Swordsman SWM-CR

         Popular in Lyran service since its introduction in 3023, the Hatchetman has been designated as a priority for Federated Commonwealth units.   ‘Mechs have already begun to arrive, mostly with the new F-C regiments.   Constuction has tripled since engineers converted the assembly line to production of the new HCT-5S, which incorporates a number of Star League systems.
         With the Draconis Combine still struggling to come up with its own design, Federated Commonwealth security officers feared for a time that Taurian spies had stolen the plans and were beginning to produce the Hatchetman at Taurian Territorial Industries.   Increased production at Taurian Territorial started all sorts of rumors, and then the Concordat formed a fourth corps in 3046, with the Pleiades Lancers using a number of Hatchetmen.   Davion agents later confirmed that the flurry of production and the appearance of the Hatchetmen in a sector of space where it had never existed before were a coincidence.
         Richard’s Panzer Brigade, a mercenary unit whose commander was obsessed with Melissa Steiner and showed great loyalty to the Lyran Commonwealth, had purchased a number of the the new Hatchetman ‘Mechs in the late 3020s.   Hanse Davion’s marriage to Melissa Steaner was too much for the commander, Colonel Richard “Big Daddy” Whitman, who signed on with House Liao as soon as the Brigade’s contract expired.   When Colonel Whitman died of a heart attack on his way to the Capellan Confederation, his son, Richard “Sugar Baby” Whitman, elevated himself to Colonel and took command of the unit.   The son did not command the respect of the father, and several companies of MechWarriors took their ‘Mechs, including Hatchetmen, and kept going, eventually joining the Taurian Defense Forces as part of the Pleiades Lancers.

         The new model uses the efficient new Edasich Motors 180 XL engine, reducing weight to make room for more potent weapons.   The Defiance Disintegrator LB 10-X Autocannon replaces the older Defiance Killer AC/10, a trade common in many ‘Mechs that carried a Class 10 autocannon.   Three Defiance P5M Medium Pulse Lasers replace the two B3M models.   The lighter engine allows Defiance Industries to use more armor, and the HCT-5S carries the new Durallex Super Medium Ferro-Fibrous Armor, increasing the Hatchetman’s protection by almost 50 percent.   Cellular Amunition Storage Equipment protects the autocannon shells from internal explosion.