MESS-S1aF-003 Buster Harbinger

Technology and Combat Characteristics
The Buster Harbinger was, for lack of a better word, improvised. Due to the loss of much of its equipment in its duel with the Hunter Vendetta, the members of the Lance Core Remnants were forced to come up with a way to repair the machine. Thus, they salvaged parts from the Vendetta in order to do so. With that in mind, the Harbinger's performance was slightly weaker than its general-purpose version. However, despite the lack of weaponry, the addition of its Factory Buster allows for the Harbinger to make up for this.

Armaments
- Factory Buster: The namesake weapon of the Harbinger consists of a crane arm and several armor plates leading up to a large claw. Inspired from units such as the Kingship and Saturn’s remote weapons, The arm can fire out from the forearm, in which the claw would open and latch onto anything in its path. The steel wire connecting the two segments allow for an extended range of use for the weighted gauntlet. It can be swung like a wrecking ball, knocking enemies off balance or reeling them towards the Harbinger. Similar to the ABC when it was used by the Vendetta, the two halves of the gauntlet can be retraced over the forearm, revealing the hand. The weapon is known as the Factory Buster.

- 100mm HAMG: Being the only ranged weapon left from the Harbinger’s LAND STRIKE Pack, it has been refitted directly on to the Harbinger’s main armor. It still retains its folding barrel and alternating fire mode, though is more prone to overheating due to its extended use without repair. It is mounted on the right forearm; and folds forward when in use.

- Anti-Armor Knife: Having lost its Folding Heat Blade in the previous battle, the Buster retains its backup AA Knives as its close-quarters weapons. Since the Factory Buster can essentially fulfill the same purpose, the knives are usually only used when the former is unavailable.

History
Shortly after the duel between Miia and Alex in Polaris, the former's Garrisai was almost completely dismantled, with many of its parts being used for inspection. Among them was the Armored Buster Claw, which was heavily damaged during the battle. Thus, the engineers of the LCR combined it with a factory crane-like arm, and gave it to the Harbinger to replace its missing arm. This gave the Harbinger a unorthodox, yet powerful, close-to-medium range melee weapon. As for the Harbinger itself, it had lost many of its weapons during the battle, such as its two 300mm HPNCs, a 100mm HAMG, the 60mm Carbine and the Folding Heat Blade. Thus, it was given the limited resources Minerva Base had to repair it. The Buster would escort the LCR Landship from Minerva to Neptune Base, in which they would face off against Nova Team and Jack Kendall's Diamondback. It would get a proper set of weapons upon its arrival, in which it fought in the defense of Guardia 7 and an additional LAND STRIKE System prior to the Battle of Midnight Base. This is when it would become the Landbuster Harbinger.

Trivia
- The Factory Buster is heavily inspired off of the Shenlong Gundam's Dragon Arm.

- It is also the spiritual successor of the MESS II from Epic Yoshi Comix, in that both machines use an extending fist as their main weapon.