Guardian (BattleMech)

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This article is about the BattleMech. For other uses, see Guardian (disambiguation).
Guardian (BattleMech)
Guardian
Production information
Manufacturer Silver Shield Security
Model GRD-1N
Class Ultralight
Cost ?
Technical specifications
'Mech type Inner Sphere BattleMech
Mass 15 tons
Chassis Shield 1
Armor Duralex Light
Engine Leenex 60
Speed 64.8 km/h
Armament

Machine Guns

BV (1.0) ?
BV (2.0) ?


Description

Although a BattleMech by design (and not an IndustrialMech like most SecurityMechs), the Guardian was not made for the military. Instead, it was marketed as a SecurityMech and sold to large corporations and law enforcement agencies. Its relatively small size and low weight allows it to go where other 'Mechs could not, giving it somewhat better mobility in urban environments. However, its relatively slow speed means that almost all other 'Mechs can run it down.[1]

Weapons and Equipment

The Guardian is armed with five SperryBrowning machine guns, one mounted in each arm, in each torso side and in the center torso, respectively. Two and a half tons of ammunition in the right torso provide an ample supply of ammunition.[1]

Variants

A frequent field refit for Guardians is to drop half a ton of ammunition to replace one machine gun with a Medium Laser, to give it at least a chance to stand against other 'Mechs. It remains a poor fighting machine when compared to virtually any other BattleMech.[1]

Canonicity

The Guardian was only ever described in BattleTechnology #13. Since this magazine is not currently counted among the canonical sources for BattleTech, the 'Mech itself is not currently considered canonical either. (An earlier ruling by Randall Bills declaring all BattleTechnology 'Mechs as present in the BattleTech Universe, if only as unique 'Mechs, was expressly rescinded by his successor as Line Developer, Herbert A. Beas II.)

Notes

  • The BattleCorps short story Feather Vs Mountain narrates the demise of one "Guardian Company" on the sidelines, a company of unspecified machine-gun toting 15-ton PoliceMechs. The setting and outcome match the fluff for the Guardian in the BattleTechnology magazine (the author described the story as a homage to the Guardian) while stepping around the question of the Guardian's canonicity by not actually mentioning the Guardian by name nor featuring its visual description, leaving the nature of "Guardian Company" open to speculation.
  • Also in Feather vs. Mountain there is a reference[2] to two 'Mechs from Guardian Company that were lost when the Ryuken's First Battalion's field command camp was attacked and destroyed on 11 January 3028. The situation is mentioned in the novel Wolves on the Border[3]; this in turn establishes that the two "light guard 'Mechs" featuring as shattered remains in the novel were from Guardian Company, and thus may have been Guardians.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 BattleTechnology #13, p. 59
  2. Feather vs. Mountain, p. 8
  3. Wolves on the Border, p. 272

Bibliography