Designed in YE 44 and completed later in YE 45, the Skirmisher is the lightest battle-oriented mech fielded by the Shasta No Sekai corporation to enforce its claim over the spacer outpost of Freehold Factory from rival salvage corporations and The Skirmisher is a general combat mech designed and manufactured by the Shasta No Sekai corporation in YE 45. Equipped with an array of lasers and unguided rockets, it is a versatile and powerful asset on the battlefield. In addition, unlike most corporation mecha, an emphasis on survival and defense has been centered around the mecha in the form of active shielding to protect it from incoming fire.

🛡️Skirmisher🛡️
Class:	Medium
Role:	General Combat
Faction:
Tier:	Medium Mecha
Nomenclature:	SW-M10-1A
Price:	Not For Sale1)
Contract Price:	7,000 DA2) per week3)

The Skirmisher is a general combat mech designed and manufactured by the Shasta No Sekai corporation in YE:45. As the name suggests, this mech is designed for fast-paced skirmishes and excels in both offensive and defensive maneuvers. With a sleek and streamlined design, the Skirmisher is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Equipped with an array of powerful lasers and unguided rockets, the Skirmisher can quickly eliminate enemy targets with ease. Its deployable shield provides additional protection to the mech, allowing it to withstand incoming fire from enemy forces. In addition to its formidable offensive capabilities, the Skirmisher is also highly maneuverable. With its advanced thrusters and agile legs, it can quickly navigate through complex terrain and engage enemies from unexpected angles.

Overall, the Skirmisher is an ideal choice for pilots looking for a versatile and powerful combat mech. Whether engaging in small skirmishes or larger battles.

Brought about in YE 44 the Skirmisher is the most honest attempt at at an all-rounder combat mech within Shasta No Sekai. It is a story of ingenious practicality evolving into battlefield brilliance. It all began with 'Jeff“, a quirky engineer, who crafted the “Meteor Mitigator” to navigate the hazards between factories. This peculiar vehicle, armed with an upwards-facing shield salvaged from a wrecked shuttle hatch, became the prototype.

Jeffs success caught the corporation's attention, leading to the evolution of his creation into the Skirmisher mech. This medium mech integrated the deployable shield concept, proving invaluable on the battlefield. Iterative enhancements refined the design, replacing the makeshift shield with a sophisticated generator capable deploying on demand. Sadly Jeff died horribly as is the case and the Skirmisher could not be mass produced without the proper shield coils so Skirmisher mechs are often only built when shield generators are salvaged in the field.

Small and agile the Skirmisher is designed to provide heavy firepower on a scale above a powered armored frame. While it is not as mobile as a suit of dedicated powered armor and has few of the advantages it makes up for the lack of utility with a lower cost to manufacture, field, and maintain as a cheaper alternative to an expensive suit of armor with increased firepower.

• Agile and maneuverable weapons platform.
• Defensive frontal shielding.
• low-cost alternative to conventional mechanized warfare.

The Skirmisher features a sleek, angular design that emphasizes speed and agility. Its metallic hull is often painted in a camofalgue tan-gray finish, with red and black accents marking various weapon systems and critical components. Its deployable shield is mounted on the front of the mech and can be extended or retracted as needed. On the top of the mech are two armored rocket pods, while on either side of the fuselage are mounted weapoons.

The Skirmisher 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: Medium skirmisher
• Class: Medium
• Designer: Terror Wolf Project
• Manufacturer: Shasta No Sekai
• Nomenclature: SW-M10-1A
• Contract Price: 7,000 DA per week.⁴⁾

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

• Width: 3.2m (11 foot at its widest point)
• Height: 6.8m (25 feet tall)

The Skirmisher is a ground-based bipedal 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.

• Ground speed: 101.3 km/h.
• Air speed: 22m/s (50 mph)

• Range: 320 km (198 miles).
• Lifespan: One deployment before refit/repair.

