In the Vaults timeline, the Taurians come up with ProtoMechs rather than any of the Clans or Houses. It seemed perfectly appropriate to give them the Minotaur as a result of this.
Note: I messed up in some of my calculations. The perils of doing things by hand. Fixed.
AU EQUIPMENT OVERVIEW
- Inner Sphere ProtoMech:
Inferior to the canon Clan ones across the board: requires a Gyro, the controls are usually
heavier, and armor is 60kg/ton rather than 50. See "IS ProtoMech Rules" thread for more
detailed info.
- Trimmed Fusion Engine (ProtoMech):
Halfway between a Standard and a Light Engine, for all intents and purposes. 1/8 lighter,
but twice as expensive. Barely fits in a ProtoMech chassis, restricting torso equipment
to 500kg, not counting heat sinks, ammo, jump jets, etc. (This limit is increased to 1000kg
for Ultra Protos with a Trimmed Engine.) Otherwise the Engine functions as per normal rules.
- IS Heavy Lasers:
50% more damage, 75% more heat, +0/1/2(3) to-hit penalty per range bracket. Can
be powered down to act exactly like standard IS lasers if desired.
- Variable-Range Missiles:
Does 3/2/1 damage based on range to target (5/12/21 hexes). Ammo is heat-sensitive
(like Inferno missiles) and may blow up if the Mech overheats.
Minotaur
BV: 253
Cost: 723,324 C-Bills
Mass: 9 tons
Chassis: ProtoMech MTR
Power Plant: LTV 45 Trimmed Fusion
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph
Maximum Speed: 54.0 kph
Jump Jets: Rawlings 63
Jump Capacity: 90 meters
Armor: ProtoMech Standard
Armament:
- 1 Magna Mk.V Heavy Medium Laser
- 1 Magna Mk.I Small Laser
Manufacturer: Taurus Territorial Industries
Primary Factory: Taurus
Communications System: Neil 9116
Targeting and Tracking System: Octagon MiniTrak
Equipment Mass (kg)
Internals: Standard 900
Engine: 45 Trimmed 875
Walk MP: 3
Run MP: 5
Jump MP: 3 300
Gyro: Standard 500
Control Sys: IS 750
Armor Factor: 34 pts Standard 2040
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 2 5
Torso 9 12
Main Gun 1 3
Arms (L/R) 2/2 3/3
Legs 5 8
Equipment Location Mass (kg)
hvMLAS MG 1000
6 HS 1800
SLAS T 500
1 HS 300
Overview:
The young heir-apparent Edward Calderon began assuming some responsibilities for the Taurian realm in 3034. Since that time he has been a vociferous proponent of trade, advising his father to open the nation to trade with the Confederated Suns to avoid being isolated and outpaced technologically.
Despite Protector Thomas' fears, this policy seems to have largely paid off. Houses Davion-Liao and Calderon have downgraded their hostilities from open raiding to a wary detente, and there was even talk of settling the border disputes via negotiation, until the Clan Crusade began and created bigger issues for the Suns to deal with. The technology windfall garnered from the Hegemony Core, the Concordat's domestic R&D, and Hanse's 'fire sale', allowed the Periphery realm to embark on an ambitious set of projects to modernize their military and enact interesting new combined-arms tactics. In the past, the Calderons even hired the Gray Death Legion as consultants in combined-arms warfare, though the Legion's long-term contract with House Steiner has superceded that on a more or less permanent basis in recent years.
One of the most obvious outgrowths of this is the new ProtoMech Corps, inaugurated in 3045 by Edward. The Bull Calf and Minotaur ProtoMechs were designed to be miniaturized 'Mechs that operated in groups, much like a Maniple of soldiers would. With enough durability to hold up under fire, and (unlike standard infantry) enough mobility to stick with other mechanized units, particularly Assault-class 'Mechs, these mass-produced war machines have the potential to change the face of warfare.
Capabilities:
The centerpiece of the Minotaur is a small, 45-rated Trimmed Engine, mass-produced at several factories for both civilian and military purposes. It has been pointed out more than once that a Standard engine would be better for the purpose at less cost, but the LTV corporation considers profit-per-unit too light for standard engines of that size to be worth mass-producing.
Three jump jets allows the Minotaur decent maneuverability, particularly in city fighting. The ProtoMech can only keep up with slower 'Mechs and tanks under normal circumstances. It carries enough armor to (barely) survive an AC/20 shot, but isn't generally meant to face off against such heavily-armed opposition without backup.
The Taurians' ProtoMech control system started off as a horrendous kludge of reverse-engineered battle armor controls (or, in many cases, what they thought was the case based on fragmentary Star League data) and a cut-down, simplified 'Mech cockpit. The weight and bulk of such systems has improved markedly since the early prototypes. Some scientists have proposed invasive neural implants so the pilot can control the ProtoMech more effectively, but cost, medical, and public-relations concerns have conspired to keep this idea firmly in the realm of speculation for now.
Weaponry consists of a pair of lasers; the ProtoMech wields a Heavy Medium Laser as a rifle, with a brace of cooling systems distributed across the chassis to keep the weapon from melting itself with repeated fire. A standard small laser sits in the chest as a backup weapon, allowing for a little extra firepower at point-blank range.
Deployment:
Minotaurs are grouped together in squads of four, and have been added organically to battalion-level commands in the Taurian Defense Force. They see particularly heavy use among heavy and assault formations, including the First Taurian Lancers.
The Taurians themselves have not sent any significant forces out of their realm since the War of Silence, but some of the ProtoMechs have been exported to Houses Kurita and Marik, where the base model has received middling reviews on the Clan front -- mostly because the slow Minotaur is far better on defense than in a counterattack or mobile operation.
Variants:
Free Worlds League forces that make use of the Minotaur have taken to removing the main laser and using an Extended LRM triple-rack or a Variable-Range dual-rack instead. This allows the ProtoMech to remain viable in combat well outside of the close-range brawls it was designed for. Other operators (notably Kurita) make use of a standard SRM four-pack or LRM launcher from time to time. The Taurians themselves have adopted the use of the LRM rack as well, having seen numerous battle-vids detailing the slow 'Proto being simply outranged and outrun. These variants have all been much better received than the standard one, and TTI is in the process of switching their output to adjust to the demand.
[b]BV2 calculations:[/b]
2.5 x armor (34) 85
1.5 x IS (21) 31.5
0.5 x Gyro (4.5) 4.5
Def eqpmt (0) 0
Total stuff 120
Def factor x 1.3
------------------------------
Def BV 156
hvMLAS 70
SLAS 9
Total guns 79.0
Spd factor x 1.24
------------------------------
Off BV 97.96
Total BV 253.96 --> (253)
COST CALCULATIONS
Cockpit: (IS) 300,000
Life Sup: 75,000
Sensors: 2K*T 18,000
Myomers: 2K*T 18,000
Internals: 400K*T 3,600
Actuators:
Arms: 180*T*2 3,240
Legs: 540*T 4,860
Engine (TFE): 10k*ER*T/75 54,000
Gyro: 150k*GyroTons 75,000
Jumpjets: 200*JJ*T 5,400
Heat Sinks: 2k*HS 14,000
Armor: 625*AF 21,250
CHASSIS SUBTOTAL 592,350
hvMLAS 60,000
SLAS 11,250
ARMED SUBTOTAL 663,600
Final cost: *1+(T/100) 723,324
