Army of the Southern Cross

[Sherwood]

Heinrich fires a burst from his gun pod, and manages to catch the retreating pod in the back. It stumbles and falls, leaving only one Zentraedi unit left over.

Psychie is up

Initiative Order
23 - Adrian -155/0/155 [3]
20 - Heinrich -70/60/30 [3]
10 - Moira -105/0/105 [3] <====
7 - Eric 175/360/175 [2]
4 - Fia [2]
4 - Black Cats 1-4 [2]
3 - Regult 12 [2] damaged - retreating

 

[Psychie]

Transforming back into Battloid mode, Moira takes careful aim before firing off a burst with her gun pod.

 

[Sherwood]

It is at extreme range for your gun pod that Moira fires on the retreating Battle Pod. With your careful aim and years of combat skill that makes the shot possible, and you manage to connect with the enemy unit and destroy it, eliminating the last of the Zentraedi units.

Moving out of combat time.

The squadron leader of the Black Cats makes her way over to the assembled hover tanks. "Damn! You guys took one hell of a pounding. Pretty ballsy, taking on a group of Zentraedi that outnumber you four to one! I'm not sure that I would take on those odds in our little VFs. I'm Lt. Diane Esparza, call sign Spooky. Which one of you is the head of this motley band? Don't forget that you owe the four of us a beer, and I plan on collecting!" The other three pilots in their black painted Logans echo her with enthusiasm.

At this point, Eric says, "Sergeant, my rig is chewed up pretty bad, and I am in need of some serious armor repair work."

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"Sarge, with all due respect to command and your position, but I was pretty damn useless today. Shield's are nearing the red and fucking software seems to be bloody buggy. I respectfully request some repairs and maybe an upgrade for my tank when all this is said and done, sir. My armaments make me practically useless on the field. Maybe a bigger tank, better guns, better pods, anything really that could help increase my survivability and punching power against the enemy would help."

He took a deep breath before continuing, "I would want to say more but we're with polite company at the moment and I am bloody furious too. A shot at the bar might calm my nerves too. Heaven knows we need the booze." Adrian said, he was standing at attention, his eyes were slightly smoldering in anger, but surprisingly he was extremely calm when he said all that.

 

[Orikanyo]

"Understood Adrian, i'll get on that the moment we drag our asses home. Eric, take time to patch up what you can to keep her running, we'll head out as soon as you are ready. Good shooting folks." he rattled off his orders before addressing their saviors. "A pleasure Lieutenant, i'm sergeant Heinrich Schnieder, and I shall see to you get your drink. Can't let fine shooting like that go unrewarded! No callsign yet in our group, sure enough they will come." he chuckled, before touting his gun to watch the forrest.

"Command this is Sergeant Schneider. Threat has been neutralized, 12 regult, 2 artillery pods, one glaug, and 6 FPAs downed with help of the black cats. Requesting permission to return to base to repair, we have taken damage across our whole squad, and need patching up."

 

[Sherwood]

Eric replies, "You got it, Sarge. I suggest we make our way back to the village; our trailers are still there and I might be able to wrangle a few extra hands to help me patch up this Swiss cheese tank of mine."

The response from Anton-17 is relayed through the Tiger Eye orbiting high above the battlefield. "Good shooting, Hussars and Black Cats! That fighting group of Zentraedi would have been a real thorn in our side if they had managed to get past you. We are requesting additional air assets be assigned to the area just in case the Malcontents decide to send another bunch of mecha through there, thinking that there won't be any units to slow them down now that you are RTB for repairs. Make the best time you can on your way back, and we'll get you patched up soonest."

If you return to the small village and spend enough time for Eric to do some basic repair work on his tank, he can be ready to go in roughly an hour with a rough patchwork repair done to his main body armor and shields. It is nowhere near full, but the little bit might be the difference between coming back alive and buying it in the middle of the jungle. While he is doing that, everyone is able to refill their supply of main gun shells back to full from the ammo you have in the trailers.

As Eric works, he looks over at Adrian. "If you want, I can work on getting a regular Spartas modified to hold a couple of EW pods to give you the electronic warfare capability you have now with the Myrmidon. It might cost you the tri-laser in your tank mode, but it would give you the option of heavier firepower and better armor. The downside is that you'd be a little slower, but not by that much. How does that sound to you?"

 

[Psychie]

Moira gives her damaged rig a playful slap on the side as she dismounts. "She took a beating, but came through strong! I love the hover tank!" She then looks over at the beat up Myrmidon and Adrian. "Don't put your scout tank down too much; it saved your life against the missile attack you took. But, knowing you are in a full sized Spartas with the extra armor and ability to reach out and touch the bad guys with the main gun will let me rest easier." Moira then spend a few minutes working to top off her supply of shells. After all, you can never have too much ammo.

