The Junctioned Artificial Neuro-Integrated Cybernetic Entity M-1, aka Janice Em, was a female android that was developed by Human scientists on Earth.

Biography

Creation

Based and named after a female Human whom Doctor Emil Lang was in love with.

The humanoid android was equipped with a special holographic device that allowed it to mimic the appearance of a Human. It was created at some point after the First Robotech War and the defeat of the Zentraedi invaders. At this time, Rick Hunter assembled a cadre of likeminded officers with the intention of leading the Pioneer Expedition to Tirol in order to make peaceful contact with the Robotech Masters. Their hope was to prevent a Second Robotech War and thus the Robotech Expeditionary Force was formed.

The Pioneer Expedition

Doctor Lang introduced the android, under the name of Janice Em, introduced her to Lynn Minmei as his niece. She was placed in a role where she would serve as a backup singer and the two formed a close friendship. When the SDF-3 was launching on its maiden voyage, Minmei convinced Janice to pilot a transport so that she could see it leave. However, the pod became trapped during the Space Fold and thus accompanied the REF on its mission to Tirol.

After the liberation of Tirol from the Invid, the REF encountered a band of resistance fighters that opposed the Regent's rule. This group of aliens from the worlds of the Local Group were known as the Sentinels and asked for the assistance of the REF. Rick Hunter and many of his friends would accompany them with Emil Lang assigning Janice to watch over them whilst reporting all her findings to him. In addition, he became intrigued by the mysterious being known as Haydon and ordered her to seek out any information about this entity. She became a member of the forces that helped liberate the worlds of the Sentinels starting with Karbarra. In this time, she showed a special interest in the Tirolian Rem which indicated that she had romantic feelings towards him though she was under her hidden directive to seek out new information relevant to the Pioneer mission. When the Farrago was destroyed above Praxis, Janice along with the other Sentinels were trapped on the doomed homeworld of the Praxians. She along with Jonathan Wolfe volunteered on a mission to retrieve the drive unit of the Farrago to save the stranded survivors.

As such, she piloted a Beta Fighter but was betrayed by Tesla and Burak who attempted to commandeer the drive. But Janice reprogrammed the drive to jump them to REF space where they were recovered by their forces during diplomatic talks with the Regent. Janice and Wolfe later brought help for Admiral Hunter where the Sentinels were rescued from certain doom whereupon they continued their liberation mission with Garuda. However, Rick Hunter, Lisa Hunter, Miriya Sterling and Karen Penn were all exposed to Garuda's toxic atmosphere. Left unconscious, the Haydonite Veidt suggested that only Haydon IV's advanced medical technology would assist them but the planet was under the Regent's control. Whilst the Sentinels attempted peaceful arrival on the planet, Jack Baker led a band along with Janice into the core of the planet. Once there, Janice revealed the true nature to her allies and whilst they initially did not trust her - she revealed that she could interface with the Awareness in order to enlist its aid. Through her union, she programmed the defensive systems of the planet to ignore the Sentinels which was pivotal in aiding the Sentinels along with the captive Praxians revolt against the Regent's forces and ultimately liberate it from Invid domination.

The REF Civil War

Janice accompanied the REF forces on an assault against Optera after General T. R. Edwards betrayed his comrades by siding with the Regent. He would be responsible for killing the Regent leading to REF forces under Captain Vince Grant being captured. In the battle, Janice would alter her holographic appearance to that of Lynn Minmei, who was a woman that General Edwards was obsessed with. This allowed her to approach the renegade whereupon she revealed her true form and plunged both Edwards along with the Invid Brain into the Genesis Pit. However, this act led to Edwards merging with the Brain where they formed a monstrous being of terrifying power. Janice also managed to survive through the lower section of her body was destroyed. Janice asked Rick and his troops to leave, before contacting the SDF-3, asking Lisa Hunter to shoot the SDF-3's Synchro cannons on her signal. Just before she was targeted, Janice transferred her mind into a new android body built by Doctor Lang thus ensuring her survival. The conflict with Edwards would end when orbital bombardment finally killed him. (Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles)

After the Civil War and Return to Earth

It was revealed that this new body of Janice would be made with a mixture of both Human and Haydonite technology. The Haydonites became close allies of the REF as a result of the war with the Invid but desired to live a life of privacy. Thus, they decided to provide all scientific data and knowledge through Janice who in turn gave it to the Robotechnologists. Through such a means, a new science known as Shadow Technology was developed and equipped to the REF fleet. As the Earth Reclamation Force mission was launched, Janice was stationed onboard the Deukalion to witness the test firing of the Neutron-S missiles. Just before it detonated, she commented that a terrible error had been made and the weapon created a powerful Black hole that killed all the crew of the ship. In addition, it damaged the SDF-3 and left it stuck in the gravitational field of the black hole. Deactivated, Janice would remain inert until the crew of the Icarus arrived where Louie Nichols and Maia Sterling reactivated the android. Resuming her Human appearance, she noted a terrible error was made with the Neutron S missiles and accompanied Doctor Nichols to the Icarus.

During this time, a diagnostic was run on her systems whilst Janice revealed her past as well as the history of Shadow Technology to Doctor Nichols.

Fourth Robotech War

During the Battle of Space Station Liberty, it was revealed that the Haydonites had betrayed the REF and were using the Shadow Technology to massacre the Human forces. This left an angry Captain Grant ordering Janice being arrested as he believed her to be in league with the Haydonites though she professed her innocence. In this time, the Haydonite leaders detected Janice's electromagnetic signature and were determined to either capture her for interrogation on the location of the Protoculture Matrix or eliminate the "hybrid". As Janice was being escorted away, a group of Infiltrators attacked the Icarus where a Haydonite attempted to take her back to their ship. However, she refused to accompany him whereupon the Haydonite attempted to terminate her but was saved by the timely arrival of Lieutenant Commander Scott Bernard. Seeing that she was a victim, Captain Grant ordered her to board the Ark Angel as they attempted to escape Space Station Liberty. With the onset of the Fourth Robotech War, Janice Em sung a joyful song aboard the ship as a new mission came with the REF determined to not only beat the Haydonites but find the SDF-3. (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles)

Behind the Scenes

• The background details in Robotech Art 3 detailing the events of the aborted Sentinels series indicates a link between Janice and the artificial intelligence known as EVE that was recovered from the SDF-1.
• Waltrip's Sentinel comics ended with Book Four and thus Janice's fate was not explored. A timeline comic was produced which indicated that she would play a pivotal role in sacrificing herself in order to kill the traitorous General T. R. Edwards at Optera. The sequel series, Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles would be seen this followed through.
• In Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, subtext in the dialogue suggests that Janice MK II's appearance (as well as her name) are based on someone connected to Lang. There are no details on who this person is or was.
• The Masters' Gambit‏‎ references in passing a prototype of Janice being constructed, entitled JANUS M.
• In the Shadow Chronicles, Vince Grant and Gunther Reinhardt act as if they didn't know Janice before the events of the movie. This is possible because of the new body which she gains at the end of the Prelude series.

Concept Art

Android body concept art

Janice Em finale concept key art of human (simulated) and underlying robotic forms

Concept art from Robotech Art 3.

Appearances

• Robotech II: The Sentinels
• Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles
• Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles

Sources

•  Roboverse bio on Robotech.com
• The Art of Robotech: the Shadow Chronicles

External Link

• Comicvine