Lapeidra double-checks her radio to make sure she has a secure channel with Markus.
"I hate to give away our position to a pair of disabled Commandos. On the other hand if they spot us we give away our advantage. We could let them get a little closer and then blast them and deal with whatever comes next. What do you think?"
Sounds good, I could only bring my large laser into range at most, and I would have to run full speed for that. Far better to setup an Alphastrike as they close in further
Ill be going for some extra psychological damage by blaring Lyran propaganda at them. Imagine actually getting scouted by Steiners.
He adds with a smirk.
Markus also makes sure its the secure channel.
Having recovered as best they can, the two pirate Commandos continue limping their way forward. Having just been pummeled by the aerospace fighters, it isn't surprising that the two mechs limp toward the relative safety of the trees. What is surprising is the sudden flickering and building white noise that is enveloping the sensor screens of both Markus and Lapeidra as they wait in ambush. Although the two Commando's are still in sight and dead in the crosshairs of the waiting Stormhammers, what lies deeper in the opposing forest just got a little harder to see.
Skimming the encrypted files, Charly and Lloyd ponder the possibilities and look to try and transfer the data.
In the command office, Gunny leaps across the barrier. Roarke fires but the veteran Stormhammer is too quick and throws the pirate's arm aside. Bullets blast into the ceiling. A quick left to the gut, then his right hand cracks hard against Roarke's gun knocking it from the pirates grip.
"Now what?"
Roarke's only reply is a snarl and his own left streaking toward Gunny's jaw.
Roarke: 1/3 phy stress; 1/3 mental stress
GUTEN TAG!
Markus unleashes a hopefull point black alphastrike on the enemy
Picking up a jenner and a phoenix hawk behind them. Transmitting coordinates. Markus broadcasts to both Lapeidra and Lt. Tate.
Oh, Lietuenent Tate, booze is on me, your wingman is invited, great "Scouting"! He makes secondary pitch
Lapeidra scowls at her worthless sensor array, foiled so easily by enemy jamming attempts.
She lights up her PPC behind Markus assault.
“So, you got a little fight left. I was hoping you did.” Gunny remarks just before lunging forward with what he hopes is an unexpected head but.
Lloyd plugs in another little device he pulls from a pocket. "I always keep a spare something to store data on, just in case," he comments as he starts the copy.
Lloyd takes a moment to rummage through his pockets to pull out what appears to be a standard datastick. But unlike most common portable storage methods, this happens to be a Terradyne Systems Little Traveler IS Type III Comstar Certified Datastick. Unlike many technology manufacturers of the 29th century, Terradyne Systems managed to maintain a backward compatibility on most of its storage and interface hardware. Thus they are some of the only devices able to easily connect to systems across the fractured Inner Sphere and dating all the way back to the Star League era. For the computer savvy Lloyd, they are well with the few extra C-Bills.
Popping the datastick into the proper port, it is just a matter of a few archaic command prompt commands before the data is busily being transferred to the mobile device. Of course a downside to these ancient systems on backwater planets is that 'high' and 'speed' were not part of the computing equation. Thus a good five minutes pass as the engineers journals continue to download.
It is while the pump system console's hard drive whirs that Charly notices a blinking light above the Tunnel 4 comm link.
Meanwhile up in the central control office, Gunny feints to his left. After barely avoiding a hard left hook from Roarke, the tricky veteran dips his shoulder only to then step in closer to his foe. A moment later his forehead aims directly for the pirates nose. But Roarke has been in plenty of bar fights. He's seen the move before and although his earlier punch didn't connect it did allow him to shift to a bit better footing.
The pirate twists about at the last moment causing the brunt of Gunny's headbutt to land harmlessly on the pirate's shoulder. Taking a step back, Roarke counter's with a pair of quick jabs while trying to keep his distance from Jack and Walter who both warily close the net around the pirate.
