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[Hanzoku]

On the other hand, they probably don’t have room for our gear, they just finished getting kicked to pieces by the Clans a few days ago and will have a lot of work rebuilding.

[Sheyra]

Cash is always good, especially if it can be earned while we're refitting. No reason to sit idle if we've got a good contract on the table.

[Knave]

Feels rough having to do rebel ops on the people whose world was just tipped upside-down, but I guess that's MercLife™, right?

As long as we're not spending too long here it sounds okay by me.

[Fishbreath]

Introduction

The ComStar liaison is an odd, somber fellow, who assigned us a sector to patrol, wished us well, and sent us on our way.

June passes without much action. We're called out of our forward positions a few times, but when we arrive, the the rebels have already fallen back. On June 30th, however, an intriguing message arrives at headquarters. A rebel commander challenges us to a duel.

The Clanners in our employ enthusiastically favor the idea. Drake is a little more cautious. He eventually decides to accept, if only to bring the rebels to action and get a kill on the board.

Who should be our champion? Rook, our deadliest pilot by far, seems like the obvious answer. With her Stalker in the shop, she borrows the Flashman from Carcer and heads out. Wizard and Hanzoku accompany her, playing bodyguard in the event the rebels try to get cute.

The Action of July 3, 3052

Waiting for us at the designated place of battle is... a Banshee. The Banshee, a 95-ton assault design dating to the dawn of the Star League era, is widely mocked as ineffective. Its armament totals a PPC, an AC/5, and a small laser, a piddling armament for a mech of that size. Most of the tonnage goes to an enormous GM 380 engine, which makes the Banshee about as fast as the Flashman facing off against it. In other words, not very fast.

Round 1



Closing in. Rook, still outside of medium laser range, lands hits with both of her large lasers, but takes a PPC hit in response.

Round 2



The Banshee closes in. Rook slows down, hitting again with a large laser and taking a hit from a PPC again.

Round 3



Again, the mechs trade fire.

Round 4



Sensing that the Banshee is trying to get around behind her, Rook backs up and lands more lasers on it.

She takes another hit to the center torso, and is nearly out of armor there; the Banshee's been good at keeping its hits in the same place.

Round 5



Though Rook is hammering the Banshee, it gets into a semi-flanking position; she can only return fire with one large laser. In return, she takes still another PPC to the center torso; it eats through the armor and damages her engine.

The alarms don't faze her.

Round 6

The Banshee steps back, into the optimal range of its weapons. It doesn't matter. Rook calmly plugs it with one of her large lasers, and...



Damage, Injuries, Salvage

None of the above.

Kill Board(s)

Last Battle

Obviously, Rook scores a kill.

All-Time Leaders

• "Rook" Ishikawa (27, 8 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Drake" Halit (14, 6 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Woad" Kohler (13, 5 mechs, 1 Clan kill)
• "Carcer" Ngo (11, 5 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Wizard" Que (7, 6 mechs, 6 Clan kills)
• "Teddy Bear" Jamil (5, 3 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Double Dog" Dare (5, 2 mechs, 1 Clan kill)
• "Linebuster" Atkinson (5)
• "Severe" Payne (4, 4 mechs)
• "Milspec" Ortega (4, 1 mech, 1 Clan kill)
• "Ker-Ker" Ec (3, 2 mechs)
• "Hanzoku" Yuksel (3, 3 mechs, 2 Clan kill)
• "Euchre" Kojic (2, 2 mechs)
• "Kicks" Hernandez (1, 1 mech, 1 Clan kill)
• Simona (1, 1 mech, 1 Clan kill)
• "Wojtek" Frajtov (1, 1 mech)

Status

It is now July 3, 3052.

Contract Status

Despite Rook's victory over the rebel leader, reports indicate that rebel morale is high.

Finances

We have 60.801 million C-bills in the bank.

Recruitment

A new face shows up at our camp, another Rasalhague citizen shows up looking to sign on.



