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Welcome To Jaguar Central
Check out my Photo Page to see action on Mizar (from 02/26/02)
CURRENT ENEMIES:
Clan Ghost Bear
Clan Jade Falcon
Clan Nova Cat
Clan Wolf
Clan Wolf in Exile
5th Ghost Regiment (Kurita)
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My Current Unit:
SUPER-NOVA ALPHA: MECH ELEMENTALS
TRINARY COMMAND: (The Black Panthers)
Colonel Torc Timber Wolf (A/S) 0/0 42
Captain Hawk Dire Wolf(SJ) 2/3 7
Sgt. Shaggy(N.C.)Dire Wolf(S) 1/3 7
MW Chunk (N.C.) Night Gyr(A) 2/3 3
MW Valkyri Rifleman IIC 1/2 0
ALPHA CLAW: (The Snow Leopards)
Captain Greer(C.G.) Nova (S)+5 Elementals 1/4 10
Lt. Giblet Dragonfly (B)+5 Elementals 3/5 2
Sgt. Gravy Cougar (P)+5 Elementals 3/4 2
MW Boffo (N.C.)Shadow Cat(A)+5 Elementals 2/3 3
MW Tumor (C.G.)Shadow Cat(A)+5 Elementals 2/3 0
ALPHA ATTACK: (The Prowling Tigers)
Captain Pyra Night Gyr(A) 2/3 11
Lt. Nova-Cat(N.C.) Mako (C) 0/0 13
Sgt. Havoc (JF) Storm Crow (A) 1/2 0
MW Fenri (JF) Storm Crow (A) 2/3 0
MW Turkey (JF) Crusader IIC 1/2 0
TRINARY BRAVO: (The Stalkers)
TRINARY COMMAND: (The White Lions)
Major "Chuckle" Jones Hellcat 0/0 24
Lt. Kruger (N.C.) Thunder God 1/3 8
Sgt. Bravo (SJ) Timber Wolf 2/4 0
MW Crab (BH) Crusader IIC 2/3 1
MW Berserker(BH) Timber Wolf 3/4 1
BRAVO POUNCE: (The Lightning Pumas
Captain Reece Ryoken+5 Elementals 2/4 4
Lt.Fritters(N.C.)Ryoken +5 Elementals 2/3 3
Sgt. Tarzan(C.G.)Dragonfly+5 Elementals 3/4 5
MW Fining Rufus(Merc) Fenris+5 Elementals 4/6 0
MW Mellow Cooper(Merc)Cougar+5 Elementals 4/5 0
(Elementals are bondmen from Nova Cat and 7th Smoke Jaguar Dragoons)
BRAVO ASSAULT: (The Hammering Cats)
Captain Sal Kingfisher(C) 2/4 1
Lt. Vicious (S.J.)Warhammer IIC 2/4 0
Sgt. Hammer Warhammer IIC 2/3 3
MW Barkley Marauder IIC 2/4 0
MW Quasi (BH) Warhawk 2/3 2
IO RESERVE BINARY: (The Den Defenders)>/i>
REINFORCED STAR: (The Cougars)
Cpt Velana Marik(MMil)Nova+5 Elementals 3/3 0 Lt.Blair Wihx(Merc) Storm Crow +5 Eles 3/3 0 Sgt.Count Viggo(Merc)Storm Crow +5 Eles 3/4 0
MW Toby Jones(Merc) Mist Lynx +2 Eles 3/5 1
MW Jebidiah Thorpe(Merc)Kharyibdus 4/5 0
MW Pearl Steiner (Merc) Crusader IIC 3/6 0
VEHICLE TRINARY: (The Green Machine) (Isorla from Clan Ghost Bear)
ATTACK STAR OMEGA ASSAULT STAR PHI SUPPORT STAR RHOE
(Mattock's Panzer Corps) (The Pantheon) (The Norns)
MacArthur MBT (4/3) Oro (5/6) Odin (6/6)
MacArthur MBT (2/3) Oro (5/6) Odin (6/6)
MacArthur MBT (3/4) 1xp Athena (4/6) Huitzilopochtli (4/4) 1
MacArthur MBT (3/5) 1xp Athena (3/6) Huitzilopochtli (4/5) 1
MacArthur MBT (4/4) 1xp Athena (4/5) Hachiman (4/6)
MacArthur MBT (4/4) Athena (4/5) Hachiman (4/6)
MacArthur MBT 3/2) Ishtar (4/5) Hachiman (4/7)
MacArthur MBT (4/4) Ishtar (4/7) Hachiman (4/6)
MacArthur MBT (2/5) Mars (3/6) Donar (4/6) 1
MacArthur MBT (3/6) Mars (3/5) Donar (4/6) 1
FIGHTER BINARY:
Flight leader Jarth Sabutai 1/2 6(Mech)
Wingman Meura Sabutai 1/2 4(Mech)
Flight leader Unserfoyt Batu 4/5 0
Wingman Mishka Batu 3/5 0
Flight leader Kang Jagatai 4/5 0
Wingman Thwack Jagatai 3/5 0
Flight leader Maverick Scytha 3/4 0
Wingman Goose Scytha 3/4 0
Flight leader Leather Jengiz 4/4 0
Wingman Neck Kirghiz 3/5 0
Dropship Wing:
Union-C Class Dropship (Clan) "DEZGRA WARRIOR"
Union-C Class Dropship (Clan) "STRAVAG LAIR"
Union-C Class Dropship (Clan) "FREE-BIRTH PRIDE"(*)Sassadine Class Dropship (Clan) "THE FLEAS"
Odyssey Class Jumpship (Clan) "FLYING SURAT"(*)
(*Isolara from Clan Nova Cat)
CURRENT MECH-WARRIORS/ MECH TYPES DEFEATED (T =during a trial)
Star Captain Torc: Hellbringer (T), Gargoyle (T), Mad Dog (T), Viper (DF)(T), Archer, Atlas, Huntsman, Guillotine, Mad Dog (T), Timber Wolf (T), Crow Commando, Stinger, Stinger, Stinger, Wasp, Wasp, Wasp, Wasp, Wasp, Victor, Atlas, Awesome, Archer, Marauder, King Crab, Atlas, Clan Battlemaster3W (T), Timber Wolf (T), Griffin Assault C3, Marauder, Warhammer, Warhammer, Wolverine, Huron Warrior (C3), Warhammer IIC (T), Stone Rhino (T), Hellbringer (T), Hellbringer (T), Warhawk (GB CO!)(3Way T), Mad Dog (3Way T), Hunchback IIC (Same GB CO) (T)
