Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

[Zenn7]

Wooo first kill. Now you guys have to stop calling me FNG all the time! Guys? Guys?

Meh... you're still FNG until the 10th kill.

(By now I might even be able to say the 100th kill ... :p )

[NickAragua]

One of the captured mechwarriors offers to join our crew and offers some information to sweeten the pot - the precise location of of the enemy training facility suprevised by our "extraction target".

As Delta lance continues plotting its route to the target, they are engaged by two lances of Capellan hovercraft, with support from tracked vehicles. If we pick off the hovercraft, the rest won't be able to pursue, and we'll be able to go about our business. We deploy on the south end of the map, while the opfor is to the nroth. We've got some woods for cover and lakes to cool off in, so we're sitting pretty.

Delta lance is Archinerd in a Griffin (we need an officer in charge), Cylus Maxii in a Phoenix Hawk, a Quickdraw and the Clint.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

We advance to our "primary fallback" firing positions, but everyone's out of range, except an annoying AC/2 Helicopter. The Quickdraw takes some time to start a fire for a little smoke cover. For the record, our "secondary fallback" position will be a cluster of heavy woods to the south. I don't want to be losing limbs and actuators to a bunch of loose hovercraft, so we'll be playing this one pretty conservatively.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

We move up to the base of the elevated area to the north and exchange some long range fire. The Clint sets some woods to the north on fire as well.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

The Clint takes a PPC to the center torso, which isn't that great, then a couple of LRMs to damage the engine. Meanwhile, we whiff every single one of our shots, even the 6+ ones.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Time for the Clint to withdraw. For real, no "sticking it out". Quick hop behind the dense smoke into some woods. The Quickdraw ... uh... draws fire as it jumps away. This time, the opfor whiffs entirely while we score a few minor hits.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

Cylus Maxii flits in and out of the smoky woods, blasting a Hunter's tracks with a medium laser, immobilizing the vehicle. Enemy fire misses entirely.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

The hovercraft catch up to us, so we're going to have to thin their ranks a little before bugging out. Archinerd starts that process off by shattering an LTV-4 hover tank's skirt with LRMs, and inflicting similar but not total damage on an approaching Saladin with his boot. Meanwhile, Cylus Maxii slices an SRM/2 launcher off the turret of an approaching Saracen. Unfortunately, the vehicle is a little too nimble for his boot, and he whiffs, falling on his face.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

We're runing out of room, but the smoke should provide some excellent cover for our weakened units. Archinerd finishes off the Saladin with a PPC (ugh, yeah, I know). The Quickdraw inflicts severe damage on the pursuing Skulker, popping a few wheels with lasers and SRMs, then flipping it over with a boot. The Scimitar catches up to the escaping Clint though, and opens up, breaching the right torso armor (forget about the gaping hole in the center torso) and lighting off the AC/5 ammo. The mechwarrior ejects seamlessly.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

Cylus Maxii moves to pick up the ejected mechwarrior, while the rest of our units make a fighting withdrawal. One of the enemy hovertanks (a Condor) gets a little enthusiastic navigating around the smoke and crashes into a tree. Whoops. The Quickdraw blasts a pursuing Scimitar tank with an alpha strike, overheating pretty badly, but lighting off the vehicle's ammo storage. A Scimitar has both AC/5 and SRM/2 ammo on board, so it's a nice variety of fireworks.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

Last round. With ejected mechwarrior firmly clutched in his hands (but not too firmly, because, well, you know), Cylus Maxii makes his way south. Archinerd delivers a parting PPC shot to a Vedette (it just takes some getting used to, really), melting off some armor and tracks, and then we withdraw. The enemy force is down more than half of its hovercraft, so there's no way they'll be able to pursue us.

Too bad about the Clint, though. We'll bill our employer. I kind of like battle loss compensation, actually. We reassign Stefan Stirzaker to Delta lance, while putting an Assassin in Alpha, then continue operations - even though we got run off, we're still making progress towards mapping our advance to the target facility, and we continue to do so over the next week.

[NickAragua]

September 23, 3029
"This is recon dropship Bravo Two to any receiving allied units. We have been forced down by Capellan air units. Have repelled initial enemy assault, but have detected an enemy force gathering for second assault."

"Bravo Two, this is Beta lead, 1st Octopus Overlords. We are in position to assist, but it is outside our mission profile. Got anything to sweeten the pot?"

"Mercenaries, eh? After that last fight, let's just say we've got some spare parts on board. You help us get rid of these Capellans, you can take your pick."

"Roger that, Bravo Two, we are en route. ETA fifty eight minutes."

Zenn7 and Beta lance divert from their objective to help bail out a crashed Davion dropship. The opfor is a company of light and medium tanks, supported by a pair of mechs, a lance of heavies and a lance of assaults, with an additional eight hostiles coming in. Despite this, I decide to hold our air support - we can't afford to have a loose satellite or "minor radar facility" work out a vector to our "field base" (more like a bunch of tents in the woods and a bunch of trucks covered in camo tarps).

With LordMortis benched due to broken rib, Beta lance is Zenn7 in the Awesome, Paingod in Shadow Hawk 2K, an AC/10 and an AC/20 Centurion and Isgrimnur in the Vindicator. Anticipating an evening arrival, we load up tracer rounds in the autocannons. When we get there, the place is already a giant mess - destroyed mechs and tanks litter the field, but the dropship itself is mostly undamaged. Except for some "issues with the fuel feeds that need a few more hours to get sorted, then we can lift", as they inform us.

