- "I designed the Trooper to be able to be on par with that of a basic Fifth Generation Britannian Knightmare Frame. Hence compared to say, a Sutherland, they are a bit larger but are a bit more mobile due to their new landspinner system that I designed. It is also able to carry a handheld shield which gives it far better protection. So if you do not want to pilot these units, then it's your funeral. As those so-called Burais we got from Kyoto are just improved Glasgows, a Fourth Generation Frame..."
- ―Engineer Maya Domeki to several Japanese-born Black Knight Devicers after they expressed some weariness about piloting the new Knightmare Frames
The KF5-D3 Trooper Knightmare Frame, or sometimes known as the Uma (うま) to its primary Japanese born pilots and originally called the Unknown Knightmare-01 (UK1) by its Britannian enemies but later started to be known as the Potbelly by the pilots who fought it, is the primary Knightmare Frame of the Order of the Black Knights during the course of the later titled Black Rebellion. While around a half meter taller and slightly a ton heavier then the comparable RPI-13 Sutherland of the Holy Empire of Britannia's Royal Panzer Corps it still remained on par with the smaller Knightmare Frame. This is mainly thanks to the new improvements it sported which include an integrated cockpit block, new lightweight slash harkens, and other such improvements made to the overall design of the Trooper introduced by its developer and creator one Knightmare Frame Designer and Engineer Maya Domeki.
Appearance[]
The Trooper looks vastly different from any other Knightmare Frame before it as it was primarily based on the body plan used by the YF7-X9C Orion an unbuilt Fourth Generation Knightmare Frame design first developed by the Ashford Foundation after the success of their Third Generation Ganymede Prototype Design. While it does retain the overall humanoid like appearance of other Knightmare Frames like the Glasgow and the Sutherland it doesn't sport the hunchback like appearance of those machines. Mainly thanks in part to the newly developed integrated cockpit block that does give the Trooper its circular-like belly area which contains the Frame's cockpit block. It is also thanks to this new type of cockpit block that the Trooper is a tad larger and a bit heavier then its other Fifth Generation contemporaries. As a normal near four and a half meter tall frame of a Knightmare did not have the space for such an integrated cockpit block.
During the early days of the Black Rebellion the numerous Trooper Knightmares controlled by the Order of the Black Knights would be painted in a dull green color scheme. While the first early types of the unit would be painted in a few different schemes with one unit sporting a black and scarlet scheme, another one sported a dark green and red color scheme, and the final one sporting a black and silver scheme. A few units piloted by notable ace pilots of the Black Knights would be sport their own customized paint schemes, including a scarlet scheme, similar to one done to first Early Type Unit, briefly used by Black Knight Ace pilot Kallen Kozuki and a pale blue scheme used by the Trooper piloted the man known as Zero's Right Hand, only known as Rai. It is only before the start of Operation KAMIKAZE that would find the vast majority of the Trooper Knightmares in use by the Black Knights be repainted into a black and dark gray paint scheme that would become the new basic color scheme of other Black Knight Knightmare Frames going forward after the Operation.
General Overview[]
One of the last mass produced Fifth Generation Knightmare Frames to be introduced before the overall movement to that of the new mass produced Eighth Generation Knightmare Frame the KF5-D3 Trooper is said to be on par with that of the RPI-13 Sutherland and its variants of Britannia's Royal Panzer Corps, a bit less to that of the Mk5-E6E3 Cyclone of the European Union Grand Army, and vastly superior to that of the Rk-15 Riveni II (Ливень) of the Russian Federation's Federal Hussar Corps. The only other true full mass produced fifth generation knightmare designs in the entire world at large as of the start of the Black Rebellion in 2017 Imperial Calendar. While a bit less then the likes of the Britannian RPI-209 Gloucester and the European Mk5-W1A3 Alexander which are all part of the so-called Generation 5.5 Knightmare Frames a slightly improved version of regular old fifth generation models and produced in limited numbers for more elite-rated pilots of both superpowers. Like its other Fifth Generation contemporaries the Trooper is far better then that of the earlier Fourth Generation Knightmare Frame Designs like the Rk-09 Trilistnik of the Russian Federation and the Mk4-E2E8 Panzer Hummel of the European Union along with the primary Chinese Federation's Knightmare Frame the TQ-19 Gānglóu (鋼髏).
