Narayanastra

## Tactical Analysis

* **A million to one:** A German machine gun on the shoulders of a sepoy, the Narayanastra is able to move fast across the battlefield and lay down a withering hail of fire on the enemy.

* **I'll cover you:** Thanks to the fact that it's a machine gun, the narayanastra can put down such a heavy amount of fire when deployed that other infantry nearby feel safe enough to actually aim when nearby.

* **But you're supposed to submit:** The downside to the narayanastra is that it's just a machine gun carried by two men. Heavy infantry, battlesuits, and vehicles will be able to weather the storm and eliminate the crew.

* **Surplus no more:** Eventually, the most experienced crews are supplied with M60 LMGs. Instead of carrying on machine gun with a rapid rate of fire, the two men now carry a pair of machine guns twice the rate of fire and coverage as before.

## Background

"*Clone platoon, 400 meters!*"

"*What? What the hell is a crone pontoon!?*"

- Typical conversation between narayanastra gunners.
The Commonwealth's many military specialties require specialized MOS to accommodate them all. This is the lot of the field infantry, over a dozen new missions within the Frontier Corps meant to support their fellow infantry. Primarily operating crew-served weapons, these soldiers are able to give the sepoys a sense of security on the field. The most basic of these crews are the men and women who are known as the "Narayanastra".

The basic idea is simple; carrying a heavy machine gun across the battlefield to support any infantry advance. Only the Commonwealth decided that heavy bipods and tripods took too long to set up. Instead, the crews of the narayanastra would carry the German-made machine gun by hand, bracing themselves when they needed to fire. Add a little padding on the shoulder and some ear protection for the person on the far end of the barrel, and the Frontier Corps essentially called it a day and broke for lunch.

Many called the idea idiotic at best, saying that such a tempting target for enemy snipers or opposing crew weapons would be easily eliminated. In the Imperial invasion of India, the heavily mechanized forces of the Empire were difficult to suppress even when not hyped up on their infamous Banzai charges. But on the jade fields of China where clone legions have to march on foot, the crews of the narayanastra are succeeding beyond even their own wildest dreams. The reality of the Kingdom's wave assaults on Indian positions makes the narayanastra a vital part of any commander's strategy. Though it was noted that while they put out a tremendous hail of fire, relatively few of their rounds actually connected with any enemy. Studying this, it was found that the infantry near the narayanastra crews felt so comfortable in the covering fire provided that they would line up each shot with a calm eye and make sure to hit the target. Delighted that their training wasn't a total waste of time, deployment of narayanastra crews has almost skyrocketed.

The crews themselves realize just how ridiculous it is to carry a machine gun around in such a way, so the two usually swap positions between each engagement, as well as the sides they carry the gun on. At least that way they can be burned and deaf on both sides instead of just one. To alleviate this (somewhat), the Frontier Corps takes any M60 machine guns that the regional Peacekeepers "aren't using", and distribute them to their most experienced narayanastra crews. The crews then typically drop their obsolete beasts, grab their ammo belts, and join the construction business; they specialize in building walls of lead.