The BattleTech Dynasty: Chapt 3, Solaris VII, 3040-3042

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Tellistto

Was that MW able to eject or did he follow his Mech into death? Awesome fights you have going, that one wasn't looking great then bam, ammo up!

Tell

He ejected.

Thanks!

[Abe Sargent]

May 1, 3041 - The new rankings come out, and we move to #20.


Because we are now ranked, I am getting a lot of press coverage and more. I am no longer going to be fighting random folks, and all of my matches are big.

[Abe Sargent]

June 8, 3041 - We are matched against another up-and-comer who hasn’t been stopped by much either. This former Draconis Combine officer for Silver Dragon has a LosTech mech from the War of 3039 ad is ready to use it against us.


Meet elite+, edge:2, tactical genius
Hatamoto-Chi


We are fighting in The Stadium


I can take anything. I choose to grab my Atlas.







Atlas Hatamoto-Chi





My unit slew Dragons two years ago, can I do so now?

Here we go. He chose to start on top of a 10 level column, which I cannot get up too, so no physical combat in this match. Smart, it eliminates part of the weight advantage and my melee specialist.

I hit him with 20 missles and he hits me for a PPC.

On the next turn, I eat two PPCs. He eats an AC20 and LRM 20.

I move in. My LRM20 hits one of his PPCs. My AC20 opened up the RA that the Lrm exploited.

I hit the ammo in his RT and the CASE shunts it away, the mech does not die.

I stand completely still in order to increase my aim. I open up his CT with my AC20 like a can opener, and the SRM6 missles flit and and hit his engine three times and his mech shuts down.


Victoire.

900,000 C Bills

[Abe Sargent]

July 1, 3041 - The new ratings come out. We rose to #19 when the #19 lost to Glenn. Glenn moves back into #20.

There is another Grand melee this month, but we miss it.

[Abe Sargent]

August 14, 3041 - We get a matchup against #17.


Victor Vandergriff
Oonthrax
Modified Goliath 1E
Elite+
Edge: 3
Tactical Genius
Pain Resistance

Purse: 2.25 million.


We will be fighting in Ishiyama.


This Goliath has an AC10, Large Laser, 2 SRM4s, and a ton of armor, plus 14 heat sinks.








Atlas Goliath










I am in my Atlas. Here we go.


Here we go.

After a few truns, we run into each other at a T intersection. I hit him with my AC20, SRM6, and two medium lasers. He gets unlucky and misses 4s for both his AC10 and large laser. Bad luck, friend.

I lose init so I back up and he does not follow.

I win init and run into him again. Once gain, I hit with ever weapon I fire, while he hits with every one he fires. We both make our rolls.

He wins init. I run up to him, but he backs away. I have damaged severely his left leg rear, so he favors it, exposing his right and front sides. We each fire a ton of waeaponsa the other and hit. The smoke clears, still no major damage.

I win init. He runs, I chase him and run up to him. We each unload weapons again, and again, no major damage. I kick him in his Front Left leg and it is destroyed. He kicked me in my LL but I am still standin gwhile he is on the ground.

He wins init, I stay standing. He stands. My AC20 destroys his LT. My Medium Lasers destroys his Rear Left Leg he was protecting. Despite taking every weapon he has at close range, I stay standing but he is down permanently.

With two legs and a torso gone, he is down and out, and radios his surrender.


I win 2 million.

[law90026]

Heh your Atlas is crushing pple!

[Abe Sargent]

AC20s rock in this format, where close and crush is often the key to victory.

[Abe Sargent]

Sept 1, 3041- We move to #18, the #18 person moves to #17 and Victor fell to #19.

Sept 25, 3041 - We give another hotshot a chance at a big name like me.


Meet Zelazni Stables newest star:

Elite
Edge:7
Victor
They call him Lucky. You can see why.

We are fighting in The Factory.


Against the mobility of the Victor, I take my Orion.

I only give up 5 tons on the 80 ton Victor, and I am more mobile, which is important against a mech with jump jets, and I have the same big gun it has.






Orion Victor






Purse is a cool million.


I am having difficulty finding him. I fear he jumped onto the factory roof and will hop down and get me.

Which just happened. Luckily, he is still far away from me. I hit him with an LRM10, everything else misses.

I lose init. I cannot charge him like I do others cause he can jump behind me, so I just walk 3 towards him. He reciprocates. My AC20 hits his RA and then my SRM follows up and this it several more times and destroys it. His AC20 hits my RT. He falls.

I win init. He stands back up. Please note, with his RA gone, he no longer has his AC20. I spend this turn mostly deheating. I laser him twice but that’s it. I punch him twice, and one punch gets his CT and hits his engine and gyro once each. He falls.

He manges to stand, and I run around behind him. I alpha strike hm, my AC20 crashes through his rear CT armor and hit’s the gyro twice. That’s a dead mech.


Victory. 900,000 C Bills are mine.

[Abe Sargent]

EVENT: Sept 30, 3041 - Our first born son, James Roderick Essex, is born.

[Abe Sargent]

Oct 1, 3041 - Unchanged on the ratings.


Oct 10, 3041 - We get a major match. This is virtually unprecedented. Our stable’s best MW is Bassem Dichari at #4. He was injured just before a huge matchup with our rival Blackstar‘s #3 Stacey Clayton. With that injury, he cannot play. Normally, the event would be cancelled, but thse are our rivals. This is a major match for a 10 million pot. For obvious reasons, neither stable wants to back out.

So, as the second best MW for Starlight, I am the obvious person to step in for Bassem. Normally, it takes long time and a lot of climbing before you can get a match with the #3 gal. However, I’ve become sort of the talk of the town since I have yet to lose a duel, and I’m a big bad mercenary regiment commander, etc. I’m the new thing, so I am hot, and our rival can’t stand it.

