Applying for the Catalyst Demo Team

This particular blog has been essentially dead for almost a year now; not having been able to play anything other than GW games at the local group has left me with precious little to write about. However, I've recently applied to join the Catalyst Demo team and so there will hopefully be a lot more Battletech related content on this website soon. This announcement might be somewhat premature as I haven't actually been accepted yet (I've only just finished filling out the forms) but whether or not I'm accepted as a member of the team, I intend to start running demo games around the county regardless.

I've been looking for local Battletech players since I moved down to Kent almost exactly two years ago now, but while I've found a few scattered players here and there (most notably Clint) I haven't really been able to get a game in due to a combination of my long working hours painting miniatures and the issue of travel times.

Now that I'm once again a student however, I've got a bit more time on my hands to spend travelling and gaming. I've already started introducing Battletech to my local gaming group and I have another game planned for tomorrow.

If I still have half a brain, I'll try to take some photographs of the game and get them posted. Failing that, I'll at least put up a few photographs of the miniatures I've been painting recently.

Fox Hounds: Distress Call

A Fox-Hounds battle-report written by George, who plays Foa (Vike) in the campaign.

Prior to evacuating CEO Rashiq Iqbal from the Outworlds Alliance, Foa received a personal distress call from an associate on Kinkaid III.

Fox Hound Command Lance deploys to Kinkaid II

After being decontaminated Quintas Allard offered the Fox Hounds a mission that involved work in the Outworlds alliance against the Oberon Pirates, the primary objective being on Kinkaid II. Conveniently (or rather, thanks to Lishka's wheeling's and dealings) the Hounds had beeen offered a contract in the same system as the distress call.

Arriving in the system Foa received yet another short distress call from the same source. He persuaded the the crew of the drop ship to make a quick detour to Kankaid III. 

Due to mountainous terrain and high winds, the Lucky 7 drop ship landed in a clearing some distance from where the distress call originated.

On arrival, the Fox Hounds deployed 4 mechs: Lishka in the Clint, Ranger in the Javelin, Domino in the Panther and Foa in his Valkerie. Boxier rode in the Valkyrie, on a fold-down seat.

Shortly thereafter, a lance of pirate mechs were spotted attacking several buildings. With the Fox Hounds' deployment, they broke off their attack and came after for the Fox Hounds. Two Locusts and a Cicada raced down the mountain track while a Pheonix Hawk rose into the air on its jump jets.

Pirate Mech Lance

Ranger and Lishka immediately took up positions on a low hill while Foa and Dom moved up the centre of the valley towards a grain silo.

Foa's Valkyrie unleashed a swarm of LRMs to greet the Pheonix Hawk. They struck in a concentrated burst, melting the armour from the pirate's left torso.

Pirate Locust-1 ran round attempting to Flank but met with Ranger and Lishka whereupon they dueled it out. The pirate was having none of it and dodging wildly and managing to break through.

Mean-while the 3 other pirates crossed the river. While laying down covering fire they closed in to concentrate fire on Domino's Panther. After trading shots and searing armour, none of the pilots came out on top. The pirate Cicada and Locust-2 broke off, leaving the P-hawk and Dom dueling it atop a grain silo.

Domino and a Pirate Duelling atop the Grain Silo

Having had little luck against the Panther, the Pirate lights concentrate their fire against Lishka, who had been sniping with her Mech's large laser from the near-by woods. As they closed in,  Lishka managed to dodge most of their shots. Unbeknownst to them, Ranger closed in on  from behind unleashing a volly of SRMs, at one of the locusts. Although it dodged many of the missiles, but didn't manage to dodge one of Ranger's physical attacks, which tore off one of it's weapon-pods. 

It was at this point the pirates noticed that Foa had made his way across one of the peaks towards the target buildings (while also laying volley after volley of LRM cover fire). The Cicida broke off its attack to try and head him off before he could get across the valley floor. Ranger pursued in his much slower Javelin.

