Designed in YE 43 and completed later in YE 44, the Moon spider is a specialized mech built by Shasta No Sekai corporation as a missile supression platform for use in the subjugation of Freehold Factory and mercenary operations. Like its Sister class of mecha the Moon spideris built to resemble a terrifying insect.

🕷️Moon Spider🕷️
Class:	Medium
Role:	Supression
Faction:
Tier:	Medium Mecha
Nomenclature:	Sw-Tw-4m
Price:	Not For Sale1)
Contract Price:	10,000 DA2) per week3)

Built off the chassis and frame of a Sun Scorpion Class Mech mecha, the Moon Spidersacrifices the scorpions stealth and digging capabilities to instead house an unsafe and inordinate amount of missiles. It loses no mobility or even combat ability for the tradeoff but does miss out on the Sun Scorpions' digging abilities.

The genesis of the Moon Spider mech is a narrative that unfolds in YE 43 along divergent lines from their Sun Scorpion Class Mech counterparts the Moon Spider mechs were conceived out of a distinct necessity for adaptable battlefield tactics. Shasta No Sekai's engineers, always in pursuit of innovative solutions at first before the drugs and alcohol get involved and skew perception, set their sights on reimagining the formidable Sun Scorpion, resulting in the creation of the Moon Spider.

Amidst the crucible of innebriated experimentation, a realization dawned upon the engineers that a more defensive orientation could bring about a transformational evolution in the battlefield role of their machines while completely ignoring the entire purpose of the Sun Scorpion in the process. The aether-scourged landscapes freehold spoke that a new variant was needed – one capable of providing not only offense but also impregnable defense. Failing to meet this objective the Moon Spider came to be as neither a defensive or offensive mecch; Landing closer to offense while losing the purpose of its predecessor.

In the fabrication of the Moon Spider mech, a significant reconfiguration took place. The traditional melee weapons were supplanted by thick and heavy parapit shields, bestowing the Moon Spider with exceptional defensive capabilities front the front. The weapon tail, once aarmed with a heavy weapon underwent a metamorphosis into a long-range mass-missile battery of Mega Macromissiles. This alteration redefined the Moon spider role, now embracing both offense and defense through formidable ranged assaults.

The Moon Spider is a unique platform fielded by the Terror Wolves of Freehold but is just one of many of the arrows in its quiver. With considerable armor and a sleek profile, it matches the best of both worlds of the firepower of a tank with the maneuverability and handling of a mech all with the added cost-effective bonus of being made completely out of melted-down scrap and plated thorium compared to heavier and more expensive materials!

• Smaller profile than most mecha but with similar firepower
• Mad Mutants Missile Massacre
• As terrifying as a mecha spider sounds like it should be.

The Moon Spider shares much in common with its sister mecha the sun Scorpion.

A sleek and chitinous armored frame reminiscent of a flat, elongated body makes up the fuselage with six large mechadendrite legs with spade-tipped digging implements for feet has replaced the usual chicken walker design. The mech also has two large weapon arm pedipalps near its cockpit-head comprising of two armored shields. The mecha also has a large disc-like abdomen that houses a massive spinning missile bay for rapid launching.

The Moon Spider can be painted in many colors depending on the environment but is usually found in the corporation's tan-mustard color configuration.

The Moon Spiders is manufactured by Shastas' World Corporation and is explicitly manufactured for use by the Terror Wolves of Freehold. Any actual purchase requests should be made via correspondence with the corporation.

• Organization: Shasta No Sekai
• Type: Missile Supression
• Class: Medium
• Designer: Terror Wolf Project
• Manufacturer: Shasta No Sekai
• Contract Price: 10,000 DA per week.⁴⁾

• Crew: One pilot
• Maximum Capacity: One
• Passenger Capacity: Zero

• Width: 3.3m (10 feet at the width of the fuselage not including the legs)
• Height: 2.9m (9 feet tall)

The Moon Spider is a ground-based hexapedal platform. It can walk, stride, and even jog to a degree and is culpable in most uneven terrains. The frame has several jump-jet style thrusters that allow it to momentarily boost itself over obstacles or terrain which is a terrifying thought to consider for such a frame.

