Pride of the Taurian Concordat, the CQD-5T Conquistador was designed and built on Landsmark.   Initial design work began in 3055, when the designers at Akula Corporate Engineering learned of the discovery of a Star League secret, the XL engine.   Utilizing this new technology, the design team was able to create a powerful new assault mech that would eventually become a symbol of pride and achievement for the Concordat.   Full scale production began in January of 3067.

The Conquistador is both simple and advanced at the same time.   While the armor and framework are standard construction that has been well proven through-out the years, the mechs engine, weapons, and to an extent electronics are cutting edge technology.   The use of double heat sinks is the key factor in the mechs success, allowing it to fire its main heavy weapons barrage repeatedly without heat problems.

The Conquistador was literally designed around the massive Vlar 300 XL Engine that takes up much of its interior space.   The design team also included a trio of powerful Tumanski Series 10 jump jets to allow the Conquistador to more easily negotiate broken terrain.   The engine itself is powerful, but lightweight.   However its sheer bulk presented the design team with several challenges.   While the problems were not insurmountable, the eventual solutions would make maintainence a bit more tedius due to equipment configurations.

The Conquistador is well armored with 19 tons of A.C.E. Type V Super Heavy armor.   CASE was also added to help prevent pilot death in the event of ammunition 'cooking off', and to allow the mechs chassis to remain salvagable in such an event.   The A.C.E. Type V Super Heavy   armor was the result of the usual contractor's, Taurus Majoris Mining, inability to supply a sufficient amount of StarSlab/6 armor for the prototype.   Irritated at the delays and excuses, Akula Corporate Engineerings design team developed their own armor type, thus cutting out the dependance on Taurus Majoris Mining.

The armament of the Conquistador is nothing short of devastating.   The main battery, which outranges the armament on most mechs, consists of a MilDouglas "Emporer Bones" Series Guass Rifle, a pair of Magna Firestar erPPCs, and a Sunglow Type 2 Large Laser.   Short range attacks are handled by a Harpoon-4S Streak SRM4 and a pair of Martell Medium lasers.

Conquistadors have only seen notable action on one occasion.   A Davion backed (assumed) raiding party landed on a Taurian controlled planet where a lance of Conquistadors happened to be stationed.   In that battle, 2 mercenary Banshees and a Grand Titan would quickly meet their doom at the hands of the Conquistador.

No known variants have yet been seen, though it is suspected that a command and control variant with advanced electronics may soon be produced.

Major Ryan "Tiger" Smithson:

Major Smithson was given command of a Lance of Conquistadors shortly after their introduction to the Taurian Military.   A verteran pilot, Smithson is quite skilled in the handling of his battlemech, though his gunnery skills are only average.   However, his mech "The Desert Scourge" would soon become one of 2 famous Conquistadors serving in the Concordat.

In late 3067, a Mercanary group made a surprise objective raid on the planet Jansen's Hold.   To their surprise, Major Smithson's lance of newly commissioned Conquistadors was on planet for manuevers.   In the battle that ensued, Smithson would earn a reputation for his gallantry.   By Days end, the Mercanaries were in full retreat, and Smithson had effectively downed an enemy Banshee 5S with 2 salvos, coring the mech in less than 30 seconds.

Captian Gloria Peterson:

Captain Peterson, of the same unit as Major Ryan Smithson is a highly skilled mechwarrior, known for her almost perfectionist approach to combat.   Her mech is one of the best maintained units in the Taurian Military, as she refuses anything but the best and demands the best of her maintainence crew.   Often thought of as stiff and unrelenting, Peterson is still one of the Condordat's brightest stars.

Her attention to detail would eventually pay off however.   On the morning of November 19, 3067, she found herself and her mech separated from her lancemates in the heat of battle.   Rather than panic, Peterson methodically stalked and destroyed a pair of Mercenary mechs.   A Banshee 3S, which she easily destroyed with well placed shot to the head, and a Grand Titan, which surrenderd after taking massive damage from Gauss and erPPC fire.

The Conquistador is deployed only in the Taurian Concordat.   Tuarian leaders have worked very hard to keep the mech unique to their military, including providing lucrative contracts to Akula Corporate Engineering and its design team to keep the mech from proliferating to other factions.   So far this has paid off.