At this point Domino's Panther and the pirate -hawk engage in physical combat. Domino has the worst of it, nearly losing a leg. She jumps off the silo, leaving a spread of SRM's in her wake. The P-Hawk also breaks off towards the hills and comes under enfiladding fire from two Fox Hounds. While Ranger only clips it, Lishka surgically snipes off its large laser. Locust-1 closes on Lishka but is unable to do any significant damage. In exchange, the Locust take's a large laser to the leg, crippling it.

On the other mountainside the Cicada goes for Foa. The Fox Hound who ignores it and continues to launch LRMs into the P-hawk keeping it back. Locust-2 moves across the valley floor to back up the Cicada, Ranger dogging him all the way.

At this point Dom ignores the almost ineffective fire from the P-hawk. Combined with sniper fire from Lishka and SRM volleys from Ranger, she blows the a leg off Locust -2, forcing it to the ground. 

Foa reaches the target building, still taking harassing fire from the Cicada.

The P-hawk makes a break across the valley floor in a final attempt o take him down. Dom lets loose with a PPC blast from her Panther that melts most of his centre torso armour.

Foa exists his machine letting Boxer take the controls. Shortly thereafter, the objective building opens its Hanger Doors. Foa re-appears, but this time at the controls of a new and unfamiliar mech.

Just as Foa emerges, Ranger unleashes a furious onslaught of SRMs and punches at the Cicida, blowing out it's giros. A follow up flight of LRM's from Boxer blows of the Cicada's left foot. The Cicada falls. It does not rise again.

By now the P-hawk pilot has given the battle up for lost. The medium pirate mech begins to withdraw. In return, Lishka, Boxer and Foa unleash concentrated fire which leaves him damaged so badly that he badly makes it off the field alive.

After the Fox Hounds regroup, Foa quietly explains that his new Mech, a Firefly, is a family heirloom which he and his tech have been restoring for the past 5 years..With the recovery of this Star League era antique and the capture of two pirate Mechs (a Locust and a Cicada) Locust this mysterious side trip has proven quite profitable for the Hounds.

The Fox Hounds contact the Davion Government on Kincaid II. They inform the planetary governor's office that they have made a short “good will” detour to Kincaid III to take care of a pirate incursion (“Just fulfilling our civic duty ma'am”) and are now on their way to fulfill their contract on Kincaid II.

Post Mission Notes: The Fox Hounds take only light damage. As well as recovering Foa's ancestral Mech, they also recover a Locust and a Cicada from the battlefield.

Battletech: Riot Control (Black Barracudas)

An In-Character Post-Mission Report of the Black Barracuda's latest mission, provided by Jen, who plays Relay.

Herding Civilians

• Mission Record:
• Date: February 5th 3026

  Location: Ormstown, Lyran Commonwealth

  Contract Registry: LC-OC-01-01

  Objectives: Enforce the magistrate's order for dispersal of the crowds and riot control should the Democracy Now demonstration get out of hand. Property damage should be avoided at all costs and lethal force is not authorised unless civilian lives are threatened by the demonstrators and even then, only as a last resort.

  Summary:

  The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm, but is much easier to crush beneath one’s foot

  Prior to deployment, we accepted the offer of weapons testing from Coventry Metalworks, Corvus-san took the flechette autocannon rounds designed for use against infantry, this one took tear gas SRP missiles also designed for use against infantry. A weapon of low war certainly, but a ronin does what she must.

  Upon the drop in the city of Ormstown, we were made aware of protests by the science centre, myself and Corvus-san moved to engage the protestors there and enforce curfew. The honourless mob were fortunate that their daimyo is merciful, on Luthien they would have been cut down like the dogs they are.

  Using tear gas and laser fire, Corvus-san and I routed the protestors, who broke like an untempered blade against us. Then Akuhito-sama was made aware of further protestors at the city hall, and moved to intercept them with Putzer-san, the mercenary we had engaged to pilot Lana. These unworthy ones had more resolve than their compatriots, and pelted my lancemates with rocks and Molotov cocktails, setting the city hall ablaze. Flame is but a momentary distraction for a mechwarrior though, and my lancemates soon sent them running. Akuhito-sama worked to extinguish the flames overtaking the city hall as per our mission objective to avoid property damage.

