V5.00ZBishopBSH-J1 ԟ`DDAA0AMA 7 7 4 4 14 3Jecm "" * 4 Defiance 1001ZDefiance Model XIIk2 Harpoon-4SxNorse GuardianGPoland Main Model Ak Harpoon-4SZZGGGGGGGkk 444kk xx   The Bishop was a promising Assault 'Mech design being evaluated at the time of the Blakeist Jihad in 3067. Intended to replace the ageing but still respected Zeus as standard trooper 'Mech in the LAAF, it never entered full production. The 'Mech gained its name, the Bishop, for two reasons - the large cooling intake above the cockpit was seen to resemble a bishop's mitre, and test footage showing a pilot advancing by jumping alternately to the left and right made the choice almost inevitable.GThe Bishop was designed to be a potent mix of firepower at all ranges, and (more circumspectly) to outperform the experimental Zues-X at a vastly lower cost. Lyran designers resorted to the old tradition of overlapping fire envelopes. Long distance firepower was provided by the two hardest-hitting IS weapons - a Poland Main Model A Gauss rifle, and a Defiance extended-range PPC. Close in firepower is provided by massd Streak-SRM launchers, and paired Defiance ER medium lasers in a vambrace mount on the left arm. Twenty freezer heatsinks mean that the Bishop copes admirably with either firing regime without losing its cool. The Bishop is slow, by virtue of its standard Michaelson fusion engine - but this was not seen as an issue. Far from it; the speed of the design fits well with traditional Lyran doctrine, and the enhanced survivability over XL (or, more so, the experimental XXL engine used in the Zeus-X) is apparent. In any case, the additional mobility provided by the Leviathan Lifter jump-jets compensates for the lower top speed in all terrains other than flat plains. Variants were prepared with the Gauss Rifle replaced with either an Ultra-Autocannon 20, or an LB-20X autocannon. In either case, the increase in short-range damage was offset by severe heating issues, plus the loss of ranged firepower. Neither variant achieved field testing.    [ none ]Brigadier Corporation (Unknown) MichaelsonArmorscale with CASEBrigadier 900F Angst 2100-bHartford Hypertrak/Q-45Leviathan Lifters