Weapon Review Magnet Missile (Elite)

Damage 60, Speed 99, Fork 25%, Splash 10%

If you want it all, this may be your weapon. You must be minimum level 28 for this special weapon drop, it's just that good. Most missile weapons are slow but this zippy beast is better than average. If you are looking for area effect, both splash and fork are here. If one doesn't get them, the other should.

There is higher than normal damage for the level you can purchase the Magnet Missile. With 60 damage, you could see some damage being done. The enemy surely feel the power and if you buy in bulk, the 5 pack will serve you well and save you resources. If you're on a budge, just 34 niodes and a bit of ferrite and bioptics will make you the proud owner of this special weapon. There's a limited number available and they may not be back. Get yours today.

Submitted by James Hudak # 295841

Stuxnet Injection Equipment Review

Rapture Systems made this badboy so you can lay some hurt on your opponents.
A cockpit module for 50-70 ton weight range mecha, the Stuxnet Injection will subject your opponents to computer viruses, slowing them down by 8, wreaking havoc on their systems with a 10% freeze chance and granting you a 6% triple damage bonus.

It costs 400 Ferrite, 824 Bioptics and 36 Niodes.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Other Universes

There is reason to believe that the galaxies which we know of are perhaps but one dimension.  Extremely bizarre mecha which are quite unlike any which we have had any experience dealing with come out of gates every once in awhile.  This is further corroborated by strange tales decrypted from certain Forerunner glyphs and likewise ancient civilization's recorded histories...

Something very dark lies superimposed within the space we regularly traverse.  Some believe that the glimpses of madness reported by gassers on Vupa 6 may be brief perceptions of things in one such twisted mirror universe.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Inferno The Fire Mecha Spotlight

With stats like 20% Splash, +42% Fire Damage, 2 and 3x damage how can you go wrong. Personally I believe in speed, precision and dodge, so most of my mechs are designed that way. Including my Inferno’s.

For Precision I use Battle Al cards to enhance the mechs aiming systems to its max and to find the weakest spot on the enemies mechs.

For the four main chassis of the inferno I use Untiam Actuator’s to give it the highest dodge possibly. This allows the mech to dodge most incoming attacks. But the Untiam Actuator’s also give the mech 8 added speed, to increase the rate at which it fires.

The engines of my inferno mostly exists out of Core of the Dragon, Pebble Bed Reactors and the all mighty Over- crank Engine. The Pebble Bed Reactors is a replacement for my Over- crank Engine when they need maintenance , since they give the same amount of speed as the Over- crank Engine. The Over- crank Engine is used for speed and It's Auto Repair and then last but not least we have the Core of the Dragon for speed, fire damage and trample.

In the three shield slots I usually always puts Proj, laser and Missile shields but it depends on the enemy.

And at the end your stats will look like this
Precision (36)
3X Damage 15%
2X Damage 21%
Dodge (64)
Speed + 52
Fire Damage + 68%
Trample 10%
Laser Shield 28%
Shield (58)
Mssile Shield 28%
Proj. Shield 38%
Auto Repair (4)
Freeze 8%
Splash 20%
Ice Vulnerable 10%

And with weapon like Diablis Nozzle’s, Liquid Torch’s and Kojin Stove’s. You literally smelt your enemies mesh to piles of metal.

Submitted by Molliere DAffue # Id 599258

Mecha Spotlight The Crit- Killer Smilodon

To be honest a lot of mechs can be used for a C-kill boat, to me the best mech in this field is the Smilodon. The mech comes with build in Crit-kill and then the Hawkeye Marksman’s give it an extra boost, including Precision, laser damage and Missile damage. The Smilodon is also one of the fastest mechs for it level range, with one Power Relay and three Pebble Bed Reactors. The Smilodon becomes unstoppable. But every mech has its down side. The Smilodon only has two chassis’ slots until lv 76 when it gets it third. That why they should be equipped with the best equipment and the Untiam Actuator’s will be the perfect fit.

With 19% Crit-Kill , 60 speed and (44) precision you really can’t go wrong, specially not if equipped with Flavian Spear and Galaxy Eye. With a total Crit-kill of 29- and 34% per shot and with 56% added Laser Damage, the Smilodon becomes a killer of a mech.

My Smilodon has been in my line up for quite some time and to be honest it works excellent. It’s also one of my favored mechs. The Smilodons have a long life span of 30 Level's+ . I’m currently level 56 and my Smilodon is still in my line up but I still support it up with some strong mechs to get the most out of it. I'd highly recommend this mech to any player that levels to 34.






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Submitted by Molliere DAffue # Id 599258

Smilodon Mech Review

The Smilodon was designed by the daughter of an engineer that belonged to the Meiji Shogunate faction. The Smilodon have a similar body design as the Keradon, but the niode matter of the Smilodon is totally different. The Smilodon can be seen as a big sister of the Keradon. It's a power full mech that should not be under estimated. Its main attributes is Crit-Kill and speed that makes a deadly combination, just like the prehistoric Smilodon that critically wounding his prey with one bite.

The Smilodon may lack the armor but with: speed, Crit-kill and placing the Smilodon at the bottom of your line up. You will crush your foe like hitting a mouse with a T10 Tsunami.

The Smilodon can be obtained through the Meiji Shogunate for 4500 Ferrite, 2500 Bioptics and 130 Niodes, it also then comes fully equipped with two Ferrite Storm’s, one Galaxy Eye and some Chrystal weapons.

Submitted by Molliere DAffue # Id 599258

Small Cannon Weapon Review

The Small Canon can be an early on quick hitter. It does 9 damage and comes with 110 speed. Available at level 9 at the cost of only 100 ferrite and 80 bioptics it is a great addition to an early on starting team of mech's. It can shoot down small and light mech's in a single shot and is capable of often getting the first shot in the fight.

In short, get one if you can. It will be a great addition to your team's weaponry.

Submitted by Edd7459 #806322

Grizzly Engine Equipment Review

To start this will cost you 1,389 Ferrite, 1,068 Bioptics, and 56 Crystal. It is designed for tonnages 80-90 and features Speed +2, Auto Repair(1), Proj. Damage +4%, and Proj. Vulnerable 5%. The vulnerability can be offset with proper shielding of course, then you just have to play the shield game to offset whatever vulnerability you pick up with whatever shield you installed.

One of the first generation of BFM engines to see the light of day honestly it doesn't have much to offer in terms of speed. The auto repair is negligible at best due to so many mechs packing a crit kill ability, and the Proj. Damage bonus is rather weak. Overall I would say if you win one sell it for crystals, save up and buy a decent engine like the Heat Cycler which is just a base rate speed of +7 and no frills to worry about. In a pinch yeah sure go ahead and use the Grizzly but you will most likely see the need to upgrade it quickly due to the bare bones auto repair and the inherent vulnerability in the design. No one needs that +2 to speed THAT badly..lol

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Anti- Crit Kill Shields

There have been reports that a clan designed Anti Crit-kill shields. The Meiji Shogunate has been hunting a clan that was plundering some of their planet. When the elite team final caught up with the group of mercenaries, they was outnumbered and out gunned by them. One member of the elite team that escaped with his Smilodon tells tales of Anti Crit-kill shields.

“Most of the team members had Smildoon’s since they are fast and can out smart most mechs. They were equipped with C-kill weapons like: Flavian Spear, Galaxy Eye and Archfiend”

“When we finally caught you with them we started attacking them. We could clearly see that they had normal shields on their mechs,. Now and again there was a sharp flash of blue and then red when some of the members fired powerful laser shots that should have pierced not only through the shields but through our enemy’s mechs as well. By the time that we figured out that they were blocking our Crit-kill shots, it was already too late. Four members were already down. Me and captain Delwiekl were already falling back, when his mech took a bad hit to its left back leg and collapsed. He told me to retreat and so I did”

The head of the The Meiji Shogunate have not yet commented on what happened. But if what this pilot tells use is true, then the galaxy may soon see more of these unknown shields.

Submitted by Molliere DAffue #599258

Oggun Mech Review

Minimum Level: 24
Cost: Ferrite: 2500
         Bioptics: 1600
         Crystal: 120

Tonnage: 50
Armor: 125
Starting Weapons: 5
Weapons Level: 7
Manufacturer: Star Factories

The Oggun is an extremely solid mech and probably the first Crystal mech that is on equal terms with the Niode mechs of similar weight and cost.  Its starting weapons are formidable and additional weapon slots come quickly with leveling.  Moral of this story, save your Niodes, buy this Mech and have success!

