V2.00ÿÿ?HBGoblin Medium TankIICÑ À©ü¨FüCüCPAAÀ@GM 006 2 2 1— 5Ttran5ú !"   < (Unknown)FJohnston Minigund­ (Unknown)d­ (Unknown)d¨@ Infantry Bayÿÿ£ The Goblin is unique among battle tanks in that it carries a small infantry support unit. The support unit is used either to add extra firepower to the tank's already formidable main gun or to provide it with security when the tank is operating in urban areas. No one is sure who originated the design concept for the Goblin, but it is assumed to have first been produced during the Star League era. Whatever the case, Johnston Industries took over production of the vehicle for House Davion late in the First Succession War. â The Goblin uses a weapons set-up popular among the newer vehicles used in the Inner Sphere. Instead of mounting a bulky autocannon or cumbersome missile units, this tank uses a large laser with enough heat sinks to keep it cool and a small power amplifier to charge it. This type of weapon system has the advantage of a gun with good range and firepower, but without the need to carry ammunition. Many other weapon types may run out of ammunition during a sustained firefight, while the laser can effectively fire as many times as needed during an engagement. The BlazeFire Systems Heavy Laser is a standard turret-mounted large laser. The BlazeFire targeting and tracking system has optional link-ups for the rest of the tank's three-man crew, so that one of them can fire if the gunner becomes disabled. The MiniGun is controlled by the driver. The Goblin's most interesting feature is the infantry compartment in the rear of the tank, which is large enough to hold seven infantrymen and their equipment, or one support weapons team, such as a medium recoiless rifle. The compartment is padded and reasonably comfortable for the inside of a small tank. The infantry carried by the Goblin is not expected to win a stand-up fight on its own. Neither the Goblin commanders nor the infantry leaders intend an individual tank squad to act as a main offensive weapon in an attack. Rather, the tank is intended for use in groups of four or more, which would provide a Goblin lance with a whole platoon of infantry support This larger infantry unit can function as support for the Goblin unit's attacks, as an independent battlefield unit, using the Goblin's heavy armored personnel carriers, or to aid other infantry units on the battlefield. * During a Davion raid on the planet Weisau, a large unit of Goblins became cut off by enemy forces. Just as the infantry were to disembark, the Goblin commander saw the last Davion 'Mech lance destroyed by enemy assault 'Mechs. The whole unit then made a hasty but prudent retreat into the surrounding hills. This situation put the Goblin unit into a difficult situation. Realizing that they were cut off from supplies on a hostile planet and with no news of a DropShip coming to pick them up, the commander and the sub-commanders of the Goblin and infantry units devised a plan. They hoped to transmit their location to friendly troops still in the system, or at least to wreak enough havoc among the enemy to significantly influence the outcome of any future raid on Weisau. The Goblin commander sent out his infantry on a raiding and reconnaissance mission. Their primary assignment was to find food and equipment stores and then to report the location of these back to the Goblin unit's temporary headquarters in the hills. The infantry's secondary mission was to raid any small towns and villages they encountered. Their tertiary objective was to hit any 'Mech and vehicle repair stations found, though only with the utmost caution. Within a week, the infantry had discovered three small villages and a 'Mech service outpost The outpost was to be the first target. The Davion commander held back the infantry as more useful for a later fight, and sent the Goblins in to attack the outpost. They managed to destroy it before the outpost troops could relay a message to their own commanders. The infantry attacked the first village under cover of night. The village was only lightly defended and certainly not prepared for a sneak attack. After only a few minutes, the infantry captured a long-range communications station. The commander decided to use this station after the other villages were under his control. The second and third villages fell just as quickly as the first. The last village was somewhat more prepared than the first two, however, and so the fighting lasted longer. The village defenders never really had a chance against the combined forces of the infantry platoons supported by the Goblin's lasers. After the last village fell, the Goblin commander used his captured comm gear to contact any DropShips that had been in the system, even though he had no real hope of contacting friendly ships. It turned out that DropShips had been sent to look for them. After receiving the SOS, the DropShips arrived to pick up the unit a day later.    6Source: 3026 TRO Entered by Larry "Highball" LeslieJohnston Industries (Unknown)LongWay ProtecTech 9 CommuTech XL!BlazeFire Tracker with RangeCheck[ none ]