St.Com. Chuckle Jones: Wolverine, Stinger, Locust, Valkyri, Exterminator, Highlander, Atlas C-refit (T), Clan Rifleman (T), NightSky, Berserker C3 Warhammer C3, Wraith C3, Timber Wolf (T), Pouncer (T), Phoenix Hawk IIC, Marauder, Berserker, Turkina (T), Ice Ferret (T), Mad Dog (3way T), Ice Ferret (GB T), Nova (GB T), Thor (T, WiE), Mad Cat (T, WiE)
St.Com. Pyra: Hellbringer (T), Dragon, Atlas, Rifleman, Cyclops, Mad Dog (T), Rifleman, Wraith, Archer, Battlemaster, Timber Wolf (GB T)
St.Com. Reece: Ice Ferret (T), Storm Crow (T), Awesome, Komodo
St. Com. Giblet: Mist Lynx (T)
M.W. Nova Cat: Victor, Crusader, Hellcat, NightSky, Phoenix HawkC-3, Gunslinger C-3, Phoenix Hawk C-3, Salamander C-3, Huron Warrior C-3, Ice Ferret (T), Viper (2nd Line)(T), Hellbringer (3way T), Executioner (3way T)
M.W. Greer: Storm Crow, Red-Legger, Phoenix Hawk C-3, Rakshasa, Archer, Falconer, Stealth, Phoenix Hawk, Jenner IIC (GB), Turkina (T)
M.W. Shaggy: Storm Crow (T), Warhawk (T), Komodo C-3, Salamander C-3, Storm Crow(T), Ranger(T), Pinpricker(T)
M.W. Hawk Ice Ferret (T), Warhammer, Grand Titan, Hunchback C-3, Adder (Puma)(T), Unclassified Mech, Hellreaver (T)
M.W. Gravy: Mongoose, Rifleman IIC(T), Hankyu (T, WiE)
MW Tarzan: Marauder, Archer, Warhammer C-3, Turkina (JF T), Koshi (T, WiE)
MW Tumor: Marauder, Berserker C-3, Warhammmer IIC
MW Limbaugh: Nova (T), Warhammer
MW Kruger: Gunslinger, Clint C-3, Turkina (T), Nova (GB), Faith, King Crab, Menshen
MW Doozer: Atlas, Grand Titan
MW Fritters: Rifleman IIC (T), Rifleman IIC (T), Koshi (GB)
MW Boffo: Timber Wolf (T), Dasher (T, WiE), Hankyu (T, WiE)
MW Quasi: Hunchback IIC, Cauldron Born (T)
MW Hammer: Viper, Warhawk (GB), Salamander
MW Crab: Thunderbolt-C refit
Flight Leader Jarth: Atlas, Berserker C-3, Warhammer C-3, Wraith C-3, Huron Warrior C-3, Dire Wolf (T)
Wingman Meura: Hollander, Hollander, Marauder IIC (T), Rifleman IIC (T)
MW Chunk(N.C.): Viper (DF) (GB), Nova (GB), Timber Wolf (GB T)
MW Sal: Timber Wolf (Grants, GB T)
MW Valkyrie: Hankyu (T, WiE), Kingfisher (T, WiE)
MW Bravo: Kingfisher (WiE)
MW Jebidiah Thorpe Hunchback IIC (T, WiE)
MW Toby Jones: Koshi (T, WiE)
Elemental/Tank Kills: Dual cockpit Battle-master, Wraith, Locust, Centurion, Phoenix Hawk, Stinger, Monsoon, Summoner (T), Storm Crow (T), Summoner (JF T), Timber Wolf-'A'(3wayTrial), Viper (DF) (GB T), Griffin (McAr)
Incidental Kills: Wolverine, Archer, Phoenix Hawk, Phoenix Hawk, Crab, Viper (DF) (T), Summoner (T)
K.I.A. /Missing HONOR ROLL: KILLS
Star Captain Lyndel Kerensky 19
Star Commander Tralis 4
Mechwarrior Fodder 4
Mechwarrior Mykel 6
Mechwarrior Bon Dlake 5
Mechwarrior Bosha 3
Mechwarrior Trash 1
Mechwarrior Twist 4
Mechwarrior Hooter 3
Mechwarrior Crash 2
Mechwarrior Bull 8
Mechwarrior Crumb 17
Mechwarrior Brannack 9
Mechwarrior Stone 9
Mechwarrior Axe 3
Mechwarrior Doeth 12
Mechwarrior Fiedo 10
Star Commander Acex 27
Mechwarrior Crunch 0
Mechwarrior Stiletto 2
Bondsman Stark 2
Bondsman Plumb 0
Mechwarrior Blade 2
Mechwarrior Geronimo 7
Bondsman Druppi 2
Mechwarrior Gash 7
Star Commander Blarney 15
Bondsman Vlosh 0
Mechwarrior Chuck 5
Mechwarrior Bill 7
Mechwarrior Mansbond 6
Bondsman Jabba 1
Bondsman Gimp 3
Mechwarrior Donell 7
Bondsman Gallaleo 0
Bondsman Prego 0
Mechwarrior Drusus 1
Wingman Mishka 0
Bondsman Tylenol 3
Bondsman Baker 5
Bondsman Marauder 1
Bondsman Shadowcat [recaptured by Clan GB) 1
Bondsman Grizzly [recaptured by Clan GB) 1
Bondsman Hellbringer [recaptured by Clan GB) 0
Bondsman Jenner [recaptured by Clan GB) 0
Bondsman Dragonfly [recaptured by Clan GB) 0
Bondsman Mist Lynx [recaptured by Clan GB) 0
Bondsman Hammerhead [recaptured by Clan GB) 0
Bondsman Cauldron-born [recaptured by Clan GB) 0
St.Com. Fozzy [Captured by 5th Ghost] 7
B.M. King (S.J.): [Captured by 5th Ghost] 2
Bondman Saucy (N.C.): [Captured by 5th Ghost] 1
B.M.(NC) Spittle: 4
B.M. Sparky 1
B.M. (CG) Smith 4
Mechwarrior Branx Taylor 1
The Kills of the Honored & Missing:
Druppi: Dire Wolf (T), Panther
Geronimo: Panther, Marauder, Hollander, Dire Wolf (Widow-maker)(T), Nova (T), Mako (T), Marauder C-3