Submitted by Drobinso#727782

Hoplon The Aspis Mecha Spotlight

I found my Aspis on Yomi During when Cyberstorm, et al were still mapping that chamber of the cavern out.  It lacked all weapons, didn't come with tri-slaggers like the mainline reproductions so I improvised, saved up and outfitted it with Black Widows instead which pack a similar punch.

To move it around I put in two heat cyclers, a Dark Matter Converter and Caged Singularity under the hood.  Taking advantage of the horns and their laser amplification properties I packed 3 Sensor Arrays and a whole bunch of hyper amps in there.  A Neural Recalibrator helmet rounds it out and I put in two Rupture Shots and two Mag Chains, a pair of Birthday Flamethrowers won from the anniversary circuit matches and a Kojin Stove.  An M-hole complements the cockpit boosting its already crazy level of precision while adding some much appreciated crit kill and freeze boosts.

The Chassis has two Trilerian Sprocket sets a Muon Junction and Energy Aura.  For Shielding it's got one of each major type of shield.  As a little surprise for some extra "wtf" from the enemies I packed in a Galaxy eye. This thing is bristling to the teeth with lasers and high output flame weapons..

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

CatEye Mega Weapon Review

This is a fun little niode laser weapon that comes standard issue on Torrents these days, once it was available for sale in the shop, and every now and again you may still find it being offered as a prize for various KOTM, raids, and even some wars. It is a respectable mid level weapon dealing out 55 Damage with your standard Speed of 98, it has a 21% Freeze ability and does 2x Damage at 10%.

As mentioned they come standard issue on Torrents but of course can be stripped and reapplied else where as needed for laser based demands. Bishop, Jadoon, Dilophos instantly come to mind as mechs that can benefit and use the laser with bonuses. As always depending on equipment set up you can further augment the mechs as well as the weapon damage dealing ability on the mech. It is easy to see why it comes with the torrent as the X2 damage ability is already there in the mechs build, but that doesn't mean you can't switch it around as you desire.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Laser Stallion Weapon Review

Laser Stallion is a Rare common laser weapon that can only be obtained 3 at a time by buying the Skriag for  12000 Ferrite, 12000 Bioptics and 135 Niodes.

Laser Stallion has a base damage of 35  and 102 speed. The weapons main purpose is not to kill the mech it hits, but to damage the mech behind it. Laser Stallion also has trample of 15% and Wild ability's designed into the weapon. These abilities were designed by adding unobtainium molecules into the weapon itself but because of these unobtainium molecules the base damage of this weapon dropped significantly.
 









Molliere DAffue # Id 599258

The Old Man

"I am Drohchah oh-Thyehgr, last to survive of those you call the Forerunners. For too long your apish hands have defiled my people's niode technology to make your ...." as the message continued through it's never ending loop the Old Man punched his fist against the comm button to the Bunker. Overhead, the wind whistled through what was left of his canopy and blood flowed down his face, Gods he was getting too old for this.

 "Dusty, can't you do anything to make this guy shut up?!" he yelled. "Sorry boss" the techs voice came back slightly amplified over the alien signal "it's on all frequencies and channels -I've got all I can spare who aren't fixing Mechs on it but..." he left the remainder unsaid. "Okay, I'll live with it. How are the others?" "Sharryl and 'Blaze' took down a Squad of Dreadnoughts- Ray C. and CHCHZSCHH are holding the line but the pressure on them is heavy, the Newbies are shaping up fine -some are a little eager and taking more damage than normal but so far we are giving as good as we get" As he received the reports the Old Man nodded and smiled inwardly -The Phoenix's were flying into the flames of battle again who knew what they would be reborn as. He moved his 90 tonner, lovingly named 'Behemoth,' toward the fight .

"Ok tell Ray I am on my way to him." "Sir, your Damage monitor is reporting you are down to 50% effectiveness" Dusty's concern showed through, and why not, the 'Old Man' had fostered these kids when their parents had died in Mecha combat all those years ago, and with Dusty's former attachment to the Old Man's daughter, Sharryl, he was as near to a son as the Old Man had -if only the Old Mans wife, Alison, were still alive he was sure she would be just as proud-but a drunken kid driving on the wrong side of a Freeway had seen to that. After the funeral, he had thrown himself into building the Phoenixes from the 4 Mecha 20 tonners into something formidable -Now? now he was tired. Behemoth lumbered towards a bend in the road. Suddenly all the proximity alarms sounded 1, no... 3, no......5 enemy mecha's ahead, all of them nothing less than 70 tons. If they proceeded, they would catch Ray.C's force in a flanking maneuver.

"Great" he muttered to himself "this day just gets better and better " Maneuvering Behemoth onto a lumbering run, he began to 'spool up' his weapons, ready to fire the lead enemy mecha - a 70 ton Freon lit up his weapons and the Old Man felt his armor began to slough off his mech. "Good but not good enough" thought the Old Man -His reply fire tore into the Freon, which looked for all the world as if it was being taken apart by the hand of some enormous invisible child, it's final act of destruction was to spontaneously ignite like a giant torch incinerating the Alien pilot inside. The Freon fell to the earth never to rise again. As Behemoth ran past the fallen foe, the other enemy mecha seemed to give pause - perhaps uncertain of the foe they faced, and the Old Man began to laugh. Perhaps it was the adrenaline kicking in but he no longer felt tired......









Submitted by Philip Power # 568566

Mecha Spotlight Frozen Dream

Frozen Dream my own little slice of ice cold heaven in a mech. It's a Frigis that started off as an experiment in furthering ice weapon capability and became a part of my main battle force in my formation. I made sure it was niode heavy weapons wise just to increase damage potential and of course for looks. Nothing says screw you quite like a bunch of niode weapons firing off at an opponent after all.

Under the hood as it were she packs a Betrus processor cross wired with a couple of Image stabalizers to bring up her crit kill and precision stats. In the chassis area it has multiple coolant systems working in tandem with multiple muon junctions for added ice damage and dodge. Granted she isn't the fastest on the field with her multiple max torqued charged engines but she is fast enough and dodge capable enough to get through multiple battles and lines with little problems.

Her weapon systems are straight up frozen hell. She packs multiple Sikuliq ice cannons, a couple of Creeping Chills, multiple Black Widows, a trio of Flash Freezes, quad Arctic Gales, a Flavian Spear, a trio of Nova Zemblas and wrapping it up a nice bank of five Crystalions. The weaponry is fun to play with let me tell you. Nothing really satisfies more than locking up an opponent with 103% Freeze potential, going at him +74% Ice Damage overall and then finishing them off with the x2 or x3 damage abilities. She's my own little personal slice of frozen heaven and an ice cold hell for many I encounter.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Finders Keepers

 Drohchah oh-Thyehgr, you time-traveling bastard, you'll see what we "descendents of apes" are truly capable of.  We heard your broadcast carried over all the channels so arrogantly.  You think you're the first challenge threatening to enslave humanity?

My friend Drake and I have put down other, (albeit smaller scale) threats to human civilization before and let me tell you bub, you weren't around for more than a hundred thousand years of our evolution, so who do you think you are to be telling us what to do?

Though I've not myself fought extraterrestrial threats extensively I'd like to call upon the experts, veterans of such past threats as the Gorak Swarm.  We must band together my brothers, in a Coalition for Human Fighters.  I know that the Forerunners are not invincible because I myself am a transfected human who is part one (a small fraction)... if pricked they will still bleed and the way Drochah has been ruffling feathers there is definitely going to be lots of blood. His blood.

This demand for tribute in human space I call out as saber rattling.  The Coalition will not sit idly by and let this outsider bully our worlds.  We will have a meeting though amongst representatives from various clans and governments to ascertain an appropriate course of action though.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Big Bang Weapon Reviw

The Big Bang is a rare Elite weapon with a limited release of 350. The Big Bang can be obtained at level 18, the weapon was designed for Proj meches but these days it can fit on any mech. The weapon is designed to increase 2 x and 3x damage by extending the barrel of the weapon. It gives 2X Damage 4% and  3X Damage 4%.

