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> REBOOT: Operation I: Broken Arrow, Theatre of Operations: Saffel, Draconis Combine
Commodore Benjamin Maxwell
post Nov 18 2009, 02:41 AM
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____________________________

- Incoming Coded Message -- Command Instruction Follows -
- Decode Sabre Protocol - GALxBravo 182nd: 2nd -
- Disseminate by need only -
____________________________


Operation Codname: Broken Arrow
Planet: Saffel
Terrain: Temprate forest / Open plains / Rural urban
Time: Day

NARRATIVE:

A Mercenary by the name of Hadrian "Fury" Isis, bitter over the overthrow of Archon Nondi Steiner and her forces by Peter Steiner-Davion and his Kell Hound allies, has gone rogue, taking a dropship and the two lances under his command, and fleeing into Draconis Combine space. Disguised as a detachment of the Davion-controlled Federated Commonwealth, he intends to incite a major conflict between House Kurita and House Davion by launching a direct attack against the planet Saffel - a planet that has historically been a major point of contention between the two factions.

This has thrown the Kell Hounds into a panic. They cannot respond directly to this situation, because an incursion into Combine space by a traditionally Davion-loyal force would be looked upon by House Kurita as an act of war, even if they were there to prevent an incident. Beyond this, if it were to become public that a detachment of one of the largest, and most respected, mercenary units had gone rogue, it would be disasterous for both the Kell Hounds and the MRBC itself.

For these reasons, we have received a contract from the Kell Hounds to track down and capture Captain Isis, and eliminate, with extreme prejudice, the remainder of his lance. The Kell Hound dropship must be destroyed to prevent it from falling into Kurita hands and being used as evidence to support a war.

It is imperitive that the mission be carried out in utter secrecy. Neither House Kurita nor House Davion may be allowed to know of the nature of this mission. If we fail, the consequences could be catastrophic.

MISSION OBJECTIVES:

- Penetrate Draconis Combine space and make planetfall on Saffel. Do not allow the Legionnaires' dropship to be detected.

- Locate Captain Isis, and capture him alive. Eradicate his followers. AVOID, AT ALL COSTS, DETECTION BY DRACONIS FORCES.

- Destroy the stolen Kell Hound dropship, leaving no identifiable evidence.

- Escape from Kuritan space, and return Captain Isis to the Kell Hound liason on Outreach.

CALLSIGNS:

Detachments for this mission are as follows:

HAMMER DETACHMENT:
  • Pilot: Captain Adam Wolf
    BattleMech: BLR-WL1 BattleMaster (Class: Assault)
    Callsign: 'Gunman'

  • Pilot: Lieutenant Commander Marcus Braddock
    BattleMech: CPLT-C1 Catapult (Class: Heavy)
    Callsign: 'Talus'

    ANVIL DETACHMENT:
  • Pilot: Captain Garrett Garland
    BattleMech: Shadow Hawk (Class: Medium)
    Callsign: 'Fox'

  • Pilot: Corporal Nicholas Schuster
    BattleMech: Kit Fox Prime (Class: Light)
    Callsign: 'Mantis'

  • Pilot: MechWarrior Alex Thorn, Gunner: Lance Callahan
    BattleMech: Marauder IIC (Class: Assault)
    Callsign: 'Wolf'

    ROGUE DETACHMENT:
  • Pilot: Commodore Benjamin Maxwell
    BattleMech: WHF-3B White Flame (Lothos) (Class: Heavy - Quad)
    Callsign: 'Omega'

  • Pilot: MechWarrior Kazuki Kintaro
    BattleMech: STG-6S Stinger (Class: Light)
    Callsign: 'Sabre'
THREAT REPORT:

Captain Isis' lance was last known to have been outfitted with a wealth of Inner Sphere and Clan BattleTech. At last inventory, Captain Isis' assets included, but were not necessarily limited to:
  • One (1) Cyclops
  • One (1) Anihillator
  • Two (2) Inner Sphere UrbanMechs
  • One (1) Bushwaker
  • One (1) Blackhawk
  • One (1) Uziel

    Current loadout configurations are unknown.

    The Kell Hounds have also reported that Captain Isis is in posession of his personal Behemoth (known to the Clans as a "Stone Rhino." It is likely that he will be piloting this formidible war machine.

    The DropShip itself is a Union-class vessel, equipped with Heavy Gauss rifles and assault lasers.
- TACTICAL OVERVIEW -


NARRATIVE:
Operation: Broken Arrow will commence following entry into a low orbit on the planet's dark side, and planetfall on the southern coast of Dovejin, approximately 5 kilometers out from Iwanji, the capital city which we feel Isis is targeting for his attack. If we time our insertion correctly, we should be able to make our drop just prior to sunrise.

HAMMER DETACHMENT will hot-drop first, once the Thorin clears the five kilometer marker on its inbound vector. The detachment will advance toward the capital city from the southwest in a broad formation, performing active visual and sensor sweeps in an attempt to locate Isis' lance, maintaining contact with ANVIL DETACHMENT via tight-beam communication only. If Isis' lance has not been located by the time HAMMER DETACHMENT reaches the one kilometer marker at the capital's outskirts, they will hold position and wait for contact from ANVIL DETACHMENT.

ANVIL DETACHMENT will drop 2.5 kilometers north of HAMMER DETACHMENT, in the region determined to be the most likely location of Captain Isis' dropship. The lance will deploy in broad formation perform active visual and sensor scans in an attempt to locate Isis' dropship, approachin the city from the west. If the lance does not encounter Isis' dropship or his lance by the time they reach the one kilometer marker at the capital's outskirts, they will hold position and wait for contact from HAMMER DETACHMENT.

