Glasson, Planetary Capital
Overton
Capellan Confederation
2 July 3068
MechWarrior Cadet Dymitri Egorshin flicked his eyes across to the tachometer projected in his Neurohelmet’s Heads Up Display… 20 Kilometers per hour… UrbanMechs were really that slow. Even the Agro-Mech he piloted in his first year of training could go faster than that! If he really decided to push the Leenex 60 fusion engine in his UM-60L he could get it to go above 30 kph… just…
This was his first real week of full active duty, and all he’d done so far was patrol the perimeter of the Warrior House Ijori Forward Deployment Base on Overton, just outside the Planetary Capital of Glasson. He throttled back the engine and the lumbering UrbanMech came to a ponderous halt.
Dymitri inhaled a deep breath, readying a sigh, and instantly regrated it. The small cockpit of the UrbanMech smelled worse than the barracks after his squad returned from their pre-dawn run this morning. The smell was a heady mix of lubricants, cordite from the huge Imperator-Zeta 120 mm autocannon, and the blood, sweat, tears and guts from all of the previous MechWarriors who had ridden in this BattleMech since it was constructed by Hellespont Industries on Sian in 2750 at the height of the Star League, 318 years ago… He and his Technician Lin Zhao had actually managed to trace the original serial number from the fusion engine casing which also included a com number to call in case of warranty issues.
Over the years, many of the parts of the BattleMech had been replaced, but not it’s core. It continued burning with the heat of a star allowing the BattleMech to move at… 30 kph… Maybe one day he would get a new BattleMech like the new “Shadow ‘Mechs” of Guǐ Lance. The newly constructed Project Phoenix BattleMechs have arrived only in the last month and were equipped with the latest Stealth Armor and weaponry. They hadn’t even had the time to repaint the new Marauder MAD-5L that the Shiao-Zhang piloted.They probably had that “new ‘Mech” smell, although he had no idea what that would smell like… If anyone deserved a new ‘Mech it was the Shiao-Zang, he was the stuff of legend. His Emperor was shot out from under him by Clan Steel Viper on Goat’s Path and he still survived!
Dymitri thumbed the controlled on his main stick to the right, and the whole of the upper torso of his mech rotated 90 degrees, far more than most ‘Mechs could twist their torsos. It gave him a stunning outlook over Glasson, the sprawling planetary capital of Overton, in the morning light. Overton was in fact only the second planet he had set foot on. The first being Aldebaran, where he assumed he was born. He had few memories of his childhood before the Warrior Monks of House Ijori had taken him in as a child off the streets. When he asked one day who his parents were, his Mentor, Kasei Xang, only said “They served the state well”, which for a member of the Capellan Confederation was the highest of praise.
By all rights he shouldn’t even be in a BattleMech yet. His training in Aldebaran was far from complete, but after the huge losses after the Black May incident, when Thugee infiltrators in the Warrior House had managed to release a deadly Nerve Gas killing most of the Battalions finest MechWarriors, he and his whole training lance of Xuéyuán had their training hastily compressed and were sent to Overton to join the Warrior House’s Yī Company, which was a great honor! Some even younger trainees had been sent to Èr and Sān Company, stationed at other bases on Overton.
As he looked out towards the gleaming spire of the Capellan Commonality tower as its glass caught the dawn sun, he noticed a bright light in the sky. At first, he thought it simply a reflection, but it was falling towards the horizon. It took him a moment to realise it was a Spheroid shaped DropShip descending upon a fusion powered drive plume of superheated plasma.
“It must be on its way to the Space Port”, he murmured to himself, but was suddenly snapped out of his musing by a sharp voice in his ear.
“Xuéyuán Egorshin!” yelled the shrill voice of Sai-wei Solita Domnigo. “Why haven’t you reached WayPoint Xi on your patrol?”
Dymetri involuntary sat bolt upright in his command couch and regretted it, as the weight of the vintage Neuro-helmet pushed down on his aching shoulders and neck. He keyed his map interface and Sai-wei Solita’s Bamboo colored Marauder MAD-3L was highlighted in the distance on his HUD as it emerged from the other side of the Forward Base.
“Apologies Sai-wei. I was just watching the DropShip, re-entering the…”
“What DropShip?”. There was a moment of complete silence. As he watched the falling star, several smaller and less bright stars fell away from the falling DropShip.
“Qǐzhòngjī 1 to command, we have an unidentified bogie on re-entry. They are deploying BattleMechs. I count 3, no, 4, confirm 4 BattleMechs dropping. My sensors project they are dropping on the River ComCentre.”
Again silence…
“Qǐzhòngjī 1 this is Zhànshì 1. We can’t raise the River ComCentre. The deep space array there should have picked any JumpShip entering the system and any re-entry from a DropShip.” called out Sao-wei Lucas Han from his Warhammer.
“There is no Drop scheduled for…”
The baritone voice of Shaio-zhang Denby Cluff cut of the Sao-wei.
“All units, set Defense Condition One. We have an unknown bogie, designating Bogie 1. It has deployed 4, I repeat, 4, BattleMechs onto the River ComCentre. Consider Bogie 1 and all BattleMechs to be hostile, I repeat, consider Bogie 1 and all BattleMechs to be hostile!”
Situation
On June 28th 3068, George Michael Hasek II, Duke of New Syrtis, and Field Marshall of the Capellan March has finally lost his patience! After the World of Black nuclear attacks on Tharkad and New Avalon, Princess Regent Yvonne Davion, had failed to act against the Word of Blakes obvious allies in the Capellan Confederation. All through the Confederation, the Word of Blake murderers ran the HPG stations after radicalizing, intimidating, or just murdering the ComStar Adepts who ran the station before the ComStar schism.
