David frowned upon hearing Zehna's response, "So we're dropping blind into a combat zone inside a city.  We don't know who's down there, how many of them there are, or even what hardware they have.  Can't say I like that even a little bit.  Still, we're here and that's our contract.  How long before we drop?"

Feel free to roleplay the results of your missions or anything you want to roleplay post mission two.

It was a good lull of action for the mercs.  Over the span of two months, they managed successfully safeguard supplies (convoy) to Miller's Creek, to fend off an incursion on Millers Creek (Garrison), and even managed to find and foil a staging point (patrol) that was in the midst of being set up.

Good news has a way of traveling fast.  If the lure of a warm bed, and a roof wasnt enough to draw the last of the resistance to rally at Miller's Creek, the news of a bright spot of resistance was.

Planetary militia and the last of the planetary defenses were drawing together around Miller's Creek to form a solid pocket of resistance.  {New player units join at this point, including Olaf}

---

Roleplaying tallies will be noted and added (to Mission 2) when Mission Three starts.

OOC: w00t!

Game on:

The mech materialized on the horizon, working it’s way toward friendly lines following the road and without trying to use the undulating ground to find cover for a more tactical approach.  As the distance closed, it became clear that the aging Whitworth had taken a long hard road to get here.  Although largely functional, the mech was a patchwork of unpainted replacement armour panels and older panels painted with well worn jungle cam tiger stripes entirely inappropriate for Detroit’s climate.  Arms and legs wore scorch marks and pits; some fresh, some much older.  The battle scars were mostly cosmetic damage but obvious signs that the mechwarrior had not entirely escaped recent fighting.  The 40 ton war-machine bore no identifying marks that would give any clue to a unit or affiliation - quite the opposite in fact.  The only patches of fresh paint were two large flat black squares painted over the right breast and left thigh, a third smaller square appeared on the right shoulder obscuring whatever unit identifiers had once decorated the beleaguered battlemech.

Inside the mech’s cockpit Olaf keyed his communications system to monitor a wide spectrum of channels, hoping he could pick up the channel being used by the garrison of mercs at Miller’s Creek.

"Well that went right up shits creek."
Henriette grumbled to herself, jsut as  she ehaded through the door to their temporary Cafeteria.
Soldiers needed a place to eat, this wa sa rule regardless  of where in the universe you were, and she just wanted some chow and a beer, quite possibly several, to dorwn out the images  of slaughtered civilians.
"I'll fucking kill that murdering scum, slaughter the lot of them"
The bastards had opened unprovoked fire uppon civilians, hell it had seemed to be their mission.
Defenseless civilians, theyd bloody murdered noncombatants.
She went over and got herself a tray and some food, as well as a pair of cans of beer to wash it down with.

The food  was stale, as the images of burned and shredded carcasses passed through her mind once again.
Damnit, this wasn't okay.

The Enemy withdrew.  While the causalities were higher than Pax would have wanted, the main clump of them survived.  The plans to scatter the civilians about back fired with the VTOLs overflying the mech defenders.  The death toll was still coming in and Pax took each death seriously.

Till the Captain made it back he was in charge and he was going to chat with  Burner for breaking formation.  Hell, he needed to bring dental floss to his teeth from the butt chewing Burner was about to receive.

Parking Road Runner he looked to where their new member parked and headed that way.

OOC Wanted Burner/Luc to see it coming!  hehe

Having not one, but two of the command structure ordering him to stop trailing the enemy mechs made him wonder if they really were here to defend the populace.  Sure they were going through the motions but even he knew that when you were defending that if you got an advantage on home turf you had to hit them...and hit them hard.

This pansy waffling around was swinging his gauge over to the 'not in a chance in hell' that he'd stick with these amateurs...and that was saying a lot coming from a man like himself.  Popping the hatch he climbed down his girl and noticed the fuming Road Runner stalking his way.  Unless he had something really good to say, and he doubted that he would tell Luc that he was wrong, this was going to be one of 'those' chats.

