When a mid-sized firm is forced to down-size, like Trellshire when moving out of the Clan Invasion corridor, what would make sense for them to do, in order to stay afloat? My thought was partnership with another mid-sized firm, giving both companies a chance to make a play for market share against some of the big fish in the weapons industry – like Defiance, in this case. And with the right combination of components, you can get a really viable fire-support design out of the Stalker. I tweaked both of my designs below, based on Bradshaw’s proposals earlier in the thread.
Type: STK-5S2/5S3 Stalker
Production: Federated Commonwealth (Trellshire Heavy Industries, Adelaide)
Combat Value: 2113 BV (5S2), 2273 (5S3)
Total Cost: 8,755,125 C-Bills (5S2), 8,100,225 C-Bills (5S3)
Internal Struc: Endo: 4.5t
Engine: Strand 255: 13t
Walking: 3
Running: 5
Heat Sinks 10(20): 0t
Gyro/Cockpit (std): 6t
Armor Factor (Std): 16.5t (263 pips-max)
Head 3/9
Center Torso 27/42/12
R/L Torso 18/28/8
R/L Arm 14/28
R/L Leg 18/36
Quirks: Combat Computer, Ubiquitous, No/Minimal Arms, Arms Flip
WEAPONS INVENTORY (5S2)
4x LRM-15 + Artemis (16cr, 32t) RA/RT/LT/LA
8x Ammo (LRM) 64 (8cr, 8t) RT/LT
2x CASE (2cr, 1t) RT/LT
4x Medium Lasers (4cr, 4t) 2RA/2LA
WEAPONS INVENTORY (5S3)
2x Gauss Rifles (14cr, 30t) RA/LA
4x Ammo (Gauss) 32 (4cr, 4t) RT/LT
2x ER Large Lasers (4cr, 10t) RT/LT
+1 Double Heat Sink (3cr, 1t) RT
Trellshire Heavy Industries was formerly one of the major armaments firms in the Lyran Commonwealth, with major facilities on Chahar, Twycross, and Sudeten. Then the Clan Invasion occurred. Trellshire increased production of their signature Stalker, Battlemaster, and Rifleman lines, and pushed out a hastily upgraded Stalker (the STK-5S), which was universally panned as both more fragile and inferior to the original 3F design, particularly against the long-ranged, speedy Clan opponents.
Twycross fell to Clan Jade Falcon, but was won back through the heroics of Kai Allard Liao in November of 3050. Given how fragile their position was on the front lines of the Clan Invasion, CEO Duchess Yvonne Killa began dismantling and evacuating the Twycross production lines to a satellite facility on Adelaide. The efforts proved prescient, as Twycross was ultimately lost to the Steel Vipers’ Gamma Galaxy just a year later, in November of 3051. By that point, however, Trellshire had moved nearly all of their ‘Mech production lines well behind the Clan front, although they were forced to license out their extra-light fusion engine design, as well as the Stalker specs overall, to Defiance Industries (who continues to expand and further dominate the Commonwealth arms market) in order to fund the move. Happily for Trellshire, they were able to enter a partnership with TharHes Industries, taking advantage of the equipment manufacturer’s cutting-edge products in order to redesign their ‘Mech lines, while showcasing the latest in arms technology.
Unable to mass-produce the massive and expensive VOX 255 extra-light engine at their Adelaide facility, Trellshire ‘downgraded’ their Stalker to a classic Strand 255, which also gave their ‘Mechs considerably greater durability on the battlefield. Although fusion engine manufacture is slow, they have been able to acquire additional engines from StarCorps Industries to fill their production gap. The partnership with TharHes allowed Trellshire to incorporate double-strength “freezers” as standard in their new Strand engine blocks, making it possible to strip out older heat sinks and save weight for armaments. A TharHes Calliope ZE-2 comms system replaces the antiquated Succession Wars era Garett T11-A of the Trellshire STK-3F, but Trellshire made certain that they could manufacture new Spar 3c Tight Band targeting systems, which famously incorporates a sophisticated fire-control system that optimizes fire rates to take advantage of the ‘Mech’s heat sinks.
These core elements of the new Stalker are relatively modest changes compared to the incorporation of TharHes 1A Type 17 Endo Steel, a reinforced variant of a Star League-era endo-steel composite initially used in Phoenix Hawks (and revived by Achernar Battlemechs in 3048). The Type 17 chassis is essentially a production prototype, as TharHes investigates the viability of producing more Endo-Steel components, effectively undergoing field tests in the new Stalker designs – thus far, they appear to be holding up under combat conditions. The ‘Mech is also slathered in sixteen-and-a-half full tons of Trellshire Royalstar-brand standard ‘Mech armor, providing the maximum effective protection for the 85-ton ‘Mech.
Trellshire’s new Stalkers, technically marketed as a variant of their STK-5S despite the considerable changes made to the core design, were released in late 3053 with two weapons packages. The first, the 5S2, is a pure fire-support vehicle intended to provide long-range support even against Clan foes. It carries four TharHes Reacher 15 LRMs with TharHes Fire Control Artemis systems, spread across the arms and torsos of the ‘Mech, and eight tons of missiles protected by Durallex CASE. Four Magna Mk II Medium Lasers, in the familiar arm-mounts, add some close-combat bite. It is clear competition for StarCorps Industries’ Longbow, which has the same weight and ground speed, but inferior throw-weight with just 50 non-Artemis tubes (indeed, the success of the 5S3 ultimately persuades StarCorps to start upgrading their venerable Longbow lines by the late 3050s).
The second, the 5S3, is a direct-fire support unit, with paired Poland Main Model A Gauss Rifles (also produced by TharHes for their Falconer design) in the arms, fed by four tons of ammunition, and a pair of Cyclops XII ER Large Lasers (produced by TharHes for their Wolfhound design) in the torsos. This variant does not include CASE, but instead has and additional double heat sink fitted to the right torso of the ‘Mech to help mitigate the ferocious heat spikes of the Cyclops XII, especially if fired in tandem.
Both Stalker variants have proved to be popular with Combine and Commonwealth procurement officials, and Trellshire is struggling to keep up with demand, with orders of both designs already backed up to 3056 or later based on currently manufacturing capacity. They are already in talks with TharHes about potentially developing a Ferro-Fibrous production capability, in order to further improve their ‘Mech designs, and also to attempt to regain some of their corporate footprint in the arms industry.
