Author Topic: Cavalli’s Cavaliere  (Read 82273 times)

Deadborder

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 7881
  • Technical Victory!
    • Elmer Studios Blog
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #510 on: 25 February 2019, 05:12:08 »
This sounds like a good plan. I can't see anything that could possibly go wrong.
Author of BattleCorps stories Grand Theft Agro and Zero Signal



How to Draw MegaMek Icons the Deadborder Way. Over 9000 so far. Determination or madness?

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #511 on: 04 March 2019, 20:09:54 »
From Oscar’s Around the Sphere Guide: 3088 edition

The Maxwell Pride Festival is an annual event not to be missed, as tens of thousands pack into the Free Worlds League planet to watch the fabulous parade.
The first parade was suppressed by Maxwell’s more conservative founders and the early years were marred by mass arrests, police brutality and riots. Soon, a more enlightened planetary government realised the event’s economic potential and now it’s considered the premier-

We’re going to use the massive pride festival as a cover. The whole planet is packed with strangers coming and going. And according to the Brooks Inc intel, damn never every cop, militiaman and corporate security goon is drafted into providing security and crowd control for the festival. And those that aren’t are having the time of their lives.
We will come in on the Damnthing, posing as retainers of a wealthy Marik lord excited to see the parade. The day after the parade when everyone is still drunk, stoned or hungover and tucked up in bed with their new lovers we strike.

Taighe Barrett

We’re dirt side. Unfortunately, we have had to come in light - the five Mechs from our first demi company, the armoured elements and infantry. Tanks and armour will hold the spaceport and our line of retreat while the Mechs escort the Brooks Inc strike team in.
The Captain even found a way to smuggle half the Mechs and the Battle Armour suits in close to the Maxwell facility. He bribed some port officials to letting us load them into crates marked “sound systems” and got it dropped off half way down the parade route. Now Octavius and his elements are just over a kilometre from the facility and swoop in fast.
Tonight some of us will spread out and look like we are soaking up the parade, but mostly we are scouting and conducting recon.

Roxane Kramer


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #512 on: 20 March 2019, 01:14:35 »
Well. We won. Damn near every Jock is wounded. All our Mechs and tanks are more twisted wires, fried internal structure and blown weapons than armour. And half our BA had to drag busted suits back to the LZ.
But we didn’t leave anyone behind - not those two armoured infantry troopers and not the crew of that Zhukov who burned up when the stopped a full flight of Infernos.

And we got home with the objective.

Brooks Inc sold that smash and grab as an easy in and out raid. They didn’t mention it was their second attempt. So the rent a warrior security was tight. After we smashed through the half arsed militia, we had to face some pretty damn determined corporate security.
All of whom were armed with brand new Maxwell equipment.
We carried off two of those damn strange Galleon battle taxi things. The techs are having a field day with them. Strange side door pod things to hold armoured infantry suits.
My new Orion did damn well. Although I ran through almost old those bloody expensive ERLRMs.

The Brooks boys got their memory core and we got paid. Plus, Brooks threw in two of their old Thumper vehicles. So we are building up a nice little arty lance.

I’m keen for a decent rest or a cushy garrison assignment.
Taighe Barrett


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #513 on: 02 April 2019, 19:40:21 »
Looks like we found that home we were looking for. Stotzing seems like a great place. And they’ve got us on an open ended anti-piracy contract: defending here and neighbouring planets, working with the militia.
There’s the chance for some hunting and offensive work, but so far the Prime Minister and government don’t want to stir up trouble.
So, we are just cooling our heels, earning decent money and settling in our families.
Roxane Kramer

Look, who wouldn’t like this place? It’s nice and cool, the people have been repeatedly troubled by pirates so they’re damn happy to see us and are more than happy to buy a merc a few rounds. But best of all, they’ve retained some of their Star League era tech.
Well,  it much in the way of tech, but plenty of text books and caches of circuits and small time items. It’s funny, the most energy grid, fusion plant network and comms setup is this rats’ nest of jury rigged equipment.
Krystal Calosso

Look, I’m really glad everyone is loving Stotzing. But I’m more worried about the impending threat of pirate raids.
Stotzing and a coalition of neighbouring planets: Kogl, Valil'yevskiy and Kutludugun, have banded together to hire mercs following a string of pirate attacks. In the final couple years of the Jihad, these planets were hit almost every three or so moths by raiders who came for slaves, cash, water, food and tech. Hell, one time on Kogl it looks like a band came just to shell the suburbs.
They think there’s probably three main pirate bands operating either out of Marian space or one of the uninhabited systems beer by. Stotzing’s government is convinced the Space Romans are funding and supplying the raiders, but can’t prove it.

