The vox crackled. “Hostile Warmech, two blocks north, one west, moving east. Mjolnir heavy”. Reginald, already moving north, pushed the throttle forward, bringing the Martel, his Paladin heavy Warmech, to a trot. As the heavy Warmech accelerated slowly into its new gait, he flicked off the safeties and charged the left arm’s plasma cannon. The Mjolnir rounded the corner and he fired into its right shoulder, turning two tons of plasteel armor into so much slag. As it twisted towards him, he slammed the throttle forward, pushing the Paladin into a run, and raked its right flank with a burst of autocannon fire from his mech’s right arm. The Mjolnir, caught off guard, ground to a halt and spun as it tried to keep him in its front arc.
Reginald ducked his mech into a side street as he brought it back down to a walk. “Well spotted. Any ID?”.
“Not positive, my lord. Blue and red livery, a wolf rampant.” replied the GEV pilot who had made the initial call.
“Ulrik Stormhand, Jarl of Vindsval. His Mjolnir’s modified, left arm is a Gauss gun” said a third voice.
“Thank you, heraldry”. Reginald turned his mech around, readying himself for another confrontation. The young knight took a moment to steady himself, fingers brushing the hammer and fluer-de-lis sigil carved into the Martel’s console.
“That Mjolnir’s headed your way, sir.”
“Roger. I’ll take him alone”. Reginald brought the mech back up to a trot, knowing he couldn’t afford to give Ulrik an easy shot with a Gauss gun. The Mjolnir came into view at about 30 meters, a short range for such a mech. Reginald pushed his mech into an angled charge, twisting his mech’s torso to keep the Mjolnir from drawing a bead on anything vital. As he closed to 20 meters, he activated the autocannon, pouring a full magazine of late-detonating shells into the Jotunheimer’s left torso. Ulrik fired in response. His Gauss gun’s kinetic projectile cracked like thunder into the Paladin’s right shoulder. Reginald swore as the damage indicators lit up, showing that his Warmech’s right arm was immobilized. He dumped another mag of autocannon into the Mjolnir, unable to miss at such short range. This time, the shells cracked the plasteel on the Warmech’s left torso, showing the capacitor banks beneath. As the Jotunheimer’s mech shook, the young knight brought his plasma cannon to bear on the Mjolnir’s damaged shoulder. A burst of laser fire from the Jarl cooked one of Reginald’s vision blocks, but it was too little, too late. Reginald fired, and a capacitor in the target’s shoulder burst into flame, causing a cascading failure. As the Mjolnir’s damage control sprang to life, Reginald lowered his mech’s shoulder and braced for impact.
“Quarter! Quarter!” came over a clear channel, the Jarl surrendering rather than see his Warmech and himself cut to pieces.
Reginald halted his mech, scanning for further enemies. “And your men?”
“All units, this is Jarl Ulrik Stormhand. Lay down your arms. We surrender.”
The Warmech
The premier combat units of the Dark Age of Technology are the Warmechs, colossal humanoid robots powered by fusion generators and driven by polymer pseudo-muscles. Warmechs range from 20 tons for the lightest, such as the Shrew reconnaissance mech, to 120 tons for the heaviest, such as the Paladin close assault mech. With better all-terrain capabilities, and fields of fire than a traditional tank, Warmechs dominate the fields of battle of the 25th century. As a result, from the guildmasters of the Free Stars to the sworn brethren of the Order of the Void, those leaders with the resources to maintain them have taken over most of the settled worlds.
Arms and Armor
The Warmech is classically armored in plasteel, a composite material blending advanced plastics and steel alloys. Some Mechholders choose to mount carbon-fiber composite instead, which is harder to repair but lighter, allowing for greater speed or a heavier combat load. Others use more primitive materials, such as aluminum alloy.
Most Warmechs have two weapon mounts located on the arms. While this leaves them more exposed to enemy fire, it also allows for maximum aim flexibility. Typically, mechs are armed with one projectile weapon and one energy weapon, although exceptions exists, such as the Mjolnir, which has a standard armament of a light laser cluster in the right arm and a particle cannon in the left. In addition to the standard weapon mounts, some Warmechs have shoulder mounts, which most often carry limited-use missile pods.
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