Charger

The CGR-1A1 "Charger" is a BattleMech from the Battletech Universe, notable for being one of the most oxymoronic concepts for the entire series: An Assault-Class Mech built for scouting.

History

The Charger from the very get-go was a very bad idea that somehow managed to ram-rod it's way into existence in the Star League-era. It was developed by Wells Technologies in order to create a Scout Mech that could survive encounters with enemy combatants, which resulted in creating an 80-ton mech with a massive engine that takes up over half of it's overall mass, and enough armor to survive getting blasted with an AC/20...and almost nothing for weapons, because the people making these things wanted it to be a Scout Mech, goddamnit. And Scout Mechs don't need to fight, just gather data. This, expectantly, created an issue where nobody in their right mind would ever possibly want a mech that could only barely survive sustained encounters and made itself a huge target, and the company found itself overburdened with these giant hunks of scrapmetal and facing financial ruin.

And then the Star League collapsed, and who but the Draconis Combine would show up desperate for any Mech they could get their hands on, and they bought pretty much all of them wholesale.

While a fool's errand for frontline combat, the Charger, against all odds, found its uses as a hard counter to the Stinger and Wasp mechs that went on scouting runs in contested territory, a garrison Mech, a civil obedience enforcer, and as a melee shock Mech, for while it was next to useless at most ranges, it was still an Assault Mech with hand actuators. And due to these behind the lines roles, a shocking number of these things still manage to walk the Inner Sphere to this day; even the original Chargers that everyone agreed were dogshit.

Armaments

Because the smoothbrains at Wells Technologies wanted the Charger to be discouraged from ever actually fighting at it's size and weight, the Charger mounts 5 Small Lasers in the arms and head.

Five Small Lasers. That's it. Understandably, the reason these things ever found an effective niche came from their blinding top speed and their sheer size making them ideal melee mechs, which made them popular on Solaris, but never on any sort of normal battlefield, where they'd get torn to shreds by even moderately gunned Medium Mechs.

Variants

Unlike the Banshee, which spent a good portion of it's operating life trying to justify it's existence and failing, the Charger is known for having variants which are infinitely more useful than it's base model almost from the first one on.

• CGR-1A5 - A Capellan version they were able to procure thanks to contract bullshit. They downgraded the engine and ripped out all the lasers in favor of an AC/20, SRM-6 launchers, and a Medium Laser. The result was a Charger that was still best at brawling distance, but faster than you might expect and can hold it's own in a firefight for once.
• CGR-1A9 - An attempt at a longer-range Charger with a reduced engine, and upgrading all but two of the small lasers to medium ones and an LRM-20 launcher, with two tons of ammo stuffed into the left torso. It also had jump jets to make up for the mobility loss. While initially a FWL design, this variant is actually utilized more by the Outworlds Alliance thanks to a legal snarl getting this variant solely produced there by the 31st century.
• CGR-2A2 - More a popular unofficial mod than anything else, this variant is widespread throughout the Periphery. Lacking one ton of armor, the 2A2 carries a Medium Laser and 5 Rocket Launchers. This actually turned it into a moderately dangerous Scout, as anyone who accidentally came across it could get jumpscared into the afterlife by it's full payload going off at once in your face.
• CGR-3K - The Combine's first major upgrade on their original Chargers, using the 1A9 as a base. It updates the engine, bringing it back up to original speed, all the lasers are now Medium Lasers, and mates the LRM to an Artemis IV system. It might also have been either a base for the Hatamoto-Chi or misidentified as one in it's initial engagements.
  • CGR-C - A command variant upgrade for the -3K, it carried a C3 slave unit and added more ammo for the LRM.
• CGR-KMZ - A "Kamikaze" variant with absolutely no suicide bombs in it, making it not much of a Kamikaze weapon at all. It's weapons are replaced for two light PPCs and a Heavy PPC, as well as a Missile Launcher and a Sword in the shape of a katana.
• CGR-SA5 - The Capellan Confederation variant's logical end point, in which it's lasers have been upgraded to ER Mediums, the LB-X AC/20, and two SRM-6 Missile launchers.
• CGR-SB "Challenger" - The Charger 's final form. It's engine is replaced with a much smaller one, bringing it back down to normal Assault Mech speeds, but loads it to the gills with weapons; Four Large Lasers, one Medium Laser, with nearly thirty heatsinks to keep all that heat under control.

Mechs Influenced

Surprisingly, the idea of a fast Assault Mech has actually kept engineers thinking, even if it's only been a couple of them.

• Hatamoto-Chi - The Hatamoto-Chi is the marriage of the Charger 's frame and the Thug 's weapon loadout to create a 'Mech well-suited for the Combine's needs and wants.
• Cudgel - a Purely Solaris based 'Mech optimized for combat in the Arenas.