Guarango GRG-2R

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Hanseatic League

Guarango GRG-2R

My entry for LiS' Golden Era design challenge.

Overview
From Worldnet forum
September 3058

Feursturm>> I'm preparing a research paper detailing the military of the old RimWorld Republic. Specifically, I'm basing a chapter on the GRG-2R Guarango. Most of the information is pretty sparse. Who can help me out on this?

Angus_McMech>> Well, it was an RWR design, so it probably sucked.

KommandantHammer>> Wow, what an in-depth analysis. Angus, can you lend me some of your awesome analytical prowess for some clan mechs?

Feursturm, You're asking for some pretty old records. What's known is that the Guarango was a controversial mech that served mostly due to said controversy than its actual abilities.

MechJock>> The Kommandant is right: you´re going way, way back with this one. You´re talking about a product of stolen Lyran technology used to fight the SLDF.

Darkblade1337>> Minor nitpick: the Guarango is not dead, not yet. My unit just completed a contract in the Chainelane Isles (dirty, dirty work) and our sponsor had a pair of Guarangos. I'm no Senior tech, but I'd bet my last Kroner on them being of fairly recent manufacture. There's no way those mechs were centuries old, a decade or two at the most.

KommandantHammer>> Will you bet your AsTech liscence on it?

Darkblade1337>> Yes

ProfX>> When Archon Robert Steiner II invaded the RimWorlds Republic, he obviously brought an entourage of Lyran manufacturers, eager to pick over the remains of the RWR. Coventry Metal Works seized the Garnika Warworks facility at Woodford. They likely still have much of the intellectual property in their archives.

Crusader0812>> Didn't the Werewolf pilot a Guarango during the Reunification War?

RobinsonRanger>> Werewolf??

KommandantHammer>> Leave it to a Davion to know nothing about heroes whose surname isn't Davion.

Darkblade1337>> Leave it to a Lyran to overstate the legend of the Werewolf. He was infamous more due to his ability to survive multiple suicide missions than his markmanship.

Assault_Jock1>> Yes, Simon O'Reilly piloted a GRG in the initial stages of the war, but is known mostly for piloting a Guernicus, especially in the fighting on Apollo.

ProfX>> A little patience, and you might be surprised at what you can dig up. From here on the Worldnet forum itself:

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Mech of the Week: GRG-2R Guarango

For this weeks's edition of MoTW we take a break from contemporary mech design and go all the way back to the Age of War and and an unlikely source of destruction on two legs. Think that the present era is racked with political strife and intrigue? Well, back then, some five and a half centuries ago, there was just as much novelesque drama as today. The heavy mech known as the Guarango is reputed to be the source of the civil war that rocked the Lyran Commonwealth at the dawn of the 26th century between Robert Steiner and Margaret Olson, aka the Tharkan Witch. The irony, and I'm sure many of you saw this coming, is that the mech is not even Lyran. The fruit of RWR engineering and meddling in the Inner Sphere, as we will see again in dramamtic fashion a couple of centuries later, the Guarango that touched off the Steiner bloodletting is a result of a coup by RimWorlder espionage forces.

No one ever accused the Amaris family of thinking small. The GRG was a result of the desire to respond to the new mechs coming out of the Terran Hegemony industrial machine. New mechs such as the Thunderbolt (yes, at the time it was a cutting edge design. My oh my, how time flies) only served to highlight the shortcomings of the RimWorlds military forces. Already short on mechs, the decision by his predecessor Terens Amaris to put quality before quantity acted as a brake on R&D that alarmed many of the top brass. True to form, Amaris turned to AsRoc, the RWR's intelligence service, for a solution. Starting sometime in the last decade of the 25th century, AsRoc managed to infiltrate the Lyran Court, even gaining the ear of Duchess Olson herself if rumored are to be believed, and proceeded to leverage these contacts in order to get a fly on the wall, so to speak, at a few key Lyran manufacturers. Ok, industrial espionage, so what, right? Well, here comes the good part.

