Name: Naian Siegebreaker Mechs Description: "It sounded like the distant rumble of a hurricane, like the rolling of thunder. Before we knew what it was, seven odd spherical battle machines plowed through our defenses, crushing machine guns and destroying artillery pieces. When unfurled a single one could kill ten men in a moment." - A civil war veteran retelling his encounter with siegebreakers in 'A Call for Peace'. A siegebreaker mech is equally infamous as it is surprisingly effective. Siegebreakers appear as large spheres of heavy armour, roughly 6 feet in diameter, which can roll with terrifying speeds in any direction. The armour is segmented, allowing the mech to pop open and unfurl a series of between four and eight legs as well as a set of weapons such as autocannons, machine guns or rocket launchers. Inside the heavy armour shell is an internal cabin containing most of the electronics and mechanical components as well as a cockpit for the single operator. The internal cabin remains stabilized, allowing the shell to rotate around it when rolling. There is also a false canopy style interior to allow for visibility and a back-up glass periscope only accessible in mech form should it be necessary. Although primarily made and operated by naians, larger variants of similar vehicles do exist in the greater galaxy. Their increased size allow for the operation by larger, more common species. Abilities: "The sheer capability of these vehicles is not to be questioned. Although uniquely suited to take down fortified forward positions, their abilities make them very capable for everything from small scale skirmishes to surprise strikes.” - Unknown vanguard general assessing the performance of siegebreakers Heavily Armoured: A siegebreakers shell is made up of a heavy, high durability material. When fully furled up it is considered heavy (durasteel) armour. High Momentum: Siegebreakers are capable of achieving terrifying speeds whilst rolling, with top speeds approaching 75 km/h. Impact Velocity: On account of their speed, weight and durability, a Siegebreaker can impart considerable damage by simply ramming it's target, with little compromise to its own integrity. Conditional Abilities (Optional): Siegebreaker Launchers: Some vehicles or installations built to support Siegebreakers may feature a Siegebreaker launcher. This large coil gun is able to pick up and launch the mech at any point within ~5 kilometers, though they require around 30 seconds to prepare for a launch. Limitations: "The fastest way to take out a Siegebreaker is to hit it in the sensor. The surest way is to just wait it out." - Civil war turn of phrase Scuttling Along: When unfurled Siegebreakers sacrifice much of their mobility, at best being able to move in a crawling scuttle at ~25 km/h Armour Compromise: When the Siegebreaker opens up it's armour becomes on par with medium armour, on account of several large gaps in the shell being opened to accommodate for sensors, the legs etcetera. Roll Out!: It takes a Siegebreaker around 5 seconds (~a CRP turn) to fully unfurl into mech form or curl back up into ball form. During this transformation it is immobile and unable to attack and its armour is considered medium as if it were in mech form. How does it work: "Congratulations! You were assigned a Siegebreaker mech as part of your maintenance routine. Now before you start pouring over blueprints and parts manifests, the first step to Siegebreaker maintenance is to give up. They will never work like new again. You will never be able to tighten that bolt fully. One plate will always be slightly misaligned. Everything is awful and you have to deal with it. Once you've done that you can move onto step two!" - Siegebreaker Maintenance, Why is this vehicle still issued?! Most functional parts are contained within the internal cabin. A small powerplant produces energy for the necessary electronics as well as a series of small wheels around the canopy. These wheels allow for precise movement of the outer sphere, allowing to shift and adjust and roll as necessary. A series of latches and locks run along the cabin and the inside of the sphere. When unfurling into mech form, these locks catch onto the outer shell, preventing it from moving while also providing the mechanical power necessary to pop open its armour plates. Flavor text: Invented around the middle of the naian civil war by the Vanguard, the Siegebreakers were built to be highly mobile and disposable armoured units to be deployed via frigate over fortified core positions. The very first Siegebreakers were actually fully mechanized infantry, with a simple combat drone AI core installed in place of a pilot's seat. Although effective against infantry and ground locked armour, the Siegebreakers hit major opposition in the core's impressive fleets of Hirins. A Hirins speed and arsenal centered around precision hit and run strikes seemed accidentally tailor made to take out Siegebreaker drones. As such, when the technology became licensed out to various mercenary groups in the vanguard, many opted to remove the AI core in favour of a pilot's compartment. The increased reaction speed and creative thinking offered by a pilot gave the so-called Manual Siegebreakers the ability to leverage the key strengths of a Siegebreaker over Hirins (such as their durability and endurance) to a much greater extent. Although Siegebreakers were far from effective against Hirins even towards the end of the war, this slight edge meant that they were a threat when faced on the battlefield even against experienced pilots. Attainability: [SEMI-CLOSED] Siegebreakers themselves are only really available to naians in naian space. Some fringe based engineers however make knock-off variants of dubious quality which can be purchased for a fraction of the price. Some are even made available for other species. Such Siegebreakers will usually cost anywhere between 2-6 million pixels, depending on the quality and equipment. (Basically, if you want your character to have one just ask me first.) Tags: [Military] Category: Military Vehicles (Tanks, mechs, etc.) Edit 1 - added pricing
Hey, just one question for now. How much would one typically cost? The dubious knockoff versions, not the actual military production ones.
