Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

[Zenn7]

We know some of the Wolf Dragoons don't we? Some who are far enough up the command chain we could maybe ask to speak to them and find out which side they are on (maybe indicating where we want to be assuming we had a good relationship with that contact)?

Unless we have some reason to think we can get a 400XL engine, simple upgrade for the ASF.

[NickAragua]

We know some of the Wolf Dragoons don't we? Some who are far enough up the command chain we could maybe ask to speak to them and find out which side they are on (maybe indicating where we want to be assuming we had a good relationship with that contact)?

We do have several contacts, and, in fact, we maintain an office in the planetary capital, but have been unable to reach anyone down there.

[$iljanus]

Oh I don’t mind going for the F700a upgrade path. I like intimidating firepower.

[Zenn7]

We know some of the Wolf Dragoons don't we? Some who are far enough up the command chain we could maybe ask to speak to them and find out which side they are on (maybe indicating where we want to be assuming we had a good relationship with that contact)?

We do have several contacts, and, in fact, we maintain an office in the planetary capital, but have been unable to reach anyone down there.

If someone killed our desk flunky, we're going to be very put out!

Actually, this is a contract that sounds like we could use all our firepower. To bad we only have a company on hand.

We know the Wolf's Dragoons are clanners. We know the clans have 2 sides, those who want to reclaim the inner sphere from us worthless lowlifes and those who want to stay back/guard us or something. The Dragoons were in the latter camp. Sounds like maybe there some disagreement in the ranks here.

The ones who view mercs as lowlife would likely not offer us much. They don't want us to get their good tech and don't think much of us. The Dragoons we want to win would not have such problems and likely be willing to share with valued allies (we found on the Drac homeworld with them and did a respectable job, they should consider us valuable/competent allies).

Based on that guesswork, I think Alpin's side is the one we want.

OOC Note: I've read the most of the novels and some of the game books, long ago, including some history about the Wolf's Dragoons and their Civil War. Don't remember if either of these names come up or if there was any offers like this somehow. Hoping I'm only drawing on game knowledge our company would know and not blurring it with knowledge from that. If I am, let me know and I'll edit accordingly.

[AWS260]

We could call them both and try to suss out what's going on. Unless the company's telecoms are a single pay phone and we only have one quarter left?

[Isgrimnur]

[Zenn7]

In fairness, when Comstar reaches out and "touches" someone, they touch a smidge harder than say AT&T or Verizon.

[Leraje]

In fairness, when Comstar reaches out and "touches" someone, they touch a smidge harder than say AT&T or Verizon.

And it should be "My brother in Blake"

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Simple refit ||
Firepower refit ||||

Call Maeve ||||
Call Alpin |
Sit it out ||

"So - you've decided to get involved." Maeve's message states. "Very well. Attaching landing coordinates and designated approach route. Try not to deviate, the orbital guys are a little jumpy. And so are the ones on the other side."

Our Overlord's captain snorts. "Unless they've got a warship, I'd love to see them try."

We initiate in-bound burn - other than some angry messages from "capital traffic control", nothing challenges us.

"Huh. They do have a warship." the Overlord's captain comments as we're about to finish deceleration burn and start descent.

Thankfully, the naval guys just send us a terse message warning that they're monitoring all air traffic and to keep our aircraft and dropships on defensive deployments only. Otherwise... their naval autocannons and lasers will probably have something to say about it.

Once we touch down, Zenn7, Leraje, El Guapo and Freyland attend a quick briefing - it seems that a faction of the dragoons believes that Alpin Wolf should be Jamie Wolf's successor, rather than whoever it currently is. And so, long story short, fighting broke out in the capital. With most of the Dragoons' regiments off world on contracts, this left Beta and Gamma regiments on-world, along with swarms of mercenaries that quickly chose sides one way or the other. The forces loyal to Jamie Wolf (including Maeve) quickly retreated from Harlech and crossed the mountains, on the other side of which they are currently being chased down by superior numbers of Alpin loyalists (or do we call them rebels?)

"Welcome back to Outreach." Maeve tells the command staff. "I understand you've done some good work with us so far, and while I still think you shouldn't have gotten involved, I can't deny your reputation."