At the time, the Republican military was working on a mech designed to overcome the RWR's traditional deficiency of battlemechs. The objectives were a mech capable of assault operations, and tough enough to outlast opponents in service such as the LCAF's Ymir, or the Combine's Von Rohrs. In other words, having seen the Thunderbolt debut in 2491 the generals out in the RWR decided that they wanted their own version. This proved easier said than done, as the TDR was one of the heaviest mechs in production by the Hegemony at the time, and the RWR industrial complex was somewhat below Terran standards. Enter AsRoc. The Republican spooks had scored big when they managed to secure blueprints on Lyran research in heavy ballistics. A wedding ring that had found a finger on which to rest upon, the engineers on Apollo eagerly took the plans and promptly churned out working models, which would come to form the centerpiece of the Guarango's armament. Never one for discretion or softly spoken words, Amaris unveiled the Guarango to no small amount of controversy in 2501. While many believe the tri-vids of the time, which showed Robert Steiner making the fateful decision to assume the Archonship upon seeing the Tharkan throne covered with rugs and silks, multiple sources point to the debut of the GRG and its Lyran-based heavy autocannon as the final straw that pushed young Robert to war. To top it off, it is said that Robert did indeed shake with fury, when he was informed by LCAF officials that the RWR had obtained the ballistics research legitimately, through normal channels, with Archon Olson's approval after one of her (almost certainly faked) tarot readings informed her of a need for magnanimity toward the Periphery. Truth is stranger than fiction, they say.

After a tumultuous beginning, the Guarango settled down to a fairly uneventful service for the next few decades. The RimWorlds Republic fought few conflicts during this period, but the Guarango was there to do its part. Then a new Amaris entered the picture. Named Gregory, this new Amaris was openly and brazenly a Terran sycophant, to the disgust of nearly everybody. One of the results of Gregory's shameless bootlicking was to let homegrown designs such as the Guarango languish in favor of Hegemony designs such as the Thunderbolt and Warhammer. Once everybody was good and ticked off at this, workers at the Diplass facility went on strike. The resulting turmoil and de facto regime change led to a rebirth of the Guarango.

As already mentioned, the Guarango had languished due to Amaris' preference for Terran Hegemony designs. Once the RRA had taken over, one of the first things was to toss out the 'foreign influences' and focus on homegrown designs. The upshot of this is that the Guarango saw heavy use in the Reunification War, often in last stands against hordes of SLDF troops. Heroic, to be sure, but the vast majority of mechs were destroyed all the same, and very few indeed survived the war and its aftermath.

Even after all that, the Guarango would make a mark yet again on interstellar politics some century and a half later. In hindsight, everybody knows that the Periphery Rebellion recieved its battlemechs from Stefan Amaris' secret factories. Was it a sense of nostalgia, or that he couldn't resist the symbolism? Whatever the reason, Amaris supplied the rebellious Taurians and Canopians primarily with the Guarango heavy mech, and as a result, the GRG has passed from a mere battlemech to become a universal symbol of rebellion. The habit started on pre-spaceflight Terra, with the image of the AK-47 slug-thrower, and today includes the Guarango.

CAPABILITIES
A mech with such a background must be impressive, right? Some of the most iconic mechs- like the Thunderbolt, Guillotine, and Warhammer- date from that period, and we know that the Orion came soon after. These are the heavy mechs that form the gold standard for heavy mechs. Well, compared to such formidable competition the Guarango is hit and miss. Except for the Guillotine, the other mechs are all generalists, with an array of weapons for many different roles. The Guillotine is most similar, with it heavy emphasis on in-your-face firepower. The GRG was meant for assaults, which during the Age of War presumed a degree of combat at close range. The long years of conflict known as the Succession Wars resulted in several shifts in tactics, some of which de-emphasized the close-combat role that the Guarango was designed for. In this sense, the mech never achieved the longlasting fame of the Thunderbolt or the Warhammer because those two mechs lacked the focus of the RWR design; this is an ongoing meme that generalists stand a better chance of surviving than specialists. Don't believe me? Which mechs are still in production hundreds of years later (Thunderbolt, Warhammer), and which are now not much more than a symbol of the past (Guarango)?

