Not given an official production designation, Project Ciaphas is an experiment by Nimakachi Fusion Products at the behest of Albay Perigrine Simson to creat a cheap, easy to pilot and manufacture battlemech that can be integrated into readily built C3 Networks that can incorporate artillery and Semi Guided LRMs. The core design came from the largely disseminated "Final Reckoning" Documents of the Word of Blake Jihad, specifically thier semi-successful "Revenant" Drone Mech.
the Quad Mech Design was retained, with a bulked up Tarantulla Chassis. the cockpit was moves to the center torso to maximize protection of the pilot. the emtpy head module was moved much higher back and a turret module installed to support 3 medium lasers and a TAG module, providing respectable firepower and fire support coordination.
the all important crux of the design is a C3 Slave that was considered so intergal to the mech, that it was placed inside a well armored housing. there was a problem with the first run of the modules as the designers used a cheap lead liner that while protected the computer also prevented it from fucntioning as part of the lance, as it was unable to receive targeting telemetry as well as give.once the problem was identified, and the individual responsible for the design fired, the corrected modules were replaced quickly so that proper evaluation could begin.
Deployment
the six Ciaphas Mechs that have been built thus far are part of an experimental company ostensibly part of the 1st Rim Commonality Guard. so far they have only participated in wargames alongside a quartet of BSN-4K and two LGB-12R Mechs where thier performance has only just met expectations.
Ciaphas
Mass: 30 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Quad
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: All Eras (non-canon)
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E
Production Year: 0
Cost: 2,555,800 C-Bills
Battle Value: 776
Chassis: Unknown Standard
Power Plant: Unknown 180 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97.2 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Unknown Standard Armor w/ CASE
Armament:
4 Medium Lasers
2 Machine Guns
1 C3 Computer (Slave)
1 TAG
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown
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Equipment Type Rating Mass
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Internal Structure: Standard 55 points 3.00
Engine: Fusion Engine 180 7.00
Walking MP: 6
Running MP: 9
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: Single Heat Sink 11 1.00
Heat Sink Locations: 1 RT, 1 FLL, 1 FRL, 1 RRL
Gyro: Standard 2.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: H+UL+LL+F R: H+UL+LL+F
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 96 6.00
CASE Locations: 1 RT 0.50
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 6
Center Torso 10 12
Center Torso (rear) 6
L/R Torso 7 10
L/R Torso (rear) 4
L/R Front Leg 7 11
L/R Rear Leg 7 11
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Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
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4 Medium Lasers LT 12 4 4.00
TAG LT 0 1 1.00
2 Machine Guns CT 0 2 1.00
C3 Computer (Slave) HD 0 1 1.00
@MG (1/2) (100) RT - 1 0.50
Quad Mech Turret LT - 1 0.00
Free Critical Slots: 20
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 3 Points: 8
6 3 2 0 0 1 0 Structure: 3
Special Abilities: C3S, TAG, CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA
