1200 Days - Gramps' run at a Kerensky rated career

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Flashpoint: The Defector
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Bob Kurita needs a convoy destroyed to eliminate a Draconis Combine diplomat that has fled to the Capellan Confederation with state secrets. We are connected with Gaku Hironaka to obtain final details to coordinate the attack.
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Mission 240: 4 Skull Ambush Convoy ____ Employer: Draconis Combine ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Polar
Lance: Bull Shark X (Sugar), Bull Shark U (Goth), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: Most of the lance moves to block the convoy's route while Jingle takes Toothy on a long run around the right flank. She's able to scout out the convoy and escorts, and sees no mechs whatsoever. Looks like we'll just be collecting heavy weapons for salvage. 3x Demolisher, SPPC Carrier, Bulldog, SRM Carrier, PPC Carrier, Manticore.
 
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Turns out that Hironaka had bad intel, and the target was not in that convoy. He's withholding our pay until we find and kill the defector. I debate assaulting his compound to force him to pay up, but decide that our reputation with House Kurita is more important, and we drop again to hit a convoy that Darius has identified.
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Mission 240: 4 Skull Ambush Convoy ____ Employer: Darius ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Tundra
Lance: Bull Shark X (Sugar), Bull Shark U (Goth), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: The Bull Sharks set up a blocking position on a forested hill near the enemy extraction zone, and the other half of the lance sprints across to the left side of the convoy's route. Unfortunately, the convoy escorts detect them before they are completely across, spoiling the planned flanking ambush. CPLT-C4, 2x TDR-5SS, TDR-5SE (headshot). Bulldog, Gallant Urban Assault Vehicle, 2x PPC Carrier. Additional reinforcements appear as the convoy is destroyed, and we pivot to engage them. QKD-5A, BL-6-KNT (headshot), HGN-733P (headshot), BSK-M3 (headshot).

Salvage: BSK-M3, TDR-5SE assembled and moved into storage.
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____We finally get paid, and Hironaka's maneuvering fails to get him a promotion. The company's morale drops by 1, but our reputation with House Kurita is good enough where they are asking us to formally declare ourselves as an ally. In the payment package is some salvage for a SLDF Highlander, along with other advanced gear, and over a million c-bills. Not bad for two jobs worth of work, and we don't have to deal with Hironaka again.
 
Mission 241: 2.5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Pirates ____ Biome: Polar
Lance: Cataphract (Goth), Bull Shark X (Sugar), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: House Marik would like some more combat data on a newly captured Cataphract; Goth promises to bring it back in one piece. Our target lance is found quickly, but apparently they were also being hunted by House Davion, who drop a lance of mechs that opens fire on everyone. COM-2D, VL-2T, JVN-10N (pilot kill), FLE-4. SHD-2D, PXH-1 (headshot), GRF-1S (pilot kill).

Salvage: GRF-1S, JVN-10N assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 242: 3.5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Pirates ____ Biome: Polar
Lance: Bull Shark X (Sugar), Bull Shark U (Goth), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: The pirates have landed a heavy lance to search for the group that destroyed their light lance with a Cataphract. We're going to let them find us and destroy them. ON1-K, PXH-1, CTF-0X, CPLT-C4 (legs kill). ASN-101 (pilot kill), QKD-4G (headshot), MAD-3D (pilot kill), CPLT-C1 (headshot).

Salvage: MAD-3D, CPLT-C1 assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 243: 3.5 Skull Defend Base ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Polar
Lance: Bull Shark X (Sugar), Bull Shark U (Goth), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: An assault mech will be leading an attack on a base that we've been tasked to defend; I bet it's a Victor. A pair of Thumper cannon rounds breaks up the Vanguard and eliminates a hostile blip. CPLT-K2 (pilot kill), Blip, KTO-18 (pilot kill), TDR-5S. The assault mech arrives and it's a Battlemaster, operating alone - easy prey. BLR-1G (pilot kill).

