Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

[Leraje]

Bring it!!!!

(I can still headbutt, right?)

That's why Black Knight has a small laser in the head.

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Keep firing, assholes!

Round 13:

Spoiler:

"You're not looking too good yourself, there, star guy." Paingod responds, tracking the Thor with the Blackjack's PPCs as it jumps south to stomp on one of the remaining Drillsons. Both PPC shots make contact with the 70-tonner's right side as it lands, one melting armor, the other burning through the joint connecting the right leg to the torso, severing it outright.

The allied Drillson gets immobilized by LBX autocannon rounds and LRMs from the enemy mech, but that can't keep the behemoth from toppling over.

Our Lucifer makes a pass on the mech as well, disabling its autocannon with the remaining lasers, although previous damage to our aerospace fighter causes it to lose a little more altitude than the aero jock planned. Luckily, it's not enough altitude to drop out of the sky completely, and the aero jock is able to regain control of the fighter before it crashes.

The Thor's heat readings spike as it hits the ground.

"Stravag! You inner sphere surats will pay for this insult!" is the last message the enemy mechwarrior broadcasts before bailing out.

"Right. Who's next?" Paingod asks, PPCs scanning the area where several squads of battle armor approach our disabled Drillson.

After their misguided rush meets death in the form of concentrated PPC fire and large laser blasts from the remaining Drillson, the battle armor troopers give it up and initiate a "strategic advance to the rear", although they remain in the area and prevent our salvage crews from recovering any of their equipment.

"Hey, anybody gonna pick me up? I like swimming and all, but my ejection seat is getting waterlogged and my belt is stuck." El Guapo calls out.

---

El Guapo and Isgrimnur stand in the Moonraker's hangar, looking at their respective mechs.

"Holy shit." El Guapo states, holding his stomach while leaning up against a crate full of gauss slugs. "That gauss rifle kicks pretty hard when it blows."

"You can turn your auto-ejection system off, you know." Isgrimnur states, rubbing his bandaged head. "The neurohelmet feedback hurts like hell, and half your mech is gone anyway, but at least you're still in the battle, instead of floating nearby."

El Guapo smirks, looking over at the wreck of Isgrimnur's Hatchetman, briefly considering a retort. The techs have wheeled the head in separately from a leg attached to a sliver of the right torso, from which a jump jet still throws sparks, along with an arm.

"Yeah. Sorry." He chuckles. "At least you won't have to worry about that stupid AA targeting subsystem shorting out all the time."

"True." Isgrimnur states. "I still don't understand why you stupid Lyrans went to the trouble of putting that system in. That's not really what the mech does."

At this point, Alpha Company is down to four effective mechs (although we'll need to sub somebody in for Guru to drive the Thug). Everything other than the Hatchetman and Wolverine can be repaired eventually, but not in time to make a difference here.

---

"Very well, Star Commander. From my bid of six battlemechs, five squads of battle armor and four aerospace fighters, I will remove three of the aerospace fighters." Bella states, waving away the three little ASF icons from the holotable with a casual swipe of her hand.

The man opposite her sneers. "Well bid, Star Commander. I cede the honor of this assault to you, and look forward to seeing your forces return on the back of a salvage truck."

"If they return at all." he mouths under his breaths.

Bella moves to say something, but is stopped short by a glare from the imposing individual observing the bidding process. "I remind you both that I have forbidden combat trials of any kind for the duration of this operation. Prove your worth on the battlefield, Star Commanders. The bidding is done, Star Commander Nilloba. I suggest you get your mechwarriors moving out." The Star Colonel's eyes narrow. "This continuous underbidding is detrimental to our cause. Fail here, and I will suspend formal bidding processes as well. And get your freebirth bondsman out of here!" he adds as an after thought.

Wolf follows Bella to the hangar, where she gets situated in her Mad Cat. "Going to finish off my friends, eh?"

"That is the plan, bondsman." Comes the reply as Bella climbs up the chainlink ladder. "I will do my best to ensure they, and their hardware, survive. They have put up a good fight." She waves over a two meter tall mound of muscle working on maintenance nearby on a suit of battle armor. "Warrior Luis! Escort the bondsman to the comms center, so that she may monitor the battle."

Wolf briefly considers whether it's worth it to try to somehow ditch the Elemental in the comms center and get word to Beta Company that, well, company's coming. They're likely to see it anyway, but having more warning may buy our guys time to set up extra defenses. On the other hand, the prospect of getting punched in the head what looks like a hundred and fifty kilos of muscle is somewhat daunting.

(subject to owner override)
[] Sure. Hey, look out, there's a gunfore on your shoulder!
[] Maybe not. That's... a lot of muscle. How much can you lift, bro?

---

It's Beta Company's turn. Beta-Fire lance (2x Archer, Stalker, Crusader) and the other surviving units of Beta Company (Zenn7/Awesome, Leraje/Black Knight, and a Grasshopper) are tasked with holding the line at a compound that's about to come under attack by a six-pack of clan mechs, including three assaults. A lone aerospace fighter is on sensors.

