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Neuroi

Revision as of 09:46, 2 August 2017 by Briano The Liberator (Message Wall | contribs) (→‎Ultra-heavy: added Super heavy Neruoi unit type designation, additive to Ultra-heavy Neruoi unit classes)
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The Neuroi are the primary antagonists of the Strike Witches. They are a belligerent alien race that appears every so often. They literally consume swaths of the earth to gain their power, Europe and Africa being the most affected continents. Since they derive much of their energy from consuming land, they can not travel over large bodies of water.

It's of note that humanity gives names to the Neuroi depending on the class and role they fulfill or due to the nature or features of the class in question, as shown in the Witches of Africa Doujinshi and the Misfits Light Novels. For some Neuroi classes they are given Latin sounding names of origin like: Diomedia, Laro's and Laro's-kai or names based on the shapes, actions, attributes or nature such as the Flying Goblets, Ziggurats and Turtle class. Even Infantry class Neuroi have been observed in the field.

They are also further identified though class type depending on their function: Recon types (Neuroi dedicated to reconnaissance roles), Attack Types (Neuroi designed primarily for attack roles and direct warfare), and Siege Types (massive-sized, formidable Neuroi that are designed to either remain in place, to serve as a mobile fortress to defend Neuroi territory, or to serve as a juggernaut to steamroll through allied lines), although other general role classifications like Artillery Types, AA Types and other such Neuroi role fillers may also exist.

Most highly common class are given such names. Unique Neuroi classes, however, receive an alphanumeric designation of "X" followed by a number, likely indicating the order in which those Neuroi are encountered by the 1940's. The X-11 Witch class Neuroi is one such example.


History

Throughout history, the Neuroi have been known by many names - including Kaii (怪異, strangeness) and Rätsel (German; riddle). However, starting from the Second Neuroi War, they received the name of a mythical tribe that once lived in the Black Sea region due their recurrent emergence from that area.

The first known contact between humans and Neuroi occurred when ancient Egypt was at the height of its glory. It is unknown what preceded this, but humans were able to seal a nest of Neuroi beneath a city. They struck the name of the city from history, as even knowing of the seal would cause it to break. When these Neuroi were inadvertently released during the Second Neuroi War, their models were revealed to be identical to the models of Neuroi already fighting in the area. The reason for this fact is unknown, but it possibly implies that the Neuroi didn't develop technologically until the Second Neuroi War forced them to do so.

The Neuroi appeared sporadically throughout human history after this point, but they never posed a serious threat until after the invention of the magic engine, a steam-powered device which amplified a witch's magic ability many times, and the resultant rise in magic usage. The first wave of Neuroi attacks culminated in the First Neuroi War, which lasted until 1917 and was a massive victory for the Neuroi, as humanity had not yet figured out a means to effectively fight against them and was forced to constantly retreat. Despite losing the First Neuroi War, humanity still prevails in places where Neuroi attacks are rare.

It was eventually discovered that witches could block the Neuroi's miasma and beam attacks, allowing them to get close enough to Neuroi to potentially fight back. To complement witches in battle, the Striker Unit was developed by Dr. Miyafuji in 1935. Older units were believed to already be in use after the First Neuroi War. It used a magic engine to enhance a witch's magical abilities, allowing them to fly and to carry weaponry that can otherwise only be mounted on vehicles. The new breed of witches, who flew with these new Striker Units, became known as Strike Witches.

The first uses of Strike Witches in battle were in Hispania in 1936 and during the Fuso Sea Incident of 1937, in which an exploratory group of Neuroi approached Fuso. The inhabitants of Fuso were prepared for this battle, as they'd been awakened to the renewed threat of the Neuroi after sightings in Hispania, and they had been training witches in anticipation of sending them to Hispania. The battle was a large victory for the witches, and it helped bring such aces as Sakamoto Mio and Anabuki Tomoko to fame. Possibly as a result of their resounding defeat here, the Neuroi have not attacked Fuso since this incident.

