Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

[Hyena]

Holy crap, that was a battle. I was actually concerned for a bit. We're lucky that last guy bugged out.

[AWS260]

That was a fantastic slugfest.

[NickAragua]

May 23, 3032
After dancing around the enemy comms hub for a couple of days and distracting them while the rest of our guys ransack the mech base, Alpha lance makes a pass at the facility itself. It's guarded by a bunch of Vedettes, some nasty assault tanks, a Hunchback (4H, not 4G) and an Archer.

Since we've got the one Awesome and three medium mechs, we're going to go for a hit and run. Only problem is that there's a lot of stationary defences and we don't quite know which buildings to shoot at. The good part is that it's mostly symbolic short range crap, so as long as we stay focused, we should be able to get it done quickly. Oh, and the sun rises just as we launch our attack, so it's going to be in everyone's eyes. Due to our lance shuffling, Alpha lance is Gbasden in an Awesome, Stefan in a Trebuchet 5S, Cylus Maxii in a Phoenix Hawk and Isgrimnur in a Vindicator.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

The enemy Hunchback decides to start the party off by slipping on the pavement and crashing into a building, taking some damage to its right torso. We fire at the Rhino tank in the front but our fire either whiffs or bounces off the incredibly thick armor. I'm actually not liking these odds too much, so unless we can disable the Rhino and its Demolisher buddy pretty quick, we'll be pulling back.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

Isgrimnur really pushes the performance envelope on his mech, charging all the way up to the Rhino while firing at the more distant Demolisher. He scores some hits but fails to breach armor, then takes a lucky crit to the left arm, a Vedette's AC/2 damaging an actuator. Stefan and Gbasden let loose at the Rhino, with Stefan's medium laser and SRms cutting serious chunks from the tanks treads and rattling the crew. The woods Gbasden was using for cover are set on fire, so he'll have to relocate. Meanwhile, Cylus gets in the back of the Hunchback and breaches its rear right torso armor with a medium laser.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

Of all the tough buildings in this base, Stefan has to step on one that's taken a few too many shots. His luck doesn't improve when an AC/20 drills through his left torso and detonates the SRM/6 ammo there. Meanwhile, our weapons fire appears to be more or less bouncing off the enemy units. Except for a single shot by Cylus, who breaches the armor on a Vedette. Whoop dee doo, time to break out the champagne!

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Cylus takes a risk, hopping over and scooping up the ejected Stefan (he's already passed out from the heat. and the concussion from the ammo blast). It doesn't pay off very well, he manages to scoop Stefan up but eats an AC/20 burst from the Demolisher, losing the right arm (well, at least it wasn't the arm with Stefan in it). Gbasden provides covering fire, melting through the nearby Bulldog's left side armor to fuse the wheels solid.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

Cylus manages to struggle up and escapes to behind a couple of buildings. A good amount of lighter autocannon shots flies at Gbasden, but the combination of smoke and woods makes the shots ineffective. The woods still catch on fire though. His counterfire really puts the hurt on the Demolisher's front armor, but the vehicle shrugs it off (other than the gaping holes). The Rhino appears to have been disabled, as it hasn't moved for a while. Then it fires LRMs, nearly knocking Gbasden on his ass. The Archer chasing Isgrimnur's mech looks to be pretty badly overheated (not surprising, considering the enemy mech's large lasers and LRMs compared to its low heat sink load). Cylus and Isgrimnur make their way north, avoiding Archer-launched LRMs while Gbasden breaks west.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

Gbasden fires some parting PPC shots, blowing away enough of the Demolisher's treads that it stops moving, ducking a large amount of autocannon fire. Isgrimnur moves a little more slowly, attracting some fire meant for Cylus and eating an AC/10 round, but accomplishes his goal, as the fellow 45-tonner makes it to the northern edge of the board.

We disengage and retreat to a rendezvous point, where Cylus stuffs Stefan into the cockpit and we return to base. A disappointing showing, but the attack was meant purely as a diversion anyway. Too bad we had to lose a mech to get it done. Just goes to show, don't screw with a dual AC/20 Demolisher.

This marks our first mech actually lost on this raid. The liaison details 2.6M in battle loss compensation, then our techs get to work. Cylus Maxii's Phoenix Hawk is more damaged than the spare, so we pull a jump jet off to replace the spare's, and Cylus gets to work dusting the cobwebs out of the pilot's seat.

At this point, we've cleaned out enough of our contract-specified strategic objectives that we can hunker down and just clean out whatever the liaison asks us to. So that's probably what we're going to do.

Once LordMortis recovers from his concussion and sprained arm, do you want to keep the Stalker or go back to the Hunchback? Also. Improve gunnery or piloting? Right now, you're at 3 for both.

Paingod, same question. Gunnery or piloting?