Looks like the Capellans decide to make another try at the dropship before then, though. We've got a hill and some woods between us and them, so we'll be doing a classic "reverse slope" defense.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

We advance to the base of our hill area, while the opfor starts its way up the opposite side. No firing.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

The enemy Ferret scout VTOL encounters some air turbulence and lightly taps the ground. An enemy AC/2 Bulldog begins plinking away at the Leopard from long range, but misses.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

An enemy Trebuchet crests the hill and gets ambushed by our Centurions. The AC/20 one takes the left arm off (which is about half the mech's firepower) while the AC/10 one works on the right torso. Zenn7 can't draw a bead on any targets so he helps Paingod out by setting some woods on fire behind him to provide a little extra smoke cover. Of course, the wind is blowing the wrong way and the smoke drifts north instead of south like we wanted. Still, there's a heavy woods hex with smoke in it, great place to camp out.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Here we go, the enemy charges up the hill to engage in earnest. Paingod melts the left side armor off an approaching Predator tank destroyer (AC/20!), while the Leopard unloads LRMs at a Pegasus zipping in, the hovercraft getting stuck in a gully. The Predator hits the reverse and drives straight back.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

A few units try to push up the east side, while the mediums and mechs try to push up the west. Paingod takes aim at a distant LRM Carrier shooting Isgrimnur, weakening the armor with the PPC, then cracking it open with an LRM salvo, at which point Isgrimnur sends another PPC into the internals, melting it into slag. He gets a little pasted with LRMs but stays upright, even managing to scrape his boot along the adjacent Bulldog's left side. The Leopard starts taking some AC/2 fire but they're going to need a little more firepower than that.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

The push up the east side stalls, while the west side continues. Zenn7 breaches both the front and left side armor of the adjacent Bulldog, then kicks the turret - the vehicle turns tail and runs.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

Our AC/20 Centurion finds itself in a precarious position, surrounded by medium tanks and an AC/20 Hetzer. He manages to avoid the Hetzer temporarily. The AC/10 Centurion helps out, cracking a Scorpion tank's armor with the AC/10 then slicing it in half with a medium laser, as the AC/20 fellow simply takes the turret off. The enemy Griffin approaches the Leopard and takes a PPC shot and a bunch of LRMs, spoiling its aim as the mechwarrior falls over instead. Zenn7 boots the Hunter scurrying about underfoot, crunching through the front armor and sending the vehicle packing.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

Additional Capellan units show up to the south. The Leopard takes out an advancing Vedette with a pair of PPCs and an LRM salvo. The enemy Griffin avoids most of the incoming fire and puts himself in a better firing position for next turn. It looks like one of our guys had set some woods on fire, and an enemy Bulldog appears to have got caught in there and is slowly melting. Sucks for you, bro.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

Zenn7 and Paingod team up on an AC/2 bulldog. Three PPC shots to the right section put the vehicle out of action permanently. Paingod takes an AC/20 to the right arm from the nearby Demolisher, signaling that he needs to move.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

Zenn7 and Paingod go to work on that Demolisher, while our AC/20 Centurion gets the drop on an enemy Vedette (although it remains functional). Zenn7 somehow manages to zap a PPC across both sets of tracks along the tank's rear, so it rolls right off them, then Paingod puts an LRM through a coolant line, causing the engine to seize up permanently. Good, we don't need the double AC/20s ruining our day. The enemy Griffin is still hanging out next to the allied Leopard, and dodges around like a nimble ballerina, avoiding all but a single PPC and large laser. An LRM/20 salvo to the enemy Trebuchet takes out its right arm and breaches the right torso armor, bringing its total number of arms to zero. Bastard still has a torso-mounted LRM/15 launcher though.

Round 11:

Spoiler:

The Leopard opens up with everything it's got, it's actually kind of impressive. The Griffin catches a bunch of LRMs to its weakened right leg, losing a hip and a foot actuator, while a distant Hetzer is rattled by a barrage of LRMs from another launcher. Three Vedettes charge Isgrimnur's position - Zenn7 melts one down to slag, while Paingod zaps the engine block of another. The AC/10 Centurion comes after the Griffin as well, breaching left leg armor. The serious damage causes the enemy mech to lose balance and fall over, with the mechwarrior blacking out. The Centurion takes the damaged right leg off completely to make sure the enemy mech stays down then moves on to other targets. Isgrimnur throws a laser and some punches at the last Vedette charging him, but it stays active.

Round 12:

Spoiler:

Isgrimnur hops over the hill he's been camping to get a piece of that Predator tank destroyer trying to sneak up from the bottom of the hill. Nice try, buddy. A boot reduces the self-propelled gun's mobility options to zero. The Vedettes retreating from Isgrimnur's former position take some PPCs but stay active. The Leopard opens fire on a variety of vehicles, breaching the armor on a Liao-variant Vedette next to the AC/20 Centurion, who is so distracted by the pretty fireworks that he whiffs a 5+ shot with an AC/20 on the Trebuchet.

