When the AGM-1ON Agamemnon was unvieled a year
before, it came with a serious drawback, the cost. At a
little over 30 million C-Bills, the Agamemnon is an
expensive mech. So the HLB-1-O Halberd was
introduced. What the Shirotachi is to the Battle Fury, the
Halberd is to the Agamemnon. A few subtle difference
exist in the two mechs, the most important factor is the
cost. 12 Million C-Bills for a 100 tonner Omni is an
important investment to make. Unlike the Agamemnon,
the use of an Endo-Steel chassis was utilized. Dual CASE
sytems are also installed. This ensure that any ammo
explosions in either side torso does NOT cripple the mech
unlike the Agamemnon. In testing, the evaluation
commitee at the Phoenix Armaments Limited Proving
Grounds on Sirrius were amazed at the survivability of the
mech. Able to survive even down to a pair of legs and a
Center Torso shocked the test pilots. When the
Quartermaster Corps of many major houses and
mercenaries Regiments alike caught wind of the
development of the Halberd, PAL was overrun with HPG's
and several pre-orders to see the mech in action.
Variants:
All variants of the Halberd are related to the Agamemnon
in some fashion. This is because the Halberd was meant
to be a NON-XL version of the Agamemnon.
The Primary Variant mounts two Norse Storm Gauss Rifle's
like the Agamemnon. 7 medium lasers and 1 SRM-6
missile launcher is in place for Short Ranged fury. The
Gauss Rifles carry 5 tons of ammo total.
Configuration Alpha is a MRM support vehicle. 2
MRM-30's are mounted in the torso's each supplied with 3
tons of ammo apiece. Two PPC's are installed to provide
addition LR firepower even though simultaneous use of
both Primary Weapon Groups will inevitable shut the mech
down or risk ammo explosion due to the immense heat
generated. Like the Primary version, 4 medium lasers are
present to make up for the lack of laser-based support
weapons.
Where the Alpha variant excels at longer ranges, the
Bravo Variant dominates at short ranges. A UAC-20 is
mounted in the right torso as the primary weapon carried.
2 ERPPC's are for LR protection. Additional support
weapons consist of 6 medium pulse lasers and 1 ER
Medium Laser.
Configuration Charlie mounts an ERPPC, an UAC-10, and
a MRM-30 launcher. All of these weapons can be fired at
once with a moderate heat build up. Shorter ranges come
equipped with 2 medium lasers and 2 Streak-6 missile
racks.
Delta Configuration is designed along the lines of a similar
Agamemnon variant designed to be a heavier armed
Stalker. A LRM-20 w/ an Artemis IV are mounted above
an SRM laucher in each side torso. The arms come
equipped with a boxy weapons pod with a Large Laser
underslung by a medium pulse laser. A Double Heat Sink
is mounted in each pod to improve heat dissipation in the
arms.
The Echo variant is the only C3 Master Computer
equipped variant of the Halberd. To cover all of the bases
the C3 system was used to improve the versatility of the
Halberd. This is predominantly a LR mech with a paltry 2
medium pulse lasers for backups. A Gauss Rifle is
mounted in the left arm opposed by an UAC-10 in the left
arm. An ER Large Laser is mounted in the Right Torso to
round out the LR armament.
Deployment:
This mech is a hot commodity in the markets of
Omnimechs. The cheap cost of this mech coupled with its
inherent versatility of an omnimech make it a sought after
engine of war. Currently mercenaries are the most
frequent users of this mech becuase its economical cost
and awesome abilities. Major Houses are also interested
in the design for the same reasons. The SLDF, though a
preferred customer, like to use the Agamemnon instead of
the Halberd. Since 2.75 Halberds = 1 Agamemnon, the
SLDF will soon realize the benefits of this mech. We are
not discounting the use of the Agamemnon, merely putting
the Halberd up as a cheaper alternative. And if one looks
closely enough, they will see that the Halberd's available
Pod Tonnage is only 5 tons less than that of its heavier
cousin.