Author Topic: Kalmar Hussars  (Read 18466 times)

Ecthelion

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Kalmar Hussars
« on: 24 May 2020, 13:08:42 »
I was lurking the forum for some time, but I decided to post here my mercenary unit that I developed for my short Battletech stories. If you have any feedback or comments, I would be delighted to answer.

Kalmar Hussars
Kalmar is located between Dili and Tengil and most of its surface is covered by water. Colonisation of the planet was concentrated around biggest city on the northern continent. It has some iron-ore deposits and lot of people were scattered around smaller homesteads, usually fishermen by craft. Kalmar was colonized by Czech colonist from the Free World’s League (same Czech colonisation wave that colonised also the worlds of Karlstejn and Konopiste), but by the end of the Age of War in 2571 it had been absorbed into the Andurien Commonality of the Capellan Confederation. New colonists from the Confederation merged with older ones in new unique Czech-Chinese cultural fusion with mostly naval mythology, that thrived on the planet. The Fifth Andurien Hussars were garrisoned on the planet, but their heavy-handed approach left the original ideas of the unit (putting the greater good above their own being) sometimes lacking. They were well regarded despite that. Kalmar had been recaptured by the Free World’s League by the end of the 1st Succession War and the Fifth was destroyed in the process. The Kalmar Hussars were created to protect the system afterwards, mostly from the locals who served in the Fifth and survived its destruction. The name was chosen to honour the legacy of original ideas of the destroyed unit.

During the 3rd Succession War Kalmar Hussars fought alongside Free Worlds League Battalion to protect the planet from Capellan invasion, but the costly and prolonged campaign all but destroyed Kalmar as an industrial base. Capital city was burned to the ground during intense house to house fighting and most of the northern continent, where best profitable iron-ore mines were, was destroyed by nuclear bombings to deny their usage to the enemy. As the epidemy of unknown origin broke out, both sides arranged a ceasefire and abandoned the planet in hurry. Most of the local population was dead, either killed in the crossfire or decimated by the onslaught of epidemy. Free Worlds League pretty much wrote the world off and let it fend for itself. With the end of 3rd Succession War, Kalmar vanished from most of the maps as too unimportant.

Kalmar Hussars lost all of their (mostly light) Battlemechs in the battle, but the surviving members of the militia recovered two Mechs that were left in hurry on the planet (Capellan Catapult CPLT-C1 and Free Worlds Orion ON1-K). Both sides deemed them too damaged to repair, but militiamen managed to scavenge enough spare parts from destroyed Mechs left on the battlefield (because of the epidemy, there was no time for the military to evacuate all the wrecks as well) to get them up and running again. Both machines became the core of the new Kalmar Hussars.

Although the main iron-ore mines were destroyed, enough smaller ones were left on the southern continent for the Ruso Mining Corporation to continue its mining operation there, not making a killing, but paying the costs and making some small profit of it. Militia was hired to provide security for the mines, being the cheapest possible option. They were already on the ground and had Battlemechs to dissuade any intruders from attack. Corporation later loaned two further Mechs (Blackjack BJ-1 and Commando COM-1B) to Hussars to create a lance able to redeploy with Corporation’s Leopard. For the next two decades the Hussars were on contract protecting the mining operations, engaging pirates and raiders multiple times and emerging victorious from most of them. Corporation ships coming every half a year to collect the ore were the only connection to the outside world, not counting small-times merchants and smugglers who sometimes made a trip around smaller worlds in the vicinity.

The iron-ore mine was finally depleted in 3017 and the RMC terminated its operation on Kalmar. Most of the people on the planet were long gone (moved to other planets already) and with the mining company leaving, most of the remaining locals abandoned Kalmar too. Corporation demanded return of their loaned Battlemechs and tried to scam the Hussars of their bonuses. They decided to keep the Mechs and Leopard as the compensation instead and left the planet to seek mercenary employment somewhere else. There was no one left on Kalmar to protect.

They developed the scam posing as a lance of alleged Company, using the notion of a bigger mercenary command to get more credibility and contracts. It also serves as a safeguard, in case anyone tries to cross them, they maintain that two other lances would come looking and will avenge them. Major Chiang Vesely, the alleged leader of the Company never even existed in the first place. For Mercenary Review Board purposes, they claim that one (factionary) lance is always protecting their (non-existing) Company HQ on Kalmar and a second one (bogus) is on a long term protecting the (also non-existing) Kalmar residents. They claim that they offer services of only one lance for the outsiders. Hussars however are and always were a one-lance mercenary group.

At the beginning, they were all Kalmar-born and they used Czech as their communication language but were forced to switch to English as more and more non-Kalmarians joined the unit. Czech is a hard language to learn, so not many newcomers managed to do so. All of them learned how to swear in Czech however, as it is a colourful language to do so.

The Commando COM-1B proved ill-fortuned as it was having mechanical difficulties all the time and cost them two pilots – Avalanche died when Commando was shot in the head with PPC and after its repair, Joyride was lost with the whole Mech during the fight against Draconis invaders on Kinkaid II in Outworlds Alliance (Alliance is short on Mechs, therefore mercenaries are employed for garrison duty or limited defensive contracts. Some mercenary units are also hired by business interests in the Alliance.). In that same fight, they managed to save wounded pilot of the Panther, who was left for dead by her unit, from being lynched by the locals. She joined the unit with her Mech, replacing the poor Commando. Kukri is the latest newcomer, filling the vacancy in the Blackjack cockpit, when Birdseye got himself killed in some meaningless barfight. Of the five original Mechwarriors, only Rusalka and Shi are still alive. They also hired two former Agromech pilots from Aurigan Reach – Vandal and Newt - as spares for the team. They are primarily helping with the maintenance, but they are training in the simulators as well, jumping in the cockpit in case of safe employment (boring perimeter patrol for example) or sickness of one of the main pilots.

