Piccolo Soldato Urbano
The Piccolo Soldato Urbano or "Little Urban Soldier", is an urban warfare specialist made by Fiat-Rossi Industriale of Vice and Reservoir System for militias and city defense forces. Though classified as a Light Battle Frame, the Urbano is heavily armored for its small size, and has a low profile in comparison to many other 'Frames. Its integrated jump-jets and full, 360 degree torso twist grant it additional tactical flexibility as well. Perhaps most importantly, the Urbano comes at a price point that is very affordable, and in the opinion of some, on the very brink of expendable if not already so. Small and full of character, they are known to be well capable of punching above their weight within the tight confines of city fighting. It and its companions were made to spring ambushes on unsuspecting foes using its jump-jets and small size, or grind it out in fights of pure armor and firepower. Naturally, they are advertised by Fiat-Rossi Industriale as "The war machine that held the line when all others fled!"
However, most would also add, "Because it was too slow to run away!"
History
Made by Fiat-Rossi Industriale, the small economy car and aircraft manufacturer made its one and only foray into the Battle Frame market with the Piccolo Soldato Urbano. Instead of opting to make direct competitors to already prolific machines in popular, crowded fields of use, the company wisely decided to find and select a niche that was not only unoccupied, but also vital - urban warfare. Crunching the numbers, they discovered that warfare in such an environment was attrition in nature, and so made sure to develop a design that was well optimized for this role. Using their extensive expertise in car and aircraft manufacturing, they quickly developed a chassis that was simple and easy to produce as well as repair. On top of that, they fitted it with common yet sturdy armor to improve longevity, with the same design philosophies going into all other aspects, ranging from engine to weapons to cockpit and electronics. The end result was a simple, robust and affordable Battle Frame that was not only ideal for militias, but would have drastic impact above its weight and price should it be a defender in urban environments. Unfortunately, the Urbano was viewed derisively as bargain-bin trash for most of its career, at least until hostilities rose to a fever-pitch in one particular mega-city.
The authorities had quickly fled while refusing to capitulate, their battle frames having lost the challenge battle for claim out in the field, with the survivors 'moving to regroup'. As a result, the challenge winners entered the city to lay claim themselves instead of waiting for arbitration, with the local militia being unable to flee and refusing to stand down due to the threat that their homes and families were now under. What happened next was a sharp turn-around that was completely unexpected; the small, unassuming 'trash cans with guns' easily blended into the built-up city space to spring ambushes, or used their jump-jets to quickly leap over cover to hit the enemy hard before fading away. Perhaps even more importantly, was that the militia could continue to reload and repair their relatively light 'Frames, cannibalizing them in order to maintain the constant, harassing pressure within the labyrinthine mega-city. This was only possible not only due to the well-thought-out construction of the Urbano, but also the indignant anger from the challenge winners. In the end, the challenge winners began to realize that they had lost half of their starting forces, and as morale broke, fled.
From this, the Piccolo Soldato Urbano gained an under-dog reputation and its slogan, "The war machine that held the line when all others fled!" with the militia members themselves adding, "Because it was too slow to run away!" Thanks to its endearing reputation and low, low price, the Urbano is very frequently modified by both state and non-state actors for various purposes, ranging from filling different combat niches to being a test-bed and carrier for advanced, experimental technology. For these reason, there are many jokes abound regarding the Urbano, many of them based off of reality in some way or another.
Appearance
The Piccolo Soldato Urbano is a Light Battle Frame with a simple, uncluttered and unassuming design, with its form following its function. Overall, the machine is relatively short and squat for a Battle Frame, sitting on top of a pair of humanoid pattern legs made for ease of manufacture and repair, as well as simple ease of use by pilots thanks to its similar anatomy. The pelvic girdle is simple and robust as well, however, the body on top of this is cylindrical in shape and topped with a low, integrated dome-head that is only noticeable thanks to the primary, mono-eye enhanced optic. Inset into the hull and placed atop a ring-like turret assembly, it quickly swivels to assess threats while being easily replaceable. In addition to this, there are several sensor periscope windows and antennae sticking out to indicate its 'head'. To either side of this body is its main weapons, typically a respectable cannon of some sort on one side, and a lesser laser of questionable power meant for use against lighter vehicles and personnel while still being of some limited utility against other battle frames.
