Auto Go

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*"Danger's the one thing I'm not afraid of!"*

- Suki Subarashii, rally champion

## Tactical Analysis

* **Ready, go**: A rally car repurposed for military duties, the Auto Go retains all the speed of its civilian variant, being one of the fastest vehicles on the battlefield, and is amphibious to boot.

* **Shoot them down**: The Auto Go is armed with a pair of missile launchers, most useful for shooting down those pesky aircraft. As one of only two tier 1 anti air units, it would be wise to have one around at all times. In addition, it can turn its missile launcher against ground units, so it isn't defenceless against them either.

* **Jump!**: The Auto Go has another trick up its sleeve; a jump piston, which allows it to launch itself over long distances. With this device, no obstacle is insurmountable for the Auto Go.

* **Shooting Star**: The Auto Go can, after proving its worth sufficiently, be granted nanite missiles. The nanites from these missiles stick to and chew through aircraft hulls, making them harder to control and slower.

## Operational History

Though the late Emperor Yoshiro was a traditionalist in almost every way, he did have one unusual interest. It can be said, without a doubt, that the man was the biggest fan of rally racing in the entire world. A huge patron of mountain racing, Yoshiro shocked his court when he showed up a race in the black and yellow of the Shooting Star Racing Team, holding checkered flags and with his face painted with the team's logo.

Sitting in the stands with the common man, Yoshiro was reportedly loud, opinionated, and possibly even slightly inebriated. "Any other day of the week" wrote Prince Tatsu of his father, "he was a calm, serene man and wise leader. On race night... he turned into a hooligan!"

Though one would think that such behavior on the part of a leader known for his detachment and worshipped as a living god would cause problems, the opposite was true; people loved this glance into their Emperor's human side, and the nation quickly took to auto racing, elevating it to status of national sport. Racing teams, knowing that they were competing for the attention of the Emperor himself, became bolder, faster, more dangerous, their stunts and antics making for fine entertainment.

With the massive overnight flood of interest and capital, race car manufacturers began experimenting in strange, outlandish features to make the races more exciting, such as jump pistons that allowed cars to bypass obstacles (and each other), amphibious body shells, spiked tires for climbing step surfaces, and jet engines for additional power. On the mountains of Japan, thousands of enthusiastic youth learned the art of racing in stock knock-offs, and the entire country embraced a need for speed unmatched anywhere else.

As a gesture of goodwill after the war, the reigning champion of Japanese racing, Nomura Michiko, entered into the famous Monte Carlo rally driving the latest in Japanese racing technology, the Mifune Motors **Auto Go**. The race was hardly fair; the best rally car in the western world, the Mini Cooper S, could not hope to compete with the jet-powered, jump piston'd Auto Go, which beat out the second place racer Rauno Aaltonen by nearly two hours, despite Rauno beating all previous records himself. Michiko even turned down first place after the race, citing the vast difference in Japanese and European racing, and promising to run in a less extravagant car next year.

One of the most interesting points of the race, however, occurred afterward. As more or less the entire country of Japan would be tuning in to watch the race, the Automobile Club de Monaco invested in a pair of Sparrow helicopters with televion cameras to broadcast each run. Though easily capable of keeping pace with most cars running the steep hills and varied terrain of the course, the Sparrows lost the Auto Go early in the race and never caught up with it. An Imperial military advisor cheering on Michiko reportedly came into work the next day with a hangover and a proposal. Strap missile pods to this car, and chase down enemy planes! One might imagine that the only reason this got approved at all was because everyone else in the office was as hungover from the previous night's celebration as he was. Perhaps it was the Shogunate who turned a blind eye.

## Behind the Scenes

The Auto Go is inspired by both Japanese rally racing as well as *Speed Racer*.

## Just the Stats

 **Armour Type** | Light Armour

 **Kill Reward** | 4000

 **DPS** | 30