The following story is transcripted from the results of the Concrete Dragons' first battle. It's not my prettiest piece of work, I wrote it kinda as the battle was in progress. But I think you'll get the gist from it.
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"Sit tight," Lieutenant Brian Hasek said over his radio. In the tension of the moment, he was almost whispering. He had to laugh; it wasn't like the enemy could hear him. "Don't tip your hand til they're in firing range, then let them have it. Stick to the plan."
Henry, the old veteran, laughed over the radio. "Calm down, boss. We'll be fine." Easy for him to say, Brian thought. Or maybe not; the pirates were marching right down on Henry's position. If he wasn't worried, should any of them be?
Brian reviewed the positions on his map. Henry was the south end of the Dragons' firing line, Angel and the two Hetzers in the mill held the north end. Between were two platoons of infantry, spread out in cover. A few hundred meters back and just inside the line, were his and Red's Urbies, two more Hetzers and another platoon of infantry. They would move up to reinforce positions as needed.
Then one of the pirate VLK's rushed towards the mill, and all hell broke loose. Screams came over the radio as smoke rose; the pirate Mech had found the infantry positions, and let loose with its flamer. He gritted his teeth as Angel and the Hetzers broke cover to save the infantry; the VLK went down, its leg blown off by a Hetzer's big gun, but the plan fell with it.
In front of Brian, the infantry opened up with a roar of missiles on the advancing pirate tanks. One went up, but the others returned fire as their own infantry bailed out. The second VLK stopped, seeming to calmly set itself. Brian felt a chill. "Henry, take that other VLK out NOW!"
Henry sidestepped out of his alley and fired, but it was too late. A salvo of missiles arced skyward and crashed down on the militia footmen, taking out an entire squad in a rain of shrapnel.
"I need help here, guys!" Angel sounded scared; the pirate Hatchetman had jumped around the Hetzers and closed in on her, pinning her back in the crowded alleys of the mill complex. The Enforcer was headed that way too, firing at the Hetzers from long range as they frantically chased the Hatchetman; they had to go around the buildings, while the Hatchetman simply leaped over them.
"Red, Hetzer Three-Four, help Angel. Third infantry, move up behind me." Brian kicked his Urbie into motion, lumbering forward towards the firestorm at the front. The Goblins and pirate infantry were in the open, but had more firepower; the militia infantry had cover. It was a bloody stalemate, but one that could only have one result if something wasn't done quickly. Brian had a long shot at one of the Goblins; he cursed as he saw his tracers bounce high off its armor.
Meanwhile, the other VLK had tried to run past Henry, to flank him around the building to the south. The old vet wasn't flustered. He simply sidestepped, turned, and the VLK that had been facing his rear flank was suddenly in front of his autocannon. "Surprise!" Henry pulled the trigger as the VLK brought an arm up, and the heavy shells smashed the arm to ruins. Henry grinned and advanced, and the VLK jumped away behind a building.
Brian observed the chaos for a moment, looking at the positions on his display, then suddenly had an idea. "Hetzer One-Two, forget the Hatchetman. Break right on those Goblins and take them out. Hang on, Angel."
"Easy for you to say!" Angel snapped a shot from her autocannon and sidestepped into an alley; her shot caught the Hatchetman as it charged, its hatchet crushing into the side of the building just over her head like a wrecking ball. She slammed her pedals to the floor, and sailed over the Hatchetman's head, landing on the roof above it. "I can't keep dodging him, guys, he's faster than me!"
"But is he faster than both of us?" Red had stepped into line of sight, and cut loose with his autocannon, nailing the Hatchetman squarely in the side. The pirate seemed to consider his options, then leaped away himself, landing on a rooftop across the alley from Angel. There was a long pause as she and the pirate contemplated each other, each realizing the fully exposed position. Behind the Hatchetman, Angel saw the Hetzers dive into the Goblins' flank with devastating effect.
Then Angel screamed as the Hatchetman, and the Enforcer that had stayed in the clear behind it, both opened up on her exposed Mech at once. She felt the Urbie staggering as tracers and lasers blasted its armor, and struggled to keep from falling off the roof. She rolled the fallen Urbie away from the edge, getting the machine up just in time to hear a BOOM as the Hatchetman landed beside her.
It all happened in slow motion. The axe dug into her Urbie's shoulder, staggering it yet again. Angel gritted her teeth and fired point blank as she kicked it frantically; alarms sounded from her engine as its shielding was damaged by the Hatchetman's own autocannon. Then suddenly a strom of tracers blew past, and the Hatchetman was gone.
Angel blinked as she heard the CRASH below, and checked her systems. Engine was damaged, armor was in shreds, but she was still alive and her Mech was still somewhat functional. She jumped down, and found the Hatchetman laying on the ground, not moving. Beyond it were Hetzers Three and Four, their big guns smoking, Red's Urbie behind them.
"Hatchetman's down," Red reported calmly, "but Angel is beat up bad. How's it going over there?"
"Where the hell is that Valk?" Henry was still chasing it, as it lobbed missiles and hid among the buildings.
"I think they're running." Brian had ordered the surviving infantry back into cover, and had engaged the Goblins together with the Hetzers. The Enforcer had killed one of the Hetzers, and Brian's armor was pinged up, but the one surviving Goblin was running. The Enforcer was backing off as well, and Brian took a shot to make sure it kept going.
Henry cursed as the Valk dodged him yet again. "Come back here, you son of a..." his voice was drowned out by his autocannon, as he sent a shot after the fleeing pirate Mech.
Brian took a deep breath, and noticed his hands shaking slightly. He glanced at his chrono. It had only been that long? It had felt like hours. Over the radio, he could hear the calls for medics; the militia infantry had been hit hard. "Damage reports."
"Armor gone, engine damaged. I'm OK, my Mech is moving. Red, I owe ya one." Angel didn't sound like her usual cocky self; she sounded shocked and tired.
"You owe the militia one," Red responded. "I'm OK. I was too far back, barely had time to get in the action. All I lost was some ammo spent."
"Tell the Hetzer crews to line up outside my room then," Angel looked at the smoldering pyre that had been one of the infantry positions, then had to turn away. "I could use the distraction right now..."
"Only thing hurt is my ego." While Angel was shaken by her brush with death, Henry was steamed. He had WANTED that Valk so bad...
Brian sighed with relief. "We did good, Dragons. No losses, nothing irrepairable, we did our job."
"No losses to us," Henry said soberly. "The militia boys got chewed up."
"Yeah, I know," Brian replied. "The battle's not over til the dead are buried. Let's go give them a hand, guys."
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Fini.
On the table, it pretty much played out like the story describes. The pirates advanced, then tried to push through the left side while the Goblins held the main line. The Dragons and Hetzers stopped the pirates on the left, while the infantry and Brian's Urbie kept the Goblins occupied. I decided to withdraw the pirates after they lost two Mechs.
The Concrete Dragons all came out alive. Angel's Urbie is missing a lot of its armor, a few structure points and took an engine hit. Brian's Urbie got hit by a couple of LL shots from the Goblins, and is missing some armor. Henry's armor got pinged up by LRM's from the Valk that got away. The techs are gonna be busy.
The militia lost one of the Hetzers, and over half of the infantry. That part of it came out about as bloody as expected; infantry are always cannon fodder in battles like this.
In retrospect, both sides were too spread out. I was lucky in that I was able to get lines of sight to save Angel; by all rights, she should have died out in the open like that. I left her hanging, and a shot-up Mech is what I have to show for it.
I need a drink.
_________________ Be careful what you wish for. I might let you have it.
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