Drive it Before you Buy it

[Olivia Dem'adas]

On one of the many the sparsely populated parts of the planet Mandalore, in the heart of the Mandalorian Territories, Olivia Dem'adas took long, powerful strides across a field of dirt and grass. Trailing in her wake were three women in near-identical uniforms, their boots striking the ground with practiced rhythm. The dirt and grass crunched as if to a metronome as the four women closed the distance from the shuttle to the assembly of soldiers and engineers clustered ahead of them.

“Status report?” Olivia demanded as she closed within thirty meters. The collection of men and women in white coats, officer uniforms, and Beskar'gam turned and acknowledged their approaching commander and chief. She had dozens of worlds, thousands of ships, and an entire clan to worry about. But today, her attention was solely focused on this small cluster of men and the object that stood silent and immobile on the far side of them.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

A mountain of metal overshadowed the cluster of Mando'ade. Soundly a meter taller than any assembled before it and long enough to stretch well beyond the outer-most individuals of the group, the thing almost appeared to be a natural part of the terrain. Though that was likely an intended effect of the design. If it were not for the dark and light green striped pattern than some fool had painted upon the monstrosity, Olivia could have easily mistaken it for a hill at a glance.

“All systems nominal.” Reported the lead engineer from behind a pair of glasses. He seemed both nervous and excited. Olivia couldn't blame him though. Almost six years of hard work had been condensed and completed within the last few months thanks to her little brother. There were many among his team that retained doubts about the design and its capabilities. Should it live up to the hype, her brother would have proven them all to be fools and worthy of recourse. Should it fail to live up to the expectations though, it would be they that were accused of causing the failure.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

“Good. We'll begin immediately.” Olivia said to the man. The barest look over her left shoulder was all the indication she needed for her three escorts to break off and approach the vehicle. The three of them silently wove their way through the crowd and towards the rear of the tank where they quickly disappeared from view. “I want all observational equipment online.” She added to the man as she followed her comrades through the crowd and to the rear of the vehicle.

Her gloved hand gripped metal as she cautiously entered the vehicle. Darkness seemed to envelop her as he eyes struggled to adapt to the new environment. Here and there, reflections of light stood out against the dark as one viewport or another illuminated the interior. A subtle click came from the front of the cabin and warm lights filled where dark had been a moment before. Three seats lined the sides of the hull to her immediate left and right. Beyond that she could see an empty chair surrounded by faintly glowing viewscreens and numerous buttons, dials, and knobs.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

Olivia stepped forward into the vehicle, her eyes taking in every detail. From what she could see, it was exactly as her little brother had described. Yet, despite the accuracy of his descriptions, the vehicle seemed... more spacious than it should be. As a woman accustomed to the inside of a suit of armor, cramming herself into a Canderous Tanks, and wandering the halls of a starship... The spaciousness of this vehicle just felt odd to her. It was a marvel that Rygel had been able to condense so much of her demands into a single platform, yet still manage a spacious and functional interrior.

Olivia slowly approached her station, mindful of the buttons and knobs she passed along the way. On the far side of the empty command chair, Olivia could see the three special forces women at their assigned stations. Each of them was busily flipping switches and pushing buttons as they went through the start-up protocols they had memorized from the freshly printed manual.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

The commander's station came to life as she lowered herself into the chair. Viewscreens activated, showing the status of the vehicle and various external images. Buttons and dials lit up and awaited her touch. In her ear, she heard the engineer call out a status update, claiming that all recording devices were online and operating nominally. Olivia pressed a small button on one of the communications consoles and began issuing orders. “Bring all opposing systems online and start the clock. Firaxa, turn the key.”

“Yes commander.” came the voice of the driver, not from in front of her but through the headset she wore. A fraction of a second later, the engine roared to life and every display pulsed with activity. On her screen, she saw the automated targeting system scan and acquire every soldier and engineer outside the vehicle. The weapon system locked on to each one of them in a single go. Olivia saw red cross-hairs hover over the faces of her clansmen for a moment before cycling to yellow and then green as the computer program recognized each of them as friendly noncombatants or allied soldiers, depending on if they were in armor or not.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

The external noise was as soft as a speeder engine, or so the manual had claimed. From inside, it was loud enough to be an annoyance, but soft enough to effectively communicate over. The headsets and intercom system were less of a necessity and more of a convenience to the crew. At least for now. Once combat began, the sound of cannon fire and shots impacting the hull would likely drowned out all other sounds.

“Status report.” Olivia said into her headset. “Driver ready, all systems green.” Came Firaxa's voice. “Gunner ready, all systems green.” Echoed A'denla's voice. “Loader ready, all sysems green.” Followed Brilla's voice. Each of them came through Olivia's headset loudly and clearly, without a hind of noise pollution from the rumbling engine.

