Background:
Developed by New Samarkand Metals, the basis for what would become the Tsukuyomi was ironically enough based upon an ancient Terran Alliance armored lunar rover jointly designed by several North American corporations - most from nations that had previously come to blows with the islands of Japan, which is home to the culture by which the modern Combine is based heavily upon. While only carrying a fraction of the the protection a modern tank could mount, it was vastly ahead of its time in using pressurized 'hydrox' cannisters to act as primitive RCS systems. In low gravity these could lift the rover in what effectively is viewed as modern jump tactics, something highly useful on planetary bodies lacking an atmosphere that might see one go from barren plains to sudden deep chasms or stark lighting contrasts that go from sunlight to utter darkness in moments, concealing obstacles in near blackout conditions until far too late to avoid hitting one. Unless that is, one could somehow lift themselves over them. Viewed as 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', the tank showed an incredibly long lifespan for that era in which many designs came and went after only a few decades of service. Instead, a constantly evolving series of incremental upgrades to these rovers allowed them to diligently serve for centuries with little fanfare, all the way through into the second decade of the Terran Hegemony's existence, and in fact many of the proto-states making up the systems surrounding the homeworld of mankind would make use of similiar designs to alternatively defend themselves or war upon their neighbors. However the design had effectively gone extinct by the 25th century even outside of the Hegemony, although a multitude of vacuum rated industrial/commerical 'buggies' still in production today show definitive signs of being descendants of that ancient design.
Skipping ahead to modern day, the aftermath of the Jihad left terrible scars across the width and length of the Draconis Combine. The disastrous nuclear bombing of LAW nearly crippled the very industrial heart of the DCMS, along with other subsequent actions throughout that time period. As a result, newly installed Coordinator Vincent Kurita ordered that multiple branch facilities - doubling as technology & component caches - were to be spread out among the Combine's many, many moons and asteroids. These could be buried deeply enough to survive orbital bombardments, while also vastly limiting the damages any nuclear strike could achieve due to their highly reduced effectiveness in a vacuum. However, these facilities needed at least some kind of mobile defenders as static facilities could, and would, be picked off at an attacker's leisure.
Enter the Tsukuyomi Exo-Atmo Battle Tank.
Working partially off plans for the ancient & rare Kanga and a few captured Hephaestus Jump Tanks, while also looking through various historical exo-atmospheric vehicles, New Samarkand Metals engineers stumbled on the old NorAm design. Quite surprised at how its primitive 'enhanced whipple shield' shell was a close match to modern armor thickness, they could rapidly up-armor it to modern specifications with little to no changes and the overall internal structure was almost absurdly reinforced with multiple redundancies to keep it's crew safe. In reality the original's 'armor' was more to provide radiation protection and withstanding micro-meteorite impacts. Its long dead designers still were in an age of where any cannon which could be carried in low-gravity on a tank could 'kill' another with a single shot, no matter the armor thickness of that day. Thus, never truly bothered to armor it at all. While the original carried a primitive and woefully underpowered fission reactor, an advanced fusion reactor was mounted on the new model which links to the three jump jets mounted. One is mounted under the prow in a fixed downward position, while the other two are in swiveling pods near the back for added control and steering during a jump. Reaction mass is based upon the same Hydrox system as the original, if however now being converted entirely into plasma. This results in well over a full magnitude increase of the original's lifting thrust. Fully independent suspension for each of the ten outsized roadwheels - based upon tried and true airless combat tires - is capable of lifting or lowering the chassis by as much as 0.85 meters, a necessity to absorb landing shocks after jumping. Not coincidentally this is also highly useful for concealing the tank below cover, only to raise up in order to take a shot. While initially intended for low-gravity jumps only, designers went the extra kilometer in ensuring that even on planets with near-Terran gravity, the Tsukuyomi would be able to lift it's 80 ton mass off the ground. While not nearly as impressive as it is capable of on a 0.16g moon, the fact it can still leap over 90 meters in standard gravity and perform a soft-landing is still an incredibly impressive work of engineering. The fact that one of the few publicly known engagements a Tsukuyomi was in, resulted in a successful tank vs 'Mech 'Death From Above' attack that imploded a Federated Suns BJ-2 Blackjack and driving away from its now headless hulk moments before the 'Mech's compromised ammunition stores cooked off? So much the better for it's reputation, after New Samarkand Metals immediately added BattleROM recordings of the event as part of its merchandising campaign.
