Gramps' run through the Hyades Rim campaign

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Threadmarks are not something that readily catch a reader’s attention. So it has taken me this long to realize that you are making truly excellent use of Threadmarks! I should have realized you’d invest that level of attention to detail into your record keeping. Great job! : )

:bow:
 
Threadmarks are not something that readily catch a reader’s attention. So it has taken me this long to realize that you are making truly excellent use of Threadmarks! I should have realized you’d invest that level of attention to detail into your record keeping. Great job! : )

:bow:
Thanks! :D I did try to make readers aware of it in the first post, but it's not a frequently used forum feature, so it's easy to miss.
 
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Dunianshire
____Looking through the store and available contracts doesn't reveal anything particularly spectacular, so we make plans to break orbit and continue visiting Black Market systems on the way to Crawford's Delight. Darius is able to close the deal with Ironwood Productions and also includes the sale of our excess gear to secure an up front payment of about 30 million C-Bills. Yang is thrilled with the available space now, and I'm certainly glad to trade gear we will never need for more cash. The day after we get to the jump point, another Lyran flashpoint becomes available to us. This is a personal matter in dealing with some Extracurricular Activities, targeting House Davion. It's two months away in Brockway though, so that job will have to wait.

Event - Fire in the Barracks: Hardpoint calls up to the bridge, reporting a large fire in the barracks. All pilots are safely out, but she'd like to save her gear too. Farah cuts power and ventilation, sealing off that section, and recommends venting the pod to space. Merch is heard in the background, yelling that he's found some fire extinguishers. Knowing that Hardpoint tends to be brave, I direct her to take charge of the firefighting effort.
Result: Hardpoint succeeds in putting out the fire, and saving most of the personal effects. Farah reports that the root cause was a faulty power system, which also disabled the automated fire suppression systems. I authorize the work to repair the power setup. Lose 2k C-Bills. Morale +1.

Event - Cards in the Mech Bay: A week later, Yang raises a concern that the pilots are getting in the way, particularly with an increase in card games in the mechbay. Darius points out that the barracks still isn't completely back to normal and recommends allowing card games on the mess deck when meals are not happening and I agree.
Result: The disruption moves from the mech bay to the mess hall, and things are getting rowdy and disruptive even during meal times. Morale -2.

Event - Travelers in Need: Shortly after we enter Canopian space, we are contacted by a transport sharing the same jumpship. Their crew has contracted a virulent case of the periphery pox and they're asking for help. Darius confirms that we have some spare supplies that we could sell. I decide to offer those as a gift in the hopes of gaining some favor with the Magistracy.
Result: Our assistance is appreciated. +1 reputation with the Magistracy of Canopus. -1 Medical Point for 14 days.

____The Black Markets along our route are disappointing, but Dunianshire has several upgraded energy weapons that are worth stopping for. There are also a few contracts available, so Darius starts reaching out to negotiate.
 
Mission 225: 2 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Magistracy of Canopus ____ Target: Jinxie and the Banshees ____ Biome: Badlands
Lance: Ghost (Gramps), Warhammer (Eck), Pulsehammer (Nimbus), Crazy Eights (Glitch)

Report: Nosy Neighbors - We've been asked to put a stop to some scouting around. Jinxie might just be looking for a new location to shoot a video, but in case they recognize us, I decide to lead our heaviest lance into combat. I sprint up a road along the right flank while the rest of the lance takes up a good firing position atop a hill in the center. I'm able to spot some targets and they start moving towards me, presenting their flanks to the shooters. Sensor locks reveal a Phoenix Hawk that has an advanced battle computer like our Warhammer! Glitch lines up a volley and decapitates it. The rest of our opponents are destroyed shortly after that. 2x PXH-UNK (headshots), LCT-3V, KTO-18 (headshot).

Damage: Only armor. Reputation with the Magistracy increased to Friendly.
 
