The Chronicle:
Wunji Lau's Author Notes onRising Into Shadow Part 1: Mars, Bringer of War
Above and beyond the description of the Hellwind provided in the text, I would like to add a little more detail for the more demanding of the mental artists out there. The overall shape is full of rounded surfaces, shielded intakes and exhausts, and other stealthy features. It is reminiscent of that old Testor's concept model kit of the F-19 that drew so much hype some years back, in that it has down-curving outboard surfaces and is rather, well, stubby. The tank is thicker, though, and looks much more substantial in every aspect. The turret is, in rest position, nothing more than an elongated blister atop the main body, with a secondary blister on top of that and toward the back. The gun barrel depresses fifteen to twenty degrees to fit into a depression in the hull for the purposes of transport and increased stealthiness. In combat, the gun raises from its sheath, thus "unlocking" the turret, allowing free rotation. The missile rack is concealed under its blister by a set of protective covers; these move aside for firing. Other sensors are similarly retractable or low-profile.
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The pilot reclines in a couch near the front of the tank, much like the driver's position in a modern M1. The commander sits between the driver and the turret, offset to the left and in a more upright position, to ease viewing of the multitude of MFD's. The gunner resides in the turret from where, in case of loss of automatic fire control, the gun and coax may be aimed and fired manually. Each crewmember is essentially in his or her own little compartment; the commander is separated from the driver by his control panel and MFD display, and the gunner is separated from the commander by the loading mechanism and power transfer system of the railgun. Although the crew positions are reasonably comfortable, there is very little free space inside the vehicle; considering the power of modern weapons, the less space for a shot to bounce around, the better.
Beneath the hovertank, a small internal bay is available for carrying ordnance, electronics, cargo, or (in extremely uncomfortable conditions) a human or two. Exo-suits are secured to the bottom of each "wing" (really just an extended downcurve of the hull) by hand- and footholds, along with special magnetic clamps. The clamps are designed to accommodate a simple phone system, allowing hardwired communication between the tank crew and their passengers. The 'suits ride head forward, with their "bellies" toward the tank's hull.
Several means of release are practiced. When speed and combat maneuvering are required, the 'suits are dropped while the hovertank is moving at speed, with only a slight increase in altitude to account for the 'suits standing height. The foot clamps and magnetic torso locks are released first, allowing the 'suit to fall toward the front of the hovertank and hang by its arms. The 'suit then lets go of the handholds and immediately activates its jump jets, using them to decelerate and soften its landing. Ideally, the suit will land on its feet, weapon at the ready. Needless to say, this maneuver is rather difficult to execute properly, and training accidents are not uncommon (although the resultant injuries are seldom serious, flubbing a combat drop is quite embarrassing, as well as potentially hazardous with regards to enemy activity). When performed by a trained crew, though, the maneuver is both efficient and spectacular.
Under more leisurely circumstances, variations on this maneuver are used, usually involving the slowing or stopping of the hovertank, or a substantial increase in altitude to provide a greater margin of error for the exo-suits. The choice of drop style is usually left up to the tank commander, since that person is best qualified to decide to what extent the vehicle and its passengers should be exposed to enemy fire.
In the prototypes, armored baffles were considered as a means of providing protection for the exo-suits and maintaining the hovertank's stealth profile while flying. The baffles would resemble oversized cocoons, and could either be ejected or retained and reused. Unfortunately, cost and engineering difficulties resulted in the idea being largely discarded. While carrying "passengers," Hellwinds tend to stay low, using the ground and their down-curving hulls to shield the decidedly non-stealthy exo-suits. While this results in the exo-suits riding a psychologically uncomfortable distance from the rapidly moving ground, this practice is better than the alternative of detection and elimination. In a few special cases, flimsy coverings are available for use; these serve to maintain the hovertank's airborne stealth profile, but provide little to no protection for the exo-suits underneath. The coverings are also rendered useless once the exo-suits debark, and must be ejected with explosive bolts. One or two incidents have occurred where skimming hovertanks have suddenly lost power and grounded before the exo-suits had time to drop off; in these unfortunate cases, the hovertank crews survived the emergency landing largely as a result of the squishy padding provided by their bottom-mounted passengers. Nevertheless, despite the constant specter of an ignominious crushing death, most Republican exo-suit troops much prefer riding a hovertank than walking.
The overall image is much different from the lumbering bulk of the CEF hovertanks in Heavy Gear, sleeker, more delicate. They really are closer to helicopters than tanks...P L E A S E C O M M E N T ! !
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