“Copy all. Driver, ahead full.” Olivia said into the headset. The vehicle lurched forward immediately. Olivia could feel herself being pushed into the seat by the acceleration of the vehicle. On a pair of screens to her right, Olivia could see a topographical map of the surrounding 200 kilometers of planetary surface and a live feed showing the view from the driver's station. Above her head, Olivia had a series of periscopic mirrors and windows allowed her to see out of the vehicle in a 360-degree circle from the top of the turret.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

Olivia knew that the first portion of the test area would be a 8,000 meter obstacle course for them to traverse. Water, mud, sand, gravel... Up hills, down hills, through rubble, through buildings, navigating corridors and city streets... Through forests and grasslands, snow, ice, and whatever other obstacles her brother had thought of. Shifting her gaze from the viewscreens surrounding her to the different windows and periscopes, Olivia kept an eye on their progress.

Olivia could hear the engine increase in pitch slightly and felt a small bump as the vehicle began lurching its way up a hill. A navigational marker displayed in the forward viewscreen, as well as on the driver's viewscreen and navi-tracker. Looking down at the viewscreen, Olivia saw that the marker was directing them to the far side of the hill. Olivia thought to herself.

“Correct course to target and increase speed.” Olivia said flatly. The view from the command station was impressive by comparison to most tanks she had been in, but it could never match the view of simply using your own two eyes. “I'm going up.” She said absently to no-one in particular as she undid the safety harness keeping her in the chair. Grabbing onto the hand rails and foot-holds on either side of her chair, Olivia pulled herself up to a standing position and grabbed onto the metal wheel set into the center of the commander's access hatch.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

A small red light by her head blinked to life as she turned the crank and unsealed the hatch. She almost grunted as she pushed the lid open. The thing was heavy... Were it not made from Beskar, she'd have labeled it as a design flaw. But she knew that the vehicle was designed to withstand an incredible barrage of fire. If any commander had a hard time lifting the access hatch, then they would simply need to get stronger.

Cool, fresh air blew past Olivia's face and into the crew compartment. Her hair fluttered behind her as she pulled herself up further. Her feet found easy purchase along a circular bar that ran around the inner lip of the access ladder. Her hands found easy anchorage along a small lip that the access hatch locked into upon sealing. As she stood at the top of the tank, exposed from the naval up, she had to admit to being impressed with her little brother's attention to detail. Then again, the little brat had always had an eye for conveniences.

To her immediate right, the .32 caliber weapon rested immobile in its housing. Reaching up, Olivia grabbed hold of the weapon by two vertical handles on the rear of the weapon. She turned the weapon to the right and was surprised that it immediately complied with her handling. She had expected the weapon to remain locked in place until taken off of remote operation, but the AI must have automatically switched it over when she put her hands on the weapon.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

Olivia turned the weapon left and right, up and down. The weapon was mounted in front of and to the right of the commander's access hatch, but appeared to be mounted on a circular ring inlaid into the turret. Not only could the weapon rotate 360-degrees in spot from remote, but the mounting itself could be rotated 360-degrees around the commander's hatch, allowing Olivia to point the weapon in any angle she could think of.

Olivia tried to point the weapon strait up, as if tracking an aircraft as it flew over the tank. The weapon went vertical before the automated systems took over. The weapon, its housing, and the entire internal section of railings she was braced on rotated as one. The entire housing rotated 180-degrees to continue following the path she was making with the weapon. There was a slight delay and off-set as the turret attempted to compensate for its circular rotation, but Olivia suspected that had there been an actual aircraft to target, the weapon would have successfully maintained weapons' lock on the target as it maneuvered itself and the commander attached to it.

Satisfied with the capabilities of the machine gun, Olivia let go of the weapon and watched as it slid back into its default positioning. The tank was rapidly approaching the peak of the hill. Wind blew her hair behind her as she watched the approaching crest. “Once we reach the top, I want us to hold position. We are to consider this entire area a live fire zone.” Olivia said into her headset. A chorus of 'aye commander' came from the women inside the vehicle.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

Olivia felt her center of gravity shift as the tank crested the hill and Firaxa brought them to a halt. Before them was a patchwork of artificial environments that spread out along a natural valley that started a good two hundred meters from their current position and continued off into the distance. From her vantage point, she could see an obvious start point on off to their left. A path had been constructed that snaked its way back and forth across the valley and continued into the distance. Pulling a pair of binoculars from a storage compartment next to the cupola, Olivia scanned the terrain ahead of them.

