THE AMERICAS AND THE LOCOMOTIVE
The Marcher
In the books there are machines which are like tanks in that they are heavily armored and gunned. However, unlike tanks, they do not have wheels. Instead, they have legs, double jointed legs that are worked by a series of levers inside the machine. The levers themselves are hard to operate as the legs must be moved in time with each other or the whole machine will tip. There is one lever per leg, and each lever is operated by a separate man so it takes years of training to get it down just right. The crews of the machines are specially picked and have to work well together. Usually they are best friends, or become best friends by the end of training.
The machines are made out of hardened metal. The smaller machines aren't as heavily armored as the armor weighs a lot. The smaller machines are used for scouting, usually being sent on ahead to see if any danger awaits. The medium of the machines is fairly fast, well armored, and gunned. It is a fearful weapon that is almost impossible to stop, unless you know of its one weak point.
The design is simple but made to appear frightening. It was based after the shape of spiders. A roundish body with eight legs. There are two visors on the front which can be lowered to offer more protection during a fight, or raised if sight is poor. When raised at night, the crew likes to hang lanterns from the visors to make the machine appear to have glowing eyes.
There are two rifles mounted on the very top of the machine, near the front. In the dead center there is a hatch which allows one to go down into the main part of the machine (wherein there are the levers, the boiler, and the cannons.) Behind the rifles there are seats and small indents where men can crouch behind while they fire, thus having some protection against attack below.
In the back of the machine is another visor. This one is rarely opened as it was just made so that one could see if one was being attacked from behind. Under the front visors there are two powerful cannons which can level forests. There are also two cannons in the left of the machine and two in the right. Both of these are also powerful and deadly.
The machine rises 20 feet into the air. It is called a Marcher, so named because of its moderate pace it can keep. The machine is now in the hands of the enemy and the rebels must try and bring them down with pistols, aeroplanes, and...swords.
(Fact behind the name.
When I first created the Marcher I was calling it the Walker. However, this name is a very common one. There is a machine in Star Wars which bares this name, and in another book there are machines called Walkers - though they have two names. Also, my friend said it reminded her of something an older person would use to walk with. After much thought and some scribbled ideas in my notebook, also some help from my friends, the machine was renamed the Marcher.)
And here it is! The Marcher!