Kalmar Hussars wear a dark-blue hussar uniform referring to the old hussar’s tradition back on Terra with a pelisse (short waisted over-jacket) worn slung over one shoulder and high riding boots, going back to the unit’s formation in 2825. The pelisse looks inconspicuously, but it is also made from bulletproof material, so it protects the wearer as the old one did back on Terra. Full dress uniform adds also a busby (high fur hat) and a cavalry sabre. While most of the mercenary companies are rowdy and their discipline is questionable at best, Hussars are still run as a military-grade outfit (honouring their militia roots).

Hussars paint their Mechs and equipment a dark metallic blue, highlighted with bright yellow. They display their unit insignia (stylized giant squid or ‘kalmar’ in Czech) on their left shoulder and number of the lance on the right one.
« Last Edit: 24 May 2020, 13:33:52 by Ecthelion »
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #1 on: 24 May 2020, 13:11:34 »
3rd Lance of the Kalmar Hussars (220 tons)*

- Orion ON1-K (75 tons) ‘Big Bad Wolf’ – Lieutenant Vera Novakova “Rusalka” (tall redhead with Slavic features and alabaster skin (that doesn’t tan, rather turns red pretty much right away on a direct sun); she held the Hussars together during last years)
                -1x AC/20 (Right Torso; 2 tons of ammo – 10 shots); 4x Medium Lasers (2x Left Arm, 2x Right Arm; 2x SRM-6 (Left Torso)
 
- Catapult CPLT-C1 (65 tons) – Chou-Dvorak Ju-long “Shi” (Chinese for lion, a guardian animal) (Chou-Dvorak is a given name (Chinese-Czech ancestry), in Chinese surnames are written first; fiercely loyal to Rusalka)
                - 2x LRM-15 (Right Arm, Left Arm; 1 ton of ammo – 8 shots for every LRM); 4x Medium Laser (Right Torso, 2x Central Torso, Left Torso) 
 
- Blackjack BJ-1 (45 tons) – Kulbir Nkem Bartolis “Kukri” (Nepalese-Nigerian-Latvian ancestry; big guy with a dark skin (actually has a problem to fit in cockpit of a Mech), honouring Gurkha traditions of his family – he wears a scary looking kukri together with his sabre)
                - 2x Medium Laser (Right Arm, Left Arm); 1x Large Laser (Left Arm); 1x AC/5 (Right Arm)
 
- Panther PNT-9R (35 tons) – „Yūrei“ (In Japanese folklore, yūrei are spirits of the deceased who still walk the earth (similar to ghosts). When Hussars asked her who she is, after being left do die by her comrades and saved from lynching, she told them that she was a yūrei (dead to the world and yet walking in it). None of them speaks Japanese, so they assumed it is her name and it became her callsign. She embraced it and even wears plain white clothes when not in duty (white is reserved for the dead in Japanese culture). Her real name is Aishi Nakatsuji and she used to be Sho-i (Ensign) in Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. Now by abandoning her service to pay her debt to the mercenaries (who she was lead to believe have no honour, but she found otherwise), she is considered ronin; she doesn’t carry the daisho (combination of katana and wakizashi) as many of the DCMS pilots do - as was the custom in her family, she carries two katana as did Miyamoto Musashi back on old Terra – both swords were passed on in her family for a long time, she takes her in the cockpit when she pilots and never leaves them out of her sight. She carries them instead of standard hussar sabre with her uniform.)
– 4x Medium Laser (Right Arm); 1x SRM-4 (Torso) (after destruction of the PPC they didn’t have a replacement weapon as a PPC is pretty hard to come by on the Periphery, so they welded 4 Medium Lasers on that hand and Panther works now as a nasty short-range backstabber)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spare pilots:
- Tangaroa Marsh “Vandal” (Teenager of Maori descent going by the name Marsh, but is in reality distant cousin of Kamea Arano, High Lady of the Aurigan Reach – he is nowhere in the succession line, his claim on the throne is weak… but he bears the name Arano and there were Directorate hunters on his trail. His bodyguard was killed and he has no reports about the rest of his family. He hid as a commoner and thanks to his Mechwarrior training (albeit not finished) got the work as an Agromech pilot, but the noose was tightening around him and he used the offer from Hussars to get from the Aurigan space. Rusalka found out who he is (he can’t hide his facial Maori tattoos), but she haven’t told him and he thinks no one knows.)

- Linnea Giske “Newt” (Aurigan girl of Rasalhagian origin, she excelled at Agromech combats, where Hussars saw her and Vandal and offered them to join)

* Although I am Battletech fan for almost 20 years now, for this mercenary unit I decided to use building system from the computer game Battletech (2018) as it allowed me the most “building freedom” for my stories. I hope it doesn’t offend anyone and if it does, I apologise in advance.


Further Assets
Dropship Leopard „Rusty Bucket“
A simple and easy-to-maintain design, the Leopard quickly became the standard lance-sized 'Mech carrier for the original Star League and the Great Houses. Its relatively low operating costs and abundant existing replacement parts (with the exception of the drive system) has allowed it to not only survive the Succession Wars as a ship class, but become the predominant entry vehicle for 'Mech recon, objective raid, and special operations missions.
 
In reference to its layout and allegedly also to its atmospheric handling, the Leopard is widely known by its nickname, "Brick".
 
Crew
Leopard has a regular crew of 14. They are divided into three 8-hour shifts of four people (Red, Blue and White shifts consisting of the Officer of the Deck, Helm, Engineering Watch Officer and another AsTech, grunting around the guts of the ship fixing things that need to be fixed) with the CO (Captain Chung-Sun Novak) and Chief Engineer (Chief Engineer Radim Chu-Yu Wang) duties falling outside the different watch shifts. Both can of course double as OOD of the watch and Engineer Watch Officer respectively if needs be.

