Caesar

Description
Originally a reverse-engineered version of the Capellan Confederation's Cataphract intended to mask development of the Federated Commonwealth's fearsome Axman, the Caesar would turn out to be a good but not great BattleMech in its own right.

Supposedly the sole design intended to come out of Johnston Industries' then-new 'Mech lines on New Syrtis, the Caesar received notable public attention in an attempt to distract from development of the Axman. The finished 'mech surprisingly enough proved to be a high quality design itself. Though never attracting great sales, the Caesar would prove to be relatively popular in the Capellan March, among Lyran units on the Clan front, and with both FedCom-employed mercenaries and the Com Guards. Johnston attempted to redress its mediocre sales in the wake of the FedCom Civil War, developing two new variants intended to focus specifically on the qualities desired by the Lyran Alliance and Federated Suns. The resulting upswing in sales saw the Caesar in increasing use among those opposing the Word of Blake during the Jihad, with the LAAF in particular adopting the design almost as a means of honoring the assassinated Caesar Steiner.

Weapons and Equipment
The Caesar was built to do as much damage to an enemy at as great a stand-off range as possible. The 'Mech therefore carries a primarily long-ranged armament. The 'Mech also uses an 280 rated XL Engine and sixteen double heat sinks, both of which save significant amounts of weight, in order to carry as many weapons and as much armor as possible. The 'Mech utilizes CASE to protect against ammunition explosions should an enemy be able to breach the ten and a half tons of armor that protect it.

The primary long-ranged weapon on board the Caesar is a Poland Main Model A Gauss Rifle that can shear off just under a ton of armor with each shot, supplied with two tons of reloads. This is backed up at long ranges by a Johnston High Speed ER PPC, which can do two-thirds of the damage of the Gauss Rifle but is not dependent on limited ammunition. For close range engagements, the Caesar carries four Sutel Precision Line Medium Pulse Lasers, two of which are rear-mounted, allowing it to put up a crippling defense against any enemies that can get close to the 'Mech. The large volume of heat sinks carried ensure the Caesar can fire all its weapons while hardly breaking a sweat, making it a popular choice for missions in areas of extremely high temperatures.

Variants

 * CES-3S : This variant is produced by Johnston Industries for the Lyran Alliance. It is built on an Endo Steel chassis, and with Light Ferro-Fibrous armor. The rear-facing lasers are removed, making enough tonnage available to swap out the engine for a Light Engine of the same rating. The remaining mass goes toward upgrading the ER PPC to a Heavy PPC and the inclusion of a rear-firing ER Small Laser and Guardian ECM Suite. The Gauss Rifle is protected by CASE. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 1,909


 * CES-4R : A variant that first saw action during the Jihad, the -4R attempts to improve upon the -3R variant marketed in the Federated Suns. Designed with short-range combat in mind, it drops the rear-facing pulse lasers and three heat sinks in favor of additional armor and three ER Medium Lasers. MASC enables the Caesar to close more quickly and bring its Snub-Nose PPC to bear. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 2,024


 * CES-4S : The -4S variant, that first saw use during the FedCom Civil War, is intended for close-range combat. The vulnerable XL Engine has been replaced with a sturdier Light Fusion Engine, and has been redesigned to use an Endo Steel internal structure. The 'Mech is armed with a Heavy Gauss Rifle as its primary weapon. This is backed up by a Large Pulse Laser, two Medium Pulse Lasers, and a pair of ER Medium Lasers. BV (1.0) = 1,439 (1,415), BV (2.0) = 1,739


 * CES-5D : This Dark Age era variant is protected by Hardened Armor, carries Clan-spec weaponry, and is capable in physical combat thanks to Talons and Triple Strength Myomer.

Custom Variants

 * CES-3R Archangel : The personal 'Mech of Marcus GioAvanti, commander of Avanti's Angels, all of Archangel's weapons are upgraded to Clantech equivalents with the right arm medium pulse laser moved to the left arm and an extra Clan medium pulse laser added to the center torso. The resulted weight and space saved allowed the mounting of an extra double heat sink as well as additional armor. BV (2.0) = 2,098


 * CES-3R Gertrude : The personal 'Mech of Lt. Hannah McQuarters of the 1st Kestrel Grenadiers, all of Gertrude's medium pulse lasers were removed and replaced with eight forward facing ER medium lasers, two in each arm, two in the center torso, and one in both left and right torsos. BV (2.0) = 1,833

Related BattleMechs

 * Cataphract - Captured in large numbers during the Fourth Succession War, along with the main factory, the Cataphract was used to shape the appearance and weapons load out of the Caesar. Cataphract 'Mechs were also used in testing.

Design Quirks
The Caesar has the following Design Quirk:
 * Hyper-Extending Actuators

Notable pilots

 * Marcus GioAvanti, commanding officer of Avanti's Angels, piloted a Caesar, named "Archangel", after 3058.
 * Stephen Neils, Solaris Gladiator, piloted a Caesar in his last fight in 3062, where he died accidentally after a duel against Victor Vandergriff, fall over his own cockpit, who was crushed.