Triton-pattern gunboat
The Triton-pattern gunboat is an amphibious triple-decked Imperial aquatic vessel, capable of operating on both sea and land.[1b]
Overview
Each Triton is built in a broadly traditional Terran form. At the narrow prow the ship's main armament, a turret equipped with a lascannon, shares space with the fore searchlight, both manually-operated from the main deck. Guardrail-equipped gunwales wrap around the ship, providing firing positions and attachment points for those inside, as well as anchoring the Triton's port and starboard sponson-mounted autocannons. Small cabins and storage take up the bottom deck, holding supplies like spare searchlight bulbs and buckets, as well as an automatic bilge pump. The ship's wheelhouse is found on the upper deck, alongside a mast for flying flags and supporting a crow's nest, accessed via a ladder on its side. Flights of stairs connect all three decks, as does a ship-wide loudhailer.[1b][1c] An armoured hull, fully resistant to small-arms fire but vulnerable to anti-tank weaponry such as railguns, protects the Triton from most common threats.[1a][1e]
When required to transition from water onto land elaborate rituals are required to rouse the vessel's machine spirit, though in an emergency these can be bypassed. Once engaged, systems lower immense caterpillar tracks out of the bottom of the ship, raising the hull sufficiently for the ship to serve as a makeshift tank.[1c] While fast on neither land nor sea, once ashore the Triton's engine can propel it only slightly slower than a human can run. The ship is able to reverse directly behind it, and despite its slow speed, its sheer mass allows it to crush a Krootox.[1c]
A crew of 20 sailors and 8 marines is ideal to operate the Triton, but as few as 6 sailors can handle the ship if need be. Additional passengers and cargo can be carried in addition to these requirements.[1b][1d]
Known Vessels
- Penance and Pain[1b]
- Issued by Admiral Vyodor Karjalan on Phaedra to Veteran Commissar Holt Iverson[1b]
