Gramps' run through the Hyades Rim campaign

[MarkDey]

Mission 108: 0.5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Badlands Horde ____ Target: Taurian Concordat ____ Biome: Tundra
Lance: Wolverine (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Macross (Nimbus)

Report: Wolverine Hunter - We've been asked to test drive an advanced Wolverine for a client. There is a Taurian unit that will serve as a test target, and we are limited to 160 tons for this drop. Our target is spotted relatively quickly, and we move to engage. LCT-3V. However, Sumire detects another Leopard moving to make a combat drop. It deposits a lone mech with ATC markings and departs. We move to eliminate it once it opens fire. JVN-10N.

Damage: No damage. ____ Salvage: JVN-10N assembled and moved into storage.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 109: 1 Skull Destroy Base ____ Employer: Taurian Concordat ____ Target: Pirates ____ Biome: Highlands
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Nimbus), Warhammer (Shadow), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Smugglers - There has been an increase in small arms among the populace. We've been contracted to eliminate a small warehouse that has been identified as a key facility behind that. A small garrison is detected, as well as a set of light turrets. They prove to be no problem. PNT-9R, COM-1B. 2x Command, 2x Laser.

Damage: No damage. ____ Salvage: COM-1B assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Shadow: Piloting 6 to 7. Nimbus: Piloting 5 to 6. Merch: Guts 5 to 6.

 

[MarkDey]

____Having finished the contracts and returned to financial stability, I ask Yang to upgrade the Warhammer by swapping two heat sinks for double heat sinks, and changing the M Laser in the head to the ER M Laser++ we just purchased. I also plan to modify the Annihilator refit, but there are still several weeks of work to just finish installing the autocannons, so it doesn't make sense to interrupt that refit right now.
____Our next stop is the Badlands system, both for the number of good paying contracts and the items for sale in the Black Market.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 110: 2 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Satan's Kittens ____ Target: Unitron Incorporated ____ Biome: Martian
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Nimbus), Warhammer (Shadow), Snipe (Eck)

Report: You Should Be Dancing - This contract is to assist with the interception of an enemy lance, within a limit of 240 tons. The Kitten force is a CRB-UNK, COM-UNK, PNT-UNK, JVN-UNK. Merch will go look for targets in Ghost, the Kittens will light them up, and we'll blast them down. 2x HBK-4SP, ASN-21, JVN-10F. Enemy reinforcements arrive, and we reposition to eliminate them while the Kittens clean up the rest of the initial lance. JVN-10F, LCT-3V, HBK-4J, HBK-4H (pilot kill).

Damage: Only armor. ____ Salvage: HBK-4H assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Merch & Nimbus: Gunnery 5 to 6.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 111: 2 Skull Ambush Convoy ____ Employer: Badlands Horde ____ Target: Federated Suns ____ Biome: Desert
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Nimbus), Warhammer (Shadow), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Easy Pickings - We've been tasked with hitting the tail end of a supply convoy. Merch runs ahead while the rest of the lance moves towards the convoy's expected extraction zone. The escorts are found quickly, and the vehicles are not far behind. LCT-1S, MAD-3D (headshot), HBK-4P (pilot kill). 2x Striker NARC, Bulldog, SRM Carrier. As the combat continues against the convoy, Davion reinforcements drop in near the extraction zone. One of them sensor locks the Ghost, so Merch sprints to a safer location. 2x GRF-1N (one pilot kill), LCT-1M, CN9-AH.

Damage: Only armor. ____ Salvage: HBK-4P assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Shadow: Piloting 7 to 8 - Ace Pilot

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 112: 2 Skull Capture Base ____ Employer: Taurian Concordat ____ Target: Harbingers of Doom ____ Biome: Martian
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Warhammer (Nimbus), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Steal the Prototype - Advanced technology always attracts attention. We drop into inhospitable terrain, and begin moving towards the research facility. A standard set of defense turrets is detected, and Darius reports that a call for reinforcements has gone out from the base. 1x Shredder, 2x Laser, 1x LRM. After the base is secured, Merch goes looking for the expected enemy lance, and finds it. MAD-UNK, TBT-UNK, LCT-UNK.