Most of the crew are Kalmar-born (only two or three are newcomers), so the unofficial language abroad the ship is still Czech (or Czech-Chinese pidgin, which used to be used as a communication language on Kalmar). They are intensely loyal to Rusalka and back her up no matter what. Captain of the ship is her uncle in fact.
 
Cargo
- 4 Mechs
- Mechwarriors and MechTechs for the Mechs carried
(fighter cubicles that used to carry 2 Aerospace fighters were repurposed for cargo and Mech parts storage)

MechTechs
Technical team of the Kalmar Hussars is understaffed for a lance of Mechs, but the Chief Tech, Tessa Mwakambe (girl with dark skin and dreadlocks), has a natural talent for repairing Mechs despite her comparative youth. With Isaiah Sokolov and Aliyyah Jala Munro, two leaders of Tech teams, and some 5 AsTechs (Assistant Technicians) she keeps all the Mechs up and running in good order. All the Mechwarriors are also expected to help to maintain their own Mechs as AsTechs if they are needed.
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #2 on: 24 May 2020, 13:24:13 »
Excellent start, and welcome to the forum!  :thumbsup:

The "prove you're human" nonsense stops after 10 posts.  Hope to see more of you around!  :)

snakespinner

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #3 on: 24 May 2020, 23:23:44 »
Is english your first language.
Just your story was well done but the writing was a bit forced.
Enjoyed your unit description and hope you keep it up. :thumbsup: :beer:
I wish I could get a good grip on reality, then I would choke it.
Growing old is inevitable,
Growing up is optional.
Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #4 on: 25 May 2020, 01:51:29 »
Excellent start, and welcome to the forum!  :thumbsup:
Thank you for the warm welcome!

Is english your first language.
Just your story was well done but the writing was a bit forced.
You got me there. It is not and alas I am aware that it makes the text less enjoyable. I am sorry for that. :-[
It needs a proper proofreading if I am ever going to move it further than my .doc on hard drive.

Enjoyed your unit description and hope you keep it up. :thumbsup: :beer:
Thank you very much for the kind words. I have already some progress for the unit thought out and will post it later.
So far I wanted to know if you see some flaws in my thought process.
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #5 on: 25 May 2020, 03:44:25 »
Your English is quite good, if not perfect (honestly, it's better than some native speaker's around here).

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #6 on: 25 May 2020, 13:44:15 »
Your English is quite good, if not perfect (honestly, it's better than some native speaker's around here).
That is very kind of you. Much obliged.

Ok, some more content to my mercenary company:

Quote
Campaign: McEvan’s Sacrifice 
There were always bandits on the McEvan’s Sacrifice, world being on the Periphery after all. They were raiding farther villages and ambushing less protected convoys, but never posed any real threat. Until now. In past few months, they were bolder in their actions and they sport a new military-grade equipment. That included also several Mechs (estimated strength at least a light lance – Jenner, Commando and Cicada were spotted) and tanks as well. It was suspected that someone has been supplying them as a way to disrupt the government of the planet. Local militia sent their three Locusts against them and lost one in an ambush, while two surviving managed to limp back home severely damaged. They decided to hire mercenaries to destroy the bandit threat as they were afraid that they couldn’t protect the capital city if the bandits decide to attack it. This is where Kalmar Hussars came in, hired by the local government.
 
It was in fact the Taurian Concordate who was covertly supplying a local bandit king to cause havoc and create a situation for Taurians to swoop in and take control of the planet. If the local government would be on its knees and desperately needed help, that would be the way in for Concordate. In three months, a reinforced Mech battalion of the Taurian Defence Force was to proceed to the exercises near Canopian border and was scheduled to jump through the system. Bandits were supposed to push the local government hard enough that it would ask for Taurian help in quelling them. Taurians expected to wipe the bandits after that, as they would outlive their usefulness (Mechs provided by Taurians have secretly installed subroutine that would turn them off after specific code phrase was sent). Plan was to leave a TDF garrison on the planet afterwards and slowly force the McEvan’s Sacrifice to join the Concordat. Taurian agents didn’t expect the local government to have enough money to hire mercenaries. Their appearance forced them to accelerate the bandit timetable.

The bandit forces were in fact in possession of two whole Mech lances, not one. Light lance was consisting of Commando COM-2D, Jenner JR7-D, Cicada CDA-2A and Shadow Hawk SHD-2H, while heavy lance had Firestarter FS9-H, Centurion CN9-A, JagerMech JM6-S and Dragon DRG-1N at their disposal. The heavy lance was held back for now. Taurians also presented a pristine new Zeus ZEU-6S to the bandit king as his new own personal Mech. Bandits also had some tanks (basic Scorpions and two Hetzers) delivered by the Taurians.

McEvan’s Militia has two surviving Locusts - LCT-1M without left shoulder (destroyed during the last skirmish), therefore with only one LRM 5 and one LCT-1V with 1 Medium Laser and 2 Machine Guns in pretty good order - and 3 Darter Scout cars (1 Machine Gun each). Mechwarriors piloting them were Jeremy ’Ironside’ DeVries (local lance commander) and Johan ‘Moose’ Kristiansen (Nijiko ‘Edge’ Onwudiwe was captured by bandits when her Locust was destroyed).
Hussars defeated bandits supported by Taurian agents just in time so the Taurian forces entering the system didn’t have any reason to land, thus rendering their machinations fruitless. During one of the skirmishes, Rusalka shot Shadow Hawk in the head with an AC20 round – nothing else was destroyed, so Hussars took the Mech despite the objections of the local government (Techs made space in cargo hold while the head was being refitted).

