Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

[Zenn7]

[] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting

Mostly heavy metal for slugging it out and a mobile long-range capable "light". May be toss in a few hovers for target saturation. Using short-range lightly-armored mechs like Hunchies seems like very bad idea under these circumstances.

Makes sense I guess, except not too sure about the hovertanks, sounds like they'd either be slaughtered with minimal impact or ignored (in which case they could be somewhat useful for the minor damage they'd add).

[TotallyNotEvil]

[] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting

Mostly heavy metal for slugging it out and a mobile long-range capable "light". May be toss in a few hovers for target saturation. Using short-range lightly-armored mechs like Hunchies seems like very bad idea under these circumstances.

I feel that's too little to deal with 8 heavies with what are likely to be pilots pretty much as good as ours. 2-to-1 will get us ground down in open terrain. Those would be even-ish odds with all Clan machines, but we don't run that much clan tech.

Unless they are all ride L1 machines, but we can't count on that.

[X] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[X] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting x7
[X] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range

It says mostly open terrain, so I hope the hovers can be very, very annoying. This leaves as our remaining lance:
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range

I flip-flopped a bit and decided to just go hog on the hovers, if this is open terrain. I figure two or three hovers surely count as a mech, right?

[$iljanus]

[] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting

Mostly heavy metal for slugging it out and a mobile long-range capable "light". May be toss in a few hovers for target saturation. Using short-range lightly-armored mechs like Hunchies seems like very bad idea under these circumstances.

I feel that's too little to deal with 8 heavies with what are likely to be pilots pretty much as good as ours. 2-to-1 will get us ground down in open terrain. Those would be even-ish odds with all Clan machines, but we don't run that much clan tech.

Unless they are all ride L1 machines, but we can't count on that.

[X] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[X] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting x7
[X] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range

It says mostly open terrain, so I hope the hovers can be very, very annoying. This leaves as our remaining lance:
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range

I flip-flopped a bit and decided to just go hog on the hovers, if this is open terrain. I figure two or three hovers surely count as a mech, right?

I concur with the Evil. With the open terrain the hovers will be a good distraction while they last and their life expectancy is better on the terrain. Our opponent is going to be skilled and may have equivalent tech so I like bringing our heavies out. Also can be some good salvage coming our way. Just hope they’re not thinking the same about us…

[Zenn7]

[] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting

Mostly heavy metal for slugging it out and a mobile long-range capable "light". May be toss in a few hovers for target saturation. Using short-range lightly-armored mechs like Hunchies seems like very bad idea under these circumstances.

I feel that's too little to deal with 8 heavies with what are likely to be pilots pretty much as good as ours. 2-to-1 will get us ground down in open terrain. Those would be even-ish odds with all Clan machines, but we don't run that much clan tech.

Unless they are all ride L1 machines, but we can't count on that.

[X] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[X] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting x7
[X] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range

It says mostly open terrain, so I hope the hovers can be very, very annoying. This leaves as our remaining lance:
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range

I flip-flopped a bit and decided to just go hog on the hovers, if this is open terrain. I figure two or three hovers surely count as a mech, right?

I concur with the Evil. With the open terrain the hovers will be a good distraction while they last and their life expectancy is better on the terrain. Our opponent is going to be skilled and may have equivalent tech so I like bringing our heavies out. Also can be some good salvage coming our way. Just hope they’re not thinking the same about us…

I was feeling a little light, but Nick said we would need 1-2 lances for remaining deployments, this only leaves us with 1, and it's a very specific lance.

[TotallyNotEvil]

[] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting

Mostly heavy metal for slugging it out and a mobile long-range capable "light". May be toss in a few hovers for target saturation. Using short-range lightly-armored mechs like Hunchies seems like very bad idea under these circumstances.

I feel that's too little to deal with 8 heavies with what are likely to be pilots pretty much as good as ours. 2-to-1 will get us ground down in open terrain. Those would be even-ish odds with all Clan machines, but we don't run that much clan tech.

Unless they are all ride L1 machines, but we can't count on that.

[X] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[x] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[x] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[x] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[x] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[X] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting x7
[X] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range

It says mostly open terrain, so I hope the hovers can be very, very annoying. This leaves as our remaining lance:
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range

I flip-flopped a bit and decided to just go hog on the hovers, if this is open terrain. I figure two or three hovers surely count as a mech, right?

I concur with the Evil. With the open terrain the hovers will be a good distraction while they last and their life expectancy is better on the terrain. Our opponent is going to be skilled and may have equivalent tech so I like bringing our heavies out. Also can be some good salvage coming our way. Just hope they’re not thinking the same about us…

I was feeling a little light, but Nick said we would need 1-2 lances for remaining deployments, this only leaves us with 1, and it's a very specific lance.

At that point we will have stopped the better part of a vehicle and a mech battalion. "I ran out of forces" is a thing that happens, imo.

Maybe we could reuse units from the first gmed battle? Many only lost armor, if that.

[NickAragua]

Maybe we could reuse units from the first gmed battle? Many only lost armor, if that.

This is all more or less happening simultaneously across a pretty wide area.

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Atrophy, CJ, Moley, Stefan, 4x Hovertank |
Zenn7, Atrophy, CJ, Stefan, 4x Hovertank ||
Hyena, Zenn7, Atrophy, CJ, Stefan, Cylus, 7x Hovertank ||

"Right. I'll take the rest of the assault lance out for this." Zenn7 comments. "First Hover Lance, you're with us."

Instead of being just windy here, it's actively snowing. Not that great for our hovercraft, but we'll do what we can.

The hostile force is pretty impressive - three Warhammers, a Zeus, a Victor, a Thunderbolt, a Stalker and a Hunchback. Zenn7's plan is to engage at maximum range, with the hovercraft using the sparse woods for what little cover they can manage.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

The Victors from both sides throw gauss slugs across the battlefield, but fail to connect, as do any of the LRMs fired by Stefan and the large laser/ultra autocannon combo fired by the Zeus.

Round 2:
[camera feed damaged]
We continue engaging at long range, with our hovercraft hanging back. If the hostiles want to brave our barrage of heavy weapons fire to close in, that's their problem. One of them, a Hunchback, loses nearly all of its right arm armor to a gauss slug from CJ's Victor.

Atrophy and Zenn7 engage a Zeus and a Warhammer - the PPC and laser blasts from their end go wide, as do Atrophy's LBX rounds, but Zenn7 focuses the Awesome's three-PPC firepower on the Zeus' center of mass. The mech lurches forward - the mechwarrior able to remain upright, but there's obviously been some gyro damage. Atrophy's Annihilator shrugs off the LRMs that do land on it.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

As Zenn7 backs up a little, avoiding most of the PPC fire coming his way, Atrophy takes the opportunity to hammer the damaged Zeus, toggling over to solid slug rounds for the LBX autocannons. The quad autocannons bark, one round connecting with the 80-tonner's damaged center torso - its heat signature lights up, and then it topples to the ground - the missile and laser fire from the advancing hovertanks finishing it off. It's still intact, but the engine is forced into shutdown.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

With the Zeus down, Atrophy switches targets to a Warhammer being harassed by two of our hovertanks, hitting with three out of the four LBX rounds. The return PPC fire is ineffective, partially due to the swarm of SRMs pelting the rear of the mech.