Newly-minted Private Elroy Farooqi was in the service of the Republic some time ago, but quit for reasons he refused to say, and spent some time as an independent operator in the coreward periphery. During the long retreat from the Clan invasions, he organized local militias and ad-hoc defenses; now, there's no call for that, but he wants a piece of the fighting again.

Repairs and Refits

Both assault mechs are in the shop, refitting. The Awesome is 55 days from completion. The Stalker is 32 days from completion.

Some heavy mech refits are also in the pipeline—switching Wizard's Guillotine over to the -4L model, or perhaps the Clan ER Large Laser+Double Heat Sink model, and adding double heat sinks to some of our other heat-limited mechs, like the Thunderbolt, Flashman, and new Ostroc. (Obviously, we don't want to be exactly heat-neutral. Building up a little heat over the course of a few alpha strikes is healthy.)

Otherwise, we're in good shape.

Mechwarrior Claims and Assignments

• For the record, the following mechwarriors are claimed.
  
  • Captain Huri "Drake" Halit (Mephansteras) - Awesome Custom (refitting)
  • Lt. SG George "Linebuster" Atkinson (Hasek10) - Lancelot LNC25-02
  • Lt. SG Mariamu "Rook" Ishikawa (Culise) - Stalker STK-3F
  • Lt. JG Sung-min "Double Dog" Dare (a1s) - Thunderbolt TDR-5S-T
  • Sgt. Jose "Milspec" Ortega (milspec) - Crab CRB-20
  • Sgt. Tedros "Teddy Bear" Jamil (Knave) - Vulcan VL-5T
  • Cpl. Damayanti "Carcer" Ngo (Dorsidwarf) - Flashman FLS-7K
  • Cpl. Ferdinand "Woad" Kohler (A Thing) - Grasshopper GHR-5H
  • Pvt. Jan "Euchre" Kojic (EuchreJack) - Trebuchet TBT-5S
  • Pvt. Cathrine "Severe" Payne (Burnt Pies) - Koshi Custom
  • Pvt. E-Shei "Ker-Ker" Ec (Kanil) - Lancelot LNC25-02
  • Pvt. Ed "Hanzoku" Yuksel (Hanzoku) - Guillotine GLT-4L
  • Pvt. Ik-jun "Wojtek" Frajtov (Blaze) - Trebuchet TBT-5N
  • Pvt. Xue-Min "Wizard" Que (Rince Wind) - Guillotine GLT-4P
  • Pvt. Abdul-Hafiz "Pepper" Popalzi (mrkilla22) - Archer ARC-2K
  • Pvt. Kevin "Blinky" Stirzacre (moghopper) - Ostroc OSR-2C (en route)
  • Pvt. Gwenael "Kicks" Hernandez (Sheyra) - Phoenix Hawk PXH-1K
• The following mechwarriors are available.
  
  • Pvt. Elroy Farooqi - n/a
  • Rec. Simona - Ryoken/Stormcrow B (missing lasers)

[Fishbreath]

Feels rough having to do rebel ops on the people whose world was just tipped upside-down, but I guess that's MercLife™, right?

Nobody ever said war for pay is fun.

[Mephansteras]

Nice to know that we can always count on Rook.

[Fishbreath]

There's no extra luck built into the game; I've looked at the source and can swear to that. Even so, I'm pretty sure Rook is lucky.

[Rince Wind]

RNG watches over his own.

[Blaze]

Am I still stuck in training?

[EuchreJack]

If the company's cool with buying something new, then buy something new we shall.

I don't quite know how long I plan on doing this. I don't really have an ending in mind. Maybe the FedCom Civil War? That's still about fifteen game years away. Drake will be closing in on 60.

If the company doesn't want to buy anything, I can just chill at base. Should I cook some tacos? or maybe pierogi?

They had to buy you something.  Manning the fryer back at base is my job.   

At least I got to be a Bastard in the Simulator.  That was stone cold.

