Technical readout 2866 Rise of the Scavengers

ZEU-5Sx Zeus
History:
The Zeus was one of the few BattleMechs that was built
after the fall of the Star League. Built by Defiance
Industries at the behest of the Lyran Commonwealth
Armed Forces, is has become the iconic Lyran
BattleMech since its introduction in 2787.
With a respectable top speed of close to 65 kph, the 80-
ton Zeus is capable of keeping with many much lighter
units. Designed to provide long range fire support, the
Zeus carries an LRM-15 as well as a Class 5
autocannon. These weapons are supplemented by a
Thunderbolt A5M heavy laser and a pair of Defiance
B3M medium lasers.
Carrying 17 heat sinks and armored with 11.5 tons of
Valiant Lamellor armor, the Zeus has a long history of
capable and dependable performance.
The original design, the -5T, carried an Ultra AC/5
instead of the current Model J, featured an extendedrange
heavy laser, and utilized the advanced Artemis IV
fire control system to improve the accuracy of its long
range missiles. To keep it cool, it used fourteen double
strength heat sinks.
A companion model, the -5S, was introduced just a year
later in 2788. Replacing the ballistic weapon in favor of
an extended-range particle cannon, the -5S carried
seventeen heat sinks and utilized superior Ferro-Fibrous
armor.
Over the intervening years, however, even the
prestigious Defiance Industries has suffered from the
slow and steady decline of technology and has been
forced to downgrade the mighty Zeus to accommodate
today’s reduced level of technology.
Rumors persist, however, that engineers at Defiance
Industries plan to return to the PPC, albeit the standard
model on a future version. It is believed the model would
also carry two additional heat sinks to help offset the
additional load from the particle cannon.
Notable ‘Mech and MechWarriors:
Major Moria Tolan
A battalion commander in the mercenary group The
Filthy Lucre, currently under a long term contract with
House Steiner, Major Tolan has accumulated over two
dozen ‘Mech kills and is considered one of the most
feared MechWarriors along the Lyran border with the
Free Worlds League.
The Filthy Lucre is best known for its instrumental role in
the capture of Dixie as the Second Succession War was
winding down. Facing elements of the Marik Militia
backed by the elite Third Fusiliers of Oriente, Major
Tolan’s heavy ‘Mech battalion successfully stormed the
ancient SLDF Castle Brian located there taking the final
Marik stronghold and prompting the Third Fusiliers to
retreat off planet.
Her venerable ZEU-5S, lacking the advanced Star
League weaponry it had once carried, was all but
destroyed as she led the charge against the heavily
fortified Castle Brian but not before she singlehandedly
destroyed two major defensive turrets along with a
Fusilier Trebuchet and Cicada, clearing the way for the
rest of her unit to continue the assault.
As The Filthy Lucre carried the fight into the broad
underground tunnels, passages, and massive bays of
the former Star League base, a Fusilier Crusader took an
ammunition hit resulting in a spectacular explosion. The
resulting damage to the interior walls revealed a
previously undiscovered storage chamber.
Once Tolan’s forces had taken full control of the facility,
she immediately dispatched the battalion’s technical
team to examine the contents of the hidden chamber.
There, they discovered a small cache of lostech,
including an advanced fusion engine core and a supply
of lightweight engine shielding.
Claiming the cache as spoils of war, Tolan ordered the
technicians to replace the damaged reactor core of her
Zeus with the Star League version and to incorporate as
much of the lighter engine shielding as possible.
Rebuilding her Zeus using the repair facilities located in
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the captured Castle Brian, the technicians succeeded in
replacing the core along with about a third of the original
engine shielding.
The new core and shielding proved to take up
considerably more space, however. Not only was the
entire center torso taken up by the new engine, but the
shielding also extends into both the right and left torso as
well. Much to the technician’s surprise, they discovered
the resulting power plant, while physically larger,
weighed 4.5 tons less than the original Pitban 320.
This weight savings allowed them to replace the original
Type J autocannon with the larger Defiance Killer Type T
model as well as add an additional half ton of armor.
When Major Tolan powered on her rebuilt Zeus for the
first time, she was shocked to discover the regenerative
cooling system of the Star League fusion core
incorporated double-strength heat sinks. She
immediately ordered the technicians to remove all of the
original single heat sinks located outside of the engine
compartment.
In exchange, she had the technicians expand the size of
both of the magazines, giving her Zeus a total of 16
rounds for the Coventry Star Fire LRM-15 and twenty
rounds for the Type T autocannon. She also had them
reorient the rear mounted medium laser to her forward
fire arc while moving the second from the now
overcrowded center torso to the right side.
The result is an astounding piece of technology. When
Defiance Industries, maker of the 80-ton Zeus, heard of
her customized version, they immediately offered her a
full lance of factory new Zeus’, but she refused the offer.
Subsequently, she was granted an extensive landhold on
Dixie and given a noble title. Her Zeus is likely among
the most advanced BattleMechs left in the Inner Sphere
today.
Alpha Strike Statistics
TP: BM SZ: 4 TMM: +1
MV: 8” Role: Brawler
Damage S: 3 M: 4 L: 3
OV: 0
Armor: O O O O O O
Sructure: O O O O O O
Special: LRM 1/1/1, AC 1/1/-