Zenn7 moves forward to target the Stalker, blasting chunks out of its upper section with the Awesome's PPCs, but failing to breach armor - not unexpected, it's an assault mech.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

Atrophy continues pumping autocannon rounds into the Warhammer as it advances, switching over to cluster rounds to try to exploit the nearly-gone armor. It works pretty well - a couple of pellets ding the mech's head, while a particularly lucky pellet simply severs the left arm and its PPC, although both of the Warhammer's PPC shots hit our Annihilator, causing the mech to rock a little bit.

Zenn7 engages the second Warhammer further north, blasting armor off the right side with the Awesome's PPCs. Our hovertanks continue zipping around at maximum speed, enjoying the open terrain which allows them to go really fast while unloading SRMs and lasers at the backs of hostile mechs. Zenn7's Awesome does take a few loose hits, but its armor holds.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

Blue coolant fluid sprays every which way out of the Warhammer as it charges up to Atrophy's Annihilator, taking LBX rounds and pulse laser blasts the whole way there, and begins to wobble a little as a stray pellet finds its way through the center torso armor to ding the gyro. A good thing for that mechwarrior that streak SRMs don't fire or generate heat when they fail to lock on. But the 70-ton mech still winds up on the ground. Atrophy brings the Annihilator's beefy foot down on the left torso, severing the other arm, just to make sure the mechwarrior gets the message.

To the north, CJ takes on the hostile Thunderbolt and the Hunchback, directing a gauss slug into the heavier mech's left leg while the Hunchback takes multiple head shots from a laser and some SRMs. The Hunchback drops to a knee, giving CJ the opportunity to rip a large amount of armor off its right leg with a kick.

Zenn7 pulls back as another Warhammer and the Stalker team up on him, blasting chunks of armor off the Awesome with PPCs and other weapons fire. Zenn7 calmly moves the targeting crosshairs over the Stalker's cockpit and lets rip, the poor mechwarrior inside evaporating entirely.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

With the Warhammer temporarily immobilized, Atrophy switches targets - the Warhammer running up to Zenn7 receives several LBX rounds. Stefan helps out a little with a full LRM salvo, while Zenn7 fires at the Thunderbolt instead, the Warhammer being a little too close for the PPCs to target effectively. Our Awesome's right arm its armor to a PPC blast, as does the left leg. Zenn7 rotates the 80-ton mech, absorbing the incoming Warhammer kick on the armored leg, then retaliates with a kick of his own, cracking an actuator.

CJ continues "dueling" the Hunchback, whiffing with the gauss rifle but hitting with everything else, stripping armor off the left leg with another kick.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

Atrophy's LBX cluster rounds shred the front of the approaching Warhammer, puffs of blue smoke and loose actuators flying every which way - the stumbling mech becomes easy prey for Zenn7, who puts a PPC blast through an ammo bin. The Warhammer simply disappears. Atrophy's Annihilator takes some armor damage, but holds up.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

CJ polishes off the right flank of the Hunchback, the gauss slug taking off the AC/20 and the arm, while SRMs crack the engine shielding and gyro housing, in addition to dinging the cockpit. The mechwarrior is unable to keep it upright, and the mech keels over, down and for the count.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

The snow has been accumulating for a while, but it's now really coming down. Atrophy takes a glancing hit from the hostile Victor's gauss rifle, returning fire with the LBX autocannons. To our mechwarrior's annoyance, that was the last of the cluster ammo, leaving just a salvo of slug rounds.

To the north, Stefan and Zenn7 team up on the remaining Warhammer, Stefan's LRMs stripping armor off its right flank, an opening which Zenn7 exploits to melt the right arm off entirely. And most of the right torso.

The Victor is brought to the ground by our swarming hovertanks, although one of our Falcons reports running out of SRM ammo. Not something you see very often. CJ cracks open the armor on the Thunderbolt's left leg, and with that, the hostiles decide to give it up. Not that they have much of a choice almost all of their mechs being down on the ground.

At this point, we can either let them go or keep shooting for a little bit. Not too much longer though, everyone's running low on ammo, with some units already out of ammo.

[] Engage the survivors for a few seconds
[] Let them go

----

See if we can get the Dragoons to give us some of this Star League tech goodness that we just shot up:
(pick 0 or more, the more we pick the less likely they are to agree)
[] Zeus ZEU-9S with a destroyed gyro and shot-to-shit engine
[] Stalker STK-5M with a missing cockpit
[] Warhammer WHM-7S missing both arms and both torso sections, with a damaged gyro
[] Hunchback HBK-5M missing the right half of the mech, including the autocannon
[] Victor VTR-9K (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)
[] Thunderbolt TDR-9SE (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)
[] Warhammer WHM-7M missing the right half (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)

[Zenn7]

[] Engage the survivors for a few seconds
[] Let them go

----

See if we can get the Dragoons to give us some of this Star League tech goodness that we just shot up:
(pick 0 or more, the more we pick the less likely they are to agree)
[] Zeus ZEU-9S with a destroyed gyro and shot-to-shit engine
[] Stalker STK-5M with a missing cockpit
[] Warhammer WHM-7S missing both arms and both torso sections, with a damaged gyro
[] Hunchback HBK-5M missing the right half of the mech, including the autocannon
[] Victor VTR-9K (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)
[] Thunderbolt TDR-9SE (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)
[] Warhammer WHM-7M missing the right half (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)

Unless we need these for parts or have parts to get any going ASAP, let them go and 0 picks.

Nothing that terribly exciting given how shot up it is and the good stuff we already have?

[$iljanus]

[] Engage the survivors for a few seconds
[] Let them go

----

See if we can get the Dragoons to give us some of this Star League tech goodness that we just shot up:
(pick 0 or more, the more we pick the less likely they are to agree)
[] Zeus ZEU-9S with a destroyed gyro and shot-to-shit engine
[] Stalker STK-5M with a missing cockpit
[] Warhammer WHM-7S missing both arms and both torso sections, with a damaged gyro
[] Hunchback HBK-5M missing the right half of the mech, including the autocannon
[] Victor VTR-9K (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)
[] Thunderbolt TDR-9SE (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)
[] Warhammer WHM-7M missing the right half (only available if we continue the engagement, variable damage)

Unless we need these for parts or have parts to get any going ASAP, let them go and 0 picks.

Nothing that terribly exciting given how shot up it is and the good stuff we already have?

If our mechs with PPCs can help carry the day when we run out of ammo and the loot is worthwhile I’d consider it. But I’m leaning towards being prudent since there’ll be more engagements and it may be better to preserve our force and resupply for future missions.