Round 13:

Spoiler:

This is turning to quite a slog, although we've definitely got the upper hand. Zenn7 melts another Vedette to slag with all three PPCs blazing away, alghouth a combination of enemy counterfire and him brushing against pine trees with his glowing red mech causes a fire to break out at his location. The AC/20 Centurion is a little over-enthusiastic with the AC/20 and blows open the Trebuchet's LRM storage completely, annihilating the mech. With over half of their forces destroyed, disabled or routed (including their two mechs and their nastiest heavies) and the Leopard barely scratched, the rest of the Capellans pull back.

The Leopard crew makes good on their promise of spare parts and their salvage crews help our techs strip captured vehicles for armor and ammunition. We then load the remaining wrecks into their cargo bay and send them on their way - in addition to the spare parts, the crew compensates us with 1.6M C-Bills for our share of the salvaged vehicles. We also pack the captured prisoners away for a solid 165k bounty.

We'll strip the captured Griffin to fix Archinerd's Dervish, and appropriate a Hunchback head from the Davion dropship. Yeah, they just had a spare one on board. ::

Meanwhile, Delta lance continues getting into trouble as it probes enemy defenses.

[Paingod]

Always an enjoyable read

Pretty intense fighting.

[Stefan Stirzaker]

What a hectic battle!

[Archinerd]

... and appropriate a Hunchback head from the Davion dropship. Yeah, they just had a spare one on board. ::

Weirdos. Just be sure to give the controls a good wipe down before hopping into that thing, I can only imagine what they've been using it for.

[NickAragua]

While Beta lance plows through the enemy, Delta lance continues scouting out a route to the target training facility. Sensors detect a group of hovercraft trailing them, so Delta turns around to run them off, but runs into additional armored vehicles instead, hiding around a small town.

Delta is Archinerd in a Griffin, Cylus Maxii in a Phoenix Hawk, a Quickdraw and Stefan Stirzaker in his Vulcan. The plan is pretty simple - we'll use the town to break up the slower and less mobile enemy formation, give them a quick bloody nose by taking out the faster units, then bug out. We might also set the town on fire, you never know.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

Archinerd starts the party off by damaging an approaching Harasser's motive system with LRMs. Cylus Maxii sets a fire for some extra cover in town.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

Archinerd and Cylus Maxii combine fire on a Scimitar hover tank zipping around to the east of town, with one Cylus Maxii's lasers going right up the tailpipe, causing the engine to seize up. Over water. Good luck fishing that one out, guys.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

A couple of hovercraft and a Vedette come around the east side of the town, and Archinerd comes out to meet them. He takes a little fire from the Maxim, then melts the rear armor and the air ducts off the Harasser. Stefan Stirzaker goes to the north of town, inflicting heavy damage on a Scorpion's tracks with his medium lasers, though he takes a few SRMs.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

A few enemy units push into the town, where they get dogpiled, as their superior numbers are negated. The Hunter and Vedette both take a lot of hits, but only minor motive system damage.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

The push into town continues. A Vedette drives past Stefan Stirzaker's position, firing lasers at Archinerd. Stefan takes the opportunity to breach the right side armor with lasers, then fire the flamer in there. The flames set off the vehicle's fuel supply, further contributing to the multiple infernos already raging through the town.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

I'm starting to regret setting those fires a little bit. Stefan Stirzaker's position catches on fire, so he has to displace. Cylus Maxii finishes off the Hunter that got stuck. Archinerd pulls back to the east edge of town and catches a Saladin trying to circle around with LRMs, forcing the vehicle to draw a circle in the ground then sit there, stuck.

At this point, the opfor lacks the ability to meaningfully pursue us (three hovercraft and a VTOL against four mostly undamaged mechs isn't exactly good odds, while the other units can't keep up), so we fall back out of their sensor range and watch as the Capellans abandon their disabled vehicles and retreat, leaving the town to burn down. Our salvage crews visit the site later to strip armor and ammo, as well as pull a poor trapped scrub out of the disabled Saladin.

It takes a couple of days and some serious hooking up of our own spare parts (we uh, had to replace pretty much all of the head internals), but we get LordMortis' Hunchback going again.

[El Guapo]

Meanwhile I am busy NOT watching Space Netflix, in compliance with the orders issued by the company commanders.

[NickAragua]

Speaking of space netflix, anybody up for another GM'd game in the near future?

[El Guapo]

Sure, sounds good.

[Isgrimnur]

Absolutely.

[Cylus Maxii]

Wow - Delta lance is getting a lot of action!

[NickAragua]

Yeah - the way the missions are generated, for some reason, lances on "Scout" detail have the highest odds of getting a randomly generated battle out of all the other lance types. 60% per week for scouts, 40% per week for lances on "fight" detail (that's Alpha and Beta) and 20% for "defend" lances (that was everyone on the last garrison contract out in Free Worlds League Flyover Country). Delta is on scout detail, so...

BTW, this high gravity thing is really making me have to learn how to use ground movement, I've been relying on jump jets quite a bit, but when you have a 30% chance of crunching a leg actuator each jump, you really kind of have to moderate your use of it.

Funny thing is it only affects mechs that go faster than 5/8/5, so the Wolverines, Griffin and Isgrimnur's Vindicator are just fine. Just the Phoenix Hawks and Firestarters getting the short end.

[Madmarcus]

I love following this but I shouldn't get into another daily turn pbp right now.

