Part 23: Combat Theater Vote 1 Results

Vote 2 Results
There is much firing of pistols into the air because the 17th Recon Regiment wins (with 37 votes)!
Death Commandos have more fun being the bad guys anyway, and don't mind coming in second (with 27 votes)!
Miller’s Marauders are so slow they're still not in sight of the finish line, they come in a very distant third (with 7 votes)!



“So, what’s wrong with ‘em?” The gruff, blonde-haired astech asked Annie Sue Hurd as the rookie ‘Mechwarrior climbed down the leg of her Rifleman.

She stood there, dumbfounded for a second as the other two ‘Mechwarriors in her lance finished their climbs as well. “Er, nuthin’,” she said finally, scratching the back of her head. Idly, she wondered if bunny bear would be ok guarding her cockpit controls, then decided that yes, that was a task well-suited to her teddy bear. Mechwarrior Annie Sue Hurd was not entirely sane. Then again, in La Familia—Comacho’s Caballeros—sanity was probably best left at the door.

Behind her, Mechwarrior Andre Norris began, “Don Carlos sent us to pro-vide security for y’all—”

“Ahaha!” the astech laughed. “He wanted you newbies out of his hair while he plans a real defense more like it, eh?”

Norris sputtered. “Wha—?”

“Don’ take it too hard, eh newbie? I’m the head astech, Carl Ramirez. The way you pulled up in your rides, I just assumed you had a bum actuator or somethin’. You kids got names yet?”

Rebecca Moss grinned. “I do, these two? They’re greener than a seasick Capellan. I’m Rebecca Moss, but please, call me Divot. Everyone at the academy did.”

Carl raised an eyebrow. “Lemmie guess, the good ol’ boys in Sierra tried to make you a fighter-jock?”

Rebecca grinned, “… Bailed on my first solo flight. Just a prop, but it hit the governor’s personal golf course. I’m told it made a pretty impressive crater on hole 3. The Governor thought it was great, and turned it into a water hazard. What do we call you?”

Carl chuckled, “Well… to understand. I’m the head astech, eh? Our first head astech was Zuma. Montezuma Delgado. Guy died. I replace him. The astechs don’t like me as much, I make ‘em work too hard… so they call me ‘Cortez’.”

Carl—Cortez—grinned ear to ear. “So I make ‘em work even harder. Make’s ‘em wish for the good old days back before Cortez got all mean, eh? But you ain’t here t’jaw with me. C’mon, lemmie show you the boss.”

He turned, stalking back into the repair bay. Annie glanced at Rebecca, shrugged, and followed. Andre followed a moment later. Astechs parted as Cortez passed, trying to look busy. He paused, pointed one out. “… That’s Gallegos. He’ll be Moctezuma next, I ‘spect. You need anything and can’t find me, find Zuma II.”

Cortez turned towards a ‘Llero wasp. It was painted green and black, and pointed out a man standing hip-deep in the wasp’s detached left leg. “That’s Joe Running Wild. Good man. He’s our Chief ‘Tech, not just a piddling little astech like me. King of the ‘Mech bay he thinks… the astechs wanted to call him Queen Isabella for a while. He also pilots a mean catapult so they decided against it.” Cortez grinned, “We call him ‘Engine Joe’ now. He hates it. Hey, Engine Joe! Don Carlos sent some newbies to help us defend the repair bay. Where you want ‘em, ese?”

“’Ey, fuck you Cortez,” Engine Joe grumbled. He smacked the ‘Tech helping him out on the back of the head. “Astro Zombie, keep workin’ on this piece of shit. I gotta go see what fucking crawled up fucking Cortez’s fucking ass this fucking time.”

Engine Joe hopped the wasp’s neon green leg, then sidled up to Cortez with a peculiar gait that suggested he’d just gotten off a horse. “What” he demanded, “the fuck,” pulling the headphones for a portable music player from his ear, “do you want, Cortez?”

Annie blinked.

“Tiburon sent us some newbies to protect us from big, bad Capellans, eh? Where d’you want ‘em?”

“Fuck if I care,” Engine Joe cursed, throwing up his hands. “Fucking Green Hornet’s busted, and all you wanna know is where I want the fuckin’ no-names?”

“It’s your show, Joe. I just yell at the astechs when you tell me to.”

“Sierra Foxtrot, I don’t have time for—”

“What’s wrong with the Foxtrot?” Andre asked, naively. The whole ‘Mech bay screeched to a halt, and everyone stopped to stare.