This place just fought a decade long civil war, supposedly over Blakist ideology or something. In reality, I’m thinking it was more about one continent wanting to rule itself.
But that has left the planet with a pretty damn tough militia. But even they can’t tackle constant pirate raids.
Taige Barrett


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #514 on: 13 April 2019, 21:25:25 »
Boss, here’s what I pulled off the militia’s servers. I mean, if they’re not going to straight up give us the facts we’re basically obligated to go and steal them, right?
Anyway, like we suspected we are facing multiple pirate bands operating possibly out of Marian space and preying in the old League worlds.

Octavius

THE ROTTEN [PIRATE]
 
Notes:
Formerly based off the pirate world of Tortuga, the Rotten grew infamous for their reign of terror along the Federated Suns’ periphery border during the mid-3070s. Under the brutal leadership of Bonnie ‘Rotten’ Raynor, who was reportedly born and raised in the Deep Periphery, the Rotten raised and enslaved for years until they were effectively destroyed on Gronholt at the hands of General Raymond-Roger Marsin at the tail end of the Jihad. A born survivor, “Rotten” Raynor and a cadre of her most veteran pirates managed to evade capture and spent several years licking their wounds. They re-emerged in 3079, raiding worlds along the Marian/former FWL border and quickly proved they had lost none of their reputation for wanton carnage.
Intelligence suggests the Rotten are staging from an uncharted or dead world in Marian space and the amount of Marian equipment and citizens among their force suggests they’re getting covert funding from the hegemony.

Average Experience Level: Veteran
Unit Composition: 1 ’Mech company, 3 aerospace fighter flights, reinforced mechanised infantry company

UNIT SPECIALISATION: The Rotten have modified all of their Dropships so their cargo holds can be quickly converted into slave pens to transport stolen chattel during raids. Many of the Rotten’s hover APCs are similarly converted to hold abductees in sturdy cages.

CO: Mistress Bonnie “Rotten” Raynor
Beautiful and deadly, Raynor seems cut straight from a teenaged boy’s fantasy with long blue-black hair and a curvy body almost totally covered in lurid tattoos. Raised by pirates in the half barbarian worlds of the Outworld Wastes, Rotten is reputed to have killed her first man at 12, was running with slavers by 13 and commanded her own band of raiders by 16. Deadly with bladed weapons, small arms and her bare hands the Rotten takes great delight in offering captives the chance to escape and then single handedly hunting them down for sport.

The Armageddon Rag [PIRATE]

Notes: Made up of former Word of Blake Protectorate Militia deserters, mercenaries who served the Blakists and other flotsam, the Rag has eked out an existence over the past years raiding its way across the former FWL.
Most of this band were draftees or reluctant volunteers in the Blakist army and abandoned their posts when they saw the writing on the wall. Anderson Blaire, a mercenary serving the Word on Bryant, had the charisma to gather likeminded individuals together and head for greener pastures. Over the course half a dozen raids across the crumbling Word of Blake Protectorate and into the former FWL, the raiders developed their signature incendiary tactics - making spectacular use of looted infernos and flame based weapons.
The Armageddon Rag take their name from these tactics, which typically leave charred towns and burning landscapes in their wake.

Average Experience Level: Regular
Unit Composition: 1 ’Mech lance, 1 armour company, 1 infantry company

CO: Anderson Blair
An NCO with the Kathil Militia when the FedCom Civil War broke out, Blair allowed survival instincts to overcome patriotism and decided to sell his company's position to the Lyrans. Already implicated in a black market scam, it’s likely Blair was about to be drummed out of the service anyway and gladly fled to Galatea. Broke and out of work, he eagerly signed on with the Word as it began the early expansion of its Protectorate in the mid-60s. It’s believed he first discovered his talent for incendiary and terror tactics assisting the Word put down revolts and riots on Epslion Indi, Hall and Caph.

