Here it is. The final scenario in our Wolf & Blake campaign. Enjoy.
Mission# 10: TOUCHPOINT – Rigil Kentarus (-1000WP)
1117hrs – Mount Krakatoa
Rigil Kentarus, WOB Protectorate
30 November 3073
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This has to work. C’mon, Berith. Where are you? Stacy flexed her gloved hands once more and used her forearm to wipe some of the sweat from her brow. The inside of her
Zeus’ cockpit was sweltering. Her coolant suit was working overtime just to keep her core temperature at a healthy level.
And the fight hasn’t even started yet. Outside, Stacy view of the volcanic floor was partially obscured by venting steam from the earth below. Every once and awhile, the ground below her would briefly shake. Mount Krakatoa is coming to life. Through the haze, Stacy could make out the black and red ‘Mechs of her two lieutenants to either side. Kincaid’s
Uziel paced back and forth, arms tracking invisible targets out ahead. Rondema’s
War Dog stood motionless, occasionally reshuffling after a minor tremor shook the earth.
Stacy took a moment to collect her thoughts. For nearly a year, her small band of warriors had been hounded by Berith and his Opacus Venatori. It seemed like every week another contact of hers would disappear, never to be heard from again. Well… no more. Stacy had sent out a call, practically daring Berith to come and fight her. Stacy had chosen an active volcano floor both to shield her unit from Blakist aerospace fighters and to prevent Berith from calling down additional troops. If Berith wanted a fight, it would have to be both small units going toe to toe. Berith seemed like the kind of psycho that would accept such a challenge.
Stacy’s radio crackled to life. “Captain, I’ve got something,” Rondema reported. “Multiple enemy contacts. Bearing Zero-Two-Five. ETA thirty-four seconds.”
“Roger, I’ve got visual,” Stacy replied. She could see the unmistakable form of Berith’s hulking
Archangel in the distance. More Blakist machines seemed to emerge through the rising steam as they filed into the caldera. “All units, advance and engage!” Stacy pushed her throttle forward and her
Zeus’ engine thrummed as nearly eighty tons of metal and myomer propelled itself towards the enemy. Stacy could see the enemy start to run in formation as they became aware of her Widows.
A new voice greeted her on her radio. It was cold and metallic, utterly devoid of any emotion. “Stacy Church. I’ve come for you. You will not escape.” Berith. Stacy mentally braced herself and re-gripped her controls. The voice continued. “Your troops have fought well, but it is time. Power down and surrender to the Will of Blake.” Berith’s
Archangel disappeared behind a large rocky outcropping.
Stacy thumbed her microphone as she throttled down to a walk. “Never! You’re gonna pay for what you have done. And I’m here to collect.” With that, Stacy toggled her weapon safeties off, and all hell broke loose.
***************
ATTACKERS
Black Widows:
Command Lance
Capt. Stacy Church (1/2) ZEU-9WD Zeus-X
Lt. Jacob Kincaid (2/3) UZL-2S Uziel
Calvin Magdaleno BLR-4S Battlemaster
Francine (3/3) GRF-6S Griffin
Support Lance
Lt. Eirene Rondema (2/3) WR-DG-02FC War Dog
Orrin Fletchter (2/4) DV-7D Dervish
Kristofur Blaine (3/3) MAD-4S Marauder II
Max Hendrickson (3/4) TBT-7M Trebuchet
Recon Lance
Lt. Wyatt Rolfe (2/3) WLF-4WA Wolfhound
Niel Gibson (3/4) FFL-4DA Firefly
Halle Yost (2/3) CDA-3F Cicada
Russel Madison (3/3) LCT-6M Locust
DEFENDERS
Opacus Level II
Precentor Berith (1*/2) C-ANG-O Archangel Invictus
Demi Kendali Moris (3*/3) C-PRT-O Preta Invictus
Mi Tomitaki (3*/2) C-GRG-O Grigori Luminos
Rufus Black Bear (4*/4) C-GRG-O Grigori Invictus
Havalah Cazer (3/3) C-SRP-O Seraph Invictus
Achillius St. John (4*/1) C-DVA-O Deva Invictus
Venatori Level II
Kari Marita (3/2) KGC-008 King Crab
Bryn Rivenschild(2/3) GM-R-PR30 (C3i) Grim Reaper (LRM-20 to LRM-15 wArtemis, add C3i)
Elizabeth Rodriguez (4/2) GUR-2G Gurkha
Cassius Montague (4/3) BLF-21 Blue Flame
Portia Thomas (3/1) LNC25-04 Lancelot
Jacqueline Norman (4/4) CRB-30 Crab
OBJECTIVES:
#1 Hammer (Reward: 700WP) – Cripple/destroy half opposing force - SUCCESSFUL
#2 No Quarter (Reward: 900WP) – Cripple/destroy all of enemy forces - Failed
SPECIAL RULES:
Earthquake - Earthquake (Strength 4) on roll of 10+ after 2nd turn
Eruption - Eruption on roll of 6+ after turn 6. 10 pts damage, 2 pts heat to each 'Mech within 2 hexes.