I will only be taking 80% if I win this one, since Starlight had already negotiated that with the arena for Bessem.


Here is my foe:

Stacey Clayton

Elite+
Edge: 4
Melee Specialist
Tactical Genius

Modified BattleMaster

This is a Blacklight special mech, that does not exist anywhere else.

The BLR-BL7


85 tons
3/5 movement
17 heat sinks
Maximum armor


ERPPC
AC10
3x SRM2 Streak
2x ML
Small Laser
Hatchet


This is actually a very powerful design. It is going to be tough to crack it, even with my Atlas. It’s no wonder she is #3, that is a great mech. Max armor? Hatchet + melee specialist? SRM2 streaks which help with overheating? AC10 which doesn’t make that much heat? ERPPC for sniping? Definitely a good mech.










AtlasBattleMaster











We are fighting in the Davion Arena since we are both Davion stables.

It is set up The Coast. We are fighting alongside the coast of a ocean.



I honestly think the only place I have this is at range for a few rounds at the beginning. We both have one weapon each, but mine can do more damage, although spread out.

She runs at me and I am already insside her AC10 range, so now I have to keep coming. I hit with my LRM20 and she takes 12. I take an ERPPC to my LT.

I lose Init. Nothing I can do, gotta charge. Unlike other foes, I do not want to engage, I want to stay away from that hatchet. AC20 to her LT. She takes a ML and SRM6 too. I takes various damage. She misses with AC10 though.

I lose init. I back up three because I do not want to be in hatchet range. My AC20 misses, and I hit with Lrms and Mls. I take a ton of damage and stay standing.

I win init. I charge to get close. I miss a bunch of 7s and hit only with my SRM6. I take a PPC.

I run behind its back after winning init again. I take an ERPPC from a torso twist while I deliver an AC20, two medium lasers and five SRMs.

I lose init. Damn. I back up. She follows and gets just two away from me. AC20 glancing blow to its RT> It nails me with everything but the PPC which it does not fire. I manage to stay standing.

As of right now, I am internal No where. She is not internal anywhere but her rear armor.

I lost init and back up another three. She just turns and does not close. I destroys her LT with my AC20 and then LRm20. She misses 3s on her AC10 and ERPPC. Sorry.

I lose init. The only weapons she has left are ERPPC, Small laser and AC10. That’s a good amount still, but no more worries about the hatchet. I close and base her, but she runs. AC20 tears through her RT and hits her AC10 twice. She goes internal on my LA and hit’s a shoulder actuator.

I lose init. I base her, she again runs. I hit her gyro and engine each once.,

I win init. At this point, she is obviously trying for an ERPPC head hit or something to give her the win out of luck. I base her. I hit her engine a second time. I kick her leg, hit an actuator, and she falls.

She falls while trying to stand and hits her engine a third time, it shuts down. Game over.



I win 8 million C Bills.

That is my 40th victory since creating the Kilts and Commandos.

I gain another edge.

[TonyR]

Tough battle, Sweet victory.

[Tellistto]

Very sweet indeed!

Tell

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by TonyR

Tough battle, Sweet victory.

Yeah, it was close until I hit well and she missed very unlucky numbers with her AC10 and ERPPC. That one turn changed it. Before then, who knows what would have happened.

[Abe Sargent]

Nov 1, 3041 - We jump up to #11 on the chart after defeating Stacey and she falls to #8.

[Abe Sargent]

Dec 15, 3041 - Our stable master gets a match offer from #13, in order to try and move up. We accept.



Ervin Rebelke
Lion City Stables
Modified Atlas AS7-S
Elite+
Melee Specialist
Pain Resistance
Edge: 3


The AS7-S has SRM2 Streak and the major thing he has is 15 double heat sinks. That will be a major advantage.








Atlas Atlas










We are playing in The Coliseum.



Here we go.


I win init. After running I find my foe. We both hit with the big weapons, but he hits better, hitting my LT and I just hit his RA.

I lose init and flee. No chase.

I win init, run it, and push my heat by firing everything.

I lose init, back up, but he follows. My AC20 hits his SRM2 streak ammo and he explodes. His AC20 hits my Right arm and destroys it.


Victoire. I think I got a little lucky with that one. He had already destroyed my RA.


Purse: 4,500,000 to us

[Tellistto]

Luck is all good, goes great with skill!

Tell

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Tellistto

Luck is all good, goes great with skill!

Tell

Yeah, I was expecting this epic Atlas v Atlas showdown and instead, boom.

[Abe Sargent]

Dec 18, 3041 - We mourn the second anniversary of the Fall of Andurien.


Jan 1, 3042 - We bump up to #10 while the #10 MW falls to #11 after they just barely beat an unranked foe, but I handled #13 really well.

[Abe Sargent]

January 10, 3042 - The Tournament of Champions begins. The winner of this event is declared the Champion of Solaris VII for the next year.

Here is how it works.

The top 12 MWs are in the Tournament. The first four have first round byes.

Then the opponents are seeded. Tournament then proceeds like you would expect.

Everybody ready? Here we go:


January 10,3042 - #5 defeats #12 in Ishiyama

January 11, 3042 - #6 defeats #11 in The Jungle

January 12, 3042 - We face #7 in the Davion Arena.

[Abe Sargent]

The Arena is set up with the The Sinkhole.

Here is our foe, again:

Stacey Clayton

Elite+
Edge: 4
Melee Specialist
Tactical Genius

Modified BattleMaster

This is a Blacklight special mech, that does not exist anywhere else.


