Not long before the Civil War broke out Skye militia command had been looking for a fast light scout tank that could traverse the rocky and cracked terrain of the multiple ice flows that covered Skye. Normal units in these areas, such as hover and wheeled tanks could not penetrate many of the areas. Flying over these areas also proved to be futile as the many crevasses created by the flows of ice and rock often allowed enemy units to hide from prying eyes. In 3058 Skye military commanders received permission to commission a new tank to meet the challenge of scouting around the rock and ice terrain surrounding the ice flows.  

Skye Mining and Transport LTD were well known around Skye for tough resilient machines that could handle the roughest environments thrown at them. SMT Engineers had already experimented with a design that nearly meat the specs in their Polar Bear ambulance that was built to handle medical emergencies in isolated communities. While slightly slower than the specs engineers felt they could build the tank the Skye military wanted. With the track record of over twenty years building fast tanks for various applications on ice bound worlds Skye Mining and Transport LTD was given the go ahead to build a prototype for trials.

During the initial trial testing the light tank seemed too light and not up to the task of successfully completing scouting missions. The speed of the tank was hampered by the tight conditions surrounding the ice flows. The light tank also seemed too fragile for the job with simulations showing even minor hits penetrating the armor of the light tank. With the civil war approaching and the Duke wanting to take advantage of the chaos to make Skye's bid for independence, commanders had little choice but to go with what they had. In 3061 the tank entered full production with the hopes that sheer numbers could pull the tank through.

The Spaz is a specialty design made for scouting the vast ice flows and rocky terrain surrounding the massive glaciers that encompasses much of Skye. The fusion engine, while expensive, offered the Spaz maximum maneuverability and allowed the lightweight tank to mount at least some minimal armor. With a top speed of just over 150 km/h in a flat out run, the Spaz gave the designers troubles in keeping tracks. Many Times during trials the Spaz simply shattered linkages and spit the tracks out in pieces. The idea came about to use a single large track in order to accommodate bulkier reinforced tracks. During trials the single large rear track gave the light weight tank an advantage of traction and less foot weight than other models using the normal dual tracked system.

With weight locked up in engine and track suspension the Spaz was left under gunned and little armor. For armor engineers chose Ceramic Weave Ferro-fibrous armor in order to maximize what little protection the engineers gave the Spaz. However, with only one and a half tons of armor the tank is weak compared to hover units of the same weight. Weaponry is also a weakness in the Spaz as it is only armed with a single extended range Diverse Optics Type laser. It was hoped the small laser would actually discourage pilots from engaging the enemy and instead report what the found to HQ.

Because of the specialized nature of the Spaz few outside of Skye cared for the design. While no factory variants came out of Skye Mining and Transport LTD many pilot variants crept into the short lived design. Most of the pilot variants involved the use of adding more armor and versions of improvised armor. While adding minimal protection to the Spaz the added armor often caused problems to the tank. Often the improvised or added armor plate would become lodged in the turret ring or jammed into the tracked surfaces as battle damage accumulated. By the end of the fighting on Skye the loss of Spaz tanks to the problems of improvised armor forced the military command to issue orders forbidding pilots to use it.

No pilots or vehicles have made enough of an impact during an engagement to make a difference. In fact during the multiple battle that raged on Skye during the civil war most Spaz tanks were destroyed in their scouting roles forcing surviving crews into the infantry.

Currently few militias outside of Skye even use the Spaz. Deemed a grand failure by military commanders after the fierce fighting on Skye ended and post action reports began to trickle in Skye militia commanders slowed orders then stopped after reconstruction. For Skye Mining and Transport LTD the Spaz was nothing more than an overpriced toy and production ceased shortly after Skye failed in its bid for freedom. Short lived and in short supply places the small tank and the fast track to obscurity.