Operation Terminus

Oh boy, looks like Alpha gets to have fun with the Martillo bruisers

 

That is how it is looking... and it will not be pretty.

In truth I will be happy if we manage to keep them tied up until you guys can finish off the Gorettis.

 

I don't envy you blokes. Shieldwall! Hold the line!

 

We'll have to dance around a bit.

 

FAIR WARNING TO EVERYONE:

I want to have this story arc done by the first week of August. Keep in mind I will also be out of town from the 19-30 of June. That leaves very little time in between, but enough if people get on the ball. I start nursing school soon after and will not have the time once it starts to manage our current campaign. The following have yet to do event rolls:

• Gamma Lance - Derak & Renolts
• Delta Lance - Dihm & Skwi
• Aux. - Hunter Gamma & ???

If you are in the same lance as one of these people, please contact them and remind them.

 

UPDATE: Alpha is scheduled for their first drop Friday (tomorrow). Unfortunately, this kind of screws up the whole sequencing seeing as some of our guys have yet to do rolls as well as complete repairs. For the sake of expediency, I hope no one will mind if I push forward with rolls and repairs. Wish me luck on your rolls. Less of an issue will be repairs; pretty sure everyone will get fully repaired tonight.

Will post full results tonight.

 

TURN SIX EVENT ROLLS


Trev's Hatchetman received "Hard to Pilot"




Dihm's Warhammer received "Flawed Cooling System"



edit: clerical error - "fixed" Dihm's roll (was 5, now 3). sorry Dihm

 

Oh boy. We are in for a tough time this time around. Damn these protracted campaigns!

 

All repairs complete. I did the very best I could.

Gamma is mostly in working order. Tzeentch's Banshee has some malfuctioning actuators in his arm, but there are no weapons there so it should have minimal influence on his effectiveness.

Delta is fully repaired except for the King Crab. I tried my best, but there was just no way of getting all of them operational. After spending some time looking at it, I judged that it was better to get 3 fully armed mechs than it was 4 partially restored mechs. Don't forget you also have that upgraded Griffin available.

All that's left is for Gamma & Delta to do mission rolls.

 

Turn06-Mission01
June 27, 3049

Zone J4:

Major Magnus Sullivan glares at his HUD as if trying to force his enemy out of hiding through willpower alone.

Damn you bastard... where are you.

He shakes his attention back to the tasks at hand and stabs his comlink with frustration.
"Trev, keep an open com with those helis. I want up to the minute reports on those forward enemy positions."

"Roger that, boss."

"LC, are those infantry in position yet?"

Malcolm "LagCat" Gerard was one of many new recruits they had found on Novo Cressidas, but he was one of the few who also happened to own his own Wolfhound. Sullivan knew the risk in taking him in, but the rebel leaders had vouched for him and the Commandos were in too tenuous a position to argue. Besides, Sullivan had a good feeling about the man. He couldn't put his finger on it, but talking to Gerard you could just tell... the man had a natural gift... was wise beyond his years... and seemed genuinely eager for a ticket off this backwater planet.

"Yes sir! They are waiting just beyond the hilltops you specified and ready to give those Martillos hell."

"Roger that, LC. If things go to shit, I want you to cover their escape while we draw the Martillo's fire. The partisans know the rendezvous point. No heroics here. We need them alive and ready to fight another day."

"You got it, Alpha 1."

Using official callsigns. Professional. Steiner deserter maybe? Might explain where Gerard got the battlemech.

"Alpha 1, this is Alpha 2."
Now Trev was playing along.
"Helis have confirmed contact on Martillos assault lance coming from the northeast with a mechanized platoon moving in support."

"Roger that Alpha 2"

"Mag, there's more... "
Trev pauses to say what Sullivan is already thinking.
"The Banshee at the front... it's him."

"Trev... are you sure?"

"Yeah, blood red arms... greyish torso... and his XO is right behind him in her Zeus as expected... so yeah... pretty sure it's him."

Sullivan gripped the controls of his Shadow Hawk tightly in anger.

"Then let's make this count. No mistakes. If I get a window, I'm going after that Banshee. Cover me, but don't get in my way. I need that bastard alive."

"What about the plan?"

"We stick to the plan, but I need you to buy me more time. Get me a window on that Banshee. Call in Delta if you have to."

"Roger that, Alpha 1. Just be careful"

"Maybe before, but not now...", Sullivan thinks to himself.
"Now is the time for vengeance."