In 1939, the Neuroi launched an attack of unprecedented scale on mainland Europe. As the nations there had gotten used to peace, they were unprepared for the assault and began to fall one after another. Ostmark was hit first and fell quickly. Karlsland was able to hold out against the Neuroi for much longer, but they were still eventually forced to retreat, with their military scattered to the east and west. Gallia wasn't able to hold out much longer against a ground assault from the Neuroi, and the military forces there focused their efforts on evacuating as many people as possible to Britannia , which, as an island nation, was much more defensible against the Neuroi.

At the same time, the Neuroi expanded into the east, conquering much of Orussia and expanding until the Suomus Misfits Squad was able to score some surprising victories and hold the line against the advancing Neuroi. The victories of this squadron inspired the formation of Joint Fighter Wings, which were comprised of witches from various nations working together, where they were able to bring varied technologies and skillsets together.

The Neuroi expanded southwards into Afrika as well, although humanity found it much easier to defend the massive plains of this continent. The incredible visibility meant that the plains of Afrika were the one and only place where conventional artillery could outrange Neuroi weaponry, allowing Afrika to be defended by a much smaller complement of witches than other fronts of the battle.

Eventually, the efforts of the witches, in particular the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, allowed humanity to regain territory it had lost to the Neuroi. The 501st was responsible for the destruction of the Neuroi hives over both Gallia and Romagna. Both of these hives were destroyed in part due to efforts to mimic Neuroi technology. In Gallia, the Warlock was designed using research performed on a recovered Neuroi core, but it was deployed before testing was completed and turned on humanity after attempting to control the Neuroi. When the Warlock's core was destroyed, its connection to the Neuroi in Gallia resulted in a chain reaction that destroyed all Neuroi in the airspace and liberated Gallia.

Similarly, the hive over Romagna was attacked by the battleship Yamato after it had been "Neuroified." Although the Yamato was successfully able to destroy the hive, the aftermath saw the formation of a massive Neuroi core which was attached to the Yamato and Sakamoto Mio, using the latter's shields to protect itself from all attacks. The core was only able to be destroyed when Miyafuji Yoshika used up all of the magical ability within her body to perform the legendary Shin Reppuzan attack on the core. With the destruction of this core, all remaining Neuroi in Romagnan and Venezian airspace were destroyed.

As of 1945, Neuroi hives have been confirmed in the following regions.

Types

The Neuroi show great variety in their designs, and their models have evolved as the war has progressed. Their designs have typically progressed from small models that are employed en masse to fewer, larger models.

With the exception of drones, all models of Neuroi in use by 1944 have a single, critical weakpoint: their core, a red polyhedron whose size varies with the size of the Neuroi. If the core is destroyed, the entire Neuroi will be destroyed, along with any drones it has deployed and any other Neuroi under its control. The core is typically buried within the center of the Neuroi, although exceptions exist (such as one Neuroi which kept its core in a distant bug-like Neuroi). Neuroi surround their core with black armor that shows a hexagonal pattern. Certain patches of this armor are colored red, which signifies the location of the Neuroi's energy weapons.

Earlier models of Neuroi were vastly different in design, and more closely resembled conventional aircraft. They lacked the cores and regenerative abilities seen in later models, and could be shot down by damaging their engines or dealing enough damage to their wings. It is unknown at what point the Neuroi developed their modern designs.

The Neuroi from the Movie seem to have the ability to block radio communication, teleport and avoid detection by Heidemarie W. Schnaufer's antennae (until it comes within close range) for unknown reasons. The model of Neuroi that prominently appeared in the Movie possessed an alternate form, the purpose of which is also unknown.

Also revealed in the movie is that before the advent of the 17th century ancient Neuroi often took more animal-like, monstrous or "demonic" in form, judging from ancient paintings, drawings and scripts that show Neuroi-like creatures locked in battle with witches and humanity, indicating that the Neuroi are an old enemy of humanity and witchkind, and only recently Neuroi have grown and adapted to take on more powerful vehicle-like forms.

While beast type and Machine-beast type Neuroi have been noted and seen in battles even up into 1945; they aren't quite common to the same degree as more vehicle like Neuroi.