[ooc]Roarke gets Boost from Tie on Attack]
The bandit mechs slowly make their way forward. Finally after what seems like months of waiting Markus throttles his Phoenix Hawk from his hidden position and strides forward a few paces. From his higher viewpoint he is able to briefly catch a glimpse of the slack jawed surprise and the rising fear in the Commando pilots eyes before all is awash in ruby and emerald laser fire. His large laser slices through the small mechs heavy missile system and on its way several several key coolant lines. Bright green coolant bursts forth like alien gore as the twin medium laser burrow deeper and deeper into the bandit mech's core.
For a few sorrowful seconds the mech continues to stagger and lurch forward but it is clear that a damaged leg and a nearly annihilated gyro are too much for the pilot to handle. A staccato series of ops erupts around the cockpit as the emergency escape systems are activated. A moment later and the mechwarrior is sailing high into the air above the collapsing scout.
Not needing to move up at all, Lapeidra unleashes a blast of fusion powered lightning upon the second Commando just as Markus emerges from cover. Instinctively slamming his mech hard to the right, the pilot tries to avoid the oncoming blast. Unfortunately the damaged leg simply isn't up to the task. The scout takes the full brunt of the Panther's Lord's Light PPC. The power of the blast knocks the 25-ton machine back a pace as it melts sensor systems, overcharges various relays and capacitors, and as it incinerates several sections of the lightweight mech's right side and center. Smoke billows from the blackened cavern that used to house the Shannon missile system and indeed all that remains of the Defiant B3M medium laser is a twisted section of metal and static sparks. Weaponless and barely functioning, the second Commando pilot follows their companion and ejects into the wet, windy fury of the storm.
Across the clearing several trees rattle and sway awkwardly as the Phoenix Hawk and Jenner both hurry forward to try and get eyes on the Stormhammers and come to the already too late aide of their companions.
Unpleased that his backstreet tactic didn’t catch the pirate off guard, Gunny quickly snaps back into a fighting stance. While swirling his fist in small circles, he becomes the spitting image of an old-school boxer. “Well now. That was some fancy foot work son. Looks like I'm going to have work a little harder to get the job done.” He stated just before ducking behind his left arm in order to block a couple light jabs.
After spitting what remained of his smashed cigar on the ground, Gunny stepped slightly closer and delivered a fake left-handed jab. During the process, he included a swift kick to the man’s groin.
Lapeidra looks on dispassionately as the Commandos are reduced to scrap. She will have to do a lot better than that against actually moving, fully-functional targets.
She pushes her Panther forward and into range, squaring her big gun at the enemy Phoenix Hawk.
Seeing the light, Charly looks for a switch to activate the comm link.
HAHAHAHA HEIMLICHKEIT IST OPTIONAL! ABER EFFEKTIV! BEGINNE MIT VORBEREITUNGEN ZUR AUFKLÄRUNG DES PHOENIX HAWKS
::Hahahah! Stealthiness is optional! But effective! Will continue to recon-neuter the Phonix hawk::
Markus, being greatly out of range, vents heat and holds position, while engaging in some psychological warfare. Specifically by pretending with some f&##ery that both his blasts and Lapeidras came from the same mech, thus suggesting a far heavier antagonist more likely to be in a Steiner scout lance, which he partly does on an open channel.
Lloyd notes Charly looking around. "Did something catch your eye?" he asks, until he notes the blinking comm. "Oh. You're going to get that?"
"If I can figure out how," Charly says.
It takes her a moment or two, but Charly finds the appropriate button and opens the incoming channel. She's immediately blasted with a flurry of profanity punctuated by background by the occasional cry or outburst in the background along with the sound of cascading water.
"...the hell kind'a beast are you!" The man shouts. His voice is tired and afraid but the fear is overridden by a thick layer of anger and desperation. "We've got women...kids...down here. For god's sake Roarke, ain't no one down here who can bother you or Deigo or that boss man of yours. Just turn on the damned lift and get us outta here before we all drown."
Somewhere further away from the mic you hear a woman's voice. Her hurried, clipped phrases are hard to hear but you manage to make out 'pumps' and 'working.' The grinding sound of the microphone shifting.
