Vaska crouched in the undergrowth dressed in his camouflage poncho, the constant drizzle was shrouding the Shadowleaf Pass currently visible in his Rangefinding Binoculars graying everything out. The rest of his combat group were out of their battlemechs as well. Their Mechs were powered down in a glade on the other side of this forest under camouflaged nets.
He checked his remote sensor feed, the enemy Mechs had taken the long way around the Stalker, a wise move on their part but according to plan. Vaska signaled to return to the Battlemechs and prepare for battle. They crept back through the forest and toward their mechs utilizing the chain link ladders to get back in the cockpit and power up.
Vaska climbed into the Crusader's cockpit, taking his charcoal grey neurohelmet from its rack it had been freshly painted with Red jaguar's claws across the crown of his head, just like his 12 years as a Warrior before being put in the Watch. The old warrior felt the familiar sensation of interface and powered the Crusader up. All systems were green.
Ash we have visual on the hostiles, Sabre Star stands ready to attack
Aff, Vaska, All Jaguars, Claws Out! Destroy the enemy!
Vaska's Crusader walked out of the forest taking position on a ridge with a good firing line. His star advanced on the Titanfellers in the valley below.
The mechs broke off running to engage the enemy with missile and laser fire. The Titanfellers dropped into their Triad supporting formations anchored by a Zeus, 7 on 5 was poor odds for the Spheroids even with their heavily upgraded machines.
The Crusader, Crab, and Rifleman laid down heavy fire of all kinds while their Battle Hawk and Commando star-mates got in close. The Titanfellers held strong quickly disabling the lights with an abundance of pulse lasers before advancing on the the heavier Battlemechs.
The Titanfeller's Crossbow, Lancelot, and Dragon advanced shedding armor and trading ammo to bring down the clanners. The Zeus supported with its long range weapons and suffered massive damage in the process. The Phoenix Hawk, Javelin, and Wolfhound from the Point Triad moved into flanking position aiming particularly for the Crab.
The Dragon's gyro was damaged by the Rifleman's autocannons and it collapsed into the muddy grass out of control and cracking the cockpit, ringing Mechwarrior Holm's bell. The Lancelot was destroyed by the Crusader's close range weapons its bullet ridden wreckage was still steaming and leaking coolant, the Phoenix Hawk lost its main gun and a leg, Vicki managed to get it to stand again but just barely. The Javelin lost its left leg to the Crab's ERPPCs, and the Wolfhound was destroyed by the same Crab. The Crossbow suffered an ammo explosion, the feedback knocked Mechwarrior Harper out and blew off the Mech's right arm removing its final weapons. The now "unarmed" mech crashed into the muddy ground and didn't rise.
The Zeus managed to bring down the Rifleman with a kick but suffered catastrophic damage in the process. The Crusader lost arms and ran out of ammo before being legged by the Dragon's overcharged PPC. The Crab was outright destroyed by the combined might of the Point Triad's lasers its steaming remains rested awkwardly on a small rise in the valley.
20 klicks North a different battle was going on, Ash's Star was engaging the rest of the Titanfellers Mechs and Captain Brekard.
04/11/3064 15:38 Location - White River Pass, Derf, Jade Falcon OZ
The Titanfellers moved cautiously through the broken terrain. This whole encounter was unlike anything experienced fighting the Jade Falcons, normally they were eager to issue challenges and fight it out. However it was eerily comparable to the time they had spent in the Chaos March fighting Capellans and that was worrying.
Captain Brekard's Battlemaster had just cleared a rise and was looking through the gray haze of drizzle on the valley below. He was followed by the rest of the Alpha Group as they worked their way around the restrictive terrain.
Commander Weber of Bravo Group broke in over the Battlenet. Her force was under attack by a star of Clan Battlemechs with grey and red markings, definitely not Falcons.
Another star of similarly painted mechs appeared out of the forest on the opposite end of the valley and radio message came through.
I am Ash, Who dares to stand within striking range of the Jaguars Claws?
