IronBlooded Warriors: 2

Two months total passed. Food supplies were being tapped into but were predicted to hold out for a whole year. The idea had been tossed around to push on to a world just past the red planet, given it appeared to have atmosphere and liquid water, but the idea was shot down for the time being; resources diverted from travel repairs could have a significant impact on efforts to escape the system, time-wise. Any harvesting or growing to sustain their time would have a scaling effect on how much longer they would need to keep farming instead of mining and fabricating.

Gabriel MacEwin, also known by his calllsign 'Niddhogg 1', stood on the flight deck of the Forwards Unto Glory, looking over the repairs to Warrior 1. It was, practically speaking, done. A few coats of paint and she was good as new. Those Clanners did one hell of a number, that was for certain.

"Attention! All hands, to your stations!" The intercom screeched just as Alarms began to blare, "Contacts detected, prepare for launch!"

Great.

"Arite ladies!" He yelled in his deep Welsh accent, "We've a job to do, hop onnit!"

The flight deck became a whirl of activity. Repair crews cleaned up and secured their tools with record speed and precision, moving with practiced ease and fluidity. MacEwin himself pushed off to the right hand ladder well and grabbed it before he crashed face first.

Zero G made launches easier, but it didn't help getting around sometimes.

He pulled himself to the crew quarters, where the fighter jockies were getting geared up. His two co-pilots, the Sensors Chief and Gunner to Niddhogg 0, had his flight suit out and ready.

"That's a lad," he clasped his Gunner Niddhogg 2 on the shoulder as he sailed towards them, stopping and rushing to pull his suit on, "Got us some action aye?"

"Against what?" Asked Cass Newell, Niddhogg 3, "Meteors? Clan? We're way out in nowhere. We even checked for Hyper-pulse signals, this place is off the system."

"Whatever," responded 'Torch', the aptly nicknamed Gunner, "Whenever, we got to keep our home safe. That's the paycheck, that's the job."

"Can ya calm down," sighed Gabriel, looking annoyed at Torch, "Why ya always gotta be so serious, Torch?"

"Seriously Cass," Torch kept up, "We wanted something to do, and I love a good drill much as the next guy, but now we got a live one."

"Gabe, back me up here!" Cass bitched, earning him a sideways glare, "I just wanna know what, exactly, we are supposed to he shooting. That's all man," he paused, before moving behind Torch, "Hold on man your suit got caught."

It took them a few more moments of prep before they were all three headed up to the flight deck once again, this time getting themselves situated onboard the Ahab heavy gunship "Niddhogg 0". Boot-up sequences ran across the screens as the pilots strapped in, the Heavy AeroSpace bomber coming online from technicians in the control center. Neurohelmets on, the Pilots slowly checked their instruments once and again.

"Alright, flight check! Atmospheric landing gear check out, atmospheric foils are green..."
"Retro-thruster 4 is in the yellow-"
"Still? Let's reduce 1 again to half power, we don't need to go spinning."
"LRMs are green, all racks reading good. Lasers too, looks set."
"Thrusters fueled, all systems green. Control, this is Niddhogg 1, we are ready for launch."
"Copy that Niddhogg 1, you are cleared for launch. Be advised, Zero G BattleMechs detected, be aware of those firing arcs. Provide fire support to anti-Mech attacks and get Valkyrie to their target."

Niddhogg 3 quirked an eyebrow beneath his helmet, "Wait, Zero G Mechs? That means one of the Houses or some Mercs, right?" Niddhogg 1 shook his head.

"Can't say," he said with some concern, "if it is, I don't want to be Tokyo wing. Those guys are going to have it hard."

Tokyo, the call signs for the lighter fighters deployed by the Trade DropShip from earlier, were relegated to defensive actions largely, letting the more battle-proven Mercs play the role of the assault team. This also meant however that Tokyo would have to sell their lives for the survival of the entire JumpShip, and against BattleMechs in space, that was not a healthy prospect given their light dog-fighting armaments.

Niddhogg 0 spun slowly, the hangar bay pumping it's air out to preserve the valuable resource. The moment the vacuum was established, doors behind each fighter opened, exposing all seven AeroSpace craft to open, raw space.

"Niddhogg 0 launching from Hanger," called Niddhogg 1, "on my mark. Thrusting up.. and.. Mark."

The heavy Ahab gunship rocketed into the void the moment it's clamps released. Across the upper deck of the DropShip, Valkyrie and Warrior wings each launched, Warrior making for the distant enemy while Valkyrie fell behind Niddhogg 0.