Gash: Crusader IIC (T), Mad Dog (T), Hit-Man, Phoenix Hawk C-3, Clint C-3, Phoenix Hawk C-3, Marauder C-3
Blarney: Venom, Shadow Hawk, Rifleman, Enforcer, Rifleman, Axe-man, Javelin, Phoenix Hawk 1-C (T), Warhawk (T), Thor (T), Jaguar, Marauder C-3, Clint C-3, Battlemaster C-3, Lightning (T)
Vlosh: ------
Chuck: Berserker, Annihilator, Hellcat (T), Wraith, Phantom (T)
Bill: Gladiator (T), Ice Ferret (T), Jenner, Axe-man, Wraith, Penetrator, Thunderbolt
Mansbond: Catapult, Thunderbolt, Huron Warrior, Phoenix Hawk, Banshee-S, Phoenix Hawk 1-C (T)
Jabba: Stealth
Gimp: Valkyri, Phoenix Hawk C-3, Radius (T)
Donell: Fire Moth (T), Archer, Thunderbolt, Crusader, Locust, Highlander, Storm Crow (T)
Gallaleo: ------
Prego: ------
Drusus: Fire Moth (T)
Mishka: ------
Tylenol (C.G.): Hunchback, Gunslinger, Grasshopper
Baker (B.H.): Wasp IIC, Rifleman C-1 Refit, Rifleman C-1 Refit, Turkina (T), BlackHawk-KU
Marauder: Crusade- C refit
Shadowcat (GB): Viper (DF)
Grizzly (GB): Warhammer IIC
Fozzy: Battlemaster, Grand Dragon, Berserker, Battlemaster, Nova (T), Warhawk (T), Faith
King (SJ): Turkina (JF T), Menshen
Bondman Saucy: Devious
B.M. Spittle (NC): Ice Ferret (T), Clan Archer (T), Gunslinger C-3, Mad Dog (T)
B.M. Sparky (JF): Mad Dog (GB T)
B.M. Smith (CG): Hankyu, Storm Crow (T), Gladiator (T), Grizzly (GB T)
Branx Taylor: Black Hawk (WiE)
SMASHED ENEMY MECHS
STANDARD MECHS
Annihilator: 1
Archer: 10
Atlas: 8
Awesome: 4
Axe-man: 4
Banshee: 2
Battlemaster: 5
Berserker: 4
BlackHawk-Ku:
Blackjack: 1
Caesar: 1
Catapult: 3
Centurion: 2
Clint: 2
Commando: 3
Crab: 1
Crusader: 4
Cyclops: 1
Dervish: 1
Dragon: 2
Enforcer: 3
Exterminator: 2
Falconer: 1
Guillotine: 1
Grand Dragon: 1
Grand Titan: 2
Grasshopper: 1
Griffin: 4
Gunslinger: 2
Hatchetman: 1
Highlander: 3
Hit Man: 1
Hollander: 5
Hunchback: 2
Huron Warrior: 1
Jagermech: 1
Javelin: 2
Jenner: 1
King Crab: 3
Komodo: 2
Locust: 6
Marauder: 9
Marauder II: 2
Menshen: 2
Mercury: 1
Mongoose: 1
NightSky: 2
Orion: 2
Panther: 3
Penetrator: 1
Phoenix Hawk: 9
Rakshasa: 1
Rifleman: 4
Salamander: 1
Shadow Hawk: 1
Spider: 2
Stalker: 2
Stealth: 3
Stinger: 8
Tarantula: 2
Thunderbolt: 6
Trebuchet: 2
Valkyri: 5
Venom: 1
Victor: 3
Warhammer: 10
Wasp: 6
Wasp LAM: 1
Whitworth: 1
Wolfhound: 1
Wolverine: 4
Wraith: 6
Zeus: 1
UNUSUAL MECHS
Army Ant: 1
Battlemaster (C-3x2): 1
Berserker C-3: 3
Centurion Maximus: 1
Clint C-3: 3
Cohort: 1
Crow: 2
Crossbow (Not Clan): 1
Devious: 2
Faith: 2
Fire Ant: 1
Fire Brand: 1
Gauss Beast: 1
Griffin (Assault) C-3: 1
Gunslinger C-3: 2
Head Hunter: 1
Hunchback C-3: 1
Huntsman: 1
Huron Warrior C-3: 3
Jaguar: 1
Komodo C-3: 1
Marauder C-3 (Assault): 3
Mouse: 1
Monsoon: 1
Phoenix Hawk C-3: 6
Rattler: 1
Red-Legger: 1
Rifleman C-3: 1
Salamander C-3: 2
Warhammer C-3: 3
Warthog: 1
Wild Cat: 1
Wraith C-3: 2
CLAN OMNI MECHS
Adder (Puma): 3
Cauldron-Born: 2
Dire Wolf: 8
Executioner: 4
Fire Moth: 5
Gargoyle: 4
Grendel: 1
Hankyu: 4
Hellcat: 2
Hellbringer: 8
Hellreaver: 1
Ice Ferret: 11
Kingfisher: 2
Kit Fox: 3
Lightning: 1
Mad Dog: 10
Mako: 1
Mist Lynx: 2
Nova: 8
Phantom: 1
Pinpricker: 1
Pouncer: 1
Radius: 1
Ranger: 1
Shadowcat: 1
Storm Crow: 12
Thor: 5
Timber Wolf: 11
Turkina: 6
Viper (Dragonfly): 5
Warhawk: 9
2nd Line/REFITS
Atlas 1-C: 1
Archer 1-C: 3
Battlemaster BLR-3W: 2
Stone Rhino (Behemoth): 1
Crusader IIC: 1
Crusader Refit: 1
Grizzly: 1
Hunchback IIC: 3
Jenner IIC: 1
Marauder 1-C: 1
Marauder IIC: 1
Phoenix Hawk 1-C: 2
Phoenix Hawk IIC: 2
Rifleman 1-C: 5
Rifleman IIC: 4
Stalker IIC: 1
Thunderbolt Refit: 1
Viper (75 ton): 2
Warhammer IIC: 2
Wasp Refit: 1
ELEMENTAL KILLS
Battle Master (Dual Cockpit)
Wraith
Locust
Centurion
Phoenix Hawk
Stinger
Monsoon
Summoner (NC-T)
Storm Crow (T)
Summoner (JF-T)
Timber Wolf (3-way T)
Viper (DF) (GB T)
INCIDENTAL KILLS
Wolverine
Archer
Phoenix Hawk
Phoenix Hawk
Crab
Viper (DF)
Summoner
Gladiator (Bunker)
Insane Timber Wolf (Bunker)
Total enemy units destroyed: 439*
(Inner Sphere: 259)
(Clan: 180)
(*Counting 12 Elemental and 9 incidental) kills, does not include any of the many vehicles, soldiers or air units we destroyed)