She rose back up to #7 from #8 after a victory over a foe.


















Atlas












BattleMaster









Here we go.

I miss a bunch of stuff after closing. She hits with everything.

There is not a maneuvering room here. I do not have an opportunity like I normally do to outflank my foe.

I win init, close to 6 spaces, and unload everything, while I am hit just by an AC10 and Medium Laser.

I lose init. She outflanks me, and I can’t attack with much this turn.

I win init. We run up to each other, but separated by several levels as she is in the Sinkhole and I am above it. We each just pummel the other.

I win init barely. Finally I run into the sinkhole directly behind Stacey’s BM, in order to end this. I unload, but miss the torsos. I kick for 21 damage and get hatcheted on my LA and it is open and exposed now.

I lose init. I walk backwards up the hill but don’t fall. She moves away in the sinkhole. I drop everything, even my LRM. It all hits. I take every weapon she fires too, SRM2 streaks, lasers, and AC10.

I win init with Tactical Genius. I move to one level above her and adjacent, so I can punt her upper body. We each unload on each other, but I expose her LT and hit two heat sinks and an SRM2 streak. I get a hand actuator hit on my LA. I kick and she takes 21 to her RT and it is destroyed, and her RA falls to the ground. I take a hatchet on my LL and it shears away the remaining armor.

I win init barely. I destroy her LT and she falls. With no weapons left, she concedes.



Victory over #7.

[Abe Sargent]

Jan 13, 3042 - #9 upends #8.
That leaves 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 on the board


1 vs. 10

4 vs. 5

3 vs. 6

2 vs. 9


We are all given one week to rearmor, rearm, repair and refit our mechs.


We are fighting the best MechWarrior of the day in one week, as our match opens up the second round

[Abe Sargent]

Jan 20, 3042 -


Our foe:

Amanda Hamilton


Atlas heavily modified

20 heat sinks
3/5 movement

Gauss Rifle
ER PPC
4 Medium Pulse Lasers
SRM6
Small Laser


We are playing in The Factory.


Edge: 5
Tactical Genius
Maneuvering Ace
Melee Specialist
Gunnery: Laser
Elite +



We are not favored and the story in the press is how Amanda is going to be the first one to win a duel against me. We’ll see.
















Atlas












Atlas









For three turns, we do not find each other.

I win init, turn a corner, find her, and run towards her, but we are still decently far away, so all I can fire is my LRm20. I take a Gauss to my LT and miss with my LRM20.

I win init. I move as close as I can. I take an ERPPC, she takes an LRM20.

I lose init. I run towards her and she maneuvers to be three away. If I were her, I’d stand four away to give me medium range on my AC20 and Mls and medium range on her MPLs. AC20 to her RA. I take a Guass to my RA.

I win init and maneuver behind her. I tear into her CT rear and hit her gyro and she falls. I take her ER PPC

I lose Init and back up. She stands. She unloads and her Gauss hits my head, hah ha, rerolled with edge, I mean hits my RT> I unload on her too. We both remain standing.

I lose init. I back up. This time I go overheat and fire everything. I destroy her LT> Her Gauss snaps into my RT and goes internal, hitting my AC20.

I lose init again. I stay standing, since I am against the edge of the Factory. She closes. I hit with a lot, she hits me with a Gauss to my CT>

I lose init yet again and stay where I am. I fire and hit her gyro a second time. I take her to the ground and make her immobile, normally a win, but her Gauss seeks out and finds my AC20 ammo and my Atlas explodes. Since we both technically won, there tiebreaker rules are applied, and she wins, because her mech is still around.

We recover only the Atlas RA, H, and LL

Ouch. My first official loss, and it was just, barely, a loss. Good job Amanda Hamilton.

[Tellistto]

You need a mech like she had, that was one serious sweet ride she had going there. Tough loss, but damn, was that mech nice!

Tell

[RealDeal]

How do you get a mech as sweet as the ones some of your opponents have?

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Tellistto

You need a mech like she had, that was one serious sweet ride she had going there. Tough loss, but damn, was that mech nice!

Tell

Yeah, I know. It was a strong mech.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by RealDeal

How do you get a mech as sweet as the ones some of your opponents have?

I do have a tricked out Orion. I have to acquire and find the parts and then build it myself modifiying my own. As you can see, the top MWs get a ton of money, and have a lot of connections. If your top MWs are from the Combine or the Confederation etc, it makes you look good, so there are reasons to make sure your stables get some good equipment for their best people

[Abe Sargent]

Jan 21, #2 beats #9.

Jan 22, #5 defeats #4.

Jan 23, our stablemate, Bassem, defeats #6.


Jan 27, Amanda defeats #5.

Jan 28, Bassem loses to #2.


Jan 31, 3042 - Amanda defeats her foe to win the Championship once again.

Feb 1, 3042 - We are at #8 after the new rankings come out. Although we may have lost to Amanda Hamilton, it was very close.

We lost a mech, and it’s the one I’ve been using the most recently. I start to make contacts to try and find a replacement.

[Abe Sargent]

Feb 15, 3042 - Our contact on Outreach gets a contract offer, and this one interests me enough that I jump to Outreach to talk with the potential employer. However, in order to know what to do with this offer, I need to know where and what my other units have been doing. Thus….