"Valkyrie 2, Niddhogg 2, testing comms."

"Loud and clear Valkyrie 2," responded Niddhogg 2, "comms functional."

Silence prevailed for a few minutes as the flight made it's way from the JumpShip, a small red orb in the distance. The silence was broken as multiple red targets appeared on the sensor feed, confirmed hostiles from Warrior Actual, the call sign of the entire Warrior wing. "Niddhogg 3, Valkyrie Actual, we have just received targets, and are awaiting target highlight from Command. Standby."

The enemy slowly came into visual range, albeit needing magnification. A large red objective was painted over a small cigar-ship from which a number of small BattleMechs were floating in a picket position. It only took a moment before they leaned forwards and moved with startling speed towards Warrior 2, who it seemed had drawn too close.

Immediately, missiles streaked from the three fighters at the twenty-some Mechs, one of them taking the combined fire of two of the fighters, and they quickly dodged down and away. The Lancer fighters pressed their momentary advantage, tightening their formation and swooping overhead. Their lasers flashed, fire focused on the BattleMech that had taken two salvo's, and it exploded from the sustained fire.

"Warrior 2 to Niddhogg 0, enemies are on the board, we'll tie them up. Can we get some damage on these things?"

"Warrior 2, Niddhogg 2, we are seeking locks now. We'll be on the board in five seconds..."

There was a soft bell-chime that rapidly dinged, and Niddhogg 3 fired the missiles. Forty some LRMs screamed out towards the mass of 'SpaceMechs' for lack of a better term. Niddhogg 0 began to dive, the wing of Valkyrie throttling up and making directly for the enemy DropShip

"Warrior 3, bogie on your 4, bank left."
"Copy, you got a lock?"
"He's lit up and running- Shit he just juked. He's off you 3."
"Niddhogg 0, just saw your delivery, that's two tangos down and leaving the battlefield."
"Warrior 6, hard up!"
"Damage minimal, mostly to fusilage. I'm still green."

Niddhogg 0 was slow, and listening to the battle between the outnumbered Lancer fighters and the unidentified enemies was torturous. Another salvo of missiles departed for the enemy formation, now thinning to avoid another clustered hit like the previous attack. They weren't stupid that was for certain, which made the few losses the Rangers had taken rather shocking.

"We are in play," called Niddhogg 1, "we're going for grouping Bravo."

"Copy Niddhogg, we'll keep you clear."

"All fighters," Command called out, "We are taking fire from the DropShip Repeat, it is firing upon the Forward Unto Glory. Take it down now!"

The missiles racks on Niddhogg 0 were in overtime, missiles streaming out as rapidly as the loaders could arm them. A green light turned red next to the missile feed, "We're down to two tons, staggering firing."

"Enemies on our Six, Niddhogg 3 take the mediums."
"Copy, Mediums warmed up."

The Ahab gunship slowly spun left and down, and it's two tail lasers flashed, twin Lance's of green taking an arm off the pursuer. It quickly jetted upwards, but couldn't avoid the changing arc of Niddhogg 0. It's escape was cut short as another blast took it in the center torso, spinning it around and out of control.

"SRM lock, firing."

Six heavy-damage missiles flashed outwards, and almost without protest one of the enemy combatants spun and fled, armor and electronics ripped free by the impact of the attack. A few shots bounced off the massive Gunship, but it was entirely superficial.

"Warrior 2, Niddhogg 0, you just bounced a CQC weapon, repeat, dorsal attack bounced."

"CQC? Confirm that Warrior 2?"

"That is a copy, enemy are using CQC weapons and ballistics."

The cockpit of Niddhogg 0 was quiet, before a chuckle from 2 broke it, "That's the stupidest thing I've heard all week."

"Valkyrie Actual, commencing run. We got this thing dead to rights."

The attitude of the SpaceMechs changed immediately, with more than half making to flee to cover their DropShip Those left behind began to swarm for Niddhogg 0, but Warrior 3 and 6 began to trail behind the Ahab gunship, their own missiles and lasers dissuading the attacks.

"Valkyrie 2, you got bogies; get out of there!"
"I've got a bead on the thrusters, keep me covered."
"Valkyrie 2, you're a sitting duck, we can make another-"
"Thrusters down! Haha!"
"You've got four on you! Get clear!"
"Warrior 2 in position, I need you to dive Right Valkyrie 2."
"Can't do, can't do, thruster isn't responding, I think they got me!"
"Valkyrie 1 and 3 are clear, that DropShip is immobile, blind, deaf, and dumb. Niddhogg, you have the rest."

