Gilgamesh

The lumbering center piece of the Utopian battlefield, Gilgamesh Auto-tanks never operate alone. They are surrounded by an army of drones and battle units who protect weak points and clear traps, while the auto-tank uses its devastating ship-class weaponry on enemy emplacements and fortifications. The massive hull streches over twelve meters long (and the main guns stick out further) and nearly as wide. Six massive articulated tread clusters, each sporting twin tracks, let the tank climb over almost any obstacle not flattened by its bulk. Each tank can house a battlefield AI unit; expensive, but it makes more sense than putting an AI into every Combat Auto in the field.

In order to “load” a Battlefield AI unit into the cargo bay, the entire one-piece protective dome armor housing must be lifted off by crane. The AI is then lowered into position, hooked up and doublechecked. The tank’s armored case is then lowered back over the top and re-secured to the hull.

The bulk of the vehicle’s firepower is made up of heavy support railguns in twin front turrets. Each gun turret also has its own Heavy Gatling Laser Cannon for close-in defense. Anti-personnel mortars and grenade launchers are located in a cluster on the rear deck. A smaller turret tower on top of the main dome contains a laser Anti-Missile System (a necessity for a vehicle so cumbersome). The comparatively rare Greenway variant moves one of the two HAG turrets to the rear hull while spreading the mortars between the front and back. This lowers the frontal firepower but makes the vehicle less vulnerable to close assaults and flanking maneuvers.

Utopian field detachments rarely deploy with more than one tank, which then serves as the central command unit as well as providing heavy support. They are deployed like virtual “pocket landship on treads,” staying as far away from the actual fighting. Typical tactics involve Broadsides and “Crossing The T” maneuvers, of the types performed by old Earth battleships at sea. Sometimes, though, they work in groups for large engagements, though not all will carry the expensive battlefield AI. All Command Auto-Tank are protected by a small fleet of drones and APES sweeping a defensive perimeter.

Media

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  Gilgamesh Heavy Tank

External links

• Gilgamesh miniature | DP9 online store