Historical and Development Overview[]
Development History Brief[]
The birth of the Trooper came from the study of the data for the original Third Generation Knightmare Frame design the YF6-X7K/E Ganymede designed and built by the Ashford Foundation along with the design papers for the Fourth Generation Full Combat Rated successor to that of the Ganymede, the YF7-X9C Orion. All done by the young engineer Maya Domeki whose mother Vaniera Garfield had been part of the original team that designed the Ganymede and later the Orion. With this study and some basic data on that of the RPI-13 Sutherland would be combined with some other ideas drawn from other projects done by the Ashford Foundation the new KF5-D3 Trooper would be born. The basic design of the Trooper would be finished in late November of 2016 a.t.b and was set aside by its creator, as Ms. Domeki currently didn't have the capability to build the Frame nor the resources or funds to do so. It would be months later that the young engineer somehow managed to somehow assemble a workshop capable of slowly hand-building a Knightmare Frame with the help and general support of the Shinjuku Resistance Cell. From there Maya managed to start construction of three brand-new frames based on her original Trooper design using parts and such from other Knightmares either stolen or retrieved from other sources by her new friends in the Shinjuku Resistance. These units would become known to Maya as the KF5-D2 Trooper Early Type and would be mainly to help gather data for further development of the design along with training the rest of the Cell in Knightmare Combat.
One of these Trooper Early Types would be fully assembled in time to help the Shinjuku Resistance Cell in a mission to steal a supposed new weapon developed by the Britannians. This unit would be equipped with a handheld Pile-Bunker like lance weapon, a head-mounted anti-air machine gun, a single shoulder-mounted crude four-shot rocket launcher, and a waist-mounted rack for three also crude anti-armor grenades. For the mission one of the younger, but more natural-minded, pilots of the Cell would pilot it, one Kallen Kozuki. During the mission this Knightmare surprised the light Britannian forces following after the Cell's truck transporting the stolen weapon before becoming one of the Cell's only real weapon to use against the more larger and even more well-equipped Britannian military forces that arrived to try to retrieve the stolen weapon from the Resistance fighters. Where it would soon take part in the later titled Battle of Shinjuku Ghetto, by many inside the larger overall Japanese Resistance, and the Shinjuku Incident by the Britannians. During said battle the Trooper Early Type Unit would easily managed to take down several Britannian VH-9 Cobra VTOL Gunships, many A-5 Armored Combat Vehicles, and even a couple of enemy RPI-13 Sutherland Knightmare Frames through the unit's own weapons and the natural piloting talents of its young pilot Kallen. However, when fighting against a pair of Sutherland Knightmare Frames piloted by ace pilots of the so-called Purist Faction the unit's right arm would be damaged and its handheld lance would be destroyed. It was only the intervention of a mysterious voice on the radio known as Zero that would save the unit and its pilot from certain destruction by these ace pilots. From there the Unit along with its pilot would be used as a distraction and such by Zero during the following counterattack by the remaining Resistance fighters now piloting several captured Sutherland Knightmares of their own. During this brief counterattack the Trooper Early Type would be destroyed by the Britannian experimental Seventh Generation Knightmare Frame Lancelot when it was deployed in a desperate last gasp by Area 11 Viceroy and Third Prince of the Empire, one Clovis la Britannia. Still both its pilot, Kallen, and its builder, Maya would get much needed experience and combat data from that battle.
