Davion Guards Assemble! Let's Play Mechcommander

Ambush!

With an Uller still active just ahead of the convoy things got worse as two squads of Elementals emerged inside the town. Baron and Gunman were forced to deal with it as the enemy mech got an unexpected reprieve. Still it wasn't looking like a real threat to the convoy as each small Elemental was rapidly dispatched by laser weaponry.


The fight continues

Both groups of Ullers had briefly retreated from each other. The enemy mech was still hurling light autocannon fire at Siren which eventually resulted in heavy damage to some of her limbs. Emboldened the clan mech got close enough for PPC fire. Hitman's fire volley was amazingly effective and it was put down for good soon after the last Elementals were destroyed by our Centurion.


An LRM destroyed

Another pair of sensor contacts alerted me to the presence of what turned out to be two LRM carriers. Prompt action (and some pausing) allowed our mechs to get in range before the convoy could be targeted. Both were dealt with easily.


Look a Cougar!

Now well outside the town the convoy was approached from the rear by a newly emerged Cougar-class mech. It was packing a bunch of LRM racks and some pulse lasers and therefore looked to be a huge threat from range. Both Baron and Hitman were ordered back into town to deal with it. Together they had the upper hand but it took far too long to take out the Cougar.


Baron is badly injured

As the fight went on Baron came under sustained fire. He began losing weapons before his cockpit was hit several times. Injured he withdrew back towards the container stack which we had been after for so long. Ultimately he'd take it and with his armor almost completely gone he played no more importance in this fight.


Vulture down and out

Things had progressed rapidly as half the lance got caught up in a worthless fight. Though the Cougar ended up being salvaged by us (and one of the Uller mechs was too!) it had fatally split up the team. Siren and Hitman were forced to move ahead on their lonesome to protect the convoy. A surveillance drone had spotted the Vulture by now. It was equipped with a terrifying amount of weapons. Two pulse lasers, two large ER lasers, and eight LRM racks. The first volley took out one of Hitman's PPC's and badly damaged his left side.


Hitman's Uller after the battle

Badly damaged Hitman nevertheless pressed the attack. He and Siren quickly got on either side of the Vulture and it had to switch its focus every few seconds as it found itself flanked and exposed to a potential rear armor shot.


Siren's Uller after the battle

Eventually our luck ran out somewhat. Siren's Uller was the focus of a large laser salvo and sustained heavy damage. For a few seconds it looked as though she would continue to be mobile before several missiles crippled our Uller. Luckily our next volley of PPC fire was accurate and devastating. The clan pilot ejected having suffered extreme damage to his torso. (Thanks to some save scumming it also was salvaged!)


An excellent result!

So everyone came back alive. Near catastrophic damage for everyone though. Small price to pay though for what we got this mission. Besides two supply caches we got hold of another Uller and Cougar. Then we also managed to take the Vulture as salvage. All the requisition points earned are more than enough to repair any damage sustained here.

In the end I ran through that mission about five or six times. It isn't very long due to the active timer which the convoy constrains you with. Besides whether or not to activate the pair of mechs is really the only important decision you have to make as the rest of the encounters are dictated by the linearity of the mission.

The various encounters are also very samey and never coalesce into a firm threat if you can react with enough speed. Managing weapon ranges so that Baron went in close and everyone else stayed at range allowed me to finesse several of the battles. Those pop-up turrets never were a challenge for instance.

Salvage was uneven across most of the play-throughs. Both times I took it down the Vulture was salvage. Likewise the Cougar was taken most of the times it was destroyed. Lighter mechs were taken far less often - probably due to how PPC fire can rip huge holes out of them.

Nice job, CSL. Is the Vulture now your 2nd strongest mech after the Atlas?

Woohoo! That was very well done - and you managed to thread your pilots through a real woodchipper of a mission. I'm not sure I've ever done it without losing someone to fire from that Vulture. Its alpha strike is just so, so vicious, at that tonnage.

Second real base assault!

So now command wants Zulu Company to move against the remnants of Bondsman Major Piotrev's command unit. I'm to take over the repair base which the enemy has set up in his immediate rear; but it is guarded by a large belt of turret defenses.


Major Piotrev's rear

Our immediate objective is to destroy the two industrial centers at Objective 1. I've been informed that this area is heavily guarded by turrets. Apparently these can be deactivated for a small amount of time by destroying the primary generators located at Objective 2. As soon as the factories at the first objective are destroyed I'm expecting Piotrev to arrive.