Neuroi are shown to have not only varied forms and iterations of such forms, but also various abilities apart from regeneration and beam attacks; aside from some Neuroi being able to transform, deploy drones, assimilate human technology to make into other Neuroi, and deploy deadly Miasma, there are Neuroi that have been seen and documented to posses abilities that permit them to deploy Chaff to disrupt and jam radio transmissions as well as both conventional and magical radar, being able to absorb electrical energy to increase their power and sabotage power sources, an instance of Neuroi being able to make, control and weaponize it's own personal adverse weather conditions like Blizzards to hide movement of itself and Neuroi allied units, change the battlefield and even weaponize the weather for attack and defense, a case where a Neuroi artillery spotter type unit could roughly change it's shape and appearance (if at times crudely) to hide itself while deploying an Electromagnetic signal to mark targets for Neuroi Artillery units to fire upon, and finally, with the case of the Spinx, being able to ask it's opponents a question that, if unable to be answered, keeps the recipients of the question frozen in place and vulnerable to being attacked. It's likely that certain kinds of Neuroi may posses even more of their own unique and specialized abilities outside of the conventionally expected Neuroi abilities; allowing for greater power, abilities, movement and tactical options.

Drone

A small Neuroi deployed in the defense of a larger Neuroi. Drones do not have cores of their own and cannot regenerate themselves. It is unknown whether destroyed drones can be regenerated by their parent Neuroi, but this has not been seen in combat.

Large-type

The standard flying class of Neuroi, and the most common type of Neuroi seen in the anime. A large-type Neuroi is comparable in size to a large aircraft at its smallest, but they can also be much larger. A single large-type Neuroi is capable of overpowering fleets of ships or multiple wings of conventional fighters. When possible, a wing of six or more witches is used to take down a large-type, although it is possible for a single witch to take down a large-type with sufficient skill or luck. Certain large-types are capable of deploying drones, typically by splitting their bodies into multiple parts.

Capital

Unofficial name for unique models of Neuroi which are deployed for specific purposes. There is no apparent upper limit to the possible size of Neuroi, with one even manifesting as a 30 km-high tower. They still suffer the weakness of having a single core, which will result in the destruction of the entire Neuroi when destroyed, though it is usually much better defended. Capital Neuroi are almost always able to deploy numerous drones in their defense.

Heavy

The ground-based counterpart to large-type Neuroi. Heavies typically resemble tanks, and although they are much more powerful than human tanks, it is possible to defeat them with conventional anti-tank measures. Certain heavies take a four-legged form, nicknamed "turtles." Tank Witches are the preferred countermeasure, followed by Strike Witches, as heavies are usually able to overwhelm most conventional forces once they are in range to use their weapons. In flat terrain where artillery can accurately shoot outside of their visible range, it is often possible for them to destroy heavies before the heavies are in range to counterattack.

Super-heavy/Ultra-heavy

Extremely large ground-based Neuroi that are exceedingly difficult to destroy. They are virtually impossible to destroy with conventional weaponry, and even witches face much difficulty in destroying them, often owing to size, firepower and both thickness the durability of the Neuroi's metal shell. One example of an Ultra-heavy Neuroi was a massive Neuroi that consisted of an assimilated ship's hull. Such Neuroi combat platforms are heavily armed and armored and it's implied that even their cores are more durable compared to other Neuroi and requiring of tremendous amounts of firepower to breach the armored shell and and a bit more firepower than normal to destroy the core.

Witch-like

Some Neuroi have taken forms resembling Strike Witches, in some cases even being modeled after individual witches. In these cases, the Neuroi are almost exactly as powerful as the witches they mimic. However, they lack the experience of witches and their capability for teamwork, so these Neuroi are no match for an experienced wing of witches. The Neuroi witches learned through espionage, after a brainwashed witch was released to train with other witches, while transmitting tactics back to the Neuroi. The Neuroi witches were also assisted by brainwashed witches in battle.

