Part 508: Laager - Turn 4

Laager: Tactical Update 4

“The hell are they doing?” Arakiel leaned back in her command couch, her gloved hands slipping from the Viking’s controls for a moment as she considered the enemy’s suddenly stalled advance. Thickly muscled arms crossed over her broad chest. Her impressive physique would’ve made her rather imposing if only she hadn’t been fully a head shorter than nearly everyone she’d ever met. Her height hadn’t stopped her from stealing a BattleMech but even as a pirate she’d gotten little respect. Her callsigns had always been ‘dwarf’ or ‘shorty’ or other equally unimaginative things and it didn’t matter how many arms she twisted or skulls she cracked, they always seemed to stick.

Only ComStar had never looked down on her, even before she’d joined. They’d always treated her with a respectful professionalism, and ComStar’s ties to the pirates in the periphery were nearly always amicable. Who else could ComStar rely on to keep the successor states than the downtrodden, the forgotten, and the desperate? The periphery had always been ComStar’s most fertile place for recruitment as well. The natives—always a hair’s breadth from becoming pirates themselves—felt the lack of technology more than most, and revered it more than the decadent natives nearer Terra.

Arakiel’s conversion had been as complete as it was earnest: ComStar had done, as a whole, what no other group ever had: they’d treated her with respect. For the most part. She had heard the Word, and the Word had spoken to her.

“They disorganized?” She asked, still trying to make heads or tails of the enemy’s maneuvers. “Not expecting ComStar to put up meaningful resistance?”

“Fool,” Kernoff’s chastisement was harsh, she could picture his hawkish brow furrowing. Most days Arakiel managed to keep a hair’s breadth from punching the smug from Kernoff’s sharp-face, and it seemed today was going to test her more than most.

“They’re letting the tanks advance first.” Kernoff’s sneer was audible. “After all, why risk their BattleMechs finding out whether or not we’ve mined the bridges?”

“Have we mined the bridges?” Arakiel asked in sharp reply. “Because that would have been an actually good idea.”








Shooting Phase
BattleMaster (Player)
- Fires ER PPC at Snake (4 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 2 enemy movement + 2 construction = 10): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires ER PPC at Snake (4 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 2 enemy movement + 2 construction = 10): rolled 4, miss!
- Gains 30 heat, sinks 34

Viking (Player)
- Torso-twists to threaten hex !
- Fires Artemis IV LRM-20 at Archer (4 base + 4 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement = 10): rolled 3, miss!
- Fires Artemis IV LRM-20 at Archer (4 base + 4 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement = 10): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires Artemis IV LRM-15 at Archer (4 base + 4 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement = 10): rolled 6, miss!
- Gains 18 heat, sinks 20

Catapult II (Player)
- Fires LRM-20 at Archer (4 base + 4 range + 0 movement + 1 enemy movement = 9): rolled 10, 16 missiles hit Left Arm (15/20 armor remaining), Right Arm (15/20 armor remaining), Left Arm (10/20 armor remaining), Right Torso (21/22 armor remaining)!
- Fires LRM-20 at Archer (4 base + 4 range + 0 movement + 1 enemy movement = 9): rolled 3, miss!
- Gains 14 heat, sinks 20

Legacy (Player)
- Fires Gauss Rifle at Snake (4 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 2 enemy movement + 2 construction = 10): rolled 9, miss!
- Fires Gauss Rifle at Snake (4 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 2 enemy movement + 2 construction = 10): rolled 7, miss!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 20

Lao Hu
- Fires ER Large Laser at Catapult II (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 11): rolled 6, miss!
- Gains 14 heat, sinks 20!

Cataphract
- Fires ER PPC at Viking (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 11): rolled 5, miss!
- Gains 17 heat, sinks 32!

Archer
- Fires ER Large Laser at Catapult II (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 11): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires ER Large Laser at Catapult II (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 partial cover = 11): rolled 4, miss!
Gains 26 heat, sinks 24!

Rifleman II
- Holds fire!

Huron Warrior
- Attempts to fire ER Large Laser at BattleMaster, no line of sight to target!
- Attempts to fire ER Large Laser at Legacy, no line of sight to target!
- Attempts to fire ER Large Laser at Viking, no line of sight to target!
- Fires ER Large Laser at Catapult II (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 0 enemy movement + 1 construction + 1 partial cover = 12): rolled 6, miss!
- Gains 14 heat, sinks 11! (good lord I forgot how poorly designed the Huron Warrior is)

Snake
- Holds fire!

Helios
- Holds fire!

Wolverine
- Holds fire!

Von Luckner
- Holds fire!

Brutus
- Holds fire!

Brutus (PPC)
- Holds fire!

Demolisher (Gauss)
- Holds fire!








Player Status:




Allied Status




Opposing Force Status:




Mission Objective:
- Hurt them (0/3)
- - Hurt them more (0/6)
- - - Teach them the Word (0/9)

Secondary Objectives:
- Defend the Turret Control Tower (0/1)
- Defend the Administration Building (0/1)
- Keep enemy `Mechs out of the `Mechbay (0/1)



Special Rules:
Construction Zones – Unless the hex states otherwise, all construction zones count as light woods.

Reload Point – ComStar’s technicians are very motivated and have six tons of LRM reloads available. They can reload 2 tons of LRM ammo per turn spent inside the Mechbay. The Legacy isn’t built for quick reloads, but the technicians may be able to supply it with one additional ton of gauss rifle ammo. If only one `Mech is in the Mechbay the technicians will also replace damaged armor plates, restoring the armor on all damaged sections up to the nearest multiple of 5. If a section is already at a multiple of five, its armor cannot be restored.

Hidden Assets – The light autocannon turrets are currently in low-power standby mode. ComStar has always maintained up rumors that the power grid supporting them is incomplete or somehow insufficient to power them. They will not open fire until at least two players request their activation on the same turn. This deception may be detected by enemy units with a Beagle Active Probe.



Orders Due: Midnight Tuesday!