A Slammers tank was a slope-sided iridium

hull whose turret, smooth to avoid shot

traps, held a twenty-cM powergun. The three-

barreled automatic weapon in the cupola

could operate independently or be locked to

the same point of aim as the main gun. Eight

intake ducts pierced the upper surface of

the hull, feeding air down to drive fans in

armored nacelles below.

At rest, the tanks sat on their steel skirts.

When the~vehicles were under way, they

floated on a cushion of air pressurized by the

fans. At full throttle, the power required to

drive a tank was enormous, and the fusion

bottle which provided that power filled the

rear third of the hull.

The tanks were hideously expensive. Their

electronics were so complex and sensitive

that at least a small portion of every tank s

suite was deadlined at any one time. The

hulls and running gear were rugged, but

the vehicles own size and weight im-

posed stresses which required constant

maintenance.

When they worked, and to the extent they

worked, the Slammers tanks were the most

effective weapons in the human universe. As

Warrior was about to prove to two divisions

of Republican infantry