The Kelly-Scott gang  [PIRATE]

Notes: Not all that long ago, the Iron Suit Irregulars and the Moonlite Rangers were reputable, if not terribly well off, mercenary units. No one would mention either merc outfit in the same sentence as the Kell Hounds or Wolf’s Dragoons, but they could probably remember the Rangers’ deep raid on Murphid on the Irregulars bitter defence of Black Rock Station. However, for every mercenary unit that succeeds, ten fail - and that was the case for both these units.
In the early 3070s, both units had been shattered by the Jihad and Captains Maree Kelly And Rufus Scott met in a Nipos bar. Both were down to the last C Bills, with both readying themselves to dissolve their family units. Instead, they teamed up hoping a new leaf would see their prospects rise. It didn’t and within two years the Moonlite Irregulars were broke and branded pirates after a contract disputes. Since then they’ve raided and pirated through Canopian and Marian space, before turning to richer pickings in the old League.

Average Experience Level: Veteran
Unit Composition: 2 Mech companies, 2 armour lances, 1 infantry company, Aerospace flight

CO: Maree Kelly and Rufus Scott share both joint command and a bed, although it’s rumoured their disfunctional relationship is the reason the unit rarely coordinates particularly well. The captains each run their companies like independent commands and warriors have even opened fire on each other, squabbling over loot or captives.
Despite this, the Kelly-Scott gang can not be discounted, because of its size and experience level. Individually, these pirates are excellent warriors, but thankfully they struggle to work together.


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Deadborder

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 7881
  • Technical Victory!
    • Elmer Studios Blog
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #515 on: 15 April 2019, 09:15:32 »
Colourful pirates are the best pirates. I can't wait to see them in action
Author of BattleCorps stories Grand Theft Agro and Zero Signal



How to Draw MegaMek Icons the Deadborder Way. Over 9000 so far. Determination or madness?

Elmoth

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3414
  • Periphery fanboy
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #516 on: 15 April 2019, 10:17:10 »
Great stuff in your hands. Playing a version of the fronc reaches turning points?

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #517 on: 25 April 2019, 04:52:24 »
The camera pans across the blackened and charred facade of several buildings.
Flames flicker here and there, but for the most part it appears the fire is over.

Suddenly an olive drab tank crashes through the nearest blackened frame, toppling renaming wall and dilapidated roof.
The tank is low slung, with a boxy turret that supports two stubby little machine gun muzzles and a long main gun.

The tank shifts, it’s turret whipping back and forth, surging off screen.
The vehicle is replaced by a compact woman  in her 30s, with white-blonde hair cut in a stylish bob. She’s wearing a dark green flak jacket, with PRESS stenciled across the breast, over a cream pants suit that is now smudged with soot and dust.

“Outside the capital, newly arrived mercenaries stopped the pirates cold - forcing them almost all the way back to their Dropships. But here in St Hadrian’s Cross  it was a different case.”

She indicates off to one side and the camera pans around, zooming in on a seeming towers of flame, wreathed in oily black smoke.

“That’s the remains of the Main Power Plant, destroyed by raiders after their main attack was stalled by Cavalli’s Cavaliers.”

The camera shifts back to the reporter. She seems on the brink of tears, cuffing one of her eyes with a perfectly manicured hand.
Behind her, hazy ankle obscure most of the town. But gutted building can occasionally be glimpsed.

“In an apparent fit of spite, a portion of the retreating pirates came here to St Hadrian’s Cross and unleashed hell. Buildings were torched, the local power plant was razed and its highly toxic contents scattered into nearby fields. And seemingly at random, pirate troops attacked several nearby farms and even killed the livestock.
“Authorities put the human death toll at around 3,000, although they’re still counting.”

The camera has now zoomed in on a lance of light tanks cruising pasted the ruined town. None show signs of battle.

“The question being asked by the survivors is: “why?”. The mercenary cavaliers and local militia were positioned several kilometres outside the capital, on the prime minister’s orders. There they handed the pirates a series of bloody defeats.
“But inexplicably, they were ordered to halt their pursuit of the retreating pirates.
“Several hours later, those same defeated pirates took out their frustration on St Hadrian’s Cross here.

