Koodi: Valitse kaikki
Starfire
Mass: 100 tonnes
Chassis: Heliopolica-frame
Power Plant: 200-rated Clan standard
Cruising Speed: 21,5 km/h
Maximum Speed: 32,25 km/h
Jump Jets: none
Jump Capacity: none
Armor: unknown, integral CASE
Armament:
4 Cold Starfire LRM 20s (w/ Artemis IV FCS)
1 Arcturian Lance ER large laser
2 Reaper Grade 13 UAC/5s
Manufacturer: Clan Star Adder
Primary Factory: Sheridan (Kerensky Cluster)
Communications System: Star Arc "Vox Dei"
Targeting and Tracking System: Snake-Eyes Mk.II
Overview:
Clan Star Adder, being one of the most aggressive Crusader Clans,
believes in the "total force" approach to warfare; to commit anything
less than 100% is cowardice. Their Touman is still rather assault-
biased; the forces gained through the Absorption of the Burrocks are
not yet fully integrated into the fighting order of the Touman.
Nonetheless, the Star Adder scientist caste continues to create new
assault-class Omni- and BattleMechs, mostly because with advanced
Clan technology, the normally cumbersome assault 'Mechs can pack
quite a punch but still remain relatively mobile.
The Starfire is the controversial brainchild of a lead scientist
known as Ivar. He reasoned that with so many fast heavy-classed
OmniMechs around, and so many assault-classed OmniMechs mounting
engines rated as high as 400 units, there clearly was a niche for what
was to become known as the Starfire. Originally codenamed Project:
Celestial Fury, the Starfire began life as a ponderous weapons-
platform. Developing further on this concept, the scientists of Clan
Star Adder came up with what is now known as the Starfire.
Capabilities:
The Starfire is clearly designed solely for garrison duty; the
tiny 200-rated standard fusion engine barely keeps the cumbersome
behemoth moving. Reaching top speeds of just above 30 km/h, the
Starfire is not built to chase down main battleline 'Mechs, nor to
spearhead assaults. Verily, the Starfire's core problem is its
ridiculous lack of speed and its poor maneuverability; even the bulky
and cumbersome Stone Rhino rates much higher than the Starfire in all
movement-based tests. But due to the relatively small size of the
standard engine (made possible by incorporating such a low-rated -
and hence light-weight - engine type) coupled with the lack of
endo-steel internal structure or ferro-fibrous armour, the Starfire
has enormous amounts of space to install weapons into. Plus, with all
the armour the scientist caste could slab upon it, this 100-tonne
beast is not the first to fall...
Arguably the main guns of the 'Mech and prime reason for its name
are not the normal two, but four long-range missile launchers mounted
around the cockpit, each rack sporting a whopping 20 missile tubes.
This absurd storm of firepower can fire over 1000 missiles per
minute, assuming ammunition would be available. The design does sport
the enormous payload of 960 individual missiles, arranged in
loading-racks of 20 and divided amongst 8 separate ammo bins. Herein
lies the other main weakness of the Starfire, namely its relatively
low supply of missile ammunition. The current payload only lasts for
the meagre amount of 12 firings per launcher.
On a side note, a by-product of a new propellant type especially
developed for the Starfire's missiles is to colour the exhaust trails
white through ice blue through storm blue, creating an illusion of
cold, white starfire hurling itself at the enemy. This quirk, though
questionable by Clan standards, has given the design its name, and
has proven itself to be a psychological weapon of some potency,
especially when facing Freeborn pilots.
Additional weaponry include two arm-mounted Ultra-type
autocannons of calibre grade 5. The two ammo bins available for the
UAC5s hold a total of 80 individual shells, two of which are fired
each burst at normal rate of fire, and four at double rate.[HARD
RETURN]Last but not least, a hefty extended-range large laser has
been mounted overslung on the left-hand side of the cockpit,
modelling after the Scylla and Charybdis' curious but useful mount.
This is considered more backup than actual main weapon, though it
does pack a hefty punch, which it is capable of dealing out at
astounding distances. Direct hits at up to 7500 metres have been
recorded, with little or no decrease in damage potential. The main
drawback of the ER large laser is its considerable heat backwash;
with so small an engine, the Starfire cannot sport enormous amounts
of integral heat sinks, either.
Though the small engine doesn't fit many integral heat sink
arrays, the design does sport more than a couple of extra heat sinks,
especially in the legs; shallow water features could be taken
advantage of by letting water run through the extra ports, which have
been specifically made to allow the system to be both air- and
liquid-cooled. The design can fire an alpha strike with negligible
heat backwash, though several pilots have reported the engine's power
output ebbing out right after an alpha strike. Apparently the myomer
bundles cannot handle such heat levels with so little power input;
this is a problem that direly needs to be rectified, but none of Clan
Star Adder scientists have come up with a solution.
