[I tried to get the formatting right, I hope it's legible.]
"We've been digging this fragmented nugget out of the Helm Memory Core in chunks over the past few months, and just finally pieced it together last week. It was so mangled by data corruption that it's a minor miracle we even noticed it at all; it looks like a project that was so hush-hush it was confined to the highest levels, and all knowledge was lost when the Board got wiped out in the bombing of the 1st War. A long-rumored ghost only mentioned in whispers between MechWarriors about secret SLDF SkunkWerks projects and tall-tales surrounding the fabled Gunslinger Program, the 'Gunslinger Special' Marauder turns out to have indeed been real after all, though it seems likely only limited numbers could have been manufactured in the few years before the Amaris coup (although those 'significant quantities' and 'sister projects' sound
very interesting.) Attempts to find this mysterious 'Zeta Facility' have so far been unfruitful, but are still ongoing; we all know what a boon it would be to the Company if we could find it, and the kind of bonuses we'd get."
-Zebediah Hargrave, General Motors Archives Division, Kathil, 3045
When the SLDF authorized General Motors to retool its Marauder lines to begin production of the new MAD-2R Royal units, the Quartermaster Command decided to take advantage of this and also authorize production on an additional variant, designed in cooperation between top GM engineers and SLDF Research Division based on suggestions from generations of Gunslinger graduates to improve one of their favorite BattleMechs; the result was the MAD-2Rb Marauder 'Gunslinger Special.'
This advanced variant of the MAD-2R was designed to take advantage of the best and latest developments in BattleTechnology with a lighter chassis and fusion reactor so the new model could carry the maximum amount of
armor the frame could carry, incorporate the most powerful in weapon technology even beyond that used in the "standard" Royal model, and even add jump capability. While on paper this new MAD-2Rb is designated for Command, Heavy Fire Support, and Sniper roles, it is unofficially a dedicated duelist built specifically for the SLDF's Gunslingers.
A highly expensive machine intended for assignment to elite graduates of the Advanced Combat and Maneuvering Skills Project, production began in 3061 and ran in parallel to the "basic" Royal MAD-2R, with which it shared a significant number of components. Built in GM's secret underground Zeta Facilities on Kathil under the watchful eye of SLDF Quartermaster Command Compliance Control agents, shipments of weapon components inbound from Terra, and finished 'Mechs offworld, were disguised in the heavy traffic of the James McKenna Shipyards, and reception has been so positive that significant quantities are also being kept along with sister projects in on-site storage in anticipation of future orders outstripping production. All but the highest level employees of the GM corporation are completely unaware of the existence of the Zeta Facilities or the MAD-2Rb.
MAD-2Rb Marauder 'Gunslinger Special'
Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Era Specific
Era: Age of War/Star League
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/E-F-E-D
Production Year: 2761
Dry Cost: 15,741,250 C-Bills
Total Cost: 15,781,250 C-Bills
Battle Value: 2,205
Chassis: GM Marauder Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Vlar 300 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: Chevron II
Jump Capacity: 90 meters
Armor: Valiant Lamellor Standard Armor
Armament:
1 M-7 Gauss Rifle
2 Kinslayer H-Cass ER PPCs
2 Magna Mk. II Medium Lasers
Manufacturer: General Motors and SLDF Research Division
Primary Factory: Kathil Special Facility Zeta
Communications System: Dalban Micronics
Targeting and Tracking System: Dalban Hi-Rez
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel 114 points 4.00
Internal Locations: 1 HD, 1 CT, 5 LA, 5 RA, 1 LL, 1 RL
Engine: XL Fusion Engine 300 9.50
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 3 Standard
Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 1 LL, 1 RL 3.00
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 15(30) 5.00
Heat Sink Locations: 3 LT
Gyro: Standard 3.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA R: SH+UA+LA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 231 14.50
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 23 36
Center Torso (rear) 10
L/R Torso 16 24
L/R Torso (rear) 8
L/R Arm 12 24
L/R Leg 16 32
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ER PPC RA 15 3 7.00
Medium Laser RA 3 1 1.00
ER PPC LA 15 3 7.00
Medium Laser LA 3 1 1.00
Gauss Rifle RT 1 7 15.00
Gauss Rifle (16) RT - 2 2.00
Free Critical Slots: 0
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 8 Points: 22
4/2j 4 4 3 0 3 1 Structure: 3
Special Abilities: SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA
