Author Topic: The Silver Eagles  (Read 40192 times)

McKenna

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #30 on: 22 June 2014, 11:42:25 »
And teh last installment for today....

Major Silver pressed the intercom on the wall. “Sergeant, make for Waypoint Alpha, best possible speed.”

Sergeant Chi Lin responded, “Affirmative, Sir. Fight orders?”

Major Silver keyed back, “NAPO, and keep us out of sight.”

The VTOL pilot confirmed her orders. “Roger that, hang on back there.” Suddenly, the VTOL tilted forward and dove toward the ground. Major Silver and Captain McKenna held on, as they hadn’t strapped in as the others had. As the aircraft rapidly descended and accelerated, it pulled up a scant 18 meters above the ground.

After almost an hour of rough flying so close to the ground, the Ferret Light Scout VTOL and her passengers were approaching Major Silver’s estate. As the Major looked out the window, he saw something flash past.

“Contact!” came Sergeant Chi Lin’s voice over the intercom. “We have ASF assets on our position, came in from high altitude. Hang on back there!”

As the VTOL began a series of rapid S-turns, Major Silver watched out the side window as a laser flashed past their position.

Well, there it is… Major Silver pulled out his Personal Com. We should be close enough now. Keying in a frequency, he opened the channel. “Ace of Spades this is Silver Actual. We are under attack. Scramble ASF assets to our location immediately. Over.”

Static filled his earpiece as the communications officer replied. “Silver Actual, this is the Ace of Spades. Roger that, we have fighters in the air and inbound, ETA thirty seconds.”

The VTOL continued to rock from side to side jarring its passengers back and forth. Suddenly the VTOL rocked violently. Looking out the window, Major Silver saw that they were in a rapid roll. As he watched, the nimble VTOL continued the roll all the way around, dropping to within only a few meters of the ground. However, even after they stabilized in level flight, the VTOL continued to shudder violently.

“We’re hit, but still flyable.” Sergeant Chi Lin informed her commander. “ETA to Waypoint Alpha, two minutes. Friendly ASFs closing fast. Our tail is heading for high altitude. We’re clear.”

The VTOL landed hard as it finally made it to Major Silver’s estate. Bouncing once, it settled down to a stop. The doors flew open and the passengers were greeted with billowing plumes of smoke coming from the rear of the aircraft. Major Silver was the first out, followed quickly by Lieutenants Faller, Thorpe, and Captain Darious. As Captain McKenna helped the Major’s legal team out, Major Silver looked into the cockpit of the damaged VTOL. Sergeant Chi Lin looked busy, but otherwise unhurt.

Turning around to see Lt. Thorpe running for the makeshift hanger where the fighters were kept, he looked for transport to the ‘Mech staging area. Seeing an R-11 infantry vehicle, he headed towards it. “Private! Get me to the ‘Mech staging area!”

Jumping in the driver’s seat, the infantryman replied, “Yes sir!”

As Major Silver climbed in the side seat, Captain McKenna came running up and tossed the Major her briefcase as she jumped on the back. Speeding off, the two quickly reached their ‘Mechs. Jumping out, they were met by technicians who began helping them suit up fast. Within a few minutes, they were climbing up into their ‘Mechs to prepare for whatever awaited them.

As Lieutenant Thorpe reached the tent, he was met by air technicians who aided in his preparation for flight. Glancing around, he saw that the only fighter still on the ground was his LAM, Yotaka. Ian’s already in the air. I better hurry.

As he climbed into his cockpit and closed the canopy, he ordered to his machine. “Computer, begin pre-flight startup, combat sequence.”

The electronic voice circuit responded in its familiarly feminine voice. “Affirmative, Lieutenant. Startup sequence begun. State your identification code, please.”

Clearing his throat, Randall Thorpe replied, “Thorpe Epsilon Omega Psi”

As the fusion engine came online, the computer responded quickly. “Authentication confirmed. Systems operational.”

Tuning his comm. system over to the Ace of Spades’ air controller’s frequency, he keyed his mic. “Ace of Spades, this is Recon Leader reporting for combat duty.”

As static filled the line, the air controller responded. “Roger that Recon Leader. You are clear for combat operations. Make for heading 219 Angles 5, you are weapons free.”

Keying his mic in reply, “Roger that, heading 219 Angles 5. I am weapons free. Recon Leader out.”

Throttling up, he quickly brought his LAM to a full run. Within moments, the jets lit off and pushed the vehicle into the air. As the body hunched over, the wing panels extended from their protected sheaths on the ‘Mech’s back. Gaining speed, the wings began providing lift as the ‘Mech pulled its legs up behind itself. Within 20 seconds of leaving the ground, the AirMech was already flying at over 160 kph. As the conversion continued, the arms folded in under the wings and the legs locked in underneath them.

As the engine spooled up to maximum military output, the reduced drag let the fighter leap forward to near-Mach speed almost immediately. Turning to heading 219, Randall pitched his fighter upward to climb to 5,000 meters. Once at cruise altitude, he pushed the throttle forward to its maximum position. Shoving past the speed of sound easily, he rapidly began closing on the other fighters.

“Recon Wing! Break right!” Randall cried out as he closed in behind the fighter tailing his wingman.

As Lieutenant Amdecker swept into a tight roll to the right, the much more maneuverable Tomahawk fighter stayed behind him, loosing a trio of lasers. Burning armor off the Lieutenant’s LAM, it left scars along the right wing and main body. However, as the enemy fighter tore into his wingman, Lieutenant Thorpe got a lock of his own.

“Echo five!” Randall shouted as his quintet of lasers opened up on the Blake Tomahawk. Scoring hits directly up the engine faring, he watched as the fighter slewed off at an odd angle. Suddenly, it burst into a fireball as its hydrogen fuel tanks ruptured. Dodging quickly around the explosion, Randall keyed his mic. “Splash one.”

The voice of Lieutenant Hernandez came over his comm. line. “Recon Leader! Check six!”

Looking around behind his fighter, he saw as the second Tomahawk came in behind him. Breaking into a barrel roll, he tried to shake the Blake fighter. However his LAM was no match for the maneuverability of the Star League era fighter. Staying right on his tail, it let fly with a trio of lasers, missing by the narrowest of margins.

“I can’t shake him!” Randall cried out. This guy is good! he thought. Pulling his fighter up hard, he tried again to shake his opponent, to no avail. Suddenly his threat-warning indicator started toning. He’s locking on! Gotta break him off! Try as he might though, the fighter stayed fixed on his rear. As the tone went steady indicating a solid lock, Randall braced for a hit.

Instead, he suddenly broke left as Lieutenant Tucker came streaming in directly over his nose in the Visigoth. Blasting the enemy fighter with a fearsome array of PPC, Laser, and LRM fire, she made the enemy fighter break off.

“Good shooting Air Wing.” Randall radioed. As he watched the path of the enemy fighter, he saw it was flying oddly. He can’t bank right… Swinging in behind the fighter rapidly, he locked the enemy in his sights.

“Echo five!” he called out as he opened up a full array of laser fire on the battered fighter. Blasting armor off the already scarred fuselage, the fighter bent in half at the mid-section and broke in two. Billowing up in a ball of burning hydrogen, Randall keyed his mic again. “Splash one. Recon Wing, take my six.”

“Roger Recon Leader.” Ian replied.

“Air Wing! Get him off me!” came Lieutenant Hernandez’s voice over the channel. Looking at his display, he saw that the one remaining Trident was dog-tailing her Corsair. Much more maneuverable than her own fighter, she had little hope of getting out of that position without help.

Gunning his engines to maximum overthrust, Randall raced to aid the leader of Air Lance. Seeing the Visigoth race past him, he watched as the Blake fighter fired on Lieutenant Hernandez. Scoring a hit along the engine faring and fuselage, the Visigoth broke into the fight, forcing the light fighter to break his tailing position.

Closing in on Lieutenant Hernandez, he saw smoke streaming out from her fighter. Keying up comms, he radioed, “Air Leader, we’ve got you covered.”

Damage warnings blared over the radio as Lieutenant Hernandez responded. “Roger that Recon Leader. I’m pretty chewed up here, but I think I can pull it out.”

As he came in around behind Air Leader, the Trident swung in to try and take another shot at the Corsair. Ian came in behind him and took a shot that made the enemy fighter swing wide to avoid the fire, making him lose Lieutenant Hernandez. Taking advantage of the situation, Randall locked the Blake fighter up quickly and called out, “Echo five!” and let loose a full barrage of laser fire.

Sending laser fire all over the sky, a single medium class laser struck the damaged right wing of the Star League era fighter. While not immediately lethal, it spun the fighter enough to cause a structural failure along its centerline. The fighter disintegrated in a stream of debris.

Lieutenant Thorpe keyed the channel open. “Splash one! I show no enemy air contacts.”  Suddenly his jubilation was cut short.

“Mayday! Mayday! I’m going down!” It was Lieutenant Hernandez. As Randall came back around on her position, he saw that the fighter was in an uncontrolled spin. Losing altitude rapidly, she would only have seconds until impact.

As he watched helplessly, he saw the cockpit canopy pop free and the pilot came rocketing out of her doomed fighter. Seconds later, it buried itself into the tundra below.

“Pilot down!” he called over the open frequency.

The Ace of Spades air controller replied quickly. “Roger that Recon Leader. Dispatching air pickup. Maintain CAP over the pilot until recovery.”

Just then his computer spoke up. “Warning. Bingo fuel.”

“Negative Ace. I’m Bingo.” Randall replied.

“Roger that, bingo fuel.” .” The Ace of Spades replied back. “Return to Waypoint Alpha. Have Air Wing remain on CAP for pickup.”

Great. We beat them down, but almost got the CO’s fiancé killed! I hope the rest of this battle turns out better…

When he heard the call that his fiancé had been shot down, Major Silver feared the worst. Once he’d heard she had ejected and landed safely, his concentration returned to the task at hand.

He’d been scanning for enemy ground contacts that he was sure were close at hand. His thermal sensors had indicated a faint reading to the north and he was searching for the source. With his visual magnification at maximum, he was startled as a BattleMech foot suddenly filled the display. Zooming back a little, he could make out infantry acting in support.

“This is Silver Actual, I show enemy ‘Mechs and infantry at 22 kilometers baring 354.” Checking his seismic sensors confirmed the contact, but he couldn’t get a mag-res reading. “Fire Leader, can you confirm contact?”

Captain McKenna had been seeing the same thing, but couldn’t get a confirmation from her tracking computer. “Roger that Silver Actual, I can confirm the contact but cannot get a solid track.”

Captain McKenna tuned her comms over to Lieutenant Farrell. “Strike Leader, try and get a tracking on the contacts baring 354.”

Lieutenant Sergei Farrell keyed in reply, “Roger. Will advise.” As they watched the contacts, there came a call over the frequency.

“Contact! Baring 014 at 22 clicks!” Lieutenant Chekov reported from the HQ tent. “Multiple BattleMech contacts with vehicle and infantry support.”

Major Silver turned his display toward the new contact. Making no attempts to hide their approach, the formation was closing on their position at over 40 kph. Keying his channel open he ordered, “Silver Eagles, this is Silver Actual, they’re coming straight in. We’ll stand our ground here. Captain Darious, have we received any reply to our call for Negushivo Militia forces?”

Captain Darious grimly replied, “Negative. No response.”

Well, if they stay out of it, at least they aren’t fighting on her side… a minor victory to begin with. Keying over to Captain McKenna, he inquired, “Fire Leader, what’s the ETA on the ASF refueling operations?”

After a moment, Captain McKenna replied, “Silver Actual, ETA to air-born status, 22 minutes.”

“Roger Fire Leader. Report when status clear.” Major Silver closed the channel. They’ll be on us in 30 minutes, but they have artillery and we don’t. Nothing to do now but wait. Considering his options, he opened up a channel to the Ace of Spades. “Ace of Spades this is Silver Actual. Begin loading external ordinance ASAP.”

The Ace of Spades air controller wasted no time. “Roger Silver Actual. Be advised, that could take longer than the enemy ETA.”

“Understood. Make it a priority. Silver Actual…” Major Silver had turned his display back toward the first contact that he’d seen. As he spoke with the Ace of Spades, the electronic image of the distant enemy contact vanished in front of his eyes.

Regaining his concentration he finished, “Silver Actual out.” Tuning over to Captain McKenna, he quickly ordered, “Fire Leader, this is Silver Actual. Contact baring 354 just vanished. Confirm.”

Recovering from the shock of seeing what he had, Lieutenant Farrell keyed his Company Commander and Major Silver. “Sir, I recognize this pattern. It’s the same thing I look like at very long range.”

Major Silver took in this new information. They have ‘Mechs with Null Signature! “Roger that, Strike Leader.” Turning the channel to the battalion open network he barked, “Be advised, enemy ground assets are using stealth systems. Use visual confirmation on contact.”

This certainly makes things interesting. Major Silver thought. What else to these Blakers have up their sleeve?

As the Silver Eagles waited out the approach of the enemy, they continued with preparations. The LAMs were refueled and the Visigoth was being loaded with bombs. A sense of urgency surrounded every action as though it might later make the difference between life and death. The infantry in their fortifications busied themselves with minor preparations, tensely waiting for the first testing of their mettle and equipment. The techs worked feverishly to prepare the Visigoth in hopes it could dominate the battlefield. The Mechwarriors just sat in their cockpits and waited and watched.

As the distance to the enemy formation slowly dropped down to 7.5 kilometers, the nervous silence was broken in a flash by the infantry in the western fortification. “Contact!”

As they spoke, Major Silver’s tracking system detected weapons fire within 400 meters. He opened the channel. “Eagles engage!”

Sharpnel

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #31 on: 22 June 2014, 12:24:30 »
I've got no love for Silver's airhead of a sister. She's coming off as an easily manipulated dupe
Consigliere Trygg Bender, CRD-3BL Crusader, The Blazer Mafia
Takehiro 'Taco' Uchimiya, SHD-2H Shadow Hawk 'Taco', Crimson Oasis Trading Company

"Of what use is a dream, if not a blueprint for courageous action" -Adam West
As I get older, I realize that I'm not as good as I once was.
"Life is too short to be living someone else's dream" - Hugh Hefner

McKenna

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #32 on: 22 June 2014, 12:44:25 »
Aye lad.

Deathrider6

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #33 on: 23 June 2014, 01:09:54 »
Nice to see the Eagles back.
"You're either with me, or you hate freedom and kittens. " - consequences on VSD and a draw result of the Great Refusal.

McKenna

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #34 on: 23 June 2014, 01:14:39 »
It's been a long road getting things back on the boards. Blasted Blue Marsupials not withstanding, we may yet see this story reach the current timeline.  :P

Thank you to all of our fans, whom have all been so patient.

Deathrider6

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #35 on: 23 June 2014, 01:17:27 »
Well it would be nice to find out what Lt Commander Wingate is up to. If you need any assistance feel free to ask.
"You're either with me, or you hate freedom and kittens. " - consequences on VSD and a draw result of the Great Refusal.

McKenna

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #36 on: 23 June 2014, 02:35:57 »
Right now I'm just pulling up data, but I will let you know if I need anything. Thanks.

McKenna

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #37 on: 23 June 2014, 15:03:46 »
Once more unto the.....

Sorry for the delay in the update, RL© stinks sometimes. [tongue] On with the adventure!

They’re trying to flank us. thought Major Silver. Smart, very smart. He keyed up the command frequency for  the Battalion. “This is Silver Actual. Lieutenant O’Hare, have First Motor fall-out by squads to blunt that flank. Lieutenant Chekov, dispatch Fourth Platoon to pick-up the First Motorized Infantry by squads and support them against enemy infantry. Captain McKenna, detach Strike Lance and have them escort the M-22s into position and suppress those ‘Mechs. Have Jump Platoon move into the left flank position to cover. Have Third Armor provide covering fire from their position. I want that flank secure.”

Captain McKenna responded quickly. “Affirmative. Deploy First Motor by squads with Fourth Armor and Strike Lance in support. Re-deploy Jump Platoon to cover. Cover at range with Third Armor. You heard him, move out people!”

As the motor platoons loaded into the M-22 IFVs under fire and Strike Lance headed out to escort them, Lt. Farrell activated his null-signature system. The ‘Mech shimmered as the Chameleon system changed the coloration of the ‘Mech to match its background, making it blend in with its surroundings. The heat baffles and EM suppression systems further obscured the ‘Mech from both active and passive sensor systems.

Opening a secure channel to the rest of his lance he ordered, “Lieutenant Scott, I want you and Lieutenant Yar to take point. I’ll cover the IFVs into combat range. Make sure you keep those vehicles safe. That means we take the fire.”

Lt. Scott replied, “Yes sir. I’ll keep their attention all right! Let’s get ‘em!”

With Strike Lance leading the way, the M-22s raced passed their defensive line of berms. Lt. Scott sighted on one of the Exterminators and fired a pair of ER Large Lasers. His standard ER laser shot wide, but the refitted Clan laser found its mark, striking the head of the enemy ‘Mech. Immediately, his joy turned to concern when he saw only moderate armor damage, not penetration. Even worse, the two Blake Exterminators turned and fired back, scattering Long Range Missiles all over his Wolverine.

As the formation closed on their enemy, Lt. Farrell kept his own ‘Mech between the enemy and the Infantry Fighting Vehicles. As missile fire peppered his ‘Mech, he returned fire with missiles and lasers of his own. Each volley of missile fire was cut down by bursts of anti-missile fire while the lasers were even less effective than the Clan weapon had been, scattering light armor damage all over the ‘Mech’s left side.

As the trio concentrated fire on the left ‘Mech, they managed to only hit with scattered fire, but the enemy seemed content to stay at range. Seeing that their armor cover was being specifically kept out of range, Lt. Farrell opened a channel. “Sergeant Thiemann, the enemy is holding position out of range. Move up your platoon behind us and provide cover fire.”

Master Sergeant Thiemann responded. “Affirmative. Moving in behind your position.”

As the Armor slowly moved in, the ‘Mechs closed to keep the pressure on. The IFVs raced ahead of the ‘Mech line to close on the enemy infantry. Lt. Scott looked down at his heat indicator and saw that his newly installed triple-strength myomers were at peak operating temperature.

Seizing the moment, he keyed his mic. “I’ve got the one on the right!” Before Lt. Farrell could order him to concentrate on the same ‘Mech, he charged up to point blank range and unloaded his SRM launcher and a trio of lasers. In his headlong rush, he failed to hit with anything but a pair of lasers. Swinging wide with his free left fist, he failed to even connect with that as the Exterminator backpedaled. Lancing his ‘Mech with concentrated laser fire, the Wolverine shuddered, but stood up to the assault.

Just then, his threat-warning indicator went off. Too late, he saw the Arrow IV missile coming down behind his position. When the cluster charges exploded all around his legs, his ‘Mech was nearly blown off its feet. He barely managed to keep the ‘Mech standing.

Master Sergeant Green, head of Infantry Support Platoon, radioed Lt. Scott. “Lieutenant, keep him pinned. We’ll see about silencing those spotters.” as the IFVs closed to point-blank range against the enemy infantry. Opening up with their flamers and machine guns, the four M-22s gutted the ranks of the Blake infantry. In less than half a minute, they reduced them from six full platoons to only three.

Meanwhile, Lt. Yar’s Stormcrow and Lt. Farrell’s Exterminator continued to press the attack on the other Blake Exterminator. Trying to get in close, Lt. Yar’s lasers only succeeded in scratching the armor of the advanced ‘Mech. Lt. Farrell’s LRMs couldn’t get through its AMS, but after destroying yet another flight of missiles, they heard its guns finally run dry. Pressing hard, he managed another flight of missiles, this time impacting over the legs. His lasers added to the damage on the left side of the ‘Mech’s torso reducing its protection to tatters, but not enough to break through. However, Lt. Yar managed to follow up the damage with a Large Pulse Laser, striking into the core of the ‘Mech and damaging it's internal structure.

Major Silver saw the main body of enemy ‘Mechs and vehicles surge forward, increasing speed to over 50 kph. That’s it! The flanking attack was nothing more than an attempt to pull off some of our forces so the main body could attack us weakened. Major Silver was impressed by the tactic. With only two ‘Mechs and six platoons of infantry, they had managed to tie up nearly a quarter of his forces. “Lieutenant O’Hare, activate Jump Platoon and get that flank secure. I need Strike Lance and Third Armor back here immediately!”

While the infantry tried to re-spot the incoming artillery under fire, Lt. Scott managed to swing his Wolverine in behind the Exterminator. Smattering it with a few laser strikes, he leaned his ‘Mech hard to the left. Wrenching his left fist back, he smashed it home into the weak rear armor of the Exterminator’s right side. The advanced Laser Reflective armor crumpled under the massive blow, only slowing the massive blow a fraction. As the fist slammed through the delicate innards of the priceless ‘Mech, it crushed engine shielding, causing a massive power spike. As the fist finished its path, it smashed one of the delicate control modules for the advanced stealth system. With a dying shimmer from the Chameleon system, the ‘Mech’s stealth systems were lost.

Wrenching itself free of the massive blow, the Blake ‘Mech saw four laser blasts come streaking in. Scattering their energy over the ‘Mech, they failed to damage it, but with its stealth system gone, not even the advanced armor would protect the ‘Mech for long from the firepower of the four closing M-21 Battle Tanks. It rapidly backed up keeping Lt. Scott’s Wolverine in front of him, and peppering it with laser fire of its own, concentrating on the left arm that had wounded him.

As the IFVs began deploying their troops, the enemy infantry rushed their position. Scattering laser fire all over the lead vehicle, they failed to breach any of its armor. Too close to fight effectively, the IFVs could only provide covering fire.

The other Blake Exterminator managed to outmaneuver his opposition, getting in behind Lt. Yar’s Stormcrow. Firing a trio of Lasers at her, he managed to only hit with one, weakening the armor covering the rear of her ‘Mech’s engine compartment. Unable to bring her weapons to bear on the 'Mech behind her, she switched targets firing instead on the 'Mech fighting Lt. Scott. However, she failed to hit with either of her lasers. Lt. Farrell had backed off, managing to pepper the Exterminator with missiles, but failing to connect with its lasers. Suddenly, the enemy Exterminator deactivated his stealth system, apparently intent on a close range brawl.

Having approached unnoticed, Jump Platoon had moved in to just inside the range of their Intek Laser rifles and man-portable PPCs. Loosing fire on the enemy ‘Mech, they only managed to inflict a few mior hits, but now the ‘Mech had one more threat to worry about.

As the fight against the flanking forces continued, Major Silver ordered First and Second Armor into position just behind the ‘Mechs. Watching the enemy forces close, his sensors indicated incoming artillery fire. Smashing down ninety meters directly in front of his position, he saw that they would soon be forced to close or suffer the effects of artillery they couldn’t respond to.

Looking down at his range indicator, he saw the enemy formation had closed to less than 900 meters. “Lieutenant O’Hare, move up into position just behind the fortifications. Support our position. Command Lance, you are weapons free. Fire as targets come into range.”

Breaking in, Lt. Josepho opened an un-coded broadcast channel from his Summoner. “This is Mechwarrior Josepho of Clan Silver Eagle. I challenge the pilot of the Flashman to single combat. Let no one interfere!” Raising both arms, he triggered both ER Large Lasers at the closing ‘Mech, scoring a hit on its left leg and gouging a line of ruined armor up its entire left flank. Unable to return fire at this range, the challenged ‘Mech could only continue to close.

“Command Lance,” Major Silver ordered. “Fall back into broad line formation. Be ready to engage. The Flashman is not a viable target of opportunity unless it fires on you. Rules Of Engagement are in force.”

As the rest of his lance broke into a broad line, Josepho boldly walked his ‘Mech forward, crossing the defensive positions of the vehicles easily. Continuing to draw a bead on his target, he loosed another pair of laser blasts, this time only landing a single shot on the right leg.

The rest of Command Lance took opportunity shots as the enemy closed the distance by another 150 meters. Failing to connect with anything, most of the fire served only to shower the area in LRM explosions and misplaced laser and Particle Cannon fire. However, as Lt. Windsor in the heavily refitted Hellbringer took careful aim on one of the enemy’s two Mongooses, he lanced the right arm of the ‘Mech with a single Large Pulse Laser. Slicing through the weak armor, it tore into the interior, severing the Endo Steel bone connecting it to its body. The arm fell off in an unceremonious heap.

Trying to draw a bead on one of the enemy Bombardiers, Lt. Jones in his refitted Marauder mashed down on the firing trigger. As his three Large Pulse Lasers charged to fire, the one mounted in his left arm suffered a catastrophic failure. Gutting the weapon and blasting chunks of molten metal out the firing nozzle, it prevented him from getting a good lock with his other lasers. His fire only managed to scatter ineffectively downrange.

As the fight began along the main front, the first Exterminator managed to stay in back of Lt. Yar’s Stormcrow. This time loosing a quartet of lasers on her rear, as well as firing ineffectively on one of the M-22s with its LRM launcher, the Blake ‘Mech blasted armor of the right flank of Lt. Yar’s stricken ‘Mech. But the worst was yet to come. Striking the engine compartment armor again, this time the laser blasted into the interior. Narrowly avoiding ruining her gyro by wrenching the ‘Mech hard around, she only managed to make the laser’s insistent energy boil away part of her engine’s shielding. Feeling the heat spike up beneath her feet, she fought with the controls that a moment ago had responded so easily.

Closing in even closer, Jump Platoon managed to get within only sixty meters and let loose with another volley of laser and PPC fire. Unfortunately, the attack failed to damage the advanced armor of the Blake Heavy ‘Mech.

As the IFVs moved back from their support positions, they created a ring around the two remaining infantry platoons, ready to incinerate them. Acting fast, the two platoons moved in close to First Motor Platoon, too close to use their flamers or risk hitting their own. Resigned to taking careful shots with their machine guns and SRM launchers, they only managed to hit a single infantryman. Sergeant Green opened a broadcast channel. “Blake infantry forces. This is Master Sergeant Green, formerly of the Negushivo Militia. You’re surrounded. Surrender.”

Lt. Scott tried in earnest to get close enough to hit his Exterminator again, but the pilot refused to allow it. Backing off another 120 meters, it drew another round of fire from Third Armor. This time, they had managed to close the distance to only 450 meters, just inside the best effective range of their Large Lasers. As two of the tanks shot wide, one found its mark on the ‘Mech’s  right flank, but barely scratching the armor as the shot had only been a glancing angle to begin with. However, the other laser struck true against the center of the ‘Mech’s torso, blasting a huge chunk of protective armor off. Combined with the damage from the other weapons fire, the ‘Mech would likely not last much longer, but then it didn’t have to. It had served its purpose.

Another Arrow IV missile came slamming down on Fire Lance's position, lighting off its cluster of explosive ordinance behind Captain McKenna’s Striker. Blasting armor off her right flank and arm, it also took armor of Lt. Faller’s Zeus’s right leg and flank. Lt. Solovitch’s Executioner also took damage as clusters impacted along its left flank and right leg.

Captain McKenna shouted, “Fire Lance, break into broad line formation and close on the enemy position. I want those Arrow IV launchers silenced! Move out!”

More to come… [wink]

McKenna

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Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #38 on: 23 June 2014, 15:04:41 »
and more...

Did it count for an 'ammo explosion'? It didn't read that way. I guess the Tech's that put it in are in a bit of trouble for not testing it fully.

Indeed, it’s much as NightHawk713X describes, but there is more to it. (and he misremembered the table, but then, I wrote the table ) Our house rules call for a second roll anytime you bottom your roll. The result of the second roll determines the result of the flub. But there are modifiers that change the odds. Here is the table we use:

11 or more: No Result; Weapon hits if the to-hit was met
8-10: Weapon misses
7: Weapon overheats/misfires; cannot fire it for 1 round while weapon cools/clears
5-6: Weapon shorts out/jams; cannot fire it until 1 round is spent clearing it as per RAC rules
3-4: Weapon overloads/fails; cannot fire it again until repaired after battle as per UAC rules
2: Weapon self-destructs; all crits are considered hit and weapon is useless; may be salvaged as normal (10+)
1 or less: Weapon explodes; take damage to the internal structure equal to one hit from the weapon

Modifiers:
+3 – Weapon is a standard Autocannon
+2 – ‘Mech is a standard design (non-customized TRO design)
+1 – Weapon is Level 1
+1 – Access to Clan or SL technicians and spare parts
-1 – Weapon is Level 3 or Clantech
-1 – ‘Mech’s Technician is not trained in maintenance of the weapon (IS Tech using Clantech, etc.)
-2 – Weapon is Level 3 and Clantech
-3 – Weapon is an Ultra AC or Rotary AC in multi-fire mode
+/-1 or more – Conditional modifiers; set by GM based on circumstances (previous jams, rushed repairs, etc.)

Note that UACs and RACs (though RACs haven’t been invented yet) use this instead of their normal jamming rules. (which make these weapons of dubious value almost decent) It adds spice to the campaign setting and rewards usage of non-bleeding-edge tech that is, by its very nature, much more robust.

Now… on with the update!

WARNING! The following depiction of events was done on a closed table by professional gamers. Do not try this in your home games! (in other words… well… you’ll see)


The air was suddenly ablaze with weapons fire. As the Blake ‘Mechs and Vehicles closed on the Silver Eagles, they broke ranks and charged in.

“Fire Lance!” cried Captain McKenna. “Open fire!” She targeted in on the Lancelot exactly opposite herself. Spitting it with her targeting system, she squeezed down on the triggers for her Gauss Rifle and ER PPC. Electricity cracked through the air as the particle stream ionized air molecules, sending miniature lighting bolts scattering along a path towards her target, but failed to find its mark. The Gauss Rifle finished precharging and shunted all its power from the capacitors to the accelerator coils. However, as it did so, a minor flaw in the power adapter jury-rigged to function as a Clan Omni power coupling failed. The stored energy of the capacitor vented out as a shower of electrical discharges, frying circuits and fusing the loading mechanism. As the electrical arcs ran up the interior of the barrel, they surged through the shielding around the accelerator coils, burning them completely out. The Blake machine responded with its pair of heavy lasers and its PPC, but similarly failed to track Captain McKenna.

Lt. Faller selected the same Bombardier again for attack. Locking in with his LRMs and Jade Falcon Large and Medium Pulse Lasers, he stabbed the trigger. Two pulsating beams arched across the battlefield, scattering their laser light all around the target, but failing to make contact long enough to cause any actual damage. A stream of LRMs followed the attack, but less than a dozen found their mark, scattering mild damage over the ‘Mechs armor. The two Bombardiers replied in kind with a double salvo of missiles from their four Delphinius-20 launchers. As the missiles scattered over the entire area, it became evident that they were using Swarm munitions, but few of the submunitions actually hit any targets, scattering a few over two of the M-21 Battle Tanks.

Once more, Lt. Jones tried to spear the Bombardier with his remaining heavy pulse lasers and added the pair of medium class lasers to the mix. Thinking he had a lock, Lt. Jones mashed down on the trigger again, only to have all his lasers bury themselves in the dirt in front of the target. Looking astonished, he confirmed that the targeting reticule was centered on the Blake ‘Mech. Damnable Clanner garbage! he thought. That fouled Large Pulse is throwing off my T&T system! He reached over and pulled the circuit breakers for the sensor feeds coming in from the left arm. It may make firing that Medium harder, and I may fry it, but at least I stand a chance!

Holding his ground behind the berms, Lt. Amdecker took careful aim with the trio of lasers on his Phoenix Hawk LAM at the enemy Mongoose closing so rapidly. Firing off the three, he managed to pear the armor off its left arm, sending the massive beam of energy up into the fist, reducing it to so much unusable garbage. One other laser managed to reduce the armor of its left flank to near ruins with the last missing just over its left shoulder, but then the ‘Mech responded with its own attack. It came not in the form of high-energy lasers, but a single low-intensity laser, designating him for attack. The Arrow IV missile came screaming down, blasting chunks of armor of his delicate and irreplaceable machine. As the concussion wave hit his cockpit canopy, he was rocked violently, but managed to maintain his footing. The salty taste of blood tickled his throat indicating he’d bitten his tongue when the cockpit was hit, its foul taste a mocking echo of the destruction the 20 ton ‘Mech had brought down on him.

Just as Lt. Windsor pressed the trigger to fire on the Mongoose he’d de-armed, the Arrow IV missile exploded over Lt. Amdecker, only 60 meters behind and to the left of him. Knocking his aim off at the worst possible second, both lasers flashed into the sky, harmlessly. Oddly, the Blake ‘Mech did not seem to take the opportunity to fire back. Meanwhile, Lt. Solovitch triggered the pair of ER PPCs in his Executioner at the Bombardier that had struck the tank in front of his position. As the weapons discharged downrange, both missed wide, traveling miles before their errant energy was spent.

Having raced ahead, Lt. Josepho found himself only 150 meters in front of the Flashman he’d declared as his own. Triggering the pair of ER Large Lasers as well as the two ER Medium Lasers and both SRM 6 launchers, only two lasers found their mark, the SRM launchers failing to get a lock on the rapidly bounding 75 ton Star League ‘Mech. While one Large Laser bounced at a sharp angle on the rounded armor, barely manageing to inflict any damage at all, one Medium Laser slammed into the head assembly of the bulbous design. Melting almost half a ton of armor, it should have spoiled the Blakist’s aim, but it did not. It returned fire with its trio of heavy Selitex Radionic lasers and it four front-mounted Ichiba 3000 lasers, missing only with one of the latter. The trio of heavy lasers spitted the Formerly Jade Falcon ‘Mech and warrior in either torso side, with the third returning the favor of Lt. Josepho’s head strike. Searing heat blasted into his cockpit as almost all the armor evaporated off his head assembly. To make matters worse, the damage from the laser strike to his right torso side was followed up by one of the smaller Ichiba 3000 lasers, penetrating the armor there and ruining one of his SRM 6 launchers and a heat sink. The other two scattered damage over his left leg and center torso, causing only minor armor damage, but still making the clansman respect the abilities of both pilot and machine.

Opposite their position, from behind the Blake ‘Mech formation, two Zephyr hovercraft came sweeping in at top speed. As the M-21 Battle Tanks filled the air with laser fire and SRM missiles, their lack of training only managed to scatter errant energy downrange harmlessly, as well as over 30 SRMs failing to hit either the Zephyrs or the two Mongoose they’d fired on. But neither could the two hovercraft manage to hit any of their targets.

