The Black Knight

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Episode Synopsis

“The Black Knight is not a mere machine; it is, in fact, an institution. It is the cornerstone of modern mech command and control— and has been ever since the day it arrived. And on the eve of every great war, regardless of the march of time, military planners know how to reach for what works, and the black Knight always has. As such, it is a machine for the chosen few. It is a mech designed for those who endeavor to command by example from the front, standing shoulder to shoulder with their brothers and sisters in arms…”

Executive Summary

Shoot. Move. Communicate. These three words, the physical mechanisms, and theory behind them, occupy the minds of any mildly or even minimally trained conscript, professional soldier, or officer. This baseline ethos, further reinforced by design choices at Kong Interstellar, such as minimal logistics requirements, heavy armor, networked sensor systems, and generous communications bandwidth, culminates in a 75-ton war machine that is peerless in frontline command and control.

Historical Background

The Terran Hegemony needed a new command mech. Not because they lacked machines to fill the role, but because they lacked a battlemech robust enough to endure prolonged frontline engagements. Archer, ammo dependence. Emperor, obsolete, undergunned, slow. Wolverine, a cramped and ammo-hungry Davion design. Phoenix Hawk: good design, a little light on the armor, avoid brawling. These were the choices, but none fit the bill. Kong Interstellar submitted a machine to the Hegemony Armed Forces that matched the speed of similarly sized platforms, with more armor, all-energy weapons for reduced logistics, and a command-and-control system second to none.

With the formation of the Star League, the contract with Kong remained active; the old boss was the same as the new, and the only thing that changed was how crucial the new command ‘mech would be. In 2572, UNITED TRIUMPH had been an absolute shit show of a combined-arms exercise, showcasing poor communication and horrific coordination. It was clear that the wonder machine from Kong needed to enter service sooner rather than later. The first large-scale Star League show of force only succeeded in telling League High Command what needed to change; everyone else saw a military that didn’t know whether it was coming or going. Even as the Black Knight was getting ready to enter service, everything continued to go pear-shaped.

There is always one guy who can’t take no for an answer. In this case, it was Ian Cameron. The First Consul of the Rim Worlds Republic, Gregory Amaris, was the only periphery leader to kiss the ring and, for his efforts, was seen as a bootlicker by his own people, now in open rebellion. The remaining nations of the periphery had responded to Cameron’s Pollux Proclamation, a beat upon the war drums to his Inner Sphere allies, with not even a shred of appeasement to the nascent Star League, and so all of humanity decided it was time to practice the second-oldest profession; the Reunification War had been joined. Scrimages and Raids in the Canopian territories, war crimes and violent occupation in the Outworlds Alliance, near-peer conflict in the Taurian reaches. And it was here, against a hyper-defensive, overly paranoid, industrially competent Taurian Concordat, that the Black Knight became blooded.

As with all wars, eventually conflict ends, and the survivors sort out who won, who lost, while the soldiers foot the bill in spent blood. The concluding acts of the Reunification War are no different; Home for Christmas becomes a nearly two-decade-long multi-planetary campaign against a people defending their homes. The Black Knight had performed beyond expectations in the scorched hellscapes created by the retreating bully boys, securing Kong Interstellar centuries of contracts for upgrades, repairs, refits, and, eventually, austerity-based designs when humanity decided to wage war on an escalating scale of unimaginable horrors. The Black Knight never died. It never needed to be resurrected. Retooled and reshaped for technological conditions and mission requirements, sure, but everything thrown at it was merely a flesh wound.

Technical Overview

The initial Black Knight to enter service worked as intended with no teething issues common to new military hardware. At 75 tons, with a Vlar 300 rated fusion engine, the heavy battlemech matched the mobility of its weight class contemporaries at a respectable 64.8 kph.

To extend the machine’s lifespan in frontline combat, the design called for 13 tons of armor, 90% of the theoretical maximum the chassis could support. The designers also factored for increased operational tempo by pursuing an all-energy loadout of weapon systems. Energy weapons do not require ammunition, but they do require heat sinks; the machine still struggles to stay cool with 20 heat sinks.

Pushing those heat sinks to the limit is a Single Magna Hellstar II PPC paired with twin McCorkel Large Lasers. Providing mid- and short-range support was a quartet of Maxell DT Medium Lasers and a single Magna Small Laser. Cross the Black Knight, and you will die screaming in fire.

TIMELINE OF VARIANTS

2578

BL-6-KNT

The original Kong Interstellar model that, as detailed above, entered service with the Star League Defense Force. The default chassis included zero-g manufactured Endo Steel from Technicron.