Magma
Forced Withdrawal: All units are operating under Forced Withdrawal
Condition Feral – Dragoons get either piloting or gunnery bonus by automatically losing initiative for that turn. +1 to all Dragoon consciousness rolls.
Game Setup:
The bottom of Mount Krakatoa is flat with a couple of small hills rising from the floor. The floor is surrounded by an impassable rocky wall, with an exit to the east and west.
Soundtrack:
Yes… we had a soundtrack going and it was awesome. Want a taste?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA43PO1Td3UTURN 1 (Widows surrender Initiative for -1 bonus to gunnery)
Stacy's Black Widow Company waits for Berith and his Opacus Venatori.
Berith's Opacus Venatori enter the caldera.
TURN 2 (Widows surrender Initiative for -2 bonus to gunnery)
Both sides advance. Berith is keeping his forces in tight formation, hoping to use the principle of mass against the Widows. Stacy Church elects to split up, hoping to flank.
TURN 3 (Widows surrender Initiative for -2 bonus to gunnery, -1 bonus to piloting)
Stacy Church orders her troops to take cover. Kari Marita (
King Crab) and her Venatori split off, while Berith's Opacus maintain tight formation. Jacob Kincaid scores first blood for the Widows as one of his Light AC/5s hits at extreme range against Havalah Cazer's
Seraph.Stacy and some of her Widows sprint to take cover behind a rocky outcropping.
Halle Yost (in the
Cicada) makes a bad decision. The bulk of Berith's Opacus turn to pour fire into her
Cicada. Halle's ER PPC hits Marita's
King Crab but her mech is savaged by PPC and laser fire. Her mech suffers catastrophic engine damage and she hits the deck. Opacus Venatori get the first point.
TURN 4 (Opacus Venatori win Initiative, thanks to Berith's +2 Initiative Bonus, Widows still have -2 Gunnery -1 Piloting bonus)
Blakists continue to stay tight in an attempt to mass firepower, while the Widows regroup and snipe at extreme range.
Both sides maneuver around the hill. The loss of Halle Yost seems to have stalled the Widow's flanking attempt.
Lt. Wyatt Rolfe snipes at extreme range with his trio of Light PPCs, sheering more armor off of Marita's
King Crab.The Widows are able to snipe at Tomitaki's
Grigori at extreme range.
TURN 5 (Opacus Venatori win initiative, thanks again to Berith's +2 bonus. Widows still have -2 Gunnery -1 Piloting bonus)
Both sides cautiously advance as they are reluctant to enter certain kill zones of overlapping fire. Stacy Church is so far able to prevent the bulk of Berith's forces from overwhelming her while her troops are split up.
Eirene Rondema in her
War Dog scores a lucky shot with her Large Pulse Laser and vaporizes all the armor protecting the
King Crab's head. The rest of her weapons score on the left torso. Orrin Fletcher adds more damage. Kari Marita takes the damage and fires back. One of her sabotaged Heavy PPCs flames out, but the other one scores and inflicts heavy damage to Fletcher's
Dervish.Jacob, Calvin and Kristofur Blaine team up on a Blakist target. Jacquelin Norman's
Crab is brutalized by LRM and laser fire. She loses nearly all her armor on her left arm and two torso locations.
The Word of Blake fires back. Havalah Cazer's Ultra AC/20 hits Jacob Kincaid's
Uziel and scores several critical hits. One of the slugs finds the Streak SRM-6 ammunition. BOOOM!! Kincaid auto ejects to safety, but his
Uziel is out of the fight. Another point for the Word of Blake!!! Stacy has to be worrying now....
The Venatori attempt to protect their flank from Widow predations. Stacy Church is nonplussed as she and Francine combine fire from multiple angles to tear at Portia Thomas'
Lancelot. Thomas remains standing... for now.