The following days Maya would focus on finishing the last two of the Trooper Early Type Units she had under construction in her workshop using parts and such harvested from the couple of remaining intact captured Sutherland units from the battle. She also further expanded on the design of the full Trooper design using combat data she got from the battle and ideas she got from observing the Lancelot Prototype during the battle itself. This include a modular slash harken design that could either be built into an arm-mounted shield, or even on a smaller modular clip-on attachment also shield-like to the unit's forearm. The latter of which she managed to get an idea about from seeing the forearm mounted slash harkens of the prototype Lancelot Unit. She also managed to complete her own personally designed landspinner system for the Trooper which was a bit different from the system she had used for the destroyed first unit which borrowed heavily from a half-destroyed Glasgow Fourth Generation Knightmare Frame that provided much of the parts for that first unit. A system that was a slightly different from what is used in Britannian Knightmares with a large back wheel being placed at the back of the foot and a smaller front wheel being mounted in the front of the foot which can be retracted into the "toes" of the foot when not being in use. It would be soon after both units would be completed that the Second Trooper Early Type Unit would be used to support the mysterious Zero's rescue of Suzaku Kururugi who had been falsely accused of the assignation of the Viceroy and Third Prince Clovis. Something that Zero had claimed on doing to allow Britannian forces to retreat from the ravaged Shinjuku Ghetto and ending the battle. This time the unit would be piloted by Maya herself who used it to cover the escape of Zero, Kallen posing as Zero's Driver, and the Prisoner Suzaku from the stopped prisoner convoy transporting the latter to his staged trail.
It would be this incident and the earlier battle in Shinjuku that would impress Zero about the whole new Knightmare design that is the Trooper. Therefore, several days later when the Shinjuku Resistance Cell officially joined Zero he would go out of his way to see about improving Maya's ability to construct more Knightmare Frames in the near future. The result of which would be Zero somehow managing to secure one of the three advanced 3500 Series SMITHY Mobile Workshop Units in Area 11 and passing it on to Maya who would use it start construction of further knightmare frames for the slowly expanding resistance group now under Zero's control. Soon afterwards this Maya would start a production run of her fully finished KF5-DF3 Trooper design replacing the two remaining Trooper Early Type Units. Though the two Early Type Units would remain in use by the growing group now called the Order of Black Knights in later missions against the various Refrain Dealers across the Greater Tokyo Area and nearby areas piloted by Kallen and Zero in those instances that they would be needed.
Finally, when the new Order of Black Knights would start its first major mission at Mount Narita twenty-four Trooper Units would have been finished and assigned to their newly trained pilots. During the following Battle of Narita these twenty-four new knightmares along with a pair of new units piloted by Zero and his ace Kallen would somehow managed to fight against Britannian knightmares that outnumbered them two-to-one. While several Black Knight Troopers would be damaged or destroyed during the battle they still managed to destroy many times their number of Britannian knightmares including several somewhat superior RPI-209 Gloucester Units of new Area 11 Viceroy and Third Princess of the Empire General Cornelia li Britanna's own 501st Mobile Panzer Battalion. This would prove their overall design over that of Britannian Knightmares and raised the moral of numerous Resistance groups spread all across the former Islands of Japan. Following the Battle of Narita Maya and her carefully chosen assistants would contiune to produce more Troopers for the Black Knights along with introducing new variants of the design and a whole new improved Seventh Generation Knightmare Frame design based on the Trooper. Therefore, by the time Zero and his Black Knights would start the campaign to fully take-over the islands from Britannia they would sport somewhere around three hundred Trooper Units and around a similar number of supporting non-Trooper Knightmares including a couple dozen of captured Sutherland Units and two hundred locally produced Type-1R Burai Knightmare Frames.
Basic Design Brief[]
Overall, the Trooper and its basic design was quite different from that of other knightmares with it retaining the humanoid shape of many other Fourth and Fifth Generation Knightmare Frames. That said it did sport a few different improvements over its contemporaries in the Fifth Generation. This would include the mentioned integrated cockpit block which removes the bulky backpack like cockpit block first introduced by the Fourth Generation RPI-11 Glasgow and puts the cockpit of the Knightmare into the circular belly of the Trooper. It retains the ability to launch itself out of the knightmare as an escape pod but is now able to launch either forward or backwards depending on which is the best and the level of damage to the frame. Some other improvements over that other knightmare frames of the Fifth Generation includes a new type of landspinners built in the heel and front end of the unit's feet which extend out when activated. This doesn't provide the outright quick turn radius of the larger landspinners in use by the Sutherland but can still keep up when needed.