See Damage Rating (Version 3)

• Body: T-8 Medium Mecha⁵⁾
• Shields: T-8 Medium Mecha

The Skirmisher 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 pilots' 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 easy. 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 in a matter of nanoseconds 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 with 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 Skirmisher has a good array of weapons at its disposal for its class. The mech has two medium and two light weapon hardpoints that can be swapped out to any other corporation or compatible weapons of those types. It also has two bunkers built in for light or medium missile weapons.

The base configuration for the Skirmisher is as follows:

The mech boasts a standard Durandium Alloy armored frame protects the mechs 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.

The mechs armor is treated with specialized functions to shield the mech and its systems from electromagnetic pulses or weapons that would otherwise shut it down. Such functions include using a faraday lining of conduction to shield electronic systems from damage or shutdown, connecting electronic systems to a ground in the feet of the mech in order to dissipate EMP energy, installing filters on power and data lines to block high-frequency electromagnetic energy, upgrading electrical devices to divert and suppress high-voltage transients surges caused by EMPs, and hardening the energy cell container core to protected against emp pulses.

The mech has an outer layer of ablative armor that is designed to wear away under attack, absorbing energy and protecting the underlying structure. It consists of a layer of Durandium Alloy that is treated to burn away and erode when hit by a projectile at a controlled rate. The ablative armor can protect the underlying structure by dissipating the energy of an incoming projectile over a larger area, reducing the amount of damage that can be inflicted.

The Active Energy Shield is made up of multiple layers of hexagonal energy barriers that work together to form a cohesive shield. Each layer is made up of energy emitters that are carefully positioned to provide the maximum amount of coverage. The emitters are linked together by a complex network of power conduits and control systems that allow the shield to function as a single unit.

The shield is powered by a bank of Energy Cell which provides a steady stream of energy to the shield's control systems. This energy is then directed to the emitters, which create the force field that forms the shield. The shield's control systems constantly monitor the energy levels and adjust the shield's shape and intensity to match the incoming attack.

The shield is programmed to deflect incoming attacks in a specific direction, which means that it only protects the Skirmisher from attacks that are coming from the front. This allows the Skirmisher to deflect fire from the front while returning fire from inside the shield.

The Active Energy Shield is a crucial component of the Skirmisher's defense systems. Without it, the mech would be vulnerable to a wide range of energy-based attacks, which could quickly lead to its destruction. By providing a strong, flexible shield that can be tailored to suit a variety of combat situations.

Active Shielding is not a passive system and must be activated and de-activated on demand.

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.

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 jets are activated by the pilot but flown directionally by the AI to ensure the mech does not 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 of 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, 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.

An optical package is mounted on the side of the hyper lasers and has a range of utilities from infrared heat-sensing cameras and IR detection to night vision aetheric detection filters and sound-wave microphone setting to detect audio from even from extreme distance to the point that even spoken conversation can be somewhat interpreted from several miles away with the Fairy AI assisting in its operation to lip-sync and attempt audio correction as with significant distance the sound deterioration is often too distorted for normal human hearing to comprehend.

All this is topped with impressive high-definition clarity and zoom function allowing any of those features or just simple long-distance zoom to be used and even linked to any of the cockpits consoles for viewing.

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.

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 cockpits bolts exploding outwards and ejecting the pilots' seat much like a standard aircraft ejection seat. This system also saves the fairy AI which is housed in the pilots' seat but may not save the pilot from hazardous conditions such as a lack of air or extreme heat.

While not housing any drones in its body, the mech has a built-in uplink allowing the pilot(or more likely the AI) to control nearby drones. This uplink also allows the sharing of information gathered by corporation drones and automated soldiers to be shared with all linked mechs VIA their Fairy-AI.

Due to the quality of materials and labor shortages on assemblies from high fatalities, the Skirmisher 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 2023/04/17 15:36.

This was approved by Andrew on 2023/08/26⁶⁾.