David was furious, no, pissed with himself for being unable to stop the greater part of the convoy from escaping.  They had had a chance to hurt them good but no, his inability to hit the proverbial broad side of a barn meant that most of them had escaped.  Worse yet, they would just set up camp again, somewhere else, and we would have to start again to find them.  There were times when this planet seemed larger than it actually was.

Before heading in for supper he made sure he booked several blocks of practice time on the live firing range.

The convoy came in quick and safe, and supplies were unloading as she bought her mech to a part. It looked like the outpost had been attacked while they were gone.  Signs of the battle were evident where bullets had chewed up buildings and fires were being put out.  Bodies were being laid out side by side as the casualties were being counted.

It was sad.  It was obvious that those that had fallen were heathens.  Non believers in the one and true word of Blake.  Sinners all.  They didnt deserve their fate thought, while they lived and breathed there was a chance they could be saved.  Obviously Blake had seen it fit to end their existence.

The Convoy had been spared mostly through her stalwart faith in the Word.  Would it be enough to keep them all safe?  Her faith was strong but she was one among a bunch of weak believers at best.

"Rejoice children of Blake.  You have been spared this day through Blake's mercy.
 I... the Serene Light Of Blake... shall hold a sermon to renew your faith.
 To ensure that you might continue to benefit from his benign grace.  For now.
 I must attend to the fallen, who have passed beyond his reach.", it was an odd thing, to watch Regina spew her rhetoric with such a deadpan straight face.

It was obvious she believed what she recited with such frevor that a few in the convoy had actually considered if there was any truth to be had in her words.  She caught a few curious glances as she went among the fallen who had been lined up to give them a few words from Blake to comfort them before they left this mortal world.  Others shook their heads at the crazy woman, but were glad she was about on the convoy this morning.

When her gruesome chore was done she went to find Lucius, the only mechwarrior she knew with any familiarity.

"May Blake's light of serenity shine upon you.", she greeted Lucius in her typical breezy manner.  She had that wide eyed spacey look about her that was easy to mistake for being an airhead.  Lucius knew better.  Regina just saw the world a little different from the rest of them.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:44, Tue 24 Sept 2013.

Spotting Regina and knowing she'd get to him before Pax did he smiled at the moon-touched woman and responded in kind, "May Blake's light of serenity shine upon you as well Sister."

He looked over to the convoy and sighed, "Looks like you had better results on your escort mission...things went FUBAR here and I was called off twice from taking the fight to the cowards and finish them off...the Locust and Wasp will not be eager to match me again that's for sure."

Regina gave Lucius a serene smile.

"Blake's will guided our way.
 You were obviously left with the non-believers.

 It was Blake's will that what was, is.  Accept his grand design and be at peace."

Regina put a thoughtful finger to her lips and cocks her head to one side with a contemplative look for a moment.

"It would seem that it is Blake's will to keep us in balance.  Isnt that Berserker's Whitworth?"
This message was lightly edited by the player at 15:22, Tue 24 Sept 2013.

Luc grumbled a bit but still smiled at her.  Playing along was worth the effort, "I'll accept that they weren't to die this day but I'll work to ensure the next time they do..."

Turning his head he looked over to the Whitworth and squinted, "You know you're right it is...I thought he went down on the second day after we couldn't grab his signal."

"Blake's will works in mysterious ways.

All things come in their time and place.

All things come to pass that should.", Lucius was always pleasant company.  He seemed to understand Regina, or at least humor her more than most.  She was hungry though, so mortal needs of the flesh needed to be tended to.  There was fresh food on the convoy and Regina wanted some of those Veggies while they were still fresh.  She wasnt really a vegetarian, she just had a preference to avoid meat.

Pax tried not to be overly pissed. In fact he took the long way to Burner's mech bay to cool down a bit.  Approaching he spots Burner was talking to the other new pilot Reggie.

"Burner!"  Pax calls and with a double finger point, he gestured for Burn to come over for a chat.

