Forever Zero VIII


Orion
  • Type: Mass Production Artillery Mobile Suit

  • Designer: Doyle's Company (UAAF), with cleanup by the United Alliance

  • Manufacturer: Armatech Industries

  • Height: 14.5 meters

  • Weight: 92.9 tons

  • Armor Type: Titanium

  • Propulsion: Freedom Light Vernier

  • Power Plant: Nu Class Electrical Battery

  • Cockpit: Linear

  • Close Fighting Ability: 100 (70)

  • Weaponry Power: 160

  • Strength/Stamina: 110

  • Defense/Armor: 120

  • Speed/Maneuvering: 80 (100)

  • Total Stats: 570

    •      Core Stats (Hover Mode)

    Primary Equipment:

    Extended Range 180mm Beam Cannon x 2: Taken from a Demolisher, these beam cannons combine a tremendous punch with incredible range. While not entirely reliable in close quarters, these weapons are exceptional for fire support, or just knocking down a foe before he/she even realizes the Orion is around. Most mobile suits need to close a shorter distance between themselves and the Orion before they can even get in a shot. An extremely accurate targeting computer works in tandem with these weapons, affording pilots a sharpshooter's accuracy. The measurements refer to the size of the energy weapon's internal lens. These weapons can be ejected if they become too damaged or require repairs.

    Beam Spray Gun x 1: A light beam rifle that packs quite a punch. Though it is limited by its twelve-shot energy clip. If necessary, however, the weapon can be hooked into the mobile suit's electrical core through power cables in the arm, though these are very vulnerable.

    Heat Hawk x 1: A short titanium axe that has been covered in ablative coating, this weapon carries a powerful thermal charge when activated. Added to the sharpness already present in the blade, it makes the hawk rather potent for such a small weapon. When not in use, this weapon is latched to the outside of the Orion's rear skirt armor.

    Story:

    The Orion is important to the United Alliance Armed Forces both tactically and emotionally. It represents the military's first independent breakthrough in mobile suit design, created from a captured enemy unit and the bones of a reliable old UAAF weapon: the Demolisher. Originally a haphazard design deployed by the Alliance forces of Captain Niamh Doyle in the Gobi desert, the first Orions were created by merging the wreckage of an Aeshma Wing with parts from two derelict mobile walkers. At first, there were doubts over whether the machine would even move, let alone function. In simulator tests, its either overloaded itself after firing one salvo, or collapsed under its own weight. Yet, by some strange luck, the actual Orion "prototype" faired far better, inspiring technicians to make more.

    The latest Orions are factory-made, mass produced rather than modified, using facilities that originally rolled out Demolishers. These units have been retooled to avoid the many mechanical problems that showed up in the original field-bash. They have also been restyled, replacing the rough and chunky body of the original with a squat, yet smooth and streamline, form. Following the example of the United Alliance Armed Forces Soldati, the revamped Orion maintains a simple exterior accented by a single block-eye sensor in its head. Its hefty quad beam cannons have been replaced with two even longer range guns that deliver a greater punch per shot. 

    While slow for a mobile suit, these units are over twice as fast, and more nimble, than their mobile walker parent. For added versatility, a limited variable mode has been included in the design, allowing the legs to fold and lock into a hover mode. This makes the machine more mobile, especially over open ground, and can even carry it over shallow bodies of water. Tough armor and the capacity for close combat have also been thrown into the older formula, with the latter point saving the Orion from the close-range ineptitude that plagued the Demolisher.

    With only a few small factories remaining under their control, the UAAF is forced to stagger out its run of Orions. Those completed are smuggled to different Alliance resistance areas, where they are usually assigned to squadron or unit leaders. It is standard Alliance tactics to keep its top officers and tacticians off the battlefield, coordinating from a facility or ship from long range. However, since most units no longer have this luxury, they equip them with this machine and a command/communications suite, and hope that the long range capabilities will encourage them to stay out of harms way. Of course, not everyone always listens.

    Lineart colored by Paolo Zago

    Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

    1