Mechs

A Mech as displayed in the in , . — A Mech as displayed in the Vanguard Orientation Hall in New Atlantis, Jemison.

Mechs are mechanized combat platforms.^[1] They were a pre-Colony War weapon which was used by the United Colonies and Freestar Collective.

Background[]

Both the United Colonies and Freestar Collective made use of Mechs during the Colony War to devastating effect, though the Mech pilots of the Freestar Collective were generally more skilled than their United Colonies counterparts.^[2]

Mechs were outlawed upon the signing of the Armistice, which ended the conflict. Knowledge regarding Mechs is now stored in the jointly-protected Armistice Archives, only to be used in dire emergency.^[3] Despite being outlawed, Mech Components are still transported and sold as contraband by organizations like the Ecliptic mercenaries, Crimson Fleet pirates, or Spacers.^[4]

Production[]

While not much is known about either production sites of Mechs or the total number of Mechs produced, it is known that within the United Colonies, Gagarin Landing was a big contributor to the Mech industry, with the settlement suffering greatly when the technology was outlawed,^[5] though Mars also produced Mechs for the United Colonies at the Mars Mech Factory.^[6] Within the Freestar Collective, the Mech factory was located on Arcturus II.

Mech Information[]

Most Mechs appear to have been armed with a shoulder-mounted cannon, with two free arms which would have enabled them to either use specific Mech-designed weaponry, or use melee combat. Somewhat less common is the variant with shoulder-mounted barrage rockets instead. The rarest Mechs are those with cannons instead of arms, or which only have one cannon and no arms.^[7]

Mech battleframes held 1500-horsepower as energy, and were considered relatively comfortable.^[8] Both Mars and Gagarin were noted within the UC as being main producers of UC-Mechs, with those of Mars performing better and those from Gagarin being more durable.^[6]