As Major Silver watched his company saturate the air with fire, he targeted the Lancelot in the center of the formation. Firing off both his ER PPCs, he managed to catch the ‘Mech with one, burning a gaping wound up its left flank. His satisfaction turned to near panic as immediately following it came the supersonic crack of a ton of nickel and iron racing at hypersonic velocities past him. Seven Gauss Rifle rounds came streaking past his ‘Mech from the two Demon tanks and two Alacorn Mk VI heavy tanks. Amazingly, none of the deadly hypersonic projectiles found their target.

Major Silver shook himself clear. God, what a Charlie Fox-trot this turned out to be!


“Strike Support!” ordered Lt. Farrell. “Fall back on my position. I’ll cover you.”

“Roger that. Falling back.” Came Lt. Yar’s rushed reply. One more hit like that in the rear and I’m done for!

As Lt. Yar fell back to join Lt. Farrell, Jump Platoon took to the air and landed only 90 meters from their position, trying to estimate where to put themselves for best use of their weapons. Meanwhile, the IFV’s repositioned themselves to completely encircle the enemy infantry, but couldn’t get their own infantry out of harm’s way. Seeing the Blake infantry fire on their motorized infantry again, they could see surrender was not an option with them. It was a fight to the death as the Blake infantry lasers cut down another squad of Silver Eagle Infantry, leaving only first and second squad unharmed. In return, a hail of machine gun fire and SRMs impacted around their position, leaving only a few squads of their own.

As the others fought on, Lt. Scott tried once again to bring his ‘Mech into a position to mash his free hand into the Laser Reflective hide of the enemy Exterminator. As he watched, the ‘Mech swept right in front of him. Triggering off his lasers much too late, he failed to hit with any of them, and to add insult to injury, the ‘Mech didn’t even attack him, instead attacking M-22 IFV Delta. Opening up with its four Medium Lasers, it struck with all of them, scattering damage all over the vehicle’s armor. One laser struck a tread, partially fusing a few of the links, limiting her mobility. Swinging its turreted flamers around, it only managed to mildly damage the left leg. Suddenly, the ‘Mech reared back and slammed its foot into the side of the tank, skipping along its side armor and planting itself firmly into the side of the tanks turret, smashing armor plates as it went.

Lt. Scott keyed his mic. “Ok, that’s it! No more Mr. Nice Guy! This sucker is MINE!”

As the battle raged, Lt. Yar limped her ‘Mech in beside Lt. Farrell’s Exterminator. As they watched, the enemy Exterminator came racing in at almost 100 kph, swinging in not behind Lt. Yar’s Stormcrow, but Lt. Farrell’s Exterminator. Opening up with a full barrage of laser fire, it failed to hit his well-obscured ‘Mech, despite the close range of the assault. As the other two swung around to fire what they could at the target now behind their position, Lt. Yar missed with both her lasers, while Lt. Farrell hit but still only managed to inflict minor damage on the target.

However, as he swung in around behind Lt. Farrell, he exposed his right flank to the four M-21s of Third Armor. They all swiveled their turrets around to bear on the new target and let lose with a blistering array of laser fire, while their second gunner fired the SRM launchers at the other Exterminator downrange. Thought their missiles were cut down by the advanced anti-missile system of the second Exterminator, the first took several heavy laser hits, reducing the already weakened armor all over the ‘Mech to scrap. As the fire continued, the ‘Mech’s right arm actuators took heavy damage, reducing them to barely functional.

The Blake ‘Mech had been swinging back with its foot when the massive volley of laser fire impaled it along its right flank. Caught off balance, the ‘Mech tipped suddenly to the right, landing hard on its left arm, ruining the hand actuator there. Jarred and stunned at the sour turn of events, the Blake ‘Mech simply lay their stunned.


Quickly trying to salvage the situation, Major Silver opened a channel to Command Lance. “Command Wing this is Silver Actual. Concentrate all fire on those Mongooses. We’re gonna get killed if we don’t silence those spotters! Fire!”

As chaos ensued around her, Captain McKenna calmly opened a channel. “Lt. Faller, this is Fire Leader. Concentrate on targets of opportunity, but that Lancelot is mine!”

Lt. Faller keyed in response. “Roger Fire Leader. Fire Lance! Concentrate all fire on my target! Take her down!”



Note: Yes… this was this weeks game. Yes, this was only 1 round of combat. (10 seconds in game) Yes, this took us four hours to do, because we were laughing so hard at the die rolls. Of all the shots fired, less than 10% actually hit anything, and fully half of those were grazing hits for half damage! As you can see, we had another “malfunction” this week, this time McKenna’s GR. If things keep up like this, we could be fighting this same battle in a month’s time!

Ahhh… will the fun never end? (apparently not anytime soon… )

PS: For those who participated in my “No Players” thread, as you can see, their dice have FINALLY turned against them! (it was only a matter of time, but still…) Now if MY dice hadn’t suddenly taken a nose-dive at the same time… (oh, and we think we know why the dice went sour… we think the guy who plays Major Silver stopped sacrificing chickens to the dice Gods… it’s the only explanation… )

More next week!

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #39 on: 23 June 2014, 15:05:27 »
and last for today..

Another short session this week, (that is, only 1 round of combat) but I added a surprise at the end!

Major Silver was concerned. With Strike Lance still trying to fend off the flanking attack, his forces were facing a much harder fight than they were expecting. We’ll just have to do the bast we can without them. Opening his channel to Command Lance he ordered, “Advance on the enemy line. Try and take out those artillery spotters.” At that he triggered a full salvo of weapons fire on the lead Mongoose. Missing wide with his PPCs and Medium Lasers, he only managed a lock with his SRMs. Showering the Blake ‘Mech in deadly missile fire, he managed to blast a hole in its right flank, but failed to damage any of its delicate interior. In retaliation, both of the 25 ton ‘Mechs tried to designate Major Silver for incoming artillery, but failed to achieve a lock.

Following his lead, Lt. Windsor opened up with six of his own pulse lasers, causing a massive have of heat to radiate through his cockpit interior. Missing with only two of the medium lasers, he blasted armor of every part of the light ‘Mech. One of his Large Lasers found the hole that Major Silver had opened up in its flank, burning the remaining skeleton there to ruins. As the right arm fell worthlessly to the ground, his other heavy laser burned into the left arm, blasting the hand actuator there to tiny pieces. The light machine was blasted of its feet, landing flat on its back. Armor shards from its right leg flew through the air as it came crashing down. “He won’t take another salvo like that.” Lt. Windsor said to himself. As he spoke, he failed to notice his heat regulation system kick in. Suddenly, his screens went blank and the heavy Clan war machine shut itself down. Streams of curses flew out into the sweltering heat of his now quite silent cockpit.

Meanwhile, Lt. Sanderson locked her sights on the lead Crab, leveling her Kali Yama Big Bore cannon at the Medium ‘Mech. Triggering her trio of lasers and a flight of SRMs as well, she failed to connect with anything except one laser, which momentarily connected their center torsos, melting armor but doing little else. She was still not used to the massive recoil of the heavy autocannon and in the heat of such a critical battle was the worst place to try and learn.

Captain McKenna swung to the right as the Blake Lancelot appeared to be trying to flank their position. With her Gauss Rifle out of commission, she triggered her PPC and twin Medium Lasers at the heavy Star League ‘Mech. Her lasers fired true, lancing armor off the right arm and leg, while her PPC bored a hole into the ‘Mech’s left arm, sending its armor plating boiling off in all directions and leaving the arm bare. It retaliated with another salvo of heavy laser and PPC fire, missing wide with the PPC and barely hitting her Assault ‘Mech with the two heavy Krupp lasers.

Holding true to their orders, the remainder of Fire Lance opened up on the lead Bombardier. As Lt. Faller tried to lock on with the Artemis Fire Control system, the enemy’s Electronic jamming made it impossible, so he instead fired his quartet of lasers at the Blake ‘Mech. His heavy pulse laser found the ‘Mech’s center of mass and its AMS gun, blasting the defensive weapon to dust along with over half a ton of armor. The twin medium lasers paired armor of each arm, leaving the right arm with scant protection, while the ardent beam of his remaining heavy laser blasted the remains of the armor off its left flank.

Following his lead, Lt. Jones triggered his MASC system and ran past the on-rushing Magi tanks and stopped 120 meters away from the targeted Bombardier. Triggering another salvo of laser fire, he managed to hit with the lasers in his right arm, blistering armor off the ‘Mech’s right arm and sending the deadly energy into the delicate interior. Finding the arm’s elbow, it flashed the actuator into a useless collection of parts. Now that’s more like it! he thought.

Adding his own fire to the mix, Lt. Solovitch triggered another double burst from his Clan-made PPCs and the ER Medium Laser. Missing wide with the weapons of his make-shift replacement arm, the PPC in his torso smashed into the Bombardier’s left leg, reducing the protection there to a fraction of it’s previously undamaged state. As Fire Lance’s weapons fire poured into their targets, both Bombardiers unleashed another salvo of Swarm missiles, further damaging the M-21s in their entrenched positions as well as striking Captain McKenna’s ‘Mech and their original target, the Executioner.

Ignoring their harassers, the two Blake Crab aimed at the 95 ton Clan Assault ‘Mech and loosed a full salvo of medium and heavy laser fire. Striking with all four of their heavy RAMTech 1200 lasers, two found the ‘Mech’s previously undamaged left arm, while the other two blasted more armor off the damaged flanks. Adding to the mass of fire, the two Magi tanks fired their forward lasers at the Clan Assault machine, inflicting light damage to the Clan OmniMech’s chest and right leg while spitting their right lasers over Captain McKenna’s ‘Mech, causing mild armor damage. While not inflicting much actual damage to the 95 ton OmniMech, the small weapons combined with the hail of fire from the ‘Mechs, throwing Lt. Solovitch off balance and sending his massive war machine slamming into the ground.

As Lt. Amdecker recovered from the assault of artillery missile fire, he saw the two Mongoose run off behind their defenders. Feeling less threatened, he turned his LAM in place readying himself to take on anything that threatened to run their defensive line. At that, one of the two Zephyr hovercraft came zipping over the berm, sliding in behind the foot infantry and unleashing its trio of medium Sorenstein IV lasers and a flight of six missiles from its Shannon launcher on the entrenched infantry. Simultaneously it fired its aft Harmon Small Laser at Chi Lin’s Ferret. The small laser failed to hit the slow hovering VTOL, as did the SRMs fail to injure any of the infantry, but two of the Sorenstein lasers burned ardent arcs through the infantry’s position, downing two of the infantrymen there.

In response, the infantry unleashed a volley of missiles from their disposable V-LAW rockets, but only a few missiles hit. Firing the only weapon she had, a single Clan-built small laser, Sergeant Chi Lin failed to track on the fast-moving hovertank. Two of the tanks, one each from 1st and 2nd Armor, swiveled their turrets around to attack this new threat, but only one managed to hit with one of its medium class turret lasers, adding to the light damage the infantry had inflicted. The remainder of 2nd Armor Platoon concentrated fire on the lead Magi tank, but failed to connect with any of their weapons.

Thinking to add his fire to theirs, Lt. Amdecker readied to fire, only to have his com channel squeal with noise. Glancing at his threat indicator, he saw that the other Zephyr had swept in and was jamming him. Switching quickly to this new threat, he loosed his trio of lasers on the hovertank, while two of the tanks from 1st Armor Platoon added laser and machine gun fire of their own. Blasting nearly a ton and a quarter of armor off its exposed left side and almost a half-ton of armor off its turret, it weathered the assault and swiveled its turret around, painting Lt. Amdecker with another guidance laser. Once again the artillery missile came slamming down on his position, blasting the Land-Air ‘Mech and smashing the remaining armor on its right leg to dust. Mild damage penetrated the armor to nibble away at the delicate structural supports of the machine, but failed to damage any of the actuators in the leg. Incensed at this additional attack from an enemy he couldn’t attack, Lt. Amdecker committed himself to ending their attacks… no matter the cost.

As the main battle raged, Strike Lance continued to try and stop their ever-persistent and fanatical enemy. The Blake infantry refused to give ground, despite the hopelessness of their situation. Sergeant Andrew Green was amazed at their zeal despite their certain destruction. As he ordered the M-22s to continue their attack, the Blake infantry once more poured all their attention on 1st Motor Platoon in a final act of defiance, taking out another five Silver Eagle infantrymen and leaving only ten men still combat effective within their ranks. When the full weight of the combined fire from Infantry Support Platoon, the remains of 1st Motor Platoon, and Lt. Scott’s pulse lasers finally fell on them like a hammer, they were cut down to the last man, the area strewn with dead and dying alike. Even as they fell, one of Lt. Scott’s retrofitted Clan Medium Pulse Lasers shorted out, leaving yet another Clan weapon useless.

As their infantry met its end, the two damaged Exterminators likewise pressed their assault, seemingly unaware that they were now outnumbered over 6-to-1. The Exterminatorthat had been supporting their infantry continued to attack Infantry Support Platoon with the same fervor as it showed before, firing its quartet of Averell lasers and lone Dinatech Mark III Small Laser at the same M-22 IFV, hitting with one medium on the turret and the another along its right side armor. Simultaneously, it fired its Deadeye-10 LRM on another M-22, but failing to lock on at such close range. The M-22s fired flamers and several volleys of SRMs back, but the flamers failed to connect while the Anti-Missile System chewed through the few missiles that actually managed to home in.

As Lt. Farrell tried to cover his position better, 3rd Armor wheeled around to face their new opponent. Firing off a full salvo of lasers and short range missiles, most of the lasers missed, but two of the medium lasers found hits along the left flank and arm, while two missiles scored damage over the weak rear armor and one struck the left arm. Lt. Yar swung around to fire her Stormcrow’s left arm heavy and medium pulse lasers, but only managed to scatter laser fire ineffectively over the ‘Mechs armor, tattered as it was. Lt. Scott tried to hit the Blake Exterminator with his ER Large Laser and Medium Laser, but failed to connect with either.

Lt. Farrell strained his ‘Mech hard to the left, trying to track the enemy Exterminator as it circled around again. Triggering both heavy lasers, they slammed home into the savaged ‘Mech, gouging deeper wounds into the bare left flank and opening a fresh wound along the right arm, severing the ‘Mech’s hand off at the wrist. Instead of attacking its twin again, it once more switched targets firing its four lasers into the rear arc of the Stormcrow again, blasting armor off both arms, the right leg, and the weak right rear flank. Though it didn’t manage to damage any of the ‘Mech’s components, it left little enough armor protecting Lt. Yar’s

As Major Silver watched the lead Mongoose fall, his threat warning indicator toned. Glancing down, he saw that the enemy SRM Carriers had moved up to within less than 300 meters of his position and were now firing on him. Cutting his ‘Mech sharply to the right, he narrowly avoided most of the 120 high-explosive missiles, only taking damage from three, but a dozen of the missiles exploded before they reached his position, releasing a slick of burning gel all around his ‘Mech. As he had dodged to avoid the missiles, seven more nickel-ferrous projectiles came flashing through the air, shaking his ‘Mech as multiple sonic booms rattled into his cockpit. This time, two of the hypersonic slugs found his exposed left flank, smashing armor aside and burying themselves into the engine shielding of his reactor. Warning klaxons sounded as his damaged machine burned with the heat of his own weapons fire and the burning gel all around him threatened to incinerate the leader of the Silver Eagles, ending any hope of carrying the day.

More next week… hopefully more than just 1 round, but if things keep going this way, the Silver Eagles may be in a lot of trouble.

Now for the surprise… check out this site with pics of the battle from last night! (had to link to my own site because there are unseen and I don’t want to take up 10 posts here just to attach the pics anyway)

Enjoy!

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #40 on: 24 June 2014, 11:15:46 »
Once more unto the breach… (of the reactor shielding [tongue] )

The heat in Major Silver's cockpit became sweltering as he slammed his hand down on the override to prevent his reactor from shutting down. His 'Mech, now wreathed in flame, resembled something of a fantasy creature of fire, unstoppable and quite terrifying. But as the enemy pressed on his position, it seemed as thought the entirety of their force unleashed on him. Taking another pair of Gauss rifle hits and a smattering of SRM missiles from the advancing vehicles, he also caught laser fire from the Crabs as they rushed past him. In a valiant effort to aid her Commander, Lt. Sanderson twisted her Thunder around and unleashed a hail of fire on the back of the lead Crab from her Kali Yama Big Bore autocannon. Ripping a gaping rent in the back of the machine, the Blake 'Mech nearly fell flat on its face, but the damage was insufficient to force the 'Mech to stop its advance. Seeing the opportunity, Major Silver Twisted his 'Mech hard to the right and added machine gun fire to the damage Lt. Sanderson had wrought. Finding a chink in its armored hide, the mass of bullets cored into the already damaged engine housing, silencing the 'Mech's reactor permanently. The enemy 'Mech fell to the ground with the sound of a freight train.

As the Crab fell, one of the two Mongoose turned and charged up the middle of the formation. After the other regained its feet, it joined its twin, charging up the middle towards Lt. Faller's Zeus. Turning as it reached his position, Lt. Faller heard his threat warning indicator sound that he was being painted with an artillery tracking laser. Intent on silencing the spotter, he focused all his lasers onto the 'Mech's center of mass. Though many missed, one caught the Mongoose dead center and cored through the thin armor plating. The laser energy unspent, it went in to ruin the 'Mech's gyro. As the gyro's energy was unleashed within the confines of its torso, it sent pieces flying into the fusion reactor housing, smashing the engine to ruins. Deprived of yet another 'Mech, the Blake forces continued to press.

Feverishly trying to restart his salvaged Hellbringer, Lt. Windsor braced himself when he saw the two Bombardiers back up and turn on his position. As he watched, 120 Long Range Missiles and 8 Short Range Missiles shot out from the two Star League 'Mechs. To his surprise, most of the missiles failed to track on his position, but twelve of the LRMs did, along with a pair of SRMs. Scattering light damage around his 'Mech, he breathed a sigh of relief when his reactor restarted.

As Captain McKenna swung around to cover the right flank, she watched the nimble Lancelot swing around her and come up in her rear arc. It unleashed a trio of lasers, but only one of the heavy lasers managed to hit, scoring all the armor of her Striker's right-rear flank. The lighter laser matched its heavier cousin, but only managed a glancing strike along the left-rear flank, ablating less than half the protection there. In retaliation, Captain McKenna swung her 'Mech hard to the left, letting her left arm fly behind her carrying the weight of the now useless Gauss Rifle into the side of the Lancelot's head. Armor was smashed aside as the heavy punch smashed through the weak armor there and damaged the interior of the head assembly. Dazed, the Blake Mechwarrior slowly backed off from Captain McKenna's position while the two Magi tanks wheeled around and fired ineffectively on her Striker.

Turning to see what lay in front of her, she watched as Lt. Solovitch, Lt. Jones, and Lt. Thorpe locked onto the lead Bombardier. Hitting with the lasers mounted in his right arm, Lt. Jones scored armor off the enemy 'Mech. Firing off his lasers at the Bombardier, Lt. Thorpe only managed to remove the remaining armor from the 'Mech's left flank. Sending two arcs of PPC fire into the center on the Blake support 'Mech, Lt. Solovitch opened a gaping hole into the 'Mech's interior. The laser he fired followed up the damage by drilling through the gyro housing and on into the engine core, sending the 'Mech to the ground in a massive heap of useless parts.

Taking aim at the remaining Bombardier, McKenna opened fire with her PPC and a trio of lasers. The two Hellion-b II Medium lasers only scored light armor damage, but the retrofitted Clan Small Pulse laser struck a chink in the center of the heavy 'Mech, sending pulsed laser energy into the 'Mech's LRM ammo stores there. As the ammo exploded in a shower of unspent energy, the PPC came smashing in. To add insult to injury, the arc of massive energy connected with the reeling 'Mech's head, blowing the cockpit and assembly to a slag of nothingness, sending yet another Blake machine to the ground.

Jumping into the air, Lt. Amdecker landed short of the enemy Zephyr and prepared to unleash a full salvo of weapons fire on the spotter. The hovercraft zipped away at incredible speed, causing his lasers to miss their target completely. Its mate behind the berm line joined it in its hasty retreat. As it passed Lt. Sanderson in her Thunder, it targeted her with its laser designator. The next missile came slamming down on her position with a vengeance, blasting armor off her 'Mech, though failing to penetrate. As they pulled up next to the line of other vehicles, the two spotters stood protecting the remaining bulk of the Blake forces with their ECM systems.

As Lt. Josepho pushed hard around in front the Flashman, he was surprised as the heavier 'Mech spun in place and swung around in behind him again. Straining his 'Mech hard to the right, he managed to fire off the heavy and medium lasers in his right arm, striking the Blake 'Mech in the undamaged right arm with the heavy laser and the opposite leg with the other. It returned with a blistering array of six lasers and its flamer, missing with only the flamer and a single Ichiba 3000 Medium Laser. While one of the Ichiba lasers scored the last of the armor off his right leg, the two heavy Selitex Radionic lasers and one Ichiba laser scoured armor off the rear of the Clan 'Mech's torso, causing minor damage to the interior. The last Ichiba laser cored into the missing armor on the center, but failed to damage any of the delicate componants.

As the main battle took a turn for the better, the fight along the western flank didn't go so well. When the whole of Strike Lance combined fire with 1st and 2nd Armor platoons, the Infantry Support Platoon and Jump Infantry Platoon on the lead Exterminator, Lt. Farrell felt confident it would fall. He was shocked when it not only did not fall, but the two managed to split their fire, firing their missiles at his Exterminator and their lasers at Lt. Scott. Though they missed with all their weapons fire, the two lone 'Mechs kept their fight raging for even longer, tying up a third of the Silver Eagles for another precious few seconds.

More next week…

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #41 on: 24 June 2014, 11:16:31 »
Incoming!

Major Silver looked over at the situation display in his Warhammer, Hermes. As he advanced out of the blazing fire set by the missed Inferno rounds, he came up alongside Lt. Sanderson's Thunder, reforming Command Lance into a line again. As he did so, the enemy seemed to react to his move by concentrating all its forces on his position, pushing hard to blunt his advance.

Suddenly, Lt. Thorpe broke across the static of the Battalion Command frequency. "Major Silver, this is Recon Leader. Air contact at twelve o'clock, range six kilometers and closing. ETA, 20 seconds. It reads as a Dropship."

Major Silver keyed his comm system. "Ace of Spades, this is Silver Actual. Report."

The communication officer of their Dropship responded quickly. "Silver Actual this is the Ace of Spades. Contact bearing in on your position. Contact reads as a spheroid Dropship. No IFF."

Major Silver thought quickly. "Roger that. Dust off and relocate to the airstrip, grid intersection, 59284619. Over."

"Roger that, Silver Actual. Grid intersection 592846…" the comm officer began, but Major Silver never heard the rest as the two Zephyr hovercraft and the remaining Mongoose closed in around him, saturating the area in ECM jamming, cutting him off from all communication. The two fast hovers tried to lock their targeting lasers on Lt. Jones's Marauder, but neither could follow him as he surged forward at over 86 kph thanks to its MASC equipment. The remaining Crab wheeled around and came walking up on his right flank, but instead of firing on him, it unleashed its trio of heavy and medium lasers on Lt. Windsor's Hellbringer, hitting with both heavy lasers.

All of a sudden, the battlefront shifted, as the SRM Carriers and remaining Mongoose unleashed a full array of laser and SRM fire on the salvaged Clan 'Mech. Thirty-six missiles blasted armor off of every part of the 'Mech, adding to the damage from the Crab to pear the last of the armor off his 'Mech's left leg. One heavy laser cored through the delicate interior of his 'Mech and blasted the hip into a smoldering ruin. As he struggled to keep on his feet, a dozen missiles exploded in a shower of burning gel, coating his 'Mech and much of the surrounding area in a fiery blaze, sending his heat climbing. He retaliated by firing a trio of medium lasers at one of the SRM Carriers, missing with two, but carving an arc of destruction up the side with his third, blasting one of the road wheels to ruins.

Major Silver focused on the other SRM Carrier, unleashing his pair of pulse lasers and a stream of lead from both machine guns. Getting a lock with his SRM launcher, he added their fire to the destruction of his other weapons. While one missile harmlessly impacted just in front of the tank, thrown off track by the heavy concentration of enemy ECM, the other five blasted armor off the side, ruining one road wheel in the process. As the hail of machine gun fire tore into the vehicle, even more damage was done, shredding the right track entirely and damaging the delicate fusion reactor at the heart of the tank. It shuttered to a stop only 30 meters away. As the lasers tore through the weakened structure, the entire right side of the tank collapsed, spilling unspent missiles out of its magazine and shredding one of the SRM launchers to ruins.

Sgt. Chi Lin arced up into the sky high over the berm line. Looking at her tactical display, she saw that the entire left flank was cut off from communication by enemy ECM activity. Swooping down on their position, her ECM system restored communications for most of 1st Armor Platoon, but failed to restore communication with Command Lance, so saturated in enemy jamming. Trying to silence one of the jammers, she fired her lone small laser at the one enemy Zephyr ninety meters in front of her, but failed to hit the fast moving hovercraft. Adding to her fire, 4th Infantry Platoon opened fire on the same target, but their laser rifles and scattered grenades failed to dent the armored craft even in the slightest.

As the Mongoose tried in vane to damage the Hellbringer, Lt. Amdecker in his Phoenix Hawk LAM waddled up behind it, smashing armor off its left leg with his heavy laser. As he approached from behind the Blake light 'Mech as fast as his 'Mech would go, he swung hard to the left, lifting his foot up and smashing it down on the light 'Mech's damaged leg. His foot came down hard on the Mongoose's left knee, snapping the limb in two and sending it to the ground with a deafening crash, ending its race across the battlefield permanently.

Across the field in his own Phoenix Hawk AirMech, Lt. Thorpe took a quick step and bounded into the air, thrusting up and surging forward across almost four hundred meters in less than ten seconds. As he flew through the air eighteen meters off the ground, his vantage let him spot the two Chaparrals just beyond the fighting line. Taking aim with his lasers, he waited until he had closed to only 270 meters before triggering all three. The beams of light arced through the air, smashing into the vehicle's right side and leaving the armor there very ruined and thin. His heavy laser cored deep into the side of the tank, smashing through the weapon stabilizer and rendering it useless. In response, both fired their defensive lasers at the airborne 'Mech, but failed to connect with either as he sailed through the air.

As he watched, the missile doors on both tanks opened…

Lt. Sanderson watched as the main body of enemy 'Mechs and vehicles all pushed in on her position. Seeing the enemy Lancelot disengage from its fight with Captain McKenna, it ran up towards her position, unleashing a trio of lasers and its PPC into Lt. Jones's back. As the deadly weapons carved gaping holes in his 'Mech's armor, the two Magi tanks came rushing up, splitting their fire between her own 'Mech and Lt. Jones's Marauder. Taking fire from multiple hits, Lt. Jones tried to keep his footing with his 'Mech's MASC system engaged, triggering a full salvo of fire onto the Crab as he struggled to stay upright. The heavy laser in his main body slammed into the right arm of the enemy 'Mech, paring the armor off in sheets while the lasers in his right arm slashed at the Crab's right side. Though the heavy laser missed slightly high, the medium laser struck the wounded right arm, cutting the hand actuator off and spilling coolant from the laser's thermal jacket all over the ground.

As he did so, one of the Chaparrals landed an Arrow IV missile only 30 meters in front of him. Cutting his legs out from underneath him, his 'Mech was sent crashing down on its nose, smashing armor of the left leg and flank as his 'Mech came to a rest. Adding to the light damage of the Magi tanks, the two Demons fired a dozen missiles and a pair of lasers on Lt. Sanderson's 'Mech. Three of the missiles failed to impact, but the remainder smashed armor from every part of her 'Mech, one finding the laser in her left flank and ruining it. Focusing on the 'Mech rushing her, Lt. Sanderson lifted the large autocannon on her Thunder's right arm and leveled it at the onrushing Lancelot. A hail of fire came from the heavy cannon, but as the weapon fired, she couldn't keep it leveled on the target from the heavy recoil. Shells filled the air, glancing off the heavy Blake 'Mech harmlessly, many burying themselves into the countryside as Lt. Sanderson cursed her poor luck.

Wheeling around to try and follow the push on Command Lance, Lt. Solovitch turned his Executioner in place and took aim at the enemy Crab that was assaulting Lt. Windsor's Hellbringer. Triggering a salvo of fire from his LRM 20 launcher, the missiles scattered harmlessly as they entered the enemy's ECM field. Raising his refurbished right arm, he triggered the Clan PPC and medium laser there, missing with the laser narrowly, but catching the 'Mech in the right arm with the high-energy Particle Cannon, leaving that arm nearly bare. Suddenly his 'Mech was rocked hard to the left as multiple Gauss shells slammed into his 'Mech, shoving the Clan Assault 'Mech around like a rag-doll. As he tried to recover, the other Chaparral dropped an artillery missile thirty meters off his right side. Combined with the massive blows of the Gauss rifles, Lt. Solovitch couldn't keep his 'Mech's feet, sending the 95-ton Clan OmniMech smashing to the ground.

Lt. Faller watched his lance-mates fall, but focused on their objective, the Crab. Unleashing a flight of missiles from his Zeus's right arm, he added a pair of medium lasers to the mix. Missiles arced through the air, smashing armor off the 'Mech's left arm and leg while a beam of intense light followed the missiles, smashing into the right arm damaged by Lt. Solovitch and Lt. Jones. Finishing what they started, his laser cut the arm in half at the upper skeletal bone and dug into the 'Mech's weak right shoulder blade, leaving little protection there.

As the fight raged in front of his eyes, Lt. Chekov ordered both armor platoons to concentrate fire on the savaged Crab. A blistering array of seven heavy lasers, eight medium lasers, and sixteen short-range missiles flew towards their target. Though much of the fire missed three of each heavy and medium lasers found their mark, along with a lone pair of missiles. Blasting into the weakened armor of the 'Mech, the tanks missiles ruined armor from the 'Mech's left leg and sending one heavy laser into the workings of the left arm, shorting out the laser there. A pair of medium lasers found both sides of the 'Mech's center of mass, but the rest all piled into the weakened right-rear flank of the 'Mech, smashing internal supports and damaging engine shielding. As the 'Mech lurched, one last laser struck the right side, ruining the 'Mech's delicate gyro and sending the entire 'Mech smashing to the ground, its entire right side simply gone.

Cheers erupted across the Armor Command frequency with the delight of their first kill, and Lt. Chekov wanted to join in but his training took over. "Quiet on the line!" he shouted into his microphone. "We can celebrate when the rest are down!"

Captain McKenna watched as the Lancelot darted away and struck at Lt. Jones. Infuriated by the fact that its pilot had denied her the honor of single combat, she jumped her sluggish Striker back and prepared to teach him a lesson. Switching off three of her heat exchangers, she triggered her PPC and added a pair of medium lasers and her single light laser. Slamming into the enemy 'Mech with a vengeance, the PPC tore into the bare left arm, blasting the arm to ribbons and damaging the weak rear of it's left flank. One medium laser missed by inches, but the other found the other arm, carving a slit of ruined armor up its length. The light laser fired downrange, but failed to focus enough energy on one spot to damage the enemy 'Mech. However it served its purpose, letting the internal temperature rise high enough to let the advanced myomers function as designed. Grinning to herself, she said aloud, "OK, lets see how you like an 80 ton freight train."

As 3rd Armor Platoon and the M-22 Infantry Support Platoon closed in around the two wounded Blake Exterminators, they both darted off at high speed, running clear of any threat from the short-range weapons of the M-22s. Tracking their movement, Lt. Farrell opened a comm channel to his forces. "Strike lance, concentrate on the target showing the high heat readings, see if we can't end his career. Tank platoon, you take the other." As he triggered a full salvo of laser fire and his LRM rack at the target he'd designated. Though one medium laser missed, the other three didn't, while six of his long-range missiles arced in on target. Blasting through the weakened armor of the 'Mech, his fire was joined by a pair of medium pulse lasers from Lt. Yar's Stormcrow. Together they pared the last of the laser-reflective armor off the 'Mech's left arm and flank, its center of mass, and cored into the bones of the 'Mech's left leg and right flank.

Seeming not to even notice the pounding, it fired a trio of its own medium lasers at Lt. Scott's Wolverine, hitting with one on the damaged right arm. The second enemy Executioner split its fire between Lt. Scott and the Jump Infantry that had been harassing it as they peppered ineffective fire across its surface. Missing with the missiles fired at 3rd Infantry Platoon, it did manage to hit with three of its four medium lasers, scouring armor of Lt. Scott's heavily wounded torso and left leg. 3rd Armor Platoon tried in vane to hit their target, but his speed across the battlefield made him too hard to track.

Focusing on his target, Lt. Scott triggered a single heavy laser, his medium laser, and a pair of pulse lasers, one light and one medium. As the lasers found their mark, he triggered a salvo of SRM fire, missing with only two of the six missiles sent toward the wounded Blake 'Mech and keeping his advanced myomers operating at peak efficiency. As the lasers cut into the heart of the 'Mech, Lt. Scott's thermal scans starting showing a massive surge in heat on the enemy Executioner. As missiles pounded into the open wounds, the 'Mech lurched about, as he saw a piece of its gyro come flying out of the torso. Bones crumpled as the weight of the 'Mech came crashing down on itself, its structural supports melted and ruined along it's entire right side and center. As the top of the 'Mech smashed down on the engine housing, a vent of plasma shot out from the reactor, quickly exploding in a fireball of burning superheated hydrogen. Gutted and ruined, the 'Mech caved in on itself, forever silencing the pilot who refused to eject.

More next week! (Comments welcome as always)

McKenna

  • Sergeant
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  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #42 on: 24 June 2014, 11:17:45 »
and last one for today....

Sorry for no update last week, I got too busy. With the forum outage, it delayed it even longer. This brings everything current.

Major Silver Slowly edged forward, taking aim at the lead SRM Carrier. As he triggered his weapons, his 'Mech was rocked violently as the entire left side of his 'Mech's torso disintegrated. The Mongoose behind him had regained its footing, slashing him in his back with a single laser, melting structural supports and sending his perfectly intact left arm to the ground. Twenty-three of the short-range missiles slammed into him, blasting over two and a half tons of armor and structural supports into nothingness, including his remaining right arm. His shots flying wide, he struggled to maintain his footing as one of the Zephyrs tried to designate him for an artillery strike. His stumble actually saved him as the hovercraft's artillery targeting laser failed to connect, but the second artillery shell needed no homing laser. It came down on his position, throwing his 70 ton 'Mech to the ground as though it were a toy, cutting his legs out from under him and further damaging his central structure.

