User:Albert12/Shade Warthog

Shade Warthog

Invention
The M12 “Shade” Warthog is a unique modification of the M12 Warthog. The first one was created by two elites and a human, the survivors of a pelican which had been damaged by anti-aircraft fire and crash-landed in a covenant-occupied valley. The crash knocked the turret off the warthog they were carrying, as well a killing most of the humans. The remaining human, with help from the elites (who distracted it while he attacked it from behind) were able to capture a type-26 “Shade” turret. The shade was placed in the back of the warthog to replace the smashed turret. Although the vehicle was eventually destroyed by a plasma mortar, it was able to decimate a brute convoy and rescue a squad of marines who had been pinned down by three wraths.

Later Use
The vehicle quickly became a favorite of UNSC marines. The UNSC officially authorized this modification, as it allowed many Warthogs that had damaged turrets to be put back in service. The vehicles saw heavy use on earth, as well as several other worlds. The shade’s armor protected the gunner with much better than the armor plates on the LAAG, and the increased firepower was much more capable of stopping heavy armor. However, the turret tended to fall off doing a rollover, and the base sometimes broke lose of whatever was used to secure it (ranging from baler twine to quickly made welds) and fell off, leaving the warthog without a weapon. These troubles eventually caused the UNSC to issue the order that all of these vehicles be decommissioned and scraped.

“The shade’s armor makes it a lot less likely you’ll get shot out of the turret”

“The wraths had us pretty well pinned down. Three of em’ and our only rocket launcher got hit by a plasma mortar. Then this Hog with a shade on it comes tearing up behind em’ and pounds the daylights out of two of em’. The last one got turned around and blew it apart, but while it was turned round James run up an stuffed a grenade in their tailpipe”

“I tried using the turret of one, once. We was shooting at one of them big walker-things, Scarabs I think ther called, and the baler twine broke and the whole thing fell off. With me in it! Luckily, it kept shooting at the Hog’ while me an the turret wend rolling down right past it an into the creek.”

“Them things hit a lot harder than the Machine Guns. Better armored, too.”