Hi guys, apologies for the delay in the new instalments. But, some of the content just didn’t feel appropriate in the wake of the things that are happening across the US. I thought about it a lot before posting. I guess, what I’m trying to say is that none of the below is intended to mimic, detract from or attack the Black Lives Matters protests or their message. Below is some words about big stompy robots, nothing else.
Anyway....
Six Delta: Church Street clear, moving down Danks. Nothing on Danks.
Three Delta: Zero Delta, this is Three, we got movement! Lots of movement!
Zero Delta: Calm down, Three. Tell us what you see?
Three: On Sun... lots of host... do...
Zero: Say again, Three Delta. Say again your last? Come on, kid, tell me what’s happening.
Three: -ounded! The LT’s down, lots of hostile. They.... oh fu...
Zero: Three Delta, please respond.
Six Delta: Zero, this is Six. I see ‘em! Lots of irregulars moving on Three’s position, most of them armed, others burning stuff or trashing buildings. There’s... Jesus, there’s a lot of them.
4 June, 3080
Journal of Butch Ballantine
I’d see the devastation of the city as we made our final burn in. First from the bridge and then when I strapped into my Awesome, via a feed to my secondary monitor.
We were spiralling down on the drop port, maybe 10 klicks out of the city. The whole facility was new, built by the Lyran engineers when they took over garrison duties: Clusters of pre-fab and temporary buildings and big open launch pads.
It was new, but built in the grave of the old port - the Word had lured in a whole Ghost Bear cluster and then unleashed nuclear hell, glassing the port and killing all the Clanners. Rumour had it, they’d also killed themselves too - but no one seemed to know if it was on accident or purpose.
The main highway and Maglev tracks ran due east to the city centre. Out that way I caught a glimpse of gleaming new towers and spires as the construction efforts began. The camera hadn’t shown it, but I knew they were surrounded by acres of ugly, brutalist mazes, hastily thrown together apartment towers and damaged buildings that had somehow survived liberation.
And between those buildings and the space port? Those two islands of rebirth?
Death. Decay. Ruins. The left overs of the brutal nuclear holocaust and carpet bombing involved in liberation.
I could see at least three fires burning in that no man’s land as we disembarked. Dark, oily smoke reaching into the night sky. Militia VTOLs buzzed over the rows of gutted buildings and razed ground, spotlights darting among the rubble.
There was the occasional burst of gunfire or rattle of single shots, proving people actually lived out there.
Some of those residents were waiting for us at the main gate as we approached. While, the gateway was well fortified by militia infantry, a sudden flood of humanity emerged from the cluster of nearby lean tos and shacks, rushing them as the gates opened.
I hear a volley of shots but the ragged crowd kept coming - until they saw us. Four gigantic metal forms moving toward them, saw through crowd disperse back to their makeshift camp. Or at least get out of the way, I felt several rocks bounce impotently off my armour and could hear the guards screaming for the reforming crowds to disperse as we moved out.
It was only then did I learn, we were flying solo for this one.
Warhorse One: Command, this is Warhorse, we have departed the space port and we’re heading north east to link up with the convoy. Where can we expect to meet our support.
Command: That’s a negative on support, Ballantine. Our forces are tied up across the city. We have mass riots in effect and we’re taking casualties.
Warhorse: So, we’re supposed to ride out and rescue this convoy by ourselves?
Command: That’s a Roger, Warhorse. Out.
GAME SETUP
Recommended Terrain: Light Urban or Heavy Urban (see p. 263, TW) Set up two mapsheets with their short edges adjoining.
To represent the damage done to the city during the liberation and subsequent chaos, replace all building hexes as follows: Light and Medium buildings become Rubble hexes, Heavy buildings become Ultra Rubble hexes (see p. 39, TO), and Hardened buildings become Light buildings.
The Defender selects one edge of the map to be his or her home map edge; the Attacker’s home edge is the opposite end of the map. The Attacker sets up his forces before the start of play while the Defender’s forces enter the map from their home edge on Turn 1.
Attacker: Ballantine’s Lance
AWS-8T Awesome Butch - Butch Ballantine
JM6-S Jagermech - Heston Hui
ENF-5D Enforcer - Beatrix Montaigne
GRF-1DS Griffin - Castro Wilson
Ballantine’s lance start at their map edge on turn three.
Additionally, the lance is escorting a convoy of Burro II Super Heavy Cargo Trucks. To determine the size of the convoy, roll 1d6 plus 1.
For every two trucks, the defender receives one Motorized MG infantry platoon.
The convoy and any attached infantry start at least two hexes from their map edge and must then begin to move towards the opposite edge.
Defender: the defender’s forces consist of the following, two Goblin Infantry Support Vehicles and
Motorized Heavy Infantry (see p. 209, Technical Readout: 3085). For every one convoy vehicle deployed by the Attacker, the Defender may field one infantry platoon.
Plus:
Turkina C
This unit receives 1 point of damage for every 5 tons of mass, distributed randomly in 5-point (or fraction thereof) groups. Do not roll critical hits, even if internal structure is damage
Gurkha
This unit receives 3 points of damage for every 5 tons of mass, distributed randomly in 5-point (or fraction thereof) groups. Determine one critical hit to a random location, as well as any possible critical hits suffered from internal structure damage. Disregard any hits that would immobilize or destroy the unit, including cockpit/ crew killed hits, ammunition hits, and destroyed motive systems/ engines and gyros.
Initiate
This unit receives 1 point of damage for every 5 tons of mass, distributed randomly in 5-point (or fraction thereof) groups. Do not roll critical hits, even if internal structure is damage
The Attacker sets up his or her units in hidden positions on the map before the first turn.
Optional Bonuses:
+100 Artillery (Defender only): The Attacker may call on four Thumper barrages (one per turn); the gun is two turns away (see p. 179, TO).
+200 Surprised!: The Defender has a -2 to his or her Initiative roll for the first four Turns.
+200 Dusk/Dawn: Use the Dusk/Dawn rules (see p. 58, TO).
OBJECTIVES
1. All mine! (Attacker). The Attacker captures one or more of the convoy’s transport trucks. If any Attacker unit enters the hex occupied by a truck, that truck may not move out of the hex as long as the enemy unit is there. Capture is achieved by an Attacker infantry or vehicle unit spending one Turn in the same hex as a truck without engaging in combat with any other unit. Once this has been achieved, the now-captured truck will attempt to retreat off the Defender’s home edge. The Defender can recapture a truck using the same procedure. (Reward: 75 each)
2. Gotta go! (Defender). The Defender moves one or more of the convoy’s transport trucks off the Attacker’s home edge. (Reward: 100 each)
3. Kill ‘em! Cripple or destroy at least 75% of the enemy’s combat forces. (Reward: 300)
Both sides are operating under Forced Withdrawal rules (see p. 258, TW), unless negated by special unit rules (see pp. 6-7).
AWS-8T Awesome Butch: Ballantine’s Awesome started life as a stock 8T, manufactured on Savannah in 3001. Presumably making its way into Word of Blake hands via a defecting FWL warrior, Ballantine captured it on Scituate in 3072, while a member of the Devlin Stone’s nascent revolution. Ballantine kept the assault Mech throughout his service with Stone’s Lament and later Liberators and managed to take it with him when he mustered out following the liberation of Terra.
To replace damaged equipment, he swapped out both large lasers for standard PPCs, downgrading one of the LRM-15 racks to a 10. The head mounted small laser is upgraded to small pulse laser at the expense of half a tonne of armour.
The Awesome has the following quirks: Command BattleMech, Accurate Weapon (LRM-15) and Non-Standard Parts.
