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Combat Vehicle Technical Readout
Name/Model: State Military Roving Ambush Picket Enforcer SM-RAPE-30F
Designer: RagingBarBearian
Source(s): Custom Mordel.Net Units
Technology: Inner Sphere
Technology Rating: D
Tonnage: 30
Role: Ambusher
Configuration: Combat Vehicle
Era/Year: Dark Age / 3150
Rules (Current): Introductory
Rules (Era): Introductory
Rules (Year): Introductory
Total Cost: 471,500 C-Bills
Battle Value: 519
Movement Type: Wheeled
Power Plant: ST GTEM Plus 100 Internal Combustion
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph
Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph
Armor: Standard
Armament:
4 SRM 4s
Manufacturer: State Military Technologies Engineering, Kalyxa-5
Primary Factory: State Production Plant
Communications: ST Comms-Array
Targeting & Tracking: ST Battle-Comp
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Overview:
Originally envisioned as a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative to the ubiquitous Hetzer
Wheeled Assault Tank, the State Military Roving Ambush Picket Enforcer SM-RAPE-30F,
colloquially known as the "Rover," was engineered to provide planetary militias with immense
defensive firepower on a highly restricted budget. Recognizing that isolated Planetary
Defense Forces require cost-effective defensive solutions, designers at State Military
Technologies Engineering on Kalyxa-5 streamlined the chassis down to thirty tons. The result
is a vehicle that packs a massive short-range punch, ensuring that cash-strapped planetary
governments can reliably secure localized boundaries and choke points.
Built upon a light, thirty-ton wheeled chassis that matches the top speed profile of its
classic predecessor, the State Military Roving Ambush Picket Enforcer SM-RAPE-30F
reinterprets the Hetzer's core blueprint through a high-saturation missile configuration.
The defining characteristic of the platform is its complete abandonment of the Hetzer's
massive, singular Autocannon/20. In its place, engineers installed a tightly clustered array
of four Short Range Missile (SRM-4) launchers. These launchers are nestled within a fixed,
forward-facing casemate assembly offset to the right side of the main hull, preserving the
Hetzer's characteristic fixed forward weapon position and restricted firing arc.
A four-ton internal ammunition bin is housed deep within the body, providing up to 25 salvos
of ammunition for all four launchers to fire simultaneously during prolonged engagements.
This aggressive strategy required the engineers to keep protection high for a thirty-ton
platform. 7.5 tons of standard plating wrap around the chassis, focusing heavily on the
frontal glacis to protect the crew when springing an ambush.
Manufactured exclusively by State Military Technologies Engineering at the State Production
Plant on Kalyxa-5, the State Military Roving Ambush Picket Enforcer SM-RAPE-30F serves a
dual purpose as both a premier defensive ambusher and a picket security unit. Its remarkably
low production cost of under 500,000 C-Bills allows planetary commanders to field entire
companies of Rovers for roughly the procurement cost of a single heavy BattleMech.
Capabilities:
On the battlefield, the Rover utilizes its low silhouette to wait in concealed defilade
positions along narrow valleys, blind corners, or dense urban intersections. When an enemy
element crosses its path, the Rover springs its trap, unleashing an overwhelming volley of
missiles directly into vulnerable enemy flanks.
In its "Enforcer" role, the tank functions as a well-armored mobile checkpoint and border
patrol vehicle. Relying on its built-in searchlight for night-time sweeps and the sheer
panic generated by a localized 16-missile volley, the vehicle can guard secure perimeters
and deter hostile incursions with absolute presence.
Deployment:
The tactical evaluation files of the State Military Armed Forces contain few entries as
harrowing or definitive as the combat record of Yvette and Aurora, collectively designated
Cluster 4-Beta. Produced under the State's restricted genetic enhancement initiative on
Kalyxa-5, these identical clones were physically optimized for rapid cognitive processing,
perfect crew synchronization, and extreme resistance to the intense physical battering,
vibration, and mechanical shock caused by operating a lightweight, fast-turning wheeled
chassis through rough terrain.
Due to the extreme ambient cabin temperatures generated by the compact ST GTEM Plus 100
Internal Combustion engine—which routinely overwhelms the hull's ventilation ducts during
sustained operation—the crew operated clad only in tight, high-cut, high-leg
camouflage-grey swimsuits. Rather than standard uniforms, these specialized swimsuits were
engineered with advanced antifungal and antibacterial properties, actively wicking away
sweat to prevent skin infections and maintain basic hygiene during grueling, multi-day
deployments and long combat rotations inside the sweltering, enclosed hull.
The pair first saw live combat during a surprise raid on an outer industrial depot by an
unusually well-outfitted company of deep-periphery pirates. Positioned in a concealed
hull-down position behind a collapsed manufacturing bulkhead, Yvette utilized the wheeled
chassis' low profile to remain entirely undetected while an enemy reconnaissance lance
advanced into the facility's choke point.
Once the targets closed within effective range, Aurora initiated a coordinated ambush cycle.
Utilizing the ST Battle-Comp to coordinate all four forward SRM-4 launchers, she saturated
the rear center torso armor of a pirate Commando with a concentrated sixteen-missile volley,
destroying its engine core in a single salvo. As the remaining pirates scrambled to locate
the source of the fire, Yvette executed a precise maneuver through the urban rubble,
allowing Aurora to cripple the leg mechanics of an invading Spider with a second
concentrated missile barrage. Before the pirate unit could adjust their firing arcs, the
clone crew managed to isolate and critically cripple the gyroscope assembly of a third light
'Mech.
Ultimately, the sheer volume of incoming return fire from the remaining pirate lances
overwhelmed the small tank. With its tires shredded by heavy missile impact and the forward
glacis plate compromised, the vehicle was immobilized, and both women were captured alive by
the retreating raiders.
The subsequent liberation counter-offensive launched by the State Military Armed Forces
arrived too late for half the crew. The attacking pirate band belonged to a notoriously
brutal, nomadic faction known across the sector for severe prisoner abuse and cannibalism.
While a specialized extraction team successfully breached the pirate compound and rescued a
severely traumatized Yvette, they recovered only the restrained and roasted remains of
Aurora, who had been subjected to execution and ritual consumption by her captors.
Despite the tragic fate of Cluster 4-Beta, the raw tactical data extracted from the
vehicle's black box telemetry permanently cemented the SM-RAPE-30F's role within the
planetary defense network. The encounter proved definitively that a single 30-ton garrison
platform, when helmed by an optimized crew, could reliably trade upward and neutralize
multiple multi-million C-Bill BattleMechs.
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Equipment Mass
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Internal Structure: Standard 3.00
Engine: 100 Internal Combustion 6.00
Cruising MP: 4
Flanking MP: 6
Heat Sinks (Single): 0 0.00
Control Equipment: 1.50
Lift Equipment: 0.00
Power Amplifier: 0.00
Turret: 0.00
Armor Factor: 120 7.50
Type: Standard
Armor
Value
Front: 45
R/L Side: 25
Rear: 25
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Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
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4 SRM 4s Front 8.00
SRM 4 (Ammo 100) Body 4.00
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Alpha Strike Statistics
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Point Value (PV): 20
TP: CV, SZ: 1, TMM: 1, MV: 8"w
Damage: (S) 3 / (M) 3 / (L) 0
Armor (A): 4, Structure (S): 2
Specials: EE, SRCH, SRM2/2
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