=====

After weeks of preperation, the Skjaldborg Commandos began their final push on the main holdings of the Gorettis and Martillos. Leading the way, Alpha Lance moved to intercept and blunt the attack of the Martillo's assault assets, the Martillo Guard, while Gamma and Delta moved up from the south. Assuming to be heavily outgunned, Alpha setup a defensive position with the intent of dealing maximum damage before fading away into the hilly countryside. However, thanks to unexpected reinforcement from local partisan infantry, Alpha not only bloodied the noses of the Martillos' elite Guard, but utterly crushed their vanguard forces.

Yet, even in victory, there was reason to be wary. Alpha Lance had fought brilliantly, but still... for a supposedly elite command lance, the Martillo's capitulated far too easily. Something wasn't right and Sullivan could feel it like a worm in his stomach. Even as the savaged Banshee tumbled to the ground, Sullivan was already rushing to exit his Shadow Hawk and secure the downed pilot.

"Too easy..."




Victory!
-------------------

Winner is: TEAM #1

MagnusEffect: 3409 BV remaining (from 3775 initially) 0 BV fled
Martillo Guard: 0 BV remaining (from 5236 initially) 0 BV fled
LagCat: 1861 BV remaining (from 2008 initially) 0 BV fled
Trevnor: 2282 BV remaining (from 2566 initially) 0 BV fled
HG: 0 BV remaining (from 2624 initially) 0 BV fled

Survivors are:

The following units are in retreat:

Graveyard contains:

The following utterly destroyed units are not available for salvage:

Detailed unit status saved to entitystatus.txt


Enemy BV Destroyed = 7860

Member Rewards:
BV Rating = 7860 / 13 = 605
x2 victory multiplier = 1210
Member Pay = 1210 / 3 = +400k C-bills

Salvage (100 tons max) :
Banshee BNC-3M = 4.3m
total = 4.3m / 3 = 1.45m

Transporting (100 tons max) :

 

I got some things done on Clamps... as much as I could while still repairing the other mechs. If I had tried to get Clamps to combat readiness, I basically would of had to ignore Dihm's & Skwi's mechs... and even then, Clamps still wouldn't have been 100%. Replacing all those destroyed sections takes a huge chunk of repair time. I figure if you guys can get by this turn with light to moderate damage, Clamps should be fully repaired by next Turn. Believe me I tried as hard as I could to get you guys rolling full strength.

 

Martillo Force #2 has lost strength and morale.

 

Turn06-Mission01
June 27, 3049
Minutes after Alpha Lance's first battle with Martillo Guard in Zone J4...

Major Magnus Sullivan hastily scrambled down the outstretched right arm of his Shadow Hawk before leaping the last few meters to the ground. Partisan infantry had already reached the Banshee and were now attempting to secure the pilot inside who had failed to eject. That pilot was Savio Drago. Baron of Northdale, Commander of the Martillo Guard; he had many aliases, but one of those, the Butcher of New Belfast, was the only one that mattered to Sullivan. Despite being an experienced pilot, Drago had apparently failed to eject. Now the wreckage of his Banshee was being scoured over by Sullivan's allies like ants upon the carcass of a large beetle. Sullivan studied the wreckage from ground level as he walked toward it, but soon broke into a run. A body was being hoisted from the cockpit.
"Please be alive... Please be alive."

As Sullivan neared the wreckage he spotted the platoon leader, slowed his run to a jog, and tried to hide his mounting anxiety. Reaching the officer, Sullivan jumped right into business with a grim and formal salute.
"Greetings lieutenant. Nice work out there today. Give me a status report on the scene here."

"We attempted to make contact with the pilot from the outside, but saw no response. Proceeded to cut open the cockpit using standard procedure. No resistance encountered. The pilot is dead. As you can see, we're hauling him down now."

Sullivan clenched a fist and hid his anger by turning and walking a few steps away.

The disappointment was too hard to conceal from the lieutenant.
"Sir? Is something wrong?"

Sullivan tried to contain his anguish. He turned back to the lieutenant, but fixed his gaze up at the Banshee. Sullivan traced his eyes over the Banshee's hull with special attention made to its gun ports.
"Lieutenant, I couldn't tell for certain earlier when it was shooting at me, but would you say that's a standard 3M model?"