"Praise god, you've at least had the decency to turn on the pumps, but the water's gushing like piss from a drunkard down here. They ain't keepin' up. You hear me Roarke! The damned pumps aren't enough!"
In the central office Roarke is in no place to hear or care about the predicament of the hostages down in the depths of the mine. The street fighter gets caught flatfooted and completely unprepared for Gunny's boot as it flashes out and snap into that most delicate and sensitive of bodily regions. The pirates eyes bulge as his lips gasp like a fish out of water and he doubles over dropping to his knees. Within moments Jack, Walter, and a bleeding Shauna have the pirate grappled and well in hand before he can even think about breathing or seeing clearly again.
Lapeidra unleashes the fury of her PPC upon the advancing Phoenix Hawk. The enemy pilot still uncertain of the exact situation is surprised and catches the blow dead center. Armor slags off it great chunks as the man-made lightning slams into the mech. Even more the electrical blast trigger a series of unfortunate circuit overloads that cascade through the mech's system and happen to spark within the Hawk's stores of machine gun ammunition. Warning alarms instantly rattle the pilot and the bandit only gets a little over half of the load ejected before the cascading explosion ripples through the innards of the mech. Bullets ping and prattle within cockpit leaving the pilot bloodied and momentarily stunned. Adding to the man's misery, the indicator light on one of his secondary lasers instantly goes from green to bright red.
A smoke billows around the ]Phoenix Hawk, Markus begins to spout Steiner propaganda across the airwaves. Although neither really understand the ancient Teutonic phrases, they each know well enough House Steiner and its love of heavier 'scouting' companies. Given the near instantaneous destruction of two of their comrades and the hard blast taken by the larger of the two pirates, both determine that a strategic retreat toward their own fellow bandits is the more sensible and survivable option. Both pirate mechs turn and run back into the cover of the trees.
Phoenix Hawk: 5/9 armor; 16/18 Internal (ML Damaged)
Charly looks to Lloyd, panic clearly starting to bubble up from wherever she'd buried it.
"This is Stormhammer Six. We activated the pumps from the pump control room. Is there a way to get to the lift systems from the terminal here," she asks, choking the fear by focusing on the current problem.
Lloyd looks a bit startled at the words from the comm unit. He quickly looks over at the terminal.
"I doubt there's a way, but listen. The shooting's stopped. If we get up to the main control room we can probably hack into the lift quick enough." He turns and rushes back the way they came, heading for the main office.
After hearing Charly’s transmission, Gunny keyed his helmet mic. “I’m not sure if the controls here are accessible or not, but the room is now secure. You can safely enter now.”
While watching the rest of the group secure the pirate, Gunny snickers slightly. “Man, that’s got to hurt.” was his only comment about the situation.
After looking over at what was left of his cigar, he took a deep breath. “I suppose that’s the cost of doing business.” He stated while patting himself down for a replacement. Unfortunately, what he feared, was in fact the case. That hump of smashed tobacco was in fact his last cigar. “It’s going to be a long ride home.”
Charly turns back to the comm feed to the mines below.
"Don't worry, we're going to get you out," she says before running for the main control room.
Switching to a private frequency
Excellent scouting Lapeidra!
He then switches to his con connection with Vikhas
Vikhas, this is stormhammer actual, 2 bandits, Commandoes, destroyed by aerospace, 1 phoenix hawk heavily damaged and retreating damage pattern indicates ammo explosion, 1 jenner undamaged, also retreating. Visual confirmaton on 2 ejections from the Commando-mechs. He reports matter of factly.
Transmitting secondary ambush site as navpoint Theta. The more we harry them, they less entrenched they can get in the mountains, the less losses Jannisaries and heavier units will take in dislodging them.
If they get their shit together, we disengage.
Switching back to Lapeidras frequency
If they do what Steiners would do and yolo-charge us, let us focus fire on the Jenner, we can outrun the rest if we need to disengage. My guess is that they will clump up in a big mass, and trudge towards where they think we are, making them a good target for an aerospace attack. We spot them, hit them a bit, fade, and then circle back behind them. They will likely have some supply vehicles in their rear, and rumors of a Steiner scout lance may just cause them to commit whatever they have as a rearguard to the front.
