TRO: 3087 - Cobra

3087 is a Battletech alternate universe where The Jihad never happened. Instead, political fracturing continues in the wake of the technological and military upheavals of the 3050's. Its history is told through the pages and designs of TRO: 3087. With any luck this series will be the last anyone hears about 3087. 

CBR-85T Cobra
Overview
The Cobra was found to be an adequate ‘Mech when the Lyrans started fielding it in the sixties. The destruction caused by the first Jade Falcon incursion forced a reorganization of the LCAF and the Cobra was dropped from the procurement rolls.
Defiance Industries shopped the design around until the Word of Blake connected them with the nascent Federated Hellfire Territories. The Territories were trying to capitalize on their successful raid New Avalon a few months prior. They had gained them the final pieces of the Davions’ next-generation missile technology and they wanted a flagship platform to use them. The Cobra’s humanoid appearance, field-tested performance, and cost made it their favored options.
The first several production runs were shipped from the Commonweath, but rebuilt factories in the Territories have since picked up production, with oversight from Defiance and the Word.

Capabilities
The Cobra was designed primarily with a fire support role in mind. However, the FHTCA is based around many platforms with advanced missile systems, and the Cobra, which lacks the ability to provide indirect fire support, is often edged out of that role.
Its ground speed and jump jets compliment its streak missile racks. Without ammunition concerns, Cobra pilots can take a number of risky, high-speed maneuvers while still trying to snap off shots. Leaked ROMs of these tricks have earned Cobra Mechwarriors a reputation as the best of the best, but veteran soldiers know it’s the result of spam firing until the computer launches a volley.
While commanders tend to deploy them to forward positions, the Cobra lacks sufficient “punch” to excel in that role. Technicians have attempted to upgrade the back-up lasers to larger models or replace them with autocannons. Very little of that has borne fruit, and analysis currently indicates that the Territories will use this year’s Diamond Shark trade mission to obtain heavy lasers for a new Cobra model.

Battle History
Ever since its introduction to the public in the popular propaganda series A Wall to Crush The Davions: The Path to Victory to New Avalon and Beyond, the Cobra has been the cultural touchstone the Territories envisioned. Amongst civilians, its abilities have become mythic. Immortal Warrior vids feature them as the faceless goons of almost every villain. Many Federated Suns warriors keep a track of how many Cobras they’ve destroyed and the oldest veterans have folded it into pre-existing enmity for The Draconis Combine (“snakes” being a popular epithet for the Combine during the height of tensions between the Combine and the Suns).
The Cobra’s history in combat earns its place in pop culture, as much as any ‘Mech could earn the title of “mythic.” Captain Edward Murphy’s lead of the suicidal charge to destroy NAIS, the assassination of Yvonne Steiner-Davion, and the exploits of the in-house mercenary unit The Rabid Cobras are stories which--no matter how twisted to suit the teller’s affiliations--are still told from Cogdell to Coventry.
The mythology of the Territories holds that Chram Tait himself redesigned the Cobra, and the President for Life is indelibly linked with the design. However, with the exception of a few photo ops, he’s never piloted one.

Variants
Modifications of the Cobra are rare. As far as the FHT are concerned, its flagship ‘Mech must always be on message. Every single one of the eighty-two upgrades the platform has seen incorporates a linear improvement or experimentation with baseline systems. While some models might have shorter lock-on times, advanced battlefield modeling computers, or gyros optimized for its familiar, jumping-strafe gait, a Cobra is generally a Cobra.
The Rabid Cobras have field designs with smaller long-range missile racks. The extra tonnage frees up space to include a pair of four-shot short range missile racks. The small racks are often used to carry specialty ammunition for work against buildings or infantry.
Most in the Federated Suns shy away from the design but those that don’t will often replace the streak racks with more cost-effective standard firing models. This allows enough space to upgrade the medium lasers to larger models. Dubbed, “Arbocs,” they pack much of the punch that line Cobras lack.

CBR-85T Cobra
Type/Model:    Cobra CBR-85T
Tech:          Mixed Tech / 3083
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Manufactured:  The Federated Hellfire Territories
Fielded:
   Federated Hellfire Territories (Uncommon)
   Federated Suns (Rare)
   Lyran Alliance (Rare)
   Word of Blake (Rare)

Mass:          45 tons
Equipment:              Crits     Mass
Int. Struct.:              14     2.50
   75 points
Engine:225       XL        12     5.00
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:   8
   Jumping MP:   5
Jump Jets      Standard     5     2.50
  (Loc: 1 CT, 2 LT, 2 RL)
Heat Sinks: 12 Double       9     2.00
  (Loc: 1 LT, 2 RT)
Gyro:                       4     3.00
Cockpit, Life Sup., Sensors:5     3.00
Actuators:                  8     0.00
  L: Sh+UA        R: Sh+UA
Armor Factor:               0     8.00
     128 pts Standard

        Internal Structure  Armor Value
  Head:                  3      9    
  Center Torso:         11     17    
  Center Torso (Rear):          6
  L/R Side Torso:        8    17/17
  L/R Side Torso (Rear):       5/5
  L/R Arm:               5    12/12
  L/R Leg:               8    14/14

Weapons and Equipment Loc  Crits  Tons
---------------------------------------
Streak LRM 15(C)      LA     3     7.00
ER Medium Laser       LA     1     1.00
Ammo Streak LR...(24) LT     3     3.00
Streak LRM 15(C)      RA     3     7.00
ER Medium Laser       RA     1     1.00
---------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           45.0
Crits & Tons Left:           6     0.0