Part 384: Ultimatum - Turn 10
Ultimatum: Tactical Update 10“Ignore the freebirth, Star Colonel,” Star Commander Thresher said dismissively, trying to calm the situation. “He fights as best as he has been taught. It is not as though you need skill to kill bandit-caste offal.”
He dropped his crosshairs over the vague outline of the Thug. At such range the shot would have been difficult normally, especially against a moving target. Against a machine Thresher could barely see, the shot was nearly impossible—doubly so, when the actinic flash of PPC fire struck one of the Snow Raven command vehicles. His hands shifted on the controls, and his shots went wide.
The mobile command centers were a hundred tons of armor and communications equipment wrapped around a small-scale HPG. They were tough but hardly invulnerable and even though the machines weren’t necessary for the war effort, but they did enable near-instantaneous communication with any WarShips not orbiting directly overhead. Without them, the Snow Ravens would find coordinating their aerospace assets extremely difficult and that would put Sea Fox Mechwarriors in jeopardy.
His gaze settled on the vague, beetle-shaped outline of the attacker. It was a massive machine, undoubtedly as heavy as the command vehicles themselves. Although it was hard for Thresher to judge the firepower of any Inner Sphere unit, he expected they probably had comparable firepower but the Rim Worlder had far more armor coverage. Even the machine’s shape was unnerving—it looked far too much like an OmniMech for his liking.
A flash of movement over the enemy machine’s shoulder drew his attention—an enemy unit with a form that was distinct, visible, and tiny. “Enemy Locusts inbound,” he swept the horizon with his eyes, “At least a lance.”
Combat Phase
Warhawk B
- Fires Gauss Rifle at Thug (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 minimum range + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 7): rolled 7, hit Center Torso (24/39 armor remains)!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 8, hit Right Torso (18/25 armor remains)!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 7, hit Right Arm (18/25 armor remains)!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 9, hit Left Arm (18/25 armor remains)!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 6, hit Left Arm (11/25 armor remains)!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 3, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 12, hit Left Torso (18/25 armor remains)!
- Fires Streak SRM-6 at Bobcat - Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 7): rolled 11, 2 missiles hit Right Arm (16/25 armor remains), Right Leg (30/32 armor remains)!
- Fires Streak SRM-6 at Bobcat - Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 7): rolled 6, fails to lock on!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Bobcat (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 6, hit Right Leg (25/32 armor remains)!
- Gains 43 heat, sinks 40!
Vapor Eagle
- Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Black Knight (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover - 2 pulse laser - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 7, hit Left Arm (17/24 armor remains)!
- Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Black Knight (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover - 2 pulse laser - 1 targeting computer = 6): rolled 9, hit Center Torso (22/29 armor remains)!
- Fires Machine Gun at Black Knight (3 base + 2 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover - 1 targeting computer = 10): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires Machine Gun at Black Knight (3 base + 2 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover - 1 targeting computer = 10): rolled 4, miss!
- Fires Machine Gun at Black Knight (3 base + 2 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover - 1 targeting computer = 10): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires Machine Gun at Black Knight (3 base + 2 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover - 1 targeting computer = 10): rolled 10, hit Left Leg (damage blocked by terrain)!
- Fires Streak SRM-2 at Black Knight (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover = 9): rolled 8, fails to lock on!
- Fires Streak SRM-2 at Black Knight (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover = 9): rolled 6, fails to lock on!
- Gains 14 heat, sinks 22!
Wolf Spider B
- Fires ER PPC at Thug (3 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 10): rolled 8, hit Right Torso (3/25 armor remains)!
- Fires ER PPC at Thug (3 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 10): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires Gauss Rifle at Thug (3 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 10): rolled 4, miss!
- Gains 32 heat, sinks 32!
Arctic Cheetah
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 1422!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Thug (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 7): rolled 4, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Thug (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 7): rolled 10, hit Center Torso (17/39 armor remains)!
- Fires LRM-5 at Thug (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 7): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires LRM-5 at Thug (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 7): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires TAG at Thug (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 9): rolled 4, miss!
- Gains 16 heat, sinks 20!
Huntsman A
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Longbow (2 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 2 light woods + 1 heat - 2 Pulse Laser = 8): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires LRM-10 at Longbow (2 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 2 light woods + 1 heat = 10): rolled 10, 4 missiles hit Left Torso (14/18 armor remains)!
- Gains 17 heat, sinks 24!
Unknown Assault
- Fires Light PPC w/ PPC Capacitor (charged) at Beta Galaxy Maher Mobile Command Center (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 1): automatically hit Rear (87/97 armor remains)!