Moose was killed in fighting as was Newt, who has been killed by Taurian assassins. They managed to rescue Edge, who was mistreated in her captivity and was in bad mental state. Both surviving Mechwarriors from Militia (Ironside and Edge) were fired by the government (with all their Techs) for fear that they might have also been involved in the Taurian plot (notwithstanding the fact that they fought tooth and nails against it). Government of the McEvan’s Sacrifice has replaced them all with a freshly hired outfit from Davion space. Hussars therefore offered spot for all who wanted to come along. Ironside was scheduled to get the Shadow Hawk when it is repaired and Edge with be the spare pilot with Vandal for now, while she was recovering. That should give her time to decide what she wanted to do in the future.

Salvage from this campaign: Shadow Hawk SHD-2H (with cockpit destroyed after a headshot with an AC/20 round)
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #7 on: 25 May 2020, 13:59:34 »
Well, they scored a Shadow Hawk out of the deal, so it wasn't all bad!  :thumbsup:

snakespinner

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #8 on: 25 May 2020, 23:49:51 »
An AC20 to the head, the perfect way to salvage a mech.
Your writing was better as was the english.
Well done. :thumbsup:
I wish I could get a good grip on reality, then I would choke it.
Growing old is inevitable,
Growing up is optional.
Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #9 on: 26 May 2020, 11:00:50 »
Well, they scored a Shadow Hawk out of the deal, so it wasn't all bad!  :thumbsup:
Local government witheld some of the promised money as a 're-compensation' for the Shadow Hawk they took, but they are still clearly in the black. They lost one reserve Mechwarrior, but gained two new ones (former Locust pilots), plus few AsTechs from the ground crew.

An AC20 to the head, the perfect way to salvage a mech.
I love the AC20 weapon system. It is all or nothing kinda gun, but the 'all' part is so devastating that it is totally worth it.

Your writing was better as was the english.
Well done. :thumbsup:
Thank you! I will try to post more texts about the one-lance mercenary command soon. :)
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #10 on: 26 May 2020, 17:00:23 »
*snip*
I love the AC20 weapon system. It is all or nothing kinda gun, but the 'all' part is so devastating that it is totally worth it.
*snip*
I might recommend the Blazer Cannon as worth looking at...  :D

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #11 on: 27 May 2020, 14:21:33 »
I might recommend the Blazer Cannon as worth looking at...  :D
Binary lasers are neat, no argument there... but I just love the simplicity of autocannon. And it doesn't heat the Mech that much. :D

Quote
Campaign: Aigle
Kalmar Hussars moved back to Free Worlds League and met an emissary from the world of Aigle. It was an ice mining colony on the borders of Free Worlds League and Lyran Space. The system itself was abandoned after the Third Succession War, but the new colony was established few years back with a few hundred inhabitants creating together Wai Hydrosystems (WaiHydro) company, running it as a collective. They pooled their resources and bought 3 old Iceships to supply Free World and Periphery colonies poor on water, in some places even competing with Curtiss Hydroponics. Colonists on Aigle have employed a lance of mercenaries, Ridzik’s Vigilantes, for protection. However, the outfit turned up to be less than honourable… and more pirates in fact. They hold the whole colony hostage and bully them, threatening to blow up the only spaceport on the planet if their demands are not met. The emissary managed to slip away to get help. Hussar’s have a good reputation and he wants them to get rid of the troublesome Vigilantes outfit.

After accepting this next assignment, they were approached by Liu’s Aces, different mercenary outfit that was going through the hard times at the moment. Rusalka accepts their offer and fly together to fulfill the mission. Rusalka decided to add the captured Shadow Hawk with Ironside as a Mechwarrior to Aces and thus create a strengthened medium lace. She wants to keep Freak (leader of the Aces) in command. Hussars are wary that the merecenaries want to steal from them and disappear, offering none the less to split payment 5 to 3 according to number of pilots, which is more than generous given the lower tonnage of Mechs the Aces are fielding.

According to their info, Ridzik’s Vigilantes owned Quickdraw QKD-4G, JagerMech JM6-S, Hunchback HBK-4G and Jenner JR-7D. Except the Quickdraw all Mechs have massive firepower but are fragile (‘they can dish it out, but they can’t take it’). Rusty bucket dropped the Hussars some distance from the spaceport and made a second trip to get Aces from the Dropship on the orbit. After theat, Hussars moved carefully towards the spaceport, leaving Aces well behind in reserve. They found the spaceport abondoned by Vigilantes and from spaceport workers they found out that Vigilantes prepared an ambush between the spaceport and colony when they saw Hussars incoming.

Rusalka and Freak quickly cook up plan. The 3rd lance is going to walk into the trap, while Aces would jump the Vigilantes from behind (Vigilantes doesn't know that they are on the planet, their spotters lleft behind saw only one lance). During the heated firefight was Ridzik killed in the crossfire and his Vigilantes wiped out, but the celebartions were halted by information about incoming Dropships. At the pirate point jumps in the system appeared another pirate ship (Trojan class Dropship, militarized Danais class common on the Periphery, that can carry up to Company of Mechs) with reinforcements. They learned from prisoners that Ridzik made a deal with a bigger pirate group, the Red Scourge, and its leader, Heinrich ‚Totenkopf‘ Grunewald, to occupy the world, enslave the colonists, sell them and divide the profit among the both outfits. Behind the pirate ship came a second one, a battered Mule class Dropship. It was a former cheap passenger liner on the Periphery, captured by the pirates and now used as a slave transport. Pirates doesn’t care about comfort of their victims and can stuff a lot of people in both cargo-holds of the ship. There were already around two hundred slaves on the board which the pirates collected in the March Worlds along the way. They intended to sell them all for a large profit in Marian Hegemony (a medium Periphery power, where slavery is not only legal, but also encouraged).