Mission 226: 2.5 Skull Assassinate ____ Employer: Magistracy of Canopus ____ Target: Pirates ____ Biome: Lowlands
Lance: Macross (Shadow), Valkyrie (Medusa), Warhammer (Eck), Pulsehammer (Nimbus)

Report: Dead or Alive - A local pirate has been located, and our job is to eliminate them. We can only drop with 240 tons because our employer wants to keep this a low profile mission, but we can at least still drop with a full lance. The escort for our target is surprising, as it includes a Hatchetman! I guess the Black Market works fast. Not as fast as our lance though, as all of our enemies drop like lead. SHD-UNK, HCT-3F, SHD-2D (headshot), MAD-UNK.

Damage: No damage.
 
Mission 227: 1.5 Skull Destroy Base ____ Employer: Spartakian League ____ Target: Canopians ____ Biome: Lowlands
Lance: Macross (Shadow), Valkyrie (Medusa), Warhammer (Eck), Pulsehammer (Nimbus)

Report: A Sensible Situation - A contract from a free slave extremist group is our last job before we leave, and it's to demolish a Canopian recreation facility. The price is right, so we drop to do some violent demolition. The ground, however, is terrible, with the base established on top of a mountain with good fields of fire. I have the lance head far to the left to make a better approach. They are still climbing the mountain when a defending lance of mechs engages them, but they are able to move up to an even level. TBT-5N, JVN-10N. A set of light turrets is also detected and destroyed before the buildings start coming down. 1x SRM, 2x Support, 1x Energy. Another lance of mechs appears during the demolition process, but they are far enough away to be dealt with after the base is turned to rubble. FLE-15, JR7-A, LCT-1M, JVN-10F. Macross takes a LRM to the head, injuring Shadow during the closing of the fight.

Damage: Shadow injured for 14 days. Reputation with Spartakaian League increased to Indifferent.
 
Crawford's Delight
____On our multi-jump journey, Darius reports something interesting. There is a Black Market in Reinbak, despite no indiciation of there being one on the starmap. It doesn't have anything that we need, but it's worth noting for future visits. Shadow heals up during the trip, and the day after he's returned to full duty, I find him at night in the mech bay.

Event - Moonlighting With a PPC: Shadow has a PPC halfway taken apart when I come upon him. He has a good technical ability, so I have him spend a week in the mech bay to work on it.
Result: His fine tuning pays off, and the PPC can now do 75% more stability damage per hit. Lose 1x PPC. Gain 1x PPC+. Shadow is unavailable for 7 days.

____Crawford's Delight has a good number of contracts that we can take on the open market, but not much of interest in their Black Market. Flagging a few items for follow-up later, I turn my attention to the reason why we're here.
 
Flashpoint: Putting Out A Fire
- - - - - - - - Flashpoint: Putting Out A Fire - - - - - - -​
Alexander and Kamea are planetside, performing recon on the Frocked Flamingo - a pleasure pit where our target is known to visit. There is a lance of mechs and some turrets protecting the facility, including a Long Tom artillery emplacement. Our contract has been updated to focus on destroying the buildings and then letting the local ISF unit determine whether or not our target is dead. Our target is Chandrasekhar Kurita, and a search didn't reveal anything more about him aside from the name.
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Mission 228: 3 Skull Destroy Base ____ Employer: Draconis Combine ____ Target: Chandrasekhar Kurita ____ Biome: Urban
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Macross (Shadow), Valkyrie (Medusa), Pulsehammer (Nimbus)

Report: We're limited to a lance that weighs no more than 210 tons for this drop as the urban infrastructure can't handle a deployment beyond that. Sumire deposits our forces neatly in the center of an intersection, and they start moving out. A nearby pleasure pit has deployed their security force as well, giving us added pressure. I direct the lance to head far to the left flank to try and get around the defending forces. They are not detected and once everyone is in position, they sprint up the back road to try and flatten the buildings and turrets before the mobile defenders can react. The turrets are a mix of standard and heavy turrets, and they require focused firepower to eliminate. 2x Command, 1x Artillery, 1x Energy. The mobile forces are mostly vehicles supporting an Orion. 2x Striker, ON1-K, Demolisher. The initial rush in destroys one of the buildings and half of the turrets. Merch and Nimbus then begin to disengage, destroying the rest of the complex, and allowing Medusa and Shadow to eliminate the other turrets before jumping away. They then conduct a fighting withdrawal and eliminate all of the mobile forces. The security forces from Chez Lapin arrive at the extreme edge of our sensor range, but I have our units disengage to keep the damage focused.