A witch-like Neuroi, known as X-11 (aka Neuroi Girl) was seen again much later in the war, over the Brittanian Channel and later in Venezia. This Neuroi was not designed to mimic any individual witch, and it used standard Neuroi weaponry and defenses rather than carrying guns like the previous Neuroi witches. In the first encounter with this Neuroi, Miyafuji Yoshika attempted to make contact with it, and she gained knowledge of the Warlock project as a result. However, the Neuroi witch was destroyed by the Warlock before its plans could be ascertained. Another witch-like Neuroi was seen over Venezia, where Takei Junko attempted to communicate with it. This attempt was interrupted by the appearance of the Super Hive and the destruction of the Neuroi witch by other Neuroi.

Small and Medium-types

Smaller aerial Neuroi, typically deployed en masse to defend hives. Although rarely seen in the anime, as the Neuroi have shifted to primarily using large-types for offense, small and medium-types are the greatest contributors to witches' kill counts. As they lack the armor of large-types, it is possible, though costly, for them to be destroyed by conventional weaponry. The Flying Goblet's frequently found in Africa fall under these categories.

Hive

The primary Neuroi base of operations, which generates lesser Neuroi to fight in its offense and defense. Hives can appear seemingly out of nowhere, and there is no known way to predict where they will appear. From the outside, hives appear as a roughly conical black funnel cloud. Their inner walls carry the characteristic black hexagon pattern. When a hive is destroyed, all Neuroi that it has spawned are also destroyed.

Super-Hive

A unique hive which appeared in Romagnan and Venezian airspace in 1945. The Super-Hive was an order of magnitude larger than normal hives, and was colored dark green rather than pitch black. It also possessed a large spherical, armored area below the bottom of the cloud-like portion, which is not present in normal hives. While the core of a normal hive is little larger than the core of a large-type Neuroi, the Super-Hive's core was far larger, comparable in size to a normal hive. The core also showed the ability to learn very quickly, being able to generate shields after partially absorbing Sakamoto Mio.

Nest

A nest can be best described a ground bound "hive" that nominally deploys ground based Neuroi units, although some small and medium class air units can and have been documented to deploy from Nests as well in supporting roles. Used as a type of Neuroi ground base, they are seen as structures, caverns and tunnels leading into the ground, although the exact size and shape can vary. It can be ventured that the interiors are similar to that of hives.The Anonymous Metropolis (AKA: "The Pyramid with no name") that was stumbled upon in Africa during the Battle of the Sphinx was one such example that is well known; this particular nest appeared when a centuries old sealing spell that was made to seal away the Anonymous Metropolis was broken by its mere existence becoming known, which released the nest as well as all the Neuroi that were sealed away with it. It's not certain how many nests there are in the Neuroi war outside of the example found during the battle of the Sphinx. 

Allied Technologies

On two occasions, allied forces have used Neuroi technology to enhance their own weaponry. The first instance of this was the Warlock, which used a captured Neuroi core as its energy source. After it was deployed, the Warlock began to show independence from its controllers. It eventually coated itself in Neuroi armor, took control of all Neuroi in Gallian airspace, and turned on the allied forces. When its core was destroyed, the Warlock was destroyed along with the Gallian hive and all other nearby Neuroi.

The second instance of the allied forces using Neuroi technology was with the Neuroification of the Yamato. Unlike the Warlock, the Yamato remained firmly under allied control. It gained Neuroi armor, beam weaponry, regeneration, and the ability to fly. After destroying the shell of the Super-Hive, the Yamato was partially trapped within the hive's core until the core's destruction.

Behavior, Abilities and Tactics

As already noted: Neruoi posses a durable armor shell that is of unknown metallic-crystalline compound that is able to boast a considerable degree of resilience to attacks and damage. A Neruoi's armor durability typically varies in resilience between individual Neruoi class types but even with that in mind it's noted that a number of small Neruoi can withstand a short burst of gunfire from conventional units before being destroyed, though others seem to posses a lower resilience; others still like the Laro's-Kai are heavily resilient for being small sized. Typically larger Neruoi tend to be more well armored with massive neuroi posessing very strong, dense armor that the majority of conventional heavy weapon systems can't breach and sometimes not even magically augmented heavy weapon type small arms used by a witch can inflict any damage depending on the weapon used and the type of neuroi being fought.