[Zarathud]

I have always liked the Zeus.

[TheMix]

What's the Stalker sporting? Seems like replacing the cockpit shouldn't be that bad. And the rest of it is in good condition.

[TotallyNotEvil]

Holy shit, that went amazingly well. The hovers really carried the day.

Is there any of our mechs completely out of ammo?

So, on the available units:
Zeus 9S: 4/6 SFE engine, 11t FF, 17 DHS, ERPPC, ERLL, LRM 15 (1t ammo, CASE), 2x MPL
Thoughts: One of the MPLs is turned to the rear, and only has 1 ton of ammo fora 15-tube launcher? If one could yoink the rear MPL for a ton of ammo and armor each, it'd be a pretty decent machine. Pretty complete kit in terms of tech- FF, DHS, CASE.

Stalker 5M: 3/5 SFE engine, 14.5t standard, 17 DHS, ERLL, 2x LRM-10, 4x ML, 2x SRM-6, Narc
Thoughts: An assault mech- very slow, quite a lot of guns, pretty decent armor, even if not outstanding. No CASE tho, so TRASH- it has a shitload of ammo.

Warhammer 7S: 4/6 SFE, 10t standard (!), 18 DHS, 2x ERPPC, 2x MPL, 2x Streak-2s, 2x SL
Thoughts: Why, oh why, do they keep making these thin-skinned Warhammers? Come on, a Griffin or Wolverine has about the same amount of armor. This could at the very least have mounted FF! Also, no CASE, even if only one ton of ammo. You could even call it oversinked.

Hunchback 5M: No. This is stupid. And we have too many Hunchies anyway.

Victor 9K: 4/6/4 SFE, 12.5t standard, GR (2t reloads), SRM4, 2x MPL, 15 SHS, Endo chassis.
Thoughts: Do we have exactly one of these? Honestly, it could have been amazing- if it had DHS, you could get max armor and another two MLs, be the discount Royal Highlander it was born to be. But, it's a pretty good chassis- 80t Endo has the same weight as 85t Endo. A great choice for a DHS tune up.

Thunderbolt 9SE: 4/6/4 SFE, 13t standard, LPL, 3x ML, LRM-10 (1t), CASE, 15 DHS
Thoughts: God, this one is kind of boring. IS LPL is complete shit, but a large laser, three MLs and a 10 tube LRM is about as bland and trooper-ish as you can get. In a funny reversal, far from the usual sauna, this one is actually oversinked. Jumping and firing everything is 27 heat, it dissipates 30 for some reason.

Warhammer 7M: 4/6 SFE, 10t standard, 2x ERPPC, 2x ML, 1x SRM-6, AMS, MG (1t), 18 DHS
Thoughts: Why does every single Warhammer fall short?! A ton and a half spent on a single machine gun, on a 75t mech with no CASE and 10t of standard armor. They could drop the MG and one DHS and have exactly enough to get essentially max armor with FF and CASE x1- making it a pretty nice machine.

On the whole, nothing here is worth as much as the XLFE 70t one we let go earlier- we could righty claim any two of these and it wouldn't mach up.

You know, picking the Victor and one Warhammer would give us the DHS to upgrade the Victor and make it pretty good! The Zeus would be a very easy tweak to make good, too.

I feel like most of these have pretty simple tweaks that could turn from ok to pretty good- especially the Zeus and the Victor.

[TheMix]

Also, didn't we side with the "we aren't going to pay you anything... you can have some salvage"... er... side? Seems like we need to stake some claim to something. I mean, if they aren't going to pay us, and they don't want to give us salvage, then why are we bailing them out?

[TotallyNotEvil]

Nick, does picking here also take into account the ones we let go from the previous battle? Because we let go of a lot of hardware in the big one.

Honestly, given how much we have fought, and the fact we claimed... nothing so far? I'd like to go high here. We've fought a freaking battalion of mechs and a battalion of tanks. If we have that stored up, I say:

[X] Engage the survivors for a few seconds
[X] Claim the Zeus, the Victor, and two Warhammers, the Thunderbolt (in this order, go as far as we can haggle)

[$iljanus]

Nick, does picking here also take into account the ones we let go from the previous battle? Because we let go of a lot of hardware in the big one.

Honestly, given how much we have fought, and the fact we claimed... nothing so far? I'd like to go high here. We've fought a freaking battalion of mechs and a battalion of tanks. If we have that stored up, I say:

[X] Engage the survivors for a few seconds
[X] Claim the Zeus, the Victor, and two Warhammers, the Thunderbolt (in this order, go as far as we can haggle)

You know if other than low ammo we’re in good shape…let’s have some fun.

[Hyena]

I say we hold off this round. Not sure why anyone would want a Warhammer that is nothing but a torso and legs...

[Leraje]

I say we hold off this round. Not sure why anyone would want a Warhammer that is nothing but a torso and legs...

Agreed. Now If those were Whammy IIC-s...

[TotallyNotEvil]

I say we hold off this round. Not sure why anyone would want a Warhammer that is nothing but a torso and legs...

DHS mining, mostly.

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Let them go ||||
Keep it going ||

Nothing |||
Zeus |||
Victor ||
Warhammer ||
Thunderbolt ||
Stalker |

"All units, hold position." Zenn7 orders. "Let the runners go, they're all beat to hell anyway."

In the end, we convince our liaison to let us keep the Zeus - the "we need the parts for the Thug" argument seems to work fine. That XL engine, once we get it fixed up, will be excellent to put into pretty much any of our existing 80-tonners; or we can take it through a refit cycle. The repair costs for it will be pretty astronomical, though, but that's ok.

---

"All right," our liaison, Carole "9B" Salido, tells Cylus and Moley, the two remaining ranking officers not yet deployed. She points on a map to a water-logged-looking area with some hills. "We need whatever you've got left to head to these hills, and hold the position until we can divert forces to relieve you."

"Who're we facing?" Moley asks.

"Beta, Gamma regiment. They're pushing hard. We've got units heading over to stop them, but they'll miss the interception window by a few minutes, and then the Beta guys will be all over our main line."

"How many, what kind of mechs?" Moley continues probing.

"Two companies. Lights, mediums, heavies... a few assaults..." 9B lists it off. "Bring everything you've got. I'm coming, too."

Moley and Cylus look at each other. The rest of the company has been doing pretty well so far, but this particular scenario is the kind of situation where we lose a whole bunch of mechs and tanks.

---

We bring everything we've got left - Cylus/Grasshopper, Moneyshot and Thud in Hunchbacks, Xwraith in the Thunderbolt, Moley in the Summoner and Hyena in the Timberwolf. 9B drives an Archer, while we call up second and third hover lances - a mixture of Drillson and lighter hovertanks. There's a significant amount of open terrain to play with so they should perform well.

