Nightstar NSR-9J

         The last of the Marauder series BattleMechs, the Nightstar was intended as a general support ‘Mech for heavy companies. Its primary role was to protect unit commanders piloting Marauders, who had become prime targets for Amaris troops during the early years of the Amaris Civil War. The SLDF High Command commissioned GM BattleMechs and Norse-Storm to design a heavy support ‘Mech, and after eight months of intense work the companies put the Nightstar into production. Unfortunately, the ‘Mech became a casualty of the Succession Wars. Three months after the First Succession War began, Norse-Storm’s primary production facility for the Nightstar was destroyed by Marik troops. At the same time, several members of the GM design team died in a freak accident at GM’s plant on Kathil. Two hundred and fifty years would pass before GM and Norse-Storm recovered enough technological expertise to put the Nightstar back into production.

       The Nightstar shares many of the Marauder’s design features, such as its flexible ball and socket arm joints. The Nightstar’s reinforced Marauder chassis enables it to carry twenty more tons than the Marauder, and so it has heavier weapons and stronger armor protection. The 285 XL fusion engine makes the Nightstar almost as fast as the Marauder, and certainly as fast as most assault ‘Mechs. Fourteen double heat sinks keep the Nightstar cool on the battlefield.
       The Nightstar’s weapons include twin Gauss rifles with seven tons of ammunition and two medium pulse lasers, as well as an extended range PPC. An Exostar small laser rounds out the Nightstar’s weaponry. The Nightstar’s electronics package includes the excellent Tek Battlecomm communications system, in production since the decoding of the Gray Death memory core, and the DLK Phased Array Sensor System. The best ‘Mech targeting system in the Inner Sphere, the DLK gives pilots incredible firing accuracy.

       A variant built by General Motors, the 9FC, replaces the 285 XL engine with a 380 XL engine that gives the Nightstar higher cruising and maximum speeds. Two LB 10-X autocannons replace the massive Gauss rifles, and four tons of ammo are stored in its CASE-equipped left torso. Standard medium lasers replace the medium pulse lasers, and the small laser is upgraded to a standard medium laser. One double heat sink has been removed, giving the 9FC a total of thirteen double heat sinks.

       The Nightstar has seen limited combat with the mercenary units Storm’s Metal Thunder and the .Blackstone Highlanders, who have raided several Clan-held worlds in the Jade Falcon occupation zone. Various units in the Lyran Alliance military are reported to deploy Nightstars, including the First Lyran Guards. The Federated Commonwealth has stationed several Nightstars with units along the Periphery border.