Systems
Though many of its systems are easily swapped out and replaced, especially the mounted weapons, some are not so easy to replace and are more integral.
- Left Arm: The typical armament of the Urbano's left arm is a Light Beam Laser meant for use against technicals and infantry, but can also double as light point defense should a pilot be skilled. By default, it looks like a small, armored rectangle with a lasing lens on one end.
- Right Arm: In stark contrast to the typical laser, the right arm of the Urbano is a very respectable 100mm Coilgun made to be reliable as it is easy to maintain or repair.
- Primary Power: A single Fiat FTK 60 fusion reactor provides the main source of power for the Urbino. This is considered by many to be anemic, and a small amount of extra room is available for larger and more powerful models, however, the designers deliberately selected the FTK 60 for its low cost, commonality and ease of maintenance, being one of its most commonly produced commercial fusion reactors given that speed was not the most important aspect of performance.
- Jump Jets: Though the Urbano technically only comes with leg slots, it mounts two Carcano 9000 jump jets out of the factory for free! This increases mobility in urban environments, allowing it to leap over buildings and otherwise circumvent difficult terrain
- Cockpit: Located at the back dorsal section of the 'neck', the cockpit of the Urbano is unconventional in its location, increasing its combat endurance by preventing cockpit breach and pilot death in frontal combat. Despite this abnormal location however, the cockpit remains well protected for a machine of its size, and comes with a fully operational ejection seat despite its very cramped interior.
- Head: With the cockpit being located outside of the head, the primary sensor suite located inside instead consists of a single 'mono-eye' combination device that peers out of the slit within a heavy armored eggshell shaped 'helmet' that is simply a part of the main hull itself. The mono-eye peers through a slit of transparent armor and rotates on a very crude 'head' assembly, and this not only makes maintenance easier by simply having both the 'helmet' and sensor assemblies be easily removed and replaced, but also increases the durability as well as potential for upgrades to the sensor system.
- Sensors: The primary sensors are housed in the head of the Urbano, with the visible light, infrared and night vision systems being housed in the 'mono-eye' assembly. Meanwhile, its electromagnetic and neutrino sensors are housed further into the 'head' instead, with antennae and other sensory equipment jutting out. Secondary sensors are located on each of the arm-stubs co-axially to the weapons themselves, with tertiary sensors consisting of several visual, thermal, and night vision compound optics sprinkled across the entire hull to assist in urban warfare
- Interior: Despite the Urbano being considered a 'budget' war machine, its cockpit is small and cozy. The seat itself is equipped with a multi-point harness system and a neurological reading helmet with integrated visual display visor with screens meant to feed into the pilot's eyes directly. This helmet doubles as a head restraint to prevent severe whiplash, and includes cameras on its exterior so that the visor may double as an augmented reality display, allowing the user to view the interior of the cockpit and either access the storage space in front of them, or the contents of the cup holder. And most importantly, the helmet is cheaper than standard full cockpit panoramic displays.
- Computing: Unlike most 'mechs, the Urbano does not use what would be called an 'Artificial Intelligence. Instead, it uses a computing system that not only reads the user's intent and translates it into movement, but also a predictive system that anticipates the user's movements based off a 'fuzzy tree' of logic. Though this must be 'trained' over a period of time, especially considering the lower-end processing power and reduced programming complexity of the Urbano, it is still completely sufficient for combat provided militias and the like often have plenty of time being garrisoned.
- Armor: Typically mounting nickle-ferrous hyper-alloy steel that is both cheap, easy to repair and durable for its cost, the Urbano is abnormally well armored for a war machine of its class, making it surprisingly tough.
- Damage Capacity: Extra heavily armored small mech-frame.