Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Mecha Tengu/Jet Tengu

"Mecha Tengu let's go!"

-Mecha Tengu/Jet Tengu

The Mecha/Jet Tengu is the Protectorate's mecha fighter aircraft born out from Phoenix King project. Planned to be voiced by Jeannie Tirado.

Overview
This kinetic-burst autocannon armed machine can switch forms between an amphibious anti-infantry mecha and a swift air superiority fighter.

History
"We go where we please!"

-...

By studying their enemies closely as they fought one another, the Katsuragi Protectorate's Project Phoenix King weapons program was able to develop a variety of weapons designed to exploit their specific weaknesses outside of their conventional Self-Defense Force weaponry. One of the most notorious and emblematic examples of this has to be the dual-form pilot-assisted combat robot known as the Mecha Tengu. Thousands of men have already lost their lives to these strange, fast, and terrifying weapons.

The Mecha Tengu is named after a Katsuragi mythological creature known for causing harm and mischief, as well as for its distinctive long nose. The vehicle has an anthropomorphic, aggressive shape made of a dark-colored alloy that is highly resistant to smaller weapons. Its protruding air intake likely inspired the name as a homage to the long nose of the mythical Tengu, while its "arms" and "legs" primarily serve as stabilizers. And a small nanite hive in the engine of the Mecha Tengu. Based on the tendency for Jet Tengu pilots to change form when hit with enemy AA, that are released to damaged areas. While barely noticeable compared to conventional repairs, they can help a machine return to operation instead of sitting out a battle, furthering their hit-and-run role.

Also like its namesake, the Tengu can fly: In fact, the vehicle need never touch the ground, as its boosters and stabilizers allow it to hover a few meters above any surface. By skating across this layer of air, the Tengu can ignore many types of terrain obstacles that would normally slow down infantry or simpler vehicles. When engaged in combat, the Tengu fights using a pair of burst-firing autocannons mounted on either side of its air intake. Essentially these are like a higher-caliber version of the weapon used by Imperial infantry divisions and offer an even faster rate of fire and excellent accuracy at medium- to short-range.

In the blink of an eye, the Mecha Tengu can switch to Jet Tengu mode, which has the much more conventional shape of a fighter aircraft. This configuration lets the unit travel at much greater top speeds and at high altitudes, such that its weapons can be brought to bear against other aircraft albeit not as strong as their SDF standard F-2s and F-15Js.

The implications of this are profound, and the real-life consequences are mounting. In effect, no area is safe from this unit, and veritable flocks of Tengu continue to appear without warning to attack Soviet-controlled production lines, ore refineries, and oil derricks.

A mere five Mecha Tengu once managed to destroy an entire Brotherhood forward base in the Katsuragi-Asmodia War, using tactics the Brotherhood later derided as "arrogant, vile, rude, deplorable, and completely unfair." Gliding across the base in jet form, the Tengu flock first drew the Brotherhood back to base as a ruse. As the column of Swatters hurried back, fixing to shoot down the enemy fighters with their anti-aircraft guns, the Jet Tengu dropped back down to ground form again and quickly destroyed them. Soon after, the Tengu dealt catastrophic damage to a super-reactor in the vicinity, whose blast took care of the remainder of the base. By now, almost everyone has seen the famous photograph of the Tengu flying away from the terrible explosion.

Piloting a Mecha Tengu must require a tremendous amount of skill and training since it is essentially two vehicles in one. Excellent physical fitness must be needed to withstand the G-forces involved in transitioning from one form of the vehicle to the other and back, especially since the Tengu's full-body cockpit translates reflexive motions directly to combat maneuvers. However, it is widely known now that the allure of piloting such state-of-the-art craft drew out volunteers by the millions from the ranks of the Empire's youthful nationalists (and thrill-seekers). And even the very small qualifying percentage from that number proved to be enough to change the face of war.

There is also a rather fierce, to put it lightly, rivalry between the Tengu pilots and the Dominion Viking pilots, since both of them pilot the same type of transforming aircraft, with extremely bloody brawls erupting whether they see each other after a volley of insults. While politically the Protectorate and Dominion are in a heated, and some say petty, lawsuit battle on which came first and the other copy, or even stolen, the others design, the Tengu or the Viking.

Though if one were to compare statistics the Viking is superior in range, armor, and firepower but the Tengu has superior maneuverability and numbers. Just don't say that within earshot of a Tengu pilot, trust us.