Flashman C
Mass: 75 tons
Chassis: FLS/HV-1
Power Plant: SuperLight 375 XL
Cruising Speed: 54 kph
Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph
Armor: Kemplar 5000 FFu
Armament:
2 ER Medium Laser
1 Anti-Missile System
3 Medium Pulse Laser
2 ER Large Laser
Manufacturer: Refits / Various
Primary Factory: Shadow
Communication System: Duoteck 195
Targeting & Tracking System: Faust/Shinji AT/TS
Introduction Year: 3054
Tech Rating/Availability: F/X-X-D-D
Cost: 18,908,750 C-bills
Overview
The SLDF had requested entire regiments of Flashman to be built during its heyday, and it had become one of the most common front-line machine of its day. While not as specialized as the likes of the Black Knight or Marauder, the Flashman was a reliable, no-nonsense machine which pilots and technicians loved. While a lot of them were lost during the Amaris Civil War, the Exodus Fleet still carried a large number of them in various stages of repair and disrepair. During the Pentagon Civil War, many Flashman were used by all parties involved, but even that only ended up destroying a small portion of the inventory.
The Flashman would be used during the early days of the Clans, but quickly fell out of fashion as better “reconditioned” machines were introduced and then completely supplanted by the arrival of OmniMechs. The few which remained in active duty were used in training exercises and target practice, all the others being put in Brian Caches for “potential use later”. As the ilKhan called up all mothballed equipment after the Battle of Tukayyid, the weirdest thing happened from the one group that wasn’t willing to follow those edicts.
It was during the Mandrill Spirit War that the Flashman C started seeing the light of day. The Fire Mandrills and Blood Spirits had to fight with everything they had available to push back the Cloud Cobras and Star Adders, and they could not rely on external supplies as the ilKhan had declared them persona non-grata during the war. Digging into their Brian Caches and inventories, they pulled a significant number of Flashman 8k. The original quick refit, replacing all equipment with Clan-graded weapons, was the first attempt at modernizing these ‘Mechs, but after a few months, a full conversion kit became available.
These new ‘Mechs were incredibly efficient, even though they were not OmniMechs or even “advanced” in any way, shape or form. Both the Cobras and Adders began fearing the ovoid shape of the Flashman once again as it was paired with other “fast heavies” like the Champion and Lancelot to harass more advanced units. Captured machines quickly started being added to garrison stars and provisional clusters due to how good they were, even though they were disliked.
After the war, the plans for the Flashman C were distributed amongst the Clans as part of the settlement for the conflict. Flashman were pulled from all Brian Caches to work on this upgrade kit, with the Fire Mandrill’s factories on Shadow providing the bulk of the manpower. This allowed the Mandrill’s Technicians and Merchants to bounce back quicker than the Warriors as profits seeped into their pocket to allow them to rebuilt.
Capabilities
The Flashman C uses a similar engine as its Inner Sphere counterpart, a 375 XL, upgraded to Clan specification. The body remains made of standard materials to simplify conversion, but it is now protacted by a layer of ten and a half tons of ferro-fibrous plates. To increase protection even more, an anti-missile system (which was present on the original Star League Flashman) protects the machine while an ECM suite allows for both ECCM and ECM duty when required. Some commanders complain that the protection is technically lower than the original Flashman’s 13 and a half tons of standard plates, with the odd refit happening where the ECM system is stripped out to add a ton of plates.
For weapons, the Flashman C is extremely aggressive and follows the original’s “all-energy weapons” concept. At longer ranges, each arm mount an ER Large Laser backed up by an ER Medium laser, allowing it to engage most targets at range and damage them while closing in. Once at shorter range, a trio of Medium Pulse Lasers (one in each torso) allows the Flashman C to careful cut open targets with precision and power. 18 double heat sinks is generally regarded as enough for this weapon setup, as long as the pilot doesn’t just shoot all weapons without care. To further improve on the Flashman C’s deadliness, a Targeting Computer ties all the weapons together.
Technical Readout
Type: Flashman C
Technology Base: Clan (Standard)
Tonnage: 75
Battle Value: 2,799
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure 7.5
Engine 375 XL 19.5
Walking MP: 5
Running MP: 8
Jumping MP: 0
Double Heat Sink 18 [36] 8
Gyro 4
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor (Ferro) 201 10.5
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso 23 31
Center Torso (rear) 9
R/L Torso 16 23
R/L Torso (rear) 6
R/L Arm 12 20
R/L Leg 16 27 Right Arm Actuators: Shoulder, Upper Arm, Lower Arm
Left Arm Actuators: Shoulder, Upper Arm, Lower Arm
Weapons and Ammo
Location Critical Heat Tonnage
Anti-Missile System Ammo (24) CT 1 – 1.0
CASE CT 0 – 0.0
Medium Pulse Laser CT 1 4 2.0
Targeting Computer RT 4 – 4.0
Medium Pulse Laser RT 1 4 2.0
2 Double Heat Sink RT 4 – 2.0
ER Medium Laser LA 1 5 1.0
ER Large Laser LA 1 12 4.0
Medium Pulse Laser LT 1 4 2.0
ECM Suite LT 1 – 1.0
Double Heat Sink LT 2 – 1.0
Anti-Missile System HD 1 1 0.5
ER Medium Laser RA 1 5 1.0
ER Large Laser RA 1 12 4.0
Features the following design quirks: Rugged (1 Point), Bad Reputation (Clan)
