Alliance Vehicle: Phalanx-Pattern Orbital Artillery

ST/HP: 450

Hand/SR: -3/6

HT: 10f

Move: 1/8 (+3)

LWt.: 680

Load: 0.27

SM: +7

Occ.: 2

DR: 2500/1000*

Range: 1600

Cost: $290M

Loc.: 2CT

*The Phalanx-Pattern Orbital Artillery has a DR 2500 armor on top and the rest of the armor is DR 1000. All armor is composite (double DR vs plasma weapons and shaped charge attacks)

Notes

Simple ARC Artillery Vehicle Electronics:

• Medium Holographic Radio: 1,000 mile range (orbital); “palm sized” holographic console.
  
  
• Large, Fixed Ultra-Scanner: 100-mile scan, 10-mile imaging/bioscan; 120°;
  
  
• Targeting Computer: +5 to hit target with a scan-lock.
  
  
• Hyperium Fusion Reactor: With sufficient fuel for 1 month of operations.
  
  
• Security: Simple Electronic Locks.
  
  

The Phalanx has room for two crewman, a gunner who also handles the sensors, and a pilot, who also handles the comms; given that both crewmen have access to computerized controls, both can take over for the other, and sit side-by-side.

The Phalanx is armed with a single, massive, capital-scale blaster. It can be raised to a fully upright position, but it cannot turn (the Phalanx itself will turn to adjust the position, though the weapon is stabilized and can make minor adjustments of its own); while fully upright, reduce the handling by 1; it takes 10 seconds to fully raise or lower the cannon. Older models, now called “A Gentleman’s Phalanx” came equipped with EM Disruptors: treat as the same stats, but instead the damage can only disable systems or the ship, and does no “actual” damage to the vehicle.

Weapon	Dmg	Acc	Range	Ewt	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Rcl
Orbital Cannon	6d×60(5) pi inc	9	120 mi/ 350 mi	430t	1	35	NA	-NA	2

Look and Feel

Rare for ARC-designed vehicles, the Phalanx is not an especially pretty vehicle to look at. With their gun raised, they can reach a height of nearly 7 stories, making them appear to be industrial construction on the skyline. However, as one closes, their caterpillar tracks become obvious, each roughly the size of a small house, with a small cabin in the lower front, giving the entire vehicle the appearance of some odd construction vehicle. Thick plates of nanopolymer composite cover the vehicle, usually painted a flat, matte blue-grey to match the urban environs that the Phalanx-pattern orbital artillery often finds itself in. When it moves, its massive weight creates palpable vibrations in the environment around it, but it barely moves faster than a walk in most cases, and at its top speed, a sprinter could outpace it. The cabin itself, while it can be closed up, is no more sealed than a typical civilian hovercar. It has straightforward computerized controls, with a rugged, outdated appearance, spartan, utilitarian interior and a simple, grainy holographic communicator. The interior is comfortable enough to sit in for a few hours, but not especially cozy or beloved by its users. The users of the vehicle are generally either Alliance Regulars or, more commonly, local militia.

For the Alliance, planetary defense matters more than anything else, and that means having guns that can damage ships in orbit. Such cannons tend to be very large and heavy, and a static emplacement is easily destroyed with bombing runs or a well-placed shot. Thus, the weapon needs to be able to move between volleys, to prevent easy retaliation and to allow the vehicle to dodge. One solution, the simplest, is the Phalanx-pattern. It consists of nothing more than a massive orbital cannon, tracks to transport it, and enough electronics to correctly aim it.

The Alliance typically houses several Phalanx-pattern Orbital Artillery platforms, typically ten to twenty, though far more on critical worlds, around the most vulnerable cities on a planet, such as the starport may house more than fifty. They tend to distribute them through out the city, especially in less critical areas, or in nearby rough terrain, such as a forest or some hills that might act as cover (worth up to a -2 to attack them from orbit). If the Alliance is unable to hold the enemy off in orbit, the Phalanxes will integrate with one another via their communicators to share targeting data, becoming a “Phalanx Defense System” and once the enemy ships enter orbital bombardment range, they will return fire, usually a volley of 1 to 3 ships before they change position, usually at a walking or jogging pace with guns still raised. If necessary, a Phalanx can lower its cannon and move at a much quicker pace to escape to a more remote location, such as a mountain; this is generally only done if desperate, or if the planet expects attack that they cannot easily defeat and want to engage in a long, slow resistance.