Cosmos CSM-1U
Mass: 25 tons
Chassis: Unknown
Power Plant: Unknown 100 Fusion
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph
Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph
Jump Jets: Standard
Jump Capacity: 120 meters
Armor: Standard
Armament:
4 Small Laser
2 Medium Laser
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communication System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
Introduction Year: unknown
Tech Rating/Availability: E/E-F(F*)-X-X
Cost: 1,492,183 C-bills
The Cosmos has always been something of a mystery, or perhaps more accurately an urban legend, of the Inner Sphere. For centuries, the only confirmed documentary evidence for this unique bi-modal LAM has been fragmentary records and design sketches, which seemed to describe a machine intended exclusively for spaceborn operations. There was no indication in these records that the design had actually been built, however, and for the majority of those same hundreds of years, the accepted conventional wisdom in the Inner Sphere is that it had never been built. After all, the Bimodal LAM type was a dead end technology, and certainly none of the Great Houses had ever seen or had access to an actual operating Cosmos, or even parts of one. There were, of course, rumors of encounters with these odd saucer shaped machines, but in general they were viewed with the same skepticism shown to other stories about flying saucers. At best, just space stories and legends passed around portside bars or shared across information networks.
These conclusions would suffer a serious blow in 3090 when reconstruction efforts on Mars uncovered a somehow untouched bunker complex dating back to the Star League era. Though most of the contents of the complex remain classified to this day, it would eventually be revealed through mishap that the Republic of the Sphere recovered four intact and operable Cosmos prototypes from the hidden facility. Once news of this find made it to the general public, it led to a gradual re-evaluation of the old legends. In particular, a report published through Interstellar Expeditions in 3108 detailed several past encounters with the now very distinctive saucer shaped craft dating back to the mid 29th century and centered on the rimward deep periphery between the California Nebula and the abandoned Rim Worlds Outpost 11. Sensor data and imaging that once might have been dismissed, explained away, or never even seen by experts in the Inner Sphere was now being viewed in a new light, and while skeptics remain even today, for many it has become increasingly clear that the Cosmos, this once urban legend, is in fact very real and operating in numbers in the Deep Periphery.
Moreover, the scattered reports and sensor logs documenting these Deep Periphery bound LAMs show some degree of variation, both from the prototypes recovered by the Republic from the Martian cache, and at times from each other, showing that the operators of these mechs either possess a large and varied stockpile of these machines, or may actually possess the capability to modify or even manufacture them, placing them well above the typical deep periphery state. As near as we can determine, the "standard model" of the Cosmos is designed as a close range combatant with a primary armament of two medium and four small lasers. The machine isn't particularly mobile in either mode, though it does possess relatively decent armor protection for its size. Strategically, this version of the Cosmos also has some advantage over most traditional LAMs by carrying additional fuel, though again it pales in comparison to a proper aerospace fighter. Encounters in the deep periphery seem to confirm that the Cosmos is intended for spaceborn operations. Not only does this explain the use of the outdated bimodal conversion system, but it also explains the craft's terrible aerodynamic profile and atmospheric performance. While there are some indications that the Deep Periphery models have improved performance characteristics relative to the prototypes, it is also clear that the saucer shaped design was chosen with no eye whatsoever for atmospheric operations, and was most likely intended to make the craft more compact on the flight deck.
Encounters with the Cosmos in the Deep Periphery normally see the LAM operating alongside Spad aerofighters, usually off the deck of a Leopard dropship. While their operators, whom Interstellar Expeditions have labeled the California Wanderers, are usually non-hostile and happy to trade supplies or offer assistance, they are also tight lipped about where they are from or what they are doing in this region of the periphery, and are willing to resort to force against those who get too pushy. One consistent element of their interaction with outsiders is an advisory to avoid travelling through the California Nebula, due to what they describe as "an as yet unexplained navigational hazard". A few ships have refused to heed this warning and passed through the Nebula without incident, however the 3108 Interstellar Expeditions report is quick to warn of the inherent survivor bias at work here. If a ship was lost in the California Nebula for whatever reason, they certainly couldn't come home to tell the tale.
Variants:
The so called California Wanderers seem to operate a few different models of the Cosmos. The two more familiar variants remove the small lasers and move the mediums to the arms. This makes room for either a pair of small bomb bays or additional fuel. Another variant is described in a somewhat fantastical story, where a jumpship in distress was taken to what was alleged to be a full scale repair yard. According to the story, this facility operated a variant of the Cosmos outfitted for industrial work, discarding all of the weapons for a rivet gun on one arm and a fluid gun (for dispensing paint, solvent, or other industrial chemicals) on the other. Though using industrialmechs in such facilities is certainly not unprecedented, the idea of using something as advanced as an actual Land/Air mech for the role seems to stretch credulity.
The four prototypes recovered from the Mars Cache, designated the 1X, 1Y, 1Y2, and 1Z, each use a larger engine than what seems to be mounted in the models used by the California Wanderers, providing better acceleration but almost by necessity demanding a reduction in armor protection as well as the loss of the expanded fuel capacity. The particularly poor handling of these craft inside an atmosphere is also what ultimately revealed their existence to the general public, when one of the prototypes crashed into Mount Hood on Terra in 3092. Local civilian tourists were the first to make it to the crash site, and by the time recovery units from the Republic Military had arrived, images of the crashed "UAP" and its badly injured test pilot were already spreading through the planetary network. Rather than attempt a Blakist-style coverup, the Republic government instead chose to disclose the nature of the crashed craft and its origin. The surviving three craft, as well as the wreckage of prototype 1Y2, would remain under study at the Groom Lake testing grounds until 3096, after which they were formally demilitarized and handed over to museums on Luna and Metis.
Type: Cosmos
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Experimental)
Tonnage: 25
Battle Value: 500
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure 2.5
LAM Conversion Equipment 4.0
Engine 100 Fusion 3
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 4
AirMech Cruising MP: N/A
AirMech Flanking MP: N/A
Safe Thrust: 4
Max Thrust: 6
Heat Sink 10 0
Gyro 1
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor 72 4.5
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso 8 10
Center Torso (rear) 3
R/L Torso 6 8
R/L Torso (rear) 3
R/L Arm 4 6
R/L Leg 6 8
Right Arm Actuators: Shoulder, Upper Arm, Lower Arm, Hand
Left Arm Actuators: Shoulder, Upper Arm, Lower Arm, Hand
Weapons
and Ammo Location Critical Heat Tonnage
2 Heat Sink LL 2 - 2.0
Fuel Tank CT 1 - 1.0
Heat Sink RT 1 - 1.0
Medium Laser RT 1 3 1.0
2 Jump Jet RT 2 - 1.0
2 Small Laser LA 2 1 1.0
Heat Sink LT 1 - 1.0
Medium Laser LT 1 3 1.0
2 Jump Jet LT 2 - 1.0
2 Heat Sink RL 2 - 2.0
2 Small Laser RA 2 1 1.0
Features the following design quirks: Improved Life Support, Improved Sensors, Non-Standard Parts, Atmospheric Flight Instability
The link to the Beyond the Frontier record sheet book can be found here (the 1X, 1Y, 1Y2, and 1Z variants will be coming in the next version):
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=84454.0
