Incubus (Vixen)

Inner Sphere analysts were stumped trying to determine the purpose of the second-line BattleMech they dubbed Vixen after sighting it among the garrison forces of Clan Jade Falcon. The Incubus, as it is known among the Clans, is somewhat expensive for a light garrison 'Mech. This confused Spheroid observers until they understood how important one-on-one duels were in Clan culture and how often they occurred among bored garrison troops. The Incubus is a 'Mech that is often used in such Trials, especially because it is easy to turn off weapons to effectively balance the 'Mech's strength with that of an augmented Elemental. Despite its purpose, the Incubus does occasionally show up in second-line forces that are desperate for equipment.

Following Clan Hell's Horses recapture of Tokasha MechWorks Alpha, and inspired by Clan Diamond Shark's "Phoenix" renovation of older design, the Hell's Horses developed a new version of the venerable design incorporating newer weapons technology to expand their BattleMech strength. Though visually different, the core purpose of the 'Mech remains intact, especially useful given the Horses Elemental heavy-touman. This visually refreshed Incubus also appealed to Clan Ice Hellion who developed their own variant of it, examples of which fell into the hands of Clans Cloud Cobra and Star Adder following the Hellion's ill-fated trade mission to Tanis prior to the Wars of Reaving.

Weapons and Equipment
Part of the Inner Sphere observers confusion around the garrison role of the Incubus is it's use of an expensive 270 rated XL Engine, Endo Steel frame, and five and a half tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor. While seemingly expensive for a "mere" garrison 'Mech, this gives Incubus impressive performance for a light 'Mech, its profile also looking aggressive despite it's weight, a distinct psychological advantage for its pilots.

The Incubus is armed with primarily medium-range weaponry. A Large Pulse Laser is accurate and covers a respectable range, mounted in a semi-modular "rifle" in the standard version's right arm. Similar to such classic designs as the Wolverine and BattleMaster, the "rifle" placement makes both repair and modification of this weapon extremely easy and rapid. Hell's Horses upgraded version replaces the "rifle" with a forearm mounted pod instead, but retains the same semi-modular nature for this reason.

The arm-mounted primary weapon is supported by over the shoulder light weapons clusters in each side torso. A pair of ER Medium Lasers are solid backup weapons, while four Machine Guns are highly effective against unarmored infantry. A half ton of machine gun ammunition and ten Double Heat Sinks are more than adequate for Clan Trials.

Variants

 * Incubus 2 : An example of the semi-modularity offered by the Incubus's "rifle", this variant replaces the pulse laser with an ER PPC.  BV (1.0) = 1,573, BV (2.0) = 1,913


 * Incubus 3 : The second variant mounts a Streak SRM-6 and a single ton of ammo in the "rifle", the weight saved allowing the torso lasers to be upgraded to Medium Pulse Lasers.  BV (1.0) = 1,216, BV (2.0) = 1,324


 * Incubus 4 : Clan Hell's Horses Incubus 4 completely changes the weapon loadout with an eye to lower cost, but keeps the core purpose of the 'Mech intact. It mounts a Heavy Large Laser, two Medium Pulse Lasers, two Micro Pulse Lasers, and two ER Micro Lasers. It can quickly build up heat in normal combat situations, but most of the Trials it is involved in necessitate disabling multiple weapons, so this is rarely a problem. BV (1.0) = 1,215, BV (2.0) = 1,581


 * Incubus 5 : Clan Ice Hellion, always prolific users of fast light 'Mechs, copied the original redesign of the Incubus, but decided to create their own variant. This fifth version mounts an ATM 6 with two tons of ammunition, two ER Medium Lasers, and four Light Machine Guns. BV (1.0) = 1,239, BV (2.0) = 1,364


 * Vixen 6 : This variant uses an XXL Engine to allow the chassis to carry an ER PPC and Talons. It's frequently seen with Hell's Horses Mongol warriors.

Apocryphal Variants
These variants were introduced in various apocryphal sources, and thus far have not appeared in any canonical media.

From MechWarrior Online:
 * INC-SA Sabre : This customized MechWarrior Online Hero 'Mech is equipped with 270 XL engine, two ER Micro Lasers and Heavy Machine Guns in both torsos, Streak SRM 4 with it's one ton of ammo in central torso and two Streak SRM 2's in the right arm, along with 10 Double Heat Sinks to cope with the heat, half ton of HMG ammo in left torso and one full ton of HMG and Streak SRM 4 ammo bins in right torso.

Related BattleMechs

 * Incubus II - The first design of a Jihad-era industrial alliance between Clan Hell Horses and the Exiled Wolves, the Incubus II trades lower ground speed for mobility thanks to Jump Jets and a Partial Wing and replaces the standard design's "rifle" for an array of interchangeable Hand-Held Weaponry.