We'll see about putting the Champion back together and put Stefan in there. Meanwhile though, Hermes, Shadow Hawk 2K, or start dipping into the lights for a replacement mech?

[Stefan Stirzaker]

Cylus you never have to buy a drink again! Ac20s are nasty!
What does the hermes have?

[NickAragua]

An AC/5, a medium laser and a flamer. Speed is 6/9, armor is... well, it's a 40-ton mech.

[Stefan Stirzaker]

Lets try that!

[LordMortis]

Once LordMortis recovers from his concussion and sprained arm, do you want to keep the Stalker or go back to the Hunchback? Also. Improve gunnery or piloting? Right now, you're at 3 for both.

I'm OK with the Hunchback. I do love my AC20. While piloting is probably more important for close range mech, I wanna run around the drop ship going "Bang Bang. Bangbang Bang!"

[Paingod]

Paingod, same question. Gunnery or piloting?

I'd go with Gunnery, I suppose. I haven't felt like I was falling on my ass to much lately...

[Hyena]

Paingod, same question. Gunnery or piloting?

I'd go with Gunnery, I suppose. I haven't felt like I was falling on my ass to much lately...

Probably shouldn't have said that...I smell an ass-falling coming up next mission.

[Paingod]

I knew I should have worn my charcoal-activated briefs.

[NickAragua]

May 29, 3032
Things are mostly quiet. The Dracs pull back to lick their wounds, while we pull back to lick ours. While Paingod and LordMortis spend some time discussing the finer points of the effects of a thin atmosphere on laser beam attenuation, the techs works around the clock to put our mechs back together. Zenn7's Awesome gets a replacement arm, while LordMortis' Stalker is miraculously brought back to life. Although we do have some issues putting the right arm back on - "No, you have to hook the structural element up first before hooking all the actuators. Unhook them all and start over.", etc.

The liaison coordinates an operation to help take some pressure off the 12th Star Guards unit, and we deploy Gamma lance to bushwhack a Drac unit passing through a factory complex. We bring in our infantry crew with a support laser, and the liaison coordinates from their position (having lost a total of two mechs). Our ambush is spoiled when a Victor separates from an approaching enemy lance and transmits on wide band radio:

"This is Esad bin Abu Bakr of the 12th Sword of Light. I challenge the leader of this pitiful mercenary band to honorable single combat. Winner keeps their mech. And the losers."

Lt. Scrub accepts, over the liaison's cautious whining. It'll be a rough fight - the Victor is a tough customer, packing an AC/20 as most of its right arm. The backup armament is two medium lasers on the left arm, and a torso-mounted SRM/4 launcher. The very definition of a close-range brawler. It's made even more deadly by the presence of four jump jets. Fifteen heat sinks ensure a pretty good heat tolerance. Lt. Scrub's Warhammer has the advantage of long range with the dual PPCs, but once that SOB gets up close, it's game over.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

Lt. Scrub takes a risk, redlining her mech's actuators, but getting within line of sight of the Victor right away. Keeping her mech upright takes all her concentration, but she'll be able to fire next turn.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

As the enemy mech charges up, Lt. Scrub sends a pair of PPC bolts down the street, one making contact with the right arm and melting off a good amount of armor. If she can take that AC/20 out of action, that'd be superb.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

The Victor is almost within AC/20 range, which is bad news. Our Warhammer lands another PPC shot, this time on the left leg.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Lt. Scrub breaks contact and moves to a side street, hoping to get the drop on the enemy mech. This also gives her a chance to cool off a bit.

Round 5-8:

Spoiler:

More jockeying for position. Unfortunately, the Victor has jump jets, so we've got a very real risk of eating AC/20 to the rear if we don't play this right. Lt. Scrub gets out of the potential trap and breaks south, forcing the enemy mech to charge down the street again.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

The target reticle beeps as the enemy mech closes within range of the PPCs. One goes wide, but the other impacts the right arm again, melting all armor off and leaving the structure bare.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

This is obviously getting to the enemy pilot, as he slips on the pavement and falls while charging forward. Lt. Scrub capitalizes by firing the PPCs again and scoring a hit on the right leg.

Round 11:

Spoiler:

The enemy mech "quickly" (for an assault mech, anyway) gets to its feet and charges forward. As it closes to its maximum weapons range, the AC/20 barks and goes wide, as do the lasers. The SRMs pepper the Warhammer's armor, but Lt. Scrub holds her ground and fires both PPCs again. The cockpit temperature spikes, but it pays off. One shot blows the armor off the enemy mech's right leg, the other evaporates the right arm. With its attendant AC/20. Our mechwarrior lets out a slight breath. With the AC/20 gone, the Victor is still a no joke, but at least the risk of instantly losing a limb or the head is gone.