Captain Brekard and the Titanfellers are here to claim the Falcon's cache and oppose any who would stop us, if you wish battle then you have it
Alpha Group (Battlemaster, Thug, Warhammer, Archer, Starslayer, Griffin, and Shadow Hawk) advanced across the muddy river valley toward Smoke Star (Linebacker Prime, Kit Fox B, Conjurer, Phoenix Hawk C, Stormcrow D).
Missiles streaked across the open plains followed swiftly by energy weapons and auto-cannon shells. Missed shots erupted in explosions and steam clouds as the forces exchanged fire.
Lieutenant Yao's strike team reached the objective, it was an eerily undefended warehouse but there were signs of battle on the walls.
04/11/3064 16:11 Location - Homestead Station, Derf
Lieutenant Yao of the Titanfellers Auxiliary Star had arrived at their objective, the facility was located on the shores of a large lake which his unit's hovercraft had just crossed. There were signs of combat but they were several days old. Laser burns and bullet holes were clearly visible on the faded green and weather-beaten warehouses. The Jade Falcon Ensign had been cast down and trampled, clearly the garrison had lost as they would never allow that if Warriors were around.
Their battle armored troops split up into teams of five, tucked within the wedge were regular infantry also in five man squads. Yao had been ordered to dispatch his heavy hovertanks to harass the hostile Stalker threatening the main mech forces. From the reports over the Battlenet they were in for a serious fight, he dispatched skirmish tanks to aid Bravo Squad, Alpha Squad would have to wait for their limited Aerospace assets for assistance.
His troop's reports came in over the command unit, there were plenty of supplies but none of it was worth salvaging. Some ammo, a crate of small lasers, a few crates of clan laser rifles were all that was found. Even the command room didn't have any useful intelligence.
Sergeant Reel came in over his suit's radio, "Lieutenant we have motion in the facility moving to investigate," Yao saw through his Command Screen the POV from the IS Battle Armor suit. He opened the door with his suit's massive claws but then an explosion and the feed went dark.
His subordinate radioed in, "Sir they've booby trapped the facility. Bravo squad is moving to evac." Multiple explosions were heard over their feed which went dark. Clouds of black smoke rose from the facility into the rain laden grey clouds above.
Alpha and Charlie squads were being ambushed by conventional infantry with heavy weapons. Their suit's machine guns chewed through them while their heavy armor shielded the standard infantry who were performing watching their backs. The Titanfellers' technical staff picked up the loot to get it clear of the facility.
When everyone was clear Yao's Maxim launched incendiary missiles into Homestead Station burning it up and occupying any remaining clan forces. The Maxim, Maultier, and Aurouchs quietly powered back across the lake to regroup with their dropship Fastball.
04/11/3064 16:02 Location - White River Pass, Derf, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
Captain Brekard and his unit engaged the Jaguar's Claws across the field, The Archer and Griffin engaged the Storm Crow and Linebacker. Artificial lighting shot across the gap and invisible laser fire impacted on the rain soaked war machines creating large quantities of steam adding to the already degraded visibility.
The Starslayer and Phoenix Hawk C engaged each other along the flanks exchanging laser fire. The pilots engaged in a deadly spiral around a copse of evergreens. The trees around them blackened from the missed energy weapons.
The Griffin and Shadow Hawk engaged the Kit Fox and Conjurer on the other side of the pass each maneuvering aggressively to hold their position and protect their unit's centers. The Shadow Hawk's Binary Laser cut deep furrows into the Kit Fox's armor plating, a beating that the smaller mech couldn't withstand for long. It responded with its rapidly firing autocannon the report ripped across the valley. Its barrel glowed cherry hot and steamed as it cycled another 105mm round.
The Griffin kept pummeling the Conjurer trading its armor for time while its lance-mate dealt with his opponent. The Conjurer was not at one hundred percent having been brought online just a short time ago but its lasers and missiles exacted a heavy toll.
The Center line was a massive scrum with the Thug and Battlemaster attempting to box in the agile Linebacker piloted by Ash, The Warhammer and Archer moved to deal with the Storm Crow.