TURN 6 (Widows win initiative and maintain -2 Gunnery, -1 Piloting bonuses)
ERUPTION!!! Mount Krakatoa has awakened. Two molten jets of rock spew up out of the ground, dealing damage and heat to the surrounding 'Mechs. The damage is particularly heavy to the tight Blakist formation. Berith certainly wasn't expecting that. Mi Tomitaki's
Grigori Luminos takes lava to the head and takes critical damage to the torso, losing a jump jet. Francine takes a molten rock to her head's armor as well. Many of the Blakist machines were already running hot. Havalah Cazer has to make a shutdown roll, which succeeds.
With the volcano starting to erupt, Berith orders his forces to spread out. With an Initiative win, Stacy presses her flanking attack while Calvin Magdaleno and Francine retreat to cover, leaving Kristofur Blaine's
Marauder II to bear the brunt of the Opacus assault.
Kristofur Blaine takes a beating, but his heavy war machine is still standing. Several of the Opacus 'Mechs have difficulty hitting due to heat issues.
Norman's
Crab takes even more pounding, losing an arm (and ER PPC) as she is caught out in the open.
The light mechs from the Venatori attempt to deflect the Widow flanking attack but they run into stiff resistance.
Cassius Montague's
Blue Flame scores a large laser hit on Stacy Church, but his 'Mech suffers from a gyroscope hit and he is unable to maintain his 'Mech's balance from the huge damage caused by Church and the
Firefly. His 'Mech falls down, taking more damage and a piloting hit. He's under forced withdrawal. Score one point for the Widows!
Russel Madison uses his
Locust's extreme speed to catch Portia Thomas offguard. He pumps two Medium Lasers into the rear and gives the
Lancelot a 4pt kick for good measure.
TURN 7 (Widows cede initiative, -1 Gunnery Bonus)
The eruption continues!!!
Francine takes more damage from the molten geyser and she fails a piloting roll, doing twice the damage to her 'Mech due to it's Reflective Armor.
Both Rondema and Fletcher suffer from a sudden geyser that appears between them.
More damage and heat for the Opacus Venatori. Tomitaki's
Grigori Luminos has real heat issues and is nearly immobile. Berith takes some molten rock to the cockpit.
After maneuvers, Berith's Opacus continue to spread out, while Stacy's scuffle in the rear turns deadly...
Berith charges forward and lights up Francine's
Griffin. His Capacitor Charged PPCs still do significant damage to the
Griffin, despite the reflective armor.
Meanwhile, Kari Marita charges into battle, completely uncaring about the total lack of armor protecting her
King Crab's cockpit. It is revenge that drives her. One of her Light AC/2s catches an ammo bin in Fletcher's
Dervish. CASE saves the 'Mech, and Fletcher makes his consciousness check. The return fire from Rondema and Fletcher is enough to scour away all the armor in the
King Crab's left torso, leaving Marita vulnerable to her own ammo explosion.
Stacy's battle in the rear has turned ugly as fighting devolves into hand-to-hand combat. Elizabeth Rodriguez scores a hit with her
Gurkha's sword on Russel Madison's
Locust. Stacy gears up and absolutely tears into Portia Thomas'
Lancelot. Her Heavy PPC misses at close range, but her lasers and cluster LB-10x shred the lighter 'Mech. With one solid kick, Stacy tears the leg off the
Lancelot putting Thomas out of the fight. Score two for the Widows!
TURN 8 (Widows cede Initiative, -2 Gunnery Bonus)
EARTHQUAKE!!! With a roll of 10, all pilots must make a piloting roll. Both Calvin Magdaleno and Havalah Cazer fail, with Havalah falling into a level 1 fissure.
Molten lava compounds Magdaleno's problems...
Havalah falls into a fissure.
More eruptions!!! It's getting crazy now. Surely Stacy must be reconsidering her plan to fight here. Will anyone make it out alive? Maybe that was her plan the whole time...
Magma spews out of the rocky outcropping and down onto the Widows.
More heat and damage problems for the grudge match between Kari Marita and Rondema and Fletcher.
NOTE: DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES - UNABLE TO TAKE PHOTOS OF TURN 8
Turn 8 Summary:
Widows score another point as Norman's
Crab takes more internal torso damage and is under forced withdrawal.
Lots and lots of 'Mechs miss as the earthquake adds a +4 to-hit modifier.
TURN 9 (Widows cede Initiative, -2 Gunnery -1 Piloting Bonuses)
Another Earthquake! More Magma Destruction!!!
