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Dominator
Production information
Manufacturer	Zosma
Model	DO-M-X8R
Class
Technical specifications
'Mech type	Clan OmniMech
Mass	65 tons tons
Chassis	DM-1 Endo Steel
Armor	Composite Alpha-V2 Ferro-Lamellor
Engine	225 XL Fusion Engine (with Supercharger)
Communications System	Khan Series (WC-020)
Targeting Tracking System	WC-TT-008B
Heat Sinks	10 Double Heat Sinks
Speed	86 km/h max km/h (108 km/h km/h with MASC)
Armament	Primary Configuration 1x ER PPC 1x ER Large Laser 2x ER Medium Laser 1x Streak SRM 6 1x ER Small Laser (rear)

Description

Alaric Ward set the parameters of the Dominator as such: “Build me a ’Mech to make the Republic tremble behind their walls, to chase the Falcons from the skies, and to dominate the Inner Sphere under our will.” The new ’Mech was to be highly mobile, heavily armored, and pack enough punch to dissuade faster units from pursuing it. And it had to be a brawler, capable of holding its own in the increasingly common world of BattleMech physical combat. After at least one suicide, and one execution for insubordination, a haggard team of scientists and technicians delivered the first Dominator ahead of schedule and under budget.

The Dominator handily meets all of the qualifications laid down by Khan Ward. Though it is undergunned compared to other Clan heavy ’Mechs, the tradeoff was deemed necessary in order to gain the mobility that allows a Dominator pilot to dictate the terms of battle. Khan Ward was said to be in an ill mood when the final product was presented to him, but upon watching the majestic BattleMech stride from its gantry, he slowly smiled and commented that if the team had done as good a job on performance as they did on presentation, then he would be happy indeed. Test pilot Racine proceeded to ace the live-fire exercises, scoring higher than average hits with the Dominator’s targeting computer and SRMs, and ended the course by taking a knee before her now impressed khan. Many elements of the Dominator were inspired by the War Dog, a ’Mech once produced by Wolf’s Dragoons before the Jihad. That ’Mech featured an unusual arrangement of armor protecting its arm-mounted Gauss rifle, and a rear-firing laser in the head to deter backstabbers. Techs frown at the same unbalanced armor on the Dominator’s arms, but it has yet to cause any problems for a MechWarrior.

Weapons and Equipment

The Dominator was built to focus on more speed and mobility over pure firepower. While it appears undergunned fora heavy mech, the weapons and equipment are perfectly balanced to allow a pilot to engage at any range or situation. It is equipped with an ER PPC in the Right Arm and an ER Large Laser on the Right shoulder to engage at long distances, supported by a Streak SRM 6 (with 2 tons of ammo) and a pair of ER Medium Lasers on the left arm for closer ranges. It also as a ER Small Laser in the back to protect against enemies from the rear. With 10 tons of Composite Alpha-V2 Ferro-Lamellor Armor, it is capable of taking large amounts of damage and continuing to fight.

The mech has a standard walking speed of 54 km/h and is able to run up to 86 km/h max speed (108 km/h w/Supercharger) supported by Five jump jets for added tactical flexibility allowing it move across any battlefield quickly. A Clan Targeting Computer makes the ER PPC and ER Large Laser extremely accurate to the point where skilled pilots can specifically target certain parts of any 'Mech at unbelievable ranges. Each of the 'Mech's 1-ton missile bins are fitted with CASE II, reducing the explosive damage from a critical hit. The Dominator is also equipped with a hand actuator to allow it to carry hand held weapons and to aid it in physical combat. 10 Double Heat Sinks keep the Mech cool through a variety of combat situations.

Alternate Configurations

So far the only changes necessary to the chassis have been slight modifications to prevent the large laser from snapping in physical combat. Even heavily damaged Dominators are usually returned to their factory specs rather than customized. Oftentimes, pilots merely switch out equipment based on need at times such as switching out the Streak SRM 6 with different missile sets or the ER PPC for a single Gauss Rifle with 1 ton SRM ammo dropped for 1 ton Gauss ammo. Some pilots also sometimes add in an Active Probe and an ECM Suite.

Gallery

• 

  Featured on the cover of Divided We Fall

Bibliography

• Divided We Fall

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This article is about the DropShip class. For other uses, see Argo (disambiguation).

Argo
Production information
Manufacturer	Boeing Interstellar
Production Year	2762
Use	Mobile base Cargo Carrier Assault Carrier
Type	Modified Civilian Spheroid
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass	97,000 tons
Structural Integrity	40
Length	320 meters
Width	215 meters
Height	215 meters
Drive System	Fusion
Safe Thrust	3
Max Thrust	5
Fuel (tons)	850
Fuel (days)	461.95
Armament	9 x Gauss Rifles 11 x ERPPCs 8 x ER Large Lasers 5 x AC/20 14 x (Artemis IV) LRM 20s 26 x Medium Lasers
Armor	Ferro-Aluminum Armor
Crew	17 officers, 67 enlisted/non-rated, 3 gunners, 66 bay personnel
Heat Sinks	358 (415)
BV (1.0)	?
BV (2.0)	?

Description

The Argo class of DropShips was an experiment by Boeing Interstellar, conceived to serve as a self-sufficient mobile base to support a flotilla of exploration ships. The idea was for Argo class vessels to follow behind the first wave of explorers into a new system and support surveyor, terraformer and colonizer teams there in the sense of a "shore leave" base and logistical hub. It featured state-of-the-art habitation and an internal cargo conveyor system that could ferry equipment and vehicles between the cargo bays and several docked vessels. Being unable to land, the Argo could not deploy ground vehicles (or 'Mechs) itself.

