Part 655: Combat Theater Vote 21 Results

“Thirty seconds out.”

Hanse Davion didn’t need the warning. A faint, almost giddy excitement filled him. He was about to set down on Luthien, the Black Pearl. He’d always dreamed of seizing the world from the Draconis Combine, but it had always been well beyond his reach. Even with the full backing of the Lyran Commonwealth Hanse doubted he could’ve made serious inroads to Luthien, the world was simply too important to the Combine, and too well defended.

The Clans had thrown a wrench in the gears, disrupting all of Hanse’s machinations with a thorough finality that had left him more than a little lost. Perhaps he was just growing philosophical in his old age, he knew Ian would have been far more decisive. Ian had been born to rule, while Hanse’s reign had always felt awkward. Now he was the steward of not one realm but two. The threat the Draconis Combine had posed to the Federated Suns was no more. The question that plagued him now was an obvious one: could the Draconis Suns last? It was a question he couldn’t answer. Even with the cooperation of all of the nobles of both realms—which was neither certain nor likely to last—the cultures and attitudes of the peoples of both realms were mutually alien.

Luthien was the answer. Hanse would either forge the disparate elements together, or the inevitability of the Draconis Suns’ dissolution would be made clear. He would do all he could, but even dozens of brilliant minds working in concert would be daunted by the task he’d chosen to attempt almost singlehandedly.

“Ten seconds,” the Leopard-class DropShip beneath his BattleMaster’s feet rocked. The Leopard was small, but remained the premier combat DropShip in the Inner Sphere. Compared to other vessels, the Leopard was horrendously inefficient. Other ships could carry more `Mechs into battle, or could carry enough cargo to pay themselves off. The Leopard carried a mere four `Mechs, and a privately owned one would never break even. In terms of getting troops deployed quickly, however, the Leopard was unsurpassed. Three Leopards could deploy a company in under a minute, a task that took a typical Union-class vessel closer to thirty.

“We’re taking light ground fire,” the crew reported. “Minimal damage. Dropzone in five, four—”

Hanse tensed. Union-class ships like the Isoroku’s Furutaka were the life’s blood of the Inner Sphere. But they were big targets, and easily shot down when transitioning into a planet’s atmosphere. The Furutaka had taken a direct hit and tumbled off its thrust column in the first minutes of the invasion. The captain had recovered and set it down relatively softly on Konpei Island, the smallest of the artificial islands that made up Luthien Armor Works’ offshore facilities. Isoroku had come through miraculously unscathed, along with the bulk of his command lance, but reported most of the Third Sword of Light’s command company was either trapped inside the Furutaka or too damaged to deploy. They’d been in a stable position an hour ago—until the Hell’s Horses diverted one of their own DropShips to the island to root them out.

Hanse had the forces to spare, but there was a certain amount of symbolism behind riding to the rescue personally, so he’d taken on the task himself. His unit commanders knew their business, and Subhash Indrahar could be trusted to manage the invasion’s overall strategy. Playing cavalry would at least save Hanse from a little boredom—and he had to admit, he was eager to face the forces who’d defeated his greatest foes directly.



The Map




3rd Sword of Light


Davion Assault Guards




Primary Objectives
- Join forces with Isoroku Kurita (0/1)
- Avoid damaging the Luthien Armor Works Facility (0/17 remaining)

Secondary Objectives
- Secure the Monitor Naval Vessels (0/16)
- Protect the Monitor Naval Vessels as they escape (0/16)

Expected Resistance
- At least one Company of Clan Hell’s Horses BattleMechs and Vehicles



Pilot List
Jew it to it!
CourValant
Yakumo
Kickass Harpsichord
Gun Jam
KnoxZone
Mukaikubo

Alternates
Capskye
W.T. Fits
Mary Annette
A good poster




PTN’s note: I’m sorry for the long delay getting this out. It’s been a bit of a shitty week and I managed to hurt myself. The OpForce is finalized but I haven’t even finished all of their sprites yet.