As the hostile sensor contacts approach, it's looking pretty impressive - there's a lot of Star League tech out there, and mostly medium and heavy mechs. A few lights around the flanks, while three assaults form the core.

"What's the ETA on friendlies?" Moley asks.

"Three minutes, ten seconds." 9B replies.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

Xwraith aims the Thunderbolt's large laser directly at an approaching Archer, spearing it through the center torso and causing the mech's heat signature to spike. Our mechwarrior adds an LRM salvo for fun, the missiles clustering around the upper torso and head. Not a bad start at all.

Hyena, meanwhile, splits fire between a distant Orion and a more closely approaching Commando - two PPCs from the Timber Wolf shear armor off the heavier mech while pulse lasers puncture the Commando's left side, melting a foot actuator.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

We have a pretty significant range advantage, especially with our superior gunnery and it being night-time - we exploit this to focus fire on a hostile Hunchback, which eats multiple PPC shots and LRMs, taking an armor breach to the right torso.

The hostile Stalker to the south east opens up on one of our Scimitar hovertanks trying to hide behind a hill (unsuccessfully, it seems) and wrecks the drive fans with LRMs, causing the vehicle to drift helplessly on just its lift fans.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

One of our Zephyr hovertanks moves up a little too far and grinds up a bunch of LBX pellets in its fans, resulting in the vehicle smashing into a nearby hill. Not too great. Thud and Moneyshot take a couple of grazing PPC hits but nothing serious, while our return fire strips more armor from various mechs.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Thankfully, the hostile mechs are somewhat reluctant to push forward, which is just as well, as it lets us keep our range advantage. One of our Drillsons takes some damage to its skirt, greatly reducing the efficiency of air circulation and forcing it to slow down, but spears the Archer previously damaged by Xwraith with its large laser - in the left arm. Which is, apparently, where a significant amount of SRM ammo was stored. The chain explosion causes the limb to disappear and jets of flame to shoot out the front and back of the mech, but, thanks to (probably) CASE, the center torso remains intact.

However, it must have mounted an XL engine, as it shuts down and drops to the ground anyway.

To the east, Moley knocks a Cyclops to the ground, with generous application of a PPC shot, LBX autocannon rounds and LRMs, while one of our Zephyrs eats more LBX pellets, becoming almost immobilized.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

The loss of the Archer prompts an advance along the left flank, with a Victor and a Marauder leading the charge. Cylus blasts at the Victor, frying a center torso jump jet with a laser, while one of our hovertanks circles around its back, blasting off some armor.

A Spider hops in next to Xwraith and 9B - Moneyshot takes the opportunity to stitch a few pulse laser shots across the fast mech as it lands, opening up its left torso, an opportunity which Xwraith exploits to send streak SRMs and machine gun rounds into the light mech's internal structure - multiple jump jets blow out as it lands, firing pulse lasers at 9B's Archer.

Our Hunchback takes an extended-range PPC to the head, although Moneyshot ducks just in time to avoid having the head evaporated entirely.

To the east, our damaged Zephyr tries to get away, but its perforated by laser blasts and LRMs from the Stalker - this gives Hyena the opportunity to deliver two PPC hits and a few pulse laser shots - some connect to the assault mech's right arm and puncture a heat sink, causing it to drip bright blue coolant fluid onto the ground below. The assault mech's operator is unable to compensate for the weight re-distribution and crunches another heat sink upon hitting the ground.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

Moneyshot stumbles, moving the Hunchback after the Spider, which costs him a bunch of armor - Thud doesn't really have any better luck, extended-range PPCs blasting away at the Hunchback. The worst of it misses, however.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

The Spider, having taken enough damage, disengages to the west.

To the east, Moley lines up a shot on the advancing Stalker's center of mass. The reverse-legged mech ducks under the PPC blast, but the LRMs close in on its center torso - having already taken a few hits there, it's not a big deal for the salvo to breach armor. The assault mech stutters then keels over, its heat signature blossoming even as it's completely unable to get up off the ground.

Hyena, meanwhile, blasts the approaching Orion, frying its left arm with a PPC blast while the second PPC shot hits the left torso, cracking the engine shielding. Said Orion, however, finishes off our immobilized Scimitar tank.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

Hyena continues whaling on the Orion, wrecking its right shoulder actuator with a few pulse laser blasts, while 9B exchanges LRMs with a distant hostile Archer, both mechs inflicting damage on one another.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

Cylus, having been hopping back and forth between some sparse woods, finally hits paydirt on a Marauder that's been hanging out in a nearby lake, pelting Thud and Moneyshot with its PPCs while cooling off - one of the Grasshopper's medium lasers melts through the left torso armor and detonates the streak SRM ammo there. Blowout panels channel the explosion out the front and back instead of incinerating the entire torso, but with about half the XL engine no longer there, the mech shuts down anyway, dropping into the water.

The Victor behind it has had enough of our little Falcon zipping around back there and blasts it with pulse lasers - the skirt is punctured in multiple places and the hovertank joins the Marauder in the lake. The Victor takes an engine hit with SRMs to the back, though.

One of our Drillson hovertanks targets the Orion that previously blew up our Zephyr, and a lucky LRM exploits the armor breaches caused by Hyena, detonating the heavy mech's NARC pods. The explosion isn't even that spectacular - NARC pods are mostly transmitter equipment and propellant, so instead of a spectacular KABOOM, it's a little more of a "piff". But the mech drops to the ground, its XL engine out of action. The Drillson is heavily damaged by return fire, but trading a hovertank for a heavy mech is a pretty good deal.

9B targets a Hunchback in the back of the enemy formation - we'd plastered that mech before and the operator is being a little timid. Combined with LRM fire from another one of our Drillsons, it now has even more reason to be timid, as its autocannon is disabled. Xwraith, screening 9B's Archer, takes a few LRMs from a distant Dervish, disabling the Thunderbolt's extended-range laser.

Hyena, meanwhile, shears a Rifleman's foot off with one of the Timber Wolf's PPCs - that mech had been pelting us with ultra AC/5 rounds the whole time, but not any more.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

A Commando makes the mistake of trying to close to range of our clan mechs and eats a full weapons salvo from Moley's Summoner - the PPC shears off the left arm while LBX autocannon pellets perforate the gyro, causing the light mech to drop to the ground.

Round 11:

Spoiler:

Cylus severs the Victor's left arm, which takes a pair of pulse lasers out of the fight.

Our Zephyr zips southwest, nimbly avoiding the legged Rifleman's weapons fire (somehow, it had managed to get up). Moley gives it another full salvo to make sure it stays down as well, ripping off the left arm with a PPC blast.

Hyena, meanwhile, engages an approaching Ostsol, melting through its right torso armor with pulse lasers while frying its right arm with a PPC shot.

Round 12:

Spoiler:

Our Zephyr gets a little greedy and tries for a back shot on an Archer, but is immobilized by multiple weapon salvos from multiple mechs - it's tough to tell which shot actually does the trick. The hovertank does manage to cause severe damage to the Archer though, its left leg throwing sparks as it keels over, multiple actuators having been destroyed.