Hearing the central office is secured, Lloyd and Charly race back up. One their way, the two techs utter a string of curses as they both notice the collapsed area and mass of the former Whirlwind Autocannon sitting atop the central lift. Even if they activate the mechanism, it was going to take time to clear the debris and insure the thing was still sound enough to bring the hostages back up to the surface.
Entering the office, the two mechwarriors can't help to start at the stench of gunsmoke, blood, and death that fills the small room. A half dozen pirate bodies are sprawled about the place along with a handful of the rebellious civilians. A single man groans in the corner where Gunny stands looking a bit forlorn at the remains of a crushed cigar stub.
Walter and a bleeding Shauna glare at Roarke. The woman especially has murder in her eyes when the pirate slowly shakes his head at her demands to bring the prisoners up to the surface.
"Even...if...had...code." He gasps out painfully. "...can't. Look...for...yourself...your friends...fu&^ed it...all...when tower ...collapsed."
"Then I guess we got no reason to keep you breathing, you s^%t eating scum." Shauna growls raising her gun as her eyes glisten with hatred, fear, and helpless frustration.
Dragging their eyes away from the scene both begin searching the office for the lift controls. It takes several minutes, but finally they find the correct panel. Another series of curses as both find power to the console has been cut.
Charly finds it hard to focus as she sees the damage to the lifts and the carnage in the control room. After a few minutes, she leaves for relatively cleaner air to try clearing her head.
The issue of how to clear the pumps keeps nagging at her and she runs outside to see what heavy equipment was on hand for the job.
After a quick inspection, Gunny begins pointing at different spots around the lift. “It looks like this area isn’t that damaged. With a little elbow grease, I think we could fix this problem. Look, that cable could easily be spliced together. And look over here. The lifts frame is solid here. What do you think Jack?” Gunny ask’s the master Technician while continuing his inspection.
Lapeidra continues to eat static on her sensor array, but at the moment she can only sit tight and wait the next strafing run called in by Markus.
"Ten-four, Markus."
Lloyd looks around at the damage in the control room. "You say we could fix the lift? If we can't get things working here we might be able to just bypass the controls and directly run the lift..."
It doesn't take much to notice the doubt in his tone.
"Acknowledged Stormhammers. Theta plotted. Know that we've little intel to add. Weather and terrain are making damned impossible to get a clear picture of anything down there." Vikkhaus relays to Markus and Lapeidra. "Best we can tell is they've shifted course slightly to intercept the old Cederville mine. Best you get your people out of there asap."
Conversing on the move, the two mechwarriors arrive at point Theta just a handful of minutes before their now more cautious pursuers. Settling into positions that are once again on opposite sides of a clearing. This time a rushing creek runs through the meadow. Its banks overflow with the rain creating a murky swamp in several areas. Something Markus quickly discovered as his Phoenix Hawk sinks up to its knees in the muck. Fortunately, a quick burst of his jump jets was enough to pull the mech free and clear of the grabbing mud. Learning from Markus, Lapeidra skips across on her own jump jets before finding her chosen ambush spot.
The ticking seconds seem to pass excruciatingly slowly but then a ping lights up their screens. The Jenner is back. The scout is slow to appear across the meadow. Choosing instead to stick to the cover of the trees as it pauses to take a long look at the meadow ahead.
Lapeidra tunes in Markus on the private channel. "They know we're here, somewhere and they're baiting us to come out and play. The longer this takes the more time we buy for the rest of the team in the mine."
She minimizes her heat signature and counts on the rain to obscure any renaming noise from sensors. The old seat in her Panther feels hard, uncomfortable. Rain bets down on the cockpit canopy, a relentless drum roll. She's on sensory overload with the stress of battle and the shit weather.
