Barghest BGS-3T

         This new and unusual design was the brainchild of Katrina Steiner, Archon of the Lyran Alliance. The Archon informed TharHes Industries of Tharkad that she wished to create a new design with a terrifying visage, like that of the Atlas or the Banshee. She also wanted to make it a four-legged design. TharHes executives attempted to dissuade her from the quad design, which has been much maligned for centuries, but failed. Only during the final testing of the new ‘Mech, when new four-legged designs appeared in the Draconis Combine and Free Worlds League militaries, did TharHes Industries appreciate the political and military implications of a new quad design in the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces. Upon viewing the finished ‘Mech’s animalistic grace and power, the Archon named it Barghest, after the savage, wolf-like creatures of mythology.

         Early in the design process, several designers noticed the similarities between preliminary designs for the Barghest and the highly successful Bushwacker, with its exceptionally long, low chassis. The engineers moved the Bushwacker’s legs forward, enabling them to install the rear legs and to overcome many of the complicated interior layout problems that so plagued the early Bushwacker.
         Many months were spent on simulators and live-fire ranges to find the weapons configuration that would best suit this new design. The designers initially rejected the weapon that proved the most effective complement to a four-legged design, the large-bore autocannon. Unwilling to mount such an antiquated weapon on their new ‘Mech, they spent considerable time looking for another solution. The entire project was on the verge of shutdown when Defiance Industries of Hesperus II made the breakthrough into large-bore LB-X and Ultra autocannons. An LB-X Type 20 autocannon was shipped to Tharkad, where designers mounted it on the Barghest alongside twin extended-range large lasers. This weapon configuration was extremely successful, and the new ‘Mech soon began full production.

         This variant of the Barghest features the latest technology improvements in the Lyran Alliance.

         The first Barghests went to five newly christened units of the Alliance Jaegers: the Bolan, Skye, Donegal, Coventry and Alarion Jaegers. Each unit began as a battalion, charged by the Archon to form an elite regiment from one of the five new Lyran Alliance provinces. With each unit drawing recruits from only one province, the Archon hopes to inspire feelings of Lyran national pride.