Chapter 4

Mission 13

Planet: Lyreton
Base Defence

Lance:
Poltergeist – Shadow Hawk
Dekker – Vindicator
Behemoth – Blackjack
Medusa – Centurion

Well this contract is going to be different. Capellan raiders have been detected making a raid on a research base so we have been asked to defend it and ensure that the researchers are safe and so is their valuable research and projects. The base is in an arid area so our mechs will heat up faster if we don’t watch our fire.

We were dropped off just to the west of the base and scans showed the enemy moving in from the west. We couldn’t put the dropship in danger so dropping away from the threat was the best.

We quickly moved through the base and set up a firing line just on the eastern outskirts. We had Behemoth in the Blackjack and Medusa in the Centurion on the northern end while Dekker in the Vindicator and I in the Shadow Hawk were on the south. I kept us a little bit further south because we got a report that they might try a flanking attack from this direction.

First contact was from the east consisting of a light fast moving mech and 3 vehicles keeping up with it. Behemoth moved into position and got a lock on a Galleon and destroyed it with a salvo of withering fire that opened it up like a cardboard box. Medusa opened up on another Galleon taking it out while a Firestarter that moved into the open got some damage to it’s paint job.

While that fight was happening to the north, Dekker detected the suspected flanking attack consisting of two fast moving mechs that appeared from around an outcropping of rock on the far side of the lake. I moved up to support him.

Up north, Behemoth killed a third Galleon and damaged the Firestarter as well. Medusa damaged the Firestarter again but couldn’t destroy it. Tough buggers. And nasty if they get close. Dekker in the south damaged a Commando and I took my shots at it but we just didn’t do enough damage to kill it.

I said the Firestarter’s are a nasty mech and Behemoth found that out when the Firestarter pilot jumped in close and opened up on her Blackjack with 2 medium lasers, 2 MGs and 4 Flamers. This was not good for Behemoth as her mech was heated up significantly. Too much more firing and she could overheat and damage the mech or even shutdown.

At this time, we saw a dropship come in and land just to the north of the base. It was not ours and we had not been notified of any reinforcements so this was a third set of enemies we have to deal with. This was only reinforced by a couple flights of missiles coming in and damaging some bade buildings. Things got a bit more complicated.

Behemoth was forced to try and cool down by firing a single medium laser at the Firestarter which of course was not a golden BB shot killing it. A bit of paint and armour melted away. Medusa moved up and got scans on the new enemy lance coming in and using multi-shot was able to damage the Firestarter, damage a missile Locust and kill a Galleon tank.

Down south Dekker killed a Locust while I killed the Commando. Hopefully we can get some salvage from them. But to the north, Behemoth in her Blackjack is taking more damage from the Firestarter as well as heat damage from overheating when it walked up and punched her mech. Those flamers and MGs also attack when it punched and makes it a very nasty melee mech.

I was moving back north to reinforce them and I got a nice target lock on the Firestarter and using my targeting computer I could pin point the centre torso of it and was able to destroy it. All that training paid off big time. Dekker was able to lock on and fire his missiles at a Spider indirectly.

Behemoth was still dealing with high heat so could only damage the Spider with her AC5’s. Medusa using his training in multi-targeting was able to fire at and damage the Spider, Locust and Galleon. His luck was amazing as he destroyed the left arm and torso on the Locust as well as the left arm and torso on the Spider.

Dekker kept moving and fired missiles at the Galleon indirectly. I kept on moving up as well and fired on the Spider with some indirect missile fire but it only damaged it. The Galleon crew moved up and got a lock on the Blackjack and ripped the left torso and arm off the mech. That took out half of her firepower in one salvo. Yang will not be happy as it will be a expensive repair and long one at that. Behemoth aimed at the Galleon and returned fire killing it but she still lost that torso and arm.

Medusa couldn’t get a good lock on the Spider or Locust so could only fire at the Locust indirectly. I also fired at the Locust indirectly as it had moved close to a cliff. Dekker also joined in with trying to kill the Locust with missiles but it kept standing. The Spider moved into position to fire at my Shadow Hawk but it was just minor damage.

I returned fire on the Spider and then the damned Locust fired at me as well. Medusa got a good lock on the Locust and killed it with some good shots and damaged the Spider who was trying to run away. Behemoth was the one to finally kill the Spider and we were finished with this battle.

Time to call in the dropship and let the salvage teams pore over the wrecks to see what they can find for Yang to use.

Back at base we found out that our success was even better than we had believed because we were given a bonus for protecting all the base buildings and wiping out all the enemy mechs. A 40% bonus in money is always good.

Salvage from this was good in that we got a piece of the Commando, part of the Locust and 2 pieces of the Firestarter. Yang says that will be enough for him to rebuild the Firestarter and add it to our line up.

Unfortunately, Behemoth will be in the med-bay for 20 days while she heals. Her Blackjack will be in the mechbays even longer as Yang and his techs have to rebuild the left torso and arm and replace all the weapon system in them. It will be in there for 37 days. Damn.

