{LSOT> Loyal Sons of Tigris Information

[The_Godslayer]

Mobile Assault and Settler Vehicles:

On the surface of Jiangxi, The Loyal Sons of Tigris civilian groups, colloquially known as "Zealots" live nomadic lives in the heavily irradiated areas, salvaging the remains of military outposts destroyed in the siege of 817. Recovered loot is bartered with other civilian settlements, mostly New Hong Kong, for supplies to further their expeditions. Zealots don't have settlements, per se. Instead, due to the intense radioactive dust storms and "sand hurricanes" present in the nuclear zones, they live in family groups on convoys of large vehicles called Mobile Assault and Settler Vehicles, sometimes called "MassVs" or "Chariots". These convoys tend to consist of one massive Mobile Base Vehicle, one to two Dedicated Repair Vehicles, a Dedicated Supply Vehicle, and several Point Defense Vehicles.

Despite the sheer size of these vehicles, with the Supply Vehicles being roughly 8,400 cubic meters in volume and 10,600 tons in weight and the Base Vehicles being easily double that, several sets of powerful engines on each vehicle bring the speeds of these convoys in excess of 150km/hr. Most versions of all vehicles also come sporting treads instead of wheels, allowing for the rapid crossing of difficult terrain and a much larger weight dispersion that completely eliminates the threat of getting stuck in swampy and muddy zones.

One of the most impressive adaptations to this life is the vehicle docking bays on the Base Vehicles. With the deployment and retrieval of various scout and supply collection vehicles while on the move becoming an adopted tactic, or "hit and run scavenging", a necessity for efficiency of deployment arose. With vehicles in excess of 20,000 tons travelling at high speeds, brake systems become not just a mechanical part, but a high-demand commodity, and anything to reduce the cost of braking was considered a literal godsend. To this end, engineers from three of the most influential families convened at a ruins commonly used for inter-family meetings, a location jokingly called "The House of Wisdom" in irony of several events regarded as highly foolish, and crafted the High-Speed Vehicle Docking Bays.

The function of the docking bays is that a large section of hull is cut out from the central bottom rear of the Base Vehicle which smaller vehicles can drive into. A set of clamps from the side hold and then slightly lift the vehicle off the ground, at which point the vehicle is to engage it's brakes and stop the tires from moving. Then, a floor is cycled beneath the vehicle, and it is lifted through an airlock where it is purged of radioactive dust, and then lifted into the main docking bay itself. The reverse of the process is used to release vehicles from the docking bay.

These docking bays allow Zealot families to explore and loot locations while in motion, and to explore tangential points of interest without expending brake pads, brake fluid, or air compressor fuel. The fast moving convoys offer one of the only two signs of life that exist in the heavily irradiated, the other being the sonorous calls to prayer that blast from powerful loudspeakers on the Mobile Bases.

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I'll do something about my superiority complex when I cease to be superior.

"Whatever happened to catchin' a good old-fashioned passionate ass-whoopin and gettin' your shoes, coat, and your hat tooken?"