  We then received notification that a stolen vehicle had been spotted on one of the main roads of the city and Corvus-san went to intercept it while this one remained to ensure the last of the protestors at the science centre were routed. The stolen vehicle was a bus from the city’s transit network carrying protestors, but this was no match for Corvus-san’s Clint which lifted it from the road and turned it on its back, an effective way of immobilizing it without excessive damage.

  We were then notified of a fire at the city distillery, and as this one had routed the last of the protestors at my location, I went to suppress this disturbance before the fire could spread. Upon arrival at the distillery, this one saw that the protestors were burning an effigy of Katrina Steiner upon a bonfire, an extremely disrespectful act. When this one attempted to scatter them, they pelted Bakeneko with rocks and rotting vegetables, then attempted to defile his paintwork.

  Further notifications came in from the city authorities of armed protestors in the street and an unknown mech with them, we were then given authority to use whatever force we deemed necessary to subdue these rebels. Corvus-san, Akuhito-sama and Putzer-san moved to engage them while this one unleashed Bakeneko’s mighty PPC to cow the protestors at the distillery. At the sight of leashed lightning, the cowardly dogs fled and this one extinguished the fires they had set.
  
  

  

  Patrol

  At this point, Corvus-san had reached the armed protestors first, and discovered that they had been armed with rifles and SRM-launchers. It became obvious that this was no more protest, this was armed rebellion. Someone is clearly arming these dogs, as they could not have sourced such weapons on their own. Corvus-san was fired upon, which dealt him heavy damage, and returned fire with the modified autocannon ammo which proved its worth against infantry foes by reducing the majority of them to red mist.

  Corvus-san then engaged the enemy mech, an Urbanmech normally used for firefighting duty piloted by a wretch calling himself Anarchy, on top of one of the city’s buildings. This Urbanmech was armed with a water cannon rather than the autocannon that it is normally known for, which seemed laughable but carried enough force to topple Corvus-san’s Clint.

  Both Akuhito-sama and Corvus-san then opened fire on the protestors while this one moved to join up with the rest of the lance. Between us, we eliminated the protestors and concentrated fire on the Urbanmech, disabling it by destroying one of the gyros in its leg. The pilot attempted to eject and flee, but was captured by Corvus-san and handed over to the Lyran authorities, a satisfactory end to a most successful mission.

  In closing, this one would like to express gratitude to Coventry Metalworks for their provision of the tear gas SRM ammo, this was extremely effective in cutting off routes of escape for the protestors and aided greatly in their dispersal. In any situation where infantry or civilians must be disabled rather than eliminated, these weapons would be greatly effective.

  
  

  - Relay.

  
  

  Comstar Communiqué 89962nr22-SLCOM-02-23-3026

  One cannot reap peace from the seeds of war. -From Collected Short Sayings of Blessed Blake, Edition XXII, ComStar Press, 3015

  Start encrypted message:

  Simon Grantrel, Things went better than planned, thanks to your designs. Kumiko and the rest of the lance approve greatly of the Tear Gas Short Range Missiles… they did wonders with dispersing the civvies. They even allowed us to capture a few of the terrorist pigs that attacked us unscathed. And the Flechette Anti-personnel Autocannon rounds? Well, let’s just say I don’t envy the clean-up crew. The rabble that attacked me personally were spread across the streets like fresh road kill. I’ve attached the Data Logs and Binary Feeds for the testing rounds. Hope this is useful to you. Needless to say, we’re more than happy with what you’ve shown us so far and we’re all eager to see what comes next. Cheers.

  -Dom “Kraken” Corvus.

