Fire Eel IIC

The Fire Eel IIC is an OmniMech conversion of the venerable Fire Eel design, commissioned by Clan Ashen Corsac. It remains very close to the original as a 50-tons Medium with a balanced mix of firepower, mobility and protection and was intended to become a workhorse design of the Corsac Touman.

## Technical Information

### Armament

* 1x Gauss Rifle
* 4x ER Medium Lasers
* 1x Active Probe

### BV

2'386

When Clan Ashen Corsac was formed after its takeover of Tiegel IV in 3064, it had a relatively large military stockpile thanks to a decade of isorla and preparations, as well as access to MachtWerk's multiple BattleMech production lines, but long-term maintenance of this heterogeneous mix of designs promised to be a logistical nightmare. In order to reduce the logistical burden and to simplify and streamline production, it was decided to focus on the production and maintenance of Medium and Heavy OmniMech, supplemented by Assault BattleMechs. While the Mad Dog and Summoner lines retooled by the planet's previous owner, the Jade Falcons, filled the Heavy role, there was a need for a new Medium line.

MachtWerk's Tiegel plant was already tooled to produce the Fire Eel, an ancient Medium Mech from the Star League era with a proven battle record, but it was still only a BattleMech with limited configurations. It would however provide an excellent base to work from. At the time of its introduction, the Fire Eel was an extremely advanced weapon that outgunned and outpaced the majority of its contemporaries, though by 3050, the proliferation of advanced technology following the Helm Core breakthrough and the Clan Invasion made its once cutting-edge equipment relatively common. Though it no longer held an advantage, it was perfectly adequate for the modern times, and therefore relatively little change needed to be made to modernize it.

The result was the Fire Eel IIC, which kept almost all of the core parameters and design characteristics identical, but upgraded them across the line. First and foremost was the inclusion of Omni-Pod technology so that one workhorse design could take on a variety of roles, but the inclusion of more compact Clan-tech XL engines and lighter Clan weapon systems allowed significantly more loadout freedom than would have been possible otherwise, while also providing a blanket increase in performance. The project was fairly straightforward, and by 3068, MachtWerk's production lines were already retooled to produce large quantities of the Omni version of the old Fire Eel.

Most of the work went into making the Fire Eel IIC as reliable as possible, resulting in an OmniMech that could go three times as long as the average Mech without requiring a maintenance cycle, which was seen as a great boon for long operations with an hectic operational tempo, as well as for operations with limited supplies and resources. On the downside, efforts by Corsac scientists to replicate the famously accurate MachtWerk Quad-Laser Array were repeatedly frustrated as the increased power draw and heat generation from up-gunning the array's lasers from regular to ER versions caused considerable amounts of interference. These factors made the system impossible to replicate, but this was deemed an acceptable loss, and the Scientist Caste was instructed to focus on improvements that could benefit the design no matter what configuration it used, resulting in the aforementioned reliability rating.

With an ample 20 tons of pod space, and as much armor as some of the lighter, more offense-focused Heavy Mechs, the Fire Eel IIC lived up to its expectations as a versatile workhorse design, though ambitious design requirements resulted in final production costs that were in excess of what had been hoped, if albeit still well within reasonable margins by Clan standards. The Fire Eel IIC would remain mostly exclusive to the Corsacs for about two decades as all production was immediately used either to cover for losses or to create new Clusters under the Corsacs' frantic military build-up. In 3081, exactly one day after the expiration of the non-aggression agreement struck 5 years before, the Jade Falcons successfully managed to win production rights, resulting in its eventual proliferation throughout the Invader Clans.

## Equipment and Weapons

The Fire Eel IIC's base chassis can reach 97 kilometers per hour with its 'Pulsar-300XL' engine, a modest speed which is augmented by 6 'Reiter-M' fixed jump jets, providing the Mech with a jump distance of 180 meters. It is built on a light Endo-Steel internal structure and features 9 tons of 'PanzerLicht' ferro-fibrous armor, providing it with the maximum amount of protection available for its tonnage, and even slightly more than a few Heavies. The use of Laser Heat Sinks is consistent with standard Corsac doctrine which prefers consistent heat performance regardless of planetary conditions and the availability or lack thereof of water.

The Prime configuration of the Fire Eel IIC uses a 'StarkReiter' Gauss rifle in its left arm as its primary long-range weapon, allowing it to snipe foes from afar more effectively than the original autocannon and with a respectable two tons of ammunition. Four 'KriegMesser' ER Medium Lasers in a quad array in the right arm provide a powerful and ammo-independent punch at mid and short range, with a single extra Laser Heat Sink being added to smooth out the heat load. Finally, an Active Probe in the cockpit allows the Fire Eel IIC to perform scouting duties in dangerous areas.

## Alternate Configurations

* **Configuration B**

Optimized for close-range combat, especially in urban areas, the B Configuration swaps out the Gauss Rifle for a heavy 'Fallbeil' serie LBX-20 autocannon with two tons of Cluster rounds, while the extra Laser Heat Sink is replaced by a 'Gespent' ECM suite. This makes the Mech highly lethal at short range, but it struggles with the heat load of Alpha Strikes, especially while already on the run. To cope with the heat, its Quad Laser Array is sometimes configured to fire in sequence rather than all at once. *Cost: 14'091'000 C-Bills, BV: 2'168*

* **Configuration C**

The C Configuration was used as a testbed for the envisioned weapons loadout of the then-in-development LVT-G variant of the Leviathan Assault BattleMech. Its 14 Laser Heat Sinks are wholly incapable of dealing with the Heat of an Alpha Strike, which is intense enough to initiate an immediate shutdown. This monstrous heat generation is due to the presence of two 'FeuerSturm' ER PPCs, one on each shoulder, and four 'LanzenReiter' Heavy Medium Lasers, with two in each arm. Pilots are sternly instructed to only use -either- the former (at long range) -or- the latter (at short range) but never both. This volatile configuration ensures an extremely potent punch at all range and completely independent of ammunition, while remaining as durable and mobile as any other Fire Eel IIC configuration. *Cost: 13'311'000 C-Bills, BV: 2'642*

* **Configuration D**

A Fire Support configuration, the D loadout is built around a pair of 'WeißeHexe' series ATM-9 launchers, one in each arm and fed by two tons of standard warheads and one ton of HE warheads each. These are supported by a single 'LanzenReiter' Heavy Medium Laser as a back-up weapon and a Flamer for anti-infantry duty in the torso. For defense, the D Configuration features an Anti-Missile System as well as an ECM suite. The plentiful ammunition supplies allow it to provide sustained heavy support and tactical flexibility, though it is sometimes given an all-standard or all-HE loadout depending on where it is expected to fight. With the latter, it is a fearsome encounter in urban combat. *Cost: 15'536'000 C-Bills, BV: 2'066*

## Design Quirks

All Fire Eel IICs have the following Design Quirk:

* Rugged [2]