1200 Days - Gramps' run at a Kerensky rated career

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Mission 021: 1.5 Skull Ambush Convoy____Employer: Local Gov____Target: Free Worlds League____Biome: Desert
Contract: 1/4 Pay, 3/4 salvage (3/12)____Lance: Quickdraw (Scrub), Shadow Hawk (Hangover), Griffin (Goth), Enforcer (Jingle)

Report: The lance drops far from the convoy route, and all units start sprinting towards the expected extraction point. Escorts make contact, JVN-10F (CT kill), 2x JVN-10A (both CT kill), JR7-D (CT kill). Convoy enters visual range, Striker (ranged kill), Scorpion Mk II (ranged kill), Bulldog (ranged kill), LRM Carrier (ranged kill).

Damage: Only armor. ____Salvage: 1x JR7-D, 2x LRM20 as priority. JR7-D assembled and sent to storage.
Advancement: Scrub and Goth, Gunnery 4 to 5. Hangover, Piloting 5 to 6. Jingle, Gunnery 6 to 7.
 
Mission 022: 2 Skull Ambush Convoy____Employer: Pirates____Target: Free Worlds League____Biome: Martian
Contract: 1/4 Pay, 3/4 salvage (3/12)____Lance: Quickdraw (Scrub), Shadow Hawk (Hangover), Griffin (Goth), Enforcer (Jingle)

Report: Deja vu - the lance drops far from the convoy route, and all units start sprinting towards the expected extraction point. We make contact with the convoy and escorts at the same time, and focus fire on the vehicles. Mobile HQ (ranged kill), 2x Striker (ranged kills), SRM Carrier (ranged kill). Goth takes an SRM to the head. Hangover gets lucky and blasts the Panther's cockpit; Scrub headshots a Griffin, exhibiting his precise aim over two salvos. PNT-9R (headshot!), JVN-10N (legs kill), 2x GRF-1S (headshot! and CT kill).

Damage: Goth injured for 18 days. Quickdraw 20% LA, 10% CT (rear) structure damage.
Salvage: 3x GRF-1S as priority. PNT-9R assembled and sent to storage. GRF-1S assembled and moved to the bay, sending the Phoenix Hawk to storage.
Advancement: Hangover, Tactics 5 to 6.
 
Mission 023: 2 Skull Base Capture____Employer: Local Gov____Target: Pirates____Biome: Desert
Contract: 1/4 Pay, 3/4 salvage (3/12)____Lance: Shadow Hawk (Scrub), and the B Team - Cicada -2A (Pontoon), Locust -1V (Stubble), Locust -1V(Guano)

Report: Not wanting to risk the destruction of the Quickdraw to incompetent lancemates, Scrub is chosen to pilot the Shadow Hawk and lead the B Team. The approach to the base is uneventful, despite rookie chatter in their makeshift armor mechs. A dropship is detected on approach as the base is secured, and a hostile lance is deployed. Scrub is able to land precise shots and destroy the main weapon torsos of the enemy mechs, letting the B Team practice their run and gun maneuvers. LCT-1S (CT kill), HBK-4G (CT kill), CTF-1X (CT kill).

Damage: Only armor damage. B Team lost the whole left side of the Cicada, and Pontoon is injured for 46 days.
Salvage: 1x CTF-1X, 1x HBK-4G, 1x LCT-1S as priority. LCT-1S assembled and sent to storage.
Advancement: Scrub, Piloting 5 to 6.
 
Mission 024: 2 Skull Capture Base____Employer: Free Worlds League____Target: Local Gov____Biome: Martian
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (4/19)____Lance: Quickdraw (Scrub), Shadow Hawk (Jalopy), Griffin (Hangover), Enforcer (Jingle)

Report: The lance begins the approach around the left flank to get into the cover of a whirlwind. Base guards intercept, 2x JVN-10A (CT kills), FS9-H (CT kill), LCT-1M (CT kill). Once the base gets closer, turrets are detected, 2x Light Laser, 1x Light Shredder, 1x Light Sniper all destroyed. Enemy reinforcements arrive, but Scrub lands a perfectly precise salvo into the Javelin -10F, eliminating it in one blast, and the long range Javelin -10As are beat down in melee combat. 3x JVN-10A (CT melee kills), JVN-10F (CT kill)

Damage: Quickdraw 5% RA structure damage. ____Salvage: 4x JVN-10A as priority. Two JVN-10As are assembled and sent to storage.
Advancement: Scrub, Gunnery 5 to 6. Jalopy and Jingle, Tactics 6 to 7.
 
