TRO: 3087 - Ghost of Blake

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. This entry is the last of 3087. 3087 has been fun and educational, but muted interest has directed my time towards more fruitful projects.

See ya, Rabbi Martinez.

GOB-111 Ghost of Blake
Overview
Like other new designs fielded by The Word of Blake, we know little about the Ghost of Blake. We assume it’s produced on Terra or on some hidden-away corner of the Inner Sphere. Information we have gleaned has come from battlefield encounters and rare battle ROMs of captured units.

The Ghost of Blake is designed as a covert operations platform deployed in standard Comstar Level I’s of six battlemechs, usually comprised of five -111 models and one -112 model, though recovered records indicate units with two -112 models have been tested.

During the brief existence of the Terran Protectorate, Ghost of Blake units were deployed for testing on Protectorate-aligned worlds to probe defense forces.

Records of operations on other worlds are hard to come by. The ‘Mech’s stealth armor kept it from being positively identified, and ROM efforts to cover its production and operations seem have been amongst The Word’s highest priorities. Until the late seventies, rumors of a ghost ‘mech which appears and disappears by magic were written off as exaggerations by backwoods garrison forces and small time mercenaries rumor-mongering for higher pay.

TRO: 3087 - Longbow

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.

LGB-OA Longbow
Overview
With debate growing over Resolution 288  and spreading rumors about the possibility that the Captain-General had been replaced with a double, powers within Andurien began preparing for secession again during the late sixties. While it took over a decade for the opportunity to arise, the Duchy made the most of that time.
When Brooks Incorporated stumbled upon a wireless omnitechnology interface for vehicles, Andurien secessionists immediately moved in to keep the development a secret. The system was adapted for use on OmniMechs and the Duchy began to acquire reliable BattleMechs for loyal militias as part of a covert upgrade program. 
By far the most troublesome target of these acquisitions were Longbows. The secessionists underestimated the popularity and versatility of the design, and it was eventually more economical to quietly license the Longbow and create a similar ‘Mech domestically. When the Duchy shrugged off their neutrality three years into the Free Worlds League Civil War, those Longbows became the backbone of the new First Andurien Rangers.

TRO: 3087 - Ifrit

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.

Ifrit (Block 4)
Overview

In just under twenty years, The Wolf Dragoons expanded from a sophisticated and successful mercenary unit to The Dragoons Pact, a proper government half the size of The Terran Hegemony. The region’s defenders morphed from ad-hoc militia and mercenaries into the only force in the Inner Sphere to rely on Clan technology for over half of their war materiel.

The Ifrit, and vehicles like it, are one of the ways those two massive shifts were made possible. Unlike many of the other ‘Mechs fielded by the Pact, it includes almost no advanced components except for its weapons, power, and targeting systems.

Its integration of simple parts have allowed new suppliers to start up in the region while older factories have received incentives to upgrade parts to higher specifications used in more sophisticated machines like the Durendal and Zemus.

TRO: 3087 - Catapult

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.

CPLT-L5 Catapult
Overview
While Capellan engagements outside of the Confederation have been limited in the last twenty years, there’s no indication they have started fielding any new battlemech designs during that time. Instead, a number of reliable, natively-produced ‘Mechs and vehicles have been upgraded and refined to fill roles as needed.
The Catapult is one such ‘Mech. The CPLT-C3 variant with paired artillery pieces is still produced, but so is the new -L5 is based on the Star League-era -C1 model. Added stealth armor and pulse lasers have made it operate closer to the front lines while retaining its fire support abilities. 
The reasons for the change aren’t known, but it’s suspected that it was made to ensure that there are fewer privileged combat roles where a MechWarrior no longer has to risk engaging the enemy directly.

TRO: 3087 - Zeus

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.

ZEU-10S Zeus

Overview

The ZEU-10S is the latest in the venerable Lyran mech’s long line. In the testing phases during the First Jade Falcon Incursion, prototypes were rushed to the field via mercenary units in an effort to stem the rising tide of Clanners.

The prototypes’ performance gave Defiance Industries exceptional data and the Jade Falcon halt just short of Coventry gave the Commonwealth ample motivation for producing the perfected final version.

This new, more powerful version was initially circulated to politically influential units and individuals. Few were on the front-lines for the resumed Falcon operations in ‘79 and units who received Zeuses from their crash redeployment showed marked improvement in repelling the Falcons. Sadly, that improvement was not enough rapid enough to save Coventry, the line the ‘Mech was created to hold.