Salvage: CPLT-K2, BLR-1G, ASN-101, KTO-18 assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 244: 3.5 Skull Destroy Base ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Polar
Lance: Bull Shark X (Sugar), Bull Shark U (Goth), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: The last contract for the Free Worlds League has us attacking a Capellan logistics base that is now vulnerable thanks our recent action. Standard turrets are detected as we begin our approach, and they are destroyed before the defending forces can fully react. 3x Shredder, 1x LRM. HCT-3F (pilot kill), ASN-101, VL-5T, PXH-1. Capellan reinforcements arrive, but they are far too late to save the base. There is, however, a moment where the last of the initial defenders, a Phoenix Hawk, jumps behind Sugar and blasts through her rear armor. This does not end well for the Capellan pilot, as they also jumped in front of Goth, who sends an alpha strike through their rear armor, shearing the mech completely in half. CDA-2A, JM6-A (pilot kill), WHM-6D (pilot kill), CPLT-K2 (pilot kill).

Damage: Bull Shark X, LT rear 15% structure damage, LRM20+++ damaged. ____ Salvage: WHM-6D, JM6-A, CDA-2A assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 245: 3.5 Skull Recovery ____ Employer: Federated Suns ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Polar
Lance: Bull Shark X (Sugar), Bull Shark U (Goth), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: The only contract for the Federated Suns, and the last one in this system, is to secure some biological samples from a Capellan lab. The approach is alongside a massive mountain, and most of the lance moves along the road but Jingle begins to jump up the steep terrain. The plan is for the Bull Sharks to enter enemy sensor range and bring the fight to them, while Jingle then moves in behind and secures the operatives and samples. WHM-6D (pilot kill), PPC Carrier, SPPC Carrier, SHD-2H (legs kill). The plan works, and Jingle moves up behind the secondary defense force just as they enter sensor range of our main force. The secondary force has ECM protection, but once again, it does nothing to stop Thumper artillery. CTF-0X (pilot kill), CDA-3C, KTO-18 (legs kill), GRF-1N (pilot kill).

Salvage: CTF-0X, GRF-1N, WHM-6D, KTO-18 assembled and moved into storage.
 
Chennai
____ After studying the navigation map with Sumire for a while, I decide to head back towards The Free Worlds League. Despite some interesting sounding flashpoints, the systems that are currently highlighted don't have a good enough expected return from the time it would take to get there. I also have our reputation with the Canopians to worry about, so we head to where they are most active. Before we even get to the jump point to leave the system, we are hailed by our Capellan representative with a special request.

Event - Two Birds: The Capellans have connected us to the death of the Kuritan defector, Yoshito Okada, and are offering payment if we provide input on our accomplices. Yang and Farah are keen to give up Gaku Hironaka, given his treatment of us, and I agree.
Result: Hironaka disappears, and the Draconis Combine suspects that we are involved, but the Capellans pay us fairly well. Gain 100k C-Bills, +1 Reputation with the Capellan Confederation, -2 Reputation with the Draconis Combine.

____ The Annihilator refit is completed, and Yang dubs it an ANH-4G. Pay is set back to a normal rate during the monthly financial review. When we reach Jacomarle, the contracts are poor; only two from Marik, and most are from the pirates, so we move on to the next system. Some pilots, however, are having trouble from moving on from something else.

Event - The Mechwarrior Code: Yougbloods Mercier and Grimes are having a heated argument about how Gwydion company was destroyed. Mercier supports the mercenary decision I made, and Grimes is bitter because his cousin was in Gwydion company. I summon both of them to my quarters.
Result: After a pointed statement on what sort of behavior I expect from them, as well as the potential consequences, I dismiss them both back to the barracks. Yougbloods Mercier and Grimes gain Low Spirits for 14 days.

____ The contracts in Chennai are decent, and it's a short trip to the planet from the jump point, so I decide to stop and support the efforts of House Marik in this system.
 
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Mission 246: 2.5 Skull Assassinate ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Tundra
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), Bull Shark U (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: We start out with an easy mission to eliminate a low-level Capellan official. They have a single lance as an escort. Manticore, VL-2T, SHD-2D, TBT-7K (pilot kill). CTF-1X (headshot).