“… What I say?”

“You from Sierra, kid?” Cortez asked, naming the imaginatively-named capital city of Sierra (which also made it the de-facto capital of the three worlds the rest of the League referred to as the Southwestern Trinity Worlds). The 17th didn’t have much truck with ‘city folk’, even though Sierra would hardly be considered civilized by the majority of the Inner Sphere.

“Yeah,” Andre admitted. “So?”

Engine Joe laughed. “Ha! Poor kid’s fuckin’ clueless!”

Divot grinned. “Andre, I think you just earned yourself a callsign.”

Clueless frowned. “No way—my callsign’s Ace!”

The entire ‘Mech bay lost it, save for Astro Zombie. The young ‘Tech poked his head out through an access panel in the Wasp’s leg. “… Th’fuck’s so funny?” he asked. That just got the astechs laughing even harder. Astro Zombie was from Sierra too.

Engine Joe recovered first, then clapped Cortez on the shoulder. “… Put the kids on perimeter patrol, eh? And tell them to keep the fuck away from the fucking ‘Navajo Wolf’.”

Cortez frowned. “Begay’s here? Fuck, I hate that guy.”



*****



Cortez let out a long, low whistle. “Is that…”

“Sir Fuck You,” Divot grinned, “my Lancelot. Star League. Family secret, had it stored in a warehouse on Cerillos. It wasn’t doin’ anyone any good collectin’ dust, so I figured I’d become a ‘Mechwarrior and do him proud. Then they tried to make me a fighter jock.”

Cortez laughed, “Easy to understand why you’d want to pilot a sweet ride like this. Is it..?”

Divot nodded. “Yeah. Just don’t tell anyone, eh?”

“Mum’s the word. Wouldn’t want anyone absconding with a beauty like this. That your Rifleman, hun?”

Seventeen and clueless, Annie blinked, turned and looked where Cortez was pointing. “Yeah. That’s my Lil’ Sure Shot. Bunny Bear’s in the cockpit right now, he’ll warn us if any mean ol’ Capellans show up.”

Cortez cocked his head to one side. “Bunny—”

Divot shook her head, her eyes wide, practically begging Cortez not to ask. She then mouthed something that looked like ‘Teddy Bear’ while swirling a finger in a circle a half-inch from her right ear. The gesture went above Annie’s head.

“Ah, I… I see,” Cortez seemed taken aback. “Yes, I’m sure he’ll warn us if any—”

“Capellan motherfuckers!” A loud yell rose from the back of the ‘Mech bay. Annie turned, and saw Engine Joe was already half way up the leg of his Catapult. He screamed, “Get mounted up you fuckin’ newbies! The goddamned fucking Caps just took point bravo!”

Divot turned white, Clueless sputtered, Techs of all kinds went dead silent. Annie asked, “Wait—but that’s where the baggage train is. They’re non-combatants. Why would the Capellans—”

“Hostages,” Divot growled, “the Capellan scum has taken the kids as hostages!”

They scrambled, Annie settling into the cockpit of her ‘Mech just as a sinister-looking Wolverine stepped out of the ‘Mech bay. She wasn’t sure why, but that ‘Mech sent a chill down her spine. Annie resolved not to look at it.

“… Skinwalker,” she heard Divot say over the comms. “What the fuck does that mean? That’s creepy.”

“That’s Bobby Begay,” Engine Joe cut in on their comms channel. “… Suggest you stay clear of him. He’s such bad news, even the other Navajo won’t run with him.” His voice lowered, as if afraid Bobby was listening in—which he probably was. “The Navajo think he’s a witch.”

“How do we play this?” Annie asked, bringing everyone back to the task at hand.

“We negotiate,” Clueless explained. “Find out what the Capellans want—”

“No,” A gruff voice said over the comms. Everyone went quiet, the Navajo Wolf had spoken. “We’re Comacho’s Caballeros. We don’t negotiate for hostages—that’s straight from Tiburon. We rescue them, or we bury them. If we bury them—we bury the Capellans with them.”