Round 12:

Spoiler:

The Victor is hurt but not out. It closes in, firing its remaining weapons, scoring hits with both lasers and the SRM launcher. Lt. Scrub continues firing her PPCs, hitting the enemy mech's left arm with one.

Round 13:

Spoiler:

At this point, all pretense of manuever is gone and this becomes a straight-up slug fest. Our Warhammer takes another two medium laser hits, melting armor from the torso sections, while the enemy mech nearly loses the right leg, a PPC shot melting down a foot actuator and slagging a jump jet. The mechwarrior keeps his machine upright, however.

Round 14:

Spoiler:

Lt. Scrub backs up a little and switches one of her PPCs for a pair of medium laser shots to keep her target reticule from "floating" due to the heat. The round is mostly a wash, with a medium laser melting some small amount of armor off the Victor's heavily armored left torso.

Round 15:

Spoiler:

That about does it. After taking another PPC shot, the Victor's right leg can't hold up its mass any more once weight is placed on it and the mech falls over, actuator bundles cracking under the pressure.

Round 16:

Spoiler:

The enemy mechwarrior struggles to get up but is unable to do so, what with the right leg being useless. Lt. Scrub closes in for the kill, firing a PPC and two lasers at the other leg to try to get the mech down relatively painlessly.

Round 17:

Spoiler:

The Warhammer's lasers and a single PPC blaze away as Lt. Scrub gets in one last salvo before thinking about broadcasting a surrender offer.

Unfortunately, that's not happening - a PPC shot breaches the armor on the right torso, then a medium laser makes contact with the unexpended AC/20 ammo. The assault mech detonates catastrophically, sending metal and concrete chunks flying everywhere. The mechwarrior's auto-ejection system kicks in, sending the poor bastard head first into a nearby wall.

Lt. Scrub salutes the fallen mechwarrior, and allows his lance mates to recover the body. It was a good fight. A shame about the Victor, it's a good mech.

The rest of the week is spent patching up battle damage and stripping armor from non-battleworthy mechs. Our techs decide to pull the remaining small laser off the repaired enemy Champion and replace it (and the destroyed debris from the other small laser) with an extra heat sink. It'll help manage the mech's heat problems a little bit better, anyway.

While catching up on his Battlestar Mechtactica, El Guapo sees an ad for a slightly-used Hatchetman for sale. Granted, it's back on Outreach, so we won't be able to use it here. Still, this thing is actually one of the first entirely new mech designs to have come out in the last couple of centuries. On paper, it doesn't look *that* great: 4/6/4, 14 heat sinks, AC/10 and two medium lasers for weapons, 104 armor (it's only a 45-tonner). But, and here's the thing, it has a hatchet. An honest-to-god axe. Disclaimer: Never actually used it, so I don't know if it's any good. It's a good deal, too, about 2.8M C-Bills.

So, should we buy it?

[El Guapo]

I assume the hatchet gives bonus melee damage or something?

[NickAragua]

Yeah, it's basically the same damage as a kick (mech mass / 5), but instead of just hitting the legs it can hit wherever. And also you don't risk falling over if you whiff.

[El Guapo]

I mean, obviously we have to buy the mech with a goddamn axe.

Did I have any luck finding a Marauder in the classifieds? Ideally a Marauder with an axe?

[Cylus Maxii]

Does it have jump jets. And do we have a MechWarrior with call sign "Hassan"?

[NickAragua]

Edit: Yep, jump jets for sure. No Hassans, though. Well, maybe we'll see who we can find in the recruitment halls when we get back to Outreach.

We've got a salvaged Marauder sitting in the rented Mule. It's just, uh, missing a leg. And some heat sinks. And all the armor's been stripped off. We've got a little over two months left on the contract, then we're burning for orbit and heading back to Outreach. Pretty sure we can find mech-sized chicken legs there.

Now, if you want a hatchet on it, we can strap one on, but the Marauder doesn't have hands!

Disappointing.

[Archinerd]

In another life (one where I wasn't obsessed with lrms) I'd be all over that Hatchetman.

[Stefan Stirzaker]

Curved blade or straight blade because.....well.

We could mount a blade on the head of a mech and get a headbutt attack lol

[gbasden]

How can we turn down a mech with an axe?

[El Guapo]

Edit: Yep, jump jets for sure. No Hassans, though. Well, maybe we'll see who we can find in the recruitment halls when we get back to Outreach.

We've got a salvaged Marauder sitting in the rented Mule. It's just, uh, missing a leg. And some heat sinks. And all the armor's been stripped off. We've got a little over two months left on the contract, then we're burning for orbit and heading back to Outreach. Pretty sure we can find mech-sized chicken legs there.

Now, if you want a hatchet on it, we can strap one on, but the Marauder doesn't have hands!

Disappointing.