The distraction does allow Hyena to land a pair of PPC hits on an approaching Ostsol, blasting through its right torso and forcing its XL engine into shutdown - a feature which a great many mechwarriors dislike. While XL engines provide substantial weight savings, once the torso armor is gone, it puts the mech at risk of being disabled (and subsequently salvaged).

9B's Archer informs her that the mech's long-range missiles have been completely depleted, rendering the mech somewhat less useful. Cylus orders her back with Thud and Moneyshot, intending to keep the three mechs in reserve in case the Beta Regiment force does decide to charge in at some point.

Round 13:

Spoiler:

The Victor that was jousting with Cylus finally bites the bucket - more accurately, its gauss rifle explodes after taking one too many laser hits, with some of Xwraith's LRMs helping. The mech keels over, and it's questionable how combat effective it is at this point, only having a single SRM/4 launcher left.

Hyena also detonates a gauss rifle, this one on the Cyclops, while our Drillson hovertank cracks a nearby Firestarter's hip joint with SRMs.

Round 14:

Spoiler:

Cylus is feeling a little bit alone, but has good cover and a jumping rhythm going - first into this cluster of trees, then this cluster, then this cluster and so on. A Clint tries to interrupt the pattern and loses its left arm for its trouble.

Moley and Hyena, having taken care most of everything on the east flank, push up. Hyena concentrates pulse laser fire on an Archer's leg, shredding the actuators and causing the 70-tonner to drop to the ground, where it crushes its right arm.

Round 15:

Spoiler:

No catstrophic damage happens as things settle down a little.

"Hang on, backup is almost here." 9B tells us as her Archer absorbs a few LRMs while retreating.

Round 16:

Spoiler:

"Time to leave." Cylus comments as a whole extra lance of mechs closes in on our Grasshopper. Although one of the Clints loses its right arm and the attached PPC, so that's a little less scary. There's also a Shadow Hawk running around back there somewhere, but it's one mech and our reserve can handle it.

To the southeast, Hyena and Moley continue rolling up that flank, with Hyena simple blasting a Commando out of existence, the mech's central structure melting under PPC fire.

Round 17:

Spoiler:

The less said about Moneyshot's attempt to relocate, the better.

Our last hovertank, a Drillson, is immobilized while circling around an Ostroc - a hostile Thunderbolt directs LRMs at the hovercraft, blasting various fans off the back.

Round 18:

Spoiler:

Moley's Summoner informs him that his LRMs have been depleted; Xwraith's Thunderbolt says the same. Even Cylus is down to 50% in the LRM launcher - this is a long, long engagement.

Round 19:

Spoiler:

"Just a little longer..." 9B notes, watching the allied Dragoons units approaching on sensors.

Hyena disembowels an Ostroc on the east flank with a PPC shot to the center torso, giving our two clan mechs a clear line of retreat. Moneyshot, meanwhile, struggles the Hunchback up from the ground - just in time to see a flight of LRMs from a distant Dervish close in and impact his cockpit.

The Shadow Hawk messes around a little bit, avoiding Thud's AC/20 burst and a back-swing from Xwraith, then disengages, having seen the same sensor contacts that 9B saw.

"Overlords, return to base. Job's done." 9B states.

"For some of us more than others." Thud mutters, watching the Shadow Hawk jump away.

---

Hyena's elation at having gotten the elusive Mech Ace (five mech kills in a single battle) is somewhat tempered by the loss of Liam "Moneyshot" Thyregood. A relatively new recruit, having served with the company since 3051, he originated from the Draconis Combine. An amateur VTOL pilot in his off-time, his constant bickering with Thud over the minutiae of Hunchback operation and maintenance has been replaced with quiet.

This battle was pretty rough on our tank crews as well, with eight casualties. While only two of the severn hovertanks we brought are totaled (including a Falcon that we have to haul up from the bottom of the pond), the casualties mean that we won't be able to re-crew all the tanks - the ones that we can get working.

That being said, our efforts have helped blunt the rebel offensive. With Alpha Regiment declaring neutrality along with the aerospace assets, Beta and Gamma Regiments have pulled back to repair and rearm, leaving it to second-rate mercs to pick up the slack.

Salvage is pretty solid stuff - an Archer ARC-5W, equipped with NARC launcher and assortment of SRMs and LRMs. 9B is pretty happy with her Archer's performance, though this one is missing its left side and half the missile launchers. The XL engine will also require upwards of a million C-Bills in repairs.

Another Stalker STK-5M - a solid weapons array, armor and much better cooling than the original Stalker models, but a lack of CASE makes it vulnerable to ammo detonations.

A waterlogged Marauder MAD-5D which has suffered an ammo detonation is another option. Putting a single streak SRM/2 launcher on a Marauder seems like a pretty weird design decision, especially since that's what caused the XL engine to crap out. In another departure from standard Marauder design philosophy, it has jump jets.

A Star League-tech Orion is another option, although this one is missing its left side. Compared to the original, the autocannon has been upgraded to an LB-10X, while the missile launchers are all Narc-capable. Double heat sinks restore its status as a respectable mech as opposed to a 70-ton mechwarrior toaster.

We don't really "do" light mechs, so we skip over the Commandos. The Cyclops' only upgrade is a gauss rifle, which, for some of our older mechwarriors still feels a little weird to think about as being "not that special". Even though gauss rifles have been in pretty widespread production across the Inner Sphere for upwards of a decade, there's still a collective memory of them being super tough to find.

The Ostsol OTL-5M ups the Ostsol game by upgrading all the lasers to pulse versions and the heat sinks to doubles. This particular one is missing its right side.

Finally, a double-heat-sink Archer ARC-4M - kind of like the standard Archer with twin LRM/20 launchers and four medium lasers, but has double heat sinks.

Do we want to see if we can grab any of this salvage? Most of these mechs will require extensive repairs, especially the ones with XL engines. While regularly manufactured across the Inner Sphere, much like double heat sinks, demand is so high that they're snapped up almost as soon as they come off the assembly line.

We can skip it, but we probably won't be seeing much more high-tech salvage for a while, as the "proper" Dragoon rebels have taken a significant beating and pulled back.

[] Skip all this stuff
[] Archer ARC-5W
[] Stalker STK-5M
[] Marauder MAD-5D
[] Orion ON1-M
[] Ostsol OTL-5M
[] Archer ARC-4M

[TotallyNotEvil]

God damn, that was freaking heroic. 4-to-1 odds?

Nick, are we accumulating any sort of credit when we pass up on salvage? Because from the amount of stuff we've beaten off, we've taken like, nothing back.

[NickAragua]

Nick, are we accumulating any sort of credit when we pass up on salvage? Because from the amount of stuff we've beaten off, we've taken like, nothing back.

