M2 Mobile Mass Driver

The , more commonly known as the Ox, was a series of specialised flatbed truck built by JOTUN Heavy Industries. A mobile version of its which did not require an external source of power to use, the Ox carried two miniaturised mass drivers linked directly to a dedicated fusion reaction, the smallest of its kind at the time. Impressively, the Ox was capable of firing a standard seventy-centimetre long package up to an initial speed of 47,422 kilometres per hour (29,466 miles per hour) - fast enough to escape the gravitation pull of all but the largest colonies. This speed is capable of being of being adjusted by a sophisticated computer, reducing the package's speed in space based on calculations on the planet's gravity, and able to even link the two coilguns together to launch even larger projectiles. Finally, to absorb any recoil the package would generate, the Ox could absorb the energy through its sheer weight and foldout stabilisers.
Unfortunately, the Ox was unsuccessful, with very few models being produced. Because of its size and weight, the Ox was slow and hard to turn, so was only able to maintain a steady speed of thirty kilometres per hour. On top of that, the Ox was notoriously fuel-inefficient and expensive to maintain - its eight-cylinder engines depleted a minimum of forty litres from its 150-litre pressurised tank within a 100km journey, while its heat-protected projectiles could cost tens of thousands each. Finally, a single Ox equipped with a mass driver would cost almost fifteen million credits. This entry price restricted its purchase only to highly profitable government organisations on frontier colonies and mining corporations, both of whom purchased sizable numbers of these vehicles but no where near enough to continue the line. The last Ox would be assembled in 2482, only five years into its production.
After 2490, most Oxen would be sold on at a fraction of their cost after JOTUN cut support for them, with their new owners hiring them out across the colonies, or selling them off to be scrapped. Unfortunately, the recent spread of throughout human space would lead to the Ox being militarised and turned into crudely-armoured artillery capable of shooting down UNSC frigates or instantly obliterating garrisons. For this reason, Oxen were considered a priority target for the UNSC peacekeeping forces, and as such they were rarely, if ever, seen during the first two decades of the war. In fact, it wasn't until the Gaelic System attempted to cede from the UEG that they were used in large enough numbers to threaten a UNSC invasion force.
Category:Insurrection
Category:Gaelic Saga