Despite ever-shorter resources, the Lyran Commonwealth has gone to great pains to keep it in production. This has included incentivizing the relocation of facilities which produce its gauss rifle and advanced structure. These efforts have been kept quiet out of concerns that they would undermine the defiant messages flowing out of Tharkad about the Commonwealth’s inevitable victory over the Falcons.

TRO: 3087 - Orion

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.

ON2-MC Orion
Overview
The Diamond Shark trade mission into the Inner Sphere entered the Free Worlds League a little over a year into The League’s civil war. Their intent to negotiate with the League at Goth Khakar was thwarted when both sides of the war attempted to secure exclusive negotiation rights. 
The Sharks had to clear their own landing zone and force both parties to the negotiating table. Any industrial output promised to the Clan from one side could have been a legitimate military target to the other, limiting what League governments could offer. However, resource and exploration rights to lands held by the former Atreus government were on the table and the Sharks walked away with mineral-rich enclaves while both sides of the Civil War enjoyed advanced upgrade packages. 
The Orion ON2-M was chosen as the recipient of this package because it was new enough to be compatible with cutting-edge technology, but old enough to have the kinks worked out of it.

TRO: 3087 - Exodus

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.

EXD-2OG Exodus
Overview
The Exodus seems to have been made to replace similar units like the Blood Kite, Savage Coyote, and Stone Rhino, slow assault ‘Mechs driven to extinction with their Clans. The Ghost Bears had already noticed the drop-off in machines who devoted most of their tonnage to weapons and began preparing the Exodus prototypes in the late 3060’s.

The new assault underwent trials by fire in the second Combine-Ghost Bear War. Its deployment scaled from small, purpose-built binaries to becoming a full-on command ‘Mech by the close of the war. It’s been a backbone of the Bears’ slower formation tactics ever since.

3087: El Dorado

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.

EHF-01 El Dorado
Overview
The El Dorado started out as the vanguard of a new paradigm shift in the Clan Coyote tauman in the late sixties. The great costs associated with the project forced them to find collaborators and their attempts were frustrated at every turn.
Luckily, Clan Jade Falcon was gearing up for an offensive against the Lyran Commonwealth. A mobile, second-line unit with easy access to the Coyote’s new Advanced Tactical Missile System was an appealing offer. Given that the Falcons would perform a live-fire shakedown in the Incursion of ‘68, the deal was sealed.
With the involvement of a wealthier clan, the El Dorado was upgraded by ten tons, gained an extralight engine, and shed its old name which was too closely linked to Clan Coyote.
Unfortunately, the El Dorado was a mainstay of Coyote efforts during the ilClan war and many were crippled with backdoor software vulnerabilities. It wasn’t until the line was completely rebuilt by the Jade Falcons in 3084 that the software was rebuilt securely.

3087: Leto

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.

LET-O Leto
Overview
The Hellfire Pirate Band’s raid on New Avalon in 3074 destroyed the public’s willingness to take emerging democracy movements lightly. At least two such organization claimed they provided the fifth column assistance necessary to make the raid a success. The aftermath caused two changes: a draconian push to find disloyal citizens and urgent military action on the realm’s increasingly treacherous nobles and successful rebel armies.
That action took the form of The Archangel Project. The Federated Suns would construct the ultimate combined-arms formation. A series of vehicles, battle armor, and BattleMechs, built specifically to defeat their enemies and restore order. No expense was spared, the best minds from across the Inner Sphere were hired, and they received the highest priority for cutting-edge military equipment.

TRO: 3087 - A Delay

I'm working on the next design. This is one my lower high priorities because I really want to get it out of my system. I'm closing in on the end, which means that all the entries I've put off because I wasn't as enthusiastic about them are 100% of what I'm doing now.

The next 'Mech is the original Leto, which only needs content cut back (it's 33% too big). I am working on it, I've just a lot happening right now.

TRO: 3087 - Leto II

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.

Leto II LTO-2-1T
Overview
The success of the Leto OmniMech created demand for the Federated Hellfire Territories’ newest design. Typically, they were reultcant to share any of their Phoebus-series designs. After the fall of Talcott, the Word of Blake convinced them to create the Leto II on the back of the Hellspawn production lines.
The Blakists encouraged trade with their allies in the Draconis Combine, the Mercenaries’ Alliance, and the Free Worlds League. Reluctantly, the Territories agreed, but after the orders were placed they shorted production. Costs of the anticipated ‘Mech shot up and the FHT filled their coffers while the “allies” committed to their orders took a seven-figure bath on the whole exchange.
Despite the financial cost and prerequisite dealing with the Federated Hellfire Territories, there’s nothing like the Leto II for fire support outside of The Clans or The Territories.