New Acquirements/Unmanned:
Peregrine
Griffin (Refit to clan weapons)
Kingfisher
Hunchback IIC
Hankyu
Kingfisher
Mad Dog
Cauldron Born
Grendel
Nova
Koshi
4th Smoke-Jaguar Dragoons remembrance
Current Standing: 50 Wins, 7 Losses, 10 Draws*
(*Draws include: Trials against 4th Jaguar Members (like Trials of Position for a dead officer's position, where one 4th jag loses, and one wins.) Battles where the Jaguars retreat before superior forces after they secure the objective of the battle. (For example, dealing way more damage to a big force than they took, then withdrawing in a series of battles of attrition). They also include fights where both players mutually agreed to end the game without a clear-cut winner.)
Battle-History:
1) The first engagement for the 4th came on a minor world bordering the Draconis Combine. Three Dragoon OmniMechs challenged a medium lance of Griffin mechs, supported by a Wasp and Stinger, to battle. Four of the Kurita mechs were promptly destroyed before the remainder fled the field. The Combine had gotten a taste of what was to come. No Dragoon mechs were lost.
2) Having missed out on the first battle due to other duties, then Star Captain Lyndel jumped at the opportunity to challenge a Kurita medium fire lance, alone in his Daishi. An Enforcer and a Griffin were destroyed before the other mechs retreated with sever damage.
3) An important prize waited on the Combine planet of Harlow's Sun. This planet housed one of the few remaining light mech factories in Kurita space. Strictly observing the rules of Clan honor, the Dragoons engaged the reinforced company of sixteen Combine mechs with twelve OmniMechs and two points of Elementals. The first Combine mech to fall was a Clint, shot to pieces in the opening ten seconds of the conflict by a Dragoon Puma. Other than the loss of Star Commander Tralis's Vulture, who defeated an Archer in close combat and then engaged a Warhammer, and the destruction of three Elementals, the Dragoons easily secured the factory. This battle was the first time the unit, as a whole, were subject to the wolf-pack tactics most Inner Sphere units relied upon.
4) As the months passed uneventfully, the unit was assigned to various training and garrison assignments. Lyndel had managed to fill his ranks, almost unnoticed, with mostly freeborn warriors [This was long before Invading Clans, which states that the Jaguars use no freeborn warriors.] A marauding guerilla unit from House Kurita was providing the last vestiges of resistance on one of the numerous planets the Dragoons garrisoned. The lull in activity up to that point proved fatal for Star Commander Tralis. Mech-warrior Pyra and he were on routine patrol with attached Elementals, when the Kurita resistance heavy lance ambushed them in sparsely wooded terrain.
A fierce firefight ensued, all of the Combine mechs falling to the superior Clan machines and elemental swarming-tactics. In the final seconds of the duel, the Kurita commander's Atlas scored a freak laser shot to Tralis's Vulture, completely ripping off the machine’s head. Mech-warrior Pyra, in her Thor, quickly finished off the enemy mech, but the Dragoons had lost their first Mechwarrior, an incident that drove home the fact that Inner Sphere mechs, while not nearly as lethal as their Clan counterparts, still had to be respected. The Atlas also stepped on Point Commander Dravis.
5) Events remained calm after the resistance died down, until sad news reached the Jaguars. Their khan had been killed while monitoring Wolf Clan activities in the Rasaulhaug republic. The 4th, with no blood-named warriors, spent the time waiting for the end of the Grand Kuralti in garrison duties. Here, Lyndel drilled the unit into an even fiercer fighting force, waiting for the call-to-arms the unit knew would soon come again. That action took place on the planet Tukkiyid. Historians will point out that it was the 6th Dragoons who made the valiant stand at Dinju-Pass. Lesser known is the fact that the 4th also played a large roll in that fierce fighting.
