Technical readout 2866 Rise of the Scavengers

MAD-4U Marauder
History:
The Marauder was produced by General Motors in 2612
and was intended to be the first of an entirely new
generation of BattleMechs. Commissioned by the Star
League Defense Force for use by their Royal units, the
initial design, the MAD-1R, carried the familiar overunder
arm mounted Magna Hellstar PPCs and Magna
Mk. II medium lasers. It also carried a class 5 GM
Whirlwind autocannon atop its uniquely shaped chassis.
The autocannon rounds were protected with Cellular
Ammunition Storage Equipment to mitigate the effects of
an ammunition explosion, and it was protected by eleven
tons of advanced Ferro-Fibrous armor.
In 2760, two years before a young Richard Cameron
would assume the mantle of First Lord, General Motors
updated the Marauder with the latest technological
advances. The PPCs were replaced with the Magna
Firestar extended-range version and the sixteen original
heat sinks were upgraded to double-strength versions.
Just five years later, in 2765, shortly after Christmas,
Richard Cameron along with every other member of
House Cameron, lie dead on the floor of the Palace
Throne Room on Terra at the hands of the Usurper,
Stefan Amaris. What followed was a bloody 14-year civil
war that heralded the end of the Star League.
On the heels of the Amaris Civil War came the
Succession Wars and by 2819 General Motors was
forced to downgrade the -2R version due to the loss of
many of the advanced production facilities they relied up
for advanced weapons, armor and heat dissipation and
the familiar MAD-3R was released.
Returning to the original Magna Hellstar PPCs and
sixteen standard heat sinks, the -3R is quite similar to
the original -1R. CASE was no longer available and
neither was the advanced Ferro-Fibrous armor.
Consequently, the -3R is protected with 11.5 tons of
Valiant Lamellor, giving it slightly less protection even
with the increased weight of the armor.
The rest of the next generation of BattleMechs the
Marauder was supposed to usher in never made it out of
the General Motor’s engineers workstations, although it
was rumored they had made significant progress on two
more designs. With the Succession Wars raging almost
without pause, it was all General Motors could do to
keep their operations on Kathil functioning, even at
reduced capacity. McKenna Shipyards, located at the
Zenith point of the Kathil system, was once the most
advanced manufacturer of JumpShips, DropShips, and
even majestic WarShips for the Federated Suns before
repeated attacks from the Capellan Confederation
reduced it to a shell of its former glory. Located near the
border with House Laio, Kathil is under constant threat of
invasion and is the frequent target of raids.
By now the Marauder had established itself as one of the
most effective BattleMechs on the field. With annual
production numbers for the popular ‘Mech dropping
steadily due to near constant attacks, the Armed Forces
of the Federated Suns asked General Motors to license
the design to Independence Weaponry, located in the
famous Steel Valley on Quentin. Independence
Weaponry is the Federated Suns premier producer of
heavy and assault class BattleMechs. However, its
location puts it within striking distance of the Draconis
Combine as well as the Capellan Confederation and it
has found itself in much the same situation as Kathil,
constantly under the threat of attack and production
capacity slowly dwindling.
General Motors, now faced with the real possibility that it
may not be able to continue operations, also licensed the
Marauder to one other company, this one outside of the
Federated Suns. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the
company that invented the fusion engine on Terra in
2020 and at one point had been the largest producer of
civilian and military vehicles in the entire Inner Sphere as
well the largest single contractor for the AFFS.
Ronin Incorporated, in the Free Worlds League, also
carries a license to produce the Marauder. Their facility
on Wallis, however, is more of an assembly point rather
than a true production factory and it is constantly
plagued with supply chain and labor problems. It is
however located safely with the boundaries of the FWL
and provides a measure of diversification General
Motors has lacked since the fall of the Star League.
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Capabilities:
The MAD-4U takes its inspiration from the legendary
100-ton KGC-000 King Crab. Mounting a pair of the
most massive autocannons ever produced, the
Deathgiver AC/20, and fed by two tons of ammunition in
each torso, the MAD-4U is capable of destroying or
disabling any other ‘Mech in existence with a single
salvo. Keeping the 11.5 tons of Valiant Lamellor, the -4U
features 13 heat sinks and a top speed of 51.2 kph. The
two backup Magna Mk. II medium lasers have been
moved to the torsos due to the incredible space required
to mount the Deathgivers. In fact, the Deathgiver is such
a colossal weapon, parts of it also had to located in the
torsos, as the arm assembly simply didn’t have enough
space. It also mounts three HildCo Model 12 jump jets.
Variants:
When Independence Weaponry received the production
drawings for the MAD-3R Marauder, they made a few
minor changes of their own, giving it the MAD-3D
designation. With CASE no longer built into the chassis,
battlefield records revealed numerous -3R Marauders
have been lost to catastrophic ammunition explosions.
Engineers at Independence chose to remove the GM
Whirlwind autocannon and ammunition, in favor of a
Magna Mk. III heavy laser and four additional heat sinks.
Current Manufacturers:
General Motors
Kathil – Federated Suns
Ronin Incorporated
Wallis – Free Worlds League
Independence Weaponry
Quentin – Federated Suns
Model Cost BV PV
MAD-3R 6,627,250 1363 35
MAD-3D 6,597,500 1470 35
MAD-4U 6,328,000 1459 ???
Alpha Strike Statistics
TP: BM SZ: 3 TMM: +1
MV: 6j” Role: Brawler
Damage S: 4 M: 4 L: 0
OV: 1
Armor: O O O O O O
Sructure: O O O O O O
Special: AC 4/4/-