Koto

Description
Produced in the untold thousands, the Locust is among the most common BattleMechs in the Solaris VII arena circuit just as it is in the greater Inner Sphere. Due to on-going production of the low-cost design and the seemingly limitless supply of scrapped 'Mechs, the Locust is also a common basis for custom-built Solaris Arena designs, of which Omnitech Industries' Koto is the most notable and successful.

While sharing the same basic shape as the Locust, each Koto has been extensively modified, utilizing an Endo Steel skeleton, Ferro-Fibrous armor, Double Heat Sinks and a XL Engine to maintain its parent design's speed and armor while weighing five tons heavier and leaving room for an increased weapons loadout. However, for all its advanced systems, the design still shows signs of its patchwork 'Mech Garage construction and hand-me-down surplus origin in a number of areas, most notably its electronic systems. The Koto is fitted with the same targeting and communications systems as its parent design, and even with custom modifications there have been random but significant instances of failure and breakdowns in battle.

Weapons and Equipment
The Kotos weapons array is built around Omnitech's belief that the MechWarrior who landed the first blow in a bout was the one most likely to win, and an agreement to test and showcase the advanced laser products of Diverse Optics in the arenas. Carrying a single center mounted Diverse Technology Labs Large X-Pulse Laser prototype, the Koto is able to unleash a surprisingly powerful hail of pulse laser fire at an unexpected distance. Backing this up are two Diverse Optics ER Medium Lasers mounted in the 'Mech's vestigial arms and a single Diverse Optics ER Small Laser fitted in the head. While lacking sufficient heat sinks to continuously fire all its weapons, the Kotos high speed allows the pilot to quickly engage and then withdraw to cool down.

Variants

 * KT-P2 : The first "model" produced, the original 3055 era Kotos weapons loadout was a mixture of the future variants and the Locust, mounting a standard Large Pulse Laser and standard Small Laser while retaining its parent's arm-mounted Machine Guns. Omnitech added CASE to try and help protect the half ton of reloads carried. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 631 Note: Original 'Mech from Solaris IV boxed set used Fractional Accounting and carried a ton of Machine Gun ammunition.


 * KTO-3A : This version downgrades the Large X-Pulse Laser to a Large Pulse Laser and the ER Lasers to standard lasers. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 806
 * KTO-4A : Omnitech's designers are also reportedly looking at a Koto variant using an ER PPC as its primary weapon. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 1,073

Related BattleMechs

 * Locust - The Koto is a redesign of the classic Locust recon BattleMech