Salvage: CTF-1X assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 247: 2.5 Skull Recovery ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Tundra
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), Bull Shark U (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: This next job is to purposely get a mech infected with a computer virus so House Marik has a sample to work with and develop a defense. PXH-1K (pilot kill), QKD-5A (pilot kill), HBK-4P (pilot kill), CDA-2A.

Salvage: QKD-5A, HBK-4P, PXH-1K assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 248: 3 Skull Assassinate ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Badlands
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), Bull Shark U (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: Our next target is a high-ranking member of the Capellan military that has been difficult to locate. This is a limited time opportunity, so we will be deploying with no terrain intel. SHD-2H (pilot kill), 2x HBK-4G (pilot kills), PXH-1K, VTR-9S (pilot kill).

Salvage: VTR-9S, 2x HBK-4G, SHD-2H assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 249: 3.5 Skull Escort ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Pirates ____ Biome: Martian
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), Bull Shark U (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: The last mission available to us is a rescue operation for a dropship crew that crash landed and then were captured by outlaws. We fight through a small group of hostiles, secure transportation, and escort it to the extraction zone without significant difficulty. LCT-1S, TBT-5N (pilot kill), FS9-H (pilot kill), LCT-1V. SDR-5K, WVR-6R (pilot kill), Striker, Inferno Carrier. SDR-5K (pilot kill), FS9-H (legs kill), PXH-1K (pilot kill), SHD-2H (pilot kill).

Salvage: WVR-6R, SHD-2H, TBT-5N, FS9-H, SDR-5K assembled and moved into storage.
 
Calseraigne
____ Twelve days until the next stop at Calseraigne, and I'm looking forward to leaving hostile territory. Toothy gets a refit to add some S Lasers at the expense of armor, giving the lance one more tool to perform some targeted disassembly when needed. Speaking of disassembly...

Event - Moonlighting with an Autocannon: Youngblood Black is found tinkering with an AC/5. I let her keep working on it.
Result: She doesn't improve the weapon, but doesn't break it either. No lasting consequences.

____ The contracts are good, and Darius briefs the pilots to expect tough resistance - all drops should assume that we will encounter multiple lances of assault mechs. It'll be a good test run for the new Annihilator. It is equipped with the best rangefinder that exists, 4 Gauss Rifles, and 4 ER M Lasers. It still has poor armor though, so it'll keep its distance. Since we are back in friendly territory, Darius and Yang get to work negotiating with the merchants and buy up all of the mech salvage. They also agree to sell our spare assembled mechs once we complete our contracts.
 
Mission 250: 5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Desert
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), ANH-4G (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: A solo assault class unit has drawn the attention of the Free Worlds League, and we're going to take the bait. Our target turns out to be a Highlander, so it's at least worth the trip. HGN-733P (pilot kill). The reinforcements are slow to arrive, and Scrub brings the Annihilator around to the far right flank, setting up a great opportunity to blast off limbs from afar. AWS-8Q (pilot kill), CPLT-C1 (pilot kill), AWS-8T, ZEU-6T (pilot kill).

Salvage: HGN-733P, AWS-8Q, ZEU-6T assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 251: 5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Desert
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), ANH-4G (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: A heavy Capellan raiding force has been located, and we've been asked to intercept. Scrub uses the superior rangefinder to attack targets beyond his sensor range, catching the enemy by surprise. The high-damage and long-range of the gauss rifles is working very well with Scrub's precise shooting. 3x BNC-3E (two pilot kills), STK-3F (pilot kill).

Salvage: BNC-3E assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 252: 5 Skull Destroy Base ____ Employer: Free Worlds League ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Desert
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), ANH-4G (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: Destruction of an unapproved manufacturing facility is next on the list. A defending force is encountered and eliminated, and then heavy turrets are encountered on the walls of the base. Sumire spots reinforcements approaching as Jingle jumps into the base and begins reducing the buildings to rubble. 2x BLR-1G (pilot kills), 2x DRG-1N (one pilot kill). 2x Shredder, 1x LRM, 1x Sniper. ZEU-6S, ARC-2R (headshot), VTR-9S (headshot!), QKD-5A.