Battletech: Plague Raid

"Unbelievable! There we were just taking our mechs down the street to a meeting with out client and some fool of a local mech-jock jumps right in front of Ranger while he's running down the street. So of course there's a collision and the local's Vulcan gets wrecked, but that's no reason for the local shit-heel mech jocks to start firing at us? What's a responsible Mech-Jock to do? I mean, we're in a city. Still, we have to defend ourselves. It's not like we wanted to get into a firefight in the middle of a crowded settlement. But we simply have to defend ourselves. It's the only reasonable thing to do...."- Snr. Lt. Lishka Andronova, Fox Hounds Mercenary Unit

Iqbal Industries

The Fox-Hounds deploy from an Iqbal Industries Leopard Class Drop-ship. With their jumpship parked at a pirate point between the planet and it's moon, they have just twelve hours to rescue their employer and evacuate to the drop point.

Lishka deploys in her Raven, Domino in one of the Javelin's, Vik in his beloved Valkyrie and Ranger in his modified Clint. Hoping for a repeat of an earlier success, they hope to extract the target without firing a shot, ensuring civilian casualties in the crowded cityscape are kept to a mnimum, The 'Hounds plan is for Lishka to move to the rendezvous point under cover of her Raven's ECM while the other three 'Mech lead the defending forces on a wild goose chase through the early morning city streets.

For only the second time in the Fox Hounds year-long existence, the plan does not survive contact with the enemy. So badly, in fact, that just thirty seconds into the engagement [two turns] the Fox Hounds adopt their "Go to Hell" plan: the last-ditch plan adopted when things go so catastrophically wrong, you hadn't made a specific plan for dealing with the eventuality concerned.

********************

Outworlds Alliance Locust

The Foxhounds Mechs make their way to the city limits without incident. Lishka's mag-scans detect the presence for four Outworld Alliance Mechs on a radnom patrol pattern. A Blackjack, a Vulcan, a Locust and an Urbanmech. A very formidable city-fighting force. 

Despite their ECM and their cautious approach, the four patrolling Outworlds Alliance Mechs quickly make visual contact with the Fox Hounds and issue the following challenge:

"Unidentified Battle Mechs, you are in violation of a class one Quarantine order. Power down and submit to decontamination and quarantine procedures immediately."

Under their ECM umbrella, only Lishka can hear the message. With a distinct feeling of dread creeping into her soul, Lishka suddenly understands why the streets are so deserted, without even a milk float or delivery van in sight. She quickly passes the message to the rest of the lance via tight-beam microwave laser.

"Oh...," muses Ranger. "So that last garbled bit of the translation probably read sicker by the day then?"

In keeping with their plan, the Fox Hounds do not reply. Briefly, the Fox Hounds consider bugging out. They hadn't hired on to break a quarantine order and risk spreading a plague. But they'd accepted a contract, even without the full details. They've never broken a contract, and they don't intend to. They'll just have to make damn sure to keep Iqbal and his family quarantined all the way to New Avalon and the NAIS. 

Lishka (the only one not yet visually spotted) quickly away from the group at speed while the others pound down the deserted streets as fast as they can in the vague direction of the target building, Iqbal industries Corporate Head Quarters.

Meanwhile, a Vulcan Mech jumps straight out in front of Ranger's running 'Mech and executes the the universal "halt" posture. Or at tries it's best iconsidering it doesn't have any hands to raise. Grinning like a lunatic, Ranger responds to the challenge (and keeps to the 'Hounds self-imposed rules of engagement) by charging his Clint into the Vulcan, knocking it to the tar-mac and very nearly destroying it, stripping most of it's torso locations down to the internal structure.

His triumphant laughter is short lived however.

Seconds later, the group receives an omega transmission from Lishka's Raven. The others watch in mingled astonishment and horror as their colleague's ejection seat shoots into the air atop a column of fire.

