Wakizashi Sea Transport

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*Not hiding from anyone!*

- Wakizashi pilot
## Tactical Analysis

* **Shipping Wars:** Designed to transport non-amphibious systems, the Wakizashi fills a vital niche in the Empire's naval catalog by giving vital mobility to heavier land systems.

* **Harpooning Birds:** As a measure of defense, the Wakizashi is armed with an anti-air missile system to protect itself from surface-attack aircraft. And it can protect itself, and surrounding units, by deploying a series of point-defence drones.

* **Watch out for Ahab:** Despite the size and weapons, the Wakizashi is not meant to be sent out alone into hostile waters. Dedicated anti-ship weapons will make short work of the transport, and the cargo inside.

* **Whale-lord:** After initial operations with the Wakizashi, some crews have found methods to squeeze up to three vehicles into the hold, though the weight issues with such "hot-loading" mean that only the most experienced of Wakizashi crews can accomplish this trick.

## Background

 File:EotRS Wakizashi (Land Mode).jpg
While the Empire's transforming mecha and vector jet technologies allow unprecedented mobility for armoured systems, vehicles like the King Oni are limited by their inability to cross bodies of water larger and deeper than a creek. Creating additional mecha forces would put the Empire's forces at a disadvantage in terms of systems designed to excel at specific battlefield roles, and the addition of vector jets would mean armour too light to stand up to many enemy systems, so it was decided by the Shogunate to simply scale-up the Sudden Transport, and ensure the Empire would remain the most mobile military in modern times.

While it seems simple to merely scale up a transport to carry a tank instead of an infantry squad, weight considerations meant that the transport would have to make a trade-off between armour or stealth, as the *"Shinobu"* holoprojection system would need to be recaibrated; put simply, it could not easily disguise itself as a vehicle the size of a Ranger. So, it was decided that, along with armour, weapons systems would be added to the Wakizashi. Where the design would come from was the question.

Fortunately, a small Japanese start-up company in Los Angeles provided the answer. Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems was one of the primary foundations of the Japanese community in Los Angeles, and the Empire decided that it would be the perfect company to produce such a low-technology solution to their problems. Yoyodyne's board also liked the solution, as their increase in business would mean a chance to move their offices and employees far away from America, and the growing Continental insurrection movement.

The Wakizashi is not a subtle vehicle; it's designed to transport vehicles, and it is dedicated towards this purpose. Since it was designed to either be protected by other Imperial Navy ships or transport through "secured" areas, the decision was made to mount a surface-to-air missile battery on a rotating turret on the roof of the craft.

So far, the Wakizashi has demonstrated exceptional speed in getting cargo from point to point, though losses in the waters around the Philippines have been uncomfortably high due to the constant and surprisingly effective raids being conducted by rebel strike craft. Despite this, the Wakizashi is seen as a valuable addition to the Imperial Navy.