Black Talon Battle Armor
After countless pirate raids on the warehouse facilities at the Techne's Revenge Starport, Noah Reese, a freight handler and a member of the local militia, decide that it was time that something was done to stop it. Reese, in conjunction with the members of his militia unit, gained approval from his militia commander to construct the armored ExoSkeltons using excess weapons from the unit armory.
Reese, along with his squad and the unit armorer crafted a total of seven suits equipped with various personal weapons. They welded 1/4" steel plate onto the chassis of the ExoSkeltons and sharpened the CargoLifter arms into two-pronged claws. The individual weapons were grafted onto the right arm, with remote triggering devices by using modified weapons brackets from machine gun mounts form the militia's jeeps. In the end, three were armed with standard issue assault rifles, two with light machine guns, one with a laser rifle and one with an automatic shotgun. The conversion process took six months to complete, just in time for the next raid on the warehouse district.
After limited warning of the raid, Corporal Reese and his squad deployed by flatbed truck to the projected landing zone and awaited the enemy. Reese's force had great success against the unarmored salvage squads of the pirates and forced them from the area. However, the Pirate Battlemechs arrived shortly thereafter and wreaked havoc on his squad, disabling or destroying all seven machines and killing four members of his squad.
News of this novel weapon finally reached MAF HQ on Canopus and the Weapons Research Directorate of the Quartermaster's Office and they acted quickly. Newly promoted Star Corporal Reese and the surviving members of his squad, all of whom received the Canopian Cluster with emerald from Magestrix herself, were transferred to Canopus to begin work on a more advanced application of the suit. The design team worked 16-hour days to improve the original concept, but encountered major stumbling blocks along the way.
First, there was a problem of endurance on the battlefield with regards to the armor and the power source. The armor problem was solved in fairly quick order when the Quartermaster's Office acquired armor from the Wasp factory. The problem with power source was more difficult and could never be fully resolved and they had to settle on a power cell that had a six-hour endurance level.
Next came them problem of mobility. The suit was to slow and could not even keep with dismounted foot soldiers. The designers solved this problem by uprating the powerplant and giving the machine greater ground speed. To further increase mobility, several jump packs were acquired from the stores of the Royal Guards Jump Infantry Company and applied to the suit. This gave the suit limited jump capability due to the limited fuel supply for the jump packs.
The final, and ultimately fatal, stumbling block was the myomer musculature used on the suits. Based on the musculature from the Stinger Battlemech, it proved to be too brittle when made to the scale of the Black Talon chassis. After five years working on the problem, Star Corporal Reese and the design team were shutdown by order of the Quartermaster's office. The prototype chassis would sit and gather dust for nearly twenty years.
Early in 3054, an agent of the Magistracy Intelligence Ministry, operating on Kathil, was able to acquire the design schematics for the standard Battle Armor in use by the Armed forces of the Federated Commonwealth. The data was smuggled by members of one of the wandering Pleasure Circuses. Upon receipt, the new Canopian Information and Research Center [CIRCE], re-opened the research on the Black Talon and put Commander Noah Reese in charge of the project. Analysis of the schematics by the research team, helped to solve the problems that plagued the Black Talon twenty years ago and within ten months the first prototypes rolled out of the lab. Additionally, the design team upgraded the size of the power suit, to conform with that on the schematics. This change allowed them to mount heavier weapons and more armor.
The Black Talon is configured with weapons similar to those of the Inner Sphere Standard Battle Armor. The Right Arm can be configured to carry a Semi-Portable Particle Projection Support Cannon, Heavy Grenade launcher, Support Machine or Heavy Flamer. The left arm has a mount that can be configured to carry a personal weapon, usually a sub-machinegun or assault rifle. The final weapon is a detachable single-shot twin tube missile launcher. In order for the Black Talon to jump this weapon must be fired and the launcher detached due to instability caused by the missile pack in flight.
The Black Talon has seen limited combat since production of the final design began. It saw limited duty with 2nd Canopian Light Horse in the St. Ives conflict. The primary users of these new armored suits are the Raventhir Cuirassier and Chasseurs a' Cheval regiments, who now deploy a full company each of the Black Talon.
