Editorial Note: These events took place during the 3039 War. The mercenary unit involved has given permission for the interview to be used, but asks that they not be identified. So many of our Battlefield Salvage submissions discuss ideal 'Mechs formed from salvage. 'Frankie'is an example of what many MechWarriors get, the best that can be assembled under the circumstances. The fact that she wound up with a usable 'Mech shows as much credit to the Mech Warrior as to the Tech. After the patrol was completed, the recon lance returned to the laager site. First to arrive was a battleworn Locust-E closely followed by a pairof brand new Wasps. Last to come in was the recon lance commander's 'Mech. Like the Locust, the commander's'Mech showed the scars of battle on its hide. However, while the other three 'Mechs of the lance were essentially identical to their factory configuration, the commander's 'Mech appeared to have been put together including the parts from at least three different types of 'Mechs. The torso and legs were from a Wasp, but the right arm appeared to be from a Stinger and the 'Mech's head and left arm were from a Commando. In addition, the torso had been modified with additional storage space while the head and torso had been fitted with supplemental armor. After the last 'Mech ground to a halt, its pilot climbed down and walked to the operations center carrying her neurohelmet. She gave her company commander a report on enemy activity in the area. "No indications of any Snakes in our sector, but I have a feeling that Theodore has got some of his troops out there somewhere." After the company commander left the area, I asked the lance commander about her 'Mech. "Your 'Mech has got to be one of the most unusual machines that I have ever seen. How did you ever end up with such a unique 'Mech?" "Well, about eight months ago, I was piloting a standard Wasp in another company in the employ of the Free Worlds League on the Lyran border during the final battles of the Fourth Succession War. Our unit was caught in the middle of a Lyran attack. My lance was finally cornered by a Lyran fire lance, fighting for our lives. My wingman's Stinger suffered a catastrophic explosion which left his 'Mech's right arm as the only salvageable part remaining. One after another, 'Mechs on both sides were either blown up or bashed into pieces. My Vech had suffered extremely, heavy damage to both arms and its head while I myself was wounded by shrapnel. Finally, there were only two 'Mechs remaining; mine and a heavily damaged Lyran Commando. His 'Mech had already run out of ammunition for its chest-mounted SRM6 and much of the armor on its legs and right torso had been blown away. All I had left was my SRM-2 which I fired repeatedly as the Commando limped towards me. Luckily, I was able to hit the Commando's remaining missile storage. While he only had one or two salvos remaining, the resulting explosion destroyed the Commando's right arm and torso while knocking the 'Mech down on its back where it lay motionless. I dismounted my 'Mech and ran toward the Commando. I then pried open the pilot's hatch and looked in. The MechWarrior was still in his command chair, but with his head twisted in an unnatural angle. Apparently, his neck was broken when his 'Mech fell. I went back to my 'Mech and contacted my lance's chief Tech. He came by with a 'Mech transporter which he loaded up with all of the salvageable 'Mech parts including the remains of the Commando. When we were able to link back up with the unit repair facility, we were shocked to find out that a Lyran air strike had destroyed all of the parts needed to repair the damage to my Wasp. Even from the battlefield salvage, there were no Wasp parts available, due to the destructive ferocity of the battle. Fortunately, my Tech was very good at modifying parts from one type of 'Mech for use in another model. He had worked for several years in TekTeam, which is a sort of roving 'Mech repair company for hire. TekTeam is headquartered in a modified Mule class DropShip which is used as a mobile 'Mech repair facility. He attached the right arm from my unfortunate lancemate's Stinger to my 'Mech along with the left arm from the Commando that I fought against. He also utilized the Commando's head assembly because my Wasp's head was literally a junk pile. My Wasp's power plant was simply not powerful enough to move my 'Mech at its previous speed with its increased mass. My Tech came up with a unique solution. He modified the right and center torso of my Wasp to accept the fusion power plant from the Commando and also to provide about one-half ton of machine gun ammunition for the right arm machine gun. My Tech also added additional armor to my 'Mech's head and torso for a total of four tons of armor plating. Overall, my 'Mech went from 20 tons to 25 tons and ended up with an armament of two medium lasers, an SRM2 launcher, and single machine gun. Much to my delight, my 'Mech was just as mobile as before. Of the dozen 'Mechs of the company, only my Wasp and the Locust you saw earlier survived. The few survivors found passage off world. We made our way to Galatea where we signed on with another mercenary company. Ironically, our new unit signed a contract with the Lyran Commonwealth. Incidentally, prior to my 'Mech becoming a sort of mix and match patchwork, I called it 'Blood Sucker'. Afterward, I referred to it as 'Frankie', which is short for 'Frankenstein's Monster'. You see, I've always been fond of old Terran horror stories. Now, my lance always seems to be sent into combat in urban battlegrounds because of the unique qualities of my 'Mech. Nevertheless, I've managed to score two more kills including one on an UrbanMech at point-blank range Sometimes, I get the critical edge because it seems that my opponents didn't know what to expect from my 'Mech." One of the Techs came running up as a siren began wailing loudly somewhere in the distance. The Tech yelled, "Kurita 'Mechs approaching the perimeter. It looks like a company strength attack. All of them are carrying the Vegan rat on their legs." Already, LRMs were beginning to impact around the MechWarriors as they ran towards their 'Mechs. Within a couple of minutes, the entire recon lance was en route to engage the Kuritan forces with the remainder of the company following behind with the majority of the unit's firepower. With the Kuritan forward units being led by both a Panther and a Jenner. 'Frankie' and the rest of her lance were going to be in for a hard time. They simply hoped they could hold on until they could get some help from the heavies. Until then, they had a fight for their lives. "Let's kill some Snakes!" Mass: 25 tons Chassis 1 A Type 3 (Modified) Power Plant: Omni 150 Cruising Speed: 66.5 kph Maximum Speed: 95.1 kph Jump Jets: Rawlings 52 Jump Capacity: 180 m Armor: Durallex Light Armament: 1 Omicron 300o Medium Laser 1 Hesperus-EGM Medium Laser 1 Bical SRM Twin Pack 1 LFN Linblad Machine Gun Manufacturer: General Mechanics, Inc (Mod) Communications Systems: TharHes Crystal Flower RG-2 Targeting/Tracking System: Thar Hes StarShark Back to BattleTechnology 20 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1993 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