We *may* have time to get our mechanized infantry support to the area, then either have them plant mines or set up in the compound. On the one hand, the battlefield is pretty wide open, so minefields may not be too effective until the bad guys get into the compound, but, on the other hand, the infantry is probably going to get massacred if they actually participate in the fight. Even though our infantry is equipped with about as good as it gets for armor, and have field guns for fighting mechs.
[] minefields
[] infantry

Some Lyran units are present at the compound - given the nature of the battlefield, minefields aren't that useful, but everything else is fair game (24 points' worth):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Naval craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[] Medium armor: 4 - medium firepower, medium armor, medium speed (e.g. Vedette)
[] Heavy armor: 5 - good firepower, good armor, slow speed (e.g. Manticore)
[] Assault armor: 7 - extreme firepower, extreme armor, basically stationary (e.g. Demolisher)
[] Jump Infantry: 2 - high mobility, limited firepower, swarm capability
[] Mechanized Infantry: 2 - medium mobility, crapshoot firepower (maybe field guns)
[] Air support - 3 points (spare Shilone, our last one)

[Leraje]

[x] minefields
[] infantry

Some Lyran units are present at the compound - given the nature of the battlefield, minefields aren't that useful, but everything else is fair game (24 points' worth):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Naval craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[] Medium armor: 4 - medium firepower, medium armor, medium speed (e.g. Vedette)
[] Heavy armor: 5 - good firepower, good armor, slow speed (e.g. Manticore)
[xxx] Assault armor: 7 - extreme firepower, extreme armor, basically stationary (e.g. Demolisher)
[] Jump Infantry: 2 - high mobility, limited firepower, swarm capability
[] Mechanized Infantry: 2 - medium mobility, crapshoot firepower (maybe field guns)
[x] Air support - 3 points (spare Shilone, our last one)

We'll need every ounce of armour and firepower we can get. If we do not need to preserve the compound intact hide behind the buildings till clanners get in our range.

[Zenn7]

[x] minefields
[] infantry

Some Lyran units are present at the compound - given the nature of the battlefield, minefields aren't that useful, but everything else is fair game (24 points' worth):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Naval craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[] Medium armor: 4 - medium firepower, medium armor, medium speed (e.g. Vedette)
[] Heavy armor: 5 - good firepower, good armor, slow speed (e.g. Manticore)
[xxx] Assault armor: 7 - extreme firepower, extreme armor, basically stationary (e.g. Demolisher)
[] Jump Infantry: 2 - high mobility, limited firepower, swarm capability
[] Mechanized Infantry: 2 - medium mobility, crapshoot firepower (maybe field guns)
[x] Air support - 3 points (spare Shilone, our last one)

We'll need every ounce of armour and firepower we can get. If we do not need to preserve the compound intact hide behind the buildings till clanners get in our range.

Makes sense on the Assault armor, but the minefields are highly likely to be useless.
I could go either way on the infantry/minefield.

[Leraje]

Makes sense on the Assault armor, but the minefields are highly likely to be useless.
I could go either way on the infantry/minefield.

I went with minefields because the PBIs are about as useless and generate death pay-outs.

[Zenn7]

Makes sense on the Assault armor, but the minefields are highly likely to be useless.
I could go either way on the infantry/minefield.

I went with minefields because the PBIs are about as useless and generate death pay-outs.

Good point, more economical useless option.

[gbasden]

Makes sense on the Assault armor, but the minefields are highly likely to be useless.
I could go either way on the infantry/minefield.

I went with minefields because the PBIs are about as useless and generate death pay-outs.

Good point, more economical useless option.

Does make sense not to just kill off our people for nothing.

[$iljanus]

[x] minefields
[] infantry

Some Lyran units are present at the compound - given the nature of the battlefield, minefields aren't that useful, but everything else is fair game (24 points' worth):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Naval craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[] Medium armor: 4 - medium firepower, medium armor, medium speed (e.g. Vedette)
[] Heavy armor: 5 - good firepower, good armor, slow speed (e.g. Manticore)
[xxx] Assault armor: 7 - extreme firepower, extreme armor, basically stationary (e.g. Demolisher)
[] Jump Infantry: 2 - high mobility, limited firepower, swarm capability
[] Mechanized Infantry: 2 - medium mobility, crapshoot firepower (maybe field guns)
[x] Air support - 3 points (spare Shilone, our last one)

We'll need every ounce of armour and firepower we can get. If we do not need to preserve the compound intact hide behind the buildings till clanners get in our range.

Works for me!

[El Guapo]

[x] minefields
[] infantry

Some Lyran units are present at the compound - given the nature of the battlefield, minefields aren't that useful, but everything else is fair game (24 points' worth):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Naval craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[] Medium armor: 4 - medium firepower, medium armor, medium speed (e.g. Vedette)
[] Heavy armor: 5 - good firepower, good armor, slow speed (e.g. Manticore)
[xxx] Assault armor: 7 - extreme firepower, extreme armor, basically stationary (e.g. Demolisher)
[] Jump Infantry: 2 - high mobility, limited firepower, swarm capability
[] Mechanized Infantry: 2 - medium mobility, crapshoot firepower (maybe field guns)
[x] Air support - 3 points (spare Shilone, our last one)

We'll need every ounce of armour and firepower we can get. If we do not need to preserve the compound intact hide behind the buildings till clanners get in our range.

Works for me!

Sounds good. And good job, everyone.

Do I need to pick a new temp mech, are we short on hardware or something such that I'm out of things for the time being?

[El Guapo]

(subject to owner override)
[] Sure. Hey, look out, there's a gunfore on your shoulder!
[] Maybe not. That's... a lot of muscle. How much can you lift, bro?

Who is "Wolf"? I'm inclined to leave this as an "owner" decision, since he's the one bearing the 'downside' of this decision.

[Captainwolfer]

(subject to owner override)
[] Sure. Hey, look out, there's a gunfore on your shoulder!
[] Maybe not. That's... a lot of muscle. How much can you lift, bro?

Who is "Wolf"? I'm inclined to leave this as an "owner" decision, since he's the one bearing the 'downside' of this decision.

I'm Wolf. I decided not to go for it, since the chance of getting a signal out would be low (unfamiliarity with their comm system, likely that there is more people in the comms center, etc) and they would definitely find out that I sent a signal since they could just look at comm logs

[$iljanus]

(subject to owner override)
[] Sure. Hey, look out, there's a gunfore on your shoulder!
[] Maybe not. That's... a lot of muscle. How much can you lift, bro?

