Digging through my old files, I found this old write up. I could have sworn I posted it, but it must have been before the last board crash. I know this concept has been done to death, but I like the fluff. The -1L and -3L versions use fractional accounting, but the -2L should be tournament legal. All the math was done by hand, but SAW gives me significantly different numbers for the -2L (809,896 C-Bills and 607 BV). I'm not sure why. The good news is SAW makes the (half ton light) TRO 3039 Vedette out to be 896,875 C-Bills, so the original ad copy still holds within a decent rounding error (90.3% of the cost).
RAT-1L (Prototype/Demonstrator)
24.00 Tons
2.50 I.S.
1.50 Control
6.00 120 Fusion
8.00 A/C 5
0.25 Ammo
0.50 MG
0.25 Ammo
1.00 Turret
4.00 Armor
F 16, S 11/11, R 10, T 16
RAT-2L (Production Model)
25.00 Tons
2.50 I.S. 25K (240 + 22.5) x 0.9 x 1.30 = 307.125
1.50 Control 15K (176 + 5.5 + 12.5) x 1.37 = 265.78
6.00 125 Fusion 208,333.3 Total BV = 573
7.00 PPC 200K
0.50 MG 5K
0.50 Ammo 500
1.00 Turret 5K
6.00 Armor 60K
F 20, S 18/18, R 20, T 20
647,917 C-Bills, 573 BV
RAT-3L (Promotional or Aftermarket Modification, uses Fractional Accounting)
25.00 tons
2.50 I.S. 25,000 (240 + 22.5) x 0.9 x 1.30 = 307.125
1.25 Control 12,500 (176 + 10.5 + 12.5) x 1.37 = 272.63
6.00 125 Fusion 208,333.3 Total BV = 580
7.00 PPC 200,000
1.00 2xMG's 10,000 One Front, One Turret
0.50 Ammo 500 519,583.3 Sub-total
0.75 Turret 3,750
6.00 Armor 60,000
F 20, S 18/18, R 20, T 20
649,480 C-Bills, 580 BV
Ad Copy: TWICE the fire power, HALF the height, weight and crew, ALL the speed and protection, 90% the cost.
Overview
When a labor dispute delayed the retooling of Kalidassa's Wasp production line in early 3049, Kali-Yama Weapons Industries found itself
with a shortage of warehouse space for components. This led to a short term lease from Quickscell for storage of Kali-Yama's Magna 120
fusion engines, and provided an enterprising Quickscell design engineer the opportunity to "acquire" one for testing. Eight months later, he'd
successfully crammed the Magna and a high torque electric motor into the engine compartment of a Scorpion light tank, and not a moment
too soon for the marketing VP that had sponsored his effort. The demonstration of a 25% faster Scorpion was unmarred by the revelation
that almost all of the ammunition had to be removed to achieve top speed. Marketing had been contemplating how to crack into the lucrative
medium tank market dominated by the Vedette, and a fusion powered Scorpion seemed to be the just the ticket.
With R&D authorized, engineering set about solving several difficult problems, the foremost of which was closing the 4% power deficit of
the Magna compared to the requirements of a 25 ton tank. The Magna's safety features consistently shut the engine down due to
overheating. After several dead ends, an inexpensive re-manufacturing technique allowed the design team to successfully fool the firmware
into operating at the increased power level. By 3052, Quickscell had not only solved the power problem, but also adapted the heavier
ProtecTech 6 armor to the Scorpion's chassis and acquired an inventory of 100 PPC's despite the Free Worlds' known shortage at the time.
The PPC's were old technology Parti-Kill Heavy Cannon, pointing to New Earth as the likely source, though neither Quickscell nor NETC ever
disclosed the deal. Had NETC known the cannon were destined for a Vedette competitor, it's unlikely they would have been sold.
Low rate initial production began in 3053 with the RAT-2L (the -1L designation belonging to the original 24-ton prototype). The design
had been successfully passed to Quickscell's other Scorpion production facilities on Pandora and Ares. Layover was unable to secure
necessary components and never put the Ratel into production. In early 3054, at the behest of another marketing VP, the design engineers
on Ares were able to fit a second machine gun into the tank's turret. While this enabled the RAT-3L to be truthfully advertised as
having "twice the firepower" of a Vedette, it wasn't before NETC caught on to what Quickscell was doing and cut off Kalidassa's supply of
PPC's. The Pandora plant, meanwhile, was being disassembled for transfer deeper into the Federated Commonwealth, and away from the Red
Devil BattleMaster production line. This left Ares as the sole producer of the Ratel after 3054. High demand kept the RAT-2L as the primary
model, but Ares was able to do a brisk business in aftermarket conversion kits for the RAT-3L.
Capabilities
The Ratel is based on the Scorpion's chassis, and the hull is almost identical, right down to the 20mm gatling gun. The power pack is a
re-manufactured 120 fusion engine with a 125 rated output, allowing the Ratel to outpace it's progenitor by a solid 22kph with no additional
weight. The ProtecTech 6 armor is identical to that carried by both the Hetzer and Vedette. The "ballistics" of the Parti-Kill Heavy Cannon are
identical to the Deleon Autocannon it replaces, allowing Quickscell to retain the OptiSight-12 targeting and tracking system from the
Scorpion. The Basix 200 communications system was also retained, maximizing commonality.