She points to a segment of the mountains separating Harlech from where the bulk of the Jamie Wolf loyalist forces are. "I want to deploy your mechs and any other assets you want to bring in, over here. I've got reports of elements of Beta Regiment moving through the passes here, backed up by large numbers of disposable chaff."

"Can't we just firebomb the passes or something?" El Guapo asks reflexively.

"With aerospace assets?" Maeve returns with a question, looking up at the ceiling.

"Right. Warship. Never mind." El Guapo responds.

"What about artillery?" Leraje suggests.

"If you've got it, bring it. But you'll still need observers to spot for the artillery." Maeve answers, then shrugs. "It's your call. But I need those passes held, otherwise we're going to get swarmed."

---

All right guys - time for another GM-ed scenario. This will be a breakthrough prevention against a variety of bad guys - tanks, hovercraft, VTOLs, mechs, probably even battle armor - if it exists, it'll be there. You'll be bringing your mechs, some tanks and possibly infantry/battle armor for backup.

Who's in?

[El Guapo]

I'm in.

Also, can we firebomb the passes using combat blimps?

[Leraje]

I'm game.

[El Guapo]

I'm game.

Glad that you are on board with our use of the combat blimps.

[Leraje]

I'm game.

Glad that you are on board with our use of the combat blimps.

Combat blimp = self-guided FAB = Cruise missile = artillery

[$iljanus]

I was kinda curious about taking on the vaunted Wolf’s Dragoons. Also we can probably score some nice salvage from what’s left from their flaming mechs so me and my vintage mech are in!

[El Guapo]

I was kinda curious about taking on the vaunted Wolf’s Dragoons. Also we can probably score some nice salvage from what’s left from their flaming mechs so me and my vintage mech are in!

To be fair we are also fighting alongside the vaunted Wolf's Dragoons.

[TheMix]

I'm in. I think I'm ranged now, so hopefully that will work better than my previous attempt. Though I guess I did serve as bait last time.

[Captainwolfer]

Do we have any special munitions for our artillery? FASCAM Arrows IV would be idea in a situation like this

[$iljanus]

I was kinda curious about taking on the vaunted Wolf’s Dragoons. Also we can probably score some nice salvage from what’s left from their flaming mechs so me and my vintage mech are in!

To be fair we are also fighting alongside the vaunted Wolf's Dragoons.

Okay, I'll rephrase and say I was kinda curious about taking on the vaunted New Coke Wolf's Dragoons

[Isgrimnur]

In

[NickAragua]

Do we have any special munitions for our artillery? FASCAM Arrows IV would be idea in a situation like this

We haven't had a chance to stock up on thunder/FASCAM munitions (in fact, that stuff was on our shopping list for when we got back here), but we will get the chance to place concealed minefields.

[El Guapo]

I was kinda curious about taking on the vaunted Wolf’s Dragoons. Also we can probably score some nice salvage from what’s left from their flaming mechs so me and my vintage mech are in!

To be fair we are also fighting alongside the vaunted Wolf's Dragoons.

Okay, I'll rephrase and say I was kinda curious about taking on the vaunted New Coke Wolf's Dragoons

I will also say that role-playing in character I'd probably want to stay out of this because it's too messy, but as a player I think this should be pretty fun and entertaining.

[Zenn7]

I guessed wrong. I wanted to be on the side we ended up on (I think).
Jaime Wolf was good to us, I think we should support his chosen successor.

Unfortunately, I'm not reliable/timely enough to participate in these GM'd matches. I'd end up holding you up. Enjoy though!

[gbasden]

I'm in!

[TotallyNotEvil]

Count me in!

[Freyland]

Would love to play, but would also slow everything up.


Please don't get me killed.

[AWS260]

I will observe from the sidelines, as usual.

[Hyena]

I will observe from the sidelines, as usual.

Same. Tear it up, folks!

[TotallyNotEvil]

Would love to play, but would also slow everything up.


Please don't get me killed.

Ah, you are riding the Anni?

[Freyland]

Nova, recon.

[TotallyNotEvil]

Nova, recon.

Ah, I thought you meant your mech was so slow it'd slow everyone down

[NickAragua]

All right, post is up: https://octopusoverlords.com/forum/view ... hp?t=99046. We'll likely start processing turns after I get back from vacation on Tuesday.

