Battletech IC #1: Outreach

[Northern Dominus]

Bear
Dave didn't want to leave the position he claimed for himself, even though the forest was thick he was at a high vantage point which would make his LRMs a more deadly threat but he was just a grunt in this exercise and orders were orders. He answered by changing his facing and firing the jump jets to launch his 'mech from it's perch. He was far too good at this to let the 'mech free fall and instead slowed his decent, almost as far down as it was over, by firing the jets on and off for half second intervals until it fell through the canopy and came to a stop adjacent to Ronin. He changed his facing so that he once more had a line of fire on the enemy 'mechs.

(Bear jump jets over to Ronin's position, ready to fire on the enemy but waiting for an attack order.)

The Vulture wobbled, James cursing at missing the Centurion's head. Had this been his actual 'Mech, with all the little adjustments and modified controls, he could have managed it and stuck the landing.

He was about to recover when the lasers and SRMs impacted. The Vulture stumbled, leaning dangerously to the left. It seemed to freeze for a second, then toppled over onto its left arm and torso. Simulated snaps and pops would be quite audible as the arm was crushed between dirt and the weight of the Vulture. Inside the cockpit, James smacked his head against the dashboard, cutting open his forehead slightly. "TimberWolf is down." He transmitted, a short but sweet announcement. He started working the controls, trying to get his 'Mech back up.

"Goddammit!"

A fist pounded against the simulator's console as Artemus heard James' transmission and deduced what had happened. Clearly things had gone sour in a way that meant a choice between sticking to the plan and leaving James to be sacrificed, or rescuing James and possibly giving up a tactically advantageous re-direct in some form.

Artemus' personality made the choice a quick one, if not the most palatable given his numerous transmissions before, muttering and cursing under his breath he hit the transmit switch.

"Alright let's try this again. Priest, Andromeda, Bear, we still need a recon of that facility. Make a recon run starting on the southwest end of the outer wall and work counter-clockwise. Pleas try not to destroy the maglev but take out as many of those small laser turrets as anyone can hit. Remeber, it's a recon run, so report anything that wasn't detailed on the initial brief, especially enemy re-enforcements. And don't engage directly, if you run into re-enforcements go like hell for the trees or my position, depending on tactical consideration. Bear keep that ECM on at all times, and Priest and Andromeda throttle back to say with Bear, his mech isn't as quick as yours.

Since Timberwolf has apparently forgotten the meaning of 'disengage and break contact', I'll go extricate him out of his predicament. Anyone who is listening and doesn't have a specific assignment that goes for you too..."

Artemus was pretty sure somebody was asleep in their sim for some reason. If they weren't awake at this point then Artemus wasn't so sure their help was the best, but anything was better than what they had at the moment.

"...and if anyone has any bright ideas well it's sorta too late for it now, same for questions unfortunately.

Now let's do this, move out!"

Using the simulated satellite overhead image as a reference point, Artemus throttled the Bushwacker back up and turned towards the southeast again. Using an imagined series of nav points the Artemus guided the 'mech around several simulated trees on the way up to 75kph worth of cruise while keeping his sensors in passive mode.

As one of the Bushwacker's feet emptied a small simulated pond, Artemus strained to look through the gaps in the digital trees, all while cursing James in his mind, over and over.

'...therapy, ever here of the concept? Of course not, therapy is for the weak and helpless according to flawed logic prevailing through time. And of course, he has that break and goes into arena-jock logic, make it a show and forget all tactical sense. Goddammit if he gives me any more shit after this the second that sim door lifts..'

Passing through the final imagined nav point the Bushwacker broke through the tree line, presenting Artemus with both the Dervish and the Centurion focused on a sprawled and helpless Vulture. It was clear both mechwarriors knew their mechs, with the Dervish backing up to open up the range for its missiles and the Centurion keeping close to use it's autocannons. At the moment he would have wondered why the Centurion hadn't simply taken to pounding James' vulture into submission, but something a bit more pressing commanded his attention:

Neither mech had apparently picked him up on their sensors.

Using the initiative to his advantage Artemus flipped his sensors back into active mode and targeted the Centurion first. Swaying in time with the simulated movements he placed the reticule over the pipper that compensated for the movement of his mech, then compensated for another long-range gauss shot.

... sway, sway breathe in....sway sway... ouuuuuttt....sway squeeeze sway....

Greeted by another thrum and CRACK! of the simulated slug hitting hypersonic speeds, Artemus jammed the throttle forward and started pushing for the Bushwacker's 86kph top speed. Switching targets he locked onto the Dervish and placed the reticule over the red box while selecting a second weapons group, and the second it went red and started rotating he squeezed the trigger again, this time raking the Dervish with bright white-green bolts of laser as the 'Wacker's twin medium pulse lasers.

Watching the heat gauge rise with the extended burst of laser fire Artemus kicked the Bushwacker into a turn while twisting the torso towards the Dervish. Rather than continue raking the Dervish with fire he opted to let a little heat bleed off and circle in to bring the SRM-4 launcher to bear and exploit any gaps in the Dervish's armor. Granted that would be risking not only return SRM fire from the Dervish but also attracting the attention of the Centurion, but with any luck he wouldn't be the only one shooting for long.

"Ronin to Timberwolf. Reenforcements are here, now pick your ass back up and start shooting! Confirm this transmission, over."

---

(Orders: Andromeda, Priest, and Bear to perform recon of facility under ECM protection of Bear's Hellspawn.

Action: Run back to previous engagement zone, precision shot w/targeting computer on Centurion, full throttle closure and extended burst from two medium pulse lasers on Dervish, tightening circle on Dervish closing to SRM-4 range.)

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James remained silent, as his Vulture struggled back to its feet. He checked over his systems - The right arm was mangled, but the machine gun it housed was still operational, at least for now. He wouldn't be able to move the arm, but he could still fire.

He turned his attention onto the Centurion and opened fire with lasers and machine guns, but didn't speak.

[Occupied Deutschland]

Walther nodded, catching the gist of Artemus’s plan. The ECM was a good touch, and one Walther would have been lacking if he had merely continued around the enemy mechs they had spotted and tried to recon around the northeastern portion of the base.

“Alright Ronin. Good luck saving the Arena-jockey.” With that, Walther switched frequencies as he began to move. “Andromeda, you and I’ll try to stay a bit ahead of the Boss-Bear, that way if we run into anything we can’t outrun maybe it’ll take time to kill us small-fish first and he can get out.” The words were humorous, but Walther was serious. If they ran into anything Bear couldn’t handle, him and Andromeda could draw their fire while Bear escaped. Heavier mechs were more valuable than scouts after all.

Well, if I’ve gotta go down like that though, I’d rather go down like that in a simulator than in real life.