Aside from a Neruoi's armored shell: Neuroi posses a very powerful, and terrifying ability to regenerate any damage sustain to their armored shells and bodies. All non-drone type Neruoi that posess a core can regenerate to some varied degrees and can even regenerate limbs, wings and other body parts that have been shot off or blown up. Some Neruoi have faster regenerative abilities then other's of their kin. The destruction of a Neruoi's core destroys the neuroi and as a consequence, prevents regeneration of damage. The importance of a Neruoi's core as an exploitable weak-point isn't lost on both humanity and the Neruoi themselves respectively. However because of this their have been attempts by the Neruoi to ensure the protection of their vital cores outside of merely encasing their core in a hard metallic shell and using powerful weapons and regeneration: a recent discovery made is that some uncommon neuroi units of capital class or greater size posses a "Core within a Core": with the outer core acting as a protective shield for the real or "true" core; the actual core typically is shielded, cloaked and moves around inside the outer core to prevent destruction of it's core. Attacks to this type of core are initially thought to be successful core destruction only for shocked witch and conventional soldiers witnessing a seemingly destroyed neruoi "resurrect" and regenerate after it's supposed destruction. Alternatively, some Neruoi units, while having a seemingly normal core; are able to move their core around inside their shells to confuse their attackers and prevent the destruction of their cores. In both cases: pinpoint detection and steadily aimed attacks are required to hit and destroy these cores when the nature of such cores are reviled; which is a very difficult feat to accomplish, and is enough of a challenge for even veteran witch squadrons.

The behavioral patterns of Neuroi tend to vary widely. These range from wild, uncontrolled, undisciplined, and unruly mobs to calculating, methodical, cautious, and regimented units. Neuroi behaviors and strategies tend to vary between platform types and classes; mostly at an independent, individual level but ever increasingly this is also becoming commonplace to see with well coordinated unit and combined arms squad level tactics and strategies in the Neruoi's ranks. It can and has been said that Neruoi are in a way like wolves in that their are purported "leaders" that lead and direct the subordinate members of the hoard. And once that leadership is removed: it's commonly typical that the subordinate followers will break into retreat home to Neruoi held territory. In any event, Neuroi are typically noted as being, in some way or another, hostile to humans, though rarely Neuroi have been documented as being hostile to other Neuroi. These cases are rare and it is not yet understood why a Neuroi would attack a fellow Neuroi. Some Neuroi, such as the X-11 class Witch type Neuroi, have also been noted as not showing overt aggression or any kind of initial belligerence towards humans unless fired upon and attacked first; though again, reasons for this abnormal behavior are unknown and only speculative.

Behavior of early Neuroi was likely akin more to beasts, monsters, and barbarian type units; acting either independently, small packs of creatures, or a loose horde of individuals fighting as a mob. It seems, however, that by the turn of the Magic power revolution and at the start of the First Neuroi War, this method of tactics and combat doctrine has slowly started to change. From the events of the Battle of Hispania all the way to 1944 the Neuroi appear to be slowly changing tactics to being less predictable, having movement and attacks be very sudden and their inter-unit interaction facing development and growth, as well as becoming every increasingly better coordinated, seemingly adopting more contemporary military tactics. However, as noted in the 502nd interactions with a Neuroi artillery/spotter unit, the Neuroi appear to be grasping some basic form of understanding of human tactics, strategy, and warfare but appear to have difficulty in fully taking advantage of squad base unit tactics and trying to possibly overcome a learning curve of better implementing combat doctrine that appears to draw inspiration from modern human squad tactics; and doing so with some middling success. However, tactics that the Neuroi develop and deploy of their own ideology and paradigm, generally speaking and whatever that may be, have proven to be very difficult for allied intelligence to fully and accurately track, at least consistently as far as Neuroi movement patterns are concerned, and their reliance on using large wave tactics and intimidating individual Neuroi classes with great offensive and defensive power has proven to be very effective for what it is.