Who is "Wolf"? I'm inclined to leave this as an "owner" decision, since he's the one bearing the 'downside' of this decision.

I'm Wolf. I decided not to go for it, since the chance of getting a signal out would be low (unfamiliarity with their comm system, likely that there is more people in the comms center, etc) and they would definitely find out that I sent a signal since they could just look at comm logs

You could always try the “Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom.” excuse you see on TV or the movies. It works part of the time. And perhaps wearing a wig like Sydney in Alias will also help. I like your chances already!

[AWS260]

I'm Wolf. I decided not to go for it, since the chance of getting a signal out would be low (unfamiliarity with their comm system, likely that there is more people in the comms center, etc) and they would definitely find out that I sent a signal since they could just look at comm logs

You could always try the “Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom.” excuse you see on TV or the movies. It works part of the time. And perhaps wearing a wig like Sydney in Alias will also help. I like your chances already!

Or don't go for it, but wear the wig anyway!

[El Guapo]

I'm Wolf. I decided not to go for it, since the chance of getting a signal out would be low (unfamiliarity with their comm system, likely that there is more people in the comms center, etc) and they would definitely find out that I sent a signal since they could just look at comm logs

You could always try the “Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom.” excuse you see on TV or the movies. It works part of the time. And perhaps wearing a wig like Sydney in Alias will also help. I like your chances already!

Or don't go for it, but wear the wig anyway!

Does Wolf look like Sydney in Alias? That would also help.

[$iljanus]

I'm Wolf. I decided not to go for it, since the chance of getting a signal out would be low (unfamiliarity with their comm system, likely that there is more people in the comms center, etc) and they would definitely find out that I sent a signal since they could just look at comm logs

You could always try the “Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom.” excuse you see on TV or the movies. It works part of the time. And perhaps wearing a wig like Sydney in Alias will also help. I like your chances already!

Or don't go for it, but wear the wig anyway!

Does Wolf look like Sydney in Alias? That would also help.

The wig should be enough. Well, and maybe a skintight dress. And heels.

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Better not

Minefields + 3x assault armor + air support

"You guys are fraggin' huge." Wolf comments. "How much can you bench press?"

"Five hundred kilograms." The elemental answers, maintaining a brisk pace through the dropship, forcing our mechwarrior more or less to jog to kee up.

Our mechwarrior's eyes go wide. "No way. What the hell do they feed you?"

"High protein diet. A lot of exercise. Superior genetic engineering. It is the clan way."

"Wait, wait, wait, genetic engineering?"

"Yes. Our goal is to produce superior warriors. I am better at fighting in battle armor and on foot. The mechwarriors are better at sitting in a cockpit and letting the machines do the work. The aerospace pilots... well, I can crush one between my thumb and index finger." The elemental ducks through a particularly small hatch. "These dropships are too small."

"How does that work, exactly? The genetic engineering part."

"You will find out, bondsman. Maybe someday you will prove yourself worth by destroying your rivals and earning a bloodname. Then, your genetic traits will be added to the pool."

"You know, I can get laid and perpetuate my genes without having to kill people." Wolf says with a smirk.

"Yes, that is what an ignorant freebirth would say." The elemental responds with a condescending smile. "We are here. Observe, do not interfere." he rubs his thumb and index finger together.

---

Beta Company's air support easily dispenses with the lone Clan light fighter loitering overhead, our Shilone driving it off after administering a couple of LRM salvos and several laser blasts directly to the hostile fighter's wings and engine.

The discussion between infantry and minefields turns out to be moot, as our infantry is unable to arrive before the clanners do. On the plus side, the facility's defensive force is pretty impressive. First, we've got an Ontos heavy tank. The turret on this thing packs a whopping eight medium lasers, in addition to ten LRM tubes. The Devastator and Demolisher both have twin AC/20s mounted in their turrets, so they're pretty nasty up close.

Per Leraje's recommendation, we intend to camp out in the facility behind the buildings and walls until the clanners get up close. And maybe lob some LRMs over the walls as the opportunity arises to encourage them to do so.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

"Stay in cover." Leraje reminds everyone.

One of our Archers pokes out a little bit and eats a large laser to the right torso for its trouble. Armor holds up, but that's not something we need right now.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

This time, our Stalker takes an extended-range laser hit to its left weapons pod.

"Goddammit, stay in cover!" Leraje calls out.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

The Man O' War (weird designation, but that's what our computers come up with) moves up, intending to loop around the north of the installation. It targets one of our Archers, blasting chunks out of the center torso armor. We return fire with LRMs, most lobbed over the walls at an oblique angle. Our salvo is pretty effective, although the impacts are more spread out. Both mechs rock, but remain upright, armor intact.

Round 4:

Spoiler:

"Hi."

Zenn7 blasts the Man O' War (a tall, humanoid, 80-tonner with a big "head" and twin arms each full of guns) with all three of the Awesome's PPCs while dialing in targeting data for indirect-fire LRMs. It doesn't prevent the hostile from zapping our Archer pretty good, blasting through the center torso and causing severe engine damage, as well as dinging the gyro. Our mech returns fire with its two large lasers, causing an armor breach on the enemy mech's left torso, which is further widened by LRMs from our Stalker and Crusader. The Archer's gyro lets it down and our mech falls over, cracking one of its large lasers. A moot point, as it's no longer combat effective anyway. The Man O' War has to take a knee as well, though.

