So last Friday was the first mission of a monthly CJF-based campaign I'm running for our local group. Last month was a Trial of Position, and got a bit crazy. This month, these nestlings being called the Falcon Wing were called upon to do some work some Solahma and Freeborns couldn't handle. A bunch of bandits grew too big for their britches and took over an abandoned Elemental Trial Site.
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[Star Captain Jillok]
Mechwarriors! You have chosen your 'Mechs and are on assignment. As I mentioned earlier, a local bandit problem that has become more than just an irritant. Last report had them holed up in the abandoned Elemental Trial Area Hotel. While there are buildings there, they are not strong enough to hold a Mech, so be careful with your movement.
Remember, your assignment is to destroy the bandits in the area and recover whatever resources they have stolen from The Clans. It will be even better if you can figure out where they are receiving support from.
Recall that these bandits have proven to be sneaky and more powerful than expected, so plan accordingly.
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Arriving on scene, the under-strength binary (7 showed up) saw 2 T-12 Tigers (proxied by 3D-printed Pattons), 2 J. Edgar hovercraft, and 2 platoons of Motorized Infantry to their left and a supply truck (proxied mostly by Life vans, but also one IGMakes cargo truck) along with another platoon of Motorized Infantry just off the highway near some Woods. The Active Probes in the Arctic Cheetah and Mist Lynx detected some blips (noted by Privateer Press tokens) over the mountain (up to Level 10 in height at one place) to their right, but could only determine a few Vehicles and Mechs.
The Supply Truck and their escort, seeing the incoming Mechs decided to take off. One of the Tigers moved forward to engage while the other Stood Still and relied on the Woods it was in and its Camoflauge Command Ability to keep it safe. The other 2 Platoons started moving up to support them, but then veered off to support their fellow against the rapidly advancing Mist Lynx and Arctic Cheetah along with the J. Edgars. The Fire Moth and Adders moved to engage the Tiger tanks while the Horned Owl and Howler (Devil) moved to see what was happening over the hill.
The blips behind the mountain started moving, and a Royal Stinger came around the bend.
The advancing T-12 became Immobilized and then smashed by the Fire Moth and Adders, but not before its
AC/10 took off a Fire Moth Arm. The hunkered down Tiger moved out of the Woods to try and hunt down the Fire Moth as it whizzed about, and paid for its efforts by being Immobilized. One of the J. Edgars was caught by a fusillade of Adder Missile Fire and was Immobilized to be eventually destroyed. The other J. Edgar rushed up to avenge its fellows. Meanwhile the left flank PMI slowed sped across the desert to avenge their fellows.
The Arctic Cheetah plinked away at the escorting PMI with Missiles and Lasers till he could deliver some Machine Guns to wipe them out. Taking control of the first truck, the Arctic Cheetah tried to escort him away from the rest of the Bandits. An early Clan Phoenix Hawk jumped over the hill and started getting aggressive with the Mist Lynx causing him to back off, and the Stinger took up a position to try and intercept the Arctic Cheetah. A Javelin soon followed the Phoenix Hawk around the corner, and saw the PPC Adder getting hot. A perfect target for its Infernos.
Getting over the Hill, the Howler and Horned Owl were able to positively
ID the blips the others detected. A Sentinel, Panther, and Commando were waiting for them, while a pair of Bandits (C) escorted some supply trucks away from the area. They also identified 2 Heavy Wheeled APCs, a Badger (C), and a Daimyo Command Truck (proxied by an IGMakes wheeled APC) escorting more supply trucks away. The Howler challenged the Sentinel and the Horned Owl challenged the Panther. The Commando, feeling left out, Ran to join the escort of the supply trucks.
The Horned Owl got some good hits on the Panther, and the Panther lost its Right Arm as well as the PPC it carried. It Jumped to try and get away or join its fellows, but it was just too slow, its remaining Missiles only once finding its mark. The Sentinel also ended up losing its Right Arm, but had difficulty landing shots with its SRMs and Ultra
AC/5.
On the left flank, with the Tiger immobilized, the Adders moved up to add their considerable firepower to the efforts to secure the supplies by removing their escorts. The remaining J. Edgar did a drive-by the Adders and moved to distract the Fire Moth. The Fire Moth continued dancing around the Immobilized T-12 till it was dead.
The Phoenix Hawk and Javelin moved in to position to engage the Adders, but weren't able to do more than light up the air around them.
The APCs and Supply Trucks moved as quickly as they could to the highway, but were blocked by the Arctic Cheetah. The Cheetah then started pouring fire in to the lead Heavy APC (Yellow), but couldn't land the hits to disable or destroy it quickly enough. The Mist Lynx also poured fire in to the Stinger, but didn't do enough Damage to disable anything.
The duel between the Horned Owl and the Panther raged on, with the Horned Owl stripping more and more Armor of the Panther, but not quite getting a finishing blow. The Panther was pretty much running scared, but not willing to admit it to the trashborn who challenged him. The Sentinel also feeling the heat from the Howler's PPC, ran in to a building for Cover, damaging his own 'Mech in the process.
The Bandit crews were cursing the speed of the trucks they were escorting, as it made it impossible for them to engage with their usual speed.
(apologies in advance, I have no more screenshots, but the story must be finished!)
The Fire Moth finally managed to get a killing blow on the remaining Tiger, but by then, the mission was completed.
The remaining J. Edgar flew up to the LRM Adder to try and flank him, but was punished by the PPC Adder, killing it.
The LRM Adder scored the first kill of the APCs (Blue) as well as the PBI inside, but the PMI platoons laid in to him with rifle fire, scoring two hits on the Head, knocking him out and toppling his Mech.
The Javelin soon lost its leg and its life to the PPC Adder. The Phoenix Hawk was largely untouched throughout the fight, though, its ability to hit, kept it from doing much touching itself.
The Panther finally lost its leg and so lost its Duel. The same with the Sentinel as it tried racing down the street away from the Howler. The Stinger was Damaged, but still able to fight, and the Commando remained untouched by the end.
The Arctic Cheetah was finally able to kill the Yellow APC, as well as the PBI inside, and they were able to take control of half the supplies. The Command Truck realizing its force was outgunned, surrendered.
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[Star Captain Jillok]
Adequately done. While you were not able to secure all the resources these bandits were transporting, you did get a notable amount. It is unfortunate that you weren't able to destroy all their Mechs, but you did shatter their Vehicle compliment and hindered their Mech compliment.
You were also able to secure a command vehicle the bandits were using to coordinate their activities. Well done. Through our interrogations we have discovered that a Clan has been providing them the materiel they need to become a problem for us. They had just finished dividing up the spoils of the last delivery when you arrived. They have also given us a schedule for their next meeting date and location.
Due to your fine work, and the obvious inability for the solahma and Freebirths to deal with this situation, you are called upon to intercept this group when they come for this meeting and make sure that they do not add to our bandit problem again. I will notify you as to that time.
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A few notes for my future self, I should have applied some pre-existing Damage to most of these bandits, particularly the Tiger tanks. And why the h*** are motorcyles only able to pull 32 kph? It would have been interesting if I had used the Mechanized Infantry instead... Also, Ballistic Rifle PBI can be deadly if they all hit. That's what knocked out the Adder. Next time, just go with the Mobile
HQ option, as it is more defenseless.
Still, everyone still had fun, and that's the most important part.
