Kuat Walkers

Overview

Following the Leviathan War, many military theorists began to see mecha as a new wave of fighting that would be the staple of Web warfare in years to come. The Kuat Consortium, as one of the Web's largest military contractors, sought to anticipate the need by building a whole line of mecha, known as Walkers. The first Walker, the Mongoose, was created as an all-terrain scout transport. They then produced a standard combat design, the Enforcer, for the Federal Security Bureau and attempted to sell it elsewhere. As the Esper Union and even Guardia produced more mecha it ws clear that the mecha race was on.

Common Systems

Kuat mecha are distinctive in that their legs bend backwards, like those of a birds or a dog's hind legs. Kuat claims this gives the machine higher running speed. New and unskilled pilots can find this counterintuitive however, and sometimes have difficulty with such essential tasks as getting up.

All Kuat mecha come with the Smartlink II targeting system. Smartlink II is a version of Kuat's Smartlink optimized for mecha combat, compensating for the motion of the mecha's legs and allowing for precise 'called shots' on certain parts of an enemy mecha.

Kuat has developed a distinctive mecha user interface. Upon activation, the cockpit appears to vanish from around the pilot; the pilot is merely sitting in space, seeming to see through the mecha. This gives the pilot an easy 360 degree view of everything around the mecha. Controls are presented in a holographic panel in front of the pilot; these panels are customizable, and change and react as the situation changes, allowing for a streamlined interface. (The pilot can also bring up or execute any command through a voice command.) Assisting the pilot in managing the mecha is PACO, the Pilot Assistant Combat Operator, an expert system taking the avatar of a todo.

Missiles, when they are used, are typically wire guided or heat-seeking (Kuat pioneered heat-seeking weapons during the Imperialist War). Radiant blasters are the most common heavy energy weapon.

Models of Walkers

Mongoose Scout Walker

Even in the modern Web of advanced sensors and satellietes, there are places for your enemy to hide. Terrain too tough for even the best wheeled and tracked vehicles to pass can be staging grounds for enemy troops. Until now. The Kuat Mongoose Scout Walker gives you all-terrain scout capability. This elegant design has no torso or arms; simply a head and two of our patented legs. Although the Mongoose is light, it is certainly not unarmed; the “chin” can pack either a minigun or light autocannon and one side of the head is a grenade launcher. The Mongoose also has a sensor pod, giving it even better recon capabilities. Your enemies can run, but they can’t hide if you buy Kuat!

Enforcer Combat Walker

The Enforcer has good firepower, with each arm ending in a Lion-2 autocannon and shoulder missile bays. Twin lucent beams provide anti-infantry cover. Although it is less flexible than many mecha with hands, it makes up for it with raw power. Decently armoured, especially in the front. Slightly slower than mecha of comparable weight. Resembles a central sphere with legs and arms attached. The upper part of the sphere, where all the weapons are attached, has a 360-degree swivel. True to its name, the Enforcer is very good at beating light mecha or other medium mecha but can run into trouble against heavier machines due to its lack of large-bore weaponry.

Brawler Armoured Assault Walker

Nicknamed “the Can” for its blocky appearance, the Brawler is slow. It sort of waddles along. The Brawler is the heaviest mecha Kuat produces, and has few rivals for size such as the Scandian Zog. It is essentially an armoured brick. Its heavily armoured, though. Machine guns keep the infantry away. The two arms are resemble little more than large boxes, but those two arms contain Radiant blasters. Somehwere between a lucent beam and a manaforce cannon in destructive power, a Radiant blaster channels destructive magitek energies into a bolt that explodes on impact for heavy damage. It is, however, hampered by its relatively short range. Many ‘Cans’ can move very very slowly across the battlefield wiping out everything in their path.

Supermecha and 'Ace' Machines

Erinyes Fast Attack Walker

Warning! The Erinyes is extremely difficult to control even for trained operators. An expert pilot is required to control this mecha properly.

