Part 624: Ikuta Glacier - Turn 13

Ikuta Glacier: Tactical Update 13




Star Captain Aisha Ruby sat in silence, her slender fingers curled like claws around her command couch’s armrests. They’d been utterly decimated in the two minutes since the Star Colonel Vickers’ Mad Dog had tumbled into the crevasse. Of the `Mechs that had fallen, only Yered’s Mad Dog had managed to climb back out. Their defeat was total and humiliating, even after Star Captain Siddha Conners seized control and recalled the nearer scouting elements. Her scowl turned grim as the last of their reinforcements had its arm picked off in typical Clan fashion. Why destroy what you could cripple and force to surrender? That was the way of Inner Sphere barbarians.

There was no sense in dragging things out. Star Captain Conners had fallen, and as Aisha’s `Mech still functioned—technically—that put her in charge of the Cluster. A ruined Cluster, one which had been practically annihilated by a single Supernova. She could continue. Could force the enemy to kill her—but that would be cowardice of the worst sort. The desperate actions of a commander too cowardly to face failure and too rigid to recover from one.

“Goliath Scorpions,” She broadcast, steeling herself against the dizzying sensation of hollowness that seemed to bubble up from deep within her gut. “This is Star Captain Aisha Ruby, acting commander of the 66th Crusader Cluster. We of Clan Widowmaker stand down, repeat: all forces of the 66th are to surrender, effective immediately. We have lost twenty-three `Mechs to your three. Even if you have not located and destroyed our final scout star it is only a matter of time—time which will be more productively spent conducting recovery operations before too many good warriors die of exposure.”








Movement Phase
Executioner G (Player)
- Attempts to stand (3 base = 3): rolled 5, succeeds!

Nova G (Player)
- Attempts to stand (4 base = 4): rolled 11, succeeds!



Shooting Phase
Executioner G (player)
- Fires iHeavy Large Laser at Black Lanner (2 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 4 enemy movement = 9): rolled 8, miss!
- Fires iHeavy Large Laser at Black Lanner (2 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 4 enemy movement = 9): rolled 9, hit Left Arm (0/13 armor, 1/9 structure remaining)! Crit!
- Gains 37 heat, sinks 37!

Grand Dragon “Yuki-Onna” (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 28!

Crossbow G (player)
- No orders received!
- Gains 0 heat, sinks 27!

Stormcrow Prime (player)
- No Line of Sight to target!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 47!

Ironhold Battle Armor 5 (player)
- Holds fire!

Pouncer Prime (player)
- Fires ER PPC at Black Lanner (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement - 1 Targeting Computer Aimed Shot = 10): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires ER PPC at Black Lanner (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement - 1 Targeting Computer Aimed Shot = 10): rolled 8, miss!
- Gains 32 heat, sinks 27! Overheating!

Elementals 3
- Holds fire!

Nova G (player)
- Fires iHeavy Large Laser at Black Lanner (2 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 4 enemy movement = 9): rolled 6, miss!
- Gains 19 heat, sinks 37!

Wraiths 1
- Holds fire!

Timber Wolf G (player)
- No orders received!
- Gains 0 heat, sinks 33!

Elemental 4
- Holds fire!

Huntsman G (player)
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement - 2 pulse laser = 7): rolled 10, hit Left Leg (12/22 armor remaining)!
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement - 2 pulse laser = 7): rolled 8, hit Left Arm (0/9 structure remaining)! Arm blown off!
- - Damage transfers to Rear Left Torso (0/5 armor, 0/3 structure remaining)! Torso destroyed! 2 Engine hits!
- - - Damage transfers to Rear Center Torso (6/7 armor remaining)!
- Fires iHeavy Medium Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 9): rolled 7, miss!
- Fires iHeavy Medium Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 9): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 9): rolled 8, miss!
- Fires Flamer (Damage) at Black Lanner (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 9): rolled 4, miss!
- Gains 42 heat, sinks 39!

Wraith 2
- Holds fire!

Hellbringer Prime (field refit)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 31!

Black Lanner B
- Torso-twists to threaten hex 0112!
- Fires LRM-20 at Huntsman G (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement = 7): rolled 7, 12 missiles hit Right Arm (0/4 structure remaining (Arm blown off! Damage transfers to Right Torso (17/18 armor remaining))), Right Torso (12/18 armor remaining), Left Torso (16/18 armor remaining)!
- Gains 14 heat, sinks 20!



End Phase:
Black Lanner G
- Must pass a piloting test or fall (4 base + 1 massive damage = 5): rolled 9, succeeds!



Physical Combat Phase:
Huntsman G
- Kicks Black Lanner (4 base + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement - 2 kick = 8): rolled 8, hit Right Leg (2/22 armor remaining)!



End Phase:
- The opposing force has no functioning weapons!




[N/A]



Player Status:




Opposing Force Status:




Special Rules
Necrosia Stimulants Once per game, BattleMechs and Elementals may inject themselves with Necrosia stimulants granting them heightened reaction times for three turns. While Necrosia stimulants are active, Mechwarriors gain a -1 bonus to gunnery due to their heightened reaction times but suffer a +1 penalty to piloting tests due to minor visual hallucinations. Elementals in Ironhold Armor gain a -1 bonus to gunnery with no penalties. All other Elementals instead gain a -2 bonus to Anti-Mech attacks with no penalties.
Icy Conditions Ice hexes are in play. At the bottom of the ravine, all ice hexes are treated as though they are elevation -6. It is possible to break through these ice hexes and fall into the liquid water below. If a `Mech does not extract itself from the water in two turns it will be frozen in place and immobilized (or destroyed if completely submerged).
-60 C All `Mechs cool 3 additional points each turn

House Rule
Heavy Vibro Claws deal +1 damage per claw per elemental on leg and swarm attacks rather than the standard ruling.



Primary Objectives
- Achieve 100% humiliation or more (Complete!)


Secondary Objectives
- Push or charge a Widowmaker unit into the ravine (+10%/10%)
- Kill Star Colonel Jolán Vickers (+10%/10%)
- Leave one crippled enemy alive (+10%/5%) (+5% if that unit is an enemy officer)
- Completely destroy a crippled enemy (+10%/10%)
- Defeat 3 `Mechs with Elementals (+10%/10%)
- Drug Free: defeat 5 enemy `Mechs without the aid of Necrosia (+10%/10%)
- Battle High: defeat 5 enemy `Mechs with the aid of Necrosia (+10%/10%)
- Give the Hunchback IIC pilot an honorable death OR capture them honorably (+0%/10%)
- Score twice as many kills than the Glacier (10%/10%)
- - Players 20
- - Glacier 3
- Kill an enemy `Mech without breaching its armor (+10%/10%)



After-Action Report:
“We have met the enemy, and he is ours.” ~Oliver Hazard Perry

A 12 turn victory against a force with a 29,000 BV advantage (not counting the Elementals or the Kirghiz half-star, which evened things out a little but nonetheless had less impact than I was expecting). Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen, you just won the sort of victory that would be too unrealistic to write an actual story about!

You know the drill, MVP vote to buy me time to write some politics!