---

Action: Begin moving towards Southwest end of enemy base under ECM cover provided by Hellspawn.

[SaintB]

Bear kicked Lil' Darling into full throttle and accelerated quickly, the Hellspawn was tall for a 45 ton 'mech which gave it a long stride, meaning it accelerated quickly to its top speed of around 97 kilometers an hour which was far short of the the other two scouts but a high speed for a battlemech none the less, "Roger that Ronin! Will reconnoiter the enemy location with Andromeda and Preist; Bear out."

Pressing a few buttons on the console opened a three way channel between him and his two escorts, "Hello gentlemen this is your lancemate Bear. Remember to stay within 180 meters of myself to make sure you're fully masked by the ECM. May I suggest we take a southerly pathway to the west of the installation with scopes running full bore and then loop east by northeast back around?"

[Ularn]

What remained of the Support Lance had its ECM fully up and running now. Giving away their position early was the last thing on Jaz's mind now the arena fuckwit had shat on the entire plan. Her comm transmitter had gone down as well; possibly due to enemy action or just the simulation throring her a curveball. No 'mech sprang to Jaz's mind that could jam her comms like that but she was not prepared to say for certain that none existed.
Nevertheless, she had been locked on and ready to order the lance's first salvo when TimberWolf broke ranks and rushed the Centurion and Dervish. The few seconds after that had been chaos, while Jaz and her other teammates shouted impotently at Callahan to get back in formation, Bear went live with the ECM. Jaz had not ordered him to, but in this case she was thankful for the display initiative given the circumstances. She was less impressed when he also broke position and started taking orders from the Battle Lance, which for some reason seemed to be under Ronin's charge now. She reluctantly admitted that it made sense though; if Jaz could not transmit orders then she was a lance leader in name only, so until that fixed itself she was a grunt as well. Realising that, she put her Catapult into drive and pounded after Gun Bear, engaging her jumpjets right behind him as he cleared the ridge and crashing through the forest canopy to land approximately twenty metres from Ronin.
Maybe her comms were back online by that point, but somehow Jaz was able to pick up the targeting data from Ronin as he strafed the Dervish that was harassing Callahan's all but dead Vulture. While his Bushwacker blazed away with gauss and laser fire, Jaz took the best lock she could on the Centurion as the most immediate threat to TimberWolf. Easing back on the foot pedals, her simulated Bulldyke stepped backwards by two colossal paces to line up her launchers with the hole she had punched in the tree cover. As the Catapult rocked back into the firing position, feedback through her neurohelmet made Jaz believe the weight of the missile pods was really balanced on her own shoulders. She squeezed the firing nubs on the control sticks and both LRM-20s flushed at once, sending forty missiles screaming skyward.
At that range and with the target's proximity to Callahan's prone 'mech Jaz could not altogether rule out the possibility of some blue-on-blue hits. However, unless the Centurion was put out of action soon Callahan was as good as 'dead' anyway, and given how monumentally he had fucked up the whole battle plan, Jaz did not particularly mind if it happened to be one of her shots that finished the job.
"Bitch to all units," she said, trying her comms once again, her voice calm in spite of how heavy she realised her breathing had become, "If anyone can hear this, those LRMs on the Centurion are mine. Bulldyke's in position, supporting Ronin. Over,"

[Ularn]

"Six...Seven...Eight..."
While the prospective 'Mech Jockeys had been out training, Chris had spent the morning in the hangars tinkering with his Corsair some more. It was getting to the point where there was really nothing more he could do about his aircraft any more. In the time since he was taken on by GSS he or Grease Monkey had probably dismantled and rebuilt the entire fighter between them, cleaning, greasing and touching up every part as needed. She was probably as close as it was possible to get to factory new by now, and Chris only really spent time in the hangar nowadays to fight off boredom. His hope now was that the Colonel would find the squadron a contract soon, and Chris might find the parts to give his Corsair the upgrades she needed.
The rest of his time on the base had usually been spent working out. Throughout his youth Chris had been blessed with the sort of metabolism that had kept him relatively slim without much effort. He was still on the healthier side of the BMI scale when he joined GSS, but four years of a junk food university diet followed by another four spent glued to the flightseat of one transport ship or another were making themselves known. His abs had disappeared, replaced by a progressively expanding pot-belly; his chest had tits where there had once been pecks, and the first time he did a physical training session he only managed a paltry thirteen press-ups consecutively. Seeing how the many ex-military types Colonel Wilds had taken on fared by comparison had been a humbling experience for Chris.
Chris heard the message loud and clear. His afternoons nowadays were spent in the gym or on the assault course. He looked up a few fitness courses online and within a month had more than quadrupled his push-up count. By the end of the month he reckoned he would even be able to manage a hundred on a good day. His chest, shoulders and arms began to gain form and definition and while he had yet to get his six pack back, he was pretty sure it was at least a four-pack now. He still snacked on the occasional burger in the mess hall but made up for it by running into town and back at least once a week. As he saw the effort paying off, Chris realised he was probably the happiest he could remember being with his appearance.
"Thirteen...Fourteen...Fifteen!" Chris dropped from the chin-up bar fixed above the doorway to the pilots' quarters and stretched out his arms, squeezing his biceps a little and enjoying the feeling of resistance from the actual muscle which had built up there. He took a swig of protein shake from a sports bottle and crossed out the day on his exercise planner before thinking about what to do next. His watch told him the potentials would be starting their sim trail, and Chris had an idea of how to get a look in.
Finding the comms equipment and a projector was easy; navigating the various security clearances necessary to access the viewing gallery remotely took a lot longer. Eventually he managed to arrange for the battle to be displayed on the hangar wall while he could control the view using an impromptu setup with his Corsair's control column. By the time he got to the mess hall and shouted to those present what was going on and sprinted back, the attacking force had disabled one 'mech and damaged another two, while one of the attackers was apparently getting gangraped by a Centurion and a Dervish. While a small crowd of onlookers started to gather, Chris sipped his shake and settled down in the open cockpit to watch.

[Occupied Deutschland]

Bear kicked Lil' Darling into full throttle and accelerated quickly, the Hellspawn was tall for a 45 ton 'mech which gave it a long stride, meaning it accelerated quickly to its top speed of around 97 kilometers an hour which was far short of the the other two scouts but a high speed for a battlemech none the less, "Roger that Ronin! Will reconnoiter the enemy location with Andromeda and Preist; Bear out."

Pressing a few buttons on the console opened a three way channel between him and his two escorts, "Hello gentlemen this is your lancemate Bear. Remember to stay within 180 meters of myself to make sure you're fully masked by the ECM. May I suggest we take a southerly pathway to the west of the installation with scopes running full bore and then loop east by northeast back around?"