As Major Silver fell, the two Demon tanks swung in behind Lt. Windsor's Hellbringer, letting loose a volley of fire from their SRM launchers while aiming their Gauss Rifles and one side laser at Lt. Sanderson's Thunder. Ten missiles found his Clan war machine, blasting armor off every part. One lone missile found the hole leading directly into his already damaged hip. As it sailed into the joint, it exploded, severing the limb at the hip and sending both it and the rest of the 'Mech crashing to the ground, throwing his aim off in the process. The Gauss Rifles flashed as their deadly weight flew toward Lt. Sanderson. One flew wide, just under her left arm, while the other ricocheted off the left side of her torso, sending half a ton of armor flying off. Only one of the lasers found its mark as well, gouging a line up her left arm. In retaliation, she struck out at the lead Alacorn with her heavy autocannon. As the weapon pealed with dozens of high-caliber shells flying out its muzzle, it caught the tank along its left side, reducing half the armor there to nothing.

Instead of attacking Lt. Sanderson, the two heavy tanks turned their Gauss Rifles on Lt. Solovitch's Executioner. With his heat levels so high, he couldn't even stand back up, nor even retaliate against his attackers. Five more Gauss Rifle rounds blasted into his 'Mech's right side, smashing through components and ruining his Targeting Computer. Worse still, The Lancelot swept in behind him and let loose a salvo of laser and PPC fire, missing with only the heavy arm mounted laser. Cutting into his back, the two weapons charred the interior of his center of mass, ruining engine shielding and the damaging the delicate gyro system. Master Sergeant Kobel, leader of 2nd Armor Platoon saw an opportunity and seized it. Concentrating all their fire on the enemy Lancelot's back, 2nd Armor quickly cut through the weaker right flank and damaged the oversized XL engine shielding there.

Meanwhile, Lt. O'Hare ordered 1st Armor to split their fire on the downed Crab that was just beginning to prop itself up to take aim at the stumbling visage of Major Silver's Warhammer and the remaining Mongoose that had managed to right itself. A massive salvo of SRMs and laser fire arced in on the nearly helpless Crab. One heavy laser cut into the arm that the 'Mech had begun propping itself up on, cutting it in half and sending the stricken machine crashing back down. The remaining fire piled into the already heavily damaged left-rear flank, gutting the interior and damaging the engine enough to force it to shut down. Deprived of energy, the enemy 'Mech slumped the rest of the way to the ground and lie motionless. The remainder of their lasers fired on the Mongoose, scattering light all over the 'Mech, but nearly failing to damage it at all. One lone medium laser found the weakness in the 'Mech's left-rear flank, cutting into the interior and ruining the ECM system contained there, finally freeing command lance from the silence of enemy jamming. Lt. Faller closed to point-blank distance behind the Mongoose and unleashed a flight of missiles as he closed along with a trio of lasers, but only a single medium laser found its mark, tearing through the wounded left flank and severing the untouched left arm completely.

One of the enemy Zephyrs swung wide in around Lt. Sanderson's Thunder, sending a flight of short-range missiles at her while turning its turret around to fire its trio of lasers and aft mounted light laser at Lt. Jones' Marauder. Missing with its turret lasers and two missiles, it only managed to inflict light damage to both 'Mechs. In retaliation, Lt. Jones fired a full salvo at the fast hovercraft, missing with nearly all, but achieving a lock with his SRM launcher. Six missiles peppered the back of the vehicle, but were not enough to disable it. Reeling his right foot back, he kicked forward at the light vehicle. His foot came smashing through the remains of the armor on the vehicle's aft end and caused the entire aft of the hovercraft to collapse.

As Lt. Josepho and the enemy Flashman continued their private war, the Blake Mechwarrior continually outmaneuvered the Clansman. Lashing out with a quartet of lasers, the Summoner only managed to splash light damage all over the relatively intact enemy 'Mech. In return, the Flashman pared armor off specific parts of his own 'Mech. Smashing his other SRM launcher to ruins, Lt. Josepho purged his useless ammo banks while continuing to try and get the upper hand. To no avail, the heavier Blake 'Mech continued to pare armor off his right leg, damaging the internal supports as he continued to move around the Clanner's position. Finally lashing into the wounded leg, the Blake Mechwarrior managed to destroy the foot actuator there, hobbling Lt. Josepho even further. To add insult to injury, the already savaged left flank continued to take a beating, ruining engine shielding in the process. Forced to cut back his own weapons fire to only a trio of lasers, Lt. Josepho still could only manage to inflict scattered damage, only ever able to breach the armor on the Flashman's left arm, but to no observable effect; the laser mounted there continued to burn his own 'Mech to ribbons with deadly accuracy.

As Captain McKenna surged forward, her 'Mech was suddenly drowned out in electromagnetic noise. Unable to spot where the Lancelot had gone, she closed with the enemy Chaparrals that were bombarding her company from afar. Loosing a shot from her PPC at one of them, she caught it face on, blasting nearly all the protective armor off its front. Pleased, she was startled by laser and machine gun fire from the pair of Magi tanks that rolled up on her position. Only taking minor damage, she loosed a pair of medium lasers and her small pulse laser on one of them, missing with one of the mediums, but concentrating both other lasers on the thick front armor, barely managing to make any appreciable damage.

As Lt. Amdecker took to the air, he flew straight over the enemy Flashman, but ignored it. Instead he concentrated his fire on the lead Chaparral, already damaged by Captain McKenna. Firing a full salvo, he only managed to connect with one medium laser and a single machine gun, only paring armor off the right side. In contrast, Lt. Thorpe swung in to only thirty meters distant and unleashed a full salvo and hit with a trio of lasers. Adding to the damage that he'd already done, it cored into the side of the tank, melting the structural supports there ruining the artillery missile launcher. Unspent short range and artillery missiles spilled over the ground as the tank was torn apart.

As the battle raged, Strike Lance continued to try and down the one remaining threat left to them. As it sprinted across the battlefield, none of the weapons fired at the Blake Exterminator managed to do anything more than melt a small amount of armor off its still intact right flank. Simultaneously, it managed to hit Lt. Yar's Stormcrow with six long-range missiles and a pair of medium lasers, burning and blasting most of the armor off its left arm while reducing the armor coverage of her left leg.

Continuing to race south and away from the M-22s, it fired again at Lt. Yar, hitting the left leg once again, reducing its protection there to half normal, while spitting both sides of her torso with another pair of lasers. Once more, all of strike lance fired on the fleet 'Mech, but not one weapon managed to impact. Seeing his course of travel, Staff Sgt. Thiemann wheeled 3rd Armor around and closed. Unleashing a full salvo of weapons fire, only a single heavy laser managed to impact along its right flank, the ever-thinner laser reflective armor there still splaying most of the energy away.

Seeing that they could never hope to get close enough to the fast moving 'Mech, Lt. Farrell opened his coms. "Sergeant Green. Pick up 3rd Infantry Platoon and disengage. Make for the main battle lines at flank speed."

"Roger that." Responded Master Sergeant Green. "Pick up 3rd Infantry and flank for the front lines. 3rd Unit, you've got pickup duty. Everyone else, move out!" as the four tanks turned east to race for the front lines and give aid before the battle was lost.

As the fight raged, the enemy's Dropship took position over the battlefield and opened its doors. A voice cracked over the radio into Major Silver's ears as he ran from the front. "This is Demi-Precentor Marlin. I have come to take command of my forces to take Sir Kevin Charles Silver into custody, as so ordered by the ruling head of the planet's defensive forces, Countess Alessandra Marie Silver." At that two more 'Mechs dropped from the hovering Dropship, another Flashman and the other Lancelot.

With his heat at intolerable levels and his foot damaged, Lt. Josepho lit off his remaining jump jet, flying backward through the air and holding his weapons fire. The rapidly rushing air cooled his 'Mech to tolerable levels as he landed thirty meters away. The Flashman, still operating cool, raced around Josepho's left flank and lit off a trio of heavy lasers. While two missed, the third barely glanced the edge of the savaged right leg, but it was enough. The remaining structural supports there melted and the leg disintegrated under the weight of the Summoner's 70 tons. His 'Mech went sprawling to the ground, leaving him nearly helpless against the might of a relatively intact enemy.

As Major Silver righted his machine, he was facing south toward the defensive berm line. Looking at his damage display, all his weapons were out of action but for a single medium pulse laser in his 'Mech's torso. Wounded and dangerously close to destruction, he pushed Hermes as fast as it could go away from the battle line and towards the safety of the defenses. I hate running like this, but if I lose Hermes here and now, it would look very bad to the people. As he crept forward, the SRM Carrier once again spat a mix of Inferno and high explosive missiles at his 'Mech, but this time much fewer. Though the Infernos still missed, it once again left him wreathed in flame and his heat ever climbing. Nine more missiles slammed into his back, smashing through the weak rear armor and blasting huge holes inside his 'Mechs innards, luckily failing to damage the engine even further and leave him powerless on the field. Two more missiles found a leg each, further damaging structural supports there, and one missile slammed into the back of Hermes cockpit. His head slammed forward by the impact, Major Silver could barely hear, his ears ringing with pain, but looking at the damage display showed that while he was still alive, he wouldn't be if he took another hit… Hermes was on its death bed yet again.

But Major Silver wasn't their only target. Unleashing a flight of missiles on Lt. Faller's position, sixteen of them exploded in a shower of burning gel and covered his 'Mech in flame. His internal temperature climbed rapidly as he triggered a salvo of swarm missiles and a pair of medium lasers on one of the Demons. One laser scoured armor off the right side of the tank, but as the missiles took flight, a miscomputation in their flight guidance calculations sent them all directly into the ground, detonating on impact and harming no one. Sergeant Chi Lin added a light laser to the attempt, but also failed to do any damage.

Meanwhile 1st Armor split their fire between the Mongoose and the same Demon while 2nd Armor fired again at the Lancelot. One heavy laser struck the right side of the tank and a single medium laser hit the front, but they failed to damage the Mongoose at all. The Mongoose, deprived of nearly all it's weapons, fired it's lone light laser at Lt. Windsor's Hellbringer, but failed to actually damage it. Meanwhile, two heavy lasers cored into the Lancelot, one striking the undamaged left leg, but the other coring into the open left flank, further damaging the engine and sending its heat climbing even higher. Four SRMs also found their mark, but scattered damage over the entire right side, not causing any serious damage. As the Lancelot fired its large laser at the Executioner, its heat climbed so high the pilot couldn't override it, shutting the heavy machine down mid-step and sending the 'Mech crashing to the ground.

Lt. Jones once again engaged his MASC system and surged his Marauder forward, swinging in wide behind the Alacorns as they moved off to the east. Firing a full salvo or laser fire, he only managed to hit with the lasers in his right arm, carving armor off the back of the turret and the main body, but he failed to even catch their attention, ignoring him completely to finish what they had started against the Executioner.

Standing to face the two Demons that had severed his leg, his 'Mech still coated in Inferno gel, Lt. Windsor was surprised as they raced off again. Turning instead toward the remaining SRM Carrier, he loosed another salvo of laser fire on it, hitting with only a single medium laser paring the last of its armor off the right side and his light laser scoring armor off its rear, but leaving the tank still intact. The Demons joined with the Blake Alacorns to close on the savaged Executioner, loosing another salvo of seven Gauss Rifles along with twelve SRMs and a pair of medium lasers. In their haste across the battlefield, their aim was spoiled, making most of their deadly ammunition miss, striking with only a single Gauss round and one medium laser, but it was enough. The Gauss round smashed into the right leg, destroying the last of the armor there and damaging the internal structure, but the medium laser found its mark at the heart of the Clan war machine. Cutting into both the delicate gyro housing and the engine, the massive internal damage took its toll. The engine shuttered to a stop and the great machine fell backwards, silent and motionless. Struggling to make the machine respond, Lt. Solovitch was knocked hard as his 'Mech hit the ground, his head slammed back against the command couch as his consciousness faded into blackness in the blistering heat of his dark tomb.

Seeing the 'Mechs begin their drop, Lt. Thorpe opened a channel to Lt. Amdecker. "Recon Wing, follow me and attack that Lancelot before it can hit the ground. We're losing and we can't afford reinforcements."

"Roger Recon Leader." Was his reply as the two cruised in close to the two dropping 'Mechs as Captain McKenna closed with the Chaparral, totally unaware that she was running directly underneath the two new 'Mechs due to the enemy jamming. Too late she triggered her weapons, striking with her PPC and a small pulse laser. The PPC struck the tank's left side, ruining armor, while the light laser cored into the weakened front armor. The weapons fire managed to knock out the left side laser, but not before it discharged into Lt. Amdecker's back, cutting the left wing off at the joint. Deprived of his left wing, his Phoenix Hawk Land-Air 'Mech slammed into the countryside, sliding 150 meters before coming to a rest only sixty meters north of Lt. Solovitch's dead Executioner.

Concentrating on his target, Lt. Thorpe let loose a full salvo of weapons fire, scattering light damage all over the newly dropped 'Mech. Racing in under the dropping 'Mechs' positions, Lt. Sanderson ignored the two Magi tanks that attacked her, even as her cockpit was rung by machine gun fire and lasers scoured armor off her right leg and arm. Focused on her target, she took aim with her heavy autocannon at the Lancelot dropping from above. Triggering her heavy cannon, the stream of shells slammed into the doomed 'Mech's chin, blasting the head assembly into useless garbage in a second's time. For the first time, an ejection seat rocketed out of one of the Blake 'Mechs, barely escaping the destruction wrought. The 'Mech now out of control, is slammed down on its target zone with precision, obliterating most of the 'Mech's remains on impact.

Startled by the impact only thirty meters behind her, Captain McKenna turned to see the new enemy Flashman drop gently down beside her, less than thirty meters away, fresh and pristine versus her savaged condition.

More next week!

McKenna

  • Sergeant
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  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #43 on: 25 June 2014, 11:47:53 »
They just keep coming....

The saga continues…

Major Silver opened a com-line to Strike Lance as he sluggishly hobbled out of the fight. “3rd Armor, this is Silver Actual. Break off and move in along our left flank to provide covering fire. Strike Lance, provide cover for 3rd Armor as they pull out and engage any threats once they are in position. Over.”

His radio crackled as the response came through from Lt. Farrell. “Silver Actual, this is Strike Leader. 3rd Armor and Infantry Support are breaking off and heading your way. Will cover and engage.”

Sergeant Thiemann called out to the rest of her platoon. “Make for the battalion’s left flank at top speed and lay down suppression fire on that ‘Mech! FIRE!” As 3rd Armor turned and kicked up into high speed, they leveled another salvo of fire at the remaining Blake Exterminator. A hail of fire erupted from the vehicle platoon, lasers flashing through the air and blistering all around the wounded ‘Mech. Like an avatar of myth, the lasers seemed to glance off harmlessly, without so much as a wisp of injury. Strike Lance added their fire to the mix, with lasers, and missiles flashing at the enemy ‘Mech. Lt. Yar hit with one of her Stormcrow’s pulse lasers, blasting into the hole on the left rear flank and ruining several structural supports, but failing to damage the equipment there. Lt. Scott fired a full salvo of lasers from his Wolverine but failed to connect with any of them as the Blake Exterminator leapt forward into a fast run at over 75 kph.

Tracking his counterpart well, Lt. Farrell fired a pair of lasers and his LRM launcher at the enemy ‘Mech, finding greater luck than his lancemates. Coring into the damaged right flank, nearly all of the reflective armor was vaporized by one of the lasers, allowing the missiles following in to blast the remainder to ribbons, coring into the interior and exploding in a shower of destruction. A plume of gray mist marked the destruction of one of the Jump Jets contained there, as the remaining missiles smashed into some of the armor plating covering it’s central structure. In retaliation, the Blake ‘Mech fired a full salvo of lasers and missiles back at Lt. Farrell, blasting armor of his torso with three of the lasers while the missiles exploded harmlessly around him.

As 3rd Armor and the Infantry Support Platoon continued to make best speed toward the main battle lines, Sergeant Thiemann ordered 3rd Armor to continue to press their attack on the move. Swiveling their turrets around to fire, they let loose another volley of fire, but their haste toward the front lines made tracking the fast ‘Mech impossible, simply grazing laser fire over the Exterminator harmlessly once more as it turned to charge the retreating ‘Mechs of Strike Lance. Closing in to only 150 meters of her Stormcrow, it fired a full salvo of weapons at her, striking her right leg and left flank with a pair of lasers and scattering missiles up her opposite leg and flank. Firing back, only a single heavy pulse laser found its mark… directly through the hole in the ‘Mech’s right flank. Structural supports flashed into vapor as the beam of coherent light tore into the spent anti-missile system, leaving a smoking crater where it once stood.

Adding to her attack, Lt. Farrell fired a quintet of lasers at the ‘Mech only 120 meters from him, not willing to waste his long range missiles so far inside their arming distance. Only a medium laser found the enemy machine, glazing a small amount of reflective armor off the slowly decaying protection over the central core of the ‘Mech, joining one of the five lasers Lt. Scott fired. Most of the others splayed along the ground and through the air around the Blake Exterminator, but one final pulse laser struck the heavily damaged right arm and carved an arc of destruction in toward the central core. The shoulder exploded in a shower of melting supports, blasting the remains of the entire right arm to ribbons, the contents of the arm dropping to the ground like so much useless garbage. Its energy unspent, it cored into the damaged flank of the ‘Mech, blasting yet another Jump Jet into a mist of mercury vapor.

If we can drop him now, thought Lt. Scott, that’ll free us up to take care of the real fighting! Time to pull out all the stops!

Limping away at barely 20 kph, Major Silver was almost at the berm line when another flight of missiles flew out of the SRM Carrier behind him. Bracing for what he thought for sure to be his own end, he watched as only half the launchers spat out missiles, all of which exploded in showers of burning gel over the battlefield. Four of the missiles found Lt. Sanderson’s Thunder, coating her in a burning slick of heat. Doing a quick mental calculation, it dawned on him. He’s dry! Good! One less enemy unit to worry about. Now if Lt. Josepho can…

As he formulated the words in his head, Lt. Josepho braced himself for a final showdown with his enemy. Righting his Summoner and turning to face his enemy, he triggered a full salvo of laser fire, his heat skyrocketing into a blistering wave of superheated gasses and leaking coolant lines. In a desperate attempt to finish the fight, he only managed to score armor of the central spine of the enemy Flashman with his two heavy lasers. In return, his opponent fired a full salvo of seven lasers back, missing with only the two heavy lasers in its stubby arms. The central heavy laser cored into his wounded left flank, blasting the remaining structural supports and engine shielding there to ruins and sending his heat climbing even higher. As the smaller lasers ate into his ‘Mech, one glanced of the armor of his remaining leg while another ate into the exposed central core of his machine, but failed to damage the delicate equipment there.

Unfortunately, another of the lasers breached the armor over his right flank and ate its way deep inside the Clan war machine. Gutting nearly all the contents of that side of the ‘Mech’s central core, his engine shuttered to a halt as the heat in his cockpit began to burn into his lungs. Seeing monitors die all around him, he was rocketed out of his ‘Mech as the auto-eject system tried to save his life, which is exactly what it did. As he rocketed from the dying corpse of his ‘Mech, the last laser struck the already damaged cockpit armor, blasting the entire head assembly into a vapor and sending the remains of the ‘Mech falling once again to the ground.

As he landed safely behind his dead ‘Mech, a voice cracked over an open frequency. “This is Mechwarrior Timothy Rice. Following Clan tradition, I claim Mechwarrior Josepho as my bondsman.”

Captain McKenna focused on her target as the newly arrived Flashman darted away at over 75 kph. Concentrating fire on the enemy Chaparral as she cleared the enemy jamming, she let loose a volley of laser and PPC fire. As she did so, the tank suddenly spun around, exposing it’s more heavily armored rear to her and loosing a flight of SRMs in return. Dodging out of the way spoiled her own aim and neither managed to hit with their weapons. When she heard the claim for Josepho, she thought quickly how to keep Josepho in the battalion, knowing he would honor the claim. Keying the channel open, she made challenge. “This is Captain McKenna of the Silver Eagles. I challenge Mechwarrior Rice to single combat for right to the bondsman Josepho. Let no one interfere!”

Closing in to point-blank range against Lt. Jones’ Marauder in a dazzling display of marksmanship, it loosed its blistering array of lasers, striking him with all seven while hitting with its rear laser fired at Lt. Windsor’s Hellbringer. Trying to return the favor, Lt. Windsor triggered his trio of Clan medium lasers, but even with the sophisticated targeting computer, could not track on the swift machine. As the Flashman blasted gaping rents from all over his machine, Lt. Jones struggled to maintain his footing and his tracking on the Alacorn Tank he’d targeted. His aim spoiled, he could only hit with one of his heavy pulse lasers, striking the tank in its right side as all the Blake vehicles pulled into a defensive circle. Now free of the threat of the Executioner, the Alacorns and Demons turned their attention toward Lt. Jones and Lt. Sanderson.

Firing first on the ‘Mech that had nearly killed one of their own, the Demons swiveled their turrets around and fired their deadly load of nickel and iron at Lt. Sanderson’s hapless, burning ‘Mech. One slug missed, but the other struck the side of her Kali Yama autocannon. Luckily, the protective shell of armor splayed most of the damage away from the gun, but the impact shredded all of the armor protecting it and slightly damaged the structural supports holding it. To her benefit, the diagnostic showed the gun to still be operational as she triggered the cannon and deadly shells tried to track the swiftly moving Flashman across the battlefield. Just as she pulled the trigger, the impact of two medium lasers from the Demon tanks rocked her as one struck her right leg and the other buried itself in her already damaged right rear flank. The laser cut through the thin remaining armor and chewed away at her ‘Mech’s insides, blasting a heat sink into shards of exploding vapor. To her dismay, the exploding liquid spoiled her aim and her heavy cannon failed to even injure the new threat.

Meanwhile the pair of Demons unleashed their missiles on Lt. Jones, peppering his ‘Mech with ten high explosive missiles. Two hit the left arm, blasting through the negligible armor and ruining the shoulder and elbow joint, while four peppered armor off the ‘Mech’s torso. One hit on the right arm leaving it with not much protection at all while the rest blasted armor from his legs. Then, five slugs of hypersonic nickel and iron slammed into the Marauder from the two Alacorns, shredding his ‘Mech to ribbons. Two struck his right leg, smashing the heavy armor aside and boring into the structural framework, destroying a jump jet vent and smashing the hip to ruins while another smashed all but the last shreds of armor from his left leg. The last two each caught one arm and smashed them both to ruins. With his ‘Mech flung like a rag doll and his right leg nearly totally unresponsive, his 75 ton war machine came crashing to the ground heavily on its right side, smashing what little armor remained there and ruining his MASC system.

Slowly righting his fallen LAM, Lt. Amdecker tried to get his bearings. Glancing at his damage display, he saw only minor internal damage, but his right arm machine gun was jammed. As he did so, Lt. Thorpe landed only 90 meters away. With static filling his neurohelmet, Lt. Amdecker watched as the two Magi tanks backed into a firing position. Intent on stopping his new harassers, he raised his arms and triggered all his weapons. The heavy laser tracked too high and missed but the two arm lasers found their mark, lazing armor off the rear and left side of the lead tank, while the left machine gun jammed as it tried to cycle.

As the laser cut into the left side, 2nd Armor took aim at the Magi, lashing into the entire length of the tank and sending it spinning as laser and missile fire exploded all over the tank. Finally having closed the distance, 2nd Motor Platoon opened up with their lasers as well, scattering light damage over the rear of the stricken tank. As it did so, its companion sliced armor off Lt. Amdecker’s torso while the two Demons fired their right-side lasers at him, vaporizing armor more off his right arm and flank, leaving almost no protection left on the priceless AirMech.

As Lt. O’Hare looked over the battlefield, he ordered 1st Armor to aid in stopping the new Flashman while 2nd Armor aided Recon Lance. Lasers and missiles arced in on the undamaged ‘Mech, but its quick pace across the battlefield left few shots hitting, none lingering long enough to do real damage. Lt. Thorpe stepped forward and triggered his lasers, but only the heavy laser found its mark on the second Magi, cutting into the left side. Waddling up to the tank, he reared beck and slammed his AirMech’s foot into the side to add to the wound and hopefully draw him off his grievously wounded wingman.

While his ‘Mech burned, Lt. Faller tried to find any enemy through the smoke and fire. Drawing a bead on the Mongoose only thirty meters away, he triggered his pair of pulse lasers, but neither managed to damage the enemy ‘Mech. As his lasers recycled, Lt. Windsor was startled when the Mongoose fired its small laser at him once more. Though it failed to do any damage, it distracted him long enough to not notice the threat warning indicator. Suddenly, his ‘Mech was rocked with explosions as another Arrow IV missile detonated in front of him, blasting into his stripped left arm and damaging the structure while the majority of the blast shattered the armor over his torso and drove shards of it into his Summoner’s gyro housing. Struggling to maintain his footing with only one leg, he somehow managed to remain standing.

Limping over the berm, Major Silver opened the battalion frequency. “The SRM Carrier and the Flashman engaging Captain McKenna are non-viable targets. Everyone else keep on your targets.”

Taking aim at the nearest Alacorn, Lt. Windsor fired a quartet of medium lasers, striking with three and splaying armor off the rear and the turret while the Mongoose yet again fired its light laser at him, failing to inflict damage while two M-21 tanks ineffectively shot SRMs at the Blake light ‘Mech. The two Demons swiveled their turrets around while they came around behind the downed Marauder, loosing a pair of Gauss slugs at the one-legged Hellbringer. One struck the right arm and shattered it into oblivion while the other smashed into the wounded right flank. The last bit of protective armor was smashed aside as the hypersonic slug buried itself in the ‘Mech’s engine shielding. His heat levels already running high, the shattered shielding spiked his heat up to intolerably high levels. The engine’s safeties kicked in and shut the reactor down before it was too badly damaged. Deprived of power, the clan ‘Mech once again smashed down, this time heavily on its left arm, shattering it and leaving the ‘Mech armless.

As they shot down Lt. Windsor, the two Demons fired their missiles on Lt. Jones again, with the two Magi tanks pulling up to join them. One Magi fired its lasers and machine guns hitting with one of each in his back after he righted himself, the laser coring into the open left flank and ruining the SRM launcher, joined by a laser from the Demons. The missiles from the Demons came sailing in behind them, smashing into holes in its back and destroying the structural supports in the left flank. His engine shuttered to a stop and his war machine fell forward, taking him down one last time.

The remaining Zephyr continued to zip around the battlefield, attempting to target Lt. Amdecker’s Phoenix Hawk for homing artillery attack. One M-21 attempted to hit the fast hovercraft with its SRM launcher, but the missiles continued to fall short. The new Flashman ran up to Lt. Amdecker’s position and triggered a pair of heavy lasers, both coring into his right flank and damaging the internal structure while he was attempting to convert out of AirMech mode. Failing to lock with the homing laser, the Chaparral fired a standard artillery missile at his LAM, blasting armor off his left flank while digging into the structure of his left arm. Staying on their previous target, both Lt. Thorpe and Amdecker fired together on the retreating Magi, hoping to take it out of the fight. Six lasers arced through the air, but Lt. Thorpe’s lighter lasers missed wide, his one heavy laser burning armor off its right side. Lt. Amdecker’s lasers smashed into the rear of the tank, obliterating over half its protection, but neither ‘Mech managed to take out the tank.

Concentrating on the new Flashman, Lt. Chekov ordered 1st and 2nd Armor, as well as all the infantry to fire on him as he passed. Lt. Sanderson swung in behind the ‘Mech hoping to take it out with a single blow, but the damage to her autocannon appeared to be greater than her display showed. The guidance lock failed to track properly as her shots sailed past his ‘Mech harmlessly. Of all the fire leveled at the Flashman, only two short range missiles and a single heavy laser fount their mark, nicking armor of its left foot and burning a hole in its chest plate.

Backing off away from the smoke, Lt. Faller finally could take aim at the Alacorn tanks threatening to destroy his battalion. Leveling his Zeus’s missile arm at the tanks, he let fly a full salvo of missiles. Just short of the tanks, the missiles exploded into a series of swarming submunitions. Eight missiles struck one tank while twelve found the other, blasting armor off the right sides of both tanks and the turret and rear of one of them. Pounding at the two tanks, one seemed to swerve off aimlessly, its crew apparently dazed from the impacts, but the missiles came in too late. The tanks had turned their turrets and smashed three hypersonic slugs into Lt. Sanderson’s Thunder. One found the felt flank and smashed the protective armor there to near scrap. Unfortunately, the other two both smashed into the right flank, obliterating the armor and sending hypersonic shards into the autocannon magazines. A deafening explosion ripped through the air as the remaining shells there exploded in a fantastic display of destruction. Only the advanced cellular ammunition system saved the ‘Mech from total obliteration, but the damage was done. The engine shielding on that side ruined, her ‘Mech shuttered to a halt. As her ‘Mech began to fall, she pulled the eject handle. Rocketing out of her dead machine, she landed a short distance behind it, bruised and beaten.

Beginning carefully, the Flashman pilot that had claimed Lt. Josepho backed away from Captain McKenna, laying into her Striker with only a single pair of medium lasers, the others shooting wide as she zigzagged her approach, striking her in the right arm and left flank, leaving dangerously little armor in either location. In retaliation, she triggered her PPC and a trio of lasers, hitting with one light laser and her PPC, blasting armor into vapor. Continuing to back away from her mad rush, he triggered another salvo of laser fire, but her rabid attack let only a single laser hit her left leg. As she closed in to point blank range, she triggered another burst of laser and PPC fire. The Particle Cannon blasted the remains of the wounded left arm to vapor and dug deeply into the shoulder while the lasers scattered light armor damage over the torso. Swinging her Assault ‘Mech in close, Captain McKenna slammed her foot into the Heavy ‘Mech’s upper right leg. Backed up by the powerful artificial muscles, armor was shredded to ruins and the upper femur disintegrated, sending the Blake ‘Mech crashing to the ground.

“Man down!” came the call from Major Silver as he saw Lt. Sanderson’s ‘Mech fall. Analyzing the situation quickly, he keyed his comm system open. “Scout Leader, this is Silver Actual. Switch off Magic and set your IFF to neutral status. Begin

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #44 on: 25 June 2014, 11:48:58 »
Ok... I've been rather busy... too busy in fact to even visit the boards in the last few months. Given the choice of talking about BT and prepping for actually PLAYING it, guess what I picked? At any rate, there is so much backlog on the events of the battle, I think I'm just going to skip ahead and tell you all what happened in a nutshell. (sorry it's not in story form)

The battle turned into a meat-grinder. Lt. Josepho lost his honor dual and was making his way off the battlefield when Captain McKenna challenged the Flashman pilot to a 'Trial of Possession' for now-Bondsman Josepho. She brutally savaged his machine and won, but with the last blow (a TSM-backed kick that transferred to the CT) the engine lost containment and a hydrogen fireball billowed out of the dead machine. Josepho was caught in the blast wave and severely injured.

The deepest cut of all came when a Blake Arrow IV missile was miss-directed and it came down 30 meters from Lt. Solovitch's position after he had vacated his dead machine. He was killed instantly. Lt. Solovitch had been a member of the Silver Eagles for over a year. He left no family. The next deepest cut was when Lt. Thorpe's Phoenix Hawk LAM was savaged by one of the Blake Alacorns, destroying his LAM's left arm completely. The arm cannot be reconstructed and there are no spares in the company stores. Luckily, he was on the ground when it happened. Neither LAM can convert now and both are listed non-operational.

After that, Major Silver ordered the Armor Platoons to leave their fortifications and swarm the enemy. A brutal fight ensued and Captain McKenna tried to rush to assist, but her damaged gyro made her lose footing and she was sent slamming to the ground, knocking her out cold and rendering her Striker dead. Foot Infantry disabled the 1st Alacorn and 3rd Armor took out the 2nd, 1st Armor took out the remaining Chaparral and Jump Infantry took out one of the Demons. After that, the fight was a forgone conclusion and the Blake Commander radioed his concession of the battlefield. Of the Blake forces, one SRM Carrier, one Demon, one Zephyr, both Magis, and the CO's Flashman limped off the battlefield, all with heavy damage.

Here is the TO&E of the Silver Eagles after the battle, with damage reports included.