Our aerospace fighter flies overhead, attracting some PPC and ultra autocannon fire from the heavier mechs in the back of the clan formation, but gets in a good hit on the Vulture, wrecking its right arm PPC. Combined with fire from our Grasshopper, which works on the enemy mech's armor with its lasers, the Vulture drops to the ground, though not before unloading a good number of SRMs into our 70-tonner.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

Zenn7 moves north a little bit, continuing to engage the Man O' War. Our Awesome's PPCs hit the enemy mech's right side, melting through the armor on the arm and disabling both PPCs there. The enemy mech replies with its weapons, but fails to breach armor.

The battle armor hops off the Man O' War and engages our Demolisher tank, which replies with its twin AC/20, blasting one trooper away entirely.

Our Archer gets up, but then the mech immediately shuts down as its cooling system is overwhelmed by the severe engine shielding damage.

To the south, the allied Devastator tries to get the drop on the downed Vulture, but exposes itself to long-range fire (not to mention the Vulture's SRM salvo) and is immobilized after multiple armor breaches.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

Zenn7 and our Stalker have to let the Man O' War go, but get a chance to engage some battle armor troopers which open fire on the Stalker with their flamers and anti-personnel weapons, inflicting some minor damage. One of Zenn7's PPCs evaporates a trooper, while the Stalker's laser get another one. The remaining two pull back.

Our allied Demolisher blasts the Man O' War pretty good as it's not quite able to get away completely, the twin AC/20s working its left side over, blowing the arm off, alongside a good chunk of the engine shielding. The enemy mech remains upright, but it's obvious it's had enough.

To the south, our Grasshopper and Crusader continue working on the Vulture, the enemy mech losing its damaged right arm entirely.

Leraje and our other Archer engage some of the units coming around the south side - Leraje's mech loses a bunch of armor to weapons fire from one of the Mad Cats, the lurching throwing our mechwarrior's aim off so he only scores one hit, then dropping him to the ground.

The Archer and Ontos work on a battle armor squad trying to make its approach. After four of the troopers get dropped by LRMs and lasers, the remaining guy decides to pull back.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

Our engine-damaged Archer starts the mech back up, continuing its brave attempts to get up, made easier by the fact that the Man O' War and its attendant battle armor have pulled back.

Our Crusader and Grasshopper continues battling the Vulture, the Crusader's lasers disabling the enemy mech's LBX autocannon - leaving just the very many SRM tubes, which pepper our mech with warheads, scoring a pair of hits on the head. This gives our Grasshopper the opportunity to breach the 60-tonner's right torso, damaging an SRM launcher and the engine shielding. Our Crusader then flops to the ground as an LRM salvo comes flying overhead from a Mad Cat, wrecking our mech's gyro. The impact with the ground (combined with multiple SRM impacts) knocks our mechwarrior out. A kick from the Grasshopper causes the Vulture to stumble, but remain upright, an actuator visibly flopping out from the damaged right leg.

Leraje and his Archer buddy engage a Mad Cat, coming out behind as Leraje's armor takes significant damage while the enemy mech does not.

Round 8:

Spoiler:

LRM fire brings a Mad Cat to the ground, though not before it's able to blow up the allied Ontos.

Round 9:

Spoiler:

Leraje comes back around the corner, opening fire on the Mad Cat as it's distracted by our Shilone making another pass. This time, the Black Knight's lasers mostly strike true, flaying a large amount of armor from the familiar-looking 75-tonner. Our Grasshopper adds its firepower, as do the Archer and Stalker (indirectly). The Shilone takes a hit to one of its lasers, but takes advantage of our mechs working the Mad Cat over to deliver major damage to its right torso, blowing the right arm off and forcing the mech to a knee.

Round 10:

Spoiler:

"Hang back, let him come to us." Leraje "suggests" to the ad hoc three-mech lance that's formed around his Black Knight. With Zenn7 and the Stalker pinned on the other side of the complex, our main chance to finish this off is to bait the remaining Mad Cat into coming at us.

Unfortunately, while we're organizing, the Mad Cat charges us and blasts a bunch of armor off the Archer, popping a shoulder actuator. Our mechwarrior panicks and lets loose with an alpha strike, firing all the Archer's weapons as he tries to keep the mech upright and mostly succeeds. The LRMs go wide, while most of the lasers hit. The Grasshopper jumps in nearby and helps out, blasting chunks off the Mad Cat's left side. More importantly, our mech is able to deliver a devastating kick to the left leg, forcing the Mad Cat to the ground as its left hip visibly cracks.

Our Archer's operator reaches for the shutdown override button, but the mech is having none of it and powers down.

Our Shilone makes a pass on a battle armor squad, killing one trooper with an LRM salvo, but the Daishi to the west has our aerospace fighter's number and drills it with multiple extended-range lasers.

"Sorry guys, gotta bug out." our air support informs us. "My fighter's done."

Round 11:

Spoiler:

The Mad Cat takes advantage of the Archer's shut down to target the disabled mech's right torso and blow its LRM ammo bin, annihilating the mech. Leraje and our Grasshopper return fire, melting more armor from the 75-tonner and forcing it to the ground again.

Round 12:

Spoiler:

"All mobile units, begin pulling back. We don't need to kill them all, just bleed them." Zenn7 instructs as he moves southeast, firing three PPC shots at at the Gladiator that has crested one of the compound walls.

The Gladiator levels a monster-sized autocannon and lets rip at our Grasshopper, but misses, for which our mechwarrior is grateful as he targets the downed Mad Cat's left leg and fries another pair of actuators as it struggles to get up.

Round 13:

Spoiler:

Our Stalker pilots eyes go wide as the 100-ton Daishi rounds the corner. Even though our mech's got a Demolisher buddy, having a hundred tons of anything come charging around the corner is still intimidating (for the record, the Daishi has quad large lasers, quad medium pulse lasers, a pair of ultra autocannon/5s, and an LRM/10 rack just for kicks). The Stalker rocks as laser blast after laser blast removes chunks of armor, and an autocannon round strikes the left weapons pod, wrecking the "shoulder" actuator and a laser. The Demolisher and our Stalker return fire and score some good hits, but the 100-tonner's armor is pretty damn thick, and even a kick doesn't really do much to the leg.