Twenty Com-Guard mechs, many of unseen design and all boasting the latest in equipment, and two lances of heavy armor guarded the off-shoot section of the pass that the 4th tried successfully to breach during the Jaguars desperate break-out attempt. True to the historian’s account, the battle was a slaughter. What diverges from official accounts, however, is that it was the 4th that did most of the slaughtering. In less than a minute, twelve Com-Guard mechs and a lance of armor had been destroyed. The Com-Guards reinforcements arrived, too late to help their comrades. The battle-hungry 4th pounced on them, and promptly destroyed that unit as well.
The fighting had been fierce, however, and of the twelve Omni-mechs, two points of Elementals and a Batu aerospace fighter that started the battle, three mechs were destroyed. Both Masakari pilots died with smashed cockpits. Newly promoted Star-Commander Pyra was shot out of her Thor, and no mech from the 4th escaped damage. Victory, and escape, was both sweet in the Clan warrior’s mouths that day, and the unit escaped without further loss.
6) Eventually, the 4th's success and its commander’s unorthodox use of freeborn warriors came to the attention of the Jaguar Clan's leaders. Enraged that a freebirth unit could fair so well while true-borns failed miserably, the khans of Smoke Jaguar decided to get rid of, or at the very least humiliate, the upstart unit. One of the khans had privy information to a cunning Wolf-Clan plan. The Wolves had taken note of the Smoke-Jaguar's defeat on Wolcott, partially due to the renaming of elite units, notably the Genyosha. In order to further confuse their enemies when the invasion renewed, the Wolves formed a unit almost exactly identical to the 13th Wolf Guards. The khans of Smoke Jaguar still harbored great hatred for the Wolves remarkable success, and plotted to kill two birds with a single auto-cannon. They would dispatch the 4th for a Trial of Possession, for Natasha Kerensky herself! The Jaguar khans knew Natasha was no where near the intended target, but the newly formed fake Wolf Guards were.
If the 4th were successful in destroying the fake unit, the Wolves would see their plans at subterfuge crumble. If the 4th were destroyed, their excellent, and embarrassing, track record would die with them. The Smoke Jaguar khans would merely claim the freeborn unit had gone bandit. Star Captain Lyndel was not informed of any of these facts, save the Trial of Possession. Jumping at the honor to battle the elite 13th, the Jaguars met them in the jungle delta of Thorm. All rituals for Zellbrigen were honored. Facing a unit with the exact same skill and equipment as the real Guards, the battle was very brutal for the 4th.
At the height of the battle, the Daishi of the false Guards unit accepted Lyndel's challenge. Foolishly unlike the real Kerensky, the false Natasha waded her 'Mech through a hip-deep channel of the delta. It was what Lyndel was waiting for. A full forty missiles rained in on the imposter's mech, instantly crushing the machine’s cockpit to metal fodder. With the death of "Natasha", the trial immediately ended, along with the Jaguar khan's plot. The Wolf unit explained their reason for accepting the challenge as a test for their first real battle as a team. As the real Natasha Kerensky probably would have accepted the trial, their commander also had no choice. With her death, the unit would now have to be dissolved. The battle had cost the Wolf unit seven Omni-mechs, to the loss of but a single Jaguar Fenris. Loses for the 4th would undoubtedly have been higher, had the trial continued.
The Wolves allowed an angry and betrayed 4th to safely depart. Lyndel swore to the Wolves that he would find a way to make the khans of Smoke Jaguar to pay for their deception. When Lyndel's unit returned, he gave strict orders the unit was to act as if they had not learned of the khan’s plan.
7) The khans were preoccupied with other matters when the unit came back to its base, and so the unit was placed on lowly bandit-hunt duties, a degrading duty that would have to suffice until the khans had time to invent more sever punishment for the Dragoon’s killing of their objective. While searching for bandits, Star Commander Acex and mech-warrior Bon Dlake were attacked by a Kurita expeditionary heavy lance that was sent to probe clan defenses. The lance of Inner Sphere 'Mechs was destroyed, but at the cost of Acex's own mech.
8) Even Lyndel was not immune to the odious bandit-hunting duties shared by the rest of his unit. A star of clan bandits attacked the military stockade on Ornst. The enemy unit was comprised of one assault and four heavy battle-mechs, Inner-sphere refits that boasted clan weapons and heat sinks. Lyndel's star was much lighter (one assault, one heavy, one medium and two light units) but a quick call brought air support by a patrolling Batu fighter. Four of the bandits were destroyed. The Dragoons lost a Puma and their pilot, wingman Caleb, who died in the crash when he lost control of the Batu.
9-13) Several of the Dragoons were able, due losses in the invasion, to attempt to capture a highly sought blood name. Lyndel, eligible for the Kerensky blood-name, defeated four opponents in consecutive trials, a Mad Cat, Daishi, Fenris and Loki. Star Commander Acex was a possible inheritor of the Osis blood-line, but was defeated in his first trial.
14) At last, the khans had made their decision. Due to their failure to capture "Natasha", the unit would have to forfeit its right to use OmniMechs, and would instead be relegated to the less-honorable second-line mech designs. It was an insult the 4th would not accept. Lyndel called for a Trial of Refusal. The vote by the council put the dragoons at a 2-3 disadvantage. The vast majority of the council mech-warriors were of elite quality. A total of nine council mechs would meet six Dragoon mechs in a giant battle royal in wooded terrain. As a Trial of Refusal, the combatants were allowed to ignore the clan rules of single combat, and were free to concentrate fire of a single target. The council mechs composed five assaults, three heavies and one medium weight mech. The Dragoons put forth two assaults, three heavies and one medium mech. In a remarkable display of skill, the Dragoons crushed the council mechs, destroying every one, and suffering only two lost mechs, Star Captain Lyndel's Daishi and Star Commander Pyra's Thor (yet again). With their complete victory, the unit retained its right to wage war in the fearsome Omni-Mechs.
