The Let's Play Archive

Battletech

by PoptartsNinja

Part 686: Snake Pit - Turn 14

Snake Pit 14

“Creepy,” Isamu Takenaka couldn’t help but exclaim as the enemy Thunderbolt twisted to track his Charger. Its arms were up and at the ready, as if the pilot was prepared to attack at a moment’s notice, but its hands were open and held palm-up. He wasn’t sure if it was some Clan signal that the pilot was standing down, or if the enemy warrior was just hoping someone would fire a shot his way.

Isamu didn’t subscribe to all of the Draconis Combine’s pseudo-mystical warrior mumbo-jumbo. Humans were built to see patterns where patterns did not necessarily exist, and what the Samurai-class called Ki was, Isamu felt, just the placebo effect or something similar. The state needed something to tell the nobles they routinely tricked into dying. Honor and the superiority of the “warrior’s spirit” were as neat fictions as any. It was ingenious, after a fashion. Or, at least, it helped weed out the stupidest members of the wealthy elite while they were still too young to know any better.

The Draconis Combine was all about competition control. Sararimen figuratively (or occasionally literally) threw one another under the bus to look that much shinier on the monthly report. Yakuza fought Yakuza, and the police ignored them as long as they could still afford to pay their bribes on time. Even the military might look the other way if a senior officer happened to suffer an ‘accident’ that let a skilled junior move up to take his place. Isamu had seen posturing before: the Thunderbolt was trying to bait out an attack without attacking himself. He’d seen the same from plenty of chinpira in his time.

“Steady,” he transmitted on the private channel the Yamaguchi-gumi had established for itself. “This dumb bastard is trying to play us. He wants us to throw a punch so his aniki can step in and put us down. Bastard’s just a small fry, we’re after the king tuna!”

“But aniki,” Takuya replied, “I thought we were fighting the Hell’s Horses!”









Movement Phase
Roughneck 3A (Player)
- Insufficient MP to reach hex 0921: needs 7, has 6!



Shooting Phase
Roughneck DSI (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 22!

Roughneck 3A (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 36!

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

Centurion (Player)
- Charges PPC Capacitor!
- Gains 7 heat, sinks 30!

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

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

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

Spider (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 10 heat, sinks 23!

Charger (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2heat, sinks 24!

Quickdraw (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 36!

Von Rohrs (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 32!

Thunderbolt IIC
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 32!





Map Link



Player Status:




Opposing Force Status:




Special Rules
- Enemy units are alert and aware of player positions



Primary Objectives
- Find and Destroy enemy commander (0/1)

Secondary Objectives
- Destroy Enemy BattleMechs (7/19 remaining)



Contest Results
Gun Jam is our winner! I haven't heard from him yet so we'll move on to our runners up.

TheParadigm and Goatface, what 'Mech do you want to name?

Raverrn and jng2058, same question once we get an answer from our second-place winners!



Orders Due: Midnight Tuesday!