You hear about those old classics that sit in the barn for years on end, neglected, perhaps past their prime but with a little bit of spit and polish, beauty just waiting to be brought back to the surface.
We all have clan mates that are in a sort of similair position; that mech sitting at the back of the hanger gathering dust, too nice to sell but not important enough to use, missing that vital component, its "round tuit."
They want to do something with it, but really need to get a round tuit...
That was my Smilodon. I know where I picked her up... she was a prize for the gold we won during the Rise of the Specialists. I'd sold the previous gold medal mech I won and deeply regretted it. I just couldn't part with this one. But she seemed just a little too light and a little too expensive... the niodes were needed elsewhere. So she sat.
It must have been a good 6 months before I dusted here off... more even. The line was heavier but a hole needed filling and I finally had a little spare resource. God I wished I'd done it sooner.
Finally named the 'Aurora' (because that's a pretty golden name), she slotted in to fill the final gap in a new line of light skirmishers at the front. And started to earn her position many times over straight away.
Equipment was easy... as the lightest in the line she had the run of surplus equipment, and every spare set of Enhanced Senses that were a staple in silver medal prize packs went into the cockpit. Solderbots, Fast Data Switches and Pneumatic Shocks were dropped into the cramped chassis. Even though I had a surfeit of spare engines for that tonnage range, there was no messing about... pure speed, pure crystal, pure Pebble Bed Reactors. Oh, I did retrofit a pair of Quad Turbo drives down the track when I got some, but that was later after kitty was already purring.
Shields were the big problem (being decidedly lacking on a Smilo), but the freebie of a Light Bringer while not giving Gamma Grade shielding at least didn't leave a gaping hole.
Armament was dead easy. She got Galaxy Eyes all the way. But I'm guessing for those veteran Smilodon pilots out there, that's not coming as a great surprise.
I know that a lot of pilots feel a big wrench when they finally have to retire a Smilodon, and truth to tell, I probably kept the Aurora in the battle line longer than I should. I just didn't have anything that could compare with the kill power until I managed to salvage a Nakshi, but even then it didn't quite have the same killing power. It did make up for it in staying power though. Swings and roundabouts.
She's not retired though... only transferred. You see, I'm in the unenviable position of being eligible for a specialist slot a lot of the time. When I do, the big toys get put away and my cruiser mechs take the field. Aurora leads the squadron from the first rank.It seems fitting that the mech I won in the first specialist war now leads my specialist formation, breaking hearts and mechs as she goes.
But don't worry... if you get hurt, she may just sing you a song...
"Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty,
Little ball of FLAMING MEGA DEATH DIE DIE DIE!!!"
Submitted by David McCallum #701548