ROGUE DETACHMENT, consisting of Commodore Benjamin Maxwell and MechWarrior Kazuki Kintaro, will deploy from the landing site of the Thorin. They will move as determined by the tactical situation at the time of their deployment.

If any detachment encounters Isis and/or his dropship alone, they are to advise the secondary and tertiary detachments immediately. The secondary and tertiary detachments will move to reenforce the primary detachment immediately.

SUPPORT ASSETS for this operation consist of the following:

INFANTRY:
Squad Name: 'The Five Horsemen'
Composition: Shock Troopers (5)
Commander: Sergeant Eric Van de Graff

MECHANIZED:
1 x Condor Tank - Pilot: Lieutenant Garrett Garland
1 x VV1 Ranger
1 x Savior Recovery Vehicle

All support assets will deploy as as determined by the tactical situation at the time of their deployment.

Once Isis has been captured, and all assets destroyed, all detachments and support assets are to rendezvous at the Thorin for immediate dustoff.

PLANETARY OVERVIEW - SAFFEL

When first discovered, Saffel was a rather cold world at the onset of a minor ice age. The first colonists were hardy folk from Terra's Siberian, Scandinavian and Canadian regions, who found the cooler temperatures reminiscent of their homelands and planned to build cities on the north polar continent of Dovejin, Saffel's largest landmass. This frigid land, half-covered in a glacial ice cap, was considered an ideal location due to the large metal deposits detected during early surveys. Unfortunately, before these rich veins could be tapped, the so-called Outer Reaches Rebellion broke out, leading to the eventual collapse of the Terran Alliance's dominion over its far-flung worlds. With it went the fledgling settlement's only means of support. Unable to obtain the equipment necessary to turn their new home into an economically viable system and poorly equipped to handle their sudden, unasked-for independence as the harsh Saffel winter set in, many of these first colonists perished. By the time the Terran Hegemony formed nearly 100 years later, the surviving population had migrated to the warmer equatorial zones, particularly the continents of Awonera and Sophrati. Eking out an existence in the rugged, thickly wooded plains of these new lands, the scattered communities didn't know what to make of the arrival of new settlers from the Hegemony, especially when these newcomers claimed the early cities that had been abandoned by their forebears. A brief brushfire conflict broke out between the old and new inhabitants of Saffel before the Hegemony government managed to negotiate a truce. In the heyday of the Star League, Saffel became known as an exporter of valuable metals, as well as home to the Saffel Medical Institute. Located in the city of Radjik on Awonera, the SMI developed a revolutionary instrument, the Eligus Diagnoser, which was capable of rapidly scanning a patient's body, identifying any known ailments and rendering a diagnosis. Although it was withheld briefly to prevent a panic in the medical community, as some suspected the device could put doctors out of work, the eventual unveiling of the Eligus Diagnoser put Saffel on the map, adding valuable medical equipment to the planet's list of exports. After the collapse of the Star League, Davion forces promptly seized Saffel and established the planet as a gathering point for troops in one of the first major campaigns against House Kurita. In response, the Combine launched a devastating attack in 2787 but failed to capture the planet. Over the following centuries, Saffel was raided and invaded several times but remained largely under the Davion sunburst until the Draconis Combine managed to take the planet after the Fourth Succession War.

COMMANDER'S NOTES:

This will not be an easy assignment, MechWarriors. Do not expect a quick win. Captain Isis has a reputation as an extremely zealous leader, and will not back down from a confrontation. Use of excessive force is authorized, but use discretion so as to avoid alerting the local militia.

Good luck, MechWarriors. The continued peace of the Inner Sphere rests on the shoulders of this mission. Failure is not an option.


- TRANSMISSION ENDS -


____________________________

Sender: Captain Benjamin Maxwell
Encryption Priority: HIGH
HPG Relay 29XA01-OMEGA-9184
Recieved: OP Comp. 15 April 3067 - 2318 Standard Terran Time
____________________________


________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________


____________________________

Tactical Update


HAMMER DETACHMENT:Captain Wolf will be piloting the 85 tonne BattleMaster received via the mercantile jumpship Remuneration transported from Outreach. The respectable firepower and extremely durable Hardened armor will be a valuable asset for the completion of this mission.

____________________________

Sender: Captain Adam Wolf
Encryption Priority: HIGH
HPG Relay 29XA01-OMEGA-9184
Recieved: OP Comp. 22 April 3067 - 0445 Standard Terran Time
____________________________



--------------------
Position: Senior Captain | Legionnaires
Current BattleMech: WHF-3B White Flame (Lothos) [Heavy - Quad]
Loadout: 1x Large Pulse Laser, 1x Medium Pulse Laser, 2x ER Medium Lasers, 1x Anti-Missile System, Jump Jets
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Commodore Benjamin Maxwell
post Nov 18 2009, 03:21 AM
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Legionnaires' DropShip Thorin
Capitol Spaceport, New Foundation
Tau Ceti IV (New Earth) - April 16, 3067

_________________________________________

The DropShip Thorin's smallish briefing room was filled to near-capacity by the cadre that had gathered for a standard pre-Op briefing which, provided we were able to pull this whole cursed affair off, would ideally be the first of many more to come. Captain Wolf, Lieutenants Schuster and Braddock, MechWarriors Thorn and Kintaro, and Celina Santos and Lance Callahan, whose titles remained to be decided, stood shoulder-to-shoulder along one side of the bulky holoprojector table which dominated the room, while I stood against the table's opposite flank. Seated amptheatre-style around us were the men and women who comprised our support staff, from pilots to technicians, tankers to medics, each one viewing a miniature version of the situation table on their PDAs. Absent from the gathering was Sergeant Hobson and his division's staff - as the mechanical and structural integrity of the Thorin were still severely in question, they had been excused from the briefing, and were presently attempting to get the Aurora-class vessel off life support and breathing on its own. As it would be another six days' travel before we reached the New Earth Recharging Station, there would be ample time for the Sergeant to bring his people up to speed.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We have a contract."