Hussars have 8 days to prepare defences before they an enemy company lands (pirate Mechs are usually in poor condition, but they are deadly nonetheless). With the help of Aces, they may even have a chance to do that...
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #12 on: 27 May 2020, 14:27:07 »
Something more about the Liu's Aces:

Quote
Liu’s Aces (125 tons)

Aces are a small outfit, usually seeking employ on the Periphery. It was founded by Liu Zhong, honourably discharged CCAF veteran who was badly burned in the fight and was deemed not fit to pilot Mechs anymore. He bought his old Vindicator and left to seek mercenary employ. He intended for his outfit to be called poetically ‘Black Lotus of Brilliance’, but both Canopian girls he teamed up with laughed it off and they ended up with ‘Liu’s Aces’ instead. They started with only two Mechs (Outlaw piloting her ancestral Centurion and Caballera riding its Rumble seat) but expanded towards the whole medium-light lance after adding salvaged Spider and Javelin. They do not own a Dropship, usually renting space in one that is traveling their way.

They had a string of bad luck lately, when Caballera got seriously ill. They passed opportunities to leave for work and waited with her instead. They spent all their financial reserves to pay the bills for the doctors. She made a slow recovery and is now stable. But she won’t be piloting Mech any time soon. She is still bound to bed and her condition requires constant care. Outlaw sits with her all the time she is not needed and holds her hand.

So, they have lost one of their pilots (for the foreseeable future) and worse still, Aces were now left stranded. No one wanted to offer them job and they didn't have anything to pay their debts with. No one would extend their credit or lend them money. They already had to sell their scout Mech (Spider SDR-5V), which formerly belonged to Caballera. She gave it up so they won’t starve (“Don’t you worry about me - I rode rumble seat before and will again until you find me new Mech.”). It paid the worst debts, but creditors were breathing down their necks and Aces were about day or two until they would have been forced to sell the rest of their Mechs too. When Kalmar Hussars arrived on the planet, they were already on lowered rations as they didn't have any money to buy food. They have decided to approach Hussars to join them as their last resort. They were not asking much except food, money for Caballera’s care and a fair cut after finishing their job so they can pay some of their debts and keep their Mechs... offering to be adapted as Hussar’s 4th lance for the time being and duration of the mission.

Keeping their “aces” theme, each of their Mechs was wearing playing card suit symbols on their left shoulder: spades (Freak), hearts (Outlaw), diamonds (Caballera) and clubs (Harrier). They otherwise painted their Mechs grey and black without flashy colours.

- Vindicator VND-1R (45 tons) ‘Teng’ (Chinese for ‘flying dragon’ – it has Chinese symbol ‘teng’ on the right shoulder) – Liu Zhong “Freak” (Zhong is given name, in Chinese surnames are written first; veteran of CCAF, almost burned in cockpit and is badly scarred from the incident. CCAF phased him out because of his injuries, but he refused to just quit being Mechwarrior, used all his money to buy his Vindicator that was also being scrapped and went searching employ as a mercenary)
                -1x PPC (Right Arm); 1x LRM-5 (Left Torso); 1x Medium Laser (Head)

- Centurion CN9-A (50 tons) ‘Danger Zone’ (Because it has text on its chest that says: “Danger Zone: If you can read this text, you are ******.” – it is calibrated to be readable from optimal range of Centurion’s Medium lasers and SRMs)  – Leanne Carr “Outlaw” (female Canopian Mechwarrior of French-English origin, they joined the unit together with Caballera, who was her partner (there is nothing odd on two women being together in Magistracy) and served side by side ever since – Outlaw is of noble birth and Caballera wasn’t… both girls were in love and ran away together when Outlaw’s family disapproved of their relationship. Outlaw took her family’s ancestral Centurion with her and never looked back. Caballera used to be a Mechtech. That is how they met. She rode a Rumble Seat in Centurion until they found a salvaged Spider for her and she learned how to pilot a Mech herself.)
                -1x AC/10 (Right Arm); 2x SRM-4 (Left Torso); 2x Medium Lasers (Central Torso)
   
- Javelin JVN-10N (30 tons) ‘Sucker Punch’ – Katherine Elias “Harrier” (young female Freeworlder with Free World's League eagle tattooed on her forehead, she was kicked out of academy and joined Aces when they had an opening by chance; speaks Czech a bit, as her mother was from Czech-speaking family)
                -2x SRM-6 (Right Torso, Left Torso)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spare pilots:
- Awinita Emma Rojo Villanueva “Caballera” (Cherokee-Hispanic heritage)
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #13 on: 27 May 2020, 18:08:42 »
Interesting campaign developments!  :thumbsup:

As far as Blazer Cannons, if you do the math, you can see they're pretty much drop in replacements for AC/20s (using the difference for Heat Sinks, of course).  They're generally not bad as AC/10 replacements, either.  That Centurion looks tempting...  ^-^

Also, what happened to the Small Laser on the Vindicator?  ???