Folding grav deck of the Argo

For its long-term mission profile where it would stay in new, unsettled systems for months and where the crew would live on the ship for years if not decades at a time, the Argo was fitted with a folding grav-deck design with three habitation pods, one of them reserved for passengers and temporary guests. It features three MASH medical theaters, larger-than-usual quarters and passenger accomodation, recreational areas, fitness centers, and extensive hydroponic gardens. It also features a Multiple Docking Collar System (MDCS).

Rotating grav deck of the Argo (apocryphal)

The Amaris Civil War that began only three years after the first Argo vessel embarked on its shakedown voyage (and was subsequently lost), and the subsequent Succession Wars, made Boeing Interstellar abandon the design and repurpose their Galax shipyards for wartime production.

One of only two prototypes ever built of the Argo-class of DropShip, the Argo was built by Boeing Interstellar at their Galax shipyard. (The other was the Myrmidon, which was never completed.)

The Argo was sent on its maiden voyage to the rimward periphery in 2762. Contact was lost, and the Argo was presumed to have been destroyed as part of the New Vandenberg Uprising (2765-2766).

The ship would be rediscovered in a partially canibalized condition on the moon Axylus, where the self-appointed pirate queen Grim Sybil was using it as her base of operations. The former Markham's Marauders mercenary unit were hired by Kamea Arano to successfully recover the vessel for Kamea's Arano Restoration, with the mercenaries calling the vessel home for the duration of that campaign.

During this conflict and afterwards, the Argo has undergone numerous restoration projects to bring the ship back to its original form as well as mulitple upgrades to add onto the ship's offensive capabilities during this time of war. Engineers chose to use the Lee Class DropShip as a base to replicate the needed hardware upgrades.

Armament

A very large peacetime exploration ship lacking any significant weaponry and featuring only paltry armor, thrust and maneuverability, the (theoretical) main defense of the Argo would be aerospace fighters launched from its six small craft cubicles. It also features twelve BattleMech cubicles, presumably intended for WorkMechs (particularly ExplorationMechs).

Later, during the Aurigan Civil War, the ship would be upgraded to match the capabilities of the Lee Class DropShip. As a result, the Argo has following weapons per Firing Arc;

Nose

2 Gauss Rifles, 3 ERPPCs, 3 ER Large Lasers with cluster 4 Medium Lasers, and pair of Artemis IV Guided Twenty-Tubed LRMs.

Forward Right/Left Arcs

2 Gauss Rifles w/single 20 Class Autocannon, 2 ER PPCs, 1 ER Large Laser with cluster 4 Medium Lasers, and a pair of Artemis IV Guided Twenty-Tubed LRMs.

Aft Right/Left Arcs

1 Gauss Rifles w/single 20 Class Autocannon, 2 ER PPCs, 1 ER Large Laser with cluster 4 Medium Lasers, and a trio of Artemis IV Guided Twenty-Tubed LRMs.

Aft

1 Gauss Rifles w/20 Class Autocannon, 2 ER Large Lasers with cluster 6 Medium Lasers, and a pair of Artemis IV Guided Twenty-Tubed LRMs.

Cargo

The Argo has a cargo capacity of 57,039.5 tons to support explorer missions and help establishing new colonies. The aforementioned six small craft cubicles and altogether three MDCS Docking Collars allow the Argo to carry a small fleet of support DropShips and small craft.

Again, the newly refitted Argo had its internal carry capacity upgraded with both a base restoration to its original setup as well as the military upgrades based on the Lee Class. It is now capable of carrying 24 Battlemechs, 12 Aerospace Fighters, and 8 Ground Vehicles in its internal bays. This can be further augmented with accompanying Modified Leopard Class Dropships with 6 Mech Cubicles and 3 slots for Ground Vehicles each.

Quirks

• Un-streamlined; the Argo is explicitly described as "too large to land on a planet, much like the similar-sized Behemoth."
• Large DropShip
• Grav Deck; unusually for a DropShip, the Argo features a set of three habitation modules, capable of folding backwards for thrust-gravity, but when deployed, can rotate around the Argo's center axis. This, for all intents and purposes, acts as a DropShip Grav Deck for the Argo. Any critical hits against "Side/Cargo" will result in a cargo critical hit on a d6 roll of 1-3, and a Grav Deck critical hit on a roll of 4-6.
• Multiple Docking Collar System

Named Vessels

Only two prototype Argo-class vessels existed, and only one of them ever slipped its moorings. This prototype, also named Argo, dropped out of contact during its maiden voyage in the deep periphery. The other prototype, Myrmidon, was broken down for parts before being fully completed.

Canonicity

The Argo was created for the BattleTech (Video Game) by Harebrained Schemes LLC, but it has since been properly canonized through its writeup in the (fully canonical) House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition) sourcebook.

Notes

• The (canonical) Argo class differs slightly from the original design for the computer game. Most importantly, the mass is 97,000 tons instead of 100,000 tons.
• The original apocryphal writeup clearly stated that the Argo class was built at Boeing Interstellar's Galax shipyards, with the first ship launched in 2762. This seems to be an anachronism however as the Galax shipyards were still under construction as of 2765 according to Field Report 2765: Federated Suns, p. 6, "Infrastructural Integrity". To reconcile this information it could be assumed that the shipyards under construction were the WarShip yards which were either being built from scratch, or by expanding and refurbishing the yards that had previously been used to build the Argo.
• At the time of its construction, the Argo was the largest DropShip ever constructed by far. The 100,000 ton Behemoth was only in a prototype stage as of 2658, and its design would not be finalized until 2782.

Bibliography

• House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition)
• BattleTech Kickstarter update by Harebrained Schemes LLC (8 March 2016) - Apocryphal

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