A combine-reaper, sometimes known generically as harvester, was a massive tracked vehicle used by the Human settlers of the planet Leritor both to grow and harvest their crops and to inhabit in it. The harvesters could plough the land and immediately plant seeds in its own trail; it also could collect the mature season's growth later.
A combine-reaper had several decks, which included: The main planting-and-reaping machinery just over the massive continuous tracks; immediately over it, the bins to storage the harvested crops and the packaging machines to process it; later, two more decks in the upper part with the living rooms for the crew; and last, a control cabin protuding in the upper deck. The aft part of the combine-reaper also provided an external landing bay so that visiting freighters could land directly in the harvester to collect the crops.
Reflecting the peace-loving ideas of the settlers, the combine-reapers had no weapons.
As the combine-reapers were long-ranged machines, most of the Human settlers of Leritor lived inside the nomadic combine-reapers. There was a permanent planetary capital in the biggest continent, mostly an expanding depot that every combine-reaper visited annually for supplies and reparation.
The Human settlers and the native Sauvax species negotiated a Settlement Pact that forbid Humans and other outworld presences (including combine-reapers) to approach the coastal line where the Sauvax lived. In later years, several Sauvax contacted with roaming combine-reapers, mostly with cultural and commercial intentions.
Combine-reapers were named individually. Known combine-reapers include the Nellist, which was attacked by Profex Rynalla, as well as the Gevion, which was harassed by the Sauvax soon afterwards in a misdirected answer to Rynalla's further actions.
