THE INVID SPACE HIVE

BACKGROUND

It would later be revealed that the Invid were constructing a series of Orbiting Hives, specifically constructed for anti-starship operations. The Stage Six Invid in charge had analyzed the results of the Second Invid War, and concluded that the humans' victory was for the most part due to the supplies and personnel they managed to get from the REF at Tirol. The Stage Six Invid decided that the best way to prevent a repeat of history was to prevent any REF ships or troops from reaching Earth. To this end, they constructed a series of "Space Hives" armed with powerful anti-starship weaponry and defended by a modified hive shield. These orbiting hives would also be able to serve as bases for the Invid space forces, which made up roughly 40% of the Invid occupation forces.

Invid Space Hives look somewhat similar to stilt hives, except that instead of stilts, the central hive has 6 large spikes sticking out of them, equally spaced along all of the sphere's axes. These spikes contain the massive anti-starship cannons that make up the main armament for the hive, as well as the shield generators that protect it. The cannons have no nozzle or any other feature that give them away, except for the fact that they're colored differently than the rest of the hive. The central globe of the hive consists mostly of docking bays, where the various space Invid can land to refuel and rearm. The major docking bays on the station are big enough to hold multiple Troop Transports or Cargo Transports. All docking bays are protected by force fields that keep atmosphere in while allowing ships and mecha to pass through them freely. These force fields can be strengthened in intensity to keep invaders out of the hive (though they are still vulnerable to Destabilizer cannons). At the center of the central hive is the massive power core that powers the entire station. The power cores of Space Hives are 30% larger than those typically found in Earth hives. This is due to the tremendous amount of power that the anti-starship cannons and the defense shield require.

At the height of the Third Invid War there were 92 Space Hives orbiting the Earth. 24 of these hives were Sector Command Space Hives, which served as command and control bases for the Stage 6 Invid during the war. The sector command hives were 25% larger than standard hives and contained significantly more troops. Below is a rough map of the locations of the orbiting hives during the war. However, it is important to note that while the hives spent most of their time in geosynchronous orbit over their assigned location, they can and often did alter their orbit to circle over trouble spots when necessary.

Rough Orbital Placement of Space Hives, Circa 2045

Standard Space Hive

Sector Command Space Hive

SCHEMATICS

RPG STATS

REF Nickname: "Death Stars"
Size:

4 miles long, wide, and high. The central hive sphere is usually 3 miles in diameter. Sector Command Space Hives are 5 miles in diameter (including spikes).

• 150 Armored Scouts w/ Space Boosters
• 300 Space Troopers
• 300 Attack Scouts
• 100 Sentinels
• 75 Enforcers
• 50 Combat Troopers
• 30 Troopers (Workers)
• 25 Strike Units
• 15 Pincer Command Units
• 15 Retrieval Drones
• 1 Brain
• 0-5 Assault Battloids w/ Stage Five pilots

Perimeter Defense: 10-20 patrols of 2D4 Space Troopers accompanied by 4D4 Armored Scouts or 4D4 Attack Scouts. Mixed patrols of other Invid mecha are also possible at the GM's discretion.

M.D.C. BY LOCATION

(1)  Weapons Spike (6):                      10,000 each
     Anti-Starship Cannons (6):              2,000 each
     Outer Wall (10 ft area):                400
     Inner Wall (10 ft area):                200
     Antigravity Domes (50):                 300 each
     Energy Barriers of outer portals (40):  300 each
     Spherical Energy Force Field:           1,000,000
(2)  Power Core (1):                         2,000
(3)  Main Hive:                              20,000

1. Depleting the MDC of a weapon spike will effectively destroy it. This will also completely destroy the anti-starship cannon inside (the other 5 will still function, though). However, the best news of all is that destruction of even ONE weapon spike will completely destroy the force field generator! NOTE: the force field must be down/damaged before the weapon spike may be attacked.
2. Depleting the MDC of the central power core will cause an explosion that effectively destroy the station. The Invid Brain will automatically be killed, in addition to (1D10x10)% of all Invid still remaining on the station. The burning hulk of the space hive will fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere within 1D6 days.
3. Depleting the MDC of the main hive will effectively destroy the station. 100% of all Invid left on the station are killed. The burning hulk of the space hive will fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere within 1D6 days.

   SPECIFICATIONS

   Flight:

   The Antigravity Domes are mainly for station-keeping purposes only. If necessary, the space hive can adjust its orbit, or even travel to the moon's orbit or beyond. It will take a space hive 24 hours to transfer from Earth orbit to Moon orbit. Space Hives do NOT have fold generators!

   WEAPON SYSTEMS

   1. ANTI-STARSHIP CANNONS. The main armament of the Space Hive are six massive anti-starship cannons that are even more powerful than the main gun of an Ikazuchi starship! The cannons are spaced equidistant around the hive so as to leave no arc undefended. In fact, most times 3-5 cannons can be brought to bear on a single target. Each cannon has an effectively unlimited arc of fire (except when blocked by the station itself).
      • Primary Purpose: Anti-spacecraft/assault
      • Range: 300,000 miles (480,000 km)
      • Mega-Damage: 1D6x1000 M.D.
      • Rate of Fire: Each cannon may fire ONCE every other melee.
      • Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
      • Note: These cannons are meant for use against spacecraft only. All bonuses/penalties for target size apply. See the table on page 53 of the Sentinels RPG.

   2. FORCE FIELD. The weapon spikes on the hive can also generate a force field to protect the hive from harm. When this field is activated, the shield extends from each spike to all the other spikes surrounding it, effectively making the station look like it is encased in a diamond. NOTE: The Anti-Starship Cannons CAN still fire when the force field is up. HOWEVER, no mecha or ships may be launched from the hive when the shield is up. A Destabilizer cannon will penetrate this shield just like a normal hive shield.
      • Primary Purpose: Defense
      • Mega-Damage Capacity: 1,000,000 MDC
      • Note: Can regenerate at a rate of 10,000 MDC per hour.

   

   http://www.mcs.net/~deitrich/index.html deitrich@mcs.net

   Last Updated: Friday, 18-Jan-08 02:59:14 PST

   This document was originally converted to HTML by Joshua Megerman
   megermjs@newton.physics.drexel.edu
   st92bb10@post.drexel.edu