“Reporting from a graveyard, this is Sonia Lynch for 5 Nightly News”.


Voice one: Redleg, this is Jericho Six - drop 400 and fire for effect. Lay it on lads!

Voice two: Roger that Six, on way.

Voice one: C’mon, Occ. What do you see?

Voice three: Six, this is Sampson. Sorry about that, we got caught up with some pirate stragglers. Looks like the way is clear. You can forget about those carriers. I’m looking two burning in the creek and another one rolled over on the far bank. These bastards are on the run.

Voice one: Roger that, we gutted our pocket over here and now I’m pouring in the arty.
 
Voice four: Jericho Six! Six, this is Three Delta. Over

Voice one: Come in Three. Whatcha got?

Voice four: Sir! They’re running, I can see two lances of Mechs and scattered armour running like Hell out of the valley. Over.

Voice one: All units - command override. This is Jericho Six, the enemy are in retest. Everyone push forward. We have them!

Voice five: Jericho Six, this is Adler. Stand down. I say again, stand down. You are not to advance past the line I’m now uploading to your maps. Do not leave the valley.

Voice one: What in the hell are you taking about? General - we have these pirate bastards in the ropes and we can finish right now.

Voice five: I gave you an order, merc. You stop your advance or I will order the militia troops to fire on you.
Now, what’s it going to be?

Voice one: (long sigh) Cavaliers... stand down. I say again, stand down.

It was pretty much a set piece battle. As soon as the pirate dropships were spotted descending we pretty much knew how they were coming at the capital. On orders from Militia high command we deployed a few klicks out - closer than I argued for, but eh.
Good terrain: wooded hills overlooking a broad valley made sodden by a week of heavy rain.

I deployed our artillery on the hillside with a solid armour force opposite them. The Mech coming stayed hidden in the woods. When we saw the pirates, I quickly threw up our aerospace fighters and some of the armour, making it look like we were dug in to the west. The pirates took the bait and blundered straight into us in the valleys.
Militia hover tanks and infantry held them and then we rushed them.

In a panic the pirates tired to break across the valley - but quickly found the flooded plains slow going. And what targets they made for our artillery and masses fire.

We had them right there. We could have destroyed the whole band, but I got orders to hold in place.
Hours later, Big Bear realised it. To our direct rear were some of the flashiest estates around.
It didn’t take long to discover they belonged to the likes of the prime minister, the finance minister, the attorney general and a host of other political cronies from the in power coalition.

We had been tasked specifically with defending their homes and told to hold in place while the pirates went and sacked an entire town.
Taighe Barrett

AUDIO LOG X-RAY-LIMA-990

Voice one (rough and deep, possible FedSuns accent): You’re late.

Voice two (also masculine, but higher. Slight Germanic accent) : And you reneged on our deal. You’re only supposed to hit the Umgebung continent. I thought we had worked out all of this?

Voice one: There’s nothing left to steal there. You’ve sold us a pup and you know it - you dickheads pretty much scorched earthed the place to the dark ages and now you want us to keep picking at it? I don’t think so.

Voice two: Damnit! We had a deal! We provide the intelligence and you only make a show of troubling us. It’s an election year, next year you know?

Voice one: Pfft. Don’t count on me for a vote then. And our terms have changed slightly - you think you’re the only rock hiring mercs? These Marik Defenders are bad news and none of the intel you’re supposedly providing has mentioned them. Hell, some of the planetary info you’re peddling about your neighbours is decades out of date!
So we needed to branch out.

Voice two: But we had a -

Voice one: Be glad you’re dealing with me and not Bonnie. Today was just a lesson to remind you to hold up your end of the bargain.