Damage: No damage.
Advancement: Eck: Tactics 8 to 9. Nimbus: Tactics 6 to 7.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 113: 1.5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Federated Suns ____ Target: Antithesis Creed ____ Biome: Desert
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Warhammer (Nimbus), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Pride and Vanity - A Davion-aligned family is being harassed by Creed militants, and we've been tasked with eliminating them. BJ-1, JVN-10F, WVR-UNK, SDR-5V, PNT-UNK, TBT-UNK, BJ-1DC (headshot).

Damage: Only armor.
Advancement: Eck: Gunnery 5 to 6. Merch: Piloting 7 to 8 - Ace Pilot.

 

[MarkDey]

____ We break orbit after trading some salvage for more gear, and the crew gets back into a traveling routine. Sadly, that includes their usual trouble.

Event - Disciplinary Measures: Behemoth has had a complaint lodged against her by one of the mechtechs. Apparently the repairs are taking too long for her liking. I think that she just wants to get back into a fight. I order her to stay out of the mechbay.
Result: Behemoth obeys the order to the letter. She also has the tech take a hard fall while passing in the corridor. Behemoth gains Rebellious. -2 Tech Points for 7 days. Morale -2.

____ With Taurian space being open to travel again, we head to the system of Althea's Choice in search of good contracts to boost our reputation and our coffers. I have Yang pause the refit of Crazy Eights once the autocannons are installed, and come up with a different internal loadout that leverages the lostech heat exchanger and double heat sinks. It'll still take another month to finish, but it will run significantly cooler and will be better protected compared to the initial plan.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 114: 2.5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Taurian Concordat ____ Target: Satan's Kittens ____ Biome: Desert
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Warhammer (Nimbus), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Stubborn Surrender - A hostile force has been stranded here ever since the quarantine, and we've accepted a contract to eliminate them. There is a drop limit of 240 tons, but that's fine since Crazy Eights isn't ready yet anyway. It would have been nice to have though, since the opposition is heavier than expected. CPLT-C4, QKD-4G, TDR-UNK, DRG-1N.

Damage: Only armor. Reputation with the Taurian Concordat increased to Friendly.
Advancement: Eck: Guts 5 to 6. Shadow & Merch: Gunnery 6 to 7. Nimbus: Piloting 6 to 7.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 115: 3 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Taurian Concordat ____ Target: Harbingers of Doom ____ Biome: Martian
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Warhammer (Nimbus), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Hard Contact - This contract has become available thanks to our increased reputation with the Taurians. The Harbingers have arrived with two heavy lances, and we've accepted a job to destroy them both. Eck makes things look easy during this Snipe hunt, and Merch is able to eliminate a Vindicator solo by constantly maneuvering around behind it. VND-UNK, JM-UNK (headshot), JR-UNK. PHX-UNK (headshot), VND-UNK (headshot), TDR-UNK (headshot), CN-UNK.

Damage: Only armor. ____ Salvage: JM-UNK, TDR-UNK assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Eck: Piloting 5 to 6.

 

[MarkDey]

____ We sell our spoils and break orbit, charting a course to visit the nearby black markets and then head back out to Randis to follow up on that Interstellar Expeditions flashpoint that mysteriously disappeared. After we jump, Darius raises an item of concern.

Event - Ode to the XO: Behemoth has painted a mural in the corridor of a shirtless, flexing, muscular Darius surrounded by fire. Darius is not amused, but I think it's a rather impressive work of art. I have Behemoth continue her art along the side of a cargo hold off the mechbay.
Result: The crew likes her new painting of Mega Yang, and Behemoth is glad to have an outlet. Morale +1. Behemoth loses Rebellious and gains High Spirits for 14 days.

