User blog:SPARTAN 119/Brotherhood of Steel (Fallout) VS Gaia (Rewrite)

"The planet or the people?"

- Gaia motto

Gaia is a nihilistic, omnicidal cult and terrorist organization, one of the two primary faction in the visual novel and later anime, Rewrite. Gaia revere the Earth as their god and believe that it is inevitable that human actions will eventually destroy the environment. For this reason, Gaia seek to eradicate the entire human race, including themselves. In order to achieve this goal, Gaia intend to capture a mysterious entity known as the "The Key", essentially the embodiment of the "Will of the Earth" which takes the form of a girl named Kagari, and expose her to the "Song of Destruction", a song which has the impact of forcing the Key to cause all human life on Earth to cease to exist. Opposed to this are a military organization known as Guardian, who use both conventional military hardware and superhuman agents, with the goal of eliminating both Gaia and the Key.

While Gaia does have agents who carry firearms, unlike Guardian, they do not make widespread use of conventional military hardware. Instead, Gaia carries out most of its attacks using familiars, powerful creatures created from organic material using a forgotten magic. In order carry out covert activities, Gaia runs the Martel Corporation, an environmental technologies company, as a front, with summoners being recruited from members of the corporation who are receptive to the idea that humanity is nothing but a parasite on Earth.

Gaia is divided between two factions, the "Cult of the Holy Woman", led by Sakura Kashima, the "Holy Woman" of Gaia, who is bent on completing the omnicidal goals of the cult, and the executives of the Martel Corporation,, who reject the idea of destroying all human life, and instead intend to use the familiar creation process as a source of renewable clean energy, preventing the degradation of the planet.

The conflict between Gaia and Guardian came to a head in Kazamatsuri, Japan, with the two coming into open warfare as both scramble to locate the Key for their own goals. Caught in the middle is Kotarou Tennouji, a boy with the power to "rewrite" his body in order to make himself stronger, a group of Kotarou's friends, and Kagari, the Key herself.

Summoners
While its existence is unknown to the general public, the magical art known as summoning has existed for millenia, and was responsible for many creatures now believed to be myths and legends. In spite of the terminology, summoning does not actually bring a previously existing entity into reality, but rather involves using ones own life force to give life to an entity created from organic materials, which may include dead bodies, both human and animal. Creating and controlling a familiar, as stated previously, literally involves the user sacrificing their own life force, and as such, will shorten the life of the user. The greater the number and complexity of the familiar, the greater the strain on the user's life.

Gaia views "summoning", or the creation of familiars to be a central part of the organization, and view it as an act of religious devotion. Once members of Gaia reach a certain level in the organization, they are made aware of the existence of summoning, as well as Gaia's true omnicidal mission. At this point, the are instructed in the art of summoning and create their first familiar. Those that show aptitude in this art are inducted into the ranks of Gaia's combat summoners, denoted by their characteristic red robes.

Small Arms
While some Gaia agents rely only on their familiars for combat (possibly because it is difficult, if not impossible, to control a familiar and aim at the same time), some are known to employ conventional weapons in combat. For instance, some agents will carry revolvers or semi-automatic pistols. In addition, Gaia is known to have more heavily armed agents who work with an unspecified terrorist faction, armed with both familiars and weapons such as AK-47s and RPGs. For the purposes of this match, the Gaia summoners will have a mix of small arms and explosives with them.

Familiars
Instead of conventional munitions, Gaia carries out most of their attacks with familiars, entities created using forgotten magic from organic matter. These entities may take the form of real animals or take the form of more extraordinary creatures, such as extinct species, and even dragon-like creatures. Many higher tier familiars possess massive strength and may have the power to control energy, firing it in laser-like beams. The use of familiars will slowly drain the user of their life force, larger ones more than smaller ones, with the most powerful (which will not appear in this fight) requiring several people to literally sacrifice their lives to create. While powerful, familiars are vulnerable to all the same weaknesses as other life forms, and can be harmed by conventional firearms and explosives, though some are more resiliant than others. If the summoner is killed, the familiar will also disintegrate.

Attack dogs, also known as "Black Dogs", "Kokken" or "Hounds" primary familiar of Gaia for conventional combat are attack dogs which, while individually not a match for a soldier with an assault rifle or, as seen in the anime, even a group of people with improvised blunt weapons, they are often employed in large numbers and are easy to create, presumably with minimal drain on the user's life force. The attack dogs possess super-canine strength and speed, being able to to chase a motorcycle, but are easily dispatched by gunfire and even melee attacks.
 * -|Attack dogs (x100)=

Claws and Teeth The primary weapon of Gaia's canine familiars are their claws and teeth, backed up by their super-canine strength, making them dangerous in close combat.

