APA-001 Yellowjacket

The **APA-001 Yellowjacket** is a light flying Power Armour used by the Anti-Unification League.

## Background

The introduction of the RK-720 Cestus was something of a surprise to the Anti-Unification League and its allies. The suit boasted previously unseen abilities due to its combination of flight capacity, weapons and humanoid mobility. Even though the UEDF considered it to be only a stepping-stone to greater things, it still was a breakthrough in its own right that had their enemies concerned. The Anti-Unification League knew that their forces, which were primarily composed of conventional Civil War-era designs, did not have anything that compared to it. As such, addressing this capability gap became a key goal.

While the AUL was able to acquire the Cestus design for their own and successfully copy it, they also sought to go further and create a comparable Battlesuit of their own. Designated APA-001, the Yellowjacket was the end result of that process. Building from the Cestus' design, the AUL refined it to create a suit that had several advantages over its predecessor. The use of a redesigned flight system and lighter weapons made the Yellowjacket faster than its predecessor. Likewise, it employed laser weapons to reduce its dependency on ammunition supplies, an element that suited the AUL's often decentralised and scattered operations. However, these changes meant that the Yellowjacket also carried less firepower than its progenitor, and lacked any anti-armour weapons.

The AUL put the Yellowjacket into service with its forces, and it saw action across the world in various engagements. The suit was mostly used as a raider and for surgical strikes, but also was employed in more open terror attacks. The suit was also employed by mercenary and pirate groups allied with the AUL, such as the Lemurians. A number of clashes were reported between it and the Cestus, although it is hard to measure which was the more effective design. While the UEDF forces often came off better, it has to be said that this might not have been indicative of the Yellowjacket's quality. The UEDF had access to more suits, and their pilots were more experienced. The effective destruction of the AUL in 2008 saw the end of production, but a number of examples survived.

Some of those continued to see active use after the Rain of Death, having fallen into the hands of various groups such as mercenaries, bandits and insurgents. However, the reborn AUL chose not to revive the design, likely due to its technological obsolescence, leaving only a dwindling number with no sources of fresh parts. By the second Robotech War, the design appeared to be extinct.

## Capabilities

While starting out as a simple clone of the Cestus, the Yellowjacket differed in a number of ways. The shifting of the entire flight system to the back offered greater speed while also reducing the complexity of the design. However, the elimination of the leg boosters also reduced the overall mobility of the suit. The use of a laser-based weapons load further decreased weight, giving the Yellowjacket a greater overall speed than its progenitor. However, the Yellowjacket was still powered by a Protoculture engine, a technology that the AUL had even less understanding of than the UEDF did at the time. The supply of power systems was a major production bottleneck for the suit.

Due to its humanoid construction, the Yellowjacket featured full anthropomorphic mobility, complete with functional hands. The use of a distinct separate head module proved to have mixed results, with the loss of peripheral vision being seen as a trade-off for improved protection. The pilot of the Yellowjacket sat in the torso, with their legs extending into the suit's legs to provide mobility. The cockpit was fully sealed and pressurised. The Yellowjacket's sensory suite was in essence a copy of that used by the Cestus. Primary detection was provided by a short-range radar with both air and surface tracking modes. This was supported by secondary systems including infra-red and thermal optics, as well as a laser designator. The communications system consisted of simple short-range battlefield radios.

The Yellowjacket's armour was made from a combination of conventional materials and advanced technologies derived from the SDF-1. The armour is immune to small arms fire, and provides fair to good protection against heavy infantry weapons (such as a 12.7mm machine gun round) and moderate protection against heavier weapons (such as a Zentraedi 22.3mm autocannon round). The pilot's visor was the only weak spot in the armour.

## Weapons and Equipment

* 2 **Light Laser Cannons:** The Yellowjacket's only weapon was a pair of light laser weapons mounted on the right forearm. The weapons had only a limited offensive capability, but were not hampered by the need for ammunition. The lasers could fire up to 60 times per minute, but could also be overloaded to improve their output. However, doing such risked damaging the weapons.

## Game Statistics

* **Required Rank:** 1

* **Designation:** APA-001

* **Stats**
	+ **Armour – Light:** 6
	+ **Structure** – **Light:** 6
	+ **Hardware Points**: Basic
	+ **Speed** – **Running:** 50 kph / 80m / 8 Ground Units
	+ **Speed** – **Flight:** 600 kph / 1 km / 100 Ground Units

### Weapons

* **Dual Light Lasers:** The Yellowjacket's only weapon is a pair of light lasers mounted on the right forearm. While only light, the weapons can operate without the need for ammunition. The weapon has a Range of Medium, but can fire further. It deals x3 Light damage and ignores 3 points of Armour. [E][H][P3]

* **Punch:** The Yellowjacket's hands can be used as a weapon. They inflict Light-Class damage and ignore 1 point of the target’s Armour. [M][P1]

### Features

* **Indexing Hands:** The Yellowjacket has fully functional hands built into the suit. They have a sensitivity of .1 kg

* **Atmosphere Only:** The Yellowjacket can only be used in an Earth-like atmosphere.

### Equipment Suites

* **Overload:** The Yellowjacket can overload its laser weapons to increase the damage they do. However, using the weapons in this manner risks overloading them and causing them to burn out. When using this Equipment Suite, increase the damage of the Dual Light Laser to x5 Light Damage. When all uses of this Equipment Suite have been used, the Yellowjacket can no longer use its Dual Light Lasers.
	+ **Uses:** 2
	+ **Skill:** 3