The objective marker fell on the DropShip, and Niddhogg 0 pulled about for a pass. Missiles screamed for the larger spaceship, and a single pod beneath the cockpit fired. A NARC target beacon, it hit the DropShip square and began to feed targeting data back to the Ahab gunship.

"All missiles, FIRE!" yelled Niddhogg 1, and a storm of explosions rocked the side of the DropShip An explosion ran across the side being pounded, before dipping down and running into it's belly; an ammo feed had been hit. Moments later, an explosion rippled across it's nose, and it began to list sideways.

"Command to all units, confirmed kill, it's out of the fight. Get back here, our Point Defenses can screen those BattleMechs off of you."

"Valkyrie 2, Command I have lost my thrusters! Adversaries have disabled my flight controls and I am dead in the water-" Valkyrie 2 stopped, before saying something too softly to be understood.

"Say again Valkyrie 2, you are dead in the water?" Worry was clear in Command's voice, "We are detaching from the JumpShip and coming to get you."

"Negative Command," Valkyrie managed, "I just got hit, my thrusters are wrecked and I am crashing towards the planet."

Silence pervaded space as the Fighters returned to the DropShip True to the comment earlier, it had detached and was now moving into the combat area, making docking easier. That was far from Niddhogg 1s mind however, as there were still enemies on the board. Niddhogg 0 came to a slow pace above the Forward Unto Glory, with Warrior and Valkyrie also forming a defensive ring around the ship.

"Command to Control, you have this?" Command was asking the trade ship in charge of Tokyo if it could handle defending from here.

"Control, we have it from here. Go get your pilot."

"Command, all fighters board for landing and rearming. We are making landfall in ten minutes." Command ordered. Back in the Command Center, Roric looked up, his face set into a hard grimace, "Andrew," he called, and a New Avalon MechWarrior looked up from his seat around the Hologlobe, "we're putting Gungnir in for the retrieval. Get suited and get ready to deploy."

"Yes sir," responded the MechWarrior in question, as he kicked off and floated to the crew quarters. Three minutes later, gravity began to make itself felt; the planet was just below.

"Get Gungnir online," Roric called out, looking into the Mechbay, "what's her status?"

"Boot-up sequence Initiated"
______________________

Sirens screamed, boots rattled metal gantry, lights flashed, and LED strips strobed towards the boarding platforms. Thirty-some engineers hustled to decouple the metal Gods they serviced from their greasy womb, refueling couplings spinning as they were disconnected, a crane moving the last bin of AC/5 ammunition into the left shoulder of the towering, black-and-green God of War, “Systems check successful, reactor fuel check in process”

The Shadow Hawk.

With the word “Gungnir” emblazoned across the cannon in its shoulder, it sat at Fifty-five tons of composite armor, advanced targeting systems, and whithering fire power. It was not the heaviest Mech in the Lance, that honorific went to Reaper, the company Ace's Mech.
It was however the most used, being versatile and capable at all ranges and able to fulfill any mission it was required to complete. Gungnir, the BattleMech of MechWarrior Andrew Smith, was nearly ready for war.

"All hatches secure, final start up of Gungnir in process! Andy, you have the deck."

Crew Chief Lieng set his headset down, looking out of the office overlooking the MechBay. Data feeds within the window glass read out specifications and mechanic reports; a full bin of Cannon shells, two salvo's missing from the missile bins each, and a fresh coat of paint on the new leg. She was ready. Lieng just hoped that she'd handle the unknown contacts incoming. If knowledge was power, Andy was going into this with a dead battery.

Andrew's boots caught traction on the hull of Gungnir, and he propelled himself the last ways up. The hatch at the rear of the head was propped open for him, and he carefully spun around and dropped inside. Within, the dusky smell of habitation greeted his nose, of cleaning agents that could barely fight the stink of sweat, and a cockpit awaiting it's master.

He stepped deeper into the compartment, reaching for a cooling jacket that hung off his cot, one of the many accouterments that made this Mech his home. The bed was new, but his grandfather had slept on that cot during the third succession wars. The vest buckled on as his mind returned to the task at hand.

"Andy, what's the hold up?" Called the comms, Captain Gustav checking in like a frustrated parent. Just in time.

