| The Ferret is one of the most unique Gears ever put in service of Terra Nova. Its design was probably influenced by that of the Bobcat, the first dedicated scout Gear of the Northern forces. The Bobcat featured a problematic secondary movement system based around oversized wheels powered by core motors on each of its knees. Bobcat pilots only had to kneel their machines and engage the core motors to acquire both low signature and great speed. Despite the structural flaws of the Bobcat this combination of stealth and speed seduced the military and they asked for a more specialized scout machine that could match these features and resolve its difficulties. Two prototypes were submitted to the military. The first, called the Fennec, was presented by Northco; although well designed, it was nothing more than a revamped Bobcat and the military refused it. The work on the Fennec would later be refurbished for the development of the Wildcat general purpose combat Gear. The Fennec's competition was an even more unique design proposed by the then largely unknown Keimuri Gear, which had built itself in the market of high performance motorcycles and custom Gear refits.
The Ferret was proposed by Keimuri showed the unique look of the young company. Led by Liayna Keimuri, owner and mechanical design genius, the Keimuri team created a machine that had the traits of both a Gear and a motorcycle. The Ferret was capable of two quite distinct modes of travel, which were referred to as Gear and Cycle. In Gear mode, the Ferret stood about 3.6 meters tall and walked on small, sturdy legs. In Cycle mode, the machine "sat" on a rear-mounted oversized drive wheel and locked its legs together, dropping its height to a mere 1.79 meters and assuming the characteristics of an oversized motorcycle. Designed as a light scout and recon vehicle, the Ferret was lightly armed, wielding almost identical weaponry as the Bobcat, namely a M25 pack gun and RP-109 Pepperbox rocket pod, supplemented by a vibroknife and one M-2A hand grenade. Like the Bobcat, the Ferret also wielded a laser target designator, allowing it to tag targets for fire support units.
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