- Fires Light PPC w/ PPC Capacitor (charged) at Beta Galaxy Maher Mobile Command Center (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = 1): automatically hit Rear (77/97 armor remains)!
- Gains 30 heat, sinks 32!
Thug
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 1320!
- Fires Heavy PPC w/ PPC Capacitor (charged) at Warhawk B (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 Heavy PPC + 1 Void Signature System + 1 minimum range = 9): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires Heavy PPC w/ PPC Capacitor (charged) at Warhawk B (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 Heavy PPC + 1 Void Signature System + 1 minimum range = 9): rolled 4, miss!
- Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Warhawk B (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System - 2 Pulse Laser = 5): rolled 8, hit Left Arm (22/28 armor remains)!
- Gains 44 heat, sinks 34! Overheating! ACE!
Longbow
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 2143!
- Fires Large Laser at Vapor Eagle (2 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover = 7): rolled 3, miss!
- Fires TAG at Vapor Eagle (2 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover = 9): rolled 7, miss!
- Gains 8 heat, sinks 26!
Longbow
- Holds fire!
- Gains 18 heat, sinks 26!
Black Knight
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 2146!
- Fires Heavy PPC w/PPC Capacitor (charged) at Vapor Eagle (2 base + 0 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 1 Heavy PPC + 1 partial cover = 9): rolled 10, hit Center Torso (8/28 armor remains)!
- Fires Large Laser at Vapor Eagle (2 base + 0 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover = 8): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires Large Laser at Vapor Eagle (2 base + 0 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 1 partial cover = 8): rolled 4, miss!
- Gains 46 heat, sinks 36! Overheating! ACE!
Excalibur
- No Line of Sight to target!
- Gains 10 heat, sinks 22!
Coyote
- Fires ER Large Laser at Gamma Galaxy Maher Mobile Command Center (2 base + 0 range + 0 movement - 4 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System = -1): automatically hit Left Side (90/98 armor remains)!
- Gains 22 heat, sinks 28!
Crab
- Fires ER Large Laser at Arctic Cheetah (2 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 Void Signature System + 2 light woods = 8): rolled 7, miss!
- Gains 22 heat, sinks 36!
Hunchback
- No Line of Sight to target!
- Gains 12 heat, sinks 22!
Stinger
- Holds fire
- Gains 7 heat, sinks 20!
Arrow IV Salvo
- Explodes harmlessly!
End Phase:
Thug
- Must pass a piloting test or fall (3 base + 1 massive damage = 4): rolled 8, succeeds!
Next Turn’s Movement Phase
Thug
- Gains ACE status!
- TSM Activates!
- Deactivates Void Signature System!
Black Knight
- Gains ACE status!
- TSM Activates!
Arrow IV Counter: 2 Turn
Special Rules
Overheat Ace: The Rim World Blackguard gain Ace status when they overheat by 10 points or more!
Blind: Enemy units are only visible in direct Line of Sight
Hidden Units: Some enemy units remain hidden until they attack. Additionally, units equipped with Void Signature Systems may expend a turn’s movement to hide themselves if they are not in direct line of sight.
Expect Surprises: When the players lose their Phase 1 units, they will gain control of a powerful Phase 2 unit. When the players lose their Phase 2 unit, they will still have a chance to influence the outcome of the battle with a weaker Phase 3 unit. Some of these units start on the map, others will enter from elsewhere.Player Status:
Glorious Deaths
Phase 1 Objectives:
- Die Gloriously!
Phase 2 / Phase 3 Objectives:
- Defeat as many enemy `Mechs as possible (3/39 defeated)
- Defend Clan HQ Vehicles (3/3 remaining)
- Defend Clan Personnel (55/84 tents remaining)
- Defend Clan Equipment (24/36 units remaining)
Enemy Status:
Thug - Armor damage
Black Knight - Armor Damage
Stinger –Structure damage
Hunchback – Armor damage
Excalibur - Structure damage
Longbow – Structure damage! Pilot injured!
Longbow - Structure damage
Crab – Structure damage
Enemy Movement Mods:
- Unknown Assault +0
- Longbow +0
- Longbow +1
- Thug +ACE
- Black Knight +ACE
- Excalibur +0
- Coyote +1
- Hunchback +1
- Crab +0
- Phoenix +2
- Phoenix +2
- Bobcat +2
- Bobcat +2
- Stinger +4
- Locust +3
- Locust +3
- Locust +3
- Locust +2
Orders Due: Tuesday Night!