as well, especially for cockpit fit-outs. Stingers have even been observed with parts from conventional combat vehicles and aircraft. Where possible, the Scavengers would try to emulate the control configurations of familiar Zentaedi mecha to help pilots acclimatise to new machines; the result was that the best Stinger pilots were usually those that had prior experience operating Power Armour. Typically the Scavengers tried to outfit Stingers with electronics taken from Zentraedi mecha that their pilots would be more familiar with, but they would also use other materials where needed. Most Stingers were equipped with a short-range battlefield radar and various optical systems including infra-red, low-light.

As noted, most Stingers were capable of flight. Typical speeds were in the high subsonic range, with control aided where possible through salvaged Inertia-Vector Control systems. Otherwise Stingers often became unstable at high speeds, and as such only used them for escapes. Most Stingers were incapable of operating in space, but some were specifically modified to do such; however, they still relied on a separate vehicle to carry them into orbit. Stingers that could not fly were often equipped with boosters to allow them to make Battle Pod-like leaps. It was rare to find a purely ground-based Stinger, and they were usually confined to the least capable Malcontent groups. One Stinger specifically built for underwater operations was encountered by UEDF forces in the Indian Ocean, but it is possible that others were constructed.

Due to their scratch-built nature and relying on salvaged and recycled parts, Stingers were hard to maintain and prone to breakdowns. Repairs were often makeshift and in many cases would result in rebuilding the Mecha with whatever parts were available. This meant that most Stingers ended up having short service lives before being claimed by mechanical failure. The total number of Stingers built is hard to determine; not only did the Scavengers deliberately not keep records, but it is possible that damaged or disabled Stingers were recycled to build new examples.

As with everything else, the quality of protection offered by a Stinger could vary wildly depending on the materials used in their construction. Furthermore, due to their scratch-built nature, the overall level of protection could vary across different components of the same machine. Stingers with exposed systems were not unknown either. However, all Stingers offered a fully pressurised cockpit with full life support systems. With that being said, Stinger Crews would often wear additional life-support systems such as spacesuits or, in one incident, SCUBA gear.

## Weapons and Equipment

As with everything else, the weapons fit of a Stinger could vary wildly between examples. It was not uncommon to encounter Stingers with a mixture of human and Zentraedi-built weapons systems. Most Stingers were armed with a mixture of laser or projectile weapons and missiles, with the latter often preferred as a way to break up formations and engage in area-saturation attacks. Some Stingers were even encountered mounting improvised melee weapons.

Aside from their conventional weapons, Stingers were also used as a delivery platform for the Scavengers' planned bioweapon attacks. The origin of this weapon has never been confirmed (although it is suspected to have come from the first iteration of the Central African Union), but exposure caused psychosis leading to acts of extreme violence in humans. Zentraedi were not affected by the weapon. A trio of Stingers were used by the Scavengers to infect Cavern City as a trial run, which was clearly deemed to be a success. Before their destruction, the Scavengers had planned to move on to a second stage, which would have involved bioweapon attacks on major population centres including Monument City, Brasilia, New Detroit, Albuquerque and others.

## Notes

* Design Notes
* Image Gallery