(So, I saw this one post about making mechs and I thought "yup, I gotta try doin that".)
Earth had it's rough patches; civil wars, world wars, moon wars, etc.. Weapons were built, people died, then those weapons were put away, sometimes because they were used up, the war was over, or just because they were too dangerous to have around anymore.
During the height of the conflict over the resources found in Saturn's rings, several governments developed vessels, larger than fighters, smaller than frigates, with room enough for just one pilot and not at all comfortably. The design philosophy was simple: make so that a man could use it like his own body. They were vertical, with two arms, a head and a legless torso where the cockpit and other vital systems would be housed.
They were termed "Starmechs" because the mechs would only ever operate in space. And, for a while, they dominated there. Much of the rings' wealth was lost to the violent battles raging almost constantly. All other forms of warefare seemed to pale before and after while the Starmechs fought a guerilla war in god-like war machines. Finally, when no more trained pilots remained alive, each government signed a treaty banning the Starmech simply out of fear.
The Starmechs were stored away for years under the thumb of each respective government and eventually forgotten. Now those ancient bunkers have been rediscovered and efforts are being made to reproduce the technology...
NIGHTSHADE - light Starmech
Built to be fast, the Nightshade has relatively small weapons, adopting more of a supportive role. Some of the unsalvageable variants even appeared to have prototype cloaking devices...
Service records indicate these were often used by commandos to rush in close, do as much damage as they could while avoiding heavy fire, then they would eject, pull themselves by a grappling gun to the enemy's mech and sabotage it personally.
SAINT - medium Starmech
The Saint was the final iteration of the first prototype Starmechs and remains feared for its versatility.
These remained in service for so long and fought in so many skirmishes, there was only one left when the bunker holding it was found. It has been noted that it only gained the name Saint after the fact, because that one had continued to fight, miraculously unharmed for many more battles, mostly as a refugee escape boat escort before it was put away.
MARDUK - heavy Starmech
If anything can be said about the Marduk, it is that it embodies terror itself. Not only for the fact that it has an awe inspiring array of heavy weapons, but that originally, these would appear in waves of 10 at a time.
The Marduk, though expensive, remains in most records of the era as one of the most worthwhile developments in technology and warfare. Even though they were put away for so long, they were the first to be reproduced, as there were scores still intact in the cavernous bunker that held them, making it easy to reverse-engineer them.
(Obviously, I'd love this design philosophy to become a trend, but just as obviously: I have no control over that. Either way, enjoy! I will put up their .sment files in a little bit.)
Earth had it's rough patches; civil wars, world wars, moon wars, etc.. Weapons were built, people died, then those weapons were put away, sometimes because they were used up, the war was over, or just because they were too dangerous to have around anymore.
During the height of the conflict over the resources found in Saturn's rings, several governments developed vessels, larger than fighters, smaller than frigates, with room enough for just one pilot and not at all comfortably. The design philosophy was simple: make so that a man could use it like his own body. They were vertical, with two arms, a head and a legless torso where the cockpit and other vital systems would be housed.
They were termed "Starmechs" because the mechs would only ever operate in space. And, for a while, they dominated there. Much of the rings' wealth was lost to the violent battles raging almost constantly. All other forms of warefare seemed to pale before and after while the Starmechs fought a guerilla war in god-like war machines. Finally, when no more trained pilots remained alive, each government signed a treaty banning the Starmech simply out of fear.
The Starmechs were stored away for years under the thumb of each respective government and eventually forgotten. Now those ancient bunkers have been rediscovered and efforts are being made to reproduce the technology...
NIGHTSHADE - light Starmech
Service records indicate these were often used by commandos to rush in close, do as much damage as they could while avoiding heavy fire, then they would eject, pull themselves by a grappling gun to the enemy's mech and sabotage it personally.
SAINT - medium Starmech
These remained in service for so long and fought in so many skirmishes, there was only one left when the bunker holding it was found. It has been noted that it only gained the name Saint after the fact, because that one had continued to fight, miraculously unharmed for many more battles, mostly as a refugee escape boat escort before it was put away.
MARDUK - heavy Starmech
(Obviously, I'd love this design philosophy to become a trend, but just as obviously: I have no control over that. Either way, enjoy! I will put up their .sment files in a little bit.)