The good part is that Zenn7, Leraje and our Grasshopper take out the Mad Cat - Zenn7's PPCs take off most of its right side, and then the Grasshopper spears it center of mass with lasers, causing the mech's engine to shut down. Leraje's fire goes slightly wide due to the Mad Cat's return fire, but the Black Knight remains upright.

At this point, Zenn7, Leraje and the Grasshopper are in a pretty good position to pull back. The trouble is, our Stalker and remaining Archer will be cut off, along with the Demolisher.

The clanners have "just" two mechs left (plus three squads of battle armor) - the 100-ton Daishi and the 95-ton Gladiator. Between those two, they can easily make hash of our remaining mechs, given the armor damage we've already taken.

[] Attempt to break out our Stalker, Archer and the allied Demolisher
[] Pull our mechs back

[Zenn7]

[x] Attempt to break out our Stalker, Archer and the allied Demolisher
[] Pull our mechs back

We aren't leaving our people behind to these freaks!

[Leraje]

What's the current damage status of all involved mechs?

[NickAragua]

What's the current damage status of all involved mechs?

Awesome - yellow armor
Grasshopper - yellow armor
Black Knight - red armor
Stalker - yellow armor, left "arm" armor breach
Archer - crippled (2x engine hit, 1x gyro hit, multiple armor breaches)
Demolisher - yellow armor
Daishi - green armor
Gladiator - green armor

[AWS260]

[] Attempt to break out our Stalker, Archer and the allied Demolisher
[x] Pull our mechs back

Two Clan assault mechs with barely a paint scratch? We will get absolutely wrecked if we stick around.

[Leraje]

Regrettably I have to voice the unpopular option of "advance to the rear" in order to minimize both manpower and financial losses:
- Due to the extreme damage, Archer is a write-off as its current state it is an easy prey for the elementals or any other of clan units that even look at it.
- Stalker has exposed ammo bins and the attention of Direwolf, which gives it about 1-2 turns to live.

It comes down to loss of a Stalker vs. almost guaranteed loss of 2x Heavies and highly probable loss of 1x Assault. If we focus fire and are REALLY lucky we may be able to take out one of the Clan mechs, however at this point we'll be losing 1-2 mechs per turn in return.

Best thing that can be done about the Archer is for pilot to overload the reactor and bail out in order to deny salvage.

[El Guapo]

Is there any way to rescue our people? Like is it possible to fire ejection seats 'aimed' at a distance away from the Clan units so that we can send a fighter or helicopter or something to retrieve them? Or possibly negotiate something with the Clan (we don't overload the mechs's reactors in exchange for them letting our pilots go)?

[NickAragua]

Is there any way to rescue our people? Like is it possible to fire ejection seats 'aimed' at a distance away from the Clan units so that we can send a fighter or helicopter or something to retrieve them? Or possibly negotiate something with the Clan (we don't overload the mechs's reactors in exchange for them letting our pilots go)?

Pretty hard to control where the ejection seat goes.

We *could* attempt to negotiate a cease-fire with the clan force, however.

[$iljanus]

Is there any way to rescue our people? Like is it possible to fire ejection seats 'aimed' at a distance away from the Clan units so that we can send a fighter or helicopter or something to retrieve them? Or possibly negotiate something with the Clan (we don't overload the mechs's reactors in exchange for them letting our pilots go)?

Pretty hard to control where the ejection seat goes.

We *could* attempt to negotiate a cease-fire with the clan force, however.

Unfortunately it would be suicidal to engage their mechs but we should try anything else we can do to spare our people a lifetime of listening to the Clans prattle on and on about their superiority.

[El Guapo]

Yeah, try to negotiate a cease-fire (that allows us to take our people out), threaten to detonate the mechs if not, and if everything fails then bug out.

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Rescue |||
Negotiate/pull back ||||

"This is Lieutenant Jafar to all opposing force units. We're both pretty beat up." Leraje calls out over the open frequency. "How about a cease-fire and the opportunity for the both of us to retrieve our casualties?"

Round 14:
[camera feed interrupted]
Our three mechs capable of doing so move east, Leraje and Zenn7 waiting for the Grasshopper to join them before leaving.

The Daishi continues targeting the Stalker, blasting its right leg with lasers and ultra autocannon bursts, the 85-tonner's limb giving out after a significant amount of damage and sending our mech to the ground.

However, the Daishi makes a tactical mistake, stepping on a bridge leading over a ditch. This allows our damaged Archer and downed Stalker to open up on said bridge, while Zenn7 distracts the 100-tonner with accurate PPC fire. It's a pretty sturdy bridge, but not sturdy enough to take a 100 tons combined with multiple laser blasts, and the Daishi teeters on the edge of the collapsing structure. A pair of autocannon blasts from the Demolisher send it toppling over and down, where it lands in a cloud of dust and rubble.

Leraje's right arm sparks and goes limp as a burst from the Gladiator's monster autocannon hits the limb, but the return fire from our Black Knight and Grasshopper prevents the enemy mech from sticking its landing, causing it to slip and fall on its back on top of a wide wall.

"So, how about that cease fire?" Our mechwarrior repeats, speaking from a slightly more advantageous position.

The comms are silent for a moment, then a crinkling sound preceds a response. "Aff. Take your weakling surats and flee."

The clanners stand back and let us retrieve our surviving mechwarriors and BattleMechs, their battle armor units keeping our salvage teams away from their downed Mad Cat.