MEANWHILE

[Abe Sargent]

April 1, 3040 - We begin to get some contracts for my units. Here are my new units:



Defender Company:

This consists of all of the ex-Defenders that joined us, led my Lt. Matthew Humphries. They will remain on Epsilon Eridani until Oct 1, when they will begin taking contracts. All elite. For the record, here is the new organization:


Lt. Matthew Humphreys, Archer
Haisha Slater, Orion
Gia Alletelli, Hunchback
Bryson Abasi, Grasshopper


Maureen O’Brien, BattleMaster
Charles Wangai, Whitworth
Michael Henry, Stalker
Madison Tolteca, Warhammer
Marcus Jackson, Griffin


A.J. Hussein, Phoenix Hawk
Indervir Multani, Stinger
Jesus Hernandez, Javelin
Sun Chen, Locust
Orlof Magnusson, Firestarter
Jussi Johanssen, Hermes II




Phaeton Company:

It’s infantry have accompanied Braham Essex to Solaris VII and are removed permanently from it.

Without the green infantry, Phaeton Company is upgraded to elite overall, which increases its Dragoon Rating to B.


Trinity Company:

Lt. Jason Thomas, field promoted to Lt, retains his position and command but is transferred to the now fixed Atlas. A new recruit, Ikh Zanabazar, it assigned to the Ostsol. Thad Karamanlis, of the Trebuchet, is promoted to Sgt. Ikh is veteran.


Trinity is ranked as elite and B.



Delta Company:

We pull the Charger 1A1 for a Dragon.


Delta Company is listed as B with an Elite ranking too.



Cinq Company:

We are not touching anything with Cinq Company. They are veteran and rated C

Hex Company:

Deborah Kreiner is promoted to Sergeant. We assign a salvaged BattleMaster to the unit to replace Ted’s Stalker. The unit has an empty BattleMaster, empty Orion, and no Lieutenant.

New recruit, Angel Herrera is assigned to the Orion. She is veteran. Veteran Mwai Kibaki is assigned to the BattleMaster. Tanya Meekins, in the Grand Dragon is double promoted to Lieutenant, which doesn’t happen that often.


Vehicle Company:

The Demolisher replaces the destroyed tank.



Aleph Company:


Grant Hollis is promoted to Sergeant, and Rafael Gomez Lt to run the company in my absence. Veteran MW Rachel Dawson is running my Battlemaster in my absence.

[Abe Sargent]

We have the following mechs in storage or in the garrison at Epsilon Eridani:


Stalker - Ted’s mech
BattleMaster 2C
Marauder
Shadow Hawk
Awesome x2
Griffin
Wolverine
Locust x2
Javelin
Wasp x2
Hermes II
Grasshopper
Charger 1A1
Charger 1A9
Ostscout
2750 Lancelot x2
2750 Exterminator
Talon 5W
2750 Highlander
2750 Flashman
Excalibur B2
2750 Mongoose
2750 Hermes
Phoenix Hawk 1K x2
Lowtech Mongoose
Awesome 8T
Grand Dragon
Merlin
Warhammer
Ostroc
Phoenix Hawk
Striker
Jenner x2



That’s 39 mechs, and I haven’t even assigned the LosTech yet.

The first class of graduates will graduate in December, 3041. 5 MechWarriors. The second class is 6 in Dec 3042. It should get bigger as the school gets established and we should probably get some benefit from the BattleMaster 2C being here too.

[Abe Sargent]

Oh, the following books have been used for this dynasty, so far:

Brush Wars
War of 3039
Solaris VII boxed Set
Solaris VII BattleTech Mappack
Mercenary Handbook
Mercenaries Supplemental
Mercenaries Supplemental II
BattleTech Compendium
Technical Readout: 3025
TRO: 3026
TRO: 2750
TRO: 3050
TRO: 3058
TRO: 3075
Maximum Tech
House Davion Field Manual
House Steiner Field Manual
House Kurita Field Manual
House Liao Field Manual
House Marik Field Manual (These five books from the 80’s are now available for free as downloads)

[Abe Sargent]

Our Vehicle Company takes a garrison contract on Terra Firma, a nearby planet controlled by the Fed Suns with several industrial concerns, and we are hired to guard one of those concerns.

Delta Company rejects some offers

Cinq Company does likewise.

Hex Company is offered an Extraction Raid by St. Ives vs. Capella. This one interests us.


We would be striking the planet of Minnacora. Our goal would be to capture one of the Raven prototypes that are using a bunch of the new LosTech electronics. Minnacora is not on the border, but two jumps in, so it is not guarded that much, and yet, for some reason really suspicious, there are supposedly high tech prototypes there. That doesn’t make any sense. Why would a world supposedly vacant of industrial concerns or major political or military concerns have a protoypes of a new mech on its face? No clue, but that contract smells, so instead of the company St. Ives is looking for, we offer a full mech battalion for the contract, with an appropriate upgrade in pay. They refuse, which strikes me as quite suspicious so I decline.

[Abe Sargent]

April 28, 3040 - Because of our proximity, Vehicle Company is there and has begun their contract.


May 1, 3040 - We solicit some new contracts.

Aleph Company is offered Pirate Hunting by Periphery and Security by Davion. No thanks.

Phaeton Company is offered Objective Raid. Interesting. What and where. Steiner. Where? Against Marik. Interesting.

We are charged with heading to the planet of Alkes. Alkes is one of the planets that was raped after the Succession Wars destroyed the infrastructure on many worlds. The machinery that allowed it to feed its people was destroyed, and yet many people stayed. Today, many people still live on Alkes, but the Free Worlds League has to direct a lot of food to Alkes. However they have invested some research and money into rebuilding the old machinery that can, again, allow the natives to become self sufficient from a food standpoint. Steiner wants this destroyed because then the FWL can continue to invest a lot of resources into keeping Alkes alive. So my charge is to destroy the central processing units that can feed a lot of people. And folks wonder why there are a large contingent of people who think of the Inner Sphere as corrupt.

This stuff is so stupid.

I say no thanks.