[NickAragua]

"Not so fast there, fella." Siljanus comments, turning the Mackie around to track the Locust. The gauss rifle may be out, but the PPCs work just fine - the little mech is nimble and one of the PPCs hits the intervening hill instead of its legs, while the other blast just barely grazes the cockpit.

Which is enough to knock the mechwarrior out.

The Archer decides to put up a fight - while our hill-top brigade blows away a couple of retreating tanks to make sure the retreat "sticks", it fires the remaining right arm laser at Isgrimnur's Thug. Combined with covering fire from the retreating Crusader, the Thug's left arm goes flying off and the torso section cracks open - our mechwarrior is unable to keep the mech balanced and it drops to the ground again, though not before blowing out the Archer's second foot actuator.

This allows SgtSoldier to sneak up behind the 70-ton mech and stomp on its heel as it pauses to gloat over the downed Thug (inadvisable with ~250 tons of clan tech aiming at your rear armor). The Archer's right leg is disabled and it crumples back down to the ground, the mechwarrior passing out.

In the end, the Condor is the only unit that gets away - we inform Dragoon command of the fact. Not too bad - a single 3025-era hovercraft is probably not going to swing things one way or the other. As far as we're concerned, this went ok. We did lose a Manticore crew (but not the Manticore itself).

As far as salvage goes, we've got two mechs of note. The totaled Spartan, and the very lightly damaged Bandersnatch (just a missing head). Plus, a standard Archer and a standard Locust, both operable. The ID tags clearly indicate that the Spartan and Bandersnatch are both Dragoon-owned, which is unfortunate. But, given the current situation and our previous history of working alongside the Wolf's Dragoons, maybe they could be convinced to part with either the wreck or the not-so-great 75-tonner. The rest of the salvage is basically just good for replacement armor and ammo and is not worth mentioning at this point.

We could use parts from the Spartan wreck to fix Isgrimnur's Thug, plus we'd be acquiring some streak SRM/2 ammo, three medium pulse lasers and an extended-range PPC. Plus some double heat sinks. We could even just say we need the spare torso bits and hand over the high-tech stuff afterwards, it's not like we're hurting for inner sphere tech.

The Bandersnatch just needs a head and we could get it back into working order pretty quickly (or strip it for double heat sinks, ten of them and the two LBX autocannons), but we'd likely have to hand over some of the other mechs we'd salvage.

[] Spartan hulk - just the spare parts for our Thug, guaranteed agreement
[] Spartan hulk - spare parts + high tech, likely agreement
[] Bandersnatch - moderately likely agreement
[] Bank some salvage credit for later

---

While our mech force has managed to hold up a major ground advance through the mountain range separating Harlech from the loyalist Dragoons forces, other forces have been moving across the mountain range via dropship or other passes. One such group has seized an ammunition and fuel depot, which, if held, would greatly shorten the "rebel" supply chain. Our liaison, one Carole "9B" Salido has informed us that we need to devote a small amount of mechs to blowing this facility up, as we don't currently have the means to re-capture it. Although its defensive force is limited to two heavy vehicle lances (three Manticore tanks and six(!) SRM Carriers), which isn't really that much, the loyalist forces are just stretched too thin trying to repel rebel advances. We may also expect to see the Condor that escaped show up; fast reaction forces of light hovertanks and VTOL transports carrying laser-equipped infantry have been reported in the area as well)

Thus, it falls to us, but with the understanding that we will need to keep a good amount of firepower available to deal with other situations as they pop up.

There are two physically separate depots, and we're not quite sure where exactly the ammo is being kept, so we'll have to either get in there and scan the buildings up close or just blow all of them from long range. There is a lot of intervening terrain - woods and hills. The depots themselves are "sparse" urban terrain.

