OSR-9C Ostroc II

[Hominid Mk II]

[See http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Ostroc_Mk_II for the original source of this design. What follows below is merely fluff of my own invention.]

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OSR-9C Ostroc II

Mass: 60 tons
Chassis: Ost-II Modified
Power Plant: Pitban 240
Cruising Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: Chilton 460
   Jump Capacity: 90 meters
Armor: Riese-475
Armament:
   2 Fuersturm-c Large Lasers
   2 Fuersturm-b Medium Lasers
   2 Totschlagen SRM-2s
Manufacturer: Ostmann Industries
   Primary Factory: Terra (destroyed during Amaris Coup)
Communications System: Ostmann-L
Targeting & Tracking System: Ferdinand-a

Overview:
   In the 2760s, Ostmann Industries of Terra began work on a projected replacement for their venerable Ostroc heavy BattleMech. Inspired in part by the menacing non-humanoid appearance of the Marauder, they sought to create a new design which would incorporate just such a visual aesthetic. The end result was the Ostroc II. Always a comparatively small manufacturer with a need to keep an eye on costs, Ostmann chose not to incorporate any expensive advanced technology into the prototypes of their new design.

   The weaponry of the Ostroc II is little changed from that of the original Ostroc. The two large and two medium lasers are identical, although the old SRM-4 is replaced by two SRM-2s. A half-ton of armor is added. The most significant change is the replacement of the old Vlar 300 fusion engine used on the original Ostroc with a less powerful Pitban 240, making the top ground speed of the Ostroc II twenty-five percent slower than that of its predecessor. This is offset by the addition of three jump jets for added mobility, giving the Ostroc II a jumping range of 90 meters. The desired menacing non-humanoid appearance was achieved, but at the significant cost of – to all practical intents and purposes – leaving the design without usable arms, reducing its effectiveness in the up-close-and-personal style of combat that often predominates in the urban warfare for which, like its predecessor, it is primarily intended.

   Only a few dozen Ostroc II prototypes had been completed and sent out to SLDF line units for field trials before the Amaris Coup and Civil War destroyed Ostmann Industries and left the design an orphan. The prototypes were deployed in combat and performed their intended duties adequately but unexceptionally during the subsequent long campaign to liberate the Terran Hegemony. In its aftermath, a few of those which had survived the fighting accompanied Aleksandr Kerensky on the SLDF Exodus. All are believed to have later been destroyed during the Pentagon Civil Wars. The few Ostroc II prototypes that remained in the Inner Sphere were soon thrown into the crucible of the Succession Wars. They fared surprisingly well for quite some time in terms of their long-term survival rate, but the Ostroc II nonetheless remained an extremely rare sight on the battlefield. In the end, time took its toll and the design gradually came closer and closer to disappearing altogether. The last two known to have remained in service were both destroyed (fighting on opposite sides) during the early phases of the Fourth Succession War. Today, so far as is known, the design is completely extinct.

Type: OSR-9C Ostroc II
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage: 60

Equipment                                                Mass
Internal Structure:                                       6.0
Engine:               240                                11.5
   Walking MP:          4
   Running MP:          6
   Jumping MP:          3
Heat Sinks:            19                                 9
Gyro:                                                     3
Cockpit:                                                  3
Armor Factor:         152                                 9.5
                        Internal           Armor
                        Structure          Value
   Head:                     3                8
   Center Torso:            20               26
   Center Torso (Rear):                       6
   R/L Torso:               14               23
   R/L Torso (Rear):                          4
   R/L Arm:                 10                8
   R/L Leg:                 14               21

  BV (1.0): 1,009   Cost: 4,761,600 C-bills

Weapons and Ammo          Location   Critical   Heat     Mass
Large Laser                   RT         2        8       5.0
Medium Laser                  RT         1        3       1.0
SRM-2                         RT         1        2       1.0
Large Laser                   LT         2        8       5.0
Medium Laser                  LT         1        3       1.0
SRM-2                         LT         1        2       1.0
Ammo (SRM) 50                 CT         1        0       1.0
Jump Jet                      RT         1        0       1.0
Jump Jet                      LT         1        0       1.0
Jump Jet                      CT         1        0       1.0

HS RT3 LT3 RL2 LL2

[Col.Hengist]

For what it is, its not a bad mech. Bv is good and its potentially a good city fighter. I just really dislike the slower speed.