Pilot (Skill-Status)     Unit                     Status                                                                .
Command Lance
Major Silver (V-L)       WHM-7M Warhammer         Non-Operational; RA & LT Destroyed, RL & CT Severe Dam, LL Damaged
Lt.SG Sanderson (R-W)    THR-2C Thunder           Non-Operational; RT Destroyed, LA & RA Damaged
Lt.JG Josepho (CR-W)     Summoner                 Non-Operational; H LT & RL Destroyed, RT Dam, CT & Eng Severe Dam
Lt.JG Windsor (R-W)      Hellbringer              Non-Operational; LA RA & RT Destroyed, RL Severed, CT & Gyro Damaged

Fire Lance
Captain McKenna (V-W)    STC-3D Striker           Non-Operational; LA RA & LT Destroyed, Eng & Gyro Sev Dam, CT & LL Dam
Lt.SG Faller (R-L)       ZEU-9C Zeus              Non-Operational; RT Destroyed, CT & Eng Severe Dam, Gyro Damaged
Lt.JG Solovitch (R-K)    Executioner              Non-Operational; LA RA RL & Gyro Dam, CT RT & Eng Severe Dam
Lt.JG Jones (R-W)        MAD-5D-X Marauder        Non-Operational; LA RA & LT Destroyed, RT & Eng Severe Dam, RL Dam

Strike Lance
Lt.SG Farrell (V-L)      EXT-4C Exterminator      Operational; Heavy Armor Damage, LT Damaged, LRM Destroyed
Lt.JG Scott (R-W)        WVR-7C Wolverine         Non-Operational; LA Destroyed, LT CT RA Gyro & Eng Severe Dam
Lt.JG Yar (R-L)          Stormcrow                Semi-Operational; LA & LT Destroyed, CT Gyro & Eng Damaged
Volunteer Jamison (R)    VL-5M Vulcan             Operational; Light Armor Damage, LT ML Damaged

Recon Lance
Lt.SG Thorpe (V)         PHX-HK3 P-Hawk LAM       Non-Operational; LA Destroyed, LT RA & RL Damaged, CT Severe Dam
Lt.JG Amdecker (R-L)     PHX-HK2 P-Hawk LAM       Non-Operational; RA LA & RT Damaged, LT RL CT & Eng Severe Dam
Staff Sgt. Chi Lin (R-L) Ferret Light Scout VTOL  Operational
Unassigned               Ferret Light Scout VTOL  Non-Operational; Heavy Armor Damage

Aerospace and Transport Unit
Captain Friedrich (R)    Union DS "Ace of Spades" Operational
Captain Kaufman (R)      Scout JS "Jim Bridger"   Operational
Cmdr. Hunter (R)         K-1 Dropshuttle "Danube" Operational
Lt. SG Hernandez (R-W)   CSR-V14 Corsair          Destroyed (unsalvageable)
Lt. JG Tucker (R)        Visigoth                 Operational; Light Armor Damage

1st Armor Platoon
Lt. SG Chekov (G)        M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational
Staff Sgt. Dobson (G)    M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational
Sergeant Carleson (G)    M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational; Light Armor Damage
Sergeant Lancaster (G)   M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational

2nd Armor Platoon
Lt. JG Owens (G)         M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational
Staff Sgt. Crowder (G)   M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational; Very Light Armor Damage
Sergeant Avery (G)       M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational
Sergeant Williams (G)    M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational

3rd Armor Platoon
Mst. Sgt. Thiemann (G-W) M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational; Light Armor Damage, Turret Lock
Staff Sgt. Sing (G)      M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational; Light Armor Damage, Turret Lock
Sergeant Marshal (G)     M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational; Light Armor Damage, Mobility Hit, Driver KIA
Sergeant Valenzuela (G)  M-21 Alvarez MBT         Operational; Light Armor Damage

Infantry Support Platoon
Mst. Sgt. Green (G)      M-22 Banford IFV         Operational; Armor Damage, SRM Jammed
Staff Sgt. Whyler (G)    M-22 Banford IFV         Operational; Armor Damage, Mobility Hit, Stabilizer Hit
Sergeant Sandusky (G)    M-22 Banford IFV         Operational; Light Armor Damage
Sergeant Nunez (G)       M-22 Banford IFV         Operational; Heavy Armor Damage, Mobility Hit

Infantry Company
Lt. JG O'Hare (G)        Armored Support Motor    Off-duty; 12 KIA, 8 Wounded, 1 Driver Transferred to 3rd Armor
Mst. Sgt. Kobel (G)      Armored Support Motor    Operational
Staff Sgt. Vadnais (G)   Reinforced Jump          Operational; 1 KIA
Staff Sgt. Volk (G)      Reinforced Foot          Operational; 1 KIA, 3 Wounded

Marine Armor Squads
Mst. Sgt. Spanner (R)    Clan Battle Armor (X5)   Operational
Sergeant Rhode (R)       Clan Battle Armor (X5)   Operational

--
V: Veteran
R: Regular
CR: Clan Regular
G: Green
L: Light Wounds - Active Duty
W: Wounded - Medical Leave
K: Killed in Action

As you can see, they aren't looking too hot. Most of the 'Mechs are non-operational. Strike Lance is the only operational Lance, with the Stormcrow classified as only semi-operational (half of the 'Mech is missing, but it IS operational) and the Wolverine is completely out of action. (severe engine damage) Command Lance and Fire Lance are completely out, with Recon Lance only having a single VTOL remaining operational. Of the 25 infantry injured, 14 died either on the field or in transit to medical aid. 3rd Armor platoon suffered a loss when one of its drivers was injured in the fighting. After the battle, he was sent for medical treatment, but died on-route.

The severely injured, including Captain McKenna and Josepho, were air-lifted by Sergeant Chi Lin to the nearest hospital in Agata, the largest city on Major Silver's landhold. (Agata lies 10 kilometers west-by-southwest of Major Silver's estate) After the battle, reports started coming in that there was fighting all over the planet. Negushevo Reserve units were siding with Countess Silver with the majority of the southern population siding with Major Silver. (including several southern media concerns) There was also heavy fighting being reported in Agata itself. Mounting up as temporary head of 3rd Armor Platoon, (Master Sergeant Thiemann having been wounded) he and headed for Agata with 1st and 2nd Armor, along with Lt. Farrell in his Exterminator and volunteer Jamison in the Vulcan. 2nd Armored Infantry and 3rd Jump Platoon were also being ferried to Agata to assist.

As the reached the city, the signs of fighting were everywhere. Their tanks immediately started taking small arms fire from scattered Militia fighters. It was then that Agata Police SWAT teams showed up and helped drive them off. As Major Silver and 3rd Armor made their way through the city toward the hospital, (which reports were that there was fighting in the hospital itself) a large mob swarmed 1st Armor as they made their way into the city. Their anti-personnel machine guns tore through the crowds of militia like a hot knife through butter, scattering the remainder and breaking up the mob. Major Solver continued to press for the hospital. Halfway there, he encountered another mob, but this one was made of citizens of Agata, and they were fighting a small group of Negushevo Militiamen. They joined up with Major Silver and they pressed on to the hospital.

As they got close, they stopped short when Major Silver got a 'bad feeling' and he ordered the Vulcan forward. Spotting movement in a storefront, Nick Jamison (the volunteer pilot) leaned his 'Mech over to peer in a storefront. The single story building promptly exploded, sending the BattleMech flying into the building across the street. Major Silver moved his platoon forward and began searching the area for enemy infantry. As the Vulcan regained its feet, the building it landed on exploded, sending the 'Mech flying again and damaging 3rd Armor further. 2nd Armor opened up the building from the rear as they drove through the rubble, killing lone snipers and sappers at will, joining 1st and 3rd Armor.

Finally reaching the hospital, Lt. Thorpe, along with Jump Infantry were landing on the roof of the hospital. 4th Foot Infantry, under the command of Captain McKenna, began making their way up through the hospital while Lt. Thorpe and Jump Infantry made their way down, clearing the hospital while the citizen volunteers cleared the surrounding buildings. Major Silver ordered the Ace of Spades to land in the city center, a large park in the middle of the city, effectively controlling the entire area. By nightfall, the city had been split in two, with Negushevo Militia forces siding with Countess Silver holding the Northwest corner of the city, including most of the city's industrial center, power plant, and water treatment plant. Major Silver and the City police and most of the population hold the remainder. Ordering the Armor Platoons up to establish a front line so the local police could be pulled of the lines, Major Silver and the remainder of the Silver Eagles slept the night with one eye open.

The next morning, Major Silver called for a strategy session. Armed with information obtained by Lt. Faller, (that he'd obtained that night in a recon sweep through the enemy controlled areas) the Silver Eagles prepared a small raid into the industrial center. A major offensive was out of the question. The militia has organized ambush points and explosive charges throughout the industrial center. Any major push would be brutal on their already hammered unit. A small raid of half a dozen might sneak through unnoticed.

What was known was that their HQ was an industrial building that had the proper chemicals for manufacture of Compound C8. If they had been working all night, there would be enough C8 in the building to destroy most of the northwest corner of the city. (along with the charges placed throughout the city) What was NOT known was if there was any sort of WOB leader heading the forces. (the players feel that a WOB leader means that they'll blow the city up if they're going to lose it)

As a next step, Major Silver contacted Baron Karminov, the Baron in charge of the area. Making a play for his allegiance, he conveyed his intent to supplant his sister as count of the northern half of Negushevo. The Baron told Major Silver that if he could regain control over Agata within 48 hours, he would see that as a sign of Major Silver's capability and give his public support for Major Silver's cause.

Thus, Major Silver, Captain McKenna, (now released from medical leave) Lt. Thorpe, Lt. Faller, Lt. Amdecker, and Sergeant Chi Lin are going to make a sneak attack on foot into the enemy's HQ in an attempt to drive them out without destroying the city.

Hopefully, I'll have the time to write more often and continue the story... we'll see!

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #45 on: 25 June 2014, 11:50:22 »
And last but not least...

Ok... here's the update. It's a little late and a lot of this stuff has already circulated out... but better late then never, right?


When the last update was done, the Eagles were trying to figure out how to get Adept Cheswick out of his office and secure the building. In the end, Major Silver just picked up a phone... and talked to him. He learned that Adept Cheswick was convinced the Eagles would kill him if he gave them half a chance, having bought WoB's story of what happened on Clipperton hook, line, and sinker. To assure the Adept that he would accept and abide by a proper surrender, and treat the prisoners as outlined in the Ares Conventions, Major Silver put a call out the the Ace of Spades. He asked them to get one of the reporters that had set up outside their Dropship and get ready to go live with a news report that would make Tri-vid News Channel 4 the top rated channel for weeks.

He then accepted Adept Cheswick's surrender on live tri-vid and promised that the Blake Militia would be handled according the the Ares Conventions. Thus, Major Silver secured Agata without too much bloodshed.

The next morning, Baron Karminov publicly committed his entire land-hold and all his knights to deposing Countess Silver, and asked all the other landholders of Negushevo to examine the evidence for themselves and join against the Countess. By the end of the day, all the Barons of the Southern Hemisphere had made public commitments to join with Kevin Silver against his sister.

After 10 days of consolidation, the Eagles had only repaired the Visigoth, the M21 and M22 tanks, and part of Hermes. That day, the Capellan Leopard class Dropship Yuan Lo landed under the watchful eyes of heavy press coverage. Both sides of the conflict were gathering their forces for a final confrontation. As the Silver Eagles watched on the tri-vid, the saw the Dropship doors open to reveal...

Col. Sandra Relph of the 8th Orloff Grenadiers...

...and Col. William Assellin of the Capellan Confederation's Stapelton's Grenadiers.

Twenty minutes later, Major Silver and the command staff of the Silver Eagles were asked to join Col. Relph at the Silver Estate (his father's land-hold) for cease-fire talks. An hour later, they were at the Estate. Escorted into the waiting room, they met Major Silver's Father on the way in. He seemed to be well, and didn't have any better idea what was going on than the Silver Eagles did. As they entered the main hall, they saw Col. Relph sitting at the head of the table... a place reserved for Major Silver's father, the Duke of Negushevo.

They took their seats as Countess Silver entered, along with Demi-Precentor Marlin and a few members of the Negushevo militia... and Col. Assellin. They took seats opposite the Silver Eagles, the Countess opposite Major Silver, Col. Assellin opposite Captain McKenna, and Demi-Precentor Marlin opposite Lt. Thorpe.

"Thank you all for coming." Col. Relph began. "To begin with, Col. Assellin of the Capellan Confederation has asked for extradition of an Erin Fitzpatrick, a.k.a. Erin McKenna. In the name of the Captain-General, the request for extradition has been denied. Next is the matter of the succession of House Silver and rulership of Negushevo. By order of the Captain-General and Parliament assembled, House Silver is hereby removed from their position as inheritors of the Duchy of Negushevo."

She paused and looked at the shocked faces (and I reveled in the shocked looks from my players... hee, hee, hee...) before she continued.

Countess Silver spoke first. "You can't do this!"

Col. Relph snapped back. "Watch me! From this day forward, the hereditary rulership of the Duchy of Negushevo will fall to House Karminov. Your debate has been rendered moot. No matter who wins your little fight here, neither of you will inherit the Duchy. And if anyone gets any ideas to try to violate the will of the Captain-General," she paused and looked at Countess Silver and Major Silver both. "I have a regiment of troops only one jump away. I've wasted enough time here. I was due on Tematagi a week ago. As it is, I won't get there for another two weeks. With rumors of rising conflict on the Clan border, delays in shipments of League weapons costs lives. Settle your dispute how you like. Kill each other. But in the end, this war is over."

With that, she stood and walked out.

Countess Silver stood and looked at Major Silver. "Well Kevin, I hope you're happy. Your meddling has cost us our position! If you had just..."

Ex-Duke Silver returned to the head of the table and turned to his daughter. "Shut up! As the head of the House, since you're now powerless, I am revoking your inheritance and family ties. You are no Silver." He turned to a house guard. "Get her out of here."

Captain McKenna and Col. Assellin stood at the same time. Col. Assellin asked McKenna if he could speak to her outside.

Once there he bowed to her. "Fitzpatrick. It seems I cannot take you."

McKenna responded "It would seem so."

He retorted "I would ask you to return... to restore your honor... as well as my own and that of your family."

McKenna paused a moment. Then suddenly, Countess Silver burst out the front doors. Storming past the two, she stopped in the middle of the courtyard and turned to Col. Assellin. "This is all your fault, snake! If you just killed him on Clipperton like I ask..."

She was interrupted as her head exploded. A moment later, a rifle report was heard.

An hour later, they had a suspect in custody... a Negushevo Park Ranger who lost his job when the wildlife preserve was closed. He was carrying a Minolta 9000 Sniper rifle when they picked him up and after a brief attempt to escape was arrested. He freely confessed to assassinating the Countess and had no remorse over it.

Later that afternoon, Vlad Karminov was installed as the new Duke of Negushevo. In his speech, he swore that House Silver would forever hold a Barony on Negushevo. Naming Baron Horrus Karminov as the new Count replacing Countess Silver, he then granted Major Silver the vacated Barony.

When Baron Silver returned to his land-hold, Mr. Sutton, his land manager, had a stack of papers that he needed to all authorize. That kept him busy for almost an hour. Meanwhile, Captain McKenna met with the other high-ranking members of the Silver Eagles. As Major Silver finished authorizing the grant of title to Sir Jameson, the command staff met with him. It was at that time that Captain McKenna revealed her intentions to return to the Capellan Confederation and face her crimes.

Over the next hour and a half, the command staff laid out the plans for the next few months. During Captain McKenna's absence, Lt. Thorpe would be promoted to Captain Thorpe and take the position of XO. Meanwhile Lt. Faller and the newest member of the Silver Eagles, Lt. SG Piotr Vahzenov, would head to Tematagi with the Visigoth with the intent of selling it to raise capital. Their intent is to upgrade their Dropship to an Overlord vehicle carrier variant. (the one that can only carry 24 'Mechs, but can carry 18 Heavy or 36 Light Vehicles... I don't know the proper name, nor even if it's ever been given official stats... it's mentioned in the Overlord fluff)

So, McKenna heads off with Col. Assellin to Sian to stand trial while Lt. Faller and Lt. Vahzenov search for buyers for the Visigoth on Tematagi. They find four interested parties with serious offers. Nimakachi Fusion Products Ltd. offers 150 million Eagles for the Omnifighter. An anonymous private buyer offered 213 million C-bills. A representative of Wakazashi Enterprises offered 270 million Ryu plus 68 million Ryu in credit on Wakazashi Enterprises purchases. Lastly, Andurien Aerotech offered 365 million Eagles plus 80 million Eagles on account for Andurien Aerotech purchases. (keep in mind... this is 3054, 566 light years - or 25 jumps - from Tukayyid, and the fighter is in MINT condition... they should have sold it even sooner!)

During the talks with Andurien Aerotech, Lt. Vahzenov asked their representative if it would be possible to get replacement arm bones and shoulder joint for a PHX-HK2 Phoenix Hawk LAM. The guy almost swallowed his tongue! After a few days, and some hard negotiations, they made an agreement.

In exchange for the Visigoth and their Union class Dropship, Andurien Aerotech would:
1) Acquire one replacement Left Arm Assembly for a PHX-HK2 Phoenix Hawk LAM and make it available to the Silver Eagles for 1,000,000 Eagles
2) Locate an Overlord V class Dropship and refurbish to the Silver Eagles needs
3) Grant 80 million Eagles of credit towards the purchase of any model Stingray or Riever class Aerospace fighters and parts, including minor customization

Their specifications for the Overlord were:
18 'Mech bays (removal of one of the four 6-'Mech bay decks for extra Cargo space)
6 fighter bays
4 Heavy Vehicle bays (leaving room on the two vehicle decks for up to 28 light vehicles)
23 Light Vehicle bays (freeing up 250 tons for Infantry and Marines)
1 Foot Infantry bay for 32 Infantrymen
1 Jump Infantry bay for 24 Infantrymen
2 Motorized Infantry bays for 56 Infantrymen
20 Armored Marines
Leaving 950 tons of Cargo Space

In addition, they requested the following changes to the weapons load:
Replacement of the entire Nose mounted weapons bay with 2 Long Tom Artillery Systems with 10 tons of ammo
Replacement of the Side-fore AC/5s and Medium Lasers with an additional pair of Large Lasers, a double pair of Medium Pulse Lasers, and Artemis IV FCS for the LRM 20s
Replacement of the Side-aft Medium Lasers with Medium Pulse Lasers
Replacement of the Aft AC/5s and Medium Lasers with 10 Medium Pulse Lasers and Artemis IV FCS for the LRM 20

Using their 80 million Eagle budget, they chose the following:
2 F-700a Riever Heavy Aerospace Fighters (52,000,000 Eagles)
2 F-92 Stingray Medium Aerospace Fighters (10,907,000 Eagles)
Customize the 2 F-92s: replace the Nose ER PPC with 3 MPLs and 1 SPL; replace the 240 Fusion with a 300 XL and upgrade the Wing MLs to MPLs (15,789,842 Eagles)
1,303,158 Eagles in spares and replacement parts, including the replacement LAM arm

By the way... in case you are wondering, Lt. Vahzenov is played by a new gamer to our group. He set out to make "Sergeant Bilko"... the supply Sergeant from hell... he succeeded!

When we ended, Andurien Aerotech was set to deliver the Dropship, fighters, and parts by August 16th, 3054. (McKenna left on February 19th, due to arrive on Sian on July 2nd)

Over the next few months, McKenna traveled on the Capellan Dropship, repairing the Striker on her own. She finished up only 2 weeks before reaching Sian. When she arrived, the Maskirovka took her into custody. After processing, she was taken to a tribunal where she was officially charged.

Count 1) Theft of State property
Count 2) Desertion
Count 3) Violation of her Oath of Allegiance
Count 4) Treason

She pled Guilty on the first three counts, but pled Not Guilty on the count of Treason. When the tribunal asked if she had anything to say to answer for her crimes before they reached a verdict on the Treason count, she said only "It was wrong of me to leave, but it would have been a greater wrong to continue to serve a dishonorable Chancellor."

They immediately found her guilty of treason. She was then sent to a holding cell, where she waited for sentencing. Seven days later, she was brought back to answer for her crimes. By order of Sun-Tzu Liao, her sentence of death was commuted. In its place, official records would list Erin Fitzpatrick as having died on Eom in January of 3052. From this day forward, she would have no past... no history... no family... and no honor. She was remanded to the Free Worlds League and ordered to leave the Capellan Confederation. At that, she was led to the processing center, where all her belongings were confiscated as having belonged to Erin Fitzpatrick. She was issued Servitor's garb and shown the door.

Once outside, a representative of the Free Worlds League met her. He escorted her to his limo where he went over what was needed. She held Citizenship on the world of Marik, but she had failed to ever pay income tax. She owed over 1.5 million Eagles in taxes and penalties. Once she reached the Starport, she booked passage to the first FWL world she could, Calloway VI. As soon as she reached the Shuen Wan system and the safety of the FWL, she wired Marik her back taxes and sent a message to the Silver Eagles.

"Estimated Arrival October 23rd. All Hail the Free Worlds League. Erin McKenna"

Reaching Calloway VI, she received a return message from the Silver Eagles.

"Message received. Change of plans. Will meet you on Outreach. Expected arrival date, November 26th. Love, Joe"

So, she booked passage aboard a transport to Outreach that would get her there 16 days before the Silver Eagles. The ship that would take her wouldn't depart until September 12th, so she bought room and board for 5 weeks at Calloway VI's Zenith Station. Next she put out a mass of HPG messages to begin trying to locate a new 'Mech to drive. She'd settled on a GHR-5H Grasshopper that she could fix up just the way she wanted. A short two weeks later, she received a message that there was a GHR-5H only one system away on Oriente. The buyer was asking 9 million Eagles. She was forced to exchange 6,000,000 kroner into Eagles, costing her 5% in exchange rates, but she authorized the transfer and three weeks later, she was headed for Outreach with her Grasshopper, which she named "Dreoilín". (that means grasshopper in Irish Gaelic... original, no? )

That's where we left off. Now they just need to hire 8 Mechwarriors, 2 Aerospace Pilots, 26 Vehicle crewmen, 1 Scout, 10 Marines, 15 Motor Infantrymen, 2 Vehicle Techs, 10 'Mech Techs, and 1 Medical Officer. Then they have to buy 7 'Mechs, 10 Battlearmor suits, 2 Partisan Tanks, a MASH truck, and a wide assortment of parts and supplies. (they're severely short on Ferro-Fibrous Armor) Then they'll be all set to hire out as a fully supported and self-sufficient combined arms Battalion.

Now we just get to see what the MRBC has to say...

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #46 on: 26 June 2014, 16:02:10 »
Ok... it’s been a while since I had a moment to update the situation, but here it is! (yeah!)


Major Silver walked into the briefing room aboard the Comstock and looked at his assembled officers. He mused how the unit had grown over the last two years since they had last been on approach to Pandora and cracked a wry smile. Walking to the head of the table, he nodded to the assembled officers.

“Good morning, all. Captain Friedrich, are we on schedule?”

“Yes Major.” Darious replied. “We’ve got an approach pattern that will settle us into a brief orbit around the planet, then we can de-orbit for landing 95 kilometers west of the capital city of Needgate.”

Major Silver looked over at Lt. Windsor. “Lieutenant. Have you made inquiries with the local government about us doing a practice hot-drop on our landing site?”

Lt. Windsor looked up at the Major. “Yes sir I have. The local authorities gave us permission to land wherever we like in Zone 382, but they denied us permission to perform a hot-drop so close to the Quikscell Company factory complex.”

Major Silver nodded. “Very well. Lieutenant Vahzenov, how are we looking logistically?”

Piotr shrugged his shoulders. “Well, we are set for at least ze six months of our duty schedule Major... plus an additional three months after zat before we will need additional supplies. Ozzer zan zat, we will need very little.”

Major Silver nodded and looked to Lt. Chekov. “Lieutenant, how are the men holding up?”

Chekov sighed and looked at the table. “Well sir, they really can’t wait to get off this bucket. They’ve been living on the Comstock and Jim Bridger for months now. It’s a good thing we’re here, because if we weren’t, we might be facing some losses and contract terminations. As it is, it’ll be good to get the men some fresh planet-side air.”

Major Silver nodded. “That it is. Major McKenna...” he said, using the ancient tradition of referring to army Captains as ‘Major’ while on-board ship, “have you reviewed the landing site for troop deployments?”

Captain McKenna straightened up and nodded. “Yes sir. I think we should land about 2 kilometers west of the factory complex in Region 3616 at coordinates 03121103, close enough that we can deploy our units in a defensive perimeter but not in the way of the disassembly crew. After landing, I suggest we deploy the Infantry first and the tanks last, that way we can scout out the best defensible positions and see where we stand.”

Major Silver glanced at the map of the area Captain McKenna had just referred to. A large bowl-shaped depression seemed the perfect spot for deployment and created natural defensible positions. Though not very rough terrain, it was sparsely wooded and large clearings made setting up a base camp easy, while leaving them defendable and made observing the surrounding area easy.

To the east would lie the Quikscell factory complex that ran right up to Pina Lake. Several piers connected the factory by river shipping to the equatorial sea and the southern continental mines that provided the factory with raw materials. To the north lie Dod Marsh, a barren and desolate alkali swamp that would make approaches from the north difficult and slow. To the east and south was the Angslan Forest, mostly small clutches of evergreen trees and underbrush. The low temperatures in the coming winter months would ensure that snow would cover most of the area and make tracking people and military equipment in the area easier with thermal sensors. Indeed, it seemed the ideal location.

“I concur.” He stated. “The location is solid and easily defendable. However, I’d like the VTOLs unloaded immediately after the infantry to get the in the air so we can do a close inspection of the immediate area for tactical analysis. Captain Friedrich? Do you see any problems in putting down there?”

The captain of the Comstock examined the map as though he were scrutinizing a suitor for his virgin daughter. Seeming satisfied, he shook his head. “No. I think we can set down there all right. We won’t be in zero-g for long though. We’ll only have about a minute or two after we enter orbit until we’ll have to begin our braking maneuver to make that LZ. I’ll take this up to the bridge immediately sir.”

“Very well. I’ll leave the details up to you then.” Silver replied. “If there’s nothing more Darious, I think you’re done here.” At that, Darious stood and left the briefing room.

“Major Thorpe.” He continued. “I’d like you and Lieutenant Amdecker to scout the area out as well; looking for potential approach points that could blind us and let someone sneak in. Coordinate your search patterns with Sergeant Chi Lin and compile the data into a high-detail map of the area.”

Captain Thorpe nodded and added, “Good idea sir. If possible I’d like to get the Venoms out there scouting out there as soon as possible. It’ll give us better detail on the ground conditions themselves.”

Major Silver nodded. “Very well. We’ll make them a priority for unloading after your units are out.” He looked over at Lt. Hernandez-Silver, his wife, and head of the Aerospace Lance. “Lieutenant. I’d like to set up a field runway. Coordinate with Master Sergeant Green to have the engineers clear an appropriate space and we’ll unload your fighters last. Until then, your unit is on leave.”

Jan smiled at the Major. “Ok, sir. I’ll take a look at the maps after Major Thorpe compiles them and ask Sergeant Green where he thinks would be best.”

Smiling back at his new wife, he glanced at his watch. “Ok people, we have a few minutes until MECO. Anything that needs to be covered that we haven’t already?”

Lt. Faller nodded and spoke up. “Any specific instructions for MI?”

The Major looked at Joe. “Once we’re down and secure, I’d like you to take a trip to Needgate. Just get the general feel of the place and people. I don’t want any surprises this trip!”

Joe chuckled and nodded. “Aye, sir. I’ll do that.”

Looking around the room, Major Silver finished, “Well, if there’s nothing else...” He waited a moment and looked around. “Then you’re dismissed. I want this deployment to go smooth and by the numbers. Lets do it people.”

Just then, the speaker crackled to life with an artificial feminine voice. “Warning. Zero gravity in 30 seconds. All personnel are advised to secure for zero-g.” Quickly, the people gathered around the table grabbed what few items were scattered over the table and put them in briefcases and other secure places. Half a minute later, the ever present thrum of the engines ceased and people began belting into their secured chairs. Lt. Scott immediately started turning green and grabbed a space-sickness bag.

As the passengers waited a moment, Captain Darious’ voice came over the speaker. “Now hear this. Braking maneuver in sixty seconds. Engine room, prepare for descent burn. All personnel are advised to prepare for re-entry.”

As the gathered officers of the Silver Eagles waited, the silence was disturbed by the artificial voice of the ship’s public address system. “De-orbit burn in ten seconds... nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...” Just as suddenly as it left them, gravity once again was felt as the engines fought against the pull of the planet. As the ship descended toward the planet’s surface, the roar grew louder and the force it exerted on the passengers grew. The ship began to shake as they descended into the atmosphere, with each moment adding to the shaking as the air grew thicker and the ship slowed.

Finally after several minutes of shaking, the artificial voice was heard again. “Touchdown in thirty seconds.” An interminable time of waiting followed, until the sudden jarring of the ship indicated that the landing legs had touched firm ground. Just as suddenly as the descent had begun, the engines stopped and the ship settled into place.

Once more, Darious’ voice came over the loudspeaker. “We are Stable-one. All crew report status. Passengers are free to begin disembarking at any time.”

McKenna unbelted herself and stood. “Alright people, you heard him. Lets move it!”

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #47 on: 26 June 2014, 16:06:46 »
more...

The Silver Eagles personnel began filing out headed for their respective tasks. Ten minutes later the ramp began extending from the Comstock. When the ramp was fully lowered, the doors opened and Lt. O’Hare began directing his Infantrymen outside. Lt. Vahzenov asked Lt. Collins to join him on a trip into Needgate to take delivery of the three BattleMaster  engines that they were planning to use on their newly acquired Longbow-7Qs. They hurried down to his vehicle, but had to wait for the infantry to finish off loading before they could disembark.

While they were waiting, a horrible crash resounded through the lower deck of the ship. Lt. Vahzenov watched in stunned silence as one of the pallets of food he’d acquired fell off the loading elevator, sending crates crashing to the deck. Technicians and personnel scattered trying to escape the flying debris. Some were lucky, some were not. Medical teams were called to tend to the wounded.

Erin was in her office going over reports when the comms beeped. “McKenna.”

“Major this is Petty Officer Ramirez. There’s been an accident on the lower deck. Lt. Thorpe has been injured.”

Erin dropped her papers on her desk. “I’m on my way.” She hurried down to the lower deck. She arrived just as they were loading Lt. Thorpe onto a stretcher. She grabbed the nearest doctor. “What happened?”

Dr. Benson turned to face her. “One of the food crates shattered and Lt. Thorpe was caught in the debris. We’re stabalizing him now, but he’ll have to be transported to the local hospital as soon as possible.”

Half an hour later, Lt. Thorpe was being admitted to the hospital, and base camp was being set up around the Dropship.  By dinnertime, the camp was mostly set up. The runway still had several hours more work on it, but camp was set and the perimeter watch was ready to begin. Lt. Vahzenov sat down at the table with Major Silver and the rest of the command staff. “We may have a problem, sir.”

He went on to relate the sentiments of the locals. It seems that the people of Needgate aren’t too happy about the Quickcell Company being moved off world. So not only did they have to worry about possible attacks by the Clans, but also possible rioting.

Major Silver rubbed his eyes. “All right, we’ll talk about this at tomorrow’s meeting.
----------------------------------------------------------

Major Silver’s comms beeped just as he was rising. Sighing, he sat back down. “Silver.”

The comms officer in the HQ tent spoke. “Sir I have a call from a Kommandant Cyrus Hubbard. He says he’s from the Pandora War College.”

“Put him through.” Major Silver spoke for a few moments with the Kommandant. When he was done, he turned to his officers. “We’re going to the War College tomorrow at one o’clock. I’ll see you all in the morning. I’m going to bed.”
At the meeting the next morning, everyone was clutching a steaming mug in order to stay warm. Major Silver looked around the table. Everyone was present, with the exception of Lt. Faller. He looked to McKenna. “Where is he?”

She shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I haven’t a clue.”

Kevin nodded. “Very well, let’s get down to business. So far we’ve had a pretty quiet stay.” He looked at Captain McKenna again. “How is Lt. Thorpe?”

“I spoke to the doctors this morning. He’s been listed in serious but stable condition. It’s gonna be a while before he’s able to be released, I’m afraid, but on the up side, it appears that he’s going to be all right.”

“Good.” He sighed. “Chi Lin and I did a pretty good Recon sweep yesterday. I think we’re in a very defensible position. We’re set to meet with the Kommandant of the War College at one o’clock this afternoon. I want you lance commanders ready to go by twelve thirty.”

Everyone nodded. McKenna turned to Sven. “So how are the repairs coming?”

“We’ll have those engines installed by tomorrow, like I promised.”

“Good.” She turned back to Major Silver. “Sir, I think we should keep everyone here in base camp until we’ve ascertained the situation a little better.”

Silver nodded. “Yes. Last night, it was brought to my attention that the locals aren’t too happy about our presence here. I want everyone to pass the word that no one is to leave the camp except on official business. We don’t want to cause any unnecessary problems.”

Just then Lt. Faller walked into the tent. “Sorry I’m late. What’d I miss?”

McKenna chuckled. “We were just discussing the disposition of the local populace.”

Major Silver frowned slightly. “Where were you?”

“Doing some Recon work. What Vahzenov told us last night is pretty much true.” Joe sat down at the table. “The locals are pretty unhappy about the Quickcell Company being moved off planet, because they’re losing their jobs. But the most, unhappy, are the local nobility. In particular the Duke of this region.”

“Is there any way we can get in touch with him? I’d like to be able to talk with him about his subjects.”

Faller shook his head. “You could get in touch with him, but I’m not sure how much good it would do. He’s not on planet.”

“That presents a problem.”

“Not really, sir. It wouldn’t really matter if he was. From what information I can gather, he’s instigating a lot of the descent.”

Major Silver frowned. “Well, we’ll just have to work around that.” He stood. “So, until further notice, I don’t want anyone leaving the base camp.” He smiled. “Lt. Scott, I’m leaving you in charge this afternoon. I trust that you’ll do a good job, but I want to be notified, immediately, if anything should happen.”

Ben was mildly surprised. “Yes sir. Thank you, sir”

McKenna looked across the table at her newest element leader. “Lt. Collins, you will be in command of Assault lance this afternoon.” She turned her gaze to Joe. “Lt. Faller, you will be coming along. You’re the representative for Assault lance, since I’m representing the entire ‘Mech Company.”
“Yes ma’am.”

Major Silver turned to Piotr. “Lt. Vahzenov, I want you to attach one of your Strike units to Recon, for the short term. I want them out there patrolling while we’re gone.”

“Da! Yes, sir.” Piotr turned to his wingman. “Lt. Sadowski, you’re temporarily assigned to Recon.” He then turned to his second in command. “Lt. Yar, you are in command of ze lance.”

Ivana nodded. “Yes sir.”

Major Silver nodded. “Very good. Ian, have Sgt. Titus ready for ferry duty. Tell him I want his chopper ready by twelve thirty.”

Ian nodded. “Yes sir.”

Major Silver took a sip of his coffee and looked around the table. ‘Is that all?” Everyone nodded. “Dismissed.”

At twelve thirty Major Silver, Captain McKenna, Lieutenant’s Faller, Vahzenov, Sanderson, Amdecker, and O’Hare climbed aboard the VTOL and headed towards the War College.  They were met by a vehicle, and escorted to a huge mansion sized building.  They were escorted inside. As they waited in the foyer, they noted that it looked very much like a posh party was in progress. A few moments later, a voice boomed out, “”Kommandant Hubbard!”

They watched a man descend from the left side of a split staircase. When he reached the bottom, Major Silver and the rest of his unit crossed to the Kommandant. “Kommandant? I am Major Kevin Silver of the Silver Eagles. This is my command staff.” He introduced each in turn, then told them to mingle.

The cadets of the War College were watching the mercenaries, but none approached. While the Kommandant and Major Silver were talking, Piotr made his way to the bar. He sat down and ordered vodka. Minutes after he received his drink a brawny looking Cadet approached him. “Why don’t you go back where you came from.”

Lt. Vahzenov smiled and replied in Russian that he didn’t understand what the cadet was saying. The exchange went on for some minutes, with Vahzenov continuing to play dumb. When the cadet advanced on him in a threatening manner, Piotr drew his pistols, and pointed the laser sights at the cadet.

The Kommandant, Major Silver, and Captain McKenna all saw what was going on at the same moment, and headed in that direction. The Kommandant cleared his throat. “What is going on here?”

The cadet didn’t move. “I was expressing how much we’re looking forward to training with the gentleman’s unit.”

Major Silver threw a dark glance at his officer. “Lt. Vahzenov?”