For lower level's this weapon is excellent with 105 speed and a base damage of 53 your enemies will not know what hit them. The weapon can be ordered at any weapon shop in your area for 440Ferrite, 314 Bioptics, and 31 Niodes.











Molliere DAffue # Id 599258

Magnet Missile Weapon Review

Magnet Missile is a rare Elite weapon with a limited release of 300. It’s a missile weapon that can be obtained at level 28 and higher. The Magnet Missile is designed by an unknown Weapon expert that love’s Fork. The designer designed this weapon with magnets that is infused with Niodes. There is really no down side to this weapon. The Niode magnets gave this weapon some nice added effects firs of all it added 10 damage to the weapon witch put it at a total base damage of 60, next it gave it a bounces speed of 5 with put its base speed at 99.

But the magnets also give the weapon some special effects, if the missile hits a target it will explode and if any other mech is near the explosion the magnets will pull the blast to the other mech; this can inflict Fork damages as well as Splash damage. Magnet Missile has 25% Fork and 10% Splash.

It can be obtained for a low price of 590 ferrite, 420 bioptic and 34 Niodes

Submitted by Molliere DAffue #599258

Birthday Flamethrower Weapon Review

Conflagration Industries and Star Factories rolled out something special for the second anniversary of Mecha Galaxy.  The Birthday Flamethrower, a double barreled fire weapon which deals 70 damage with a speed of 104 was a gift to everybody who logged in that day.  Sporting a burn rate of 12% and a Crit-kill ability of 5% this is (and was) a welcome addition to many a pilot's armory.

If you wanted more of them, 5 special circuit fights just for the birthday of MG which lasted a few hours each that day also gave them out as prizes for those who placed bronze, silver and gold.  If you missed it the first time, the Birthday Flamethrower will show up occasionally as a KOTM prize in future events.  At present as of writing this it is one of the prizes for those placing gold in Div 1 of this Front Line Fight.








Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Kojin Stove Weapon Review

85 damage and 105 speed. A 33% burn ability and 5 % splash bonus... it's time to throw another mech on the barbie!Conflagration Industries is proud to present to you the Kojin Stove, a special flamethrower available for purchase once you reach level 60.  Down, down, down, burn, burn, burn... this stove will put your enemies through a ring of fire. And yes, that is while the flames jump higher.

It costs 1000 Ferrite, 1500 Bioptics, and 47 Niodes.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Rupture Shot Weapon Review

At present the only way to obtain these are in pairs since they come installed on the Gigus.  You can cannibalize one to get some.  This flamethrower is unusual in that it burns using searing hot acid in a manner quite similar in mechanism to how a bombardier beetle's abdomen works.  It does 53 damage which is quite high for a non-premium weapon and has a speed of 104.  It has an 8% burn ability which is again unusually high for a crystal weapon.  The reaction between the separately stored fuel components and air on mixing in the ejection chamber is strongly exothermic, which accounts for its incendiary properties.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Clan War XVII Division 6 Day 2; Bunnies In The Maze

The battle ground given to the Clans to war in was strange.  A maze of twisting canyons where every turn held a gate.  As you approached the gate, its filter codes were received by your computer and you knew what would pass through the gates, and what would not, even as you knew if the gate lead to an environment that favored one weapon class over another.  You were free to pass your drones through to see what forces awaited you.

You heard the chatter of other clans, some howling that they were trapped like rats in the maze, but the Defenders of Bunny liked it well enough.  Rats may panic in a maze, but bunnies took to the twisting tunnels and light less depths as a treat.  This war was a Bunny war.

Jessica sent the probe to her implants, confirming the code read 220ton limit, which was odd, as she was piloting her 220ton lineup in the attack, but her probes kept telling her she was facing almost twice that tonnage defending.  How could this be?  If intelligence was correct, her foe had chosen to defend at 220ton limit, and demanded all of his foes restrict themselves to that to attack him; and yet, he held  twice that tonnage himself?  Was this a trick?

Jessica Bradley-Rabbit was over-endowed with many things, her boldness matched only by her bra size, and her red hair arguing that passion rather than forethought was her forte.  She didn't over think it.  With a throaty laugh, she led her Kerradon "Little Red Kitty" through the gate.

Her two hulking Ogguns beside her she cut loose with her Galaxy Eye as they unloaded their BullsEye rails.  In answer the enemy ranks of heavy mechs surged forward.  A single mecha drove forward, and his two wing mates collapsed, their circuity cut by the field overrides.

The single mecha faltered, realizing he was alone, and under the combined guns of the Bunnies he came apart.  Each rank suffered the same fate, as the defender, in his attempt to bring more tons than he selected to defend with, left himself with a single mecha per rank, while the attackers held three.  This wouldn't be a battle, this was an execution.  She would have to tell the other Bunnies about this.

Kyra piloted her Namtar "The Lady" through, the atmospherics here really did favor missiles, with ECM being largely dampened, and active missile defenses being almost useless.  She had her most powerful missile systems intermixed with her own chosen Ice weaponry, but she held no illusions.  The Ten Who Were Taken were like Lady Kyra herself; cold and cruel, favoring ice weapons over all others.  For this battle she had equipped a full third of her slots with powerful missiles, but that represented the sum of her missile arsenal; surely a foe that had chosen to defend with missile specialty would boast more, and more powerful systems.

Kyra's rank of Namtars faced Oggun and Namtar in return, and the two sides rocked together in fury.  Her Namtar shuddered under the impact of a devastating auto-cannon salvo, even as her wing men took heavy laser hit, and gouts of sun hot plasma.  In return, her own mecha launched its feared Arctic Gale, even as Shapeshifter cut loose his Tesla missiles, who howled in to wrap his own, and the Limper's target with deadly armor piercing missiles.  Could it be?  Could a Clan really set a defender to fight a missile specific field who boasted no missile armament of his own?  She would have to tell the other Bunnies about this.

John sat in his cockpit, the information flowed through his implants and he watched it with a cold smile.  Over two hundred victories.  His own scouting had carried him through the maze, and through his foes with fury and precision.  His suspicions were correct.  His foe was a powerful and worthy one, but they did not know the ground, and thus they would not know victory.  In open field they could well be the equal of the Defenders of Bunny, but they would not adapt to the demands of the Madness Maze, they would not meet the Rise of the Specialists.  They fought the old way, and on this ground, it was not enough.

There are bunnies in the maze, beware.  They come for you.

Submitted by John T Mainer 28840

Creeping Chill Weapon Review

First off the basics, this has a level requirement of 70 on it although some have been given away as prizes for various raids, wars, KOTM etc. To outright buy one you will need 1,650 Ferrite, 1,000 Bioptics and, 53 niodes. It has a damage of 95 and like most ice weapons has a slower speed of 98. It has a freeze ability of 30% and a slow ability of (5) attached to it.

This is a great little ice weapon for things like your Freon, Frigis, and Nifthel given they are ice based mechs to start with. Further augmentation of the abilities as usual can be found with proper equipment set up. Thse weapons are on the strong side and are great to see in action when you coat another mech in a sheer ice casing. I love them on my Frigis set ups and see them routinely go off wasting what they hit. Underestimate these weapons at your own peril, and if you don't own any yet for your ice set ups well quit reading and go buy a few!

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Heat Laser Weapon Review

Heat Laser has a minimum level requirement of 85 and costs 2,222 Ferrite, 1,600 Bioptics and, 65 crystal. It does 60 damage with a speed of 100 with 2X damage at 6% for an ability. It's a nice weapon all around really more damage than the res laser with the same speed rating with a better ability percentage attached to it.

These are excellent weapons for you laser based mechs like your Bishops, Dilos, Frigis etc. Basically any mech with the build specs saying pluses to laser damage is great. Of course you can augment the laser abilities with the proper equipment as well as the percentage for dealing X2 damage. These are great little toys for the laser based KOTM they don't pack the punch that some niode based weapons do but are good contenders none the less. When you get to the level where these become available I recommend them highly as they are great crystal stand ins for firepower.

