Something of an offshoot of the Magistracy of Canopus founded at the end of the Reunification War, Lewis County is a small, but reasonably prosperous state located in the rimward mid-periphery. For centuries Lewis County has faced few threats worthy of concern, given the relative strength of its own defense forces and the general poverty of the surrounding periphery, however this has been gradually changing in the decades following the Jihad. The spread of technology, the devastation of the Jihad, and the following draw down of military forces have all contributed to the general increase in both the numbers and sophistication of the pirates and other outlaws roaming the periphery. In addition, the County has found itself the target of increasing raids by the Marian Hegemony, as well as mercenaries or pirates backed by the Capellan Confederation (for reasons that make sense only to Daoshen Liao). These attackers, often equipped with technology virtually unheard of in the County, have quickly become more than the County's lightweight and obsolete battlemech forces can readily handle, leaving the conventional forces to take the brunt of these attacks. Not only did this regularly result in heavy casualties, but it also tarnished the prestige of the entire battlemech corps, something the status obsessed, insanely competitive, and legally noble mechwarriors of Lewis County could not stand for. Thus the call went out for a new battlemech to strengthen the County's first line of defense.
Lewis County is no stranger to building battlemechs. The Wasps and Stingers that make up the bulk of the County's forces have been built in house for generations. What was required was something more substantial, however, so the County's engineers started with the familiar. The classic Shadow Hawk (imported from the Magistracy of Canopus), though heavily outnumbered by the smaller "bugs", is still a reasonably common design and was an obvious starting point. Politics, aesthetics, not a small amount of pride, and some military considerations dictated that the County's new flagship machine could not be simply a clone of the existing 2H, but an all new machine, an a symbol of the County's strength and industry.
What they got was the Shadow Knight. While aesthetically distinct from its ancestor, there's clearly a Shadow Hawk underneath that "Gothic Knight" skin. None of the major structural elements or core systems have received more than cosmetic changes, while the weapon systems, though revised with the hopes of meeting the needs of the County's forces better, still follow the familiar layout of the original Shadow Hawk, even if they make the mech more of a brawler than its original generalist loadout. Beam weapons function as the mech's primary weapons, offering a respectable punch while also allowing for ammunition independence. Two twin tube short range missile racks supplement the lasers, and with the County's logistical network already set up to support large forces of SRM carriers, munitions for these launchers are expected to never be in short supply. The added heat debt of the beam heavy weapon load is largely mitigated by an improved cooling system, and engineers even managed to improve the mech's jump range, an often requested feature.
Deployment:
Lewis County brought the Shadow Knight into full production in 3135, and while the intention is for the mech to become the standard battlemech of the County's military, currently who gets the new mechs is dependent primarily on a warrior's social standing rather than military necessity. As with everything else among the County's aristocracy, procurement of the new Shadow Knight is often delayed by politics and infighting among rival officers, to the point that several noble houses have managed to stash away caches of brand new Shadow Knights, to be given out to curry favor, traded for concessions, or otherwise used for political power. It is telling that after ten years of production, the Shadow Knight remains fairly rare among the County's military forces.
Variants:
Despite the problems actually getting the Shadow Knight into the hands of the military, a variant has still managed to appear, popularized by the mechwarriors of the 18th Black Squadron (The Rim Lords). This variant replaces the missile launchers and a single heat sink for a heavy blade stylized after a traditional claymore (though in practice it lacks the finesse of the typical "swords" used by inner sphere mechs). Possibly due to the deeply entrenched dueling culture among the County's nobility, this modification is rather popular, though some veterans claim that warriors tend to focus too much on actually using that sword rather than concentrating on their other weaponry.
Shadow Knight SHD-2LC
Base Tech Level: Introductory (IS)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3135+
Tech Rating: D/C-E-D-X
Weight: 55 tons
BV: 1,242
Cost: 4,763,357 C-bills
Movement: 5/8/5
Engine: 275
Heat Sinks: 16
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 91
Armor: 152/185
Internal Armor
----------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 18 23
Center Torso (rear) 8
Right Torso 13 18
Right Torso (rear) 6
Left Torso 13 18
Left Torso (rear) 6
Right Arm 9 16
Left Arm 9 16
Right Leg 13 16
Left Leg 13 16
Weapons Loc Heat
-------------------------
Medium Laser LA 3
Medium Laser RA 3
Large Laser LT 8
SRM 2 RT 2
SRM 2 HD 2
Ammo Loc Shots
------------------------
SRM 2 Ammo CT 50
Shadow Knight SHD-2LCH
Base Tech Level: Introductory (IS)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3135+
Tech Rating: D/X-F-D-X
Weight: 55 tons
BV: 1,211
Cost: 4,718,407 C-bills
Movement: 5/8/5
Engine: 275
Heat Sinks: 15
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 91
Armor: 152/185
Internal Armor
----------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 18 23
Center Torso (rear) 8
Right Torso 13 18
Right Torso (rear) 6
Left Torso 13 18
Left Torso (rear) 6
Right Arm 9 16
Left Arm 9 16
Right Leg 13 16
Left Leg 13 16
Weapons Loc Heat
-------------------------
Medium Laser LA 3
Large Laser LT 8
Medium Laser LA 3
Equipment Loc
----------------
Hatchet RA
