Machines of Astral Frontier
(Note: the various names for the Gaia Vanguards listed are codenames given to them by Thaumata, with the exception of the Solstice, which has a second name given to it by Thauamta)
Pyramids
Fairly basic grunts through and through. Come equipped with a beam rifle and a beam saber, and additional armaments vary depending on which environment the machines are meant to be used in.
- Space-type Pyramids have an alt form of essentially a high-mobility Ball, with numerous manipulator arms with beam cannons mounted on them.
- Ground-type Pyramids are instead outfitted with treaded feet for high-mobility on the ground along with an extra beam saber along with a slew of weapons meant for harassment and distraction like chaffs and emergency flares, and their alt form is a bike-like hovercraft for high speed movement on any terrain.
- Sea-type Pyramids are more artillery-minded, with a massive cannon mounted on their back and a pair of missiles or torpedoes mounted on their sides, and an alt mode that lets them go underwater.
- Air-type Pyramids are capable of flight and have long-range weapons for sniping attacks, and their alt mode is a jet-like craft.
HK-8675 Solstice / Hanging Gardens
After plans to develop and mass-produce the HK-1138 Corona were scrapped (though not before the first and only model was produced), Herrera Futuristics, now under control of Danconias Phillips, abandoned its usual style emphasizing physical weaponry to create a more conventional Prominence Armor, the Solstice. The machine is also completely devoid of melee weaponry and also has a shield, a rarity for Prominence Armors.
The rarities don't end there, however. The machine, fully capable of flight in an atmosphere, comes equipped with a somewhat hefty but very potent beam cannon, as well as two short-to-medium range beam pistols. Lastly, the Hanging Gardens is equipped with a weaponized Kinetic Dispersal Unit, giving it another layer of defense.
The Hanging Gardens is piloted by Christine until it is ultimately destroyed, at which point Christine trades up.
The Porcelain Tower
A Gaia Vanguard built specifically for Victor Serpico, the machine takes into consideration the capabilities and defenses that both Julia and Christine's machines have. Thus, it is primarily melee-based, with several beam sabers and physical swords to work with, and the machine has a number of spiny maneuvering vanes to allow it to be extremely evasive in space.
For mid and long-ranged weaponry, the Porcelain tower has a pair of beam pistols, but also comes equipped with a number of razor filament cables. The cables are remarkably sharp and also fairly small, making it difficult to track them in battle. They are also outfitted with an array of micro-thrusters, letting them move in unpredictable ways to confuse and throw-off pilots attempting to evade them.
Lastly, in its debut mission the Porcelain Tower makes use of a slew of small, high-accuracy mines it can scatter across a battlefield. The mines are each equipped with one laser cannon, a motion detector, and an IFF Code register. If it detects any object of sufficient mass (say, a Prominence Armor) that it does not have an IFF Code for, the mines attack it. Naturally, Victor only uploads the IFF Codes for Thaumata-allied machines.
Hagia Sophia
Sara Valentine's own machine, and a Gaia Vanguard that opts to use an HFM weapon rather than the commonplace beam sabers. As fitting her name, Valentine's Vanguard possesses a massive HFM Axe nearly as large as the machine itself, and capable of putting tremendous power behind its blow to overpower its enemies. The Sophia's arms and legs are also oversized and given motors and thrusters letting the Vanguard use the axe properly.
The arms and legs are also equipped with rocket anchors, admittedly a somewhat impractical weapon, but Valentine has worked around the problem of people just cutting the cables by having the anchors rigged with explosives. If the cables are severed, the explosives detonate. Valentine can also manually trigger the explosives, and the entire rocket anchor getup is modular, letting her replace used ones as well. Rounding out the Sophia's weaponry are a pair of beam cannons mounted on the arms directly behind and above the anchor launchers.
During the finale, the Hagia Sophia also gets a Dendrobium-style machine to dock with called the Byzantia. The machine is pretty much a massive arsenal for Valentine to also use, providing her massive HFM swords, axes, and lances, as well as equipped with manipulator arms to properly use them. For ranged weaponry, there are a number of beam cannon ports mounted all across its body. The Byzantia also is equipped with a Kinetic Dispersal Unit of its own, along with an I-Field generator, forcing enemy pilots to get in close... and as a last resort, a quick ejection mechanism and self-destruct mechanism meant to see that any enemies giving Valentine trouble are nevetheless cut down to size.
The Gate of Ishtar
The Thaumata flagship under the command of Sara Francesca Valentine, the Gate of Ishtar is a 300 meter long, modular warship bristling with beam cannons and missile tubes, as well as two hangars as well; a forward-facing one directly underneath the engines and a second on the left side of the hull.