Dracoforms and Seraphim, meet your new enemy: the Erinyes, by Kuat. The Erinyes is a radical improvement in ground combat mecha. Whereas other mecha travel on foot or make short jumps, the engines built into the Erinyes’s legs allow it to hover at high speeds. The ground-effect skirt built into the Erinyes almost make it like a high-speed hovercraft. It is virtually unheard for a mecha of this size to attain such a velocity on the ground; the Erinyes keeps pace with the Mongoose despite weighing over three times as much. Designed to be extremely responsive, with a panoramic display and magnet-coated joints. The armament of the Erinyes is considerable. Built in it has an anti-infantry suite and Tiger autocannon on either shoulder. The core of the armament comes with the Erinyes’s carried weapons, which include a vibrosword and either an H-20 Bazooka or Radiant blaster. The left arm of the Erinyes has a small buckler. This buckler unfolds into a large, tower-sized energy shield based on the Gnome defense field technology used on the Emancipator. This helps compansate for the weak armour plate on the Erinyes itself.

The Erinyes's high combat performance and extrme agility make it popular among ace pilots such as Tor Stonecliff.

Emancipator and Liberator

Kuat's original supermecha, largely built to promote the concept. They hired Gustav Brubracker, a Kuat Arms Expert, to pilot the Emancipator; Yvelly Brubracker, a supermodel, was hired to pilot the Liberator. She legally changed her name to fit with the official Kuat storyline that they were brother and sister. The two were called "The Protectors" and were featured in a weekly television series where they would save the world and promote Kuat products. The two were designed to work as a team: the Liberator was a full-on offensive machine, while the Emancipator was purely defensive. Both machines had a sleek, aerodynamic look.

The Liberator was built around one weapons ssytem: The Grand Train bazooka, based on the ultimate spell of Blue magic, is one of the most powerful and volatile mecha weapons systems designed. Due to the large size of th emissiles the Liberator had only a handful of shots. Because the ammunition for the bazooka was both volatile and expensive, Kuat chose to construc tthe bazooka with a wire-guidance system; although this limited the missile's range, it was immune to jamming and highly accurate at short ranges. Because Yvelly Brubracker couldn't really pilot very well, this mecha is one of the only Kuat mecha to feature a Dry Bath control system.

The Emancipator similiarly was built around one main system: the Gnome Defense Field. Not only is the field projected around the mecha itself, but a large flying drone launched from the backpack of the mecha allows the Emancipator to extend it a certain distance, usually to protect the Liberator. Although the built-in backup weapons were limited to a 30 mm autocannon, the Emancipator could carry other weapons like an N70 Needle rifle or a vibrosword. The Emancipator was piloted by Gustav, a former Arms Expert, he earned the nickname of "the one who can actually pilot."

The Emancipator and the Liberator were entered in the robotic tournament but competed seperately so they performed poorly. Recently they were stolen; although Kuat blamed perennial rival Saeder-Krupp, S/31 was the real culprit.

Future Development?

Kuat is rumored to be developing a supermecha to replace the stolen Emancipator and Liberator and incorporating a wide variety of new technologies. They are also rumored to be considering an ace-type machine to follow on the success of the Erinyes; rather than replace the Erinyes, this would simply compliment a different fighting style.

Deployment

The Mongoose has received the widest deployment, being widely used to fill the scout role in a variety of national militaries including the Republic Marine Corps. Mecha, however, proved to be a tricky market to break into. They are costly to design and produce, and many of the Great Powers that employ large mecha forces prefer to develop their own homegrown designs. The Esper Union's KN Series, for example, exemplifies a flexibility and innovation in approach to mecha warfare fits with their doctrine; an Enforcer, despite its firepower, simply does not fit into the Esperian way of mecha warfare. Nations other than the Great Powers are rarely able and willing to shell out for mecha forces. Kuat also encountered difficulties in this field when Saeder-Krupp subsidiary R&M Limited began producing mecha shortly afterwards. This line's profitability suffers because two of Kuat's largest traditional customers--the Tasnican government and the Grand Army--make relatively little use of mecha. Nonetheless, Kuat did catch a break when Eblan decided to center its new Mobile Corps around mecha, drawing up four regiments of machines of various types. Although S-K also provided a susbtantial amount of mecha, it was a large order for the machines. Kuat also benefitted from publicity as these mecha were both highly successful in defending Egmont from the Reklar and Iggy Smucker's and Tor Stonecliff's success in the Robotics Tournament. Kuat is hoping that this will lead to expanded sales in its mecha lines.