New potential pilots

Since most of my green pilots are still green. I need more skilled regulars and veterans to effectively pilot my growing stable of heavy mechs. Right now Lynx and Hunter are going into most battles. Losing either of them would be disastrous to Zulu Company. In an attempt to add some heft to our roster both Outlaw and Scarab are brought in.






Our greeting party for Major Piotrev

With 300 tons available tonnage I've got enough room to take several heavy mechs. The lineup consists of two short range focused Cougar-class mechs. Scarab and Mystique will helm them into battle. The other lance has three mechs. The first is a Centurion with twin PPC's and several ER lasers. It will look to guard the real core of my fighting force in this mission - two long-range heavy mechs. I'm also taking along the Vulture. With eight LRM racks and twin large extended-range lasers it can chew up anything.

Into the maelstrom!

Zulu Company is dumped north-east of the repair base. The geothermal generators mentioned in our briefing are almost due south of our landing site and should be approached before attacking the main base. Since the main base is heavily guarded by turrets I'd like to approach it with the power off.


Contact!

Ascenting a nearby hill our Cougar-class mechs note that a perimeter alarm will forestall us from a direct approach to the repair base. So we start scouting down towards the geothermal generators. Soon enough contact indicators go off. The sensor cluster turns out to be an Aerospace Spotter, two Strikers, and a mobile headquarters.


Don't run, we want to be friends

Missiles from our heavy mechs remove the Aerospace Spotter almost immediately. Then Mystique and Scarab rush into the action between the Strikers LRM volleys. The Cougars tear through the missile carriers with consummate ease before setting off to take the fleeing headquarters truck.


A small part of the repair base

When the truck is taken it furnishes me with a view of the repair base I need to ultimately take and hold against Major Piotrev. It is held in force by a fleet of vehicles and three Uller-class mechs. Individual Condor hovertanks patrol outside the walls while a central motorpool is located between the industrial complexes we need to destroy. Arrayed around the walls are several dozen missile and cannon turrets. These in turn are directed from five separate turret control towers that will need to be taken if we aim to hold the base. Perhaps most importantly there are two fully functional mech repair bays. Something I might need against Piotrev.

Pop-up turrets don't stand a chance

The geothermal generators aren't hard to find after taking out the initial contacts. The mobile headquarters had driven right past the entrance. Further scouting established a second entrance from which the Cougar mechs would wait. Fighting began when Outlaw came under fire from pop-up turrets.


The secondary facility is taken

Turrets are the only thing guarding this for some reason. I'd have expected something beefier in the way of resistance. For now we can't destroy the generator as none of our mechs are setup.


Screening the heavies is dangerous work

I'm using the light mechs to screen my other units as we move away from the geothermal generator. Neither of them are equipped with advanced sensors and therefore two powered down Cougar mechs get the drop on us. The initial volley only stuns Mystique and our pilots strike back. They gang up on one of the enemy mechs and before too long it starts losing weapons and armor.


The battle grows

The rest of our mechs are quick to come up to the battle. They arrive just in time to react to the arrival of two further enemy light mechs. Those unfortunate Uller mechs run into a storm of missiles and wither under the fire. At the end of the first few seconds of fighting both of them are heavily damaged and one of their Cougar allies is effectively out of the fight.

Another Smoke Jaguar graveyard

The firefight lasted for less than thirty seconds after the heavy mechs arrived. For a few brief moments intensive laser fire had riddled the air and dozens of rockets had been expended. Damage to our mechs was minimal if not negligible. This was in stark contrast to the enemy force. All of them had been destroyed and turned into shattered hulks.


Front door of the repair base

Nothing else stopped me from positioning my heavy mechs just outside the repair base. Clan Smoke Jaguar forces inside the base were also still unwise to our presence. So our light mechs went back to destroy the geothermal generator before we went into the base.


Zulu Company forces its way into the base

When the power goes down Lynx and our other veteran pilots move in. Two hovertanks are destroyed in the first seconds, followed by half a dozen more in the minute ahead. Resistance increases inside the walls when several Ullers attack. They number only three and soon begin falling though.


Base secured

Reduced to only two mechs the remaining Smoke Jaguar forces are no real threat and are quickly destroyed. The turret controls are also taken without further incident. When everything settles down I find that only Mystique has taken any damage at all. Her mech has only minor damage to the torso. There is no time to rest though because Major Piotrev now approaches. We only have enough time to destroy the industrial complexes before he comes into view.