Couldn't we, like, gorilla glue axes onto the sides of its PPC hands?

Also, anyone else who is thinking about claiming that Marauder should be aware that I have already marked my territory.

[Cylus Maxii]

Also, anyone else who is thinking about claiming that Marauder should be aware that I have already marked my territory.

I stayed completely out of it. I prefer something more maneuverable. However, I'm sure it has been marked a number of times. I shudder to think what it would look like with a black light.

[Hyena]

Also, anyone else who is thinking about claiming that Marauder should be aware that I have already marked my territory.

I stayed completely out of it. I prefer something more maneuverable. However, I'm sure it has been marked a number of times. I shudder to think what it would look like with a black light.

Jackson Pollock painting comes to mind...

[NickAragua]

Are we going to have to send out another company-wide email about sanitation practices?

El Guapo hits "buy" on the Hatchetman. It'll get delivered to our warehouse on Outreach. Once the next batch of HPG transmissions goes out. And the funds clear. After five to ten business days.

Paingod and LordMortis spend a lot of time discussing the merits of being able to fire at multiple targets simultaneously (Paingod gained Multi-Tasker after improving gunnery and advancing to "Elite"), and the merits of being able to shoot at targets in the dark (LordMortis gained the Blind Fighter SPA after improving gunnery and advancing to "Elite"). Well, if wishes were fishes, anyway.

June 5, 3032
As Delta conducts a patrol several days out, they get eyes on a heavily reinforced company of mechs. A total of fifteen, in fact. Mostly lights and mediums, but there's a Grasshopper and a Crusader, too. Plus a couple of random tanks. The reinforced company gets eyes on Delta as well, and the chase is on - no way Delta and the dumb little liaison mech can take these guys on in a fight.

On the plus side, it's pouring cats and dogs, and the terrain isn't exactly smooth going. So, basically, we're going to be trying to lose an enemy mech company while running through several kilometers worth of mud-covered hills. Glory!

Delta is the only lance that's managed to avoid having mechs become unusable so far. Accompanying them is the liaison in a Hermes. No, not Stefan's Hermes II, this is a 30-ton original Hermes. A good Star League design, minus all the Star League toys. And no ability to torso twist. Well, good thing we're running, not fighting.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

We've got a long slog ahead of us. Luckily, the Hermes is fast enough (moving at a whopping 9/14, which outpaces most of the supposedly fast "bug mechs") that he'll be able to keep up with our jump-capable mechs.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

The initial group of enemy pursuers catches up - this is a medium lance, with jump-capable mechs. They'll be able to keep up with us, so it'll be a running battle. We exchange some LRMs and lasers with the enemy mechs, and Madmarcus takes a few LRMs to the left arm.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

There are two lances chasing after us currently. Realistically, the Panther and Shadow Hawk won't be able to keep up over the long term, but the other guys will. We send a healthy number of LRMs back their way to keep them down, with Paingod and Archinerd scoring a couple of hits. Well, just Archinerd. Paingod's LRMs impact the hill in front of the enemy Wolverine.

Round 4-11:

Spoiler:

We're mostly clear - should be fine as long as we keep up the pace and nobody trips over anything. Even though we can hit them theoretically, we conserve our LRM ammo.

Round 12:

Spoiler:

The liaison reaches the escape point and runs into the dense woods just beyond the battlefield. We catch up less than a minute later. With a parting PPC bolt through the air, we depart as well. The enemy force, having gotten a bit strung out, ceases pursuit.

Being almost completely undamaged, Delta lance will remain in the area to keep an eye on this new group of mechs.

Over the next week, our aero techs finally finish replacing the fire control system on our second Lucifer, putting our air support back into service. Hate to say it guys, but the party is just about over.

Analysis of Delta's recon data suggests that there's a facility near the enemy comms center that we failed to hit, housing weaponry capable of interdicting air traffic in that sector. The liaison's all over it, hopping up and down excitedly and asking for us to conduct a recon operation.

We would have to commit at least two lances to it though, one to occupy the expected reinforcements coordinated by the nearby comms center and one to actually recon the air defence facility. And probably we'd rile up the mechs that Delta just got away from as well. Since we've filled our contract quota for destroyed strategic objectives and we seemed to get along just fine without air support on this one, I'm not too enthusiastic about it.

So, do we:

1) Check out the air defence facility?
2) Tell the liaison to stuff it and keep hunkering down?

[Cylus Maxii]

We're mercenaries, not heroes. #2

[Isgrimnur]

Not unless he wants to renegotiate.

[Paingod]

It's not my fault if someone's not putting the proper amount of propellant into the LRM's before loading them.

I'd go with #2 as well.

[El Guapo]

Cowards! #1!!!

Just kidding. Definitely #2. I guess unless the payout for adding the facility is significant, but it sounds like it's not.

