Armaments:
1 x NTC-71XE High-Energy Beam Rifle, stored on hip or body depending on mode.
1 x Mobile Bracer, mounted on body in quadruped mode, hand-carried in use.
2 x Beam Blade Wing, mounted on back, operate in either mode.
2 x Dober Gun, mounted on shoulders, operable in either mode.
2 x Beam Sabre, mounted on hips, hand-carried in use.
4 x Phalanx Vulcan, mounted on quadruped sensor head, operable only in this mode.
Story:
Towards the end of the Third Space War, all sides began to rapidly roll out new mobile suits in hopes of gaining a tactical advantage. To this end, a number of unproven, and sometimes innovative, prototype units were green-lighted faster than usual, in hopes they could turn the tide in favor of their respective side. The Fafnir is one of these units, constructed by the United Alliance's Armatech Syndicate shortly after the organization's truce with the Newtype Corps. The machine is actually based on the Fenrir, an Alliance mass production model that was intended to help ward off a possible invasion of Earth. The latter core design was extensively customized by the Newtype Corps to fit their style and specifications.
The Fafnir, and its parent Fenrir, were designed to incorporate the quadruped mobile suit elements that had made the United Alliance Leopard famous on Earth, while still maintaining the versatility of a humanoid mobile suit. In its quadruped mode, the machine possesses the top land speed of almost any mobile suit of its era. It can manage long leaps with its verniers, climbing several hundred feet in height or length at once. Its mix of ranged and close combat weapons give it significant first-strike abilities, allowing it to cripple most targets before they can mount a counterattack. In prolonged combat, the Fafnir tends to rely on its speed and agility to overcome a foe, rather than shear force.
After the fall of Earth Sphere's technological civilization, many of the Fafnir units in existence (none of which ever saw serious combat) either remained in the hands of their Newtype Corps pilots or were scavenged by outsiders. Besides the armor it lacks to account for its higher-than-average mobility, the only real weakness the unit has is its inability to fully adapt to aquatic combat. Over the course of fifteen years, most Fafnirs have either been lost or scrapped for spare parts. A rare few remain intact, however, and are valued assault weapons for the ground-based warfare that has come to dominate the planet.
