Independent

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## Tactical Analysis

* **The Man With No Name:** Small teams armed with powerful mass effect semi-automatic pistols, the Independents are the dreaded one-man armies that serve the Contingent, solidifying their reputations by taking out entire infantry and vehicle columns with nothing but their trademark weapons and quick feet, not even buildings are safe as they can plant demolition charges to bring them down.

* **A Fistful of Detpacks:** If they ever come a tank and/or multiple enemies they can throw gravity detpacks that force everything inside the blast to be pulled down with immense force on detonation. Infantry and battlesuits are simply crushed to death while buildings, vehicles, and tanks take heavy damage.

* **Just a Lone Ranger:** Even when they must operate alone in the battlefield, delicate caution must be exercised while using them; Independents can still fall victim to a multitude of soldiers they cannot take out by themselves. Also, don't forget about the tanks and aircraft that quickly erase them from the map.

* **Jameson Unchained:** Given enough time, Independents are able to strike dread deep into the hearts of his enemies, causing them to momentarily be filled with terror as the lone wolf shoots down their comrades one by one.

## Background

*"We all fight our own battles, both internal and external. In that regard, we are all warriors, regardless of creed."*

- Jacky "Wolverine" Hughes Mann, Independent
To the shock of no one, the survivors of Australia's war against the Japanese became some of the most hardened forces in modern warfare. Able to fight in any environment at drastically reduced numbers, these men often found themselves forced to fight without a command structure when caught behind the lines during the massive Japanese advance. Still loyal soldiers, these "independent battalions" became experts at unconventional warfare against the Empire. Using the Outback to their advantage, the men struck from locations considered impossible to reach even by the Empire. Post-War, these men were the bulk recipients of dozens of Victoria's Crosses.

To fold these men back into the regular army was considered a waste, but the Contingent didn't want to lose them to the Peacekeepers. Quickly, the Contingent formed a new elite force; the **Independents**. Operating on their tactical level of command, these forces utilize the skills they were forced to learn when stranded in the Outback. Wilderness survival, combat marksmanship, field demolitions, and the ability to slip in, do the job and escape without being seen. These independents make up the bulk of the Contingent's military force in Vietnam, where their skills are the perfect tool for directly countering the Vietcong.

That isn't to say these men are perfect. Often they have lost wives, husbands, and families to the Japanese invasion, or seen crimes so heinous thanks to the Imperial Colonization Corps that they've become emotionless shells of the men they once were. They don't often stay in one place for too long, realizing that society cannot handle the scars they bear. This is often because of the sins they themselves have committed fighting the Japanese, sins that even the Empire is loathe to talk about for the fear of being disgusted by what happened. Yet when sighted out of battle and off patrol (a rarity), the independent battalions find themselves almost like any other soldier. They rest with music, they read paperbacks, they try to take their minds off what they have done. Yet to look at their eyes, it isn't hidden that they are always watching, always waiting. Knowing that one day they'll find the round with their name on it looking to make them answer for what they've done.

Until that day comes, the independent battalions are considered the Contingent's elite infantry. Other soldiers speak about their exploits in hushed tones and whisper chains. They're saved entire towns from marauding Roanapur pirates, and prevented entire villages in the South Vietnamese highlands from becoming Vietcong staging points. The Empire itself fears their advances, knowing that only their shinobi could even stand a chance against such men. Fortunately, the Contingent has more important priorities than picking at old wounds before they've healed. The independents have more important things to do. Like teaching punk Vietcong what happens when they try to twist the arms of a village not interested in taking up communism.