 

[Psychie]

As she hefts a shell into the Spartas' ammo drum, Moira looks over at Eric. "Y'know, I might be willing to get some of those EW pods myself on my tank. They have a effective jamming range longer than even the sabot round of the 105mm, and increasing our EW capabilities by having a second tank with the jamming pods can only help us. How many of the EW pods do you think you can fit into the space being used by the tri-laser?"

 

[Sherwood]

Eric pauses in his welding to take a drink from his canteen before responding. "I'm not entirely sure; at least two, maybe three. Just depends on how bulky the EW pods are when I take the electronics out of their protective shielding." He looks at the arm shield/housing for the tri-laser and rubs his chin. "It does look like it has plenty room, and that will give your tanks quite a powerful set of radars on them. Yeah, I can make this work, so long as the old man signs off on the changes." He pokes his thumb over his shoulder at Heinrich to show just who he means by the 'old man'.

 

[Orikanyo]

A shiver went up the man as Eric spoke "Say that again and I will have an accident the next time you are shot." the man growled, before getting back to his tank. "I'm not old enough to be called that, not by a mile. But put towards your choice and I shall make it happen, if available. So long as you never call me old man again."

 

[Sherwood]

Eric laughs, "Far be it for me to argue with a senior NCO! No more 'old man' comments, I promise."

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"So I'll get my tank in exchange for the tri-lasers, eh? I'll take that in exchange for the pods. The Spartas has the Gun Pods anyway for the rechargeable attack capabilities and the main gun for that long-range fighting, just gotta store a shit ton of bullets now...or that huge ass particle cannon I've heard about. Beats the old girl that only has a short range gun. Would it be too much to ask if I ask for some sensor spoofers from the Myrmidon with it? It would be pretty hilarious if the enemy can't find a large ass tank on the field now. Like a fat ninja stalking his prey. Also it'll be like a marriage between the two machines, utility and firepower..." He trailed off as he gazed at The Ol' Girl, his Myrmidon.

She did came through for him, but it seems that the changing battlefield might not be enough for her in the near future.

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

He taps the exterior of The Ol' Girl before turning to Eric. "Maybe you can gut the sensors of The Ol' Girl and integrate them to the Spartas too? Bloody good sensors these Myrmidons have compared to the Spartas. Damn, sorry Ol' Girl, but you need a make-over or maybe some surgery."

 

[Orikanyo]

"Alright, whos ready to head back? Fia? Moira? Eric? Adrian? lets get a move on and get back to the village, do the on spot repairs while checking in on them, and then head back to the base. Before any more hostiles show up to commit suicide." the man laid out his orders before shifting his tank back into it's hover tank mode. "We can discuss the exchange later on, along with provide a report on the functionality of the EW pods, we've collected field data they would most certainly love to see in R&D."

 

[Psychie]

Moira nods. "I'm all set to hover. Just give the word, and I'll be there." She does wonder if the sensor spoofers on the Myrmidon can be successfully added to the Spartas, and if so, how well they would work.

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"Right away, Sarge." Adrian climbed back on his Myrmidon and began to set the machine back to hover. "I really want to see if it's possible, even a tiny bit, that the pods, sensors, and the spoofers can be added to the Spartas. It would be one badass tank on the field if it does..."

 

[Sherwood]

After making a stop at the village to get the trailers attached once more to your tanks, you start on your path back to Anton-17. Fortunately for your aching armor, you manage to make you way back to the outpost with no other encounters with rogue Zentraedi. As you pull into the armored bunker that the mecha are stored in, the techs are already there, waiting for you with sour looks on their faces.
One steps up to Eric's tank and says, "Daymn! You got tore up from the floor up! We had heard that you guys ran into trouble out there, but this is going to take some time to fix up."
Eric lets out a laugh. "You should see the other guys! They got it a lot worse than we did."
"Yeah, I guess so. It will still be a while before your rig is up and at full again. Hope you're in no hurry."

As you are unpacking your field gear from your mecha, you can see Capt. Cruz coming up from the command bunker to talk. "I heard that you guys ran into a real kerfuffle out there. Wanted to see for myself just how well your new mecha came through the fight, and hear the straight word on how well they did."

 

[Psychie]

Moira snaps to the position of attention when the captain comes up. "Ma'am, the new tanks held their own against the Zentraedi very well. I took some hits there that would have blown me out of my old mecha, but the Spartas' handled it like a champ. We do have some ideas on some modifications we'd like to make to upgrade the capabilities of the units, and hopefully, we won't have any trouble getting the parts we are requesting."

 

[Orikanyo]

heinrich snapped a salute to the captain once he had climbed out to greet her. "The Spartas handled the group well enough, the main issue was the electronic warfare pods, which proved to be.. less successful. there has been a few requests made by the squad for a change in tank for Corporal hawthrone, something with a more palpable cannon, appears to be the general consensus." he continued to relay the information before telling the Captain of the work they did for the village and then the great aide the Black Cats provided.

Spread the praise to those whom deserved it.

"it however seems we have taken a beating, even with coming out on top it seems. Perhaps we bit off abit more then we could chew at the end of the day, but the mission was successful."

 

[Sherwood]

Capt. Cruz nods in understanding. "With every new mecha out there, there is a bit of a learning curve to get the most out of your vehicle. I am glad to see that all of your people have come through this in good shape, and I will make sure to let Lt. Esparza of the Black Cats know you have put in a good word about her and her people." She reaches up to adjust her glasses, obviously thinking back to her own days behind the stick of a Veritech before her eyes got her grounded. "From the way you are talking, you already have a good idea of what gear you would like to see added to your mecha. Do you have a list?"

Eric nods. "Yes, ma'am. I know that some of this might be a little out of reach for us right now, but whatever you can get ahold of for our team would be great."

She takes the tablet from the big man. "I make no promises, but I will see what I can do. In the meantime, get your after action reports filled out and sent in, with as much detail on what you found going wrong with the EW systems of the Myrmidon. With as active as the Malcontents have been out there lately, I would strongly suggest that your team get another Spartas to replace the lighter recon tank, and we can leave the Myrmidon in the garage for special missions."

 

[Sherwood]

During the course of the next week, while your tanks are under repair, you have some down time to do some training of your new skills and practice in the simulators to hone your skills to a new level. One of the supply sergeants come to tell Adrian and Heinrich that a new Spartas will be air dropped to supplement your team, along with a few much needed supplies requested for the upgrades on Adrian's and Moira's tanks.

Once the parts are picked up, Eric dives into tearing the two tanks, pulling out the tri-lasers from both tanks to replace them with the EW pods. Working on Adrian's new mecha first, he does manage to get three of the EW pods into the space formally occupied by the laser, and he also pulls out the sensors from the Myrmidon and installs them into the Spartas. He goes up to Adrian as he is working, "I have been looking at getting the heat baffles and sensor spoofers from the Myrmidon installed on your rig, but there is a question of room for all of that stuff. If you want them, I might be forced to downgrade your main body armor slightly, but you would still have more armor than the Myrmidon, and you would have both your shields which are rated with more armor than the standard main body armor of the Spartas."

Spoiler: OOC

AldarisLordOfLight Basically, you would lose 100 points of armor off of your main body, and you would have your Transport mode speed drop from 100 mph to 80 mph. This would give you the same sensor package as the Myrmidon, along with the stealth ability of the lighter tank. It would put your main body armor at 375, with 500 point arm shields.

Psychie , you can get the same three EW pods with the replacement of the tri-laser.

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"Do it, Eric. We'll call this an experiment if you will. If this marriage would be a success both in production and on the field, then command would possibly have a new line of tanks capable of going in undetected till the last minute and can go head-to-head against a heavy opponent and can match them gun for gun. The loss of armor is a shame but it's a necessity I'm willing to take. Besides, I've got you guys watching my ass so I'll be fine." The man smiled in the end as he gave a thumbs up.

 

[Psychie]

Moira gives the big pilot a playful slap on the shoulder. "It sounds great. Make the change on my tank, too. With the two of us doing long range EW attacks on the enemy, followed up with heavy duty gun play, we'll make short work of anyone foolish enough to take on the ASC."

Spoiler

I'll make the change to my tank on my character sheet.

 

[Sherwood]

During the next several days as Eric and the tech squad are busy working on Moira's and Adrian's tanks, the two of you are serving your duty time in the command center, working the comms and helping to analyze intel that is coming in. The rest of you are continuing to pull patrol duty, making stops along the way at the various villages and towns in the area making friends with the locals. Dr. Schnieder is doing well in that department, making house calls and treating the sick.

It is also in this block of time that Heinrich is able to make good on his promise to buy the girls of the Black Cat Squadron a beer at the bar in La Fuente. The four ladies are all very pleasant for TASC officers of the ASC, with only a little bit of ribbing for having to come to your rescue with the Zentraedi forces earlier. Lt. Esparza makes sure that her squad doesn't get too plastered, but everyone is feeling pretty good as everyone calls it a night and returns to your various bases.

A week wraps up as the mods on Adrian's tank are finally complete, and everyone is once more being tasked to go on a patrol, looking for Zentraedi forces trying to make trouble for the UEG. This time, there is no trailer being used; you are just making a relatively short run about, and you are not due to be away from Anton-17 for more than a day or two.

 

[Psychie]

Moira has the techs change up her mix of shells for this run out, thinking that the last time there were many times that a AoE shell was just what was needed to wrap up the fight faster.

Spoiler: Ammo Loadout

15 Sabot
10 Plasma
10 MPAT
5 HEAT
5 Canister
3 Smoke