We've got the following mechs available:
(BV gives a rough idea of how "good" the mech is; durability roughly corresponds to tonnage)
(Estimated known enemy BV is ~9000;
if the plan is to seize and hold the facility, we want to get close to that number without going over; if the plan is hit and run, then we want to just pick jump-capable mechs; either way, let's pick up to 4 mechs and some number of hovertanks if we feel necessary)
[] Cylus - Grasshopper (1427 BV); 70 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short-range
[] Thud - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[] Zenn7 - Awesome (1605 BV); 80 tons, slow, long-range
[] Atrophy - Annihilator (1829 BV); 100 tons, slow, short/long-range
[] CJ - Victor (1853 BV); 80 tons, medium speed, jump-capable, short/long-range
[] Wolf - Hellbringer (2789 BV); 65 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Backwash - Griffin (1521 BV); 55 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Freyland - Nova (2283 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] AWS - Phoenix Hawk LAM (1858 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump/flight-capable, short-range
[] Moley - Summoner (2351 BV); 70 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[] Hyena - Timber Wolf (2678 BV); 75 tons, fast, long-range
[] Xwraith - Thunderbolt (1495 BV); 65 tons, medium speed, short/medium-range
[] Moneyshot - Hunchback (1085 BV); 50 tons, medium speed, short-range
[] Stefan - Trebuchet (1342 BV); 55 tons, fast, short/long-range
[] Assorted Hovertanks (up to 7); light, super-fast, short-range, not great at forests or city fighting

[TotallyNotEvil]

This later on the salvage credit is this campaign, yes?

If nothing else comes up, could we trade for something else? The Dragoons have a bunch of their own tech, don't they?

As what to send, I'm not sure. How many more engagements are we expecting?

[NickAragua]

This later on the salvage credit is this campaign, yes?

If nothing else comes up, could we trade for something else? The Dragoons have a bunch of their own tech, don't they?

As what to send, I'm not sure. How many more engagements are we expecting?

Yes and yes.

# of engagements is "as many as you can fight, then get rotated back to the dropships for a quick repair cycle, then as many as you can fight some more", until something gives.

[TotallyNotEvil]

Does CJ's Victor mount a GR?

Well, the Bandersnatch is kind of a stupid mish-mash of guns and gear, but it does pack good stuff in its XLFE 300, which is common as dirt, and its LB-10Xs, which are nice.

Still, I'd take trading it and a lump of money for something like a Marauder II (especially a 5B), or pehaps clantech they might have laying around? This essentially an whole-ass 15 million C-bill, 75t mech- and the IS apparently really likes it, too.

[X] Bank some salvage credit for later

[X] Wolf - Hellbringer (2789 BV); 65 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] Backwash - Griffin (1521 BV); 55 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] Freyland - Nova (2283 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] AWS - Phoenix Hawk LAM (1858 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump/flight-capable, short-range

I think we should keep the Summoner home, don't overcommit clan mechs to this depot- it's mostly vehicles, after all. A Nova and Hellbringer are plenty, the Griffin and P-Hawk can pick up the slack. P-Hawk is there to spot and flank only, no getting close to SRM carriers!

[Leraje]

Does CJ's Victor mount a GR?

Well, the Bandersnatch is kind of a stupid mish-mash of guns and gear, but it does pack good stuff in its XLFE 300, which is common as dirt, and its LB-10Xs, which are nice.

Still, I'd take trading it and a lump of money for something like a Marauder II (especially a 5B), or pehaps clantech they might have laying around? This essentially an whole-ass 15 million C-bill, 75t mech.

[X] Wolf - Hellbringer (2789 BV); 65 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] Backwash - Griffin (1521 BV); 55 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] Freyland - Nova (2283 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] AWS - Phoenix Hawk LAM (1858 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump/flight-capable, short-range

I think we should keep the Summoner home, don't overcommit clan mechs to this depot- it's mostly vehicles, after all. A Nova and Hellbringer are plenty, the Griffin and P-Hawk can pick up the slack. P-Hawk is there to spot and flank only, no getting close to SRM carriers!

Looks good for a hit-and-burn scenario.

For loot I'd go with
[] Spartan hulk - spare parts + high tech, likely agreement

[Zenn7]

Does CJ's Victor mount a GR?

Well, the Bandersnatch is kind of a stupid mish-mash of guns and gear, but it does pack good stuff in its XLFE 300, which is common as dirt, and its LB-10Xs, which are nice.

Still, I'd take trading it and a lump of money for something like a Marauder II (especially a 5B), or pehaps clantech they might have laying around? This essentially an whole-ass 15 million C-bill, 75t mech- and the IS apparently really likes it, too.

