Mech Every Day Force Saturday #5: Fifth Crucis Lancers Rifle Lance

The Federated Suns, ruled by House Davion, was the second major state to form outside of the Terran Alliance. Though it cloaks its actions in pleasant-sounding words like "freedom," it's just as strongly expansionist as its neighbor and constant rival, the Draconis Combine. Following the Fourth Succession War, the Federated Suns merged with the Lyran Commonwealth to create the Federated Commonwealth, the largest single nation in human history, which controlled nearly half of all worlds in the Inner Sphere. This super-state didn't last long, splitting in 3058 after political missteps by Victor Steiner-Davion. By the ilClan era the old alliance is ancient history, though technically ilKhan Alaric Ward is a Steiner-Davion...

The Crucis Lancers are some of the oldest units in the Inner Sphere, originally formed by one of the Federated Suns' founding nations. Like other premier units (Marik Militia, Sword of Light, etc.) the exact number of Crucis Lancer regiments has waxed and waned as commands were destroyed and new units formed. The white accents on these 'Mechs marks them as members of the Fifth regiment.

The Rifle lance is exclusively used by House Davion, due to their long love of autocannons. The Rifleman and Blackjack are long-time favorites of the Federated Suns. They're typically used as long-ranged snipers or anti-aircraft artillery. The Caesar and Axman are both newer machines, designed after the recovery of the Helm Memory Core. The Caesar is in some ways a copy of the Capellan Cataphract, though its development was actually meant as a smoke screen to conceal the Axman project. It is the heavy-hitter of the lance, pairing a Gauss rifle with an ER PPC and plenty of heat sinks to keep up precise, long-range firepower. The Axman is obviously a larger version of the Hatchetman and is equipped for close combat with a massive 20-class autocannon, large pulse laser, and the axe. Every 'Mech in the lance also mounts a bevy of medium lasers as backup weapons.

Despite entirely lacking missiles, these four 'Mechs are surprisingly versatile. While I've called this a Rifle lance, it could also be declared as a Direct Fire or even Heavy Battle lance, allowing the formation to be tailored to the combat situation. The Axman and Caesar are most common in the Federated Suns, but the green scheme could fit in with other factions if needed.