In the aftermath of the breakdown in Marik-Liao relations, the FWL military realized it was short on medium-weight fire support / main-battle BattleMechs, and decided to do something about it. The Capellan-League alliance cooling faster than Katherine Steiner-Davion's heart in the cold Tharkad winter denied the FWL access to many excellent Liao designs, so in the end, a thinktank was formed to set forth guidelines for a new Marik BattleMech. It would use what parts were available to keep costs down, yet still be an effective BattleMech of the line. Unfortunately, the end result was something less than desired, coming into being seemingly only through the inertia of Marik politics and compromise.
         The thinktank came to a consensus on only a few major points (uncommon for Mariks). A quick favorite design was the Capellan Jinggau, a medium/heavy-weight OmniMech prized by the CCAF for its versatility and combat-effectiveness. However, the FWL military did not want to put huge amounts of money into overall cost-per-unit built. Their guidelines completed, Curtiss Militech, the creator of the TR1 Wraith,   was the first with a proposal and a working testbed, and were thus handed the contract for the new BattleMech, to be known as the Ryksein, named for the famous Marik captain of yore Marshall Ryksein, known for his exploits against the Capellans in the Second Succession War.

         While the Ryksein does not use an expensive and vulnerable extralight engine, the standard General Motors fusion powerplant delivers above-average performance for a 'Mech of the Ryksein's weight and class, similar in top end to the Marik-made Trebuchet and Apollo. However, it does use endosteel and ferro-fibrous materials to garner the necessary weight savings need to install the desired weapons complement.
         The Curtiss designers went with a mix of laser and missile systems to deliver the Ryksein's offensive power. Paired Tronell III Heavy lasers, one in each arm, form the "main guns" of the Ryksein, and deliver reliable performance. A brace of Generation Streak-4 racks are mounted in the torsos to provide backup short-to-medium range hitting power which are folled up by a pair of excellent RAMtech extended-range medium-grade lasers.
         However, in Curtiss' zeal for the project several errors were made, and not all by the manufacturer. Firstly, the Hellespont-CASE armor acquired from the Capellans was defective, prone to cracking and dropping whole sheets of armor plating. Secondly, the Apple Churchill Guiding Light targeting system had a failure rate four times higher than the norm, in fact missing the existence of a target completely once during testing. Other mishaps occurred during testing that were quickly hushed up so the project could be salvaged. Allegations were thrown about between Marik and Liao brass and the official word is that the equipment used was "defective" due to poor storage.
         The armor level is only good enough to cover little over eighty percent of the Ryksein's chassis. For a fire support mech, this may be adequate, but in a combination role design such as the Ryksein, it is not nearly enough, not to mention that its longest-range guns are only effective out to little over 420 meters. Additionally, the cooling system is deficient, meaning alpha strikes with the Ryksein's weapons will cause an immediate heat spike capable of destroying the entire 'Mech.
         The 'Mech's saving grace is its weaponry, although a pilot must be extremely careful in his or her approach to the battlefield, and is best teamed up with other fire-support capable units.

         After many recalls and retrofits (record numbers for a design in its first two years of service), the Ryksein finally became a reliable 'Mech its pilot could place his trust in. Its combat history has been nothing spectacular, but the Ryksein is finally living up to its intended purpose as a medium mainline BattleMech in the Free Worlds League military.

         Two proposed variants address the Ryksein's deficiencies on the battlefield. The first, the 2SM, downgrades the SRM racks to standard ones and tacks the weight on in additional armor plating. The second is a compromise between additional range and armor. It again downgrades the SRM racks, but only adds a single ton of armor. Another double-strength heat sink is installed, and the Tronel lasers are upgraded to extended-range models.

         As a relatively-new workhorse medium fire-support and line BattleMech, the Ryksein has not garnered any famous or infamous pilots in its service history. It is this ignominity that has kept it in good stead with the Marik Militias and put some C-bills in the coffers of Curtiss Militech.
         However, the only known "action" of the Ryksein involved the first testbed mule, unit ID ED-209, which misfired its laser array in the prototype phase and liquified two of the design staff personnel. This incident was quickly hushed up by Curtiss Militech and the Marik military.

         The Ryksein, true to its intended role, has been filling in slots in medium 'mech lances in the Marik military machine, mostly in the Marik militias and other regular line units. More high-profile outfits have shunned deliveries of the Ryksein, holding out for more advanced machines like the Wraith or more effective fire-support platforms such as the newer Trebuchets.