[Hyena]

Yeah, here's another one for el numero deux. If they give us a hefty bonus and/or an axe to weld onto the Marauder, it's a maybe.

[Freyland]

#2

[LordMortis]

I am consuccessed, so have fun stormin' the castle!

On a side note, what's Blind Fighter?

[NickAragua]

It's an unofficial "Special Pilot Ability" which lets you ignore a small amount of firing penalties (up to 1, I believe) due to darkness. So, dusk/dawn no longer affects you (you've figured out to stop looking at the sun), and the various kinds of night time are -1/-2/-3 instead of -2/-3/-4.

Also, you're back on duty as of this week, so don't be too happy to send everyone off!

[LordMortis]

It's an unofficial "Special Pilot Ability" which lets you ignore a small amount of firing penalties (up to 1, I believe) due to darkness. So, dusk/dawn no longer affects you (you've figured out to stop looking at the sun), and the various kinds of night time are -1/-2/-3 instead of -2/-3/-4.

Also, you're back on duty as of this week, so don't be too happy to send everyone off!

In that case, we need a raise. No contract. No service.

[Madmarcus]

#2.

[Stefan Stirzaker]

2! And more space 30th centiry fox movies. That new M. Bay the IX movie about mechs that disguise themselves as Saladin and transform into big robots looks good.

[Archinerd]

Just manage your expectations, the mechs are not very accurate in that movie. They play fast and loose with heat to serve the narrative, the Clint CLNT-2-4T is actually a CLNT-2-3T, and they don't even have the correct number of medium lasers on the HBK-4P.

I think you should just re-watch Saving Liaison Ryan again. Yeah, the Awesome in the movie is really a Zeus with some added components but it's still a much better movie.

[gbasden]

Just manage your expectations, the mechs are not very accurate in that movie. They play fast and loose with heat to serve the narrative, the Clint CLNT-2-4T is actually a CLNT-2-3T, and they don't even have the correct number of medium lasers on the HBK-4P.

I think you should just re-watch Saving Liaison Ryan again. Yeah, the Awesome in the movie is really a Zeus with some added components but it's still a much better movie.

Yeah, great movie, but I can't get enough of The Longest Planetary Rotation. Watching those dropships weather heavy fire to get a foothold on Sendai to wreak vengeance never stops being awesome.

[Paingod]

My kids love that animated flick Flea Movie. We've watched it at least two dozen times. I've got "Can't DFA an Atlas, Can't DFA an Atlas, Can't DFA an Atlas" stuck in my head.

[NickAragua]

June 23, 3032
Delta's recon efforts pay off, as they locate a massive data center. It's no supply depot, but if we hit this, the Dracs will have trouble coordinating their logistics and efforts to search out our dropship. Lt. Allred's ears perk up like a dog's when he hears us agree with his assessment that we should hit it.

Thus, we'll have to take a break from our exhausting schedule of watching movies and playing networked "Tank Hunt" to do some actual work.

It'll be a fairly involved operation with at least three lances participating, but we should be able to fake out their early warning systems and avoid the nastier Sword of Light units skulking around the orbital defence facility. Plus, we'll have air support available, which is not too shabby.

Alpha Lance will make a feint to draw the early warning response, while Gamma will hit the data center. Delta is already in the area, so they'll be able to reinforce either or both battles (subject to mech endurance).

Alpha's feint attracts a lance of light mechs, a bunch of tanks and two medium mechs - a Shadow Hawk and a Griffin. The main points of concern are an SRM Carrier and a Manticore tank. The good part is that we got to pick the battleground, which is some woods around a lake. Very picturesque. The fog coming off the lake lowers visibility somewhat, but it's not a big deal for us. It does keep the heat down a little bit though.

Alpha is Gbasden in an Awesome, Isgrimnur in the Vindicator, Cylus Maxii in a Phoenix Hawk and Stefan trying out a Hermes II. We'll reserve Delta and the air support for the actual data center attack.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

The opfor mills cautiously around in the woods to the north while Gbasden heads for the nearby lake. A Warrior helicopter flies overhead, plinking away with its AC/2 but not hitting anything.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

Stefan peeks out from behind a bunch of trees and kind of wishes he hadn't. A prodigious number of autocannon shells and LRMs flies our way, but at this range, every shot goes wide.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

Stefan steps back, letting the enemy fire at our partially submerged Awesome instead (they miss). Gbasden and Isgrimnur focus fire on a Maxim hover transport out in the open, blasting chunks off the front with PPCs and LRMs. A lucky LRM blows a machine gun barrel off the turret. It's not much but symbolic.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Here we go. The enemy Vedettes come rolling out of the woods and open fire in earnest, while the light mechs make their charge. Gbasden takes the right leg off an approaching Stinger as it hops in, basically eliminating it from consideration - the mech flops to the ground and stops moving (the mechwarrior having passed out). Isgrimnur gives his jump jets a break and fires at the approaching Maxim, blowing through the front armor and blowing away one of the propulsion fans with an LRM salvo. Gbasden takes an AC/2 round from the distance and some SRMs from the Jenner but is fine otherwise. Stefan moves into some smoke-filled woods and takes a shot at a Vedette "from down town" with his AC/5, ripping up the treads on the right side.