"Sorry sir," he yelled out to the front of the Mech as he hustled towards the pilot seat, "just got a little sentimental."

"Good", came the reply as he pulled on his Neurohelmet, "I want my Shadow Hawk back on this Dropship after this mission."

A surge of static filled Andy's ears, and he closed his eyes. Leaning back into the pilot seat, he thought back to riding his bike down the streets of New Avalon, then of the day his mother died, then again to when he met Gillian.

"Welcome back, Warlord," cooed the soft voice of Gungnir, recognizing his mental handshake, "ready for start-up sequence."

With a smile, he flipped three switches to unlock the reactor's control coils, "Reactor, Online. Fusion super-critical, power output 30% and rising," the Mech computer responded. His hand flew down to a large button, the systems power, and the boot up of secondary systems began.

"Sensors, Online," green lights flashed in the corner of Andy's vision as test messages were bounced between relays; radio and
laser-comm to the three other Mechs and the Dropship. The machine tested and checked it's Radar, seismic sensor, and rangefinder. All green. "Weapons, Online," a flash of yellow and blue along his cheek as the weapons test cycled, cleared, test cycled again, and then loaded fresh ammunition into the system. The gantries to Gungnir began to retract, and slowly the BattleMech spun to face the Dropship bay door for its MechBay.

The Dropship began to shudder slightly as it set down, and the lights of the MechBay died down. The impact of landing was quickly followed by the MechBay door dropping and the red light of an open desert washed into the strobing red of warning lights. Mooring clamps broke their seal, and slowly Andy throttled up the Shadow Hawk, strutting from the Dropship onto the red planet's surface.

"This is Call-sign Warlord to Command," Andy called out, "Gungnir is on the board."

"Copy Warlord, operation begins now," responded Captain Gustav over his call-sign Command, "We're picking up interference trying to reach Valkyrie Two, we need you to recover Valkyrie Two, and if you can the Lucifer as well. Don't risk Gungnir to pull it back though, we just need our Pilot back."

"Warlord, Command, copy that. Beginning Operations."

The Shadow Hawk sauntered forwards across the crags and sand, a canyon looming ahead. The fighter Valkyrie Two had gone down during the emergency landing of the Dropship just an hour before, and now they had lost communication. The hard part would be securing the Pilot and the wreckage, whatever hostiles they encountered in orbit seemed to be interested in intercepting the Dropship as well, making the scramble to rescue their own a dangerous mission. With the Dropship touched down for the operation, it was a sitting duck.

The ground began to firm up, and so Warlord pushed the throttle to max. Gungnir began to run, its heavy feet pounding through the cockpit even three stories in the air. A literal god of war, Gungnir was ready to face whatever the enemy might throw at it. Just ahead, about 2km, was the objective, a crag that Valkyrie 2 had crashed into. A plume of smoke confirmed it was near the marker, placed across his vision by the Neurohelmet's visor. With a sharp alarm, it began to mark a plume of dust not that far from the location; whatever was out there would have to be discouraged from persisting.

The hills between the objective and Gungnir melted away, and in a large rut lie Valkyrie 2, a flare putting up red smoke. Across the expanse, about a full Kilometer, three BattleMechs resembling a Phoenix Hawk or Stinger crested the hills protecting the crash site, their jumpjets winding down from use.

"Warlord, Command, I have visual, contacts, confirm engagement," Warlord began, but static answered him. He paused, and tried communicating again, "Warlord, Command, do you copy?"

Nothing.

Switching to laser-comms, he waited for the connection to be made before he attempted anything. His finger brushed the trigger of his LRMs, a locking reticle slowly circling closer and closer to the lead Mech. The readout began to flipflop between "STG-3R" and "CN9-A", blending into something Warlord made out as "STPAR".

"Warlord, Command, Gungnir thinks these are something called a... Stopper, BattleMech. They look to have Axes and Rifles. Advise," he paused, waiting for a relay to pick up the transmission. Then, the LRM locked with a solid red, and Warlord smiled; He had the bastards number if they made a move, though he knew they weren't just standing there letting him get a targeting resolution.

No reply came back after a moment, and Warlord took the gamble; he throttled forwards, stomping forwards at half-speed. If the contacts wanted to dance, he would oblige; otherwise, he had a job to do. He spotted the pilot getting out of the hatch, scrambling down the side, before a hail of ballistics ran along the side of the Lucifer, forcing Valkyrie 2 to hide behind cover.

