Model number: AM-006
Code name: Guarlion
Unit type: limited production high-performance armored module
Manufacturer(s): Tesla Leicht Institute
Operator(s): numerous
First deployment: November UC 231
Accommodation: pilot only, in canopy-style cockpit in head
Dimensions: overall height 18.9 meters
Armor materials: titanium-elektron nonferrous composite
Powerplant: ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1730 kW
Equipment and design features: "Break Field" emitter system, mounted in shoulders; sensors, range unknown; Tesla drive system
Fixed armaments: 2 x 50mm vulcan gun, fire-linked, mounted in torso
Optional hand armaments: burst railgun, 40 round internal magazine, can be stored on backpack storage rack; assault blade, battery-powered, can be stored on backpack storage rack
|
Technical and Historical Notes |
The unfairly-maligned Iris Corporation had garnered a reputation for designing unusual mobile weapons in the post-Interregnum period, and perhaps more infamously, another for passing them off to anyone with cash on hand. One of Iris' last major inventions, the Tesla drive, proved an incredible boon to their production of mobile weapons. The Lion series of armored modules - a less-expensive alternative to typical mobile suit designs - immediately proves popular in the post-Interregnum defense market, with numerous Lions and their various offshots appearing in the hands of both legitimate operators and outlaw militias and such organizations by the mid-220s. This proliferation of inexpensive yet effective weapons technology eventually results in the forced shutdown of the Iris Corporation. Its successor, the Tesla Leicht Institute, continues development of the armored module concept well beyond the original design parameters.
The AM-006 Guarlion is the most radical departure from the first Lion designs, and it is almost more like a mobile suit than an armored module. Though still propelled by a Tesla drive with an aerodynamic body, it has fully ambulatory limbs and can wield handheld weapons. Thanks to the more refined drive system, it is also capable of both ground and zero-gravity combat (with some modifications), and can function underwater in a pinch if necessary. The Guarlion's speed is analogous to the original Lion's, but its maneuverability has been significantly improved, along with slightly increased armor protection to create a very well-rounded combat machine.
The Guarlion's primary weapon is a compact version of the Lion's burst railgun, allowing it to share a common ammunition type with other Lions. It is also furnished with a dedicated melee weapon, the rather eccentric but effective assault blade. By utilizing a set of rapidly-spinning teeth similar to a chainsaw blade in function, the assault blade can produce a nasty rending attack that is surprisingly capable of chewing through even advanced armor protection. This is primarily thanks to the use of a limited amount of gundarium alloy in the construction of the individual teeth (something the Tesla Leicht staffers would never admit, of course). The standard set of torso-mounted vulcan guns have also been retained. In addition, the Guarlion is armed with an entirely unique weapon, the so-called "Break Field". Initially devised as an inexpensive anti-beam barrier, the Break Field utilizes the Guarlion's nonmagnetic body as a conduit for its Tesla drive to generate a concentrated particle field theoretically capable of dissipating the kinetic energy of beam weapons. Though sound in theory, the Break Field was never able to be properly implemented due to a variety of technical limitations. However, some of the former Iris researchers were able to produce a useful result: by concentrating the Break Field around its emitters in the Guarlion's shoulders, it is possible to create a very short-lived but highly resilient particle field capable of physically interposing itself with other matter. Though it is typically too slow to activate to make a good defense, with proper timing it can be utilized in the form of a powerful ramming attack. The Break Field absorbs the impact of the blow, allowing the Guarlion to crash into an enemy at great speed while emerging relatively unscathed. The Break Field emitters have a substantial cooling time, preventing repeated attacks, so this tactic is best utilized in the form of a surprise maneuver.
Being many times more expensive than the typical Lion designs, the Guarlion is the rarest armored module currently manufactured by Tesla Leicht. That said, the limited quantity that do exist are highly sought after, with some analysts suspecting the Guarlion's raw performance as being on a similar level as the Earth Union's flagship GN-X mobile suit. Whether or not the Guarlion's high manufacturing cost, in spite of its lack of beam weaponry, will allow it to reach a wider usage remains to be seen.
Assault blade
Break Field emitters
Burst railgun
Head
Torso and vulcan guns
Rear view
