Frontierman

*"From distant climes, o’er wide-spread seas we come,*

*Though not with much eclat or beat of drum,*

*True patriots all; for be it understood,*

*We left our country for our country’s good;*"

- "True Patriots All" Poem, 1801
## Tactical Analysis

* **KABOOM, baby!:** The Frontierman is the Contingent's answer to enemy armor. Though lacking the same range as a rocket launcher (since their explosives are much smaller), they are able to fire much faster, have higher damage (thanks to using depleted uranium), and are significantly tougher than most infantry with resistance to small arms fire thanks to their heavy armour making them closer to battlesuits (though they are lacking when compared to the likes of the Soviet and Syndicate).

* **Blinded by the storm:** As a special trick, the Frontierman also carries around gravitational concussion grenades that do horrendous damage to infantry, especially battlesuits, clears garrisons, slows targets hit in an area, and clear garrisons by creating temporary gravitational warps.

* **Not enough angle:** The glaring weakness of the frontiermen is obvious; they have no way to face down aircraft. Also, enemy scouts, and faster units in general, can often quickly jump past the grenades to find the nice, juicy jugular of the Frontiermen, while grenades and explosive can crack open their armour.

* **Round and round we go:** Experienced Frontiermen are given the chance to equip the even heavier juggernaut plating, using a series of foams and gravity devices to make them even tougher and attract enemy fire, letting their more frailer teammates attack safely.

## Background

*"This one's for you!"*

-Vigilante-turned-Frontierman Jamison Fawkes, firing on a pirate crew
Even into the 1940s, Australia was considered a frontier on the borders of the world itself. A harsh, unforgiving land that was rich in resources but poor in technology. With so many isolated communities, many of the people in the nation became self-reliant to a degree little seen in other Allied member states. Of course, these needed to be to fight off any threats to their health. Crime was, of course, just as common before the Imperial invasion as it was afterward. The difference was that the people committing it were actual criminals as opposed to desperate people. Often, these criminals were imprisoned in massive jailhouses, isolated from the world in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving outback.

Of course, frontier isolation sometimes leads to frontier justice. Sometimes tragically encouraged by the local lawmen, these vigilante patrols often resulted in frighteningly quick sentences being meted out in the isolated brush using stout ropes and heavy branches. Of course, stopping these incidents in a frontier land was easier said than done, and for all their failings crime was often quickly handled to the point where Australia could focus on more important things, like the growing threat of the Empire.

Post-War Atmospheric Command realized that with the Bushranger patrols now armed and on walkabout, there needed to be a national system to check the power of the Bushranger in case these ever got any funny ideas. Realizing that they couldn't possibly increase the number of peace officers everywhere, A.C. decided that they would deputize across the Contingent. Hundreds of men and women were encouraged to join, motivated by the decent government stipend and additional hazard pay. Often they are recruited from remote areas, and trained in adverse conditions in the Australian Outback, these troops can survive nearly anything that can happen. Add to this a generally unpleasant personality, and a cockiness that overrides basic common sense, and you have a soldier that will fight under any conditions, even in the face of certain death. Of course, practical weapons were kept in the hands of the actual military, meaning that the Contingent had to make a workaround. These new deputies were armed instead with over-under grenade launchers, capable of firing all standard model Allied grenades and given addional protection in the form reinforced battle armour, and unlike the Bushrangers these were made as armour second instead of third since they were to be wornby security detail. Though typically armed with non-lethal stun and flashbang grenades, an incident on the Northern Coast created a new use.

For some time, Dread Corsair pirates out of Roanapur had been picking apart the slowly rebuilding Australian coasts. Repeated calls from the Contingent government to get assistance from the Thai government to stop the raids consistently fell on deaf ears, since the IPDI were fighting their own war, and at times the pirates would make landfall accompanied by amphibious tanks. Of course, the communities they raided were often small enough that the Contingent would offer support before worrying about the next hurdle in their race to escape. Then came the Darwin raid.

Post-War, Darwin was the primary focus of rebuilding efforts in Queensland, and due to the number of Bushrangers in the area was also home to a large contingent of deputized citizens. Originally the majority of suspicion fell on the Bushrangers themselves, since they were, after all, criminals. This suspicion evaporated the day that one of the larger pirate gangs decided to raid Darwin in an attempt to make their biggest score yet. While the Bushrangers were easily able to put down the various pirates that landed, the tanks that came with them proved near-impervious to their metalstorm rounds. Desperate, the local garrison commander opened his stores to the deputies and started handing out any grenades he had. This was to be the turning point of the raid, as the deputies quickly surrounded the tanks and bombarded them with volley after volley of grenades, even sinking some of their boats as they tried to flee, all while their armour protected them from small arms and cannon fire.

Realizing a crucial gap in their new defensive strategy, the Contingent decided that these new "**Frontiermen**" are the perfect answer to enemy vehicles, especially once they made and distributed anti-tank depleted uranium rocket propelled grenades, gravitational concussion grenades, and heavier sets of "juggernaut" plating to further protect them, tough the last one hasn't reach full production limiting them to veterans. Though lacking the same range as most anti-tank weapons, the addition of gravitational grenades allows multiple frontiermen slow an entire army for their forces to catch up. The frontiermen themselves don't mind the duties they're tasked with, as the protection of their homes is often paramount in their minds. Wherever their homes may be.

## Behind The Scenes

The Frontierman is based off Jayne Cobb from 'Firefly'. With their newest incarnation also turning them into the Marauders from *Starcraft 2*.