“He was telling me his opinion of working with a mercenary unit. I was simply trying to diffuse ze situation before it became hostile.”

When the cadet heard Piotr conversing in English, he bristled and took a menacing step forward. Vahzenov didn’t move his pistols an inch.

There was an audible click from behind Vahzenov. “Disarm.” When Lt. Vahzenov did not comply, “Disarm or you will be shot.”

Major Silver made a frustrated sound. “Lt. Vahzenov! Give me your pistols.”

Piotr nodded, clicked off the laser sights, and handed the weapons to Major Silver. The cadet began advancing again.

“Cadet!” The Kommandant stepped forward. “That will be all. Dismissed!” When the cadet was gone, he turned to Kevin. “Major Silver, I apologize for that rude display.”

“I too apologize Kommandant. I don’t know what could have gotten into my Lieutenant.”

The Kommandant nodded. “I think, given the current tensions, that we should wait a while to begin training together, as we’d discussed.”

Major Silver nodded. “I agree. Contact me when you are ready to begin.”

The Kommandant nodded and offered his hand. “I will. I look forward to training with you and your people.”

The Silver Eagles took their leave. When they were outside, Major Silver handed Piotr’s pistols back to him. “I don’t ever want to see these with your dress uniform again, understood?”

Lt. Vahzenov nodded. “Da.”

They returned to the VTOL in silence. When they were about half way back to camp, Sgt. Titus relayed that he had Lt. Scott on the comms.

Major Silver plugged his headset into the comm. system. “This is Silver.”

Ben felt relief. “Major, we’ve had a trip line triggered in the Northwest sector. I sent Lt. Collins and Second squad to check it out.”

“Good. Keep me apprised. We’ll be there in about twelve minutes.”

“Yes sir.”

When he was done, Erin asked him, “What’s up Major?”

Silver looked at his officers. “A trip line was triggered. Ben’s got people checking it out. When we get back to camp, I want all of you to mount up.”

McKenna nodded and began unbuttoning her uniform jacket. As the chopper set down, the occupants jumped out and hurried to their ‘Mech’s. Reaching her Grasshopper, McKenna handed her briefcase and Uniform Jacket to her personal astech. “Hang on to those for me, would you Jeff. How’s me Dreoilín running?”

“He’s in top shape ma’am,” Lt. James replied. “I’ll put your uniform in your office ma’am.”

McKenna smiled as she changed into her combat gear. “Thanks.” Finished, she scaled up her ladder.

The Mechwarriors were on the line for ten minutes and nothing happened. Finally the word was given to stand down. All of the ‘Mechs returned to their standby positions around the Comstock. McKenna dismounted and headed for the HQ tent. They were in the middle of discussing what happened, when they heard a rifle report. Major Silver looked up. “What was that?”

The comms officer in the HQ tent looked up from his console. “Sir, I’ve got Sgt. Kobel for you.”

Kevin took the headset the man was holding out. “This is Silver.”

“Sir, this is Kobel. We’re under fire.” They were interrupted as another rifle report rang out. “They’ve hit Markham!”

Major Silver frowned. “Hold tight. We’re sending in reinforcements.”

“Yes sir.”

Silver asked the comms officer to put him through to Sgt. Vadnais. After speaking to her for a few moments, he asked to be connected to Lt. Owens of the second armor platoon. After giving them orders to assist, he looked to Erin. “McKenna, mount up and get out there.”

“Yes sir.” She hurried from the tent and mounting her ‘Mech moved in on the engagement.

Moments later, the gunman was in custody and was being escorted back to the base camp. Major Silver met the infantry and the prisoner just outside the HQ tent. “What’s going on, here? Why are you taking pot shots at my infantrymen?”

“They’re trying to steal my kill!”

The Major looked at Sgt. Kobel. “What happened out there?”

“We were patrolling the perimeter when one of the sensor lines was tripped. My men went in to investigate and this gentleman started shooting at them from a rock outcropping.”

“I see.” McKenna walked up at the tail end of the explanation. Major Silver looked at her, then continued, “What were you doing on the perimeter of a military camp?”

“I told you. I was hunting.  They tried to take my kill away.”

Major Silver took the bag that one of the Jump infantry was holding. He opened it up and looked inside. “What are these?”

“Swamp Rats.”

“Swamp Rats?” McKenna looked at the bag in disgust. “What would our infantry want with swamp rats?”

“Hey, them are good eating!” He struggled against the Infantrymen that were holding him.

McKenna chuckled. “Let him go. He’s not going anywhere.” They let him go and she asked, “Why were you shooting at our infantry? They didn’t want your swamp rats. They were just doing their job.”

“I tell you they were trying to take my rats!”

“You shot a man over swamp rats!” Erin was close to losing her temper.

Major Silver held up a hand. “Take him to the mess. I want to question him further.”

“I ain’t going nowhere!”

McKenna barely controlled her temper. Stepping up to him she took his arm. “You’ll go without a fuss.”

“I said, I ain’t going nowhere!” He pulled away and took a step back.

McKenna dropped to the ground and attempted to sweep his feet from under him. She missed. The brief struggle, which ensued, left her lying flat on her back on the ground.

Major Silver stepped in, and motioned the two jump infantrymen to take charge of the prisoner. “Take him to the mess,” he growled. When they had moved off, he turned to glare at his exec. “What the heck just happened?”

“I lost me temper.” Erin picked herself up off the ground.

“Mount up! I want you to report to Lt. Vahzenov on the perimeter.”

“Aye, sair.” McKenna turned smartly and marched off towards her ‘Mech.

Major Silver turned and hurried to the mess. Clicking on his comms as he entered the room, he said, “Connect me to Lt. Windsor.” He waited a moment.

“Windsor.”

“Contact the local authorities. I have a gentleman here that they’ll know better how to handle.”

“Yes sir.” Lt. Windsor contacted the local authorities. A few moments later, he contacted Major Silver. “Sir, the local authorities are on their way.”

“Good. Thank you Lieutenant.”

A few minutes later, as McKenna was just approaching his position, Lt. Amdecker spoke. “I have two contacts coming in from the east.”

Lt. Vahzenov confirmed the reading, and called the armor squad posted in that area.. “Stop them at the perimeter. I want confirmation of who they are and what business they have here.”

McKenna opened her comms. “Six guns this is Orchid. That’s likely the local authorities. Major Silver wanted them called in to deal with our sniper. Where do you want me?”

Lt. Vahzenov paused for a moment taken aback. “Cover the road.”

“Aye sair.”

Ten minutes later the small convoy was escorted to base camp. The infantryman that escorted the police officer and his men to the mess tent saluted. “Major? This man says he’s here at your request?”

Silver looked up. “He is. Thank you, Corporal .you may return to your post.’

“Yes sir.” The Corporal departed.

Silver held out his hand. “Major Kevin Silver.”

The police officer shook his hand. “Sergeant Crimmer. What’s going on here?” He took a pad from his pocket. “Start at the beginning..”

“This gentleman was apparently hunting on the edges of our base camp. He tripped some of our sensors. When my men went to investigate, he started shooting at them, injuring one man before we apprehended him.”

The police sergeant looked at the man. “Dan, what are you doing? This is the third time this year you’ve had a scrape with military personnel. One of these days you’re gonna get shot!” He motioned to one of the men standing behind him. “Take him into custody. We’ll handle it from here Major. The DA will contact you for whatever information he needs.”

“Thank you Sergeant.” When the locals had gone, he headed for the HQ tent. “Give the order to stand down, and tell Lt. Vahzenov and Captain McKenna that I want them to meet me in my office.”

“Yes sir.” The Commtech hurried to carry out his commander’s orders.

Five minutes later, Both Vahzenov and McKenna reported to the CO’s office. Piotr took a seat as they entered, but Erin stood at strict attention and saluted. “Captain Erin McKenna, reporting as ordered!”

Both Silver and Vahzenov looked at each other. “At ease Captain.” Major Silver frowned at both of the officers. “What the heck got into you two today?”

Piotr shrugged. “I acted with thinking, sir. I won’t make zat mistake again.”

McKenna still standing, but now at parade rest, replied stiffly, “I lost me temper. That man was being uncooperative and rude!”

The flap opened and revealed Lt. Faller. “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Silver replied. “Come on in here Joe.”

Joe came in and sat down. He noticed Erin standing rigidly. “What’s wrong with her?”

McKenna’s frown, deepened. “I lost me temper a while ago.”

Silver nodded. “Things have been rather busy around here. Where’d you disappear to?”

Joe shrugged. “I was busy. So what happened?”

Kevin sat back.” Some local hunter tripped our sensors, then started taking pot shots at out men.”

“Dan Mordell?”

“I didn’t catch his last name, but I assume so. You know him?”

“I know of him. He’s been caught “hunting” around two other military camps over the last year. Personally I think he’s a spy.”

Silver smacked his forehead. “And I let him right into our base camp!”

“With all due respect, sir. I don’t think it matters what he learned. It could have been learned by an over flight, just as easily.”

Kevin nodded. “True. So now what do we do? Do you think he’ll press charges?” He glanced over at McKenna.

Joe chuckled. “I believe he will. What about us, are we going to press charges?”

Kevin nodded. “We are. He did wound one of our men.”

“If we drop charges, we may be able to get him to drop his charges.”

“Very well. I’ll talk to Lt. Windsor and let him know.”

Joe turned to Erin. “Will you sit down McKenna? You’re making me nervous.”

She shook her head in firm denial.

“Don’t make me sit you down.”

“Ye don’t frighten me.”

“I know how to.”

Erin turned her attention to Kevin and spoke. “Is that all, sair?”

Silver nodded. “We are.”

McKenna nodded stiffly, saluted, and stormed out of the tent headed in the direction of her ‘Mech.

 A few moments later Joe caught up with her. “Hey, Erin! What’s up?”

She frowned. “I’m just angry, that’s all.” She glanced at him. “You want to spar for a bit?”

“Sure.”

Together they walked to her ‘Mech and began sparring, Joe beating her soundly, every time.

Major Silver and Lt. Vahzenov walked to the HQ tent. “Lt. Windsor?”

“Yes sir?” He turned to face Major Silver.

“I want you to discuss the option of dropping all charges when the DA contacts you.”

“Yes sir. I’ll take care of it.”

“Good.” Silver turned to Lt. Vahzenov. “You want to go work on the SIMs with me?”

“Sure. I have nothing else to do at ze moment.”

“Good. I’ll call Josepho and we can work on your Clan tactics. Know anything about Zelbringen?”

The two were still chuckling as they left the tent. When they passed by the Grasshopper, Piotr pointed. “Looks like captain McKenna is working off her steam.”

Kevin looked up just as Joe threw her to the ground for the fifth time. “So it would appear.”

Joe rose and extended a hand. ‘Have you had enough yet?”

Erin lay on the ground breathing hard. “Aye. I suppose I have.” She got to her feet slowly. They went to eat dinner. After nearly half an hour, she pushed her mostly untouched plate away.

Joe looked at her. “Let’s go. We’ve got an early morning.” When they got back to their tent, Erin broke down and told him everything that had happened, then they turned in for the night.

Major Silver clicked on his comms as they were reaching the simulators. “Connect me with Lt. Silver.”

A few moments later Jan came on the line. “Hi Hun. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m in the SIMs. How’s the runway coming?”

“We’re just about finished for tonight. The runway should be done sometime tomorrow.”

“Okay. Well, let me know when you’re done and we’ll grab some food and watch a vid.”

“Okay. Love you.”

Kevin blushed. “Love you too.”

Two hours later, he was in the middle of combat, when he heard a knock on the Simulator door. “Pause simulation,” he growled. He opened the hatch and came face to face with his wife. ‘”What are you doing here,” he asked in shock.

Jan smiled at him. “I was on my way in, and I thought I’d meet you here instead.”

Kevin chuckled. “Well, we’re almost done with this simulation. Why don’t you grab us some food, and I’ll meet you at our tent.”

“Okay. What do you want?”

“I’ll eat whatever they’re serving. See you in a bit.”

“Okay. Have fun.”

Kevin chuckled as he closed the hatch. “All right boys. Let’s get this battle over with.”

Twenty minutes later, they climbed out of the simulators. Josepho and Piotr headed off to the mess for dinner and Kevin headed for his quarters. When he stepped in, Jan had a plate of food warming under the heater. “So how was your day?”

She sat down at the table. “Oh, it was hectic. The wind kept causing problems, and we had to re-grade the strip twice, but it should be done tomorrow. Dr. Heiser says I’m pregnant. How was your day?”

Major Silver’s fork paused on it’s way to his mouth. “Pregnant? Are you sure?”

“That’s what Dr. Heiser says. Two months from what she says. In another couple of months, she wants me to take some time off, and she doesn’t want me doing any high G maneuvers until the baby’s born.” She paused to think for a moment. “Maybe I should go off the active duty list now.”

Kevin nodded absently. He was still stuck on the fact that she was pregnant. As they finished dinner he asked, “Is it a boy or a girl, do you know?”

Jan shrugged. “I’m sure Dr. Heiser does. Why, is it important?”

Kevin shook his head. “Not really. It will carry the Silver name, that’s all that matters.”

Jan turned back to the stack of trivids on the desk. “So what do you want to watch?”

Kevin reached over absently, and picked one at random. “How’s this?”

“The life and times of Aleksander Kerensky? You know I hate that one.”

He tossed it aside, and picked another one at random. “How’s this?”

“That’s better.” Jan put the vid in the Holoplayer. At the end of the movie, she switched off the Holoplayer and yawned. “That was a good movie, wasn’t it? We should probably get to bed, we’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“Yes dear,” Kevin answered absently.
They went to bed, Jan falling asleep almost immediately, but Kevin lay there awake for some time contemplating the wonderful news he’d just received.

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #48 on: 26 June 2014, 16:08:24 »
and....

Okay, last night’s session was quite fun. NightHawk was finally able to rejoin us. We spent a good deal of the session bringing him up to speed and getting sidetracked. Anyway, on with the update…

“Sir?”

Major Silver groggily opened his eyes to see his aide bending over him. “What is it?”

“Sir, we’ve just had a call from the hospital in Needgate. Captain Thorpe is awake.”

Silver smiled dreamily, “I’m going to be a daddy.”

The aide looked confused. “Sir?” He tried again to notify Major Silver of Captain Thorpe’s condition. “Major? Captain Thorpe is awake.”

“Tell him I’ll see him at the morning meeting.” Major Silver felt a elbow jab him in the ribs. The brief pain managed to clear his head, long enough for him to grasp what the aide had said. He pointed to the tent flap. “I’ll be out in a minute.” As the aide left, he rolled out of bed, and got dressed.

Meanwhile, Captain McKenna felt someone shaking her shoulder gently. Her eyes snapped open. “What is it?”

Lt. Faller leaned over her. “Randall’s awake.”

She nodded. “All right. I’m getting up.” Five minutes later, she was lacing up her boots when she heard a voice from outside.

“McKenna, you up?”

“Yes sir.” She rose and poked her head out of the tent. “What’s up?”

“Randall’s awake.”

She noticed the bleary-eyed look and the steaming cup of coffee in his hand. “Yeah, I know. Give me a sec, okay?”

Major Silver nodded.

McKenna dropped to one knee and finished putting on her boot. A moment later, she and Lt. Faller joined the CO. They headed to the mess. The cooks were just starting to get everything set up for the day.

When they walked in Lt. Vahzenov was leaning against the wall drinking a steaming cup of coffee. “Good morning, sir.”

Major Silver went straight to the coffeepot and poured himself some more coffee. Captain McKenna turned to the aide who was hovering near the door. “Alert Lt. Scott that he will be in command, then wake Sgt. Titus and tell him to prep his chopper for immediate ferry duty. Also,” she added as the aide started off, “Notify Sgt. Chi Lin that Captain Thorpe is awake.

“Yes sir.”

The group grabbed a couple of power bars and headed for the HQ tent. Ten minutes later, they were notified that the VTOL was ready to go, and Sgt. Titus was waiting. They stepped out of the tent and headed for the VTOL. During the flight, Major Silver revealed that he was going to be a father. Thirty minutes later they were landing on a helepad adjacent to the parking lot of the hospital. The group headed into the hospital and was directed to Captain Thorpe’s room.

McKenna stood in the doorway. “Good morning, Captain.”

Randall swiveled his eyes in the direction of the voice. “That’s a familiar voice. Howdy McKenna.”

As they filed into the room, everyone saw his condition. Randall was lying in a hospital bed with his legs in traction, looking like a mummy. A nurse was hovering near the bed checking the monitors and making some notes.

“It’s good to see you alive, Captain.” Major Silver crossed to the side of the bed.

Randall looked over. “Yeah. It’s good to be alive. What happened?”

Captain McKenna glanced up at Major Silver.

“Good morning,” a slight pause, “Mr. Thorpe. How are you feeling?” A gentleman in a white coat, obviously a doctor, walked in glancing at a chart.

“Bad,” Randall replied.

The doctor nodded. “That’s not surprising, after what you’ve been through.” The doctor looked around at the assembled group. “You are his compatriots, I assume?”

Captain McKenna placed her hands behind her back. “Aye. How is he doctor?”

“Well, none of his major organs were hit. He’s going to need some rehabilitation time, but I think he’s going to live.” The doctor stepped over to the bed. “You’re doing a lot better. We can take that cervical collar off now.”

Randall looked up at the doctor. “Good. I’d like to be able to move a little better.” He paused, then hurried on quietly, “Am I paralyzed Doc? I can’t move my legs.”

The doctor shook his head as he undid the collar. “Your legs aren’t paralyzed. There was no neurological damage. Your legs are in traction, so that they don’t start bleeding again.”

Randall turned his head to look at Major Silver. “What happened sir?”

Captain McKenna turned to the doctor. “You didn’t tell him?”

“No. He only woke up about an hour and a half ago. In any event, we felt that it would be better coming from someone he was familiar with.”

Erin nodded. “Understandable. “ She turned her attention back to Captain Thorpe. “Well, Randall, you had a crate of MREs dropped on you.”

“We saved zem for you, my friend.”

Randall chuckled. “Hey Piotr. Good to hear your voice.”

Lt. Faller spoke. “You were standing near the lift when a crate of MREs fell from about thirty meters up. The crate shattered on impact and you were showered by what amounts to shrapnel.”

The doctor spoke again, “Your suit saved you. The damage would have been a great deal worse if you had not been wearing it. You’re very lucky.”
Randall groaned. “Ugh! Not the suit.” He glanced at Kevin. “Major, I’d like to take a vacation on Earth?”

Major Silver chuckled. “Sure, just as soon as our contract is up.”

Randall groaned again.  “How long have I been out?”

“You’ve been in a coma for a day and a half. If it weren’t for your flightsuit, you’d be dead.”

Lt. Vahzenov spoke. “What color flightsuit do you prefer? Brown, orange, gray, black?”

“The standard black,” Randall responded without thinking.

Lt. Faller chuckled. “He’s not talking about a standard flight suit, Bilkanov. He’s talking about the ComStar Mechwarrior Combat Suit.”

“Ah.” Lt. Vahzenov smiled. “Let me make some calls. I will get back to you.”

“So where’s Chi Lin?”

“The Sergeant is sleeping, sir,” Sgt .  Titus responded.

“Hey, Joe, good to see you. Well, it would be if I could lift my head.”

Everyone chuckled. Lt. Faller quipped, “Try.”

Randall frowned at the ceiling for a moment, then tried to lift his head. He succeeded, and looked around at everyone. “Hey! Great to see you all. So how is everyone?”

McKenna looked over at Major Silver. “You want to tell him, or do you want me to?”

Kevin smiled. “I’ll tell him.”

“Tell me what,” Randall asked.

Major Silver chuckled and a grin split his face. “I’m going to be a daddy.” He looked down at his watch. “We ought to get going. We’ve got a meeting to go to.”

Randall smiled. “Congratulations! Do you know what it is yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, are you going to find out?”

“Yeah,” Kevin paused, “when it’s born.”

Randall chuckled. Tell Jan congratulations for me. Sir, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to attend the meeting for some time to come.”

Kevin  reached out and patted Randall’s shoulder. “I know. Don’t worry, we’ve got six months on this rock, there’s plenty of time.”

Erin looked at the doctor. “When will he be able to return to duty?”

The doctor consulted the chart he held. “I’d like to keep him for another four or five days, then he’s going to need at least a month of rehabilitation, learning to walk again.”

Kevin frowned and pulled Lt. Vahzenov aside. “I’d like you to stay with him.”

Lt. Faller leaned against the wall. “You’re worried about the locals?”

“Yes. I think he should have a guard.”

“We can move him to a secure room,” the doctor interjected.

“That’s a good idea. I still want him to have a guard, however.”

Randall had been listening intently. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve had a couple of minor incidents with the locals,” Captain McKenna said slowly.

“We’re not going to get involved in another civil war are we, sir?”
Kevin looked over at Randall. “No, Captain. No more civil wars. The locals aren’t happy that the Quickcell plant is moving. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Randall snorted. “Where have I heard that before?”

“Don’t worry, Randall,” McKenna chuckled, “We won’t start any wars without you.”

“Gee thanks.”

“Do you want me to stay, sir?” Lt. Faller asked. “I could bring him up to date on what’s going on. Besides,” he gestured to Lt. Vahzenov; “Bilkanov’s got work to do.”

Major Silver nodded. “Yeah. You two stay here. We’ll figure out what to do about a permanent guard later.”

“Yes sir.”

“Da. I vill make my calls, later,” Lt. Vahzenov shrugged.

McKenna patted Randall on the shoulder. “We’ll see you around Captain.”

“Yeah. See you guys later.”

Erin turned to Joe with a smile. “I’ll catch you later. Have fun Vahzenov.” Turning, she headed out the door with Sgt. Titus on her heels.

Major Silver hesitated a moment. “I’ll talk to Sgt. Spanner about sending one of his marines out here to relieve you.”

Joe nodded. “Sure. In the meantime, we’ll just hang around and bend Randall’s ear.”

Kevin chuckled. “You do that.” Turning, he walked from the room and hurried to join Captain McKenna and Sgt. Titus.

The doctor followed him out. “Major. If I may?”

Kevin glanced at the doctor and continued walking. “Yes doctor?”

“I believe he will be just fine in a secure room. You really don’t need to send a guard.”

“Nevertheless, doctor, I will be sending a guard. Don’t worry doctor. My marines are very discreet. You’ll hardly know they’re there.”

“Very well,” the doctor grumbled grudgingly.

Major Silver joined Captain McKenna inside the VTOL, the door slid shut, and they took off. When they were about ten minutes out, Major Silver leaned back and shut his eyes. “Keep talking Erin. I’m still listening, I just want to rest my eyes.”

McKenna smiled. Moments later, his soft snoring could be heard. She clicked on her comms.

“Commtech.”

“Petty Officer Ramirez, patch me through to Sgt. Spanner.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Spanner here.”

“Sergeant? Meet Major Silver and I at the HQ tent.”

“ETA?”

Erin glanced at her watch. “Ten minutes.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Ten minutes later the VTOL landed. As he stepped out, Major Silver heard the sound of gunfire. Jogging towards the HQ tent, he clicked on his comms.

“Comtech.”

“Get me Lt. Scott.”

“One moment, sir.”

“This is Lt. Scott.

“Ben? Where’s the fighting?”

“Sir? Lt. Collins and some of the infantry are doing some target practice.”

Kevin stopped short of his destination. “Oh! All right. The meeting is in twenty minutes.”

“Yes sir.”

Erin jogged up and headed past Major Silver.

“How come you’re jogging? In a hurry?”

McKenna chuckled. “I didn’t get a chance to exercise this morning. Some one rudely woke me at four a.m.

Major Silver chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Me too.”

They arrived at the HQ tent. “Why don’t we spar for a bit after the meeting.”

“Sounds good.” Major Silver allowed her to precede him.

Captain McKenna stepped into the tent. “Attention!”

Major Silver walked in. “At ease.” He went to the head of the table. “Let’s get down to business.”

McKenna took her seat. “It will please all of you to know, that Captain Thorpe is still among the living. He woke up a couple of hours ago.” She turned to the Chief Technician. Sven, what’s our status?”

Sven sat back. “Well, we’ve run into a little snag.”

“What is it?”

Sven looked at his CO. “Those engines we got for the Longbows. There are a few bugs we’re going to have to deal with. Some heat issues, possible stalling. The engines aren’t exact fits, afterall.”

“So what are we looking at, here,” Major Silver asked. “Are they going to be delayed, or are they going to be ready for combat today?”

Sven shook his head. “They’re ready for combat, but we’re gonna have some issues with them for a while. We just need time to work the bugs out.”

“Very well,” Major Silver nodded, then picked up a can of soda that Sgt. Titus had given him.

McKenna looked across the table. “Dr. Benson,” she addressed the CMO. “How is our Infantryman?”

“He’s recovering well. I’d like to make a suggestion.”

“Go ahead,” McKenna nodded.

“We can move Captain Thorpe to the camp. The White Whale is fully equipped to take care of him during his rehabilitation.” He shrugged. “Besides, it’ll probably save the unit some money.”

Erin smiled. “Aye, it will at that. You’ve been keeping up on his status?”

“I have. I wouldn’t want to move him by air transport, though. Ground transport would be the safest.”

Major Silver sat back. You’re certain he can’t be air lifted?”

Dr. Benson nodded. “He shouldn’t be moved by air transport for at least another week.”

“We’ll talk about this more after the meeting doctor.” Major Silver picked up his coffee cup.

Captain McKenna looked across the table again. “What’s our legal status, Lt. Windsor?”

He leaned forward. “I’m still speaking with the DA. It’s looking good, however. He’s been notified that we’ll drop charges, if he does. And all the guy will get is a misdemeanor.”

Captain McKenna nodded. “That sounds fine. Keep me apprised.”

“Will do ma’am.”

Major Silver rose. “Does anyone have anything else?” He glanced around and saw everyone shaking teir head.
Lt. Silver spoke up. “We’ll need a new pilot.”

McKenna caught Kevin’s smile. “Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that after the meeting Jan. How’s the runway coming?”

“Everything is progressing fine. We should be done by this afternoon.”

“Good.”

Major Silver looked around the table again. “Anything else?” When everyone shook their heads, he smiled devilishly. “We’ll be having readiness drills sometime today. Dismissed.”

People started filing out. Lt. Silver, Dr. Benson, Lt. Scott, and Captain McKenna remained where they were. “I can have the Whale prepped and ready to move in half an hour sir?”

Major Silver looked at Dr. Benson. I don’t know how safe that’s gonna be. I wouldn’t want you to be ambushed.”

Ben spoke. “Well, sir, we could send an escort force with them.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Well, sir. We’ve got the IFV’s, and the tanks. We’ve also got the ‘Mechs”

McKenna interrupted. “I don’t think we need to use the tanks. An IFV or two would work fine. And it might send the wrong message, if we use the ‘Mechs.”

Kevin rubbed his eyes. “I agree that we don’t need the tanks. We’ll take an IFV and Command Lance. I’ll also take the marines. Dr. Benson, get ready, I’ll see you in half an hour.”

“Yes sir.” Dr. Benson rose and hurried out.

Kevin turned to Erin. “McKenna, I want you to stay here and take command. “

“Aye sir. Lt. Silver, do you know of anyone that can take your place?”

Jan shook her head. “We’ll have to hire someone.”

“Okay.” Erin nodded. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“For what,” Jan asked in puzzlement.

“The baby.”

Jan smiled. “Oh! Thanks.” She rose. “I’ve got to get to work.”

Erin shook her head as Jan hurried out. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Major Silver leaned over to the private monitoring the radio. “Get me Sgt. Spanner.” A few moments later the private handed Kevin a headset. “Sgt. Spanner, there’s been a slight change in plans. I want you to take charge of the Marines. We’re escorting the White Whale to retrieve Captain Thorpe.”

“Yes sir.”

“We’re taking one of the IFV’s. I want full armor for this. You’re to provide and defensive support that is needed. We leave in a half-hour.”
“Yes sir. We’ll be ready.”

Major Silver handed the headset back to the private.  He and McKenna went over the plans for the readiness drills that he wanted. Twenty –five minutes later, he turned to the radio setup. “Private, call a readiness drill, now.”

“Yes sir.” The private opened up the camp wide communication system. “Attention all personnel. To arms for readiness.”

McKenna frowned at Kevin. “Gee thanks, sir.”

Major Silver chuckled. “You’re in command.”

They headed out of the tent. Captain McKenna headed to her ‘Mech, and Major Silver headed to the VTOL, where Sgt. Titus was still waiting. “Sergeant?”

Titus turned around. “Yes sir?”

“Sgt. Titus, I want you to return to the hospital for Lt. Vahzenov and Lt. Faller. You will wait with them. You’re their ride back.”

“Yes sir.”

Major Silver’s aide finished putting on his coolant vest, then took the Major’s clothes back to his tent.

Meanwhile, McKenna had just gotten up and running when her comms beeped. “McKenna.”

“Captain, all units report ready status.”

“Good. Move everyone to the front lines.”

“Yes ma’am.” The private broke the connection. “All units, move to the front lines.”

A minute later, everyone was in position. Major Silver opened a channel to Lt. Scott. “Ben, I want you to take command of the Lance.”

“Yes sir.” Ben opened a comm channel to Erin’s ‘Mech. “Captain, this is Lt. Scoot.”

“Go ahead Ben.”

“Requesting permission for detached duty.”

“Request granted. Good hunting, Lieutenant.”

“Yes ma’am.”

McKenna switched over to a private channel with Major Silver. “Good hunting, sir. Bring ‘em back in one piece.”

“Will do, Captain. You’re to do readiness drills until I return.”

“Yes sir.” She switched to the company command channel. “All right people. We’re going to spend some time drilling.”

Sgt. Titus arrived at the hospital a half an hour later. Landing on one of the pads, he shut down the VTOL and headed up to Captain Thorpe’s room. Knocking on the door, he entered. “And that brings you up to speed…”

Joe looked up. “Sgt. Titus,” he said in surprise.

“Major Silver wanted me to come pick you and Lt. Vahzenov up.”

“I thought you were bringing our relief,” Vahzenov asked.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I’m just a pilot.”

Joe held up a hand. “I’ll be right back.”

Major Silver’s comms beeped. “Silver.”

“Sir, I have a patch through from Lt. Faller.”

“What’s up, Joe?”

“Sir? That’s what I was going to ask you.”

“The White Whale is en route to pick up Randall.”

“Yes sir. This is an unsecured line.”

“I know. Silver out.”

Two hours later, the White Whale and it’s escorts reached the hospital. They loaded up Captain Thorpe, and Lt. Vahzenov and Lt. Faller joined Sgt. Titus in the chopper. When all was ready, they began heading back towards the camp. As they took off, Lt. Faller ordered, “Sgt. Titus. Fly an over watch.”

“Yes sir.”

“Zat is a good idea.”

Moments later the comms beeped in the cockpit of the VTOL. “Sgt. Titus.”

“Sergeant this is Major Silver. I want you to fly over watch.”

Titus smiled. “Yes sir.”

As they reached the edge of the city, Command Lance came into view. Joe smiled. “He just couldn’t resist.”

“Vhat do you mean?” Piotr glanced out the window, where Joe pointed. “Da. I see vhat you mean.”
---------------------

That’s where we ended this week. There’ll be much more next week, so stay tuned…

BTW: An official announcement(of Jan’s pregnancy) has not been made to the unit as a whole. Major Silver wants to see what the rumor mill will produce.

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #49 on: 26 June 2014, 16:09:48 »
this story is just too good to stop...

Ok, this week’s game was short. Old friends, and character leveling cut this week’s game a little short, but we did manage to get some things done… so… on with the update…
The Silver Eagles convoy began making their way back towards the compound. When they reached the bridge they had crossed on the way in, Major Silver took point with Lt. Josepho coming up behind. Lt. Scott and Lt. Jones were bringing up the rear. As the lead ‘Mechs crossed the halfway point on the bridge, which spanned nearly ten kilometers. Major Silver spotted movement and jumped down to investigated. Seconds later a ten-meter section of the bridge directly behind Lt. Josepho exploded. The north side of the bridge simply disintegrated and the centerline structural support was gone completely.

“Pull up,” Major Silver ordered. “I’ve got a possible contact. Sgt. Titus do a recon sweep of the immediate area and confirm. And put Fallguy on.”

“Yes sir.” Sgt. Titus began sweeping his chopper in a slowly widening arc scanning the close area around the convoy.

“This is Fallguy. What’s going on, sir?”

“Fallguy, it appears that the bridge was mined. Gamma and I are scanning the underside of the bridge now, but we’re not sure what we’re looking for.”

Joe thought for a moment. “Tell me exactly what happened?”

“I saw movement and jumped off the bridge. Seconds later a ten meter section of the bridge exploded.”

“Try scanning the upper frequencies with Mag-Scan. If the bomb was remote detonated, there should be a signature at those frequencies.”

“Hang on.” Major Silver sent his sensors to scan the upper frequencies. “Nothing,” he said after a moment.

“Try checking the lower frequencies.”

A moment later, Major Silver came back on the line sounding frustrated. “Nothing. What now?”

Fallguy frowned, “Did you check the water? It could be a vibrobomb.”

“I’ll check.” Silver dropped his sensors down on the water. He was picking up fragments and debris from a vibrobomb. “Damn! It was a vibrobomb! Josepho, scan with mag-scan in the lower frequencies. Check the water for more mines.”

“Aff, sir.” Josepho scanned the water in the surrounding area. Finding nothing, he radioed the CO. “I have found nothing, sir.”

“Thanks Josepho. Keep your eyes peeled.”

“Aff.”

Major Silver keyed up the White Whale. “This is Silver. Get me Dr. Benson.”

“One moment sir.”

“This is Dr Benson. What can I do for you Major?”

“Doctor, we have a slight situation. The bridge is mostly out. I’m getting ready to call in the Danube. I want to transport the Whale back to the compound in it.”

“Sir,” Dr. Benson hedged. “I highly recommend against this. We’re pushing the safety of our patient as it is. The expedience isn’t what I’m worried about, but the G-Forces. Is there another option?”

Major Silver frowned. “We could back up and take the long way around, which would take us much longer, or we can return him to the hospital.”

“Well, sir, that’s your call. I still do not recommend any type of air transport.”

Major Silver hesitated for a moment. “There is on last option, but it is much riskier. We could carry the Whale. Are you willing to do that?”

“It certainly wouldn’t make moving him any harder, but I would advice against flank speed.”

