Rocket Angel

**Key Features** | »» Plasma missile pod (x2)»» Wrist-mounted *"Gensoku"* paralysis whip»» Form-fitting aerial battlesuit»» Wing-mounted stabilisation thrusters»» Air-cooled helmet with targeting arrays

*"Do not underestimate us, for we bear the wrath of heaven."*

- Rocket Angel motto

## Tactical Analysis

 File:RocketAngelArt.jpg
* **To the Skies!**: Outfitted with the latest in asynchronous thruster technology, the Rocket Angel's high-tech aerial battlesuit, featuring the most advanced Imperial gyroscopic stabilisation devices, allows these proud woman-warriors to traverse land, sea and air with the greatest of ease. They need never touch the ground during battle, and indeed, their doctrine strictly prohibits them from doing so once they leave the safety of an Instant Dojo. Their battlesuit is as fast as it is manoeuvrable, leading to the much quoted Allied battlefield truism: *"...the moment you see one of them, you're already dead, you're just too stupid to realize it."* Rocket Angels are vulnerable only to anti-air weapons, yet are more than capable of retaliating against such weapons

* **Rapid Deployment**: The Rocket Angels possess a second, significantly more insidious weapon--the paralysis whip. This flexible beam of high-intensity energy is wielded like a lash by its mistress, with any contact rendering its target completely disabled. The utility of this weapon is without question, although should the *"beam"* of the whip disengage from a target for any reason, the target can resume acting as normal. Furthermore, due the technical difficulties of acquiring a target lock on fast-moving aircraft, in addition to wind and debris concerns, the paralysis whip has only been calibrated for use against ground targets.

* **Fit to Burst**: Capable of unleashing a spiraling, whirling dervish of destruction, the Rocket Angel's twin plasma missile pods are deadly to both armoured vehicles and heavily reinforced structures alike. Sustained plasma missile fire is of such intensity as to bring even the most imposing enemy fortress to the ground.

* **Dominance and Submission**: Although in short supply, thus limiting them to veterans, the new *"Gensoku"* Mk. II paralysis whip damages enemy units with electrical strikes while still forcing them to a standstill. And nanite missiles that releases short-lived nanobots on impact that disrupts a vehicles engine, slowing them when hit.

## World War III Operational History

To the uninformed observer, the Empire of the Rising Sun appears to be deeply stratified along class and gender lines, leaving one to assume that such a regimented society would never deign to permit women to assume the mantle of warrior and engage in frontline combat. That assumption, however, could not be further from the truth.

We now know that, more than ten years ago, acting on the counsel of his forward-thinking son the Crown Prince, the Emperor Yoshiro saw fit to establish the Imperial Women's Warfare Academy deep in the heart of Hokkaido, with the goal of training the Empire's finest and fittest female subjects in both traditional and new ways of battle. Segregating the academy by gender was said to ensure proper focus and discipline.

Although presented to the public as a return to the highly-trained female spear cavalry of the Empire's storied past, this societal shift proved to be quite controversial amongst the Emperor's more-conservative subjects, with many families of note forbidding their daughters from taking up arms and enlisting (not that they necessarily would have been accepted into the IWWA anyhow). Expressing frustration at this publicly, Crown Prince Tatsu took it upon himself to intervene. Soon after, dissent was quelled and the ranks of the Academy began to swell with driven young women, eager to learn the ways of war.

As disapproval turned to fascination, legions of cynical journalists, inspired schoolgirls, and heartsick young men formed encampments around the Academy's impenetrable walls, waiting in the vain hope that they would catch brief glimpse of the women training within. Public expectations soon grew to a fever pitch, fueled by the massively popular weekly manga series *"Flying Girl Azami"* and its accompanying television series. When, the public demanded, would the gates of the Academy finally open? When would the fruits of the Emperor's labour be revealed?

*"Soon."* was always the answer.

And after eight years, the doors of the Academy finally opened.

But what awaited the frenzied public proved to beyond anyone's expectations: These doors, it turned out, were on the Academy's roof.

The eager young girls who had entered the Academy so long ago now emerged as formidable women, battle-ready warriors armed to the teeth and trained within an inch of their lives--the Women's Elite Aerial Infantry Division, soon to be christened by an excited public as the ***"Rocket Angels"***. Instantly recognizable for their state-of-the-art, aerial battlesuits, shoulder-mounted plasma missile pods and the notorious *"Paralysis whip"*, these Angels soon proved to be anything but merciful.

Cutting a swathe across the battlefields of Europe, routing Allied Mirage Tanks and Soviet Bullfrogs alike, the Rocket Angels quickly gained a reputation for ferocious tenacity, descending from the skies in a shower of light and destruction, rending the Emperor's enemies asunder, and achieving victory even when the odds seemed stacked against them. In time, it became clear to Prince Tatsu that few wished to stand against his devastating progeny, and those that unwisely chose to do would quickly perish -- and so the Prince of the Rising Sun stood vindicated, his Rocket Angels an unparalleled success.

## Post-War Operational History

After the war, several Imperial A.I.s were given the task of analysing the performance of the Imperial military during the Third World War, both as a whole and as separate elements. Following a report submitted by an A.I. regarding the performance of the Rocket Angels during the war, several things were discovered. Analysing the reports of losses of Rocket Angels due to enemy fire, the A.I. found that many Rocket Angels were downed by infantry equipped with anti-air weaponry. Further analysis indicated that this was due to the fact that Rocket Angel missile pods were mostly ineffective against such targets. In order to correct this defiency, it was mandated that all Rocket Angels were to be equipped with kinetic blasters to allow them to combat surface-based infantry effectively.

Rocket Angel armour was also found to have too many parts in battalion colours; since most battalions use the Imperial orange, it made them stand out visibly against the sky, making it easier for enemies to spot them and shoot them down. As Emperor Kamina put it, the Rocket Angels *"[...]glow like fireflies in the night[...]"*.

Additionally, it was found that the Rocket Angels were very vulnerable when they use their paralysis whips. Instead of a new generator which would have been undeniably larger (and heavier), thus slowing the Angels down, research for a new whip was conducted instead. Although in short supply, the new *"Gensoku"* Mk. II paralysis whip damages enemy units with electrical strikes while still forcing them to a standstill.

## Just the Stats

 **Armour Type** | Cloth

 **Kill Reward** | 7200

 **DPS** | 20

 **DPS** | 24