[I was playing via Skype, and as such I couldn't read the level indicators on the building hexes. It turns out that the building I thought was hiding me from the Locust was actually just a level one. My positioning in BT games is normally spot on so no one thought to question it. Ooops. The fast little Mech walks right up to my left side and unleashes an alpha strike from one hex away. Four SRM's and a Medium Laser hit later and I'm staring in horror at my record sheet. All three weapons hit my left torso location, stripping away all the armour and scoring a critical! With mingled horror and laughter, we watch as the fully loaded SRM ammo bin goes up! Lishka, our fearless leader, just got one-shotted by a bloody Locust! In all fairness though, the other critical hit location (the ECM) would have been just as bad. We'd never have been able to repair or replace it, and without it the Raven would have been so much junk anyway.]

Lishka Ejects

"That's it." Foa grumbles. "Weapons free."

The ensuing melee is a confused one. Trying to keep civilian casualties down as much as possible, the 'Hounds get in close and only fire when sure of their shots. Domino avenges the Raven by destroying the Locust with an point-blank alpha-strike of her very own [poetic justice: she hit with 11 out of 12 SRM's and caused an ammo explosion]. Ranger meanwhile tangles with the Black Jack, keeping it busy but taking major damage in the process.

With the Locust down and the surviving enemy Mechs either too slow or out of position to pursue her, Domino makes a break for the target building. 

****************

Lishka ran through the darkened streets, dodging from doorway to doorway, horrified by the number of yellow "quarantine" posters and fatality markers plastered to doors and windows. Not so far away she can hear the sound of pounding Mech feet. Dodging into an alley, she watches the Urban Mech plod down the street where she stood only moment ago, streams of tracer fire erupting from it's stubby auto-cannon. Steam rises from the surface of the over-heating machine. She notices an old mop handle out of the corner of her eye and briefly considers bluffing the pilot of the machine with an "inferno launcher" but dismisses it. That would be a stupid idea, she reckons.  The damn things were so new he might never even have heard of them. Besides, a satchel charge would be more threatening. Quickly, she searches through a nearby dumpster for a discarded satchel, school bag. Even a shopping bag. But she can't find any. Pity. Capturing a mech, even an Urbanmech, with a bit of rubbish would have been a real salve to her ego. Shrugging, she watches the Urbanmech ascent to the roof of a nearby building on jets of fire, and jogs on towards the target building.

[Yes, we actually considered doing this in game.]

"Urbanmech at hex 1720, heading north" she comms.

*****************************

Target Building

Domino reaches the target building without incident, disabling a handful of large laser turrets on the way. On the roof, a portly, coffee-skinned gentleman waves for her attention.

"Mr Iqbal I presume?" she issues via loudspeaker.

The portly gentleman steps onto the Javelins hand and, after being settled onto the Mech's shoulder, soon finds his way to the cock-pit. Below, an unmarked van pulls into the street, leaving the underground parking garage with all lights extinguished.

************

"That's it", Ranger exclaims, "we've got the package. Keep these guys busy Vike. I'm going to extract Lishka".

"No, no, you big lug." comes the Russian-accented rebuttal."Don't you realise there's a civilian driving that vehicle? Into a 'Mech brawl? In a crowded city? Have them rendevous with me at Hex 1194. I'm driving them out of here."

Ranger ignores her, "no Mech, no vote." is his reply (much to Lishka's fury! All the more so because she's still the boss -as she see's it- and partially because she still has another Mech back on Galatea. No way is she letting anyone imply that she is dispossessed!)

While Vike performs an altogether impressive display of holding off the Blackjack AND the damaged Urban Mech on his own [the Vulcan has long since withdrawn] Ranger tries to scoop up Lishka. However, she dodges his Mech's sweeping hand and dives into a building. Shortly thereafter, both she and the van arrive at the new rendevous point more or less simultaneously and Ranger gives up. Lishka pushes her way into the drivers seat. 

"Hi Kids. Who likes fair-ground rides?" 

She immediately takes not of how sick and pale the family looks, and very much hope's it's due to fear rather than disease. Even so, she resigns herself to a long period in Quarantine, and takes off down the road at break-neck speeds while Vike, Domino and Ranger cover their escape.

Plain sailing from here on in.