Our Archer eventually makes it back under its own power, although the mech has to briefly shut down every five minutes. The Stalker gets a "walk assist" from the Grasshopper, limping home on one leg and dragging the other behind it by a couple of cables. Well, it could have gone worse anyway.

---

"Well, Star Commander, that was a solid stalemate." Wolf says with a smirk when the clan mechwarrior returns to the dropship, half her Mad Cat missing. "Well, you did take control of the outpost." our mechwarrior concedes. "But your Mad Cat is really beat up."

"My what?"

"Mad Cat. The mech." Wolf points.

"Oh. It is called a Timber Wolf. I will provide you with a recognition guide, you must study it to avoid looking like an ignorant freebirth." Star Commander Bella puts her hands on her hips. "And we only took as many casualties as we did because of your compatriots dishonorable tactics. Violating the rules of engagement by having multiple units target one is for crawlers and solamha infantry units, not mechwarriors. Not to mention, when I bid, I did not take into account the un-declared tanks and battlemechs that ambushed us."

Wolf chuckles. "Sure. But come on, half of war is information warfare. I bet if you'd sent in two lances... uh, stars, and a couple more aerospace fighters, you'd have taken no casualties. Honestly, you wouldn't even have had a fight. Lieutenant Jafar isn't stupid enough to take on a larger force with superior tech."

Bella nods. "Perhaps. You Inner Sphere freebirths never seem to be honest with what you are bringing to a fight. It is quite disconcerting, and we will have to adjust. We already do not bother with formal batchalls for individual combats."

Wolf looks upwards. "Speaking of adjusting, I still don't get why you people haven't used your warships to just bomb us into the ground?"

Bella chuckles. "Two reasons. First, we want to preserve fixed ground facilities on this world, and you Inner Sphere barbarians love fighting in them, rather than in the field. And second, the Star Colonel bid them away, except as transports. Until it is clear we cannot take this world without them, they will remain in orbit."

Wolf sighs and mutters something unintelligible, discouraged and probably less than polite.

---

Delta Company is up next, being tasked with preventing what looks like a small recon unit from penetrating our lines and causing havoc. The group itself is three 30-ton mechs, a 25-tonner and a 55-ton Ryoken, with four light aerospace fighters loitering overhead.

With Madmarcus sidelined due to multiple injuries, we opt to field-promote Freyland to Lieutenant, temporarily putting him in charge of Delta-Ranger lance and three other mechs:
[] Ostroc OSR-2M - 55 tons, two large lasers, mechwarrior resents Freyland for being promoted over her head
[] Phoenix Hawk - 45 tons, slightly modified standard Phoenix Hawk trading a little MG ammo for armor.
[] Griffin GRF-1S - 55 tons, laser-based brawler
[] Spider SDR-5V - 30 tons, super fast, two lasers, weak armor
[] Assassin ASN-21 - 40 tons, super fast, laser, SRM/2, LRM/5, weak armor
[] Firestarter FS9-H - 35 tons, slightly modified standard Firestarter, all weapons forward, MG ammo -> armor
[] Ostscout OTT-7J - 35 tons, super fast, single laser, better armor than spider, improved sensors

Some Lyran units are present in the area - we're limited here to what can keep up with Delta (24 points):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Water craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[] Air support - 6 points (three light fighters)

[Leraje]

Well, this worked out much better than expected. How long till the damaged units are operational once again?

[] Ostroc OSR-2M - 55 tons, two large lasers, mechwarrior resents Freyland for being promoted over her head
[x] Phoenix Hawk - 45 tons, slightly modified standard Phoenix Hawk trading a little MG ammo for armor.
[x] Griffin GRF-1S - 55 tons, laser-based brawler
[] Spider SDR-5V - 30 tons, super fast, two lasers, weak armor
[] Assassin ASN-21 - 40 tons, super fast, laser, SRM/2, LRM/5, weak armor
[x] Firestarter FS9-H - 35 tons, slightly modified standard Firestarter, all weapons forward, MG ammo -> armor
[] Ostscout OTT-7J - 35 tons, super fast, single laser, better armor than spider, improved sensors

Some Lyran units are present in the area - we're limited here to what can keep up with Delta (24 points):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[xx] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[xx] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Water craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[x] Air support - 6 points (three light fighters)

[NickAragua]

Well, this worked out much better than expected. How long till the damaged units are operational once again?

Awesome and Grasshopper should be repaired within the day (just armor damage), Black Knight, Stalker, Archer and Crusader are out for a while.

[$iljanus]

[x] Ostroc OSR-2M - 55 tons, two large lasers, mechwarrior resents Freyland for being promoted over her head
[x] Phoenix Hawk - 45 tons, slightly modified standard Phoenix Hawk trading a little MG ammo for armor.
[x] Griffin GRF-1S - 55 tons, laser-based brawler
[] Spider SDR-5V - 30 tons, super fast, two lasers, weak armor
[] Assassin ASN-21 - 40 tons, super fast, laser, SRM/2, LRM/5, weak armor
[] Firestarter FS9-H - 35 tons, slightly modified standard Firestarter, all weapons forward, MG ammo -> armor
[] Ostscout OTT-7J - 35 tons, super fast, single laser, better armor than spider, improved sensors

Some Lyran units are present in the area - we're limited here to what can keep up with Delta (24 points):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[xx] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[xx] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Water craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[x] Air support - 6 points (three light fighters)

And I vote that we keep calling it “Mad Cat” in every communication with the Clanners just to annoy them.