Dragon Cat

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #14 on: 27 May 2020, 18:37:35 »
Nicely done i like how you have handled this so far

My only gripe is nukes in 3rd SSW very unlikely not impossible  but the previous two wars showed the consequences of the weapons

Second is more an idea they come from a naval planet give them a boat of some kind
My three main Alternate Timeline with Thanks fan-fiction threads are in the links below. I'm always open to suggestions or additions to be incorporated so if you feel you wish to add something feel free. There's non-canon units, equipment, people, events, erm... Solar Systems spread throughout so please enjoy

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20515.0.html - Part 1

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,52013.0.html - Part 2

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,79196.0.html - Part 3

snakespinner

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #15 on: 27 May 2020, 19:59:04 »
That Centurion is a nice brawler.
Next is the big fight.
Did they salvage anything from Ridzik. :thumbsup:
I wish I could get a good grip on reality, then I would choke it.
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Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #16 on: 28 May 2020, 03:27:56 »
Thank you for all your comments and praise, guys! :thumbsup:

As far as Blazer Cannons, if you do the math, you can see they're pretty much drop in replacements for AC/20s (using the difference for Heat Sinks, of course).  They're generally not bad as AC/10 replacements, either.
Will investigate the weapon system further. Thanks for the tip! 8)

Also, what happened to the Small Laser on the Vindicator?  ???
After retiring from CCAF, Liu Zhong realised that he pretty much never fired that weapon in anger. He was using his Vindicator more in harasser and skirmisher role, using jump jets a lot. Although he was in close combat brawls too, he usually simply forgot to fire it. So when he started his mercenary career, he dropped the small laser and used the spare weight to add a little bit more armor.

My only gripe is nukes in 3rd SSW very unlikely not impossible  but the previous two wars showed the consequences of the weapons
You are totally right there. I added it to explain the rapid depopulation and disappearance of the system form the maps... but you are right that usage of the nukes in the 3rd SSW would be really rare. Have to meditate on that point and may have to change that. Thank you for bringing it up!

Second is more an idea they come from a naval planet give them a boat of some kind
Good idea, but they left Kalmar in their tiny Rusty Bucket Leopard so they didn't have place for anything that wasn't an absolute necessity.

That Centurion is a nice brawler.
I really love Centurions (esthethically it is IMHO a beautiful Mech) and with its shield arm it is just destined to brawl! :D

Next is the big fight.
Oh yes. Pirate Mechs are not in a good condition (they are pirates after all), but they have 3:2 advantage in numbers. I will post pirate TO&E today.

Did they salvage anything from Ridzik. :thumbsup:
Some spare parts and weapon systems, but the Mechs themselves were too damaged to be salvaged by them. But if they can beat pirates, they might get some nice salvage haul from it.
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #17 on: 28 May 2020, 12:17:10 »
As promised, Red Scourge TO&E:

Quote
Pirate Company: Red Scourge
(all Mechs have only about 60% of full Armor and are low on ammo, the have only few shots for every ballistic/missile weapon)
 
Assault Lance (280 Tons)
- Victor VTR-9S (80 Tons) - Heinrich ‚Totenkopf‘ Grunewald
(AC/20, 2x Medium Laser, SRM-6)

- Banshee BNC-3E (95 Tons) - Brute (no other name known)
(AC/5, PPC, Small Laser)

- Dragon DRG-1N (60 Tons) - Unknown Mechwarrior
(AC/5, LRM-10, 2x Medium Laser)
   
- Wolverine WVR-6R (55 Tons) - Unknown Mechwarrior
(AC/5, SRM-6, 1x Medium Laser)
 
Medium Lance (180 Tons)
- Thunderbolt TDR-5S (65 Tons)  - Willy ,Tosser' Auerbach
(AC/5 (not operable), 2x SRM-6, 4x Medium Lasers)

- Enforcer ENF-4R (50 Tons)  - Unknown Mechwarrior
(AC/10, Large Laser, Small Laser)

- Vindicator VND-1AA (45 Tons)  - Unknown Mechwarrior
(PPC, LRM-5, Medium Laser, Small Laser)

- Locust LCT-1M (20 Tons)  - Unknown Mechwarrior
(2x LRM-5)
 
Recon Lance (135 Tons)
- Griffin GRF-1N (55 Tons) - Yuri Ivanovich ,Cannibal' Shirinov
(PPC (operating at 50% capacity), SRM-6, SRM-4)

- Javelin JVN-10F (30 Tons)   - Unknown Mechwarrior
(4x Medium Laser) (Mech not operable, its actuators are busted, it is stored in Dropship)


- Javelin JVN-10F (30 Tons) - Unknown Mechwarrior
(4x Medium Laser)

- Locust LCT-1V (20 Tons)  - Unknown Mechwarrior
(Medium Laser, 2x Machine Guns)

EDIT: Banshee used to be the personal Mech for Totenkopf, but I changed i to Victor as suggested few posts below. 8)
« Last Edit: 29 May 2020, 16:29:10 by Ecthelion »
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #18 on: 28 May 2020, 15:20:14 »
Armor makes perfect sense for the Vindicator... I was just wondering.  Thanks!  :thumbsup:

That's one scary company, low on ammo or otherwise...  8)

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #19 on: 28 May 2020, 16:55:40 »
Armor makes perfect sense for the Vindicator... I was just wondering.  Thanks!  :thumbsup:
I am glad you asked! Sincerely. I didn't expect anyone to notice.  8)

That's one scary company, low on ammo or otherwise...  8)
Yep. Red Scourge are mean bunch of evil-doers. They managed to accumulate quiete a lot of Mechs along their way, soaked with blood of their victims. Even 2 Assault Mechs. Not bad for pirates. Yes, the don't have a lot of Mechtechs, so everything is in bad shape and they are low on ammo (usually they don't need a lot, they just field that much metal and most remote outpost just give them what they want)... but none the less... they are scary. That nickname 'Cannibal' (Leader of Recon Lace) might not be just a nickname. I wouldn't be surprised.
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #20 on: 28 May 2020, 16:58:12 »
I am glad you asked! Sincerely. I didn't expect anyone to notice.  8)
*snip*
On this forum, you never know...  ^-^

Sir Chaos

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #21 on: 29 May 2020, 03:45:12 »
I´d rearrange the lances a bit if I was the pirates, to get more uniform movement profiles:

