Author Topic: Unit GAL of the Line  (Read 16159 times)

Offline Silver Fox

  • Talk to me Goose!
Re: Unit GAL of the Line
« Reply #25 on: March 24, 2019, 02:12:07 PM »
I have returned to the surface of Aphrodite and gain the maneuverability needed for the defence of the planet. The electronic battle continues, the hostile force attempting to defeat the SPY-17 radar I am mimicking.

My plans to lure the hostile force is shattered by the unexpected. A powerful signal from the surface indicates the space field defenses have become active. The hostiles immediately break away from the attack on me and maneuver to evade the threat I pose. I engage at long range with my secondary hellbores, but I calculate that the extreme range will limit me to 29 kills before the attackers evade me. 18 will make it to the colony, and I calculate only a 73.887% chance the defenses can drive them off or destroy them without direct Bolo support.

I offer a silent apology to the memory of my last commander. Major Pritchard has always claimed that the “panzers and combat cars” would serve not only his own war gaming entertainment, but would prove useful in battle. I now send the command to the automated Bolo maintenance facility to activate the units. 27.546 seconds later the 4 panzers and 8 combat cars surge out of the depot.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2019, 10:49:36 PM by Silver Fox »

Offline Silver Fox

  • Talk to me Goose!
Re: Unit GAL of the Line
« Reply #26 on: March 31, 2019, 02:31:50 AM »
The convoy of panzers and combat cars managed to exceed 80 km/h on the stabilized plasticrete roadway linking the Bolo maintenance facility to the spaceport. I expend 4.86 seconds on designating initial combat positions for the 4 panzers. There is a hill 11.18 kilometers from the spaceport on a bearing of 263.8 degrees. Each panzer is armed with a 20cm hellbore as main armament and a secondary infinite repeater. The hellbores should allow the panzers to sweep the airspace above the spaceport. I lacked information on the current location of any human habitation. The original city having been abandoned at the same time as the signals from the surface had ceased.

The fictional vehicles they are based on were suggested to be 60 ton, fusion-powered hover tanks. As constructed by the maintenance facility they weigh 58.6 tons and do indeed have the fans, ductwork and plenum chambers of an air-cushion vehicle. They are not true “hovertanks” however. The energy budget to drive the infinite repeater and the hellbore meant the panzers would have had extremely poor performance off of prepared surfaces. Major Pritchard has decided to “cheat” slightly. Each panzer therefore incorporated a 50 ton capacity antigravity cargo pallet at the top of the plenum chamber.

The combat cars followed a similar design philosophy. They weighed 44.7 tons each and were armed with  3 pintle mounted infinite repeaters.

Both types of vehicle were designed for semi-autonomous operation or control by the Bolo maintenance facility. The vehicles were tied into the dedicated tactical data link. I could receive data from their comparatively weak sensor suites and update both tactical and strategic objectives.

The AI capabilities of the vehicles were barely better than a Mark 18 Bolo. They were more than sufficient for a task as simple as excluding any airborne/space borne vehicle from a protected area.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2019, 10:48:34 PM by Silver Fox »

Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
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Re: Unit GAL of the Line
« Reply #27 on: March 31, 2019, 09:21:40 PM »
Seems to be a cross-over of BOLO's & Hammer's Slammers going on here. ;)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline deathjester

  • 'Remember - Tiredness Kills Hedgehogs...!'
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Re: Unit GAL of the Line
« Reply #28 on: April 01, 2019, 05:12:16 AM »
Brilliant!! Great to see you writing again!

Offline elmayerle

  • Its about time there was an Avatar shown here...
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Re: Unit GAL of the Line
« Reply #29 on: April 07, 2019, 11:30:59 AM »
Seems to be a cross-over of BOLO's & Hammer's Slammers going on here. ;)
Definitely seems like it, or an inspiration of an officer by the Hammer's Slammers stories (if nothing else, the presence of a major character in those stories with his last name would catch his interest).  It's a delightful addition and this reader is looking forward to more installments.
Addendum:  If you go by Cross the Stars, a novel set in the Slammers universe after Alios Hammer has become president of Friesland, Danny Pritchard is his political heir apparent.  So, yeah, I can an officer with the last name of Pritchard taking quite an interest in the tools of the Hammer's Slammers universe.  Oh, and Cross the Stars is an excellent story in its own right, inspired by The Odyssey as David Drake admits freely in his introduction to the definitive volume published by Baen.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2019, 01:01:19 PM by elmayerle »