Exofleet
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In the 1993-1995 sci-fi animated television series Exosquad, Exofleet was the commonly used name for all battle spaceships built by the humans of the Homeworlds, in other words, the Terran space navy. Prior to the start of the Neosapien War, Phaeton lured the Exofleet, then consisting of six exocarriers and countless support vessels, away from the Homeworlds to fight the Pirate Clans, but they later became a part of the Exofleet themselves. For some time, the Exofleet was the only safe harbor for the Terrans (homo sapiens).
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[edit] Higher ranks
[edit] Admiral Winfield
Admiral Winfield was the commander of the entire Exofleet during the Neosapien War. A brilliant strategist and tactician, he was a man with an (nearly) unquestionable authority. Even though his decisions seemed too risky at times, his experience never failed him. The fact that he and J.T. Marsh were the only two people the Pirate Leader Jonas Simbacca truly respected as warriors speaks for itself. However, Admiral Winfield was an old man when the war started therefore when it was over, he retired from the Exofleet to build a horse ranch.
[edit] Matthew Marcus
Capt. Matthew Marcus (†) was the captain of Resolute I during the first years of the war. Infamous for his lack of strategic skills, he became one of the most negative figures of the war by nearly destroying Resolute I and the rest of the Exofleet in suicidal attacks on Earth held by Neosapiens, raising a mutiny against Admiral Winfield and finally, being destroyed along with his ship as a result of the previous events. One possible explanation of how he has been promoted to such a high rank at all is that this occurred during peacetime, when the necessity of the Exofleet itself was disputed.
[edit] Algernon
Professor Algernon, formerly, at University of Chicago, was the head of the Research & Development Laboratories of the Exofleet. At the beginning of the war, however, he has been captured by Neosapiens and forced to cooperate. Hiding under a disguise of the leading Neosapien scientist, Xenobius', lab assistant, he designed the so called GRAF (GRAvitation Focus) Shield, an ultimate defensive weapon capable of wiping out entire fleets approaching a planet. Later, Algernon has been extracted by the Able Squad and worked for the Exofleet ever since. It was primarily due to his inventions that Terrans often had the upper hand battling Neosapiens.
[edit] Able Squad
At the beginning of the Neosapien War, the Able Squad was merely one of many exosquads (E-frame squads) stationed on Resolute I as part of Flight 1. However, towards the end of the conflict, the Able Squad has become an elite unit assigned only to the most difficult missions (much like Rogue Squadron of Star Wars). The main story arc of the series primarily tells about the adventures of the Able Squad.
[edit] J.T. Marsh
Lt. / Wing Cmdr. J.T. Marsh was the first leader of the Able Squad. In the third year of the war, he has been promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and henceforth had two units under his command, Able and Baker Squads, while Lt. Nara Burns became the new leader of the former. Over the years, J.T. Marsh has proven himself as a man whom people will follow - even being the most famous and successful exosquad leader of the Exofleet, he remained a modest, attentive and likable person. In fact, the only one who has ever truly hated him was Phaeton, the leader of Neosapiens, - as well as the only one who was equal to him in hand-to-hand combat (except the Neo Lords), which clearly demonstrates Marsh's battle skills. One of his regular tactics in a space battle was to go for the enemy flagship, especially the well-defended bridge, thus, decapitating the opposing fleet. Over the time, Marsh has developed a mutual tender relationship with Colleen O'Reilly, a Lieutenant of the Jumptroop Platoon. During the war, Marsh piloted a "Falcon" #AA-500 E-frame.
[edit] Nara Burns
Lt. Nara Burns was, apparently, the youngest member and the second leader of the Able Squad. Her parents died in the Neosapien assault on Venus but her brother James survived to lead the Venus' resistance force. After her brother has been badly injured and killed during the liberation of the planet, the Able Squad became Nara's only remaining family. During a mission in the Amazon Rainforests, she was injected with a unknown mutating agent by Dr. Ketzer, but its effects haven't fully manifested themselves until the war's end, when she managed to temporarily seize control of Phaeton's movements, stopping him from activating his doomsday device, and after the war, when she accidentally rapidly accelerated the growth of a plant. Ironically enough, despite being the least experienced (albeit still talented) exotrooper, Nara Burns was the one to fire the last, and perhaps the most important, shot in the Neosapien War - the one that killed Phaeton, despite the fact that he was dying anyway. Over the years, she developed a deep relationship with Marsala. Before her promotion, Burns shared with him a two-pilot #RA-678 E-frame, but later she applied for a #TB-024.
[edit] Maggie Weston
Lt. Maggie Weston was the tech and repair specialist of the Able Squad. Her skills with machinery and weapons were comparable only to her resourcefulness - for example, she has been able to make any E-frame in any condition to fly again. In her personal affairs, however, Lt. Weston was not nearly as fortunate, in fact, she was often too shy and usually a loner. For a long time, she had a secret crush on Alec DeLeon, but before she could bring herself to admit it, DeLeon has been killed in action. It is suggested, however, that after his alleged resurrection by Professor Algernon, she has finally found some happiness. During the war, Weston piloted a #PO-024 Field Repair E-frame.