The holotable swelled with a display of light as the sitrep for Operation: Broken Arrow flickered into existence before the assembled staff.

"The Kell Hounds are asking for our help. Hadrian Isis, one of their most respected commanders, has gone rogue, and is taking his lances on a suicide mission into Draconis Combine space in the hopes of starting a war between House Kurita and House Davion. Disguised as a Davion commando team, their target is the planet Saffel - a political hotspot that's been the focal point of a lot of dispute between the two factions. We think he's headed for the capital - probably going to try and take out the heads of state. Our mission is to capture Isis alive, and take out the rest of his lance."

"Two lances against a government installation? That's suicide! What's Hadrian hoping to accomplish?"

"That's a good question. The answer is...publicity. Isis is bitterly resentful over the overthrow of Nondi Steiner by Peter Steiner-Davion, and wants to get back at the Davions by instigating a civil war between the two houses that the Davions know they can't win. And even though Isis knows his mission is suicidal, a directed strike against the seat of the planetary government, in public view, by Davion units, would most certainly be seen as an act of war by House Kurita. Their retaliatory strike would be devastating."

"So why can't the Kell Hounds take Isis out on their own? They're much bigger than the Legionnaires and better equipped to handle the situation."

"Another excellent question. The Kell Hounds cannot become involved because their presence in Combine space would be looked upon as an aggressive act, due to their previous dealings with the Davions. Aside from that, if it were to become public that a detachment of one of the largest, and most respected, mercenary units had gone rogue, it would be disasterous for both the Kell Hounds and the MRBC itself."

"So the underdogs get to clean up the mess, eh?"

I smiled at the question. "Essentially. Our mission objectives are to penetrate Combine space and perform a hot drop on Saffel. We've got to find Isis and his lance, take out his dropship and wingmen, and bring the good Captain back to Outreach, where we'll turn him in to the Kell Hound liason. Oh, and it gets better. We have to perform this drop in utter secrecy - House Kurita cannot be allowed to know of our presence on the planet. Any and all measures for maintaining absolute secrecy are permitted, but please, ladies and gentlemen, use discretion. We don't need an incident on our hands."

Captain Gunman stepped out of the shadows.

"Folks, be advised - Captain Isis is a maverick pilot with an extremely short temper and a zero tolerance for failure. His lances consist mostly of Heavy and Assault-class 'Mechs, and he will not hesitate to use them to his fullest advantage. We've gotten several reports that place Isis himself in a customized Stone Rhino, so watch your six at all times. Remember that we have to bring Isis back alive, so if you encounter him, try to cripple, not destroy, his BattleMech. You are authorized to use extreme force with all other hostiles, including his dropship."

"Sergeant Hobson will be performing the hotdrop with the Thorin, and will be standing by for extraction once he's found a place to park our gentle giant. We need to stay in close contact on this one - no running off into the hills in search of prey - the only way we're going to pull this off is through teamwork."


I nodded in silent agreement. "Since we don't know the exact location of Isis and his lance at this time, we're guestimating our drop positions. As such, we have few nav points and assault vectors for you. This mission is primarily going to get accomplished off the cuff - and there's no room for screwups. Failure is not an option."

The room fell silent as I opened the floor to questions.


--------------------
Position: Senior Captain | Legionnaires
Current BattleMech: WHF-3B White Flame (Lothos) [Heavy - Quad]
Loadout: 1x Large Pulse Laser, 1x Medium Pulse Laser, 2x ER Medium Lasers, 1x Anti-Missile System, Jump Jets
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Lieutenant Commander Marcus Braddock
post Nov 18 2009, 04:18 AM
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I had to fight a little to raise my hand in the cramped conditions (nearly putting an elbow in the eye of the poor technician next to me), but when Captain Maxwell gave me the nod I spoke loud enough for the whole assembly to hear.
"I'll be frank sir. Do we have any tricks up our sleeves to make disabling Isis himself more feasible? I mean, with the tonnage of a Behemoth, if we pull our punches - so to speak - we risk exposing ourselves to a personal counterattack."
There were murmers of agreement and mutual worry from all corners of the briefing room.


--------------------
Position: Lieutenant Commander | Legionnaires
Current Battlemech: Catapult - "Jackal."
Loadout: - 2x Holly LRM 15 launchers (shoulder mounted).
- 4x Martell Medium Lasers (torso mounted).
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Commodore Benjamin Maxwell
post Nov 18 2009, 07:01 AM
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"I'll be frank sir. Do we have any tricks up our sleeves to make disabling Isis himself more feasible? I mean, with the tonnage of a Behemoth, if we pull our punches - so to speak - we risk exposing ourselves to a personal counterattack."

"And I'll be quite frank with you, Lieutenant," I replied, gazing into the tac overview, watching as the lasers which crafted the simulated landscape and force composition danced and flickered. "There is a distinct difference between what the Kell Hounds want and what's feasable. I'm not about to let Isis fry seven of my guys just so we can capture some whacked-out nutjob who's probably gonna get executed within the first twenty-four hours he's back on Outreach." I punctuated my last sentence with the flick of a lighter and a quick puff of smoke as the cigar clenched between my teeth flared to life. "If we get Isis, and we deliver him into their waiting hands alive and kicking, great. If we get Isis, but we end up having to scrape him out of his cockpit and bring him back in a bucket, then so be it. Either way, the 'Hounds can't bitch too much. Their little scandal gets swept under the rug, we save the galaxy, and everybody goes home happy. Well, save for Isis. He's screwed no matter how his story ends."