Banshee, Victor, Thunderbolt, Enforcer for the Assault Lance
Dragon, Wolverine, Vindicator, Griffin for the Medium Lance
Javelin, Javelin, Locust, Locust for the Recon Lance
"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl."
-Frederick the Great

"Ultima Ratio Regis" ("The Last Resort of the King")
- Inscription on cannon barrel, 18th century

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #22 on: 29 May 2020, 08:28:17 »
I´d rearrange the lances a bit if I was the pirates, to get more uniform movement profiles:

Banshee, Victor, Thunderbolt, Enforcer for the Assault Lance
Dragon, Wolverine, Vindicator, Griffin for the Medium Lance
Javelin, Javelin, Locust, Locust for the Recon Lance
That would absolutely makes more sense... but I though about the pirate mentality and tried to arrange it so that lance commanders have the biggest baddest machines that gives them edge in case anyone of their subordinates tries to jump them. It is not effective, but the pirates are not a disciplined unit. They are damn savages who would slit your throat in your sleep for one C-bill and probably more than one of them solt their own mothers for profit. I thought to give them a bit different structure having in mind that the pirate 'officers' have to be on guard against mutiny all the time and infighting amongst the ranks must be substantial. xp

What do you thinks guys? Does that make sense? Or would you use the effective structure?
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Sir Chaos

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #23 on: 29 May 2020, 09:26:20 »
That would absolutely makes more sense... but I though about the pirate mentality and tried to arrange it so that lance commanders have the biggest baddest machines that gives them edge in case anyone of their subordinates tries to jump them. It is not effective, but the pirates are not a disciplined unit. They are damn savages who would slit your throat in your sleep for one C-bill and probably more than one of them solt their own mothers for profit. I thought to give them a bit different structure having in mind that the pirate 'officers' have to be on guard against mutiny all the time and infighting amongst the ranks must be substantial. xp

What do you thinks guys? Does that make sense? Or would you use the effective structure?

With all that in mind, I would put the lance commanders in the Victor (the Banshee is just too undergunned), the Wolverine and the intact Javelin, assuming the effective force structure.

Another way to guard against mutiny would be to install remote shutdown devices (or explosive charges right underneath the cockpit) in their underlings´ machines. Either way they could stop a mutineer without losing the irreplacable machine (and risking their own machine in the process).
"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl."
-Frederick the Great

"Ultima Ratio Regis" ("The Last Resort of the King")
- Inscription on cannon barrel, 18th century

Dave Talley

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #24 on: 29 May 2020, 10:14:36 »
the Banshee can be the bosses enforcer, his guns aint much, but he can punch the lights out of anything
Resident Smartass since 1998
“Toe jam in training”

Because while the other Great Houses of the Star League thought they were playing chess, House Cameron was playing Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Fourth Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip Poker the entire time.
JA Baker

Daryk

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #25 on: 29 May 2020, 15:43:41 »
The anti-mutiny approach works for me.  These are the antagonists, after all.  They shouldn't be able to ROFLSTOMP the PCs...

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #26 on: 29 May 2020, 15:56:39 »
Sir Chaos, Dave Talley: You guys are totally right. Victor totally ought to be the Totenkopf's commanding Mech, while Banshee towers behind him as his enforcer and executioner. I will change it in the post above. Thanks! :)

Sir Chaos: You are totally correct on all your points (I absolutely love the idea of explosive devices under their seats) and I have no counter-argument. But I still like the idea of Lance leader always riding a big mean beast amongst the smaller Mechs so no one would dare to jump or challenge him. When deprived of the rules of the society, they revert to the primal instincts and bigger is better in the world of lawless gorillas... and pirates. They sacrifice the battlefield effectivity by doing so. Yes. Absolutely. They care more about stab in the back than about the enemy, but they usually hit easy targets and avoid battles anyway. For their twisted world full of violence it might even be the better setup. And it is more fun for me to think about it that way. At least that is my reasoning.
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

Dave Talley

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #27 on: 29 May 2020, 16:04:46 »
the seat explosive is great as long as he trusts his techs completely
Resident Smartass since 1998
“Toe jam in training”

Because while the other Great Houses of the Star League thought they were playing chess, House Cameron was playing Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Fourth Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip Poker the entire time.
JA Baker

Ecthelion

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #28 on: 30 May 2020, 03:16:18 »
Campaign: Aigle II.

Quote
From the mist enemy Mechs appeared. Towering and menacing, painted ugly and aggressive red and decorated with skulls. Not just paintings of skulls, but real skulls, spiked atop of rebars welded to the top of their Mechs. External loudspeakers were playing some macabre eerie wail that sounded like a lament of a lost soul or a banshee, mixed with screams of tortured people. All was designed to instil fear in the heart of their enemies. And it didn’t really help to know that. They were still coming. One. Two. Three lances appeared from the morning mist. Even Assaults. Silhouette of Banshee and Victor in the centre of their formation, closing distance, was a stuff of nightmares.

“Here they come! Do prdele! They are too many!”
“Wǒ cào!”
“Hold the line, boys and girls! We knew they would come. Here they are and we will kick them back where they came from.”
“Cào nǐ zǔ zōng shí bā dài!”
“Ani’t that just so, Mr. Shi … prepare, they are almost in range. Ready… and… fire!”


