Fire Eel

The Fire Eel is one of the flagship Mech designs of Tiegel's MachtWerk factories and has been in production under one form or another for over 400 years. It is an agile. 50-tons medium mech with a solid mix of firepower, mobility and armor, generally equipped with amix of energy and ballistic weapon systems.

## Technical Information

### Armament

* 1x LBX-AC10
* 4x Medium Lasers

### BV

1'391

The Fire Eel is effectively the workhorse design that launched MachtWerk's reputation and credibility. It underwent an eight-year design process that ran parallel to the construction of the Tiegel assembly lines and was to be ready as the manufacturer's launch campaign, and was intended to replace the largely unsatisfactory Phoenix (BattleMech) introduced a century prior. The relatively long development cycle ensured the design did not suffer from rushed production or insufficient testing, which proved wise given the inclusion of then relatively advanced components such as its powerful XL engines, Ferro-fibrous armor, and advanced stabilizer equipment. From its introduction, it would go on to become a common sight among both the SLDF's Battle and Striker regiments and Rim Worlds Republic's Amaris Dragoon brigades.

The first thing anyone noticed about the Fire Eel was its physical resemblance with the larger Marauder, with its sleek, long torso, tall legs, and prominent weapon arms, though it lacked an upper cannon. The distinctive quad medium laser array in its right arm would be become an often re-used MachtWerk standard for centuries to come ,The second thing anyone noticed about the Fire Eel was that it was extremely mobile and packed as much protection and firepower as its weight class could reasonably carry. It was an expensive Mech for its time, but it was regarded as well worth the price for its ability to out-maneuver anything larger than itself and to out-gun anything faster than itself. As such, the Fire Eel would become a symbol of the Rim Worlds Republic's military and industrial capabilities in the century leading up to the Amaris Civil War.

When the Periphery uprising began in the Taurian Concordat, Stefan Amaris ensured no Fire Eels were provided to the rebellious Periphery states as the presence of any significant numbers of such Mechs would betray the fact that he was playing both sides of the conflict. When the uprising degenerated into full-scale galactic civil war, Fire Eels were used aggressively with great effectiveness by both sides as mobile hunter-killer units, harasser units, or for reconnaissance en force. The design suffered greatly from attrition, and it is estimated that less than 20% of Fire Eels on battle orders at the start of the civil war survived the conflict. The remaining ones would be progressively thinned throughout the Succession Wars, eventually growing extinct when MachtWerk lost the ability to produce new models in 2865 before seeing a resurgence in 3035 with the Helm Memory Core revival.

In the meantime, MachtWerk produced a low-tech variant of the Fire Eel throughout the late Succession Wars for the Lyran Commonwealth. Ironically, this version which was an all-around downgrade would resolve the inefficient cooling system issues that had been plaguing the A and B variants' laser array before and a main weakness of the early models. Another obvious weakness of the Fire Eeel was that all of its weapon systems were carried in its relatively vulnerable arms and that it had no back-up if those were ever destroyed.

When Clan Ashen Corsac took over the assembly lines on Tiegel in 3064, the Corsacs were impressed enough with the venerable design that an OmniMech derivative was rapidly adapted from its blueprints in the form of the Fire Eel IIC.

## Weapons and Equipment

The Fire Eel's long-range firepower comes from the single 'Fallbeil-10' model LBX-10 autocannon in its left arm, for which an adequate 2 tons of ammunition is provided in a CASE-protected bin. When it closes in, the Fire Eel can count on the Quad array of 'Messer' medium lasers in its right arm. Though this array suffers from a poor cooling system which generates extra heat when it fires, the Double Heat Sinks keep it under control, and it is well known for its above-average accuracy while on the move, an important trait given a Fire Eel is always on the move.

Defensively speaking, the Fire Eel is protected by 9 tons of 'PanzerLicht' Ferro-Fibrous armor, the maximum possible for a Mech its size. It does not feature any extra defensive systems such as AMS or ECM, but it relies on its speed to mitigate danger. With 6 Reiter-M series jump jets, it is capable of clearing distances of nearly 200 meters to get in and out of the action.

## Variants

* **FRE-B**

Introduced in parallel with the base model, the -B variant is a relatively simple modification that trades its autocannon a 'Schutze-20' model LRM-20 battery, with 3 tons of ammunition. This modification makes the FRE-B an effective harasser that can easily dance around foes while harrying them with missiles from afar, but the battery's minimum range makes it less effective in close quarters. *Cost: 9'855'000 C-Bills, BV: 1'493*

* **FRE-C**

Introduced in 2865 to make up for the technological losses of the Succession Wars, the -V variant is slower with a VanStern 250 standard engine, and less well protected with only 8 tons of standard armor. Its left arm ballistic armament is downgraded to an AC-5 with a single ton of ammunition, but the iconic Quad 'Messer' array and its advanced stabilizers are maintained. Its cooling issues are also resolved, which is a mercy as its 13 Single Heat Sinks can barely keep up. On the bright side, the price tag was slashed significantly and the Mech is still a serious threat to its contemporaries. *Cost: 4'314'500 C-Bills, BC: 1'142*

## Design Quirks

Fire Eel models FRE-A and FRE-B include the following Design Quirks:

* Ubiquitous
* Stabilized Weapon (Quad M.Laser array)
* Poor Cooling Jacket [4] (Quad M.Laser array)

Fire Eel FRE-C models include the following Design Quirks:

* Rugged
* Stabilized Weapon (Quad M.Laser array)
* Obsolete/3035