(Please note that as a head canon thing, for me the JJ’s on the Executioner are on the torso, it just makes more sense than the legs. With a huge mech like this you’re going to want the JJ’s to be as close to the reactor as possible instead of routing all that power through the legs.)
Briefing 041/c Dated 29/09/3053
A in depth structural details regarding possible alterations to the Mech’s hull for the Quicksilver Protocols.
After extensive investigations of the Clan Series Assault SXE chassis which serves as the basis for the Executioner Assault weight OmniMech we have some good news.
As per the Quicksilver protocols the Scientist Caste begin investigations into the true flexibility of the SXE chassis and where we could take the Executioner with future refits to improve its combat efficiency.
The Heavy Force 380 XL engine has 15 heatsinks built into it and these are an integral part of the cooling systems and superconductors for the reactor and help cool the magnets maintaining the Tokomaks magnetic field and thus cannot be altered. An additional heatsink, mounted in the right torso (technically under the Mech’s shoulder actuator in its ‘armpit’ however can be removed with little change other than closing off the power leads and coolant pipes, the work of a mere ten minutes, the heatsink itself took 20 minutes to remove and this was with a crew chosen at random.
This frees up 1 ton of weight but we obviously want more.
The MASC system cannot be moved, like the reactor, the Executioner is constructed around it and the adjustments to the myomers as well as all the actuators and associated systems mean that removing them would require a complete redesign of the hull and this obviously falls outside of the remit Quicksilver trials. Stymied here, our investigations turned to the Executioner’s jump jets.
As you are no doubt aware the Executioner presents a tall and intimidating profile, but it is comparatively ‘thin’ for a machine its mass, and its internal volume mostly comes from the Mech’s great height and roomy arm actuators. This somewhat narrow chassis in turn presented a challenge when choosing to fit jump jets to the chassis and the necessarily large reaction masses needed to produce enough thrust to jump successfully. This was solved in 3000 when the Executioner was being designed with the installation of a large ‘jet pack’ an installation that was successful on the earlier Phoenix Hawk IIC and this was used as inspiration for the Executioner’s jump jets.
The large ‘backpack’ or ‘jet pack’ on the Executioner’s back and shoulders is mostly given over to the jump jets themselves as well as their propellant masses, coolant linkages, power feeds as well as sensors and the flexible thruster nozzles that help keep the mech stable in flight.
And, save for the linkages to the coolant system, the reactor and the various sensors and T&T system, it is in essence, bolted on. The large radiator vents either side of the cockpit are mostly decorative as the cooling comes mostly from the engine. Indeed, some Mechwarrior’s have altered the shoulder mounted intakes so when air is forced through them it produces a loud, and disconcerting ‘roar’, which whilst causing significant ware on the vents themselves is a useful psychological weapon against Spheroid infantry forces.
Under my own authority I had Technicians perform an evaluation of a badly damaged Executioner that had been shot up in a trial and was awaiting repair. With two weeks of trial and experimentation, we now believe it is possible to actually remove the jump jets and their associated systems from the ‘back pack’. The jump jets themselves are single units with slot in ports allowing their position to be adjusted depending on the pilots preference and are easily decoupled once the main restraint bolts are removed and the power feeds disconnected.
Removing the reaction tank also took less time than feared. Unlike smaller Mechs like the Summoner, the Executioner relies on a single large tank of propellant which feeds into all four jump jets. The plumbing (for lack of a better word) is thus far simpler than the rather complex multi-bottle and feed system of the Summoner.
Once the tank was removed and the associated pipes and feeds removed they were reinstalled and removed repeatedly, and the jump jets still worked when tested after fifty removal and installation tests. These tests allowed us to refine the methodology for demounting the jets in a workshop environment.
It was found that by following the protocols we established, the entire thruster array could be removed within eighteen man hours and reinstalled in nine man hours and we still feel that this could be improved upon with further testing, please bear in mind that this is merely a preliminary test and further experimentation and refinement of the protocols will be required. But, we still feel that 12 man hours is perfectly doable, and eight man hours is a reachable goal. This could be done whilst a DropShip is in transit from orbit to a target world and requires not special tools, just instructions to follow.
Whilst we realise that this is not one hundred percent ideal, the system is not designed to be modular. As you are aware even Mechs that are equipped with podded jump jets often have a far higher maintenance need, whereas the Executioner is built for these manouvers and thus the jump jet system is far more integrated to its design.
But, combined together with the removal of the external heatsink, removing the Jump jets also frees up a not inconsiderable 9 tons of weight and allows for more weapon systems to be installed in the formerly rather restrictive torso area of the Mech. This more than a payoff for eight hours work if we can free up nine tons of weapons and equipment without overburdening the chassis.
Attached is a complete rundown and data file of the processes used, as well as video files and discussion logs if you should need to present them to the ilKhan at the next Quicksilver meeting.
Senior Scientist Greggor (Nansen).
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Topic: Quicksilver Reconfiguration #3: Savage Coyote (Read 5395 times)