[Mephansteras]

If anyone here is interested, I'm thinking of starting up an LP of the new Battletech game.

[Fishbreath]

Absolutely!

In other news, I'm going to play out a month tonight. (It's been a busy summer so far—I'm working on a few open-source projects) in addition to the usual outdoor stuff; I always fall behind on some project or another when it's nice outside.) I can't quite promise I'll be back on a weekly basis, but there's still plenty to do with the Bastards.

[Fishbreath]

Back in the Saddle

After the long retreat from the Clans and the hard fighting which occurred along it, things seem positively sleepy in the Opinionated Bastards' mobile headquarters.

In mid-August, though, our somber ComStar liaison stops by, informs us gravely that we have a mission, and leaves as quickly as he came.

The Action of August 14, 3052

The rebels are fleeing a ComStar sweep, moving through a seaside town, where we'll intercept them. Gale-force winds are blowing in from the shore, which forces the rebel vehicles to withdraw before combat.

There are four enemy medium mechs on the field: a pair of Vulcans, an Assassin, and a Phoenix Hawk. It's a successful mission if we knock out two of them.

Round 1

The Bastards deploy near the center of the map. The rebels deploy to the south; they're fleing to the north.

The hurricane winds are going to make it difficult to score many ranged weapon hits, at least while everyone is moving. Linebuster and newcomer Blinky are the only ones with a chance at a hit.



Round 2

The wind is playing havoc with targeting systems; gusts hammer against mech arms, throwing off their aim. Woad and Blinky get into punching range, where they'll hopefully be able to do some damage without having to rely on ranged weapons.



Ranged weapons fire doesn't accomplish very much. Woad and Blinky exchange kicks with the enemy: everyone hits, but because of the high winds, everyone falls over, too.

Round 3-4

Rather than attempt to stand, both of the rebel Vulcan pilots eject. They fail to stick the landing. Both end up unconscious.

The enemy Assassin manages to take enough fire to lose its footing. Its pilot ejects, too.



Round 5

The Phoenix Hawk is now most likely beyond our reach. He can simply run away.

I spoke too soon, though. Bafflingly, he turns to fight. We'll get one more crack at him.



The Ostroc suits Blinky just fine. Even in terrible conditions, he has at least some chance to hit.



Round 6

The Phoenix Hawk pushes a bit further away, but now he's up against a little river. He probably will need some extra time to get through. I can't imagine jumping is a very good idea right now.



Round 7

Bear's Bruisers arrive on the field, with Wojtek in tow (his first combat deployment in a long time).

Unfortunately, it proves to be a bit of an anticlimax. The Phoenix Hawk steps into the water, trips, and falls, and the pilot immediately ejects.



Damage, Injuries, Salvage

Woad and Blinky both have minor injuries from falling over, and their mechs have light damage.

After the storm passes, we recover the enemy Phoenix Hawk and the enemy Vulcan, both of which are in serviceable shape. We'll probably strip the Vulcan (a VL-2T model) and keep the Phoenix Hawk, at least for now. The latter chassis is handy to have; a good weight to fill in around the edges of a heavy lance.

One of the rebels, after ejecting, managed to shelter in the wind shadow of one of our fallen mechs. ComStar takes her off our hands as soon as the weather permits.

Kill Board(s)

Last Battle

I'll say this: we didn't exactly cover ourselves in glory this time. Although four enemy mechs were destroyed on the last mission, we scored precisely zero kills.