While the Trooper did have some other minor improvements elsewhere on the design it does sport a few different flaws over that of other Fifth Generation designs. The most major one being that it does not sport a dedicated fixed slash harken and instead has to equipped its arm-mounted shield which is equipped with its own built-in slash harken or a smaller fore-arm mounted shield unit possessing a smaller slash harken. A lesser flaw of the Trooper is that to keep the overall weight down due to its slightly larger size its armor isn't as good as the Sutherland with it made out of a composite made out of tungsten and carbon. That while lighter then the all-out tungsten armor of the Sutherland is a bit weaker overall though this countered by an extra layer around the cockpit of the Trooper. A very minor flaw that the Trooper has is that it doesn't have the modular mounting points found on the sides of the Sutherland cockpit block and does not sport the waist mounted storage compartments used to store Chaos Mines. Instead the Trooper sports a pair of modular mounting points built inside that of the shield of the unit which can carry spare ammo clips for the Trooper's rifle or even a three-slot grenade rack if required.
It would be soon after production began that the Trooper became the primary knightmare frame of the Black Knights who would use it in many of the following operations and battles against the Viceroy's Area 11 Garrison Forces and other enemies across the former Japan. From fighting against corrupt Britannian Knightpolice and their own Knightmares to fighting against rogue elements of the Japanese Liberation Front, the largest resistance group in former Japan. The Trooper would easily overpower the basic KnightPolice Frames and the Japanese-built copy of the Britannian Glasgow, the Burai. While Britannian Sutherlands would fight about even against the new Black Knight Knightmare Frame. While the small amount of superior Britannian Gloucesters in the Area tried to counter the increasing amount of newly built Troopers and improved versions of the basic Trooper. By the start of Operation KAMIKAZE and the movement of Black Knight units to assault the Tokyo Settlement around three hundred Troopers would have been produced. Following the Operation and the so-called Black Rebellion would see the Trooper continue to serve the Black Knights.
Armaments[]
Close Range Weapons[]
KF5-M1 Anti-Knightmare Hatchet[]
When Maya Domeki was originally designing the Trooper she envisioned the main close-range weapon of the unit would be a special weapon that could heat up the edge of its blade to allow it cut through enemy armor of any enemy Knightmare. However, it was only when she would join the Black Knights that she would finally finished the development of the new weapon which would become the KF5-M1 Anti-Knightmare Hatchet which sported a special hardened ceramic material on its edge that can be heated up to higher degrees allowing it to cut through almost anything. Due to its small size and its ability to fold its handle up into a smaller handle it was able to be stored quite easily into the front storage compartment of the KF5-S2 Shield. Also thanks to its small size it can be used as a throwing weapon if there was no other option. The battery built into the head of the weapon could keep the blade on for thirty minutes straight therefore could be later retrieved and stored away once more.
KF5-M2 Anti-Knightmare Saber[]
This particular weapon was an extension of that of the Anti-Knightmare Hatchet after Maya managed to come up with her heat-based weapon that she originally planned on developing for the original Trooper design. This weapon greatly resembles a straightened katana weapon that sports its single edge with a special hardened ceramic like material that can be heated up to high degrees allowing the weapon to melt through the armor and skin of an enemy Knightmare Frame. Unlike the smaller Hatchet which could be easily stored in the shield of the Trooper the Saber has to be equipped with a special stealth which can be mounted on one side of the waist of the Knightmare which saw only a small amount of pilots willing to use it due to the idea that it got in the away of things. Still by the time of Operation KAMIKAZE the Black Knights would have the vast majority of their Trooper units equipped with this weapon as its primary close-range weapon with the Hatchet remaining as a back-up weapon when needed.
KF5-M3 Pile Driver Lance[]
The Pile Driver Lance had an interesting history in that when trying to come up with a weapon for the Trooper Early Type when the Shinjuku Resistance Cell didn't have any sort of access to getting Knightmare scaled bullets or even a real long range weapon like a rifle. Outside of the single KMF-W4 Machine Pistol recovered by the Cell during its salvage runs and even then it didn't have any ammo not to mention its barrel was slightly damaged from something or another. Therefore, the designer of the Trooper Maya would look to other means of crafting a needed weapon and that came about from an interesting source, a recovered civilian heavy pile driver head used in the past to crack heavy building foundations. Using this and some other pieces of salvage Maya was able to develop the KF5-W0 Pile Driver Lance which became the main weapon for that of the Trooper Early Type when it was first deployed. Later, when Maya had access to that of more resources thanks to the Black Knights she would develop a more refined version of the weapon which would become the KF5-M3 Pile Driver Lance which now sported a head of Super-Hard Steel alloy around that of the Pile Driver. Allowing the Lance to be used to more easily bash and club an enemy Knightmare Frame down before moving in for the kill with the built-in pile driver in the head fired piercing through the now weakened enemy armor to destroy the Knightmare. This weapon is only used on the customized unit piloted briefly by Black Knight ace pilot Kallen Kozuki and would be retained by her new unit when she received it right before the Battle of Narita. Still a couple other pilots would manage to use the weapon in later battles, but not as successful as now Captain Kozuki.