Transmission lost


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Elmoth

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3414
  • Periphery fanboy
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #518 on: 25 April 2019, 15:36:29 »
Nice twist on the perfect planet. :)

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #519 on: 06 May 2019, 02:14:45 »
We just intercepted a pirate Union trying to slip into the system. Our aerospace fighters dogged it through the atmo and then managed to get a lucky hit on the engines. The damn thing dropped like a stone and scattered all over the Old Barrens. We are moving to intercept and see if there’s any survivors.
Fly overs show Mechs and armour deployed outside the main wreckage and based on earlier encounters, they’ll still want to fight.
Here we go.
Taighe Barrett


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Elmoth

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3414
  • Periphery fanboy
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #520 on: 06 May 2019, 02:24:50 »
I can fully grasp a few mechs making a combat drop and surviving the crash, but those are some tough tanks to survive a several km plunge! Unless it was a ruse, of course, and the Union never got an engine hit

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #521 on: 19 May 2019, 23:00:57 »
It was a trap. Of course it was a trap.
From the intercept, to spotting the pirate dropper out in the Old Barrens, it was all too easy and our employees were a little too eager to push us out to go find trouble.

- Taighe Barrett

It was full court press - the whole company, plus armour and infantry assets on the two Dropships, roaring in to snatch the prize.
Backing us was a full infantry battalion and a light battalion of armour with VTOL support from the militia. We figured it was the perfect opportunity to smash some of these raiders and take prisoners and intel.
- Moses Cavalli

I was convinced everything was going well. Until the first shells started dropping on our LZ. And when my radioman reached out to hand me the commlink, only to be gunned down form behind.
By a militia trooper.
- Roxane Kramer

NEWS ALERT (0817)
Stotzing Militia And mercenary forces are engaging pirates in the Old Barrens, after a raider Dropship was shot down earlier this morning.

NEWS ALERT (0955)
A nest of pirates have been destroyed in the Old Barrens after a horrific battle. Militia troops were also forced to destroyed the renegade Cavalli’s Cavaliers after the mercenary unit went rogue and attacked government forces.

NEWS ALERT (1030)
Six senior cabinet ministers have been taken into custody and counter terror police have launched raids across the capital in an effort to crack down on what the prime minister is calling “subversive elements playing an outright coup”.


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

trboturtle

  • Freelance Writer
  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4043
  • Erraturi te salutant!
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #522 on: 20 May 2019, 00:12:04 »
Oh, dear.....

Craig
Author of 32 Battletech short stories including "The Lance Killer," "Hikagemono," "Negotiation," "The Clawing," "Salvage," "The Promise," "Reap What You Sow," "Family Ties," "The Blood of Man," "End of Message," "Heroes' Bridge," "Kurodenkou," "Thirteen," "My Father's Sword," "Evacuation," "Operation Red Lion," "A Matter of Honor," "State of Grace," "Operation Blue Tiger," "A Warrior's Fear," "Shadow Angels," "Murphy's Method," "End of the Road," (IAMTW 2019 Scribe Award nominee!), "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Blind Arrogance," "Laws Are Silent," "No Tears," "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Shadows of the Past," and "Three White Roses."
Novels -- Icons of War, Elements of Treason series, "Vengence Games." Upcoming: "In the Shadow of Dragons" and "Poisoned Honor" (WoR #1)

My Blogs!
Battletech:  http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/
Other writings: http://trboturtleswritings.blogspot.com/

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #523 on: 20 May 2019, 00:38:46 »
The video is grainy and every few seconds shudders with a flicker.
It shows a classic Dropship bridge, expert rust seems to stain every surface.

Half of the monitors are blank and many of the workspaces are stripped back, exposing circuits and wires.

A short, shabby man stands in the centre of the room. He’s dressed in grimy blue coveralls and sports a Mohawk and heavy ink across the bald parts of his scalp and neck.
He’s holding a radio receiver connected by a looping wire to the main comms station.

But the man is surround by three figures bulky with black combat armour, Night vision googles and face mask rendering their faces vaguely insect- like.

The radio crackles: “Blackbeard... Blackbeard... are the mercs destroyed? Let us know, over.”

The grimy man looks nervously about, only to have the largest commando place the barrel of his pistol against his temple.

“Tell him yes,” the man says, his accent thick with a a rough Tikonov accent.

“And convince them. Or you’ll die.”

The smaller man swallows. He puts the comm to his mouth.

“Prime, this is Blackbeard. Confirmed. All the mercs are dead. Over.”

The big man chuckles.

“Good work.”

He pulls the trigger.


