MECHA
Veritech Excavator
By Khyron_Prime...7 June 2004
Class: Variable Geometry (Veritech) Mining Mecha
Crew: One pilot and one technician. An additional passenger can be carried, but they must sit in the technician's lap (the pilot's compartment is too crowded with controls to do the same).
Speed:
Battloid Mode: 100 MPH maximum running
40 MPH maximum with thrusters
Drill Mode: 75 MPH maximum unimpeded
50 MPH maximum drilling speed
Description: The use of Robotechnology, no longer limited to combat, has allowed the Interplanetary Alliance to develop mecha specfically-tuned to non-wartime situations, and the most widely-used mecha of the geologists of the Alliance is the Veritech Excavator, a nimble yet powerful variable machine typically used in average-level studies. Equipped with two main arms capable of lifting great amounts, the mecha is supported by eight minor limbs attached to its upper-to-mid level of backside for maximum dexterity in handling large and small objects alike. But where this mecha shows its strength is in its variable geometry design, in which the standard battloid can move its limbs into positions close to its body and retract its head, allowing the internally-contained protoculture-powered drill to be used. This transformation is not the speediest in the Alliance, yet is only slightly-slower than the average-level Veritech Fighters, and as a result, should the pilot find that he has accidentally bored too far into the ground or is trapped as a result of a cave-in, he can transform his mecha with little worry as to a potentially disasterous delay. In battloid mode, the Excavator pulls the drill into its body, using its hollow titanium alloy as a protection for the pilot, as it slides in, surrounding the pilot's compartment. In either mode, the Excavator provides the user with a wide array of uses, and has even been known to be a good defense machine during unexpected conflicts across Alliance spaces. With this in mind, it is no wonder that so many ex-pilots find comfort in the confines of a mecha that operates so similar to their own combat machinery.
[Battloid to Drill Mode.]
1) The pilot lays the Excavator's fore onto the ground.
2) Transformation begins.
3) Legs fold side-by-side on the Excavator's backside, leaving the foot thrusters pointing directly backward in tandem.
4) The head dislocates itself from the top of the body, leaning into a depressed lock on the Excavator's backside.
5) The main arms can either be locked into stationary position against the mecha's main body or left to be freely controlled for manipulation of objects while in Drill Mode.