[NickAragua]

September 27, 3029
As Alpha lance passes by a small mountain town en route to their assigned target (a diversionary nighttime attack against a Capellan warehouse), they pick up some strange readings. Lt. Adnan dispatches Madmarcus to take a quick look, not wanting to divert too much.

As he gets there, he's ambushed by a pair of enemy lights. And then a tornado breaks out.

So, we're fighting two mechs in pitch blackness, with tornado-force winds all around. Should be fine.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

The enemy Valkyrie takes a laser to Madmarcus' left leg, while his laser shot goes wide. He attempts to light the way a little bit, but the wind takes care of that.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

The enemy units advance. Firing is ineffective.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

It might be time to flee if this round doesn't go well. It goes ok though, all the enemy lasers miss, while Madmarcus scores a small laser hit on the Valkyrie. Then gets kicked in the right torso and falls over.

Round 4-6:

Spoiler:

Madmarcus spends the next two rounds trying to get up to a knee and getting beat down. However, he does score a large laser hit on the Spider's left torso breaching through to internal structure. This disrupts the Spider's kick, and the mech falls over, the pilot twitching helplessly as he's unable to get up in the howling winds. The Valkyrie boots Madmarcus in the head, but the cowl absorbs most of the impact.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

At this point, the screenshots all look exactly like the last one, so I omit them for brevity.

He finally gets up! Then gets knocked down again, those boots are brutal.

Round 8:
Another attempt to get up, another boot to the left torso, rendering the left arm useless. The right arm and the laser there works fine though, stripping some armor.

Round 9:
Madmarcus blacks out as another Valkyrie boot hits him in the head, and we lose comms.

Guess it wasn't fine. By the time the storm dissipates and Alpha gets to the location, the Firestarter and enemy mechs are long gone, the only traces being some scoring along the ground and an arm from the mech. This is bad - we need to get our mechwarrior back, if for no other reason than to avoid having him get tortured and reveal our objectives and base location. And we'll want the mech back too, so they don't hack past the security measures and access all the navigational data.

We still relocate our base camp though. It's a pain in the ass and disrupts our operations tempo for a few days, but better safe than sorry.

[Isgrimnur]

BUG OUT!

[Madmarcus]

Two Valkyries and a Spider? In the dark? That was doomed from the start even for a tactical genius!

[NickAragua]

Two Valkyries and a Spider? In the dark? That was doomed from the start even for a tactical genius!

Well, it was just one Valkyrie. But don't forget the tornado-force winds to make up for it! But yeah, I screwed up and miscounted how far that mech could go, so I wound up in a situation where he could keep delivering torso kicks all day long.

[Hyena]

Holy shit what an epic AAR. I've spent the better part of today reading this thread, and am compelled to enroll in your company if you are accepting applications!

[Stefan Stirzaker]

Take off and nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to preserve that knowledge.

WIll MekHQ do a rescue mission scenario for you based on what has happened in this mission?

[NickAragua]

Take off and nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to preserve that knowledge.

WIll MekHQ do a rescue mission scenario for you based on what has happened in this mission?

Heh, nah, it's not that smart. But I'm going to put one together anyway.

Holy shit what an epic AAR. I've spent the better part of today reading this thread, and am compelled to enroll in your company if you are accepting applications!

Sure thing.

Pvt. Brad "Hyena" Mandara wound up earning his nickname after participating in the dropship defense mission a few weeks ago.

October 3, 3029
The cockpit of Delta lance's Quickdraw shows some serious signs of giving up the ghost, rendering the mech completely inoperative. Which is unfortunate, as they were to carry out a raid on an identified Capellan communications hub. Simple goal: get the search and rescue squad in there, grab their communication logs (and tap their comms while we're at it) and get out. To help make it look more credible, we'll engage the enemy garrison.

Given the importance of this mission, we bring in air support.

Delta borrows Freyland and his Wolverine from Alpha lance, rounding out Archinerd in the Griffin, Cylus Maxii in the Phoenix Hawk and Stefan Stirzaker in the Vulcan. The base defenders are some turrets and infantry, with a lance of mechs and two vehicle lances close enough to respond immediately, plus another two vehicle lances returning from patrol.

The goal is to get the infantry unit into one of those comm buildings, remain there for a whole turn while the tech does his thing, then bug out. Alpha still needs to win the engagement. I'm mildly concerned about the triple AC/10 turret in the back of the enemy base.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

We hop in and engage some of the enemy infantry and turrets to clear them out quickly. Archinerd's PPC shot jams the AC/5 turret, rendering it unable to rotate outside its current 90 degree arc, while Freyland slices off one of the three barrels with a large laser. Our Maxim engages a motorized flamer platoon, killing a whole bunch with missile fire. Cylus Maxii takes an AC/5 round to the leg, but no problem.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

Cylus Maxii heads north to engage some of the hovercraft there. He can't get a good bead, so he turns right and takes another AC/5 barrel off the damaged AC/5 turret. Stefan Stirzaker is going to get a chance to use his mech for its intended functionality - anti-infantry work. The flamer completely incinerates an enemy platoon caught out in the open. Freyland and Archinerd jump to the north center of the base to engage the southern turrets. Freyland takes a bunch of autocannon rounds while Archinerd eats some small arms fire. The Maxim completely wipes out the second infantry platoon on the west side of the base with its machine gun turret, while firing LRMs at the distant AC/5 turret.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

