Drake

Specifications
Use	Gear-Strider
Production Code	OACS-01GS/AS
Manufacturer	Avesta Group
Height	9.7 meters

The origins of the Drake are shrouded in layers of subterfuge, and many, even among the most connected members in the Southern military circles, are baffled by the development and the attitude of Ministry of Defense toward the project.

Though ostensibly started during the War of the Alliance, the conglomerate that funded the project, the Avesta Group, emerged out of seemingly nowhere and with the blessing of the Ministry of Defense, and the project was atypical of any prior design processes. Among the corporations that sponsored the project were Mercy Grains of Innsmouth, an avowed pacifist company, and AGRIncorp, a pharmaceutical and medical device company based in Ashanti.

The only corporation with any actual experience in military equipment and vehicles was Republic Heavy Industries, a company known for producing the Naga and Hydra as well as the numerous landships found in the Southern fleet. Rumors circulated that the initial design of the Gear Strider came not from RHI but from Mercy Grains harvesting equipment engineering division, and the prototypes were delivered within a cycle of the design being approved by the Ministry of Defense.

The original ten prototypes were notoriously difficult to maneuver, due to the sheer power of the engine and actuators. Test pilots barely kept the Gear Strider under control without the aid of a special cocktail of performance enhancing drugs produced by AGRIncorp. The solution to harnessing the power without the use of drugs came in TN1937 after the Avesta Group acquired a working but battle damaged sample of the PRDF’s Cataphract Gear Strider. Experts from RHI worked on reverse engineering the Cataphract and found the key to the Gear Strider’s design was a series of purposeful governors placed on the actuators and power transfer from the quad-engine. These inhibitors were put in place, making the Drake manageable for normal pilots.

The extra power from the quad-engine was diverted to a generator coil, which engineers used to enable an array of energy weapons such as the Obelisk T2-Hellfire laser cannon or the rapid fire Obelisk X10 Gatling laser cannon. Due to the costs and maintenance associated with the energy weapons, the stock variant of the Drake is equipped with standard SCRP-24 rocket pods, an LRB-25 heavy bazooka for penetration power, and a shoulder-mounted SCWI-99 fragmentation-grenade launcher and Firemoth Type II flamethrower for anti-infantry and lighter targets. Its forearm shield contains a vicious piston blade designed to penetrate light tank and Strider armor with ease.

Usage

The Drake saw its baptism of fire in TN1938 against elements of the 87th NAF Cavalry regiment near the Badland’s township of Renau. Attached to the 16th SRA Gear Regiment, a strike squad including three Drakes deployed for field testing, engaged Northern Strider and tank elements to destroy the town’s water and fuel supplies. The Drakes were credited with fourteen kills, including five Mammoths.

In addition to combating Northern forces during the Interpolar War, forty Drakes were also deployed to pacify the areas of the Humanist Alliance absorbed by the Southern Republic. Commanders were pleased at the performance of the Gear Strider against HAPF Strider cadres and the rapid attack Hetairois.

After the Interpolar War, RHI put the Drake into full production to meet the demands of the SRA.

Gallery

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