Submitted by Pat Willis #224534

Undefeated; Clan War XVII Division 6 Day 1 82nd Omicron Guards 108 Defenders of Bunny 73

Andries Smith snarled as he waited in his cockpit. The Defenders of Bunny had began strong, their Chieftain John T Mainer led Bolverk, Alyssa and Christine in a tear through the ranks of the 82nd Omicron Guards, and their fury, as carefully planned as an assassination, and as howlingly chaotic as a hurricane, tore through the perfect ranks of the 82nd like a battle axe through an unguarded neck. The 82nd were not like other foes, they did not shake, they did not break ranks or panic. They were as good as their rep, and knew they would bleed for their victory, but were determined to leave with it.

Through the night the lead evaporated, and the Big O took the lead, and extended it. Samael Wormwood was the boogeyman. Not the toughest on paper, he was a master of the art, and in his specialty, even the Chief had failed to beat him. Having broken the best of the Bunnies on his ground, now he was attacking. Andries was in the way.

Andries had been a mid level Avenger of Bunny, the junior clan. He had volunteered for the war, and been advanced to the senior clan, the Defenders where he stood second from the bottom. The chief said it didn’t matter your level, it mattered you put in the work, devoted all of your resources to becoming the best at your chosen specialty, and instantly rearmed after every attack to be ready in defense. If he could not win in the attack against stronger foes, he could cut off grasping fingers when they sought to reach through him for victory. He was ready.

At the outer marker his remotes picked up Samaels lineup. He was running solid Zadok. Two ranks of Zadok marched towards his him. Zadok; the trophy mecha. Cogwork council lords couldn’t buy one, the Meiji Emperor could not command the gift of one, only those who won a Clan War could earn one. A full lance of them stalked towards Andries now. He looked from his Holmes to his Axebot and Hoplite, and new himself outmatched. He snarled again. The words of the chief echoed in his ears.

“Remember, the Defenders of Bunny are undefeated. We may have run out of mecha, and some of our pilots may ran out of blood and limbs before the battle ended, but none of us have EVER been defeated. You will stand your ground, and when the enemy comes, you will remember you are a Defender of Bunny, and for the Bunny, you will unleash Hel itself, you will feed the ravens on the dead of the field, and you will advance!”

Watching the slow confident advance of Samael Wormwood, he saw the raven crest on his lead mecha and it all came clear. It was time to feed the ravens. Victory was hurling yourself into battle without hesitation or regret, defeat was accepting you are, or could be beaten. He could be killed, but he could never be beaten. He was a Defender of Bunny, and they were unbeaten.

“This is Andries, form on me, boar’s head formation. We will advance, on the center of the enemy line. We cannot be beaten, we can only be killed, and dead men drink free in Valhalla. Attack!”

His Axebot opened the attack with a solid rail gun punch to a Zadok, it its fury it burned him down with a Galaxy eye. Blue Reapers and Green Deaths flashed from the Defenders, Mac Cannons and Carnisal Lasers flashed in return. One Zadok died, and a rank of Bunnies.

A rank of Bunny Imech faced the Zadok. Assault Plasma and Carnisal lasers burned down the Bunnies, but answering Rail Cannon broke the back of another Zadok. The Bunnies advanced over the wreckage of their first two ranks, and the reeling Omicron Guard fell before them.

Ferrite Storms and Galaxy eyes cost a Hoplite and Shocklite to the charging Bunnies, but they were in close now where advanced targeting didn’t matter and nobody did close quarter battle like the Berserkyrs of the Bunnies.

At knife fighting range, a Bunny Holmes’s Green Death lived up to its name, its heterodyne lasers achieved perfect synchronicity first doubling, then tripling their power to strike like a rapier into the burning heart of a Zadok, and tear it out.

In matching fury, his wing man traded a hit with his Cornelion Ion Cannon for a miss with the Zadok’s Galaxy Eye. A humble Achilles beam showed why it was prized for lower level fighters when its beam succeeded is disrupting the shield harmonics on the engine of his target Zadok, inducing a critical kill when the sun hot plasma was unchained inside the mecha engine compartment.

Panic beginning to set in, the remaining Zadok used its powerful Galaxy Eye to fell the Holmes with the Achielles beam, and square off with the remaining Holmes.

Sapphire and Emerald, Zadok and Holmes, Omicron and Bunny they snarled their defiance at each other as the air burned with crossing laser blasts. The sapphire Zadok unleashed a sapphire Galaxy Eye that burned through the shields of the Holmes, but passed beside the cockpit above the port side shoulder paldron. Waiting for the slower crystal weapon to cycle allowed the Defender of Bunny that critical half second more to firm up his target, and the emerald Holmes screamed out Green Death in a double serving as the beam hit and sustained burn-through on the starboard flank of the Zadok, cooking off the ammunition of its auto-cannon, and gutting the powerful trophy mecha.

One battered Bunny Holmes stood over a broken foe. Many bunnies had fallen, but none of them had been defeated. You could kill them, but they would never know defeat. Andries voice broke over the command channel. “Delta 7, you are the last mech standing, fetch the beer. 82nd Omicron Guards, you fought well, anyone still alive can join us for a beer. You may carry the day when this is over, but when you step on the field with the Defenders of Bunny you have to kill us all, because we can never be defeated. We are good hosts though; free beer with every ass kicking. Grab a pint, and wait for medical recovery.”

Samael Wormwood had been around a long time, and had faced battles on more fields than he could count, but this would remain one of the strangest. Laughing he keyed his radio to reply. “82nd Omicron, I’m proud of you boys and girls, I though we had this one, the mistake was mine. Grab a brew from our friends across the field. If you want to come try us on our ground, we’d be just as happy to host you!”

They both laughed, Samael had owned the Bunnies on his ground. Andries would take the win he had and leave it at that.

Clan War rages, worlds burn, and you can get two beers in before medical/recovery comes to collect you.

Submitted by John T Mainer 28840

NoRunners And A Mirror Universe Part IV

“Strange..he seemed fine… wonder if him hailing from a vulcanized world had any effect on his lungs’ filtering system…” Reminder note, run tests on Kai’s biochemistry when he could get a chance.

“Could be something to do with it, like if that imbues his people with a unique blood antigen.  We should probably use some of his plasma for the basis of a vaccine.”

Drake laughs, “It’s the getting him to willingly donate it that might prove the issue. My clanmates don’t exactly trust me with their DNA.” Drake laughs again louder and longer this time.

“Ah.  Well, if you’ve got the right equipment for manufacturing antivenom back at you guys’ roaming camp I might be able to talk him into it, after plying him with a few drinks.” I shrug.

“Good idea, and if that don’t work I have some chloroform; it always works.” Drake smiled.

“Hell Drake, save your chemicals for more important experiments, I bet Giga’s breath could knock him right out; I know supplies are limited out in the field and access can be tricky.”

Giga Rex begged to differ: “I have Rupture Shots next to my nose.  You don’t want him dead.”

“Well until we synthesize some antibodies for this, try running your purifiers on full.” Drake punched up his and made sure the AI knew to keep him from the mind affecting air.

“Sounds like a plan. Hey Drake, you don’t suppose you could direct your clan to send over a drop ship at some point? There’s another mecha I have that I think would be useful for when we’re going to try exploring the other side of that gate.”

“One of our new cruisers has been en route for awhile. It was recently built over at the Narian gate nexus. Should be here day or two.”

“Just one, Claymore, a Skriag. I have a theory that the Skriag’s ever-changing molecular body composition might be able to be set to phase in order to counter some of the mood altering gases and signals.”

“Good plan, the DNA is quite useful in my experiments too.”  Drake moves his Antithesis farther up the canyon toward the pathway carved into the mountainside from his clones.

Giga is annoyed that his “know-it-all” brother will be joining us but I calm my mecha down pointing out that after he gets treated with the serum he should be fine to go through the gate too. “Drake, we can use a pipe to make a large needle to treat kaiju with the serum as well I figure.”

“How’s he feel about needles? I have a few from…. well... my extraction of DNA from a few of the living mechs.”

“Giga Rex is brave enough he won’t panic and as for Claymore, he’s too analytical to freak out over it.”

“Good good, some of my clones were roasted the last time I had them stick the needle into a Gigus.”

Giga Rex: “I’m not [a] baby; Other Gigus weak.”  The sound of the mech’s laughing is somewhat disconcerting and it doesn’t help that his vocal cords have been augmented with a vocoder. He pauses to reflect though and asks Drake the following: “How [do] clones taste?”

