Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Athena Cannon

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The Athena Cannon is the main long-range artillery vehicle of the Andoran Republic. Planned to be voiced by Kira Buckland.

Tactical analysis

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History
"Athena Cannon online, what is the nature of your emergency?"

-Athena Driver contacting friendlies

The exceedingly ambitious and costly effort that is the Athena Solar Power Satellite Network (Athena SatNet for short) started off as a seemingly far-fetched proposal for a clean energy generation system. The idea: to put a satellite in space, use it to collect solar energy from the sun, and beam it back to the Gaiaterra.

The concept would have had several advantages--unlike ground-based solar power, a space-based solar power system would have unobstructed access to the sun at all times and could receive a greater intensity of solar radiation, since, unlike ground-based solar power systems, that radiation would not be filtered out by an atmosphere. A network of such satellites, it was theorized, could provide a cheap, renewable, virtually inexhaustible supply of energy.

There were a number of kinks in the proposal, of course; to construct such a network would be an enormous undertaking, and the cost of the project would doubtless be astronomical. Various technical obstacles also stood in the project's way. Despite this, those who supported the project were able to get the Allies to accede to the launch of a test satellite, against heavy opposition.

The test satellite, dubbed Athena 1, was composed of three main components; several large photovoltaic panels, to collect the solar energy, a flywheel storage mechanism, to store the collected energy, and a laser "gun", to transmit the energy back to the surface.

In 2003 V.C., Athena 1 finally went online. Once the satellite had collected enough energy, the laser gun went online and fired a beam of solar energy towards a photovoltaic power plant. To the surprise of all the onlookers, the resultant beam of energy proved so intense that it melted the photovoltaic panels. The laser gun was too powerful.

The test ended in disaster, but in a strange twist of events, it would prove to be the project's salvation. The Andoran Forces, upon hearing what Athena 1 could do to a photovoltaic power plant, realized that it could do the same to a fortified military building or an armored tank. At the same time, with the increasing fear of the possibility of the Voshkod bombarding Allied cities from orbit, the Allies sought an equally spectacular weapon of their own, and the Athena project, surprisingly enough, seemed like what they had been looking for.

Before long, the Athena project was transferred to the Military. The initial scientists working on the project were moved to (insert) to work with the defense contractor Angstrom Defense, and given a large budget for them to continue improving the technologies in the project.

Though the Andoran Republic officially stated that the Athena Solar Power Satellite Network would still have the purpose of power generation, and while work continued on improving the solar energy collection plants to prevent a repeat of Athena 1, the main focus was now clearly on the military aspect of the project; just around this time, tensions with the Voshkod were rising, and the Andorans were looking for every weapon that was available. Research was poured into improving the laser gun's power output, and work was begun on a mobile ground-based targeting platform that would allow for precise targeting of the satellite's solar beam.

This platform would become the SATV-26S Athena Cannon Target Designator Vehicle, a name that would quickly be shortened to Athena Cannon. The launching of three hundred Athena satellites would be greenlighted in 2007 V.C., shortly before the Andoran Crisis broke out.

With the outbreak of hostilities, the Andorans pushed even harder for the Athena project to be completed. Satellites were launched at a breakneck pace, and eventually the first of many Athena Cannons rolled off the production lines, though not in time for the fall of (insert). The Athena would make its combat debut in 2008 V.C., destroying a Voshkod outpost in (insert). Before long, other Voshkod bases around the globe began to fall to the scorching heat of the Athena satellites' beams, though the civilian power generation aspect had to be put on hold, due to the war taking priority.

It was only after the war ended that the Athena SatNet could finally be put to its intended purpose, with the first of several dozen Solaris plants coming online in 2010 V.C., in the city of Midgar. With satellite launches set to continue at a steady pace, the Andorans hopes to have a full half of the network generating power by 2011, though with the recent growing tensions across the globe, whether they will reach that goal remains to be seen.

The operation of an Athena Cannon is a complex process, requiring the aid of a computer and extensive training to operate the system properly. First, the Athena Cannon operator designates the target. Then, a computer (weighing a mere 500 kg) inside the vehicle must plot firing solutions for the target, before transmitting the coded firing orders to the satellites in orbit. The system works well in spite of the technical hurdles, with most operators being able to relay the firing orders to the satellites in orbit and receive a response in less than a minute.

As well using the solar beam to vaporize targets, the Athena Cannon can also order the satellite to fire at the disk-shaped collector mounted on top. The disk collector opens up to absorb the concentrated solar energy. This energy is used to power the "Aegis" shield generator, an energy shield system that is impervious to enemy fire. The shield melts all incoming particles, but movement is unaffected. The Athena Cannon cannot move or shoot whilst the shield is active, and the shield shrinks over time and disappears when its power runs out. This process is sped up by enemy fire.

However, there is allied rivalry when they ask about comparing Athena Cannon to the Alliance of Hawke's Bishop and the Aquilan Federation Sirius, both of which fulfill the similar purpose of providing strikes from orbit.

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * Tomahawk/Sirius (Aquila)
 * Bishop (Alliance)
 * Sabretooth Missile Artillery (ADI)
 * Raiden MPRS (Protectorate)
 * Athena Cannon (Andora)
 * Nuke Cannon (Empire)
 * Hyunmoo (Community)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * V-3 Launcher (Voshkod)
 * V-4 Launcher (Gorizont Division)
 * SSM Launcher (Brotherhood)
 * Kondensator (Horde)
 * Luna (MLA)
 * Firestorm Artillery (Collective)
 * V-2 Launcher (Encantadia)
 * Devastator Warship (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * Glass Cannon (Coalition)
 * Forgefiend (Heralds)
 * Jericho Cannon (Order)
 * M55 "Husky" Artillery (Survivors)
 * Rawhide (Syndicate)
 * ... (Conglomerate)
 * Basilisk (Legion)

DLC

 * ... (Federation)
 * ... (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * ... (Skynet)
 * ... (Dominion)
 * ... (Elemental)
 * ... (Autocracy)
 * ... (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * ... (Pirates)
 * Iskander-K (Elona)
 * ... (Ascalia)
 * ... (Confederation)
 * ... (Kingdom)
 * ... (Goo)
 * ... (Security)
 * ... (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * ... (Warlords)
 * ... (Cult)
 * ... (Raiders)
 * ... (Theocracy)
 * ... (ASA)
 * ... (Insurgents)
 * ... (Bastion)
 * ... (Guardians)
 * ... (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * ... (Ecumene)
 * ... (Concordat)
 * ... (Contingent)
 * ... (Rangers)
 * ... (Eden)
 * ... (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * T92 HMC (Commune)