According to the rangefinder built into the binoculars, the far end of the winding corridor of terrain was over 8,000 meters from their current position. Each straightaway in the corridor looked to be about 500 to 1,000 meters long and maybe 50 to 100 meters wide. Olivia held the binoculars to her chest and clenched her jaw as she glared at the obstacle course. She thought to her self.

“Alright ladies.” Olivia said, her annoyance slipping into her voice. She had wanted to spend more time shooting targets and testing the weaponry of the vehicle than breaking in the suspension. “Let's get this over with. Firaxa, the starting position is down the hill and to the left. Bring us to a halt facing towards the first straightaway.” She continued into her headset.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

“Yes, commander.” Came Firaxa's response as the tank lurched forward and began its rapid decent down the side of the hill. Olivia leveraged her feet against the metal railing and leaned her back against the cupola for balance. She could almost feel the ground churn beneath them as the thick tracks bit into the dirt and grass. The vehicle turned sharply to the left and lined itself up with the intended destination before accelerating further.

The vehicle bounced and jarred slightly as they reached the bottom of the hill. A few dozen meters over open ground were followed by a slow deceleration and then an 80-degree rotation to the right from a stationary position. But finally, Olivia was looking down a solid stretch of long, thick grass that could have been Dantooine. “Firaxa... Follow the path as best you can. Use your own discretion to navigate the obstacles.” Olivia said into her headset as she readied herself for what would undoubtedly become a very rough ride. “A'denla, you have full control of the turret, the main cannon, and the autocannon. Use your best discretion to deal with targets as they present themselves.” Olivia said as she continued giving orders to her crew. “Brilla, you'll have control of the forty millimeter grenade launcher and 52 caliber machine gun when not actively loading the cannon.”

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

Olivia closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the wind blowing past them. She focused on the feel of it on her skin. Her hair blowing in the breeze. She focused on the feel of the metal pressed against the soles of her feet and the small of her back. She focused on the binoculars between her hands and the smell of dirt, grass, and machinery that filled her nostrils. “Load the main cannon.” Olivia said at last. “One Tungsten Rod, one Ionite Rod, one Tungsten, one Ionite, one Tungsten, two AP rounds, two HE rounds, one HE-FRAG round.” She continued as she opened her eyes. She wouldn't put it past her little brother to try and hide targets and opponents in the obstacle course.

“Begin operation.” She said at last as she returned the binoculars to their compartment. The engine roared as gears were shifted and the massive vehicle catapulted itself forward under the direction of its eager driver. Deep trenches were torn out of the thick mat of vegetation as tall grass stocks and wild flowers were flung behind the vehicle. Olivia braced herself and kept a vigilant eye on the course ahead of them. Whatever possible dangers lay in wait for her, she would be ready for them whenever they chose to present themselves.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

The tank rocked slightly from left to right as the uneven ground quickly turned into something akin to rolling hills. The tracks bit deep into the soil, but the wide tread kept them from bogging down. Rolling hills turned into rocky outcroppings and the tank pivoted at maximum speed to navigate between the obstacles. Olivia gripped the cupola as she was tossed side to side by the erratic navigation. Here and there an explosion of rock and dirt marked where her driver failed to make a turn, or when the driver got bored of the zig-zagging maneuvers.

Olivia kept her eyes focused on the path ahead for possible targets, but she doubted they would encounter any on the first run. In all likelihood, the first three passes from one side of the valley to the other would prove to be uneventful. Grass stocks swayed in the breeze and dirt flung into the air behind them. The tank dipped, twisted, turned, and bounded over and through the artificial grasslands.

As she focused on the course ahead of them, Olivia absently watched as the two forward pintle mounted weapons turned slowly to the left and right. A moment later, Olivia felt the whole turret rotate slowly to the left and knew that her assumption about the weapons must be right. Brilla and A'denla had finished loading the main cannon and were actively sweeping their surroundings for possible targets.

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

As the turret rotated, Olivia noticed that her cupola automatically seemed to rotate itself opposite of the turret's movement. No matter the speed of direction the turret rotated, her cupola adjusted to keep the commander facing in the direction she desired. Testing the theory, Olivia shifted her feet and the cupola rotated in response. Now facing the rear of the vehicle, Olivia took in the sight of the deep tracks they were leaving in the terrain behind them.

It was a deep and obvious trail. It was also the first major flaw she could find in the design. Any novice would be able to discern the direction of travel and follow the tracks to the Myrkava's destination. She'd have to speak with her little brother about the flaw, but she doubted anything could be done without making significant sacrifices in the vehicle itself to reduce the weight of the thing.

A sudden and violent lurch slammed the back of Olivia's head into the open hatch behind her. The vehicle slammed sharply to the right, then continued forward before a drunken swerve brought them back on course. “What the hell was that!?” Olivia demanded as she snapped her copula around to face forward. “Did something hit us?”