ARC-2LC "Ling Chi" Bowman FightMech For American Mecha Game

thingiverse

Howdy folks! This is just a fun little kitbash that I threw together for some players in a campaign I'm running. Figured others might like it, so I uploaded it to my Thingiverse page. There are record sheets included. Overview: In the late 2750’s as the Amaris Coup loomed in the near future, it was apparent to all that trouble was brewing as the Great Houses engaged in an arms race to see who could build the largest private army while not upsetting the Terran Hegemony. House Kurita sensed that conflict was inevitable, and directed Luthien Armor Works to attempt to license and manufacture several popular battlemechs imported from other factions. The thought process was that if war broke out and the exporting faction was suddenly and enemy and no longer willing to sell to them, Luthien would already have the capacity to continue manufacturing the desired battlemechs. For a few of these mechs, Luthien initiated side projects to test the viability of creating an upgraded variant suitable for service to the Dragon. One such mech was the Archer. Luthien licensed the ARC-2K variant from Defiance Industries, and began a program to upgrade the design. Minoru Kurita himself requested that Luthien use the best tech of the day to expand on both of the Archer’s reputations as an effective fire support unit and a fearsome close in brawler, creating an all around effective heavy mech capable of standing toe to toe with SLDF Royal troops in any situation. Created in 2755, the ARC-2K-LC was built on and Endo Steel skeleton and an XL engine, the -2K-LC swaps the entire large laser and arm assembly from the standard -2K for a more robust, newly designed arm that carries a snub-nose PPC and a medium pulse laser in a reinforced armored housing that is designed to allow the -2K-LC to engage in intense melee combat without fear of damaging the delicate energy weapons contained within. The rest of the freed up tonnage is used to increase armor protection to close to the maximum that could be carried. -2K-LC was a terrifically effective battlemech, and true to the Coordinator's wish the Ling Chi could easily stand toe to toe with nearly any battlemech in the SLDF Royal Brigades. At long ranges, the -2K-LC was an even more effective fire support unit as the Artemis equipped LRMs were more than capable of blasting the armor off even the biggest battlemechs, one small missile at a time. These fearsome barrage capabilities gave the -2K-LC it's name, meaning death by a thousand cuts. Unlike other fire support units, the -2K-LC only became more dangerous as the range closed, with the snub nose PPCs delivering crippling firepower with increased accuracy due to their extended short range, the inherent accuracy of the medium pulse lasers meant that the -2K-LC was not vulnerable to the small, fast mechs that normally threatened larger mechs. The -2K-LC became a victim of it's own effectiveness, however, as the SLDF quickly became aware of the new design and House Cameron quickly attempted to squash the program. Minoru Kurita was not too eager to rock the boat by pushing back, as despite the -2K-LC it was a terrifically expensive mech for the time, made even more expensive by the additional licensing fees and royalties should the design reach production. There was only one known prototype that emerged from the ARC-2K-LC and reached combat ready status before the program was shut down. Rather than waste a good mech, Luthien gifted the mech to Hiro Toshiyama, a former 9th Ghost Regiment turned high ranking Luthien test pilot who often used prototypes and other custom mechs in the Solaris gladiator rings. the ARC-2K-LC prototype was an instant success, where it's ability to strip the armor off even the largest mechs with an endless barrage of LRMs earned it the nickname "Ling Chi", or death by a thousand cuts. The Ling Chi competed for quite a few seasons, becoming quite a sensation with fans for it's gleaming cherry blossom paint job as well as it's brutal efficiency, until Hiro Toshiyama and the Ling Chi mysteriously disappeared during the turmoil of the Amaris Coup. Many speculated about what happened to the Ling Chi due to it's popularity and sudden disappearance as much as it's pilots well known ties to the Yakuza from his 9th Ghost Regiment days. Nobody has ever figured out exactly what happened, but in 3030 the Ling Chi was discovered by a small mercenary outfit on the backwater world of Biota in the Lyran Commonwealth, damaged and dirty but still sporting it's famous cherry blossom paint scheme.