Delta Company - Riot Duty for the periphery. No thanks.

Cinq - Garrison for ComStar, Objective Raid for Caps

[Abe Sargent]

Okay Caps, talk to me.

They want us to hit Fletcher, a world owned by the Federated Suns. This was a Capellan Confederation world lost in the 4th Succession War, and although it doesn’t have a lot of value from some vantage points, it was the burial place for a lot of former Chancellors of the Capellan Confederation. This contract is to arrive on world and remind the locals to have more respect for the tombs by hitting the local forces.

Many of the older tombs are near a military outpost for the Governor of Fletcher‘s troops. Recently, they have been using the outside of the tombs as target practice, defacing the monuments and such. They just recently went into a tomb and raided the stuff there. The Capellans want us to take it down. I argue to get this bumped up to battalion level, and they agree.

Now, we have been warned off hitting Davion worlds, but on this one, I have to agree with the Capellans. This is just disrespectful. There is a difference between battle and war on one side, and thuggery on the other.

After consideration, we decide to take:

Phaeton Company
Cinq Company
Hex Company



Fletcher is one jump away, so we can get there quickly.

In order to not pin this on us or the Capellan Confederation, I order all paint schemes to be camouflage, with the Capellan Confederation symbol painted on them. Since Fletcher is three jumps away from the closest Cappellan Confederation world, the idea that Caps would jump through three jumps just for pride into enemy territory is silly, and it will make it look like someone is trying to pin it on them. Only, someone will be trying to do it - us.

I also have my men jump into a Pirate point. I have never authorized this before, but I don’t want to it be obvious that at the same second a JumpShip leaves Epsilon Eridani, another appears in Fletcher. This way, we can disguise our arrival time.

[Tellistto]

Time to kick some ass, battalion style!

Tell

[Abe Sargent]

Our contract:


Salvage - Full
Command - Independent
Transport - 50%
Remuneration yes
Length of service: 3 months
Salary - x3.7, multiplier, x1.2 for Caps, 1.6 for Obj Raid
Support - 68% Straight Support


We get started.

[Abe Sargent]

The Fletcher Contract:


We arrive in the Fletcher system on May 15, 3040, and land uncontested on May 22, 3040. If you don’t mention that you are an army, you usually don’t get asked a lot of questions.

With that, we disembark our people. Fletcher is two jumps away from Quentin and Fomalhaut, just captured by the Dracs ,but that is it. Davion has yet to realign defense based on that, and perhaps Fletcher will never get front line units. Everything within a jump is in the Suns.


Fletcher has second line militia, plus a regular regiment of mechs.

The area that we want to hit is in the southern continent. There, just a battalion of the regiment on planet guard the entire continent that includes the burial areas of previous Chancellors of the Caps.

We landed in the only starport in the continent, a old mining town that has lost a lot of business since many of the mines went dry long ago. The rest of the area is agricultural, with many AgroMechs, harvesters, and more in the area.

We manage to find the area where the one tomb has been attacked regularly. A monument and tomb were erected in a suburb of this city long ago. As we arrive, we see that the monument to the Chancellor has been destroyed by gunfire.

Here is why this sickens me. Here is one of the reasons why I chose this mission despite Davion warnings to the contrary. The Chancellor is question is Aliesha Liao. She was the first to be buried here. She was the one who pushed for, and then wrote, the Ares Convention. Now a monument to a woman who wanted to make sure that war followed certain rules of behavior in order to keep citizens safe is being desecrated by Davion soldiers.

I’m totally okay with kicking their ass. I don’t care what Hanse has to say about it. The message will be sent if mysterious mechs wearing Confederation colors smacks the local mechs while they are using it for target practice.

We manage to sneak a lot of mechs into the local area at night, under the disguise of agricultural machines on beds of covered trucks. The mechs are placed in various buildings. I also make sure that there are numerous cameras video taping this. This is my ace in the hole. If Davion finds out it is us, and they protest too much, I can use this to show what we were doing.

Early in the morning, a scout lance comes by while scouting. They stop and look around. The only sensors that can detect mechs that are not warmed up are mag sensors, but those are generally useless in a city environment. They move towards the monument and before long, our cameras catch some machine guns lancing into the remains of the monument.

Imagine their surprise when they notice 24 heat signatures suddenly flare up as one on their monitors. Phaeton and Hex companies are here, and they are ready to attack. With a few rounds, the scouts have figured out what is happening, and are moving away. We get a couple of mechs warm up quickly enough to harass them with long range PPCs, but none hit.

I don’t want to fight here, so we move into a local park. Eventually, those scouts are going to bring friends.

And….they do. An hour later, we see a full battalion of mechs bearing down on our position. They begin to near us, and slow down. We have split our forces into two sides of the park, and they approach with caution. If they come at us in one group, they will be caught in the middle. Before they decide what to do, heat signatures warm up to their rear. Cinq Company warms up at the edge of the suburb they recently passed.

Understanding that they have been caught in our trap, they oblige us by splitting their forces into three companies and send one at each of us, just as we planned all along.


Our goal here is to make a lesson, not to destroy them as a fighting force. They do not know why we are here, or what we want, nor will we tell them.

[Abe Sargent]

The first company approaches Phaeton.

They have:

Atlas
Griffin
Javelin
Enforcer
Longbow
Warhammer
Vulcan 5T
Rifleman
Commando
Stalker
Archer
Shadow Hawk

That is a powerful randomly rolled list of mechs. I still think we’ll take it out, but I respect it. These folks are regular.


Here is Bryant McKinnon;s Panther. It is a special 35 ton light mech of the Draconis Combine, as slow as a heavy mech, but it features a PPC and SRM4, giving it the ability to really contribute to your offense.

