Part 374: Hastilude - Turn 20

Hastilude: Tactical Update 20



The lights in the Wraith’s cockpit flickered and went out for the span of a heartbeat as the battered, blackened machine stood dumbfounded. Dr. Sequord stared in silence, her eyes wide with shock as she struggled to understand what’d just happened. The thin wisps of smoke that still rose from the Orion’s missile launchers told the story. She’d been counting on that machine’s continued quiescence, but apparently the enemy warrior had taken her choice to avoid the Clan-made machine’s primary armament as a personal affront. Or perhaps the Clan warrior had simply grown tired of waiting.

Her ragged breathing was loud in her ears, her neurohelmet claustrophobic and stifling. Alone, outnumbered, outarmored, and outgunned in that moment staring at too-close Orion she’d have given nearly anything for some reinforcements. She’d even have accepted help from Kemper Varas, but Varas was dead. His machine was still burning, its cockpit shot away.

She was going to die here, alone. In a coffin of her own design.

Her secondary monitors flickered as the Clan jamming intensified; but they’d lost their ECM with their Anvil. The Orion’s weapons rose menacingly as the enemy pilot prepared for a follow-up attack; but something behind it drew the doctor’s eye. There was nothing and yet, she thought she saw movement: a faint shape—indefinable yet familiar. She spared a second to wonder if stress had driven her crazy. What were hallucinations a symptom of again? Dehydration?

An autocannon boomed, and the Orion disintegrated in a blinding flash. A Hunchback stood shrouded in a cloud of inky black smoke for a few moments before a puff of wind obscured it. Sequord switched to magnetic resonance imaging for a better look; but found nothing at all. She toggled back to visible light even as the Grizzly spun amidst a hail of charged particles and plasma, its remaining arm pirouetted through the air before the machine fell, decapitated. The enemy Wraith twisted as a Stinger attacked from nowhere, its blue paintjob clearly visible while it moved—yet fading away as the machine stopped to take a swipe with the four-meter spike attached to its left wrist. Another Stinger, nearly invisible behind the first scored at hit with its own pike; and true to its namesake a Chameleon crossed in front of her Wraith almost close enough to touch and drove its own weapon into the Clan machine’s back.

The barbed spear came out trailing bits Dr. Sequord recognized as pieces of the gyro housing, and the Wraith collapsed. Dr. Sequord’s fingers tightened on the controls and something—perhaps a slight movement of her Wraith’s arm—must have caught the Chameleon’s attention. There was a startling clang as it rested the pistol-like barrel of its Large Laser against her machine’s cockpit. She froze.

“Dr. Sequord,” a voice boomed in her ears. “Count yourself lucky: You’ve just been rescued by the Rim Worlds Republic Blackguard. Now please, power down and wait for the Captain-General to come rescue you.”

“What—?” she began incredulously.

“She’s resisting,” another voice exclaimed. “Putting her down.”

Her Wraith lurched as the Rim World Chameleon drove its lance into the Wraith’s left knee. It twisted as it pulled away, shattering the joint as it pulled away. Dr. Sequord’s head caromed off the back of the machine’s command couch as it landed flat on its back.







Combat Phase
Knights Wraith
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Clan Grizzly (3 base + 2 range + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement - 2 Pulse Laser = 6): rolled 3, miss!
- Gains 17 heat, sinks 20!

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

Clan Orion
- Fires Narc Launcher at Knights Wraith (1 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 2 light woods = 8): rolled 4, miss!
- Fires LRM-20 at Knights Wraith (1 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 2 light woods = 6): rolled 6, 16 missiles hit Right Torso (11/18 armor remains), Right Torso (6/18 armor remains), Left Leg (14/20 armor remains), Center Torso (6/23 armor remains)!
- Fires Medium Laser at Knights Wraith (1 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 2 light woods = 8): rolled 9, hit Right Torso (1/18 armor remains)!
- Fires SRM-4 at Knights Wraith (1 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 2 light woods = 8): rolled 9, (dice 9) missiles hit Right Arm (11/14 armor remains), Left Arm (11/14 armor remains), Left Arm (9/14 armor remains), Right Leg (18/20 armor remains)!
- Fires LB-10X Autocannon (Cluster) at Knights Wraith (1 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 2 light woods - 1 cluster = 5): rolled 7, 7 submunitions hit Left Torso (8/18 armor remains), Right Leg (17/20 armor remains), Center Torso (5/23 armor remains), Right Arm (10/14 armor remains), Right Torso (0/18 armor remains), Left Leg (13/20 armor remains), Left Torso (7/18 armor remains)!
- Gains 13 heat, sinks 22!

Clan Grizzly
- No line of sight to target!
- Gains 0 heat, sinks 22!

Hunchback?
- Fires Ultra AC/20 (Ultra) at Clan Orion (2 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 VSS = 3): rolled 8, 2 shells hit Left Torso (Rear) (0/10 armor, 0/16 structure remains (`Mech destroyed!), Center Torso (Rear) (0/9 armor, 14/23 structure remains)!
- Gains 16 heat, sinks ???!

Unknown Assault
- Fires Light PPC w/Capacitor at Clan Grizzly (2 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 3): rolled 7, hit Left Arm (0/22 armor, 5/11 structure remains)! Crit!
- Fires Light PPC w/Capacitor at Clan Grizzly (2 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 3): rolled 5, hit Left Arm (0/11 structure remains)! Arm blown off!
- - Damage transfers to Left Torso (0/23 armor, 12/15 structure remains)! Crit!
- Fires Plasma Rifle at Clan Grizzly (2 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 light woods + 1 VSS = 6): rolled 10, hit Right Torso (0/23 armor, 6/15 structure remains)! Crit!
- Fires LB 10-X Autocannon (Cluster) at Clan Grizzly (2 base + 0 range + 0 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 light woods + 1 VSS - 1 Cluster = 3): rolled 8, 10 submunitions hit Left Leg (19/27 armor remains), Left Leg (18/27 armor remains), Left Torso (11/15 structure remains (Crit!)), Left Torso (10/15 structure remains (Crit!)), Left Leg (17/27 armor remains), Head (0/3 structure remains (`Mech destroyed!)), Left Torso (9/15 structure remains (Crit!)), Right Torso (5/15 structure remains (Crit!)), Center Torso (16/22 structure remains (Crit!)), Right Torso (4/15 structure remains (Crit!))!
- Gains 32 heat, sinks ???!

Stinger?
- Holds Fire!

Stinger?
- Holds Fire!

Chameleon?
- Holds fire!

End Phase:



Physical Combat Phase:
Stinger?
- Attacks Clan Wraith with Lance (2 base + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 8): rolled 7, miss!

Stinger?
- Attacks Clan Wraith with Lance (2 base + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 8): rolled 8, hit Right Torso (9/18 armor remains)! Rolls 10, armor penetrated (12/13 structure remains)! Limited Crit!

Chameleon?
- Attacks Clan Wraith with Lance (2 base + 1 movement + 4 enemy movement = 8): rolled 11, hit Rear Right Torso (0/7 armor remains, 14/18 structure remains)! Crit!



End Phase:
Clan Wraith
- Limited Critical chance in Right Torso! 1 critical hit sustained!
- - Jump Jet destroyed!
- Critical chance in Center Torso! 2 critical hits sustained!
- - Gyro hit!
- - Gyro destroyed! `Mech destroyed!



Unit Status:


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

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



After-Action Report:


All of those attacks were rolled legitimately. For a good time, try to where’s Waldo the `Mechs that have been hidden on the map for the past several turns!

Vote for MVPs!