• Ground speed: 70/9 km/h.
• Airspeed: 10m/s

• Range: 360 km
• Lifespan: One deployment before refit/repair.

See Damage Rating (Version 3)

• Body: T-8 Medium Mecha⁵⁾
• Shields: Zero, no Shields.

The Mech contains a standard Shastas' World Mech Cockpit with everything it entails from terminals to the in-house Fairy AI assistant. The rest of the interior of the mech is practically non-existent for its size. Because of this the entry and exit of the mech are fairly simple.

Like a fighter cockpit the armored Transparent Durandium can be opened from either side of the mech after first scaling the mechs default crouch when inactive through readily available steps and handholds built into the armored legs and fuselage. From there the process simply involves sealing the usually airtight seals of the cockpit and securing oneself into the pilot's seat. Exiting is just as simple with the added option of an ejection system that blows the transparent durrandium away from the fuselage with exploding bolts before ejecting the seat skyward.

The startup process is also fairly simple requiring only the company-issued Fairy to be inserted into the electronics of the cockpit much like a simple key-fob where it will then manually startup the mech remotely and begin diagnostic procedures and simulated testing before she gives the all-clear or advising of any detected issues. In which case the mechs navigation, controls, and weapons will unlock and be released to the pilot.

Shutting down is just the same as requiring the mech to be in a stationary position where the AI can safely stop all systems and cut power from the battery banks and weapons until the mech is safely inset and will usually not allow the remote unlocking of the fuselage until the AI has been removed to ensure the mech can not be too easily stolen.

The Moon Spider is a mostly Missile based platform relying on a concerning amount of Macromissiles deployed from a rotating, rapid-launch system on its abdomen to overwhelm targets or deal staggering damage to an area. Two 'Mega' Macro Missiles bays are also present for a wider spread of damage. The Moon Spider is more than just missiles, however. As two Medium weapon hardpoints are present and a single secondary Light hardpoint for a lighter touch are all present.

The mech boasts a standard Durandium Alloy armored frame that protects the mech's main armor in its entirety with the exception of the cockpits Transparent Durandium which is significantly more vulnerable than the rest of the armor and the interior joins semi-exposed under the thigh and shin armor. The exposed joint, however, is still reinforced to significant small arms damage and fire and is complemented by not only these segments of armor but the entire mech being coated in an anti-beam coating to give it limited defense under fire against beam, laser, energy, and even aetheric damage until the coating is worn off by damage in those areas.

The mech is, however, still susceptible to high damage kinetic and explosive-based damage that penetrates its armor and still lacks any form of shielding.

Several plates of Thorium are laid over the armored fuselage to not only obscure it from sensors but also add increased armor and suvivability.

The mech has two parapet-mounted shields made of Durandium with layered plates of Thorium for added protection against energy weapons. The shields can be moved at will, though have a very shallow arc that they can position covering mostly the front of the mecha.

The mech has a custom Missile launch system on its abdomen in the shape of a massive hex-covered disc.

This disc is really one giant rotating missile loader that when firing, rotates to fire off macromisiles while an internal battery compartment loads in fresh missiles allowing salvos of almost continuous missile fire. The disc is armored slightly but also exposed and a glaring weak spot on the mecha that at least from the front it can compensate with its shields.

The mech contains a Fairy Ai artificial intelligence assistant.

The Mech contains a Shastas' World born and raised Fairy AI. The AI itself is housed deep within the core of the mech and draws negligible power from its batteries. The fairy itself controls many of the sub-systems of the mech while also helping its pilot with:

• minute adjustments to the aim of the weapons
• reading of digital maps
• monitoring of radio signals and communications
• monitoring the position of the mech
• communicating with other fairies in other mechs
• controlling swift drones
• deploying and controlling the mirage system

A simple, if not effective jump jet system is installed on the mech to help it move up or along difficult terrain. While not capable of true flight they are more than enough to lift the mech off the ground for a few seconds at a time and enough for them to clear obstacles or scale terrain. They are also good for clearing around the feet of the mech of hostile infantry or pesky shrubs. The idea of putting jump jets on a giant spider is one that will haunt many a dream amongst the R&D of the SnS corporation to this day.