******************

Death of a Javelin

"Sweet Christ what was that!" exclaims the family chauffeur, a huge explosion lighting up the sky  a hundred metres or so to their left." For a moment, Lishka can't answer. She's too buys listening to the angry shouts in her com-bead. In a quiet voice, she mutters back to him

"That was daddy's ride!"

Not far away, Domino, with a fat man buckledon her lap, shoots into the air in her ejector seat, straining not only from the G's, but from the added weight of the fat man on her lap, magnified several times from gravity's pull.

Suddenly, it looks like Ranger might get to rescue someone after all.

****************************

Outworlds Alliance Urban Mech 13

Lishka yells into her mic:

"Ranger, you're on extraction duty. Vik, kill that bloody Urbanmech. Don't worry about us. You're just attracting fire to us. I don't want any stray shots hitting us, so just keep away!"

Slamming the accelerator pedal to the floor, she takes corners at insane speeds, driving with all the skill of a professional racer. Street-lights whiz by, and from behind her she can hear the sounds of retching, smell the foul taint of vomit in the air.

Suddenly, streaks of tracer light up the air either side of the civilian model van. Impacts shake the back end of the vehicle, and she nearly loses it, skidding as she takes a corner..

"Those f***king sons of B**** are shooting at us! That bloody Urbanmech is trying to kill us. Toast the b******".

****************

Several hundred metres away, Vik disengages from the Blackjack, launching himself into the air on a bed of jump-flames. He immediately switches fire to the murderous Urban-mech on the roof-top, his missiles peppering across it's chest. But it's the last of his ammunition. Now he's down to his medium laser alone. Not far away, the Urbanmech ignores him, sending round after round of autocannon fire towards the fleeing van with it's precious, vulnerable human cargo.

Releasing a berserker roar, Vike leaps atop the Urbanmech's roof! Too late the other pilot see's the danger, trying to turn his ponderous Mech to face the Foxhounds Valkyrie. With a casual gesture that belies the pilots, triumphant rage, Vike's pushes the murderous bastard and his machine off the building's roof, to tumble brokenly to the street three stories below.

As the red-smear across his vision clears, Vike hear's Rangers relieved shout through the comm, "I've got Iqbal in the cockpit with me. Dom's fine too. Crazy little Marik b***h is strapping herself to my Mech's left leg!"

***************

Relieved, Lishka takes another corner and sees a long, straight highway in front of her. A quick glance in the mirror and she knows she's in the clear. She grin's wildly.

"We're clear boys. Just a long straight at high speeds and we're home free. Disengage and oh F***K!"

Desperately, she wrenches the steering wheel, cutting down a side street while the long, deadly hull of a Rommel tank swings onto the highway from an off-ramp.

"Jesus boys, they've got tanks now! Frikking tanks!"

The 2nd Alliance Armoured has arrived.

[3 of them, in fact. All in nice, heavy tanks: a Rommel, a Patton and a Von Luckner!]

*****************

Battle Rages over the City

Once again, Vik is forced to switch fire. He's managed to damage the Urbanmech sufficiently to force it's withdrawl from the field, helped in no small part by a few well placed shots from Ranger's large laser. But with Domino strapped to his Mech's leg and their employer in his cockpit, the other pilot is understandably reluctant to expose his Mech to further fire.

While Ranger performs the bug-out boogie, Vik loos for the Blackjack. He knows it's around here somewhere, but these damaged buildings and twisted re-bar are playing havoc with his mag-scans. But it was here, and it was hunting Lishka and the kids.

******************

Not far away, Lishka shook her head to clear it of the budgies singing in orbit around it. She craned her neck over her shoulder, looking at the wife and kids in the back seats through the corner of one eye while keeping the other fixed firmly on the road. She didn't have time to ask if they were all-right. She'd barely avoided that third tank, and clipped the side of a tree in the process. She'd lost the mirror then, it's shattered glass speckling her face with small cuts. She could feel the blood beading on her skin even now. Still, better the rear-view mirror than the windshield.