Mission 025: 2.5 Skull Escort____Employer: Free Worlds League____Target: Local Gov____Biome: Desert
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (4/19)____Lance: Quickdraw (Scrub), Shadow Hawk (Jalopy), Griffin (Hangover), Enforcer (Jingle)

Report: Hostile units are quickly encountered, CDA-2A (CT kill), GRF-1S (CT kill), CRB-20 (CT kill). After that, the convoy is reached and escorted to the landing pad without incident until the House Marik dropship touches down. Another hostile lance arrives, and after we move to intercept, the last vehicle panics and refuses to drive the last 60 meters without being in a mech's shadow. Scrub is the master marksman again, decapitating the Griffin in two salvos. PXH-1 (CT rear kill), GRF-1N (headshot!), CN9-A (CT kill).

Damage: Only armor. ____Salvage: 3x GRF-1N, 1x CN9-A as priority. GRF-1N assembled and moved to the bay, sending the GRF-1S to storage.
Advancement: Jalopy, Tactics 7 to 8 - Master Tactician. Hangover, Tactics 6 to 7. Scrub, Piloting 6 to 7.
 
Viribium and the next Career Score check
____"Excellent finish!", I called out to the lance as they loaded back aboard the Leopard.
____Darius nodded. "That's the last contract. I'll debrief the pilots and then meet you back here?"
____"Yes. I want to visit Viribium next for some easy contracts, but haven't looked at the store yet."
____Heading to Viribium should give Yang enough time to fully repair the Orion, and I wanted to have him come up with some options for mech refits that would let us take down bigger targets. With the number of LRMs we've had lobbed at us, I figured that would be a good approach.
____Darius returned to the bridge as I was looking at the mechwarrior profiles in the hiring hall. Peering over my shoulder, he said "She's taking us seriously, now that our MRB rating is high enough. Seems like a good background - started as a commoner in the Draconis Combine, then got into corporate work and made it all the way up to vice-president before going freelance. We do have one space left - want me to make an offer?"
____"I do, but with one request. See if she'd be willing to change her callsign in exchange for a small signing bonus - try to spin it as a sort of promotion."
____"I can work with that. In the meantime, here's some items of interest on the market." Darius handed me a datapad.
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New Hire: President 3/4/3/8, Sensor Lock & Master Tactician
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____After adding too many things to the To Buy list so that we couldn't even afford the jump fee out of the system, I started cutting back. In the end, some upgraded arm and leg actuators (bulkier, but no heavier than normal) made the cut, as did some mech salvage for an ON1-K and a MAD-3R. Darius quite rightly pointed out that we'd be bankrupt by the end of the month if nothing changed, but I was certain that Viribium would let us make enough money to pay our bills. Our MRB score was improving, and once we secured an Urbanmech we'd have all of the light mechs needed to complete that category.
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Days Remaining: 1158 ____ Career Points: 93,026 ____ Career Rating: Green
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____By the time we arrived in Viribium's airless orbit, Yang had fully rebuilt the structure of the Orion (it was still missing several weapons), completely repaired the Quickdraw, and made a minor refit to the Shadow Hawk to swap the LRM5 for another Medium Laser, a heat sink, and some more armor. Sugar was also cleared for duty. There was, however, a personnel issue.

Minor Infraction Event: Scrub had complaints about Jingle slacking off, which she turned back around at him being overbearing and bookish. They were both right about each other, and they needed to sort that out together. After some choice words to put things in perspective, I left them to it. Turns out, that was exactly what they needed to hear.
Result: Scrub gains Dependable, Jingle loses Rebellious.

____Hoping to boost morale a bit more and keep the infighting to a minimum, I asked Farah to focus her engineering crew on crafting a lounge area now that Yang had his automation working. I didn't mention the fact that we didn't have enough c-bills on hand to start the expansion of the mech bay area yet.
____The contracts available made for an interesting story. The Free Worlds League and the Magistracy of Canopus were both vying for position with four contracts from House Marik and a pair of contracts from the Canopians. Every single contract was being run against the local pirate forces, with the single exception of the last contract available, which was working for the pirates to run an attack and defend mission against the Canopians. We'd take that mission first, get as much salvage and intel as possible, and then pound the pirates into pulp for the rest of our stay here. I'd rather have had good connections to the black market first, but that just wasn't going to happen.
 