Super-Canine Strength and Speed Gaia's dog-familiars are far faster and stronger than normal canines, being able to chase a motor cycle, suggesting they are able to run at speeds of at least 100 kilometers per hour.

Enhancement The Black Dogs can become stronger by consuming humans. This condition is denoted by their fur becoming red. In spite of this enhancement, they still can be dispatched by gunfire and other weapons.

Another common example of familiars used by Gaia are creatures similar to raptor dinosaurs, such as Deinonychus, Velociraptor, or Utahraptor. The raptor familiars are about 3 meters tall, and can run at very high speeds, attacking with large claws and razor-sharp teeth. While they are, like most lower-tier familiars, no match for a man with a firearm individually, they are almost always employed in groups of at least ten. The raptors have the strength to overturn a Humvee.
 * -|Raptors (x50)=

Claws and Teeth Gaia's raptors have claws on both their hands and feet, including large Deinonychus-like claws on their feet, as well as a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. They possess sufficient bite-force to break a katana.


 * -|"Hammerhead Dragon" (x 25)=

The most common flying familiar is a type of winged "dragon"-like creature about twice the height of a man, with two sets of wings with a wingspan of at least 20 feet. The creature has a head and teeth similar to a hammerhead shark, presumably including the rows of multiple teeth. These familiars are vulnerable to gunfire alone, but are deployed in large groups to overwhelm better-armed enemies. The creature has the strength to lift up and carry an adult man.

Claws and Teeth The Hammerhead Dragon has a shark-like jaw with rows of razor sharp teeth, allowing to inflict grevious wounds. The creature also has talons with sharp claws, and is strong enough to lift and carry away an adult man in flight.

Wings The "Hammerhead Dragon" has two sets of pterodactyl-like wings allowing to fly.

The fourth type of "light" familiar used by Gaia is a quadruped creature about the size of a large dog, with a head consisting practically entirely of a pair of massive jaws. The creature is extremely fast when moving. The most dangerous ability of the creature, however, is that it can teleport short distances to surprise enemies (seemingly not more than a few meters). It does not, however, seem to be any more durable than the lightweight (i.e. attack dog etc) familiars.
 * -|"Teleporter" (x 20)=

Jaws The Teleporter has a powerful jaws which seem to be make it significant threat to a human target, assuming it can get close enough.

Teleportation The Teleporter's signature ability is, of course, the power to teleport short distance in combat. It seems to be restricted to a distance of a few meters, and only to be able to do so once every few seconds.

The Leaf Dragon is a creature created by Gaia as an aerial combat familiar. The creature was created from a Venus flytrap, modified into a massive flying creature. The Leaf Dragon is a very dangerous opponent, its large size meaning it is more durable the smaller familiar, and is armed with a long-range extending spiked proboscis. However, as it hovers in place when feeding, this will provide a useful opening to attack the creature.
 * -|Leaf Dragon (x 4)=

Tentacles The Leaf Dragon has multiple tentacles, which it can use to grab object both to maneuver and attack.

Tethered Projectile The Leaf Dragon has a retractable proboscis with a spiked projectile, which it uses to impales victims and drink their blood. It can also can use its proboscis to destroy inanimate objects, striking with the force to punch straight through a tree trunk or even shoot down a helicopter. The proboscis has a range to attack from perhaps as far as 100 meters distance. When feeding on blood, the leaf dragon will hover in place, making it vulnerable.

Flight The Leaf Dragon is capable of flying using a lighter than air gas in its body, using its tentacles to grab objects to stabilize and direct itself.

Kilimanjaro is a familiar used by the summoner Tenjin, and also employed by Sakura Kashima when she attacks Kotarou and his group with a massive horde of familiars. The creature itself is similar in appearance to a giant Anomalocaris, an extinct species from the Cambrian period, albeit with glowing insectoid wings allowing it to fly. The creature is clad in armor that can resist gunfire, but it can be brought down by sustained fire at least at close range, as seen when Shizuru Nakatsu kills it with an MP7 in the anime (albeit after wounding it with falling debris), so the Brotherhood's heavy weapons will, for the purposes of this match, be able to harm it.
 * -|Kilimanjaro (x 1)=

Wings Kilimanjaro possesses insect-like wings to allow it to fly.