2751

BL-6b-KNT

The SLDF Royal version of the Black Knight debuted on the eve of the next great war (TM)—essentially a weapons and heat sink reconfiguration. Kong used the Kingslaughter ER PPC as a replacement for the older Hellstar II; meanwhile, they replaced the twin large lasers with two Raker-X large pulse lasers. Designers managed this weight increase by removing four heat sinks; however, the remaining 16 were replaced with more efficient double heat sinks, improving heat management.

2809

BL-7-KNT

Sir Austere, knight of the Succession Wars. Gone was the Endo Steel. Gone was the TransComm-Beagle Active probe suite. Gone were two tons of armor. Kong used these cuts to preserve the original weapons loadout of the BL-6-KNT, albeit provided by Tronel instead of Magna, Maxell, and McCorkel. Sir Austere still could act as a command platform thanks to the Tek line of communications and targeting electronics, just without the electronic warfare hardening afforded by the Beagle Active Probe… though it’s not like anyone still had any electronic warfare systems left.

2809

BL-7-KNT-L

Marik didn’t have many Particle Projection Cannons. The purple bird did have large lasers coming out the demon hole. The KNT-L is a field refit of the BL-7 that replaces the Hellstar II PPC with a large laser and two additional heatsinks.

3052

BL-9-KNT

One of the “Clanbuster” designs formulated by ComStar in anticipation of the Battle of Tukyidd. Built on the base of hidden stockpiles of BL-6 and BL-6b chassis, still sporting Endo Steel, ComStar replaced the venerable Vlar 300 with an extra-light version from the same manufacturer. The HPG wizards, after removing the active probe, then crammed a Magna Sunspot ER PPC, an Aberdovey Large Pulse Laser, twin McCorkel Large Lasers, and four Aberdovey Medium Pulse lasers. They rounded out the mayhem with a melee weapon befitting a knight, a god damn sword. With an extra half ton of armor and 15 double heat sinks, the BL-9-KNT shouts: Gentes ite domum!

3063

BL-12-KNT

Kong brings back Black Knight production. New machines walk off the assembly line with the original Technicron Endo Steel chassis, Vlar 300 power plants, 13 tons of armor, and TransComm communications and targeting suites. After dropping the Beagle Active Probe and small laser, Kong then upguns the BL-12 with an ERPPC, twin large lasers, and quad ER Medium lasers. To mitigate the increase in heat, 16 double heat sinks try to keep the ‘mech cool.

CLAN VARIANTS

Spirit Walker (Prime)

Clan Coyote’s love letter to the Black Knight, written in uncertain times. It is an OmniMech built on a Standard Chassis, with a standard 300-rated engine, a 2-ton reduction in armor, and stripping out four heat sinks, bringing the total down to 16, but upgraded to the double variety. Keeping the active probe, the primary configuration features quad ER large lasers, a quartet of medium pulse lasers, and a single ER small laser.

NOTABLE PILOTS

Captain Wilbur Frews

Gunslinger. Wild West affectiando. Crazy? Maybe. Did it work? Seven-year winning streak in ‘mech duels before mental collapse.

Elizebeth Cynthia Hazen

Possibly the most badass embodiment of the warrior spirit to ever exist. Her accolades are too numerous to list. Her dedication to the League and then Clan Jade Falcon, impeachable.

Ethan Moreau

One of the last Gunslingers, first Loremaster of Clan Goliath Scorpion, a man of conscience and duty.

Captain Ian McKinnon

Commanding officer of an independent Federated Suns unit descended from an SLDF special forces company. His Black Knight was a family heirloom.

Adept Epsilon IX Paris Aquila

Possibly first clan contact with BL-9 “Clan Buster.” Skewered the clan pilot with her “sword.”

Adept Epsilon XIII Alejandro Mendoza

Reenacted the (in)famous scene from Monty Python. Khan Natasha Kerensky had the honor of removing his last leg while fighting on Tukayyid.

DISCLAIMER

TEX TALKS BATTLETECH is a fan-based parody/attempt at education for a setting that deserves much love. Battletech, Mechwarrior, and all other material are owned by CGL, Topps, Tornante, PGI, their various subsidiaries, and a million shareholders (though not harmony gold, fuck those guys). No challenge to their ownership status is being made or intended by the creation of this work. Battletech is owned by the company, but the fanbase is what keeps it alive. Let us hope they forgive us for what fun we have. Tex Talks Battletech is a semi-serious take on Battletech, its setting, lore, and history in an attempt to bring people into one of the greatest franchises ever envisioned and should not in any way represent the official stance of any corporation, conglomerate, megacorp, holding company, or cartel which currently owns the franchise.

TL;DR: this is the opinion of one guy who loves a setting, and is dead-set on bringing it to everyone who cares to hear about it.

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LINKS

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