Midnight – Probe, 2 February, 3053
After Action Report
Numenorean Rangers Alpha Company Midnight lance was tasked with probing the Free Worlds League defenses. Geared for fighting in less than ideal weather and light conditions, they deployed into a pitch black fog with active probes and a couple of search lights as needed. They were strung out in a line north to south with the Valkyrie anchoring the north, the Shadow Hawk in the south and the remainder in between when they made contact with a lance of mechs and a lance of armor. Of the FWL forces, two were deployed in a screen to the south while the rest were traveling together. All three of the FWL mechs equipped with searchlights had them on, while Midnight kept theirs off. (Starting deployment)
At the beginning, the Ranger forces paused to determine their opponents’ intent. As it became clear that the League forces would be pushing directly east into the heart of the Ranger formation, they began to move. The Shadow Hawk shifted south while the Valkyrie shifted north, taking advantage of the available terrain for cover. As League forces continued to close and fire began to be exchanged, the Wolfhound moved south to support Sgt Milos’ Shadow Hawk as it made its way west, circling under the advancing mech forces and began closing on the screening Vedettes that had held steady on the western edge of the engagement. With them they drew the Ostroc and Wolverine while the Griffin and Guillotine worked to engage the Black Knight and Ostwar. The Saladins continued their slow advance in an effort to bring their large bore weapons to bear. In a fortunate shot, the Wolfhound took out the Griffin’s searchlight limiting the number of targets the League forces could paint.
Initial focus fire on both sides saw the Ostwar and the Guillotine targeted including a nice grouping of fire by Atayde’s Black Knight including gauss slug and large laser into the Guillotine’s center torso. As Milos closed on the Vedettes the Rangers changed tactics, bringing their own searchlights to bear highlighting the Vedettes and the Griffin. This allowed the Rangers to down one of the Vedettes cooking off the AC ammo in the turret as they circled past, keeping on the move to prevent their complete enclosure from the Ostroc, Vedette, Wolverine and Saladins. The Ranger forces did not come out unscathed as a burst of machinegun fire took out the Shadow Hawk’s searchlight.
In the northern engagement the Guillotine continued to get pummeled but as the Vedette blew in the south, Sgt Gruber in the Ostwar discovered the skill of the Griffin pilot as he kicked him twice in the left leg, nearly stripping it of armor. This is rapidly followed up by a couple of kicks to the Black Knight’s right leg as the Griffin’s greater mobility allowed it to better position it for attacks. Attempting to escape, Atayde jumps into the woods on the hill only realizing his mistake as the Griffin lands on the hill above him preparing to kick him twice. Focus fire from both the Black Knight and Ostwar are not enough to put it down and as the Griffin prepared to kick, Atayde connected with his sword apparently unbalancing the Griffin enough to knock it to the ground.
The Shadow Hawk and Wolfhound continued to run the gauntlet from the south and shifted west north of the Saladins, putting themselves at some risk to the high bore weapons, but managing to avoid being hit by them. Sgt Milos was able to take out one of the Saladins on the way by, leaving just one to content with. Focused fire from the Ostwar, Shadow Hawk and Wolfhound finally blew the leg off the Guillotine and destroyed its SRM launcher. Having already taken significant damage including the loss of its right arm, it was combat ineffective and the pilot punched out as the mech fell to the ground. Given the volume of damage Atayde had poured into it, he was credited with the kill. This ended up being the turning point of the battle, though about two thirds of the way through. At this point both Atayde’s Black Knight and Sgt Gruber’s Ostwar were missing lots of armor and there was internal structure to a leg each, though no damaged components.
Atayde paused to take out one of the Saladin’s with his gauss rifle and extended range large laser, before moving to collect the Guillotine’s pilot. Recognizing the danger the Griffin represented, focus shifted to dropping the Griffin as the Wolverine closed to support it. The Ostroc meanwhile had taken up an overwatch position in the south on top of a hill in heavy woods, using his search light to paint targets and taking advantage of the lack of need to move to take shots at things within the range of its extended range large lasers.
The Rangers reacted by advancing on the Ostroc seeking to take it down from its sniper’s nest, the Wolverine falling back to support it, leading to the isolation of the Griffin. It is a testament to the Griffin pilot’s skill and luck that when the legs were finally blown off and the mech cored, the only armor or structure untouched were pieces of its rear side torsos and a pristine head. Atayde moved to collect the Griffin pilot as well.
The battle clearly going against the League forces, they began to try and disengage. Sgt Milos was able to maneuver her Shadow Hawk into a rise just above the Ostroc and poured fire and kicks into it as in moved down the hill through the woods. As the Ostroc reached the bottom, Milos finished kicking through both side torsos, destroying them and coring the mech. She recovered the pilot before pressing on. The final two units were brought down by lucky hits. As the last Vedette tried to finish disengaging, Milos managed to hit and destroy its engine, leaving it little more than a fairly well armed pillbox. For the Wolverine, focused fire didn’t initially drop it, but did knock it to the ground as it attempted to escape before a shot from Cochrane’s Wolfhound cooked off the torso mounted SRM ammo and Sgt Gruber in the Ostwar managed to snag the injured pilot.
Given conditions and instrumentation, nearly the entire running battle (21 turns) was dominated by jumping movement with a limited number of units holding positions (primarily the vehicles, Valkyrie and Ostroc). While this constant movement made it difficult to be hit, it also foiled the aim of the units as well. Combined with the environment, mechs highlighted by a searchlight were typically difficult to hit even at short range and impossible to hit when hidden in the dark. This was compounded by excellent cover provided by hills and woods making it more a lethal game of hide and go seek than a traditional stand up fight.
Final Status
Col Atayde (Black Knight) – Kills: Guillotine, Griffin, Saladin (Makes Veteran)
Sgt Gruber (Ostwar) – Kills: None
Sgt Milos (Shadow Hawk) – Kills: Ostroc, Saladin, Vedette
Cochrane (Wolfhound) – Kills: Vedette, Wolverine
Wilkinson (Liaison Officer in Valkyrie) – Kills: None
Pilots Captured
All 4 Mech pilots
Author
Topic: Operation ANGEL Solo Mission - Midnight - 2 February, 3053 (Read 758 times)