The GRG was intended as a response to the Thunderbolt, and this is evident in more than one area. Unlike the FedSuns HammerHands, the Guarango moves at the same speed as the TDR and WHR. It also matches the Thunderbolt's legendary protection, with a full thirteen tons of heavy armor composites which remain impressive even today. The main attraction, and the original source of controversy, is a massive 185mm Republic Mk.X autocannon. There is no doubt that the Lyrans were quite irked at this epic act of plagarism, even moreso later on when they found themselves on the recieving end during the Reunification War. Backed by a pair of Firefly type II medium lasers, the mech could rip its contemporaries to shreds if it ever got in range. And even if it couldn't close, a Stolz Harbinger PPC gave the GRG some long-range clout. An Intar Incinerator class Flamer serves to keep conventional forces at bay, a common problem of the period. As a complete package, the Guarango was a reflection of the RimWorld Republican combat doctrine: War to the knife, victory at any cost. The mech has few equals even today in its element, but the battlefield operates under a certain darwinism that favors flexibility over specialization.

So, somehow you've got a Guarango or two in your TO&E; what do you do? Fortunately, the RWR built sturdy mechs, so all you have to do is remember that the mech is not your average trooper. In battlefield conditions, the mech had only one real weakness: LRMs. While only carrying the bare minimum of heatsinks, any experienced mechwarrior knows how to ride the heatscale with aplomb, but the GRG suffered disproportionately against missile equipped mechs. BattleRoms from the Reunification War showed more than one encounter with an Archer that ended badly for the Guarango. And herein lies the solution. On the modern battlefield, the GRG is just what the doctor ordered for bodyguard duty. In a buddy formation with missile boats, the Guarango is free to focus on what it does best, namely getting down and dirty with the enemy.

So there you have it. While everybody is obsessed with 'The next Big Thing,' sometimes the best way to see where we are going is to look back and see where we have been. The pugnacious Guarango is the result of a bygone realm from a bygone era that still manages to carve out a place for itself in the modern era, even if only as a lesson to others.

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Feursturm>> Wow, that really helps. thx!

Darkblade1337>> Not a bad writeup. I think I'd still prefer a Thunderbolt, though, unless I knew for certain that I was going to get hot and heavy with the enemy.

Assault_Jock1>> You're such a perv, Darkblade. I wouldn't want to get hot and heavy with anybody who's trying to kill me :P

Anyway, He's right about one thing. The GRG is a good choice for bodyguard duty. Not many will want to close with this mech.

KommandantHammer>> "War to the knife, victory at any cost." That pretty much sums up the Guarango.


Battle History
Assault_Jock1>> Hey Fuersturm, here's a tidbit for your research. When I was still in the academy, I took a trip once to Apollo to visit their war museum. You might remember it as having extensive info on pre-SLDF hardware. I still have a copy of some of the data crystals from the exhibitions. Here's one from the Reunification War.

(Cue to a scene showing a battle in progress.

The battlefield is a narrow, rocky valley hemmed in on both sides by crumbling cliffs. Moving in loose formation is a battalion of mechs in Lyran colors, primarily Crossbows and Ymirs with a a handful of Mackies. They advance slowly as flashes and a stacatto roar come from up ahead. It is now possible to see that this videofeed is coming from a mech moving along the flank of the main formation; it slowly advances parallel to the cliff wall.

As the camera approaches the source of the fighting, the enemy finally comes into view. Four mechs in RWR colors, a gangly Phoenix, a massive Guernicus, and a pair of stout Guarangos can be seen taking cover among the boulders that dot the floor of the valley. Although displaying the insignia of the Republican loyalists, all four have ben blackened by previous combat. Azure lances of manmade lightning lash out from the quartet at their tormentors, cutting deeply into the Lyran machines, yet failing to slow the advance. A sense of forboding fills the air as a storm of missiles, lasers, and streams of autocannon shells blanket the defenders' position, and in fact eliminates much of the boulders that shielded them.

Inexorably, the Lyrans reach the stubborn RimWorlders. In an act of heroic defiance, the Phoenix and the Guernicus rise up into the air on their jump jets, to come down in the heart of the enemy formation. Confusion reigns as the two mechs manage several shots into the rear of more than one mech; the gargantuan Ymirs and ponderous Mackies cannot traverse fast enough to avoid seeing three of their compatriots fall to the defenders' PPC, lasers, and heavy autocannon. To compound matters, the twin Guarangos choose that exact moment to burst from the shattered cover directly into the teeth of the advancing horde. Their furious onslaught catches the Lyrans offguard; the wall of laser fire and autocannon bursts cuts down the two Mackies at the head of the formation. One of the enormous assault mechs crashes to the ground as it is decapitated by the Guarango's autocannon, the other falls lifelessly to the floor as it is gutted like a pig by the Guarango's companion. In spite of such tragic heroism, the sheer weight of the enemy is slowly, inevitably brought to bear on the four. The Phoenix is the first to fall when a barrage from a Crossbow destroys the mech's jump jets, leaving it at the mercy of the heavier Lyran machines. The Guernicus and one of the Guarangos sacrifice themselves in a frenzied rush into the bulk of the enemy. The impetus of the attack throws the Lyrans on the defensive, granting the doomed defenders yet more opportunities to strike. When the pair are finally laid low, it is at the cost of four shattered mechs.

