| Junkman's more or less continuous living experiment, the Dragon is a Gear that actually started out life as a piece of military hardware, a Dark Mamba. However, Junkman is a Gear Duelist, with all that implies, and cannot resist tinkering... tinkering quite extensively. He therefore took the Dark Mamba apart... and had her nearly completely rebuilt.
Dark Gears were built for the in-space environment, and Junkman took the Dark Mamba back to its proverbial roots. He retained most of the maneuvering thrusters, including the Gear's main thrusters, mounted onto the shoulder harnesses. This gives Dragon unprecedented... almost scary maneuverability that requires a gifted, creative pilot just to get underway, much less fly her. It requires a successful Gear Piloting skill with a threshold of 9 to successfully pilot the Dragon the first time. With the system in full operation, the maneuvering jets can and will kick in to provide the Gear's acrobatic maneuverability as needed if the actuators are incapable of the requested maneuver. If the Jump Jets are used for an actual jump of some sort (over a vehicle or other obstruction, for instance), then the concealment/obscurement rating of the Dragon drops by 2 during that round.
The more prosaic anti-personnel weapons have been removed, and replaced with a Haywire Whip for close-in vehicle combat, and a Heavy Flamer for antipersonnel and demolition duties. A smoke launcher has also been added for laying down concealment. Junkman retooled the hand-held MAC for an increased rate of fire (to +2; Craig carries this same retooled MAC) and the flamer for increased range. From time to time, Dragon's Rapier and his backup weapon (usually a Panzerfaust) are removed and replaced with hip-mounted fore-and-aft APGLs for antipersonnel work (12 rounds each).
The Haywire Whip is also unusual in that Junkman sacrificed accuracy and speed of use for range. The whip has a range of more than 50 meters, however, allowing it to entangle foes at a distance and hold them for artillery fire. The Dragon's whip, nicknamed Erzach's Wrath by Junkman, requires a full round to recover through an integrated winch once it is deployed. Of course, if the whip hits its target, this round of recovery only applies when the Dragon releases her prey (or if said prey escapes). Another dueling flourish: Dragon comes equipped with toe claws and therefore does x7 damage with kicks in addition to punches.
Junkman generally prefers Southern or Badlands hardware if he can get it; the Black Mamba is obviously a Southern Republic design and most of his weapons are of Paxton or Territorial Arms manufacture (when he hasn't rebuilt them himself). The single exception is the sensor and communications suite. Junkman grudgingly acknowledges that the Northern CHAT/8 system is superior to SR designs, and removed one from a Cheetah to incorporate it into Dragon. Junkman also borrowed the design schematics from a Dark Cheetah to incorporate the CHAT/8's key systems on a Dark Cheetah-like retractable tool arm.
Dragon's NNet is Erzach, whom Junkman firmly believes is the living reincarnation of the Terra Novan Prophet of Jerusalemism. Dragon's construction went so well -- in all defiance of the naysayers that swore she would never work -- that not a single design-related defect has manifested itself in the Gear's design. Junkman sees this as the will of God, and has sworn to use Dragon only in doing God's will. He is also firm in his belief of his NNet's origins, and will not allow it to be wiped or modified under any circumstances.
Erzach has been with Junkman a long time, and from Junkman's perspective, is only now reaching his full potential. Erzach shares two of Junkman's personality traits... a Gear to which Erzach is linked receives +0.25 Maneuver. On the other hand, Erzach also shares Junkman's love of scavenging and will happily scan non-moving piles of metal -- debris, mostly -- looking for spare parts.
|