Mission 026: 1 Skull Attack and Defend____Employer: Pirates____Target: Magistracy____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (5/23)____Lance: Quickdraw (Jalopy), Griffin (Hangover), Griffin (President), Enforcer (Jingle)

Report: Hostile units are quickly encountered, PNT-9R (legs kill), 2x LCT-1E (CT melee kill and CT kill). We advance on the enemy base and encounter 2x Light Laser Turret, 1x Light Sniper Turret, 1x Light Shredder Turret, easily destroying all of them. A second hostile force drops in, JVN-10A (legs kill), GRF-1N (CT melee kill). Jalopy works on destroying the enemy base as enemy forces continue to arrive. As the last building is destroyed, Darius informs me that the contract requires us to defend the pirate base as long as we are in the field. Filing that in the "would have been good to know" category, our mechs sprint back towards the extraction zone. Two of our buildings are destroyed before we can intervene, and Jingle manages to blow the leg off of a Firestarter before we extract and allied reinforcements arrive.

Damage: Only armor. ____Salvage: 1x GRF-1N, 2x JVN-10A, 2x PNT-9R as priority. All salvage recovered. GRF-1N and LCT-1E assembled and moved to storage.
Advancement: Jingle, Tactics 7 to 8. President, Guts 3 to 4.
 
Orion Surprise
Mission 027: 1 Skull Destroy Base____Employer: Free Worlds League____Target: Pirates____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (5/23)____Lance: Quickdraw (Jalopy), Griffin (Hangover), Griffin (President), Enforcer (Jingle)

Report: The suspected factory is located on an elevated plateau, and our approach avoids an expected patrol of defenders. Once we arrive, turrets become visible on sensors and a pair of Orion mechs is reported as active! Seeing that the buildings are all reinforced and will not be easy to destroy, we focus fire on the turrets and get into better position to fight the defending mechs by taking cover amongst the buildings. 1x Light Laser Turret, 2x Light Shredder Turret, 1x Light Sniper Turret destroyed. LCT-1E (CT melee kill), CN9-AL (CT kill). Hangover is hit in the head by an LRM shortly after the Orions enter range. Our LRMs arc down onto sensor locked targets as the Orions slowly advance. As the lead mech reaches the top of the hill, it is blasted apart from both sides, and a precise shot to the head during one of the salvos helps deal a fatal blow to the pilot. The other Orion smashes into the Quickdraw, and then is ganged up on in melee combat. The expected beat-down never happens though - after Jalopy reacts with a shove, Jingle connects with a spectacular uppercut that removes the head from the mech! 2x ON1-K (3 hit pilot kill! and melee headshot!). After that, the long process of destroying several large military buildings began and the base was eventually reduced to ruins.

Damage: Hangover injured for 18 days. Quickdraw LA 50% structure damage.
Salvage: 5x ON1-K as priority. Two ON1-K assembled and moved into the bay, sending the Enforcer and a Griffin into storage.
Advancement: President, Gunnery 3 to 4.
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____"What the hell was that?!", I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "It feels like I just watched an episode of MERCENARIES!"
____"Sure does - Brock Armstrong has nothing on Jingle though! That was a perfect hit, and Jalopy's cockpit video recorder set up the shot like a holovid. I'm going to try to sell that footage, it's just perfect."
____With a small smile, I said "You always have an angle, Darius."
____"Boss!" Yang called into the bridge from the mechbay intercom. "Boss, did they really get an Orion?"
____Sumire cut in before I could answer. "No, Yang." She let the pause hang in the air. "No, Yang, they got two Orions. I'm having them drag the salvage aboard the Leopard right now."
____With Yang celebrating in the background, I turned to Darius, still trying to grasp how this happened. "Seriously, though? A one-skull contract turns out to have a pair of almost-assault-class mechs? What happened to this place being easy?"
____Darius shrugged as he watched a replay of the combat recording. "I guess today was our lucky day." I certainly couldn't disagree with that. We'd just have to be careful with the rest of the jobs here.
 
