Firefly
The 30 ton fury
First built in 2679 the Firefly was a mainstay of the SLDF light units through the later years of the Star League. While other House Lords were content with their run of Stingers , Locusts, or in the case of the Cappie’s, their home bred Firebee, the manufacturers of the Hegemony continued to churn out design after to design to fit any situation the SLDF might find themselves in.
The staples of light mech warfare in the Succession Wars such as the Panther, Javelin, and Jenner didn’t exist at this time in history. Light mech designs in the service to the majority of Star League member states dated back to the Age of War or what the Hegemony sold to them was a more recent vintage that they deemed obsolete. Contemporary light mechs of the time focused primarily on speed, the Firefly is built around firepower and armor. The notable exceptions were the Lyran Commonwealth’s Commando and the previously mentioned Firebee. The Commando has bite, but lacks exceptional armor. The Firebee on the other hand had a solid all around profile, but lacked the ability to dissipate heat with the efficiency that a Firefly's freezers provide.
The Stinger, Wasp, and Falcon were all scout mechs the SLDF would likely encounter on the field of battle. While the SLDF could probably chase these suckers down with some Spectors or Spiders and kill them dead many times over both mechs were primary used by Special Forces or black ops units. The Firefly on the other hand was designed from the ground up to be used by line troops at a lesser cost and still maul these other mechs in the confined spaces of a city or broken terrain. When called on the design also provided support in urban environments to deal with troublesome infantry and light armor. The Firefly fulfills both of those missions in spades.
As was the case with many Hegemony and SLDF designs, a significant number of Firefly were taken with Kerensky and his followers during the Exodus. Throughout the Clans formative years the design continued to serve reliably enough that the design was spotted in some second line formations during REVIVAL. Meanwhile, back in the Inner Sphere enough numbers existed that the design survived into the Second Succession War when attrition finally caught up to the design. As with many designs thought extinct and lost to time the mech was resurrected a couple hundred years later when Wolf’s Dragoons appeared on the scene with new Fireflys in pristine condition.
CapabilitiesWhile there are officially 11 different versions of the Firefly, most are slight adjustments here and there to weapons and equipment. Speed caps out at 86 kph and jump jets will allow it traverse 120 meters. With the exception of the original design these all date to after the fall of the Star League and the SLDF’s Exodus.
FFL-3A: A XL engine and Ferro Armor allow the design to max out the armor and pack a powerful punch capable of reducing opposing light mechs into goo. 10 freezers keep the design running cool. The original model of the Firefly featured a trio of medium lasers and 4 small lasers for point blank range. A LRM-5 with two tons of ammunition gives the Firefly a long range weapon with modest endurance. The extra ammunition allows the design to mix in Thunder or Swarm munitions. An arm mounted TAG allows the Firefly to spot for laser guided artillery rounds to level opposing units while minimizing collateral damage.
FFL-3SLE: This version swaps out the 3A’s TAG for a Guardian ECM mounted on the mech.
FFL-3PP: the first of the so called Pentagon Powers' variants. The various warlords or rebel factions that were left behind when Nicholas left on his 2nd Exodus to Strana Mechty modified the Firefly they had left based off of what they could support. This version upgrades 3SLE’s LRM-5 to a 10 rack at the expense of a ton of ammunition, CASE, and the ECM. It runs a little warm, but not excessive.
FFL-3PP2: Standard armor replaces the Ferro armor and the 3SLE’s CASE is removed to make room for an additional half ton of armor.
FFL-3PP3: replaces the 3SLE’s ECM and Ferro armor with an Artemis IV to improve the amount of missiles on target. The additional half ton makes up for the loss of protection found in the lighter Ferro.
FFL-4A: The Wolf’s Dragoons made this the most recognizable unit of all variants of the Firefly. When the Dragoons appeared in the Inner Sphere with vintage Fireflys it was the first known sighting of them since the Second Succession War. This variant though has its roots of creation extend back to the Pentagon Powers as well.
With XL engines, Ferro armor, and CASE all more difficult or impossible to maintain by the rapidly declining tech base of the various Pentagon powers a retro tech version emerged. ECM is removed, a ton of ammo cut, and Freezers removed for in favor standard heat sinks to keep the damage output substantially unchanged. No longer does the pilot have the benefit of being able to alpha strike over and over without fear eventual shutdown. Even so the heat curve is not difficult to manage.
Firefly C: Introduced in 2839 this refit replaced the cutting edge Star League tech with modern Clan Weaponry. Instead of the XL engine and Ferro armor, the mech mounts an Endo Steel skeleton. The ECM is removed as well. In the place of the 3 SLE weapons are 4 Clan ER Small Lasers, 3 Clan Medium Pulse Lasers, and a SRM-2 with a ton of ammo. CASE is now built in. The design was consider so much of a success that even after the Firefly C was phased out of mainline duty, the majority of Clans still maintain the design in their second line formations.
FFL-4B: This marks the beginning of the upgrades that the Dragoons pursued with their Firefly mechs with Star League technology. The Small Lasers of the 4A are replaced with an AMS, a ton of ammo, and CASE.
FFL-4C: Moving back towards its roots, this version has both an XL engine and Endo Steel. The 4Bs Medium Lasers are replaced by Medium Pulse lasers. An Artemis FCS boosts the accuracy of LRM-5. Freezers are installed to make the heat manageable again.
FFL-4D: One of those ideas that just doesn’t pan out well. The mech has a light engine, endo steel, and ferro armor all to save tonnage. CASE protects the ammo and the LRM gets Artemis. The real issue is that all the bulky, weight saving measures found with the engine, internal, and armor leave little in the way for space to mount double heat sinks. 3 ER Medium Lasers, and a LRM-5 and AMS fired together will tax the 12 single heat sinks mounted on the design.
FFL-4DA: Replaces the 4D’s AMS with a Guardian ECM.
Summary:
Back in its day, the Firefly was quite unique. The concept of a mobile light mech with firepower was in its infancy. While the Succession Wars would have buried the design, the return of Wolf’s Dragoons and their subsequent reintroduction and continued success with the design showed it still had a place on the battlefield in the 31st century. While outdated by the time of the Jihad, the design is still just as capable as it was during the Star League of turning other units that it can keep pace with, into paste.