Sang-Wei Ling, had enjoyed her time away from the Rat Pack.  It was easy to lose herself in the technical wizardry that their employers seemed to possess.  It was far in advance of much she had seen, and hinted at access to the memory core that was recovered by the Grey Death Legion.

Where else could such advances had come from, still to have access to the information and implement it in such a short time was impressive, suspiciously so.  Her knowledge of use of her Raven's EW and it's advance electronics was the reason she was picked out to work with the 101st Assault group.

There were only a half dozen pilots but everyone of them seemed to pilot the odd looking Catapults.  It was a variant she hadnt seen before, and she had every known modification and variant stored in her Raven's data base for friend for identification.  It was a curious puzzle, to which she quietly applied her impressive deductive skills.

It was at this time that she was introduced to Sao-wei Tsang.  An interesting officer of the Capellan armed forces.  Sharing common ground, she was made an unofficial liason to the uncertain intelligence resource.  While Tsang's rank was unimpressive his service with the Death Commandos spoke volumes about his competance.

What was he doing out here in the periphery?  Evidently concerns over the possible increase in Davion's sphere of influence in the periphery was a concern to the Chancellor.  To allow the powerful house to outflank the less influential Capellan's was something Ling knew the Chancellor could ill afford.  News of the advance technology that seemed to be available in the periphery was another rumor he was here to investigate.

Discussions were long... subtle... and veiled.  Ling felt as if she were crossing a room of scorpions and need to tread very carefully and slowly.

A few days after the attack on Miller's Creek and the Convoy, Sang-Wei Ling returns for a brief visit with some sort of Intel officer.  The invaders were running low on supplies, and a shipment was en route to handle their shortages.  If this supply run could be disrupted it would go a long way to force them off the planet.

An all out assault was currently  being planned, of which the units at Miller's creek were going to be key for the success or failure of the operation.  In an effort to improve the strength of the units at Miller's creek, the 101st were making available new equipment, developed from the Grey Legion's memory core for some units to use.

Lucius' Javelin was being modified with an experimental electronics that was suppose to improve weapon acquisition lock-on.  {1 ton of Target Computers}

Regina's Valkyrie was selected for notable work on the Internal structure.  A light weight bulky material that did not concede strength.  {Endo Steel}

To ensure that things went smoothly, an officer from the mysterious 101st was joining the Miller Militia to tighten coordination.

Luc smiled at Reggie and and rolled his eyes, "Looks like the Bossman isn't happy, time to pay the pipper.  I'll catch you later."

Leaving her infinitely more enjoyable company Luc waltzed over and flicked his tongue over his upper cainine as he got up to Pax, "Watcha need Road Runner?"

Henriette sighed as she looked into the 'hangar' from their makeshift cafeteria.
She should hve remembered her duties, but she had a hard time dealing with the fact they'd had to let those murdering scum go, no quarter could be given to this enemy, not after what they had done to unarmed civilians.

still she should have been out there chewing out Lucius, not becuase she  thought what he'd done was wrong, hell she'd have done the exact same if she hadn't been the operation XO.
But because this would create friction between the CO and Lucius, friction they could ill afford.
Next time she saw Zenha she would advice it might be a good idea to make sure those two weren't sent on the same mission, for the next few runs.

She finished her food from the field  kitchen, and emptied the first can of beer, finally popping open the second, watching the goings on in their little corner  of the universe.

What was Zenha doing?, she should be here to evaluate things.

Pax takes a deep sigh, one with a bit of pain in it, "the Mongoose's name is Road Runner ... not me." 

Obviously dealing with a local that is none too bright, some of the anger leeches from Pax.   Speaking slowly he continues, "My call sign is Traxx.

Listen up, you need to understand that we have goals during combat.  Running off in a blood crazed anger is what we did to them at the start.  It took them off their battle plan and bought us some time to take advantage.

You running off could have cost us ... namely more lives of those we were trying to protect.  Another, I've seen those VTOLs get in luck shots, We lost the XO in the first engagement here and I don't want to see another "lance mate" take another hit like that if I can help it."