A message needed to be sent to those who would harbor the enemies of the Federated Suns… and the key to that came when The Bounty Hunter had returned to New Syrtis with Mandarin Kai Allard-Liao.
With the converted Mandarin Kai leading, the forces of the Capellan March began Operation SOVERIGN JUSTICE, a three-pronged mission. One – to liberate the St. Ives Commonality, two – to create a buffer around the commonality, and three – to show Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao that you don’t get to mess with the Federated Suns and get away with it.
Even as the Davion DropShips burned towards the worlds of the Capellan Confederation, Princess Regent Yvonne Davion sent a high speed HPG communication, warning Duke George Hasek against this course of action, but with her political capital at an all-time low after her failure to act against Katherine Steiner as she usurped control over the, then Federated Commonwealth, which some still thought now, that it had led to the civil war, she was powerless to intercede.
The 1st wave of Operation SOVERIGN JUSTICE struck against Gei-Fu, Necromo, Hustaing and Sendalor. The elite 1st Federated Suns Lancers (formerly the 1st Federated Commonwealth RCT), under the command of Leftenant General Dixon Zibler, made short work of the defenses on Gei-Fu and left the Kittery Borderers to defend the world while the moved on to Overton and start the 2nd wave.
On Overton, agents from the Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations (MIIO) had managed to infiltrate the planets Deep Space Tracking Centre and introduced a virus which prevented the detection of the Emergency wave from the Lances Jump Ship. It is widely suspected that these agents may have been working from the local franchise of the Dunkin Davion’s in Glasson.
The 1st Federated Suns Lances, Union Class DropShip “Liberty Belle” was completely undetected on its approach and managed to combat drop a Lance of Elite BattleMechs straight onto the River ComCentre where the planetary communications were managed, before grounding their DropShip less than a kilometer west of the city, to deploy the rest of the Company. The forces of Warrior House Ijori 1st Battalion, under the command of Shiao-zhang Denby Cluff, had to scramble to respond, their BattleMechs were out of position to the east of Glasson, although their Infantry forces and Armored Company were station inside the city and were quicker to respond. Their initial response, sending a lance of Cavalry Attack Helicopters failed abysmally as the Liberty Belle shot them from the sky.
Game Setup
The mission takes place on at least 3 maps placed long edge to long edge. The western map should be the Grasslands River ComCentre. The central map should be an urban map, with one large central building to represent the Confederation Commonality Tower. The Eastern map should be the Grasslands Forward Base map.
Attacker (1st Federated Suns Lancers)
The Attacker consist of 1 Elite/Veteran Company of exactly 12 BattleMechs with a BV of 24,000. At least 1 BattleMech in each lance should be Elite. One should be piloted by the Elite force commander Leftenant General Dixon Zibler.
These BattleMechs are all of Standard Level/Star League technology. The player may also elect for one of the BattleMech to me a Clan ‘Mech which has been salvaged.
The Attacker may deploy anywhere on the western map sheet. The Attacker deploys only after all of the defenders have deployed.
The Attacker should place a Union Class (3055 Upgrade) DropShip no more than 4 hexes from the western map edge. (Gunnery 4/Piloting 5)
Defender (Warrior House Ijori)
The Defender consists of a Regular/Green Company of exactly 12 BattleMechs, a company of regular/green Armored Vehicles and one company of Infantry (with at least 4 Platoons of Jump Laser Infantry). At least 1 BattleMech in the BattleMech Company should be a Veteran force commander Shaio-zhang Denby Cluff.
1 Lance of BattleMech may be a “Stealth Lance” equipped with BattleMechs using Stealth Armour. In the other 8 BattleMechs no more than 1 can be Standard/Star League Technology, the rest should be Introductory Technology.
The Defender sets up first and may deploy BattleMechs only on the eastern map sheets. They deploy the Armor and Infantry units on the central urban sheet. Infantry may be deployed in Hidden Deployment in the Buildings.
The defenders also have turrets on the Forward Base. Place 8 Turrets on the Towers marked. (Gunnery Skill 4). Turrets have no armor and all Walls and Towers are Hardened with CF 120.
3 x AC/10 Turret (Single) [12] Ammo (20) [2]
2 x LRM/10 Turret (Dual) [10] Ammo (48) [4]
3 x SRM/6 Turret (Dual) [6] Ammo (60) [4]
The generator on the map is CF40 and if either hex is destroyed the generator explodes doing 40 [0], 30 [1], 20 [2], 10 [3] in 5-point damage groupings. After this the turrets no longer function.
Objectives
Defend (100) – Have more BV on your deployment mapsheet at the end of the game.
Protect (100) – Prevent the opponent from destroying their strategic objective (Warrior House Ijoir – The Liberty Belle DropShip/ 1st Federated Suns Lances – the Generator)
Hold (100) – Have more BV on the urban mapsheet at the end of the game.
Destroy (100) – Destroy the strategic objective (Warrior House Ijoir – The Liberty Belle DropShip/ 1st Federated Suns Lances – the Generator)
Occupy (100) – Have more BV on the opponents deployment mapsheet at the end of the game.
Headhunt (100) – Destroy (not Cripple) the opposing Commanding Officer.
Special Rules
Forced Withdrawal on Crippling Damage is in effect.
Outcome
Despite a valiant effort Warrior House Ijori were forced to retreat in a fighting withdrawal but did manage to evacuate some of their forces from the planet.
In October 3068 Warrior House Ijori would return along side the 15th Dracon Regiment to retake Overton in Operation THUNDERSTRIKE.
ComStar 