The terms of the contract were that we get to keep everything that's not designated as Dragoons property. So anything that we do keep is basically the liaison saying "we're not going to get much use out of *that* wreck", aka an incidental lucky bonus. But the more stuff you ask for, the more annoyed the liaison will get and the less likely she will be to let you keep it.

[TheMix]

Nick, are we accumulating any sort of credit when we pass up on salvage? Because from the amount of stuff we've beaten off, we've taken like, nothing back.

The terms of the contract were that we get to keep everything that's not designated as Dragoons property. So anything that we do keep is basically the liaison saying "we're not going to get much use out of *that* wreck", aka an incidental lucky bonus. But the more stuff you ask for, the more annoyed the liaison will get and the less likely she will be to let you keep it.

We kept her alive. That should count for something. But I'm with TNE... it feels like we've taken a beating and gotten nothing for it.

[TheMix]

As for the actual choices, I don't have enough experience/understanding to make suggestions. I just vote for going for "the good stuff". And someone else can figure out what that means.

[$iljanus]

If we can afford repairs we might as well start claiming some salvage. I'll defer to those more knowledgeable than I

[TheMix]

We just need to make duplicates of all our existing mecs. Then if someone's ride gets damaged, they can switch to the "understudy" and keep rocking!

[El Guapo]

[] Skip all this stuff
[] Archer ARC-5W
[] Stalker STK-5M
[3] Marauder MAD-5D
[1] Orion ON1-M
[4] Ostsol OTL-5M
[2] Archer ARC-4M

Honestly most of this stuff is pretty good (albeit with some damage) and we've been good boys and girls so far, *and* it seems like this is probably the last good batch of salvage for awhile, so might as well get aggressive in our asks even if we risk annoying the liaison some. I put the four that I'd prioritize above, in order of how hard we should push to get it.

I could also be talked into asking for the other Archer and/or the Stalker, but going by the descriptions doesn't seem like either particularly special or useful in terms of the gear on board.

[moleymoleymoley]

I like the sounds of these two

[X] Ostsol OTL-5M
[X] Archer ARC-4M

[TotallyNotEvil]

Nick, are we accumulating any sort of credit when we pass up on salvage? Because from the amount of stuff we've beaten off, we've taken like, nothing back.

The terms of the contract were that we get to keep everything that's not designated as Dragoons property. So anything that we do keep is basically the liaison saying "we're not going to get much use out of *that* wreck", aka an incidental lucky bonus. But the more stuff you ask for, the more annoyed the liaison will get and the less likely she will be to let you keep it.

What I meant to say is, is there going to be a final tally of stuff we can pick from, at the end of it all, given we've picked like nothing?

[AWS260]

Some nice shootin' by the good guys on this mission.

[] Skip all this stuff
[2] Archer ARC-5W
[1] Stalker STK-5M
[] Marauder MAD-5D
[3] Orion ON1-M
[] Ostsol OTL-5M
[] Archer ARC-4M

[NickAragua]

What I meant to say is, is there going to be a final tally of stuff we can pick from, at the end of it all, given we've picked like nothing?

Yeah, we can go back and review salvage at the end.

[Leraje]

What I meant to say is, is there going to be a final tally of stuff we can pick from, at the end of it all, given we've picked like nothing?

Yeah, we can go back and review salvage at the end.

That's a good option. Other than that, claim the hulks with the XL engines that we can use to upgrade our mechs.

P.S. Very well played battle, I expected a much higher butchers bill for it.

[Hyena]

I'm just excited I took care of bidness. My past lives haven't, uh...fared so well when in a fancy mech.

[TotallyNotEvil]

What I meant to say is, is there going to be a final tally of stuff we can pick from, at the end of it all, given we've picked like nothing?

Yeah, we can go back and review salvage at the end.

That'd be lovely, thanks.

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Orion ||
Marauder |
Ostsol ||
Archer 4M |||
Archer 5W |
Stalker 5M |

With Dragoons replacements heading in to take our place, we pull our beat-up but mostly intact mechs (and much more beat-up tanks) back for repairs and ammo reloads. Our tech crews have their work cut out for them, putting in a non-stop eight hours. They get most of the mechs fixed - the standouts being Siljanus' Mackie, which needs to have the entire gauss rifle ammo storage section replaced; Isgrimnur's Thug with its missing left torso; Akalon's Vulcan with half its lasers knocked out (although we're able to repair one, so we don't have to dig into our limited clan equipment replacement stockpile); and Moneyshot's Hunchback for what should hopefully be obvious reasons.

TheMix's Vulture also winds up sidelined after a loading crane "butterfingers" a bunch of LRM ammo all over the mech bay floor - the whole bay gets closed down while techs chase down loose LRM warheads. One of our Drillson hovertanks gets downchecked for the stupidest reason - damaged sensors. Not because it mounts anything fancy, but because a vehicle's sensors are blown out so rarely that we actually don't have the relevant spare parts in stock!

Injury-wise, Isgrimnur and Siljanus are a little beat up, while Bass took a hit but is good to go. Our tank crews took some injuries and casualties, though, so we can't get all our vehicles back into the field.

Still, that leaves us with nineteen mechs, a lance of heavy tanks, two hovertank lances (one short), and, of course, our Long Tom artillery battery. So, we're in pretty good shape overall, while the guys we fought... are not.

---

"All right, guys." 9B tells our bleary-eyed command staff really early the next morning. She's not looking too great herself, either. "Another day, another merc force landing in Harlech trying to break through the mountains. Looks like a full company of mechs, mostly heavies, but recon reports they're all old-school models. So that's good. Let's get a couple of lances out into those mountain passes and see if we can repeat yesterday's performance."

So that's what we do. The terrain isn't very favorable for tanks, so we leave those at home, but we do bring six mechs - Zenn7 takes out most of the assault lance, with Wolf, Backwash and 9B joining in their Hellbringer, Archer and souped-up Griffin respectively. The assault lance is Zenn7/Awesome, Atrophy/Annihilator and CJ/Victor.

A dust storm blows in from the plains as the merc force tries to get up into the mountain passes, from which we'll be blasting away with our range advantage.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

Zenn7 scrunches up his face as he levers his Awesome alongside 9B's Archer into a nice little depression that protects their legs. "A Goliath?" he asks, sinking three PPC blasts into the lumbering 80-ton quadrupedal mech. Goliath rocks back a little, but its armor holds.

The Goliath, for those that haven't seen one before, is reasonably fast, and packs twin LRM/10 launchers, along side a PPC. But it's a quad mech, so it can't rotate its torso around like a bipedal mech can. It is a little harder to knock down to the ground, though.

Atrophy shrugs, opening up with the Annihilator's LBX autocannons at long range. A Hunchback is the recepient of a slug and multiple cluster pellets, while Backwash's Griffin lands a headshot on an advancing Cyclops. Although, the armored cowl eats a good chunk of the damage.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

"And the crappy old Banshee? Did they buy their mechs from Discount Dan?" Zenn7 comments with some derision.