Archinerd and Freyland go to work on the AC/10 turret to get it out if circulation. The other ones don't so much matter, but that one is pretty nasty. Archinerd takes out one of the barrels as it targets Stefan Stirzaker. Who meanwhile is busy flaming and machinegunning the last remaining enemy infantry platoon. The Maxim unloads the ground crew and finishes off the AC/5 turret, a stray missile killing the crew. Up north, Cylus Maxii takes a shot to the left hand, losing an actuator, but stuns the crew of a Scimitar tank.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

The Maxim tries to navigate through the narrow base but winds up "manually exploring" the communications buildings instead, taking some damage to its motive system. Archinerd blasts the AC/10 turret from close range with LRMs, stunning the crew. Cylus Maxii takes a risk and jumps south to avoid getting mobbed, and disables the Pegasus that comes chasing after him. Freyland jumps east and engages two Wasps, hitting one square in the center torso with a medium laser, but taking a PPC from a nearby Vindicator - the damage distracts him, and the little Wasp trips him up. Kind of a bad position to be in.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

Freyland has some trouble getting up, damaging the SRM/6 launcher and nearly losing his left torso section. Even as the enemy mechs surround him, he takes the left arm off an enemy Wasp with the large laser, then breaks through the weakened center torso with a medium laser and "scratches" the engine shielding. He then manages to dodge the Vindicator's kick. Cylus Maxii targets the same Wasp, breaching the left torso armor with the large laser. The little mech begins retreating. Archinerd and Stefan Stirzaker blow away the AC/10 turret, collapsing it completely. Our infantry squad reaches the target building and begins compromising Capellan security.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

Both enemy reinforcements and our air support arrive. Our Maxim opens up on a distant Scorpion tank with LRMs, one of the missiles sending debris into the engine. The Lucifer flies overhead and drops a few bombs on a pair of hovertanks zipping in, disabling both. The Thunderbird flies over the enemy Phoenix Hawk, taking off the right arm with a few lasers. Stefan Stirzaker engages the enemy Vindicator, which is distracted firing at our Lucifer. The enemy mech takes heavy damage but remains standing. Freyland and the second enemy Wasp fight inconclusively. Our infantry squad reports taking heavy fire, but have accomplished their mission.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

Two enemy tanks move to prevent the Maxim and jump platoon's escape - Cylus Maxii moves into intercept them. Our aircraft take some AA fire but do pretty well, with the Lucifer disabling a Skulker and the Thunderbird evaporating a Predator tank destroyer (Cylus Maxii can be heard mumbling about "kill stealers" over the comm). Archinerd and Stefan Stirzaker inflict major damage on the enemy Phoenix Hawk, causing it to fall over. Freyland gives an enemy Hunter a solid boot.

The opfor appears to be unwilling to commit to a further defense of this facility at this point and begins a rapid retreat. Our aircraft zip away to an alternate site. Our salvage crews visit the site to strip armor and ammo from the abandoned vehicles, and then we leave the facility as well, having no intention of holding it, having already compromised the enemy comms system. We leave a few "presents" scattered around for the Capellans to find. We did lose one man from the jump infantry platoon. The commander also directs the doctor to have a conversation with Stefan Stirzaker about cackling like a madman while roasting platoons of infantry with his flamer.

With fatigue taking its toll on Delta, we rotate them out a little bit - we sub in Xwraith for Cylus Maxii and Freyland goes back to Alpha lance (just in time to get thrown into another fight).

[Freyland]

That was close! (For me, anyways)

[AWS260]

Another intense mission. This deployment is turning out to be a lot of fun! (Maybe not for madmarcus.)

[El Guapo]

[Looks up from laptop screen streaming Space Netflix]

"Sorry - something going on?"

[Stefan Stirzaker]

I looooove the smell oc napalm in the mornings *cackle* crispy critters!

[gbasden]

Speaking of space netflix, anybody up for another GM'd game in the near future?

Yes, please!

[NickAragua]

Speaking of space netflix, anybody up for another GM'd game in the near future?

Yes, please!

Keep an eye on the forum games thread, your two mechs will be coming in next round.

[gbasden]

Keep an eye on the forum games thread, your two mechs will be coming in next round.

Will do. I'm working all weekend but will try to check in.

[Hyena]

Another testament from me about this thread:

After reading this thread, I went home that night and found MechCommander 2 online for free and have been playing that non-stop. Or at least as non-stop as two kids, a full-time teaching and coaching job, and a similarly busy wife will allow...

It's just as good as I remember.

[Paingod]

I still remember preferring the first one. Lots of fond memories in gaming there - like loading and re-loading the first Timberwolf/Mad Cat encounter. If you drove a scout car up to activate it, you could get it to chase the scout and then with luck, precisely drop an artillery shell through the cockpit, salvaging the Mech and most of the gear. After that, you always had a serious powerhouse to help with every mission.

Also ... uh ... Space Netflix. >_> ... How about that Starship MechTroopers, eh? Fighting giant bugs. Hah.

[Hyena]

I found both of them, actually, but there was a bug with the version I downloaded that wouldn't let me start the first mission. I probably need to try a different site, perhaps, but this is scratching the itch for sure.