Walther brought up a map on one of the simulator’s cockpit, mentally sketching out Bear’s proposed route. It would take them close enough to the base to be able to knock out the towers with a bit of careful shooting, and under the cover of Bear’s ECM they should have time to run before any long-range mechs got a good lock on them.

“Sounds like a plan, Boss-man.” Walther said.

“Andromeda, you copied all that right? We go southwards and then around the base, with the usual operating procedure. You see something you yell really loudly.”

[SaintB]

Combat

With heavy damage and new attackers the Dervish pilot backs away from the brawl and ejects the vulnerable SRM ammo on its severely damaged left arm to avoid the possibility of a potentially fatal direct hit to the ammo bin. The Centurion's UAC/5 is no longer jammed and the enemy pilot aims for Callahan's cockpit but the shot is sent stray as Artemis's Gauss round strikes home and instead the shell misses. Callahan's Vulture clambers back on to its feet having only suffered actuator damage to its right arm from the fall, his fire hits the Centurion straight on and peppers it with a withering amount of light weapons fire.

Damage Numbers
Centurion takes 8 armor damage to RT from Light Gauss
Centurion takes 3 armor damage to CT from CSmPls
Centurion takes 1 armor damage to RT and 1 armor damage to CT from CMG
Centurion takes 3 armor damage to LT from CSmPls
Centurion takes 3 armor damage and 4 damage from LRM 20
*CRITICAL HIT* Centurion takes 8 damage to RT 16 damage to CT, 12 damage to LT, 3 damage to HD, 8 damage to RA, 8 damage to LA, 16 damage to RL, 16 damage to LL

CRITICAL HIT
Bitch's LRMs rain down on and around the Centurion scoring 27 confirmed hits to the head, right torso, right arm, and right leg. The missile volley penetrates the torso armor weekened by Artemis and Timberwolf and strikes the ammo bin containing the UAC/5 rounds. In less time than the brain can perceive an explosive chain reaction is started dozens of small explosions erupt in the 'mechs torso which cause its frame to wither and disintegrate before everyone's eyes and before the pilot can eject the entire chassis explodes! All that is left of the once formidable enemy are smashed and burning debris in and around a small crater - had this been a real battle the pilot would have never stood a chance.

Damage Numbers Continued
Dervish takes 3 damage to HD. *KILLSHOT*

KILLSHOT
Artemis's lasers strike the head and torso of the Dervish whose head was devoid of armor from previous attacks, with no armor to stop it a pulse from his laser vaporizes the cockpit and its occupant. The Dervish in mid step back instead just falls to the ground to lie still with smoke rising from its various wounds.

Damage Numbers Continued Again
Vulture takes 5 armor damage and 1 damage to RA from fall.

[Ularn]

"Holy shit!" Chris breathed, watching as with a flash of light, the Centurion on his screen was replaced by a shallow simulated crater.
Being logged into the simulation's viewing gallery allowed him and the other onlookers to listen in on both side's comm chatter. Chris heard the exchange between the Centurion and Dervish in the moments before their destruction, starting with the Centurion pilot's taunting the prone Vulture at his feet as he aimed his autocannon, "Sucks to be you friend, but a real battle's no place for some arena asshole, now piss off back to Solari..."
The Dervish 'Mechwarrior cut him off, "Movement in the treeline!"
"Oh shit!"
The Bushwacker's first gauss hit sent the Centurion reeling while another voice announced "Ronin to Timberwolf. Reenforcements are here, now pick your ass back up and start shooting! Confirm this transmission, over." Followed seconds later by "Bitch to all units. If anyone can hear this, those LRMs on the Centurion are mine. Bulldyke's in position, supporting Ronin. Over,"
Chris had just enough time to wonder what LRMs Jaz was talking about before they ignited the Centurion's funeral pyre and moments later a masterful laser shot from Ronin sniped the Dervish pilot from his cockpit. As Chris chuckled nervously he zoomed in on the Bushwacker found himself regarding the 'mechwarrior named 'Ronin' with a stunned respect, while the awesome destructive power of Bitch's missiles left him even more determined to get some for his Corsair.

---

"Fuck. Yes!" Jaz roared through gritted teeth as the centurion blipped off of her tac-screen. With her LRM-20s reloaded she was already about to train them on the Dervish. One pod only this time; the other 'mech was more heavily damaged and would not need such heavy firepower to finish it. Also, the heat from too many full salvos could become a problem and not even a C4 Catapult's ammo reserves were bottomless. Before her thumb could squeeze the firing nub however the Dervish's icon winked off the screen as well. Apparently Storm had beaten her to the punch.
"Bitch to Ronin," she commed, "What did I tell ya? Nothing but 'Stop-Fire-Repeat!'" She laughed, recalling their earlier conversation from the briefing room.

[Northern Dominus]

James remained silent, as his Vulture struggled back to its feet. He checked over his systems - The right arm was mangled, but the machine gun it housed was still operational, at least for now. He wouldn't be able to move the arm, but he could still fire.

He turned his attention onto the Centurion and opened fire with lasers and machine guns, but didn't speak.

What remained of the Support Lance had its ECM fully up and running now. Giving away their position early was the last thing on Jaz's mind now the arena fuckwit had shat on the entire plan. Her comm transmitter had gone down as well; possibly due to enemy action or just the simulation throring her a curveball. No 'mech sprang to Jaz's mind that could jam her comms like that but she was not prepared to say for certain that none existed.
Nevertheless, she had been locked on and ready to order the lance's first salvo when TimberWolf broke ranks and rushed the Centurion and Dervish. The few seconds after that had been chaos, while Jaz and her other teammates shouted impotently at Callahan to get back in formation, Bear went live with the ECM. Jaz had not ordered him to, but in this case she was thankful for the display initiative given the circumstances. She was less impressed when he also broke position and started taking orders from the Battle Lance, which for some reason seemed to be under Ronin's charge now. She reluctantly admitted that it made sense though; if Jaz could not transmit orders then she was a lance leader in name only, so until that fixed itself she was a grunt as well. Realising that, she put her Catapult into drive and pounded after Gun Bear, engaging her jumpjets right behind him as he cleared the ridge and crashing through the forest canopy to land approximately twenty metres from Ronin.
Maybe her comms were back online by that point, but somehow Jaz was able to pick up the targeting data from Ronin as he strafed the Dervish that was harassing Callahan's all but dead Vulture. While his Bushwacker blazed away with gauss and laser fire, Jaz took the best lock she could on the Centurion as the most immediate threat to TimberWolf. Easing back on the foot pedals, her simulated Bulldyke stepped backwards by two colossal paces to line up her launchers with the hole she had punched in the tree cover. As the Catapult rocked back into the firing position, feedback through her neurohelmet made Jaz believe the weight of the missile pods was really balanced on her own shoulders. She squeezed the firing nubs on the control sticks and both LRM-20s flushed at once, sending forty missiles screaming skyward.
At that range and with the target's proximity to Callahan's prone 'mech Jaz could not altogether rule out the possibility of some blue-on-blue hits. However, unless the Centurion was put out of action soon Callahan was as good as 'dead' anyway, and given how monumentally he had fucked up the whole battle plan, Jaz did not particularly mind if it happened to be one of her shots that finished the job.
"Bitch to all units," she said, trying her comms once again, her voice calm in spite of how heavy she realised her breathing had become, "If anyone can hear this, those LRMs on the Centurion are mine. Bulldyke's in position, supporting Ronin. Over,"