The Jenner does ok against Gbasden, although its lasers go wide and just some SRMs hit. The mechwarrior plants a solid kick on our Awesome's left torso, then Gbasden backhands it, breaking through the leg armor and popping an actuator. Cylus Maxii then finishes off the leg with a kick, sending the smaller mech down to the ground.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

The enemy Shadow Hawk advances and takes a couple of PPCs, although its armor holds. Despite missing a leg, the Jenner keeps firing, carving a little bit out of Gbasden's armor with its laser, so we're going to have to give it a little more action next turn. Stefan is the recepient of some autocannon fire in his vicinity, but he does manage to start a fire in the Jenner's hex with a medium laser.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

Gbasden notes that the enemy SRM Carrier has entered weapons range and evaporates it with PPCs. Probably should have approached through the woods instead. He takes some continued fire from the Jenner and the Shadow Hawk (which has managed to adjust its AC/5 so that the shells no longer impact the water instead of the Awesome). Cylus runs in behind a Locust skulking around in the woods and blows its left leg off with lasers, deftly avoiding the return fire from the Vedettes. A swift kick breaks the right "arm" off the bug mech as well for good measure.

And yes, that is an Urbanmech in the lake to the north. Sword of Light, these guys ain't.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

The Stinger pilot wakes up and bails out. Well, that's probably the story he's going to tell to his commanding officer, instead of the story about how he tried to get up, but crunched his center torso section so hard that his gyro fell out.

Gbasdeb and the enemy Griffin exchange PPCs at point blank range, with predictably little effect. Gbasden takes a kick to the left arm, but Cylus has his back, jumping over and tripping the Griffin up. Isgrimnur has had enough of the Jenner taking pot shots at us, so he hops over to it, firing lasers to soften it up, then stomping on the left torso to take half the lighter mech's lasers out of action.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

The Jenner's pilot has had enough and bails out. The Griffin barely holds together, as the combination of ground impact and being inside a raging inferno take its toll on the heat sinks.

Cylus Maxii breaching the rear armor with a large laser and detonating the LRM ammo in the right torso doesn't help. He weathers a couple of shots from a nearby Vedette, but it was totally worth it. Gbasden's PPC shots would have all hit, but by the time he gets around to it, the mech is already in about four hundred different pieces.

Isgrimnur and Stefan focus fire on a nearby Vedette, causing heavy damage to the treads to set it up to be wiped out next turn.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

Gbasden scores a solid head shot on the enemy Shadow Hawk, the PPC melting through the armor and severely damaging cockpit electronics. It fires back, but hits mostly water, except a single SRM plinking off the Awesome's armor. Isgrimnur jumps in behind it, taking a brief second to spear a medium laser through a Galleon's rear armor and wreck the drive train. He takes a hit from the Manticore to the north (hey, there you are!) The Shadow Hawk is still a little too mobile, but the nearby Vedette takes a few seconds to stop rocking back and forth after the delivered boot.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

That Shadow Hawk is a tough cookie. Despite having a well-ventilated cockpit, he still hops over to Gbasden and breaches his left torso armor, sparking the PPC up pretty good. He takes two PPC shots in return, breaching left leg armor. Isgrimnur hops back into the smoke and fires at a Vedette, melting through the front armor in combination with Stefan's autocannon fire.

Stefan's obviously missed setting everything on fire.

Round 11:

Spoiler:

Cylus has Gbasden's back again, hopping over behind the Shadow Hawk as it exchanges fire with our Awesome. A medium laser melts the armor and half the actuators in the left leg, and the enemy mech goes down. Cylus curb stomps the other leg for good measure, breaking through armor there and crunching the hip actuator. Isgrimnur stomps on the nearby Locust, as he thinks its stirring, crushing the right torso and ripping chunks of the gyro out.

Round 12+:
The Shadow Hawk and Locust pilots both punch out, making that five mechs lost. The rest of the enemy force turns tail and runs. Gbasden blows away a retreating Vedette that lingers a little too long, and then they're gone.

That's one set of jackasses down. We call in salvage to pick up wrecks and deposit them in the employer's Mule and Alpha settles in to await news of Gamma's operation. The Hermes performed pretty well, but what we really need is to see if those Lyran corporate guys from a few missions ago have gotten those advanced light autocannon targeting systems working, and maybe see if we can load up some alternate munitions.