[Archinerd]

Hmm. I have those both on disc... if I can figure out how to open the CD-rom drive I may give it a go.

[Archinerd]

eh, nevermind. Just watched some gameplay videos and it doesn't look anywhere near as good as I remember it.

[NickAragua]

October 5, 3029
To facilitate Gamma lance's raid on the facility where Madmarcus is being held, Delta makes a diversionary advance towards a different facility in the area. The Capellans fall for it hook, line and sinker, committing a lance of mechs and four vehicle lances to prevent Delta from reaching said facility. That's good, means those guys won't be messing around with Gamma's rescue operations.

Delta's objective is to a) give the opfor a bloody nose and b) keep the opfor occupied long enough that they don't catch on to this being a diversion. Delta is Archinerd in the Griffin, the Quickdraw, Xwraith in a Phoenix Hawk and Stefan Stirzaker in the Vulcan. No infantry to fry this time, sorry.

The initial intercepting force is mostly light mechs, a few hovercraft and three(!) VTOLs. Trailing a minute or so behind them is another group of hovercraft and slower tanks. We get a nice, light sprinkling of snow, which looks pretty but we won't be there long enough for it to build up. However, it will make it difficult for the enemy to pursue us.

The terrain is extremely favorable to us, with plenty of woods for cover and to break up enemy hovercraft formations.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

We advance to a cluster of woods (with Xwraith taking the southern flank). No firing, as everyone is either out of range or moving around way too much.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

We advance to the edge of our elevated position and hold, firing a few LRMs to let the opfor know we're there.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

The enemy light lance charges up to Archinerd's Griffin and opens up. The Ostscout does score a medium laser hit on his left leg, but the rest of the firing mostly just chews up the woods. He pays them little attention, instead nailing the distant Vindicator in the left torso with the PPC, although when the Locust runs up and pings his right arm with a machinegun string, he boots it in the head, removing it entirely. The Quickdraw starts a fire in some nearby woods for some additional smoke cover.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

The Quickdraw jumps forward to engage the Galleon and Saracen, while the Archinerd and Stefan Stirzaker pull back to support each other. The Ostscout gets the drop on Stefan, though. The Galleon takes some medium lasers to the front, leaving a sliver of armor, while Archinerd targets an advancing Saladin with the LRM launcher, cratering its armor. The Ostscout fails to capitalize with its medium laser and kick, though. Xwraith puts a large laser on a Hunter light support tank to the east, letting it know it's not going to be able to shoot LRMs at him much longer.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

The Quickdraw circles around and quickly blasts the Saladin with a trio of medium lasers, cutting the vehicle into ribbons. Xwraith engages his target Hunter, damaging treads with a laser, then stripping off all the right side armor with a boot, taking about a half a second to watch a weapon stabilizer spin off into the distance. The approaching enemy Jenner scores a single hit on Archinerd's Griffin with one out of four lasers, cutting up trees with the rest (and overheating pretty badly in the process). Stefan Stirzaker whiffs with all his lasers against the fast-moving Ostscout, but lands a solid kick, stripping off all the right leg armor.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

The Hunter begins to flap its treads as it retreats. The enemy force wavers for a moment, but then the reinforcements show up - a lance of hovercraft and some tracked vehicles. The Ostscout continues harassing Stefan, nailing him in the right rear torso, taking out a medium laser and giving him a kick to the right leg. He manages to stay upright, though. Archinerd cracks open the center torso on the approaching Jenner with a PPC, exposing all the internals, then strips the armor off the right leg, knocking the smaller mech over even as it delivers a pair of lasers to his torso armor. Xwraith moves to engage a Striker light tank, although he underestimates the range on several enemy weapons and takes some fire on top of the hill.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

The Ostscout finally gets off Stefan's back, allowing him to give some rear attacks as payback. The Galleon makes the mistake of approaching the Quickdraw a little too closely and is blasted apart by lasers and SRMs. Stefan Stirzaker cuts through the Ostscouts rear armor with a medium laser, "lightly scratching" the gyro, although, to his credit, the mechwarrior remains upright and even manages to kick Archinerd while avoiding all other incoming attacks.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

Archinerd hops backwards and the enemy Jenner and Ostscout follow. The Ostscout gets a little enthusiastic with the speed (what with the damaged gyro and all) and falls over as he reaches the woods. The enemy Vindicator gets the drop on the Quickdraw, although he's actually firing at Xwraith's rear arc (missing). Xwraith takes apart the Striker's tracks and wheels, ensuring the vehicle goes nowhere fast. Archinerd takes a hit to the dome from the Jenner but is otherwise ok. He returns the favor with a punch to the dome. Stefan Stirzaker does something mean and lights a fire around the downed enemy Ostscout.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

The combination of fire all around and damaged gyro, prevents the Ostscout from getting up. Instead, he damages an actuator on his right leg and blacks out. Well, it's just a regular fire, he'll be fine inside that mech. Probably. Archinerd engages a Pegasus that's on Xwraith's tail, immobilizing it with LRMs, although not before it empties its SRM tubes at his right side, inflicting some damage but not breaching any armor. Between those SRMs and an AC/5 round from below the hill, he barely stays upright. Stefan Stirzaker brawls with the Jenner up north, stripping armor off the left arm with a laser.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