“Like any flavor you want just tell me and I’ll make sure they taste like that.” Drake’s smile is fairly sinister as he glanced at one of his clones.

“Drake, please don’t encourage him”  I respond while not helping but to wonder if Drake knew about the flavor profile from firsthand experience.  I punch the coordinates to where Drake’s clansmen can fetch my Skriag and pass the datapad over to Drake “Said it should take a day or two, right?”

Drake looked at the coordinates, “Well a bit longer, now. but less than a week so plenty of time to make the serum.”

I try to turn in such a way that Drake has an easier time hearing me than Giga Rex. “I have a much easier time getting along with my Skriag than the Gigus.  He can get a bit unruly now and then.” I raise my voice from the earlier whisper and change tone “So just show me where your immuno devices are and I can get started prepping the serum, alright?  Getting Kai drunk shouldn’t be a problem, I’ve got a bottle of scotch that was aged on Vupa 6.”  My turn to smile darkly. 

“Right this way Myco right this way,” Drake’s laugh echoes through the canyon.

“I’d suggest watering it down and having only a shot at a time, pal.” I tell Drake, offering some from the flask I had in Auger’s cockpit as we make our way to the camp, using the cap to measure out exactly one portion.  “You know the bat people there drink the stuff straight because their tolerance is stronger than a human’s.”

“Indeed, I’ve had a few in the lab for many tests…..”
“We won’t bother telling that to Kai though.”
The bat people age their scotch whiskey in barrels of wood from the few fruit trees that grow on that desolate and blighted world they call home and it imbues their liquor with its particular flavoring.
“OHh Kai! Drake and I wanted to congratulate you and celebrate the success of our dig with some whiskey.  Please join us!”

Drake smiled meaningfully at Myco as they drank with Kai. I make sure to water down my and Drake’s shot glasses at the makeshift bar but give Kai his portions straight.  Any minute now, special metabolism or no…
I check my watch and motion to Drake to ask if Kai’s unconscious yet.

Drake was happy he had also taken something to counteract the alcohol, cause even watered down it was still potent, and the amount Kai drank was surprising before he slipped into unconsciousness.

I try not to slur my speech “See, puts ‘im out like a baby. Er’rytime }hic!“

The two friends haul Kai off to the lab to collect their serum sample.

“Wish I’d known about your anti-intoxicant pills Drake. Haha, liver woul’ be thanking me instead of cussing }hiccup{.  I can hold him down on the table, if you get teh needle.” I hadn’t drank a whole lot but it was enough to dull my senses somewhat and would be a good few hours before reflexes were back to full capacity for fine motor.  “Goddamned fruit bats, always make their liquor hextuple (6x) strength.”
“Just how I like to serve it to my clones before they run the minefield obstacle course.” Drake collects the samples.

I ask one of the clone assistants directions for the facilities so I can vomit and wash my face and return a bit more collected.  “I’m not good to drive but I can spin the stuff down in a centrifuge and should be decent to help culture the antigens in about a half hour.”

Drake noticed that the clone directed Myco towards the minefield obstacle course and had one of his AI’s redirect him away from the course, Blue Wrath would need to go Gigus hunting by himself after being flavored accordingly (Mmm, schnapps!). After I got sober, I was running some dilution calcs on paper while the blood spun.  “Hey Drake, that one clone of yours, Blue Wrath… hell of a sense of humor on him.”

“He’s not supposed to have one, he’s supposed to be a lab assistant.”

“If it’s alright with you, and it’s all the same, how about I have laughing boy blue there finish the rest of the flask, not watered down?”  That should do it. The centrifuge beeps and I withdraw the tube racks from it once the cycling has slowed down enough.  I pass the now separated blood and my notes to Drake’s part of the set up for him to do the next stage’s processing for the antivenom with.

Drake handed Myco something to add to the flask, “It’ll quintuple the strength (6*5 = 30x).”
“Giga, here boy! Uncle Drake has a snack for you.  Candied clone.  Savor it.” I nod to Drake “The kaiju’s liver will be large enough to handle that much alcohol, right?”

“I’ve never tried to get a kaiju drunk before… hmmmm….” A gleam in Drake’s eye. The screaming and crunching noise in the background is what I think it is. Giga Rex is happy.  “That was good, but now I’m sleepy.”  The Gigus curls up and takes a nap in an empty corner of the site.

“Two birds with one stone.  Won’t have to deal with Giga while he’s sleeping and we can finish up this antivenom preparation.”

“Very efficient.” Drake laughs. “My next Blue Wrath will have that defect removed.”
“More like Blue Snark. Yeesh” I add while plating some of the cell cultures for Drake to put drops of the antigen-isolate on.

“Obviously, some contaminants fell into his batch when he was crafted.” Drake frowns, he did hate shoddy work, reminder use more railgun ammo on the failed clones/experiments.

“I’d imagine that if the live tissue cultures take, we’ll have the right concentrate to make counter serum with but it could take days for them to mature…. unless you have some method to speed growth?”

“Yes, the process I use to accelerate my clones maturation process should have it done in say eight hours long enough to get some shuteye.” Drake stretches.

“I should probably call it a day too. I packed a sleeping bag in Auger but that gas plays on people’s nerves.  Mind if I turn in at you guys’ camp?”

“Go ahead, I’m sure the other Exile’s will be happy to talk to someone else for a change.”
“That might be a problem. Well, I did pack some more of that bat-liquor… one barrel… watered down seven ways, you figure?”

“No worries, you’re a guest you can share in our supplies, we have plenty, large logistical supply for our forces since there are now five clans to support and we’re spread out through several sectors of the galaxy at any given time.”

“A fourteenth per clansman wouldn’t be too heavy, I think.  Eh, think of it as a ‘housewarming’ present. To go with the groundbreaking of your new lab.” I laugh a little bit.  I was also hoping to unload my barrel of Vupan whiskey so that Auger’s cockpit would be less cramped on my trip back.








Submitted by Mycobacter, Drake Novum Scientist#712744, #706289

The NoRunners And A Mirror Universe Part III

Keep your two Arctic Gales trained on the Meegs though, in case they start moving again, ok?

“Good idea, keeping the weapons trained on those things no need for them to move again.” Drake’s Antithesis weapons trained on the Meegs as well.

“Thanks. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re giving out some kind of wave… Giga’s mood seems a little off, as does mine. Nothing serious but it’s making us irritable.”

“I’ll run some tests maybe it’s some sort of mech pheromones.” “...Which would explain Rex’s urine disrupting it. Right.”  Drake had his AI run the sensors taking air samples looking for discrepancies in the readings from his earlier excursion.
  
“Yes, there are something in the air that wasn’t here before. The readings say this would cause paranoia and irritability in human and kaiju mecha physiology, maybe I should collect more samples.”

Giga Rex (to Drake, knowingly): “Eldritch mecha make ‘RageStink’.”

After Drake’s explanation and excuses I step out of Giga Rex, thankful the Mad Cloner had used his chemical engineering know-how to help me make a set of indestructible underpants and tempering my sense of betrayal at being lied to against both the many times he had helped me out and the number of times he and I had developed technology together.

“Drake,” I say, forcing myself to remain calm and continually reminding myself that if it weren’t for him, my family would still be in debt, I would have been killed by a robotic virus on at least two separate occasions and failing that at the very least I’d be standing naked right now “buddy, there’s definitely something you’re not telling me.  I’ve deduced that those mecha were assigned to guard something… perhaps a Gate or a cache of Niodes?  Any information that might be relevant to what they are guarding could spell the difference between life and death.”  Giving a stern lecture with the expectation to be taken seriously is difficult when you are in your underpants.

“Well there is an ancient  unknown  Gateway farther down the canyon. It’s made of a metal I have never encountered before, though this mech has similar traits, like from the same planet maybe….” Drake frowned, pulled up his data pad and got engrossed in writing some equations.

“I would have thought you could trust me though pal,” I throw out, shifting my weight to try and look a bit more austere, which again, doesn’t work so well when the speaker is girded solely in laminated briefs “after all, if nothing else you know my real identity friend, and on my planet unmasking a Mechwrestler is kind of a big deal.  Regardless, I think what we have are the remains of a civilization here, but that depends on if there are any structures on the opposite side of that gate. Three mecha and a Gate, do not an entire culture make.”