Near the end of the plot, the Gate of Ishtar also gets outfitted with a targeting laser meant to provide precise targeting data to Thaumata's secret weapon in their war on aliens: the Mausoleum of Maussollos.
Alexandria
Bairoft's personal Gaia Vanguard following his first defeat at the hands of Julia and the Corona, the Alexandria aptly reflects the rivalry between the two. While the combat-model Corona has an HFM Blade, railgun, and chest-mounted high-power laser cannon, the Alexandria has a beam saber, beam rifle, and its arms can dock together and swing up, exposing a similar laser cannon mounted in its elbows. However, prepping its laser cannon takes a somewhat longer period of time than the Corona's does, and due to the fact its arms are used for it it prevents the machine from using them for defense or combat.
The Alexandria is also equipped with packs of micromissiles stored inside its legs, as well as omnidirectional combat flares used to blind enemies. A favorite tactic of Bairoft during the olden days was to use one and then attack the opponent while they were blinded, since he'd practiced "perfect" techniques that couldn't be defended with just random flailing and his muscle memory would let him perform them even if blinded for a moment. Other than that, the Alexandria can use most other handheld weaponry.
That said, the Alexandria's few flaws do eventually catch up to it in the end though, and though Bairoft escapes its destruction, he needs a newer, better version to take down Julia and the Corona.
The Great Wall
The union of human and Irgelion-based tech, the Great Wall is a Gaia Vanguard that finally is able to outmatch Bertrand Herrera's prized HK-1138 Corona. The creation of Bairoft and Phillips's collaboration, the Great Wall is essentially an Alexandria, only better in every way. Faster, the machine has better defenses due to the incorporation of a high-power KDU as well as being made out of the salvaged remnants of Irgelion Talleths. Thus, only a select few ranged weapons can harm the machine, with beam-based weaponry and railgun shots useless against it.
The legs are now streamlined as well, the micromissile pods located on the backs of the legs and thrusters placed more numerously, letting the machine be much more agile. The beam saber and rifle return, as does the beam cannon from the Alexandria, now moved out of the arms and installed directly below the outermost layer of the midsection. Thanks to the Irgelion alloys made in using it, the machine can quietly charge up the cannon before opening up its midsection and taking the enemy by surprise with it.
Superior to the Corona in many ways, and its equal in the few areas it isn't, the Great Wall is the most difficult obstacle Julia will have to face on her journey.
Pyramids
Fairly basic grunts through and through. Come equipped with a beam rifle and a beam saber, and additional armaments vary depending on which environment the machines are meant to be used in.
- Space-type Pyramids have an alt form of essentially a high-mobility Ball, with numerous manipulator arms with beam cannons mounted on them.
- Ground-type Pyramids are instead outfitted with treaded feet for high-mobility on the ground along with an extra beam saber along with a slew of weapons meant for harassment and distraction like chaffs and emergency flares, and their alt form is a bike-like hovercraft for high speed movement on any terrain.
- Sea-type Pyramids are more artillery-minded, with a massive cannon mounted on their back and a pair of missiles or torpedoes mounted on their sides, and an alt mode that lets them go underwater.
- Air-type Pyramids are capable of flight and have long-range weapons for sniping attacks, and their alt mode is a jet-like craft.
HK-8675 Solstice / Hanging Gardens
After plans to develop and mass-produce the HK-1138 Corona were scrapped (though not before the first and only model was produced), Herrera Futuristics, now under control of Danconias Phillips, abandoned its usual style emphasizing physical weaponry to create a more conventional Prominence Armor, the Solstice. The machine is also completely devoid of melee weaponry and also has a shield, a rarity for Prominence Armors.
The rarities don't end there, however. The machine, fully capable of flight in an atmosphere, comes equipped with a somewhat hefty but very potent beam cannon, as well as two short-to-medium range beam pistols. Lastly, the Hanging Gardens is equipped with a weaponized Kinetic Dispersal Unit, giving it another layer of defense.
The Hanging Gardens is piloted by Christine until it is ultimately destroyed, at which point Christine trades up.
The Porcelain Tower
A Gaia Vanguard built specifically for Victor Serpico, the machine takes into consideration the capabilities and defenses that both Julia and Christine's machines have. Thus, it is primarily melee-based, with several beam sabers and physical swords to work with, and the machine has a number of spiny maneuvering vanes to allow it to be extremely evasive in space.
For mid and long-ranged weaponry, the Porcelain tower has a pair of beam pistols, but also comes equipped with a number of razor filament cables. The cables are remarkably sharp and also fairly small, making it difficult to track them in battle. They are also outfitted with an array of micro-thrusters, letting them move in unpredictable ways to confuse and throw-off pilots attempting to evade them.
