Part 457: Sludge Factory - Turn 1

Sludge Factory: Tactical Update 1

“I have served on some shitballs before but never one this bad.” Sergeant Major Justus Bachchan’s cigarette dipped and bobbed as he spoke. The tip was bent where it pressed into the clear face shield of his emergency oxygen mask and glowed an angry orange as the slight motion threatened to extinguish it.

“Kinda defeating the purpose of the mask there, boss,” his driver mumbled under her breath.

Justus ignored her like usual and called out his opposite among House Kurita’s troops. “Kashira Kolar, what in God’s name possessed y’all to let this place get this bad?”

“What’re you talking about, Sarge?” Lieutenant Madlyn Dalca interjected. The inclusion of an officer from the Draconis March had been a questionable one, but Dalca was a stable, good-humored young woman who got along with the Kuritans about as well as any. Which was to say: she teased them about as often as she teased Davion units and she hadn’t hesitated to use her cumbersome Partisan’s autocannons in their defense.

“That’s the Warrior Spirit. The sweet, sweet scent of Bushido!” The emphasis she placed on the last word made it sound more than a little like she was attempting to pronounce the word ‘bullshit’ with a bad Kuritan accent.

Her comparison was apt: although the world’s jewel-colored clouds had been beautiful from orbit Chatham stank worse than any sewer Justus had ever been in. A volatile mix of mildly toxic chemicals infiltrated everything and exaggerating bright colors until the sky shone blue as sapphires. On Chatham, air filters clogged in a matter of hours and even fresh ones couldn’t keep out the all-pervading stink. Even the locals, accustomed to it as they were, didn’t set foot outside without eye-protection and an emergency bottle of clean air for those not-uncommon times that the ground-level, acidic smog rolled in and the more common mix of slightly-tainted oxygen and nitrogen decided it had better places to be.

“You are not far off,” Chu-i Maki Kanon added. She was a surprisingly large woman with a voice Justus thought might just be loud enough to carry through hard vacuum. As a woman and a tank commander, Chu-i Maki had no patience for what she termed “Samurai Idiocy” and treated every `Mech jock with a sincere disrespect that had immediately endeared her to most of the RCT’s other vehicle crews. Her next words were harsh but anyone who’d spent more than a few minutes in her presence could tell she was mocking the Voice of the Dragon’s propaganda. “Anything to crush you Davion pigs. Even when we’re the ones rolling around in shit.”








Final Player Status:




Opposing Force Status:




Mission Objective:
Capture the Coolant Factory (0/1)

Secondary Objectives:
Protect the Mobile Army Support Hospital from detection (0/1)
Defend the Mobile Army Support Hospital (0/1)
Locate the Clan Ammunition Dump (0/1)
Destroy the Clan Ammunition Dump (0/1)



Special Rules:
Caustic, Tainted Atmosphere (TacOps p56)
Vehicles suffer an automatic Crew Stunned if armor is breached, Mechwarriors take double damage from head hits.
Point Commanders
As long as they are active combatants, the Mars Assault Vehicle and Epona Pursuit Tank may designate one unit each as an Ace for two turns. New Ace units may not be designated until Ace status expires. Units which opt to remain immobile for at least two turns gain Ace status on the first turn they move. BattleMechs and VTOLs may not be Aces.



Orders Due: Midnight Tuesday!