Faster Than a Falling Atlas

[DeJaVu]

Stinger
Type/Model: Stinger STG-5T
Mass: 20 tons
Chassis: Earthwerk STG II Standard
Power Plant: 120 VOX Fusion XL
Walking Speed: 64 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97 km/h
Jump Jets: 6 Rawlings 52 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor Type: Durallex Light Ferro-Fibrous
Armament: 2 Doombud Multi-Missile Trios
Manufacturer: Vandenberg Mechanized Industries, Pinard Protectorates Limited, Detroit Consolidated MechWorks
Primary Factory: Macleod's Land, New Vandenberg, Detroit
Communications System: Garret T10B
Targeting & Tracking System: O/P 911

The Stinger held the distinction of being the most produced BattleMech in the Inner Sphere at one time, a race that was often contested by the comparative Wasp and Locust models at one time or another. Although it lacked the recognition of the more distinctive Locust, the Stinger always gave sterling service and that service is what kept it in production for so long.
Well, that and the fact that hardly a BattleMech ever went built that someone wouldn’t buy. Given the plethora of test-beds running around, it was only a matter of time before someone started tinkering with them—or several someones, in this case.
In the Periphery the Taurians—and I’m not sure if they’re refitting or actually building them this way now—have stripped out the guts of the ’Mech to make a light barrage striker. A pair of three-tube multi-missile launchers give their Stingers a bit more flexibility than most light ’Mech pilots are used to. Ironically, the ’Mech is performing best when given to Dispossessed Davion MechWarriors who used to pilot Hornets. Given the Taurians’ seeming inability to come to grip with the MML’s attributes, a fair number are being captured or salvaged.
A realitively simple model that’s popping up all across the Sphere strips out all of the original model’s weaponry for a new Fusigon Mini Light PPC, mounted where the medium laser was. This weapon, while in a familiar place, still forces a learning curve for the Stinger’s pilot since it has twice the range of the old laser.
In Steiner space the emphasis seems to be on survivability—I guess, after the last few years, the Lyrans have just decided it costs too much to keep rebuilding these things and they want them to last. Heavy ferro-fibrous increases the ’Mech’s protection while a pair of light machine guns replace the standard models. When combined with the extended-range laser upgrade, the Lyran Stingers also engage from further away, which is hoped to give the Lyran MechWarriors a greater chance of damaging their enemy before he closes the range.
Of course, that assumes that Steiner jocks can hit anything moving faster than an Atlas falls.