Daboku

Description
The result of a Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery think tank tasked with gleaning information from the Helm Memory Core, the Daboku was unveiled in Introduction Year::3038 to little fanfare. A near-instant failure with flaws in almost every major system, the 'Mech was nonetheless hurried to the front lines for the War of 3039 where it became both a laughing stock and a virtual death sentence for Kuritan pilots. Problems with the CASE system protecting the ammunition bins resulted in the auto-eject triggering when the torso armor was struck in a certain manner. DCMS MechWarriors found themselves rocketing above the battlefield, often at the most inopportune moments, and ultimately took to disabling the auto-eject. Other problems included lasers that were prone to overheat, over-taxing the already burdened heat sinks, and routine jamming of the autocannon ammunition feeds, the result of an improperly designed chest cavity.

Combined, these problems persuaded the DCMS to shelve the design after the conflict. It was revisited in the 3040's and thanks to a further understanding of Star League technology ultimately became the successful MAL-1R Mauler.

According to information from sources of dubious canonicity (BattleTech – Die Welt des 31. Jahrhunderts and Life Support #4, the magazine of the MechForce Germany), the Daboku is in turn based on the Linesman, a yet older design which was originally developed by the Capellan Confederation but proved too expensive to build; the blueprints and a prototype were then sold to the Draconis Combine shortly before the outbreak of the Fourth Succession War. There the design became known as Nainokami (which is the official designation for the Mauler in the German edition of BattleTech).

Weapons and Equipment
The Daboku is armed with two Tronel VI-X Large Lasers, two Holly LRM-10s, and four Imperator Smoothie-2 Autocannon/2s, a layout that was intended to allow the pilot to snipe at enemies from well beyond conventional ranges. Unfortunately, the housing for the Large Lasers prevents proper cooling and as a result they often overheat and short circuit the Daboku's targeting circuits. The ammunition feed for the Imperator autocannons also tends to jam, depriving the 'Mech of its longest range weaponry. Only the Holly LRMs seem to work properly but are only equipped with a ton of ammunition each, limiting their usefulness in a drawn out fight.

Variants
No variants of the Daboku itself were ever manufactured. When the design had finally been refined into a worthwhile BattleMech it was re-introduced as the Mauler, adopting the FedCom codename for the new design to leave the stigma behind that was associated with the Daboku.