Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Tsunami Tank

"The Tsunami rises!"

-...

The Tsunami Tank is the primary Asur tank of the Katsuragi Protectorate, replacing the SDF standard Type 74 MBT for the Asur Command subfaction. Set to be voiced by.

History
When the Voshkod Army first faced the armoured divisions of the Katsuragi Protectorate in the Southern Continent of 2002 V.C., rumors quickly spread of strange, gleaming, amphibious tanks that were invulnerable to enemy fire, a feature that don't existed on the KPSDF's Type 74 MBTs, Voshkod's rival to Hammer and Rhino at the time. Some even believed that this invulnerability came from the Protectorate-emblazoned banners mounted on the rear tread assemblies, and there were stories of brave but misguided conscripts managing to actually get within arm's length of the banners before being ruthlessly slaughtered.

As the war raged on, it became clear that Tsunami Tanks were protected not by any supernatural powers but rather by an innovative new armour system. The highly trained Tsunami crews are adept at using this shield technology in both offensive and defensive encounters. By diverting nanomachines from operation of the main gun, the Tsunami is capable of producing an impact shield that manifests as a cloud of nanomachines surrounding the hull of the unit.

When even a moderate-intensity energy field is applied to the nano-relays, an energy web forms, which can effectively lessen the impact of ballistics on the hull of the Tsunami. The downside, of course, is that the field takes both power and nanite resources required to operate the main cannon, rendering the tank unable to fire while the field was activated. In addition, the powerful energy field degrades the nano-relays over time, limiting the protection to short bursts to avoid complete collapse of the Kagami system.

While not invulnerable as once thought, the Tsunami is still a potent weapon, albeit utilized by the Asurs, as the Humans prefer the SDF standard Type 74 MBT. More than just a typical amphibious vehicle, which stay waterborne only long enough to get to dry land, Tsunami are as capable on water as they are on land, often escorting ships and assaulting naval targets. The extent to which the Protectorate military views them as naval vehicles is aptly demonstrated by the lines of Tsunami tanks often seen emerging from the Protectorate Naval Yards and deploying directly into naval combat. Like their namesake, they are also able to wash ashore and leave a trail of destruction far inland.

All of this technology and versatility come at a price. The Tsunami is the lightest medium tank in any inventory and has difficulty standing against other tanks tanks in a toe-to-toe fight unlike the SDF standard Type 74. This fact, and the complexity of the Tsunami's other features, make it a difficult weapon to master - to meet its demands crews go through a rigorous training regimen modeled on traditional Katsuragi warrior training. Putative tank pilots spend long hours in isolated training facilities studying tactics and weapon systems. In direct contrast to most training doctrines, Tsunami crews, mostly Asurs, also study philosophy, poetry, and traditional calligraphy, dedicating themselves to an almost monastic life of warfare and scholarship.

The arduous, continuous training and isolationist culture of the Tsunami crews builds a strong esprit de corps among crews and members of this elite force seldom leave of their own choosing. There are even unconfirmed reports of Tsunami crew members committing seppuku rather than being transferred to another branch of the Protectorate military. Whether these reports are true is unknown. What is known is that the Tsunami tanks and their crews form the very backbone of the Asur' war machine.

But a reorganization of the Protectorate military sees a shift in the Tsunami service. In particular, their performance against Voshkod tank divisions have been carefully studied, leading to the harsh conclusion that the Tsunami simply lacks the hitting power and armor thickness necessary to stand toe-to-toe with the Kodiak tank and later the T-14 Armata. Their ten-centimeter guns were simply not potent enough to be of practical use against the Kodiak, modernized Qilin or the new T-14 Armata, especially as in order to maintain the blistering rate of fire demanded for the Tsunami by designers, the Tsunami utilized a reduced velocity shell to avoid threatening the barrel with destruction in extended slugfests. This was born out of a belief that the sheer weight of fire would allow for weak points on tanks to be acquired and hammered as quickly as possible, rather than be caught flat-footed after a miss. But this more often lead to enemy tanks taking apart Tsunamis from beyond the range at which they could effectively retaliate; their shells glancing off of the thick hulls of Kodiaks while 125mm rounds went clean through the Tsunami and fared only somewhat better against Qilins.

This report brought great shame to the prideful Tsunami divisions, and the resultant morale problems threatened to sink the divisions. Rather than attempt to salvage the Tsunami for an anti-tank role, new HE shells were issued specifically designed to destroy structures, and Tsunami were paired with detachments of the new Asur Jishin Buster Tanks and SDF standard Type 10 Hitomarus, with instructions to drive past enemy tank divisions with their Kagami armor activated, then either cut off the enemy's retreat by a pincer move or destroy their infrastructure.

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * Crusader (Aquila)
 * Coyote
 * Laser Crusader
 * Grizzly Tank (Alliance)
 * Cavalier Tank
 * Liberty Tank
 * M1 Predator (ADI)
 * Type 74 MBT (Protectorate)
 * Tsunami Tank
 * Leopard 3 (Andora)
 * Guardian Tank
 * Panther
 * Battlemaster Tank (Empire)
 * Nuclearmaster
 * Cadillac Stingray (Community)
 * Bushmaster Tank (Wolf Clan)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * Kodiak Tank (Voshkod)
 * T-64 Rhino
 * Ursa II Tank
 * Tick Tank (Brotherhood)
 * T-62
 * Type 59 (Horde)
 * Looted Lemia Russ Tank
 * T-72 "Scarab" (MLA)
 * Lasher Tank (Collective)
 * Opus Tank
 * T-55 (Encantadia)
 * Ch'onma-Ho (Hathoria)
 * M15/42 (Lireo)
 * Devourer Tank (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * Predator Destructor (Coalition)
 * Sicaran Tank (Heralds)
 * Cleric Track (Order)
 * M48 Patton "Mastiff" (Survivors)
 * Talos AFV (Syndicate)
 * BMPT Terminator (Conglomerate)
 * Lemia Russ Tank (Legion)

DLC

 * Bison (Federation)
 * Qilin Tank (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * AAT (Skynet)
 * Predator Walker (Dominion)
 * Sd. KS 78 "Isegrim" (Elemental)
 * 2-M (Autocracy)
 * 59-Patton (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * AAV-7 (Pirates)
 * PT-76
 * Rama Tank (Elona)
 * Lion of Babylon
 * KPz T-62 "Hammer (Ascalia)
 * TAM Tank (Confederation)
 * Oaxaca Tank
 * Tyrian Leopard 1
 * Strv 103B (Kingdom)
 * Strider (Goo)
 * M60 Sabra (Security)
 * Panzerwagen (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * T-44 (Warlords)
 * Abomination (Cult)
 * Bison Combat Tank (Raiders)
 * Mark V (Theocracy)
 * Panzer IV (Reiksgard)
 * MBT-52 Kuma (ASA)
 * T-55AMV (Insurgents)
 * OF-40 (Bastion)
 * Conqueror (Guardians)
 * Phase Tank (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * T-62M (Ecumene)
 * Centurion (Concordat)
 * Cromwell
 * Cantha-Panzer
 * ... (Contingent)
 * ... (Rangers)
 * ... (Eden)
 * ... (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * ... (Commnune)
 * T-55 (Encantadia)
 * AMX-13