In the term of armaments however, the original was so woefully outdated as to see its turret arrangement completely thrown out. NSM's engineering staff also took full advantage of the enlarged chassis to further increase the size of the turret which is actually designed around an 'A' shaped frame to keep the internals of the vehicle pressurized. This complicated construction as the turret needs to be lowered into place first, and only then does the upper armored shell be lowered into place to be sealed shut. Beyond these isssues, the Tsukuyomi carries a long barreled Grizzard Model 200 with a co-axial variable speed pulse laser. Where New Samarkand Metals manufactured or received these advanced lasers is unknown, as are their model types. In any case, the shared mounting bracket for them can angle back to allow for nearly 80 degrees of elevation, and makes for a superb anti-aerospace gunnery platform, a near requirement for units defending lunar or asteroid based facilities. A smaller sub-turret located at the back of the teardop shaped main turret houses an an independently tracking anti-missile system.
One unfortunate downside though to the Tsukuyomi is that constant exposure to the usual assortment of lunar regolith dust, large quantities of which are ferrous, can prove disastrous for the Gauss Rifle if not adequately maintained. Build-up of this dust due to being attracted to the electromagnetic coils can cause a misfire in the coils that would cause the loaded round to tumble inside the barrel and/or potentially a massive detonation from a cascading power feedback into the capacitor bank. This is normally dealt with via covering the end of the muzzle with a cheap & thin blow-through plastic diaphram, which reseals after an outgoing shot passes through. However intense combat, or taking a hit to the rifle, tends to knock this loose, resulting inevitably with dust entering the barrel. Several potential alternatively sourced Gauss Rifles avoid this, but New Samarkand Metals wanted to use their in-house design to lower on costs. Another reason was that the Grizzard Model 200's coils have outstanding longevity when exposed to an open vacuum and solar radiation, compared to competitor designs, which was the deciding factor in chosing them as the main armament for the Tsukuyomi.
Variants:
While not an omni-vehicle by any stretch, the Tsukuyomi were designed from the start around the idea that they might end up being totally isolated and potentially cut off from parts supplies. As such, alternative 'Retrotech' armament loadouts were developed that could be quickly installed in the place of the current loadout the tank carries. In fact, there are numerous racks/railings around the turret rim along with concealed plug-in ports to accomodate these alternatives. Dropping back to a classic standard laser or earlier pulse lasers would allow for mounting of numerous cheap one-shot rocket packs or several externally mounted machineguns. The mounting for the Gauss rifle was specifically engineered to also accept a classic or Ultra version of AC/10, although space within the turret prevents the possibility of mounting a LB-X style cannon due to lacking room for a secondary ammunition feed.
Another key feature that is rarely appreciated until desperately needed, is that the Tsukuyomi comes with a reinforced trailer hitch attachment. While this can, and is, used to regularly move around small 'turret' trailers, there is another purpose. Disengaging the drive train allows another vehicle to pull it around, which can be extremely useful if the turret is lost but the overall chassis is still intact. Another is that many defensive strongpoints attach pull cables to Tsukuyomi, where-in the tanks drive into into their hulldown positions, putting the drive into neutral, aiming/firing, and then let the pull cables 'reel em in' back into cover far faster than they can reverse on their own.
Design Quirks:
Anti-Aircraft Targeting
Ammunition Feed Problem (Gauss Rifle)
Tsukuyomi Battle Tank Tank
Mass: 80 tons
Movement Type: Wheeled
Power Plant: 300 XL
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph
Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph
Jump Jets: Vehicular Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 90 meters
Armor: Heavy Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
1 Large VSP Laser
1 Gauss Rifle
1 Anti-Missile System
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communication System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
Introduction Year: 3145
Tech Rating/Availability: E/X-X-X-E
Cost: 13,579,125 C-bills
Type: Tsukuyomi Battle Tank
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Experimental)
Movement Type: Wheeled
Tonnage: 80
Battle Value: 1,472
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure 8
Engine 300 XL 14.5
Cruising MP: 4
Flank MP: 6
Jumping MP: 3
Heat Sinks: 10 0
Control Equipment: 4.0
Power Amplifier: 0.0
Turret: 2.5
Armor Factor (Heavy Ferro) 198 10
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Front 8 50
R/L Side 8/8 39/39
Rear 8 30
Turret 8 40
Weapons
and Ammo Location Tonnage
Trailer Hitch Rear 0.0
Combat Vehicle Chassis Mod Body 8.0
CASE Body 0.5
Anti-Missile System Ammo (12) Body 1.0
3 Jump Jet Body 3.0
Liquid Storage (1 ton) Body 1.0
Gauss Rifle Ammo (24) Body 3.0
Gauss Rifle Turret 15.0
Anti-Missile System Turret 0.5
Large VSP Laser Turret 9.0
Design Quirks:
Anti-Aircraft Targeting
Ammunition Feed Problem (Gauss Rifle)