Combat

With heavy damage and new attackers the Dervish pilot backs away from the brawl and ejects the vulnerable SRM ammo on its severely damaged left arm to avoid the possibility of a potentially fatal direct hit to the ammo bin. The Centurion's UAC/5 is no longer jammed and the enemy pilot aims for Callahan's cockpit but the shot is sent stray as Artemis's Gauss round strikes home and instead the shell misses. Callahan's Vulture clambers back on to its feet having only suffered actuator damage to its right arm from the fall, his fire hits the Centurion straight on and peppers it with a withering amount of light weapons fire.

Damage Numbers
Centurion takes 8 armor damage to RT from Light Gauss
Centurion takes 3 armor damage to CT from CSmPls
Centurion takes 1 armor damage to RT and 1 armor damage to CT from CMG
Centurion takes 3 armor damage to LT from CSmPls
Centurion takes 3 armor damage and 4 damage from LRM 20
*CRITICAL HIT* Centurion takes 8 damage to RT 16 damage to CT, 12 damage to LT, 3 damage to HD, 8 damage to RA, 8 damage to LA, 16 damage to RL, 16 damage to LL

CRITICAL HIT
Bitch's LRMs rain down on and around the Centurion scoring 27 confirmed hits to the head, right torso, right arm, and right leg. The missile volley penetrates the torso armor weekened by Artemis and Timberwolf and strikes the ammo bin containing the UAC/5 rounds. In less time than the brain can perceive an explosive chain reaction is started dozens of small explosions erupt in the 'mechs torso which cause its frame to wither and disintegrate before everyone's eyes and before the pilot can eject the entire chassis explodes! All that is left of the once formidable enemy are smashed and burning debris in and around a small crater - had this been a real battle the pilot would have never stood a chance.

Damage Numbers Continued
Dervish takes 3 damage to HD. *KILLSHOT*

KILLSHOT
Artemis's lasers strike the head and torso of the Dervish whose head was devoid of armor from previous attacks, with no armor to stop it a pulse from his laser vaporizes the cockpit and its occupant. The Dervish in mid step back instead just falls to the ground to lie still with smoke rising from its various wounds.

Damage Numbers Continued Again
Vulture takes 5 armor damage and 1 damage to RA from fall.

Artemus
A quick reversal and two kills in rapid succession was the morale boost that was needed, and even in the solitude of his simulated and quite warm cockpit Artemus gave in and pulled a small fist pump before cutting in on the comms.

"Great shooting! Now form up on me, echelon right and let's advance due north. Sensors fully active, let's give them something to get worried about. Bitch I want you on the tail end of the formation, give your missiles max lock time if we run into any more hostiles."

To facilitate the formation and change Artemus throttled back, centered up his torso and turned/pivoted into a position before bumping up the throttle ever so slightly, bidding the Bushwacker to slowly plod along at 10 kph. As he waited for Jazz and James to respond and form up he re-checked his ammo count and heat. The laser fire had spiked the heat into the mid zone but it was dissapating nicely, and he still had 13 light gauss rounds and full ammo count on the SRM's and the machine gun.

Suddenly a voice cut in over his comms on a specific channel

"..ragon to Ronin. What is the current situation? Repeat, Gun Dragon to Ronin, what is the current situation, do you read?"

Kat

The same malady that had afflicted Jazz had struck Kat first, and with a vengeance. Not only did her comms go down completely but her Warhammer had been immobilized thanks to a glitch, and every effort to get it un-stuck had been in vain. Only pounding and yelling on the door of the simulator door managed to illicit a response from Billy.

After enduring a painfully long blackened screen, Kat was finally rewarded with a re-positioning to their original operational starting point. Although she knew full well that the situation would be drastically different than when she last observed it. However the minute her simulated Warhammer was fully operational her sensors picked up two kills in the southeastern sector of the map in rapid succession.

Clearly she had missed a significant shift in operations and cursed her luck

'Dammit, of course this would happen. I get assigned to lead a lance and endure a computer error and the fight happens anyway...'

Pushing the throttle forward she opted to set a cource to link up with the group that had been engaged in direct combat. As the 70 ton mech lumbered forward Kat automatically started twisting the torso slightly right and left as she kept a vigil for marauding enemy mechs, torso in motion to bring the enormous ER PPCs to bear if an enemy was present.

All the while she attempted to contact her lance, but it seemed as if the comms were still being sorted out by the simulators computer. In mid eye-roll and speculation that Seb could do a better job sorting the comms situation with bailing wire and toothpicks the problem the problem cleared itself, and her attempts to contact her lance finally bore out.

"Ronin to Gun Dragon. Glad you could re-join us, situation is as follows. Original lance composition has been dissolved, new battleplan is in play. Scout elements supported by Bear's ECMs are currently performing scout operation. Remainder of fire support lance has been integrated with me to act as a multirole combat lance and is currently getting set for a northward push from our present position."

There was a beat for a moment, as if Artemus was considering something on the other end of the comms.

"Ronin has taken temporary tactical command until this point, however since you're up and running I cede command back to you, over."

This much was true. There were three kills made so far, two of them coming under Ronin's command, but she had the official mandate to lead...

Artemus

To say that his ego didn't want to give up the command position he had stepped into in some odd fashion would have been a lie on Artemus' part. It was an old cliche that rang true throughout the ages; once a soldier gets a taste for combat command its hard to give up those instincts, something that even Artemus wasn't immune to.

As he sat in the simulated cockpit and waited for James and Jazz to confirm and form up along with Kat to confirm her command, he couldn't in good conscience continue as he had before without acknowledging and trying to set things as they were again. It wasn't in his nature to use circumstance to initiate a command insurgency no matter what his personal feelings.

However, his personal feelings seemed to be moot.
"Gun Dragon to Ronin. Consider this a battlefield promotion mechwarrior, I am transferring my command to you and endorsing your initiative...that is if Bitch doesn't object heartily. Where do you need me Ronin? Over."