One of the enemy VTOLs encounters some turbulence and crashes into a hillside, sending rotor blades spinning everywhere. Archinerd engages the enemy Vindicator in the basin, sending PPCs and LRMs its way, with a single LRM shredding a heat sink with armor shrapnel. The Vindicator retaliates, stripping armor off the Griffin's right arm with an LRM salvo. Xwraith loops around the side of the hill to engage an enemy AC/10 Hetzer there, taking some SRMs from a pursuing Saracen. He scores hits with all three lasers though, popping several of the Hetzer's wheels. The enemy Jenner, Archinerd and Stefan Stirzaker get into a bit of a brawl - the Jenner and Griffin exchange kicks and punches, then Stefan comes in from the back and cracks the Jenner's leg in half. An actuator gets pulled along and grinds bits of structure through the Jenner's SRM ammo bin, cracking open a couple of the missiles, causing the mech to scatter to the four winds. Xwraith gives the enemy Hetzer a good boot as it trundles away, trailing slowly behind the rest of its retreating comrades. Except it doesn't get away because the last of its wheels fall off on the way down the hill.

With the enemy unit routed, Delta has both prevented that unit from reinforcing Gamma's ongoing fight and secured some nice salvage (free Locust! minus head.) We quickly strap the Locust to a salvage truck, then retreat to base.

[Stefan Stirzaker]

*evil chuckle* no troops for flamey? No worries. Err there no geneva convention in space right? Right?

He twitched sure he was about to get up

Oh and what a kick!

[NickAragua]

Well, Gamma lance carried out Madmarcus' rescue successfully. Our mechwarrior is only slightly badly beaten and informs us that the Capellans must have screwed up trying to access the Firestarter's systems, because all the interrogations and beatings revolved around some variation on "tell us the pass phrase". Our salvage crews spend a couple of hours picking over the enemy wreckage and stripping out ammo, then we pack it in and head home.

Setup
Turn 1
Turn 2
Turn 3
Turn 4
Turn 5
Turn 6
Turn 7
Turn 8
Turn 9
Turn 10
Turn 11
Turn 12
Turn 13

As an aside, there's a new version of Megamek/MekHQ out, featuring greater opfor variety, improved AI, lots of bug fixes and a lot of MegaMekLab stuff which I probably won't be using, but is great if you're into creating your own units. I'll be upgrading our campaign to the new version, so, fingers crossed.

[NickAragua]

October 6, 3029
While Delta and Gamma conduct rescue operations, Alpha attempts to move into position for the upcoming assault on the training facility. En route, they run into two lances of heavy tanks. Normally, we'd just avoid them, but the Atlas isn't exactly a speed demon. Alpha lance calls in air support, as the heavies are nasty: two Manticores, a Behemoth and a Demolisher (also, an Ontos, a Partisan, LRM Carrier and AC/2 Bulldog, but those are less relevant).

For reference, Manticores have the turret-mounted PPC and LRM/10. Demolisher has dual AC/20s, so it can ruin your day pretty quick up close. The Behemoth has a 4-pack of LRM/5s in the front, and two AC/10s in the turret. Partisan and Bulldog both have low-caliber autocannons, while the Ontos has two LRM/5s and a whopping 8-pack of medium lasers.

Sensors also show a light enemy vehicle lance closing in from the north, with a pair of light mechs in support.

Alpha is the Atlas, LordMortis in the Hunchback, an Orion and Freyland in the Wolverine. The battleground is uh... flatlands. Suboptimal, to say the least. There's a lot of long range firepower in the enemy force, while we're mostly short ranged. Well, we'll see how it goes, but we might have to punt and retreat.

Spoiler:

Yep, just as bad as I thought. Completely flat against a bunch of long range units. Our main chance is to exploit movement modifiers and set those crop fields on fire for some smoke cover.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

We open up from long range. The Atlas scores a solid spread of LRM hits on the Ontos Heavy Tank, inflicting tread damage. One of the LRMs causes an internal short circuit and the driver is injured. Additionally, the Atlas, Freyland and LordMortis set some crop fields on fire, providing a little extra smoke cover. We don't take any hits due to the enemy's poor gunnery.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

We move up and engage the enemy force up close. They're lined up a little wrong, with their long-range units up front. We'll make them pay for it. LordMortis takes some "small caliber autocannon" fire, then fires a short AC/20 burst at the LRM carrier, turning it into swiss cheese as it unloads on Freyland, scoring 24 LRM hits. Freyland is unfazed, damaging the treads on the nearby Partisan and setting the planted fields in front on fire, while keeping the mech upright despite the flurry of missile impacts. Well, at least there won't be any more from that source.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

The Demolisher and a Manticore advance. We're going to see if we can't take the Demolisher out before charging in, as those AC/20s are not to be taken lightly. LordMortis fires up the AC/20 to nail a Manticore to the north, but the heavy tank takes it and keeps going. He takes a medium laser and some AC/2 rounds in return. The Orion blasts away at the Demolisher, destroying the turret stabilizer and causing minor tread damage. We take some other medium laser and LRM hits, but nothing major.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

As much as I'd love to have LordMortis stick around to kick the Manticore, that Ontos has a lot of lasers. We hold position, while the enemy force slowly advances. The Atlas opens up with a burst from the AC/20, along with some lasers and LRMs, cracking open the Manticore beyond the smoke. LordMortis helps out with a medium laser, but his AC/20 shot goes wide. The Orion blasts the distant Demolisher with the AC/10 and LRMs, inflicting heavy damage on the treads and slowing the enemy vehicle down considerably. Freyland starts another fire to the east for some more smoke cover.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

Well, here we go. The Demolisher advances within firing range, so I have the Orion run forward to step on it, with LordMortis in support. The Atlas unloads on it from maximum range, using the AC/20 and a laser to breach the left side armor, then a solid seven LRMs to inflict continued damage on the left side tracks. A pair find their way into the internal structure, knocking the crew around and stunning them.

