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Motr24: Stone's Folly (#314 and counting)

Well...with Stone one really can't use the term "folly" in a singular sense, but suffice to say this was a biggun.

After the Fall of the Republic, Alaric got a good look at just how far Stone was willing to go to drive his dream, from the depths of the depravity he would research, to the sheer hubris of his ideas. As Fortress Republic demonstrated, no cost was too high for Stone.

As already known, Stone had a fascination with the ludicrously inefficient and wasteful "Super Heavy" class of mech.... machines that delivered in shock and awe... but when properly studied were far less potent than their weight in traditionally Battlemechs, in large part due to Stone's and the Republics limited foresight on how to use them.

Found deep in the bowels of Skobel's testing ground was the epitome of the Super Heavy class...

The Fortress class Mobile Command Bunker.

Original plans showed that the goal was to build it as an Omni Capable machine, relying heavily on reversed engineered Clan tech weaponry. Massing 200 tons it was going to carrying 85 tons in equipment and omni pods, though 12 tons would be devoted to a Ground Mobile HPG unit. It would carry near 40 tons of armor, while traversing terrain at 32 kph, using a massive 400XXL engine. The idea was pared back due to a combination of technical difficulties... and a per unit cost (after a near trillion c-bill R&D cycle) of a staggering 15 billion c-bills per unit. (Records show attempts to mate it to a Null Sig and Chameleon Light Polarization Shield suite, though apparently nothing came of it).

Instead plans went ahead with a somewhat simpler format, as a standard Battlemech. In place of a jack of all trades Mobile HQ that depended on a lot of active defensive systems, the new model would have unparalleled passive protection.

The Mech would retain the insanely expensive XXL engine but now it's top ground speed was a mere 24 kph, due to it's jaw dropping 76.5 tons of Hardened Armor, making the Fortress a literal Command Bunker on Legs. It was demonstrated as being able to survive detonations from Elias class nuclear weapons, and even likely survive a comparatively close proximity Davey Crockett detonation. This level of protection is enhanced by an Angel ECM.

All this was considered worth it, as even the cost of the XXL Reactor paled in comparison to that of the Ground Mobile HPG. (Estimates place the per unit cost as an insane 12,332,637,500 c-bills per unit, or the cost of 13.5 full regiments of Star LEague era Thug Assault Mechs). One reason for the massive super structure is when not in active use the HPG dish is retracted and stored safely under all that armor. It has to be deployed 1 rd before using and takes 1 rd to stow, after. The remaining superstructure is used to house a Long Tom Artillery Piece, with a 4 ton CASE II protected magazine. An argument could be made for a larger on board ammunition supply, but a machine like this will rarely be far from ammo tenders and a Body Guard lance.

Rounding out it's offensive capabilities are a pair of Small X-Pulse Lasers, mounted in the lower forelegs, as a deterrent for enemy Infantry. Interestingly, the Omni version would have placed them in the rear legs, with a pair of Laser AMS in the forelimbs.

The machine carries 13 Double Strength Heatsinks, to help combat the heat generated by the Engine itself. The machine carried the vaunted Tacticon b2000 combat computer, making it equipped to coordinate not only entire planetary campaigns, but thru the HPG, keep track of multi planet engagements, especially as the communications suite appears to be a Republic sourced update of the Irian E.A.R system, able to communicate with Satellites and Spaceships.

The staggering waste demonstrated by this design likely only increased the scorn Alaric feels toward Stone and the Republic, and it's highly unlikely that any future units will be built. Whether or not his disgust will cause Alaric to have this model slagged, or if his own pragmatism will cause him to find a use for it, remains to be seen.

See my full Gallery here:
https://deviantart.com/bishopsteiner
Support my Patreon here:
http://patreon.com/BishopSteiner
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http://ko-fi.com/bishopsbeerfund

Description

Motr24: Stone's Folly (#314 and counting)

Well...with Stone one really can't use the term "folly" in a singular sense, but suffice to say this was a biggun.

After the Fall of the Republic, Alaric got a good look at just how far Stone was willing to go to drive his dream, from the depths of the depravity he would research, to the sheer hubris of his ideas. As Fortress Republic demonstrated, no cost was too high for Stone.

As already known, Stone had a fascination with the ludicrously inefficient and wasteful "Super Heavy" class of mech.... machines that delivered in shock and awe... but when properly studied were far less potent than their weight in traditionally Battlemechs, in large part due to Stone's and the Republics limited foresight on how to use them.

Found deep in the bowels of Skobel's testing ground was the epitome of the Super Heavy class...

The Fortress class Mobile Command Bunker.

Original plans showed that the goal was to build it as an Omni Capable machine, relying heavily on reversed engineered Clan tech weaponry. Massing 200 tons it was going to carrying 85 tons in equipment and omni pods, though 12 tons would be devoted to a Ground Mobile HPG unit. It would carry near 40 tons of armor, while traversing terrain at 32 kph, using a massive 400XXL engine. The idea was pared back due to a combination of technical difficulties... and a per unit cost (after a near trillion c-bill R&D cycle) of a staggering 15 billion c-bills per unit. (Records show attempts to mate it to a Null Sig and Chameleon Light Polarization Shield suite, though apparently nothing came of it).

Instead plans went ahead with a somewhat simpler format, as a standard Battlemech. In place of a jack of all trades Mobile HQ that depended on a lot of active defensive systems, the new model would have unparalleled passive protection.

The Mech would retain the insanely expensive XXL engine but now it's top ground speed was a mere 24 kph, due to it's jaw dropping 76.5 tons of Hardened Armor, making the Fortress a literal Command Bunker on Legs. It was demonstrated as being able to survive detonations from Elias class nuclear weapons, and even likely survive a comparatively close proximity Davey Crockett detonation. This level of protection is enhanced by an Angel ECM.

All this was considered worth it, as even the cost of the XXL Reactor paled in comparison to that of the Ground Mobile HPG. (Estimates place the per unit cost as an insane 12,332,637,500 c-bills per unit, or the cost of 13.5 full regiments of Star LEague era Thug Assault Mechs). One reason for the massive super structure is when not in active use the HPG dish is retracted and stored safely under all that armor. It has to be deployed 1 rd before using and takes 1 rd to stow, after. The remaining superstructure is used to house a Long Tom Artillery Piece, with a 4 ton CASE II protected magazine. An argument could be made for a larger on board ammunition supply, but a machine like this will rarely be far from ammo tenders and a Body Guard lance.

Rounding out it's offensive capabilities are a pair of Small X-Pulse Lasers, mounted in the lower forelegs, as a deterrent for enemy Infantry. Interestingly, the Omni version would have placed them in the rear legs, with a pair of Laser AMS in the forelimbs.

The machine carries 13 Double Strength Heatsinks, to help combat the heat generated by the Engine itself. The machine carried the vaunted Tacticon b2000 combat computer, making it equipped to coordinate not only entire planetary campaigns, but thru the HPG, keep track of multi planet engagements, especially as the communications suite appears to be a Republic sourced update of the Irian E.A.R system, able to communicate with Satellites and Spaceships.

The staggering waste demonstrated by this design likely only increased the scorn Alaric feels toward Stone and the Republic, and it's highly unlikely that any future units will be built. Whether or not his disgust will cause Alaric to have this model slagged, or if his own pragmatism will cause him to find a use for it, remains to be seen.

See my full Gallery here:
https://deviantart.com/bishopsteiner
Support my Patreon here:
http://patreon.com/BishopSteiner
or give a one time tip on Ko-Fi:
http://ko-fi.com/bishopsbeerfund