Questia
posted this
22 February 2017
Overview:
The original SGT-8R Sagittaire was first and foremost a specialized urban
combat machine, born from demand brought forth by the FedCom Civil War. Though
it typically performed with frightening efficiency in its home field, the
design often suffered for that very reason. Without much of a long-range
defense, good commanders would snipe it from afar, leaving its engine exposed
to return fire once it closed the distance - or worse, stopping it outright
before it could do even that.
Its sister design, the 9D, was an attempt to rectify that flaw by replacing its
pulse laser-heavy array with a far more versatile set of weapons. Despite its
effectiveness, it did introduce a few new flaws in the process alongside its
loss in urban combat potential; namely its ammunition dependency and its
susceptibility to cook-offs. This made the already fragile design even more so;
a major flaw for an assault 'Mech.
These flaws were made evident when the Word of Blake attacked Robinson Standard
BattleWorks at the beginning of 3071. Though the Sagittaires stationed around
the 'Mech works performed with distinction, they too fell to the Blakist
incursion. Not long after, the facilities were under their control.
Nonetheless, the design and its Robinsons-made brethren proved effective enough
that the Blakists would keep the facility intact for their own use. The first
order of business: get them to produce 'Mechs for them.
This proved to be more trouble than originally anticipated. Chief among their
problems was the lack of parts; the chaos surrounding the planet scrambled - or
sabotaged - supply lines, leaving them short on Large Pulse Lasers and ER PPCs.
This left the SGT-8R design without its weaponry, until the local Zeta Branch
in charge of the facility struck upon a solution that seemed quite obvious in
hindsight. This was the genesis of the 8S variant.
Capabilities:
The 8S' capabilities had not changed much from the 8R, owing to the former
being a refit of sorts of the latter. Its mobility and electronics stayed
mostly the same, though part of its armor had been moved around to better
protect its weapons.
Said weapons, however, have been changed. Gone were the Large Pulse Lasers and
ER PPC; in their place were three Tiegart PPCs - the same as those in the arms
of the original Thug. The two rear-facing Medium Pulse Lasers were moved to the
front; the frame was modified such that they lay side by side above the
cockpit. Owing to space constraints caused by the LPL-to-PPC swap, a heat sink
that was once in the right arm was removed. That last ton went, instead, to a
C3 Slave unit tucked away in the right leg. The targeting computer still
remained there, needing nothing else but software updates to be attuned to the
new weapons set-up.
Though the modifications were relatively minor, in both testing and combat
those changes changed its mission profile significantly. Gone was its urban
combat over-specialization; with the capability to keep unloading an
Awesome-8Q's worth of firepower with enhanced accuracy, it was finally a
credible threat at long range. Though the array lacked the ER PPC's ability to
really reach out and strike a target, it was deemed to be a minor loss at best.
Even so, it still proved to be just as worthy of an adversary in close combat
as its ancestor. The loss of the rear-firing lasers was a footnote compared to
the increase in forward firepower, especially considering that its arm-mounted
weapons could perform rear-guard duty on their own anyway. Additionally, the
LPL-PPC swap was an added boon due to the latter's compatibility with the
aimed-shot function, allowing it to blast open sections with surgical
precision.
The C3 Slave unit, meanwhile, opened up new possibilities to its design as both
spotter and fire-support. Though its layout was vulnerable to ECM disruption,
the times when the network remained intact really showed the design's strength
in teams. PPC bolts were directed from afar with startling accuracy, often by
other Sagittaires who themselves were tearing apart the opposition up close.
With its sister variant, the 9D, carrying a C3 Master unit, the two were used
in tandem to systematically crush anyone who dared to retake the planet.
Deployment:
The 8S variant, however, was merely a stopgap measure while the Blakists
established its own supply lines, being superceded by the 10X variant.
Nonetheless, it did see deployment in decent numbers, mostly around the
Blakist-controlled Robinsons Standard BattleWorks and in cities all over
Robinson.
The design, however, is no longer in production as of 3079 - the damage that
the 'Mech works sustained in the liberation of the planet rendered its
Sagittaire lines inoperable.
Variants:
As mentioned several times, its ancestry goes back to the original 8R design,
being a refit of said design. Its production was done alongside the 9D, before
the facilities were retooled to produce the 10X.
Additional:
Out-of-universe note: This variant and its corresponding fluff was taken from
by Redshirt's (from the BattleTech forums) variant suggestion in the topic
"Tell me about: the Sagittaire".
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 145 points 9.50
Engine: XL Fusion Engine 285 8.50
Walking MP: 3
Running MP: 5
Jumping MP: 3 Standard
Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 1 LL, 1 RL 6.00
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 16(32) 6.00
Heat Sink Locations: 2 LT, 2 LA, 1 RA
Gyro: Standard 3.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA R: SH+UA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 288 18.00
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 30 44
Center Torso (rear) 15
L/R Torso 20 30
L/R Torso (rear) 10
L/R Arm 16 32
L/R Leg 20 38
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PPC RA 10 3 7.00
Medium Pulse Laser RA 4 1 2.00
Small Pulse Laser RA 2 1 1.00
PPC LA 10 3 7.00
Medium Pulse Laser LA 4 1 2.00
Medium Pulse Laser RT 4 1 2.00
Targeting Computer RT - 8 8.00
PPC LT 10 3 7.00
Medium Pulse Laser CT 4 1 2.00
Medium Pulse Laser HD 4 1 2.00
C3 Computer (Slave) RL 0 1 1.00
Free Critical Slots: 3
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 10 Points: 23
3j 5 5 3 0 4 2 Structure: 4
Special Abilities: C3S, ENE, MHQ1, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA
