Jayne's Intelligence Annual - Invid Datafile

Invid Communication Tower In 2038 the Invid began constructing new facilities around the globe. Tall towers topped by small hives and surrounded by six stalk like towers in a hexagonal arrangement. After 2042 the Invid constructed additional facilities in north America, which game the resistance a chance to investigate. The resistance's information was smuggled to the UEEF via the Lunar observation posts, and using that data UEEF analysts determined those facilities to be communications centers and sensor platforms, which monitored the surrounding environment for resistance activity, served as communications relays between Invid patrols, and provided ground to orbit sensor capability. Prior to the arrival of Task Force Jupiter and the final assault on reflex Point, the UEEF used its remaining communications links to the resistance to instruct the resistance to destroy as many of these facilities as possible in order to deny the Invid military Intelligence. The Communications Towers were 1312 foot (400 meter) tall cylindrical towers topped with a small 230 foot (70 meter) hive complex. around the tower are six stalk like structures arranged in a hexagon and nearly the same height as the tower. The Hive holds a single Invid Brain, and 10+5D6 Invid Soldiers for defense. Each facility also typically has 1D6 Invid patrols nearby watching for approaching threats. The facility can serve as a relay for Invid communications, able to send and receive messages within 500 miles (800km). The facility can also detect all radio and fold-comm activity within the same radius, and can detect spacecraft and fold drive activity within 1 light second (187,500 miles/300,000km, or about halfway to the moon). Loss of a single sensor stalk will reduce these ranges by half, and the loss of three or more eliminates the capability entirely. Destruction of the facilities hive brain will also eliminate the sensor capability, until the brain is replaced. The central tower is as difficult to destroy as an invid hive, however the sensor stalks can be brought down with a trio of cobalt limpet mines placed around the base. During the Invid occupation, the resistance focused primarily on bringing down sensor stalks, due to the difficulty of reaching the brain or destroying the facility itself. Of particular note was a facility in the American southwest that was destroyed in 2043, brought down by a suicide run of a Garfish class cruiser stranded on earth in 2031, its remaining crew sacrificing themselves in order to give Commander Bernard and his resistance cell a chance to escape.

Frag Gulags "All prisoners are allotted one hour of free time, from 3 to 4am." "Prisoners will be allowed 1 piece of bread and 1 bowl of broth at each meal. Remember, the crust is toxic. Please remove it." "Requests for additional rations ... that's a beating." "Bothering our Invid hosts during Protoculture replenishment ... that's a beating." "Beating one of your fellow inmates ... oh, you better believe that's a beating." "Everyone should keep in mind that Protocol G7-843 is in effect at all times." - Overheard being broadcast to prisoners in a Frag Gulag, New Mesa West Virginia. Beginning in the mid 2030's, the Invid began cultivating collaborators within the human communities of earth. In many regions this took the form of agreements with existing human leadership granting limited autonomy in exchange for loyal behavior, but it also took the form of agreements with Frags and other such renegade elements. Often these groups served as enforcement at Internment camps for captured dissidents, resistance members, and political prisoners used to coerce community leadership. These camps had a large degree of autonomy, with Invid interest primarily in ensuring no prisoners escape and the facility does not exceed allotted protoculture usage. Otherwise the collaborators were allowed to run the camps as they prefer. many of these camps doubled as agricultural or mining facilities, using the prisoners as forced labor to produce goods that can be used to cement the loyalty of the surrounding communities. Frag Gulags are built and operated by humans, and thus are built using human materials and with human design elements. Prisoners are generally housed in communal barracks, the camps are generally surrounded by fencing, barbed wire, and several guard towers, plus there is typically a smaller more comfortable camp nearby that houses the Frag guards. The camps tend to be located near whatever projects that the prisoners are used as labor in, and usually are close enough to Invid patrol routes to allow the invid to respond to attacks and keep an eye on the site. Invid participation is minimal, rarely more than 5D4 Invid Soldiers assigned as observers and enforcers. After the 21st Mars Division was destroyed, some of the more long operating and loyal camps began receiving Invid Light Ground patrols and Invid built force field fencing. The Invid provide specific allotments of Protoculture to those operating the camps, with failure to conform to Invid instructions resulting in reduced allowances, possibly even the removal of the current group leader if the failure is grievous enough.

GM Notes: These alliances with human groups were part of a long term experiment in understanding human society, initially with the goal of learning the best way to deal with the remaining human population, and later to better understand human nature when the human form Invid began exhibiting aberrant behavior. Because these alliances had the benefit of stabilizing various regions, the Invid expanded their experiment beyond its initial extent. By 2044, the experiment had been expanded to include integrating Invid mecha and Invid technology into some camps, often with covert Simulagents, in order to test the feasibility of integrating humanity into the evolved Invid society planned by the Regis.

Invid Janissary The Invid Janissary is a variant of the Invid Soldier with increased combat capability. The Janissary is virtually identical to the standard Soldier visually, save for the twin turret pods on its shoulders and an increase in bulk and size to 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall. However, this appearance is deceptive, as it boasts 25% greater armor protection than a standard Soldier, and the twin turret pods on its shoulders house a pair of fire-linked lasers equal to those of a standard Invid Soldier's forearms. All standard Soldier weaponry and systems are present, making the addition of these lasers a marked improvement over the firepower of the standard model. The Janissary was first seen shortly after the arrival of the Invid on earth, though by 2044 it remained an uncommon mecha. Based on reports from the resistance, the UEEF estimates that at best there is one Janissary for every 10 standard Soldiers, and that because it is typically seen in concert with standard Soldier's, it is most likely a low rank commander unit.Invid Mortar Scout The Mortar Scout is a mecha first seen in 2035. Resembling a standard scout with three large cannons mounted dorsally, the Mortar Scout functions as a form of mobile heavy weapons emplacement, filling the role of anti-aircraft gun and artillery. The Mortar scout boasts superior armor than standard scouts, estimated to be roughly 40% heavier than a Fighter Scout, making it almost as durable as an Invid Trooper. It mounts three heavy plasma cannon, each roughly equivalent to the weapons mounted on the Invid Shock Trooper in destructive power, but boasting three times the range, a 'blast radius of 10 feet (3 meters), and the ability to steer the plasma bolts in flight, an ability previously assumed impossible. How the Mortar Scout manages to achieve this feat is unknown, but it allows it to employ its plasma cannon as artillery, firing indirectly to avoid intervening terrain and doubling its accuracy in direct fire shots. However the Mortar Scout apparently requires line of sight with its target, either from itself or other Invid in the area, as it cannot fire at targets blindly. The trade off of this increased protection and firepower is reduced flight ability. A Mortar Scout is limited to a flight speed of 200mph (320kmh), rendering it far less mobile than most Invid mecha. This does not seem to effect it in combat however, as its primary fighting style is to locate a suitable firing position, land, and crouch for protection, becoming a fixed emplacement supporting other Invid mecha. When crouched it pulls its limbs in close to the torso, protecting its eye from attack and rendering itself a slightly smaller target. (Note: the Mortar Scout uses the Fighter Scout HtH bonuses, but with twice the To Strike Bonus when not firing indirectly.)