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____ High Priestess Rebecca congratulates us, and accepts our surprise and dismay. The autocannon fire from the Rifleman was not a sanctioned part of the games (it was a bug) and an inquiry has begun into how the Warboys made them functional again. The melee only surprise was intentional, and was designed to prepare us for the final test. Our final combat, should we so choose, is against the current Arauts. Once the call ends, we begin discussing Plan B. Staging an uprising probably won't work since the populace is so cowed, but Sumire has heard that the Warboys have been expelled from the capital because of what they did. The talk ends up with two choices - trust the Autocracy and fight the final fight as is tradition, or discreetly inform the Warboys and have them crash the party. Given what the Warboys pulled during the last fight, I don't trust them to not betray us, so I decide to play this straight.
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Mission 043: 3 Skull Battle ____
Employer: Autocracy of Leh ____
Target: Arauts ____
Biome: Badlands
Lance: ASN-101 (Mouth), VL-5T (Medusa), PXH-1 (Behemoth), WHM-6R (Glitch)
Report: Mouth is the best pilot out of the recruits that we have, so he takes my spot in the Assassin. He heads to the right side to be bait, while everyone else goes left to gang up on that flank. MAD-3R, HBK-4G, GRF-1S, VND-1X. The Vindicator is beat down first, followed by the Griffin, and then the Hunchback. Mouth strays too close and takes a few hits, shearing off the entire right side of the Assassin. He gets back up though, and delivers the finishing blow on the Marauder.
Damage: Mouth injured for 35 days.
Advancement: Behemoth & Medusa: Tactics 7 to 9. Gramps: Tactics 7 to 8. Glitch: Gunnery 8 to 9, Tactics 9 to 10 -
Elite. Mouth: Piloting 3 to 4, Gunnery 2 to 3, Tactics 4 to 5 -
Sensor Lock
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____ Rebecca provides us with some parting words and a sealed crate before I direct Sumire to end the call. Hopefully, with the current Arauts no longer walking around Leh, things will be easier for the people for the next decade. We don't receive any C-Bills, but Yang is very excited about what's in the crate - a fully complete Star League Phoenix Hawk! I decide to send Shiny into storage and have this mech take over the scouting role for the lance after Yang works his magic. Days pass, and I receive an unexpected sort of visit in the medbay.
Event - Phantom Pain: Medusa is in the medbay for the third time today about a growing pain in his abdomen. The medtech insists that their scans have found nothing, and it's likely something neurological. He asks me to intervene, and I order the medtech to perform a second scan with a different set of equipment.
Result: The results come back in a few hours, and there are no physical abnormalities detected. The anti-anxiety medication that Medusa was prescribed has made a difference though, and he pledges to keep up his visits and counseling. Medusa loses Cautious. -1 Medical Point for 30 days.
As time passes, all of the pilots visit Leh, and the newly crowned Arauts have various responses to their presence. They are under strict orders not to harm anyone. I do, however, hear from Darius about a unique encounter.
Event - Bellowing Behemoth: A huge, hairy, leather-clad man was bellowing in apparent fury at Behemoth and Darius as they were visiting a market. Instead of squaring up for a fight, Behemoth takes a wide stance and bellows back. Darius, curious, continued watching, ready for trouble.
Result: The posing and shouting continued until the man ran in and lifted Behemoth up in a bear hug. Apparently, she knew him from her past, and this was a good start to social drinks and tall tales. +1 Morale, Behemoth gains High Spirits for 30 days.
It takes about five weeks, but the Phoenix Hawk is remade, with a L Pulse Laser for long range work, three M Lasers with varying levels of enhancement, the TAG for marking and surgery, and three MG++ plus a lostech arm mod to vastly improve its melee stability damage for close in fighting. It's been named Valkyrie, and I can't wait to try it out once I heal up, although it looks like I still have several months of recovery to go.
(Updated Hyades Rim to 6.1.3)