“I understand. Prepare to be lifted off the road and carried.” Silver switched over to the Command frequency. “Hot Shot, Grizz. Move forward and take up positions on either side of the White Whale, we’re going to carry it across this swamp.”

“Yes sir.”  Lt. Scott and Lt. Jones jumped off the bridge and sloshed through the mud towards the White Whale.

Silver got on the comms again. “IFV four, who’s in command of the marines?”

“Master Sgt. Rhode, sir.”

“Patch me through.”

“This is Master Sgt. Rhode.”

“Sgt. Rhode, I want you to disembark and run interference. We’ve got possible infantry lose. How are your men at swamp movement?”

“They’re adequate, sir.”

“Good. I want you to pace the White Whale as it’s moved. Your job is to guard that medical transport at all costs.”

“Yes sir.” Moments later the back doors of the IFV opened and the Battlesuited marines began pouring out.

Major Silver radioed the chopper. “Sgt. Titus, I want you to do a recon sweep of the length of the bridge. Go low, and check for signs of people. Lt. Faller, Lt. Vahzenov, I want you to keep your eyes peeled too.”

Several moments later weapons fire could be heard in the distance. Sgt. Titus’ voice came over the comline. “I’m taking fire.”

Kevin swore softly. “Comstock this is Silver. I want the Danube prepped to fly ASAP. They are to fly to coordinates 4313, pick up the IFV and return it to base.”

“Yes sir.”

Major Silver switched to the IFV. “IFV four, I want you to return to coordinates 4313. Link up with the Danube and return to base.”

“Roger that. Moving to coordinates now.”
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Meanwhile back at camp….

Captain McKenna was putting the unit through their paces. The readiness drills were proceeding smoothly. Suddenly her comms beeped. “McKenna.”

“Captain, this is Darius. Major Silver has requested the Danube to rendezvous and pick up the IFV.”

“Understood Captain Darius. What’s the situation?”

“I’m not sure ma’am. Major Silver wasn’t real clear. He said something about the bridge being damaged.”

“I see, patch me through to him.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“This is Silver.”

“Silver, this is Orchid. What’s the situation?”

“The bridge was bombed. We’re maneuvering the Whale via ‘Mech.”

“Do you require assistance,” she interrupted.

“Hang on a second.” She heard weapons fire just as his line went into standby.

Switching over to the company channel, she began issuing orders. “To all personnel, this is Assault leader. We are going to a heightened state of alert. Strike Leader, I want you to take your lance out towards the convoy’s position. Keep your eyes peeled, Lt. Yar, we don’t know what’s out there or how many.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Major Silver’s voice came back over the line. “Captain, I want you to scramble the Aerospace fighters, and get Chi Lin in the air. We have a light Battlemech contact and several infantry.”

“Yes sir. I’ve already sent Strike out to assist.” She switched over to the general frequency. “Comstock this is Orchid. Scramble aerospace assets.” On the Company channel, she said, “Black Lotus, this is Assault Leader. I want you in the air, now. Link up with the convoy, they may need infantry suppression.”

“Roger that. I’m on my way.”

Captain McKenna opened her comms unit wide. “All personnel, move to defensive positions.”
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So there you have it. Hopefully we’ll get more done next week, but the Silver Eagles are in an interesting position, no?  Stay tuned..

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #50 on: 26 June 2014, 16:10:47 »
Okay, we didn’t have a very long session this week. We kept getting sidetracked. Though we did manage to make some interesting discoveries.…

Sgt. Titus swung his VTOL around in a low wide arc, trying to get out of range of the light ‘Mech’s weapons fire. As he swung back over the swamp his sensors picked up massive heat blooms.  He was immediately surrounded in a cloud of small arms fire. Swinging around, he pulled up in an effort to get out of range for the infantry weapons. As he reached a safe altitude, his threat-warning indicator began blaring at him. He glanced at the sensors and saw, to his horror, two dozen missiles heading straight for him. He dropped to the deck as most of the missiles detonated harmlessly. Roughly half a dozen continued to follow him. Thinking to gain as much cover as possible, Sgt. Titus got as close to the causeway as possible. His trick worked, for the most part. Four of the missiles impacted the bridge, but the other two impacted the VTOL from the right side. One missile hit in the tail section, while the other impacted further up.

The VTOL bucked wildly for a moment as Sgt. Titus strove to retain control. “Hang on back there,” he hollered, “We’re taking fire!”
Major Silver saw the smoke trails from the missiles being fired. Scanning downrange, he noted that there were two dozen missiles in the air. Before he could discern their target, he saw the VTOL drop to the deck. When it came up a moment later, he noticed that it was now smoking. “Scout Wing, status report,” he barked over the Comm frequency.

“I’m taking fire sir,” was the trained reply. “There’s a large number of infantry down in the swamp!”

“Vehicle status?”

“Mild armor damage,” Sgt. Titus paused. “Sir, most of my board is green, but I’ve got an indicator telling me that there was minor damage to my tail rotors. I can still fly, but not for long. I’m already having trouble with my yaw controls.”

Major Silver frowned. This was not a good situation. “Copy that, Sergeant. Patch me through to Lt. Faller and get your chopper back here.”

“Yes sir.”

“This is Fallguy.”

“Fallguy, we appear to be facing a large number of infantry. I want you on the ground, pronto.”

“Yes sir.” Joe turned to Sgt. Titus. “Sergeant, put me down next to the Whale.”

“Yes sir.”

Lt. Vahzenov came over the line. “I’ll be down momentarily, sir.”

Major Silver continued to watch his sensors. “Good.  Sgt. Titus after you make your drop, I want you to return to base. What about Lt. Vahzenov?”

“I vill return vith the VTOL. I’m much better in a ‘Mech zan on ze ground.”

“Roger, Lieutenant. Mount up and attach yourself to Assault Lance.”

“Yes sir.”

Major Silver switched over to the command frequency. “Command Support, what is the status of your operation?"

Lt. Scott ‘s voice came over the line. “We’re just moving out, sir. What do you want us to do, we can’t take the Whale through infantry infested territory?”

Major Silver looked at his sensors. He was still picking up the heat bloom. “Find some high ground and set the Whale down. I want you and your wing to guard the Whale. I’m sending you some marine back up.”

“Yes sir.” Ben relayed the order to Grizz and they began moving towards the north, away from the bridge.

Major Silver switched over to the marines. “Sgt. Rhode, I want you to send a detachment with the Whale, the rest of you form up with me.”

Sgt. Rhode’s metallic voice came over the line. “Yes sir.” Seconds later two of the battle-armored marines began moving with the White Whale and Command Support.

When all of his forces were in position, Major Silver opened up his comms on the general frequency. “This is Major Kevin Charles Silver of the Silver Eagles to the forces massed on the western edge of the swamp. Please state your reasons for this attack?”

After a moment a voice came over the line. “Please re-identify?”

“This is Major Kevin Silver of the Silver Eagles.”

“Major, what are you doing here? Why did you over flight our position?”

“Why did you blow up the bridge,” Major Silver countered.

“That mine wasn’t meant for you. Listen Major, we’re the Planetary Militia. We’re here at the request of Kommandant Hubbard of the War College. There’s a large force of rioters headed this way, and we’ve been dispatched to stop them. What are you doing here?”

Major Silver blew out a breath. “We’re transporting a severely wounded pilot to out base camp. I apologize for the lack of communication. We’d like to help.” In short order, Command Lance was integrated with the militia forces. Major Silver asked for an ETA on the forces he’d called in, and was told that Aerospace was in the air, Recon and Strike were about halfway, and Chi Lin was on her way. He then switched over to the Command frequency. “Command Support Leader, what is the status of your operation?”

Ben’s voice came over the comline, “All secure. Fallguy has just linked up.”

“Good. The forces we’ve encountered are the Planetary Militia. We’re going to stick around and help them with a rather large group of rioters that are headed this way. I want you and Grizz to get that Whale back on the road, then join up. Have the elements of Recon escort it back to base camp.”

“Yes sir.” Ben gave the order to pick up the White Whale and begin moving it to the road at the edge of the swamp.

Major Silver switched over to the Marines’ frequency. “Sgt. Rhode, I want your squad to form up with the infantry and provide support.”

“Yes sir!”

Major Silver’s comms beeped. “Silver.”

“Major, you have two Battlemechs moving in on our position, care to explain?”

Major Silver fought the urge to chuckle. “They’re the two ‘Mech’s that are moving our injured man. We’re maneuvering our vehicle to the road.”

The Militia Commander interrupted, “Do you require assistance? We can get your vehicle back on the causeway. We’ve got engineering equipment.”

“Thank you,” the Major replied as his comms beeped again. Switching over, he responded, “Go ahead.”

“Command Leader, this is the Danube. I’m picking up a large force at five klicks.”

“Copy that, Danube. What’s the Status of the IFV?”

“ETA about two minutes.”

“All right. Expedite your orders and get back to base.”

“Yes sir. Danube out.”

Major Silver’s comms beeped again. “Go ahead.”

“Command Leader, this is Air Leader. We’re on your position now, orders?”

“Roger that Air Leader. We’ve got a large force of rioters heading our way at about five klicks. Send one of your people out to assess the situation. I want a report ASAP.”

“Roger that. Dispatching now.” Lt. Tucker, who was in temporary command of the Aerospace Lance due to Lt. Silver’s condition, dispatched Lt. Siebert’s Riever to do an over flight.

Major Silver switched to Command. “Command Support! Change of plans. The Militia is going to help get the Whale back on the causeway. Move the Whale over to the bridge directly west of my position.” Ben’s reply was cut off as Major Silver spoke again, “Command Wing. I want you to hop over the bridge and cover the Whale. I will do the same from this side.”

“Aff. Moving into position now.” Lt. Josepho lit off his jump jets and sailed over the bridge, landing softly in the muddy swamp on the other side.

Major Silver switched to the Militia’s frequency. “Commander, I have five Battlemechs headed towards this position. They should be reaching your support element shortly, may they pass, so they can form up with us?”

“Send me their IFF and I’ll make sure they’re allowed to pass.”

Major Silver fired off the code and contacted Recon and Strike. “Strike Leader, begin transmitting IFF codes. You will encounter the Militia’s support forces shortly. When you reach my position, form up behind the infantry line and hold position.”

Lt. Yar keyed in a message and sent it to her wingman. “Copy that Silver. We’re approaching their position now. ETA to your position, ten minutes.”

“Understood, Strike Leader.” Major Silver switched to the general frequency. “Comstock this is Command Leader. Patch me through to Assault Leader.”

A few moments later, “McKenna.”

“McKenna this is Silver. You’ve been monitoring the situation?”

“I have. Base camp is quiet, do you require assistance?”

“Hang on.” Major Silver switched over to the Aerospace frequency. “Go ahead Air Leader.”

“Air Leader, here. Sir, Air wing reports that there are roughly five hundred modified, civilian vehicles bearing down on your position. They are approximately one point two klicks out.”

“Understood Air Leader. I am authorizing you to do an attack run. Don’t hit the vehicles, these people are disgruntled enough. Shoot the ground in front of them, I want to try and deter them, or at very least, slow them down.”

“Roger. We’ll give ‘em what for sir, with no casualties.” An electronic warning indicator sounded over the comline. “Sir, my fuel indicator just notified me that I’m at forty-five percent. The rest of Air Lance reports the same. After this run we’re going to be bingo fuel.”

“Understood. How long would it take for you to get back to base, refuel, and return?”
“Five minutes tops.”

“Understood, Air Leader. Make your run and return to base. I want you refueled and back here, pronto.”

“Yes sir. Beginning run now.”

Major Silver switched back to the connection with base camp. “Assault Leader, I’m sending Air Lance back to refuel. I want you to load the ‘Mechs on the Dropship and land behind the approaching force.”

“Roger that. ETA thirty minutes. McKenna out.”

Captain McKenna switched over to the Company Channel. “Assault Leader to all Battlemechs. Prepare to board the Comstock and lift off.” She contacted the Comstock. “Petty Officer Ramirez, get me Captain Darius.”

“This is Darius.”

“Captain, prep the Comstock for immediate dust off, and lower the ramp. We’re going to drop in behind the rioters.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Ramirez,” Captain McKenna barked. “Patch me through to Master Sgt. Spanner, please.”

“This is Spanner.”

“Sergeant, suit up! I want you to prep your men for immediate drop. We’re coming in behind the rioters and Major Silver wants you and your men there for crowd control.”

“Yes ma’am. Spanner out!”

Captain McKenna then switched over to the Armor Company. “Armor Leader this is Assault Leader.”

“Go ahead, Captain.”

“Lt. Checkov, I’m placing you in command. Major Silver has ordered the ‘Mech Company to assist. I want you to remain here and guard base camp.”

“Yes ma’am. Camp will be well guarded.”

“Very good.” Captain McKenna stopped as she caught sight of the smoking VTOL inbound. She watched it land and Lt. Vahzenov jump out, headed in the direction of his ‘Mech. A few moments later, she caught the report of repair time for the VTOL over the command frequency. She heard Sgt. Titus explaining that he was going to find some form of vehicle to return to battle with. A spark of memory flared in her mind and she contacted the scout pilot. “Sgt. Titus, what is your status?”

“My VTOL is out for a while. I’m looking for something else to rejoin battle in.”

“How are you at piloting an Aerospace fighter?”

“Not too bad, why?”

Captain McKenna smiled. “Go talk to Lt. Silver. We’ve got a fighter with no pilot.”

“Yes ma’am,” was his excited response.

Captain McKenna contacted Lt. Silver. “Jan this is Erin, I’m sending Sgt. Titus to you. Would you have a problem with him flying your Stingray?”

Lt. Silver thought for a minute, then asked, “Is he qualified?”

“He is. We could really use all of our Aerospace assets out there, that way Lt. Amdecker can get back to his lance.”

“I understand. We’re refueling the rest of Air Lance now. I’ll see what I can do.”

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #51 on: 26 June 2014, 16:11:29 »
When we left off the ‘Mech company was loaded onto the Comstock, which was still prepping for flight. Strike and Recon had just reached the edge of the swamp and were forming up. The IFV had loaded and the Danube had lifted off. They were still in the process of loading the White Whale onto the bridge. Major Silver finished taking out the section of the bridge that was destroyed, in an effort to contain the rioters.  Next week we should be getting into some real action, and I’ll have a battle report to give you. So stay tuned………….

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Major Silver jumped onto the causeway facing the gap that he’d created. He watched as the rioters began filling the causeway. As they got closer he could make out some of the vehicles. There were four large trucks (think tractor-trailer rigs here) leading the pack, most of which appeared to be civilianized light transports (think civilianized Hum-V’s). When they were about kilometer out, the vehicles began accelerating.  When Major Silver realized that the approaching vehicles wouldn’t be able to see the gap until they were falling through it, he jumped into the gap and fired his flamers at the edge of the bridge directly in front of him.

The drivers of the lead vehicles watched as the large Battlemech disappear from the bridge in front of them and flames started shooting up through the bridge. That was when they realized that the bridge was out. Three of the lead vehicles managed to stop, but the fourth continued to speed towards the gap. Lt. Josepho watched as the vehicle shot over the right side of Major Silver’s Marauder and crashed into the ruined edge of the causeway. The vehicle’s fuel tanks exploded coating the Major’s Marauder in a skin of flaming diesel fuel.

Major Silver smiled sardonically as he jumped out of the gap and onto the section of bridge he’d been flaming. He turned on his external loud speakers and jacked the volume up. He wanted to make certain that the group, that had stopped about two hundred meters away, could hear him clearly. “Return to your homes,” he said. “If you continue your advance, we will be forced to use deadly force to stop you. There will be many casualties, and much destruction of property. Return to your homes, now!”

Major Silver saw movement through the cloud of smoke that the fire was causing. Suddenly, he began to hear the sound of small arms fire bouncing off his ‘Mech, then he was rocked by the explosion of a missile against his right leg.  He jumped back across the gap, landing on the bridge, roughly two hundred meters in front of the White Whale, which was just being levered onto the bridge.

The vehicles began moving forward again, though at a much slower pace. Major Silver sighed and clicked on his comms, contacting the commander of the militia forces. “They didn’t take the hint.”

“Roger. It was a valiant effort Major, but I didn’t think we’d be able to stop them easily.”

Major Silver’s comms beeped. “Silver.”

“Major this is Captain Darius. We’re just lifting off, ETA two minutes.”

“Roger that, Captain. Fly low and straight over the causeway. I want to give these people something to think about.”

“Yes sir. We’re on our way.” Captain Darius switched his comlink down to the Battlemechs waiting in the drop bays. “Captain McKenna, Darius here. We’re ready to lift off.”

“Roger that. Launch!”

The Comstock lifted its bulky weight off the ground, and the four Aerospace fighters launched to fly escort.

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Major Silver watched the vehicles come to a stop at the edge of the gap thirty meters away. He opened up his external loudspeakers again, “By the authority of the Planetary Militia and the Silver Eagles Mercenary Company, I hereby order you to desist and return to your homes.” His threat-warning indicator began beeping like mad, as three missiles slammed into his ‘Mech. He weathered the assault and took aim at the three lead vehicles. He leveled his right arm ERPPC at the first vehicle and fired. After missing a couple of times, he noticed that every time he fired, the weapon seemed to be pulling down. He glanced at his damage assessment console and saw a warning indicator light flashing. The computer was indicating that the right arm ERPPC was malfunctioning.

Dropping his right arm ERPPC, he leveled his left arm mounted ERPPC, and took aim at of the each vehicles. He destroyed each vehicle in an effort to hinder the rest of the rioters. Moments later, the smoking, charred debris was pushed off the edge of the bridge, and temporary bridge layers were lowered into place. Vehicles began filing over the temporary bridge. One drove straight up to Major Silver’s ‘Mech and exploded. The fireball and the shock wave rocked the Marauder, nearly causing the Major to black out, and knocking him to the bridge.

Lt. Josepho saw this and opened fire on the causeway. He managed to chip more away from the structural support, but failed to cause any severe damage. Major Silver regained his feet and took aim on one of the vehicles that were coming over the bridge. He managed to take out the vehicle, but there were more behind it, about thirteen to be exact. A thought suddenly occurred to Major Silver and he ordered, “Command Support, activate Electronic Counter Measures.” Moments later, two of the onrushing vehicles drove off the bridge and detonated in the swamp. Major Silver took aim with his flamers and began flaming the bridge section directly in front of the vehicles. Two of the vehicles stopped just outside the range of his flamers, five kept coming, three of which exploded halfway through the flames. Four of the larger vehicles stopped in the middle of the flames and launched missiles (btw: the missiles they are lobbing are Thunderbolt 5’s).

Major Silver brought the leg of his Marauder up in preparation to kick one of the vehicles that had made it through the flames as it tried to push passed him, but the vehicle managed to swerve out of the way, just barely.

--------------------------------

Minutes later, the Comstock had reached its destination and Captain Darius came back over the comline. “Major McKenna, we are over the drop point and ready to begin dropping.”

“Roger that Darius. Give me a SitRep.”

“It looks like a fire fight’s going on down there, ma’am.”

“Roger.” McKenna switched over to the Company channel. “All right people, we’re going into a fire fight. Watch yourselves down there, and let’s try to kill as few people as possible. Remember folks, we’re here for suppression, not destruction. Sgt. Spanner, I want you and your men to stay out of the main firefight. Suppress from the rear.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Captain McKenna switched back to her connection with the Dropship. “Begin dropping Captain.”

“Roger that, Major. Good luck.”

Captain McKenna felt the weightlessness of being dropped from a high altitude. As she and the rest of her unit was coming down, she began issuing orders. “Assault Wing, you and I are dropping onto the bridge. Assault Support, I want you and your wing to drop on either side of the bridge. Fire Leader split off, two and two on either side of Assault. I want these people to know that they’re flanked, and to see their fate coming.” Her comms beeped as she finished speaking, “This is Orchid, go ahead.”

“Welcome to the party, Captain. Spread the word. Vehicles are primary targets, but allow any pedestrians to retreat.”

“Roger that, Silver. Orchid out.” McKenna switched back to the Company channel. “All right people, Vehicles are primary targets. Let any pedestrians fall back, but keep your eyes peeled, I don’t trust these rioters.”
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When we left off, Assault and Fire Lance’s had just touched down. Major Silver was still in the middle of a nasty firefight, and the White Whale had just started moving along the causeway on its return trip to base camp. We didn’t play for very long, but we did manage to get into the battle. Next week’s update should prove rather interesting. 

Enjoy!

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #52 on: 26 June 2014, 16:12:14 »
Okay, this week was a bit more productive. We had a lot of fun getting sidetracked, but we did make progress….

Assault lance opened up with a hail of laser fire aimed directly at the rear of the column of vehicles. In a matter of seconds eleven of the dozen or so targeted vehicles were reduced to flaming rubble.

Major Silver continued flaming the bridge in front of him. His head was beginning to really ache from the fall he’d taken, so his aim was a little off and he was unable to walk the his Flamers forward, like he had before. The fire he concentrated directly in front of him must have done the trick though, because several more vehicles caught fire.

Lt. Josepho opened up with his weapons on the support pylon of the bridge again. This time, his aim was true. Lasers and Auto-Cannon shells slammed into the ferrocrete, stripping it away to reveal the weakening steel structure beneath it. He managed to land a homing beacon as well, and his voice came over the comline, “Homing beacon deployed.”

Lt. Sanderson and her Fire lance heard the report and opened up their missile racks.  Seconds later, one hundred and sixty long-range missiles were flying through the air. Nearly half of the missiles detonated harmlessly before reaching their target.  However, the rest slammed into the bridge weakening the support structure further. The steel, unable to withstand anymore stress, collapsed under the weight of the temporary bridge sections.

As the smoke began to clear, Major Silver began seeing doors opening and people emerging from the vehicles with their hands behind their heads. All along the causeway, rioters were dropping their weapons and surrendering. Major Silver keyed his comms and spoke to the Militia Commander, “This is Silver. They are laying down their weapons and surrendering. What do you want to do, now?”

The line hissed for a couple of moments. “Do what you like Major,” the Commander said in an indifferent voice. “Send em home, waste em, it makes no difference to me.”
Major Silver was taken aback, slightly. “Yeah. Silver out.” He opened up his external loud speaker. “This is Major Silver of the Silver Eagles. You are hereby ordered to disarm, abandon your vehicles, and return to your homes.” He killed the external pick up and switched over to the command channel. “Command Support, start clearing the bridge. I want those vehicles out of the way, now!”

“Yes sir.” Lt. Scott moved him Wolverine forward and began picking up cars. Major Silver shoved his feet into the floor activating his jump jets. He neatly sailed over the gap and landed on the other side. He opened up his external loud speakers again, when he noticed the people hadn’t moved. “Abandon your vehicles and return to your homes. I need to clear this bridge. Move, now!” To make sure they got the point, he took a step forward. People began slowly backing away. The Major switched to internal comms. “Second Marine, this is Silver. I want you to gather your prisoners and get them onto this side of the bridge. And Sergeant? Gather up any stragglers you find.”

“Yes sir.” Sgt. Rhode turned to his squad. “Move ‘em out. Silver wants these people on the other side of the bridge.” He turned to the people and opened up his external speakers. “On your feet! You’re all gonna get a little wet.”

Meanwhile, Sgt. Spanner moved First, Third, and Fourth Squads forward. As they came abreast of Captain McKenna’s Grasshopper, his comms beeped. “Spanner.”

“Sergeant this is Orchid. Hold position, I’m going to dismount and join up.”

“Roger that. Holding position.”

Captain McKenna watched the marines stop just at her position. “Six Guns. I am dismounting and joining up with the Marines. Keep your eyes peeled.”

“Da. I vill cover you.” Lt. Vahzenov swiveled his torso and trained his weapons on the mob of people in front of them.

Major Silver watched as his Company Commander’s indicator went dark. Keying his mic, he said, “Company Command, is your end of the bridge clear?”

Captain McKenna smiled slightly. “Yes sir. I’m dismounting and joining up with the marines.”

“Roger that. Silver out.” Major Silver switched over to the marine’s frequency. “Sgt. Spanner, what’s your situation?”

“I am waiting for Captain McKenna to join up.”

“Good, good. Send third and Fourth Squad my way. We need some crowd control down here.”

“Yes sir.” Spanner sent the squads ahead, while his squad waited for Captain McKenna.

Major Silver watched Lt. Scott’s progress, and kept an eye on the people in front of him. He had his external pick-ups turned on so he could monitor the people’s activities. Suddenly, he heard the sound of small arms fire. He turned his eyes to his display. The fire seemed to be coming from behind. Major Silver’s comms crackled to life. Static filled the transmission, but he was able to make out, “Sir…” Then, to his surprise, Second Squad’s indicator went dark.

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That’s where we ended the session. Captain McKenna (that’s me isn’t it?) had linked up with Sgt. Spanner armed to the teeth with her Man-Pack PPC, which incidentally scared the crap out of the civilians, and was busy herding people passed the line of  ‘Mechs. Isn’t our GM great? (Fallguy likes to throw us a monkey wrench now and then.)  No one in the group expected this outcome. We all thought that this fight, was going to be protracted and bloody. So to say that we were all surprised, is an excellent example of understatement. Given the situation, next week should prove interesting, no?
------------------------------

Major Silver barely had time to formulate that there was something wrong when smoke suddenly erupted all around him. All of his sensors went dark. He looked at his HUD. Through the smoke, he could barely make out Lt. Scott’s Wolverine, right behind him. “Command Lance, report,” he barked over the comline.

“My sensors are dead, sir,” came Lt. Scott’s puzzled reply.

“I’ve lost my sensors, as well, sir,” Lt. Jones responded.

“My sensors are dead, sir, but I can see infantry moving in on our position,” came Lt. Josepho’s clipped response.

Major Silver heard the chatter of small arms fire hitting his Marauder. He was just reaching for the switch on his companel when he heard a dry chuckle come over the line. “You are surrounded Major, Give it up.”

Silver recognized the voice of the Militia commander and felt his anger rise. He opened up the general com frequency. “This is Silver Actual to all Silver Eagles. Target all Militia forces with extreme prejudice!”

Captain McKenna heard the Militia commander’s transmission and began watching the people milling around her, very closely. She saw one man in the crowd begin reaching behind his back and leveled her Man-Pack PPC at him. She opened up her comms as his movements were arrested. “This is Company Command to all units. It’s a trap! Open fire on all civilians on the bridge!”

Every member of the ’Mech Company heard her transmission and paused a moment in confusion. Lt. Vahzenov, who had been watching the “rioters” closely, saw that they were drawing weapons and firing upon Captain McKenna and their Marines. He fired his jump jets and landed in the middle of the crowd, making people scatter.
-----------

Meanwhile, Captain Thorpe and Lt. Faller felt the White Whale slow and stop. Lt. Faller, who had been monitoring comms said, “Aw crap!” He pulled his needler pistol and handed it to Randall. “You’re gonna need this.” Then he shouldered his blazer rifle and took aim on the doorway.

Dr. Benson stepped in front of him. “You will put away your weapons. I will not allow weapons to be used in my ambulance!”

Joe drew his sonic stunner and shot the doctor. “Not now, Doc.” Then he re-shouldered his rifle and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. The door in front of him opened and a man-sized shape filled the doorway. Joe fired three shots in rapid succession.

Randall squeezed off a shot as the man loomed in the doorway, and managed to hit the wall. It didn’t matter though, because he watched Joe’s shots hit the man, square in the chest, dropping him like a stone.

Another man loomed in the doorway and took a shot at Lt. Faller. Joe took a shot while he was ducking out of the way and fired wide. Lt. Thorpe took the shot and hit the man with a blast of shredded plastic, knocking him back. As they waited for more to come through the door, Randall thought. When no one else appeared, he commented, “You know, if I were an infantry commander, and I just saw two of my guys get wasted trying to take a non-hostile vehicle, I’d probably throw a grenade.”

Lt. Faller lowered his rifle. “Damn!” He began edging forward. As he got to the door, he glimpsed the mass of infantry outside, who took a shot at him, and hurriedly slammed the door shut and locked it. He backed away and took aim on the door again.

McKenna

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  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #53 on: 26 June 2014, 16:12:58 »
Major Silver hit his jump jets and rose out of the smoke. Landing on the opposite side of the gap in the bridge, he turned to face the oncoming infantry. As his feet touched ground a missile slammed into his right leg. He managed to keep the 65-ton war machine upright, but his damage indicators started going red. All of his armor protection was stripped away and the Jump vents located there went red as well. The safeties kicked in and shut down the corresponding jump vents in his left leg, decreasing his maneuverability considerably.  He opened up on the infantry in front of him, laying down a carpet of flames, and adding his pulse lasers for effect.

The Militia forces saw the gouts of flame and electrified particles coming at them. One platoon freaked out and began running away. The other three, with a fanatical gleam in their eyes, kept rushing towards the Marauder. Nearly an entire platoon of men was wiped out by the flames and PPCs, but still they kept coming.

Lt. Scott managed to remove himself from the smoke and saw the infantry rushing his commander’s position. He opened fire on the on rushing infantry, cutting their numbers back with the precision of a finely honed laser scalpel. Lt. Jones also opened fire on the infantry, dwindling their numbers even further. Lt. Josepho watched in disgust as the militia forces turn on the Major. He opened fire on them and cut their numbers back with more precision than his comrades.

Major Silver watched as the infantry rushing his position seemed to evaporate in a hail of laser fire and flames, then he looked up. There were more infantry rushing in to fill the gap. “Enough of this,” he muttered to himself. Aiming all of his weapons at the section of bridge directly in front of him, he opened up fire. His right arm weapons began pulling wide as his PPC overheated began making the Myomers sluggish. He only managed to do minimal damage to the bridge, but the rest of his lance must have caught on, because they immediately opened fire on the bridge section, as well.
-----------

Lt. Collins signaled to his wingman. “Crawler, this is Smoke. Follow me in, we’re moving to defend the Commander.”

“Roger that. I’ve got your six.”

Lt. Collins hit his jump jets and landed on the bridge behind Captain McKenna’s Grasshopper. Having been warned about the weight tolerance of the structure, he lit off his jump jets and sailed over the Grasshopper and Lt. Vahzenov’s Quickdraw. Landing on the bridge, he opened fire on the infantry in front of him.

Lt. Vahzenov began dancing his ‘Mech around, in an effort to confuse and take out as much of the mob as he could. He opened up his comms, “Orchid, this is Six Guns. No disrespect ma’am, but you’d better get back in your ‘Mech.”

Captain McKenna was busy dodging weapons fire, so she didn’t immediately respond. Clicking on her comms, she barked, “Spanner this is McKenna. Cover me, I’m re-mounting.”

“Roger that, ma’am.” Sgt. Spanner and his squad closed ranks and blocked the infantry’s path to Captain McKenna as she raced for her Battlemech.

Lt. Vahzenov continued to dance around and began firing his lasers into the crowd, dwindling their numbers.

Lt. Windsor jumped his Gallowglass into the fray, and was immediately surrounded by infantry. He fired his lasers, managing to take out a number of them, but those that remained swarmed up his legs. Satchel charges went off tearing into the actuators and hip joint.

Lt. Collins saw his wingman’s ‘Mech settle to the left. He turned and opened fire on the infantry swarming the Gallowglass. He managed to take out a number of the men hanging onto the legs and surrounding the feet.
------------

Lt. Amdecker finished making a recon sweep and was returning to the Commander’s position when he saw the infantry swarming the legs of his ‘Mech. Taking aim, he unleashed his lasers and machine guns. As he swept passed, he managed to clear the CO’s ‘Mech and the surrounding area of infantry.

-------

 Air lance was escorting the Comstock back to base camp, when warning indicators began blaring.  Sgt. Titus glanced at his screens and noticed that he was being painted from the ground. Seconds later, missiles came streaking towards his position. Taking evasive actions, he managed to get out of range before they detonated. A moment later, his comms squawked. “Titus.”

“Sergeant, this is Rogue. Escape altitude, immediately!”

“Roger that, ma’am.” He pulled his fighter out of it’s dive and pointed the nose towards the sky. As he was reaching the upper atmosphere, Sgt. Titus glanced at his map of the area where the battle was raging. Where the bridge would be, was nothing more than a static strip. He clicked on his comms. “Rogue this is Sgt. Titus. I was just looking at my indicators. There’s jamming along the entire bridge.”

“Roger that. I see it too. You’ve got good eyes.”
-------

That’s is where we left off this week. The quicksand seems to begetting deeper, doesn’t it? Well, there’ll definitely be more nastiness for Fallguy to throw at us next week, so stay tuned…. Enjoy! ;D
--------------------------

Major Silver took a second to survey the damage to the bridge section in front of him. There were large holes, but the superstructure appeared to still be intact. Glancing further up the bridge, he saw something that filled him with dread, roughly a regiment of infantry bearing down on his position. With his jump system out and no armor left covering his right leg, Major Silver found himself in a difficult position. A glance at his indicators told him that the heat building up in his right arm had locked the servos, making any weapons he had there, nearly useless. With a frustrated sigh and some quick calculations, he had a plan.

Kicking Mercury, his brand new Marauder, up to its maximum speed of 64 kph, he lit off his flamers and barreled through the on-rushing infantry. The move was risky, to say the least, but he figured that he’d strike some fear into the hearts of at least a few of the on-rushing horde.  He managed to strike fear into a platoon of men that he passed, when his flamers turned another into human torches.

Lt. Scott watched as his CO took off like a shot, through the infantry. He saw the infantry taking shots, and when the Major emerged on the other side. He saw the already heavily damaged Marauder limping and smoking. Hitting his jump pedals, he landed on the bridge with the intent of taking some of the heat off of his CO. His plan worked, he discovered, as his threat warning indicators screamed at him. Looking at his HUD, he saw four missiles come streaking out of the smoke to his rear. Apparently the smoke was affecting their guidance systems, because only one of the missiles slammed into his ‘Mech. Ignoring the obvious threat to his rear, he opened fire on the Infantry that were now rushing his position, dwindling their numbers even further. He took a number of shots in return, several of them shutting down two of the lasers in his right arm.

Lt. Josepho watched his Commander barrel through the on-rushing infantry. He watched with a grim sort of satisfaction as a number of the dezgra militia were cut down by the gouts of flame shooting from the Marauder’s arms. Taking a cue from Lt. Scott, he blasted the infantry with his lasers and autocannon.

Lt. Jones took aim from the opposite side of the bridge and several of the infantry were cut down in the crossfire. “Gamma, this is Grizz,” he said opening up his comms, “We’ll flank the bridge and give the Major some cover fire.”

“Aff, sir.”