I glanced at the assembled staff, waiting for the next question.


--------------------
Position: Senior Captain | Legionnaires
Current BattleMech: WHF-3B White Flame (Lothos) [Heavy - Quad]
Loadout: 1x Large Pulse Laser, 1x Medium Pulse Laser, 2x ER Medium Lasers, 1x Anti-Missile System, Jump Jets
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MechWarrior Kazuki Kintaro
post Nov 18 2009, 05:07 PM
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I couldn't be sure if it was either pure luck or sheer desperation on the Legionnaire's part that had secured me a position in their ranks. The fake paper work seemed to do the trick and, after some persuasion and grovelling, I decided Vivian would look after Near until my return. When I offered to explain the events that had led me to come into contact with Near, she declined. In this case, she said, ignorance would be bliss. For now Near was safe and my cover was secured.

And here I was, about to undertake a suicide mission. How ironic.

We all stood and listened. Some had pessimistic expressions on their faces. Some had glimmers of excitement light up in their eyes. But all of us, this band of new comers and die hards alike, would all have to trust in each other to pull through this.

As the mission brief was explained to me, it became apparent there was more at stake than stopping a mad man and his schemes. War was teetering on the brink of reason. Failure was not an option.

The only thing worrying me, other than the dire odds of coming out of this alive, was my mech. I was familiar with the Stinger, sure, but I wasn't familiar with the old tin bucket verient I had received. Thankfully, Vivian had restored most of the important features that were otherwise defunct, including the ejector seat. She had created a new ejection handle and a separate circuit that would force the system to work. True to her word, she even threw in some pine scented fresheners. They didn't work, but it was a nice touch.

The briefing had now turned into a Q&A session. After Captain Maxwell answered Talus' question, I stuck my hand up.

“Sir, you mentioned Rouge Detachment will move as determined by the tactical situation at the time of deployment. Will we be providing backup for Hammer and Anvil detachments, or will we literally be operating as the situation sees fit?”


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Loadout: 2x Medium Lasers, Jump Jets
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Commodore Benjamin Maxwell
post Nov 18 2009, 08:17 PM
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I took a brief drag on the cheap cigar, holding its putrid flavor in my mouth for a scant moment before releasing it into the air, my eyes following the wisps of smoke as they darted across the situation table and into the room's air recycler.

"Mister Kintaro, you and I will be functioning in a support role to the detachments, but we will also be conducting independent recon, locking down the grid in the areas not covered by Hammer and Anvil. Any resistence we encounter is to be eliminated by all means necessary. We will effectively be serving as the defensive screen for this operation, eraticating enemy assets before they become - " I paused, allowing myself another hit on the carcinogens, " - a problem. Should we encounter Isis or his hooligans before either Hammer or Anvil locate them, we will be feeding telemetry to the detachments and serving as the primary means to divide the rogue forces between our three battleforces. Your Stinger and my White Flame are especially adept at the evading and eluding that will be requisite for this task."

I paused, allowing the information to sink in.

"Any other questions?"


--------------------
Position: Senior Captain | Legionnaires
Current BattleMech: WHF-3B White Flame (Lothos) [Heavy - Quad]
Loadout: 1x Large Pulse Laser, 1x Medium Pulse Laser, 2x ER Medium Lasers, 1x Anti-Missile System, Jump Jets
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Corporal Nick Schuster
post Nov 19 2009, 06:45 PM
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"Any other questions?"

I looked around the room to see if anyone else would ask the question I was thinking. When it became clear that no one else was going to step up, I interjected.

"Sir, what are our salvage options on this mission?"


--------------------
Position : Tech Specialist | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : MANTIS
Current BattleMech : LGN-01 Kit Fox [Light -35 Tons - 96.75 km/h max]
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Commodore Benjamin Maxwell
post Nov 19 2009, 07:01 PM
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I took a final drag on the cigar before tossing it into a nearby ash urn.

"Very limited, Corporal. This is going to be a blitzkrieg of an attack - we get in, throw down with Isis and his goons, and then get the hell out. We only have one recovery vehicle and a flatbed going into the fray with us, so anything you've got your eyes on will be subject to whether or not we have the time and the resources to retrieve it before the Kuritans arrive to massacre us."

With that, I glanced around the room one final time.

"If that's it for the questions, then this meeting is adjourned. Take your stations, and prepare to dust off."


--------------------
Position: Senior Captain | Legionnaires
Current BattleMech: WHF-3B White Flame (Lothos) [Heavy - Quad]
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Sergeant Hobson
post Nov 19 2009, 09:24 PM
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Two hours later...
_________________________________________________

With a heavy lurch, the Thorin pushed away from the earth, its command deck listing noticibly as I attempted to manually maneuver the leviathan vessel from its berth. I instinctively took hold of one of the safety rails fitted to the helm's console, tightening my harness as I watched the altimeter displayed on the bridge's sweeping status display.

"Even that thrust out, Hobson!" Commoore Maxwell barked. "This bucket of bolts can't handle much more abuse."

"Aye, Commodore - I'm doing the best I can," I replied, the stress in my voice obvious.

A loud clap of thunder echoed through the vessel, as gale-force winds hammered away at the hull. As the Thorin swayed drunkenly from side to side, totally at the mercy of the elements, a fountain of sparks erupted from the bridge's ceiling, sending glowing embers floating haphazardly downward. Commodore Maxwell glanced at a nearby console.

"The main dish is offline! We must've popped a breaker somewhere," he announced. "Switching to secondary sensors."

