There are those, even in the most laughable factions, who believe in their state and cause with all of their hearts. These fanatics are often lamentable anti-intellectuals or the dangerously unhinged. But sometimes they are indisputable geniuses with a willful blind spot. It is from the mind of one of the latter that the Glory Eagle came into being.
Stuart Cameron, of no relation to any significant line of Camerons, was raised on the tales of the greatness of the Free Worlds League and its space-scouring navies, world-shaking armies, and near-perfect parliamentary system. Against this backdrop of legendry he dove headlong into history and fell in love with one of the most signature regiments of the FWLM, the Marik Guard.
When the FWL was reconstituted in 3139 Stuart felt the call to remind the new League of its great roots. He abandoned his post as a history professor and began beseeching any and all who would listen to comb the cosmos for every fragment of Land-Air-'Mech technology they could get in order to re-establish the Marik Guard. Again and again he was laughed out of every meeting he could get. The costs of such an endeavor were preposterous, nevermind the opinions of so many about aggrandizing the Mariks. But Stuart was not to be dissuaded so easily. If the Marik Guard would not be rebuilt from the ancient ashes of old Land-Air-'Mechs then they would have to rise along with a brand new LAM.
Thus did professor Cameron devote himself wholesale to the learning of vast swaths of battletechnology: BattleMech design and construction techniques, AeroSpace design and construction techniques, strategic and tactical doctrines and employment, espionage and intelligence techniques, and so much more besides. Though he had to sacrifice the plaudits of years of his life as a historian he felt it was a worthwhile goal to bring the pride of the Free Worlds League back to life.
In the end the professor managed what many would consider impossible, the design and construction of a brand new Land-Air-'Mech. Unfortunately a few corners had to be cut here and there due to funding and the limitations of professor Cameron's expertise, but nevertheless a fully functional production model of the Glory Eagle saw the light of day alongside a bevy of technical specifications for the construction of the LAM, its factories, its components, and even proposed employment doctrine. Equipped with the machine, tech specs, historical backing, and unshakable zealotry professor Cameron set forth to find someone who would see his truth and put everything he'd worked for into practice.
No one cared. Professor Stuart Cameron died of old age in 3161 still trying to make someone understand how important his work was.
For its own part the GLR-5E Glory Eagle is a bit lackluster even for a LAM. Due to professor Cameron's technical and access constraints the Glory Eagle was built with a strange collection of semi-advanced and dangerous prototype technologies. But even with these limitations, a practicable, if not necessarily effective, employment doctrine was developed. The Glory Eagle is a dedicated reconnaissance and raiding platform with specific weapons arrays and performance profiles dictated by what enemy it encounters.
For use against aerospace and conventional fighters, or VTOLs, the Glory Eagle is expected to convert to battlemech mode and use its twin two-class light autocannon, preferably loaded with flak, to bring down the foe.
Against ground vehicles and infantry, which are meant to be engaged in battlemech mode as well, the Glory Eagle sports a quartet of light machine guns and a pair of two pack SRM launchers, which can be loaded with infernos to improve its effectiveness.
Against battlemechs the Glory Eagle's prototype improved jump jet array allows for rapid conversion first to airmech mode, to escape engagement range, and then to fighter mode to escape the field entirely.
For added flexibility the Glory Eagle also carries two one-ton bomb bays. Conventionally they can be used to carry a pair of bombs to be deployed against vulnerable infrastructure assets such as bridges or undefended airstrips. Equipped with inferno bombs, the Glory Eagle can quickly destroy lightly or un defended supply sites. For those rare occasions that the Glory Eagle must engage in direct battle a pair of rocket launcher pods can be used to strike a softening or surprise blow. But also, in a strategic capacity, the bomb bays can be used to carry additional fuel for longer range flights in fighter mode.
As a last component to help it integrate more effectively with a larger force the Glory Eagle carries a recon camera to act as a forward spotter, pursuit observer, or spy for the benefit of its formation.
Glory Eagle GLR-5E
Base Tech Level: Experimental (IS)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental 3145+
Advanced -
Standard -
Extinct 3145+
Tech Rating: E/X-X-X-X
Weight: 55 tons
BV: 1,293
Cost: 5,222,189 C-bills
Movement: 4/6/6
AirMech: 2/3/18/27
Fighter: 6/9
Engine: 220 Fusion
Heat Sinks: 10
Cockpit: Small Cockpit
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 91 (Composite)
Armor: 184/185
Internal Armor
----------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 18 29
Center Torso (rear) 6
Right Torso 13 20
Right Torso (rear) 6
Left Torso 13 20
Left Torso (rear) 6
Right Arm 9 18
Left Arm 9 18
Right Leg 13 26
Left Leg 13 26
Weapons Loc Heat
------------------------------
SRM 2 RA 2
SRM 2 LA 2
Light Machine Gun RA 0
Light Machine Gun LA 0
Light Machine Gun LA 0
Light Machine Gun RA 0
Light AC/2 RA 1
Light AC/2 LA 1
Ammo Loc Shots
-------------------------------------------
SRM 2 Ammo CT 50
Light Machine Gun Ammo [Half] RT 100
LAC/2 Ammo LT 45
Equipment Loc
-------------------
Bomb Bay RT
Bomb Bay LT
Recon Camera HD