Voice one: This is, of course, an informal hearing, Captain Barrett. Just to establish the facts of last month.

Voice two: Of course.

Voice one: Specifically, the events of May 17, and 18 which saw your unit engaged in combat with our own planetary militia.

Voice twi: Of course, sir.

Sounds of water being poured and a heavy glass clunking against wood.

Voice two: Sir, at approximately 0400 on May 17, Cavalier aerospace fighters conducting low level combat patrols spotted a Union class Dropship, without the proper authorisation about 1500km north of the capital. After hauling it repeatedly, they requested permissions and engaged the craft-

Voice three: Captain, much of the earlier testimony has gone over this. Please feel free to skip ahead a few hours.

Voice two: Of course, your honour.

Coughs

Voice two: After the pirate Dropship was brought down, we were ordered into the field by our liaison.

Voice one: Colonel Mosby, correct?

Voice two: Yes, Colonel Mosby - I believe we can also refer to him as the defendant? Or one of the defendants?

Laughter.

Voice two: As I said, the Cavaliers were sent to take the craft, along with militia support. At about 0800, we encountered pirate forces. It quickly became apparent, that rather than a crashed and demoralised band of survivors, we were facing well dug in and disciplined troops from the so-called Kelly-Scott gang.

AUDIO-LOG KILO-NINER-NINER-ONE

Three Keystone: Dammit, Mo! I am getting flanked here!

Zero Alpha: Keep pushing, I see targets in the open.

Three Keystone: Anyone! I’m taking fire! Anyone!

Static

Zero Alpha: Keystone Lead, gimme Sigma-V. That friggin hill is still in the way.

Image appears:

It shows a long line of brown, dusty hills topped with thin, gnarled trees and shrubs. Behind it, the steel-gray half crescent of a Dropship can be glimpsed.

Along the crest of the hill fortifications have been set up - sheet metal and slabs of amour, obviously cannibalised from the ship.
Slit trenches run between each armoured bunker and gun barrels poke through.

Reaper: I spy two pirate lances forming up behind that hill, guys.

****

Voice two: Our artillery laid down smoke and HE, while we advanced close behind. Militia armour and infantry were to flank and swing in around behind the pirates as we attacked.
 
Voice one: That flanking effort did not materialise though? Did it?

Voice two: No. we lost three tanks and a Mech as we assaulted through the pirates’ fixed defence and encountered close to a full company of Mechs.
By this point, we were also taking fire form the grounded Dropship - which was relatively undamaged, despite the cosmetic work to make it look so.
I pulled my unit back into the cover of the tree line and demanded to know where the militia was.
Militia VTOLs had been carrying out strikes to our front, but the infantry and armour was nowhere to be seen.

Voice one: and then?

Voice two: I heard the radio signal.

AUDIO-LOG KILO-NINER-NINER-TWO

Saxon: Irene! All units, the code is Irene!

Four Alpha: Son of a bitch! I’m taking fire! What! That’s the militia shooting at me! The fuc-

Static

Zero Alpha: All Cavaliers, rally on me! Find out what the hell is happening!

****

COURT-MARTIAL TRANSCRIPT #7770_

Voice one: and what did you do then, Lieutenant Anderson.

Voice two: I respectfully declined the major’s order to attack our mercenary allies.

Voice three: Gentlemen, I’m looking at the submitted transcript and it states that Lieutenant Anderson suggested Major Schultz could go and make love to his mother, in a most unconventional manner. But he certainly did not use those words.
If it pleases the court, perhaps we just stick to the Lieutenant’s actions?

Voice one: please continue, Lieutenant.

Voice two: My platoon of Scorpions was locked in to the left of the mercenaries - despite our earlier orders to advance and flank the enemy.
After the major gave the order, Kessler’s lance and his attached infantry began firing on the mercs from behind.
After a short exchange with my TCs, I decided we couldn’t allow this to continue.
I ordered the platoon to wheel around and we engaged Kessler’s lance. We quickly destroyed them with mercenary support.

Voice three: According to recordings form the battlefield, Lieutenant - you placed the barrel of your laser against Lieutenant Kessler’s turret and fired until the tank exploded.