Piotrev arrives

This sounds like a fun mission

Fresh off a wonder display we've been given what might be a more straight forward affair. Affendale is about to be resupplied by a convoy of supply trucks. Intelligence is also telling me that Smoke Jaguar forces will separate at the first sight of our presence. We'll need multiple lances as a result.


Three drop zones this mission

300 tons is enough for a large outing. Our main force is divided among two lances. The first is led by Hunter and has three mechs. The second includes Siren and Scarab piloting Inner Sphere mechs. Landing south of the river is Ronin with a jump-jet equipped Uller. He'll attempt to find the enemy convoy and scout their movements.

Ronin slips away thanks to my cursor

After we drop Ronin sets off to approach the only hill on the map. It commands a large view of the battlefield but is apparent guarded by several vehicles and I can't risk Ronin getting damaged this early in the battle. Taking some harassing fire he is able to eventually ascend the peak, giving us a birds eye view of the centre of the map.


Ronin spots the convoy

Having gone far afield Ronin is able to pick up the Smoke Jaguar convoy as they arrive on the battlefield. The two primary lances are still approaching the closest bridge crossing over the river and has found it fortified with numerous laser and cannon turrets.


The enemy convoy

Ronin, though turning away, has still taken fire from the convoy escort. We can spot two Cougars and a Hunchback IIC. The convoy itself is composed of three salvage trucks, two ordinance trucks, and two fuel trucks.


The convoy splits up

It doesn't take long before the trucks split up with various mechs taking the lead. For now I can safely assume that they are splitting into three directions.

Hunter makes contact at the river

By now the main force has skirted past most of the turrets in a quest to find some sort of control tower. They were eventually forced into battle against a pair of Rommels and turret cannons. Having already dispatched a number of small laser turrets the pilots were already warmed up and took out most of them with ease. In time Rooster was able to get into the small turret concentration and captured the control tower. Nearby a warehouse gave us three more clan pulse lasers and several sensor modules.


Hunter engages

It took a few minutes before we could tell which group was heading where, but in due time our force split up. Siren and Scarab went north to deal with the largest group. Hunter, Falcon, and Rooster would deal with everything else. The first contact came in the middle when our Vulture engaged the weakest group.


Zulu Company captures the ordinance trucks

A single Cougar mech isn't any real challenge for Hunter and Falcon. That said Hunter has taken some damage after a group of vehicles enters the fray. The damage is mostly minimal though and the Vulture retains all its armament. Having taken both trucks we can now shift further south to meet with the fuel convoy.

The northern convoy

Ronin had by now joined our Catapult and Centurion. They were assaulting the northern convoy of salvage trucks. Those were initially guarded by a pair of light Cougar mechs and a single tank. Emboldened by the arrival of Ronin our pilots pressed their advantage and rapidly chewed into the lead mech.


Down a Cougar the northern convoy is greatly weakened

It takes longer than expected to take down the first Cougar we encounter. Still, it's demise allows me to start capturing the trucks.


Victory!

The rear portion of the escort is destroyed quite quickly. With Scarab and his Centurion in their rear the single light mech and its accompanying tank didn't last long. Neither of the mechs have been salvaged - the only problem in an otherwise successful capture of the salvage trucks.

The fuel convoy makes its escape

The rest of our pilots can't make the southern most convoy in time. Before they get to the correct bridge the fuel trucks are almost home free. But not quite - as we catch up to the lone Hunchback IIC and the fuel trucks. Rooster is critical here. After he engages at short range he opens up the enemy mechs rear to Hunter and Falcon.


The convoy is taken!

My best pilots aren't likely to waste that kind of opportunity. A quick barrage of PPC fire and long-range missiles destroys what amounted to the escort. The two trucks - almost off the map now - were taken. The mission was over.

Another remarkable victory

Only Siren made it off the field without damage this time. That is still an amazing victory. Only Ronin and Rooster in the light mechs took large amount of damage. Neither got a kill but the mission wouldn't have been possible without Ronin's scouting. All of the supply trucks were taken and in the end we salvaged the Hunchback IIC that nearly chewed up Rooster at the end.

That is a massive success, CSL! Congratulations! Very well managed, too.

Vultures are actually surprisingly easy to salvage if you don't mind only saving half the weapons--since there are 4 LRM racks on each side torso section, and an ammo explosion inflicts 2 damage to the pilot, when you blow the side torso there is a good chance the pilot will be killed, leaving you with the rest of the mech.

I think I've been getting his luck; I decided to reinstall and ended up with both Madcats, 3 of the 4 possible Vultures, and the Awesome through Mission 4-3. I didn't even save scum this time.