Handheld Weapons[]
KF5-R3 25mm Anti-Knightmare Assault Rifle[]
The KF5-R3 Anti-Knightmare Rifle was originally developed from that of the prototype KF5-R1 Rifle which had been created from that of a KMF-W4 Machine Pistol used by the Knightpolice Knightmare Frames with it just having an extended stalk and a longer barrel added to the design. From there using data from it being used in some tests, and having an actual KMF-W5 Series Assault Rifle to study would see the development of the ever better KF5-R3 Anti-Knightmare Assault Rifle. This new rifle was similar in size to that of the KMF-W5 Series Rifle used mainly by Sutherland Units and like that rifle could be fired one-handed or for more steady firing could be fired two-handed. It could use the same forty-round magazine used by the KMF-W5 Series Rifle or a large eighty-round drum magazine. The only real difference between the two rifles outside of looks was that the KF5-R3 Rifle didn't having the top-mounted Heavy Launcher. Instead the KF5-R3 Rifle could have either a under-barrel launcher equipped or a dedicated second hand foregrip equipped allowing for easier two-handed firing of the rifle. This rifle also sports the ability to equip a longer barrel for longer range combat.
KF5-R5 30mm Anti-Knightmare Heavy Assault Rifle[]
The KF5-R5 Heavy Assault Rifle is a later introduced weapon that would mostly be used by that of the Commando and later used by the Trooper. This particular weapon is far larger then that of the KF5-R3 rifle and actually looks like an up-scaled infantry-use assault rifle. It fires a slightly longer 30mm but similar weighted round to that of the 25mm Round used by the smaller KF5-R3 rifle and was made to make it easier to punch through heavier Knightmare armor at vastly longer ranges. Something that smaller rifle and its round didn't have all that much ability to do even with an extended barrel equipped. This came about due in part to the KMF-W5 Series Assault Rifle used by the Sutherland and the base for the KF5-R3 Rifle was originally designed to be a shorter-range weapon. Hence, the reasoning for the larger rifle and longer round it could fire. Still like the KF5-R3 Rifle the larger R5 rifle was able to equip an underbarrel heavy launcher that be used to fire individual rifle grenades or slightly smaller anti-armor explosive rounds. Just like the Heavy Launcher equipped to that of the KMF-W5 Series Rifle which the launcher equpped to the smaller R3 rifle did not have the option instead primarily used just for firing grenades.
KF5-R5S 30mm Anti-Knightmare Sniper Rifle[]
The KF5-R5S Sniper Rifle is actually at its core a sniper rifle version of the regular KF5-R5 Assault Rifle that sports a longer barrel and a dedicated long-range sensor unit attached to the top of the rifle. Along with a longer extended stalk allowing an easier time firing the heavier rifle for the Knightmare at longer ranges. It also uses the same round as the regular rifle which does simplify logistics a bit for the Black Knights. The sensor unit on top of the rifle allows the knightmare devicer to fire at targets up six hundred meters away three times the engagement range of the basic rifle.
Fixed Weapons[]
KF5-F3 12.7mm Anti-Air Machine Gun[]
One of the ideas that designer Maya Demeki had with her own Knightmare Frame designs would be the ability to counter air attacks on said design. As one of the major counters against attacking Knightmares outside of having their own defending Knightmares was attacks from highly mobile VTOL Gunships or close air support from modern hi-speed fighter bombers. Therefore, the new Trooper would have a small 12.7mm Machine Gun mounted in its head to help in defending itself from attacking gunships. While such a small machine gun wasn't all that much against modern fighter bombers with their armor, however, it was enough to counter attacking VTOL Gunships which often have thinner armor due to their main defense being their mobility and speed. Therefore, this small anti-air machine gun was quite capable of bringing down enemy VTOL Gunships and would become a staple of further designs from Maya Demeki and her team.