As the enemy formation moved forward, they crossed a series of small flags prepared on the ground that were inconspicuous in nature and pirates probably dismissed as some local nonsense… but in fact represented the exact distance from Hussar’s position. As the brightly red coloured Mechs crossed the flag at 600 meters, Catapult and Vindicator fired their LRMs that climbed towards the sky and started to rain between the pirate Mechs. Explosions of their warheads started the battle…
Hussars guessed pretty much exactly where the Red Scourge would land their Dropships (there were not that many possible places) which gave them the advantage to prepare the battlefield. There was still the possibility that pirates would perform a battle-drop against the colony or starport itself, but Rusalka bet everything on the chance that they wouldn’t. A battle-drop requires a lot of coordination and experience and if pirates were crack company to flawlessly execute that… than they lost already. But pirates didn’t and with their force closing on 400 meters, the battle was joined…

Quote
Pirate Dragon was moving forward in a weird pattern. Its left arm was inoperable and was stuck in extreme position, disturbing the Mechs balance and forcing it to straighten its approach every few steps. Pirate Mechwarrior whooped in jubilation as his targeting computer found target. So far the Hussars were changing positions between the treeline, firing and disappearing, eluding the Red Scourge fire. But not anymore. The Centurion was a bit too slow, taking its time to aim its AC/10 correctly. Pirate Mechwarrior punched the button labelled “Fire all the missiles!” but it failed to do anything of note. He cursed and after punching the button few more times, he deactivated the safety protocol and hit it once more.

His Mech blew up right after that. Missiles never left the tubes but exploded none the less, bright flames igniting all the stored ammo and forced the fusion core to go critical mere seconds after that. The bright detonation lightened the battlefield and dropped Locust that was running too close on the ground. It was standing up very slowly after that, indicating unknown damage to its gyroscope…
Hussars traded fire with enemy from their prepared positions and scored few good hits. Unexpected and sudden explosion of the Dragon eliminated one of the heavies on the pirate side. But the superiority in numbers and wight could not be denied. In the centre, both Assaults were moving forward like two unstoppable juggernauts, shrugging of hits like it was nothing. Few of the Hussar Mechs have been already hit by the enemy fire. Vindicator was limping, armor of Blackjack and Catapult were dented by AC/5 shots. The pirates were now closing to the SRM effective range.

Quote
“Slow and steady, boys and girls! Fall back by the numbers! Lure them in!”
Hussars were falling back quickly, leaving their former prepared positions to the pirates. But the enemy was too close for them to leave unscathed. Pirate close combat Mechs unleashed a devastating volley and fought bitterly, while the Hussars retreated. Vindicator got too close to the Banshee and was crushed and destroyed by its fists. Freak ejected at the last moment. Catapult was knocked to the ground a few other Mechs were retreating to the fallback line limping. They dropped a Griffin in return, but the battle started to turn against them quickly.

Quote
Shi! Get out of there! Now!”
Mechwarrior smiled calmly as his Catapult stood up at its feet again: “I am sorry, Rusalka. I can’t make it.”
“Don’t give me that! Get your ass back now!”
“Simple physics, boss. They delayed me too much. If I turn back, they will just kill me running. And that is not my end. I can take at least one of them with me. I still have all my weapons operational.”
Rusalka wanted to argue, scream at him to get the hell back… she wanted to order them all to go get him… but she stayed silent. Shi smiled in his cockpit: “I knew you would see reason. I will buy you some time. Uvidíme se na druhé straně.”
“Uvidíme se na druhé straně, péngyou.”

A single tear was running on Rusalka’s face as she switch the channel and ordered the rest of the group to get to the second line. I will see you on the other side, my friend.
While the others were retreating, a lonely Catapult stood up to the pirate forces, its Medium Lasers ablaze. As Shi has intended, pirates gladly took the closest and easiest target and let the others escape. Shi went down fighting, as the enemy Mechs tore his machine slowly to bits. Limping wreck with only two working medium lasers was desperately shielding with its already wrecked torso to be able to score some more hits. Victor finally managed to drop it to the ground, but not before Shi managed to destroy enemy Vindicator AA in the exchange. No Mechwarriors ejected on either side.

Pirates passed the fallen Mech and pursued the enemy. Hussars already lost two Mechs and had only five remaining, some of them damaged. Red Scourge also suffered losses. They lost three Mechs and had some damaged too, but still had two lances left and two of their Mechs were Assaults.

Quote
“They are here, Rusalka. Right behind us.”
“I see them. Everyone in position?”
“Aye.” “Yes.” “Roger.” “Hai.”
“Hold on to something then. We’re detonating the charges now.”

As soon as she finished that sentence, multiple massive blasts erupted on area the pirates were going through. Their red mechs disappeared in flames for a few seconds…
Colonists on Aigle didn’t just sat idly those eight days, waiting to be enslaved after. They were using industrial grade explosives to mine ice… so they made more. A lot more. A hell of a lot more. And when Hussars lured pirates in, making sure they are in the heat of the battle and can’t focus on their sensors to look for booby traps, they detonated all they had.  Lighter Mechs were just swept away and Wolverine was standing on one of the charges when it went off. His twisted wreck landed on the ground only after a few seconds. Most of the remaining Mechs took some damage.

Quote
”Captain Whistler to Aigle Milita! Fire at will! Give them hell, boys!”
“Kalmar Hussars! Counterattack! Hit them! Hit them hard! For Shi!”
Aigle Militia, so far unexpected by the Pirates and positioned on the flanks of the second position, started to fire home-made Inferno rockets against the shaken pirates with their damaged Mechs. Kalmar Hussars moved forward after the Militia salvo, their guns blazing. Pirate Enforcer caught on fire and engulfed in chemical flames wandered into the wood, trying to put out the fire. As soon as Rusalka dropped the Victor with multiple AC/20 hits, the rest surrendered…
"Stay firm and die hard!" Colonel-Comissar Ibraim Gaunt, Tanith First-And-Only

snakespinner

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Re: Kalmar Hussars
« Reply #29 on: 30 May 2020, 05:39:34 »
Nice battle. :thumbsup:
I wish I could get a good grip on reality, then I would choke it.
Growing old is inevitable,
Growing up is optional.
Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

 

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