Marine Laurel
"Laurel is modern system used to sustain infantry in the battlefield"
The SLA-1 Laurel is an Agurts humanoid war mech standing around 10 feet tall. This is one of the few vehicles described from the Acid Rain World which is non transformable. These mechs can operate in squads as infantry support, for heavy labour or independently as scouts crossing terrain other vehicles could not attempt.
Laurels have thick plated armour which can sustain a lot of damage and their ability to move quickly across the battlefield makes them a fearsome sight for the enemy, sapping morale whilst laying down anti-infantry fire and shielding Agurts advances.
Laurels are operated by a single pilot who is responsible for both movement and operating the various weapons from a small cockpit. As they are operating costly new technology, it is possible that these pilots are ranked as Corporals (or above) and receive additional specialized training in communication, repair, engineering and navigation. The pilot is fully protected apart from his head which is exposed to improve visibility in battle as well as during variable weather conditions. This invites the opportunity for any budding enemy snipers looking to make a name for themselves by disabling a considerable opponent with a single well placed shot. As the Laurel core is not a fully sealed unit it does offer protection against the acid rain but not radiation, biological or chemical weapons.
The Marine Laurel is utilised by the 303rd Marine forces of Agurts and differs from other Laurel cores. This model has 2 fully functional gripping arms for grasping, manual labour and smashing through obstacles. The primarily armament is a large heavy automatic machine gun ideal for close range attacks on infantry and light vehicles. There is a option of a secondary weapon on this Laurel, 1 or 2 large belt fed cannons can be attached to either shoulder offering a more destructive approach but depleting the mech's speed and balance.
The Marine Laurel was first photographed painted in the 3rd quarter of 2014, rumours are that it will be on general release in May 2015. There are no mentions of any variations of this specific mech or whether the pilot will be a new figure, an existing Sol Commander or Marine Corporal.
JM