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Description
Weapon: Mobile Hyper Laser Battery

Description:

Type:
Single field gun/rail gun, modified heavy weapon

Pieces per battery:
1 Field gun plus crew

Ammunition used:
Concentrated high-velocity energy rounds

Power source:
Fusion energy reactor

Shot capacity:
Unlimited (see "Flaws" for further information)

Effective range:
15km

Purpose:
Primary: Anti-air / Orbital defense
Secondary: Anti-vehicle
Optional: Siege weapon

Damage type:
Massive pinpoint accuracy destruction

Kill/blast radius:
20 meters around impact, 10 meters around beam trajectory

Targeting system:
Radar lock and/or laser targeting, manual targeting

Includes:
Mobile fire control booth, tracked vehicle to transport weapon

Crew:
1 Battery Commander
1 Replacing Battery Commander
1 NCO
2 Weapon operators
2 Radar operators
1 Communications operator
4 Engineers
1 Driver

Flaws:
- When fired repeatedly, the power source needs cooling-down
- To achieve maximum range, the round must be unhindered on its path
- Impact will occur upon round contacting with any object on its trajectory
- Weapon trades large kill/blast radius for accuracy

Development:
The hyper laser was first used as matter of primary armament for the larger classes of battleships within the Cornerian Starfleet. Before the Lylat Wars, the Venomian Invasion Fleet too armed its heavy class vessels with the hyper laser. But as the war progressed, the Venomian Fleet suffered tremendous losses. With their interstellar force crumbling at their feet the Venomians, now pushed back into ground-based defenses, used the hyper laser cannons from their remaining ships and constructed them on a mobile platform to strengthen their anti-air capabilities.
These batteries proved extremely effective and were seen as serious threats to Corneria's plans for a full scale invasion of Venom. However, when the Star Fox team had defeated Andross on its own, the remainders of his once grand army scattered and fled, taking all of the batteries that were left with them.
The Cornerian Military examined captured Venomian batteries and adapted the idea of the mobile heavy laser weapon. This resulted in the production of the XM238 Mobile Battery, starting directly after the Lylat Wars had ended.

First use:
The Mobile Hyper Laser battery was first encountered during the Lylat Wars by a detachment of the Cornerian 22 Space Combat Group, which was on a mission to drop ground units on Katinan soil. When supporting elements of the detachment, consisting of two Sellath-class medium frigates, entered the lower orbit above the target zone in order to eliminate the toughest resistance, a single Venomian battery hidden in the mountainous terrain opened fire. With two shots the battery took down the frigates, resulting in the deaths of most of the ships' crews. When the wreckages were examined, it appeared that the energy rounds fired by the battery had penetrated and destroyed the core reactors that powered the vessels. Though most of the casualties were due to the crashing of the ships, those close to the impact of the energy rounds were killed instantly by either the blast or exposure to extreme heat.

Most recent use:
On the third day of the "Fortunan War", the commanding vessel of the Sixth Cornerian Starfleet, the Zenith-class heavy battle cruiser Lady Solace was critically hit by a hostile Hyper Laser Battery above the Fortunan jungle. It was on an accuracy fire support mission for a Star Fox ground unit, which forced it to a relatively low altitude. It is believed that this is the reason why the battery was able to shoot down the vessel.