Classic BattleTech Battle Armor Technical Readout
* CUSTOM EQUIPMENT
Type/Model: Black Talon (Prototype A)
Tech/Era: Inner Sphere / 3028 / CBT:RPG Rules
Chassis Type: Humanoid
Weight Class: PA(L)/Exoskeleton (0 - 400 kg)
Rules: Level 2, Custom design
Ground Speed: 21.6 km/h
Armor Type: Standard
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Type/Model: Black Talon (Prototype A)
Equipment: Slots Mass
Chassis Type: PA(L) Class Humanoid 0 80
Motive System: Ground Movement (2 MP) 0 25
Armor Type: 2 Points Standard 0 100
Manipulators:
Left Arm: Cargo Lifter 0 30
Right Arm: Cargo Lifter 0 30
(0.5 Tons Capacity Total for both manipulators)
Weapons and Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
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Power Pack Body 1 25
Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount RA 1 5
Laser Rifle RA 0 0
Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount LA 1 5
Shotgun, Combat, Solid Shot LA 16 0 0
Semi-Portable Machine Gun* Body 50 1 75
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 4 375
Slots & Mass Left: 2 25
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 104,929 C-Bills
Battle Value: 9 (36 for 4) Weapon Value: 2 (Ratio=.22)
Cost per BV: 11,658.78
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 1 MRDmg = 0 LRDmg = 0
Mechanized: Cannot travel on any 'Mechs or Vehicles
Attacks: Can not perform Swarm or Leg attacks
BattleForce2: Class: IB MP: 2 Armor/Structure: 1 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: -/-/- Overheat: 0
Point Value: 0 Specials: car4
CBT:RPG Data: Armor Value (M/B/E/X): 4/5/6/5 Coverage: Full
IR: 0, ECM: 0, Camo: 0
Melee AP: 0, Target Size Modifier: 0
Movement Modifiers:
Walking: 0, Running/Sprinting: Not Possible
Attribute Modifiers: STR: +5, DEX: -4, RFL: -2
Equipment Rating: E/E/E
Created by HeavyMetal Battle Armor
Black Talon (Production)
Classic BattleTech Battle Armor Technical Readout
VALIDATED
Type/Model: Black Talon (Production)
(6 Configurations)
Tech/Era: Inner Sphere / 3058 / CBT:RPG Rules
Chassis Type: Humanoid
Weight Class: Medium Battle Armor (751 - 1,000 kg)
Rules: Level 2, Custom design
Ground Speed: 10.8 km/h
Jump Capacity: 90 meters
Armor Type: Standard
==================================================================
Configuration: [Base]
Equipment: Slots Mass
Chassis Type: Medium Class Humanoid 0 175
Motive System: Ground Movement (1 MP) 0 0
Jump Jets (3 MP) 0 150
Armor Type: 6 Points Standard 0 300
Manipulators:
Left Arm: Battle Claw 0 15
Right Arm: None 0 0
Fixed Weapons & Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------
Modular Weapon Mount RA 1 10
Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount LA 1 5
Detachable Missile Pack Body 0 10
SRM 2 Launcher (OS) Body 2 75
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 4 740
Slots & Mass Available for Configurations: 6 260
==================================================================
Configuration: Laser
Config Weapons & Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
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Support Laser RA/MWM 30 1 200
Rifle, Automatic LA/APWM 60 0 0
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TOTALS: 5 940
Slots & Mass Left: 5 60
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 422,834 C-Bills
Battle Value: 33 (132 for 4) Weapon Value: 17 (Ratio=.52)
Cost per BV: 12,813.15
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 3 MRDmg = 0 LRDmg = 0
Mechanized: Can travel on OmniMechs and OmniVehicles
Attacks: Can perform Swarm and Leg attacks
BattleForce2: Class: IB MP: 3J Armor/Structure: 2 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: 1/-/- Overheat: 0
Point Value: 1 Specials: mec, car4
CBT:RPG Data: Armor Value (M/B/E/X): 8/7/6/6 Coverage: Full
IR: 0, ECM: 0, Camo: 0
Melee AP: 2, Target Size Modifier: -1
Movement Modifiers:
Walking: -2, Running: -4, Sprinting: -6
Jump: 90 m/turn (After dropping missile pack)
Attribute Modifiers: STR: +3, DEX: -2, RFL: -1
Equipment Rating: E/E/E
==================================================================
Configuration: PPC
Config Weapons & Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
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Semi-Portable Particle Cannon RA/MWM 14 2 250
Laser Rifle LA/APWM 0 0
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 6 990
Slots & Mass Left: 4 10
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 419,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 41 (164 for 4) Weapon Value: 21 (Ratio=.51)
Cost per BV: 10,237.8
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 4 MRDmg = 0 LRDmg = 0
Mechanized: Can travel on OmniMechs and OmniVehicles
Attacks: Can perform Swarm and Leg attacks
BattleForce2: Class: IB MP: 3J Armor/Structure: 2 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: 1/1/- Overheat: 0
