Republic Assault Shuttle

The Republic developed the best delivery vehicle possible for their highly trained knights and legionairres. It is known as the assault shuttle. Assault shuttles are heavily armed transports and ground support craft. Each can carry up to thirty armoured knights, or fifty skirmishers. They are deployed from orbital assault carriers, usually accompanied by heavy bombardment. They are nimble enough to evade the fire of the massive planetary batteries that are the bane of larger craft.

Hurtling through the atmosphere at over fifteen times the speed of sound, nose down and hull aflame, the pilot must avoid fire from ground batteries and aircraft. Two underslung magnetic cannon and hull mounted missile pods are used to smash targets of threat or opportunity, as well as to supress defenders. Four smaller, rapid-firing particle cannon provide a means against faster target like swirtchsleds. The craft's thick armour protects it from all but the heaviest rounds. Nonetheless they are almost aways accompanied by switchsleds for protection against enemy aircraft.

A mere two kilometres from the ground, the retro-burners in the crafts wings swivel to face the ground. In conjunction with a third engine behind the chin block, they apply a massive amount of thrust to counteract the crafts tremendous descent speed, and force it into a horizontal facing. Descent stops as low as half a kilometre above ground. During the braking stage the shuttle is vulnerable, as losing an engine will cause it to plummet into the ground.

When the shuttle brakes, the infantry deploy via grav chute from hatches on the top surface, and weave their way to the ground. Still firing its retro-burners, the shuttle levels out and assumes a horizontal trajectory. It can then strafe ground targets with its extensive firepower, or if more troops are needed, it will peel off some distance and ascend to the carrier.

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