Salvage: BLR-1G, DRG-1N assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 253: 5 Skull Assassinate ____ Employer: Lyran Commonwealth ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Badlands
Lance: Bull Shark X (Jalopy), ANH-4G (Scrub), Toothy (Jingle), Death Map (Moose)

Report: Our last contract here is a rushed job, where we've been tasked to eliminate a terrorist that is hard to find, but has just been located. Our drop zone is terribly placed, and we encounter enemies with much higher ground, so we aim for quick destruction until we have a better position. BNC-3E (pilot kill), TDR-5SE, TDR-5SS, ON1-K (pilot kill). AWS-8Q, ON1-V, CPLT-C4, ARC-2R (pilot kill). VTR-9B.

Damage: Bull Shark X, LT, 30% structure damage, LRM20+++ damaged. ____ Salvage: VTR-9B, ON1-V, BNC-3E, ARC-2R, ON1-K assembled and moved into storage.
 
Rosendal and the next Career Score check
____ Darius' skill at negotiating with the merchants, combined with Yang's skill at reassembling shattered mechs, results in a great amount of profit. We start with an impressive 77 million C-Bills, and our account keeps growing until we leave orbit, resting at 141 million C-Bills. Checking our score, I'm glad to see that our overall rating has increased again. We've now received the maximum points for Mechwarrior Experience and Argo Upgrades, and we will finish the Contracts points by the time we do the jobs available in the next system. The C-Bills score is about 45% complete, and the only other area I have a concern about is our reputation with the Magistracy of Canopus.

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Days Remaining: 550 ____ Career Points: 654,488 ____ Career Rating: Legendary
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____ Twelve days later, we arrive at Rosendal, and it's a hotbed of Lyran activity. All seven contracts are available to us, and five are working for House Steiner.
 
Can I just say I hate that you've got at least four gauss rifles at this point (I've only followed skimming) and I'm less than 300 days from finishing and I've only managed one I can't use because it didnt come with ammo and the only time I saw one to buy, I couldn't afford it...!

I mean, it'd be embarrassing how much better you're doing overall, but you're clearly played a great deal more than I have!

(And I suspect the cost of going for 4-part salvage was more than being stuck on low skull missions for ages (while I scrabbled to get medium mechs), but a huge amount of pennies, as I presume the sell value of mechs doesn't scale with the number of parts. I think when I do a career again, I definitely need to do a better job of tweaking the settings. Not that I was even ever trying for anything close to a high score, but I think what I mostly did was just give myself more grind...)
 
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Can I just say I hate that you've got at least four gauss rifles at this point (I've only followed skimming) and I'm less than 300 days from finishing and I've only managed one I can't use because it didnt come with ammo and the only time I saw one to buy, I couldn't afford it...!

I have been lucky in this run. I didn't get the Gauss rifles until after the Heavy Metal campaign was done (Threadmark: Dunianshire) although I did see some in the Black Market before that (at 10x the price) and I made a point to buy Guass ammo whenever I saw it because I knew that it was rare.

I mean, it'd be embarrassing how much better you're doing overall, but you're clearly played a great deal more than I have!

The only competition I'm having is with myself :D I have spent a lot of time thinking about route planning, and trying to figure out what I wanted to try for difficulty settings.

(And I suspect the cost of going for 4-part salvage was more than being stuck on low skull missions for ages (while I scrabbled to get medium mechs), but a huge amount of pennies, as I presume the sell value of mechs doesn't scale with the number of parts.

Correct.

I think when I do a career again, I definitely need to do a better job of tweaking the settings. Not that I was even ever trying for anything close to a high score, but I think what I mostly did was just give myself more grind...)

Yeah, I would use different settings if I was trying to play just for fun. In this run, I have a definite goal, and I'm focusing all of my effort on achieving it.

I'll probably take a break afterwards, and then play a mod for a different experience. For now, though, battles await!