"Firing on a downed pilot?" asked Warlord with fury, training his gun up and at the three Stoppers, "Alright, then. Let's play that game."

The three enemy 'Mechs fired up their jump jets, but Warlord's trigger was faster, a salvo of missiles from his LRM flashing into the air. They jetted down the side of the ravine, dodging more nimbly than most mechs could manage, but a few missiles impacted their target. Ballistics rained across Gungnir, and the damage feed registered superficial damage.

"How about you have a taste of your own medicine," Warlord snarled, and keyed the medium laser mounted in Gungnir's right hand. A lance of red light glowed for a few seconds, bridging the distance between the Shadow Hawk and the three Stoppers. His target, the middle Mech he had fired the missiles at, crouched low and ramped off a rock, mitigating some of the damage from the laser. Streams of molten steel ran down the Stopper before cooling, leaving hard, jagged, crystal-like spikes in its wake.

'How strange,' thought Warlord, and Gungnir enhanced the image telescopically. It seemed there was an ablative coating to the enemy Mech, similar to the paints used to paint the mercenaries own Mech, but it behaved differently. He'd need this information for Command to digest later, and made a mental note to flag this moment of combat. Gungnir's computer quickly received the command from the Neurohelmet, and the black box recorded a timestamp of the footage.

The left arm of Gungnir flashed on the damage read, more shots aimed at him. He spun to the right, taking the shots across his entire arm instead of allowing it to concentrate in one area, and used the opportunity to return some fire of his own. Optimal range for the LRM still, and a lock was maintained on the middle for now. His Medium Laser discharged at the right-most Stopper, and he spun, the LRM roaring as he faced the middle-most enemy. His throttle pushed up, and he stomped forwards atop the wrecked Lucifer, heat pouring from the heatsink vents in the chest.

The Stoppers continued their advance on their jumpjets, the middle Mech unable to dodge and taking the full salvo across their chest. The right hand Stopper didn't react to the laser in time and took the full burn into their leg. Sparks flew as it stumbled, catching itself and sliding across the ground.

More damage feedback, the left side armor was taking more bangs from the weak Autocannons of the enemy, but it wasn't at threat of failing. He needed to get that enemy off his arm, now, though, or the armor would start buckling and lock up his arm. They were aiming to close for melee, that much was clear, they could tell their guns were bouncing rather than penetrating. This put them right in the cross hairs of the SRM-2.

Firing the LRM one last time before the range became untenable, a full-turn with the feet left brought the head-mounted SRM into line with the left Stopper. A hard 'Fa-Wush' roared twice as two missiles closed the distance quickly, leaving no time for dodging. The impact landed directly across the head, blasting it sideways from the force and tossing the entire Stopper off balance. The LRMs impacted at the same time, and the middle mech slid to its feet, armor flying off and revealing the unprotected endoskeleton of the Mech...

'Flag' thought Warlord, and Gungnir did, as the sight of the Mech lacked the conventional Endoskeleton but was rather akin to a more crude metal exoskeleton. More for the Black box, in case it all went south here. The shots resumed across the right arm and now the chest, but the armor held, enduring the barrage.

The far-right Stopper had braced and was focusing fire, trying to score a wound from range while its allies continued to charge. Things were getting hairy, and it was coming down to the wire. Warlord unlocked the safety on the Autocannon, and it chambered a live round. A salvo of SRMs and a full burn of the Medium Laser, all focused on the left Stopper's legs, ripped the armor off of them and sent it to the ground, rolling to a stop. Stepping backwards, Gungnir spun, and the mighty cannon on its shoulder came into life with the middle Stopper, which raised its hatchet for a downwards strike.

The Lance of the Gods barked 'No', and the lower waist of the Stopper flew from the upper part, the chest and arms flipping twice before skidding to a stop at the feet of the Shadow Hawk. Gungnir began a slow retreat, stepping away from the wreckage. It was up to Valkyrie 2 to stay close and out from underfoot, but he would not give up his mound. For the enemy to chase him off, they'd need to buy it with iron and oil.

The left Stopper darted in, gong for its downed ally to cover it. Its head split open, a large eye-like ball trained on the BattleMech. Seeing an opening, the SRMs hissed out, only one of them missing the target. The head detonated, earning a hiss from Warlord. Despite that, the Mech kept moving; "How in the hell?"