Damage: Only armor.
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____Reynauld Yamaguchi a.k.a. Bob Kurita contacts 'the commander of the lance outside' and declares that they aren't surrendering. Kamea demands that Chandrasekhar Kurita surrender to face Banshee justice. His response is that if she's Jinxie, then he's not Chandrasekhar Kurita, and wants to know who gave us the contract. Before more questions are asked, Bob Kurita asks to contact us on a secure channel and is certain that an arrangement can be made.
 
- - - - - - - - Flashpoint: Putting Out A Fire - - - - - - -​
Bob Kurita is quite happy being banished to the periphery, and says that he wishes the Coordinator no harm, and their disagreement was about his frequent indulging of worldly pleasures. Kamea provides two options on how to resolve this. One is to clear a path to the local HPG facility so Bob can send a message to the court at Luthien and they can resolve the matter and call off the ISF. The second option is to defeat the DEST team that is about to surround the bunker to confirm his death. Bob has some information to give to their leader, but the ISF Captain will likely not listen unless he fails to complete his mission. Even if we head to the HPG first, the DEST team will still be a threat we will have to deal with. Not wanting to throw Bob to the wolves, I decide to attack the ISF first, and eliminate the DEST team before they are ready.
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Mission 229: 3 Skull Target Acquisition ____ Employer: Chandrasekhar Kurita ____ Target: Draconis Combine ____ Biome: Highlands
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Macross (Shadow), Valkyrie (Medusa), Pulsehammer (Nimbus)

Report: Bob Kurita is able to pull some strings and arrange for a bombardment of a company base that he knows to be a front for the ISF. Once we mark the target, the ISF will either be dead or too weak to continue their mission. The beacon layout looks reachable fairly quickly, and I have Merch sprint for the farthest one in the Ghost. A defending lance is spotted, and they move to engage. WVR-6D, WVR-6K, JR7-D, BJ-1DB. All of the beacons are placed at once, and the enemy mechs are destroyed with a combination of maneuver and focused firepower. Explosions surround the base and we have confirmation that the target is destroyed. Nimbus is the last to arrive at the extraction zone, and Sumire recovers everyone.

Damage: Only armor. ____ Salvage: WVR-6K assembled and moved into storage.
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____A formal communication from Chandrasekhar Kurita to Tai-I Kerai succeeds in getting a stay of execution while confirmation of Bob's story arrives from Luthien. Next stop, Comstar.
 
- - - - - - - - Flashpoint: Putting Out A Fire - - - - - - -​
Bob, Kamea, and Alexander have arrived at the HPG facility, and are dealing with the acolyte to place the message.
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Mission 230: 3 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Chandrasekhar Kurita ____ Target: Jinxie and the Banshees ____ Biome: Urban
Lance: Ghost (Merch), Macross (Shadow), Valkyrie (Medusa), Pulsehammer (Nimbus)

Report: As our lance keeps an eye out for trouble, we begin hearing music on all frequencies throughout the area. Mechs begin powering up near the source of the transmission, and then Jinxie announces herself. Apparently she and the Banshees are here, and are looking to settle a score. As Merch rounds the corner, his report makes everyone take notice. "Not just Jinxie and the Banshees, but the 95 ton Banshees!" 4x BNC-UNK! He decides not to fire and lose his stealth protection, and the rest of the lance maneuvers to get into a better position. A large pool of liquid fills several city blocks, and everyone but Merch jumps into it as they open fire, taking full advantage of the extra cooling. Jinxie goes down first, but the rest of her band is still quite dangerous, penetrating armor and wrenching actuators whenever they land a hit with their AC/20s. Shadow mis-aims a salvo and carelessly finds himself in melee with Billie, who smashes through the upper right half of Macross, sending wrecked lostech scattering across downtown. He does manage to stay upright, and jumps away to finish destroying Jamming with a back shot. Zombie is destroyed by a combination of rear shots from Pulsehammer and Valkyrie. Billie is the last to go down, and does so in a spectacular explosion of their MASC components.