[El Guapo]

[x] Ostroc OSR-2M - 55 tons, two large lasers, mechwarrior resents Freyland for being promoted over her head
[x] Phoenix Hawk - 45 tons, slightly modified standard Phoenix Hawk trading a little MG ammo for armor.
[x] Griffin GRF-1S - 55 tons, laser-based brawler
[] Spider SDR-5V - 30 tons, super fast, two lasers, weak armor
[] Assassin ASN-21 - 40 tons, super fast, laser, SRM/2, LRM/5, weak armor
[] Firestarter FS9-H - 35 tons, slightly modified standard Firestarter, all weapons forward, MG ammo -> armor
[] Ostscout OTT-7J - 35 tons, super fast, single laser, better armor than spider, improved sensors

Some Lyran units are present in the area - we're limited here to what can keep up with Delta (24 points):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[xx] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[xx] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Water craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[x] Air support - 6 points (three light fighters)

And I vote that we keep calling it “Mad Cat” in every communication with the Clanners just to annoy them.

This looks good to me.

[Zenn7]

[x] Ostroc OSR-2M - 55 tons, two large lasers, mechwarrior resents Freyland for being promoted over her head
[x] Phoenix Hawk - 45 tons, slightly modified standard Phoenix Hawk trading a little MG ammo for armor.
[x] Griffin GRF-1S - 55 tons, laser-based brawler
[] Spider SDR-5V - 30 tons, super fast, two lasers, weak armor
[] Assassin ASN-21 - 40 tons, super fast, laser, SRM/2, LRM/5, weak armor
[] Firestarter FS9-H - 35 tons, slightly modified standard Firestarter, all weapons forward, MG ammo -> armor
[] Ostscout OTT-7J - 35 tons, super fast, single laser, better armor than spider, improved sensors

Some Lyran units are present in the area - we're limited here to what can keep up with Delta (24 points):
[] VTOL: 5 - crap firepower, weak armor, super fast (e.g. Warrior VTOL)
[xx] Light Hovercraft: 4 - good firepower, weak armor, fast (e.g. Pegasus hovertank)
[xx] Medium hovercraft: 5 - good firepower, medium armor, fast (e.g. Drillson hovertank)
[] Water craft: 3 - crapshoot firepower, sinks easily, can't go on land obviously, disposable (patrol boat or corvette)
[] Light armor: 4 - light firepower, light armor, fast (e.g. Skulker scout tank)
[x] Air support - 6 points (three light fighters)

And I vote that we keep calling it “Mad Cat” in every communication with the Clanners just to annoy them.

This looks good to me.

I gotta go with this. The Firestarter's not going to overheat light clan mechs with it's flamers (assuming it managed to get into range to use them).

We would keep calling it Mad Cat - only Wolf knows the difference, and she's not around to advise of our ignorance.

And wth??? They think we only had a 4 mech lance in the last fight? They thought it was a "fair and honorable" fight to bring 5 heavy/assault mechs, an ASF and a few points of their battle armor against 4 inferior mechs???

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Ostroc, Phoenix Hawk, Firestarter |
Ostroc, Phoenix Hawk, Griffin 1S |||

2x light hovercraft
2x medium hovercraft
air support

Round 1:

Spoiler:

"Dive, dive, dive! Go evasive, get up close, then pull up!"

"Shit, I'm hit, bail.... kzzzht."

Round 2:

Spoiler:

"Got you, you little son of a bitch."

"Watch out, lead, you've got company on your three."

"Lead here, controls aren't responding. Bailing out. Three, abort mission and return to base."

Round 3:

Spoiler:

"Must go faster, must go faster, must go faster... "

"Target lock warning. Armor breach detected, aft. Armor breach detected, left wing. Fuel tank damage detected. Hostile narc beacon detected, aft. Control surface damage detected. Ejection recommended. Ejection system malfunction, obstruction detected. Manual override engaged."

----

Delta's remaining aerospace fighters engage four light clan aerospace fighters, with less than stellar results (to put it mildly). The Falcons take some minor damage, while all three of our light fighters are shot down (and, in one fighter's case, explode in mid-air as its SRM stores light up). One of the aero jocks buys the farm entirely, while the other two are eventually found by our Search & Rescue teams.

So, in addition to having to deal with a bunch of clan mechs, Delta-Ranger is going to have to deal with four light aerospace fighters. Granted, based on the data our fighters sent back before being blown away, we're mostly looking at medium lasers, but there's at least one clan-model PPC in there.

As before, the clan mechs are a 25-tonner, a trio of 30-tonners and a 55-tonner. Sensors show two squads of battle armor hitching a ride as well. Our mechs are all 55 tonners (with the exception of the 45-ton Phoenix Hawk and 60-ton Ostroc). Our hovercraft pals are a pair of Drillsons, a Saracen (LRM/10 launcher and 3x SRM/2 launchers) and a Scimitar (AC/5, 2x SRM/2 launchers). So, we've got the mass advantage, if nothing else, but the incoming aerospace fighters are definitely going to make things harder.

Our original plan was to briefly engage the hostile force for two to three minutes before pulling back, just long enough so that they won't be able to get to the back of Gamma Company's formation, but Freyland is no longer confident that our units can do that.

So, how do we handle this:
[] Engage anyway
[] Pull back, alert Gamma

[Leraje]

What's the situation with Gamma as far as AA goes? Also would it be possible for the current unit to link with Gamma in time for the engagement?

[NickAragua]

What's the situation with Gamma as far as AA goes? Also would it be possible for the current unit to link with Gamma in time for the engagement?

Two medium aerospace fighters (Eagle, Lucifer) will do their best to engage any incoming Clan fighters, plus we'll be able to get some of our Long Toms into the area and turn their barrels skyward to engage with AA flak.

[Zenn7]

Our mission here is not to defeat these guys, just delay them?

If so, letting them to get to Gamma and us linking up with Gamma sounds like a net win for them. They are likely getting more support to their side than we are bringing to ours.

Or am I missing something?

