BattleMech Technical Readout

Name/Model:         Nightstar (Rubidium) NSR-9JRb
Designer:           Alisa Wolfstein
Source(s):          Custom Mordel.Net Units
Technology:         Inner Sphere
Technology Rating:  E
Tonnage:            95
Configuration:      Biped BattleMech
Era/Year:           Jihad / 3084
Rules (Current):    Tournament Legal
Rules (Era):        Tournament Legal
Rules (Year):       Tournament Legal
Total Cost:         18,698,550 C-Bills
Battle Value:       2,598

Structure:            Standard
Power Plant:          285 Light Fusion
Walking Speed:        32.4 kph  
Maximum Speed:        54 kph    
Jump Jets:            None
    Jump Capacity:    None
Armor:                Stealth
Armament:             
    2 Light PPCs
    2 Medium X-Pulse Lasers
    2 Gauss Rifles
Manufacturer:         Unknown
    Primary Factory:  Unknown
Communications:       Unknown
Targeting & Tracking: Unknown

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Overview:
    Following on from their efforts to produce an assault Battlemech which used Stealth Armour
    to provide enhanced protection while fighting at range, the engineers behind the GUN-1ERD-Fr
    or "Francium" realised (after observing the Francium's sub-par combat performance) that they
    needed a little more firepower for the design to be effective. To achieve this, they chose
    to change the 'Mech entirely, upgrading to a Nightstar NSR-9J. The extra 10 tons gained
    through this was all they needed to change the design from an underperforming prototype into
    a fully-fledged sniper 'Mech with high damage capabilities - the NSR-9JRb.

Capabilities:
    By alternating between charging and firing the one Light PPC and the other (and their
    capacitors) and firing both Gauss Rifles, you can strip 2.5 tons of armour off an enemy unit
    at over half a kilometre away. The use of a Light Fusion Engine means that the -9JRb can
    survive the loss of a side torso, unlike its predecessors, while still saving enough weight
    to allow the inclusion of two Medium X-Pulse lasers and two rearward-firing ER Small lasers
    as back up weapons in the event that an enemy closes within the minimum range of its Gauss
    Rifles and PPCs. 13 Double Heat Sinks provide perfectly adequate heat dissipation for the
    primary weapons, while a C3 Slave located in the head allows the -9JRb to gain targeting
    information  from its lancemates.
    
    To allow the inclusion of the stealth armour, the hand actuators had to be removed to free
    up space in the arms. However, the only impact of this (compared to the -9J) is that the
    -9JRb cannot pick up items - the Gauss Rifles extended far beyond the stubby hands of the
    original Nightstar, preventing it from punching properly. Stealth armour requires the unit
    to have a Guardian ECM suite for the armour to function properly - this is located in the
    -9JRb's centre torso.

Deployment:
    This 'Mech came into limited production in 3084 in the recently renamed Lyran Commonwealth,
    with the design seeing wider production by the turn of the 32nd Century. The stealth
    armour's ability to greatly reduce the amount of return fire which actually hit the NSR-9JRb
    whilst fighting at long range made it popular with planetary militias which could not afford
    to constantly repair frontline assault 'Mechs such as the King Crab and Atlas. Eventually,
    the design made its way to the Federated Suns, who started to produce the design in 3105.

Variants:
    A common change is to remove the C3 Slave and replace the rearward facing ER Smalls with
    forward-mounted ER Mediums, Small Pulse lasers or Small X-Pulse lasers; for when the -9JRb
    is being deployed outside of a C3-linked lance.

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Equipment                                                             Mass                      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure:                          Standard                  9.50                     
Engine:                                  285 Light Fusion             12.50                     
    Walking MP:                                 3                                               
    Running MP:                                 5                                               
    Jumping MP:                                 0                                               
Heat Sinks (Double):                         11 [22]                   1.00                     
Gyro:                                        Standard                  3.00                     
Cockpit:                                     Standard                  3.00                     
Armor Factor:                                  280                    17.50                     
    Type:                                    Stealth                                            

                                    Internal         Armor     
                                    Structure        Value     
    Head:                               3              9       
    Center Torso:                      30             42       
    Center Torso (rear):                               9       
    R/L Torso:                         20             32       
    R/L Torso (rear):                                  8       
    R/L Arm:                           16             32       
    R/L Leg:                           20             38       

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Weapons and Ammo                                       Location          Critical     Tonnage   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C3 Slave                                                  H                 1          1.00             
Guardian ECM Suite                                        CT                2          1.50             
Gauss Rifle (Ammo 24)                                     RT                3          3.00             
Light PPC                                                 RT                2          3.00             
Medium X-Pulse Laser                                      RT                1          2.00             
Gauss Rifle (Ammo 24)                                     LT                3          3.00             
Light PPC                                                 LT                2          3.00             
Medium X-Pulse Laser                                      LT                1          2.00             
Gauss Rifle                                               RA                7         15.00             
Gauss Rifle                                               LA                7         15.00