Part 348: Steel Will - Turn 24

Steel Will: Tactical Update 24

Combat Phase
Impact Point Zero
Griffin
- Fires ER PPC at Cronus (4 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement = 7): rolled 9, hit Center Torso (0/28 armor, 9/18 structure remains)! Crit!
- Fires SRM-6 at Cronus (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement = 9): rolled 9, 2 missiles hit Left Leg (8/20 armor remains), Right Torso (12/21 armor remains)!
- Fires SRM-6 at Cronus (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement = 9): rolled 2, miss!
- Gains 24 heat, sinks 22!

Cronus
- Fires Large Laser at Griffin (4 base + 0 range + 1 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 8): rolled 11, hit Right Torso (0/13 structure remains)! Torso Destroyed!
- - Damage transfers to Center Torso (23/27 armor remains)!
- Fires SRM-4 at Griffin (4 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 10): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires Medium Laser at Griffin (4 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 10): rolled 8, miss!
- Fires Medium Laser at Griffin (4 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 10): rolled 7, miss!
- Gains 17 weapon heat!



Yantai Reservation
Caesar
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Cicada (5 base + 4 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement -2 Pulse Laser = 14): automatic miss!
- Fires Medium Laser at Cicada (5 base + 4 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement = 16): automatic miss!
- Fires Medium Laser at Cicada (5 base + 4 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement = 16): automatic miss!
- Gains 20 heat, sinks 28!

Cicada
- Fires ER PPC at Caesar (4 base + 2 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement = 11): rolled 5, miss!
- Gains 15 weapon heat!

Rampage
- Fires Gauss Rifle at Caesar (2 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 9): rolled 8, miss!
- Fires Large Laser at Caesar (2 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 11): rolled 7, miss!



End Phase:
Cronus
- Critical chance in Center Torso! No critical hits sustained!



Next Turn’s Movement Phase
Caesar
- Retreats off the top map edge!




The barrel of Fynn’s PPC shimmered as it swung in line with the Cronus—and then past as it finished its almost slow-motion tumble to the hard-packed earth. A hardscrabble shrub burst into flames as it hit, and the Griffin’s battered right arm snapped at the elbow. The Cronus stood, its manlike left hand clutching at the gaping wound in its chest. It twisted back and forth, trying to make the wound a difficult target. Not that it mattered, the bastard’s last shot had completely disarmed him.

“Give up?” A voice tainted with the twang of an under-educated periphery settler boomed from the Cronus’s external speakers. “Y’all have had about all you can take. You don’t need to go out like this.”

Fynn could do nothing but let out a muttered string of invectives, and if curses were medium lasers he’d have had enough to wipe out a `Mech regiment. Disarmed, Fynn did the only thing he could: he made the most obscene gesture he could manage with only one hand.

The Cronus approximated a shrug, then simply waved.

********************

“I have you!” Cy breathed as the Cicada leapt to the hilltop precisely where he’d predicted. It made good tactical sense—take the high ground and it’d be able to snipe at the retreating Caeser with impunity—and taking adequate cover would’ve put Cy in range of the charging Rampage. Well, as far as the young Mechwarrior was concerned, caution was for pilots who couldn’t plan ahead—and the Cicada was right in his sights.

His fingers tensed on the trigger, savoring the moment he finally scored a hit on the slippery enemy `Mech—but it was no longer in his sights! The little `Mech flexed its legs heavily the moment it touched down, ducking effortlessly beneath Cy’s lasers. He hadn’t waited to establish a hard lock, and his computer hadn’t tracked the target’s otherwise trivial motion.

“Oh, holy sh—” Cy jumped as the silvery streak of the Rampage’s Gauss Rifle passed less than a meter over the Caesar’s head. The hypersonic boom of the shot’s passage was enough to make his fillings hurt. “Yeah,” he mumbled, kicking his jets into a full burn and launching himself in the direction the other New Syrtis Mechwarriors had retreated. “Yeah, I’m done here.”



Delta Battle Lance “The Avenging Angels” Primary Objectives:
- Survive (success)
- Destroy the Capellan Survivors (success)

Delta Battle Lance “The Avenging Angels” Secondary Objectives:
- Rescue Capellan Survivors (failed)
- Defeat Taurian Forces (failed)

2nd Lance, 1st Company, 3rd Chesterton Voltigeurs Primary Objectives:
- Survive (failed)
- Destroy the New Syrtis Rescue Party (failed)

2nd Lance, 1st Company, 3rd Chesterton Voltigeurs Secondary Objectives:
- Link up with the New Syrtis Rescue Party (failed)
- Defeat Taurian Forces (failed)

India Recon Lance “The Last Report” Primary Objectives:
- Retreat (success!)
- Defeat Taurian Forces (failed)

India Recon Lance “The Last Report” Secondary Objectives:
- Defend the Fallout Bunker Entrance (failed)
- Use the Raven’s equipment to confirm the condition of the six bunkers and the number (if any) of the survivors (failed)







Point Zero Enemy Movement Mods:
- Cronus – Walked +1

Yantai Reservation Enemy Movement Mods:

Player Status:


Enemy Status:




End Turn Notes:
The Caeser successfully retreats on Turn 25, and Ferrosol’s having some personal issues at the moment. It’s up to him, but the Cronus can’t kill the Griffin before the Griffin can retreat (and can keep the Griffin from getting into DFA range just by jumping its full distance every turn), so I’m willing to call that match as well if Ferrosol just wants to retreat. He could also chose to fight it out, it’s entirely up to him and I don’t want to influence his decision either way! Ferrosol accepted the partial victory on Point Zero!

Yantai Reservation AAR
Hoo boy, I knew that Cicada would be a problem. It had range, mobility, and firepower and in hindsight I probably should’ve vetoed it. I don’t feel that bad though, since it was also the only really solid performer the Taurians had. We’ll see what interesting things they pull out if you guys vote for Round 2. The players did a good job this time around, in spite of some missed orders and my forgetting to telling them that it’s perfectly safe to walk or run in mud (you just don’t want to jump into it ). This has been a grueling match, and I’m not surprised there’s been some trouble.

Point Zero AAR:
Oh man, so many ways this mission could've gone! It would've been pretty straightforward with no betrayals, but the extra tension of not knowing whether the players could actually trust their "allies" was a lot of fun. I probably should've just withdrawn with the Taurians once the actual PVP dustup started; but this worked a lot better than my last PVP experiment so we may see other missions where this may happen again.


As a reminder to future players: you can always send orders in before the deadline! If I get everyone’s orders early, I’ll probably be able to update early and the mission will move much faster!
_{I still can’t believe this mission lasted four months.}



Edit: How are people liking the new maps? They take only marginally more effort to set up, and once I've done so they're just as easy as the simpler methods I was using earlier. Next time, I will probably add some Not-a-Mechwarrior-Online-Joke 'Ghost `Mechs' to the enemy roster so it's easier to see where they were when the players were firing at them.