| The King Cobra could be considered the most poewrful Gear ever produced. A heavily modified version of the Spitting Cobra, it was a machine born out of the fire of the War of the Alliance to face the heavy hovertanks and infantry of the invasion force. The King Cobra's mission is the exact opposite of that of the standard Spit. It is a machine conceived to punch through enemy lines and engage in close combat. It has heavily reinforced armoplast armor desgined to give maximum protection to its vital systems, giving the large machine an even more bulky appearance; the long front armor skirts and massive rounded shoulders make the King Cobra seem indestructible. Armor improvements are not simply cosmetic, however. Additional layers of metal-alloy and ceramic composite armor were also added to improve the King's resistance to HIgh Energy Anti-Tank (HEAT) weapons. ITs enormous WV-2500TC/x V-engine makes it just as fast as other machines, even with its monstrous weapon and armor load. The King is also equipped with improved electronics, including an Obelisk Electronics FirePoint communications system allowing for clear contact over 18 kilometers.
The King Cobra was developed during the closing weeks of the War of the Alliance by a team of specialists working around the clock at the Territorial Arms Skunk Works laboratories in Timbuktu. Unfortunately, the machine arrived too late to have a significant effect on the course of the conflict, but when it did engage in battle it often helped turn the tide. Because King Cobras were extremely expensive and relatively few in number, they were only assigned to veteran pilots. The King has continued to be plagued by these problems of expense and low production and is a rarity on the battlefield. The few Kings actually part of front line combat units are often deployed in the leading edge of an assault. Not only are their arsenals deadly, but the psychological effect of so dreaded a Gear can do much to break enemy defenses. Since the war, the King Cobra has only seen active combat a few times, most notably during a highly publicized punitive expedition against rovers in the savannah just north of the Southern Republic. The expedition was a response to the assault on a malfunctioning stalled maglev train that claimed the lives of several well-known Republican celebrities and was designed primarily to keep the Republican population satisfied that vengeance had been taken.
Many military experts see the King Cobra design as more of a propganda and morale tool than a viable weapons system. Indeed, the fearsome aspect of the King Cobra seems expressly designed to go onto recruiting posters for the MILICIA and the Republican Army and many of these banners can be seen across the AST. The presence of the King in MILICIA advertising is seen by many as a bitter reminder of the position the AST arms forces have in the Republican list of priorities. Despite its presence in these ads, however, the King is an extremely rare sight in MILICIA forces, with almost all the Gears actually serving in the more prestigious Republican Army. Even there, the Gear seems to serve as a walking propganda tool, serving alongside the Fer-de-Lance in the SRA's 1st Gear Regiment -- the Pride of the Republic -- or acting as a ceremonial guard at Gamma Bases or command centers. Nonetheless, the King Cobra has spawned at least one variant and others are said to be in the planning stages.
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