Snow Cruiser

Snow Cruisers were large amphibious warships (in the literal sense) designed specifically to cross the impassible frozen wasteland of the Crystal Sea. They represented the bleeding edge of Ragnite technology, being equipped with a high-output reactor of classified design, and propelled themselves using a combination of auger drive and two sets of enormous chainsaw-like treads at the front of the vehicle.
They were developed in secret by the Edinburgh Navy, with technological support from the United States of Vinland. Three such vessels, Comet, Centurion and Cavalier, were available at the time of Operation Cygnus, and all three participated in the operation to some degree. They were collectively referred to as the Cygnus Fleet.
== Profile ==
A battleship developed in secret by the Edinburgh navy, with help from the USV. Three ships were built, named the Comet, the Cavalier and the Centurion. A giant ram on the front breaks through the ice, and a long hull grants passage over glacial crevasses. The deck can slide back to create a bridge for deploying both infantry and tanks onto the coast or higher ground.Part tank, part boat, the power source used to provide the massive amounts of energy needed is classified information.
== Description ==
The snow cruisers were large but relatively lightly armed vessels, functioning primarily as transport and support vessels for their compliment of infantry and tanks. To this end their only armament was four "Amp Cannons," special weapons designed to increase the effective range of tanks.
Their support features were comprehensive and clearly anticipated complications with Operation Cygnus: they could provide repair and medical support for their troops as well as radar support, and featured a large service bay for vehicle maintenance. Centurion even carried a series of one-man military balloons to allow her troops to perform airborne insertions if need be.
Each ship had two power plants: the main reactor, and a standard Ragnite combustion backup engine which could provide about one-third as much power.
The vessels were not designed to resist a prolonged direct attack and seemingly were only lightly armored, being vulnerable to parabombs and easily crippled if stripped of their infantry protection. Their large internal spaces also meant that their ability to float on water was easily compromised.
All three Snow Cruisers bore the motto "It will be done" on both sides of the frontal hull.
== Crew ==
The actual number of crew on each of the Snow Cruisers is not given, but based on what is seen of Centurion seems to number perhaps several dozen Navy sailors per ship, a complement of marines, plus the embarked Army troops. Only members of the Centurion's crew are named during Valkyria Chronicles 4. Four positions on the bridge are known: the Captain (Captain Roland Morgen on the Centurion), Chief Navigator (Lieutenant Junior Grade Brian Haddock) who is also second in command, Communications Officer (Petty Officer Second Class Marie Bennett), and the Radar Operator (Louffe, oddly not a Navy officer at all, instead being a Marine Corps Sergeant).
Outside of the bridge crew the only other known positions are the commander of the ship's embarked troops, who is privy to discussions on the bridge and assumes the rank of Army Captain, the Chief Engineer (Lieutenant André Dunois on the Centurion) and the Ship's Surgeon (Lieutenant Sergio Mousquelaire).
== Reactor ==
While it was initially described as an advanced but conventional Ragnite compression system of a type developed by Albert Miller and perfected by his daughter Riley, in truth the reactor design for the Snow Cruisers, referred to as a "Ragnite Implosion Turbine," was something else altogether: the Ragnite fuel was exposed to the body of a Valkyria child to energize it, creating a power output that would be impossible with any normal powerplant. Each of the Snow Cruisers had a young Valkyria girl on board, modified with a spinal interface for the reactor. These girls were effectively asleep while connected to the reactor, but seemingly also aware of what was going on around them, seeing it in their dreams.
Only the identity of the Centurion's assigned Valkryia is known: this was Angelica Farnaby, codenamed "A2." On paper she and the other two Valkyria were "civilian contractors," while Angelica saw herself as a volunteer. Comments by several of Centurion's bridge crew, including Captain Morgan himself, implied this was indeed the case, as the reactor could not function if the Valkyria did not enter it willingly.
The nature of the reactor was considered of utmost secrecy, with only the senior crew being privy to it: even Centurion's chief engineer, Andre Dunois, was not allowed to enter the "forbidden area" surrounding the reactor assembly. When Riley Miller asked about the consequences of entering the forbidden area, Andre made it clear that it would be the kind of court martial that ended with a firing squad.
In her Squad Story, it is revealed that Azusa Tsukikage was a spy sent by her Far-Eastern home country to discover the secrets of the new reactor design. She has a crisis of conscience and after a mission with Norid Saarinen and Scott Aldiss, elects not to report the information back to her clan.
Category:Vehicles
Category:Ships
Category:Weapons
Category:Equipment
Category:Units