Wakazashi

Description
Designed during the early years of the Golden Century, the Wakazashi (the sister sword of the katana) allowed Clan Jade Falcon the time to rebuild their then weakened touman.

During the early 2800s Clan Jade Falcon found itself in increasingly dire straits due to internal divisions between their Warrior and Lower Castes. Khan Lisa Buhallin ordered her scientists to create a heavily armed and armored 'Mech that could provide the Falcons with the breathing room they needed to rebuild. Never intended as a long-term production design, the durable Wakazashi was relatively easy to build but was difficult to repair or modify. Subsequently, the Wakazashi's reputation suffered with the appearance of the OmniMech. When the Falcon's fortunes improved in the early Production Ceased::thirtieth century, Wakazashi production was shut down in favor of other designs. Only a few scattered examples survived at the time of the Extinction Era::Great Refusal, and none were brought to the Inner Sphere.

Though the Wakazashi used an Endo Steel chassis, that was the only sophisticated construction element in the design. The Wakazashi is powered by a standard fusion engine and had a top speed comparable to an Atlas, though three Jump Jets allowed the Wakazashi to cover broken terrain. Having sixteen and half tons of armor and fourteen double heat sinks, the Wakazashi could hang in a fight for an extended period.

Weapons and Equipment
The Wakazashi uses an SLDF Model 22-99-b Gauss Rifle and a Talon 5 ER PPC to provide long range firepower. An opponent who closes with the Wakazashi, hoping to get under the minimum range of these weapons, is in for a rude shock: a massive Flocculation LB 20-X autocannon and a pair of Series 7J ER Medium Lasers are used in order to deter any opponent that would close in. With three tons of ammunition for the Gauss Rifle and Autocannon, the Wakazashi is able to inflict large amounts of damage on a multitude of enemy forces.

Variants
Notorious for the difficulties in fixing it, the Wakazashi chassis did not lend itself to modifications. No official variants are known to exist.