[This is a recording from last month’s “Low Price for High Value” auction on Tharkad. As always, most items have been acquired through thievery, bribery or other ways you don’t want to know about. The camera zooms in on a man dressed in a black suit in his mid-fifties with long gray hair falling over his shoulders.]“… sold!
The towel Natasha Kerensky used after the battle of Turkayid has been sold to the nice man with the shifty eyes in the front row for 20,000,000 C-Bills. A certificate of authenticity is included, of course.
Now we come to the last item of today’s auction, a set of 12
Avatar OmniMechs each one configured in another of the official market configurations.
But before we open the bidding, let me tell you a bit about the
Avatar. We don’t want you to bid blindly for something, after all.
First, I will tell you a bit about the
Avatar in general before I talk you through the specific configurations. The first
Avatars were built from captured
Vulture (Mad Dog) OmniMechs the Draconis Combine had in abundance after the battle for Luthien. Of course, that time is long behind us and the production versions were all built from the scratch, so don’t worry, you will not bid on some jury rigged piece of leftovers. In fact, all of the
Avatars auctioned here today are in pristine condition, still in their original packaging and have never seen any battlefield.”
[One of the bidders can be seen standing up]“How were you able to obtain these pristine Battlemechs?”
[Back to the auctioneer, who seems to have anticipated the question.]“The crate has been found in the remains of a destroyed DropShip floating in space. I cannot give you any more information since we were not yet able to secure all the remains, but be prepared for more military grade equipment in the next months.
The
Avatars are powered by a Hermes 280 XL Engine each, if you want, you can bid on spare reactors at next week’s auction. We will also auction off some StarSlab/4 armor next week, so should you lose some of the 12t already mounted on each one of them...
But with almost 89% coverage you won’t have to hide, even if you lose some of it. To make sure you won’t lose the whole ‘Mech should any ammunition blow up, each side torso is outfitted with Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment. It won’t save your engine from becoming useless, but it protects the rest of the ’Mech, making sure you can salvage it later on.
For those of you not familiar with the
Avatar the next will probably be a surprise, since the Avatar is an OmniMech, after all. Two Victory 23 R Medium Lasers are hardwired into a mount in the center torso. I know you want full omnicapability if you bid for an OmniMech, but that’s how it is. And the Lasers come in quite handy should an enemy get in close, they also give you some consistency in your weapon load out.
But let’s get to the weapons in each configuration – and remember: you have to bid for the whole package, we will not accept bids for a single configuration.”
[The image switches to a rotating 3D picture of an Avatar
Prime, the voice of the auctioneer can still be heard from off camera.]“This is the
Avatar Prime. Armed with an LB10-X, two long range missile launchers with 20 tubes in total supported by an Artemis IV fire control system, two medium pulse lasers and two machine guns the primary configuration is clearly a fire support unit. While it can still put out a nice close ranged punch with the four lasers – don’t forget the two hard mounted ones – you should try and pummel your enemy from a distance with you missiles and autocannon before closing in.”
[Now the images switches to a rotating 3D picture of an Avatar
A, as before the voice of the auctioneer can still be heard from off camera.]“The A configuration is the total opposite of the Prime. While it is still armed with two missile launchers, they have been switched to two 6 tube short range launchers without an additional fire control system. The right arm is still armed with an autocannon, but with a more traditional 20 class standard AC. Three tons of ammunition give you the possibility to arm it with special ammunition types, which we will auction off next week. Personally I would advise you to take at least one ton of armor piercing ammunition with you whenever you take this configuration out for a ride.
To give you at least some long range reach, the left arm pod mounts an Extended Range Large Laser. It comes in handy while you advance on your enemy, but once you get in close, you should stop using it and instead hammer away with all your other weapons. You will build up some heat, but not so much as to get you in trouble.
To be able to bring this tremendous firepower to bear where it can cause the most devastation jump jets are included for a maximum jump range of 120 meters, enabling you to jump behind your enemy and rip his weak back to shreds by destroying his armor with your AC and weaken his internal structure and damaging his weapons and equipment with a missile volley.”
[Once again the image on the screen changes… and shows the auctioneer in his underwear holding a fried chicken – then the screen goes to static. A few seconds later the auctioneer can be seen swinging his hammer, trying to get the room to quiet down. Without much success. A few minutes go by and then the rotating 3D image of the Avatar
B can be seen.
The auctioneers voice can be heard from off camera, his voice is shaking, but you can tell he tries to calm himself down.]“The
Avatar B is a pure support ’Mech. Armed with two 15 and two ten tube long range missile launchers supported by an Artemis IV system, there isn’t much else you can do with that configuration. But why would you want to? Even the
Archer (in all its variants) cannot bring so many missiles to bear. With 12 shots for each of the two ten tube launchers and 16 for the two 15 tube launchers you can keep firing for a long time before running out of ammo.
