Overview Unlike other Mechs, the Guardian was not produced for the military. Silver Shield sold the Guardian to large companies to serve as a security Mech for their more important installations. An occasional Guardian was also sold to law enforcement agencies for those rare instances when really heavy firepower would be needed. Designed as a deterrent to criminals rather than as a machine of war, the Guardian really has no place on the battlefield. The increasing scarcity of Mechs, however, has forced many Guardians into military service. Capabilities Armed with five Sperry Browning machine guns, the Guardian is more than a match for a crook wielding a slug thrower. Against BattleMechs and most other combat vehicles, however, the Guardian is hopelessly outgunned. The many machine guns do make it very effective against infantry. Its small size also allows the Guardian to go where larger, more potent Mechs could not. For this reason the Guardian is often used in heavily urbanized areas, going into the twisted mazes of back alleys and side streets to root out infantry units. Battle History The most recent battle involving a fair number of Guardians occurred in January of 3028 on the world of An Ting. Elements of House Kurita's Ryuken-ichi and Wolf's Dragoons were fighting in the city of Cerant. The Ryuken sent a company's worth of Guardians into Cerant to deal with the Dragoon infantry. It was not one of the Guardian's more stellar moments. Using their own men as bait, the Dragoons lured the Kurita Guardians into carefully laid ambushes time and time again. Of the twelve Guardians which started in the fight, only one was operational at the end. Variants Faced with the very real possibility they might have to fight other Mechs, many Guardian pilots increase their firepower by removing a machine gun and half a ton of ammo, replacing them with a medium laser. While this does increase the Guardian's ability to defend itself, it is still outclassed by virtually every other Mech ever made. Combat is best avoided. GRD-1 N Guardian Mass: 15 Tons Chassis: Shield 1 Power Plant: Leenex 60 Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph Jump Jets: None Jump Capacity: None Armor: Duralex Light Armament: 5 SperryBrowning Machine Guns Manufacturer: Silver Shield Security Communications System: Garret T1 0 B Targeting/Tracking System: Dynatec 990 Type: GRD-1N Guardian Tonnage: 15 Tons 15 Internal Structure: 1.5 Engine: Leenex 60 1.5 Walking MPs: 4 Running MPs: 6 Jumping MPs: 0 Heat Sinks 10 0.0 Gyro: 1.0 Cockpit: 3.0 Armor Factor: 48 3.0 Location: Internal Armor Structure: Value Head 3 4 Center Torso: 5 6/4 Rt/Lt Torso: 4 6/2 Rt/Lt Arms: 2 4 Rt/Lt Leg: 3 5 Weapons and Ammo: Location Critical Machine Gun RA 1 .5 Machine Gun LA 1 .5 Machine Gun CT 1 .5 Machine Gun FIT 1 .5 Machine Gun LT 1 .5 Ammo (MG) 500 RT 3 2.5 Back to BattleTechnology 13 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1990 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com