After Action Report:
At the request of Davion liaison officers, Major Saltier rendezvoused with three Davion 'Mechs at grid square 17-75, the site of an old geothermal power facility and the housing for the plant's workers. Upon arrival the Davion 'Mechs closed ranks on Major Saltier and initiated combat. Caught by surprise, Major Saltier sought cover before engaging. Making use of his superior maneuverability, Major Saltier sought to extend the engagement range, particularly for the Axman, with its limited range. The traitor blackjack and Osprey took up firing positions on a nearby ridge.
After the first few exchanges of fire, the combatants were served notice that Mother Nature wanted to play as well. With a surprisingly gentle ground shudder, magma erupted from the nearby, now obviously volcanic, hills. The first pair of eruptions sent spatters of magma into the air that immediately lit nearby forests on fire. Later eruptions would add clouds of steam when vents opened under water. These eruptions also threw massive lava bombs into the air, lava bombs large enough to damage 'Mechs when they landed. The first pair of eruptions didn't impact the fight beyond the momentary pause as all involved looked around at the dazzling hellscape.
Fighting resumed immediately after the first eruptions. No major damage was scored to this point. When a second set of eruptions occurred shortly after the first, the traitor Osprey and Axman were in the blast radius and the Osprey took critical leg damage that slowed it down. About this time Major Saltier was maneuvering through the ruins of the town to the southwest, when was enveloped in a sudden cloud of steam bursting from another eruption. Later analysis of Major Saltier's BattleROM would show that the magma was moving through the old geothermal power infrastructure, allowing the magma to erupt at random points throughout the complex.
Damage was accumulating across all combatants with light damage to the Axman, and moderate damage to the Blackjack and Osprey against moderate damage to Major Saltier's Crusader. But the erupting steam caused the traitors to lose sight of Major Saltier. In the moment of hesitation, Major Saltier jumped into melee range of the Osprey, fired an alpha strike and landed a quick pair of kicks on the Osprey when the Blackjack and Axman were not able to support it. In return, the Osprey landed damage on the Crusader that opened several locations and damaged the Crusader's engine.
Almost immediately afterward, the Axman and Blackjack responded to their now downed ally's predicament, but they misjudged Major Saltier's intentions and the Axman allowed Major Saltier to position himself to kick the Osprey again, while unloading his weapons into the Axman's rear at short range. Doing this left Major Saltier in a good shooting position for the Blackjack, who obliged by destroying the Crusader's right arm, depriving him of the ER PPC and SRM-4 in that arm. In return, The Osprey's right leg was kicked off and the left leg suffered multiple actuator destruction, which effectively limited the Osprey to useless flailing for the rest of the combat, or at least until a falling lava bomb crushed its way through the Osprey's rear armor and detonated its LRM ammo.
In the next exchange, the Axman turned to face Major Saltier's Crusader while the Blackjack moved to a supporting position covering the Axman's rear. As the Axman turned, Saltier's Crusader jumped to the Axman's left side, braving the Axman's fire for the opportunity to land a pair of devastating kicks. In order to land these blows, he left his left side, the side with the most armor, open to the Blackjack's fire. But, fortunately for Major Saltier, the Blackjack's cooling system was overloaded and suffering from the loss of at least one heatsink crushed by a lava bomb, leaving it unable to fire. While the Crusader's lasers and remaining SRM launcher did damage to the Axman, its return fire with its AC/20 stripped the Crusader's left torso, dis significant damage to the Crusader's internal structure, and imparted a nasty twist to the Crusader that Major Saltier was not able to adjust for while lining up his planned kicks. While falling prevented Major Saltier from kicking the Axman, it also meant that the Axman's massive ax went hissing through empty air instead of burying itself in the Crusader's chest. Damage from lava bombs also dropped the Blackjack.
In the final exchange of the fight, the Blackjack stood in place while the Axman retreated to the top of a nearby rise. In response, Major Saltier quickly stood and raced around the Blackjack to its right side. The final exchange of fire cost Major Saltier's Crusader its remaining arm, but not before the Crusader's lasers and SRM-4 ravaged the Blackjack, dropping it to the ground in time for Saltier's Crusader to crush its cockpit with a well aimed kick. Seeing his second lance mate die took the fight out of the traitor commander, who slunk off into the burning hellscape.
The final damage to Major Saltier's Crusader is extreme, but repairable. Major Saltier sustained multiple injuries during the fight, but will be able to return to active duty shortly. The Osprey and Blackjack were recovered by the Numenorean Rangers and Dunedain Lance's technicians believe both 'Mechs are feasible to repair. Dunedain Lance has no plans to keep the Blackjack, but will explore its options with regard to the Osprey. Major Saltier has declined to make a decision until released from the infirmary.
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Topic: Solo Mission - Allied Traitors (Dunedain) - 12/24/3046 (Read 1836 times)