That's pretty much how my first serious run of Mechcommander went, which meant subsequent ones which were not as good on the salvage rolls always disappointed me.

Thanks!

By now I'm doing a series of dry-runs over any new mission and have been watching a couple of youtube LPs to prepare for each mission. That said it was my first real attempt at the mission.

Tricky mission

Now Zulu Company is ordered to liberate a re-education camp within the Mayan Canyons. Inner Sphere pilots are housed in the complex and we need to get them out. Intelligence is telling me that there are patrols in the region and several trial runs have shown me that these are mostly light mechs. Artillery support is fairly small and we have a time limit.


The Mayan Canyons

The drop weight limit is a hefty 425 tons. We can also drop in with two lances. The first group will be our assault force and the second will stay back to guard our base headquarters. With nearly 100,000 in requisition points it won't be hard to field a force for this.

Prison liberation!

I'll be going with two lances. The first consists of Scarab, Outlaw, Hawk, and Fiend. The second has Falcon and Rooster who will stay back to guard the base. Each lance should have enough firepower to achieve their objectives. It should also be noted that each mech is being piloted by someone of a lower rank than can actually handle them - everyone needs experience.


Base Headquarters

As soon as we land alpha lance moves away from the base. This leaves Falcon and Rooster behind to guard our headquarters. It should be enough. Rooster has twin PPC's and the Atlas has around a dozen laser weapons.


Alpha Lance

The largest hill on the map is just north of Alpha Lance's route. So we blast through a forest in order to ascend it. Doing so should give me eyes over a large part of the battlefield. I'd have forewarning of any threats coming up behind me as well.


Smoke Jaguar mechs attack our headquarters

While our attack force was gathering intelligence a fierce battle began back at headquarters. Three light mechs had been spotted moving towards it. All of the mechs turned out to be jump varients of the Uller and Cougar classes. Since they have minimal armament compared to my mechs it should be an easy fight.

Falcon slices through another Uller

Without adequate backup the Uller mechs were easy prey for Falcon and her Atlas. The leading mech had been cleaved nearly in two during her initial salvo. After Rooster finished that mech off she turned her attention to the other Uller and soon had cut a swath out of its torso.


No solace on the mountain

At the same time Alpha Lance had made its way up the hill and spotted another three light mechs moving towards headquarters from the same path they had been on. Before they could intercept they were attacked by a lone Cougar. The light mech didn't last long against three heavy mechs.


Falcon destroys a Cougar

Shorn of the number advantage the remaining Smoke Jaguar pilots were vulnerable to Rooster getting behind them. Rear shots helped the last Uller go down quickly. The Cougar lasted slightly longer due to its better armor only to fall when Rooster got in its rear. Some damage was inflicted to Falcon though.

Another patrol

The next group of mechs to arrive at our base is composed of two Cougars and an Uller. Like the first group they don't last long. Falcon's mech has a Gauss Rifle which has been able to thoroughly saw through the light armor possessed by the mechs we've encountered so far. At the same time we destroy the final Uller I spot four additional Rommel tanks and an LRM carrier heading for the base. Falcon is already badly beaten up in her Atlas. The only consolation is that Alpha Lance is getting close to the objective.


The pilots are well guarded

As soon as we wander into range of the prison camp the full might of the garrison is thrown against us. It amounts to several more light mechs and a half dozen tanks of the Rommel and Bulldog varieties. The Uller mechs go down easily after they are caught in our initial artillery strikes.


Another graveyard

Though the initial artillery strike goes well our second, larger, strike is a complete disaster. It misses everything. The result is that far more tanks get close to our mechs than were planned for. Scarab's Awesome is heavily damaged - though none of his PPC's are knocked out.


Hawk captures the detention center

When the garrison is eventually subdued we are extremely low on ammunition. Outlaw's Jagermech is entirely out of autocannon rounds and everyone else is running low on missiles. Liberating the camp gets us a small reward - two clan extended lasers and an advanced sensor.


Back at the base Rooster engages some Rommel tanks

Bondsmen forces attack our escorting mechs

When the camp headquarters is captured an APC leaves it. We need to escort it. Nearly a third of the way back a large group of enemy vehicles spawns. It includes four Saracen's and an Aeospace Spotter. Half the force is dealt with in the first few seconds. Several orbital strikes are called in against us, but by now we are used to dodging them, and the Aerospace Spotter is slowly grounded down by laser fire.


