Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Rocketeer

"This looks like the job for a Rocketeer!"

-Rocketeer

The Rocketeer is the flying infantry of the Alliance Of Hawke. Planned to be voiced by Ashleigh Ball.

Tactical analysis

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Overview
* TBA*

History
"It's curtains for you, Garlean. Lacy, gently wafting curtains."

-...

By day, he was a mild-mannered scientist genius... but by night, Von Braun was Captain Rocket, hero of the free world and inspiration to Alliance troops everywhere! Soaring through the skies during the Great Voshkod Aquilan conflict he led Allied air operations in the home of the Hawkes against the Voshkod war machine, fighting them back over the border of his homeland of Aselia. Von Braun was the most brilliant rocket scientist of his time, but early in the war when the Voshkod invaded Aselia, he was kidnapped and forced to design weapons for the Red Army.

Under threat of death and the death of his family, he designed the Voshkod's dreaded V2 rockets as a replacement for the ISU-152s and older SPGs... But as he did so, he secretly worked on the designs for a personalized rocket pack, and as soon as it was complete, he activated it, launching himself high into the air and wreaking havoc on the research laboratory he was trapped in. Using other stolen weapons he decimated the Voshkod Army garrison in the area, and even managed to cripple the famed commando known as Boris, forcing him to retire with his daughter Natasha taking his place.

Von Braun returned to Allied lines with his incredible invention, but rather than continue researching, he decided he would not rest until Aselia was free. He took to the skies many more times... and his bravery, success and sheer "coolness" allowed his likeness as Captain Rocket (for the Voshkod could not know of his true identity, for the sake of his family) to be used as perfect propaganda. Who needs to invent a superhero to fight your enemies metaphorically, when one fights for you already? He was the natural foil for the Voshkod own superheroes, Aranea and Chitzkoi and Yunru, who until then were on the verge of shattering Allied morale on account of their apparent inability to die no matter what the Allies threw at them.

But Von Braun's record was not to be stain-free, for he did fail one mission, an attack on a Voshkod base. It seemed simple enough, but it turned out that Aranea was there, waiting for him. Though Von Braun emptied every last round of ammunition into Aranea, but none of his attacks managed to break the hyperalloy and composite plating that made up Aranea body; indeed, most of them didn't get past her trench coat. Aranea fired exactly once, disabling Braun's rocket pack with a well-aimed shot, and lifted Braun into the air by the neck and gave him a stern warning to never cross his path again. Taking these words well, Von Braun fled the scene, something which the Rocketeer regiments holds a grudge to.

After the war, Von Braun retired his rocket pack to continue researching for the Alliance and lived to be the most brilliant rocket scientist of his time. However, upon leaving the battlefield, he submitted his jetpack to the Alliance for further research and development, which eventually yielded a mass-producible model. However, the new model was never intended for combat; as much as Von Braun disagreed, the Allied high command did not believe a jetpack-armed soldier would be effective for combat purposes. At most, spies and special forces units employed them merely as jump jets or extraction vehicles.

The Rocketeer Corps was, for the most part, used in parades to instill the same patriotic feelings that Captain Rocket's adventures had... Until a parade was the subject of a surprise attack by the Voshkod, sometime after the point when Aquila reclaimed much of their land in 2004 V.C.'s Voshkod invasion of Aquila. Though victory should have easily gone to the Voshkod, the Rocketeers participating in the parade (armed with weapons grabbed from a nearby armory) managed to claim a surprising number of Voshkod casualties, eventually driving back the Voshkod from their home with the aid of local Alliance and Aquilan forces stationed there. It was this incident, along with reports on the lethality of Katsuaragi Rocket Angel, Aquila's Eagle Troopers, Community's Bomber Girls, ADI's Jumpjet Troopers and Athel Loren's own Icarus Raider squadrons in combat, that eventually convinced the Alliance to rethink their position on jetpack-equipped combat infantry, and send a formal apology to Braun.

Now, while the Rocketeer Corps continues to act as the highlight of Alliance military parades, the roles of Rocketeers are no longer purely ceremonial. Armed with powerful proton gauntlets that allow them to smash tanks, the presence of a Rocketeer over a battlefield can provide a much-needed lift to the spirits of Alliance forces, while striking dread into the hearts of the Allies' enemies. With Rocketeer ace and commander Trevelyan becoming the first user to test pilot the new flight suit.