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Mission 028: 1.5 Skull Ambush Convoy____Employer: Free Worlds League____Target: Pirates____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (4/19)____Lance: Shadow Hawk (Jingle), Quickdraw (Jalopy), Orion (President), Orion (Sugar)

Report: Our drop puts us well behind the convoy, and all units advance at a dead sprint. Jingle cuts diagonal to the road, moving over a mountain while the rest of the lance makes contact with the tail of the convoy. Jalopy plows past the defenders as the two Orions move to engage them. President's cockpit is hit by a medium laser as the Spiders are cut down. Jingle cuts off the road, and eliminates the last of the vehicles that are fleeing from Jalopy. 2x SDR-5V (melee kills), SDR-5K (CT kill), SHD-2H (pilot kill). LRM Carrier (ranged kill), Gallant Urban Assault Vehicle (ranged kill), Galleon (ranged kill), Striker NARC (ranged kill). The two Orions stagger the Shadow Hawk with their many autocannon and missile attacks, knocking it over twice during the fight.

Damage: President injured for 18 days. Only armor damage otherwise.
Salvage: 2x SHD-2H, 1x SDR-5V, AC/10++ as priority. SHD-2H and SDR-5V assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Sugar, Guts 5 to 6.
 
Mission 029: 1.5 Skull Battle____Employer: Magistracy____Target: Pirates____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 1/4 Pay, 3/4 salvage (3/12)____Lance: Shadow Hawk (Jingle), Quickdraw (Jalopy), Orion (Scrub), Orion (Sugar)

Report: Our target is an extremely heavy mech that seems to be bait; hopefully, Scrub can decapitate it and we can claim it for ourselves. As we make contact, it turns out that the target is just a tank, Bulldog (ranged kill). Enemy reinforcements arrive far too late, and we take up positions in an apparently abandoned base to receive them. LCT-1M (CT kill), 2x JVN-10A (CT kills).

Damage: Only armor damage. ____Salvage: 2x JVN-10A, 1x LCT-1M as priority. JVN-10A assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Sugar, Piloting 4 to 5.
 
Mission 030: 1.5 Skull Ambush Convoy____Employer: Magistracy____Target: Pirates____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 1/4 Pay, 3/4 salvage (3/12)____Lance: Shadow Hawk (Jingle), Quickdraw (Jalopy), Orion (Scrub), Orion (Sugar)

Report: Deja vu - our drop puts us well behind the convoy, and all units advance at a dead sprint. Jingle cuts diagonal while the rest of the lance makes contact with the tail of the convoy. 2x JVN-10A (melee CT kills), LCT-1M (melee CT kill), TBT-7K (CT rear kill) are escorting 2x Bulldog (ranged kills), Galleon (melee kill), Striker (ranged kill).

Damage: Only armor damage. Pirate reputation drops to Disliked. ____Salvage: 2x JVN-10A, 1x TBT-7K as priority. JVN-10A assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Jalopy, Tactics 8 to 9.
 
Mission 031: 2 Skull Destroy Base____Employer: Free Worlds League____Target: Pirates____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (5/23)____Lance: Shadow Hawk (Jingle), Quickdraw (Jalopy), Orion (Scrub), Orion (Sugar)

Report: The lance approaches the base, but contacts the base defenders before the buildings. ENF-4R (CT kill), CRB-20 (pilot kill), WVR-6K (pilot kill). During the fighting, the base's turrets are engaged and destroyed, 3x Light Shredder, 1x Light Laser. Melee attacks to knock down targets and precise shots to the head by Scrub and Jalopy leave much more salvage than would normally be expected. After all enemy forces are destroyed, the fortified base is slowly reduced to ruins.

Damage: Only armor damage. ____Salvage: 3x WVR-6K, 1x CRB-20, 1x ENF-4R as priority. WVR-6K and CRB-20 assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Jingle, Tactics 8 to 9. Scrub, Gunnery 6 to 7. Sugar, Piloting 5 to 6.
 
