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AKULA
Clan Diamond Sharks Akula Special Edition Mad Cat MKII was stolen off a merchant vessel moments before it entered into The Nova Cat Occupation Zone. It is now the personal mech of Rosen Ujula, one of the most savage and unscrupulous outlaw captains to ever operate within the Draconis and Clan border regions.
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RANGER
In order to meet tight supply obligations to the Federated Suns, Clan Diamond Shark offered to ship a slightly abused Mad Cat MKII test unit that had been assembled with MASC integration, a smaller 325XL engine, quad Ultra-Autocannon 5s, two newly acquired Heavy Medium Lasers and many other one-off pre-production components.
After inspection and painting the mech was delivered straight into the battle-lines of the FedCom Civil War in the service of the the 1st Crucis Lancers where it helped destroy countless enemy units under the command of Captain Raymond Müller. Concerned about the repair and rearmament bills from Clan Diamond Shark running into the tens of millions, command eventually pulled the mech from the front lines and kept it on standby for situations when its most needed.
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DRAUGR
A Mad Cat MKII purchased by Clan Nova Cat in 3075 from Clan Diamond Sharks Arms merchants. It was presumed lost in the fierce battles of the Blakist's Jihad, only to reappear on official records when it was sold by a civilian (possibly a Diamond Shark front) salvage company named Diamante Reclamation to Odin Manufacturing Research and Technology Acquisition's Department in the Free Rasalhague Republic in 3088.
The impending amalgamation of The Ghost Bear Dominion and The Free Rasalhague Republic presented Odin Manufacturing with some of the technological insights that allowed the Mad Cat MKII to be fully disassembled and rebuilt using standard armour and replacement Inner Sphere level technology. After Odin Manufacturing had learnt what it could from the mech, it was once again sold, this time to the Republic who immediately presented it to the Ghost Bear Dominion for a partial refit with clan tech. During this time it also received a new weapons load-out mostly sourced from Ghosts Bear's collection of miscellaneous parts: A Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle 40 courtesy of technology trades with none other than Clan Ghost Bear's arch-rivals, Clan Hells Horses and two Improved Advanced Tactical Missile Launchers won from Clan Coyote in a trial of possession on Strana Mechty. Two ER Medium Lasers allowed it to maintain some ammo independence and two Light Machine Guns provided anti-infantry capability.
By the onset of the new Dark Age the mech was already a battered war torn veteran of battles against enemies of the Dominion on all fronts. Star Captain Ivan Baardsen, a Rasalhague native had earned his rank with his unparallelled skill in mech combat and the respect of the Ghost Bear Touman by fully engaging in their rituals and customs. Ivan was ceremoniously assigned the unique mech after four subsequent Clan MechWarriors had failed to wield it effectively in the eyes of their Commanders. In a single trial by combat Baardsen defeated two Ghost Bear MechWarriors to prove himself and from then on the mech was never commanded by another, he named it Draugr and the Dominion turned a blind eye to the customisations it received with every victorious return from a distant battlefield.
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Ivan Baardsen stood on the ice and looked up at the great Mad Cat MKII battlemech, its silvery raw steel armour glistening magnificently in the midday sun as it peeked over the hilly horizon of Alshain's northern polar region. A dozen other clan mechs from The Ghost Bear Dominion's Eighteenth Battle Cluster stood beside it, their MechWarriors underneath them gazing at the lineup of Rasalhague freebirths that were assembled for inspection. Star Colonel Dana Bekker and her Ghost Bear entourage jumped from the rear of a hover APC and began a long determined walk toward them. Not usually a man to succumb to acting on emotion, Ivan dropped to his knees as if in prayer while tightly grasping an iron amulet forged into a coiled effigy of the serpent Jörmungandr. The men standing beside him only offered a slight shuffle of confusion as they watched. Ivan looked back up at the Mad Cat and muttered "You wont let the unworthy wield you will you. Let me show you I am worthy and we will do great violence toward the foes of Rasalhague."
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Edited by jjm1, 10 June 2017 - 06:30 PM.