KF5-F5 7.25mm Anti-Infantry Machine Gun[]
While the main assault rifle often used by Knightmares as their primary weapon were quite capable of being used against any sort of attacking infantry especially when loaded with newly developed Microdart Ammunition. However, in an ever evolving battlefield having another weapon set aside for anti-infantry work would be quite vital to have. Therefore, the reasoning for the Britannian Sutherland, and the European Cyclone both have the option to equip small anti-infantry guns on their chests. The new Trooper is no different in that idea with it having a small 7.25mm machine gun mounted on its lower torso allowing to fire downwards towards any approaching infantry. Also in a pinch it can also be used by the Trooper devicer as a means to counter large missile or rocket attacks against it.
KF5-R3 Modular Grenade Rack[]
System Features and Equipment[]
System Features[]
KF5-E3/A Landspinner Mobility Package[]
Like any other Knightmare Frame design the Trooper sports the ability to deploy wheeled devices known as Landspinners to allow the Knightmare to have a higher mobility then simply walking. For the Trooper and its variants this would be the KF5-E3/A Landspinners which are a bit different from other similar systems used by that of the Britannian Knightmare Frames like the Sutherland. As it was separated into two with one larger wheel being placed on the back of the feet of the Trooper which can be lowered in position when needed, and a smaller wheel built into the bottom of the front of the feet of the unit which can also be lowered into position when needed. This set-up doesn't allow for a close-in turning radius, nor does it allow the knightmare to climb up buildings or walls like the system found on a Sutherland. Still it does sport a higher ground speed then the system by that of the Sutherland and thanks in part to how its built it is a lot harder to damage. Something that Britannian Landspinners are more often then not found to be quite easily to do in the middle of combat.
KF5-E1 Combined Sensor and Camera Package[]
The Trooper like Britannian Knightmare Frames sport a similar sensor and camera unit to that of the Britannian Factsphere. Though the Trooper does sport a vastly different system that spreads the various sensor and camera system along the entire visor of the head of the Trooper. Instead focusing all of such pieces of equipment into just one overlarge "eye" like unit placed in the middle of the head. This visor sports a pair of shutter like protective covers that move from the bottom and top of the visor to cover it when not in general use of the larger system. Almost similar in nature to the protective covering of Britannian Factsphere though the KF5-E1 unit does leave enough in its covering to allow a smaller centrally mounted sensor camera to peek through the closed coverings to allow gather data.
KF5-E2 Secondary Sensor and Camera Package[]
Still even with the primary sensor unit capable of gathering data even through its protective coverings the Trooper does sport a series of smaller secondary sensor camera units that can support the main unit or when it is damaged itself be fully switched over. On the Trooper these smaller units are placed on the head, one right above the main unit and another one on back of the head, and two are placed either shoulder of the unit with a final one located right bellow the Knightmare's cockpit block. All of these sensor cameras are able to not only gather data but able to use as a camera itself allowing the devicer of the unit to more easily see his surroundings when that is required.
Internal Cockpit Block[]
One of the major features developed for the full-on finalized Trooper design by Maya Domeki was to include the internal cockpit block of the Orion Fourth Generation Prototype design. This cockpit block was quite different from the back-mounted cockpit units used by other Knightmare Frame designs introduced by Britannia, the European Union, and that of the Russian Federation. It would entirely be in the knightmare itself providing vastly superior protection then the back-mounted cockpits while also retaining the ability to launch itself out of the Knightmare as an escape craft for its pilot. For the Trooper this cockpit block was entered via a front hatch which extended the cockpit chair itself downwards slightly allowing an easier time to enter the cockpit. Though like any Knightmare cockpit it sports a built-in winch system to allow the pilot to enter and exit the cockpit when the Knightmare is fully standing. The escape mechanism for the Trooper is quite interesting in that it can launch the escape craft both forward and also out the back of the unit. It all depends on the unit's computer deciding which side would be the better option to allow the pilot escape the damaged unit. Like any other Knightmare Frame the automatic escape mechanism can be overridden by the pilot though it is not advised to do so. The pilot can also override the computer's choice of which side the escape craft will launch from as well. This can come in handy when the pilot notices that there actually something like a tree or something else blocking one side of the downed unit which may end up damaging or destroying the escape craft when it launches. It would be thanks to this new Cockpit Block that would see the Britannian pilots who fought against it starting to call it the Potbelly.