15) The 4th now had the opportunity to launch raids once more into Combine territory. A minor mercenary unit, the “Fluttering Peddles”, was savaged in a brief firefight. Eight Dragoons, a star of Elementals, and a Subatai fighter attacked the 16-mech reinforced company, easily routing them. The Dragoons, themselves destroying ten of the mercenary mechs, lost an aerospace fighter. (Side note: They refused to play us again, since one player on my team jumped up on chair, made a sweeping motion while yelling "We HARVESTED them!")
16-17) When an opportunity to gain the position of Star Colonel presented itself, Lyndel was sure such a position would mean more action against the Inner Sphere. It was not to be, however. In the final battle, his Dire Wolf ‘A’ faced off against another eligible and highly skilled warrior in a Dire Wolf Primary. A gauss rifle slug from Lyndel's Dire Wolf crushed the cockpit of the contender, but at the last second, two extended-range large lasers melted Kerensky's cockpit and ended the brilliant warrior’s career, as well as his life. Loss of the acknowledged leader of the unit allowed the two leading Star Commanders, Torc and Acex, to battle for the position. Both battled in Thor primaries, within the ruins of a shattered city. Torc, after a protracted game of cat and mouse, emerged as the victor. He was promoted to Star Captain, and took his place at the head of the unit.
18) One of the unit's most hotly contested battles occurred when a massive Com-Star spearhead sent its lead elements thrusting right through the middle of Smoke Jaguar territory. The Dragoons, now on a front-line world, were the first unit to stand in the Com-Guard's path. Realizing the location of the Guard's landing zone, Star Captain Torc quickly deployed his unit to attack the Guards after they had unloaded and were starting to regroup. What Torc did not realize though, was that the forces pitted against his unit enjoyed a three-to-one advantage, and all of the units were equipped with the best technology the Com-Guards had available. Twenty mechs, forty vehicles (mostly heavy, and many with elite crews), eighteen laser and SRM equipped motorized infantry platoons, and two full stars of new Inner-Sphere battle-armor were mobilizing in the Com-Guard drop zone.
Torc's unit had dug in along a wide riverbank that was heavily forested on the 4th's side. The Elementals of Super-Nova Alpha had gone to ground virtually under the feet of the invader's mechs. When the Guards reached the point where Torc wanted them, the Elementals attacked with inferno-packed short-range missiles [again, before the BMR outlawed Elemental use of Infernos]. Immediately several Com-Guard vehicles exploded. As the Guards turned to deal with the enemy infantry in their mist, the Dragoons opened up all alone the tree line. Vehicles and Com-Guard Battlemechs were hosed down with laser and auto-cannon fire. However, the Guards were well trained and responded in kind.
The vehicles of the unit concentrated their firepower on the biggest of the Dragoon mechs. In seconds, Mechwarrior Mykel's Masakari received a gauss-rifle slug strait to the cockpit, felling one of the Dragoon's heaviest mechs and best mechwarriors. In a constant thrust-retreat-thrust-again maneuver, the 4th kept most of the Com-Star forces contained to their L.Z. Unable to make headway across the river, the invader mechs concentrated their firepower on the Elementals who were unfortunate enough to be within striking distance. Dragoon infantry losses were horrible. Of the seventy-five Elementals that started the battle, thirty-eight were killed.
When the smoke had finally cleared, the Com-Guards were forced to retreat with heavy losses. The 4th had held the Com-Star forces long enough for Smoke Jaguar reinforcements to arrive. Besides the Masakari, Mechwarrior Bon Dlake died at enemy armor hands when his Dragonfly led a counter-thrust into the Com-Guards rear areas. Mechwarrior Fodder had destroyed a Wraith with his Uller, but his actions attracted a swarm of V.T.O.L.'s that finally shot his mech to pieces. The Uller's engine reactor went critical, killing Fodder, but the resulting blast also engulfed the only VTOL he was unable to defeat. While the loss of three veteran mechwarriors was bad for the 4th, the Com-Guards really suffered. They lost eight mechs, twenty-six ground vehicles, four VTOLs, two foot-platoons and two suits of battle armor. The valiant holding action by the 4th prevented Com-Star from securing a beachhead and resulted in the canceling of their raid before it ever really began.
19) The 4th next launched a recon-in-force against another Kurita world. Four Dragoons and ten Elementals managed to ambush two Kurita lances, which were destroyed without seriously damaging a single Jaguar mech.
20) As an experiment, Jade Falcon invited elements of the Jaguar Clan to gain much-needed experience encountering the combined-arms tactics of the Federated Commonwealth’s Regimental Combat Teams. Fifteen OmniMechs and fifty Elementals engaged the 7th RCT's first battalion in the city of New Hope on Siceron. Twenty mechs, eight tanks and eight hovercraft, as well as six jump platoons, two punishment bunkers and two Sting-ray aerospace fighters were all destroyed in the brutal building-to-building battle. Surprised by the 7th's unexpected tactics and grim determination, the 4th at first failed to make headway. The RCT mechs were well hidden, and the heavy vehicles were dug-in. To the Jaguar's surprise over half their OmniMechs and Elementals were lost in the battle. Two Hellcats, two Vultures, a Black Hawk, Puma, Mako and a Thor fell, as well as twenty Elementals. Their colleagues would remember Mechwarriors Hooter, Twist and Trash. Whatever the skill of the defenders, however, the end was inevitable. The 1st battalion/7th RCT was wiped out to a man.
21) The 4th struck further into the 7th's defenses, smashing through the line of bunkers the RCT had manned in the Blankman hills. This area was protected by a company of the newest designs of mechs the Federated Commonwealth had received from House Marik. Reinforced by the bunkers and a company of medium-weight vehicles, the elements of 2nd battalion fought desperately, but even their new mechs were pushed aside by the eight Omni-Mechs, fifteen Elementals, and Batu aerospace fighter piloted by wingman Meura. She managed to strafe and destroy two of the new Hollander mechs who were providing fire-support for their beleaguered comrades. The 7th’s 2nd battalion destroyed two Ryokens and a Dragonfly before they were overwhelmed. Mechwarrior Axe died as he attempted to dump his ammo for his Thor's weapons. An Inner Sphere weapon set off the ammunition as it streamed from the back of his mech's ejection ports.
