Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Tankbuster

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The Tankbuster is one of the Katsuragi Protectorate's Tier III infantries. Planned to be voiced by.

Overview
* TBA*

History
"There is no metal which we cannot melt!"

-Tankbuster motto

There is but one question on the lips of military strategists worldwide: How could the Katsuragi Protectorate have gathered such an army outside of their conventional Self-Defense Forces arsenal in secrecy? There is no way the Protectorate could have access to the same resources in raw materials or warm bodies as the others, now reeling from the Protectorate ambitious plot.

The answer as yet is unknown. What is painfully obvious, however, is that the Protectorate commands vast military forces designed from the ground up to overcompensate for virtually everything the others have in their modern arsenals.

One such example would be the Asur Tankbuster divisions, the Protectorate Asur anti-armour foot soldiers. Unorthodox yet undeniably effective, Tankbusters represent one of the worst threats the modern main battle tank has ever encountered and more dangerous than the Human standard Self-Defense Force AT Peacekeeper.

Tankbuster divisions seem to be composed of Asur men and women selected for their stocky stature, strength, bravery, and astute perception. They appear to be trained in the use of a variety of unique, heavy-duty equipment, especially their state-of-the-art MX-19 "Muramasa" personal plasma-cutter cannons--which can melt foot-thick steel in seconds.

What's more, these extremely dangerous weapons are only half the package, as Tankbusters also are fitted with special protective headgear with a unique purpose: Plasma beams from the brim of these wide-brimmed hats may shoot straight down to cut a man-sized hole in any surface, effectively letting tankbusters burrow underground on a whim and with but a twist of their torsos. A mask also deploys onto the Tankbuster's face, allowing them to breathe underground for as long as needed.

This sunburst headgear also serves as sort of a manhole cover until the tankbuster chooses to exit the burrow. The purpose of this burrow became extremely apparent the first time a Tankbuster squad was caught on surveillance: When one unlucky armour column unexpectedly ran into a Tankbuster ambush, the vehicles moved to crush these men in desperation, even as the Tankbusters began tearing them apart.

But the Tankbusters simply sank into the ground before even a single man was run over. As soon as the armoured column had crossed over them, they sprang up again from their spider holes, finishing the job with almost-merciful quickness.

Culturally, tankbusters are poorly understood, even among the mysteries of the Katsuragi Protectorate. There is reason to believe that burrowing into spider holes is seen as a dishonourable and shameful act among military forces, mainly within the ranks of the standard Self-Defense Forces. As well, Tankbusters' heavy equipment may be the source of some ridicule among other Protectorate SDF forces, if translations of certain intercepted Protectorate transmissions are to be taken at face value.

However, it seems clear that Tankbusters are ultimately well-regarded for their skill and fortitude, and the number of sightings of these men in tandem with their SDF counterparts in direct combat with armour divisions means that the Katsuragi must be training such forces in greater and greater numbers.

And during the war, Tankbusters proved themselves beyond all expectations of the Shogunate, earning themselves a fierce reputation as warriors and being formed into their own specialised divisions with a great amount of support, including the newly reactivated Jishin Buster Tank, another non-SDF vehicle. One of the most successful developments is the widespread use of a holographic generator on the Sunburst helmet, which allows the Tankbuster to become almost undetectable to conventional forces after a short stay underground.

The Tankbusters' "Muramasa" plasma-cutter cannon has been upgraded to a newer model, the MX-20. The beam is wider and squatter, providing an even greater area burned through against tanks. The beam is shorter ranged, but range has never been an issue to units intended to pop up at point-blank range, anyways, and being out of range with the new model is seen as a sure sign that a Tankbuster isn't worth their wide hat.

Another facet of the Tankbuster's success is that their equipment harness is now fully painted in white, while previously it was left with its blue primer visible, since no one thought it worth the effort.