Aaaand the last of my many Warhammer ideas. This one feeds my obsession with designs that can effectively kill Elementals. This 'Mech can *comfortably* wipe out an Elemental point every turn, while still also remaining a real threat when at the mid-range.
Type: WHM-7C Warhammer
Production: ComStar (StarCorps Industries, Terra)
Combat Value: 1637 BV
Total Cost: 16,462,006 C-Bills (including x1.7 tonnage premium)
Internal Struc (Endo): 3.5t
Engine (Ford 350 XL): 15t
Walking: 5
Running: 8
Heat Sinks: 14(28): 4t
Gyro/Cockpit (std): 7t
Armor Factor (Std): 13.5t (216 pips)
Head 3/9
Center Torso 22/32/11
R/L Torso 15/22/8
R/L Arm 11/22
R/L Leg 15/30
Quirks: Rugged (2), Searchlight, Stable, Ubiquitous
2x Large Lasers (4cr, 10t) RA/LA
3x SRM 6+Art (9cr, 12t) 2RT/LT
3x Ammo (SRM) 45 (3cr, 3t) LT
2x Medium Lasers (2cr, 2t) RT/LT
Following the Peace of Tukayyid, ComStar began energetic efforts to rebuild the newly unveiled ComGuard. Due to simple issues of security and logistics, armaments firms with facilities on Terra were heavily prioritized during the procurement process, including StarCorps Industries. Drawing upon shared corportate development (largely through inter-divisional corporate espionage, of course), StarCorps Terra began a concerted effort to upgrade their ‘Mech lines in order to sell to their newest major Inner Sphere customer.
When the Clan Invasion had begun, StarCorps’s Terra facility was a relatively minor assembly and refit facility, but with the promise of heavy investment from the interstellar communications giant, efforts were made to fast-track expansion of their heavy and assault lines, which included the Warhammer (as well as the Longbow and Highlander) By the end of the decade, the Terra facility was in full gear, pumping out ‘Mechs for the ComGuard, but it was the lightest-weight of their offerings, the 70t Warhammer, that first began mass production, with the earliest examples of the new WHM-7C entering ComGuard units in the Rasalhague Free Republic by the end of 3053.
With the promise of generous funding, and starting largely from a blank slade, StarCorps Terra took the classic Warhammer design and made several sizable changes. First, they designed (or, more likely, stole from a rival division in the firm) the lightweight Starframe Heavy EndoSteel chassis that formed the framework of the 7C. A Ford 350XL engine with a full fourteen integrated double heat sinks – manufactured by Ford Military, Ltd of Terra as a special order for StarCorps, based on Ford’s own Star League era schematics for the nearly extinct Excalibur ‘Mech – was used to power the ‘Mech to speeds of 86kph, comparable to Clan heavy cavalry ‘Mechs. Although quite expensive, this second change was considered essential in order to prevent ComGuard units from being easily out-maneuvered by the Clans.. By comparison, the thirteen-and-a-half tons of Durallex Heavy ‘Mech armor protecting the 7C, although a significant improvement over the 10 tons of Leviathan Plus carried by the vintage Succession Wars design, seemed quaintly low-tech.
To simply repair and replacement, the weapon systems were all established “old tech” designs, starting with the Magna Mk III Large Lasers that replaced the Donal PPCs. Manufactured by General Mechanics of Mars, they represented a modest downgrade in firepower, but the addition of two Holly SRM-6 racks (for a total of 18 total SRM tubes), all Artemis IV guided, dramatically increase both the lethality and versatility of the 7C design. The SRM6 launchers represent the major ‘punch’ of this variant Warhammer, and are also quite devastating when used against infantry or battle-armor with variant warheads (like flechette or inferno). A pair of torso-mounted Martell Medium Lasers seem like almost an after-thought, but provide addition firepower at closer ranges, although a risk of badly over-heating the 7C if all weapons are fire simultaneously.
Although a relatively new design yet, the Warhmmer 7C’s nastly close-range punch, and its speed and versatility on the battlefield, suggest that it will become a core element of ComGuard and anti-Clan units into the future, and even after just a few dozen examples, interest from other Inner Sphere powers, as well as mercenary commands and even individual ‘Mechwarriors, has been slowly streaming in to StarCorps Terra’s sales department.