He couldn't help but chuckle in his cockpit. Battlefield promotion, one of the few ways in the Inner Sphere to get promoted without any sort of political connections in that day and age, for the most part anyway.
Still he understood what it took to make that call out loud. Leadership denoted a lot of responsibility and a chance to shine, and to willingly give that up for whatever reason then turn right around and inquire about their use took a level of humility that a lot of freelancers didn't have in those days.

It was humility that Artemus wanted to reward. Still plodding forward at 10kph while swiveling his head in every direction to keep a wary eye out for marauding mechs in his own right, he keyed up the comms again.

"Copy that Gun Dragon. Proceed northeast and link up with our formation. Screw sneaking around with passive sensors, if there are any hostiles left I want them to see us and not look for the scouts, that is if you're amicable to the plan Bitch."

That notion of not looking for the scouts jarred a few key neruons in Artemus' brains, so while he waited for confirmation from all points he checked in with the scouts.

"Ronin to scout lance, got a status update for us, over?"

---

Actions
Artemus:
Movement- Slow, turn north, throttle forward to 10 kph
Transmissions- James and Jazz into echelon right formation, confer with Kat and confirm transfer of leadership, Kat to move northeast and link up with composite combat lance

Kat:
Movement- Turn east, throttle up to full flanking speed
Transmissions- Establish contact with all lances, transfer lead to Artemus

[Ularn]

"North works for me," Jaz responded, sounding lighthearted and more confident than she really felt. She was in the process of relocating around fifty metres to the east, stepping gingerly around and between the trees to put her out of the immediate area from which she had fired her shots while she waited for Callahan to catch up and for Storm and the other battlemechs to pass by and begin blazing the trail north for the two remaining artillery units. One eye stayed trained on the tactical plot in case her recent kill had other friends in the area.
Dragon had sounded relieved enough to relinquish her command; the Taurian Defence Force's former subaltern was less enthusiastic at the prospect. Her possible career with Gun Special Squadrons was on the line now. More than just his future 'mechwarriors, Wilds would be choosing his officers from among those in this sim and the fact that he had selected her to lead the support lance had to mean she was at least being considered for such a role on a permanent basis. Doing well as a pilot might be enough to get her into the mercenary company but if she failed as lance leader now she could probably kiss any real career path goodbye. She would probably have another chance some day, but the opportunity she craved - to scale up the ranks of an organisation she had joined and helped shape from its inception - would be gone and she would just as well be left in the TDF again, unjustly ignored at the bottom of the heap of personnel dossiers for years at a time until finally seniority rather than ability demanded that she be shunted up another rung.
"Ronin, I'll defer overall command to you, but pending no further malfunctions I still have the Support Lance," she clarified, addressing him over a private channel, "That means TimberWolf for now and Gun Bear if we link back up with him. Is that suitable for you - over?"
Storm could have Command as far as Jaz was concerned. He had earned it and demonstrated his strength for it by keeping the attacking force from disintegrating between the comm failures and Callahan's idiocy. Whatever happened now, he was almost guaranteed a place in GSS' ranks, even if the attacking force lost the engagement. Even that looked unlikely now; the defenders must have lost at least 25% of their strength by now whereas apart from Callahan's Vulture the Attackers were barely scratched, largely thanks to Ronin. At the start of the sim she had wondered about the absence of an overall commander and whether a leader would emerge. One had, and Jaz bore him no resentment for it, and since it looked increasingly likely that they would be working together it was good to foster some kind of camaraderie early, but she was not going to let Wilds think she had shrank from the responsibilities of a lance leader either.
His plan was also sound. Jaz would have proposed going south and east instead of north, reasoning that it would keep them close enough to the scouts to support them if need be while maintaining enough distance to draw attention away from them. However going north provided the same distraction and meant they could sweep the forest and make sure none of the defenders were trying to circle round and flank them. They would be further from the light 'mechs and rescuing them would he tough if they came under heavy fire but as long as Ronin's group kept well clear and pinged away with active sensors no-one would be looking in the direction of Wilds' 'mechs and their ECM concealment.

[Occupied Deutschland]

"Ronin to scout lance, got a status update for us, over?"

“Ronin, Priest reporting. Nothing’s popped up to screw us yet.” Walther took a moment to shift his mech left and right, just in case the words would somehow summon a disaster. “The day’s still young though, right?”

“Let me get a good look-see here…standby.”

Walther slowed slightly to reduce the swaying in his cockpit and twisted his mech once again to bring the enemy base into view. Frustrated at the distance, he slowed slightly more and then magnified the view.

“No mechs visible inside the compound Ronin, though they could be hiding in some of those buildings. Looks like…” Walther squinted slightly, were those little blocks on the simulator supposed to represent infantry? Probably. “Looks like there’s maybe a company’s worth of crunchies running around inside the perimeter, though some of those are probably noncombatants.”

Walther let his mech move forward slightly, shifting his view of the base. “I don’t spot any dedicated armor elements--there's a couple of what looks like civilian hovercraft running around that might mount some light weapons--but again they could be hiding some mean stuff inside the buildings waiting for us to walk into the fire zone..." Walther bit his lip, "It's what I'd do." he added.

“In any case, the southeast laser tower should experience some ‘technical difficulties’ very soon. Will advise after we've kicked the hornet's nest again.” Walther finished as he brushed away the magnified view of the base and switched his screen back to targeting mode while simultaneously switching frequencies back to his detachment.

“Boss-man, Andromeda, here’s my plan. Lets sneak up into LRM range of that tower and just blow the Blake-be-blessed shit out of the thing. I’m talking alpha strikes for you and me Andromeda and an LRM salvo from you Bear. With some luck, maybe it’ll at least make them worry that we’re a credible threat, and with a LOT of luck—possibly of the bad variety for us anyways—they’ll assume Ronin’s force is a feint meant to draw them out and we’re actually the main attack force that just botched up the whole business of being stealthy when we took out their defensive tower.”

Walther laughed. “Try to puff out your mech’s chest, Andromeda. Maybe they’ll mistake you for an Argus at range.”

---

Actions:
-Move into LRM range of enemy defensive turret.
-Pray the enemy is very stupid.

[Strykla]

Julius cursed. This was rapidly degenerating into chaos; by now, he was sure he'd run a tighter crew.

He waited for the channel to be clear before responding, and chose not to respond to that last remark. "Sir, I don't have LRMs. I might be able to skitter in from a flank and get in an alpha strike, but none of my loadout can do long range." He started to curse at Walther under his breathe, but stopped himself. Julius didn't always know what the troops under him were carrying. And at least the man was thinking rationally.