****

I still don’t understand exactly what happened. Or how we survived.
Not long after encountering the pirates, the militia turned on us.
Well, some of them did. Seemed not everyone was in on the fix.

Orders came in from on high. We needed to be taken out. Initially, we were getting hammered from both sides and just trying to fall back when the militia fractured.
See, we had lived and trained alongside these guys for months and most of them saw politician wrangling when they saw it.
It wasn’t long before I was on the line to several lieutenants and a Captain who said they either would fall back and not target us, or went all the way and joined us fighting the  pirates and militia.

Made sense - these guys had watched these raiders rape their home again and again and were now getting told to to help them.

We crushed the main militia resistance and then turned on the pirates. They didn’t expect all of us and it was almost an anti-climax as we poured every gun into that Dropship, forcing the crew to quickly surrender.
A lot of pirates managed to flee the area and escape though.
But we had slightly more pressing issues.

- Taighe Barrett

Voice one: After your truce with the militia forces, you discovered the evidence, that’s correct?

Voice two: Well, yes. Eventually. It took a while to secure the area and work out what the hell was happening. Things were very tense. A short time later, a joint militia and Cavalier group searched the dropper. The radio was tuned into a militia frequency - with a militia callsign demanding to know if they had crushed us mercs yet. Later we found all the message back and forth between the pirates and government house about where to strike to do the most political damage, all the intel on other planets to direct the raiders there.

See, most of the militia was just told we had gone rogue. They weren’t in on it. But they still refused to pull the trigger on us.
A short time later we learned the government had used the opportunity to crack down on everyone else who had ever opposed them.
We knew what we had to do.

***

News at Nine - Breaking News

Fighting has broken out across the capital, with reports of Mechs and tanks clashing across the western and southern zones.
It comes just hours after the prime minister announced a massive crackdown on dissidents, claiming rogue mercenaries were working with the Greens Party and Labour Movement factions to orchestrate a coupe.

Nine has confirmed at least 10 MPs, along with hundreds of government department heads, along with unionists, members of the clergy and activists were arrested in raids this morning. There are also unconfirmed reports of trials and subsequent executions at government square, but all media organisations have been banned from the area.

News at Nine - Breaking News

Fighting continues across much of the capital, with authorities claiming the city is under attack from pirates.

This contradicts an earlier broadcast by Militia deputy commander Major General Hans-Otto Zilchmann, who earlier declared the government “corrupt” and “actively working with the pirate raiders and their Hegemony masters”.

He went on to urge citizens to rise up and actively fight the government before going off the air.

No word has been heard of him since.

There are also unconfirmed reports of militia troops firing on each other.

The Blakists are back! - The Marc Sidney Report

The Blakists are back! Remember how we fought a decade of war to keep the Robes from taking our planet and smothering it with their filthy pro-tech dogma a couple years back? Yeah, well... they’re back and they’re attacking us right now! Umgebung sold us to the Robes years ago. And now they have called their evil overlords back!
Fight them! Fight them, my people! Support your government!


NEWS ALERT (2200)
Stotzing’s new government sworn in after day of savage fighting. New Prime Minister Boris Schmidt calls for unit after predecessor’s collaboration with pirates revealed.

So, that was it. Armed with the evidence the planetary government was actively selling nearby planets to the pirates and had been allowing them to target select areas of their own world, most of the militia decided it was time for a change.

They managed to reach out to the few remaining members of the opposition, after the PM’s little arrest frenzy.
And, so we marched. It wasn’t easy - plenty of local troops refused to believe the evidence. Others probably knew about it all along and weren’t going down without a fight.

It was bitter, nasty and will continue to cause problems for a long time.

But that is the new prime minister’s issue.
And our’s I guess, too. We have re-signed with the government of Stotzing. After this shitfight, they desperate need help.
Not to mention, they’re offering a landhold and incentives to stay - and even pensions and retirement bonuses.
The Cavaliers aren’t going anywhere. But we are changing.

I spoke with Mo and Occy after the new PM was sworn in. Mo is certainly not keen to settle down just yet and I pushed him to go and do something for himself before taking over the reigns of the unit.

He’s petitioned the Marik Protectors over on Maxwell for a slot. They’re bringing him in as a lance commander, but reckon they’ll have a captain’s job coming up in the next year. He can go and learn more about command at the knee of some seriously experienced and honourable commanders.