All-Time Leaders

• "Rook" Ishikawa (27, 8 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Drake" Halit (14, 6 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Woad" Kohler (13, 5 mechs, 1 Clan kill)
• "Carcer" Ngo (11, 5 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Wizard" Que (7, 6 mechs, 6 Clan kills)
• "Teddy Bear" Jamil (5, 3 mechs, 2 Clan kills)
• "Double Dog" Dare (5, 2 mechs, 1 Clan kill)
• "Linebuster" Atkinson (5)
• "Severe" Payne (4, 4 mechs)
• "Milspec" Ortega (4, 1 mech, 1 Clan kill)
• "Ker-Ker" Ec (3, 2 mechs)
• "Hanzoku" Yuksel (3, 3 mechs, 2 Clan kill)
• "Euchre" Kojic (2, 2 mechs)
• "Kicks" Hernandez (1, 1 mech, 1 Clan kill)
• Simona (1, 1 mech, 1 Clan kill)
• "Wojtek" Frajtov (1, 1 mech)

Status

It is now August 31, 3052.

Contract Status

Rebel morale remains high. Given the much less threatening opposition, I'm trying to rotate in some of the under-utilized pilots. Wojtek was on the board this time; hopefully we can get Euchre in next time.

Finances

We have 65.323 million C-bills in the bank.

The following mechs are available on the unit market. All of our pilots currently have mechs, however.



Repairs and Refits

Both of the techs who are working on the refits flubbed their finish-on-time rolls. As of now, it's another five months for the Awesome and another month for the Stalker.

Drake has been getting well-acquainted with his desk; it looks like he'll be playing administrator for a little while longer. (I've given him two points of the Administration skill as a bit of a consolation.)

Mechwarrior Claims and Assignments

• For the record, the following mechwarriors are claimed.
  
  • Captain Huri "Drake" Halit (Mephansteras) - Awesome Custom (refitting)
  • Lt. SG George "Linebuster" Atkinson (Hasek10) - Lancelot LNC25-02
  • Lt. SG Mariamu "Rook" Ishikawa (Culise) - Stalker STK-3Fb (refitting)
  • Lt. JG Sung-min "Double Dog" Dare (a1s) - Thunderbolt TDR-5S-T
  • Sgt. Jose "Milspec" Ortega (milspec) - Crab CRB-20
  • Sgt. Tedros "Teddy Bear" Jamil (Knave) - Vulcan VL-5T
  • Cpl. Damayanti "Carcer" Ngo (Dorsidwarf) - Flashman FLS-7K
  • Cpl. Ferdinand "Woad" Kohler (A Thing) - Grasshopper GHR-5H
  • Pvt. Jan "Euchre" Kojic (EuchreJack) - Trebuchet TBT-5S
  • Pvt. Cathrine "Severe" Payne (Burnt Pies) - Koshi Custom
  • Pvt. E-Shei "Ker-Ker" Ec (Kanil) - Lancelot LNC25-02
  • Pvt. Ed "Hanzoku" Yuksel (Hanzoku) - Guillotine GLT-4L
  • Pvt. Ik-jun "Wojtek" Frajtov (Blaze) - Trebuchet TBT-5N
  • Pvt. Xue-Min "Wizard" Que (Rince Wind) - Guillotine GLT-4P
  • Pvt. Abdul-Hafiz "Pepper" Popalzi (mrkilla22) - Archer ARC-2K
  • Pvt. Kevin "Blinky" Stirzacre (moghopper) - Ostroc OSR-2C
  • Pvt. Gwenael "Kicks" Hernandez (Sheyra) - Phoenix Hawk PXH-1K
• The following mechwarriors are available.
  
  • Pvt. Elroy Farooqi - Dragon DRG-5N
  • Rec. Simona - Ryoken/Stormcrow B (missing lasers)

Action Items

• We're really rolling in the money now. It might be a good time to start looking for a DropShip or two, which costs 100,000 C-bills per month and may or may not give us something we can use. (We have a lot of mechs at this point; we'll probably need at least two to fit our combat units, spares, and mothballed mechs.)

[Hanzoku]

Don't you have to be able to pay the full cost of the DropShip in MekHQ? A Union-class alone would be around 215 million C-Bills.

[Mephansteras]

A dropship would be good if we could afford one.

We don't need it, but I have to admit that I'm tempted by the Warhammer on the market. Not sure who we'd have swap out to use it, though.