Ja genau Markus replies in assent, his stress being obvious by slipping into his native german
Abwarten, feuerschlag, and zhen we make zeh most obvious ambush evar on ze road to ze mine, to deter zem, while we exfiltrate our team and possible rescuees! He switches to heavily germanically accented english.
Markus waits in silence otherwise as the jenner creeps closer.
No one had noticed up to this point. It wasn't until Jack failed to reply to Gunny's keen eyed suggestions about fixing the lift that Gunny, Lloyd and Charly take a closer look at their companion. A thin stream of blood trickles down just in front of his right ear and his eyes are slow to respond as Gunny flashes a light across the mechwarrior's face.
With a curse, the old veteran steps over and quickly spots where the bloody lump on Jack's scalp. The blow, whether from a fall or one of the bandits no one could really tell, doesn't look life threatening, but it was clearly enough to scramble the mechwarrior's marbles just a bit.
Walter comes over and puts a sterile bandage on the wound. "I've a bit of first aide training." The miner says peering at the wound while a glassy-eyed Jack mutters something about science and cranes scouting the enemy with fuchsia colored PPC's. It makes little sense. "Cracked his head is all. He'll likely be right as rain in a little while, but best keep him still and awake for now. I think I've got something for the swelling in my kit somewhere." He adds, starting rummage about in a small cloth bag.
With a blood soaked bandage wrapped around her shoulder, Shauna steps up and looks out over the chaos of the central chamber. Her eyes flick back and forth between the old ceiling crane and the debris riddled floor.
"Far as I know the crane still works." She says frowning at the damaged ceiling. "If we could get it closer to pull the debris free of the lift." She winces as she shrugs her shoulder. "I'd do it, but, well, it takes two good hands to run that old beast."
Gunny spent a lifetime learning how to make do when things seem impossible. This situation wasn’t much different. After looking over the crane, he determines that he somewhat understands its controls and begins brining it online. The process was slower than he had expected, due to the buildup of caked on grease and muck. Before long the old crane fired up and began grinding harshly as it started to move into position.
Using the crane, Gunny removed some of the larger items off the lift. Once the last of the heavy objects were removed, he headed over and took another look at the lift. “Looks like the main problem is the lift's primary cable. It's severed. I saw a similar cable over on one of the other machines that could be used to splice it back together. I could use a hand dragging it over, if someone's free.” Using the crane's hoist and Jack's special tool, Gunny managed to fasten a temporary repair. “There that should work.” he declared while searching one of his pockets for a cigar. “Life sucks.” He stated quietly as he remembered that his last cigar was destroyed while performing a headbutt on the pirate leader. Well, it is what it is.”
He shouted up to the control room and then carefully observed the lift's operation.
Lloyd lends a hand where he can in moving the crane and repairing the lift. As he helps with the lift he searches for its control connections, thinking he could just splice into it and take a guess at what the control commands probably are.
Once it's in working order he gives it his best shot, aiming for something that won't cause damage in case he's wrong.
Charly does what she can to help Lloyd get the crane working again.
The Jenner creeps a bit further into the open area, but remains on the other side of the stream and out of range of all but Lapiedra's PPC. Along the edge of the forest, the badly wounded Phoenix Hawk makes an appearance flanked by a Shadow Hawk and a Blackjack. The trio of medium mechs lurk just under the cover of the trees obviously waiting for the lighter weight scout to get on with the job of navigating the swampy meadow.
Warning lights of active sensor scans blink to life across both Markus and Lapeidra's displays. But whatever system the pirate is using seems to be having trouble breaking through the interference giving the two Stormhammer pilots a chance to keep themselves hidden.
It takes Lloyd about ten minutes, but with Charly's help the two get the lift panel up and running while Gunny works on clearing the debris. Another few minutes and the computer wiz has managed to restore power and bypass the basic security and lockout protocol put in place by Diego. The trick was to directly access one of the more recent diagnostic backups and use the saved data and settings to restore the system to its pre-pirate tampered state.