22) While attempting to link up with his unit, Star Captain Torc's satellite-positioning gear aboard his Mad Cat-A malfunctioned, and the 4th's leader became lost. He was found, however, by a recon company from the 7th, who treated him like an enemy should be treated: The company of six Stingers and six Wasps immediately attacked. Outnumbered, out-maneuvered and severely out-weighed, the Star-Captain had no choice but to battle the quicker mechs. Torc found himself in a run-and-gun battle, but was eventually brought down by the Davion horde. Eight of the enemy mechs were destroyed before the Star-Captain was captured.
23) The Dragoons considered their commander dead, as he had disappeared into enemy territory. The unit was prepared to leave, when the last Elemental search party reported the shattered remains of the Star-Captain's Mad Cat had been found. The Captain was absent and his battle-recorder had been hastily pried out. The rubble of Wasp and Stinger mechs was enough to tell Star Commander Acex that his leader had been captured. The heavily modified Phoenix-hawk L.A.M., taken as Isolara, Acex had been practicing with was about to be put to excellent use. [Long before LAM's were removed form the Level 2 rules, and also before it was noted Clan warriors detested the hybrid mechs] Approaching the 7th's staging area under cover of ECM and darkness, the unit sprung its attack at the first light of dawn
The 4th's eleven Omni-Mechs and fifty Elementals faced off against twenty-two front-line newly refitted mechs, eight vehicles and eight platoons of infantry in another fierce city slugfest. The Dragoons immediately found out, the hard way, that the area around the city had been mined and some of the mechs they faced were using captured clan equipment. As ready as the last units of the 7th RCT were, they were, none the less, handedly defeated. Losses for the 4th were unavoidable, however. Mechwarrior Stone's Daishi received a dual PPC shot to the cockpit from a defending Schrek PPC Carrier. Mechwarrior Brannack attempted to hide behind a five-meter tall building, only to have his Mako decapitated by the scything beams from a Davion Rifleman's lasers.
Mechwarrior Bull had stopped to watch what he though was an honorable duel between a Davion Archer and a Jaguar Crusader IIC. As the battle started to wind down in the Crusader's favor, the Archer unexpectedly turned its missile launchers on the stationary Puma. Five of the missiles penetrated the already damaged cockpit, killing Bull instantly. The 4th had at last had enough of the 7th's under-handed tricks, and as one, the entire unit opened up on the hapless Archer. The pilot ejected safely, only to be deliberately stepped on by a Jaguar OmniMech.
24) While en-rout back to their garrison planet, the 4th detected what they thought was a small House Steiner expeditionary force into clan space. With a lightning strike, a reinforced star of battle-mechs comprised of one assault, three heavies and two medium OmniMechs along with three elemental points attacked the enemy forces. The lance of Steiner assault mechs, and all twenty-six vehicles and 4 infantry platoons were destroyed. Five Dragoon Omni-mechs and ten Elementals were smashed, however. Mechwarrior Fiedo's Crusader IIC sustained a PPC hit that vaporized the hapless warrior's cockpit.
25) Star Captain Torc immediately ordered further recon of the planet. A Ryoken and the 4th’s two Hellcat pilots and twenty mounted Elementals accompanied Torc, in his Mad Cat, when they encountered the remainder of the expeditionary force. In the brief but brutal fight with the new mech company's designs and elite Steiner mechwarriors that followed, not a single clan mech was destroyed. Seven Elementals were slain. The major highlight of the battle came when Mechwarrior Doeth, his Ryoken OmniMech badly damaged, engaged and defeated a Marauder II in single combat. With their defeat, remaining Steiner forces retreated off-planet.
26) Several months passed uneventfully for the unit. When news came that Com-Star was fortifying various planets along the Tukkayid front, the 4th found a chance to yet again strike at their old enemies, the Com-Guards. Eventually gaining the permission to launch a disruptive raid, the Dragoons performed a combat drop behind the lines of a Com-Guard garrison force. The Com-Star unit was composed of older designs purchased from House Davion. The Dragoons landed virtually of top of the 'Guard's position, and battle was immediately joined. The defenders were composed of a light mech company and a light vehicle company, reinforced by a company of jump infantry in hidden positions and two light aerospace fighters. The 4th, in typical clan fashion, bid only a star of OmniMechs with mounted Elementals, and a single Batu.
After some initial luck for the defenders, who managed to blow off the leg of a Ryoken with a lucky bombing run, the melee quickly turned into a route for the Com-Guards. The sparse tree cover and broken ground left little escape routes for the entrenched armor and mechs of the 432nd garrison battalion. Only four vehicles, a single battle-mech and six infantry platoons managed to escape the Jaguar's net. Unfortunately, the 4th suffered a tremendous loss with the death of the unit's leading ace. Star Captain Acex, who had decided to mount his old Dragonfly OmniMech one last time, was killed when the engine of the mech he had destroyed, an obsolete Davion Valkyri, went critical and exploded. The blast blew part of the mech's engine shielding straight through the close-by clan mech's cockpit.
27) Undaunted by their comrade's death, the Dragoons continued their assault. Eventually pressing to the edge of the Gowabi desert, the unit fell under attack by a hastily laid Com-Guard ambush. Bidding among the 4th had been very fierce, and the forces of the attackers had been driven dangerously low. When the lead elements of the 4th entered a narrow desert pass, the Com-Guard's entrenched armor and an assault lance fell on them. The 'Guards had chosen their ambush sight remarkably well for so sudden an action. The twelve heavy tanks, with high ground and supportive artillery blasted into the 4th's ranks at nearly point blank range.
