Colossus

**Key Features** | »» Gladius Multiple Missile Launch System»» Semi-armored cabin»» Fully-tracked chassis»» Advanced command and control communications suite»» Turquoise urban camouflage

*"It has been said that the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I say that the best weapon is one you only have to fire* once*."*

- The Colossus' designer.
## Tactical Analysis

* **Steel Rain**: The Colossus is the world’s best mobile artillery when it comes to kill infantry. The long range Gladius missiles it fires release hundreds of flechettes capable of instantly killing most infantry. Vehicles are only lightly damaged but their crews are also slain, leaving them free for the taking.

* **Shower of shrapnel:** If enemies get to close, the Colossus can switch to detonating its missiles early, showering a much larger area at the cost of reducing its damage and losing its ability to depilot vehicles.

* **Just a light drizzle**: While deadly against troops, the Colossus’s missiles are infective against buildings and defenses. The Colossus also has both a large minimum radius a very small line of sight, requiring spotters to make the best of its long range.

* **The oncoming storm**: Knowing that their vehicle isn't meant for the frontlines, and wanting an incentive to make sure their contractor doesn't put them there, Colossus drivers are known to buy a fire control AURA for their vehicle, if they have the money for it, that improves the range and rate of fire for their allies at a long distance.

## Operational History

Shortly after the war began, several lesser countries all around the world sided with a superpower block and began senseless hostilities over longstanding disputes. These underdeveloped nations threw tens of thousands of militiamen and conscripts at one another for the sake of national pride.

Within days millions were killed all over the world in genocidal waves of madness. The majority of these crimes against humanity were located in savannas of Africa where children as young as the age of seven were recruited into child militias to fight for whatever cause managed to reach them first. Both the Allies and Soviet Union found these actions utterly horrific, but failed to take any effective action (on account of the two superpowers at each other's throats).

By the third week of open war, both the Allied African Command and Union Of African Socialist Republics removed all of their resources from Central Africa in the hope that they (the people of Africa) could settle the disputes amongst themselves. What resulted was the greatest humanitarian crises in the history of humanity, as the young corrupt governments collapsed overnight, and the entire Sub-Saharan Region fell into anarchy.

The worst of these events occurred in the Republic of Congo and neighboring Sudan, which had collapsed into civil war within hours after the initial invasion of Poland. Millions of families tried to flee the violence into bordering country's, but were stopped by the Allied Security Detachments at the Angola, Zambia, and Tanzania check points. The Riot Guards and Peacekeepers were ordered to prevent the further destabilization of Africa by securing the borders and preventing the spread of violence. To this end they deployed thousands of kilometers of barbed wire that prevented the refugees from reaching safety.

By the time withdrawal of multinational forces in the conflict zones had been completed, millions of people had gathered in makeshift refugee camps in which hundreds of people lived in a house at a time. The Syndicate took notice and immediately began the world's first privatized armed intervention, using its own armies of mercenaries and makeshift militias of Auxiliaries to take back much of the region.

Within a week over a third of Congo had been "stabilized" and the Syndicate had began to solidify their gains. The first Sprawl was established at the largest refugee camp Boma, and the first true administrative headquarters was completed in the second month of the war. The newly formed Puma Transportation Corporation was entitled with the development of a long range area of effect artillery to clear entire square kilometers of hostiles.

The result was the Colossus Multiple Missile Launch System. Armed with a pair of massive Gladius missiles, the Colossus is an effective artillery piece whose slow-moving missiles are uniquely deadly. Just before impact, the Gladius splits apart into hundreds of tiny monomolecular flechettes which slide through steel and flesh with no resistance. Lethal to infantry, they do much less damage to vehicles, but will slay the crew, allowing the vehicle to be taken over by infantry units. In a pinch the weapons operator can detonate the missiles early, which penetrates armor less effectively, but does it over a wide area. Infantry, who rarely have armour of any thickness, are devastated. Despite its power the vehicle has many drawbacks; slow speed, a downright massive minimum range, and an a lack of radar, requiring the support of spotters to use its long range.

The initial effects on the front lines were astounding as the Colossus would essentially wipe out entire factional armies within minutes. The so called "razor rain" would kill entire crews of Technicals, leaving them free for friendly forces to capture. The final remaining stronghold of opposition to the Syndicate was the nation of Eritrea that was controlled by the Global Liberation Army.

The battle ended in nine hours as the PMCs would simply use the range of the Colossus to bombard the entire nation. Naturally the impact on the local population was excessive, as half the entire population of Eritea suffered near total collateral damage. Only the centres of the former Italian colonial administration such as Assab were spared. Today the Colossus is the national symbol of many of the liberated nations of Central Africa, and stands ready to defend the world from the horrors of war.