Point Value: 2 Specials: mec, car4
CBT:RPG Data: Armor Value (M/B/E/X): 8/7/6/6 Coverage: Full
IR: 0, ECM: 0, Camo: 0
Melee AP: 2, Target Size Modifier: -1
Movement Modifiers:
Walking: -2, Running: -4, Sprinting: -6
Jump: 90 m/turn (After dropping missile pack)
Attribute Modifiers: STR: +3, DEX: -2, RFL: -1
Equipment Rating: E/E/E
==================================================================
Configuration: Flamer
Config Weapons & Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------
Heavy Flamer RA/MWM 30 2 160
Blazer Rifle LA/APWM 0 0
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 6 900
Slots & Mass Left: 4 100
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 421,190 C-Bills
Battle Value: 29 (116 for 4) Weapon Value: 14 (Ratio=.48)
Cost per BV: 14,523.79
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 3 MRDmg = 0 LRDmg = 0
Mechanized: Can travel on OmniMechs and OmniVehicles
Attacks: Can perform Swarm and Leg attacks
BattleForce2: Class: IB MP: 3J Armor/Structure: 2 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: 1/-/- Overheat: 0
Point Value: 1 Specials: mec, car4
CBT:RPG Data: Armor Value (M/B/E/X): 8/7/6/6 Coverage: Full
IR: 0, ECM: 0, Camo: 0
Melee AP: 2, Target Size Modifier: -1
Movement Modifiers:
Walking: -2, Running: -4, Sprinting: -6
Jump: 90 m/turn (After dropping missile pack)
Attribute Modifiers: STR: +3, DEX: -2, RFL: -1
Equipment Rating: E/E/E
==================================================================
Configuration: LRR
Config Weapons & Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------
Light Recoilless Rifle RA/MWM 20 2 175
(with High-Explosive Ammo)
Sub-Machine Gun LA/APWM 100 0 0
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 6 915
Slots & Mass Left: 4 85
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 412,990 C-Bills
Battle Value: 38 (152 for 4) Weapon Value: 19 (Ratio=.50)
Cost per BV: 10,868.16
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 3 MRDmg = 0 LRDmg = 0
Mechanized: Can travel on OmniMechs and OmniVehicles
Attacks: Can perform Swarm and Leg attacks
BattleForce2: Class: IB MP: 3J Armor/Structure: 2 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: 1/1/- Overheat: 0
Point Value: 2 Specials: mec, car4
CBT:RPG Data: Armor Value (M/B/E/X): 8/7/6/6 Coverage: Full
IR: 0, ECM: 0, Camo: 0
Melee AP: 2, Target Size Modifier: -1
Movement Modifiers:
Walking: -2, Running: -4, Sprinting: -6
Jump: 90 m/turn (After dropping missile pack)
Attribute Modifiers: STR: +3, DEX: -2, RFL: -1
Equipment Rating: E/E/E
==================================================================
Configuration: MG
Config Weapons & Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------
Support Machine Gun RA/MWM 100 2 105
Laser Rifle LA/APWM 0 0
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 6 845
Slots & Mass Left: 4 155
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 419,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 27 (108 for 4) Weapon Value: 13 (Ratio=.48)
Cost per BV: 15,546.3
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 3 MRDmg = 0 LRDmg = 0
Mechanized: Can travel on OmniMechs and OmniVehicles
Attacks: Can perform Swarm and Leg attacks
BattleForce2: Class: IB MP: 3J Armor/Structure: 2 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: 1/-/- Overheat: 0
Point Value: 1 Specials: mec, car4
CBT:RPG Data: Armor Value (M/B/E/X): 8/7/6/6 Coverage: Full
IR: 0, ECM: 0, Camo: 0
Melee AP: 2, Target Size Modifier: -1
Movement Modifiers:
Walking: -2, Running: -4, Sprinting: -6
Jump: 90 m/turn (After dropping missile pack)
Attribute Modifiers: STR: +3, DEX: -2, RFL: -1
Equipment Rating: E/E/E
==================================================================
Configuration: Grenadier
Config Weapons & Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------
Heavy Grenade Launcher RA/MWM 40 2 115
(with High-Explosive Ammo)
Shotgun, Automatic, Solid Shot LA/APWM 36 0 0
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 6 855
Slots & Mass Left: 4 145
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 415,506 C-Bills
Battle Value: 22 (88 for 4) Weapon Value: 10 (Ratio=.45)
Cost per BV: 18,886.64
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 2 MRDmg = 0 LRDmg = 0
Mechanized: Can travel on OmniMechs and OmniVehicles
Attacks: Can perform Swarm and Leg attacks
BattleForce2: Class: IB MP: 3J Armor/Structure: 2 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: -/-/- Overheat: 0
Point Value: 1 Specials: mec, car4
CBT:RPG Data: Armor Value (M/B/E/X): 8/7/6/6 Coverage: Full
IR: 0, ECM: 0, Camo: 0
Melee AP: 2, Target Size Modifier: -1
Movement Modifiers:
Walking: -2, Running: -4, Sprinting: -6
Jump: 90 m/turn (After dropping missile pack)
Attribute Modifiers: STR: +3, DEX: -2, RFL: -1
Equipment Rating: E/E/E
Created by HeavyMetal Battle Armor