AMC recording - Nov01-3072-AUGUSTINE-FWL
VOICE ONE: could you state your name for the record?
BARRETT: My name is Teige Barrett, I'm a lieutenant in Cavalli's Cavalliere. Mauler lance, second company.
VOICE ONE: And could you tell us a little about yourself Lieutenant?
BARRETT: sure. I was born on Samantha in Taurian space but have been an independent Mercenary for more than 10 years, like my father and grandfather. Most recently, i spent three years in Gordon's Armoured Cavalry, 1st battalion. Before that I've worked across Taurian, Cappie, St Ives and FedRat space. I've also pulled stints as a bounty hunter and even spent two years dragooned into the CCAF's Home Guard.
Oh yeah, and I pilot a Whammy.
*** as this happens an image forms.***
It shows a 2d shot of a man leaning against a mech's massive leg. He's short and heavily built with dark hair cut short and a close cropped beard. A large golden ring hangs from one earlobe and there's a hint of lurid tattoos peaking out from under his cooling vest's collar.
The armour plate behind him is decorated in a garish mural showing a nude, red headed woman cradling a laser rifle and flipping the bird. Only scant strips of tartan and the bulky rifle hide her modesty
VOICE ONE: right. Lieutenant, as you know we are still desperate to pull together an accounting of events from Galatea. Your testimony will be most helpful.
BARRETT: Well, I can only give you the view of one 'jock on the ground. But I can assure you it was hell.
VOICE ONE: Please elaborate Lieutenant.
BARRETT: well, a lot of people have heard about this Highlanders ruse the Word used, right? We hadn't heard a thing.
First we knew was dozens of fighters and dropships pulling a high speed, low pass over the Galatea City centre.
* EDITOR'S NOTE: witness reports appear to back rumours the Word masqueraded as the long lost Northwind Highlanders to approach Galatea before attacking***
My lance was on stand down while the Captain, Asuka had taken her lance and a Demi lance of new hires in tanks out for a shakedown on the range. We had another lance of prospective recruits bunking in with us when the whole compound shook from a low flyer.
Then the explosions started and I got everyone to warm up there rides ricky-tick.
ECM was partially jamming most channels but I got through to the CO - her two lances were moving through the city towards us - but it was utter chaos.
When I went outside I could see the Mechs hanging in the sky or dropping towards us on plasma.
VOICE ONE: they were hotdropping INTO the city?
BARRETT: wild, eh? These guys were straight up suicidal or crazy good. Both I'd say.
There seemed to be running gun fights everywhere. By this point I'd set up a perimeter and pushed out a couple streets. We gathered up any non-combatants and just as an after thought I decided to push out some scouts to check the way to the spaceport was clear.
I didn't want to run, but figured it was worth having options open.
I got Kylie in her Wasp and Trev in his Jenner - both from the prospective lance to cross the river and take a look.
That's when they hit us.
VOICE ONE: are you able to ID your attackers.
BARRETT: at that point it was just a merc outfit - Bullard's Armoured Cav. A lance of heavies came jumping in over the buildings to our front just as some Word ASFs came in low and strafed the hell out of the compound using infernos and cluster bombs.
Everything was on fire as we advanced my lance and started sniping through the wreckage.
About the same time, Asuka and her mechs and armour arrived. It would have gone pretty much all in our favour at this point but just as she reached us another lance of heavy Armoured Cavalry backed up by a lance of tanks burst from nowhere and ripped into them.
VOICE ONE: you've mentioned Mercenary attackers at this point. Did you face Word troops? Shadow Division troops?
BARRETT: yeah, ok! I'm getting to it dammit.
So around now, Kylie radios in as she comes charging down the street. She's run straight into a full Level II of Shadows. Mechs, BA and these damn fast tanks with some sort of stealthy armour.
Her Wasp was all shot up but she managed to get back.
VOICE ONE: they got her lancemate? Trev?
BARRETT: nah, bastard ran at the sight of the Shadows. He left poor Kylie for dead and ran off.
So Kylie tells us the Shadows are holding the main bridge across the river to the spaceport.
We're struggling to hold these mercs back at this point - two tanks brewing up and Asuka's Lynx is missing an arm. So she orders my lance to break contact and fall back to the west.
See, I've got the unit CO's two kids in my lance. I figured she wanted them out safely.
As we fall back we run straight into the Shadows. 47th Shadow Div is what we are hearing. I dunno, all I know is suddenly we are facing down three zombie machines that won't go down.