____ The Cyrton system has some interesting items in the black market, as well as a few useful contracts, so I decide to stop there even though it's a far distance from the jump point.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 116: 1.5 Skull Ambush Convoy ____ Employer: Pirates ____ Target: Satan's Kittens ____ Biome: Lunar
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Warhammer (Nimbus), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Lost Supplies - We've been tasked with making a supply convoy go missing, along with any escorts they might have. We easily catch up with the convoy, and the escorts open fire as we close the distance. SDR-UNK, PNT-UNK (headshot), 2x JVN-UNK. The vehicles are quickly caught by Merch in the Ghost, but the rest of the lance falls behind. Shadow overheats his mech to the point of shutdown in order to eliminate one of the APCs before it drives further away, and Merch overheats to fire both Snub PPCs just before the enemy dropship can extract the last vehicle. Alsvin APC, Sleipnir APC, 2x Wheeled APC.

Damage: Ghost & Valkyrie, 1x Overheated. ____ Salvage: SDR-UNK assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Shadow: Gunnery 7 to 8.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 117: 1.5 Skull Defend Base ____ Employer: Taurian Concordat ____ Target: Satan's Kittens ____ Biome: Lunar
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Warhammer (Nimbus), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Maintenance Base - With the Kittens being starved for supplies thanks to our last drop, they are launching an attack to raid a Taurian maintenance facility. We've accepted the job to defend it. The vanguard is spotted before they can start closing the distance to the base, and we open fire to break up their attack. CDA-UNK, PNT-UNK, SDR-UNK (headshot), JVN-UNK. A second force arrives, and the vanguard is eliminated in time for everyone to shift focus to the new threat. No buildings are damaged. JR-UNK, LCT-UNK, PNT-UNK, COM-UNK.

Damage: Only armor. ____ Salvage: COM-UNK assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Nimbus: Tactics 7 to 8 - Master Tactician. Merch: Gunnery 7 to 8.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 118: 1 Skull Recovery ____ Employer: Federated Suns ____ Target: Harbingers of Doom ____ Biome: Lunar
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Black Site - A hidden site is the source of several encrypted communications, and a covert operative has just requested an emergency extraction. We are to recover the encryption key and the operative, and need to deploy a force of less than 160 tons to keep a low profile, so the Warhammer is held back. Unfortunately, the operative is dead before we arrive, but we can still recover the key from an automated transmitter. Eck starts things off with a bang by decapitating the hostile Assassin, and Shadow jumps in to draw attention while Merch makes the pickup. ASN-UNK (headshot), COM-UNK, JVN-UNK (pilot kill), PNT-UNK (pilot kill).

Damage: No damage. ____ Salvage: ASN-UNK assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Eck: Piloting 6 to 7.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 119: 1 Skull Recovery ____ Employer: Federated Suns ____ Target: Antithesis Creed ____ Biome: Lunar
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Snipe (Eck)

Report: Asset Retrieval - A potential SLDF piece of gear has been located, and our job is to go get it only using 160 tons. Shadow jumps into one side of the base while Merch runs in on the other side for the pickup. Eck does his usual job of sniping targets from outside sensor range. Striker NARC, FS-UNK, JVN-UNK (headshot), Hover Tank.

Damage: Only armor.
Advancement: Shadow: Tactics 6 to 7.

 

[MarkDey]

____ As we get underway, Yang starts his repairs on the overheated mechs, and during the week it takes to finish that work, we're only halfway to the jump point. Eventually, we get to the jumpship and resume our journey. The contracts in Althea's Choice are almost all for the Creed, which isn't something we can take advantage of. As Sumire is scanning the navigation traffic, she alerts the bridge crew to a nearby distress call.

Event - Distress Call: A civilian transport is having engine trouble. I decide to respond immediately.
Result: We are able to rescue the crew from the ship as they spin away from a large hole in the hull. Shortly after we begin pulling away, the transport explodes. Morale +1. Reputation with the Taurian Concordat increased by 1.

____ Finding a good set of gear for sale in both the regular and black markets, as well as a decent set of contracts, I decide to stop in the Dumassas system (despite the name.)

