’Mech of the Week: MCY-series MercuryNo, your eyes do not deceive you: I’m actually writing about something that doesn’t fly, lacks a self-aware AI, doesn’t have a transit drive, nor can go FTL: a BattleMech. In fact, a BattleMech without jump jets.
This week’s ‘Mech of the Week topic is a lowly little 20-ton BattleMech that, in its own way, is as significant as the
Mackie: the MCY-series
Mercury. The opening line of the MCY-99
Mercury entry in Technical Readout 2750 states “The unveiling of the
Mercury was heralded as the dawn of a new age in BattleMech design.” They weren’t kidding.
Debuting in 2742, the
Mercury was stated to be a replacement for the
Wasp and
Stinger, which, at first glance, seems more than a little bizarre: the
Mercury has much more in common with the
Locust than it does with the “Bug Twins”. Both the LCT-1 series of
Locusts and the
Mercury share the same 160-rating engine, granting the
Mercury a top running speed of 130 kph (ie. 8/12 movement). Armament is even remarkably similar to the LCT-1E, with a pair of medium lasers backed by two small lasers, with only the placement different: the
Mercury mounts a medium laser in the right arm and left torso (rather than one in each arm), and while it has one of its small lasers in the center torso, the other is mounted in the head. This does, in some ways, limit its field of fire when compared to the LCT-1E though, in theory, it’s less likely to lose the torso-mounted medium laser, thanks to slightly better armor than a
Locust’s arm.
Speaking of armor, the three tons of ferro-fibrous armor are one of only two advanced technology items found on the original
Mercury. While the resulting 54 points of armor is indeed thicker than the
Wasp and
Stinger it’s meant to replace (though, notably, not the STG-3Gb Royal
Stinger), it’s still thinner than the
Locust.
The
Mercury’s second advanced-technology item is a MASC system, our introduction to the system, and the only ‘Mech in Tech Readout 2750 to use it. MASC is a…risky choice for a BattleMech, potentially crippling your ‘Mech for its burst of speed but, used carefully, you can mitigate the risk. When running, the
Mercury can double its walk speed while running, kicking it up to 16 MP (172 kph), making it the fastest ‘Mech, over short bursts, in the game prior to the introduction of the
Dasher/Firemoth in Tech Readout 3050. At one ton, the MASC system is the
Mercury’s answer to jump jets: it provides that extra burst of four MP for those occasions where you really, really need it.
All that, though, is not what made the
Mercury one of the most important BattleMechs ever built. That distinction comes from the
Mercury’s modular weapon replacement system, which Clan engineers would eventually evolve into the OmniMech system (first with the
Mercury II scaling up the design, then the
Coyotl turning it into a true OmniMech). Weapons on the
Mercury, especially its small lasers, were basically slipped into place, bolted down, and connected to three connectors, a system is almost identical to that described for OmniMech pods.
While the
Mercury seems an ideal candidate for the Modular Weapons trait from StratOps (though, inexplicably, doesn’t get mentioned, with the
O-Bakemono getting the honors), really, from the sound of it, the only thing the
Mercury is lacking to make it a full OmniMech is the Omni’s more advanced software and adaptable gyroscope. Keep that in mind: we’re going to revisit that later.
The Succession Wars were not kind to the
Mercury. The ‘Mech was built by Mitchell Vehicles on Graham IV, a Terran Hegemony world that eventually ended up in FWL space, but close enough to the Lyran border that, after getting beat down during the Star League Civil War, was squabbled over during the First Succession War, resulting in Mitchell’s headquarters and factories getting good and blowed up and picked clean – it would be the Word of Blake to finally reopen Mitchell’s factories. The majority of the MCY-99
Mercurys built for the SLDF took off with Kerensky on his Wagnerian death ride into the Periphery, with the largest concentration of
Mercurys to remain behind consisting of the Eridani Light Horse’s whole company of
Mercurys, which they lost on Sendai in 2798.
The few
Mercurys left in the Inner Sphere, obviously, were at a shortage for advanced-technology ferro-fibrous armor, MASC systems, and their specialized myomers. The end result of this was the MCY-98, which took the
Mercury back a step. With the one ton of the MASC system now free, the MCY-98 packs an additional ton of armor, giving it maximum armor protection everywhere but the legs (each a point shy) and head (which only has 6 points of armor). Obviously, there’s less distinguishing the MCY-98 from the LCT-1E now: your legs and head are a bit weaker, your arms a bit tougher, your weapon placement is different (and replacement easier), and you’ve got hands. That’s…about it. Perhaps not surprisingly, with no replacement parts available, thanks to Graham IV’s factory being out of commission and ComStar not sharing anything the secondary factory on Terra produced, the MCY-98
Mercury would reportedly end up extinct by the end of the Succession Wars.
