So I was fiddling with the Abraxas design and came up with this
Seen as the ultimate expansion of the Quadvee concept the Abraxas was designed from the onset to be a 100-ton unit although the design originally started more to see if it could be done and could work and was little more than a thought experiment and simulation. With the introduction of the 80 Phaeton, the Scientists of Clan Hells Horses knew that assault weight Quadvee’s were possible and it was decided to see what the type could be expanded to.
Digital simulations and tests on mock up legs showed that the design could take the weight of a full assault scale unit at 100 tons but there were problems with the test chassis. Although the joints and conversion equipment worked correctly on the units legs, there was issues when armour was added which hadn’t been accounted for in the digital design. Although not a fatal flaw, it did slow the conversion from Vehicle to Mech and was seen as far too unwieldy and vulnerable during a conversion. This lead to the legs and armour layout being re-worked whilst the design was then put on hold to incorporate a split cockpit layout instead of the shared cockpit of the Generation 1 Quadvees.
The resulting alterations to the legs and the cockpit layout hunkered the whole design down, making it more squat and aggressive looking despite only being as fast as a standard 100 ton assault Mech with a maximum speed of 56kph in either mode.
With the space limitations of the Quadvee Chassis the new assault Quadvee was to be built as a multi-role vehicle and would fill the same kind of role as assault tanks, able to take heavy fire whilst giving it out. Armed for long range engagements with a ER PPC, large pulse laser and HAG-20 the new Quadvee could both make holes and then fill them. At shorter ranges a pair of ER Medium lasers can be brought to bear and the final armament was a single Medium pulse laser.
Despite having a fairly limited amount of internal space there was still a lot of Mech/Vehicle for the designers to work with and despite several visual redesigns the Scientists involved found that Insectoid looks were definitely easier to make threatening appearing, rather than equine. Not always the case, but usually. So, with 100 tons to play with and their love of vehicles the Horse Scientists pretty much got it looking right. They realized the "torsos" can be in whatever shape they like, so it became more turret-like, and the legs are just about as well put together as they could manage. The designers were especially proud of how whichever mode the mech is in, the equipment not currently in use is acting as spaced armour for that which is. When walking the tracks provide protection, and when driving the legs protect the tracks.
In either mode the insectoid looking design looked imposing and fearsome whilst also giving the gunner excellent situational awareness and both crew were heavily shielded from incoming fire by the armour of the Mech and its hull shape.
If there is a flaw, it is the distance between the pilots. The drivers position is WAY down low, just above the Medium pulse laser. Whilst in vehicle mode the driver only has a narrow range of vision and has to rely on the sensors and cameras dotted around the hull. This is a different story for the gunner who has a clear view from up above the large pulse laser’s emitter port in between the ‘mandible’ like protusions for the major weapons. So, constant coordinating training of the crews is always on the menu.
With two prototypes complete and undergoing testing the as yet unnamed design received lots of support from Galaxy Commander Saul DeLauriel of Iota Galaxy, which fielded the largest number of Quadvee’s and had the biggest compliment of TankWarriors in its ranks as well as the somewhat ‘fanatical’ Quadvee proponent Zarak Hawker. Touting the flexibility of the Quadvee design as well as savings in crew by allowing the design to replace comparable weight assault tanks whilst reducing crew requirements by more than 50% and saving on personnel whilst being considerably more flexible than normal tanks despite similar performance and firepower. Petitioning the Khan, the new Quadvee was authorized for limited scale production as the Horses production facilities were already running at full tilt to keep up with current production runs and developments. But several would be shipped to Iota Galaxy for combat testing prior to any wider production runs.
VariantsPrime – Built to engage at long to mid-range the Prime’s armament is a pologot mix of ballistic and energy weapons with an eye towards flexibility. To this end a HAG-20 fed by a 3-ton ammunition hopper can engage ground and air targets with ease and an ER PPC can add its formidable punch at long range. As the range drops a large pulse laser can be brought to bear before an ER Medium laser and a single Medium pulse laser also open fire. Although this produces a vicious heat surge that can easily overwhelm the 15 double heatsinks built into the Abraxas, careful weapons choice when firing can limit the heat issues that so often plague Quadvee designs.
Abraxas Prime
Base Tech Level: Advanced (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced 3145+
Standard -
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-F
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 2,661
Cost: 24,395,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/5
Tracked: 3/5
Engine: 300 XL
Laser Heat Sinks: 15 [30]
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 160
Armor: 323/323
Internal Armor
----------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 31 47
Center Torso (rear) 15
Right Torso 21 32
Right Torso (rear) 10
Left Torso 21 32
Left Torso (rear) 10
Front Right Leg 21 42
Front Left Leg 21 42
Rear Right Leg 21 42
Rear Left Leg 21 42
Weapons Loc Heat
-------------------------------
ER PPC LT 15
Large Pulse Laser CT 10
HAG/20 RT 4
Medium Pulse Laser LT 4
ER Medium Laser LT 5
ER Medium Laser HD 5
Ammo Loc Shots
-----------------------------------------------
Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle/20 Ammo RT 6
Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle/20 Ammo RT 6
Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle/20 Ammo RT 6
Equipment Loc
----------------
Tracks RLL
A - Another long-range design with a heavy punch the A’s armament is built around a pair of ER large lasers and a single Gauss rifle. At shorter ranges a single Improved heavy large laser provides plenty of knock down punch and for point defence a small pulse laser is installed for anti-infantry work. A full alpha strike can easily overwhelm the A’s sixteen double heatsinks but it will only start overheating if a gunner uses all its weapons at once whilst at long range it runs quite cool.