Equipment[]
KF5-S2 Arm-Mounted Shield[]
KF5-S3 Small Forearm-Mounted Shield[]
KF5-B1 Back-Mounted Equipment Storage Container[]
KF5-B2 Parachute Backpack[]
Variants[]
KF5-D2 Trooper Early Type[]
When engineer and Knightmare Frame designer Maya Demeki first started to develop her own knightmare frame design she would with the help of the old Shinjuku Resistence Cell manage to assemble an ad-hoc workshop that was capable of slowly hand building a couple of Knightmare Frames. The resulting knightmare built by this crude workshop would become known to Maya as the KF5-D2 Trooper Early Type as Maya had yet to fully finalize the finished design of the Trooper. The Early Type while looking quite similar to the later finalized Trooper sported a few major differences including sporting a back-mounted cockpit block and landspinners based heavily on those used by an old half-destroyed RPI-11 Glasgow. It also sported parts and such from the same half-destroyed Glasgow and other sources across Area 11. When finished the Early Type was first equipped with a basic KF5-M0 Large Pile Driver Lance, an arm-mounted KF5-S1 Shield, a shoulder-mounted KF5-R1 Four-Shot Rocket Pod, a head-mounted KF5-F2 13.7mm Anti-Air Machine Gun, and finally a KF5-R2 Grenade Rack completed with four KF5-G1 Anti-Armor Grenades. Later on, the other two finished units of this variant would start using prototype versions of the weapons that would be commonly used by the later introduced regular Trooper design. This included the KF5-R2 20mm Anti-Knightmare Assault Rifle, and the newly designed KF5-E3 Slash Harken built into a new arm-mounted shield. Still by the time of the Battle of Narita the remaining two completed units of this variant would be mainly used for advanced training, and other such non-combat duties by the Black Knights.
KF5-D3C Trooper II[]
After the end of the so-called Black Rebellion Maya Demeki who barely managed to escape Area 11 would be go back to the drawing board and would manage to end up designing an upgrade package for that of the basic Trooper which would improve the whole design. While still considered a Fifth Generation Design, it was brought up to the standard of a typical Generation 5.5 design like its sister design the Commando. It would support the ability to be equipped with a dedicated flight system which also sports a new Energy Filler and Cockpit upgrades to allow such a new piece of equipment to be equipped and be used. With a vastly larger ability for mass production due to the "kindness" of the Chinese Federation Maya and her remaining assistants were able to produce not only the upgrade packages themselves for the remaining Troopers built in Area 11 but also a several hundred more units of the type complete with the Trooper II upgrades. It would be these new units that would be the centerpiece of the vastly enlarged Order of the Black Knights when they joined forces with the Royalist Faction of the Chinese Federation to oust the powerful so-called Eunuch Generals from control of the Federation and place the child-like figure of the Tianzi back on the throne of the Federation.
KF5-D5 Commando[]
When Maya and her assistants managed to get their hands on some limited data on the RPI-209 Gloucester they would start the development of their own Generation 5.5 Knightmare Frame Design. The result of this development would be the KF5-D5 Commando which is a more armored and slightly heavier version of the basic Trooper that would become the ace-level Knightmare unit of the Black Knights. It would sport a vastly different exterior and head design from the Trooper while sporting some elements from the earlier design including its cockpit block and some of its internals. This latter idea allowed an easier time for production for the Commando as the new design would share somewhere around sixty percent common parts with that of the Trooper. It also would be able to used many of the same weapons that was designed for the use of the Trooper along with a couple of different newly designed weapons. After being introduced the Commando would be assigned to several experienced ace-level knightmare pilots in the expanding Black Knights including the likes of Saosuke Sagara, Shinn Suzumura, Mayu Yamato, Mikazuchi Angus, Sakura Lee, the pilot only known as Rai, and even a specially modified unit used by Zero himself during the Battle of Narita. Later when Zero Squadron was first formed several units of this type would be in use by this special bodyguard squadron who would first use their new units against rogue Japanese-born pilots allied with Chinese Federation units of their Ninth Shock Army who invaded Kyushu.
