Marco

MR-8C Marco
Production information
Manufacturer	StarCorps Industries
Use	Long Range Exploration Scout
Class	Light
Introduced	2712
Cost	1,701,245
Technical specifications
'Mech type	Inner Sphere IndustrialMech
Mass	30 tons
Chassis
Armor	4 tons (Heavy Industrial Armor)
Engine	GM 120
Communications System	Astar 5
Targeting Tracking System	None
Heat Sinks	10
Speed	64 km/h
Armament	Small Laser Salvage Arm, Cargo Bay, Searchlight, Environmental Sealing
BV (2.0)	304

The Marco was the first true jack-of-all trade ExplorerMech (outside of unique retrofitted BattleMechs that had previously served in such a role).

Although the Marco is a solid design, StarCorps Industries' whole ExplorerMech project was deemed a failure in retrospect. Development was difficult, and before finally succeeding with the letter "M", many prototype designs including the Amundsen (dating back to 2666), Burton, Cook and DaGama turned out to be failures, some of them catastrophically so; the (unnamed) functional precursors of the Marco from the program were specialized machines for specific environments. As it turned out after the Marco debuted in 2712, there had never been a large market for ExplorerMechs to begin with, and production was discontinued in 2720 after only eight years. In what seems to have been a not-so-clean deal, StarCorps managed to sell two production runs of mostly -6 and -7 series models to the SLDF which featured an integrated satellite uplink, remote-controlled floodlights, and a modular tool mount on the right arm.

By 3070, only "few" Marcos were still known to exist, all of them of the -6 and -7 series.

Description

Created as the ultimate expeditionary vehicle, the Marco was built with military grade technology to meet the needs of explorers. It was described as a customizable BattleMech frame without weapons, albeit it was still created and rated as an IndustrialMech and not to proper BattleMech standards.

The Marco has environmental sealing in all its locations to keep hazardous environments out. It features a collapsible two-man cabin mounted on its rear torso which can only be used when the 'Mech is stationary, and a small observation platform bridging across its shoulders.

With collapse of the Star League, General Aleksandr Kerensky took a number of Marcos with him on the Exodus. After the establishment of the Star League in Exile and the death of General Kerensky, the Pentagon Cluster colonies fragmented into warring factions known as the Pentagon Powers and these groups would create armed refits from the limited number of MR-8Cs they had available, most commonly the MR-8D refit or the less common MR-8E.

Weapons and Equipment

The Marco features a salvage arm in its right arm, a search light mounted in its center torso, and a military grade Small Laser mounted in its left arm, while its hull is protected by 4 tons of Heavy Industrial grade armor.

The final -8C production model (only introduced in 2719) featured three Jump Jets in the left torso for a total jump range of 90 meters, and 2.5 tons of cargo space in the right torso.

Variants

• MR-6 

  The first (known) production version of the Marco lacks the jump jets and cargo capacity of the later MR-8C. Instead, the MR-6 features 4 tons of Communication Equipment in the right torso. BV(2.0)=295

• MR-7 

  Introduced three years after the MR-6 in 2715, the MR-7 is similar to the earlier version, reducint the communication equipment by two tons to make way for a 1.5-ton cargo hold and a Remote Sensor Dispenser which was added to the left torso to expand the explorer team's sensor radius. BV(2.0)=295

• MR-8D 

  Introduced in 2801, this field refit of the standard MR-8C removes all the standard equipment including the jump jets, retaining only the Environmental Sealing. In the place of the rest of the standard equipment, the MR-8D carries a Large Laser in the left arm and an SRM-4 with one ton of ammunition in the right torso. Ten heat sinks cool the weapons. BV (2.0) = 436

• MR-8E 

  This refit version, introduced at the same time as the -8D, similarly removes all equipment and jump jets and sports twelve heat sinks to disperse the heat from two Medium Pulse Lasers in the right torso and two Medium Lasers in the left arm. BV (2.0) = 476

Design Quirks

The MR-8C Marco features the following Design Quirks:

• Extended Torso Twist
• Bad Reputation
• Obsolete (2720)

Notes

• As of this writing, there MUL Profile for MR-6 and MR-7 variants have not been updated with current BV2 or an Alpha Strike Card.

Bibliography

• Historical: Operation Klondike
• Master Unit List
• Record Sheets: Operation Klondike
• Record Sheets: Vehicle Annex, IndustrialMechs & Exoskeletons
• Technical Readout: Vehicle Annex
• Technical Readout: Vehicle Annex Revised Edition