Part 420: Trial by Fire - Turn 11

Trial By Fire: Tactical Update 11

“Is this really the best plan?” Cadet Nemanja had to yell over the thunderous crack of her variable speed pulse laser. The heavy weapon chewed through her damaged target like its armor was made out of butter, and brought the thick bulkhead behind it to an unhealthy orange glow. When the molten armor dried in a few minutes, it’d leave the wall looking cancerous and diseased.

An Elemental in bone-white armor rounded the corner, leveling the barrel of its laser at Nemanja’s Wolverine BattleArmor. Sarah reacted instantaneously, focusing her gaze on just that unit as she swung her arms in-line and charged. The report of her AP Gauss Rifles was practically silent by comparison. The Elemental staggered as the man inside reacted subconsciously as though trying to grip his abdomen. Black harjel oozed from the shattered breastplate. He turned on his heels, trying to get his arms back up to ward off the charge.

The capabilities of the Clans’ ubiquitous Elemental armor was well known to the 331st, their occasional forays back to the homeworlds under the guise of roving bandits had captured a few. They were an ideal general-purpose weapons platform so well suited to so many different scenarios that the Clans had never really developed more than a handful of more specialized units. Massing a full ton, a single Elemental was more than a match for any number of unarmored infantry.

Unlike the Elemental, which was as much an anti-BattleMech platform as it was an anti-infantry unit, the 331st’s Wolverine BattleArmor had been designed with one very clear goal in mind: destroying Elementals. Massing twice the Clan design, the Wolverine had enough power in its legs to crush an Elemental like an aluminum can. Sarah had seen it done—hell, she’d even done it herself to one of the Republic’s multirole knockoffs as a demonstration for the current wave of newbies.

Her power armor barely slowed when she plowed into the Elemental, but even though there were no convenient walls to crush it against her attack was one of finesse as much as raw brute power. The impact drove the four unmoving, claw-like fingers of each of the Wolverine’s heavy battle claws through the Elemental’s damaged chest armor. From there, all it took was a simple twist to tear the armor apart like a chef shucking a steamed crab.

“No, this is the fallback plan.” Sarah had to yell to get the microphone to pick up—one of the downsides to the ultralight ECM built into the space-type Wolverine’s frame. “Against half the resistance we’re really expecting. I want each and every one of you checked out for zero-g ops by the time we start running our worst-case scenarios, because there’s no way in hell any shuttle is going to survive long enough to dock with a Clan WarShip. If you’re not space-capable, you’re probably dead meat.”

A shot from an infantryman’s laser rifle scattered and diffused in a momentary rainbow of light as it glanced from Sarah’s reflective armor. She cut the man down with a sweep from her chest-mounted gauss submachine gun.

“The armor’s a little thinner, but Clanners love their lasers,” she cautioned. “So it really is ideal. Everything else is practice and teamwork and hoping you don’t get rammed by a Batu on the way in.”








Movement Phase
Battlemaster (Player)
- Attempts to enter hex 2120, but a friendly unit is in the way!



Combat Phase
Crab (Player)
- Fires ER Large Laser at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 8): rolled 11, hit Rear Right Torso (0/3 armor, 1/6 structure remaining)! Crit!
- Fires ER Large Laser at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 8): rolled 4, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 8): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 8): rolled 9, hit Right Arm (1/6 armor remaining)!
- Fires ER Small Laser at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 8): rolled 7, miss!
- Gains heat 38, sinks 36! Overheating!

Battlemaster (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains heat 2, sinks 34!

Coyote (Player)
- Fires ER Large Laser at Commando’s Right Leg (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods + 3 called shot = 11): rolled 12, rolled 6 to confirm hit location, hit Right Leg (0/8 armor, 1/6 structure remaining)! Crit!
- Gains 14 heat, sinks 30!

Shadow Hawk (Player)
- Fires Light Autocannon/5 (Armor Piercing) at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 9): rolled 8, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 9): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 9): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires iNarc (Explosive) at Commando (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 9): rolled 9, hit Right Leg (0/6 structure remaining)! Leg blown off! `Mech disabled!
- - Damage transfers to Right Torso (0/6 structure remaining)! Torso destroyed!
- - Damage transfers to Rear Center Torso (0/4 armor remaining)!
- Gains 18 heat, sinks 20!

Commando
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 2018!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Crab (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement = 8): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Crab (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement = 8): rolled 10, hit Left Leg (18/22 armor remains)!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 20!

Coyotl
- Fires Plasma Rifle at Crab (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement = 10): rolled 3, miss!
- Gains 17 heat, sinks 20!

Wolverine
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 28!

Thunderbolt
- Fires ER PPC at Shadow Hawk (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 10): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires LRM-15 (Artemis IV) at Shadow Hawk (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 10): rolled 11, 12 missiles hit Left Arm (13/18 armor remains), Left Leg (20/25 armor remains), Right Arm (17/18 armor remains)!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 28!

Woodsman
- Fires ER Large Laser at Crab (3 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement = 9): rolled 9, hit Left Arm (7/14 armor remaining)!
- Fires LRM-15 (Narc Capable) at Crab (3 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement = 9): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires LRM-15 (Narc Capable) at Crab (3 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement = 9): rolled 11, 12 missiles hit Right Arm (10/14 armor remaining), Left Arm (3/14 armor remaining), Right Torso (10/14 armor remaining)!
- Gains 23 heat, sinks 24!









Player Status:


Neutral Forces:


Opposing Force (level)
Cyclops (Mk. 6) – Disabled!
Woodsman Prime (Mk. 6) – Stationary +0
Mountain Lion (Mk. 4) – Disabled!
Thunderbolt (Mk. 2) – Walked +1
Kintaro (Mk. 2) – Disabled!
Wolverine (Mk. 7) – Ran +1
Coyotl A (Mk. 6) – Jumped +4
Commando (Mk. 4) – Disabled!



Mission Objective:
Plunder Recovered (0/1500 points)

Secondary Objectives:
Enemy Units Damaged (200/400 points)
Penalty Accrued (-150/-300 points)



Orders Due: Saturday Night!