Brekard's Battlemaster fired its Gauss Rifle at the Linebacker, the shell created fierce whorls in the fog and a few rounds struck home nearly bowing the clan mech over. Ash responded by firing on the Thug before kicking its legs out.
The Thug unable to bring both of its Binary Lasers to bear fired one as it spiraled down which missed, vaporizing a patch of mud sixty meters away before falling with a massive splash and the horrific sound of bending metal.
Nearby the Warhammer trudged through the growing mud flat in a vain effort to catch the more mobile Storm Crow which backpedaled furiously as to maintain advantageous range. While the Warhammer was heavily armored the forty missiles each cycle's cumulative effect were visible in the heavily pockmarked armor.
Its partner Archer attempted to corral the Storm Crow with mines but there was always a way out or they failed to engage in the soft terrain. Eventually he gave up on that tactic and they were forced to get more creative to deal with their agile opponent, that or outlast his ammunition reserves.
04/11/3064 16:08 Location - White River Pass, Derf, Jade Falcon OZ
Ash ran along the mud flats cutting the firing lines of her foes, this Captain Brekard was an able Mechwarrior but she was Smoke Jaguar. The inferior Thug could never get a clean shot at her, he was not the real target anyhow. She moved the targeting reticle over the Battlemaster until it turned scarlet and pressed the firing stud.
Her lasers cut through the thick armor plates of the assault mech's center of mass. His shot was more accurate it sheared the right arm of her mech clean off, the now useless hunk of metal landed sixteen meters behind her, her omni's gyro compensated and she continued her attack.
Mechwarrior Dolven piloted his Phoenix Hawk C which rapidly closed in a death spiral with the Titanfeller Starslayer. Several fortunate shots had removed his main gun but he was still a threat especially to the heavily damaged spheroid. The two pressed ever closer bringing even the smallest lasers into the fight. Both of them strained their Battlemechs to their limits, eventually they both gave out and that portion of the fight was concluded.
Mechwarriors Hendriks and Lorn engaged the spheroid Griffin and Shadow Hawk. Hendrik's Kit Fox was brought down by a Binary laser cracking the engine shell but he extracted a heavy toll. Lorn's Conjurer was pressed on two sides by spheroids as she backpedaled along the mud flat, the Griffin was downed but the Shadow Hawk finished the job and her Conjurer ended up lying in a shallow pool as her gyro failed.
Mechwarrior Logan piloted his Storm Crow expertly keeping his much slower opponents at a comfortable distance. A PPC from the Warhammer eventually connected with his cockpit and he was vaporized, his mech hung slack and switched back to maintenance mode without direction. The Archer's bins had run dry and the Warhammer was in no condition to continue the fight so they stood by while the center scrum resolved itself.
Back in the center, Ash dropped the Thug once more, it flailed as it's gyro failed to stabilize and didn't rise again as Lieutenant Carmen hitting her head on the control console and blacked out. Ash's Linebacker had been seriously damaged but it continued the fight, she took out the Battlemaster's Right Arm as a hit to the Gauss Rifle caused a capacitor overload.
A volley of missile sliced through the Linebacker's armor damaging the mech's engine shielding and pushing Ash to the operational limits of her machine. She could not be beaten by Spheroids, she had fought Jade Falcons and survived the Annihilation of her clan, she would rather die.
She got back on the radio,
Captain Brekard. I challenge you to a melee Trial to settle this battle right now. The winner shall claim the field and the losers shall withdraw with no further hostilities.
Captain Brekard sat in his Battlemaster cockpit contemplating the challenge, his mechs were torn up and there was a Stalker approaching, his Aerospace fighters might be able to bring it down but it would be risky.
There was no way they would be able to withdraw safely to the dropship without pushing it to far. From what he had heard Clan Mechwarriors weren't keen on martial arts preferring their mechs to their bodies so this might be a simple challenge.
Ash, I accept your Trial, we will fight it right here on this battlefield in ten minutes