With the main lift control back online, Lloyd is able to run a full system check and confirms the winch is clear and functioning properly. Meanwhile Shauna is on the comm doing her best to offer reassurance to those still trapped below while a pair of Walter's followers help Gunny splice and replace the cable.
Finally, Gunny gives the thumbs up and okays a test. Lloyd initiates the system and sends the lift descending into the depths of the mine. Instead of the smooth quiet operation of most modern lifts, this poor abused bit of equipment screeches and squeals the entire time as slightly bent shafts or grime infused gears churn back to life. But despite the cacophony the lift does reach the bottom and a few moments later, the first handful of hostages spill free to collapse happily onto the dry, solid floor. The process repeats itself a half dozen more times until all of the prisoners have been freed.
Those who've been brought up are greeted by their families and friends along with warm blankets and hot food from somewhere.
Suddenly an alarm blares and the entire mechanism stops cold. Lloyd looks at the screen and warning lights flash. There's a great snapping sound and then a horrific grinding of metal on metal as the cable breaks sending the lift plunging into the depths. A moment later the boom of the impact rumbles up from below.
Feeling plenty of relief at the fact no one was still aboard the lift when it finally gave way for good, it takes a little while for Lloyd or Charly to notice the blinking external comm link.
Lloyd breathes a quiet sigh of relief that they were able to get everyone before the lift failed, which transitions to a frown when he notes the blinking comm link.
"We've got a message from outside," he says. "Do you think it's the others? More trouble on the way? I'm finding out."
He flicks the comm link on.
"That looks like trouble," says Lapeidra to Markus.
She deftly defeats the sensor scan, giving them only static.
At the mention of possibly more trouble, Charly's blood runs cold. Her old Uncle Jasper Huang had often said that when it rains it pours when things seemed to all go wrong at once, and the irony of being in the middle of a rainstorm while living through that old aphorism is not something she appreciates.
I am scouting, I am scouting! Markus thinks, almost as if in disbelief
One joint salvo at the Jenner, then we book it, Lapeidra, they all use direct fire weapons for the most part, keeping hills or even just trees in between will help in getting away
Viklas, this is stormhammer actual, iding several addititional hostile mechs. Blackjack, Shadowhawk, the damaged phoenix hawk from before, Jenner. Will prick them and then book it.
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Gunny had been working diligently to keep the lift operating in order to accommodate the multiple trips it had to make. The rusted, grim covered machine had seen better days and the collapse of the tower didn’t make the situation any better. Through shear ingenuity, he was able to throw together a makeshift repair that he knew wouldn’t last long. Working quickly, he applied pressure to the lift’s cable with an old prybar to keep the winch aligned as it made its way up and down the shaft. With each trip he noticed the cable begin to pull apart a little more. Counting the minutes, he did his best to keep it running, while knowing it was only a matter of time before it failed. He was very relieved when one of the captives told him that there were only a few people left. This led him to believe that the lift only had to make one final descent.
Unlike the previous trips, the lift seemed to struggle as if it were under a heavy load. During the process, it shuddered on more than one occasion, which brought about serious concerns from everyone in the room. Once the platform finally made it back, it became obvious why the winch was so overworked. The platform’s gate swung open, allowing a woman and her thirteen children to disembark. Independently the children weren’t much of a load, but that many on the lift at once, pushed the machine to its limits. Luckily, the last of the captives made it off the lift just in time.
A loud snap resonated across the entire facility as the cable’s makeshift repair splintered in two. Frayed cable lashed out, almost striking Gunny in the face, as the lift went crashing down below. The thunderous impact of the lift’s heavy platform striking the ground floor sent deep shockwaves throughout the entire top floor. Dust and debris filled the room, making it difficult to see. Even with the overwhelming dust, Gunny stood there, staring into the distance. His vision was heavily clouded by the dust, yet he stood there unblinking, unmoving, almost as if he were in a trance. The impact kept echoing, at least it did in his mind, bringing back some very old memories.
(Explosions erupted everywhere. The sound of the deep impacts drowned out the high-pitched screams that dominated the area just moments before the battlefield had been blanketed with cluster bombs. Gunny stood there in disbelief as the assault planes completed their strafing run. The damage was unbelievable. The planes literally left a wake of death in their path while they deployed thousands of explosives. Gunny’s heart sank, when the smoke cleared, and he saw his forward scout’s locust dangling over the side of a nearby cliff. He watched her struggle against the mech’s hatch as it slowly slid off the embankment and down to what could only be described as certain death. There simply wasn’t enough time to react. He remembered hearing his own heartbeat as time seemed to stand still. The look on her face, knowing her fate was eminent, became permanently etched in Gunny’s memory.)
Soon the dust settled, and Gunny was eventually jolted out of his frozen stare by the sound of the lift’s winch freezing up. Without delay, he quickly looked back over at the control room.
He blurted out while walking over to Shauna and Walter. “You and your people are free to go. We can provide a little security with our mech’s while you make your exit, but we should be heading back as soon as possible.”
He then looked directly over at Shauna. “You, little lady, are quite a pilot. It’s not every day I come across someone who can hand me my ass in combat. If you are ever in the market for mercenary work. Please let us know. We could use a skilled pilot like you.” He stated as he began helping the survivors prepare for their departure.
Although they are just equipped with the standard ECM suite, both Markus and Lapeidra manage to disguise their presence from the clearly less than adept bandit scout across the way. Finding nothing but static, rain, and marsh, the Jenner pilot finally gives in to the growing pressure of his companions. A point punctuated as the bandit Shadow Hawk fires a warning round just over the scout mech's chubby bird-like body.
Fearing more from behind than ahead, the scout leaps across the muddy marsh and directly into the crosshairs of the waiting Stormhammers. Markus is the first to unleash the emerald beam of his Harmon Heavy Laser.
The shot bores deep into the scouts torso armor as there simply isn't enough time for the hapless pilot to avoid the incoming beam. Armor melts away is great globs falling to hiss and pop on the cold, wet ground. But even worse for the bandit, the shot touches of two of the chambered missiles in the Jenner's launcher. The powerful explosive warheads detonate shredding more internal systems and sending shrapnel bursting into the tight confines of the cockpit. The man's screams are abruptly cut off as a single heavy bit of metal crashes into his neurohelmet splitting the vital bit of equipment open like an egg. That helmet probably saves the man's life but even so the blow severs his mental connection to the mech and knocks him unconscious as the cockpit fills with smoke and gas.
Following the shot by Markus, the enemy scout mech simply freezes in place, smoke billowing from its torso and seeping through several new cracks in the cockpit canopy.
*Beep*beep*beep*
The incoming comm light beeps and blinks until Lloyd opens the circuit.
"Dammit! Roarke...Deigo...what the hell are you two sheep diddlers doing out here?" The voice growls over the frequency. "We've got hostiles wandering around in your sector and Hutton's hotter than fried porky pine."
"S$%t!" The voice cuts off abruptly after the recognizable sound of something exploding. A moment later it kicks back in. "That rips it. Tate is down. You lot better git those tin cans you call mechs out here and help deal with this s$%tstorm or Hutton'll be feedin' your swizzle sticks to that damned mutt of his. This is your mess, you blasted well clean it up. You copy that?"
A pause.
"I said do you copy Deigo?"
Near the collapsed lift the dust is still settling as Gunny talks with Walter and Shauna. The man expresses his thanks several times, before waving everyone back into another underground section of the mine.
The area was once a large garage and maintenance bay for the mines heavy vehicles and equipment. Whatever used to be housed here was long ago cannibalized or stolen. But there are a trio of ancient tracked carriers. Covered in old mud and dirt, its clear the vehicles have seen plenty of use over the years. Although they look as used as a two-bit Solarian barfly, each one easily and quickly rumbles to life, ready to plow through the rugged Stettin terrain.
"We should be able to out run them in these." Walter says, helping load children and the wounded into the carriers. "They don't look like much, but they can make it through just about anything this planet can throw in the way. And we know a few ways through these mountains that only a fool would try in a mech."