[Abe Sargent]

We are on the outer area of a park, so a few trees, lots of greenery, no hills.

We are not in this to kill them, and we suspect they will flee after moderate resistance. Anyway, here we are.

Just target of opportunities, but we hit their Archer a few times with PPCs.

We concentrate a lot of fire at their Archer on the second turn. Our Panther hits its engine with the PPC.

We win init this turn. I manage to get our P Hawk behind their ‘Hammer. Our Rifleman hit’s a couple of leg actuators in their Warhammer. It falls to the ground.

I win init again. Our Awesome has had some serious armor stripped from his torsos. I again get our P Hawk behind the ‘Hammer. Our Awesome destroys the Archer’s CT. Their Warhammer and Vulcan fall. Our Griffin is punched in the head and the pilot is now blacked out.

I move a lot of my mechs by the Griffin in order to support it. I hop a Flacon next to it and run a Dervish next to it, now a Javelin next to it, they move over a Rifleman. I manage to get our Thunderbolt in their Atlas arc when it moves to get close to our Griffin. Their Vulcan stands. Our Thunderbolt’s LL hits their Atlas’s H, and decapitates them. Our Hermes II destroys the Warhammers LA. Our P Hawk hits its gyro. Our Griffin falls. Our Griffin just took all of the Weapons their Rifleman, Vulcan 5T (which is the good one, Atlas including the AC20, Javelin 10N and Stalker they could dish out, then it took two kicks from their Vulcan and Rifleman, and yet, no criticals, no missing limbs, nothing. When you are immobile, you can almost auto hit it, and we took everything + the damage from the fall, and yet, Griffin is still fine. There is a reason I play these Griffins in my companies. The only place it is internal is its CT R.

Our Griffin pilot wakes up.


With two mechs dead, they choose to retreat. We allow that.




Salvage:

Atlas missing H
Archer RA, LA, RT, LT, H, LL, RL


About 25 tons to repair.


End of Fletcher Mission 1.

[Abe Sargent]

The second company of Davion mechs approached Cinq Company in their rear. Let’s do it!


Here they are:


Warhammer 6D
Blackjack
Assassin
Javelin 10F
Wasp
Griffin
Locust 1M the dumb variant
Stalker
Cyclops
Longbow
JagerMech JM6-S
Enforcer


Now this looks like a Davion company. Sucky mechs. The JagerMech and Blackjack both suck, but later versions of the BJ are good. This one is rocking two AC2s, which are the weapon with the longest range in the game, but they do the same damage as a small laser, machine gun, one SRM missile or flamer. They also weigh at lot. Now, they are good at VTOLs, perhaps at Aerospace Fighters I don’t know, and tanks that are easy to damage. However, every weapon is good against them. They suck. The JagerMech has two as well as two AC5s. The Locust 1M is sucky. This is a crappy company, even with my rolls of triple Assault mechs all in a row. The Wasp blows, the Stalker has design flaws, the Cyclops is underwhelming but okay, and the Longbow rocks. The only good mechs here are the Warhammer, Griffin, Javelin 10F and Longbow, with the Enforcer and Cyclops okay. The rest are missing weapons to make them threatening, or have design flaws.

Here is Sgt. Ian Hall’s Vulcan 5T. This 40 ton mech is a variant of a mech that sucks, but this one is pretty good. It rocks 6/9/6 movement, 12 heat sinks, 4 Medium lasers, MG, flamer, and 7 tons of armor, which is not bad for a 40 tons mech. If I were to perfect the design, I’d yank the MG and Flamer and ammo and add a ton of armor and a 5th M Laser for Alpha Strike purposes.

[Abe Sargent]

Alright, here we go.

We win init. Just exchange of targets of opportunity.

We win again. We focus a lot of weapons on their Stalker. I am moving a hexagon of mechs down the east flank, Hunchback, Crusader, Zeus, Awesome, BattleMaster and Wolverine. I am keeping my Griffin and Archer in a fire support role and hopping my Thunder Lance around to distract the west flank, where most of their mechs are, while my hexagon of power focuses on their west most mech, the Stalker. Our Zeus hits am SRM6 on their Stalker.

We win init yet again. I hop Ian’s Vulcan near and beside their Jagermech. I hop our Spide rbehind their Stalker, but mainly as a distraction, not in order to get a kill. Our BattleMaster hit’s the SRM ammo in the Stalker’s LT and it explodes. Our Zeus takes a lot of fire. Ian kicks the JagerMech but it, barely, manages to stay standing.

We lose init. I move my big guys forward into the trees. Our Griffin destroys the RL and RT of their Locust 1M. Otherwise, I need to move my guys out, because they are still in some serious woodage in the south central area of this park.

I win init again. Four outta five, that’s just unfair. Our Wolverine hit’s the Locusts CT and destroys it. Ian Hall’s Vulcan hits and ignites the JagerMech’s AC5 ammo and it explode.s

With three mechs down, they decide and retreat and again, we allow it.



Salvage:

Stalker LA, RA
Locust RA, LL, RL, LT, LA, H
JagerMech LA, RT, RA


About 20 tons of armor needed.


End of Fletcher Mission 2.

[Abe Sargent]

Their final company is trying to hit Hex Company.

Here are our foes:

Wasp 1D
Enforcer
Rifleman
Marauder 3D
Stinger
Commando
Centurion
Firestarter
Shadow hawk
BattleMaster 1D
Griffin
Merlin


Just one Assault and three heavies.


Here is Hex Company’s Marsha Fehr and her 40 ton medium mech Whitworth. The Whitworth is, in my opinion, the lightest fire support mech that is good, and it has a pair of LRM10s, several lasers, 4/6/4 movement, and solid armor. It is a good mech, and one I am happy to have in my Regiment.

