Mobile headquarters are the nerve center of large-scale BattleMech operations. They gather information from the various participants in a battle and then use sophisticated computers to present the data to the commander for analysis.
         The idea of mobile headquarters has existed ever since the days when a commander roamed over the battlefield, giving orders to officers and dispatching horse-mounted messengers. As technology grew, the design of mobile HQs evolved from messengers on horseback to vans with radio sets.
         Late twentieth-century computer technology added predictive ability to a commander's skills. Large computer-generated projections, accurate down to the individual tree, replaced bulky and inaccurate paper maps. Since that time mobile headquarters have changed little, except to grow more efficient with the advent of fusion power.
         The Daimyo HQ 59-K is the final evolution of the basic mobile HQ currently in use by the Draconis Combine.

         The mobile headquarter's map/communications room is dominated by a large table where the command staff gathers. The HQ's computer gathers information from satellites, 'Mech communications, and the tracking devices each 'Mech and soldier carries, then projects it as a map on the table's clear surface. Using a TriHolo device, the terrain and the individual troop members appear as solid symbols and surfaces. If known, the enemy's positions are also projected. Then, if the commander so orders, the large and sophisticated computer system will display projections of the battle's future and possible ways to proceed.
         The three communications officers, seated at consoles near the forward end of the HQ, constantly supply the commander with communiques from his troops. They also dispatch the commander's orders, either by voice or fast-bundled code that can usually pierce even the most sophisticated electronic jamming.
         A laser transmission array in a turret above the cab can transmit information to satellites, aerospace fighters, DropShips, and even distant JumpShips. A large dish antenna that can receive information is collapsible and can be affixed to the roof of the HO in one minute. A second antenna is directional, and allows communication with individual 'Mechs or soldiers. It also doubles as an antenna for the side-look radar.
         The interior is kept stable by a sophisticated suspension system that allows normal activity within the command center when the truck is moving at high speed.
         The laser array on the turret can perform double duty as an offensive weapon capable of threatening most light BattleMechs or vehicles. Unfortunately, using it for such a mission cuts off any transmission being sent to spaceborne units.

         The HQ 67-K, once considered an upgrade of the standard HQ, was heavier and mounted extra armor and weapons. Unfortunately, the advanced computers that made it possible did not survive the Succession Wars and as time went by they were removed and retooled into an infantry bay. In actuality though, most commanders used that space to host parties with their most trusted advisors and companions. By the thirty-first century, the DCMS had ceased to consider the 67-K a combat vehicle and production of the design was ended in favor of the Tokugawa, a true combat tank.

         For a time, it was believed that advanced HQ vehicles like the 59-K would cease to exist, but most nations placed their best surviving experts on the job of maintaining their sophisticated computers. Over the years, they were replaced by bulkier and heavier components, but the 59-K and her cousins survived, relatively intact. The technological revolution that came from the discovery of the Helm Memory Core brought them back from the verge of extinction, and even the Jihad couldn't wipe them out. The Daimyo is currently the primary mobile command center of units throughout the Draconis Rifts.