Octavius, well he surprised me. He’s met a local boy and actually wants to settle down. The new planetary government has already offered him a job trying to reorganise everything and he seems amazingly happy.
 The age of the Mechwarrior is coming to and end Occy is a testimony to that. Good luck, my son.

Jesus, I’ve come to look on those kids as my actual children. I really hope Felix would be proud. I know he would.

I also like to think he’d appreciate what we are doing here. We are going to continue to protect Stotzing, make it a place where people can be free.

I joined this unit mid-way through the Jihad and I’ve already seen a host of fallen. I’m tired of war, purely because my employer wants it. All of us are. This is maybe... hopefully... an age of peace

Colonel, where ever you are - I hope you’re happy with what I’ve done with your unit.
- Taighe Barrett


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #524 on: 20 May 2019, 00:48:36 »
Oh, dear.....

Craig

Hey Craig, hope you enjoyed. Big fan BTW!

So... guys... it’s done.

I started this unit just shy of three years ago as a MegaMek project and it become something else along the way.
Thanks to everyone who commented and stayed with it over the years.

A strange thing is... it’s been a little like therapy for me. The Cavallire or Cavaliers have been there through some bad patches in my life.
Veterans of this thread may remember, my mum died early into this project. The funeral, the grief and then the strange experiment of renovating and selling her house all got kind of channelled into this story.
And oddly, my wife and i’s Adoption of her cats also factored in - they are named Moses and Octavius... and yeah, her “children” did kind of become my children.
I’m aware how mad that sounds...

Anyway, it’s been a long stretch of playing this unit and I loved taking them from the Chaos March through the Civil War to the Jihad and eventually into the Republic era.
Killing Felix off during the battle of Terra was a huge emotional movement for - I felt like he’d been with me for a very long time.

I hope you all enjoyed these guys as much as I did!


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

snakespinner

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2688
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #525 on: 20 May 2019, 01:10:16 »
What a final battle. Great work. :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.

Sir Chaos

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 3086
  • Artillery Fanboy
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #526 on: 20 May 2019, 08:06:31 »
*applauds*
"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

DOC_Agren

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4910
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #527 on: 20 May 2019, 21:52:37 »
Blakists are back..  the Cavaliere will have to deal them  8)
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

truetanker

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 9901
  • Clan Hells Horses 666th Mech. Assualt Cluster
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #528 on: 22 May 2019, 18:50:03 »
Oh Nav...?

 :)

Message reads: " Reliquum est, ut infirma. "

TT

( Rest is for the weak... )  :whip:
Khan, Clan Iron Dolphin
Azeroth Pocketverse
That is, if true tanker doesn't beat me to it. He makes truly evil units.Col.Hengist on 31 May 2013
TT, we know you are the master of nasty  O0 ~ Fletch on 22 June 2013
If I'm attacking you, conventional wisom says to bring 3x your force.  I want extra insurance, so I'll bring 4 for every 1 of what you have :D ~ Tai Dai Cultist on 21 April 2016
Me: Would you rather fight my Epithymía Thanátou from the Whispers of Blake?
Nav_Alpha: That THING... that is horrid
~ Nav_Alpha on 10 October 2016

Deadborder

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 7881
  • Technical Victory!
    • Elmer Studios Blog
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #529 on: 23 May 2019, 22:33:33 »
Thank you very very much for this. Its been a wild ride, and I've enjoyed it from start to finish. The end seems apt for the time period to; the age of the Merc is ending, and it's time for everyone to move forward into a brave new world.

Fantastic stuff
Author of BattleCorps stories Grand Theft Agro and Zero Signal



How to Draw MegaMek Icons the Deadborder Way. Over 9000 so far. Determination or madness?

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: Cavalli’s Cavaliere
« Reply #530 on: 23 May 2019, 23:28:58 »
Thank you very very much for this. Its been a wild ride, and I've enjoyed it from start to finish. The end seems apt for the time period to; the age of the Merc is ending, and it's time for everyone to move forward into a brave new world.

Fantastic stuff

Thanks mate. These guys became a bit of a labour of love. But all good things need to end


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067