Another one, the Helepolis (not the one you're thinking about, mine that is posted on Solaris 7
http://www.solaris7.com/TRO/HTMLBattleMech/BattleMechInfo.asp?ID=4482)
OverviewSome tools of war are born from hard work, others from mere luck, others from the circumstances... The Helepolis is obviously a combination of the last two.
Eager to reinforce its units to deal with the Hanseatic League (a way to cement the new nation in “blood and gutsâ€) while still being able to resist to the Clans should they decide to come, the Escórpion Imperio was also facing some morale issues among its Warriors faced with rumours of the Umayyads
descending from the Not-Named Clan
and violence rising from these rumours, resulting in a weakened alliance of the three “members†of the Escórpion Imperio.
This is when a Star from the 3rd Scorpion Seekers found an old Star League outpost, that seemed to have been a supply outpost for the Exodus (this rises once more questions regarding whether General Kerensky knew where he was doing or if other possible routes had been planned (a theory supported by this discovery)).
Within this outpost was an old battle hardened Helepolis HP-1, a survivor of the battle to liberate Earth that was probably assigned to this outpost to protect it.
Jumping on the occasion, Pegaso BattleMechs requested both the Khan and the SaKhan to give them the honour to turn this venerated relic into a 'Mech worth of its history and of the new Escórpion Imperio.
A realistic analysis would say that they agreed because of Firefox Ltd former employees and their experience with Star League, Inner Sphere and Clan technologies.
This is how the new Helepolis was born and produced as quickly as possible for it to be deployed in haste in the Imperio Militar del Escorpión.
CapabilitiesThe haste with which Pegaso BattleMechs worked prevented them to completely rework the HP-1 and as such anyone familiar with it would recognise it but had to confess that it is Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
To do that, the Helepolis was remade from the ground up with a new Endo-Steel Internal Structure coupled with 11 tons of Ferro-Fibrous armour, increasing its protection by almost 15% for a small decrease in weight.
Seeing that it would be impossible to get access in time to 300 XL engines, Pegaso BattleMechs kept the old Vlar 300 that was available from a lot of different sources both within and outside the Escórpion Imperio.
The MASC system that allowed it to increase ground speed by 25% for short periods of time was kept as it gave the 75 tons 'Mech the same maximal speed as much lighter models. However, 4 Jump Jets were added, giving it an extra mobility thanks to the 120 meters jump capacity.
The weapons were given great attention but in the end, it was decided to simply upgrade them with their Clan equivalents, which were more efficient and most of the time lighter.
This choice was made both for reducing the development time and because the battle reports of the HP-1 had always priced them.
The Right Arm PPC was upgraded to an ER PPC and the Left Arm Large Laser to a Large Pulse Laser, both weapons having more range and doing more damage than the original ones.
The famous Medium Lasers with their innovative rotative system in the Right Torso were upgraded to Medium Pulse Lasers both to increase the flexibility of the design as Pulse weapons are able to deal efficiently with all targets and to have an increased psychological on its targets through a real wall of laser beams falling on it.
The last Medium Laser was changed for a Small Pulse Laser to give the Helepolis a weapon to deal specifically with minor threats at close ranges at the lowest cost in terms of heat generated.
The last point under consideration was the Heat management with 15 Double Heat Sinks, not enough to alpha-strike (as the Helepolis HP-1 was able to do) but enough to allow it to fire the most efficient combination of weapons at all ranges.
A side effect of the haste surrounding this project was that the price was kept low, allowing for a production “en masse†including to so-called “Second-line†units.
VariantsSo far only one variant has been tested but is more a prototype variation than a real variant. It has been on hold while the new Helepolis is going through its final tests.
This other Helepolis drops the MASC and 2 Jump Jets for more Double Heat Sinks, allowing this new variants to nearly alpha-strike, something that the HP-1 was known for.
Battle HistoryThe Helepolis first battle happened a few weeks ago when Clan Coyote staged another massive raid to test the Imperio Militar del Escorpión. They managed to take them by surprise as most units were undergoing training and exercises to allow them to test the new equipments they had received.
Like for all pure energy BattleMech, the Warriors piloting Helepolis just had to switch their weapons to full power, which made them the first units to fought against the Coyote raid
On one occasion on Granada, a Helepolis undertook a delaying action to allow the other Warriors to get to supply points to change their ammunitions and to get ready. Thanks to its mix of speed, mobility and firepower, it managed to buy enough time by infuriating the Coyote Warriors remembering them of their supposed links to the Society, which started an epic man hunting that only ended when the Coyote forces faced the gathered Imperio Militar del Escorpión and were driven back.
Notable 'MechWarriorsThe 5 Aces: this Star from the 3rd Scorpion Seekers was the one who found out the original Helepolis HP-1 during one quest. As such, they were given the first production run and decided to customise it to make them look like 'Mechs from the 322nd Division, 8th Heavy Assault Regiment of the Star League Defence Forces.
Star Captain Ethan Moreau: although unrelated to the famous Ethan Moreau, he is proud of his name and of him looking a lot like the unofficial founder of Clan Goliath Scorpion. More at ease with the one-vs-one fight traditionally promoted by the Clans and the Gunslingers of old, he is not well versed in the arts of logistics and command. Under Galaxy Commander Allison Baba with her focus on duelling and the natural tendency of Clan Goliath Scorpion Galaxy Commander to micromanage this was not a problem but in the Escórpion Imperio , it might become one.
DeploymentStrangely enough, this prototype, which was not the first produced was the most deployed with two Stars worth of it being split in the different units as good omen and a link between the Star League Defence Forces, the Goliath Scorpion and the Escórpion Imperio
Only the tests being run these days will tell if the new Helepolis will be widely used but given the tendency of the former Goliath Scorpions to idolize everything linked to the Star League, the question is a purely theoretical one.
Helepolis
Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Clan
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: F/X-X-D
Production Year: 3052
Cost: 9 446 500 C-Bills
Battle Value: 2 835
Chassis: Unknown Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Unknown 300 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 43,2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64,8 km/h (86,4 km/h)
Jump Jets: Unknown
Jump Capacity: 120 meters
Armor: Unknown Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
1 ER PPC
1 Large Pulse Laser
5 Medium Pulse Lasers
1 Small Pulse Laser
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel 114 points 4,00
Internal Locations: 1 HD, 1 CT, 3 LT, 2 RT
Engine: Fusion Engine 300 19,00
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6 (8)
Jumping MP: 4 Standard
Jump Jet Locations: 2 LL, 2 RL 4,00
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 15(30) 5,00
Heat Sink Locations: 2 LT, 1 RT
Gyro: Standard 3,00
Cockpit: Standard 3,00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA+H R: SH+UA+LA+H
Armor: Ferro-Fibrous AV - 211 11,00
Armor Locations: 1 CT, 2 LT, 3 RT, 1 RA
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 23 36
Center Torso (rear) 10
L/R Torso 16 24
L/R Torso (rear) 8
L/R Arm 12 21
L/R Leg 16 25
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Medium Pulse Lasers RT 20 5 10,00
MASC LT - 3 3,00
ER PPC RA 15 2 6,00
Large Pulse Laser LA 10 2 6,00
Small Pulse Laser LA 2 1 1,00
Free Critical Slots: 10
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 7 Points: 28
5/4j 5 5 2 0 3 1 Structure: 6
Special Abilities: ENE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA