It hadn't been intended as one, but when Adam mentioned her being the brooms new XO she couldn't help but feel like the title was a slap in her face.
"... yes... you guys better go over there"
She turned to look straight at Adam.
"would you mind a spar over in the exercise hall after this...?"
physical exercise, including martial arts, had been a regimen for Camille since she could walk.
It had also been her way to vent whenever her familys status as Pariahs had forced her to swallow bitter grapes.
In those cases, it had been their family's armsmaster who, alongside her father had taught her everything she knew about combat, in and outside of 'mechs.

Marcus shook his head. Typical noble. Call everyone out for what could just have been posted on the notice board. There was one useful piece of information, he was in Dark Horse Lance, and he began asking around for his lancemates, planning to introduce himself.

Sandra, Devlin, Caitlin. Any PC's here?

Devlin took his place during the briefing, sending smoke rings toward the Captain from his place near the back of the room.  He was a bit surprised to hear that another corporal had been put in charge of his lance, but that was a typical move for this commander. He saw the new jock that was moved to his lance so he moved over to meet him.

Marcus, welcome to the Dark Horses.  Devlin, but most folks call me Wolfman.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:14, Fri 10 Feb 2012.

Cowboy nodded, "If that's what you need, I'd be more than happy to."

Someone somewhere was either having a hoot of a laugh in Command or they were taking some serious headhunting losses elsewhere in the Eridani and the rapid rise of Johan and others like himself were to toss the prospectives to the lions and see who stayed standing at the end.

Looking back to the board that Johan had plastered with the new assignments he reworked how the individual lances would interact now with the continued shifting of pilots.  The Eridani was known for its swift moving tactics...but I doubt that were known for swapping pilots in lances swiftly unless Adam's memory was lacking in its history.  He shruged and knew that until Johan got promoted again to Major and became too big for a mere Company they were going to have to do the best they could...hell who knew maybe even he would learn something from all of them.

Halo never saw Adams congradulations, or if she did, she was making a point of ignoring it.

What the hell was Johan thinking, she had flunked out of the Academy specifically because she was unable to think on her feet and get the job done.  She was prone to rolling into battle and doing what she needed to be done, and not leading other people or worrying about what her absence meant if she got disabled in combat.

There were alot of people she was lancing with now that were pretty new or brand new.  She moves closer to Marcus and Devlin nodding her greetings and looking no more pleased about the arrangement than they probably did.  Caitlin she knew.  Devlin by reputation, Marcus was an unknown.

"We really are the Dark Horse of the unit.", she mutters.  She made a mental note to see if she could swap her reliable Commando for something larger and more survivable.  She was a good pilot in the mech, but she had to acknowledge it was light, and an easy mark for larger mechs to take out, especially the way she piloted them.

"Nothing personal.", she mummbles to Devlin knowing that her promotion over him, couldnt have been easy for the veteran Stallion to stomach, "If it werent so obvious, i'd think he were a spy for the Combine.", Halo mummbles eyeing Johan

"They call me Halo around here, skip the sirs.. or m'mams.  I'm use to working for a living like everyone else.", she comments off handed to Marcus

Holly was pretty thrilled.  Her LAM had checked out fine, and she was actually able to shake it down.  Sure it was small... comparatively to the other mechs, but it was a step up to the VTOL she was use to piloting.  She was seated besides Dom who had also been put in a LAM along side her.  An extra stripe made her the senior of the two in command but they were old friends, and she thought it hardly mattered between them.

Sandy had been promoted and put in charge of a Lance, it was about time.  She was bright and quick thinking and a strong leader by example.  She was always selling herself short, but she was absolutely sure, that Sandy wouldnt disappoint her personal expectations.

She shifts in her seat and glances at Dom.

"We should start a pool to see not 'If' Johan becomes a Collateral Damage statistic but when, and who does it.", there was just a hint of dark humor in her tone as she observes not everyone in the room was as thrilled, as she was, about Johan's command decision.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:21, Fri 10 Feb 2012.

Devlin smiles and offers his hand to the pretty mech pilot.

No offense taken Halo.  It was the Captain's doing, not yours. I reckon we can see fit to keep ourselves alive without his help.