"Isn't that fantastic," I muttered, gripping the vessel's throttle tightly. "Remind me to send my thanks to Earthwerks."

After several more long minutes of chaos and mayhem, the Thorin broke free of Tau Ceti IV's atmosphere, and began plying its way toward the planet's jump point - a six-day journey which would hopefully allow for a few more last-minute repairs. As zero gravity took over, I imparted a slow roll to the aerodyne, using centrifugal force to generate an artificial gravity well aboard the DropShip. Engaging the autopilot, I undid my harness, and rose to stand at the helm console.

"Well done, Corporal. I can't wait to see your encore once we arrive at Saffel," Commodore Maxwell chuckled.

This post has been edited by Sergeant Hobson: Nov 19 2009, 09:26 PM


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Recipient of the Order of Katherine Steiner medal for distinguished performance in combat.
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Lance Callahan
post Nov 19 2009, 11:00 PM
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I had been in storms before. I had been in aerospace vessels before; heck, even a DropShip like this one. This was the first time, however, the two combined their hurtling force against me. Needless to say, I was unprepared.

Word of mouth had spread about a harsh lift-off. When what existed of the comms relay lit up our personal units to display a "strap in" signal, I figured it only a cautionary, standard protocol. Next time, I won't take it for granted, and the morning's breakfast would attest to that.


Was going to put more down but I've got other things on my mind keeping me from this.
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Captain Adam Wolf
post Nov 20 2009, 04:42 AM
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Aboard the Thorin
Capitol Spaceport, New Foundation
Tau Ceti IV - April 16, 3067
_______________________________


The takeoff from Tau Ceti IV had been rough to say the least, while Commodore Maxwell had stayed on the bridge to ensure a successful launch from there I myself had headed to the 'mech bay during the final hour before launch to ensure everything necessary was loaded and to triple and quadruple check all the harnesses, especially on the larger equipment and Battlemechs.

As the Thorin shuddered violently and began to rock back and forth as the full fury of the storm struck the aerodyne dropship. The term aerodyne was used a little too generously among dropships for my liking though, I believe I'd heard Sergeant Hobson once make the comment that the Thorin was about as aerodynamic as a brick and that might be pushing it. Basically if it could exit atmosphere and wasnt spherical in shape, it was 'aerodyne'.

Having cleared the actual cargo area of the 'mech bays themselves aboard the Thorin about 15 minutes prior to lift off, the crew was well experienced and knew to do this without need for my presence or instruction, but nonetheless I prefered to ensure everything was done properly with the old bucket of bolts. I was strapped into a re-entry seat alongside Scott, my engineer tech, and Celina Santos, a relatively new member to the Legionnaires and one who I regrettably had not gotten to know beyond her name yet. I had intended to strike up some conversation after lift-off but a sudden hard lurch to the port side cut me off before I even began.

A sharp tearing sound of metal straining and almost giving way reverberated through cargo observation room we were located in as the two 'mechs in Cargo 2-A and 2-B strained against their restraints. I imagined hearing similar sounds coming from the bays in Cargo 1 as well but knew that the 'mechs should be fine. One of the few fully operational parts of the aging ship was the 4 modular Cargo pods, currently 3 of the 4 were setup with the dual 'mech bays, designated A and B for each pod, and there were in nearly perfect condition. Save the actual structure of the Thorin giving out, or one of the myriad of quadrupley checked docking harnesses giving out, the aerodyne dropship could pull off atmospheric barrel rolls and the 'mechs weren't going anywhere, not that the Thorin herself would concievably be able to withstand that kind of torment. All the same though it was somewhat disconcerting to hear the metal straining as it did.

At one point, looking through the singular observation port with an external view in this part of the ship, it looked like a piece of large metal had peeled off the ship from somewhere and whiped past in the gale force winds of the upper atmosphere. Surely nothing as severe as armor plating or re-entry heat shields would be in poor enough condition to be removed by the tempest, despite its strength, or at least so I told myself.

Within a few minutes, which seemed to stretch much further than it was, the battered dropship clearing the upper reaches of Tau Ceti IV's atmosphere and the turbulent forces gripping the ship abated quickly til just the last tendrils of the planet's gravity pulled along the ventral side of the Thorin. After the standard confirmation across the internal comm system, which surprisingly seemed fully operational despite its earlier difficulties, that we had cleared the planet's gravity well and the Sergeant put the ship into its gentle roll to simulate some minor semblance of gravity during the transit to the jump point, I disengaged the harness currently restraining me to the heavily cushioned chair and made my way, in a half loping half hopping, to the entrance into Cargo Pod 2.

After checking over the equipment and communicating with the other 3 pods to check that everything had survived our 'eventful' take-off intact, I made way through the low gravity environment of the central hallway heading towards the bridge. Reaching the bridge I entered to an interesting, but not altogether unexpected sight.

The main bridge lights kept running low and then brightening back to normal in an almost regular pattern while a tech and his assistant currently were doing some minor work with one of the ceiling tiles which appeared to have blown off exposing some still mildly sparking circuitry. Judging my the large blank screen off to one side I deduced that we were experiencing some technical difficulties in the sensor department and suddenly hoped that I had only seen a piece of armor flying past us during atmospheric exit and not something more vital. Maxwell however did seem to be in a fairly good mood so I assumed that for the most part we made off alright.


"Ah, Captain Wolf, so how'd things fair down in the cargo holds? As you can see we had a little light show up here" he asked with a slight chuckle as he motioned towards the open ceiling compartment.