“Well the Gateway was buried several eons before this mecha was. I’m thinking they may have been guarding for a possible excavation team from wherever they had come from.”

I shake the last of the burning fear and anger that lingered from my head “My friend, I’m sorry.  That gas was affecting my mind.  Normally I’d trust you with my life.”

“Truthfully I’ve felt more suspicious than normal since coming and examining this area for weeks before calling you in on it.” Drake wrote a note to himself, weaponize version of ‘RageStink’. Afterall, mood altering chemicals was his current hobby.

“You’re better at controlling your emotions than most Drake.  Perhaps you could consider a poker career in retirement.” I chuckle before regaining seriousness. “We should probably make some sort of a serum to counteract the gas before anybody else breaks down from it. ...Wait, Kai has been here with you for longer than I have. He’d probably benefit most from the first injection!”

Submitted by Mycobacter, Drake Novum Scientist #712744, #706289

The NoRunners And A Mirror Universe Part II

I decided to call in somebody I knew who was well versed in the Galaxy’s mecha. “Patrick, can you bring Apocalyptor with you too?  I need somebody with a head for history to take a look at this.  My Gigus seems to recognize it but is being difficult and won’t say much about it.  You can’t? Well, I’ll keep you on the speed dial, I think Drake and I may have just stumbled on a previously unknown mecha.”

Myco calling in others to the location had Drake scrapping his plans for a lab, after all the number of times he had gassed and cloned Patrick made having a location he could be found problematic at best. Drake climbed into his Antithesis; powered the weapons just in case, and moved off to the side, coincidentally blocking the path that lead to the gate.

“My apologies Drake.  I’m still training Giga Rex and needed my clan leader’s help taming him.”  I explained the rationale behind my choice. “I’d tried installing some cybernetic behavioral inhibitors in Giga before but his immune system rejected them; didn’t have the desired effect.  Rather than functioning as controls, those mods made it so he and I can communicate without direct mech/pilot interface though instead, as you’ve undoubtedly by now noticed.“

I pat part of Giga Rex’s snout trying not to unintentionally put my hand up the tyrannosaurid’s nostril in the process.  How his body managed to rewire the components and incorporate them as a vocoder was not something I’d have been able to predict, but it did make matters of communication a great deal easier.
 “As for Patrick, his Jadoon happens to be very ancient and knowledgeable about things in this galaxy.  I was hoping he could get it to shed some light on our find here.  If he can’t, which it is sounding like the way things are turning out, we might still get some information from Apocalyptor, which happens to be in his fleet. The ‘First’ Jadoon, from which all subsequent ones were cloned.”

Giga Rex: “I don’t like the big brainbugs.”

“Most beast mecha don’t. Believe me though Giga, the feeling is mutual.  I’ll never replace you with a Jadoon though buddy, so don’t worry.”

Giga Rex snorted.  He turned his head to the Antithesis and cryptically addressed Drake “Not Forerunners.  NoRunners.”  Then Giga went back to being silent.

“Drake, what’s a NoRunner?  That’s the first I’ve heard of one. Did that codex artifact I found you on Mars make any mention about those?”*

Drake frowned, “hmm… there might have been a brief mention of the word I thought it was a messed up translation, but I may now need to reexamine the artifact with these new parameters.” Drake felt better that Patrick was not going to arrive any time in the near future, maybe he would build a lab, one of his more explosive research ones that had a proximity function….

“This metal seems unusual too…” I say, rapping my knuckles against it. This causes a tone to reverberate briefly and almost musically which in of itself isn’t odd but the sound dies off a bit too quickly, as though the kinetic energy of the sound was being actively absorbed by the metal.

A light blinks on the otherwise smooth surface as though underneath, disrupting the otherwise uniform albeit moderately scratched surface of the mech skeleton.  It had reacted to my touch? “Perhaps some sort of a beacon?”

There is a slight rumbling on either side of it, as though to answer me.  Two smaller mecha (the Shawg is 85 tons or so, these are 75 tons)  burst from the rock face with movement of carcinian claws, going through some form of completely automated guardian protocols then sit on standby… deeming neither Drake nor I to be a threat, perhaps due to a glitch.

Giga Rex: “Humans dumb; Gigus mark… tell Meegs Shawg is dead.”

Sick of having to guess so much at what my Gigus kept alluding to I ejected from Auger and went inside Giga Rex.  A painful experience, as per usual but on integration things became clearer to me as the Oggun below us slumped over and powered down.  First there was getting swallowed and shunted through the tube, then came the goo and last the forceful nervous system connection.

“Drake, probing Giga’s brain tells me based on their behavior that these mecha are or were guarding something.  When were you thinking of telling me about that… Either of you?”  It was hard to tell from outside the Gigus but inside it, under the partially masked plate of my Neural Recalibrator helmet I was glaring.

“Well um, I didn’t pick them up on my sensors, getting some interference down there, going to have to do something about these sensors if I want a lab, can’t have mecha coming up below me.”

“When Giga Rex peed, he saved us. Apparently Meegs will not try to protect a Shawg they think is dead.  That’s all I can get from him though.  Unless you want to count that the formation of one Shawg with a Meeg unit on either side is called “sentry”, which to me sounds useless… unless they were guarding something further up or down from here on the mountain.  Any idea what that might be Drake?” I relax, Giga Rex cocking his four arm mounted Smelters and the display asking me if I’d like to use the Diablis Nozzle in his chest.  I decline and indicate he is not to fire The Smelters.  Things trying to kill us is normal for when Drake and I go on these sorts of expeditions.  Giga internally asks me what about his numerous Death Head missile racks. No Giga, you are not to launch Death Heads at Drake. He is a friend. Nor the mechas we’ve dug up.  They are valuable.  And no, you can’t shoot the pair of Plutocracy missiles on your back EITHER.
Fine, fine, if you must, burn your Rupture Shots at a FRACTION of normal power to light a campfire. 








 Submitted by Mycobacter, Drake Novum Scientist#712744, #706289

The NoRunners And A Mirror Universe Part I

For awhile Drake and I had suspected that not all Gates went to parts of our universe.  Rather, we figured that at least a few went to what could be thought of as other universes.  This built on some ancient work theorists from the 20th and 21st Century had laid down as the foundation speculating on existence of reality being a superposition of various realities, a multiverse if you will.

At the time it was seen by humanity as little more than a novelty.  However, later since then during the Niode Gate Age, with the discovery of some of the more bizarre things this universe has to offer such as the Triax and Chaos Gates, a renewed interest had begun to buzz in academic circles. Over a thousand years later.

We were doing a dig on one of the planets Drake wanted to establish a new laboratory on, and by we I mean, me, him and his clansman Kai.  My Gigus, Giga Rex was protesting a little bit, that he’d rather be killing or at least practice fighting than being used as a beast of burden and mere excavation vehicle.  I tried explaining to him that this could be considered a type of training.  I’d also pointed out if the mission went well there would be money for new high end weapons.  “Come on Giga, you’re the best mecha for this job because of your claws.  You know that a Skriag or Nakshi wouldn’t be any good for digging.”  The tyrannosaurid growled but complied.

The Teeth Mountain Range made a good place for Drake’s lab, plus he knew this location wasn’t far from Kai’s find, a partially uncovered gate of unknown origin. The design was unlike any seen before and Drake speculated that it might be from one of the other ancient civilizations he had come across before. He would keep the gate a secret for now. Drake stood outside his mech as the Gigus excavated the site. A set of blueprints in his hands and an array of scanners surrounding him Drake was quite pleased with their progress so far. “Kai, my dear man, could you fly this back to the roaming camp for me? It’s the update that Silver wanted.”

Kai took the message and headed for his aircraft. Drake was glad to see him go, afraid he might have shared the news about the gate.

I was in my trusty Oggun, Auger, and directing Giga remotely.  Auger was an older unit I’d possessed for a very long time.  Despite its age (and smaller size compared to my later acquisitions), many was the time Auger had saved my life in battle as a part of my formation so I probably wouldn’t retire it until after Auger had completely ceased functioning.  With a little guidance from Drake on how to recalibrate its vulcan auto-cannon I found Auger living up to its name literally during this job.

A large slab of the mountainside slid off releasing billowing clouds of dust and talus.

Giga Rex spooked… which is not something which the Giguses, as beast mecha with a reputation for fearlessness are known to do.