Halo nods, "Fond of my Commando, but it's not exactly a mech to lead from.  Youre going to be in command of the lance probably a minute into the fight if i try and lead from it.  Going to have to talk to pretty boy about something larger, see if he can throw that weight he's fond of tossing about at the brass to help that along."

Dom nodded adding, "Someone will do it when he's standing next to a fuel dump or ammo shelter.  A stray round puncturing those and catching him the ensuing blast will mean less paperwork and less likely they can pin it on any one person..."

Being in a LAM and a working one at that was...new was an amazing sensation.  The fact that both him and Holly had picked up the duty was a nice perk, and her extra stripe left the command decisions in her hand.  He on the other hand might be able to handle the parts down the line.

Amos stared at the board. Then he chuckled to himself. He didn't know if it was bad luck, or if he was too valuable to keep in a single lance. "Guess I'm a hot commodity." He wondered how many knew that he had influenced the battle twice by a well placed PPC shot.

The mechwarrior walked over to Lieutenant Carlyle as the briefing ended. "Corporal Trask, reporting in."

"Welcome to the Dancing Horses, good to have you.  Stick around and we'll see what Schmidt has to say to us and then stop by the mechs to do some talking and planning with the rest of the lance on how to best take advantage of your Panther in an otherwise dominated group of swift moving hitters." replied Adam to Amos.

Svend couldn't help but hear the conversation. "Adam, I think the lance should see my surprise. It might help with the question you just asked of our newest member. "

Cowboy's brow furled for a moment before smiling out of habit, "Sounds good Svend, I'll bring the Camille and Trask here and you make sure Oliver is there."

Once everyone was gathered in the mech bay, Svend looked to the bay that his own mech called home. Ever since they had brought Svend and the Firestarter back from the last mission, Svend was rarely seen around. He had spent every waking moment with the Firestarter and did all of his work behind a large, obscuring sheet of plastic that hung from the ceiling and surrounded the mech. Svend nodded once everyone was there and started what could only be described as a monologue.

"For those of you who don't know, I was a fighter long before I joined this outfit. Many men my age and experience retire to comfort after the arenas of Solaris, but not me. I spent my best years in those pits, fighting to earn something that can't be bought. During that time, I never made a friend. I never had a comrade to have my back. Now that I am here, with people I would give my life to save, I seemed to have gotten away from what made me a good pilot in the first place. I changed my style to fit the mech I was given. That is all over. Ever since I was sent to the ground in the last fight, I have looked into delving the deepest parts of my empty skull to bring back that part of me that thrived in the arena. Today, you see that part laid out before you. My blood, sweat and fury has been poured into making the Lucky Lady the best and only woman that I truly know. With out further ado, I give you the new Lucky Lady!"

He flourished his hand and the curtain hiding the mech fell. What was revealed was a much different mech than what started. The center torso held a pair of flamers mounted side by side. They stuck out near the hip, giving the area of greatest range to scorch the midsection of any mech and bath ground troops in plasma. The entire body had been overhauled with large sheets of metal that would provide another ton of armor than before.

The arms were the most significant change. Each boasted a flamer of the same make as the torso pair, hardened by armor and mounted over the wrist of the hands actuators. Each arm also harbored a Hoff VAMS. They rotated on a pivot near the shoulder and a rail system allowed the system to position the emitters in a nearly unobstructed field of fire. A locking system allowed them to face in the same direction as the arm when used in the pulse weapon mode to allow for increased accuracy.

Perhaps the two most notable changes were the lack of jumpjets and the brand new hatchet. The ports had been covered and redirected to the flamers to allow for a increase in power and efficiency and the addition of more armor. The hatchet was obviously custom designed by Svend himself, the blade being little more than steel alloy plating folded to provide the blade and the haft made out of an older AC/10 barrel.

The whole thing had been repainted in black with flames and a lovingly painted pin-up girl graced the left chest. Two words were written in script at the bottom. "Lucky Lady"

A bit earlier....

The news must have been more serious than just logistics, as the new captain waited until all of the non-officers left before talking.  He even walked over the close the doors to the meeting room and lock them from the inside.  "First of all, I know that each of you is going to face a lot of complaints about the new reorganization...about how I would to be assigned to so and so, fight with so and so.  I earned these bar, and my strategic decision has the full support of command.  So, I expect each of you to deal with it, because there will be no changes."