And if you want to get really nasty, you can bid for some special ammunition at next week’s auction. Switching at least one ton of the 15er ammunition to thunder ammunition can really throw a wrench in your enemy’s plans. Or you could try it with mine clearing ammunition, really, the possibilities are endless.
If you understand something about heat management you have probably guessed by now: this configurations runs cold, even while it is actually running (not that I would advise you to do so, the best plan would be to hide behind a nice tree and keep firing while your other units use the cover fire you provide to get in close with the enemy).
Of course you could still use your two hardwired lasers to put out some close range damage, but be aware that we do not provide customer service, so if you are stupid enough to get this configuration into a brawl, you will have to take care of all the damage you receive yourself. And believe me, you will take damage – a lot of it.”
[The next image switch goes without a glitch and you can now see the Avatar
C rotating before you. The auctioneer’s voice shows immense relieve when it starts.]“The next configuration on our list (the C) is a lance command unit. While it is mostly armed with low tech succession wars weapons, a powerful C3Master Computer provides the heart of this configuration.
As I said, the weapons themselves are fairly low tech. Two ten tube long range missile launchers and a class five ultra autocannon provide long range fire support for your lance while a standard PPC gives you the ability to rip some holes in your opponents. As always, the two hardwired lasers provide short range protection. You are not as
[peep] in a brawl as you were with the B configuration, but I would still strongly advise against it. Stay at least at 360 meters while you hammer away with your PPC, AC and missiles. Which you can, once again, fire without having to pay too much attention to your heat scale (at least as long as you stand still).”
[The image on the screen switches to a rotating Avatar
D]“The
Avatar D can be rather difficult to handle, but if you master it, you will have a very powerful unit under your command. Especially if you use it in tandem with the C configuration and a spotter, to take full advantage of your C3 slave unit.
I can see on your faces, that you don’t understand why that is the case, so let me get to the armament of this Avatar. In addition to the two standard lasers you get two extended range medium lasers, giving you enough close range fire power to knock an enemy ’Mech from its feet in a single, concentrated blow. To add to this you have two twenty tube medium range missile launchers at your command. So if you get in close enough, you will be able to blast almost four tons of armor from your opponent – in a single volley of lasers and missiles.
And as if that is not enough, the D is also armed with a light gauss rifle, giving you the ability to start accurate fire at 750 meters, making it especially deadly if you are using a spotter for your C3 network, as I told you to do.
There is one small drawback, though. Every single weapon is only fed by a single ton of ammunition. But you can still keep up a constant missile barrage for full two minutes and two and a half minutes of gauss rifle fire. It’s only the small gauss rifle, but you cannot deny its range advantage.”
[The image changes to the Avatar
E, but after it rotates about halfway a pop up pops in front of it and shows, that this version of Windows 1337 is illegal and you should register it. Quickly a mouse cursor appears and tries to click the message away, but it pops up again and again. After thirty seconds, the message disappears and the Avatar
E is back on the screen, rotating. The auctioneer starts talking, completely unfazed by what just happened on the screen.]“Once again, the E is equipped with a C3 computer, but instead of the standard system, an Improved C3 computer has been included in this configuration. To be honest with you, this is the only configuration equipped with such a system in this auction. But we will certainly have more for you next week. So you should try to get your hands on something fitting next week, because this configuration can profit tremendously from this system.
Armed with an extended range PPC, an ultra autocannon 10 (with remarkable 30 shots) and an extended range medium laser – in addition to the two hardwired standard medium lasers. To be able to hit with all this firepower this configuration adds an additional six freezers, making it possible to fire all weapons and keep moving without overheating.
Preferably you should try to hammer away at your opponent while closing in on him and getting your three lasers into play. For additional protection while you wade into the thick of things, there was also an ECM system added to the
Avatar E.”
[With a short delay the images switches to that of a rotating Avatar
F, with flames coming out of its legs.]“As you can clearly see, this configuration is something special. It is the second and last that includes jump jets. But where the jump jets enabled you to rip your enemies back armor to shreds and hammer his internal structure at the same time, this configuration is not as good as its predecessor. Still, this configuration runs almost completely heat efficient.
But let’s get to the armament. Besides the two (by now well known) hardwired lasers you get an extended range PPC and an LB20-X autocannon with breathtaking four tons of ammunition. The downside is, that you lose the ability to flip your arms because the autocannon is just too big to be embedded in only the right arm.
While you have the PPC at your disposal, do not be lured into thinking this configuration would be good at long range. You should close in with your opponent as fast as possible. Use your jump jets to take full advantage of the terrain, but keep closing in. Once you are in range for the autocannon, start firing and keep firing. You have twenty shots, use them.”