We had recovered the remains of an incredibly bizarre mech which if I didn’t know any better Giga seemed familiar with.  “Spill already,”

Giga Rex: “Ancient Enemy… Shawg, Destructor.”
Myco: “Giga, you mean to tell me… Drake, can you get a date on this artifact?”

Drake looked at the striations in the strata and realized that the newly revealed ones around the artifact were much older than the ones on the outer cliff face. “Give me a second Myco, and I’ll run some samples………………. (25 thousand) years, hmm interesting, interesting indeed.”  The ones around the gate were much much older, so the mech had not used that gate. More than likely it had used the one they had used. The four day overland travel to this location from the gate made Drake a bit impatient, but the finds here kept him from using his railguns on the clones, which they obviously appreciated.

“...That puts it at a time near but before the Forerunner Great War.”

Drake walked up to the mech and ran some scans, he silently recorded his findings then returned to his equipment. The first results brought a smile to Drake’s face and he gleefully informed Myco what the payload of the main weapons were.

There was something difficult to place yet felt decidedly horrifying about this aged wreck of a metal hulk.  It was simultaneously familiar the way Forebearer technology tended to be yet at the same time had something inexplicably “off” to it.  No,... it couldn’t be that… to ease my mind a bit I decided to focus on the more concrete aspects of the pieces to this mecha skeleton, its physical details.  It’s main weaponry were racks of missiles which had what Drake analyzed to have been biological warfare agents as their payload.  Beyond that was where things got weirder though.  There were what on first glance looked like eyespots dotting its “chest” portion with a featureless “head” region sitting above the chest that was almost vestigial seeming.  With some further investigation Drake and I realized these were actually laser and ice weaponry.  Overall though the strangest thing about this mech was its method of locomotion.  Instead of being ambulatory due to legs, treads or a hover skirt, this mecha seems to have slithered using metal tentacles.

This defied what was known about the Forerunners, who to this point as far as was known had tended to model their mecha after reptiles and insects.  Not arthropods like molluscs or crustaceans…  Giga knew more than he was letting on.  Just then he started scent marking the find, urinating on it with his cloaca.  I scolded him.  Why go to the trouble of desecrating the corpse of an enemy that has already been long dead?

Giga Rex: “Habit.”

Drake was less than pleased with the Gigus but kept silent, no need to antagonize the living mech with sharp teeth, claws and assorted weaponry especially when not in his mech or with a useful invention to mitigate the danger of said mecha.









Submitted by mycobacter, Drake Novum Scientist #712744, #706289

Dark Matter Converter Equipment Review

Atlas Motors Collective proudly shows you the brainchild of our automotive engineers and physicists working together: The Dark Matter Converter.  Let worrying about diminishing fuel sources be somebody else s problem with this engine; it runs on the universe's most plentiful energy resource!  Using our signature hallmark Niode Powered electrolytic fuel cell we're famous for, the Dark Matter Converter gives your mecha a +5 speed boost and 3% increased chance of dealing triple damage.  The standard cadre of nanobots provide an auto repair ability of 3, just keep them away from flame (4% fire vulnerable).

These nano-machines pull double duty and we think you'll be impressed that our Dark Matter Converter is SELF INSTALLING. Yes, you read that correctly. Designed to fit in 80-90 ton mecha, it costs 1193 Ferrite, 387 Bioptics and 52 Niodes.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Archfiend Weapon Review

Min level to buy 75, costing 2,000 Ferrite, 1,200 Bioptics, and 56 Niodes. This is a great lil weapon to have around it causes crit-kills at 19% has a damage of 105 and speed of 102. Said to channel the energies of the gateways themselves this is a nice big gun with some nice damage behind it.

Having been one of the ones lucky enough to find the Aspis mechs during the limited mission release mine had no horn weapons to it. It was just a naked mech. So I put three of these babies on instead, they fire quicker and do more damage the horn weapon anyways, and made myself a Grandaddy Aspis with those new guns in the horn plating. Case solved and more damage potential on my mech

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Cup Runeth Over

“Listen up recruits, we are fortunate to hear from one of the elite pilots of the Black Company, the command company of the Defenders of Bunny. Sgt Kilgore “Blue Balls” McSweeny has been sentenced, I mean, has nobly volunteered to discuss the Vital Importance of the Cup Holder in light mecha operations. Kilgore has some personal experiences from Clan War XVII that are deeply relevant to this topic”

Skadi smiled her ice cold smile, and brandished a low powered training taser.
“As a line combatant, “Blue Balls” language occasionally backslides to barracks mode, and I have been instructed to administer as gentle reminder when he forgets he is instructing, not simply telling barracks stories”

Sgt Kilgore McSweeny, once “Killer Kilgore” but now forever “Blue Balls McSweeny” eyed Skadi (the White Huntress of Training Command) with ill humor, but resignation. He deserved it, may as well get it over with. Frigging recruits screw up enough daily that if anyone should cut him some slack it would be these green idiots.

“Alright punks” There was a harsh crack and the smell of ozone as a high powered taser blast arced lighting that blasted Kilgore backwards over the lectern. The recruits cried in alarm, but Kilgore dusted himself off with a wary look at the smiling Skadi and rephrased his opening.

“Alright recruits….. here are the basics’ of the cup holder. Cost, sweet frike nothing. I mean honestly, you can roll a drunk in Cogwork port for enough to equip two of these. Use, well that is a funny one, they are rated on average as increasing your precision by 4, and giving you a flat 1% chance of a critical kill.”

“Now, can anyone tell me how they work?”

Dead silence and puzzled looks all around. Kilgore nodded. “Yup, I thought the same. The damned things don’t really do anything, but we do. Pilots boys and girls, we make the world go around, the mechs go bang bang, and we are the makers of sweet shots, and total frack ups. Cup holders don’t fix your mecha, they keep you from stepping on your di… (Skadi tapped the taser on the table at the back of the room, prompting a quick edit of his metaphor) keeping you from screwing up. Screwing up like I did.”

“Clan War XVII is a mother lover. I mean Knockers is losing her mind with the tech crew trying to prep a dozen lineups for every single mecha lance in the Clan, and the pilots are going equally squirlly, as we prep our own mecha, our back up mecha, and six other mecha we haven’t piloted in years, or never piloted at all. I drive a Krampus, I have ganged Betrus Processors to monitor my mecha state, enemy performance and characteristics, monitor my biometrics, and optimize the release of hormones from my implants to battle fatigue and increase focus. Perfectly titrated doses of stimulant and aggression hormones are introduced to keep me in peak performance.” His smile was wistful.

“Then we fought some butt-monkey who defended with Red Ants, and the chief told us to put in our twin cup holders and chassis upgrades, and pick our best weapons for the load out. Now the chassis gear is sweet, really makes the twitchy little mecha dance, and when you level them up enough, the little tin cans look like walking piles of guns. What the hell is the point of putting cup holders in? The damn machine’s too stupid to handle the massive data-flow required for shield analysis, or power flow mapping to detect weaknesses, its AI actually requires keyboard input for questions, and the goofy thing actually needs wipers on the cockpit because it doesn’t have repulsion fields. You get tired, you grab a stim can, you can’t fight any more, you slam a Hatoraide. Don’t get the empties under the foot pedals or you fall on your ass. Who needs frills? You have to open your cockpit to fart in the damned things already, the last thing you need is more gear in there…..so I thought.”

“Anyway, the war’s a real cluster frag, we don’t have one scouting report on the enemy, we have like fifty, because each idiot has a dozen different ways they could be fighting, and we don’t know until the day which one they went with. We spent so much time going over the intel reports and putting our own gear together that we were already functioning on stim packs. I had taped up a hard copy of the lineup the dweeb had we were fighting, but it was getting hard to read. I opened a stim so I could focus, but I got the wrong can, and it was a Hatoraide. That made me mad. Tired as I was I drank half the damned thing before I noticed, and then I just got madder that I screwed up and had no place to put it. I stashed it up on the cockpit windshield above the cockpit and grabbed a stim to wake me up. I was going over the report of our targets weapon specs when the alarm hit, we were in combat!”