So far the warriors have settled with not firing the ER large
laser at ranges of between 7500 and 6300 metres unless absolutely
neccesary, as the laser's heat backwash is the critical factor;
without it, the 'Mech is totally cool-running even at otherwise full
alpha - but with it, the myomer bundles overheat at alpha strike and
cease to function entirely as detailed above. Emergency power
distribution routines do keep critical bundles, like those guiding
the arm-mounted weaponry, motional (though sluggishly so) even when
severely overheated.
Deployment:
Currently the Clan Star Adder Touman contains very few if any
Starfire 'Mechs, and those few that are fielded, operate in Kappa
through Upsilon garrison Galaxies. Especially Kappa Galaxy, the
"OpFor" of the Adders, are delighted by the prospect of this new
machine. The 1015th Adder Sentinels Cluster of Xi Galaxy, operating
from Strana Mechty, have so far fielded the most Starfire 'Mechs,
though other Clusters amongst the garrison Galaxies are slowly
following suite.
Battle History:
In early field tests the Starfire has shown a brutal appetite for
destruction; even the feared Blood Asp OmniMech has had to kneel
before the unbound fury of the Starfire on several occasions. Even
Dire Wolves and Turkinas have been demolished totally, incinerating
the unbelievably heavy frontal torso armouring before scouring the
torso internals with, more or less literally, starfire.
Then again, not every field test has proven a success. The
newly-developed Charybdis, twin-'Mech to the Scylla, has caused some
concern to Star Adder scientists. The sheer speed of the
MASC-enhanced Charybdis, coupled with its relatively hard-hitting
payload, make it an optimal weapon for defeating the Starfire with.
Known Variants:
The only known variant to the standard Starfire is one piloted by
- ironically - a Clan Ghost Bear warrior by the name of Svetjard
Tseng. He gained his Starfire, named "Aurora Borealis", in a Trial of
Possession against Morkas Polczyk of the Star Adders. Tseng, with the
help of his warrior prowess and renown, took to having the behemoth
heavily customised; "Aurora Borealis" features a nigh-unique detail -
the ER large laser normally forward-slung by the cockpit has been
mounted to be rear-firing. Positioned as an obscure "neck spine" for
the 'Mech, the design is as much style-based as it is function-based
- Tseng, in true Ghost Bear spirit, likes to get up close and
personal, and hence he wanted to have a rear-firing weapon in case a
rouge dezgra might get in behind him.
Another improvement that Tseng had made was switching the UAC5s
for newer LB 10-X type "'Mech shotgun" autocannons. Featuring the
infamous "devil ire" cluster shells as well as "nihil" solidcore
slugs, these weapons pack as much a punch as - and are much more
varied than - the UAC5s at full rate of fire, without being prone to
ammunition jams. To make enough room for the LB 10-Xs, Tseng had to
remove fully half the missile launcher ammo bins from the Starfire -
a precarious gamble, but worth it in his opinion. The non-Omni nature
of the Starfire made it arduous to customise, even with skilled
technicians and a wealth of aid from the Ghost Bear Clan itself.
Starfire
Technology Base: Clan, level 2
Equipment, mass
Internal Structure: standard, 10 tonnes
Engine: 200-rated standard, 8,5 tonnes
Walking MP: 2
Running MP: 3
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 15 (30) double, 5 tonnes
Gyro: 2 tonnes
Cockpit: 3 tonnes
Armor Factor: 307 pts. standard, 19,5 tonnes
Actuators: left Sh+UA, right Sh+UA
Internal structure / Armor value
Head: 3 / 9
Center Torso: 31 / 47
Center Torso(rear): - / 15
R/L Torso: 21 / 32
R/L Torso(rear): - / 10
R/L Arm: 17 / 34
R/L Leg: 21 / 42
Weapons and ammo - Location - Critical - Tonnage
ER large laser - H - 1 - 4
Double heat sink - CT - 2 - 1
LRM 20 - LT - 4 - 5
LRM 20 - LT - 4 - 5
LRM 20 ammo (Artemis IV) - LT - 2 - 2
Artemis IV FCS - LT - 2 - 2
LRM 20 - RT - 4 - 5
LRM 20 - RT - 4 - 5
LRM 20 ammo (Artemis IV) - RT - 2 - 2
Artemis IV FCS - RT - 2 - 2
Ultra AC/5 - LA - 3 - 7
Ultra AC/5 ammo - LA - 1 - 1
LRM 20 ammo (Artemis IV) - LA - 2 - 2
Double heat sink - LA - 2 - 1
Double heat sink - LA - 2 - 1
Ultra AC/5 - RA - 3 - 7
Ultra AC/5 ammo - RA - 1 - 1
LRM 20 ammo (Artemis IV) - RA - 2 - 2
Double heat sink - RA - 2 - 1
Double heat sink - RA - 2 - 1
Double heat sink - LL - 2 - 1
Double heat sink - RL - 2 - 1