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 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