17th Recon Mechwarrior List
Annie Sue Hurd – RFL-3N Rifleman “Lil’ Sure Shot” (g4 p4) (Tempest_56)
Andre “Clueless” Norris – HBK-4G Hunchback “Stubby” (g5 p3) (Polaron)
Rebecca “Divot” Moss – LNC25-01 Lancelot “Sir Fuck You” (g4 p4) (Mahoshonen)
“Engine Joe” Running Wild – CPLT-C1 Catapult “Firewalker” (g3 p4) (Red_Mage)
“Navajo Wolf” Bobby Begay – WVR-6M Wolverine “Skinwalker” (g3 p2) (Bobbin Threadbare)



Mission Objectives
Rescue the Hostages – Not All Hostages Die, All Capellan Infantry Surrenders or Destroyed! (Total Victory)
Bury the Hostages – All Hostages Die but All Capellan Forces Destroyed (Partial Victory)



Special Gimmicks
Hostages!There are 20 hostages. The Capellans will kill one a turn. One of the hostages is Gavillan Camacho, Colonel Carlos Comacho’s son. Another is Marisol Cabrera, Colonel Comacho’s wife. The hostages are rescued when all Liao infantry either surrenders or is destroyed. Capellan Infantry will surrender if all ‘Mechs and Tanks are destroyed. Hostages may only be killed if a unit of Capellan infantry occupies a 'Hostage' hex.

Kill Them All! In a fit of rage, the Death Commandos may order all the hostages killed. A fit of rage kills 1d6+1 hostages, but this order may only be given once. The order to Kill Them All! may be given only if Marisol Cabrera is killed.

Scout Platoon! Each ‘Mechwarrior will also control an element of Scout Platoon. Some start on the board, others will arrive on the board in an as-yet undetermined transport vehicle in a number of turns.

Scout Sapper (Mahoshonen)
He is invisible to enemies so long as he stays in wooded areas, but otherwise follows normal Line of Sight rules. In the open, a single shot from anything will kill him. He has been planting pyrotechnics and claymore mines around the area since the Death Commandos attacked. Once every two turns, he can either use booby traps to deal 5 points of anti-infantry damage to any Death Commando infantry that is not inside a building or occupying a ‘Hostages’ hex that is within four hexes of the sapper’s position, or he can use pyrotechnics to force an enemy ‘Mech to make a basic piloting check. The Scout Sapper is destroyed automatically if an enemy unit ends the turn in the same hex. Scout Sapper starts on the board.

Scout Snipers (Tempest_56)
Scout snipers are invisible to enemy units in forests, and are otherwise damaged like infantry. Scout Snipers may either snipe an enemy squad (automatically killing 1 enemy per sniper in the squad), or double-tap (automatically killing 2 enemies per sniper but revealing themselves to counter-fire that turn). Scout Snipers may only attack infantry units within six hexes to which they have valid line of sight, but may still snipe targets hiding inside buildings at a straight 50% chance to kill (don’t argue, I don’t want to fuck with things too much). Scout Snipers cannot hurt battlemechs, but may snipe a vehicle in an attempt to damage their tires, engines, treads, etc. Scout Snipers arrive in 4 turns via unknown transport.

Scout Company (Bobbin Threadbare)
Scout Company is a platoon of normal infantry with the following changes: Because they tend to use submachine guns, high-caliber pistols, and white-phosphorous ‘smoke’ grenades, Scout Company cannot attack targets at long range. For the same reason, Scout Company does double damage to all targets at short range. Scout Company arrives in five turns via unknown transport.

’Tech Platoon (Red_Mage)
The Caballero ‘Techs aren’t going to sit idly by and let their people be taken hostage. ‘Tech platoon counts as SRM infantry with anti-‘Mech training. ‘Tech platoon starts on the board. They also have a single shot of Inferno SRMs.

La Dama Muerta (Polaron)
Marisol Cabrera is a hostage. She is not a ‘Mechwarrior, and not a fighter in general. She does, however, have a powerful and abrasive personality. Every turn, she may either launch into a Distracting Tirade which has a 1/2 chance of preventing the death of a hostage if no Capellan unit has taken damage this turn, or a 1/6 chance of preventing the death of a hostage if any Capellan unit has taken damage; or she may Mock and Berate the Capellan platoon leader which has a 2/3 chance of preventing the death of a hostage at the risk of a 1/3 chance of getting her executed. La Dama Muerta starts on the board.



New House Rules:
Ace Pilot Among the enemy force is an Ace Pilot. This Ace Pilot always wins the initiative, trumping the normal ‘Poptarts Always Loses Initiative’ rule. If this turns out to be OP’d, I’ll consider changing it. This has been done to add a little extra uncertainty to the game.

Eights the Aces One Caballero 'Mechwarrior can temporarily prevent an Ace Pilot from automatically winning initiative on the next turn (in which case the Ace will function just like the rest of the Opposing Force for that turn). For this scenario, this skill may be used twice.