Taking another breath, "If you feel the need to run off and get yourself killed I'll keep it in mind and find the best time and place for you to go out in a 'blaze' of glory, I got no problem with that."

"Our goal was protecting the civilians and that got right frakked up when someone made the decision to spread them all over the place where VTOL's could get at them easy when our mechs couldn't cross terrain fast enough to make a difference and let the vehicles have easy access to the masses to gun down a couple dozen before you two could stop them..." replied Luc to the frustrated Pax looking unconcerned.

"You got it boss-man, toss me at the next blaze of glory then...least I'll be doing something and actually taking out these bastards rather than chasing tail I'll never get anywhere with."

Pax was almost calm but with Lucius' words he was again hot. "Well I wish you would have shared the intel that told us the make up of the attacking force, instead of keeping it to your self Private Obvious.

But the truth is if we didn't land when we did they would all be dead.  The survivors are still breathing cause we stepped in and lost one of our own defending them in the process.  And we stayed to defend them even when it would have been so easy to walk away and collect.

Don't let your peasant emotional quilt for not being here the first time fool you.  You pull a stunt like that again and get one of my mine shot up or killed ... I   WILL   SEE   YOU    SHOT!

DISMISSED ! "

Luc raised an eyebrow at the threat of being shot but he didn't bother responding.  Shaking his head he turned and walked away, arguing with him was a waste of breath.

Pax needed a drink.  It was time to bust out a bottle from his private stash.  He would be glad when the boss showed up and take command of the unit again.

Pax walked off with a purpose to his quarters, grumbling as he went.

Coming into the town with Sang-wei Ling the oddly shaped X-3a semed to have the same feel as the strange Catapults that the Rat Pack had seen before.  This one mounted an axe in its right hand an a snub-nosed looking laser mounted in the left and two more paired on it's shoulders in each torso.  Climbing out of her mech Lina looked around at the disarray of things as well as the growing body count of civilians that were being buried.

It was times like these that she wished that she was more like her sister Megan...the purity of space and ability to leave all this visible barbarity behind was something she wished she could do but she didn't test well enough to be part of that prestigious program like her sister had.  Still she showed a lot of promise for a more dedicated program and knew some day she'd be able to move up and pilot the true power houses of the 101st.

Wearing a body hugging jumpsuit of white and dark olive green it showed off her athleticly petite feminine curves, her hair was braided in such a way that her neuro-helmet could get the right contact points and she wore a thigh holster with a hold-out laser pistol.  She knew she was supposed to talk to a Zenha Grey as the Liason so she asked the first person sporting mechwarrior gear, "Excuse me...where can I find Zenha Grey?  I'm the Liason Officer between your unit and the 101st...at least for the immediate future..."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:58, Fri 27 Sept 2013.

Zenha and Thomas were both down and ill.

Supplies being rather spoty, rations were less than pristine and new, and they had both been served bits of meat that were perhaps a little too expired to be considered truly edible.  While not terminally ill, both certainly wished it from the sounds of their discomfort.

Yet another reason to partake in fresh veggies while the going was good.  Much easier to spot bad food when it wasnt buried in a soup of sauce and gravy.  Blake's ire was swift and certain, partake not in meat seemed to be the lesson.

"Commander Grey is ill.  I believe her Executive officer, Pax Tarkin is next in command.", Regina comments pointing out Pax's quarters, where he was making the acquaintance of his stash of liquid sin.

Noticing the new person only when she spoke to him Pax's thoughts snapped back to the 'now'.
"ugh ???

Oh Captain Grey .... that is a good question.  I'll try and find her for you.  Name's Pax.  Acting XO of the Rat Pack."  HE offers her his hand.

Finally aware of her ride and who she represented Pax raises an eyebrow, "and what pray tell did you ride in here on Liason?"  He scans the mech to appraise its capabilities.  He would have better luck if someone would hand him a tech read out, since much of it seemed new.