G-Series

The G-Series mecha is a venerable mecha design, built by the Guardian Robotics Concern for the Kingdom of Guardia, and the first mecha fielded by a major Web power. Despite this distinction (which Guardians will point out purely for pride's sake), the G-Series is treated fairly poorly by the Guardian military, and because of the lack of mecha fielded by Guardians in general the G-Series is among the rarest-encountered mecha in the Web of Worlds. Under Khalid Morris, however, mecha have gotten a second look in Guardia, and some newer models based off the core G-Series design have been bandied about by the GDF -- especially since Khalid retained the services of the engineering geniuses, Baxter and Jaxon Dermal, who have built mecha for Guardia to participate in the Robotics Tournament.

The G-Series basically resembles an enormous R-Series robot, with a barrel-shaped body and dome-capped head. G-Series mechs fielded in service to Guardia are usually red in color, displaying the Guardian flag somewhere on their casing, along with insignia indicating what regiment and battle group they belong to.

Armament

G-Series are typically outfitted with a standard suite of weaponry, including shoulder-mounted rockets, eyebeams and a retractable vulcan mount housed inside the mech's chest. In addition to this standard armament, the G-Series' fists are modular; they can be removed and replaced with specialized weapon attachments, as needed by specific circumstances. In addition, an early partnership with the Esper Union produced a mecha-scale gravitic rifle for the G-Series, which is often part of the mech's loadout when deployed.

Configuration

Though it was one of the first mecha in the Web of Worlds, many of its design traits were not carried on by future generations of giant robots. For example, the G-Series is built to function in all environments: land, air, space and even deep ocean. This results in a sturdy, but cumbersome design, and most other mech designs sacrifice this versatility for terrain specialization and a higher degree of agility. It should also be noted that the G-Series' cockpit is in the head of the robot, rather than the chest. The head is also able to detach from the main body, allowing the pilot to "eject" and rocket to safety in the event that the mech takes critical damage. G-Series can achieve hovering and flight by way of jet repulsors in the soles of their feet, and along their waistlines at the hips and back. These jets allow them to fly and maneuver (and also propel them underwater), but are not powerful enough to allow the mech to achieve escape velocity. To enter space, a G-Series usually "piggy-backs" on a specially designed space transport vehicle, though they can also be shipped into space in the cargo hold of a larger ship.

Comparative Assessment

Most people generally regard the G-Series as an inferior mecha model, at least compared with Esper's KN-Series and Diamond's infamous Seraphim. However, this assessment is far too simplistic, and ultimately unfair to the G-series. G-Series mecha lack in terms of speed and agility compared to other mecha models. However, the G-Series is tough. Its durability is, perhaps, rivalled only by the Zog-type Dracoform. The G-Series also boasts a tremendous amount of physical strength: it is capable of lifting a standard-sized tank and carrying or even throwing it. In melee, you do not want to be hit by the fist of a G-Series mech. Unless, of course, you're piloting either a G-Series or a Zog. And even then, you'd better brace yourself.

History

The G-Series was designed and first built during the OmniSent crisis, as part of a major expansion in tech and hardware employed by the Guardian military. In particular, the goal was to build a versatile, multi-terrain defender vehicle to protect convoys of OmniSent prisoners through all stages of their journey -- land, sea/air and then space -- en route to asteroid penal colonies in the Gate Belt. Early stages of the design called for a simple magitek-style battlesuit, but slowly the concept evolved into a 30' tall, fully humanoid robot. As mecha were not yet widely known in the Web at the time, the Guardians considered the concept of a giant, pilot-controlled robot a veritable breakthrough.

While they never saw active combat duty during this period, the G-Series mecha and their pilots fulfilled their intended role as convoy escorts quite admirably.

Thames vs. Giant Robots

After the OmniSent crisis, Grand Admiral Thames lobbied vehemently against the inclusion of the G-Series as part of the Guardian Space Fleet's compliment. As the Web's major military powers (especially the Esper Union) were just beginning to discover and employ mecha on a large scale, the Guardians -- who had been the first to field giant robots -- seemed to strongly reject them. Thames' doctrine of space warfare called for exclusive reliance on large, long-range capital ships and flurries of starfighters. Though forces like SRAN sought to prove that mecha could play a versatile role in tactical space warfare, the GSF under Thames soundly rejected any use of giant robots of any kind.

Giant Robot Renaissance

After Thames' rebuke, the G-Series languished for a time. The GDF picked up the mecha, and employed them in a limited role with their armor forces. Their use by GDF Armored Division was rather unglamorous, however, as the robots' size and strength was basically put to use in lifting, carrying, deploying and defending tanks and transports. For any advocate of the military use of giant robots, this was almost an insult.

The G-Series wouldn't be accorded its due respect until well after Khalid Morris assumed the Chancellory of Guardia. The Dermal brothers, representing the Guardian Munitions Corporation, set to work on improving and tweaking the G-Series design for the Robotics Tournament. The result of this was the Ixion, the prototype of the G-Series Model C "Cavalier" centaurian mecha. Their rather surprising successes (nobody expected the Guardians, a nation renowned for refusing to use giant robots, to survive the first round of the first Robotics Tournament) caught the attention of Khalid Morris; while the GMC was disappointed that the Dermals failed to capture first place, Morris hired the pair of imps on the spot to design and build more mecha for Guardia. As a direct result of Guardian mecha participating in the tournament, GDF built an entire new mecha regiment, and is currently incorporating the new Norn mecha as part of this force.

Variations

The first Guardian entrant into the Robotics Tournament, the Ixion, was built by the Dermal brothers and modeled after the original G-Series. Ixion -- more properly called the G-Series Model C "Cavalier" -- was a centauroid mecha, quadrupedal, with a horse-like lower quarter and a humanoid torso. The Ixion boasted two pilots and could separate at the waist, becoming two individual mecha that could fight independent of each other (another Guardian first).

A more recent G-Series descendent is the Norn mecha, which are smaller and more agile, and more closely resemble foreign mecha designs than their G-Series forbears. The Norns' major innovation is their construction from a metal called "Nightmare," an alloy of Dreamstone, said to give the robot impressive defensive resistances and also allows the mecha to cast spells. Rumor suggests that the Norn mecha incorporates an AI that possesses sentient intelligence, though the government officially denies this -- if it were true, the Norns would have to be accorded civil rights per the Code of Prometheus, and could not be fielded as mere weapons of war.

Kupopolis Neo

The Kingdom of Guardia in 140 WR in the Neo timeline boasts mecha descended from the lines of the G-Series and the Norn. The most recent Guardian innovation, the Aegis, also incorporates design traits of the original Guardian mecha, though Aegis is recognized as being vastly superior to previous Guardian mecha models in virtually every way.