TRO: 3087 - Ruppell Vulture

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.

Ruppell Vulture RAF-03 

Overview

The final battles of the ilClan War were brutal affairs, slugfests which were determined more by raw anger and tenacity than clever maneuvers and tactical surprise. Warriors would face their Blooding in a live action and be placed in command of a cluster of sibkin. Bloodnames were awarded by fiat or default. Clan warships dating their origins to the first Star League were crashed with a frequency that would make an AFFC admiral blush.

In this carnage, the Jade Falcons saw sophisticated, front-line ‘Mechs like the Turkina and Night Gyr cut down brutally by the Wolves’ tandem charge missiles and plasma cannons. However, allied and second-line Kingfishers and Highlander IIC’s endured battles on dogged persistence, often surviving long enough to take glory the Falcons had fought so hard for.

After the war, the specter of that combat hovered over the fractured remnants of Clan society. Too haughty to ask the Ghost Bears for help, the Falcons began the creation of the Ruppell Vulture, a hearty, cost-effective front-line OmniMech made to rebuild their forces.

The speed with which the Ruppell Vulture moved from design to production was so fast that it’s suspected that its design was based heavily on a pre-existing BattleMech.

TRO: 3087 - Zeus

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.

ZEU-10S Zeus
Overview
The ZEU-10S is the latest in the venerable Lyran mech’s long line. In the testing phases during the First Jade Falcon Incursion, prototypes were rushed to the field via mercenary units in an effort to stem the rising tide of Clanners.
The prototypes’ performance gave Defiance Industries exceptional data and the Jade Falcon halt just short of Coventry gave the Commonwealth ample motivation for producing the perfected final version.
This new, more powerful version was initially circulated to politically influential units and individuals. Few were on the front-lines for the resumed Falcon operations in 3079 and units who received Zeuses from their crash redeployment showed marked improvement in repelling the Falcons. Sadly, that improvement was not enough rapid enough to save Coventry, the line the ‘Mech was created to hold.
Despite ever-shorter resources, the Lyran Commonwealth has gone to great pains to keep it in production. This has included incentivizing the relocation of facilities which produce its gauss rifle and advanced structure. These efforts have been kept quiet out of concerns that they would undermine the defiant messages flowing out of Tharkad about the Commonwealth’s inevitable victory over the Falcons.

TRO: 3087 - Birdeater

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.

BRB-5OG Birdeater

Overview 

Offensives from the former Clan Wolf and Draconis Combine had eroded the Ghost Bears’ industrial capacity at the turn of the decade. Civil uprisings and precision deep-raids have caused further damage, but the Ghost Bears still have one of the most powerful industrial bases within the Inner Sphere.

Part of that comes from resilience and flexibility. When the Ursus plant on Alshain was damaged in a terrorist attack, it was rebuilt to create a new, similar OmniMech.

The Birdeater was conceived to fill the second-line role of the Ursus as well as to act as a cheap, reliable design to carry weapons into combat against the Draconis Combine. This is in keeping with the Bears’ new strategic plan to mix lower-cost OmniMechs with high-end BattleMechs instead of exclusively using high-end OmniMech units as their front-line forces.

It’s another stitch in the new fabric the Ghost Bears are weaving to unite the Clan with their Inner Sphere counterparts in the former Free Rasalhague Republic. That fabric has held despite a number of strains, so far.

TRO: 3087 - Mat Cat Mk V

I'm back in business after an impromptu visit to New York City last week. Sorry for the interruption in service.

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.

Mad Cat Mark V
Overview
Clan Diamond Shark was readying their departure from Clan space early in the ilClan war. The brutal fighting left their small, but valuable holdings in the Clan homeworlds devastated and greater opportunities were available in the Inner Sphere at large. Shortly after the war was over, the Diamond Sharks, like the Snow Ravens, declared their departure and precipitated the collapse of the Grand Council.

The Sharks had a plan: trade advanced technology and parts for holdings throughout the Inner Sphere. This required a stable of ‘Mechs which would appeal to buyers in the Inner Sphere. Time-tested Clan designs had an appeal to potential buyers, but their capabilities--and true worth--were generally known quantities. The Mad Cat Mark V was designed to eliminate that knowledge and establish the Clan’s upper hand in business dealings.

There are, of course, no Mad Cat Mark III's or Mark IV's. The Mark V is purely marketing meant to appeal to the periphery powers, especially the Marian Hegemony. Such powers were the first stops of the Diamond Sharks’ early trade fleet and were the primary targets for the Mad Cat’s marketing.