[NickAragua]

June 23, 3032
Several kilometers northeast

As Lt. Scrub's Gamma lance begins the attack on the data center, Xwraith's Thunderbolt just flat out refuses to start up, while sensors show a lance of light aerotech fighters closing in. Facing almost two lances of light and medium mechs, stationary defences, and three nasty assault tanks, she calls in Delta to even out the odds a little bit.

It'll still be five turns of extremely uneven fighting, so we'll need to be cautious initially.

Gamma lance is Warhammer, El Guapo in a Griffin and Hyena in a Wolverine.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

As usual, sprawling building complex. Good place for a data center. Lt. Scrub opens up on the Devastator tank down the street, hitting with both PPCs, while avoiding fire from a Locust coming down a side street. That Behemoth is ridiculous. Twenty LRM tubes in the front, and bristling with SRM tubes all around. Plus, a pair of turret-mounted AC/10s and 12 SRM tubes there. Armor can easily absorb three PPC shots on each side. The downside? It has two movement points. So, it's not really going anywhere.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

We advance down the main streets, keeping cautiously out of range of the enemy units. El Guapo exchanges fire with a Locust, taking a laser to the arm, then nearly blowing its leg off with a PPC. Lt. Scrub continues working on the Devastator tank, as the vehicle backs up. Some damage to the treads is evident.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

We take an intersection near the data center.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Lt. Scrub fires at an overly aggressive Scorpion tank (SRM variant), stripping armor off of and jamming the turret. Hyena engages a Von Luckner tank, causing heavy tread damge with lasers and SRMs while ducking the return fire.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

Delta arrives and gets into the fight immediately. Lt. Scrub continues working on the Devastator, keeping out of its AC/20 range and gouging chunks out of the armor. Archinerd comes up from behind and fires a "devastating" LRM salvo, breaching the front armor and disabling one of the SRM six-racks.

Hyena jumps around the Von Luckner tank, taking some fire from the surrounding units but slicing off an LRM launcher with a medium laser, then grinding down the left side treads with an SRM salvo, disabling it.

Freyland runs in from the north, exchanging fire with an enemy Jenner. Their weapons loadout is actually nearly identical, but Freyland's SRMs find a weak spot in the Jenner's weaker armor, one dinging the gyro. The 35-tonner falls over.

Madmarcus goes to the only safe place near the Behemoth, right on top of it, and begins prying the turret off.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

The Jenner has trouble getting up. It crunches itself on the ground several times, then the mechwarrior blacks out.

Madmarcus, El Guapo and Freyland fire at a Scimitar hovertank, Madmarcus' large laser cutting through the front plate, which completely deflates the thin air cushion separating the hovercraft from the ground. Combined with a PPC from El Guapo and a couple of medium lasers from Freyland, the tank grinds to a halt on the pavement. Madmarcus takes some return fire and a kick from a Locust in addition to the Scimitar's SRMs, but it's mostly sand-paper.

Hyena really thought that the Von Luckner's crew had abandoned the tank, but the vehicle makes a counter-argument with an AC/10 burst, so we'll need to take it down permanently.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

The situation degenerates into a melee. Not sure how that Locust to the west wound up on the ground, though.

Hyena, El Guapo and Paingod focus fire on a building as an enemy Griffin lands on top of it. Despite all the firepower, the building miraculously remains upright (one structure point short of collapse!)

Lt. Scrub splits her fire between the immobilized Von Luckner (which unloads on her mech as well, scoring solid hits) and the nearby Valkyrie, which also takes lasers and SRMs from Archinerd. Madmarcus gets lucky as the Behemoth unloads on him, but misses. Freyland forces an enemy Firestarter to duck with an LRM salvo, then him and Hyena play soccer with the Von Luckner.

The Valkyrie takes a punch to the center torso from Lt. Scrub, then loses a leg as Archinerd cracks the internal structure on the right one.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

Those two prone mechs are kind of blocking the way, which is annoying. The Jenner pilot knocks himself out again. An enemy Panther jumps around to the back of Lt. Scrub and scores a couple of good hits with SRMs, but takes a couple of lasers all around, plus MadMarcus is on the case.

Freyland finishes off the stationary Von Luckner with a few medium lasers to the weakened right-side armor, although the Behemoth gives our Quickdraw a good whacking with an SRM salvo. Paingod continues the work Madmarcus started, trying to pry the turret (or anything, really) off the Behemoth, while El Guapo and the enemy Griffin trade kicks. Except the other guy misses.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

After taking a full LRM salvo to the torso, the Valkyrie tries to get up, but having only one leg makes it difficult, and the mech slips, knocking the mechwarrior out with the impact. Lt. Scrub takes advantage of this by cracking the armor on the center torso and damaging the engine shielding with lasers.