Smiling in return I replied,
"Well we didnt get anything as grand as that, we did have a couple of pressure suits that decided to try doing a waltz once we hit zero-G. No damage to any of the cargo, though it looks like the techs might have a hard time loosening a couple of the restraints on the 'mechs in 2-A and 2-B, they wrenched pretty hard against the automatic ratchets and they were jammed pretty good last I saw."

"All in all not too bad considering the old girl was halfway through a refit when she unexpectedly got shipped back to us."

"I see it looks like we lost one of the sensors during our little foray through the storm. Any diagnositics on how bad it is?" I asked nodded past Maxwell towards the currently black screen.

Shrugging Ben just shook his head,
"No idea at the moment, figures it would have to be the main dish that goes as well. At least the secondary array is working fine, and it is one thing we actually DO have a couple spare parts for."

"Well as long as its a breaker or just some minor circuits or maybe one of the relay boards the techs should have no trouble getting it operational again then."

"Let's hope so, I'd prefer not to go into an OP in a blind dropship, even if it is just superficial with the secondary online."

"Well I'm going to go check on Scott back in the cargo bays, and make sure they get a couple of good techs working on those sensors shortly too and then grab a nap before taking my shift on the bridge."

"Sounds good."
______________________________________

Aboard the Thorin
Nadir Jump point
Tau Ceti IV - April 22 3067
______________________________________


6 Days after successful launch from Capitol Spaceport, New Foundation on Tau Ceti IV the dropship approaches the Nadir Jump Point of the system where the merchant Jump Ship Arrow sits awaiting the arrival of the final few dropships for its jump to Saffel.
______________________________________

The 6 days to the jump point had been largely uneventful, the techs had managed to repair the main sensor array with little difficulty, turned out one of the half finished relay banks shorted out and blew a breaker and several fuses that were easily replaced. An entire systems diagnostics revealed that there were no abnormalities in the ships main systems that weren't there before we lifted off, including an armor check and re-entry shielding check. Which left me mildly curious as to just what I had seen fly by the observation port. As well during the 6 day journey the techs and various crew and Legionnaires combat personnel performed routine checks of their equipment more to pass the time than anything but it did ensure that our 'mechs and equipment were in top working condition, for the most part at least. It sounded like there were still a few things that could be ironed out with Kintaru's Stinger, but that thing was a piece of work.

When we were still a few hours out from the Arrow a second Jumpship emerged near the Nadir jump point, the Chimeisho class vessel was quick to identify itself as the Mercantile jump ship Remuneration and stated that it was here from Outreach to deliver some cargo components to the Legionnaires dropship Thorin before they embarked to Saffel.

Upon arrival at the jump point I easily negotiated with the Arrow to standby for the approximate hour it would take to transfer the additional cargo aboard before we docked for the jump to Saffel. The actual transfer itself was uneventful, a singular aerospace fighter was used as a makeshift tug to haul the 15m x 5m x 5m (45' x 15' x 15') cargo container into Cargo Pod 4, which currently only had a couple of light vehicles in it. After the successful transfer the Remuneration wished us well and then jumped back out of the system utilizing their Lithium-Fusion Battery to power the K-F drive for the second jump.


"Sargeant, report to the Arrow that we have all our cargo loaded and secured and are ready to dock. We will proceed at their direction and are ready to jump."

"Aye, sir."

As the Sargeant relayed the information to the jump ship and began the docking procedure I sat back in the command chair, relishing the chance to go and check out our newest piece of cargo, the pristine BattleMaster BLR-WL1 that my family had managed to transport to us from Outreach. With the 85 tonne Assault 'mech we stood a much better chance of completing this OP successfully, and I hadn't actually seen the 'mech since my visit to Outreach a year and a half ago. Once we jumped, Commodore Maxwell would be taking command for our initial deployment towards Saffel and I would have plenty of time to check out the 'mech then.

Warning klaxons interupted by thoughts as the docking arms from the Arrow latched securely onto the the Thorin's docking collar and they began the immediate countdown to jump.


"This is the jumpship Arrow to all personnel, the final dropship is now securely locked in place, Jump will commence in 10 minutes. Please ensure all equipment is secured and personnel are prepared.

__________________________________

10 minutes later the K-F drive of the Arrow is at full capacity and the ship successfully makes the jump to Saffel. Brilliant bands of coherent light flash across the various viewscreens of the bridge as the gravity well encompasses the jump ship and the 3 attached dropships and the entire vessel enters hyperspace, almost instantaneously transfering its entire mass over 30 light years away to the Zenith jump point of Saffel.
__________________________________

This post has been edited by Captain Adam Wolf: Nov 20 2009, 04:46 AM


--------------------
Position: Captain | Legionnaires
Callsign : Gunman
Current BattleMech : BattleMaster BLR-WL1 (Moradin) [85 tonnes Heavy]
Loadout : LB-10X AC, AC/5, ATM-3, 3x ER Medium Laser, 3x ER Small Laser (rear), Hardened Armour
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Commodore Benjamin Maxwell
post Nov 20 2009, 04:44 PM
Post #12



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Moments later...

Zenith Jump Point - Saffel
April 22, 3067

______________________________________

The JumpShip Arrow slipped gracefully out of hyperspace, the quantum singularity collapsing in on itself once again as the vessel's massive drives powered down. Under the thrust of its fusion reactors, the vessel's dark hull contrasted starkly with the reddish hues of the nebula which surrounded the Saffel system as the Arrow approached the planet's recharging station. Aboard the Thorin, I sat pensively in the Captain's chair, listening to the tinny sound of the ship-to-ship communications band.

"JumpShip. Please transmit identification key and state your intentions."

"Saffel control, this is the JumpShip Arrow. Identification key X74-211K4-86527Z. Requesting clearence to offload vessels and cargo at transfer platform Bravo."

