Overview Jedediah Reavre, part-time asteroid miner and full-time bandit made his home on Butte hold. When the Clans came he and his old Centurion were sent back into service for Redjack Ryan. Despite terrible odds, Reavre was personally responsible for the destruction of two Stars of Clan Mechs, and an aerofighter. Because of this he was taken with Ryan when he escaped Butte Hold and came to the Inner Sphere, trading amnesty with Davion for the extensive information (including technical readouts) in his Mech's computer. In gratefulness Intelligence Secretary Justin Allard offered anyone request to Reavre. He chose to refit his Mech. Having seen the Clans in action, Jed knew exactly what he wanted. But he realized it would take planning, and to this end he recruited Karl Radlar, son of the man who designed the Zeus BattleMech. Karl was every bit his father's son, and soon he was hard at work poring over diagrams and specifications put together by Reavre. Radlor began by recognizing that he needed at least 20 more tons to fit all the extra equipment in. In order to take advantage of the Wesley 300 XL being produced for the MAD- 5D Marauder, he made it 25. He therefore literally ripped the machine apart and put it back together. When he was finished it stood about 3 meters taller than before and had added several meters to its chestline. Reavre's approval was wholehearted. They then supervised the replacing of the old Luxor-D AutoCannon with a Poland Main Model A Gauss Cannon, which was so modified to fit by Radlar that it became an entirely new class: the Main Model B. The old Photech lasers were removed and replaced by four of the new Magna Pulse Lasers. The LRM system had been replaced by a Devastator Class rescued from a scrapped Valkyrie, and the designers saw no reason to change it, though it had been slightly squished into place by its owner. Later an Artemis IV blaster was added to increase hit potential and make up missing weight. CASE was added to protect the reloads and the volatile charger core of the Gauss Rifle. Finally armor was almost doubled in the chest and legs. Capabilities The Centurion Maximus, as it is called, has a mediumhigh damage curve at long ranges which quickly increases as distance lowers. All weapons function normally, with no known malfunction caused by the extensive modifications inflicted on them. The Mech's speed is average for its weight, adequate to expectations for its weight class. The place where the Centurion Maximus excells is in protection. It carries more armor than many assault Mechs, and ammunition is kept to a minimum, which along with the Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment drastically lowers worries about ammunition detonation. Inclose combat, the 'Max' is also a decent Mech. The chest-mounted laser can fire even as a debilitating kick or punch is launched. The CN-9-MAX can sometimes incapacitate a small foe at long ranges. However, ammunition is usually conserved for larger foes, leaving the lasers to deal with lighter ones. The Gauss rifle, even with two tons of projectiles, can only fire 16 times before ammunition must be replenished, and missiles even less. Because of this, a zealous pilot may run out of ammo and be picked apart by foes armed with longer ranged weapons than his pulse lasers. Battle History The Centurion Maximus has seen only minimal fighting since its creation, mostly test runs. However, due to his excellent knowledge of Clan Mechs and tactics, Jedediah Reavre, along with his Mech, was attached to the Tenth Lyran Guard under a certain Kommandant Davion for battlefield testing. In the battle Reavre had 1 confirmed Clan kill, and and unknown number of assists. 3 Clan light Mechs were known to have been damaged severely from single barrages from the Gauss Cannon and LRM. During the chaotic melee which ensued when a group cut off the ArchonPrince, heat did not appear to be a problem. At one point the Centurion rushed a Star of Ryokens, madly firing his lasers and missiles. He actually ran two of them over, and gave chase to the others, all with no appreciable rise in heat. It should be noted that the Gauss Rifle was used to destroy the cockpits of six Mechs while they were on the ground, a tactic similar to one used by the pilot during his guerrilla campaign on Butte Hold. It is possible that this is a manifestation of the feeling of invulnerability imparted by a large gun. The pilot was in fact heedlessly reckless during most of the action, but as it worked, we won't knock it. Variants Despite the obvious intelligence of the designers, no variants for the Centurion Maximus have been created yet. Notable Mechs and Pilots Jedediah Reavre and Diamonds and Rust The creator and owner of the most top-secret Centurion in the Inner Sphere (after Yen-ld-Wang, of course) is a genius, no mistake. But he is an unusual one. Nobody would guess by looking at the grizzled ex-Bandit that he posseses possibly more knowledge about the Clans than they do themselves. It is this disarming hick-ness, and his rather outdated drawl which causes people to underestimate him so much. A brilliant tactician with no mind for strategy, he is best set loose in an enemy formation and then left alone until he comes back smiling. CN-9-MAX Centurion Maximus Mass: 75 Tons Chassis: Reinforced Corean Model KL 77 Power Plant: Wesley 300 XL Cruising Speed: 42.3 kph Maximum Speed: 63.7 kph Jump Jets: None Jump Capacity: None Armor: Durallex Special Heavy with CASE Armament: 1 Poland Main Model B Gauss Cannon 1 Devastator Series-09 LRM-1 0 4 Magna 400P Medium Pulse Lasers Manufacturer: Corean Enterprises, Jalastar Aerospace (Special Modification by Jedediah Reavre) Communicaton System: CommuTech Multi-Channel 10 (Salvaged) Targeting/Tracking System: Federated Hunter (Salvaged) Type: Tonnage CN-9-MAX Centurion Maximus 75.0 Internal Structure: 7.5 Engine: 300 XL 9.5 Walking MPs: 4 Running MPs: 6 Jumping MPs: 0 Heat Sinks 14 4.0 Gyro: 3.0 Cockpit: 3.0 Armor Factor: 240 15.0 Location: Internal Structure Armor Value Head 3 9 Center Torso: 23 37/12 Rt/Lt Torso: 16 25/9 Rt/Lt Arm: 12 24 Rt/Lt Leg: 16 32 Weapons and Ammo: Location Critical Tonnage Gauss Rifle RA 7 15.0 Ammo (Gauss) 16 RA 2 2.0 CASE RT 1 0.5 Med Pulse Laser CT 1 2.0 Med Pulse Laser CT (R) 1 2.0 Med Pulse Laser LA 1 2.0 Med Pulse Laser LA 1 2.0 LRM 10 LT 2 5.0 Artemis IV LT 1 1.0 Ammo (LRM) 12 LT 1 1.0 CASE LT 1 0.5 Back to BattleTechnology 15 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Pacific Rim Publishing. 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