Originally posted on rec.games.mecha September 25, 1998
In the interests of increased competition for its "mercenary's dream mech" contract, Wolf's Dragoons opened up the process to other arms providers. Kallon Industries responded with the prototype for its new Light Penetrator. Type: Light Penetrator Tonnage: 50 Engine: 200 standard 8.5 Walk: 4 Run: 6 Jump: 4 Cockpit: 3 Gyro: 2 IS: standard 5 JJ: 4 m.p.s (2LT,2RT) 2 HS: 10(20) (1LT,1RT) 0 Armor: 168 (standard) 10.5 (allocate as desired) Weapons: PPC LA PPC RA ML LT ML RT 2 ML CT ML H Overview: Kallon Industries designed its original PTR-4D Penetrator to be the equal of the clans' Nova omnimech. The Penetrator clearly was the equal of the Nova, and an outstanding heavy mech in its own right, but it outweighed the clan mech by 50%. Realizing that the Inner Sphere just did not have the technology to equal the capabilities of the Nova with a medium mech, Kallon engineers set out to do merge the best ideas of the Nova with those of several Inner Sphere designs such as the Warhammer, the Grasshopper, and of course, the Penetrator. The product of that design process was the PTR-L2-50 Light Penetrator, nicknamed by friends and foes alike the "Penetrator Lite." Capabilities: Even thought the Light Penetrator only masses two-thirds of its predecessor, it carries more than 80% as much armor, leading to a mech that is overall better protected. Seeking to make the mech as easy to repair and maintain as possible, Kallon's executives ordered their engineers to use as many tried-and-true components as possible without threatening the mech's viability on the battlefield. This decision had the beneficial side affect of making the mech much less expensive than its competitors. Several Penetrator pilots had complained about the inferior long-range firepower of that mech, so the Light Penetrator's designers upgraded the two ER Large Lasers to standard PPCs, keeping the range essentially the same but increasing the potential damage. Taking a page from the design of mechs such as the Grasshopper and Guillotine, the designers replaced the Penetrator's array of Medium Pulse Lasers with standard Medium Lasers. The Penetrator's jump jets were kept, but were able to be reduced in size due to the Light Penetrator's smaller chassis. The inclusion of double heat sinks allows the Light Penetrator to make efficient use of its weapons. Deployment: The Light Penetrator is finishing up its testing phase and has not been sold to anyone yet. Several mercenary and militia units have shown interest, however.