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 120: 2.5 Skull Capture Base ____ Employer: Magistracy of Canopus ____ Target: Capellans ____ Biome: Tundra
Lance: Commando (Guano), Panther (Stubble), Urbanmech (Pontoon), Warhammer (Nimbus)

Report: The B Team - A local defense force needs to be trained, and they will be occupying an old Capellan base that hasn't seen activity in a long time. Our employer is only paying for a mission with a drop weight of 160 tons, and Snipe is a touch too heavy, so the Warhammer is deployed instead, and Nimbus is eager to go. Movement to the base is unopposed, but hostile contacts are detected once we reach the facility. Guano runs into the base to secure it, while Stubble and Pontoon take up good firing positions atop the overlooking hill, and Nimbus goes to engage the enemy directly. Guano moves out of the base and lands the finishing shot on the enemy Vindicator, but gets shot up by the Hunchback and Cataphract and runs back behind solid cover. WVR-6D, CTF-0X, VND-1SIC, HBK-4P.

Damage: Commando, RT & RA Destroyed, CT reduced to 15% structure. Guano injured for 46 days.
Advancement: Nimbus: Gunnery 6 to 7.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 121: 2.5 Skull Escort ____ Employer: Taurian Concordat ____ Target: Federated Suns ____ Biome: Tundra
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Snipe (Nimbus)

Report: Humanitarians - A convoy of doctors and medical staff has been trapped behind enemy lines when a truce collapsed. We are going to escort them to safety within the contract limit of 160 tons. A blocking force is encountered, and we maneuver to open fire. FLE-15, Striker NARC, Manticore, KTO-18. After that force is cleared, the convoy gets underway, and makes it to the pickup zone in good order. A fast attack lance arrives just before the extraction dropship does, and we open fire to pin them down and allow the convoy to escape unscathed. PXH-1, PXH-1D, PXH-1K, SHD-2H.

Damage: Only armor.
Advancement: Merch: Tactics 6 to 7.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 122: 1.5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Badlands Horde ____ Target: Unitron Incorporated ____ Biome: Badlands
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Valkyrie (Shadow), Warhammer (Nimbus), Snipe (Eck)

Report: The Good, the Bad, and the Villain - We've been tasked with tracking down a pair of lances that are on an intercept course with each other, and ensuring that there are no survivors. The Bloody Horns open fire on the Unitron mechs when they arrive, and Merch gets sensor locked, so he sprints out from between the two forces. The team lets the two sides beat up on each other, sniping mechs that turn their attention towards them. 3x JVN-10F, JVN-10N (legs kill), FS9-K, GRF-1N, WHM-6R, HBK-4H (pilot kill).

Damage: No damage. ____ Salvage: FS9-K assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Shadow: Tactics 7 to 8.

 

[MarkDey]

Mission 123: 2.5 Skull Destroy Base ____ Employer: Local Gov ____ Target: Antithesis Creed ____ Biome: Urban
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Warhammer (Shadow), Snipe (Eck), Crazy Eights (Nimbus)

Report: Deniable Destruction - A government base has been overrun and they don't have the forces available to retake and hold it. There is confidential information and data stored in the systems and personnel. We have been contracted to destroy the base and ensure that there are no survivors. There are no drop limitations, so we will be able to drop Crazy Eights for its first combat deployment. A group of vehicles moves to intercept, and a mech backed by standard turrets are also detected. Crazy Eights is slow to move to combat, but is able to demolish a building and shear an entire leg and torso off of the enemy Thunderbolt, setting it up for Merch to eventually kill the pilot with concentrated MG fire. Gallant Urban Assault Vehicle, Striker NARC, Bulldog, TDR-5SS (pilot kill). 2x Command, 1x Sniper, 1x LRM.

Damage: Only armor. ____ Salvage: TDR-5SS assembled and moved into storage.
Advancement: Eck: Gunnery 6 to 7. Merch: Tactics 7 to 8. Nimbus: Tactics 8 to 9.