’Mech of the Week: Icestorm
Icestorm. A storm where the moisture in the air first melts, then refreezes as it hits ground surfaces. Or a storm of pounding hail. The former being the type that hit Montreal around the turn of the millennium (and also was the subject of an episode of
Perfect Disasters), the latter being of the type that turned back an English raiding party during the Hundred Years War (at least according to a book on Natural Disasters I own).
Also the name of a 25-ton BattleMech created by the Ice Hellions.
The
Icestorm is covered in Technical Readout: 3060.
The basis of the
Icestorm is a late Star League design called the
Cameroon. As of this point, we have no real information on this design, though I suspect it was fast and lightly armored. (I will note that a direct conversion to Inner Sphere technology only needs to find a half ton somewhere to cut.) Every prototype and early model of the
Cameroon was taken on the Exodus. When the Founder created the Clans, he gifted every
Cameroon left to the Ice Hellions.
Khan Stephan Cage (based on how the typical Ice Hellion acted, probably a descendant of Johnny) recognized the design as being viable, and had it built-up. Somewhere in there Clan technology came into use, and the design was renamed the
Icestorm.
Officially entering service in 2830, the
Icestorm uses a standard frame, and mounts a 300-rated extralight engine to give the design speeds comparable to the much later LCT-5M
Locust. Three and a half tons of standard plate give the design 62% of maximum protection, laid out in a 6, 8/2, 6/1, 6, 7 pattern (head, center front/rear, side front/rear, arms, legs respectively). A medium laser was mounted in the right arm and a 2-pack SRM launcher was placed in the head. A ton of SRM ammunition is stored in the right torso, and a target acquisition unit is placed in the center torso.
The
Icestorm was likely the fastest design in existence until the advent of the
Fire Moth in 2874, and remained almost the sole property of Clan Ice Hellion for a time. The only other Clan that acquired a sizable number was Clan Wolf, which may have happened as late as the Hellions’ Fury. Both sides of the Wolf split retained some.
The Wolves appear to be the source of the lone variant, the
Icestorm 2, which arrived in 3068. The first modification is the use of ferro-fibrous armor, which adds two more points to the center front, three to each side front, and one to each leg. The TAG unit was replaced with a light-class version, and the SRM pack was swapped for an extended-model flamer. The medium laser became a heavy-model, and an additional heavy-class medium was placed in the right torso.
When the Jihad ended, the Republic acquired both models, though in what numbers is a bit vague.
Using one is relatively simple. One should use your speed to make it hard for your opponent to hit you, while moving in to strike unprotected flanks. You can also use the TAG to call-in friendly LRM and artillery fire (something likely used in the beginning of its service, and now in more recent times).
Fighting one is a bit trickier. Their speed makes it hard to hit them, though if you do manage to connect, you could cripple him. That said, if you do knock him down, or if he trips, make sure to pound him while you have the opportunity. As for the rest of the time, use of pulse weaponry, targeting computers, and cluster ammunition helps. If you somehow manage to light him up with a TAG of your own, landing a few LRMs can be helpful, too. As for the
Icestorm’s own TAG unit, having ECM helps jam the homing beacons in the incoming ammunition.
The
Icestorm is still being used (as far as I know) in the Dark Age era. As the Clans are loathe to just scrap any BattleMechs they have that they aren’t using, it is likely that the Wolves, at least, left a few Brian Caches with them in their zones. With the non-Exiles, hopefully they remembered to empty them first.