Warlord watched, centering his arms upon this beheaded Mech as it kept maneuvering. Warlord had no idea how, that should have killed the Pilot or forced an eject. Regardless, it was moving, and came to a kneel by the de-legged Stopper, firing ineffectually into the chest of Gungnir. A full burn of the laser and a salvo of SRMs barked from the Shadow Hawk, and it took another step back.

"Damage to rear armor detected."

Warlord spun hard, reversing and bringing the right side to spread the shots from the other stopper across the chest to avoid damage to the components in the other arm. It was up again, and was raising its ax for an attack. The AC/5 was out of line for a shot, and all the Shadow Hawk could do was bring its left arm into the path.

The ax came in hard and fast, and as it cut downwards into the arm, it stopped a foot into the armor. Damage alarms blared, and the arm's myomers were having issues firing at the elbow. The battle paused, the thin ax becoming jammed into the arm as the enemy tried to wrestle with this sudden change. Myomer flexing against the servos of the Stopper, the ax was slowly maneuvered down, opening the Stopper to reprisal. The right fist of Gungnir opened and the powerful hands of the Shadow Hawk gripped down on the left shoulder, crushing steel armor like foil and digging in just as the ax had.

Proximity alarms flared, the last standing contact had moved in for the kill. Twisting and spinning, Gungnir pulled up the Stopper in its iron grip, and swung it bodily at its enemy. The enemy Mech was nearly lifted off the ground, its twenty-ton weight disadvantage coming into play. The two Mechs collided and crumpled backwards unceremoniously.

With both of them in its sight, Warlord fired the Autocannon again, this time the shot hitting the right torso of one of the two, and blasting it clear off.

Badly wounded and deprived of half their arms, the two Stoppers spun, and each grabbed a side of the downed third Mech. Their rockets flared and they began to retreat. Warlord allowed it; he needed the Fighter, and he needed Valkyrie 2. The pilot in question rushed to Gungnir's foot now that it wasn't moving, and climbed aboard. A rocky ride, but a safe one.

Reaching down, Gungnir began to drag the heavy fighter back. It was ten tons heavier than the Mech, but the solid grip of the Shadow Hawk and the high-powered engine allowed the Myomers to strain successfully. Some of the salvage would go uncollected, left for these strange vultures to pick over, but the majority of the fighter would be coming home. The reverse march to the DropShip was slow, and before long the radio chirped as Command reestablished contact.

"Command, Warlord, do you copy over?"

"Warlord, I copy. The enemy jammed radio communications," he reported, "LaserComm came through though. I think if we can keep the DropShip in line, we can still communicate."

"Understood. Your objective?"

"Both secure, sir," Warlord reported, "I've taken damage and spent some more rockets, and two AC/5 shells."

"Copy, get onboard. We have no contact from the JumpShip and are waiting for a report on the battle after we left. If we've driven off the enemy in space, there's no guarantee they took too much damage to squawk. We need to consolidate and plan. Once you're onboard, we'll be getting Valkyrie 2 to the med-bay, then I want to debrief you."

"Yes-sir," Warlord responded, closing his eyes; this was bad. Real bad. "Warlord, out."

MechProfile: Shadow Hawk SHD-2H
Class: Medium
Armaments: Shoulder-mount Autocannon 5 in the left shoulder, two Short ranged missile tubes mounted on the head, Five Long ranged Missile tubes in the right torso, Medium laser in the right wrist.
The Shadowhawk is a versatile, all-rounder Mech capable of handling most situations it is thrust into. While not purpose-built for a role, it's adaptable armament lends it a tactical flexability to answer any issue throw at it with ease. While some MechWarriors consider it “Easy on the damage”, it is not designed for a quick one-two punch to end a fight but rather the long-haul slugfest. In this, it excels, capable of brawling and doling out hurt equally as well. The LRM in its right chest is easily fed by the missile ammo directly behind the launcher, giving it a quick reload. The SRM in the head isn't as easy of a reload, requiring a little more time per-tube to reload than the LRM, but given it is only two tubes, it ultimately isn't an issue. Its left arm serves as a useful “Shield” or “Deadside” to be twisted into the way of incoming damage and attacks, similar to the Centurion BattleMech's left-arm Shield. Its right arm is marginally more useful thanks to the Medium laser, giving it a mid-range means to fight without using ammunition. Its trump card, the AC/5 in its left side, make it frighteningly deadly at all its optimal combat ranges, from 700 meters to 80. Inside of that range, it has issues bringing the large weapon into line, and must rely on its head-mounted missiles and arm laser to fight off aggressors.