Use of bizarre and strange Neuroi combat platforms with equally strange, unpredictable abilities also prove to work in providing outside-the-box problems that allied units and witch units can't easily and readily counter on the fly; requiring some time to figure out how to best counter such strange units and their abilities with unconventional tactics, ideas and approaches. Neuroi that specialize in high speed and reaching operational high altitudes also prove challenging to face and destroy, and Neuroi that possess impressive stealth and evasion abilities are also very troublesome to detect by either radar or by sight and can prove a significant threat to allied units. While not fully capitalizing at times on such a fact, there have been times where Neuroi units have managed to, at least on a basic level, implement some limited form of squad based unit interaction and discipline and can even prove to be quite a competent, if not greater, threat; though for such cases it usually depends on the specific Neuroi units and what fellow kin platform they are working alongside.

Most small Neuroi, whether air or ground combat types, usually fulfill the roles of small air fighters, small sized infantry class, escorts to larger fighters and units, and large-scale swarm tactics in the sky or ground infantry, tanks (known as "armor" units), tank destroyers, artillery, anti-air, reconnaissance and other such units on the ground. Other units also typically fulfill various combat roles though specific abilities and tactics can vary with Neuroi being able to use bullets, bombs, rockets, artillery shells, or even beam weapons. There are also cases of Neuroi capable of using a combination of different weapon types.

Certain types and classes of Neuroi have also been noted as being able to transform to better improve their speed, attacks, abilities, and effectiveness or to initiate special abilities unique to the specific Neuroi class in question. In addition there are Neuroi that can deploy core-less drones or even other individual Neuroi. Depending on the type of Neuroi, typically this is a feat capable by most huge type Neuroi and larger.

An interesting note is that Neuroi are as of the moment documented to show a disdain and aversion for large bodies of water, and generally seem to dislike water in general. Thus, there are no Neuroi units that are currently known to adopt class types that can travel upon or wage war upon the sea. While they can cross the skies above bodies of water, Neuroi appear to have very short flight times and appear to stay within a certain proximity to land in order to return to their lines and in turn return to the miasma. The exact reasons for this are vague, although some speculations put forth claim that Neuroi can't withstand or operate well in such excessively large quantities of water, possibly disrupting their biology as well as having little to no access to resources of the land for their own purposes. The only times Neuroi have spent an extended time over seas and oceans are to conduct close to shore patrols and combat missions or infiltration, or as a sort of one way trip invasion that demands a lot of time, resources and Neuroi unit support of kin units; as seen during the Fuso Sea incident. Neruoi Miasma is alleged to be Corrosive, and while the exact nature and composition of the Neruoi's Miasma is not yet fully outlined, it's known to be extremely harmful to humans, with children especially being highly susceptible to harm from Miasma exposure: only witches can be exposed to Miasma and not be harmed by such deadly clouds of corrosive gas thanks to their magic protecting them. While the Neruoi's full and exact use of Miasma is note completely outlined, some implications indicate that Miasma, aside from being used to control and hold territory the Neruoi occupy, Miasma may also serve some kind of sustaining property for Neruoi, as it's noted that Neruoi can't operate to far or too long outside of Miasma for some indeterminate amount of time; as they must return to the Miasma once this time is up: possibly to replenish strength and energy or possibly for some other, or at least additive reason. It's unknown if all neuroi can deploy and control miasma, but their are certain neuroi classes that are noted to make liberal use of Miasma even in battle and during invasion.

In addition, while Neuroi can and have crossed forests and frozen lakes to accomplish objectives; it's apparent that such terrain is still rather disliked by Neuroi due to the nature of the layout of such terrain, risk of ambush, the difficulty traversing the claustrophobic tree line, and risk of the ice breaking and drowning in the frigid waters. In such cases, travel is likely done only if absolutely necessary and if other, specifically designed Neuroi units can ensure clear and secure paths across the forests or frozen lakes. Neruoi do seem to prefer traveling and moving through lowland areas. Open fields and other open terrine, while providing full freedom of movement and permitting easy, unrestrained use of large wave tactics or easy deployment and implementation of ultraheavy type neuroi, their is little means of protection or defensive cover for Neruoi unless use of massive supporting units provide support for smaller Neruoi units, using massive hoards to overwhelm human units or using such units as diversions for specialized neruoi units.

Gallery

Neuroi

Several types of Neuroi

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