Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Archon ARV

"Someone called for a Battle taxi?"

-Archon leaving the War Factory

The Archon is the primary armored reponse vehicle (ARV) of the Alliance of Hawke. This unit is planned to be voiced by Rodger Bumpass, using his Squidward voice.

Tactical analysis

 * Police Bruiser: A heavily armored support vehicle, the Archon Armoured Response Vehicle is far more durable than most Alliance units and is available early on, which along with its tendency to draw the most fire from enemy units makes it useful for soaking up damage while other units dish it out.
 * Sticky Situation: Though it's not capable of directly harming the enemy, the Archon's high-pressure GOOP cannon can utterly ruin an enemy formation. It slows, disrupts, and immobilizes enemy forces, leaving them floundering in rapidly hardening pink foam and making them easy targets for Alliance forces.
 * The Pigpen: In addition to its sheer bulk and GOOP cannon, the Archon has enough seating for four squads to ride inside. While there is no way for transported infantry to attack while inside, they can be ordered out at a moment's notice to deal with hostiles.
 * Need Backup: Of course, the Archon is useless on its own, seeing as it lacks any means of damaging enemy forces by itself, apart from the unsavory tactic of crushing. It should be used to support units that are actually capable of dealing damage.

History
"I am the law!"

-...

Designed to replace the aging M112 Retriever, FV432, Luchs, AMX-VCI, and M113 APCs under the Alliance's service for many years since the Great Voshkod-Aquilan War with the intent of riot control with their shift from a conventional army to peacekeepers/military police.

The introduction of Andoran cryobeam technology revolutionized war, firefighting, and police work. Officers of the law were, with the aid of a single Cryocopter and a couple of seconds, able to easily suppress situations that could have otherwise resulted in violence. However, Cryocopters are slow and rare enough that policemen in rural areas were often required to wait up to half an hour for Cryocopter support. Riot Agents are expensive to train and often require extra municipal expenses. Thus plans for a Riot Suppression Vehicle were drawn up.

The concept was simple: take an armored van, add an inexpensive non-lethal weapon, and hold out until Cryocopter support showed up. The first RSVs were actually prisoner transports outfitted with GOOP, a cheap electric pump, and a fire hose. The first operational use of the RSVs was in Edinburgh, as a less controversial method to deal with the IRA, as shooting them simply seemed to make things worse.

The original cobbled-together designs had several flaws. GOOP had a tendency to get stuck in the wheels, effectively immobilizing the RSV and leaving it open to attack or capture. Automatic weapons could cut through the side of the less-than-effectively-armored police vehicles like tinfoil. After a stunning number of Peacekeepers died and one of the new vehicles was destroyed in a particularly nasty firefight, Fereldan commissioned the Beaver & Co. Motor company to revamp the design, and mass produce it.

The B&C Archon Armoured Response Vehicle is a modified troop transport, equipped with a pressurized sprayer cannon and a reinforced aluminum-steel alloy armored plow to scrape up the GOOP residue. While the highly visible profile of the ARV often caused it to draw the attention of rioters, this worked to the advantage of the police, as the ARV's thick composite armor plating could easily shrug off bullets, projectiles, and even heavier weaponry with relative ease (indeed, in one incident an ARV took a direct hit from an RPGL and managed to keep going). In addition, the ARV would draw attention away from less well-protected police vehicles, allowing them to swoop in and make arrests while attention was still focused on the ARV. After a deadly terrorist attack in Northern Edinburgh involving the use of strange chemicals, the ARV design was upgraded with secondary sprayer systems modified from street-sweeper technology, through which the ARV pumps out chemical neutralizers that render many forms of toxic substances non-lethal. The ARV also retains its transport hold, which can be used to transport up to eight people, from arrested suspects to police officers.

In the aftermath of the destruction of Embry, and the rise of the Minutemen, the Peacekeepers, perhaps belatedly, decided that they needed to rethink their approach to combat. The success of the ARV in civilian riot control, and firefights with terrorists alike, made it the perfect answer to both the political concerns regarding violence against the Minutemen, and the necessities of combat. Aliance High Command has requested that field commanders attempt, whenever possible, to avoid major enemy casualties.

Thanks to the Archon, the number of terrorist attacks and riots in Fereldan have plummeted. In fact, in recent months there's been little IRA activity, a great relief for the peace-loving people of Edingburggh, but also for military commanders, who can requisition them from civilian bases with no risk of a riot when they are gone. Thus, they're increasingly seen on the front.

Trivia

 * The Archon in Gaiaterra is relegated to the role of an APC rather than their original role in Mental Omega. And is based on the Armoured Response Vehicle from red alert paradox.

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * Stryker ICV (Aquila)
 * M113A3 (Task Force Eagle)
 * ACCE (Task Force Eve)
 * Archon ARV (Alliance)
 * Goliath APC (ADI)
 * Type 73 Armored Personnel Carrier (Protectorate)
 * Sudden Transport
 * Lynx (Andora)
 * M113 Ultra (Community)
 * Troop Crawler (Empire)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * BTR-90 (Voshkod)
 * Scarab APC (Brotherhood)
 * Ratel (Black Hand)
 * M3 Halftrakk (Horde)
 * BTR-50P (MLA)
 * BTR-60 (Encantadia)
 * Dump Truck
 * Kamaz Armored Truck (Collective)
 * ... (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * FV432 APC (Coalition)
 * Rhino Transport (Astarte Legion)
 * Heretical Ural Transport Truck (Heralds)
 * Charger Assault Transport (Order)
 * M112A2 "Jackson" (Survivors)
 * Testudo (Syndicate)
 * Devilfish (Syndicate)
 * ... (Conglomerate)
 * Taurox (Legion)

Bonus Factions

 * IFV-6c Panther (ASA)
 * M113A1 "Safari" (Bastion)
 * APC Creep (Rangers)
 * Sdkfz 251 (Pirates)
 * Civet Mobile Gun (Elona)
 * Fahd (Haqqislam Battlegroup)
 * SKOT (Ascalia)
 * ... (Dominion)
 * Ratel (Security)
 * ... (Ascendancy)

DLC

 * Federation APC (Federation)
 * ... (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * ... (Skynet)
 * Preservence APW (Elemental)
 * ... (Autocracy)
 * BTR-70 (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * Guarani (Confederation)
 * Patgb 360 (Kingdom)
 * ... (Goo)
 * Sdfkz. 250 (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * Land Rover (Warlords)
 * ... (Cult)
 * BTR-80 (Raiders)
 * Transport Lorry (Theocracy)
 * Underhive Transport Truck (Insurgents)
 * ... (Guardians)
 * ... (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * Cheetah Transport (Ecumene)
 * Universal Carrier (Concordat)
 * Piranha IV (Contingent)
 * XM1283 APC (Eden)
 * Eco-Skirmisher Transport (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * M3 Half-Track (Commnune)
 * Patria (Clique)
 * Ho-Ki (Guild)
 * Millipede AIC (Threat)
 * HH-A Javelin (Traders)
 * Baltdjur (Entente)
 * Chariot Carrier (Oblivion)
 * ... (Corporation)
 * ... (Covenant)
 * ... (Institute)
 * Zhuk (Eremite)
 * ... (Nimbus)
 * ... (Carnival)
 * ... (Wraiths)
 * ... (Chronophage)
 * ... (Privateers)
 * ... (Foundation)