A trio of Ravens jumps into action

Having survived another two waves of tanks Rooster moves to join our main force in escorting the APC. On the way there he is himself ambushed by a small group of Raven mechs. Armed with multiple SRM launchers they are able to grind away his torso armor before he can link up with Scarab and the rest of my heavy mechs.


Close run thing

Those three Raven mechs turned out to be unexpectedly hard. Already low on ammo my entire force was caught off guard. It too far too long for each of the enemy mechs to fall. Before they did both Scarab and Rooster's mechs were almost destroyed. Scarab was also injured.


Mission Accomplished!

Thankfully the Raven mechs were the last thing in our way. The APC was home free after we engaged them. The 30,000 earned got should be enough to repair the mechs. That leaves me with little in the way of extra, but as you can see there were several light mechs salvaged.

Scarab's Awesome

Heavy damage greeted me when I viewed our mechs. Repair costs alone cost a fourth of my budget. Worst hit had been Scarab in the Awesome. He had lost all three of the extended-range PPC's and a clan ER laser. That is an extremely hefty repair bill considering a new ER PPC costs about 7,000. Much of the cost is defrayed by selling off our surplus of Inner Sphere weaponry.


New Pilots!

I'm getting close to the end of the game now and some great pilots have started showing up. We've now got the opportunity to recruit Goblin and Vixen. Both are very experienced and put most of my current pilots to shame. I'll spend the money for Vixen at least.

Familiar, yet not

After all these base attacks Zulu Company is now being tasked with holding one near Affendale. It has little in the way of defenders besides a minelayer and two Pegasus scout hovertanks. More importantly the base has two repair bays which will both repair AND rearm my mechs.


The base

The former bondsmen base we need to defend is surrounded by a single line of turrets. They vary between missile and turret variants. The entire base is surrounded by a high wall, such that only missile weapons can be fired over it. Power is centralized and as such will need to be proteced so that our turrets and the sensor net won't be taken down. Finally the base is surrounded by more than a dozen small hits. Sending the hovertanks to them should give us a good amount of lead time on any enemy waves.

480 tons? Must be tough

This will be a difficult mission just due to the drop weight limit. 480 tons is absolute huge for any mission. In the end I settle on two lances. The first has an Atlas, Hunchback IIC, and two Centurions. This group will be my primary combat unit and has more short-ranged weapons. The other group has our Vulture, and the Awesome and Jagermech. They'll stay at longer range and try to deal out damage at range.


The first (and only?) time you'll see me using Pegasus tanks

As soon as we touch down both lances are ordered into the base and our Pegasus tanks move towards the eastern set of hills. I know that a large group of enemy mechs will move towards of from that quarter. The first wave will include four Firestarters. Thereafter another large group of light mechs will come in and will be aided by some Centurions and Hunchbacks. At the same time a large convoy of enemy tanks will come from the north. Don't think the turrets can deal with that.

Multiple sensor contacts?

Scaling the nearest hills shows us that a huge enemy attack is incoming. At least 30 signitures have been detected and many of them seem to be mechs.


Firestarters

The first group to be seen is composed entirely of Firestarter mechs. All four are jump-jet equipped versions with twin heavy flamers and an additional laser.

Nope, this is not the only time you'll be using a Pegasus. And the next time, you're even going to have to pay to use it.

Contact!

The four Firestarter mechs were quick to get to the walls. Since they didn't have any missile weapons they couldn't get off any rounds before they made it over our walls thanks to their jump-jets.


The firefight moves into the base

Touching down around seven of our mechs is a death sentence for a Firefighter mech. There is little in the way of armor to stop the combined firepower that comes from so many heavy and medium mechs. The first mech in is destroyed by our combined Alpha Strikes. Within a minute all four are destroyed.

Five light mechs...


...and five medium mechs

The next wave is composed of ten mechs. These are equally divided into light and medium mech varieties. I'll need to take particular care against the numerous Centurion and Hunchback-class medium mechs we've spotted.


Uh-oh

At the same time as this dire threat is approaching another half-dozen Rommel tanks are approaching from the other side of the base. Bollocks.

Have you ever wondered about the kill count in this game? If I remember my tabletop, a Clan galaxy runs something like 200-300 mechs or equivalent forces (they're supposed to be combined arms at this level), and by the last two operations of the game your 12-mech company is plowing through something like 30 enemy mechs per mission. I mean, even disregarding the actions of every other IS unit in the game, by the end of this--supposedly clearing the way to land your main invasion force and take control of a planet which is supposed to be a staging area for invading other Smoke Jaguar planets--you've destroyed enough mechs to guard a major planet, and probably twice that many vehicles.