[Abe Sargent]

Here we go!

We lose init. Like before, I am creating a wedge of heavier units to move down the center of the field, and drive into their defenses. Just some long range sniping at their Marauder.

We lose init again. After some positioning, our Banshee hits their Marauder’s hip actuators and it falls.

We lose init. Their Marauder fails to stand. Their Rifleman hit’s the head of our Banshee with a through armor critical and hits the cockpit. Dead MechWarrior. So long Sgt. Deborah Kreiner. DO you know how hard a TAC is on a head? You have to roll a 2 on 2d6 to get a TAC, then you roll location, and you have to gets 12 on 2d6 to hit the head, so it’s 1 in 36 and 1 in 36. Amazingly rare. Then you have to roll an 8 or higher on 2d6 to get a critical. Then you have to roll 1d6 and hit the only slot with the cockpit. It is a ome in a million shot.

We win init. I run the Grand Dragon up to their downed Marauder. Our Enforcer destroys the LA of their Commando and our Spider its LL. Our Commando destroys its LT>

We win init again. Their Merlin gets two engines and a gyro hit on our Kintaro with a TAC. Our Spider destroys their Commando’s CT. Our Battle Master falls, as does their Rifleman and Merlin. Ou rP Hawk and Kintaro combine to kick off the LL, LT of their Stinge.r

We lose init. We stand up our BM and walk it backwards into some light woods. Their Marauder fails to stand. Despite sending several of my mechs overheat, we don’t manage to further damage any of their mechs except we knock their Rifleman back over. Our Grand Dragon hit’s the Marauder’s engine twice with a kick.

I win init. Their Rifleman stands back up and I get the Orion behind their Centurian’s back. Our Grand Dragon destroys their R Mans RA. Our Orion goes into in the previously untouched Centuion;s rear torso and hits its LRM ammo and it explode.s That’s our new MW Angel Herrara’s first action with us, and first kill with us too. Our P Hawk destroys their Stinger’s CT section. Our Thorn destroys the LT of their Rifleman. Then our BattleMaster hit’s the Rifleman’s ammo and it ‘splodes. This is the first mission for Mwai Kabaki and he also got a kill for us. Our Commando tears off the RT of their Rifleman. Our rgand Dragon kicks and destroys the RT of their Marauder.

With multiple mechs dead, they retreat, and we allow them to leave.

We need 35 tons of armor, this one was tougher. The quick kill of my Banshee, which I normally use as a shield, forced me to expose other mechs sooner than normal.





Salvage:

Commando H, RT, RA, RL
Stinger LA, H,RT, RA, RL
Centurion RA, LA
Rifleman LA
Marauder RA


End of Fletcher Mission 3.


With them leaving the park, we laser beam a copy of the video tape at just the beginning, where the Davion forces were destroying the monument, in order for them to get the point. We send it to every retreating mech.

[Abe Sargent]

May 25, 3040 - We blast off from Fletcher, contract complete.

June 14, 3040 - We land back at Epsilon Eridani. We jumped through two systems in order to through off any would be intel folks.

End of contract:



Salvage - Full
Command - Independent
Transport - 50%
Remuneration yes
Length of service: 3 months
Salary - x3.7, multiplier, x1.2 for Caps, 1.6 for Obj Raid
Support - 68% Straight Support


We paid:

Transport - 150k + 100K pirate point use. 250k total
246,000 - Salary for several months
800k - 80 tons of armor
775k - ammo


Total paid: 2,071,000

Compensation:

125k transport
322,400, salary
32k remuneration
20k support


Total made: 499,400


Total Loss:

1.5 million approx

I take it out of our account. Here is the real goal of the mission.

[Abe Sargent]

Total Salvage:


Archer RA, LA, RT, LT, H, LL, RL
Commando H, RT, RA, RL
Stinger LA, H,RT, RA, RL
Centurion RA, LA
Rifleman LA
Marauder RA
Stalker LA, RA
Locust RA, LL, RL, LT, LA, H
JagerMech LA, RT, RA


We only salvaged one mech, and a lot of parts. We can easily get our loss here plus some.

I also spend some money to get that Atlas up and running for the garrison. I give the spare parts to Hex Company, who did not have any extras.

We bring in a new pilot from Outreach, veteran, Jose Cortez, for the Banshee.

[Abe Sargent]

New contract began to appear on June 1, and I want to see if any other companies left Epsilon Eridani.


Aleph - Planetary Assault by the Caps on a periphery world. No thanks. Cadre offer by ComStar. Hmm.

Cadre contracts involve training people. Aleph Company is being asked by ComStar to train some of its people and militia, which seems perfectly reasonable. It’s light duty, because sometimes it comes with a garrison contract, but this one does not. Just go, do some training, and return, with no fighting. Aleph Company is not doing anything else, just sitting around, and cadre contracts are usually much shorter than garrison ones.

Where?

Somewhere in the FWL. Okay, where. Get this, I’m rolling to fid out where, and every world is available. Where do I roll? No kidding, where do I roll?

Sadurni.

What is so special about that? It’s one of the worlds in the Duchy of Andurien.

So ComStar wants us to return to the Duchy to train ComStar. Who would be the likely aggressors against ComStar there? Probably the Free Worlds League. So, we are being asked to train in the Duchy to help ComStar against aggression from Marik? I’m in!