Abraxas A
Base Tech Level: Experimental (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced 3145+
Standard -
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-F
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 2,589
Cost: 24,380,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/5
Tracked: 3/5
Engine: 300 XL
Laser Heat Sinks: 16 [32]
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 160
Armor: 323/323
Internal Armor
----------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 31 47
Center Torso (rear) 15
Right Torso 21 32
Right Torso (rear) 10
Left Torso 21 32
Left Torso (rear) 10
Front Right Leg 21 42
Front Left Leg 21 42
Rear Right Leg 21 42
Rear Left Leg 21 42
Weapons Loc Heat
---------------------------------------
ER Large Laser CT 12
ER Large Laser HD 12
Gauss Rifle RT 1
Improved Heavy Large Laser LT 18
Small Pulse Laser LT 2
Ammo Loc Shots
-------------------------------------
Gauss Rifle Ammo [Clan] RT 8
Gauss Rifle Ammo [Clan] RT 8
Gauss Rifle Ammo [Clan] CT 8
Equipment Loc
----------------
Tracks RLL
B – Like the Prime and A, the B config is built for long range engagements with a pair of Streak LRM-20’s each fed by 2-tons of ammunition. A large pulse laser provides accurate saturation firepower, whilst a quartet of ER Small lasers can do considerable damage at short ranges. Finally, an ECM is installed to foul hostile targeting systems. Although the main armament does not stress the Quadvee’s heatsinks a full alpha strike will cause a notable heat spike but one that is not too severe and easily dealt with by simply dropping some of the ER small lasers.
Abraxas B
Base Tech Level: Experimental (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced 3145+
Standard -
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-F
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 2,669
Cost: 26,522,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/5
Tracked: 3/5
Engine: 300 XL
Laser Heat Sinks: 11 [22]
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 160
Armor: 323/323
Internal Armor
----------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 31 47
Center Torso (rear) 15
Right Torso 21 32
Right Torso (rear) 10
Left Torso 21 32
Left Torso (rear) 10
Front Right Leg 21 42
Front Left Leg 21 42
Rear Right Leg 21 42
Rear Left Leg 21 42
Weapons Loc Heat
------------------------------
Streak LRM 20 LT 6
Streak LRM 20 RT 6
Large Pulse Laser CT 10
ER Small Laser LT 2
ER Small Laser RT 2
ER Small Laser LT 2
ER Small Laser RT 2
Ammo Loc Shots
--------------------------------
Streak LRM 20 Ammo LT 6
Streak LRM 20 Ammo LT 6
Streak LRM 20 Ammo RT 6
Streak LRM 20 Ammo RT 6
Equipment Loc
-----------------------
Tracks RLL
ECM Suite [Clan] HD
C – Built for operating in built up areas in support of friendly infantry forces and Aithon Assault tanks and their variants, the C is built to engage infantry and tanks. To this end a LB-20 autocannon forms its main punch although the 4-tons of ammunition is somewhat precariously spread around the Quadvee’s hull. A pair of plasma rifles each with their own ammunion bin can do horrific damage to infantry forces and vehicles whilst a pair of medium pulse lasers, a pair of small pulse lasers and an ER medium laser can add to the carnage. Finally, an active probe lets the C hunt for targets. The Abraxas C is very capable in its role, but its main constraint is its lack of ammunition as well as a lack of ranged weapons, meaning it is reliant on both friendly supporting units, and readily available supply drops. But as part of a combined arms approach it performs very well.
Abraxas C
Base Tech Level: Experimental (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced 3145+
Standard -
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-F
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 2,332
Cost: 26,624,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/5
Tracked: 3/5
Engine: 300 XL
Laser Heat Sinks: 12 [24]
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 160
Armor: 323/323
Internal Armor
----------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 31 47
Center Torso (rear) 15
Right Torso 21 32
Right Torso (rear) 10
Left Torso 21 32
Left Torso (rear) 10
Front Right Leg 21 42
Front Left Leg 21 42
Rear Right Leg 21 42
Rear Left Leg 21 42
Weapons Loc Heat
--------------------------------
LB 20-X AC RT 6
Plasma Cannon LT 7
Plasma Cannon LT 7
Medium Pulse Laser LT 4
Medium Pulse Laser LT 4
Small Pulse Laser LT 2
Small Pulse Laser LT 2
ER Medium Laser None 5
Ammo Loc Shots
----------------------------------
LB 20-X AC Ammo RT 5
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo CT 5
Plasma Cannon Ammo LT 10
Plasma Cannon Ammo LT 10
LB 20-X AC Ammo CT 5
Equipment Loc
--------------------------
Tracks RLL
Active Probe [Clan] HD
As always, thoughts and comments are most welcome!