His hand hovered over the throttle, ready to stroke it and bring the Osiris up and over its top speed of 130 kph, because you can never run fast enough in a light mech.

[SaintB]

Lil' Darling was sprinting along at full speed while Dave was watching the two smaller 'mechs run circles around him.

"Ronin to scout lance, got a status update for us, over?"

"Bear to Ronin, no overt enemy activity but the outpost sure looks a lot bigger from here." he reported.

He pointed the 'mechs torso toward the closest of the laser batteries to paint it as his target for LRM fire and switched comm channels. He spoke to his lance mates, "I don't think you guys need to approach those turrets at all and risk being shot up by them or any enemies hiding behind that nice thick fortification, I can take them out from here and have 16 salvos of LRM fire to accomplish that with."

[Occupied Deutschland]

“That’s a much better plan, Boss-man. We’ll hang back and cover the rear while you shoot.” Walther said, grimacing at his own screw-up. He was too used to having larger lances underneath him with more offensive capability.

“Take out that tower Gun-Bear and we’ll see if anything pops out to meet us for the trouble.”

--------------
Action: Send Bear forward to fire LRMs at laser cannon.

[Oblivion2]

William McGinus
"Warhound"
Thirty Minutes late...

"Shit, shit, shit." McGinus cursed as he sprinted down the halls towards the simulator room. Have a look they said, Will thought bitterly to himself, No one knows the 'Mech better than you do, they said. Five minutes they said. Hell it was three hours later and William McGinus had only just finished the repairs on the servos of his custom Cataphract "Tempest". And now he was a half hour late for a simulated battle with the rest of the outfit, sort of a practical exam after all the paperwork had been filled out.

Now William was running as fast as he could, shoving a sandwich down his throat, and wiping as much of the grease off his hands and face as possible. Such was the life of a 'Mechwarrior; constantly running around and never having enough damned time to get anything done. Atleast now his 'Mech was in fighting condition, he was sure the Bear would understand.

With the last of his sandwich making it's way down his gullet, William stopped at a nearby washroom and lathered as much heavy duty soap into his skin as possible, turning the sink black as the grime slid right off his hands and face. Satisfied that he was clean enough he gave himself a quick once over; his piercing green eyes shone right back at him and with a quick nod to himself he was off again.

Moments later he had thrown himself into the simulator-pod while loading the datadisk that would turn the pod into a virtual version of Tempest.

Start up sequence engaged the familiar voice of Betty practically sang to him.

Reactor online

Sensors online

Weapons online

All systems nominal

William smiled as he rolled through his typical unlocking sequence: Rolling the shoulders of his 'Mech like a boxer readying for a fight, bending his 'Mechs backwards knees, and finally flicking his thermals on and off.

Security sequence accepted, Welcome William.

"I missed you too babe." He said with a grin before flicking his comms to the main battle lance channel, "This is Warhound. Sorry i'm late kids."

[Occupied Deutschland]

"Well, good of you to finally show up young man. The Blessed Blake always did say it was better late than never." Walther paused for a beat. "Of course, that doesn't say anything about how much better being early is, because it's a whole lot better to be early than late I'd say."

"In any case," Walther continued, "good of you to show up, we could use all the hands we've got for this little expedition and some more besides."

[Ularn]

Jaz swore when the new 'mech popped up on her tac-screen. At first she thought the defenders had somehow managed to flank them already before she realised the Cataphract's icon was a friendly green and located close to the attackers' starting area. A moment later the pilot announced himself over the comm and identified himself as "Warhound". Apparently they were getting some reinforcements to top-up their understrength company. Unfortunately Warhound's ride mounted no LRMs or indeed any missiles at all, so his arrival would be of little direct benefit to her or to Callahan.
"Bitch to Ronin, looks like this is one for your team, over."
Pondering whether or not the opposition were enjoying similar good fortune at that moment, and how Warhound managed to make it this far in the recruiting trials despite missing the Cicada run, Jaz refrained from comming the newcomer and ordering him to link up with them before Storm confirmed whether or not her Support Lance was being completely subsumed into his Battle Lance. She wasn't going to presume to give Warhound any orders until she knew whether she had the authority to do so, even if there was no good reason for Ronin not to delegate responsibility when their groups inevitably diverged once more to engage a new target. Bulldyke was never meant for frontline skirmishes and Callahan was unlikely to survive much further punishment; both would have to break off to the rear when an enemy was spotted and Storm would probably see that even the half-strength lance would need someone to keep an eye on Callahan. But still...
"Bitch to Ronin," she commed again impatiently, "Still awaiting confirmation on Support Lance chain-of-command status, over?"

[Northern Dominus]

Artemus
As he waited for Jazz and James to form up on his position, Artemus kept a wary out of the simulated cockpit,simultaniously looking for enemy "leakers", that is mechs that had gotten past the sensor screen, as well as Kat coming through the foliage at some point.

While the Bushwacker crept forward at 10 kph he was bombarded by a slew of comms transmissions after the Centurion and Dervish were taken down by some serious coordinated fire efforts. It was one of the things that Artemus had forgotten about command, the barrage of transmissions that were a miasma of benign, informative, and urgent, and sometimes difficult to discern no less.

First Jazz wanted a bit of clarification on the very fluid nature of combat command and control that had developed.

"Ronin, I'll defer overall command to you, but pending no further malfunctions I still have the Support Lance," she clarified, addressing him over a private channel, "That means TimberWolf for now and Gun Bear if we link back up with him. Is that suitable for you - over?"

And she would have received it soon were it not for reports from the scout lance. First came Walter's assessment and plan of action.

"...In any case, the southeast laser tower should experience some ‘technical difficulties’ very soon. Will advise after we've kicked the hornet's nest again.”

Then Bear's observations.

"Bear to Ronin, no overt enemy activity but the outpost sure looks a lot bigger from here."

With no reports of enemy movements and a job to do regarding taking out defensive towers, Artemus was about to approve 'Operation Nest-Punt' until yet another transmission cut in, this time from a new contact that had popped up seemingly out of nowhere on the map.

"This is Warhound. Sorry i'm late kids."

'Kids?' Artemus thought to himself. Sighing and reviewing all of the transmissions in his brain that he had to make his finger barely grazed the transmit toggle before Jazz cut in, again.

"Bitch to Ronin," she commed again impatiently, "Still awaiting confirmation on Support Lance chain-of-command status, over?"

'Fucks sake! Does the woman have any patience whatsoever?!'
Artemus shouted in his mind before looking out of the right rear section of the Bushwacker's canopy in the direction of her Catapult. Even though he knew that the simulators only projected solid colors and not any sort of transparency in the cockpit, Artemus held off on overwrought gesticulations and head rolls just the same. Dejure nature of his command aside, it would look bad indeed if anybody were able to see his frustration.