[The image switches to the G configuration, the delay from before seems to be gone.]“The G configuration is a blatant copy of the
Vulture C. Armed with two gauss rifles and two tons of ammunition for each, the only difference is in the well so often mentioned two lasers you get with the base configuration. There is not much to say about this configuration. Stay away, stay in cover and keep firing until you take somebody’s head off. Then start looking for the next target.
You can use your lasers for short range defense, but you should really try to avoid having to use them.”
[The image changes to a shot of some ocean. Far on the horizon some big sea creature can be seen attacking a ship and dragging it underwater, then the image goes black and a moment later see the rotating 3D image of the Avatar
H can be seen.]“This is the first modern configuration that has been produced, including weapons developed shortly before the Jihad. It includes two heavy class PPCs and two multi missile launchers with three tubes, each – in addition to the standard lasers.”
[At this point the voice of the auctioneer shows that he has become tired of mentioning the two hardwired lasers, he almost spits out the last few words.]“The missiles guidance system is supported by an Artemis IV system, making them more reliable. Three tons of ammunition provide ample supply, so that you should take the chance to load some special type in the third slot. Inferno SRMs should be your first choice, but we will auction off even more in next week’s auction.
Handling this configuration is pretty straightforward, hammer away with your PPCs (taking advantage of the fact that sixteen double strength heat sinks keep this ’Mech cold even while it’s moving at full speed). While you should prefer to stay at range, you will be able to defend yourself quite effectively once an enemy gets to close. Riddling him with your lasers and short range missiles while you keep hammering him with one of your PPCs should take care of most opponents.”
[The image switches to a rotating image of the Avatar
I.]“This variant is also kept cold by sixteen double heat sinks, but the armament is very different from the H configuration. Two fifteen class Thunderbolt launchers are supported by two extended range medium lasers, giving you four medium class lasers but with two different range profiles.
The Thunderbolt launchers are something special since they cannot be seen all that often on the battlefield. They provide the same damage potential as gauss rifles or heavy PPCs, by either bringing four tons less weight or less than half the heat to the mix. But they have their downsides, they have a minimum range of 150 meters and the missiles can be shot down by anti-missile systems. Still, I think you will get your money’s worth out of them.
Two tons for each launcher provide you with eight shots, that can turn out to be not enough, so you should think before you fire the weapons.
Your lasers will provide you with respectable short range fire power, but try to keep your main weapons’ minimum range in mind. At least the aforementioned heat sinks enable you to keep firing alpha strikes without the fear of overheating.”
[After a moment of silence the image now shows an Avatar
R]“Our second to last piece in this auction is probably the most powerful of all. The
Avatar R mounts a mix of Clan and Inner Sphere tech weapons, bringing enough firepower to bear to rid an enemy of more than five tons of armor with a single alpha strike.
It lacks heat sinks, though. Only the ten mounted in the base configuration are available. But since the weapons on this configuration complement each other, that works out rather well.
For long range fighting you get a Clan gauss rifle and a Clan extended range large laser, giving you a lot of range and fire power. The downside is that the gauss rifle is only being fed by a single ton of ammunition, so you should think before firing it.
Once you close in you should forget about the Clan laser and use your two hardwired ones instead, since the will work perfectly with your MRM and Clan streak SRM. Nothing will awaken as much dread in an enemy as having forty-four missiles coming straight at him.
This will enable you to stay cold, since your SRM will only fire when it has an actual lock. In close ammunition is also less of a problem, since your medium range missile launcher has access to two tons of ammunition, providing you with twelve shots.
If you still have some gauss rounds left over you should use them whenever a good shot presents itself.”
[The image switches to a crest of the Republic of the Sphere before showing the rotating 3D image of an Avatar
U in front of it]“This, ladies and gentlemen, is our final piece. An Avatar U. This rare configuration was used by the coalition when they attacked the Word of Blake’s underwater facilities on Terra itself. It is armed with two fifteen tube long range torpedo launchers and two four tube short range torpedo launchers. All four of which are supported by an Artemis IV system. A small pulse laser is also added, but you can pretty much ignore it, should an enemy ever get close enough for you to be able to use it, you did something wrong.
Hammer away with your long range missiles until all four tons of ammunition run dry. To be able to use them even more effectively this configuration also sports a C3 Master computer, making it possible to use targeting data from units closer to your target, for maximum efficiency.
The only downside of this configuration is the fact that it is still forced to actually walk underwater, no underwater maneuvering units were included, making it really slow. But since you can fire at targets at 630 meters, you don’t really need to move all that fast anyway.”
[Now you can see the auctioneer, raising his hammer.]The opening bid is 150,000,000 C-Bills.
[Before the recording cuts of, a bird flies in through an open window, lands on the head of the auctioneer, picks at his hair and then flies of with his wig.]References: The
Master Unit List has everything there is to see here, which is quite a lot. CamoSpecs has multiple images of the
original Avatar miniature and the
Resculpt.