Damage: Shadow injured 12 days. Macross, RT and RA destroyed. Pulsehammer, LT reduced to 60% structure, Double Heat Sink destroyed.
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____Bob thanks us for our help, and looks forward to working with us in the future when it comes to acquiring lostech. The 95 ton Banshees clearly had some advanced equipment, and it seems as though they actually are a front organization for a major power. As the conversation and speculation dies down, Yang gives me the bad news about repairing Macross. It'll take about a month, but we do have replacement parts for everything, although the TAG will be less effective than the one that was lost. Out of all the places in the periphery to spend a month of downtime, at least we picked a good spot.
 
- - - - - - - - Something Dark Is Coming - Several Months Before - - - - - - -​
____Alexander spoke with Lord Karosas, deflecting accusations of being a Directorate spy to send bounty hunters after Kamea. Lord Karosas says that he will be able to have Director Espinosa call off the assassination attempts if Kamea stays away from the Reach. Student arrests and miner strikes have not quelled dissent, and Lord Karosas believes that he and the other houses of the Council can prevent House Espinosa from bringing the area under his personal control. As a parting word of advice, Alexander is told that the Baumann Group is the one who paid for the recovery of the Amaris Legacy, and they are looking for payback.
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Event - Coupling Unit: Farah reports that one of the modules in the dropship is rapidly failing. She can patch around the problem, but would prefer to have someone step outside for an EVA to do things better. Behemoth has volunteered, and as she's skilled as a spacer, I approve the activity.
Result: The fix was performed, but Behemoth was injured by debris and will be out of action for 12 days.

Event - The Company We Keep: Staying in orbit for an extended period has brought the attention of the port authorities. They've noted our ship being in the company of pirates and other questionable organizations, and they are asking to search our ship. We could refuse, but would pay a 100k C-Bill fine. Darius offers another option - since we have some friends in the Magistracy, he could try to arrange for a sympathetic inspector to come aboard that could be paid to smooth things over. I defer to Darius on this, and tell him to make it happen.
Result: The plan works, and we won't be inspected again for a long time. Lose 25k C-Bills.

____Repairs are finally complete, and the crew seems eager to get back to work.
 
Mission 231: 2.5 Skull Battle ____ Employer: Spartakian League ____ Target: Isle Avengers ____ Biome: Urban
Lance: Macross (Shadow), Warhammer (Hardpoint), Pulsehammer (Nimbus), Crazy Eights (Glitch)

Report: Hot Landing - A heavily armed lance has just landed, and this job is to eliminate them before they start moving out to cause problems. The city is in ruins, and there is no drop limit and only a little salvage available, so I deploy our heaviest lance. Contact is made quickly, and our targets fall fast. 2x PXH-1K (one headshot), SHD-2H, CN9-AH. A second lance arrives, presumably set to meet up with our target when they finished their drop. 2x CDA-2A (one legs kill), 2x ASN-21. Glitch fires a full salvo at one of the Cicadas moving to flank Pulsehammer, and knocks it to the ground, as well as two buildings behind it. This saves Nimbus from being overwhelmed, and he jumps clear, melting the other Cicada's leg with laser pulses. Hardpoint and Glitch split their fire across the reinforcements, and they are destroyed before they can withdraw.

Damage: Only armor.
 
(Booo, the forum update broke all of my transparent font that I used to indent parts of posts. I guess I'll have to adjust since I haven't found a workaround yet.)

