MG144-HE004 Eques Battle Tank

Herosine Empire

 144th (10 or 12mm)

Note: The gun barrels are designed to be removed and replaced during a game. Make sure that when painting, you cover the guns and the slots in the turret where they sit are all painted. They are designed slightly loose when unpainted, so that when painted, the additional thickness of the paint will provide enough friction to keep them from sliding around.

EQ-I/MBT Eques Heavy Battle Tank

The Eques Heavy Battle Tank is the primary main battle tank of the Herosine Empire. Nearly ubiquitous now, since its inception twenty years ago, the Eques has undergone numerous minor upgrades – most recently the conversion to newer shield generators and the –I version – but none significant enough to warrant a new mark number.

In part this is due to the exceptionally careful design, in which cost was no object. The Eques demonstrates the Herosine Empire’s economic advantage to the fullest. The Eques comes equipped as standard with technology, that while not out of reach of most other powers, would be prohibitively expensive to use on a normal tank. The Eques is modular, with the basic design expected to be upgraded piecemeal over at projected fifty to seventy year lifetime: the Eques at the end of such a time will be only superficial similar to the earliest.

The Eques’ most major feature is the use of nanotechnology, specifically nano-replicators. In addition to being part of the Eques’ internal structure – thus providing superlative self-repair facilities, provided with sufficient power – the Eques’ turret can be reconfigured on the fly. Each of the three main guns can be transformed – together or independently by the use of the nano-replicators in a few seconds to one of three patterns.

The primary configuration is a 200mm railgun. Working in concert, this allows the Eques to fire a staggered salvo of railgun slugs. While the affords it better penetration that one slug alone, it also has the advantage of being better at penetrating shields: if the first or second round drops the shields, the remaining rounds can strike the armour unimpeded.

The second configuration is to an 80mm gatling railgun for anti-infantry or anti-air defence. As the Eques turret is not suitable for tracking high-elevation targets, the guns instead pivot a short distance outside the turret, allowing them to reach up to 90º elevations. While this shortened the distance the barrels could be made (and thus the penetration), Herosine railgun technology and the rate of fire produce a significantly dangerous output when fired together. Further, the guns automatically set to stagger-fire against point-targets, granting the same advantages as the main guns against shielded vehicles.

The final configuration is a rocket pod. Unlike the simple solid slugs of the previous two weapons, even the nano-replicators cannot create warheads quickly, so the reloads are more limited. Nevertheless, each pod carries 30 rockets, typically fired in salvos of three. The small size of the rocket precludes a large warhead (the rockets have slightly less power than a Herosine Heavy Infantry Missile), but in concert, their firepower is very considerable. The rockets are also capable of being sensor guided, allowing the Eques to make indirect fire when given targets from Screen Drones or Psiloi Gravitic Orb Scouts.

Finally, the Eques carries a standard point-defense turret with twin lazer cannons, which also houses a sensor array, allowing it to act like a short sensor mast.