Nexus (Star Python)
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| |
| Nexus | |
|---|---|
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Skobel MechWorks |
| Production Year | 3055[1] |
| Model | NXS1-A |
| Class | Light |
| Cost | 2,226,458 C-bills |
| Technical specifications | |
| 'Mech type | Inner Sphere BattleMech |
| Mass | 25 tons |
| Chassis | Skobel 100-ROB Endo Steel |
| Armor | Krupp 200 Ferro-Fibrous |
| Engine | Nissan 175 |
| Communications System | Exeter Longscan 200 w/C3i Computer |
| Speed | 118.8 km/h |
| Jump Jets | Rawlings 55 |
| Armament | |
| BV (1.0) | 626[2] |
| BV (2.0) | 643[3] |
Contents
Description
The BattleMech known as the Nexus was originally based on the Jackrabbit, a light scout and combat vehicle and infantry support 'Mech built for the Star League Defense Force by Skobel MechWorks. Ironically, the Jackrabbit ended testing two weeks before Stefan Amaris seized power on Terra and was instead primarily used by units loyal to Amaris against the SLDF in General Kerensky's drive to liberate the Terran Hegemony. Though the SLDF captured Skobel's plant relatively intact, thanks to the stigma of being used against his forces Kerensky ordered it shut down and the unloved Jackrabbit disappeared into history outside of ComStar's records. With the Com Guards looking to recoup their grievous losses in the wake of the Battle of Tukayyid, in 3054 Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht ordered the Skobel plant reactivated, reworking the slower Jackrabbit into a fast and highly mobile recon striker 'Mech he renamed the Nexus.[1][4] [5]
Despite early promising action reports from the 366th Division,[4] [5] the brutal fighting during Operation ODYSSEUS in 3058 showed that the Nexus's light armor and short-ranged firepower led to excessive combat losses if targeted by more mobile and longer ranged opponents. With the Skobel line falling to the Word of Blake, the Blakist Precentor Martial Cameron St. Jamais responded to pilot complaints about these flaws by promising a complete overhaul when time allowed. Thanks to technology exchange agreements with Archon-Princess Katherine Steiner-Davion that provided access to the Lyran Alliance's new Light Fusion Engine, a visually reworked and extensively modified version dubbed the Nexus II started rolling off the production lines and into the Word of Blake Militia in 3066 in time for the Jihad.[6]
Weapons and Equipment
As a recon 'Mech intended to rarely engage an enemy in a pitched battle, the Nexus is armed with a Blankenburg Technologies Medium Laser backed up by two highly accurate Blankenburg Technologies Medium Pulse Lasers. As a weapon of last resort, the Nexus has two Intek Small Lasers. For added protection against missile attacks, the Nexus has a McArthur Anti-Missile System.[4] [5]
The Nexus has a top speed of 119 km/h and is powered by a Nissan 175 fusion engine which is both light and rugged. To save weight without the vulnerability of an extralight engine, the Nexus is built on a Skobel 100-ROB Endo Steel chassis. For protection, the 'Mech carries a light two tons of Krupp 200 Ferro-Fibrous armor, relying on its speed and maneuverability, which is enhanced with a jumping capability of up to one hundred and twenty meters. Finally, to handle the heat from the arsenal of energy weapons, the Nexus carries ten double heat sinks.[4] [5]
Variants
- NXS1-B
- Considered the progenitor of the Nexus II, the NXS1-B variant of the standard NXS1-A intended to make the 'Mech more capable as a recon unit, the B variant completely restructures the 'Mechs arsenal and reworks the Nexus into a powerful scout 'Mech. Clad in four tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor, the NXS1-B is capable of jumping up to one hundred and fifty meters and carries two ER Medium Lasers as its primary weapons. These are backed up by an ER Small Laser. What makes this Nexus variant so effective as a recon 'Mech is its Improved C3 unit that allows it to share targeting data with up to five allied units.[6] BV (1.0) = 671[7], BV (2.0) = 715[8]
- NXS2-A
- The so-called Nexus II takes the best of the Nexus B variant, the NXS2-A adds to that a Vox-LE 200 Light Fusion Engine that gives the 'Mech a top speed of 129.6 km/h well boasting and increase to three and a half tons of standard armor. The 'Mech is armed with two Diverse Optics Sunbeam ER Medium Lasers, two Diverse Optics Sunbeam ER Small Lasers, and is equipped with an Improved C3 unit identical to the one in the NXS1-B. BV (1.0) = 689,[6] BV (2.0) = 702[9]
- NXS2-B
- Another version of the Nexus II, the NXS2-B is geared more towards electronic warfare and removes all six of the jump jets of the NXS2-A and replaces them with a Guardian ECM Suite and a Beagle Active Probe. Featuring Stealth Armor to enhance its reconnaissance abilities, the two ER Small Lasers have been replaced with a TAG target designation laser.[6] BV (1.0) = 620, BV (2.0) = 717[10]
Related BattleMechs
- Jackrabbit - The Nexus was based upon the Jackrabbit, a 'Mech designed for the original SLDF that was produced in large numbers for Stefan Amaris' forces. Because of this, the design was largely shunned for centuries after the Amaris Civil War.[1]
Notes
- Introduced in the ComStar sourcebook, the Nexus used the art developed by Victor Musical Industries, Inc. for the Super Nintendo MechWarrior game. While legitimately acquired, this resulted in the art later being removed from use like the Unseen as a precaution, resulting in the Project Phoenix-style Reseen Nexus II visuals.
- The color plate of VMI art included in the ComStar sourcebook for the Nexus, Raijin and Grand Crusader referred to the Nexus as the Star Python and the Raijin as the Galahad (a name already elsewhere) in conflict with the rest of the written text and later Technical Readouts. When queried decades later the Line Developer at the time would clarify the Star Python existed only in error and the correct name was the Nexus, until Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 23 would repurpose the Star Python name for the Clan Goliath Scorpion version of the 'Mech.
Gallery
NXS1-A Nexus from ComStar
Nexus from TRO:3058
NXS2-A Nexus II from TRO:3055 Upgrade
Star Python from RGilClan: Vol 23
NXS1-A Nexus in combat from CCG
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Technical Readout: 3075, pp. 176-177, "Jackrabbit 'Mech Profile"
- ↑ Combat Operations, p. 123
- ↑ Record Sheets: 3055 Upgrades Unabridged, p. 156
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 ComStar, p. 98 "New BattleMechs - ComStar Nexus"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Technical Readout: 3058, p. 96 "NXS1-A Nexus"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Technical Readout: 3055 Upgrade, p. 96 "NXS2-A Nexus II"
- ↑ Record Sheets: Upgrades, p. 40
- ↑ Record Sheets: 3055 Upgrades Unabridged, p. 157
- ↑ Record Sheets: 3055 Upgrades Unabridged, p. 158
- ↑ Record Sheets: 3055 Upgrades Unabridged, p. 159