[NickAragua]

Our mission here is not to defeat these guys, just delay them?

If so, letting them to get to Gamma and us linking up with Gamma sounds like a net win for them. They are likely getting more support to their side than we are bringing to ours.

Or am I missing something?

At this point, there's not going to be an opportunity for the clanners to flank Gamma anyway, so it's basically a tradeoff between having two smaller fights or one larger fight. Here, we're at a disadvantage in terms of air support - Gamma has some air support and anti-air capability available so we'll likely be better able to swat hostile aircraft, but a larger battle features more chaos and opportunity for our guys to get blown to bits.

[$iljanus]

I’m tempted to still fight a delaying action if it gives Gamma an advantage but be as careful as possible with our forces unless some good opportunities present itself.

[Leraje]

Leaning more towards a larger engagement with a proper AA.

[Zenn7]

Sounds like if we stay with the current plan, this lance is toast, Gamma will be a more controlled fight that we have a better chance of not getting destroyed (not necessarily a better chance of winning, just limiting the damage we take to win or lose).

If we join Gamma - this lance has a dramatically increased chance of success, Gamma's chance of success will not be significantly impacted, but there's a very good chance the cost (either victory or defeat) will be significantly higher.

Merge them and pray for the repair/replacement bill isn't too bad (and more importantly, our people live to fight another day - on our side, not as clan bondsmen).

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Fight it out |
Pull back to Gamma Company's position ||

"Disengage and move to nav Gamma." Freyland tells his reinforced lance.

"Where we'll run away, again." the Ostroc pilot mutters with comms off.

---

Gamma Company's remaining fighters, a Lucifer and an Eagle engage the Clan aerospace fighters closing in on Gamma's ground position, the fight happening in low orbit. In addition to the fighters that took out Delta's air support, another 40-tonner joins the party.

Our fighters are armored armed to the gills, but there's only two of them and they're a lot slower, so the clanners are likely to be able to get the drop on us, and they still have a weapons range advantage.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

"Target lock... Gamma-Two, fox... uh, fifteen."

"Fox what?"

"Never mind, I missed anyway."

Round 2:

Spoiler:

"Shit, he's on my tail, taking damage!"

"Get your head in the game, Two. Targeting Vandal, got him pretty good."

Round 3:

Spoiler:

"Major engine damage, going evasive!"

"I got you, Two. Eat plasma, asshole!"

Round 4:

Spoiler:

"Just me and you now, little fella. Should have come around for another pass instead, now I'm on your tail."

Round 9:

Spoiler:

"Back for more, huh? Come get some!"

"Internal damage detected, heat sink disabled. Internal damage detected, heat sink disabled."

Round 10:

Spoiler:

"Good job covering your buddy, I got something for you too."

Round 11:

Spoiler:

"Right wing damage detected, particle projection cannon disabled."

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about overheating any more."

Round 12:

Spoiler:

"Right wing, armor low. Medium laser disabled. Hostile NARC pod attached, nose. Avionics system damage detected."

Round 19:

Spoiler:

"Coming back again, huh? Try and hit me."

Round 20:

Spoiler:

"Avionics system damage detected."

"I had to ask, didn't I."

Round 21:

Spoiler:

"Hah! Butt laser!"

Round 22:

Spoiler:

"Oh, shit, you're back too?"

"Left wing damaged. Medium laser disabled. Medium laser disabled."

Round 23:

Spoiler:

"Nose damage detected. Medium laser disabled. Particle projection.... "

"You know what, that's enough of that. I know I've got no guns left. Except my butt laser! Hey, come back here! Just because I can only shoot out my ass and can't control my fighter doesn't mean I can't kick your ass!"

---

Gamma Company's aerospace fighters have reduced the number of combat-effective clan fighters to two, and sensors show that those two won't actually make it back into atmo and to the fight until almost five minutes into it. By that time, it'll be all over but the screaming. Luckily for our Eagle pilot, the remaining clan fighters opt to zip off to reinforce their ground forces rather than stick around - this allows our Lucifer to come back, pull alongside and give our crippled aerospace a tow to a stable orbit, where our pilot bypasses the avionics system using a diagnostic pad and some paper clips, then guides the aerospace fighter to a "landing" at our staging area.

The Lucifer is actually going to be quickly repairable, but the Eagle is very beat up and will be in the shop for multiple days, if not weeks.

Gamma-Probe lance is currently holding a firebase, or at least they were until they got run off by five clan mechs. With Freyland's Delta-Ranger arriving shortly, we'll outnumber and outmass the clanners. With three Long Tom pieces coming in, we should be able to blast the firebase to bits to deny it to the clanners. The trick will be protecting the artillery from the clan mechs. At least we're making our approach from behind some wooded hills, so we'll be able to neutralize the enemy range advantage somewhat.

The force that ran Gamma-Probe off is a 40-ton Dragonfly, two 50-ton Black Hawks, a 55-ton Ryoken, a 60-ton Vulture. Plus, the guys that Delta-Ranger didn't fight (25, 3x30, 1x55 Ryoken), and five suits of battle armor.

Which mechs are escorting our artillery? (pick 2)
[] Angel's Flashman - nice, big 75 tonner with an all-laser loadout
[] Griffin GRF-1N - classic 55 tonner
[] Javelin JVN-10N - 30-tonner, fast, light armor, 2x SRM/6
[] Raven RVN-1X - 35-tonner, ECM and active probe capability
[] Hunchback HBK-4G - slow 50-tonner with AC/20, elite gunner

Akalon also considers our overall approach - we can simply focus on taking down the buildings quickly then escape, or attempt to re-capture the strongpoint. The latter will let us hold this area down a little longer, while the former probably minimizes our losses in the short term.

[] Recapture the strongpoint
[] Blow it to bits