Johan paused here to let it all sink in...or possibly, applause again.  He continued, "As you have probably guessed, supplies have been running low.  We weren't able to get everything we needed to fix up Adam or Svend's mechs, and the situation only looks to get worse going forward.  Command has therefore charged us to spearhead part of the operations to take the starport.  We expect to face the surviving and retooled units of the same company of Dragoons that we tangoed with.  The battle will not be easy; hell, it will be hard.  We need to plan accordingly.  I intend for us to call in every favor we've got to pull as much of the battalion's resources to assist us as possible.  I need each of you to consider what you want to work with.  I don't expect we'll get everything we want, so we'll need to properly allocate resources."

Without the other non-officers, Johan's words and attitude somehow seem more reasonable than before, although they admittedly had to cross only a very low bar to do that.  "I know that these configurations are new to you, but I believe they will work better and hopefully avoid, or at least reduce, some of the beating that we just took going forward.  I suggest you study them to understand their strengths and weaknesses before coming up with your priority list for resources."

The newest member of the pursuit squad had been hanging out with the VTOL grunts when Svend found him and lured him to the mech bay. Seeing the big wall of plastic, he is tempted to ask, but doesn’t. The man wants a big reveal and he isn’t going to prod or tease over it.

When the plastic curtains fall from around the Firestarter, Oliver’s eyes trail in their wake and settle onto the upper chassis of the mech. As he takes in the details, he lets out a long low whistle and then comments, “Check out the cannons on that betty.”

Looking the 35tonner over, he walks a few feet to either side, appraising the work on the mech. Despite his comment about the ‘cannons’ on the artwork, he seems to be spending more of his time looking at that DIY hatchet. In fact, his comment may have been about the new flamers, not the Lucky Lady herself.

“Is that an old AC-10 barrel?” he asks after what seems like an eternity to him. Having sized it up, holding his thumb out at arm’s length and then wiping off his glasses a few times to get the best possible visual.

Standing back, he nods in approval and comments, “Not as pretty as my Wolfhound, but it’ll do.”

Nice ta meecha Wolfman. Well ya know me name, but ah normal go by Ping-Pong.

"They call me Halo around here, skip the sirs.. or m'mams.  I'm use to working for a living like everyone else.", she comments off handed to Marcus
</quote>
Well shucks Halo, y'all 'll turn mah haid with thet sorta thang. Lemme thank, ah drives me ah Jenner, en ah likes me lasers.

In reply to MW Oliver West (msg #343):

Svend scoffed and maneuvered next to Oliver as he made his assessment. He then turned and grabbed the younger pilot, a huge smile on his face as he attempted to get Reaper in a headlock. "Not pretty!" he said as he tried his best to pin Oliver. "I'll make you not pretty!" He chuckled as he continued, backing off if Oliver was not in the mood.

*A death in the family *

It was Wednesday, and the Eridani support pools were working hard at getting all the machines up to fighting shape.  Patrols, were reigned in, to keep battle skirmish repairs down.  Injured mechwarriors were being forced bedrest to get them as mended as much as possible.  Something 'big' was on the horizon.

The rumors were true, Nate had been promoted at Battalion.  Colonol Vilhiem Schmidt's Thunderbolt had taken a hit to the head, and pronounced killed in action in a duel with the Combine Battalion Commander's Orion. As a result, Nate was promoted to the rank of Colonel and given command of the 6th Recon Battalion.

His agenda to push on the Combine held starport and to get help down from off planet a priority was immediately bought to attention at the regimental level.  A risky gambit was quickly planned out and the Eridani were mobilizing in force.  Leaving the defensive positions to be held by the Davion Militia what was left of the 151st Light Horse regiment was gathering for a telling blow at the Hoff Starport.  A quick strike, to get Davion reinforcements down from planet, and fade before the Combine could gather to hammer them was the plan on the board for the moment.

There were two company of Dragoons and a two Battalion of Combine Conventional support at the Star Port.  It was going to be ugly and messy.  Notices were being posted for a final briefing at three at the main compound.