Lt. Scott, seeing that the situation was well in hand, turned his attention towards the smoke behind him. Lighting off his jump jets, he sailed over the gap that had been created in the bridge. As he landed, he discovered that there were three vehicles between his feet, and six more beyond that were responsible for the missile fire. Opening up with his remaining lasers, he targeted the vehicles in front of him, destroying nearly all of them. He glanced at his heat indicator and smiled. “Now, let’s see what these Triple-Strength Myomers can do.” Pulling back his leg, he then punted the vehicles that were at his feet, sending two of them sailing out of the smoke and crushing the other entirely.
-------------
 
Lt. Vahzenov saw the vehicles come flying out of the smoke just as he was unleashing another laser storm into the rioters in front of him on the bridge. He continued to dance around, making it difficult for the infantry surrounding his Quickdraw, Billy, to get any shots in.

Lt. Collins in the Executioner, and Lt. Windsor in his battered Gallowglass, surged forward crushing vehicles as they went. They were mildly surprised to see vehicles come flying out of the smoke in front of them, but it did not deter them from their course.

Sgt. Spanner and his squad of Marines covered Captain McKenna’s position as she got strapped into her Grasshopper and brought up the fusion reactor. Shortly after the reactor rumbled to life, the rioters that they were facing began running.

Captain McKenna had just gotten strapped in, when her sensors suddenly cleared. She could now see all of the Silver Eagles’ IFF codes, but none of the infantry. Glancing at her HUD, she saw that the infantry on the bridge in front of her was in a full route. Keying her comms, she sent a scrambled message to the Marines at her feet. “Sgt. Spanner, pull your men back to my position.”

“Yes ma’am.”
-----------------

Meanwhile… back at the ranch…

Captain Thorpe lay in the hospital bed watching the door, waiting for someone to come through. “Is the door locked?”

Lt. Faller glanced at his compatriot and snorted derisively, “What lock? That door doesn’t have one.” He paused as the import of that statement hit him. “Damn! Can you cover the door, Randall?”

Randall looked at him for a moment. The adrenaline was at a low ebb, but he managed a smile. “I think so.”

“Good! Cover me.” Joe rummaged through his bag for a moment, pulled a device out, and hustled to the door, where he began welding it shut.

Randall smiled weakly. “Good idea.”
---------------------

Okay, this week we didn’t get a lot of game time in, but we did manage to get pretty far. Major Silver had ordered the Comstock to pick up the ASF, sometime during his mad dash to through the infantry, and load them out with bombs that we’ve been carrying around for nearly two years.  At least we’re out of formal combat. The players who are running Aerospace and the second element of Assault lance weren’t able to make it to this week’s game. Anyway, we should get more done next week. Enjoy!

McKenna

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  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #54 on: 26 June 2014, 16:13:45 »
All right, this week’s game was pretty short. We did manage to get some stuff done, so if everyone will sit down and get comfy, I’ll begin…
-----------------------------------

Major Silver opened up his comms. “To the commander of the hostile forces. I see this becoming a bloody, protracted battle. I am giving you a one-time offer. Cease fire and pull out now, and we’ll let you go.”

Major Silver opened his comms to the rest of the Silver Eagles as the jamming screen fell. “This is Silver to all units. Hold your fire, I repeat, hold your fire.” The Silver Eagles ceased fire and watch in fascination as the infantry forces began executing a full-scale retreat.

Captain McKenna had just gotten strapped into her command couch, when she saw the civilians on the bridge in front of her begin running towards her. She was surprised, when they did not stop at her ‘Mech, but continued running. She opened her comms, “Silver, this is Orchid. Do you want me to move the Company forward to reinforce your position?”

Major Silver glanced at his displays. “Roger that Orchid. Move the Company forward and secure the White Whale.”

“Aye, sir.” Captain McKenna opened the Company frequency. “Company Command to all ‘Mech’s. Okay folks, begin moving forward and secure the Whale.”

Major Silver opened his comms, “Command Support this is Silver. I want you to take command of the lance and attach to Company Command.” Switching to Recon, he said, “Recon Air Leader this is Silver. I want you to rendezvous with the White Whale and secure it.” He switched channels again, “Sgt. Rhode, take your squad and secure the Whale.”

“Yes sir,” was Lt. Amdecker’s reply.

“Yes sir,” came the metallic response of Sgt. Rhode.

Major Silver switched to a new channel and spoke, “Lt. Faller, report!”

Lt. Faller, who had been monitoring the situation responded, “Sir, we’re pretty secure in here. I welded the door shut, to prevent their entry.”

“Roger that, Lieutenant. I’m sending Second squad and Ian to help secure the Whale.

Captain Thorpe, who had been covering the door, felt the Whale rock. It felt like people jumping down from the roof. He looked at Joe questioningly, “What’s going on?”

“They’re retreating. Just on the off chance that there’s still someone hanging around, cover the door, will you?” Joe knelt down and began unwelding the door.

Randall chuckled. “Yeah, sure.” He took careful aim on the door, hoping he could hit anything that might come through the door.

Major Silver reached the White Whale’s position and halted. Over comms, he said, “Company Command, Silver. Take your lance and Command lance and continue to the end of the causeway. See if you can find out what happened to Strike and Recon.”

“Roger that.” McKenna opened the Company channel. “All right, Fire Leader, you’re attached to Major Silver. Stay with him and keep their fat out of the fire. Assault, Command, form up and begin making your way to the end of the causeway. Six Guns, you move faster than the rest of us, right? I want you to pick up the pace and move in ahead of us. See if you can’t get in touch with your lance. Take Second Squad with you. Watch yourself out there, we’ll be right behind you.”

“Da. I vill keep you apprised.”

Erin watched as Piotr’s Quickdraw picked up its speed and took the lead. “Okay folks, best possible speed. Let’s move it out.” She switched to the Marines. “Sgt. Spanner, I want you to stick with me. I have a feeling we’re going to need eyes lower to the ground.”

“Roger that, Ma’am.”

About five minutes later, the seven Battlemech’s approached the end of the causeway. Lt. Vahzenov stepped to the end of the bridge and took a look around. He saw evidence indicating that a pretty tough battle had taken place, but there were no bodies, no damaged or destroyed vehicles anywhere in sight. “Sgt. Rhode, dismount and take a look around. See if you can find me some spent shell casings. I vant to be able to trace dese folks.”

“Yes sir.” The marines dismounted and began executing a search pattern.

Captain McKenna reached the end of the causeway. “Spanner, dismount. I want you to take your men and begin a search of the area.” She switched over to Assault’s frequency. “What have you got for me Six Guns?”

“It would appear zat dis vas an ambush point, ma’am. I vould say zay Strike encountered an ambush vith more infantry and perhaps a vehicle or two.”

McKenna glanced around. “I agree with your assessment that this was an ambush point. What I want to know is where everyone went. You got any ideas?”

Piotr was about to respond when he was interrupted. “Sir, this is Rhode. I think you’d better come here, we’ve found something that you’re gonna want to see.”

“Alright, Command, Six Guns, form up on me. Smoke, I want you and Crawler to stay here and guard the area. Make sure this bridge stays clear for that Whale.”

“Yes ma’am. We’ll keep the bridge clear.”

Captain McKenna and the others began moving into the forest that was on either side of the road. They approached the location of Second Squad, and came upon a clearing. In the clearing lay the five Battlemech’s of Strike and Recon lance’s. “Mary, Mother of God,” she whispered. Collecting herself, she opened her comms. “Spanner, take your men and begin a sweep of the area. I want to know if there are any signs of our people or those who did this. Sgt. Rhode, take your squad and secure those ‘Mechs. Keep your eyes peeled folks, I don’t like this.”
--------------------------

Major Silver kept over watch of the White Whale. “Recon Air,” he said over comms. “Take a turn over the area at the end of the causeway. See if you can’t find any sign of Strike and the rest of your lance.” He switched again, “Black Lotus, I want you to take a turn by the Factory complex. See if anything is out of the ordinary, and report it at once.”
“Yes sir.”
“Roger that Silver, I’m on my way.”
Major Silver heard Sgt. Chi-Lin’s VTOL fly overhead. “Fire leader, I want you and one of the Longbow’s up on the bridge, one fore, and one aft, of the Whale.” He switched channels. “Comstock, this is Silver, what’s your status?”

“Comstock here. Sir, we’re in stable orbit.”

“What’s the status of the recovery operations?”

“Recovery complete, sir. We’re currently outfitting with new ordinance.”

“Understood Comstock, continue re-armament, but do not launch. Have your sensors picked up any signs of Strike Lance?”

“Let me transfer you to telemetry, sir.”

“Telemetry?”

“This is Silver. Have you had any sign of Strike Lance?”

“Negative, sir.”

Major Silver ran an idea around in his head for a moment, then blew out a breath. “Scan grid 4213 mark 13. I want anything you find.”

“Yes sir. One moment.” A few seconds passed and the Telemetry Officer came back. “Sir, we have no heat signatures in that area. I expanded the search are a little and saw some intermittent heat blooms that might indicate infantry, but nothing to indicate large scale fusion reactors. Sorry, sir. We’ll keep looking.”

“Roger that, Silver out.” He switched frequencies. “Alright, people, let’s get a move on. I don’t want to be on this bridge any longer than necessary.”
---------------------------------

Okay, Like I said, we didn’t game for that long this week, but we did manage to get quite a bit done. Next week should prove to be a bit more active and exciting. Stay tuned… and as always, enjoy!
-------------------------

Major Silver ordered all Eagles units to cease fire first. Then he announced over open frequency that if the enemy infantry would execute an orderly withdrawal, they would continue to hold fire. (there was no direct response from the enemy commander at all, a small but important point) The enemy's only response was to cease fire themselves.

Lt. Amdecker was ordered to fly his LAM ahead and secure the White Whale. As he did so, the infantry around the White Whale fired on him with LAW rockets. He evaded the fire by sweeping low and away from the White Whale's position. However, it was obvious that the infantry were just providing cover fire for their retreat, not acting aggressively, so the 'cease fire' remained intact.

Major Silver and 3rd Marine Squad reached the White Whale first, with the rest of the Company still minutes behind. 3rd Marine began a search of the vehicle for tampering. (they found nothing obvious)

Once all units had gathered on Major Silver's position, (and continued attempts to raise Strike Lance were unsuccessful) Lt. Amdecker was ordered to fly ahead and scout the area just past the end of the causeway. Meanwhile, Vahzenov and 4th Marine would move as quickly as possible to the end of the causeway to scout the ground with Captain McKenna and the rest of Assault Lance following behind. Sergeant Chi Lin was ordered to proceed to the last confirmed location for Strike Lance and scout the area there.

Major Silver asked the Comstock if they could locate Strike Lance from their position in low orbit. Telemetry on the Comstock reported scattered and sporadic heat signatures in the area where Strike Lance was last reported, but no neutrino signatures. (indicative of fusion reactions) In fact, other than the Silver Eagle units themselves, (Command Lance, Assault Lance, Fire Lance, etc.) no fusion reactions were detectable within 20 km of the end of the causeway at all. (meaning also that the enemy's Vulcan had completely disappeared somehow)

Lt. Amdecker, on reaching the end of the causeway, found nothing from the air. He began a sweaping search of the surrounding area. (concentrating heavily on the swamp which was easily searched from the air)

Lt. SG Vahzenov reached the west end of the causeway with 4th Marine Squad in tow several minutes before Captain McKenna and the rest of Assault Lance and 1st and 2nd Marine showed up. 4th Marine began a search of the area while Lt. Vahzenov provided cover and surveyed the area. (he determined that it was an ambush point, set up to ambush anyone coming from the west, not the east)

Major Silver and Fire Lance began making their way to the end of the causeway at just over 20 kph (the best speed that Major Silver's damaged Marauder could get which happened to match the best speed of the slow 'Mechs of Fire Lance through the swamp) while the rest of the 'Mechs scouted ahead. He had 3rd Marine Squad cover the White Whale, which they were escorting off the causeway.

Before Captain McKenna reached the end of the causeway, Lt. Vahzenov and 4th Marine Squad found spent semi-portable autocannon casings, heavy mortar craters, and a large volume of other support weapon casings. (heavy machine guns, etc.) Spectral analysis of the area just west of the ambush point showed signs that a large amount of explosives had gone off there. (matching where the ambush point could first be seen coming out of the forest on either side of the road) Lt. Vahzenov reported that this was likely where Strike Lance had been ambushed. (because that's where he would have done it) He split fourth Marine up into two elements, one to begin searching the forest to the north and the other to search to the south.

Major Silver ordered Fire Leader and Fire Support to find someplace where they could jump onto the causeway and provide cover. (they have leg-mounted jump-jets that prevent them from jumping while in the swamp... they need to find dry ground within jump distance of the causeway to get up there) So far, only Fire Leader (Lt. SG Patricia Sanderson in her ARC-4E Archer) has found such a spot on the north side of the causeway. Fire Support (Lt. JG Grace Bibbs in her LGB-7QE Longbow) on the south side was still looking when the session ended.

The 'Mechs were found in a small clearing just north of the ambush point... all five heaped in a wrecked pile showing a large amount of damage. (but still likely salvageable) No visible signs of the pilots, and with salvageable 'Mechs left behind... odd to say the least.

The last thing Major Silver ordered was for the Comstock to land near the clearing and begin recovery operations. (he is monitoring while limping toward the end of the causeway) He also had them patch him through to Lt. SG Chekov, who reported that all was quiet at base camp, but they were still on alert.

McKenna

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  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #55 on: 26 June 2014, 16:14:41 »
So it would seem that the Silver Eagles have gotten a bloody nose, nothing more. Eight damaged 'Mechs and five missing 'Mechwarriors is hardly devastating to a battalion, especially since the damage looks repairable. They certainly inflicted much more on the enemy. The question is... who are they and why did they attack? (ok, so that's two questions... ) Make that four questions... where did they come from and how did they get here? (they're fairly certain that these are not the planetary militia... they didn't fight like them... they didn't act like them... and they were certainly not equipped like them) Make that six questions... where are they now and what are their plans?

Ok, make that a lot of questions!

Ok, for this update I am taking the time to write it up myself. (keep the booing to a minimum please!) Oh, and it’s a long one, so be prepared!



As Captain McKenna stood there taking in the scene, she collected her thoughts. “Assault Support! I want you and Assault Support Wing here now to stand over-watch. Strike Leader. Do a perimeter sweep. First Marine, I want a report immediately!”

As he finally composed himself and stopped the stream of curses spewing from his mouth, Lt. Vahzenov replied, “Da. Moving out.” His anger boiled inside him as he throttled up Billy and began moving around the perimeter of the clearing.

Major Silver keyed his mic. “Comstock, this is Silver Actual. ETA to touchdown?”

A moment later, he heard Petty Officer Ramirez reply, “Comstock to Silver Actual. ETA 10 minutes. Captain Friedrich is bringing the Comstock down slow, sir.”

Looking down at his display map, he checked his closure rate to the end of the causeway and marked it as waypoint gamma. Himself, Fire Lance, and the White Whale would reach the end of the causeway at about the same time. “Roger that Comstock. Fire Leader, on reaching waypoint gamma, you and the rest of Fire Lance will make best speed to Base Camp.” He switched frequencies again. “Silver Actual to White Whale. Fire Lance and third Marine will escort you from the end of the causeway to Base Camp. Stay with them.” Changing frequencies again, he queried “Captain McKenna, status report?”

As she stood over the wreckage, Captain McKenna responded. “Area secure, sir. I have Strike Leader on perimeter patrol with Assault Lance and Second and Fourth Marine on over-watch. First Marine is investigating the downed ‘Mechs. Orders?”

“Sit tight.” Major Silver replied. “The Comstock is en-route and should be there in nine minutes, as should Fire Lance and myself.” As he spoke, Lt. JG Grace Bibbs’ LGB-7QE Longbow finally lit off its Jump Jets and landed behind him. Switching channels, he ordered “Fire Leader. Keep this formation until we reach waypoint gamma.”

“Roger that, Silver Actual.” was her reply. “Fire Support. You stay behind Silver Actual and cover the rear. I’ve got point.”

Major Silver switched channels one more time. “Silver Actual to Recon Air Wing. Zero, I’ve got an assignment for you. I want you to fly north to the War Collage and take a look around. See if anything looks out of place or if the forces we fought here are there. And keep it low-key.”

Lt. Amdecker replied, “Affirmative, sir. I shall report all I see.” At that, he swept close to the ground and slowed to near stall speed, making his way slowly toward the Pandora Collage of Military Sciences.



Endless minutes passed as the Eagles awaited the arrival of their Dropship. As it approached, it started to come down just to the west of the clearing where the ‘Mechs has been left. Stopping just above the tree line, the massively powerful engines blasted a clearing of their own, flinging debris away and lighting several trees aflame. As it settled down into the pit that it had just created, its comm officer announced, “Touchdown. Comstock is Stable One.”

Just reaching waypoint gamma, Major Silver keyed his mic. “Roger that, Comstock. Prepare for recovery operations.”

He was interrupted by another communication. “Sir, Fallguy here. I’d like to disembark and stay with the Comstock if you don’t mind. Lt. SG Benson has ordered me out of the Whale anyway. He was a little displeased with my decision to defend the Whale. Oh, and I don’t think he liked getting stunned either. Permission to disembark?”

Major Silver chuckled before responding. “Permission granted. I’d like you to start digging for answers as to just what the heck is going on here ASAP. I want them as soon as possible. Silver Actual out.” At that, he began limping toward the landed Dropship.

Lt. Vahzenov couldn’t hold it back any longer. “Captain McKenna. Permission to disembark and form a search party?”

McKenna replied more quickly than he expected. “Permission granted. Take whomever you need.”

Somewhat surprised, Lt. Vahzenov responded. “Da, thank you. I should like to take Sergeant Chi Lin, Lieutenant Scott, and Lt. Faller.”

“Understood.” Captain McKenna replied. “Fallguy, Black Lotus, Hotshot... you’re on detached duty. Find ‘em fast. McKenna out.”

“This is Silver Actual. I want reports every half-hour, Lieutenant Vahzenov. I’m designating your team ‘Special One’. Sergeant Titus. I want you to take Ferret Alpha and provide support. Lieutenant Vahzenov, would you like Battlearmor support?”

Vahzenov looked at Chi Lin who shook her head as she strapped on her field pack. “Negative sir. Ve vould like to try to keep zis covert. Battlearmor are... how should I say... not quiet, sir.”

“Very well.” Major Silver replied. “Good hunting. Silver Actual out.”




An hour later, the four stopped to rest a moment. They had hiked through nearly 10 kilometers of dense forest, following a trail that had led off to the north. Keeping their search party small meant that they would be hard to find while Sgt. Titus was never more than a minute away. Fallguy stood watching the forest while Chi Lin examined the tracks and Vahzenov and Ben rested.

Vahzenov noticed an odd look on Chi Lin’s face. “Vat is it?” he asked.

“They split up.” She answered. She pointed to a spot on the ground. “Here. Half of the people on foot went west while the other half went east. The vehicle went further north.”

Lt. Faller approached. “Any signs of our people?”

Chi Lin shook her head. “No. These tracks were all left by combat boots, not Mechwarrior gear. I’m pretty sure our people must have been loaded in the vehicle. I haven’t seen a trace if them on the ground.”

Fallguy glanced at his chronometer and looked to Vahzenov. “Time.” was all he said.

Vahzenov pulled out his Long-range communicator. “Special Vone to Comstock, come in?”

Static filled the reply. “Comtech. Putting you through to the Major.”

A moment later he heard, “This is Silver Actual, go ahead Special One.”

“Sir, it appears zat zey split up, but ve are sure zat our people are on ze vehicle. Ve vill continue to follow it and vill check in at...” he glanced at his chronometer. “1305. Special Vone out.”

Vahzenov took a moment to look at one of the prints. Combat boots... and from the look of them, likely standard issue FedCom gear. Who are these people?



Major Silver noted their position. They were still in range of the Battalion’s Long Toms if they needed real help, so he wasn’t that worried.

“Captain McKenna.” Her comm system crackled with the transmission from senior tech Iverson. “Sergeant Major Spanner and I have completed our investigation and my team is ready to begin recovery operations. Permission to proceed?”

She replied quickly. “Affirmative. Spanner, I’d like to see you immediately.” She clicked off her comm systems and pulled the neurohelmet off, setting it on its shelf for the moment. A minute later, her rear hatch rang with a metallic knocking. Reaching over, she unlocked the hatch and was greeted by Sgt. Major Spanner, still in his Battlearmor.

Opening his visor, he said, “You wanted to see me, ma’am?”

“Yes, I want to know what you found.”

Sgt. Major Spanner exhaled. “Well, from the looks of it, they were all five taken down very quickly. Massed fire and some very well placed satchel charges brought them down without much fuss. The enemy then used small explosive charges to blow the hatches open and get to our pilots.” He paused for a moment. “It would seem none of our pilots even tried to eject.”

The import of what he had just said struck McKenna like an autocannon. Could our missing pilots have turned on us? She quickly discounted the idea as all five had very different backgrounds and were hired at different times. The odds of all five being plants or traitors were too long to even fathom. She turned to the Sgt. Major. “How could that be?”

Spanner thought a moment. “Well, either they couldn’t eject, or they didn’t want to. I’ve seen some ways that can keep a Mechwarrior from wanting to eject. Nerve gasses, threats of being killed if they do, but the best way is to use a metal foil sheet thrown over the ejection hole. It’s quick and obvious to the pilot... a great way to keep them where they are.”

McKenna nodded. With a metal foil tarp over the ejection hole, the pilot could be shredded to pieces trying to eject. “But why keep them from ejecting?” She asked.

Spanner shrugged. “If it were me, I’d do it to keep their emergency homing beacons from going off. That way, no one knows they’re in trouble once the jamming was lifted...”

McKenna interrupted. “... giving them more time to get away with our pilots. Thank you, Sergeant Major.” She nodded as he began climbing back down. She turned back to her console and tied her ‘Mech’s computer into the Comstock’s main computer. The Silver Eagles had been given a lot of data on Pandora when they took the contract, including the manifests of all the shipping that had been taking place and the Drophips that had done it. It was a lot of information and would take some time to sort through, but she had a hunch it might lead to some answers.



Ten minutes after setting out again, Chi Lin stopped and pointed off to the east. “They turned that way, back toward the swamp.”

Vahzenov looked around. Suddenly, he spotted something. “Look there.” He pointed at a broken branch of a tree about ten feet off the ground in the direction Chi Lin had pointed.

Chi Lin nodded as she started off in the new direction. “Good eye. I’m starting to get a better picture of this vehicle. Looks like a typical light military car rigged for transport. My guess is it would hold about a squad.”

Vahzenov nodded. “Zat means our pilots plus a few guards. Makes sense. Let’s get moving.”

As they reached the edge of the forest where it met the swamp fifteen minutes later, Chi Lin stopped again. She started looking around at the ground very puzzled. “It’s gone!”

Vahzenov stopped. “Vat is?”

“The tracks!” she replied. “They’re gone! Just up and disappeared!” She looked more intently at the ground around her. “There!” she said as she pointed at a spot on the ground.

The four made their way to the place she indicated. Sure enough, the tracks just ended in the fetid mud and muck of the swamp with no signs of where the vehicle had gone. As Chi Lin and Vahzenov looked around, Joe and Ben watched and kept ready.

“Vell, I don’t see any signs of an underground entrance, do you?” Vahzenov asked.

Chi Lin was staring intently at the mud and muck ahead of her. “No, but I know what happened. Look there.” She pointed a few meters ahead of where the tracks ended. “See that, the swirling in the mud? It was a hover transport. They were met here and ferried off into the swamp.” She pointed out into the seemingly endless wide swamp.

“Zey could be anyvere now.” Vahzenov sighed.

Joe spoke up. “Time.”

Vahzenov pulled out his radio. “Special Vone to Silver Actual, come in?”

“Go ahead Special One.” Major Silver replied over the static.

“Sir, ve have reached ze swamp again. Zey turned east about 1.7 kilometers north of our last check-in point. It appears zey were met by a hover transport and ferried away. Orders?”

Major Silver scowled. “Sergeant. Do you have any idea where they might have gone?”

She pulled out her portable computer and brought up a map of the swamp area. Thinking a moment, she pulled her helmet mic down. “Well, if it were me sir, I’d head north along the western edge of the swamp. Likely exit points up in zone 4210 at the north end of the swamp.”

Major Silver looked at the map of the area. Damn! 4210 is just at the edge of our Long Tom range. “Very well. Special One, you are to proceed to zone 4210 and investigate the area. Keep me apprised. Silver Actual out.”

Joe pulled his helmet mic down. “Twitch, this is Fallguy. Come in for pickup.” A short time later, they were off to the north edge of the swamp at high speed.

“Major?” It was Captain Darious Friedrich. “Chief Tech Iverson reports that recovery operations are complete.”

Major Silver nodded. “Very well. We’ll wait here for Special One to report in. Thank you Captain.”

As he spoke, he heard Lt. Amdecker report in. “Sir, over-flight of the Pandora training facility impossible. I was ordered away from their air space without a flight plan. However, I managed to get some reconnaissance photos from a distance. Orders?”

“Very well.” The Major answered. “Head to Needgate and see if anything is amiss there. Then RTB. Understood?”

“Affirmative.” Ian replied. “Shall I keep a low profile sir?”

Major Silver sighed. “Affirmative. Keep it quiet and uninteresting, like you’re just on a security patrol. Silver Actual out.” What else can go wrong? he thought.



As the four made their way along the muck of the northern edge of the swamp, their spirits were low. No sign of the hovercraft had been seen for the last hour that they’d been searching the swamp. Finally, Vahzenov spoke up. “Have you found anyzing, sergeant?”

The exhausted ex-Capellan shook her head. “No sir. Not a trace. Looks like a dead-end here.”

Joe spoke up. “They could have gone anywhere. We could spend days searching and still not find anything.”

Vahzenov sighed. “Very well...” He pulled out his radio again. “Special Vone to Silver Actual.”

“This is Silver Actual,” Major Silver replied. “Go ahead.”

“Sir,” Vahzenov began. “I regret to say ve have found no trace of vere ze hovercraft has gone. Zey might even have turned south and gone out onto ze lake. I’m afraid ve’ll have to abandon ze search unless you vant to commit to a long-term search.”

Major Silver hung his head low. They’re gone. Let them go, Kevin. he thought. Picking his head back up he replied, “Very well, Lieutenant. Get back to Base Camp ASAP. We’re dusting off. Silver Actual out.” He turned to Darious. “Captain, prepare to return to Base Camp.” He pulled his mic down and switched to the ‘Mech Company frequency. “Silver Actual to Company Commander. Load up for liftoff. We’re going back to Base.”

McKenna responded. “Roger that. Request permission to take Assault Lance back by foot.”

Major Silver was quick to reply. “Request Denied. From now on, no unit is to operate independently without direct authorization from myself. Understood?”

“Very well, Major.” McKenna replied. “Loading up now.” She switched to her tactical frequency. “Listen up. Everyone load up on the Comstock, we’re pulling out.”

Half an hour later, the Comstock was in the air and returning to Base.

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #56 on: 26 June 2014, 16:21:19 »
“It just doesn’t make any sense!” Joe practically yelled. “Kidnap five pilots and leave the ‘Mechs? Five good, salvageable ‘Mechs... why?”

The Silver Eagles had gathered their command staff in the Comstock’s briefing room at 2000 that evening. Major Silver and Captain McKenna were present in person with Captain Thorpe on videoconference from his hospital bed below. Lt. Hernandez-Silver, Lt. Chekov, Lt. Vahzenov, Lt. Windsor, Lt. Jones, Lt. Scott, Lt. O'Hare, Sgt. Major Spanner, and Staff Sgt. Chi Lin were also in attendance with Lt. Faller.

Major Silver closed his eyes. “Calm down, Joe. We’ll figure it out.” He turned to Captain McKenna. “Major.” he started, using the ancient tradition to prevent confusion with Naval Captain ranks while aboard ship, “What did you dig up?”

McKenna punched up a list she’d compiled. “These six Dropships are the only ones listed as having arrived over the past few months and are still on-planet. The list includes two Mule class carriers that are owned by the Pandora Southern Mining Coalition and have been in their employ for over two hundred years. There is also the Mammoth class that is a part of the factory relocation project. The other three are a Seeker class that is on-call for planetary defense, and two independent aerodynes. A Triumph class and a Buccaneer class, both registered as being at the Needgate Starport.

Captain Thorpe spoke up. “Those aerodynes sound like the best candidate for having gotten foreign troops here. And from what I’ve heard, these guys didn’t fight like untrained locals. They have to be imports.”

Major Silver spoke up. “Ok, so what do we know? We know that whoever they were, they weren’t the planetary militia. Their equipment and training were all wrong for that. That leaves the possibility of them being brought here as the most likely and reasonable. To get here, they needed a Dropship and those don’t just disappear. So it has to be one of these six, right?”

Joe spoke up next. “I agree sir. My money is on the Triumph. It’s a military transport designed to carry both vehicles and infantry, it could easily carry a regiment of infantry and still have cargo space for supplies, and it’s an independent.”

Lt. Scott spoke up. “What about the Buccaneer?”

Joe shrugged. “It’s smaller, not designed for military transport, and would be lucky to fit the infantry in there, let alone all the supplies an entire regiment would need.” He thought a moment. “Still, I wouldn’t discount it entirely, but the Triumph fits the bill better.”

Major Silver interjected. “What do we know about this Triumph?”

McKenna looked at the data she’d found. “Well, it’s independently owned and operated. The owner/operator lists as a freelance transport service for buyers of Quikscell Company products.”

Major Silver nodded. “Likely he’ll move to wherever the factory moves then. When was the last time it was off-planet?”

McKenna didn’t even need to look at the data screen. “Six months ago he left for two months. He listed a manifest of some Heavy Tracked APCs and a few Scorpion Tanks for sale to a mercenary company. He reported no manifest on return and has spent the last few months doing nothing but light intercontinental shipping. The Buccaneer hasn’t been off-planet for almost a year. Their owners claim lack of repair parts for a damaged transit drive. In the last year they have been relegated to nothing but local transport duties.” McKenna paused a moment. “Oh, and it’s been up for sale for the last month.”

Joe thought for a moment. “Sounds ripe for a reason to stick around to me. Earn some cash doing local ferry work while you’re getting under-the-table pay to be ready to pull these guys off-world.”

Lt. Hernandez-Silver spoke up. “But that still doesn’t tell us who they are, does it?”

Major Silver smiled. “No, it doesn’t. Good point. We need to figure out with whom we’re dealing and why they took our pilots. Ideas?”

Randall spoke up first. “Ransom? That’s the only reason I can think of. Either that or blackmail. Maybe they were hoping to nab someone important to us and hold their life over our heads, either to make us do something we shouldn’t, or not do something we should.”

Joe spoke next. “Perhaps they were hoping to get some information about us from our pilots, something they could use against us.” He chuckled. “I’m just paranoid enough to believe that it’s WOB trying to dig up some secret piece of info about the Clipperton incident, something they can blackmail us with. We know they think we were hiding something. Maybe they were hoping one of the pilots would crack and give something up?”

Major Silver shook his head. “No, this doesn’t feel like WOB. Besides, how could they get an entire regiment of infantry on-planet without anyone noticing this far into FedCom space? And how could they know we were going to even be here? We didn’t ourselves until three months ago. No, I don’t see it. Still, nabbing pilots to squeeze them for intel is possible by anybody.” He looked up around the room. “Anyone else?”

Lieutenant Vahzenov spoke up. “Vell, I don’t know how important it is, but ze infantry vere vearing standard issue FedCom combat boots.” He held up his hands to forestall a debate. “I know, I know... zey are easily obtained on ze black-market, but still I thought to mention it.”

Major Silver nodded. “Thank you Lieutenant Vahzenov. What abut the shell casings? Any luck tracing them?”

Vahzenov shrugged. “Nothing obvious at first, no Major. Ve vill have to run zeir serial numbers through FedCom intelligence to see vere zey came from.” He smiled. “But don’t vorry, I vill find out who made zem and who bought zem, Major.”

Major Silver nodded and looked down at his agenda notes. Looking up he reached over and touched a com panel. “Please patch me though to Chief Tech Iverson.”

A moment later a voice came back over the com system. Loud noises of machinery and hydraulics could be heard in the background. “Sven here.”

“Sven, this is Kevin. Got an estimate for me yet?”

“Well, it looked a lot worse than it actually is sir. I’m guessing a week downtime in total for the five downed ‘Mechs. Yours and the other lightly damaged ‘Mechs I can have patched up and running in three days easy. The Battlearmor only have some minor damage, I’d say a day there. Figure two weeks and we’re 100%, machinery-wise.”

Major Silver started making notes. “What about supplies and spare parts?”

The Rasalhaguian tech’s voice again could barely be heard over the noise of the ‘Mech bay far below. “We’re good there. We have plenty of spares on-hand to fix what was damaged.”

Major Silver finished jotting his notes. “Thank you Sven. Give priority to the least damaged first, but the pilot-less ‘Mechs are lowest in priority overall. Keep me updated. Silver out.”

“Well,” started McKenna, “We seem to have come out of this alright at least, pilots excepted of course.”

Joe started pacing. “Yeah, we did... didn’t we?” He stopped pacing and looked to Randall’s video display. “Randall, you’ve had a chance to review the battle reports, right?” After a quick nod he continued while pacing. “You know what the enemy commander did. After he got us thinking he was on our side, he brought all his infantry forces up onto the bridge. Then, he turned on us.” He stopped and looked back at the display. “Would you have done that?”



Randall was about to speak, but he stopped and thought for a moment. “Not really. The smartest thing would have been for him to set up his platoons about a hundred meters off either side of the bridge and catch anyone on the bridge in crossfire. After all, they were already in the swamp that way.”

Joe looked at the floor. “So why pull up onto the bridge? They got slaughtered that way.”

Major Silver interrupted. “One thing at a time Lieutenant.” He looked over at Chi Lin. “Sergeant. What was your analysis of the troops that captured our pilots?”

Chi Lin looked at the ceiling. “It’s pretty much as Lieutenant Vahzenov pointed out. Standard FedCom gear was used, but black-market dealers could have sold that stuff to almost anyone. We’ll have to start a trace.”

Major Silver nodded and looked at Lt. Windsor, the company Civil-Military Operations Officer. “Make that your top priority, Lt. Windsor. Get our FedCom liaison officer on that pronto.” Looking again to his notes he was about to speak again when someone knocked on the briefing room door. “Enter!” he yelled.

Corporal Winters peeked his head into the room. “Sir, Captain Friedrich wanted me to bring you a message. You might want to switch on the local broadcast channel, sir.”

