Field Atlas of Forgotten Machines

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TTA Vehicle Registry
Excerpted from the 2298 Edition of the Interplanetary Ground Systems Catalog

File Ref: TTA–LV/09–7742
Classification: Atmospheric Surface Hauler
Designation: Type–9 “Mirage” Convoy Module
Manufacturer: Halleck–Morimoto Industrial Systems, Luna–Tokyo Combine
Primary Deployment Zone: Outer Mars Basin, Callisto Transitway, and the Alpheon Corridor (Tau Ceti IV)

Overview
The Type–9 “Mirage” Convoy represents the final generation of surface logistics vehicles built before the Transition Era, when intra-colonial cargo transfer was still conducted under atmosphere rather than by low-orbit relay. Designed for the extreme terrain differentials of terraformed environments, each Mirage unit operated autonomously yet remained part of a synchronized convoy array — a moving chain of intelligent freight modules guided by low-band quantum entanglement.
The Mirage earned its name from the mirror finish of its composite hull, which reflected both terrain and sky to reduce solar absorption. The effect — especially under twin-sun conditions — was said to make the vehicles appear as rolling distortions of the world itself, shimmering illusions gliding across the sand.

Technical Specifications
Length: 12.7 meters
Propulsion: Cryogenic turbine array (six-wheel magnetograv hybrid)
Drive Core: Dual-stack tritium cell (Model 77e)
Crew Complement: 0–4 (typically remote-supervised)
Cargo Capacity: 160 metric tons (pressurized modular bay)
Operating Range: 3,800 km without resupply
AI Suite: HALMOS–IV Convoy Coordination OS
Known Surviving Units: 3 (decommissioned, stored in the Valles Marineris Preservation Vault)

Operational History
First commissioned in 2259, the Mirage convoys were instrumental during the opening of the Martian Trade Routes. Their precision and endurance allowed the movement of infrastructure components for the Ares City Expansion Project, the Callisto Cryo-Dome Complex, and the ill-fated Alpheon Terraforming Initiative.
By 2273, however, atmospheric haulage had become economically obsolete. The majority of Mirage convoys were recalled or left to weather into sculpture — stranded among dunes, their mirrored shells tarnished by centuries of dust. Visitors to the Eurydice Plateau can still glimpse one such line of haulers beneath the lilac sky, resting nose-to-tail like a ceremonial procession awaiting an operator who never returned.

Archivist’s Note (Recovered Fragment: Archive 6B–TauCeti)
“…the machines still wake at dawn, aligning their sensors toward the rising sun as though awaiting orders. Some say their entanglement link was never fully severed — that somewhere, light-years distant, a control signal still whispers their route. If so, they have been faithful far longer than their makers ever imagined.”