Energy Attacks Kilimanjaro is able to fire highly destructive energy projectiles at an extremely high rates, allowing it to essentially act similarly to a helicopter gunship or attack aircraft.

Krivoy Rog is a the familiar of a high-level summoner named Tenma who went rogue from Gaia, however, in the second season of the anime, the familiar is also employed by Sakura Kashima herself against Koutarou Tennouji and Kagari. The familiar, named for a real-world Ukrainian city (for some reason), resembles a giant cephalopod clad in black armor with a variety of powerful abilities.
 * -|Krivoy Rog (x 1)=

Tentacles Krivoy Rog possesses several massive tentacles armored which can be used to attack its enemies.

Energy Beam' In the anime, Krivoy Rog proves itself capable of firing multiple highly destructive laser-like beams of energy.

Armor Krivoy Rog's armor is described as a metallic alloy stronger than steel, and is thus extremely difficult to penetrate, but not indestructible. For the purposes of this match, Liberty Prime's laser, mini-nukes, sustained rocket fire, and shots to weak points will be able to damage it. The creature's only external point not protected by armor is under the tentacles, though a shot through the orifices- i.e. mouth, air intakes, will, for the purpose of this match, also do increased damage by damaging the internal structure.

Hovering: Krivoy Rog is capable of filling a bladder on its back with a lighter than air gas, allowing to the hover similarly to a balloon or zeppelin. It can also deflate this bladder at will, dropping itself violently on a target.

Self-Destruct In the anime, after being pierced by one of Kagari's "aurora" energy ribbons, Krivoy Rog overfilled the gas bladder with explosive gas, possibly hydrogen, causing an explosion the size of a large aerial bomb, perhaps even a fuel-air weapon.

=X-Factors=

Explanations
In terms of training, Gaia trains their forces mostly in summoning, and have little to no training in other methods of combat. On the other hand, the Brotherhood are highly trained firearms, close combat, power armor operations, etc in a manner modeled after the pre-war US military. In terms of tactics, the Brotherhood's military background gives them the edge. While they rely heavily on superior firepower, their commanders are more tactically proficient than most other wasteland factions. Gaia, on the other hand, seem to rely heavily on the use of massive numbers of the familiars to overwhelm opposition. Gaia takes an edge for logistics, as they are capable of manufacturing familiars from organic materials, including dead bodies and even dirt, while the Brotherhood have some manufacturing capability, they are still a post-apocalyptic faction, with production capacity limited in comparison to the pre-war world. In terms of combat experience, the Brotherhood takes the edge as they exist in a post-apocalyptic world, where combat is practically constant, and probably have more experience than the Gaia's summoners, especially in terms of direct combat, in which Gaia avoids in favor of the use of familiars. In terms of discipline, the Brotherhood, who are modeled after the pre-war military take this edge easily. Gaia, on the other hand, suffers in this are divided, with a significant portion of the faction rejecting the cult's omnicidal goals and creating an opposing break-off faction under the Martel executives. Even taking into account the Brotherhood Outcasts of Fallout 3, the rift in Gaia appears to be much larger, and could not be reconciled the way the outcasts were. Now, in terms of dedication, I give the Brotherhood high marks, but I give Gaia higher as they are not only willing to pursue their goals unto death, their goal literally involves their own deaths, along with that of the rest of the human race. The Brotherhood of dedicated, but (with the possible exception of Paladin Danse, who, after discovering he is a synth, wants you to kill him) even they do not share that level of suicidal fanaticism. The total numbers is a raw number statistic, and should not be incorporated into averages of the X-Factors. Gaia has more forces, specifically 201 familiars plus 30 summoners, however, the majority of their familiars are "cannon fodder", with only a few powerful familiars. The Brotherhood, on the other hand, have well-armed troops even amongst their light infantry, meaning their firepower is more spread out, meaning they will be better able to keep fighting after the loss of one of their high-tier units.

Things to Consider
A familiar will disintegrate if the summoner is killed. The Brotherhood will not know this, but may notice and adapt their strategies accordingly. =Notes= The numbers of each side are listed in the X-Factors table. The Gaia numbers represent 201 familiars, while the number in parentheses is the 30 summoners.

The battle will takes place in a ruined city.