That didn’t spell the end for the
Mercury, though. Thanks to the Com Guards, the
Mercury lived on in their forces as the MCY-97. This is where things get…weird. After stating it was, undoubtedly, the inspiration for the OmniMech, the ComStar author of original edition of Technical Readout 3050
Mercury entry makes the following statement:
Using a basic structure, power plant, and main torso, the Mercury can support many combinations of weapon systems and other equipment. The most obvious advantage of this modular construction is the ease of maintenance and repair. Recovery from battle damage is a simple matter. Of almost equal importance is the ability to vary the ‘Mech’s weapon mix, tailoring it for a specific mission and keeping the enemy guessing about the Mercury’s abilities.
Um…what? Isn’t that, like, an OmniMech? In fact, it goes on to call the MCY-99 the “Equipment Package 99”, versus the Com Guard MCY-97, which drops the head-mounted small laser and torso-mounted medium laser for a Beagle Active Probe, for use as a recon ‘Mech. Tech Readout 3050 appears to take a slightly different tack with this, though, calling each one a “Model” (ie. “Model 97”, “Model 99”, etc.). While it refers to both the MCY-97 and MCY-99 in Com Guard forces, it states the Model 97 was “largely discarded” after the Battle for Tukayyid, its armament simply being too light. TR3050U also backs off on the previous statements, instead talking about the ease of repair of the
Mercury, thanks to its modular system, and not the ease of which you can alter its armament. Curiouser and curiouser.
Tech Readout 3050 Updates also presents us with two Word of Blake upgrades to the
Mercury. The first, the MCY-102, upgrades the standard internal structure to Endo Steel, freeing up another ton. Combined with the removal of the Beagle probe from the MCY-97, it now has enough room for a C
3i system, which means that, rather than kill you itself, Mr. Bond, it will have its five henchmen do that for it. That said, the remaining lasers have been upgraded to an ERML and ERSL, giving it a bit more reach with each.
Along with the MCY-102, we were introduced to the MCY-104, the preferred ride of Omega Precentor Terrence Harris (LOL), which he named “Insane God” (heehee), and whom is infamous for the 20 million Kroner bounty put on him by Peter Steiner-Davion for calling in surgical strikes of orbital support fire from the LCS
Invincible (laughing…so…hard…right…now…).
Building on the MCY-102, the MCY-104 adds an XL engine to the mix, a TAG system, another ERML and more armor. The good news here is that the second ERML appears to be mounted in the left arm, affording good arc coverage. The bad news is that, like all other
Mercurys, this one mounts single heat sinks, making it actually possible to overheat should it try to get down with its bad self in combat. Make sure you actually manager your heat on this one, folks.
So, how do you use a
Mercury? Simple: speed is life. Keep that in mind. You don’t have anti-infantry guns, so don’t bother trying to engage them if you can at all help it. The MCY-98, MCY-99 and MCY-104 can, for their eras, dance to the tune of the lightweight fast strike ‘Mech, but all
Mercurys are better suited for the scout role. Stay moving, but be careful of overusing your MASC. Nothing gets a 20-ton ‘Mech killed faster than being completely immobile ‘cause you blew a MASC roll.
How do you kill a
Mercury? Easy: hit it. Honestly, armor placement here, for the most part, is a bit sub-par compared to the
Locust, which tries to concentrate its armor where it’s needed most: head, front center torso, and legs. The
Mercury tends to be a bit more even in its placement, which can leave it a bit thin at times, especially over the cockpit. Find ways to negate its speed advantage, whether with trying to bog it down in terrain (even with MASC, this can be done), or with weapons that make the most of to-hit modifiers. Pulse lasers, LB-X cluster rounds, even snub-nose PPCs can be useful for this.
References:
The MCY-99 and its cousins are, with the exception of the MCY-98, up on the Master Unit List. The MCY-98 is in
Tech Readout 3025 Revised, and was
confirmed to have existed by Herb, despite later being removed from Tech Readout 3039, on account of the
Mercury not making it through the Succession Wars. The miniature is available
from Iron Wind Metals.
