Colossus By Design: Atragon, The Grand Idea

["Global Union of Divisions - Colossal Combat Division"]

[Project Subject 22]: TORIYAMA-Class Aerial Multi-Purpose Assault Battleship "Atragon"/"Gotengo", Mark II

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[Specifications]

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[Length]: 250 meters
[Width]: 80 meters
[Height]: 76 meters
[Weight]: 400,000 tons

[Armament]: Nose-mounted excavation-grade synthetic diamond boring drill; internal experimental absolute zero cannon within drill; heavy-duty RE-pulsar cannon within drill; 10 pulse laser turrets on each side of vessel; 16 Archer-2149 missile pods on top of vessel

[Design]: Streamlined hybrid of submarine and airplane; main cockpit/bridge located in offshoot attachment on top of vessel; large hover-thruster wings located on sides of vessel and adaptive RE-pulsar engines at the rear; long glowing red strip across sides housing pulse laser turrets; dark grey and jet black colour scheme complementing glowing red turret lines

[Date of Construction]: July 13, 2147
[Date of Completion]: N/A (discontinued as of November 8, 2150)
[Location of Completion]: Shanghai, Chinese origin continent]

[Vessel Purpose]: Next-generation aerial combat designed for balance of armor, firepower, and maneuverability to take out both Human and P.E.M.F. targets alike

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[History]

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Following the conclusion of Second Wave, the Global Union of Divisions sanctioned the "Colossal Combat Division", an R&D branch formed specifically to design and defend against P.E.M.F. threats. The division soon began on several projects. Among the Colossi and Mobile Titan preliminary outlines designed by former Project Warmonger director Jiro Ifukube, the branch's first entirely original blueprint was the TORIYAMA-Class Aerial Multi-Purpose Assault Battleship.

It was nicknamed the "Atragon" or "Gotengo", which were given by the two chief heads of the project as part of their love of old-school Japanese film-making. The ship was created with the intent in mind of being able to effectively combat both Human-designed targets and giant animals like the P.E.M.F.s.

In order to achieve this, painstaking time and resources went into creating the most economical and versatile design yet, with an emphasis on balancing out weaponry, armor, and maneuverability in the field. The result was an aerial warship the likes of which has never been seen, possessing the same strength and firepower of a heavily armed capital aircraft carrier whilst being as small, fast, and agile as a destroyer.

Despite the inclusion of the term, the Atragon/Gotengo is not strictly airborne, as its revolutionary RE-Pulsar engines and hover-thrusters are adaptable to nearly environment, providing thrust through both the air and under the sea.

Among its formidable armaments is an experimental absolute zero cannon, which can freeze any object caught in the blast at the molecular level, instantly shattering it. Testing has managed to create electromagnetic shielding between the weapon firing and the firing chamber, preventing accidental freezing of the vessel itself. Although it's still being tested, absolute zero energy has been proven to be effective against targets utilizing extremely large quantities of non-standard DE energy. However, continuous sustained fire must be maintained on such a target to effectively immobilize them, as their aforementioned NSDEE prevents complete molecular flash freeze.

Unfortunately, the project was decommissioned in 2150, as the Colossi and Mobile Titans were proving to be more attractive a prospect. Only two prototypes were ever made; the Mark II was put into storage underneath Shanghai, and the Mark I was put into the storage bays underneath the G.U.D.'s main headquarters in Antarctica.