Lastly, in its debut mission the Porcelain Tower makes use of a slew of small, high-accuracy mines it can scatter across a battlefield. The mines are each equipped with one laser cannon, a motion detector, and an IFF Code register. If it detects any object of sufficient mass (say, a Prominence Armor) that it does not have an IFF Code for, the mines attack it. Naturally, Victor only uploads the IFF Codes for Thaumata-allied machines.
Hagia Sophia
Sara Valentine's own machine, and a Gaia Vanguard that opts to use an HFM weapon rather than the commonplace beam sabers. As fitting her name, Valentine's Vanguard possesses a massive HFM Axe nearly as large as the machine itself, and capable of putting tremendous power behind its blow to overpower its enemies. The Sophia's arms and legs are also oversized and given motors and thrusters letting the Vanguard use the axe properly.
The arms and legs are also equipped with rocket anchors, admittedly a somewhat impractical weapon, but Valentine has worked around the problem of people just cutting the cables by having the anchors rigged with explosives. If the cables are severed, the explosives detonate. Valentine can also manually trigger the explosives, and the entire rocket anchor getup is modular, letting her replace used ones as well. Rounding out the Sophia's weaponry are a pair of beam cannons mounted on the arms directly behind and above the anchor launchers.
During the finale, the Hagia Sophia also gets a Dendrobium-style machine to dock with called the Byzantia. The machine is pretty much a massive arsenal for Valentine to also use, providing her massive HFM swords, axes, and lances, as well as equipped with manipulator arms to properly use them. For ranged weaponry, there are a number of beam cannon ports mounted all across its body. The Byzantia also is equipped with a Kinetic Dispersal Unit of its own, along with an I-Field generator, forcing enemy pilots to get in close... and as a last resort, a quick ejection mechanism and self-destruct mechanism meant to see that any enemies giving Valentine trouble are nevetheless cut down to size.
The Gate of Ishtar
The Thaumata flagship under the command of Sara Francesca Valentine, the Gate of Ishtar is a 300 meter long, modular warship bristling with beam cannons and missile tubes, as well as two hangars as well; a forward-facing one directly underneath the engines and a second on the left side of the hull.
Near the end of the plot, the Gate of Ishtar also gets outfitted with a targeting laser meant to provide precise targeting data to Thaumata's secret weapon in their war on aliens: the Mausoleum of Maussollos.
Alexandria
Bairoft's personal Gaia Vanguard following his first defeat at the hands of Julia and the Corona, the Alexandria aptly reflects the rivalry between the two. While the combat-model Corona has an HFM Blade, railgun, and chest-mounted high-power laser cannon, the Alexandria has a beam saber, beam rifle, and its arms can dock together and swing up, exposing a similar laser cannon mounted in its elbows. However, prepping its laser cannon takes a somewhat longer period of time than the Corona's does, and due to the fact its arms are used for it it prevents the machine from using them for defense or combat.
The Alexandria is also equipped with packs of micromissiles stored inside its legs, as well as omnidirectional combat flares used to blind enemies. A favorite tactic of Bairoft during the olden days was to use one and then attack the opponent while they were blinded, since he'd practiced "perfect" techniques that couldn't be defended with just random flailing and his muscle memory would let him perform them even if blinded for a moment. Other than that, the Alexandria can use most other handheld weaponry.
That said, the Alexandria's few flaws do eventually catch up to it in the end though, and though Bairoft escapes its destruction, he needs a newer, better version to take down Julia and the Corona.
The Great Wall
The union of human and Irgelion-based tech, the Great Wall is a Gaia Vanguard that finally is able to outmatch Bertrand Herrera's prized HK-1138 Corona. The creation of Bairoft and Phillips's collaboration, the Great Wall is essentially an Alexandria, only better in every way. Faster, the machine has better defenses due to the incorporation of a high-power KDU as well as being made out of the salvaged remnants of Irgelion Talleths. Thus, only a select few ranged weapons can harm the machine, with beam-based weaponry and railgun shots useless against it.
The legs are now streamlined as well, the micromissile pods located on the backs of the legs and thrusters placed more numerously, letting the machine be much more agile. The beam saber and rifle return, as does the beam cannon from the Alexandria, now moved out of the arms and installed directly below the outermost layer of the midsection. Thanks to the Irgelion alloys made in using it, the machine can quietly charge up the cannon before opening up its midsection and taking the enemy by surprise with it.
Superior to the Corona in many ways, and its equal in the few areas it isn't, the Great Wall is the most difficult obstacle Julia will have to face on her journey.