Fairchild Republic EX-16B Lion “Leo” Fire Support Exo

Just as the Lion is the king of the beast so is the Leo the king of the Exo’s. The Leo is perhaps the largest humanoid walking machine ever created, its presence serves as both a rallying point for allied troops but also as a morale destroyer for those on the receiving end of its multiple weapon systems. The Leo bring brute force and tank level fire power to the battlefield while maintaining the flexibility and maneuverability of an Exo, all be it a little slower then others. The Leo’s single greatest claim to fame is its impressive firepower, it carries into battle the weapons payload of two or three smaller Exo’s and is regarded by the troops who pilot and serve with it as the most secure Exo ever created. Even though they’re large size makes them a favorite target of enemy snipers and assault team the Leo has almost always provided enough protection to bring her pilots home.

The Leo was designed from the very beginning knowing that certain attributes enjoyed by the other Exo’s would have to be sacrificed to make the Leo fit its mission profile of a heavy weapons fire support Exo. The first casualty of the design was the superior speeds that the smaller Exo could achieve; while still impressive in its own right the Leo is something of a lumbering giant. The other major sacrifice of a Exo as massive and powerful as the Leo was maneuverability. Basic physics means that the larger the object, the more energy it takes to move it, even with the most powerful engine the designer could find the Leo could only muster ‘respectable’ speed and agility results. The final design which meet the design protocols set out by the military was seen as a success, but the Exo design team at Fairchild Republic hated themselves for allowing the Leo to go into production it its state. The original Leo team spent many off duty hours talking to one another and finally approached the company to allow them to continue work on the Leo. Although the company felt such research was a waste of time, they respected the wishes of the designers, after all their winning Leo design netted them several million dollars (and climbing) worth of sales to the Military. With numbers like that they could afford a few eccentric employees playing around with a pet project.

After 8 months of tinkering the original design team came to the company one more time and asked for a meeting. The company execs were intrigued, what had warranted the team request for a formal meeting? At the meeting the Leo design team presented the board of execs the Leo B variant, a unit with similar mission performance, but increased armor, speed and maneuverability! Everything the original design was supposed to possess and much more. The Board was absolutely astounded by the Leo-B, so impressed that within 24 hour of the meeting the Fairchild Republic representative to the Military requested an emergence session to present to Leo-B. Within 36 hours of that meeting the Leo-B was a formally commission unit to replace the small fleet of Leo-A’s that had been manufactured. The Leo-B was issued in to forms a fully developed Leo-B fresh off the assembly line and the Leo-B conversion kit.

The conversion kit was produced along side the Leo-B and was shipped out to troops in the field for a refit. The conversion kit included a new engine configuration with a more efficient transmission in the turbine engine. A slightly larger fuel supply then the Leo-A and the single most unique change in the Leo, was the feet. The Leo-A had the standard high impact shock absorbing system common to all Exo’s, the Leo-B replaced much of the flat surface metal of the Leo-A’s feet with a pair of twin (one forward and one aft) foot treads. The same type of tank tread design found on many heavily armed vehicles were incorporated into the feet of the Leo-B. The treads allowed the Exo to change from walking mode to driving mode. With the new transmission included in the refit the Leo could now drive on the ground just like a in-line skater. The inclusion of the twin treads in each foot allows the Leo to use one foot as a turning point, completing 360° turns in its place, as well the Leo can crouch down on its feet and still move, thus reducing its surface presentation to the enemy.

The Leo has a very impressive service record to date, including being on the front line of many first-assault situations. The Leo served with distinction in the Gulf War where it served along side the U.S. Armies ground forces. The Leo, side-by-side with M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks help pushed the invading armies of Iraq back into their own land, freeing the Kuwaiti people from the invasion. The Leo helped spearhead the first assault wave of land forces after the Air Force had flown night missions to remove missile emplacements and the Navy had used its destroyers and missile frigate to take out other high profile targets. The Leo was seen as being more versatile then the M1A1’s it served along side with, its humanoid frame allowed it to carry a greater range of weapon systems then any purpose built tank or weapons platform. The course of that war demonstrated to all the powers that be, that the Exo was soon going to overshadow tanks and other typical weapon systems. Although wheeled and tracked armor was not going anywhere soon, the Exo became the new main weapon for the foreseeable future because of its role in the Persian Gulf.

Even with the great success of the Leo and all the Exo’s during the Gulf War, the unorthodox battle tactics of the Iraqi illustrated one major shortcoming of the Exo. Most civilized countries have decided to not use chemical and biological weapons on the battlefield. Where a projectile weapons range and target can be tightly controlled, a chemical weapon or biological agent can be carried on the wind. The unpredictable nature of the dispersement of bio-chem weapons was taught the super powers who posses them that they are unpredictable and as dangerous to their own troops as they are to the enemy. Therefore, while most countries possess them, very few will ever use them. When the Iraqi finally realized that they were going to loose the war they released bio-chem weapons. The Exo had been designed for bio-chem weapons, however small amount of contaminated air was able to get into the Exo through ventilation systems and pilot egress. The lessons learned in the Gulf changed two design elements of the Leo and every other Exo in use. One, the pilot were now issued sealed pilots jumpsuits that linked to the helmet, created a sealed environment in case of hull breach. Fresh air was supplied by a small connector in the suits hip to a reserve supply and purification system inside the Exo. The second change was a purge system that evacuated all the air inside the cockpit when the pilot has entered and connected in, as well the purge can be performed at the press of a button should the pilot feel that the Exo has been compromised.

G.M.’s Note: The Leo should be restricted to characters with a minimum experience level of 3 or better. The Leo is designed as a large fire support Exo; its ‘common’ presence in a campaign may upset the power balance. While they can be included, not every one should be allowed to pilot one.