Or hear it for that matter, which meant that Artemus took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his nose before keying up the comms.

"Ronin to Priest and Bear. Roger that on your report and plan, proceed at your own discretion and just keep everyone informed. We'll be moving north to screen your exit with a lot of firepower so any remaining hostiles should be focused elsewhere other than their towers."

Checking on Kat's position relative to Warhound's, Artemus keyed up again with a plan to give each of them some cover.

"Ronin to Warhound and Gun Dragon. Good to have you online Warhound, even if it is late. For the moment I have tactical command of the mission and direct command of the main battle lance, so you're with me. There is a friendly Warhammer 8D on bearing... 092 relative due north that is proceding northeast. That would be Gun Dragon en route to link up with the main line. Make your way over to her as fast as you can. Gun Dragon, slow up a bit to help him link up but keep moving forward then bump back up to speed when you can."

For a moment Artemus considered deliberately leaving Jazz hanging as punishment for her lack of patience. The idea was certainly appealing given the loutishness of her last transmission. However that wouldn't have helped anything and probably would have killed all momentum they had at that point. Plus truth be told the Dervish and Centurion probably wouldn't have gone down as easily had she not opened up with a salvo anyway.

In the interests of discretion Ronin clicked over to the support lance's side channel before addressing Jazz directly.

"Ronin to Jazz, yes you still have command of the support lance element, but for the time being both the support and the main battle lances are folded together until we can link up with Gun Dragon and this Warhound fella. Remember, we're supposed to be a big worrying sight for any remaining hostiles so if we can keep their attention the scouts..."

There was one voice conspicuously absent in this entire fracas, and the lack of seeing a red and black tiger striped Vulture moving into position didn't bode very well for the efforts so far. Switching the comms to the general frequency again Artemus attempted to get a handle on what James' status at the moment was.

"Ronin to Timberwolf, confirm my last transmission and formation call... and while I'm at it, I need ammo checks from all main battle and support mechs. Ronin has 12 Light Gauss rounds left and full MG and SRM-4 Ammo, over."

Kat
With her 'mech at full throttle Kat had plotted a highly evasive yet efficient intercept course to link up with what was apparently the conglomeration of the battle and support lances. Unorthodox to be sure, but massing that much firepower into a line meant that any enemies would be very hard-pressed to try and come out and fight without risking heavy damage from the onslaught. All in all it was an on-the-fly plan that seemed aggressive as hell.

In a word, it was very appealing.

That changed the second a new contact appeared suddenly to her rear, causing her a moment of small panic as she started to twist the torso of her Warhammer in its general direction, but soon afterwords the new contact identified itself as 'Warhound' over the comms.

However, Warhound apparently would shake things up a bit more, for soon after his transmission and a few others, Artemus started barking out new orders. Among them was one for Kat to slow down slightly to let Warhound catch up before rendezvouing again. Sighing and shaking her head, Kat cursed her rotten luck again.
'I get why he called it, but did he really have to? I mean its not like anybody has been seen out here...'

But orders were orders, and with that in mind Kat pulled back on the throttle until the Warhammer was merely cruising at 45kph before contacting Warhound.

"Gun Dragon to Warhound, I've cut my speed down to about 45kph. Do you have my position and an estimated intercept time, over?"

---

Artemus-
Movement: Still moving north at 10kph to facilitate formation
Official Transmissions: Confirming Scout lance's status, confirming Jazz' command of support lance, ordering Warhound to rendezvous with Kat and Kat to slow down, checking on James, calling for ammo check from all main battle and support mechs

Kat-
Movement: Slowing to 45kph to let Warhound catch up
Official transmissions: Confirming Artemus' order, informing Warhound of velocity and requesting ETA.

[Ularn]

Jaz replied with a grin, "Understood Ronin. We'll keep to your rear for safety but maintain visual range to scare away the monsters. Bulldyke's still got fifteen salvoes for each launcher; make that six hundred LRMs total. That's..." she did a quick calculation in her head, "...say, eighty for every remaining bad guy? Over." Actually it was probably a bit less than that depending on how many defenders were left on the field. Jaz assumed it was nine but since her missiles would only fire in multiples of twenty she lacked the option of dividing them up so perfectly among the targets. Realistically she was unlikely to get the chance to engage every one of the enemy 'mechs; some would probably go down against the scout lance before she could get a shot off at them, but that just meant she could allocate even deadlier quantities for those she did manage to engage.
Her smile kept up as, satisfied she had put enough distance between herself and the clearing from which she had fired her missiles, Jaz set off to the north following the Battle Lance. Taking out the Centurion had given her a hell of a boost and as she looked at her ammo reserves now she felt like she could take on the entire OpFor single-handed. The only issue was how quickly she could get those missiles in the air and even there her twin LRM-20s could spew ordinance in greater quantities than almost any other 'mech ever conceived of, and with better heat management than many. Already the heat sinks had all but dealt with the build-up from her last salvo.
Not knowing Storm had already paged him privately, Jaz also exercised her newly confirmed status as support leader and growled at Callahan over the open channel in full hearing of the attacking force, "Tinkerbell! Form up on me now or my next salvo goes through your cockpit!"

---

Jasmine-
Movement: Moving forward at 15kph to catch up with Ronin while remaining slow enough for TimberWolf to catch up easily.
Official Transmissions: Confirming receipt of Support Lance command, Responding to Ronin's request for ammo counts, Ordering TimberWolf to regroup with her

[Oblivion2]

William punched in a few calculations as he moved his left hand forward to bring the throttle up to maximum speed, 64 kilometers per hour. Flicking one of his silver switches he hailed Gun Dragon directly, she seemed hungry for answers... And blood. "Gun Dragon this is Warhound, ETA to rendezvous is four minutes and twenty three seconds, over."

As much as he would have liked to have made up for lost time by just gunning it straight out into the open, William knew that a lone 'Mech could just as easily become a dead 'Mech. Thusly he kept himself as concealed as possible, slipping between trees or behind hills and never putting his sensors on active mode.

Three seconds before his scheduled ETA he now had his 'Mech running beside Gun Dragon's Warhammer. He dipped his cockpit in something resembling a nod and matched her speed as be swiveled his 'Mech's torso back and forth, searching for any targets. "Warhound here," he keyed back into the main battle lance comms, "Rendezvous with Gun Dragon complete, matching speed."

Movement: moving 64 KPH to rendezvous with Gun Dragon and then matching her speed.
Official transmission: reporting position and speed once rendezvous is complete.

[SaintB]

“That’s a much better plan, Boss-man. We’ll hang back and cover the rear while you shoot.” Walther said, grimacing at his own screw-up. He was too used to having larger lances underneath him with more offensive capability.