The jets are activated by the pilot but flown directionally by the AI to ensure the mech doesn't end up landing sideways or on its own cockpit.

Deep within the mech and under the cockpit seat houses a massive battery bank of Hyper Cells that power the mech without the need for combustion-based fuels. These batteries, linked to alternators to keep them holding their charge through the movement of the mech itself only power the mech and its most basic systems by default but can be drawn from to power weaponry on-demand in an emergency at the risk of cutting operation time from the mech through their usage or by powering related energy-dependent systems.

The mech has a backup rack of hyper cells that come online and can power the mech for its final hour of operation time. But have a secondary use that they can be ejected from the mech above and behind it and detonated to create a kind of dangerous flashbang effect around it with a massive and bright explosion that can also severely damage or kill individuals or armor near the mech but risks damage to the mech as well.

Basic scanning is capable by the mech with a built-in package for discovering distant signatures of vehicles, armor, aircraft, powered armor, starships, aether signatures, etc. at a significant range and detail and can be viewed on any of the mech's cockpit screens.

An inline GPS system is also installed coupled with the radar and ladar and the mechs optics can easily mark enemies and landmarks alike and keep them tracked. But is also capable of expanding even further when paired with the mechs drones to create an incredibly detailed area map.

Likewise for electronic defense, an electronic defense system is installed that contains passive Radar Warning Receivers, Laser Warning Receivers, and infrared warning sensors to alert the pilot to incoming threats. Active defenses include two Laser Dazzlers, anti-radar chaff, thermal flares, as well as radar-jamming equipment to complement the sensor suite to allow the fairy or pilot to deploy active countermeasures on demand.

When in less-than-ideal conditions the mech has basic heating and cooling systems as well as recyclable air exceeding twelve hours of reserved oxygen. Fire extinguishing systems are included with a small personal scale Fire Extinguisher 🧯 in the cockpit that is sometimes even fully charged.

An emergency escape system is also linked to the cockpit in the form of the cockpit bolts exploding outwards and ejecting the pilot's seat much like a standard aircraft ejection seat. This system also saves the fairy which is housed in the pilot's seat but may not save the pilot from hazardous conditions such as a lack of air or extreme heat.

The Mech contains a Shastas' world Mirage camouflage System. This system, much like the Fairy Ai's nanites that make up its avatar and clothing the Mirage is a camouflage system of the very same AI-controlled nanites in six large twenty-gallon tanks. Each tank, when deployed, ejects all of its nanites to create a cloud of optical camouflage around the mech that mimics closely to Yamatais' common volumetric capabilities. When stationary it can mimic things such as scenery, bushes, flora, debris, etc. And even more advanced projections such as fire, plasma, light, and so forth and can project from the inside of the cloud an outside perspective or holes in it to allow optics to see through.

The Mirage system can also be used semi-offensively as a faux weapon by mimicking things such as fire, projectiles, and even people like infantry or weapons. The system is controlled by the AI and can be used within 100 feet of the mech for other vehicles or actions as well. The short life of the nanites, however, means when they aren't linked together with others to create optical camouflage they will quickly die within less than a minute.

Due to the quality of materials and labor shortages on assemblies from high fatalities, the mech is often subject to a constant need for repair and maintenance after each engagement and without such is liable to break down from minor system failure to a catastrophic machine and weapons failure. It is recommended to never run the mech past its detailed operations time and never to avoid pre-flighting the mech or performing the necessary preventative maintenance on it to avoid unnecessary loss of life.

Charmaylarg created this article on 2023/01/09 11:32.

Approved by Wes here