"I'll thank you again for all your help." He adds running a quick hand across his face. "Doubt we would've got everyone out in time if it wasn't for your added firepower and quick thinking."
Shauna's brow furrows a bit at the little lady remark, but she quickly covers up any fiery retort as a young girl of about five wraps her arms around the Locust pilots leg. Her good arm gathers the girl up.
"Ha! Might have been worse if I'd had someone who could actually pilot a mech running with me instead of that bloated waste of oxygen, Deigo." She says while turning to head back out to the waiting Locust. "I hope you lot put a PPC through his cockpit."
"Do I get to ride with you mummy?" The girls says excitedly.
"That you do little girl." Shauna says, her entire voice and demeanor shifting completely into kind mom mode. "I'm not letting you outta my sight."
Turning back to Gunny, she smiles, but the gentle mom is clearly buried back behind a mask built on hard knocks and harder falls. But his offer of employment seems to catch her interest. "If your lot can get me and mine off this rock, I might consider signing on for a tour. I've had enough of trying to scrape out a living only to have some thief come along and claim it all as being their own." She turns and spits on a bandit corpse lying in the corridor. "I'm through trying to hide from the rest of the Inner Sphere like some of these lot would like to do." Her chin juts toward some of the scared, worried people who'd been stuck in the mine. "Only way to make sure you don't end up buried alive like they almost were, is to be tougher and stronger and meaner than those out to get you."
"If you're looking to recruit, there might be one or two others looking for a way out." She adds. "Not all mech pilots, but little Freddie Yates is pretty good with a welder and wrench. And Terri is a bang up Tech."
Markus having disabled the enemy Jenner, Lapeidra sits tight, not revealing her position yet.
"I'll get Shauna,"Charly whispers to Lloyd before running to where the Locust pilot is.
"I'm not the boss, but if you want the job, we need ya to bluff some pirates for us," Charly says in a rush.
Lloyd looks at Charly for a moment, an unvoiced question in his eyes, then he shrugs and turns back to the comm.
"Diego's a bit... indisposed right now," he says, trying to sound exhausted and frightened (which isn't far from the truth). "We got hit hard here too, I'm not sure what's actually still mobile any more. Roarke got hit too, not sure if he'll make it. Some of the civvies got uppity and hit the mine while we were fighting the attack off here, the idiots hit the lift... pretty sure everyone we were keeping down there's dead now."
He takes a deep breath to buy himself some time to think. "That... well, they went pretty crazy at that point. There's only a handful of us left alive here, and I think some of those crazies are still holed up outside somewhere. Last guy who poked his head out to take a look has a hole in it now. We can try to break out and get something running, but it's... it's not looking good."
Gunny nods a couple times during the conversation to emphasize the fact that he is clearly listening. “From where I’m standing, everything you just mentioned sounds good. Of course, we will need to detail everything out later and get it approved by command, but for now, tentatively, let’s assume we have the means to get you safely off this planet. Then we can sit down and work out the finer details. Anyway, it sounds like we could use a bit of your influence up in the control room.” After reaffirming his offer, he turns and starts heading up to the control room.
While in rout, Gunny keys his mic to the lance's designated channel. “Gunny to squad. The captives are in the clear. We are ready to reengage or extract, depending on the situation. We will be joined by Shauna and a couple of her crew, who are looking to possibly join us.”
Get saddled up, we are playing "walk into my trap idiots" with a sizeable force heading towards the mine. We reduced that force by 2 commandoes, but a wounded phonix hawk and Jenner, a blackjack and a shadow hawk remain for now.
Markus replies
We can perhaps get them into another trap, one where our we hit them from multiple sides.
Do you copy
"Thats a good copy Meatbag." Gunny replies.
After receiving Markus's transmission, Gunny joins the group in the control room. "Sounds like Markus and Lapeidra are scrapping with a couple medium sized mechs. I'm guessing they could use our help. We should head out and try to link up with them."