- - - - - - - - Lustful Ballad - - - - - - -​
Shortly after returning from the drop, Sumire brings a broadcast to the attention of the bridge crew. The Taurian Concordate and Magistracy of Canopus have expelled several senior diplomats, and the Duchy of Andurien is attempting to mediate the dispute. In other news, there has been an uprising on Weldry, as forces of the Aurigan Restoration have liberated hundreds of political prisoners from the Ice Box prison, and secured the major population centers. They have requested the Reach Council to mediate between them and House Espinosa. Kamea and Alexander are both interested, but as they weren't invited to participate, there isn't a sense of urgency to provide assistance. With that, we plan for our next combat drop of several before we break orbit.
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Mission 232: 2 Skull BattleEmployer: PirateTarget: Esmerelda's WitchesBiome: Urban
Lance: Macross (Shadow), Warhammer (Eck), Pulsehammer (Nimbus), Crazy Eights (Glitch)
Report: The Bigger They Are - A heavy mech is operating solo, and is on an intercept course with another heavy mech. Darius negotiates for double salvage shares, and I hope that we can bring both of the targets down intact. We drop with the same lance, although Eck takes Warhammer as we probably won't need Hardpoint's multi-targeting talents. As Shadow sprints up the road, our target appears on sensors. After tapping the screen to make sure, he reports back that it's a 35 ton mech - disappointing. The Warhammers move out to the flanks and pick up additional mechs - looks like our target, which turns out to be a Marauder, isn't alone. FS9-A, VND-1R, PNT-9R, MAD-3R (headshot). Significantly more concerning is an inbound dropship that's showing ComStar insignia! It deploys a lance and they move to engage, with a SLDF Griffin as their recon mech! Glitch is well positioned and Shadow jumps to the other flank, and between them they destroy the head without damaging any internal equipment. PNT-9R (headshot), PNT-9ALAG (legs kill), JM6-A (headshot), GRF-2N! (headshot!). There is massive demolition during the fight, with about a half-dozen buildings reduced to rubble, both intentionally and by stray shots.
Damage: Only armor. Reputation with Esmerelda's Witches reduced to Disliked.Salvage: GRF-2N, MAD-3R, PNT-9R assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 233: 3 Skull AssassinateEmployer: Magistracy of CanopusTarget: Esmerelda's WitchesBiome: Badlands
Lance: Macross (Shadow), Valkyrie (Medusa), Warhammer (Eck), Pulsehammer (Nimbus)
Report: Thin Resources - This job is to seek and destroy a spy and thief that infiltrated a Magistracy research base. We're only being paid for 240 tons worth of mechs, but Crazy Eights isn't great for chasing anyone down anyway. Sumire drops the lance on the road network in the valley, but then spots engine signatures up on a mesa as she flies away. Looks like it's time to fight uphill. I keep everyone on the ground, and move up the road together until a 75 ton mech appears on sensors. After that, Macross and Valkyrie jump high like missles, and the battle begins. The Orion on the far left catches fire from our entire lance and collapses quickly, and the other two escorts are then engaged on the right. ON1-K, TDR-5SS, TBT-5N. Our main target contributes some LRM fire during the quick battle, but then it is surrounded and destroyed within two minutes. STK-3F.
Damage: Only armorSalvage: TDR-5SS, TBT-5N assembled and moved into storage.
 
Mission 234: 3 Skull Capture BaseEmployer: Magistracy of CanopusTarget: Isle AvengersBiome: Desert
Lance: Macross (Shadow), Valkyrie (Medusa), Warhammer (Eck), Pulsehammer (Nimbus)
Report: SLDF Data - A covert manufacturing base has been detected, and it looks to have pre-war production facilites. We are to secure the facility so technical teams can begin their analysis. As expected, there is a lance of mechs defending their find. CPLT-C1, RFL-3C, 2x CN9-AH. Once the facility is secured, an additional hostile lance arrives, and we engage them from the superior position of the hilltop base. 2x SHD-2H, 2x CPLT-C1.
Damage: Only armorSalvage: SHD-2H, RFL-3C assembled and moved into storage.
 
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