MercTech: Cataphract

History:
The 70 ton Cataphract was a mech born out of necessity for the Capellan Confederation. Desperate for a locally-produced heavy mech that would be easy to maintain, the Cataphract uses common components used on the Phoenix Hawk, Shadow Hawk and Marauder, leading many to refer to it as a Frankenmech. Virtually all of the Capellan-designed variants of the Cataphract rely on a large-bore autocannon and a particle cannon, granting it excellent firepower at a variety of ranges, with enough armor to survive front-line combat.

In an embarrassing loss for the Confederation, the Cataphract's sole factory would be lost to the Federated Suns, who would produce it themselves for use in the Capellan March. The Suns would even produce an upgraded variant, the -3D, adding their own Davion theme of multiple autocannons on the design. The Capellans would ultimately restore production of their heavy mech, and would continuously upgrade it over the next century with new technologies.

CTF-1X:
Structure: Standard

Armor: Standard 11 tons

Engine: Standard 280

Top Speed: 65 kph

Gyro: Standard

Heat Sinks: 16 Single Heat Sinks

Cockpit: Standard

Equipment: 1x AC-10 w/ 1t ammo, 1x PPC, 4x Medium Lasers

CTF-2X:
Structure: Standard

Armor: Standard 13 tons

Engine: Standard 280

Top Speed: 65 kph

Gyro: Standard

Heat Sinks: 14 Single Heat Sinks

Cockpit: Standard

Equipment: 1x AC-10 w/ 2t ammo, 1x Large Laser, 1x SRM-4 w/ 1t ammo, 2x Medium Lasers

CTF-4X:
Structure: Standard

Armor: Standard 14 tons

Engine: Standard 280

Top Speed: 65 kph

Gyro: Standard

Heat Sinks: 16 Single Heat Sinks

Cockpit: Standard

Equipment: 2x AC-5s w/ 4t ammo, 1x Large Laser, 1x LRM-5 w/ 1t ammo

CTF-3D:
Structure: Standard

Armor: Standard 11 tons

Engine: Extra-Light 280

Top Speed: 65 kph

Gyro: Standard

Heat Sinks: 16 Single Heat Sinks

Cockpit: Standard

Equipment: 1x LB 10-X w/ 2t ammo, 1x Ultra AC-5 w/ 1t ammo, 4x Medium Lasers, 2x CASE