"Stand by,
Arrow."


There was a lengthy pause as the control station attempted to authenticate the
Arrow's credentials. Kuritans were not known for their trusting nature.

"JumpShip
Arrow, this is Saffel control. Your authentication code has been accepted. Please close to two-point-oh kilometers of perimeter marker Epsilon and await transfer scan."

"A transfer scan? The contract said nothing about a transfer scan!" I exploded, rising from the command chair and dashing across the bridge to the operations console. As I did so, Sergeant Hobson punched in a series of codes and brought up the tactical interface. A dead silence reigned supreme on the Thorin's bridge, with only the ping of the position tracker, superimposed on the heads-up display, punctuating the muted environment with its rapidly increasing tempo.

"Shit," I muttered, thinking aloud. "The Kuritans are using penetrating scans to sweep the JumpShips before they're allowed to approach the planet. The Kell Hounds' intel didn't reveal this in the initial reports."

"Any chance we can block the scans?"

The voice came from the rear of the bridge. Captain Wolf stood, arms crossed, and partially shrouded in shadow, the reddish hue of the bridge's alert lights casting his visible features in a dark crimson.

"Negative. The stations are using Scoper 225-class sweepers. There's no way we won't be detected. And I don't know about you, but I did't come with a valid explanation to give the Kuritans as to why a fully-armed DropShip, loaded to bear with enough military hardware to level a small city, is about to drop in on their border world."

"There may be one option, sir."

I turned my head toward Nick Schuster, who had been using a bridge terminal to download archival BattleROM data onto a flash drive for transfer into his Kit Fox's tactical computer.

"The sweepers are patched through the HPG relay. In theory, with the relay disabled, the sweepers should be disabled as well."

"And how do you propose we pull that off?"

"I can think of two ways."

"Those being?"

Schuster strode across the bridge to stand beside me.

"Well, we can either attempt to blow the station's scanners to hell with our weapons, then make a mad dash for the planet, and hope the hell there isn't an AeroTech welcoming committee there to greet us once we arrive," the Lyran began, sarcastically, "or I can attempt to bring down the network from here."

"I prefer the second option," I deadpanned. "Do it quickly. We don't have much time left."


--------------------
Position: Senior Captain | Legionnaires
Current BattleMech: WHF-3B White Flame (Lothos) [Heavy - Quad]
Loadout: 1x Large Pulse Laser, 1x Medium Pulse Laser, 2x ER Medium Lasers, 1x Anti-Missile System, Jump Jets
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MechWarrior Kazuki Kintaro
post Nov 20 2009, 06:22 PM
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Hyperspace. It always made me feel sick to my stomach. I could never understand why. Perhaps it was akin to something like seasickness, but I could never fully grasp what exactly caused me to react against it. Yes, hyperspace always churned my stomach, but it was nothing compared to the unexpected turn we had encountered.

I was a man of war. I had seen enough bloodshed for two generations of my kind. Still, I had been cursed with enough foresight to see that our current situation was out of my hands, and that twisted my tensions more than enough. There was nothing I could do but hope for a way around this unexpected transfer scan.

“This really is beginning to feel like a suicide mission...” I said quietly to myself, watching from the shadows and red hue of the bridge. My right hand tightened on my machine pistol grip. It offered some sort of comfort and helped evened out.

Everything hinged on Schuster, and I could only wish I had the knowledge and expertise he held.

Blake help us.


--------------------
Position: Mechwarrior | Legionnaires
Callsign: Sabre
Current BattleMech: STG-6L Stinger
Loadout: 2x Medium Lasers, Jump Jets
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Lieutenant Commander Marcus Braddock
post Nov 20 2009, 08:29 PM
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Strapped into a jumpseat in the interior of the ship, I saw nothing of the compounding rent in reality that enveloped our little cluster of docked vessels and slung us over thirty light-years starwards in the merest few seconds of transition.
I sure as hell felt it, though.
It’s my theory that your body knows something fundamentally at odds with the nature of the universe has just happened to it, and so it kicks and screams like a difficult child. Some people are unaffected, or able to ignore it. In others it manifests itself in different ways, from feelings of unease and general nausea to mood-swings and post-jump nightmares.
Me? As usual, I felt that my gut was somewhere back on the far side of the jump point, and was only now being yanked back in sync with the rest of me – with enough speed and force to give me whiplash.
Simply put, immediately after transition I was hunched over as far as the jumpseats’ harness would allow me, coughing my lungs out heartily, interspersed with the occasional dry retch. The bearded engineer strapped in next to me looked on sympathetically, taking one hand from his own harness in order to gingerly pat me on the back.