We haven't seen a Banshee for a while now - even though it's a 95-ton mech, it's fallen out of favor, mostly because its stated design goal was of a scout mech. That's right, a 95-ton scout mech. Surprisingly, it did not excel at the role; it also did not excel as an assault mech. The 3M we're seing is an attempt by one of the great houses to make the 95-ton frame serviceable by mounting two PPCs and two medium lasers instead of the "classic" loadout of a single PPC and an AC/5. It's got heat issues and is slow, but has upped the armor. So it's not *too* bad.

Zenn7 shrugs and plants three PPC shots into the assault mech, frying armor and causing it to rock backwards. The Awesome begins its customary heat alarm warnings, which Zenn7 customarily ignores.

"Uh, we got an Atlas coming in." CJ calls out, firing a gauss slug above said Atlas' head as Atrophy's target Hunchback ducks into an indentation in the ground. The Annihilator switches targets to a distant Marauder, the LBX autocannons chattering away. Return fire continues to be pretty ineffective, our high-tech weapons superior range really telling.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

Zenn7 smirks as one of his PPCs fries an LRM/10 launcher on the Goliath. It's symbolic, but just as well.

Atrophy's target Hunchback comes back up and immediately eats four more LBX autocannon shots - the left leg throws sparks as armor is breached.

An AC/5 round pings off CJ's torso, while LRMs impact the hill in front of the Victor and its right arm, but armor holds.

Wolf fires the Hellbringer's entire weapons array, scoring a couple of hits and remembering to mash the shutdown button just before the mech goes completely immobile. Our mechwarrior *had* intended to simply jump away to cool down afterwards, but the possibility of shutting down results in a cringe, and a decision not to do that again.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

The Goliath ducks down behind a ridge, so it's back to the Banshee, which drops to the knee under sustained PPC fire.

The Hunchback moves forward under autocannon fire, its right arm going limp.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

The Banshee registers a right torso armor breach and drops to a knee as it advances while the rest of the hostiles move up to the ridge we're camping on. The center of our formation is a little weak, but that's more or less by design - Wolf and Backwash can fall back on Atrophy or Zenn7, and then we'll have lured the hostiles into a pincer.

Backwash does take a glancing headshot from the Griffin's AC/10 though.

Atrophy and CJ focus fire on the Atlas as the Hunchback ducks behind another ridge. The 100-ton mech's armor is pelted but holds up - however, the mech barely recovers from a stumble.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

"Hey, what the hell, I thought aerospace fighters are supposed to be grounded?" Backwash calls out as a pair of Corsairs flies over the field, strafing our mechs.

"The orbital guys won't be happy about it. We'll ask them what the hell after." 9B comments as her Archer takes multiple laser hits from one of said Corsairs, grunting as a laser brushes the mech's cockpit. 9B's aim is unerring, however, blasting the approaching Banshee with LRMs. One salvo breaches right torso armor, disabling a laser, while the second salvo clusters around the head, dinging the cockpit. This throws the mechwarrior off his evasive game a little, allowing Zenn7 to blast the right arm off entirely, damaging the left arm actuator. The loss of an arm throws the mech's balance off and it faceplants into the ground.

Wolf fires a back up, grazing one of the Corsairs with a PPC shot, while Atrophy and CJ continue pounding the Atlas. Atrophy's mech pipes up with a "slug ammunition depleted" and automatically switches the last LBX autocannon to draw from a cluster bin instead.

Round 7

Spoiler:

The Banshee gets up and begins ambling off the field, prompting Zenn7 to seek a new target. He settles on the Orion about to clamber up our ridge.

Atrophy begins to get a little concerned about the Atlas - it's closed in to AC/20 range, firing it but missing. Our mechwarrior therefore squeezes the trigger, firing all of the Annihilator's weapons - pulse laser stitch across the fellow hundred-tonner's weakened armor, punching a few holes; then come the LBX pellets. Coolant sprays from the Atlas' head and then an ammo bin blows - the ejection seat firing as the remains of the assault mech topple to the ground. Our mechwarrior lets out a breath of relief.

We start taking more hits, however, with Backwash's Griffin eating a Thunderbolt's PPC to the center of mass, while Zenn7's leg takes some damage from an approaching Battlemaster and Stalker-launched LRMs. A knock-off Awesome grazes Wolf's arm as well (only one PPC? What's this BS?)

Round 8:

Spoiler:

Atrophy's mech rocks as it's strafed by one of the Corsairs, while the Hunchback goes "up and over", blasting away with its laser array. CJ jumps over to help, taking a couple of AC/5 rounds from a Rifleman to the northwest, and pings the Hunchback with the Victor's guns - the hostile mech staggers and is perforated by close-range shots from the Annihilator's pulse lasers and LBX autocannons.

Zenn7, meanwhile, focuses fire on the Orion's leg, frying multiple actuators. The Orion drops to the ground as 9B and the knock-off Awesome exchange fire, the hostile mech dropping to a knee after receiving multiple LRMs.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

9B grunts as the Corsair comes around again. Between the heavy and assault mechs pushing up, the aerospace fighter is the lesser threat, but it still delivers good armor damage.

Zenn7 reduces the number of mechs coming in by causing the Orion's had to evaporate as the mech staggers back up. A PPC shot comes in, connecting to center of mass, while LRMs and autocannon rounds spread out along the mech's left side, but armor holds up.

CJ and Atrophy's southern flank is secure, so CJ moves up, blowing the Rifleman's right arm off with a gauss slug. LRMs fly in from the Stalker to the north, dinging our mechwarrior's cockpit.

Wolf jumps back up to the ridge, having cooled off, and takes the Awesome's head off with a PPC in a display of solid marksmanship - the Hellbringer hadn't even landed.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

Zenn7 switches targets back to the Goliath, blowing out one of its right leg actuators - it's got plenty to spare and our mechwarrior has decided that it's time to cool off a little. 9B adds to the pain, LRMs hitting the exposed legs, spraying heat sink fluid and actuator bits everywhere, while one makes its way through the center torso armor and dings the engine shielding. The quad mech splays out on the ground.

9B continues getting strafed - the other Corsair has come back. A second one dings Atrophy a little, although, it eats a swarm of LBX pellets from the Annihilator's autocannons. The Stalker uses this opportunity to take a couple of pot shots at our 100-ton mech as well, melting some armor off with a laser and blasting bits off with LRMs.

Backwash decides to be a little aggressive, jumping in behind a Cyclops to get some rear armor hits in, but hops away before too long - the other mechs are still there too.

Round 11:

Spoiler:

The guy in the Goliath decides he won't be able to get back up (kind of hard when half your actuators have been fried or blown up) and bails out.

Zenn7's next target is the Battlemaster, but it takes a good amount of firepower to breach that particular model's armor.