[edit] Rita Torres
Sgt. Rita Torres was the second in the chain of command of the Able Squad. Not much is known about her past, except the fact that she hated the Pirate Clans, although it has been gradually revealed that she hated one specific pirate, Jubail, rather than all of them. Overall, she was a perfect soldier - smart, skilled and always following the regulations to a word (as opposite to Wolf Bronsky's unorthodox stunts). It is said, that if soldiers could've been mass produced like the E-frames, Rita Torres would have been a standard model. Her E-frame of choice during the war was an #LD-029.
[edit] Kaz Takagi
Kaz Takagi was the second youngest member of the Able Squad. He has often been regarded as a rookie and a troublemaker, which is only half-true: he did cause a lot of trouble to his teammates, but never let them down in combat or otherwise. Kaz's E-frame, a #CR-001 Exofighter, was the only one in the squad that was incapable of ground combat, therefore he usually stayed in the air to provide aerial support and to scout the surroundings. A brilliant space pilot, Kaz Takagi deeply respected all fellow Able Squad members and especially regarded Wolf Bronsky as his mentor. After the end of the war, Wing Cmdr. Marsh sent him to the Exofleet Academy "to learn some discipline".
[edit] Alec DeLeon
Alec DeLeon was the intelligence and communication specialist of the Able Squad. Prior to his military career, he was a petty thief in France and joined Exofleet much like men used to join the French Foreign Legion.[1] Known for his ability to foresee every danger miles ahead and to escape even the severest firefights without a scratch on his E-frame, DeLeon has been J.T. Marsh's right-hand man all the way until the day he sacrificed himself to let Exofleet take control over the Moon. Much later, after the end of the Neosapien War, Professor Algernon and Galba succeeded in creating a new physical body for him and implanting his personality (stored in his E-frame's flight data recorder that was heavily modified by Algernon before) into it. His new body was that of a Neo Mega, modified to appear Terran, and whether it has retained the infertility common to all Neosapiens remains open. Prior to his (first) death, DeLeon piloted a "Wraith" SLR-345 E-frame.
[edit] Wolf Bronsky
Wolf Bronsky[2] was the longest serving and therefore most experienced member of the Able Squad. His marksmanship and tactical skills were flawless, although his methods of achieving the set goals have been questioned often enough. Bronsky had a heart of gold and often patronized rookies in the squad like Kaz Takagi but he was also a slob who couldn't care less for etiquette and common rules, although towards the end of the war he became a little more disciplined. It was also revealed that despite his slovenly ways, he was quite well educated in arts. During one of his missions on Earth, he fell in love with Eve Hanley, which soon has become mutual. As the most experienced member of the Able Squad, Bronsky was especially fond of piloting one of the most dangerous and unstable E-frames of the Exofleet - a #BD-100.
[edit] Marsala
Marsala was the only Neosapien and the oldest individual in the Able Squad. In fact, he had been one of the leaders of the First Neosapien Revolt 50 years prior to the war and a close friend of Phaeton once, as they were created in the same brood, making them the Neosapien equivalent of brothers. However, he swore an oath to serve the Exofleet and didn't break it even when it was the best choice for him and after that, he was marked a traitor who is to be killed immediately if captured among the Neosapiens. In any case, Marsala still considered himself loyal to the Neosapiens as a species, and sought to work for their benefit at every turn. This attitude caused him to lead the First Rebellion, but also to oppose the Second, as he felt that the Neosapiens should not enslave the Terrans despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that they themselves were enslaved once.
In addition to his skills as a pilot and soldier, Marsala has also shown to be a talented speaker and orator. This has probably helped him in the First Neosapien Revolt, as well as after the Neosapien War, when he put this skill to use in lobbying for the creation of a final brood of Neosapiens, one that was capable of sexual reproduction. Due to his origin, Marsala was often mistreated by Terrans (although never by members of his squad) but has always stayed calm and indifferent about it. He shared his two-pilot #RA-678 E-frame with Lt. Nara Burns to whom he developed a deep emotional attachment over the time. After Burns' promotion, Marsala continued to pilot his #RA-678 alone, and was eventually promoted to Lieutenant.
[edit] Alice Noretti
Alice Noretti (†) was the first member of the Able Squad to be killed in battle. Her pod was destroyed in a freak accident during the jump-landing in her first (and last) mission on Earth and her death left a painful scar on J.T. Marsh's soul. Neo Megas used her remains to create a clone of Alice (the same technology that was later used to resurrect Alec DeLeon) and programmed it to draw upon Lt. Marsh's survivor guilt and get close to him. The clone was then supposed to assassinate Admiral Winfield, thus, reducing the morale of Exofleet, but the programming didn't work as expected and she committed suicide.
[edit] Jumptroops
Jumptroop Platoon played a crucial role in liberating the Homeworlds but until that, it wasn't of much importance. The main purpose of the Platoon was securing the surface areas side by side with exosquads (e.g. the Able Squad), so it can be considered a sort of space infantry. All jumptroops had to use ultralight E-frames (much more agile than typical ones, but incapable of flying and much more vulnerable) and special jump-pods (hence the name) to reach the surface of the planets from their dropships that usually stayed in the outer space.