“Steady on, mate. It’s over now.”
I nodded acknowledgement between gasps for breath and the last heaving staccato of coughs. I briefly wondered if the man would be so friendly if I’d actually vomited in the confined, low-gee environment. Not that it was actually a possibility anymore, since I’d taken to starving myself the day prior to reaching the jump point. This in itself often had the side-effect of making me tetchy and reticent in the hours preceding and immediately after transit, but I could usually hold a lid on it or at least keep to myself. The engineer began unclipping himself as the ships’ address system began announcing the all-clear of a successful jump in its’ clipped, synthetic tones. He spoke as he did so;
“Well, that’s the easy part over. Now we’ve got to make sure this rust-tub makes it down to Saffel in one piece. That’s a job and a half, I don’t mind tellin’ you, mate.”
He stood up and rolled his bulky shoulders, stretching while I sat up straight and began to unclasp myself in precise, practiced motions. The few other crewmen secured at this stretch of jumpseats streamed past me, going through their various post-jump routines. When I was free, I glanced up at him again to see him tugging at his voluminous facial hair in what looked like a tic. I stood up and placed myself next to him, breathing in deeply. Even the stifled and stale air of the small dropships’ recyclers seemed cool and refreshing for a moment. We were the last two left in the confined room.
“Well, if the journey starside was any indicator...”
I began, casting my mind back to the touch-and-go liftoff of nearly a week ago. It was strange how I could hardly flinch in situations like that, and yet be so affected by something as (at least superficially) mild as a jump.
“Ah, it’s nothin’ we can’t see to.” He said with pride, patting his engineers’ overalls affectionately. “Besides, that Hobson is a hell of a pilot. Now, you look like you could use a square meal, amiright?”
That did sound about right. Now that my stomach had caught up with me, it was making complaints of a different kind. Even autovend food would sustain it for the moment, I reasoned.
“A sound plan, uh...” I trailed off, motioning ignorance with a small shrug.
Gray, ya peanut.” He filled in. “My names’ Gray. Nice to meet you, ‘tenant Braddock.”
I chuckled and continued. “Right. Good plan, Gray. I’ve just got to make a quick report to the bridge and make sure everything’s on the level.”
He nodded his assent and made to wait for me by the doorway. I made a quick bounding step, courtesy of the low-gravity, over to the internal comms-panel mounted by the row of seats. After a few depressed keys and a hiss of static, I raised Commodore Maxwell on the bridge.
“Sir, reporting post-jump as ordered. All clea-“ He cut me off abruptly.
Quiet! No, not you Schuster, keep at it!”
He sounded strained, and I deduced that something serious was going on.
“Sir, what’s the situa-“
“Sorry Marcus, there’s no time!”
The comms-panels’ display winked red at me. He’d ended the transmission.


--------------------
Position: Lieutenant Commander | Legionnaires
Current Battlemech: Catapult - "Jackal."
Loadout: - 2x Holly LRM 15 launchers (shoulder mounted).
- 4x Martell Medium Lasers (torso mounted).
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Corporal Nick Schuster
post Nov 20 2009, 09:07 PM
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The status indicator crept slowly toward completion as my wrist computer, interfaced with the Thorin’s mainframe via a USB cable, fervently churned code in an attempt to break the elliptic curve encryption which stood between myself and the recharging station’s communications grid.. Already, I had had to bypass a proxy, defeat a firewall, and re-route a monitor just to get to this point. My trace tracker chirped at me as it warned of an impending lock on the location I was attempting to jack in from, and I wiped sweat from my brow as I realized time was running out. Commodore Maxwell looked around uncomfortably as I kneeled by the computer's open access panel, tied directly to the terminal's motherboard.

"Well? Anything?"

"Not yet. Give me another minute. This isn't as simple as withdrawing funds from a credit dispenser, you know."

Maxwell gave me a glare, and I immediately regretted the comment. He was demonstrating amazing restraint given the situation, and I was pushing it.

The decypher program beeped a "completed" tone at me, and I quickly shut it off to divert more power to my computer's processor. With the elliptic curve encryption defeated, I could now enter the system, try to make sense of it, and hopefully, overthrow it.

The root directory was massive, encompassing well over 1500 subdirectories. There simply wasn't enough time to sift through all of it, especially since I had no idea where the system folder for the operating system resided. The trace tracker began chirping more fervently, and had morphed into what was nearly a solid wail. I hammered away at the keyboard, searching for the largest executable on the drive. It presented itself, and I pounded the "Return" key at the same moment the tracker reached 100%. The screen went dark.


"Schuster - is there a problem?"

"I...don't know."

A wave of color splashed across the display, and the station’s central operating system sprang to life. I found myself staring at a remarkable graphical interface, which encompassed all aspects of the facility's operation. From here, I could control security subsystems, utilities, life support, and a myriad of other functions.

I clicked on the 'Security' icon, and another window opened, presenting me with several options. I had a feeling that the Kuritans would be too clever to risk not shielding the communications grid by several additional layers of security implacements, and sure enough, I was right. A click on the access portal for the system I was searching for was met by another elliptic curve encryption wall. There was simply not enough time left to crack it. However, there was another possibility.


"Commodore - with your permission - I think the only way we’re gonna get this thing down is through brute force - cyber brute force, that is."

"Do it."

I brought up command-prompt based interface on the computer's tiny screen. Navigating to the root directory, I typed a total of seven characters, and hit 'return.' After a momentary delay, the command was accepted. I then entered another seven characters, and the screen went black near-instantaneously.

"Done," I whispered, staring intensely at the bridge's main display. A grainy image of the Saffel recharging station, fed to the command center by an external, hull-mounted camera, dominated the center of the screen. At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the station began to go dark. Window lights across its hull winked out of existence, followed closely by its positioning lights. The gentle rotation it maintained to create a sense of gravity for its occupants gradually gave way to an erratic tumble. Lastly, an explosive decompression could be seen erupting from one of its docking ports.

"Mister Schuster!" Commodore Maxwell exclaimed, a mixture of shock and dismay coloring his voice. "What the devil?"

I locked eyes with the Commodore.

"The station won't be a problem any more," I replied, coldly.


--------------------
Position : Tech Specialist | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : MANTIS
Current BattleMech : LGN-01 Kit Fox [Light -35 Tons - 96.75 km/h max]
Loadout : [1x ER Large Laser] [1x Small Pulse Laser] [1x LB-X Autocannon/5 - Ammo: Slug (20 rounds)] [1x Streak SRM-2 (Improved OS) - Ammo: 50 Acid SRM-2 | 50 Anti-Personnel SRM-2] [CASE] [FireScan II with Multi-Trac II & IndirecTrac]
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