We played hide and seek with them as we moved toward the river.
Desperate for help I'd radioed the puke running the prospective lance - he was mid way through telling me he was on my six when his radio cut out.
Later we learned his 2ic put her Dervish's SRM launcher up against his cockpit and turned him into mince.
It was Everyman for himself it seems.
VOICE ONE: your unit took extensive causalities reaching the spaceport?
BARRETT: you could say that. The next couple of hours saw the CO fighting a rearguard - it doesn't sound much but a one armed Lynx and a Wolfhound will hold off most things.
My lance barrelled forward, pushing through Shadows, Word regulars, Pro Word mercs and general mercs shooting up whatever the hell they wanted.
Our provisional lance had pretty much shattered - the rogue Dervish was flayed by the captain and staggered away, Milsom's Wolverine was incinerated by an Archangel and only Kylie had caught up with us.
We managed to ask our way to an alternative bridge across the river when another couple of Shadow mechs and some of those ghoulish looking BA suits jumped us.
We started trying to get our more damaged machines across as I charged the two mechs - another Archangel and a Grigori. My lance number four Godric came with me.
Lord love him. That kid was keen and he went down swinging. But he still died.
Another one of our guys, the Bloodhound pilot - I need got his name - had a bad ejection and sorta splattered against a building.
I didn't see it because he'd managed to ford the river when a Gurkha popped up from no where and gave him the full business.
VOICE ONE: so you then managed to cross over to the drop port and escape?
BARRETT: hell no. We had most of the unit over when they realised the other side was crawling with Blakists. They'd been sitting over there picking off stragglers who escaped the main fighting.
Meanwhile, I was still facing down these two Celestials and readying myself to meet my maker.
The Captain called the dropper and ordered them to punch through the Blakist cordon over the port and meet us outside town.
Moses Cavalli and I were pretty much the only ones left on our side of the bridge, so we started working our way down river hoping we could cross further down.
Meanwhile, most of our guys went into the river and waded downstream to the new LZ
It all sounds very easy, but it was another two hours of run and gun before we reconnected with the rest of the unit and boarded that dropship.
Somehow we managed to burn out of the system. Seeing that independent freighter waiting for us at the jumpoint was the sweetest sight I've ever seen.
*****************ENDS********************************
So, I ran the Burning Bridges Chaos track... and it was interesting. Probably the best but was the lance running under the pandemonium rules. One went rogue and declared for the Word, another decided to get the hell out of there. The poor tank lance was also playing under these rules but mostly never got to do anything about it
Two died in the second turn. The other two elected to hold tight and take care of themselves under the pandemonium rules - but both got smoked by enemy fire in the same turn!
A rather fun game. Shame about the two mechwarriors we lost however.
Teige Barrett formerly served as a mechwarior in 1st battalion, Gordon's Armoured Cavalry and before that had spent close to a decade in half a dozen smaller commands along the Taurian, FedSuns and Liao border regions. He's also pulled stints As a bounty hunter - independently and with the likes of Harden's Howling Wolves.
He has faced pirates, Davion raiders, Taurians and their defecting countrymen and even spent some time assisting the CapCon retake the St Ives Compact.
For generations the Barretts have served as mercs' mercs - never staying too long with one unit, frequently moving the length of the Inner Sphere seeking adventure and money. Barrett's father was one such journeyman, who eventually settled on Samantha after meeting a local girl and served out his days with the TDF.
He handed the mantle of the wandering merc onto Teige, who took the family Warhammer and headed for the Hiring Hall at 18.
His Warhammer has been lovingly handed down through the years and bears many scars and jury-rigged parts. Originally a Star League era WHM-6Rb, it was downgraded some 200 years ago. Rumour has it, that a Barrett actually piloted it during the invasion of Terra but refused to follow the SLDF into exile.
Barrett was able to scrounge the required parts during the Cavalry's action on Brusett to upgrade 'Heartbreaker' back to its original glory, complete with an Artemis IV system and advanced Heatsinks.
Ironically, while he finally fulfilled his forefathers' quest to restore the mech to its lost advantage, the raid was unsanctioned and the unit fell into disgrace.
Unhappy at the poor supply situation and lack of action, he resigned his commission and headed to Galatea in late 3071.
A string of short contracts with minor merc units over the next year saw him yearning for a new - possibly long term - home.