[X] Bank some salvage credit for later

[X] Wolf - Hellbringer (2789 BV); 65 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] Backwash - Griffin (1521 BV); 55 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] Freyland - Nova (2283 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump-capable, long-range
[X] AWS - Phoenix Hawk LAM (1858 BV); 50 tons, fast, jump/flight-capable, short-range

I think we should keep the Summoner home, don't overcommit clan mechs to this depot- it's mostly vehicles, after all. A Nova and Hellbringer are plenty, the Griffin and P-Hawk can pick up the slack. P-Hawk is there to spot and flank only, no getting close to SRM carriers!

That's sounds like a good group for this mission.

Bank for better salvage sounds good - we've got a lot more fights here and nothing here we're really and truly wanting in the current batch.

[NickAragua]

Does CJ's Victor mount a GR?

Yep.

[NickAragua]

Vote Results:

Spoiler:

Bank salvage ||
Spartan spare parts + tech |

Wolf, Backwash, Freyland - unanimous
AWS |||
Moley |

We'll hand the Dragoons-owned mech back to them for the time being, there's other salvage out there. For now, our pass-blocking force begins to pull back to our staging area for repairs. It'll take them some time to get there.

---

"In and out, quickly." Wolf orders our ad-hoc lance. "Lots of SRM Carriers, and we've got some roving hovertank patrols in the area. Blast the buildings, sort the mobiles out if we can."

Freyland shrugs. SRM Carriers aren't exactly cutting edge tech, and as long as we keep our range, we should be able to take them down pretty quickly.

The two parts of the depot are separated by a pretty dense forest, but with enemy patrols threatening reinforcement, we don't have the luxury of taking the time to split the hostiles up. It's also a little windy, slightly degrading the performance of missile weapons. Which is great for us, as we're mostly loaded with lasers and PPCs.

Round 1:

Spoiler:

Wolf, Freyland and Backwash approach the northeast section of the depot, where the bulk of the hostiles are located, while AWS is tasked with evading or destroying the two SRM carriers to the south. Freyland starts the party by firing up the Nova's extensive laser array and frying an SRM Carrier. A few LRMs come in from the distant Manticores but fail to connect.

AWS fires up the LAM's transformation routine, pulling the legs and arms up to deploy the thrusters and wings - the airmech mode works like a ground-effect vehicle, not quite a fully flight capable unit but still very fast. This should enable our mechwarrior to avoid the SRM Carriers' deadly front arcs and get to the buildings. Or the slow vehicles' rear arcs.

Round 2:

Spoiler:

Freyland and Backwash advance, with Wolf hanging back and firing the Hellbringer's PPCs at a Manticore. Another SRM Carrier gets worked over but not quite taken out, while the Manticore's front armor is reduced to mostly melted slag. AWS, meanwhile, maneuvers around the back of an SRM Carrier but fails to land a shot.

Round 3:

Spoiler:

"Heads up. Light hovertank lance and four Karnov transports coming in behind us." Wolf calls out. "Two, Three, continue moving up, I'll hold these guys as best I can."

"Don't be a hero, now." Freyland replies, recalling a certain incident a few years ago, which may or may not have resulted in the loss of a few mechs. And a few mechwarriors.

This is accompanied by the Nova cutting another SRM Carrier into multiple slices with its lasers.

Wolf huffs and continues delivering PPC blasts at a Manticore, blowing a chunk of its treads off. The light hovertanks mostly head north and east, while the Karnov transports move immediately to try to drop jump-pack-equipped infantry around Backwash's position. For two of them, this turns out to be ill advised, as they wind up squashed underneath the Griffin's foot.

AWS, meanwhile, continues circling around to the south, firing at SRM Carriers with a little better luck, actually connecting the Phoenix Hawk LAM's shots. The mechwarrior also locates one of the ammo depots. "Got one!"

Round 4:

Spoiler:

Freyland locates a second (of the four reported) ammo depots. "What are you waiting for, take it out!" our mechwarrior taunts AWS, blasting the corners of the adjacent building with the Nova's lasers - the structure collapses, thankfully without the ammo going up.

AWS decides to kill two birds with four stones, two lasers blasting through the nearby SRM Carrier's left armor while the LAM's snub-nosed PPC and another laser blow up the previously located ammo depot.

Wolf jumps back to the top of the northwest hill, snapping off a blast from one of the Hellbringer's PPCs which goes through the weakened armor on one of the Manticores and dissipates somewhere inside. The tank remains in one piece, but stops moving, its turret issuing a pitiful grinding sound.

