Masamune

**Key Features** | »» *"Happy Personality"* computer»» Emotional eyes»» Tiny rockets»» *"Many Things it can do"* hands»» Nice-looking water skater wheels

*"Hello you go bye-bye!"*

- Masamune

## Tactical Analysis

* **Take That, Airplanes!**: Riding on six wheeled legs over land or sea, the Masamune keeps a watch on the skies and protects the Imperial army from enemy aircraft using its rocket pods. In numbers, they can quickly down anything that flies.

* **Clear!**: The Masamune can deliver an impressive shock from the electric prongs on its hands. Careful application of this shock can disable a vehicle or building with ease, though the Masamune needs time to build the charge beforehand.

* **Run Away!**: Even though it was reinforced for combat, the shell of the Masamune is insufficient to stop small arms fire. With no means to retaliate against hostiles on the ground, this makes the Masamunes very dependent on human infantry for protection.

* **Not so Harmless!**: Once on the battlefield, it's only a matter of time before Masamunes work up the courage to defy their stated purpose and, when they are sure nobody is looking, steer their guided rockets down towards ground targets. These rocket bursts are effective at cracking light armour.

## Operational History

On the field of battle, near the end of WW3 Allied and Soviet soldiers would sometimes see unusual looking robots on the field of battle. Looking like infantry sized jumping spiders, they would drag wounded Imperial soldiers back from the field of battle, help transport supplies on their backs, and even engage in last minute suicide charges with Imperial Warriors.

As these robots were unbearably cute, looked similar to the Burst Drones so often employed by the Empire, and seemed to be similarly robotic, they were thought of as simple drones by the enemy forces. But after WW3 ended, the Empire revealed the secret of these late-coming robots--they were not drones. They were Imperial subjects.

When Shinra Cybernetics first started producing the **Masamune Units**, they were built to be the ultimate in computerized service: using computers programmed to follow any orders given and to try and fulfill processes as best as possible, Masamune were at first thought of only as more efficient workers. Masamune Units could be found in many companies stocking shelves, dutifully serving tea at ceremonies between business heads, keeping order at local police stations, and generally making the wheels of Imperial society just that much smoother.

Some of the more connected families of ruling leadership were even able to buy specialised Masamune Units to act as a guardians for their kids, and indeed tales are told even now of an Imperial school girl, saved from a particularly hostile accouter by the electrocutive touch of a protective Masamune Unit. Over time, these quiet and non-confrontational robots became informally nicknamed *haguruma*--gears.

When the Empire entered WW3, the Masamune Units were there right alongside the commanders. They still served in silence, but now their service was of a military nature - shuttling supplies, medical equipment, food, commands, and more back and forth. As the waning years of the war fell, more and more desperate Commanders started to use their Masamunes as weapons, strapping explosive charges to their backs and sending them off or using their electric paddles to stun vehicles long enough for Imperial forces to fire back at the invaders. They too were often destroyed by such tactics, and always silently.

After the war, however, things changed when the new Emperor Kamina wearily returned to his chambers after another day of pressured diplomatic talks with the Allies. Kamina's personal Masamune Unit had a toy he had when he was a child attached to it: a calligraphy device that would transfer information put into it into kanji script. It was much to Kamina's surprise, however, that shortly after he came in the device started writing of its own accord! After it had finished writing, Kamina snatched the paper that was placed on it--and it was thus that the Emperor was the first to realise that the Masamune Units were, in fact, intelligent.

The writing itself was a simple greeting and query (*"How might I serve the most glorious and noble Emperor Kamina today?"*), but the effect was enormous. The Emperor immediately ordered for a voice synthesizer to be installed in the Unit, and shortly afterwards discovered that not only was the Masamune intelligent, but it was genuinely grateful to be able to help the Emperor, and pleased that it had helped gave him a boost in excitement. The next day, Kamina ordered that voice boxes be installed in all Masamune Units, and for the Units to be given the status of Imperial subjects.

Today, the Masamunes are not treated as drones or servants, but as legitimate members of the Empire. They still serve in many places, their installed sense of service and duty making them receive genuine pleasure from helping others. While this had many effects, by far the biggest was the military - many Masamune Units volunteered to sign up, stating that by doing so they would forever fulfil their duty to Japan.

It was the Masamunes themselves who suggested that, in addition to their paddles, they be outfitted with a set of AA missiles - the veterans of the previous war pointed out that the Empire had no protection against merciless Soviet and Allied aircraft when restricted to infantry and close quarter fighting.

Masamune Units are thus now proud members of the Empire of the Rising Sun, and many can be found on the field of battle today. In their native prerecorded Japanese voices, they are often reported as being the pinnacle of smooth and beautiful conversation and quite eloquent in their speech. Unfortunately, such care was put into this that in other languages their speaking suffers comparatively - many Allied soldiers have jokingly dubbed the tendency of Masamunes to shout out things like *"Oh no! Unit have come to end place!"* after stopping to be a sign of them having amazing *"Engrish"* speaking skills.

## Behind the Scenes

Inspired by *"Ghost in the Shell"* Tachikoma.

The Masamune is, amazingly, the first entirely new model infantry unit put into RA3.

## Just the Stats

 **Armour Type** | Infantry

 **Kill Reward** | 1600

 **DPS** | 15