“Take out that tower Gun-Bear and we’ll see if anything pops out to meet us for the trouble.”

[
"Ronin to Priest and Bear. Roger that on your report and plan, proceed at your own discretion and just keep everyone informed. We'll be moving north to screen your exit with a lot of firepower so any remaining hostiles should be focused elsewhere other than their towers."

"Roger Roger!" Dave reported on open coms, "Cutting throttle to half-full, estimated speed about 49km, preparing to fire!"

Lil' Darlin' began to slow from a sprint to what would approximate a power walk for the 45 ton war machine, slowing down provided a more stable firing platform and now facing toward the enemy position he might not have a second shot on the laser battery if there was no kill at top speed, it would also generate less movement heat; not that his Hellspawn produced much heat - they were reknown for being hard to overheat (mostly due to their limited weaponry) - but if someone came over that wall to shoot his face off every little bit would help.

"Firing on target!" he announced to the world as he flipped the safety off on his second weapon group and fired a salvo of missiles at the southwest turret, "Missile launch confirmed, I have tossed the rock at the hornet's nest!"

One of the other 'mechwarriors, who went by the moniker of Warhound jumped into the sim from seemingly nowhere. Bear's original instinct was to chastise him but if Billy let him jump in to the sim he must have had a damn good reason for being late so he wouldn't fire him right away, he would see how he handled himself. He mused about how many second chances he'd given people these last few days, was he getting soft or something?

(Actions: Slow to half speed and "Fire ze missiles!")

[Northern Dominus]

William punched in a few calculations as he moved his left hand forward to bring the throttle up to maximum speed, 64 kilometers per hour. Flicking one of his silver switches he hailed Gun Dragon directly, she seemed hungry for answers... And blood. "Gun Dragon this is Warhound, ETA to rendezvous is four minutes and twenty three seconds, over."

As much as he would have liked to have made up for lost time by just gunning it straight out into the open, William knew that a lone 'Mech could just as easily become a dead 'Mech. Thusly he kept himself as concealed as possible, slipping between trees or behind hills and never putting his sensors on active mode.

Three seconds before his scheduled ETA he now had his 'Mech running beside Gun Dragon's Warhammer. He dipped his cockpit in something resembling a nod and matched her speed as be swiveled his 'Mech's torso back and forth, searching for any targets. "Warhound here," he keyed back into the main battle lance comms, "Rendezvous with Gun Dragon complete, matching speed."

Movement: moving 64 KPH to rendezvous with Gun Dragon and then matching her speed.
Official transmission: reporting position and speed once rendezvous is complete.

Kat
The urge to perform a snap-shot was almost overwhelming for a split second. Despite knowing better and having the IFF indicate that the Cataphract was indeed friendly, having a mech capable of such close-range prowess seemingly charging right at the Warhammer was unnerving to say the least.

The semi-bow from Warhound's Catapracht was a nice touch before going into the standard torso-twisting pattern, so Kat in turn decided to be relatively courteous in return. Bringing up the overhead birds-eye map Kat mentally plotted another course to merge with the combined lances Kat turned the warhammer slightly more northward and throttled back up to full speed, twisting the torso and picking a direct line through the trees as she went.

"Roger that Warhound, working on a merging vector so just stick with me for now. Just keep an eye out for any scouts in the area, Priest had to take care of one earlier. If we see one, better to kill it quickly rather than let them report back."

---

Movement: increasing speed to full 64 KPH, adjusing angle to merge with composite lances.

[Oblivion2]

William punched in a few calculations as he moved his left hand forward to bring the throttle up to maximum speed, 64 kilometers per hour. Flicking one of his silver switches he hailed Gun Dragon directly, she seemed hungry for answers... And blood. "Gun Dragon this is Warhound, ETA to rendezvous is four minutes and twenty three seconds, over."

As much as he would have liked to have made up for lost time by just gunning it straight out into the open, William knew that a lone 'Mech could just as easily become a dead 'Mech. Thusly he kept himself as concealed as possible, slipping between trees or behind hills and never putting his sensors on active mode.

Three seconds before his scheduled ETA he now had his 'Mech running beside Gun Dragon's Warhammer. He dipped his cockpit in something resembling a nod and matched her speed as be swiveled his 'Mech's torso back and forth, searching for any targets. "Warhound here," he keyed back into the main battle lance comms, "Rendezvous with Gun Dragon complete, matching speed."

Movement: moving 64 KPH to rendezvous with Gun Dragon and then matching her speed.
Official transmission: reporting position and speed once rendezvous is complete.

Kat
The urge to perform a snap-shot was almost overwhelming for a split second. Despite knowing better and having the IFF indicate that the Cataphract was indeed friendly, having a mech capable of such close-range prowess seemingly charging right at the Warhammer was unnerving to say the least.

The semi-bow from Warhound's Catapracht was a nice touch before going into the standard torso-twisting pattern, so Kat in turn decided to be relatively courteous in return. Bringing up the overhead birds-eye map Kat mentally plotted another course to merge with the combined lances Kat turned the warhammer slightly more northward and throttled back up to full speed, twisting the torso and picking a direct line through the trees as she went.

"Roger that Warhound, working on a merging vector so just stick with me for now. Just keep an eye out for any scouts in the area, Priest had to take care of one earlier. If we see one, better to kill it quickly rather than let them report back."

---

Movement: increasing speed to full 64 KPH, adjusing angle to merge with composite lances.

Will keyed his mic, "Yes Ma'am, those lights won't know what hit him." He said as he continued to scan the horizon and surrounding terrain. He kicked his 'Mech into position to follow Gun Dragon's adjusted course and link up with the others, all previous signs of bravado and humor now gone from his voice, once again he was the professional soldier.

The terrain seemed to hold no surprises as the two 'Mechs made a beeline through the trees, but just to be sure William continuously toggled his thermals on and off, searching for any disparity in the ambient heat and a potential 'Mech. He was confident that if he did find something at a range he could atleast do some damage with his AC/2's before the bastard either closed in or buggered off. He only wished that he knew what Gun Dragon's 'Mech was capable of, but that was his own damned fault for fixing his 'Mech rather than prepping for the sim.

Movement: keeping on Gun Dragon's six with a speed of 64KPH, while flicking vision modes and searching for scouts and skirmishers.

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James shook his head again, doing his best to clear it and run a full 'Mech diagnostic at the same time. He knew his outburst would not be ignored, but right now he had to focus on the tasks at hand.

Finally he got back on the radio. "TimberWolf to all callsigns, I'm still operational. Somehow. Request permission to withdraw temporarily for field repairs." And some jury-rigging, Arena style. He added silently to himself.