Part 373: Hastilude - Turn 19

Hastilude: Tactical Update 19



“Stop dragging this out, and just kill her already.” saKhan Richard Magnus grunted as he stared listlessly as the battle played out in real-time. His sharply-angled chin rested on the backs of his hands and the small man’s large, ice-blue eyes glistened in the light of the holotank. The saKhan’s meager one-hundred forty-seven centimeter height and large cranium marked him as a member of the pilot phenotype; but his black hair was atypical of the Magnus bloodline, atypical even of his sibko. He’d been a genetic anomaly, a one-in-a-hundred-thousand fluke, which had singled him out for persecution by his sibkin. While his kin had explored soft trivialities like emotions and comraderie, Richard had explored only the depths of his hatred for them. He’d risen to every challenge, leapt every hurdle, and succeeded far beyond his own childish imaginings while reveling in the failures of his own “brothers” and “sisters.” Even after he’d earned his rank and name, he still took great satisfaction in slowly poisoning the careers of the few survivors. Richard was vicious, angry, and terrifyingly efficient; and he was at his most dangerous when he was bored.

“That is a very unClan sentiment. Who amongst us would not enjoy teaching an uppity scientist her place?”

There were few in the command center who would speak to him in such a way; but Richard was unperturbed. Loremaster Lynn McKenna had long-ago earned his respect. She was like him—petit for a Mechwarrior, she’d been singled out by her own sibkin and like Magnus she’d succeeded in spite of their best efforts. He said nothing for a few moments and simply watched the Ghost Bear warrior flail ineffectually against the smaller Inner Sphere machine. It was almost an embarrassment—and he suspected Khan Tseng would’ve agreed, were the woman near-enough to consult.

“An example needs to be made quickly and brutally,” he countered, “or the enemy will learn the wrong lesson.”

“She’s actually quite good,” Lynn McKenna said. “The enemy warrior. She keeps her jumps low to the ground, and her stance wide—difficult prey for a fighter, quiaff? I think there is no shame in her designing a BattleMech: our own warriors design their own `Mechs all the time. How much harder it must have been for a warrior with no access to an OmniMech? She seems worthy of respect.”

“They are all completely graceless.”

A well-muscled hand squeezed the saKhan’s left shoulder as Lynn McKenna leaned in closer and mused poetically, “You only say that because you have danced amongst fiery blossoms in the void. To a pilot, all Mechwarriors are graceless. You wish this Captain-General Duncan Marik had bid a fighter star, so that you could show him what true battle is, quiaff?”

“Aff,” he agreed. “I do.”

Lynn McKenna nodded. “Do not denigrate this enemy, my Khan. They bid well and fight as true warriors. To think ill of them dishonors our own warriors.”

“Our warriors hardly need my help dishonoring themselves,” Richard growled disagreeably, but he shifted a moment later to get a better vantage for the end of the battle. He stared down at the tiny machines with unmoving, nearly-unblinking eyes like a hunting owl about to swoop silently upon a mouse. Lynn McKenna smiled—she’d piqued the saKhan’s interest. He was now plotting how he would attack such a canny, mobile foe.

At the far end of the room, a warrior stood and turned. “My Khan! We are receiving a transmission from Captain-General Duncan Marik. He’s requesting to speak with the Khan!”

Richard’s eyes flashed in anger for a moment as his thoughts were interrupted. “Has Michael returned to the James McKenna?” When the officer nodded, Richard smiled. “Good. Then put this “Duncan Marik” on.”







Combat Phase
Knights Wraith
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Clan Grizzly (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement - 2 Pulse Laser = 6): rolled 10, hit Right Torso (1/23 armor remains)!
- Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Clan Grizzly (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement - 2 Pulse Laser = 6): rolled 7, hit Left Arm (4/22 armor remains)!
- Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Clan Grizzly (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement - 2 Pulse Laser = 6): rolled 6, hit Left Torso (4/23 armor remains)!
- Gains 25 heat, sinks 20! Overheating!

Clan Wraith
- Holds fire!
- Gains 7 heat, sinks 20!

Clan Orion
- Holds fire!
- Gains 0 heat, sinks 22!

Clan Grizzly
Fires Large Pulse Laser at Knights Wraith (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement + 1 light woods - 2 Pulse Laser = 9): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Knights Wraith (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement + 1 light woods - 2 Pulse Laser = 9): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires Small Pulse Laser at Knights Wraith (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement + 1 light woods - 2 Pulse Laser = 9): rolled 4, miss!
- Fires LRM-10 at Knights Wraith (3 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 11): rolled 9, miss!
- Gains 24 heat, sinks 22!



Unit Status:


Knights of the Inner Sphere Mission Objectives:
- Win (incomplete)

Hastilude Enemy Movement Mods:
- Wraith – Jumped +4
- Orion – Stationary +0
- Grizzly – Walked +0



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