Part 423: Trial by Fire - Turn 14

Trial By Fire: Tactical Update 14

“Shut it off already, Jaime.”

“Not until the fight ends,” the speaker sat relaxed, his long legs crossed and the fingers of his left hand resting on his bald chin. Clear, calm eyes swept the holotank as though hunting for subtle nuances in each Mechwarrior’s performance. His face was passive and thoughtful; he hadn’t moved much since the defeat of Lieutenant Lanier’s entire lance. The plain olive of his uniform was well-kept but worn.

“None of them is leadership material,” his companion grizzled. Colonel Tyrone was an effective field officer, he drove his men and women hard and his regiment’s survival rate was commensurately higher as a result. He cared, for all his harshness, but he was also myopic. If Tyrone had his way, the 331st would’ve never taken in an adoptee who’s skills weren’t already honed to a razor’s edge.

Tyrone scowled, “and the fight’s already over.”

“I have hopes for this one,” Colonel Jaime was more relaxed. He reached into the holotank and tapped its surface, poking his finger through the immobile figure of a defeated machine. “The outcome isn’t as certain as it looks, but the cadets just sacrificed their initiative and let Lieutenant Vanura take strong defensive positions. She’s got the firepower and the coverage—I’d say her advantage is complete, but that still doesn’t guarantee a victory.”

“I will say,” Jaime continued, as though expecting his opinion to be controversial, “that her decision to hold the Woodsman in reserve turned out to be a good choice after all: it’s become the linchpin of her defense. I’d like to see if she can win this without losing a single member of her lance.”

Another man shifted, looming over the holotank like a vengeful god. “If she’d charged with Lanier, the fight would’ve been over by now.”

Colonel Jaime nodded, “One way or another, that’s true. But if she had, I’d be calling the competence of two lieutenants into question instead of just the one. In the war to come, the 331st can’t afford any “all-or-nothing” attacks. We are at neither a technological nor a numerical parity with our enemies. Even if we were, sacrificing everything just to beat them would be a fool’s errand.”

The radio crackled, the voice emanating within was small and tinny. “Watcher-4 to Burrow, they’re moving out of direct observation range. Permission to advance?”

Jaime sat up, seizing the microphone before one of the other assembled Colonels could countermand him. “Negative, Watcher-4. They’re nervous enough already, let’s see how they do without mother hen.”

“Roger,” Watcher-4’s Cicada held position, like a black-and-white painted statue atop one of the solid ferrocrete pillars the training grounds used to represent buildings.

“Hmh,” Tyrone grunted. “Won’t they just give up if they think we’ve already decided their fate?”

“Haven’t you?” Jaime replied. “The Republic trains great Mechwarriors, but none of them have been in a real fight before. I want to see how they handle having the rug pulled out from under them. I want to see how they fight when they’ve got nothing else to lose.”








Combat Phase
Crab (Player)
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 0719!
- Fires ER Large Laser at Cargo Container 0419 (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 enemy movement = 1): automatically hit (7/15 durability remaining)!
- Fires ER Large Laser at Cargo Container 0419 (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 enemy movement = 1): automatically hit (0/15 durability remaining)!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419 (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 enemy movement = 1): target already destroyed!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419 (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 enemy movement = 1): target already destroyed!
- Gains heat 36, sinks 36!

Battlemaster (Player)
- Fires Plasma Rifle at Cargo Container 0419, no Line of Sight to target!
- Fires Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419, no Line of Sight to target!
- Fires Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419, no Line of Sight to target!
- Fires Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419, no Line of Sight to target!
- Fires Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419, no Line of Sight to target!
- Gains heat 2, sinks 34!

Coyote (Player)
- Fires ER Large Laser at Cargo Container 0419! Target already destroyed!
- Fires Streak SRM-6 at Cargo Container 0419, but it fails to lock-on!
- Gains heat 2, sinks 30!

Shadow Hawk (Player)
- Shoot the box in 0419
- Fires Light AC/5 (Ammo undeclared: rolled 2, Precision) at Cargo Container 0419! Target already destroyed!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419! Target already destroyed!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Cargo Container 0419! Target already destroyed!
- Fires iNarc (Ammo undeclared: rolled 1, Homing) at Cargo Container 0419! Target already destroyed!
- Gains heat 16, sinks 20!

Coyotl
- Holds fire!
- Gains heat 2, sinks 20!

Wolverine
- Fires ER Large Laser at Shadow Hawk (3 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 light woods = 10): rolled 4, miss!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 28!

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

Woodsman
- Fires ER Large Laser at Shadow Hawk (3 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement = 8): rolled 10, hit Left Arm (9/18 armor remaining)!
- Fires LRM-15 (Narc Capable) at Shadow Hawk (3 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement = 8): rolled 11, 9 missiles hit Left Torso (9/13 armor remaining), Right Leg (13/25 armor remaining)!
- Fires LRM-15 (Narc Capable) at Shadow Hawk (3 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement = 8): rolled 9, 15 missiles hit Left Arm (5/18 armor remaining), Center Torso (13/26 armor remaining), Right Arm (13/18 armor remaining)!
- Gains 22 heat, sinks 24!



End Phase:
Shadow Hawk (player)
- Must pass a piloting test or fall (4 base + 1 massive damage = 5): rolled 3, fails!
- - Suffers falling damage to Center Torso (9/26 armor remaining)!









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) – Ran +0
Kintaro (Mk. 2) – Disabled!
Wolverine (Mk. 7) – Stationary +0
Coyotl A (Mk. 6) – Jumped +4
Commando (Mk. 4) – Disabled!



Mission Objective:
Plunder Recovered (0/1500 points)

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



Orders Due: Tuesday Night!

Edit: Tuesday isn't Thursday