Behemoth
Behemoth is a term invented by the Interstellar Federation that is used to describe a massive combat vehicle fielded by a nation's military force. Initially behemoth was used to describe an early class of quadrupedal Interstellar combat walker that was far exceeding in size in comparison to standard ground vehicles. Behemoths are the largest and most powerful surface vehicles to be operated by a nation's military and represent the pinnacle of a nation's military engineering might. Behemoths are only called upon for the most dire or critical of missions as their mere presence signifies overwhelming firepower that would bring most worlds to their knees upon first sight. These gargantuan war machines can decimate an entire world single-handedly and it is near impossible to bring one down without a massive array of firepower to counter it. It is often said "Behemoths require nothing but a similar force in return to face even a fair challenge." Common methods of bringing down behemoths include massed powerful artillery and missile weaponry, countering with another Behemoth and long lasting orbital bombardment strikes which could take hours or days to fully breach the defences of one.
Behemoths by nation
Interstellar Federation
The Interstellar Federation were the first to develop the concept of Behemoths in the early 25th century for the purpose in aiding in planetary assaults on heavily fortified worlds and providing massive amounts of unending fire support for ground forces. Since then, behemoths developed by the Federation have evolved into a variety of classes and types to take on various threats. Federation behemoths rely mostly on long range firepower and good defences at the cost of speed compared to other nations.
Strife-class behemoth
The Strife-class behemoth, commonly referred to as "Purgers" are the smallest class of behemoth in service with the Federation and are the oldest design still in service. The Strife-class is a bipedal walker that relies on greater speeds than its brethren to rapidly lead a assault head first and perform flanking or scouting tasks. Strifes are the one of the few behemoth classes in Federation service which rely on close range combat. To accomplish this, the Strife-class is equipped with a variable weapons load that commonly include high calibre antimatter rotary cannons that can easily shower a whole area with deadly explosive rounds and assault cannons that lob large spheroids of plasma at an enemy target, reducing them to embers within seconds upon impact. Other armaments include retractable plasma blades stored in its two "arms" for engaging other walkers at close range and a nose mounted missile pod for rapid engagement of unarmoured targets.
The Strife class, being the smallest is far outclassed in terms of protection compared to other behemoths. Its barrier shielding is only strong enough to resist a few blows from the weapons of other behemoths and its armour plating is rather lackluster compared to other behemoths. This is made up for by the incredible speeds the Strife can achieve. They are easily able to outmanoeuvre the lumbering assault walkers of the rear lines and smash straight through the enemy ranks, causing mass chaos and confusion. The Strife was one of the first bipedal designs for a behemoth and was first conceptualised in 2598 by Kyltaryes Military Technology, being first produced in the following decade. Nearly ten million of these rapid combat walkers have been manufactured and it is expected for them to remain in service for up to the 36th century.
Devastator-class behemoth
The Devastator-class behemoth is one of the most common and powerful classes of behemoth in service with the Interstellar Armed Forces. The Devastator-class behemoth is a quadrupedal assault walker built around a powerful long range plasma lance capable of discharging a constant beam of superheated plasma. This weapon is extremely devastating against any kind of vehicle, fortification or even space vessel. In addition, the Devastator-class is equipped with a top mounted rapid fire multirole railgun adapted from a broadside gun from a dreadnought. This weapon is used for a variety of roles from engaging aircraft to providing secondary fire support. The behemoth is one of the most well protected behemoth classes in the Federation and features a rapid regenerating energy shield system capable of sustaining extensive levels of damage the likes of which are attributable to the broadside fire of a capital warship. In addition, heavy armour plating is also present in case the energy shields fail. The Devastator-class's main purpose is to assault heavy fortifications and provide long range artillery support.
This class was first designed by Rusino Heavy Industries in 2982 to meet the requirements of a tender issued by the Interstellar Army for a heavy assault platform. Since its development, over five hundred thousand Devastators have been manufactured in the primary fabrication facilities of Rusino. The behemoth has underwent many upgrades since its inception with the most notable of being the installation of several hull mounted ballistic missile launchers that can fire a variety of missiles including nuclear payloads.
Colossus-class behemoth
The Colossus-class behemoth is the most heavily armed and armoured behemoth in Federation service. One of the most recently developed behemoths, the Colossus-class is easily the largest behemoth ever constructed by the Federation, reigning in at over five hundred meters in length and weighing nearly three hundred thousand metric tonnes. The Colossus-class behemoth's purpose is to punch through the most heavily defended fortifications and directly engage entire armies by itself with little fear for being destroyed. The Colossus-class behemoth is heavily armed with powerful energy weapons purpose designed to sweep the terrain around it, razing any enemy it finds. The the Colossus also sports heavy siege artillery for leveling entire cities with a single shot and near impenetrable energy shielding the likes of which can be comparable to a typical star cruiser. The Colossus-class behemoth is also unique in it carries a complement of its own troops and ground vehicles which can be deployed from its belly hangar bay. The gargantuan war machine also features its own air wing with fighters and attack VTOLs as well.
The first Colossus was produced in 3221 by Axiom Defence and only fifty of these monstrous creations have ever been built.