Early in the Neosapien War, tensions could be observed between the E-frame pilots and Jumptroops (similar to conflicts between the Mobile Infantry and Fleet personnel in Starship Troopers, and rivalries between real U.S. military branches such as Army and Navy). Some E-frame pilots treated jumptroopers as poor knockoffs of E-frame pilots, unable to accomplish anything significant without E-frames backing them up, and jumptroopers resented E-frame pilots, viewing them as arrogant fighter-jockeys with easier jobs and lower casualty rates, who overestimate their own importance, skills and courage and whose failures result in high casualties for jumptrooper battalions.
In the series, the main focus is on the Charlie-Five (C5) Squadron lead by Avery F. Butler and stationed on the jumpship Arnhem.[3]
[edit] Avery F. Butler
Capt. Avery F. Butler was the first leader of the Charlie-Five Squadron of the Jumptroop Platoon. He was an expert in everything regarding battle and morale - weapons, E-frames, communications, even war cries. A perfect soldier and a great leader, he was to the Jumptroops what J.T. Marsh was to the exotroopers - when Butler spoke, Charlie-Five Squadron listened. Before any given jump-landing Butler would always line up his troopers and demand whether there are any heroes among them (the answer has always been negative), clearly demonstraing his realistic views of war and combat.
Avery Butler was severely injured during the liberation of Earth and Lt. Colleen O'Reilly had to take over the command. During the war, his E-frame of choice was an #AD-014. Following Phaeton's defeat, Butler was appointed the chief instructor at the Exofleet Academy.
[edit] Colleen O'Reilly
Lt. Colleen O'Reilly was Avery F. Butler's right hand woman and the communications and tech specialist of the Charlie-Five Squadron. One of the best officers of the entire Exofleet, O'Reilly had a personal vendetta against Phaeton and his regime, since the day when nearly all her friends from the Exofleet Academy were killed in the first Neosapiens assault on Earth (since it also was the day of their graduation). Over the time, she developed a tender relationship with J.T. Marsh but following Butler's incapacitation she was forced to assume the command over the squadron and to put all relationships aside for a while. During the war, O'Reilly used an #LS-042 E-frame.
[edit] Vince Pellegrino
Lance Corporal Vince Pellegrino was the lead rifleman and a flamethrower expert of the Charlie-Five Squadron. It is also known that the Jumptroop Platoon was founded by Pellegrino's grandfather. Because of his exotic preference for flamethrowers, Pellegrino piloted a #JR-100 E-frame.
[edit] Ramon Longfeather
Ramon Longfeather was a weapons and demolition specialist of the Charlie-Five Squadron. Of Native American descent, he played a big brother role to all in his squadron, especially to Lt. Colleen O'Reilly. Longfeather used an #LL-828 E-frame.
[edit] Other units
[edit] Yuri Stavrogan
Lt. Yuri Stavrogan (†) was one of the most skilled E-frame pilots of the Exofleet although he always lacked discipline and subordination. This quality often caused him trouble, so he was being constantly transferred from exosquad to exosquad but couldn't fit in anywhere. He was briefly a member of the Able Squad during the reconquest of Mercury, however, after he and Kaz Takagi defied their orders to chase the elusive Neosapien Thrax, Stavrogan has been reassigned once again. Shortly before the liberation of Earth, he was promoted to an exosquad leader, commanding the Fox Squad of an unknown flight unit, but his entire team was wiped out during the first attack on the Neo Lord breeding facility in Antarctica. He barely survived that slaughter and stuck with the Able Squad until his tragic death during the unsuccessful quest for Phaeton's doomsday device at the Great Slave Lake facility.
[edit] Spaceships
At the beginning of the Neosapien War, Exofleet possessed the six most powerful space battleships in the entire Solar System - the Exo-Frame carrier ships or simply, exocarriers, by far the largest ships in the known space inspired by 20th century aircraft carriers. Their primary function as mother ships was to deploy and recover much smaller Exofleet ships, such as space fighters, E-frames and jumptroops' dropships (frequently referred to as "jumpships") in battle. Apart from these, Exofleet also had numerous space cruisers and frigates, whose number was further increased by the Pirate Clans when they sided with Winfield.
[edit] Resolute
From the beginning, the Exofleet's largest exocarrier has been Resolute. It was also its flagship under direct jurisdiction of Admiral Winfield. However, when her captain, Matthew Marcus, has raised a mutiny against Winfield and launched a desperate attack on the Neosapien-controlled Homeworlds, Resolute along with Capt. Marcus has been destroyed.
[edit] Resolute II
Many months after the destruction of Resolute, the Able Squad captured the seventh exocarrier that has been covetly built by renegade Pirates on Chaos and handed her over to Winfield, who has immediately made her the Exofleet's new flagship, Resolute II, and appointed Jonas Simbacca as her captain to solidify his alliance with the Clans.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Alec DeLeon's character profile video.
- ^ Bronsky's surname is often erroneously transliterated "Bronski", however, his character profile video spells it with a "Y".
- ^ Patrick Danner on the topic, last retrieved on 27 August 2006. See also Arnhem (disambiguation).
