Part 506: Laager - Turn 2

Laager: Tactical Update 2

A BattleMech on the move kicked up a lot of dust. Even the lightest `Mech packed a lot of mass into a relatively small area and aside from ferrocrete few surfaces could withstand a BattleMech’s footsteps for long. Scrub grasses, lichens, and even more alien grass-like foliage had only a tenuous grasp on the soil. The ComStar Acolyte currently known as Nami had never seen a grass-like plant that wouldn’t be torn up in an instant by a `Mech. Only rain—or a layer of reinforced ferrocrete—would keep the dust at bay, so for those who knew what signs to look for a company of BattleMechs on the march became obvious even without direct line of sight.

“Only eight?” She asked dubiously. The Capellans were brave—and a decade of near constant war had left many of their front line troops some of the best in the Inner Sphere—but common wisdom said attacking a fortified position without at least a 3 to 1 advantage was a recipe for disaster. “Two lances?”

Acolyte Arakiel crested the firing step, his Viking peeking its fox-like body over the wall. The machine guns on its legs swiveled downwards on their turreted mounts to avoid scraping the barrels along the wall. Although the safeties would prevent the Viking from shooting itself in the feet, those weapons were one of the few sets that looked like they could open up on infantry at point-blank range. The intimidation factor alone supposedly made the Viking nearly impervious to infantry assaults—although Nami doubted that had ever been tested in practice. In her experience as a periphery pirate, very little would deter an enemy who was truly desperate.

The boxy missile launchers that comprised the Viking’s arms and ‘ears’ swiveled and roared as Arakiel fired a salvo at something Nami couldn’t see. “Tanks on the road,” Arakiel announced. “Looks like this is a combined-arms company.”

“Tanks?” Adept Kernoff scoffed, his scorn nearly as sharp as his face. “We’ll make them regret taking us lightly.”








Shooting Phase
BattleMaster (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 34

Viking (Player)
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 1227!
- Fires LRM-20 at Crane 1515 (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement - 4 target movement = 6): rolled 6, 9 missiles hit (31/40 CF Remaining)!
- Fires LRM-20 at Crane 1515 (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement - 4 target movement = 6): rolled 6, 12 missiles hit (19/40 CF Remaining)!
- Fires LRM-15 at Crane 1515 (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement - 4 target movement = 6): rolled 7, 9 missiles hit (10/40 CF Remaining)!
- Gains 19 heat, sinks 20

Catapult II (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 4 heat, sinks 20

Legacy (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 20

Lao Hu
- Holds fire!

Cataphract
- Holds fire!

Archer
- Holds fire!

Rifleman II
- Holds fire!

Huron Warrior
- Holds fire!

Snake
- Holds fire!

Helios
- Holds fire!

Wolverine
- Holds fire!

Von Luckner
- Holds fire!

Brutus
- Holds fire!

Brutus (PPC)
- Holds fire!

Demolisher (Gauss)
- Holds fire!








Player Status:




Allied Status




Opposing Force Status:




Mission Objective:
- Hurt them (0/3)
- - Hurt them more (0/6)
- - - Teach them the Word (0/9)

Secondary Objectives:
- Defend the Turret Control Tower (0/1)
- Defend the Administration Building (0/1)
- Keep enemy `Mechs out of the `Mechbay (0/1)



Special Rules:
Construction Zones – Unless the hex states otherwise, all construction zones count as light woods.

Reload Point – ComStar’s technicians are very motivated and have six tons of LRM reloads available. They can reload 2 tons of LRM ammo per turn spent inside the Mechbay. The Legacy isn’t built for quick reloads, but the technicians may be able to supply it with one additional ton of gauss rifle ammo. If only one `Mech is in the Mechbay the technicians will also replace damaged armor plates, restoring the armor on all damaged sections up to the nearest multiple of 5. If a section is already at a multiple of five, its armor cannot be restored.

Hidden Assets – The light autocannon turrets are currently in low-power standby mode. ComStar has always maintained up rumors that the power grid supporting them is incomplete or somehow insufficient to power them. They will not open fire until at least two players request their activation on the same turn. This deception may be detected by enemy units with a Beagle Active Probe.



Orders Due: Midnight Tuesday!