A lightning flash from the remaining Guarango's PPC passes within less than a meter from the camera, momentarily blinding it. The shot is too close for comfort, it seems, as the mech shifts position and reveals a new angle of the Republican loyalists' last stand. It is revealed to the viewer of this gruesome spectacle as the three companions of the lone defender are slaughtered by the sheer numerical superiority of the Inner Sphere mechs that the final survivor remains defiant in the face of his impending doom. A blackened, twisted carcass of a mech that refuses to lay still, it still proudly displays the insignia of the Rim Republican Army on one of the few patches of still pristine armor. Ignoring the futility of the act, the defender strikes out at the approaching mechs with its lasers and PPC. The muzzle of the enormous autocannon is silent, its munition bin long since exhausted. A Lyran staggers, then falls, to be replaced by another moving up to take its place. The two sides are now face to face, and another Lyran finds itself on the recieving end of the assault. Whether bourne of a deadly marksmanship or desperation, the RimWorlder cuts deep into a Lyran with the PPC, and yet another is bathed in flame from the Intar Incinerator. The price to be paid is dear; return fire shakes the Guarango violently, like a ragdoll in a tornado. The flurry of shells and missiles amputates the arm at the shoulder, and the Stolz PPC falls to the ground in smouldering pieces. The last gesture of resistance from the RimWorlder is faithfully recorded as it brings the gaping maw of the silent Republic autocannon crashing down into the cockpit of a Thunderbolt. Another storm of return fire obscures the mech; after a moment or so all that can be seen is a pile of unidentifiable junk lying next to the lifeless Thunderbolt. A single item can be discerned among the wreckage: among the low, grumbling fire of burning myomer and charred electronics a shard of scorched armor still defiantly brandishes for all to see the symbol of the Rim Republican Army.

(Fade to black as the recording reaches the end)


Deployment
Feursturm>> This is all very useful, thanks guys! So, does anybody know if there are any Guarangos around today?

KommandantHammer>> We know that Gregory Amaris let production lapse in his pro-Terran fetish. The mech was manufacured by the Provisional government by the hundreds on Apollo.

Angus_McMech>> And destroyed by the hundreds by the Star League.

Assault_Jock1>>Thank you, captain obvious. Do you have any other revelations to share with us?

He's right, though. Very few mechs survived the war, and good ol'Gregory never rebuilt the factories. Ironically, it was Stefan Amaris who gave the design a second chance at life.

Darkblade1337>> Yep, the Usurper supplied the Periphery malcontents (read: his dupes) with a goodly number of Guarangos. At least one of his secret facilities was in the Chainelane Isles, because there is still a trickle of production there. Like I said before, I've seen new models of the mech with my own eyes.

Assault_Jock1>> Not necessarily, Darkblade. The warlords of the Isles engage in some degree of trade with the outside world. They could have gotten the mechs from anywhere, especially if you only saw two of them.

KommandantHammer>> My guess would be the Hanseatic League. They seem to have a manufacturing facility somewhere, since they are deploying other RWR mechs like the Phoenix. Even so, I think I would probably want something a bit more modern than a Guarango.

RobinsonRanger>> Mech too small for you, Lyran?

ProfX>> Known production of the Guarango ended once and for all when Archon Robert Steiner II invaded the RimWorlds Republic. In the wake of his 'Police Action' greedy Lyran firms seized anything and everything of value and carted it off back home. There's no question that the design could be produced today for the LAAF, but it doesn't seem very likely. Even if a few copies survive in the wilds of the Periphery, the Guarango is for all intents and purposes a dead design.

Angus_McMech>> Good riddance

Feursturm>> Thanks for the info. You guys are great. Except you, Angus_McMech.
 

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