Mission 032: 2 Skull Escort____Employer: Free Worlds League____Target: Pirates____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (4/19)____Lance: Shadow Hawk (Jingle), Quickdraw (Jalopy), Orion (Scrub), Orion (Sugar)

Report: Enemy blocking force makes contact shortly after we drop in, 3x LCT-1M (CT kills), TBT-5N (headshot!). Jalopy and Scrub make targeting the meat look easy. The convoy forms and begins traveling to their pickup location, but one vehicle goes off-road and then the driver panics about not having an escort despite Sugar standing right next to them; Darius suspects that they damaged their clutch and are just complaining as a cover. A pirate force drops in near the pickup zone as the other vehicles arrive, and we move to engage. CRB-20 (CT kill), HBK-4P (CT kill), BJ-1DB (CT kill). One vehicle in the convoy is destroyed on the pad.

Damage: Shadow Hawk CT 60% structure damage from a rear melee attack.
Salvage: 2x TBT-5N, 1x CRB-20, 1x HBK-4P as priority. TBT-5N, CRB-20, LCT-1M assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Jalopy, Gunnery 6 to 7. Sugar, Tactics 6 to 7.
 
Itica and the next Career Score check
____"Those escort missions never do seem to have all of the drivers stick together."
____"Amateurs", Darius replied. "Although, I guess if they were competent, they wouldn't need us."
____"Fair point."
____"We do have a pair of travel contracts available, but they're back in Hibuarius."
____I shook my head. "Can't afford to backtrack -", Darius cut in, "And we can't afford to make payroll, either." I paused, and he continued, "There's not much of a market here, but I'm sure that we can sell some of the extra mechs that we don't need. Plus, I'd like to have more cash on hand for emergencies."
____"Emergencies, or opportunities, Darius?"
____He smiled. "Both. I like to be prepared."
____After talking with Yang and consulting the MRB's list, there were several mechs that we could sell - more than enough to cover payroll. There were even some more of those bulky arm actuators available, along with an improved gyro for melee combat. Not that I was expecting to ask Yang for a dedicated melee mech, but the price was right.
____Our course took us through the Claybrooke jump station for two reasons: first, I wanted to check it off of the MRB list, but not stop because of the poor contracts and terrible travel time; second, I wanted to give Yang a little more time to refit the Orion -1V after repairing the Quickdraw and the Shadow Hawk. Swapping the SRM4 and LRM15 for an LRM20 would give it more of a long range punch, and shifting the ammo bins to the legs should reduce the odds of another explosion.
____Our next stop was Itica - an abandoned system like Viribium, but one that should have a decent pick of contracts. On the way, the lounge was completed, pushing us up into what the MRB would officially refer to as Spirited morale, and I authorized the work to begin on making the second set of mech bays usable, which I'm certain also lifted Yang's morale quite a bit.
____The contracts were very similar to Viribium - four from the Free Worlds League, and three from the Magistracy of Canopus, all of them targeting the Pirates. They would all be in lunar environments, but rated a full skull more difficult. Goth was back in action, and eager to get back into the fight. Moose would be cleared for duty in a day, but I was hoping to avoid any injuries by staying at range. Three Orions plus the Shadow Hawk or the Griffin as a spotter seemed like a great lance for this setup. Feeling optimistic, I checked the MRB score again. We were over 100k now, and making good progress.
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Days Remaining: 1145 ____ Career Points: 107,128 ____ Career Rating: Green
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Mission 033: 2 Skull Destroy Base____Employer: Free Worlds League____Target: Pirates____Biome: Lunar
Contract: 0/4 Pay, 4/4 salvage (5/23)____Lance: Shadow Hawk (Jingle), Orion (Goth), Orion (Sugar), Orion 20 (Jalopy)

Report: The base we've been contracted to destroy might be a mech factory coming online. The last time this happened we were surprised by a pair of Orions. Yang says that the factory hasn't been brought fully online yet. The plan this time is to engage the defenders first, with Jingle as a spotter and everyone else blasting away from afar. JR7-D (pilot kill), MAD-3R! (headshot!), CN9-AL (pilot kill). Jalopy and Jingle send three precise salvos at the Marauder, eventually obliterating the head. The other two opponents are battered into the ground by massed LRM fire, and eventually the pilots are incapacitated. Base turrets are 2x Light Shredder, 1x Light LRM, 1x Light Laser and are easily eliminated along with all of the buildings.

Damage: Only armor. Free Worlds League reputation increased to Liked.
Salvage: 3x MAD-3R, 2x CN9-AL as priority. MAD-3R assembled and moved into the bay, sending the Quickdraw to storage. CN9-AL assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Goth, Piloting 5 to 6. Jingle, Guts 6 to 7.