the shape of things to come

INFANTRY COMPARTMENT/BAY
Infantry compartments are not bays per se, but cargo space for personnel,
with maybe a fl at shelf for a community seat and hooks in the wall for
gear. Used mainly by vehicular units rather than in spacecraft, compartments
can transport infantry and their equipment over short distances
but lack any amenities beyond the space needed to breathe.
Infantry bays, on the other hand, include basic life support (air fi lters
and conditioning that draw from the vehicle’s external environment or an
internal ship-wide life support apparatus), basic sleeping arrangements
(such as bunks, cots or simple pads), a communal waste facility, and even
food and equipment stowage compartments that allow for a bit more
comfort and longer hauls. Infantry bays can even provide proper anchorage
for the infantry unit’s gear, based on its type.
The tonnage that vehicles and DropShips must devote to these
compartments or bays varies with the type and quantity of infantry
being transported.
’MECH/FIGHTER BAY
‘Mech and fi ghter bays consist of one or more cubicles designed for the
long-range transport of ’Mechs, aerospace fi ghters, conventional fi ghters
or Fixed-Wing Support Vehicles massing up to 100 tons. Because the
cubicles are quite heavy and large, ’Mech and fi ghter bays are much more
common to DropShips and truly large support vehicles. Each component
cubicle in these bays includes maintenance and/or launch facilities for a
single ’Mech (or aerospace craft, as appropriate), as well as basic facilities
and bunking for said unit’s crew and technical support personnel.
Introduced: 3050 (Capellan Confederation)
The legend of the development of triple-strength myomer (TSM, for
those of you into shorthand), is a long and sordid one. During the Fourth
Succession War, FedSuns intelligence allowed the Capellan Confederation
access to the NAIS development as part of an elaborate ploy. These
enhanced myomers provided great physical strength to the ’Mechs that
used them, but the resulting musculature was extremely susceptible to
a chemical catalyst that led NAIS researchers to label them unstable in
combat. While this fl aw worked into the FedSuns’ gambit on Sian in the
waning days of the war, it also placed a potentially powerful innovation
in Confederation hands. Indeed, in 3050, after more than two decades
of research, House Liao once more fi elded BattleMechs enhanced with
TSM—BattleMechs immune to the eff ects of the catalyst gas, that could
actually control when the powerful musculature engaged in battle.
(Ironically, FedSuns engineers had also completed refi nements to the
technology by this time, fi elding it on a few one-off ‘Mechs in time for the
Clan invasion. However, in true conservative fashion, they were loath to
declare their catalyst-proof TSM “production-ready” at the time, as the
operating range for the myomers’ enhancements was considered too narrow.
Thus, credit for the fi rst fully functional TSM units in our time goes to
our Capellan neighbors. Sorry, kids.)
The production-quality TSM the Capellans introduced is much bulkier
than standard musculature, but employs heat as its performance-enhanc-
PROTOMECH BAY
Obviously common only among Clan DropShips and (presumably)
Clan Support Vehicles of suffi cient size and function, the ProtoMech bay is
comprised of cubicles that may carry a full Clan Point of fi ve ProtoMechs
each. Like ‘Mech cubicles, those within a ProtoMech bay include suffi cient
facilities for their pilots and supporting techs.
SMALL CRAFT BAY
Only seen on truly large Support Vehicles, DropShips and other capital
spacecraft, Small Craft bays provide landing, launch, shelter and maintenance
facilities for aerospace craft and Fixed-Wing Support Vehicles ranging
up to 200 tons in mass. Typically designed for the long-range transport
of a single Small Craft, the cubicles in these bays include maintenance
facilities and basic quarters for the craft’s crew and support personnel
(though larger crews might fi nd the accommodations rather cramped).
VEHICLE BAY (LIGHT, HEAVY, SUPER-HEAVY)
Though simpler than ’Mech/fighter bays (because they lack orbital
launch, drop or recovery systems), vehicular bays provide the same basic
shelter and maintenance facilities conventional vehicles might require
and are most commonly seen as part of a DropShip’s design. Many of the
cubicles used in these bays are actually confi gurable with relative ease,
though practiced engineers fi nd it easier to work more creatively within a
vessel’s design specs rather than dismantling and resetting cubicle walls
and the like. Still, the range of vehicle bay cubicles boils down to three
main classes: light vehicle cubicles, with a capacity of 50 tons or less in
individual vehicle mass; heavy vehicle cubicles, which can accommodate
Combat and Support Vehicles up to 100 tons in mass; and super-heavy
vehicle cubicles, which are designed to hold a single Support Vehicle of up
to 200 tons—including small craft, if the user’s in a pinch.
TRIPLE-STRENGTH MYOMER/INDUSTRIAL TSM
TRIPLE-STRENGTH MYOMER
ing catalyst. As a ’Mech’s internal heat levels rise and the TSM activates, the
’Mech gains a boost in muscle strength that enables it to double its lifting
capabilities and the power of physical attacks like punches and kicks.
Indeed, even at lower “overheat” levels, TSM can provide a brief speed
boost where other ’Mechs might begin to grow more sluggish.
(One interesting note: the Clans have demonstrated little interest in
acquiring this technology to date, likely because TSM’s most obvious use
is to enhance prowess in physical combat—a form of BattleMech warfare
the Clans generally disdain.)
[This last is not entirely true. Habeas forgot to mention certain confi
rmed rumors that the Ice Hellions, at least, somehow obtained samples
of the older TSM and its catalyzing element through other Inner Sphere
sources. It’s a good bet that lessons from these samples went into the production
of their recent myomer booster innovations, and more surprises
may be in the works even as we speak. –EB]
INDUSTRIAL TSM
Introduced: 3045 (Federated Suns)
Though the NAIS largely shelved TSM as a poor choice for military technology,
the revolutionary advancement was recognized for its capabilities
off the battlefi eld (and thus, theoretically, far from its combustible catalyst).
Industrial TSM—an early progenitor of the “corrected” military TSM—fi rst
appeared in the design of several FedSuns Construction- and CargoMechs
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Unit Restrictions: Only BattleMechs may install triple-strength myomer. Only IndustrialMechs may install Industrial TSM.
Game Rules: Triple-strength myomers (standard and Industrial) are considered inactive if the unit is shut down, and may not be used if the pilot
is otherwise prevented from acting.
Construction Rules: The installation of triple-strength myomer in BattleMechs is covered under Special Physical Enhancements (MASC/TSM)
in Step 2 of the BattleMech core construction rules (see p. 48). Industrial TSM is installed using the Special Physical Enhancements (Environmental
Sealing, Industrial TSM) in Step 2 of the IndustrialMech core construction rules (see p. 67).
Table Reference: Weapons and Equipment (Inner Sphere, pp. 341–342 [Triple-Strength Myomer], industrial, pp. 344–345 [Industrial TSM]) Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 143
i