Things are getting really bad here, thinks Calvin. Maybe it's time to get up and move.
Neil Gibson (
Firefly) and Max Hendrickson (
Trebuchet) jump up on the outcropping, but they cannot escape the magma!
Achillius St. John's
Deva has it's rear armor completely stripped and damage goes internal. He loses a heat sink.
Both Fletcher's
Dervish and Bryn Rivenschild's
Grim Reaper are unable to stand in the earthquake.
Cassius Montague is unable to keep his four legged
Blue Flame standing when he has a broken gyro. Rufus Black Bear's
Grigori also takes a spill.
Berith has ordered a general withdrawal as the volcanic floor is shaking and breaking up. Russell Madison scores a couple back shots but he falls down from the earthquake.
By this time, Stacy Church has doubled back around. She shrugs off some damage from Rodriguez's
Gurkha and absolutely unloads on Kari Marita. One of the LB-10X pellets hits Marita's cockpit, taking out her sensors and giving Marita a +2 to-hit penalty. The
King Crab is under forced withdrawal. Marita curses as one of her Heavy PPCs flames out again. AGAIN!? The other does reduced damage to Stacy's
Zeus as the Blue Shield Project is still operating.
TURN 10 (Widows cede Initiative, -1 Gunnery Bonus)
Thankfully, no earthquake. But more eruptions!
The once dormant volcano floor is now awash in molten lava. Several Blakist mechs are already leaving. Rufus, in his pristine
Grigori, attempts to engage his Supercharger but rolls a 2!! On the next roll, he rolls a 12, delivering 2 engine hits and putting himself under forced withdrawal. With the 6th Blakist 'Mech crippled/destroyed, the Widows have achieved one of the objectives. Unbelievable!
Achillius St. John's
Deva scores a critical hit with a Gauss Rifle, coring Niel Gibson's
Firefly. Another point for Opacus Venatori!
Havalah Cazer and Francine trade shots. Francine props herself up and snaps off a Snub-Nose PPC against Cazer's
Seraph. Cazer is having difficulty hitting due to the extreme heat her 'Mech is operating under.
Bryn Rivenschild takes more hits from Eirene Rondema and Max Hendrickson. He's lost an LRM-15, but at this close, all he needs is his ER PPC, Medium Laser and SRM-6 to savage Rondema's
War Dog.Berith and Tomitaki add additional fire into Rondema's
War Dog. One of the PPCs scores a critical hit against the
War Dog's Gauss Rifle. It explodes!... causing two pilot hits and taking away Rondema's best weapon. Rondema counts her blessings as the rest of her heavy armor holds up. She's under forced withdrawal.
Elizabeth Rodriguez continues to pursue Stacy Church. Fortunately for Rodriguez, Church misses with everything but a ER Medium Laser.
TURN 11 The eruptions continue...
Elizabeth Rodriguez suffers an engine hit when molten rock scores a critical hit to her rear center torso. Not enough to put her under withdrawal, but enough to think twice about her continued pursuit of the Black Widow's commander.
More damage to Max Hendrickson's
Trebuchet as some molten magma eats at his engine shielding. He's under forced withdrawal.
Berith and Tomitaki suffer more damage. Heat is perhaps the worst of it, as it reduces the
Grigori Luminos and
Archangel movements to 1/2 and adds +2 to-hit modifiers.
No one is safe. Both Calvin and Kristofur are hit with more lava.
As Berith attempts to run away, he is suddenly surrounded by several Widow BattleMechs. Russel Madison's
Locust takes two Medium Laser shots to the rear torso, while Rondema's Large Pulse Laser carves more armor. Berith turns and blasts Madison's
Locust to scrap with a Heavy PPC. That's six kills for the Blakists and their objective achieved!!! But Kristofur Blaine's
Marauder II still has a shot....
Uh oh...
ER PPC Headshot to the
Archangel. Berith is down!!! Repeat, Berith is down!
TURN 12 (Widows cede initiative, -1 Gunnery Bonus
With all objectives achieved, both forces move at full speed. The volcano will surely blow at any time.
Demi-Precentor Kari Marita takes control of the situation and orders the rest of the Opacus Venatori to retreat. She calls in a rescue VTOL for Berith.
Both Havalah Cazer and Tomitaki grudgingly oblige.
A courageous team of Seventh Kommandos are at hand to pick up the downed Widow pilots. The 'Mechs will surely be lost...
Stacy Church is the last to leave the field. She takes one final look at Berith's fallen
Archangel. It's over.
***
Or is it???