Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Master Crawler

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The Master Crawler is the primary mobile base of the Grey Steel Order. This unit is planned to be voiced by.

History
"His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron."

-Job 40:18

When Aperta Scriptum presented his sketches to the leaders of the Order, the largest discussions were, fittingly, about the largest design, a moving castle capable of supporting an entire army, wielding on its hull enough firepower to fight with any army and armor plating that was that thick it was presumed that if the apocalypse ever occurred, these castles would be the only things that would survive it intact. After Aperta Scriptum persuaded the high officials to support his proposal, he and many Forgemasters and craftsmen moved to Gilneas, where they founded the Aperta Scriptum Holy Forges, from which the creation of all the walkers seen in the Order's service began.

Aperta Scriptum's original idea was to have three "classes" of Crawler, each suited for a unique purpose. "Offense" Crawlers would carry and construct battle locomotives and combat walkers straight into battle on giant legs, supporting them with their own weapons. Enormous wood and steel wheels would carry "Defence" Crawlers loaded with men, artillery, and prefabricated structures, ready to take and hold ground. Most audacious of all were the "Support" Crawlers, giant steam-filled airships that would loom over the battlefield. These behemoth airships could actually land on the ground to release support vehicles to assist front-line forces.

Following intense debate within the Order, Aperta Scriptum's original idea would give way to a single, immense Master Crawler. Aperta Scriptum wanted to put the Master Crawler on legs like those of the "Offense" Crawler, but during the thirty years of long production, it was proved that even the most massive legs could not carry that heavy and monstrous chassis. This did not stop production, and the legs were removed and made into the gates to the Holy Forges. Eventually, it was decided to use continuous tracks in lieu of the legs, thus solving the problem of movement. The Holy Forges forged the tracks for the Crawler, ultimately making them the biggest tracks ever made. Finally, in 1917 V.C., the Master Crawler Michael, named after the archangel, was completed. It is said that Aperta Scriptum, now an old man, relying on clockwork mechanisms to walk on his own, laid his hand on his greatest creation and said, "At last, it is complete," before collapsing on the spot, dead.

The Grey Steel Order military personnel can be divided into two categories: those who like serving in Crawlers, and everybody else. Of course, everyone has their reasons. Most of the time, of course, no one actually lives on board a Master Crawler; typically, the massive machines are kept stored away in the Orders secret bases, kept in operational condition by Order Craftsmen.

A good portion of a Master Crawler's space is given over to weapons, equipment, vehicle parts, food, water, fuel, and all the other logistics needed to support a military force, with hundreds of tonnes of food, equipment, and other supplies carried in the Crawler's holds. Other portions are given over to the machinery of the Crawler itself; the huge steam boilers that keep the Crawler moving, the analytical engines that perform calculations, not to mention all sorts of other components.

Theoretically, a Master Crawler could sustain up to a maximum of three hundred personnel with enough food and water to last three months, though the living conditions would be extremely cramped; with fewer people, the conditions would be more comfortable, and more equipment can be carried, since fewer food supplies are needed.

For those onboard a Crawler with a full complement of personnel, there would be little to no privacy, and one must share the relatively small dorms with up to five other people; everyone is treated the same where it comes to living quarters, regardless of seniority or position in the Order. Only the commander is accorded the luxury of their own private chamber, for security reasons more than anything else, and even then the accommodations accorded are far from luxurious. Boredom can be a problem for soldiers aboard a Master Crawler, since there is so little for them to do, though the Order does try to provide some niceties to compensate. As a result, most spend good portions of their time maintaining their equipment and brushing up their skills.

On the plus side, Master Crawlers typically deploy with far less personnel than the maximum, which makes the living conditions far more bearable; the food is decent and the portions ample, for the Order does not wish for its soldiers to starve, and one can expect hot water and warm beds thanks to a system of pipes that run throughout the Crawler.

In battle, the Crawler itself is less crowded, with people fighting or otherwise attending to other tasks, though it is typically a beehive of activity. Craftsmen assemble vehicles from parts broken down for transport, soldiers ready their weapons and equipment, and everywhere people are rushing to and fro, performing one task or another.

But all those little moments and nuances disappear from a Footman's mind as soon as they don their armor, jump into their track, and join the fight for the Eternal Crusade.