This game is super important Viz.

Wow, time flies! I do find it interesting, from a lore perspective, that you spent the game fighting so many Bondsman units (and relatively few Smoke Jaguars themselves).

Also, this thread made me dig up the MechCommander soundtrack on Youtube. Even after 15 years, I could still remember the first few bars of the main theme:

Oh, yeah, definitely remember the main theme.

And, your name, given this thread, makes me think of Elemental Power Armour, every time.

Ha, unfortunately I'm a lot weedier than those guys! XD

(It could have been worse. You could have thought of Elemental Materials.)

Smoke Jaguar forces collide against our wall

Several small artillery strikes are placed along the route of our Smoke Jaguar opponents. It's enough firepower to badly cripple one of their Uller mechs and rips apart the armor of several others. This gives our turret defenses ample opportunity to wreck some already damaged mechs. Soon after contact one of the Cougar pilots ejects and the fight is off to a good start.


Mines are a wonderful thing

On the other side of our base the incoming convoy of Rommel tanks has taken losses navigating our minefield. Two tanks are lost before they can even approach the gates and then they are met by Vixen and her Atlas-class assault mech.


Absolute carnage as Smoke Jaguar forces enter the base

By now our forces outnumber the enemy mechs. Most of their light mechs have fallen outside the base. The turret network is also still functioning after we managed to save the control tower at the last second. But now a strong cadre of Hunchback and Centurion mechs are getting in close.


Locking down the breach

Both Mystique and Falcon take severe damage from heavy autocannon fire. They are saved from ejection or destruction when our medium mechs take the opportunity to get behind the enemy for easy rear shots. Despite some wounded limbs and battered torso armor it seems the enemy assault has fizzled out just inside our wall.


Elsewhere

Mystique's Awesome

There is more than enough time to refit and repair before the third and final wave of enemy mechs hits us. Almost everyone is back to full health and ammo besides poor Mystique. She not only took a hit to the cockpit but also lost a significant portion of her armament - including a very expensive ER-PPC.


Glorious salvage!

Her losses are somewhat made up by the fact that we salvaged three enemy mechs. The Hunchback is trash. The two Cougar mechs with most of their weapons intact are not. The new LRM racks should be enough to fit our Catapult out with.

Minefields, more minefields!

Those enemy mechs sure are taking a long time to arrive. Guess I'll have to busy myself. While waiting I plant a metric shit-ton of mines along the approach I believe the enemy will take.



The final group

Finally the last group of enemy mechs pop into view. It looks like a trio of Hunchback mechs, another pair of Catapult heavy mechs, and five LRM carriers. All waltzing straight past my sensor net and towards what I believe is a fairly impressive minefield.


Trapped and confused

The Hunchback pilots navigate around my minefield for the most part. Not so for the rest of the force as they sputter straight into a nightmare. If I had any more artillery this would have been a good area to drop it in.


Minefields are once again proven effective

Before we even engage the long-range force they've been decidedly neutered. Most of the LRM carriers are destroyed and both Catapult mechs have sustained critical damage to their legs. They should be easy pickings now.


Vixen gets up close with a trio of Hunchbacks

I hadn't mined the southern entrance to the base heavily enough and as such all three of the Hunchbacks were able to get in fairly safely. Then they ran into Vixen and her entourage of medium mechs. It was a short but brutal fight.


Zulu Company eliminates the threat

It was also a short fight. Though one of her torso plates was blown clean through Vixen didn't suffer much damage. When Falcon and the rest of our second lance arrived to help the fight was essentially over.


O HAI!

The last two mechs were still a bit confused about what to do in this increasingly dire situation. One of them entered the base in an attempt to show us what for by destroying a defenseless resource bunker. The pilot was forced to eject for such temerity. The second pilot had wisely stayed outside. Not so wisely was his decision to stay trapped in a minefield. He also ejected after seeing our forces approach.


Mission Accomplished!

Zulu Company did well this time out. Besides Mystique noone has been injured and most of our mechs are coming home without a scratch thanks to the two repair bays. The real story is how many mechs we salvaged. There were the two light Cougar mechs; then three of the Hunchbacks (destined for sell button!); and both of those Catapult mechs. Quite a hefty haul.

One thing to keep in mind is that the LRMs' list value of 1 damage (on a 10 second reload) is dead wrong; according to other sources, they actually do 3 damage. This means that LRM boats can deliver some pretty brutal alpha. Plus, they can shoot over obstacles. And unlike Clan ER PPCs, you can actually get Clan LRMs in quantity.