Hyena works on one of the target buildings, pumping lasers and SRMs into it, with Freyland helping out as well. El Guapo takes Paingod's place on top of the Behemoth, but it's a damn tough tank.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

The Panther continues harassing the Warhammer, as Lt. Scrub plows PPCs into the Behemoth's left side. That armor is starting to look a little thin now. Madmarcus would have plowed a perfect SRM salvo into the Locust, but it runs behind a building, and half the SRMs hit that instead. Freyland hops over to the Behemoth to take his turn, firing at the Firestarter meanwhile. A laser drills into the right arm, zapping an actuator and the laser barrel there. The left leg on Lt. Scrub's Warhammer is looking a little thin after an autocannon burst and some SRMs from the Behemoth, so she'll be stepping back.

Freyland's boot crunches the last of the armor on the left side of the Behemoth, sending a machine gun barrel flying, and it starts very slowly trundling away.

Round 11:

Spoiler:

The Valkyrie's pilot wakes up and powers down his mech before climbing out. The Panther continues harassing our mechs, firing SRMs at Archinerd. Unfortunately for it, Hyena and Lt. Scrub focus fire on the building that it landed on, and the structure collapses. The debris and impact shear off the Panther's right side. Paingod eats a couple of autocannon rounds from a nearby turret, returning the favor with a PPC shot and a boot, the PPC shot melting down one of the AC/5 barrels. Madmarcus gets around the back of a Locust, inflicting damage with lasers, but surprisingly not penetrating armor. Lucky little bastard!

Round 12:

Spoiler:

The guy in the Jenner wakes up and bails out. Then passes out from the heat. The Firestarter covers his Panther buddy's retreat by firing at El Guapo's Griffin - a stray machine gun round shorts out the PPC, but not before the heavier weapon critically weakens the building on which the Firestarter had landed, causing the mech to drop to the ground into a pile of debris. Hyena chases down a 1E Locust, legging it with SRMs, then curb stomps it to crush the right torso. Freyland and Archinerd finish off another target building as well.

Round 13:

Spoiler:

Locust pilot bails out, and the Firestarter and Griffin begin to screen the enemy retreat. We'll let them go, sure. After taking a couple of pot shots. Madmarcus nails the Firestarter, stripping armor from just about every location with lasers and SRMs, although his cockpit turns into a sauna. Archinerd follows up with his lasers and SRMs, blasting off the right torso section, forcing the smaller mech to take a knee. The enemy Griffin jumps on top of a building, hitting Lt. Scrub's Warhammer with SRMs, but the building is collapsed in short order by fire from Hyena's weapons and El Guapo's LRM launcher. It's a long way down (10 levels) and the mechwarrior blacks out. Paingod and Lt. Scrub torch the last of the target buildings to complete the mission. An enemy Locust tries to run by us, but is perforated as just about every mech turns its guns on them, with Paingod scoring the kill.

We "surgically" remove the mechwarrior from the Griffin and call in salvage. Gonna be a good haul. We claim the Von Luckner and Griffin because we need replacement PPCs and load the rest up into the employer's Mule. Lt. Scrub's Warhammer and El Guapo's Griffin won't be operational in time for next week, but hopefully we won't have an "all hands on deck" battle.

We also have another spare Griffin. Just in case, you never know. One of the salvage guys also steals a random coolant truck. It's not worth much, but it does have a bunch of armor plating on it, which we strip. As for Xwraith's Thunderbolt, turns out the techs needed to reboot one of the computers. The one controlling fusion engine temperature readings. It kept saying the fusion core was at 8600k for some reason.

The next week is quiet. Everyone gets a chance to chill and catch up on their entertainment of choice, or just sit in their cabin and stare silently at the walls. Nobody goes outside willingly for some reason. Maybe it's the combination of 50+ degree temperature and thin atmosphere.

Madmarcus can improve gunnery or piloting (currently both at 3/3). Any preference?

At this point, even the liaison agrees that we've more than fulfilled our contract requirements. So, unless the Dracs attack us directly, we're going to sit tight for the rest of the contract duration. However, El Guapo informs us of a dire development: we're about to run out of Battlestar episodes. Normally, we'd just run a unit out to comms range of the local HPG station, but the Dracs are really serious about their comms jamming. We can't even get in contact with the Star Guards, let alone the HPG.

The liaison proposes that we make an HPG run with two objectives: One, grab the latest download of TV episodes. Two, call for early pickup so we don't have to sit here for another two months, waiting for the scheduled rendezvous. Optionally, if we find them, we'll blow up any Drac jammers. We'll probably have to fight through a bunch of Dracs to get there, though.

So, anyone up for a GM-ed mission?

[El Guapo]

Sure, sounds good. We need those episodes!