The charging Orion takes a laser and LRM-fueled pounding and critical hit to the right arm from some Bulldog-fired SRMs, losing a laser and an arm actuator, while firing back at the Ontos up ahead, scoring some solid hits without breaching armor. LordMortis then burps up a string of AC/20 rounds at the damaged Ontos, annihilating it. The Orion's pilot can't quite handle the massive pounding and the mech falls over on top of the crippled Demolisher.

Freyland... well... starts some more fires.

Still, over all a pretty good round. We've taken care of most of the enemy's heavy firepower, so now we can advance and break through the light-weight enemy reinforcements.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

Our air support arrives, as do enemy reinforcements from the north. The Orion gets up and backs up into the smoke to regroup a little. I'm still a bit concerned about the Behemoth's dual AC/10s, so I have LordMortis steer clear and work on the Partisan instead. Our aircraft get to strafing the enemy tanks.

The Orion still gets pounded by SRMs from the Bulldog, but remains active, plastering the vehicle with AC/10 fire, SRMs and the remaining medium laser, cutting both treads loose and immobilizing the vehicle. The Atlas, LordMortis and Freyland team up on the Partisan. The Atlas cracks open the left side armor with the AC/20, then Freyland finishes it off with a four pack of SRMs, as one impacts the fuel tank and causes the vehicle to evaporate entirely. LordMortis takes an AC/10 shot from the behemoth, breaching the left torso, but it doesn't hit anything vital.

The Lucifer comes in for a strafing run on the Behemoth, inflicting superficial damage on the armor. However, one of the small lasers hits some kind of drive component, causing the tank to throw out sparks instead of moving. The Thunderbird and Sparrowhawk score good hits on the enemy units as well, but inflict no critical damage.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

The only active enemy heavy is now the Manticore, which drives under the Atlas to try to minimize the amount of fire coming its way. It still takes a barrage of everything we have, because it's just one tank against four mechs, but it survives. The weapons fire, not the Atlas boot to the left side. To the north, our Thunderbird fires off a few lasers at an enemy SRM Hetzer, slicing off enough wheels that the vehicle becomes immobile.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

We charge forward to plow through the remaining enemies. The annoying VTOL buzzes the back of the Atlas, but with machine guns, scoring a head shot, while the Javelin piles on the SRMs. The Atlas simply lifts up the AC/20 in response and takes the Javelin's head off. The Orion uses its advanced anti-air tracking system to lock on to the Peregrine and fires a single medium laser, cutting through the helicopter entirely and sending it spinning off into the ether.

Further north, the Thunderbird takes apart a Striker light tank's motive system.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

There's not really much of the enemy force left, but they do get in behind the bulk of our mechs. Except for Freyland, who gets the drop on the enemy Wasp. An alpha strike burns off the armor on the left leg, then a medium laser breaches the rear right torso armor, leaving some room for a bunch of SRMs to get in there and break it open, knocking off the right arm.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

Don't mind the Wasp trying to chase after the Atlas, he's actually just trying to escape. The only active enemy unit is the AC/2 Vedette. Since we don't want it trailing us, I have Freyland stick around and engage it. Should be fine, all it has is a machine gun, SRM/2 and AC/2. It scores a couple of MG and SRM hits, but the return fire is more substantial - Freyland's medium laser and SRM/6 sandpaper armor and treads, and then the Thunderbird breaches the front armor. Freyland follows up with a boot, smashing the hapless vehicle to bits.

With nobody really left to oppose us, we suggest to the Wasp pilot that he power down and exit the mech. No time for salvage, unfortunately, as Alpha needs to lose any pursuit (much easier with the entirety of the enemy force destroyed). Within a couple of hours, Alpha Lance and support vehicles have disappeared into the wilderness.

[El Guapo]

Well, Gamma lance carried out Madmarcus' rescue successfully. Our mechwarrior is only slightly badly beaten and informs us that the Capellans must have screwed up trying to access the Firestarter's systems, because all the interrogations and beatings revolved around some variation on "tell us the pass phrase".

Good thing that they never tried "password12345"

[Freyland]

Go Alpha!

[NickAragua]

Well, Gamma lance carried out Madmarcus' rescue successfully. Our mechwarrior is only slightly badly beaten and informs us that the Capellans must have screwed up trying to access the Firestarter's systems, because all the interrogations and beatings revolved around some variation on "tell us the pass phrase".

Good thing that they never tried "password12345"

Funny thing is, Madmarcus told them repeatedly. They just didn't believe it. Instead, somebody tried to do a "control circuit bypass" or whatever, and now the mech is basically a pile of spare parts that makes fart noises whenever you try to turn it on.