Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Valkyrie Self-Propelled Gun

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The Valkyrie Self-Propelled Gun is the primary SPG or Howitzer of the Alliance of Hawke exclusively for Ironforge-Orlais Front, one of the subfactions. Planned to be voiced by.

History
"If you can't beat them up, shell them when they least expect it."

-Lennart Daléus, Allied artilleryman

When the race to the Southern Continent begins, several flaws were quickly exposed in the Alliance, as they faced off against the Destroyer and hostile Locals. One of the biggest problems was with the Eclipse howitzer. When it was first designed, the Eclipse was designed with the mechanization of armies in mind. To that end, it was designed to have more speed than the M55 Husky it replaced, and to have the ability to fire on the move.

Unfortunately for everyone, the Eclipse proved woefully inadequate when it finally saw action during the southern continent race in 2002 V.C. Though it could technically fire on the move, it was virtually impossible to accurately hit targets, which generally meant the Eclipse was forced to come to a full stop while firing unlike the Aquilan M109 Paladin or the Andoran Claymore. It was thinly armored to maximize mobility, but this only made it easier for the others to destroy it when they eventually caught up. Most damningly, range and firepower were severely lacking, especially when compared to Destroyer artillery pieces. After witnessing the performance of the Eclipse in several battles, the Alliance decided to commission a replacement.

Three contracts eventually went out; one to (insert) in (insert) to develop what would become the Zephyr, one to Renault Autowerks in France to develop what would become the Horizon used by Aselia Federation, and one to Torshammar Artilleri in Ironforge. The artillery piece that Torshammar eventually presented was the Valkyrie Self-Propelled Gun, which only the Ironforge-Orlais Front were very satisfied with upon seeing it in action, with the other three divisions considering it to cumbersome.

By any standards, the Valkyrie is a fairly conventional artillery piece. Though it still employs a similar 155mm howitzer to the Eclipse, it offers a much more stable firing platform, which allows for improved accuracy and range. It is also fairly cheap, allowing it to be deployed in bulk. Admittedly, it isn't much better armored than the Eclipse it replaces, and it has to deploy before firing, which leaves it vulnerable to counter-battery fire, but all in all the Valkyrie is a solid design, capable of supporting Alliance forces with deadly artillery bombardment over long ranges.