Design Notes[]
- The KF5-D3 Trooper is heavily visually based on that of the Jahannam Mobile Suit from the Gundam Reconquista in G anime and it just basically downsized vastly to allow to be used as a Knightmare Frame design. The central circular torso section is now the cockpit block of the unit and due to this is slightly larger then a Sutherland Knightmare Frame. Meanwhile, the KF5-D5 Commando is visually based on that of the GH-001 Grimoire and the KF5-D2 Trooper Early Type is visually based on that of the Early Commander Type of the Jahannam Mobile Suit. Again, both mobile suits are downsized drastically to allow them to be used as Knightmare Frames and possess the same type of internal circular cockpit block.
- The Landspinner System used by the Trooper and its variants is heavily based on the wheels found on the GH-001RB Grimoire Red Beret from the Gundam Build Divers anime. They are just able to be retracted slightly like other Landspinner Systems in other Knightmare Frame Designs.
- The Pile Driver Lance mentioned as a weapon for the Trooper is actually heavily based on that of the Large Mace used by the Gundam Barbatos during the first episodes of the Iron Blooded Orphans Gundam Series. This came about from a conservation I had with another fan about Kallen's whole combat style and how it was shaped first by the unarmed Glasgow she used at Shinjuku then the Guren. Therefore, we mentioned a couple different ways of changing Kallen's combat style and I mentioned Mikazuchi's style would be interesting to be used by a pilot like Kallen. Hence, she uses something like the Large Mace and starts shaping her new close-range combat style around tis type of weapon.
- The other weapons used by the Trooper are heavily visually based on the weapons used by both the Jahannam and Grimoire Mobile Suits, but the Anti-Knightmare Saber is based on the Long Sword used by the ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos. While the Anti-Knightmare Hatchet is based on the Plasma Axe used by the Jahannam though unlike the mobile suit the Trooper stores its weapon in its shield instead of on its backpack. Though it should be noted that the main rifle weapon used by the Trooper is actually based on that of the smaller-looking rifle weapon used by the Grimoire in the Gundam Reconquista in G anime while the so-called Heavy Rifle is actually visually based on the weapon used by the Jahannam Mobile Suit during the same series. The Sniper Rifle used by the Trooper is actually a sniper rifle version of the Heavy Rifle and just simply has a longer barrel, stock, and that weird sensor-looking unit on top of the unit.
Trivia[]
- The character of Maya Demeki is from the new Code Geass: Lost Stories game whose personal history has been slightly tweaked to make her a daughter of one of the designers of the original Ganymede Third Generation Knightmare Frame Design. She also managed somehow to get the design notes and such for the planned Fourth Generation successor for the Ganymede, the Orion, which would have been in the running to become the mainline unit for the Britannian Armed Forces. From there she would have used that data along whatever data she had on hand for the Ganymede to come up with the Trooper design.
- The original name chosen for the Trooper would have been Psiloi and the Commando would have been the Hoplite with latter becoming the overall main unit of the Black Knights. The Psiloi would have been the more lightly armored support knightmare frame that would have used in the first few battles before the Hoplite would have been introduced by the time of the Battle of Narita with the Psiloi soon becoming mainly a back up unit when required afterwards. That role is now taken up by the Trooper Early Type and the greek-sounding names where entirely replaced instead. Something that would have been built on from the Ganymede.
- An interesting tidbit about the original plan for this Knightmare Frame, its variants, and its overall background was that it would have been developed on the orders of Lelouch in preparation for the start of his planned operations against Britannia that he mentioned to CC when he said that receiving his Geass accelerated those plans. However, I changed the whole thing to have someone else develop it with the assistance of the Shinjuku Resistance Cell who later become the core of the Order of the Black Knights. Lelouch only exploited this and turned the Trooper into the knightmare frame used by his Black Knights as their mainline unit.