In reply to Kitten (msg #346):

Thanos showed up 15 minutes prior to the meeting. He didn't seem any the worse for ware, but he knew that they were going to be going up against some serious defenses and good pilots. After the last battle, he was still looking for action. A few lost internals wouldn't slow him down!

It was Nates plan... and so Nate was alloted the honor of presenting the plans to the assembled Eridani.  The room was crowded with Eridani, the most assembled in a very long time in one place.  A few well placed Aero bombs and the merc unit would be wiped out.  It was important to get everyone on the same page though.  Time was short and they had two days to get everything ready to go.

The Eridani were going to throw everything they had at the starport to try and take it to allow fresh Davion units burning in a safe harbor to drop from.

The 50th Heavy Battalion, along with the 8th Recon Company will pincer in and hit the Starport from the North east... and South east.  Their job will be to draw the Starports defenders out into pitched battle, where collateral damage will be kept to a minimum.

6th Battalion's 2nd Company along with support from the other battalions and HQ assets will simulate a third battalion's effort to hit the Starport from the east.

This will leave 6th Battalions, 6th Company the job of actually taking the Starport...

Nate sends a good bit of time, going over the details of the timing and logistics of the other battalions involved.  Given the ragged state and attrition losses the Combine will be uncertain to exact counts of mechs available.  Among other things, this is what Nate is counting on to sneak 6th Company in to take the Starport intact...

(more to follow when BMs finalize unit placement)

Cade watches from the back intently.  He just got here and the shit is hitting the fan so he better know whats going on and what to expect.  If anyone looks his way, it looks like he is taking notes on timing and what other units are doing.  Most of this is to help him understand what is going on and to try to remember other units are in the heat of battle if his unit is called to support them.

Nate looks over at Johan.  The old man's passing couldnt have been easy on him.  This was an important assignment he was passing over to him.  If he screwed it up it was his ass in the sling, maybe the whole units if it went south.  Its what the old man would have wanted though...

"Wild Stallions, Sixth Company.  Is our backdoorman on this one.  They're going to edge the Starport's reserve out of position and come at them from behind."

Nate's pointer runs along the coast adjacent to the starport.

"Before the operation executes, i want the bulk of sixth company to advance into position here... here... and here...  The reserves will be watching the approach of decoys, and sixth company will emerge from the shores to engage from a favorable position.  Use the intial deployment to take out as much as you can quickly.  It's going to be a knock down brawl after that."

Nate taps the central location.

"This is where the command tower is located.  We need to clear hostiles from the area, to allow our ferret wing to deploy ground troops in force to take the tower.  Once combat starts... you're on the clock.  They'll be on to you and it'll only be a matter of time before reinforcements bleed back to grief you from the front.  Be quick or be dead boys and girls.  Individual command details are to follow for the command staff.  We're throwing everything we have left at this one so we better not screw it up."

Johan nodded reflexively at Nate's words, only half hearing.  His mind was distracted by his father's death these days.  It was true that the old man lacked ambition, piloted poorly and only managed to be a colonel.  But he also helped to mediate his mother's moods and ambitions.  Now, the whole damn thing was going to unravel.  It was bad enough that Johan's older siblings listened to her every word and did her bidding, but now he himself was expected to as well.  His father had tried to shield the younger Johan from all that...moving him away to a mercenary company no less.  Johan expected to get his transfer order...any day now.  But in the meantime, he would make the most of it.  His focus zoomed back to the present.

"That makes sense.". Johan agreed, tracing his finger along the underwater approach route.  "The conventional units are going to have a hard time though, hopefully, they'll stay out of trouble a bit with their LRMs.". Johan understood why mechs were superior with their all-terrain deployment capabilities, even if their movement and firepower sometimes didn't match that of certain tanks.  "Are you thinking of coming along to get a first hand account with your Enforcer?  It's been a while, hasn't it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:13, Sun 19 Feb 2012.

Nate shook his head, "Oh, I'll be there alright, along with 2nd Company, and a little help from the other battalions, were going to be feining 6th Battallion attacking from the east on a broad front.  Conventionals approaching from the obvious directions should keep them preoccupied as you make your exit out of the water.  If we push hard enough we should draw the bulk of the defenders away from the starport which should make your jobs easier."