I should have been switching from screen to screen, not blocking one half my cockpit with taped hard copy. I should have had my stim secured on my left, Hatoraide on my right as per policy. Instead I caught some trample effect from a bloody (he cursed as Skadi zapped him again for language) Ferrite Storm, when my Hatoraide spilled on my dash, shorting my targeting computer. I went to switch to manual and slapped the override, but did so too hard and spilled the Stim pack into my speakers, so the rest of my comm system sounded like somebody gargling. We won the fight, but I didn’t hit a damned thing, and my mecha required complete nav/comm/targeting tear down even though my armor didn’t breach. There was a cockpit fire and I got a little burned at dash level (he gestured vaguely below his belly button), and the emergency burn cream is made from Smurf berries so turned certain burned parts of me blue-temporarily”

“Having a cup-holder gives you precision 4, 1% critical kill, and the choice of ready stim or Hatoraide. Twin cup-holders give you twice the benefit and more options. No cup-holders gets you nicknamed Blue Balls, and leaves you to confess your screw-ups to a room full of recruit weenies”

Submitted by John T Mainer#28840

M-Hole Equipment Review

This is a premium piece of chassis equipment for 85 ton Huge to 95 ton BFM weight division class mecha.
The M-hole is a Niode driven combination radar and signal jammer that is powered by "cold plasma".  The jammer portion behaves as a barrage jammer to screw up an opponent's sensors (11% Freeze) and wreak havoc on their mecha's electronics (10 Slow) while at the same time the radar portion functions using a modified base jammer so that your own radar equipment remains unaffected (Precision 6) in the midst of interferences created by the electronic warfare your M-Hole is putting out.  This simultaneous defense and offense when used properly ups your crit-kill % by 3.

Reviewer Notes: The nonthermogenic plasma fuel used by an M-hole lends itself to the overall reliability of this device, since you don't have to worry about running an M-hole causing it to overheat.  Also, the use of a second jammer to transmit a signal purposely for detection while at the same time blocking the receivers and transmitters of other sources using the first jammer makes for an ingenious way to see your opponent more clearly while at the same time placing them at a tactical disadvantage.

It costs 1004 Ferrite, 604 Bioptics and 49 Niodes.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Wrench In The Works : Clan War XVII

Knocker’s McGuinty was chief tech of the Defenders of Bunny. Riding herd on the machines of a clan that was as far flung as the Bunnies was somewhere between a dream and a nightmare. The Defenders stretched from the high teens to the ninety, running everything from Red Ants to Jadoon. Knockers, like her father before, kept the mecha in fighting form, gave them the quick turnaround that doomed more than one Pirate Lord, or rival clan, and tailored them for special events.

Clan War XVII was run by the Craftsmen, with rumors that an unknown benefactor was bankrolling the whole event on the grounds that certain special conditions were met. This was a specialist event, where each competitor could pick a specialty that they would defend as, and every attacker must meet them on those grounds, or lose.

In theory, this allowed good preparation and strategy to even the odds against superior mass and firepower (somewhat). It had drawbacks. You didn’t have to prepare just your defending lineup; you had to prepare every tonnage limitation, and weapons specialty, and be ready to switch between configurations at a moment’s notice. It was a nightmare of work, the techs had been putting in more hours than the pilots, and the pilots were living on stim packs already.

From the shop floor rang the sound of crystal on ceramet armor, the defiance roar of a Gigus and the scream of a woman gone utterly around the bend. Charging to the mech bay doors, John beheld the strangest sight his Clanhold had ever seen. His chief tech (Knockers McGuinty) had been working on a Gigus outside the usual repair gantries, because all of them were already in use, and mecha were half assembled all over the place, including what looked like a pair of Luison dangling from the rafter chain hoists, being worked on hung upside down like shot pheasants.

Gigus have to be chained down when you swap out the weapons, because they do not like to give up their guns, and putting in new ones makes them itch terribly until the software syncs properly. John’s lances 80 ton Gigus (Muffin) was trying to defend the Kojin stove that Knockers was taking out. He had thrown her off and was scampering for his sleeping cradle. Knockers grabbed the crane override and slapped the emergency release, dropping a Luison on the Gigus head. As the stunned mecha rolled on the ground, a raging Knockers lept on its head, and with her crystal wrench began banging it on the forehead screaming

“Lie still!” (clang) “Or I’ll” (clang) “Give you Viper Lasers!” (clang) “You toaster!” (clang)

The Gigus lay still, whimpering, terrified of the chief tech, and her threat to leave him with only Viper Lasers. She ripped out the Rupture Shot savagely, and the Gigus made soft crooning noises and attempted to groom her (somewhat disarrayed) hair to calm her down. Hoisting the Luison back into the air, and slapping a shackle on the Rupture Shot for the next crane to remove, Knockers opened a can of Hatoraide, and a Stim Pack, and shot them both, before tossing the empties into the recycling bin 20 feet away. The can rang like a target drone on cannon test day.

John looked as his tech crew, noticing they all moved like zombies on PCP, and decided this war may have made casualties out of his techs before the first shot was even fired. He turned to Christine (Personnel and Public Affairs officer of the Defenders of Bunny) “How long have they been using Hatoraide on the shop floor?”

Christine muttered quietly “About the same time they switched to 16hrs on/8 off; so about a week now. I think most of them are bug-nuts crazy at this point, but their efficiency is damn near textbook perfect. Right up until they start eating brains, I think we are OK. Oh crap, she’s coming this way. Gotta go!”

Knockers was charging the office, wrench in hand. Panicked pilots raced to get out of the way, and even the great mecha seemed to shift to keep machinery between them and the raging mechanics. The DOB AI opened the door at emergency speed, unwilling to see if Knockers planned on slowing or opening it before coming through leaving John trapped behind his desk facing the pilot, whose eyes were dark pits you could park a Dreadnought in, and the bruises underneath would shame a raccoon or strung out Juba addict on a million ferrite bender.

“ I have had it! I have made a line up for each of your pilots for the whole Clan for your stupid war, and then I did it again, and then again, and then A HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN MORE TIMES!” She brought the wrench down on the crystal armorplast desk that was rated to take a Rail Cannon strike and continue function, according to the manufacturers specs. Again and again the crystal wrench the pilots had bought her as a token of their esteem rang on the “unbreakable” computer desk until his holoscreens started to fritz, and Mighty Beatrice the AI painted a cartoon hologram above Knockers head showing what John would look like with that three foot crystal wrench shoved someplace wrenches shouldn’t go; indicating that perhaps he should calm her down before Beatrice needs a new mainframe, and John needs a proctologist.

Knockers finally ran out of steam and broke into sobs
“And you all keep leveling up, and things need tuning, and you keep reassigning the weapons, and I just can’t do this anymore, I want to shoot somebody so badly, can’t I shoot somebody, I really think it would help?” She sounded so much like his daughters at this point that he smiled and began stroking her hair.

“There, there Knockers, it will be OK. Would you feel better if you got to light someone on fire, maybe cut them down in the fury of a rotary powered Ferrite Storm? Or cut them down in the scream of a Galaxy Eye?”

She looked up, tears standing in her eyes, but a hopeful, almost smile touching her quivering lips “Maybe watch them come apart under the hammer of a hundred armour piercing missiles, or flash freeze in the scream of an Arctic Gale?”

John laughed. Granted, civilians would be calling for psychiatrists and sedation, but Clan Chiefs knew the correct response to such insane fury was to couple it with an advanced sentient Artificial Intelligence in a niode and crystal powered war machine, and turn her loose upon the world. Really, would’t the Galaxy benefit from letting such fury find fullest expression behind the controls of a mecha? Besides, she had earned the chance to join with her children, the mecha she cared for every day, and share with them the gift of battle.

“Clan War XVII is upon us. Go see Stephanie for your implant, and we will have you in the cockpit for the war. Keep my machines running, and you too can dance howling in the fire.”

Easter (the bunny, not the pilot clone) had hopped over, and jumped up into Knockers arms to head butt her until she began stroking the Bunnies soft fur. The Bunnies knew when their Defenders needed them. Through her own implants the Bunny sent a message image to the holoscreen in the chief office. It showed Jessica Rabbit; the Red Ant that was once Jessica Bradley-Rabbits ride, before she became a lance leader. Yes, that would do well. The Bunnies always knew best.

Clan War will rage, worlds will burn, and mechanics will lose their minds. Is your Clan ready?

Submitted by John T Mainer#28840