Major Silver could already feel what was coming. “Thank you corporal.” He reached over and switched the video display over to read local broadcasts. After searching the local frequencies, he found what the corporal was talking about. There on the display was amateur video and tri-vid footage of the Silver Eagles attacking the mob on the causeway. As the footage played out, an announcer was reporting the events.

“...sometime this morning. As the footage shows, a mercenary force, hired by the Federated Commonwealth Armed Forces to guard the controversial movement of the Quikscell factory off-world, attacked the protesters in what some are calling, ‘an appalling display of carnage and death.’ While the details are not fully explored, what is known is that the ten-kilometer Needgate Swamp causeway was severely damaged in the process, leaving Collage Highway, which goes around the swamp, the only way to the Quikscell factory complex from Needgate.”

The scene changed on the display to that of the announcer, with the words ‘Editorial’ lettered across the bottom of the display. “This reporter has looked into the events surrounding the disaster. While the easy reaction would be to blame the mercenary force, I have to conclude that they acted in no way other than one would expect them to react. The real question is ‘Why were they needed here in the first place?’ With the Pandora Collage Training Battalion so close at hand, and the Tenth FedCom RCT and Fourth Davion Guards RCT available, why hire these mercenaries to guard a closing factory? It is this reporter’s opinion, that poor judgement on the part of the AFFC hierarchy led to this disaster. To bring in troops that are not well equipped at obvious ‘police duties’ was poor planning. This was not only a tragedy, but a travesty because it could have been avoided. Back to you, Ted.”

Major Silver turned the display back to the videoconference. “Oh boy!” was all he said.

Ok, a lot of discussion this week and not much action, but here’s the update.

McKenna

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #57 on: 26 June 2014, 16:22:20 »
As Major Silver turned to face the gathered officers, Lt. Scott spoke first.

“What a bunch of BS!”

He glanced up at Ben. “That’s enough, Lieutenant. Opinions?”


Lt. Faller spoke first. “I have to agree with Lieutenant Scott, sir. Not one scene of the organized infantry. Sure, they made it sound like we couldn’t have been expected to do anything else, but we still come off as the nasty mercs.”

Major Silver nodded. “True.” He looked to his second in command. “Captain?”

McKenna sat quietly a moment before speaking. “‘Tis true, we do come off looking like we slaughtered civilians. The big question is, what do we do about it? I doubt that a press conference voicing our side will do much. People believe what they see, especially if it meshes with what they believe.”

Major Silver sighed. “There has to be a way we can reverse this.” He thought for a moment and then turned to Lt. Hernandez-Silver. “Lieutenant, what’s our fuel status?”

His wife glanced at a data pad. “We came here with one hundred tons of fuel set aside for Aerospace operations. We’re down to eighty-eight tons after the sorties we flew today.”

Major Silver looked at the assembled officers. “I’m thinking that despite the bad press, we need to make our presence felt here. Let the local populace know that we’re here and we’re not leaving. I’m thinking we should begin running Aerospace sorties every day... over-flights of the city, etc. Opinions?”

Captain McKenna shook her head. “I think some patrols would be fine, but daily Aerospace sorties over Needgate? That will get expensive, sir. Local market price for hydrogen fuel is eight hundred Kroner per ton.” Most of the assembled officers nodded in agreement, including his wife.

Lt. Chekov spoke up. “By the way sir, in regards to any patrols. Word about the ambush has gotten around camp. I’d advise, for moral purposes, that no patrols be sent out unless they are patrols-in-force. The troops are a little jumpy about the idea of getting piecemealed to death.”

Major Silver nodded. “Agreed. From now on, any patrols or long-distance missions are to consist of at least a company in strength at all times. That should eliminate fears about safety.” He turned to Lt. Hernandez-Silver. “As head of Aerospace Lance, what is your recommendation? Keep in mind, I want us to be seen, as well as get some good aerial reconnaissance.”

Lt. Hernandez-Silver thought for a moment. “I think outfitting the VTOLs with recon gear and highly visible weaponry would work. Have them fly in tandem at medium altitudes over Needgate and the College to let people know ‘We’re here and watching you.’ but keeping things easy. Lieutenant Amdecker could make routine over-flights of the factory complex for the same purpose. That should keep fuel costs low as well as reducing wear and tear on our pilots.”

Major Silver nodded. “That sounds good, but I want more.” He looked to Lt. O'Hare. “What would you think about roving patrols with your infantry company? I’m thinking it can make us look a little tougher than we are if we have infantry out on random patrols, plus nothing beats a pair of eyes on the ground.”

Lt. O'Hare sighed and shook his head. “Only problem there sir is that our infantry aren’t well suited for it. Their training is all in static defense, not random patrol. Plus it would leave base camp a lot more open to infiltration. As you say, nothing beats a pair of eyes to spot an intruder.”

Major Silver sighed and glanced at the unit roster. “Ok, what about Armor Company?” He looked up at Lt. Chekov. “How often can your Company manage a patrol route from here to Needgate and back?”

Glancing at the map of the area, Lt. Chekov replied, “Looks like about four hours to Needgate using the northern College Highway route. Figure in some stop time and maneuvers to make our presence felt, I’d say it’s an eight-hour round trip. We could pull that off a couple times a week without too much wear and tear on the men and machines.”

Major Silver nodded and jotted down some notes onto his data pad. “Sounds good. Anyone see any problems with that?” After a moment with no objections, he continued. “I would like any opinions about our current circumstances.” He glanced around the room before continuing. “We’re facing an unknown enemy here. I want answers and I want a name to put on them. It’s a priority for everyone in the unit. I want all ideas, no matter how crackpot they are, brought forward. The last thing we need is some wild idea starting a rumor about what’s going on. If ideas can be discussed, then the outlandish ones can be discounted on the facts. That should keep rumor control better contained.” He glanced up at Lt. Faller. “Joe, what about those Dropships? What do you need to get some real intel on them?”

Lt. Faller shrugged. “Time... and permission to take a few days away from the unit. Two or three days should be sufficient.”

Major Silver nodded. “Permission granted. Take all the time you need. Do you need any personnel? Equipment?”

Joe shook his head. “No, I can handle it. I work best alone on these kind of missions.”

Captain McKenna spoke up next. “I’ll contact Kommandant Hubbard and see what I can find out from him.”

“Very well.” Major Silver concluded. “Anyone else have anything to add?” When no one responded, he continued. “Very well. You all have things to do.” He glanced at his chronometer. “Get some chow, do what you need to do, and get some rest. Dismissed.”




Lt. Vahzenov looked at Lt. Morander Collins sitting across from him in the mess. “Vell, I’d like you to come vit me tomorrow. I’ve arranged a meeting vit an old acquaintance of mine zat verks for Quikscell. Showing up vit ozzers makes it look like I’m just stopping by, not making a special trip.”

Lt. Collins nodded as he ate his warmed over meal. “Alright. Is there anything in particular you want me to keep an eye out for?”

Vahzenov shook his head as he picked at the simulated beef of his meal. “No, nozzing in particular. Just anyzzing out of ze ordinary.”

“What time are we leaving?” Lt. Collins asked.

Vahzenov spoke around a mouthful of food. “Ze meeting is at twelve hundred hours. I told him I’d try to be zere a little early if I could.”

As he spoke, Lt. Faller joined the two. “Artificial beefsteak! I hear this stuff hasn’t actually been made since before the First Succession War, they just keep pulling it out of old warehouses.”

Vahzenov chuckled. “Da. Watch out for ze hard bits. I understand zat every meal has at least vone rat ground up inside it!”

The trio laughed as they ate. Once finished, Vahzenov turned to Lt. Faller. “Vell, I am going to go enjoy a bottle of Vodka. Care to join me?”

Joe shook his head as he stood up. “No. I gotta vanish. Have fun all! See you in a few days.” At that he headed for the exit to the mess tent.

Vahzenov turned to Lt. Collins. “Vat about you? Care to...” as he mimicked drinking.

Morander shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” as the two headed out of the mess tent into the night.



Major Silver walked into the HQ tent at 0700 exactly. “Take your seats people, we’ve got a lot to cover this morning.”

As the officers took their seats, only Lt. Faller, Captain Thorpe, and Lt. Scott were absent. Looking at Captain McKenna he started. “Changes in Status?”

McKenna turned to her CO. “Lieutenant Faller is off on assignment. Other than that, no change in status, sir. Lieutenant Scott will be here momentarily as I told him to change into dress uniform as you requested.”

“Thank you Captain.” He replied, noting so to his data pad. Looking up again, he continued. “What’s on schedule for today?”

McKenna continued. “Senior Tech Iverson reports that all BattleArmor units will be fully repaired by twelve hundred hours local time. I’ve got an appointment with Kommandant Hubbard at 1330 local, and Lieutenant Windsor has scheduled a meeting with the local authorities to begin an official investigation about the incident yesterday.”

As she finished, Lt. Scott came in wearing full dress uniform. “Sorry I’m late sir but I didn’t realize this was going to be full...” He stopped as he looked and saw that other than McKenna and Silver, no one else was wearing their dress uniform. His face wrinkled up with irritation as he whined, “Hey, why did I have to go full dress?”

“Lieutenant Scott!” Major Silver barked as he stood. “Front and center!”

Ben reacted instinctively and trotted up to the Major, remembering not to salute in the field, coming to attention in front of his commanding officer.

Major Silver reached to his collar and plucked the Lt. JG rank insignia off as Captain McKenna approached his opposite side and did likewise. Dropping his rank pins on the table, the two officers began pinning new rank insignia on his uniform.

Finally, Major Silver spoke. “Congratulations, Lieutenant Senior Grade Scott.”

“You earned it.” McKenna followed as the two officers stepped back.

Caught quite in shock, Lt. Scott finally said, “Does this come with a pay raise?”

The room burst out in laughter and McKenna replied, “Yes, Ben... it does!”

“And increased responsibility.” Major Silver continued. “Take your seat, Lieutenant. We’ll discuss your new responsibilities after the meeting.” As the officers settled back into their seats, the Major looked back at McKenna. “Continue.”

McKenna shrugged. “That’s all sir. I’d like Lieutenant Vahzenov to join me if possible.” She turned to the Russian former Capellan. “What say you?”

“Vell,” Vahzenov began “I had scheduled a meeting vit a contact to look into an independent trace so ve could confirm vat ze official report says, but I vill have to reschedule it if Captain McKenna vishes me to go vit her to se ze Kommandant. I can contact him and ask.” He looked back at McKenna as she nodded. “Vill you excuse me for a moment, Major?”

Major Silver nodded and Lt. Vahzenov headed for the exit. Looking toward their liaison officer, he continued. “Hauptman Conley, what is the position of the AFFC on this turn of events?”

The FedCom officer looked toward the Major. “Well, I’ll have to put in a request for information up through my chain of command. As far as the AFFC’s position, we stand behind the actions taken yesterday. From what I’ve seen, you could have made no other choice and that’s what I will report to my superiors.”

Major Silver nodded. “Thank you Hauptman.” He glanced at his notes again and looked up at the others. “Is there any other issues that need to be brought up at this time?” Seeing no one respond, he turned to Lt. Josepho. “Lieutenant. I want your official opinion regarding the capture of our pilots. Being this close to the Clan Front, I cannot help but suspect that a Clan might have been responsible for the attack and taken our pilots as abtaka. Do you think it possible?”

Lt. Josepho squirmed slightly in his chair and showed a mild amount of irritation on his face before answering. “I find it highly unlikely that a Clansman would be responsible for the attack or the taking of our warriors. They issued no batchal and apparently took great pains to capture obviously inferior warriors.” He held up his hands to forestall objections. “Do not take issue with me wrongly. I only mean that to a Clansman, they would obviously be inferior due to the fact that simple dezgra infantry could defeat them. Also, the attackers engaged in the highly dishonorable act of not allowing the pilots single combat, even though we have always followed the rules of Zelbrigen and this is well known.” He shook his head and let a slight smile escape his normally blank expression. “No, this was no Clan action. Not even Crusaders would stoop so low.”

As Lt. Vahzenov returned to the tent, Major Silver nodded. “I agree. I just wanted to voice the option to dispel any ideas to the contrary.” He looked again to his notes and turned to Lt. Vahzenov. “Lieutenant?”

Vahzenov nodded as he took his seat. “Da. I vas able to reschedule for eleven hundred hours local time. Zat gives us a full half-hour lee-vay time counting travel to ze College.”

McKenna nodded. “Thank ye, Lieutenant. I could really use your insight with the Kommandant.” She glanced at his BDUs and in particular, his sidearms. “It will be full-dress.”

Vahzenov nodded wryly. “Da, Captain.”

Major Silver looked to his notes. “Moving on...” he looked around the room. “Ok, I want thoughts and opinions. If you have suspicions, let’s hear them.” He looked to McKenna. “Captain?”

McKenna thought a moment. “Well, I’ve been trying to figure who has to gain from the attack. Unfortunately, no one stands out as obvious. Effectively what happened was we got a bloody nose, the AFFC looks bad for hiring us, the causeway got damaged...” She stopped a moment. “It could look like we just aren’t the right people for the job to some.” She finished.

Major Silver thought a moment. “Ok, let’s examine the players here.” He began ticking off on his fingers. “We have the planetary businesses, Quikscell, Red Devil, the mining guild, and the other planet businesses. Do any of them gain by this?”

Lt. Windsor spoke up. “Not really sir. Quikscell might think the AFFC let them down, but the likely response there would be to pay off our contract and bring in someone else. It would cost the AFFC some, but it’s not the end of the world. Quikscell still gets their security and they still move.”

Lt. Scott continued the thought. “Red Devil has everything to gain from Quikscell moving out smoothly too. They get the total output of the Southern Hemisphere mines and lose their only planetary competition. No motive there to louse things up.”

Lt. Jones kept the discussion moving. “The mining guild stands to gain with the move because they can begin selling excess raw materials on the open market for the first time in over two hundred years. That means market prices instead of government contract payments, a lot of which are far below market price.”

Lt. Vahzenov nodded in agreement. “Da. Ze smaller local businesses also aren’t loosing much because of ze increase in funding ze College is getting. Ze local economy vill hardly even notice ze difference, ozzer zan ze actual factory vorkers zat aren’t moving vit ze factory or transferring to Red Devil, zat is.”

Major Silver nodded in general agreement to all and ticked off another finger. “What about the College itself?”

McKenna shook her head. “They stand to gain nothing if we don’t get the job done or Quikscell’s movement doesn’t go smoothly. They’re getting increased funding from the FedCom because of the move as the factory’s jobs are eliminated. That makes me believe that they would want it over with sooner rather than later. Delays in the movement equate out to delays in the funding increases, right?” She turned and looked at Hauptman Conley for confirmation who nodded in agreement.

Major Silver ticked off another finger. “What about the local nobility? It’s almost common knowledge that they are fighting any ideas about Red Devil moving with every trick in their arsenal. Do they stand to gain anything by this?”

This time, Lt. Chekov spoke up. “Well, if Lyran nobility is anything like League nobility, they may think that making this move go badly would make moving Red Devil look like an even worse idea. Noble types do tend to think that we’re all just stupid sheep.” He paused and looked at the Major with a slight smile. “Present company excepted of course, sir.”

Major Silver smiled and nodded back. “Agreed, it is a possibility. Ideas?”

“In this case,” Staff Sgt. Chi Lin began, “I don’t see how they could get away with hiring that large a force and have it not be noticed by someone in their rank-and-file. On top of that, according to Lieutenant Faller’s information, their efforts in this area are centered on bribery and blackmail of nobility higher up in the decision-making chain. So that pretty much leaves them out unless they are very good at hiding their secrets.” She glanced at Lt. Collins. “If he could take up the investigations into the two suspected Drophips, I could pour over the data we’ve got on the nobles and see if I can ‘liberate’ any new information they might not be telling their higher-ups.”

Major Silver nodded. “Very well, proceed.” He continued as he ticked off another finger. “That leaves the FedCom itself.” He glanced at Hauptman Conley. “Do they gain anything here? I think not. In point of fact, they end up looking foolish for hiring us in the first place, right?”

Hauptman Conley nodded. “Indeed. In fact, that may be the entire point.”

Major Silver continued the thought. “Exactly. Since we have eliminated all the other players involved with Pandora directly, that leaves an outside influence at work here.” He let the thought sink in a moment before continuing. “Lt. Collins, go ahead and look into those Dropships. I want every piece of data you can find on them. Chi Lin, I want anything you can find on the planetary nobility, I don’t care if it points to them or not. See to it that Captain McKenna gets it. We have a mystery here and I want it solved. Either the nobility is playing games with the FedCom to dissuade them from getting ideas about moving Red Devil after Quikscell is gone, or the FedCom has an enemy here that we need to know about. I need to know which one it is.”

Major Silver paused a moment while he looked around the room before turning to McKenna. “Captain, is there any other business?”

McKenna sighed. “Just the usual status reports and briefings, sir.”

Major Silver nodded and replied, “Lets get those over with. Proceed.”

An hour later, Major Silver dismissed the group to begin their assignments.

McKenna

  • Sergeant
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  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #58 on: 26 June 2014, 16:23:21 »
I’m not done with the update yet, but I thought I’d let you all chew on this while I finish. (Yes, there’s more! They talked a lot!) Enjoy!

Part 2 of this week’s update.



Sgt. Titus had brought the VTOL down just outside the main office of Quikscell’s factory complex. As Captain McKenna, Lt. Vahzenov, and Lt. Collins waited, they discussed their plans.

“Now.” Vahzenov began, “Ven he comes out, try and look casual, like zis is nozzing important, da? If he suspects it is important, ze price could skyrocket, eh?”

The two nodded. “Don’t worry Lieutenant.” McKenna reassured as she smiled. “We figured that much out when you said ‘No dress uniforms.’ We won’t spoil anything.”

As she spoke, the doors to the office opened and Vahzenov smiled. “Comrade!” He yelled across the parking lot and swung his arms wide.

As the man approached the trio, Vahzenov embraced him in a short hug. “It is good to see you again, my friend! How is your vife?”

The man glanced around quickly. “She’s fine, thanks. Say, I have to be kinda quick here.” He spotted the VTOL and pointed at it. “Shall we?”

Vahzenov nodded and led him to the VTOL. “Da, ve vill get right down to business zen. By ze vay, vitch is your car? I have zat box of Timbiqui Dark you love!”

As the two entered the VTOL, McKenna and Lt. Collins waited outside with Sgt. Titus. Closing the VTOL’s door, Vahzenov turned. “So, down to business. I need some information.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a data chip and handed it over. “Zis contains lot numbers for some shell casings zat I need tracked down. I need to find out who made zem and who purchased zem, da?”

As he took the data chip, he tumbled it around in his fingers and examined it as though he could read the data right there. Nodding as he listened, he looked at Vahzenov. “Twenty-five thousand.” was all he said.

Vahzenov balked. “Zat much? It’s just shell casings my friend, not ze combination to ze Capellan Chancellor’s private bedroom!”

The man shrugged. “It’s not the data, it’s running it through private channels. Do you want everyone who might be interested to know you got it or do you want the data to ‘just happen to find it’s way to you’?” He shrugged as he continued. “The cost cover’s my risks, and Pandora security has a tight lid on pretty much everything these days.”

Vahzenov shrugged as he reached into another pocket. “Alright. It is a deal.” He pulled out several C-bills and handed them to him after a quick count. “Here is your payment.” As he was about to take it, Vahzenov pulled it away at the last moment. “How soon?”

He thought a moment. “A few days, maybe a week. Depends on how difficult the data is to track.”

Once more Vahzenov handed the C-bills to him. “Zere vill be ten tousand more if you can get it to me quicker, da?” He finally let go of the C-bills and let him take them.

He smiled as he counted the C-bills. “Got it.”

Vahzenov smiled. “Now zen, comrade! How about zat lunch?”

He shook his head and looked at his watch. “Sorry, friend. I have to get moving. As it is I’m late for a meeting.” Vahzenov shrugged and opened the door to the VTOL. Picking up the case of liquor, he hopped out of the aircraft and looked back at Vahzenov. “See you around.” At that he headed off to his groundcar.

McKenna approached the VTOL. “Is that it?”

Vahzenov stuck his head outside. “Zat is it. Shall ve get going?”

The three climbed into the VTOL. McKenna grabbed her bag and pulled out her dress uniform. “You did bring yours, right Vahzenov?”

“Da.” He replied as he pulled his own uniform out of his pack. “And do not vorry, I vill try not to make any scenes zis time!”

All Lt. Collins could think was What have I gotten myself into this time!

As the VTOL lifted off the ground, the three changed in the rear for their meeting with Kommandant Hubbard.

Two hours later, they were met at the College’s helipad by a hoverlimo. Whisking them quickly off to the Kommandant’s residence, they were surprised to see a lot of activity in front of the building.

The trio were escorted in by one of the Kommandant’s many aids. As they were shown in, they saw people coming out of the building carrying boxes... moving boxes. When they reached the foyer, the aid said, “Please wait here. Kommandant Hubbard will be with you shortly.”

Vahzenov caught his attention. “Could you please show me vere ze... facilities are?” As the aid rolled his eyes, Vahzenov gave a quick wink to McKenna.

“Follow me, sir.” The aid said as he led Vahzenov off.

Once they were out of sight, McKenna waited for an opportunity to speak to one of the movers. Finally, she spotted one alone. “Excuse me,” she began. “What’s going on here?” The mover just pushed past her like she wasn’t even there, totally ignoring her.

A short time later, Vahzenov returned and took a seat next to McKenna. “Did you find out anyzing?”

“No.” she replied. “No one would even speak to me.”

After a moment, the aid returned. “If you will follow me.” The three stood and followed the aid to a finely decorated dining room. He gestured to the seats and said, “Kommandant Hubbard will be with you shortly.” He then turned and left, closing the heavy wooden door behind him.

“What goes on here?” McKenna asked, mostly to herself.

“Perhaps ze Kommandant is leaving for some reason.” Vahzenov retorted as he took a seat.

At that, the door opened again and Kommandant Hubbard entered the room. Looking over the three, he made his way to Captain McKenna. “Ah, Captain. Good to see you again.” He looked around the room. “Major Silver is not with you?”

“No, Kommandant.” McKenna replied. “Unfortunately, he could not be here in person, but he sends his regards.”

Kommandant Hubbard took a seat at the head of the table. “I must apologize for meeting here, my office is being packed up. What is it you wish to discuss?”

McKenna, who had not taken a seat, began pacing. “Kommandant, you are aware of what happened yesterday?”

Kommandant Hubbard closed his eyes and nodded briefly. “Yes. A terrible turn of events. I can assure you, the local authorities are looking into the matter. The truth will be discovered and fault placed where it belongs.” He paused a moment in thought. “I understand that you maintain that there was an organized infantry regiment involved that claimed to be the Pandora Militia?”

McKenna nodded as she continued to pace along the table. “Aye, Kommandant, and we have BattleROMs to prove it.”

Kommandant Hubbard nodded. “That being the case, I can assure you that the Pandora Militia was not involved.” He paused again as though in thought before continuing. “The Pandora Militia was not mobilized at all yesterday. Those who were on active duty were all at their bases in Needgate, Southport, and here at the College.” He looked to McKenna who was still pacing. “Please, take a seat Captain.”

She waved her hand at the Kommandant. “Thank you, but I’m more than a bit restless over all this.”

Kommandant Hubbard shrugged. “As you wish. In any event, I can tell you this much. The Pandora Militia is not equipped with the weapons described in the report you gave to your liaison officer, Hauptman Conley. Yes, I had the opportunity to review it before it was forwarded on to the AFFC central offices.” He let his tone take on a bit more seriousness than usual. “I can assure you Captain, it was not Pandora Militia that attacked you.”

McKenna stopped and looked at the Kommandant. “We figured that out pretty quickly ourselves once they started shooting at us. They didn’t fight like any militia unit.” She resumed her pacing. “Kommandant, if you don’t mind my asking, what is going on here? Why are their moving people here?”

Kommandant Hubbard took a long breath. “I was only assigned here temporarily while Hauptmann-General Steven Merriam, the normal commander of the College, was away.” He let out a deep sigh. “I had hoped that my performance record here would allow me to succeed the Hauptmann-General who has talked of retiring upon reaching the rank of Marshal, but I have been given... other orders. Hopefully, I will still be able to keep my position as head of the Training Battalion at least after this mess.”

The Kommandant pulled a pen from his pocket and began twirling it in his fingers absently. “The Hauptmann-General was not due to return for another two months, however he has chosen to return early in light of these troubling events. As a result, I’ve been asked to move to another assignment. Don’t worry, Captain. I’ll speak to the Hauptmann-General about the plans we’d made concerning joint exercises. I’ll recommend that your unit still be involved in PCMS activities.”

McKenna stopped and nodded to Kommandant Hubbard. “Thank you. By the way, would you happen to know of any Mechwarriors looking for work to replace our lost warriors? We hate to give up on them, but ‘Mechs with no pilots do us no good.”

Kommandant Hubbard nodded. “Indeed. The College always has people that are dropped from the rolls for various reasons. I understand one of your Lance Commanders was a failed entrant to our College on your last visit here two years ago, isn’t that correct?” As McKenna nodded in confirmation, the Kommandant continued. “I’ll have my aid give you a list of some people that could suit your needs. Is there more?”

McKenna nodded. “I would like to ask you one other thing Kommandant. Do you have any idea who it was that attacked us?”

Kommandant Hubbard sat up and looked at McKenna, his voice even and controlled. “Captain, don’t you think that if I could tell you who it was that I would? Honestly, if there was any information I could give you, I would. As it is, all I can tell you is who it wasn’t. The people who attacked you and took your pilots are not a part of any FedCom unit stationed on Pandora. I know where all of them were yesterday and none of them use the equipment you described. They must be a rogue or independent unit.”

At that, the door opened again and the aid entered. “Kommandant, your appointment with Hauptmann-General James Ito is in fifteen minutes.”

Kommandant Hubbard stood. “I regret that there is nothing else I can tell you Captain, I wish there was. I wish you luck in your investigations.”

McKenna stiffened. “Thank you, Kommandant Hubbard.” At that she executed an about face and walked out of the room.

Kommandant Hubbard let out a sigh. He walked over to Vahzenov who stood as he approached. Taking his hand in a firm shake, Hubbard said, “Lieutenant, it has been a pleasure knowing you.”

“And you as vell, Kommandant.” Vahzenov replied. Hubbard nodded to Lt. Collins and stepped silently from the room.

As the two left the building, Vahzenov leaned over to Lt. Collins. “Go to ze limo vit Captain McKenna, I’ll be vit you shortly.”

Vahzenov slowly walked up to the large truck that the movers were loading things into. Peaking inside the cabin, he spotted a clipboard with some papers on it. Looking around, he spotted two movers standing at the back of the truck.

Knowing he couldn’t get into the cab without them seeing, he approached the two. “Vorking hard?” He asked. The two looked at him as though he were wearing a clown suit. Reaching into his inner pocket, he retrieved a flask. Showing it to the two men, he asked “You two wouldn’t happen to know ver all zis is going vould you?”

Licking his lips, the closer of the two said “Well, the shipping order is on the front seat. But I’m supposed to alert my foreman if I see anyone looking into company information.”

“Vell zen,” Vahzenov coyly replied. “I guess I should give you somezing else to look at, da? Zat vay you can say you didn’t see me.” At that, Vahzenov handed the flask over to him. He quickly jumped into the front seat and began memorizing the crucial details of the shipping order. Once done, he hopped out and trotted toward the hover-limo.

Catching up with McKenna and Lt. Collins, Vahzenov climbed into the hover-limo. “Vell, vone zing is for sure, I know he vas outright lying ven he said it had been a pleasure knowing me!”

McKenna smiled. “That’s a good one, sorry I missed it!” She pulled out her personal coms. “Sergeant Titus, get her ready for take-off, we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Once safely in their VTOL and headed back to their base camp, Vahzenov turned to McKenna. “I got a look at ze shipping forms. Ze Kommandant is having his personal effects sent to a Dropship. I did not recognize ze name.”

McKenna barely looked at Vahzenov. “Look into it. I want to know where he’s going.”

Vahzenov continued. “He vas hiding somezing, of zat I can be sure. But vat? Zat I couldn’t tell you.”

McKenna nodded in agreement. “Could be nothing... but it could be everything.”




As the officers gathered for their evening meeting at 1900, the mood was somber. No word on their missing pilots all day, no ransom demands, nothing. It was as though they had simply vanished. Everyone was quiet when Major Silver came into the HQ tent with Lt. Scott behind him.

McKenna looked at Lt. Scott. “Been learning about Battalion ops, Ben?”

He looked back at McKenna as he took his seat. “Don’t use big words, my head hurts.”

A light chuckle ran through the assembled officers as Major Silver took his place at the head of the table. “Ok, that’s enough. Let’s get started.” He looked to McKenna. “Captain, how did the meeting with Kommandant Hubbard go?”

McKenna sighed. “Well, to start with the Kommandant is leaving. Hauptmann-General Steven Merriam is returning early.” She looked at Vahzenov.

“I vas able to find out vat Dropship he vas scheduled to leave on.” Vahzenov began. “It’s a Monarch class passenger transport zat is due to arrive in two days carrying normal military rotation personnel. It also is likely the transport zat Hauptmann-General Merriam is arriving on as zer are no ozzer inbound ships due for ze next two veeks.”

McKenna continued from there. “The Kommandant did say that he would speak to the Hauptmann-General about our joint training exercises. Other than that, both Lieutenant Vahzenov and I felt that the Kommandant was holding something back.”

Hauptman Conley spoke up. “Well, that could mean anything. I’m sure there are lots of things that the Kommandant can’t talk about that have nothing to do with yesterday. I don’t think the Kommandant would have any part of it.”

Major Silver turned to their FedCom liaison officer. “Hauptman, what is your opinion of Kommandant Hubbard?”

Hauptman Conley sat back and thought a moment. “Well, to be honest his position as temporary head of the College was only out of necessity. Most officers under his command know that he’s not much of a military leader but more of a social general, and a bad one at that. Though he’s a decent educator, he’s got a poor grasp of tactics. In all honesty, he’ll probably just get another temporary assignment if they don’t just relegate him back to being the Training Battalion CO. He hasn’t seen a promotion during the entire Clan Invasion, which is notable in itself. With the expansion of the College, they’d be better off with a new CO for the Training Battalion. But that’s just my opinion, Major.”

Major Silver wrinkled his brow and nodded. “Thank you for your frankness, Hauptman.” He turned to Chi Lin. “Sergeant, any progress?”

Chi Lin shook her head. “Not yet, sir. But give me time. I’ll get something.”

Major Silver turned to Lt. Collins. “Anything else on those Dropships?”

Lt. Collins shook his head. “Nothing else beyond the publicly available information. I’m going to have to dig a lot deeper before I find anything else.”

“Keep at it.” Major Silver ordered. “We need all the info we can get.” He looked to McKenna. “Any word from Lt. Faller?”

McKenna shook her head as well. “No sir. No word since he left last night.”

Major Silver nodded. “I hope he has better luck than the rest of us.” Looking once more to his notes, he looked up at Lt. Windsor. “Lieutenant?”

Ryan looked to his commanding officer. “Well, I contacted to local authorities about the organized infantry. They gave us the run around, stating that the Pandora Militia was not deployed at all yesterday. I told them we knew all that, but they said if it wasn’t the Militia, then I’d have to ask the 10th FedCom and the 4th Davion Guards about it. In short, I got nowhere. I’ve got a teleconference with both unit’s PR people tomorrow morning. Honestly though, I think each is going to point to the other and say it’s not their problem.”

Major Silver shook his head in disgust. “And these people are supposed to be protecting the planet. How can an entire Infantry Regiment get here with nobody knowing about it?” He sat back in his chair and covered his eyes, holding back frustration. Finally looking to the vid-display of Captain Thorpe, he continued the meeting. “Did you learn anything from the BattleROMs recovered from the wrecked ‘Mechs Captain?”

Randall looked back through is return display. “Unfortunately yes sir. I learned they were deliberately sabotaged. They’re dead sir, wiped completely blank and rendered useless. I had Sven take a look at them. He can tell you about it.”

Major Silver turned to his Senior Tech. “Report.”

Senior Tech Iverson closed his eyes before beginning. The stress of the near continual workload over the last few weeks apparently was beginning to wear him down. Finally, he began, “Their substrates were burned out with a high power electrostatic discharge. It could only have been a deliberate act. Nothing in the cockpit can generate those kinds of ESD. Not at those intensities anyway.”

The meeting was interrupted as Lt. Vahzenov’s personal com toned. Pulling it out, he said, “Vahzenov here.”

“Sir, Ramirez here. I’ve got a private communiqué for you. No identification.”

“Vone moment.” Vahzenov turned to Major Silver. “Vill you excuse me, sir?” With a nod from Major Silver, Vahzenov took a step outside. “Go ahead.”

The voice could barely be heard over the radio. “Vahzenov, I got the info you wanted.”

“Zat vas fast.” Vahzenov replied as he pulled out his portable noteputer. “Go on.”

The voice was barely audible, even with hardly any noise around the camp. Vahzenov took down the information onto his noteputer with exacting detail.

When he was finished Vahzenov quietly replied, “Zat is perfect. I have arranged a delivery of ten tousend to you by tomorrow. Good vork, comrade! I thank you.” Vahzenov pressed print on his noteputer twice and closed it. He then switched off his personal coms and returned to the tent.

Major Silver glanced at Vahzenov as he returned. “As far as continuing operations, until further notice we’ll be having a 1700 evening meeting every day. This will give us a chance to discuss ongoing operations before the beginning of night shift.” He looked to Vahzenov. “Lieutenant?”

He just handed a paper to Major Silver and Captain McKenna without a word and took his seat.

The two looked at the papers they’d been handed.

The entire lot was manufactured by New Earth Trading Company, and I mean all the shells we found tags for. They were all a part of a shipment that was reported ‘lost in shipping’ en-route to the planet Skye for the 11th FedCom four months ago.

Major Silver looked up at the assembled group. “Dismissed. McKenna, Vahzenov, meet me in McKenna’s office on the Comstock in five minutes.”


That’s where we ended this week’s session. Sorry it took me so long to write it up, but I hope you enjoyed both parts!

Comments welcome as always.

McKenna

  • Sergeant
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  • Posts: 135
Re: The Silver Eagles
« Reply #59 on: 26 June 2014, 16:31:11 »
I know it's a lot for one update, but the Pandora arc is a really good one. Enjoy.  O0

 

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