Backwash takes a bit of a beating, the Griffin's armor spalling off as lasers and SRMs connect with the mech, but manages to remain upright, stomping on the back of a nearby SRM Carrier - the vehicle remains intact, but no longer seems enthused about continuing the fight.

Round 5:

Spoiler:

"Found another one!" AWS calls out, flying by a cylindrical building before dropping low next to another one - with only one SRM Carrier, way out of position, our mechwarrior has free reign down there.

Freyland has to content himself with melting another one of the lightly-armored-but-deadly vehicles with the Nova's lasers. "That's three for me!" the mechwarrior says in an unusually chipper voice, grunting a little as LRMs from a Manticore impact his mech.

Round 6:

Spoiler:

"Gonna drop down to the... " AWS begins. "Whoops, wrong button. Time for a flight!"

One of the light hovertanks gets a little too enthusiastic pursuing Backwash and crashes into a tree. Other than that, neither side scores any major damage.

Round 7:

Spoiler:

Wolf has had enough of these little hovertanks zipping around and jumps down from the hill next to a pair of them, shearing off the right side lift fans with a PPC blast.

Backwash, meanwhile, comes out of the woods where he's been hiding and blasts through the left flank of a Condor hovertank with the Griffin's PPC, the vehicle performing several spins before sliding to a stop along the dirt.

"Uh, sorry guys, this SRM Carrier really doesn't like me. Be right back." AWS calls out, flying off the battlefield in fighter mode as the transformation equipment works overtime. It does help our mechwarrior avoid getting plastered by sixty or so SRMs though.

Round 8-9:

Spoiler:

Freyland locates the last ammo dump and weathers a little bit of weapons fire from a nearby Manticore while pumping laser blasts into the building. The laser infantry take a few pot shots at Backwash, but hitting a jumping Griffin with an infantry-grade laser rifle and actually causing damage is not an easy task.

Freyland eventually brings the third ammo dump down (it blows up, but our mech is far away).

Round 10:

Spoiler:

Our mechs head south to finish off the last ammo dump before clearing out - the salvage here would be complete crap and not worth our time to secure, and spending half an hour hunting down jump infantry with laser guns and a bunch of hovercraft doesn't really seem like it'd be worthwhile, either - especially after Wolf has to swat a particularly brave jump jet trooper away from trying to board the Hellbringer.

On the way there, Freyland takes apart another Manticore - technically it's still in one piece, but with no treads and no working engine, it's not going to be doing much.

Round 11:

Spoiler:

Freyland grunts as a PPC blast from the last Manticore strips the armor off the Nova's right arm, unloading a brace of laser fire into the hostile tank. Its armor holds but the treads melt, which is followed up by a full salvo from Wolf's mech, causing the turret to lock up.

Wolf mouths an expletive, having accidentally fired the Hellbringer's second PPC in addition to all of its lasers, and starts sweating as the mech begins overheating. Quite severely. In fact, the mechwarrior has to mash the shutdown override button - but thankfully there's no ammo on board to blow up.

AWS comes back in with a strafing run on the last depot while Backwash muddles through the woods.

Round 12:

Spoiler:

"Last depot down." Backwash says, smirking a little as multiple secondary explosions rip the structure apart.

"Right." Wolf acknowledges, watching Freyland finish off the damaged Manticore while the Hellbringer cools off. "All units disengage to the east."

AWS acknowledges, spinning the land-air mech around its axis after a strafing run finishes off an SRM Carrier.

We do so, although AWS blows a Karnov transport out of the air while departing.

Freyland spends the way home daydreaming about what kind of "Ace" he'll paint on the side of his mech.

Damage to our units is pretty light - Freyland's Nova is missing right arm armor, while Backwash's Griffin is missing most of its right torso armor and is almost out of LRMs.

---

Our next engagement is a little more straightforward - the Dragoon loyalists need us to shore up their line where their forces have taken a pounding. Two lances (i.e. eight) of heavy mechs are moving across the mostly open terrain beyond the mountains to engage the flank of another Dragoon formation, and that simply can't be allowed to happen. Exact composition is unknown, but it's known to be elements of the Dragoons' Beta Regiment, so we can expect well-equipped and seasoned opponents. And this isn't the last push we're seeeing today, so we'll want to retain a lance or two in reserve.

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

[Leraje]

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

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