Atrophy lumbers "up and over" the ridge, directing the Annihilator's autocannons at the Stalker, which lurches and keels over to the right. The Stalker fires back, but can't breach armor. A Corsair strafes our mech as well, causing minor armor damage. The Annihilator's computer informs our mechwarrior that the autocannons are now out of ammunition.

9B takes another strafing run, but has decided she's had enough, firing a salvo of LRMs and SRMs at the fighter, landing a good number of warheads. The fighter bucks under the onslaught, but keeps flying.

CJ jumps in behind the Rifleman, puncturing its rear armor with lasers superfluously before unceremoniously putting a gauss rifle through the back of its head. The Victor takes some PPC damage from a Marauder and the Battlemaster, but armor continues to hold.

Round 12:

Spoiler:

"Out of ammunition. Withdrawing." Atrophy declares - the pulse lasers are all well and good, but you'd have to brave a lot of incoming fire to use them, given their short range. The mech gets strafed by a Corsair again on the way north then east.

The Battlemaster continues taking a pounding from Zenn7's PPC - our mechwarrior chuckles. Unlike stupid autocannons, a PPC can just keep firing and firing until the cows come home.

CJ jumps in to engage the Marauder at close range, while 9B exchanges fire with another aerospace fighter. CJ's mech easily absorbs the Marauder's short-range firepower, then our mechwarrior reaches out with an 80-ton foot and cracks the mech's left torso.

Now, the thing about old-school Marauders is that the left torso has exactly one piece of equipment in it. The ammo bin for the autocannon. So any time anything hits that left torso section, there's a very good chance that the ammo bin blows.

Which it does.

Round 13:

Spoiler:

The Battlemaster backs up out of Zenn7's effective weapons range, but a Thunderbolt goes up and over the ridge, letting our mechwarrior keep up his devastating fire. The Battlemaster and CJ exchange weapons fire, CJ coming away with the worse of it, the mech sounding multiple low armor warnings.

Backwash seizes upon Zenn7's help to open up on the approaching Thunderbolt, their combined fire knocking it to the ground.

Wolf takes Backwash's place behind the Cyclops exploiting its already-opened rear armor to detonate an AC/20 ammo bin, destroying the mech. The 90-tonner does manage to swing an arm around and ding the Hellbringer in the head with a laser, though, shaking our mechwarrior a little.

Round 14:

Spoiler:

At this point, we've got the three remaining mechs surrounded, the Stalker having finally gotten up.

9B has run out of long-range missiles, but still has the SRMs, which somehow connect with a strafing fighter - bits of glowing metal emerge from its engine, which is never a good sign.

Wolf, fresh off blowing up the Cyclops, hops south, intending to finish off the retreating Thunderbolt. The two mechs exchange weapons, and Wolf closes in for a finishing kick. At this point, the Thunderbolt swings its left arm in a backhand, giving Wolf just enough time to widen her eyes and yank the ejection lever.

The Battlemaster does less well, CJ cracking its left hip and knocking it to the ground in a faceplant. An LRM salvo at the grounded assault mech finishes it off by blasting through the head to the cockpit.

With pretty much all our consumables expended and a Corsair still out there, we decide to let the plucky Thunderbolt and less plucky Stalker go. It's pretty safe to say that that's the end of that mercenary company - we've killed off about half of them, and they've now got three mechs left that have been shot to hell. And they certainly won't be joining Alpin's people when they resume the battles on the other side of this mountain range.

"Ouch." is Wolf's comment upon being recovered - the mechwarrior can barely get herself out of the ejection seat, between a broken hand and a sprained foot. A concussion will keep the mechwarrior out of action for the rest of the contract. The Hellbringer is quite repairable - just needs a replacement head. But all the guns, heat sinks and engine are intact - the important stuff.

---

"I thought we're supposed to keep aerospace fighters grounded." Zenn7 states to our liaison as the two lounge at the bottom of their mechs, sipping energy drinks.

9B shrugs. "Supposed to. Maybe those mercs didn't get the memo."

Zenn7 scowls. "Maybe we'll retroactively not have gotten the memo, either."

9B raises an eyebrow. "I wouldn't advise it - our orbital people have no sense of humor and a warship full of aero jocks with itchy feet and trigger fingers."

Still - Zenn7 and the rest of the group here (except for the semi-comatose Wolf) agree that this is bullshit. So, we *could* "forget" about the no-aerospace fighter directive for our next fight. Which we don't know what it is at the moment, but we could probably use them.

[] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights
- risking interception by Wolf's Dragoons orbital people
[] Don't really want to fight neutral-aligned aerospace fighters

[El Guapo]

[X] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights
- risking interception by Wolf's Dragoons orbital people
[] Don't really want to fight neutral-aligned aerospace fighters

Let's have them ready to scramble, such that if another mech company uses fighters we have ours ready to counter. I wouldn't deploy them proactively yet, unless this starts becoming a trend in our engagements.

[TotallyNotEvil]

[X] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights

@edit: Y'know, ok, if this is just reserving the right, then sure. If they don't pop up again, we leave it be. If they do, we respond in kind. I can live with that.

We will re-round the salvage at the end, yes?

For those who don't know Discount Dan, the Totally Legit Catapult/Hunchback Salesman:

[Leraje]

[X] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights
- risking interception by Wolf's Dragoons orbital people
[] Don't really want to fight neutral-aligned aerospace fighters

Let's have them ready to scramble, such that if another mech company uses fighters we have ours ready to counter. I wouldn't deploy them proactively yet, unless this starts becoming a trend in our engagements.

Agreed.

[Zenn7]

[X] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights
- risking interception by Wolf's Dragoons orbital people
[] Don't really want to fight neutral-aligned aerospace fighters

Let's have them ready to scramble, such that if another mech company uses fighters we have ours ready to counter. I wouldn't deploy them proactively yet, unless this starts becoming a trend in our engagements.

Agreed.

Good call.

[$iljanus]

[X] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights
- risking interception by Wolf's Dragoons orbital people
[] Don't really want to fight neutral-aligned aerospace fighters

Let's have them ready to scramble, such that if another mech company uses fighters we have ours ready to counter. I wouldn't deploy them proactively yet, unless this starts becoming a trend in our engagements.

Agreed.

Good call.

We won't be the ones deploying fighters first so I'm all for having them ready if the opposition puts up some fighters.

[Hyena]

[X] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights
- risking interception by Wolf's Dragoons orbital people
[] Don't really want to fight neutral-aligned aerospace fighters

Let's have them ready to scramble, such that if another mech company uses fighters we have ours ready to counter. I wouldn't deploy them proactively yet, unless this starts becoming a trend in our engagements.

Agreed.

Good call.

We won't be the ones deploying fighters first so I'm all for having them ready if the opposition puts up some fighters.

Agreed. Be ready to counterpunch 'em right in the exhaust port if they break the deal.

Sheesh...now we know how the clanners felt when us Innies broke a batchall...