While that is happening, Yang will get his techs to rebuild the Firestarter so they can then work on fitting it out with a range of weapons to suit. Lots of fun.

Mission 14

Planet: Weldry
Capture Directorate warehouse

Lance:
Poltergeist – Panther
Dekker – Vindicator
Behemoth – Shadow Hawk
Glitch – Centurion

Well while we are repairing and rebuilding our mechs, we decided that a change of planet would be good so we accepted a contract on Weldry. It was a 15 day trip so we could focus on helping Yang and his techs with repairs and relaxing between training sessions.

We dropped into a forest just outside the detection range of the base defences. As we moved in, we started to detect a range of turrets set up to defend against a raid like this. Behemoth got a good lock on a sniper turret armed with 4 x AC2’s and 2 x MGs. A very long range turret but not very well armoured. Dekker got a target lock and fired, destroying it in a cloud of debris as the ammo cooked off.

I moved up and fired on a Light Laser turret which was only armed with 2 x Medium Lasers and 2 x MGs. I only did armour damage and Dekker had to finish it off with a salvo. Glitch was still moving in and hadn’t had any fun yet as we picked off the defences.

Behemoth killed another Lt Laser turret while I damaged a Shredder turret that looks nasty with it’s 2 x SRM6 launchers and 2 x Flamers. We really don’t want to get in close to those. We didn’t keep an eye on our scanners so the two Locusts who appeared out of the forest were a surprise and they opened up on Behemoth’s Shadow Hawk doing damage.

Glitch was in just the right position to open up on the turret damaging it and a lucky shot drilled a Locust and killed it. Behemoth tried to do the same and killed the turret but completely missing the Locust she aimed at. She’s not going to like the teasing she gets for that one. Dekker used a precision shot and kill the Locust. I think he was just showing off with that one.

A enemy Jenner came running out of the deep forest and opened up on Behemoth and damaged her mech. I did a precision shot at the Jenner but it was still combat effective and it took Behemoth getting a bit of revenge with a precise shot into it’s centre torso to take it down.

There were no more enemies on our scanners and the factory signalled surrender since we took out all their defences. Success.

Salvage teams and dropship came in and we walked away with a nice bit of salvage in weapons and mech pieces. We picked up 2 x Locust pieces and 1 x Jenner piece and Yang will be able to rebuild it if we need to.

Mission 15

Planet: Weldry
First Strike

Lance:
Poltergeist – Centurion
Dekker – Shadow Hawk
Behemoth – Blackjack
Medusa – Vindicator

This mission was a lot harder than we expected but it wasn’t because of who and what we had to fight, it was because of what we were attacking. On Weldry the Directorate has a prison, the Ice Box, and they are keeping a lot of nobles and commoners here for re-education purposes. But we didn’t know what they were really doing here until after the battle.

The prison was in the tundra area of the planet and this will be good as it helps to dissipate the heat our mechs will generate by moving and firing. It will also help the enemy but that’s the breaks. The poor foot soldiers will have a further danger to worry about in the large biting insects that swarm all over the planet. They are the size of an adult’s thumb so could even be of a size to threaten a battlemech.

While here on planet, Yang went shopping at the local stores looking for interesting equipment and weapons and possibly any mech pieces. He found one woman who was selling 2 sections of a BJ-1 Blackjack and with those pieces, we had another Blackjack for our company. It will be a very welcome addition to our firepower since our other Blackjack is still being repaired.

This is our first strike against Lady Arano’s traitorous uncle and cousin who have been ruling the Aurigen Directorate since usurping the throne of the Aurigen Coalition on Lady Arano’s coronation day. They have been running rough shod over all opposition and today we strike back in a way that will start removing any support he is forcing.

We got dropped off in a pass leading towards the prison. This was chosen because it was close to some power generators for the prison fixed defences and taking them out will be our first priority. Then we have to deal with any mobile forces guarding the outside of the prison before we can break in and deal with any guards inside.

As I moved around to the west of the hill with the generators, Dekker, Behemoth and Medusa used their jump jets to jump to the top of the hill and getting locks on the power generators. Once we have line of sight on them, we can get this battle started.

As I moved on the western road, I got scan returns on vehicles and a couple turrets. I saw a Scorpion light tank moving into position to fire with two unknowns behind it. I also saw a quartet of power generators tucked in close to the prison walls so we will have to deal with them as well.

The trio on the hill all took aim at the power generators and with salvos of cannon shells, lasers blasts and missiles they destroyed both of them and left them burning.

As I moved towards the prison, I was able to see that one of the unknown vehicles was a Bulldog tank and the turret was a sniper turret with quad AC2’s. The turret was my first priority because I knew I could kill it. And that is what happened, I got a lock and fired and all my shots went home, blowing it up when the ammo was set off.

Medusa took some missiles from the distance but couldn’t see who fired them at him. He jumped closer and spotted a Striker but he couldn’t get a lock on, so fired at the Bulldog and damaged it. Behemoth used her training in being able to aim at multiple targets and split her fire between the Bulldog and Striker and her aiming was spot on when both vehicles were destroyed in explosions.