The Rim Commonality and Marian Hegemony were open to negotiations, but there were no regular buyers until the Sharks’ stop in the Niops Association. It was there that their new model of trade and conquest took hold.

TRO: 3087 - Hépíng

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.

H-UM-L2 Hépíng
Preface
As a full disclosure the Dragoons Pact, publisher of this book, is subject to several bonds of law and honor to the Capellan Confederation which prohibit the disclosure and discussion of the firsthand experiences of Pact personnel during their time within the Confederation.

Overview
This document only contains three units linked with the Capellan Confederation. This is in part because the Confederation still fields units similar to those used twenty years ago. Upgraded versions of the Raven and Catapult with new electronics countermeasures are the only significant CCAF technical advance we’ve seen in that time.

TRO: 3087 - Rakshasa II

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.

MDG-21D Rakshasa II

Overview

The history of the Rakshasa II is difficult to discuss for legal reasons. It involves two ducal families of the Federated Suns who are particularly litigious concerning that history. While their real names can be found in most publicly accessible nets, we refer to them here as the Müller and Jones families.

A Capellan bombing run on GM’s Kathil factory was the perfect opportunity for the producer to finally shrug off their Rakshasa license from NAIS. NAIS and the AFFS High Command stipulated that new bidders for the license create a new design instead, one that incorporated the Federated Suns’ new advanced missiles into a smaller, cheaper, and newer version of aging design.

TRO: 3087 - Königswolf

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.
Königswolf

Overview

The Königswolf’s debut action was Clan Wolf’s Absorption of The Free Rasalhague Republic. The unfamiliar OmniMech was instrumental in overrunning or bypassing garrison units and justifying the Clan’s claim to the Free Rasalhague government, including the officers and equipment of the KungsArmé.

Alongside new aerospace assets like the Last Crusader and Ambition, the Königswolf was instrumental on deflecting the counterassault by the Blakist-backed Terran Protectorate. The Wolf forces stymied defenders while savaging formerly-Rasalhagian worlds and neighboring systems for over a year. The Word of Blake reports of Khan Vlad Ward’s death circulated in November of 3071, just weeks before the Königswolf’s next major engagement.

TRO: 3087 - Annihilator

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.

Annihilator ANH-4S
Overview
Reginald Goode created Goode Industries on Mizar in mid-3068, just weeks before the Free Worlds League Militia took the world. For four months, Goode formed relationships with the FWLM quartermasters on planet as well as Blakist personnel who brokered the return of the planet to Lyran control a year later.
Goode Industries provided customization and production of industrial ‘Mechs for a number of clients stretching across the borders of the Commonwealth, the League, and the Blakist-backed Terran Protectorate until the early 70’s. 
It was then that a wave of revelations about their Blakist allies caused The Protectorate to collapse and local governments approached Goode about the production of an affordable, reliable battle ‘Mech to repel raiders and handle urban assaults. The manufacturer was at a loss to develop weapons systems, but intrigued at the profits involved with military hardware contracts so he turned to his Lyran contacts for help.
That contact was Benedict Doge, a fellow technician and veteran from the Federated Commonwealth Civil War. Doge contacted the Dragoons for their Annihilator design. Wildly popular, but jealously guarded, it took months for all four parties to work out an arrangement. The final product has fulfilled its mission across the Lyran Commonwealth and in Dragoons Pact militias for almost a decade.

TRO: 3087 - Quickdraw

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.

Quickdraw QKD-O2M
Overview
Thomas Marik was a shoo-in for First Lord during the Fourth Whitting Conference, but his first challenge came before his election. Military, economic, and political exhaustion and disinterest among most member states was creating a pressure to disband the organization. To save the fruits of the unprecedented technological and political union, Marik negotiated massive scale-backs in Star League commitments, especially military commitments.
Instead of bolstering Star League Defense Forces, members could submit surplus OmniMech pods. The pods would function on omni-capable units already in the SLDF as well as on a new platform, the upgraded Quickdraw.
This new Quickdraw was created by the Free Worlds League and incorporated pre-existing technologies from other member states. Small snags delayed production and the first dozen had entered SLDF service just months before the end of Thomas Marik’s term as First Lord. One of Peter Steiner-Davion's first acts as First Lord was to promptly shelve the SLDF to stop internecine battles by members over its use.
The ‘Mech was popular within the FWLM and was retooled into the simpler, cheaper model in production today. It was briefly produced by the Mercenaries Alliance until the world of Savannah revolted and returned the FWL fold.