"Uh... Yes sir. Still waiting on the report from the salvage teams, but I believe you are correct. Two PPCs and secondary lasers. Not the worst of the Banshees, but still a piece of junk for an assault mech."

"No arm mounted weapons right?"

"None that I've seen, sir"

Sullivan's mind was now a million miles away as he pondered possibilities.
"Why would the commander of Martillo forces be piloting a second-rate assault mech", he asks himself.

Then a thought dawned on him. Sullivan pointed at the body of the pilot still being carried down from the Banshee.
"Lieutenant, I need to see that body. Right now."

Moments later, Sullivan paced impatiently as the body made its descent down to him. As it comes to rest at the foot of the massive battlemech, Sullivan is there waiting for it. The pilot's neurohelmet was covered in blood; the faceplate cracked. Sullivan knelt on the dead pilots chest and forcefully gripped for the helmets release straps. He manhandls the bulky helmet until it came off, possibly breaking the neck of the corpse in the process. As the helmet slid off, a tangle of congealed blood and hair emerged. Sullivan gripped the head of the dead pilot with both hands and pushed the bloodied hair away from the pilots face. A few onlooking soldiers made uncomfortable glances at each other.

Captain Treabhar Holmre arrived just in time to see his commander staring into the bloodied face of a dead pilot.

"Uh... Major? What's this all aboot?"

"It's not him Trev."
His mind already shifting focus, Sullivan irreverently drops the head as he stood to face his XO.
"I'll be damned... it's not him."
Sullivan betrayed a sigh of relief as he wiped off his bloody hands on his pants.

"You mean Drago? How do you know this?"

"This man's asian. Kuritan or Rasalhagian maybe... but definitely asian.
Magnus gave a dismissive wave to the corpse at his feet.
Don't give a damn who he is. All I know is that he's not Drago. His ancestry is Italian like the rest of these shithead wiseguys. That Banshee is not Drago's either... although they purposefully painted it to look like his. I'll bet he's still out there somewhere... waiting."

Sullivan pauses as his gaze appears to wander off at nothing in particular. A moment passes before he snaps back to attention.
"Thank you, lieutenant. Finish up here and meet back at the reindezvous point. Trev, let's get back to our mechs. Time to plan our next move!"

 

Turn06-Mission02
June 28, 3049

Zone K5: As Alpha and Delta worked their trade in the battles the hills to the north, Gamma took the most direct route to the remaining Goretti holdings. Skirting the edge of the vast Koachi Desert, there goal was to attack the southern flank and disrupt the Goretti supply chain. They engaged in skirmishing actions until nightfall, when they finally came upon the main Goretti force in the area. Gamma had come well equppied, however, and deployed scout VTOLs to spot the enemy in the cool desert night.

They also had the help of another local Mechwarrior, Han Johnson. He had an axe to grind with the Gorettis and was eager to see them all dead. Relentess, he held the line even when the enemy tried to overwhelm him. Unfortunately, his heat management systems had malfunctioned and failed to warn him of the stresses he was putting on his mech. Suddenly, his mech exploded in a brilliant fireball, but not before his autoeject system had triggered and he rocketed to safety. His mech was utterly destroyed, but he had played his part. What enemies remained had been so hammered by firepower that it was a simple matter for Tzeentch and Derak to clean up. For his sacrifice, Johnson was allowed to claim a new mech from their fallen foes.



Victory!
-------------------

Winner is: TEAM #1

MagnusEffect: 0 BV remaining (from 0 initially) 0 BV fled
Derak Darksun: 2244 BV remaining (from 3374 initially) 0 BV fled
Tzeentch: 2404 BV remaining (from 2811 initially) 0 BV fled
Goretti Regulars: 0 BV remaining (from 8600 initially) 779 BV fled
Alexia: 0 BV remaining (from 0 initially) 0 BV fled

Survivors are:

The following units are in retreat:

Graveyard contains:

The following utterly destroyed units are not available for salvage:

Detailed unit status saved to entitystatus.txt


Enemy BV Destroyed = 7821

Member Rewards:
BV Rating = 7821 / 13 = 602
x2 victory multiplier = 1204
Member Pay = 1204 / 3 = +400k C-bills

Salvage (65 + 65 tons max) :
Hunchback HBK-4H = 1.4m
Centurion CN9-AL = 1.45m
total = 2.85m / 3 = 950k

Transporting (100 tons max) :