"Hold on!" She stamped her foot to the floor again, las-fire and tracers lighting up the night around her, and the car raced off towards the welcoming darkness of the forest ahead.

"We're in the woods. We're in the woods. Bug out, bug out! Objective complete!"

Behind her and to her left, half-a-mile away, Ranger lumbered into the woods, Vike's Valkyrie marching backwards alongside, trading fire with the crippled enemy Mechs and slow moving tanks all the way to the dropsite.

She should have felt elated, but instead, she just felt troubled. 

They'd lost two Mechs, including her precious, irreplaceable Raven, and "rescued" a diseased family from a Quarantine zone. Was keeping faith with the contract worth placing the whole Inner Sphere at risk? What would this do the Fox Hound's good name?

Fox Hounds: Incoming Message

After the success of their previous mission, the Fox Hounds are inundated with Job Offers. One, a riot control mission, they turn down immediately in fear of tarnishing their hard won image as principled mercenaries. The second is a little more troubling. By which the Fox Hounds mean, "morally ambigous":

Contract Registry: OA-OC-01-01 
Unit Assigned: Fox Hounds
Working for the: Iqbal Exports
In the: Outworlds Alliance
To complete the following: Extraction
System: Quantraine
Forces Recommended: 1 Lance
Contract Duration: 2 Months (30 Days in REAL TIME)
Employer Contact: Rashiq Iqbal
Jump/Drop Fees: 0 WP
Pay Rate: 125 WP
Support: None
Salvage Rights: None
Command: Independent

Your objective is to extract Iqbal Exports CEO Rashiq Iqbal and his famliy and escort them to New Avalon in the Federated Suns. Iqbal and his family will be barricaded inside the main Iqbal Exports administrative building in the city of Calah on the southern continent of Alrashen.

An Iqbal Exports contracted jumpship Mukhtar Bey will enter the system via a pirate jump point and dropship Rafiq will deliver you to the dropsite. Be advised that once deployed you will have a 12 hour window to extract the primary and return to the dropship before the Mukhtar Bey is intercepted by AMC forces. A signal flare on the roof will indicate the correct building.

Quantraine is patrolled by elements of the 2nd Armoured Division of the Alliance Armoured Corps and the Quantraine Planetary Militia. 

25WP - FSAF intelligence dossier on 2nd Armoured Division and Quantraine

System Data:
X:Y Coordinates 455.27:206.68
Note: X and Y are coordinates (light years on XY plane) relative to Terra at (0, 0)
Spectral class: G4
Recharge station: Zenith

Geophysical Planetary Data:
System position 4th
Jump point distance 7.98
Highest native life Avian

Local Infrastructure:
Ruler: Neil Avellar
Population: 4,500
HPG Class: D 



Comstar <error>niqué 99874nr35-<error>-01-10-3026

In <error> are we forged.
-From Collected Short Sayings of <error>, Edition XXII, ComStar <error>, 3015

CLARIFICATION: 
Concerned by the possibility that they are being tricked into a kidnapping run, the Fox Hounds send a message directly to the extraction target. They receive the following responce:

Of course I'm willing, you <idiots> <what> am I <hiring> you for? Myself, my wife and two <others>. My family will be in <a> hover <vehicle> located in the basement of the <building>. I will <wait> on the roof and require <error> <error> a 'mech. Please <come> as soon as possible. My <situation> is very <bad> <error> and getting <worse> by <the> <day>

Comstar <error>niqué 99874nr35-<error>-01-10-3026

In <error> are we forged.
-From Collected Short Sayings of <error>, Edition XXII, ComStar <error>, 3015

<error> encrypted message

"Of course I'm willing, you <error> <error> am I <error> you for? Myself, my wife and two <error>. My family will be in <error> hover <error> located in the basement of the <error>. I will <error> on the roof and require <error> <error> a 'mech. Please <error> as soon as possible. My <error> is very <error> <error> and getting <error> by <error> <error>

Which they interpret as meaning:

"Of course I'm willing, you <error> <error> am I <error> you for? Myself, my wife and two <error>. My family will be in <error> hover <error> located in the basement of the <error>. I will <error> on the roof and require <error> <error> a 'mech. Please <error> as soon as possible. My <error> is very <error> <error> and getting <error> by <error> <error>"

MESSAGE TERMINATED

Of course, they are very, very wrong. 