Contract:

Length of Service: 6 months
Salvage: Full
Transport: 50% = 600,000
Remuneration: Yes = 52,000
Support: Straight: 70% = 95,410
Command: House
Salary: x1.3 ComStar x0.75 cadre x3.7 Salary is: 1,040,900
25% bonus to salary: 260,000



Total Paid:

1,200,000 transport
778,875 salary and upkeep

1,978,875 total


Received:

Total: 2,048,310

We just broke even


We arrive there, do our contract, and leave, and arrive back on May 14, 3041. This contract gets us an A Dragoon Rating.

[Abe Sargent]

Back to June 1, 3040, and look for more contracts.

Trinity and Delta companies are still on planet, plus Defender Company which is not taking contracts yet.

Trinity:

Cadre for Lyran Commonwealth
Garrison for Free Worlds League
Relief Duty for Fed Suns

I don’t want to garrison. I don’t want another Cadre, well, let’s see where it is before rejecting it. Some could be close. Nah, it’s way too far away. What about Relief Duty for the Suns? Where is it? Way out by the Periphery. No way.


Delta:

Security for Corporation in Lyran Space
Objective Raid for a Periphery Power

I’m not spending half a year or more to get to and from a contract that’s silly. Usually. Security is not too bad, where?

How about five jumps away at Algorab? Not bad.

The Governor here is having some problems with the locals and he suspects the local militia might be compromised so he wants to bring in some mercenaries quick to basically bodyguard him until more reliable forces from the Lyran Commonwealth arrive. Now that’s fair enough.


Contract details:

Salary: x3.7, x1.4 Lyran, x1.3 Security
Salvage: Shared
Command: House
Transport: 50%
Remuneration: No
Support: Battle-Loss: 50%
Length: 3 mths
17% Bonus



Delta Company leaves Epsilon Eridani.

[Abe Sargent]

August 6, 3040 - Delta Company arrives at Algorab. We take up our place in the Imperial Palace. No one gets access through the Governor except through us.

November 6, 3040 - The Emergency Powers Clause in our contract is invoked when our replacement forces from the Commonwealth are delayed for a month.

November 12, 3040 - A small uprising in the capital city has begun, and the Governor sends the militia out to handle it, while we continue to protect him.

November 15, 3040 - The uprising grows in strength, and several militia units have disappeared. We have been placed on full alert, and our mechs are ready to go anytime, anywhere.

November 19, 3040 - The uprising is beginning to be curbed by conventional forces when a few lances of militia mechs that had gone missing arrive and begin to attack the conventional forces. We are ordered by the Governor to warm up and ride in there and sweep the militia mechs away.


We arrive and find 11 mechs attacking conventional forces who have suffered a lot of damage and flee behind us. This should be easy money.


The Militia:


Valkyrie
Ostsol
Shadow Hawk
Ostscout
Wolfhound
Griffin
Zeus
Clint
Centurion
Marauder
Goliath


Remember, Delta Company is our heavy company with three assaults and five heavies. This should be a cakewalk. We have more than double their Battle Value.

Oh, and these guys are some regular, and some green, but the Zeus pilot is a vet.

From a rarer mech standpoint, I’d love to snatch an Ostsol or Ostscout, the Valkyrie is fine, the Wolfhound is great. I’d love to acquire one of the lighter mechs here. Remember that I am on a Shared salvage contract, so if I killed and acquired a Zeus and several lights, I could probably walk away with the lights.


This is their Clint. It is a pretty uncommon medium mech at 40 tons with very little armor, 6/9/6 movement, an AC5 and two medium lasers. It’s not good, but its uncommon status is nice.

[law90026]

Always liked the Wolfhound, good luck!

[Abe Sargent]

We win init. I created three prongs down three streets, each behind an assault mech. Their Clint jumps on a building and it falls out from underneath him. Our Catapult destroys the LA of their Clint.

We lose init. I move our forces forward quickly. No sense dancing. Their Clint stands up, and we move some mechs near to it. Our BattleMaster destroys their Valkyrie’s RT and CT. Their Goliath kicks and destroys the LL of our Spider and it falls.

We win init. I get our BattleMaster behind their Marauder. I move our Catapult and Grand Dragon right up to their crappy Shadow Hawk. We leave our Spider on the ground rather than risk a 9 to stand up. Our Awesome destroys the LT and RA of their Clint. Our Cat hit’s a LL actuator on the Centurion. Our BattleMaster hits two leg actuaotrs on their Marauder and our Black Knight hit’s a PPC on it. It falls and destroys its RA. Our BattleMaster kicks and destroys the RT of their Marauder.

We win init. I risk landing our Javelin on a building gwhen their Griffin hops behind a level 1 building, so I can try and punt his head. This time, BattleMaster in the Zeus’s rear arc. I am surrounding them so they have to expose their rear arcs to me regularly. Their marauder fails to stand. Our ’Hammer kicks and destroys the LA of their Marauder. Their Centurion kicks and hits an actuator on my Cat’s LL. Our Grand Dragon kicks and destroys the building their Ostscout is on, it tumbles, and the Ostscout takes a bunch of damage from the fall.

We win init. Their Marauder fails to stand up, falls, and destrosy its LT and CT. Our banshee hit’s the engine of their Centurion twice. Our Banshee punches and destroys the Centurion’s CT> Their Zeus falls after being double kicked by the Battlemaster and Warhammer. Our Awesome destroys the Clint’s Head, after all of that.

And with that, they begin to leave, but I send out a general radio signal and move to block them. Nope. They can surrender, or keep fighting, but retreat will not be an option this day. They choose to surrender and we turn them back over to the Governor.


Salvage:

Valkyrie H, LT, RA, LL, RL
Marauder H, LL, RL
Centurion H, LL, RL, RT, LT, LA, RA
Clint, missing H, LA, RA, LT


Repair:

Spider LL
Catapult Actuator