News Update

Not long after departure, the following News Message is broadcast:

+++++++++OUTWORLDS ALLIANCE CLOSES BORDERS+++++++++

ISN reporters have learned that the Outworlds Alliance periphery state has placed several of its border worlds under an interdcition and is restricting all traffic into and out of the systems. According to reports, elements of the Alliance Air Wings are enforcing the blockade at system jump points while the 1st and 2nd Armoured divisions have been dispatched to enforce martial law on the ground. 

Alas, for the FoxHounds, they are already underway and do not receive the message.....

Plot Thickens:

To make matters worse, while the Fox Hounds are still in transit to the Jump Point, Comstar forwards the following message to Foa:

Comstar Communiqué 99874nr35-SLCOM-01-15-3026

Illuminate the darkness.
-From Collected Short Sayings of Blessed Blake, Edition XXII, ComStar Press, 3015

Start encrypted message

MESSAGE FOR FOA GURDEL. KINKAID II UNDER ASSAULT BY OBERON CONFEDERATE FORCES. PDF OVERWHELMED. PIRATE RAIDERS TAKING STOCKPILES AND SLAVES. HAVE POWERED DOWN THE GARAGE SO THEY DON'T FIND IT. PLEASE ASSIST.

MASTER TECH DOUG CHAFFEE

<Attached is grainy battle rom footage showing mechs and dropships bearing the image of a horned red skull>

Battletech Campaign: Inner Sphere News

Got an excellent game in va Skype last week. Very tense all the way. I'll put the battle report up over the course of the next few nights, but for the time being here is more Inner Sphere News.

INNER SPHERE NEWS FLASH JANUARY 10th 3026

+++++++++FEDERATED SUNS ANNOUNCES WAR GAMES+++++++++

First Prince Hanse Davion announced today that an undisclosed number of troops would be involved in a set of wargame exercises dubbed Operation Galahad. The operation is set to begin next month and will involve large numbers of troops in both the Draconis and Capellan marches. The Prince went on to say that he hoped the operation would cast aside the current way of military thinking in the inner sphere. In response DCMS and CCAF regiments have been placed on high alert along the Federated Suns borders.

+++++++++OUTWORLDS ALLIANCE CLOSES BORDERS+++++++++

ISN reporters have learned that the Outworlds Alliance periphery state has placed several of its border worlds under an interdcition and is restricting all traffic into and out of the systems. According to reports, elements of the Alliance Air Wings are enforcing the blockade at system jump points while the 1st and 2nd Armoured divisions have been dispatched to enforce martial law on the ground. 

+++++++++COVENTRY METAL WORKS UNVEILS NEW MISSILE PROTOTYPE+++++++++

Coventry Metal Works has announced a new munition for it's range of SRM launchers - the Inferno. The new Inferno missiles surpass traditional incendiary munitions, combining flammable chemicals with an adhesive compound to shower their targets with a burning gel. This gel is designed to increase a 'Mech's heat levels to the point where the DI computer shuts down the 'Mech's Fusion Engine and is also extremely effective against ground vehicles and infantry. CEO Simon Grantrel has stated that the new round will go through rigorous field testing before general release but that it should be available by the summer.

+++++++++HUSSARS DEFEND CALLOWAY IV+++++++++

Calloway IV became platform for a surprise raid on the 1st Regulan Hussars. Despite high casulaties, Colonel Tomaso Kinchuhara commented on his units “swift and efficient” actions against McCarron's Armored Cavalry, who carried out the raid. The storage facility for a consignment of Pitban 230 Fusion engines came under attack during nightfall at approx. 0130hours. Archibald McCarron was unavailable for comment and is believed to be seriously injured.