Hidden in mech-sized alcoves, two of the Com-Star mechs, an Atlas and a new-tech Stalker mauled a Black Hawk pilot who unknowingly landed between them. Other fierce fighting developed along the lip of the pass, where Com-Guard armor refused to withdraw. With nowhere to hide and retreat a dishonorable option, the 4th was severely savaged. Eventually the commander of the Dragoon's attacking forces was forced to break his bid, something that had never happened in the 4th's highly eventful history. When the reinforcements arrived, they found the shattered remains of OmniMechs interlocked with those of the 'Guards. A headless Highlander slumped over its battle trench. In the valley below it, a mangled Daishi lay propped against its dead Battlemaster foe. Late arrivals witnessed the final salvo of an attacking Ryoken pulverize a Rommel heavy tank. The remaining clan pilot then pitted his OmniMech against the defending commander's Atlas.
The dual was long and fierce, the quicker clan mech firing its remaining medium laser into the assault mech's back. The Atlas, which had suffered a hip actuator hit, could do little but fire his dual rear-arc lasers. The mighty mech actually had more armor on its rear than its front. Eventually, size defeated speed, and the Omni-mech was defeated. In respect for its hard-won victory, the Atlas pilot was allowed to retreat his mech from the field. The artillery, which had already departed, were the only other Com-Guard units to escape the carnage. Mechwarrior Crunch died when he lost control of his Hankyu OmniMech and fell on its already badly damaged cockpit. Mechwarrior Crumb died when a Puma Tank fired a lucky salvo that obliterated his Black Hawk's cockpit as well.
28) Angered at the unit's poor showing, Star Captain Torc issued an ultimatum. Improve or become a solahma unit! The unit was sent against a highly fortified Com-Guard hyper-pulse generator instillation. A vehicle company and a single VTOL guarded the complex, as well as significant mech forces, all but one of star-league vintage, including: a Highlander, King Crab, Exterminator, a Black Knight, Crab, Atlas and a pair of Mongoose light mechs. The installation was also protected by two needle-towers. All of these defenders were annihilated. Of the six Omni-mechs with attached elemental points, only two, a Ryoken and Hankyu, and one elemental were lost. Doeth, a Mechwarrior of many battles, received a burst to the chops by the King Crab's AC/20. With such wholesale destruction, Com-Star's entrenchment operations on this particular planet were stalled for some time, and the operation was considered successful.
29) Unfortunately, there were still those of Clan Smoke Jaguar who held old feelings of hatred for the unit. Rumors began circulating that the unit was being saved for only the most dangerous assignments. When the time for renewal of the invasion, the unit would be thrown to a suicide mission at the soonest reasonable opportunity. Torc took heed of these whispered speculations. While waiting for the chance for further combat, Torc gathered his officers and announced a plan. He would not let so successful a unit meet so unfitting an end. When training rotation came up, Torc announced his plan for deep space and lunar combat simulations. This was not so unusual to his superiors, who ignored the unit in the relative peacetime environment. Peace was the furthest thing from Torc's mind. He led his unit on an unsanctioned covert operation into Clan Nova Cat's territory.
News had come to Torc through the few friends he had in the higher echelons that the Nova Cats had a small supply base on the moon of Centari. Operations in vacuum are always dangerous, and the 4th prepared accordingly. The unit intended to fight a trial of possession for one of the Union class dropships that were destined for front-line supply drops. A single star of refit second-line mechs opposed the 4th, who attacked with a like number of OmniMechs. As the ritual duel broke down into one-on-one individual battles, Star Captain Torc in his MadCat-A faced off with the garrison commander's Battlemaster-3W. The opening salvo from the assault mech breached the Madcat's right leg, filling it with vacuum and rendering it useless. Torc was unable to keep his mech upright and crashed to the ground. As the Battlemaster, falsely sensing weakness in the lighter OmniMech, moved in to close range, Torc threw his mech upright and fired both PPC's. The center torso of the bigger machine was rent open and exposed to space. The Battle-master, like so many other mechs before it, went down in defeat.
The commander of the defeated garrison unit served in Torc's command lance for some time, before his eventual death in combat. The other individual battles ended on a similar note, save for the loss of bondsman stark, pilot of the Com-Guard Atlas of the previous battle, whose Crusader IIC was pierced in the head by a cluster round from a Nova Cat refitted Rifleman. A Daishi was also lost from hits that penetrated its side torso from missiles from a refitted Archer. The Nova Cats, being a prideful clan, did not, as Torc anticipated, report the raid for fear of embarrassment.
30) During a punitive raid some months later, Torc again found a chance to add to his plan of divergence from the Jaguar Clan. While in-bound from the raid, Torc had noted the position of an Odyssey class jumpship on the orbital map in his Union's combat center. As such a vessel could carry the three Union and single Sassadine dropships the 4th now possessed, he decided to fight another Trial of Possession against Clan Nova Cat. While in-bound, he ordered his dropship crew to deviate from the prescribed course. When queried, he informed the other Jaguar forces his ship was suffering minor engine trouble.
The unit landed not far from a front-line Nova-Cat trinary that was on field maneuvers. When Torc issued his challenge, the Nova Cats were at first hesitant to accept. Eventually, the 4th goaded them into the ritual dueling that had cost the 'Cats so much on the moon of Centari. Two assault mechs, five heavy and three medium mechs from both sides, as well as fifty Elementals each, battled for jump-ship rights. Several interesting battles of exactly similar OmniMechs facing off took place. Torc battled his nemesis in a similar Madcat-"A", soundly thrashing his opponent in under forty seconds. Two Masakari-"C"'s went after each other with a vengeance, with the Jaguar Omni able to finish off a second, later opponent in a Thor-"D". Bondsman Bill, former Star Commander on Centari, demolished an Executioner from his old clan.
When the smoke had cleared, all ten Nova Cat OmniMechs succumbed to massive damage. Many Elementals had also died on the Nova Cat side. The Elementals of the 4th suffered minimal damage, and were able to bring down a Thor-"A", as well as doing significant damage to a Black Hawk, Fenris and Vulture, enabling their dueling opponents to get the better of the Nova Cat mechs. The 4th lost four mechs and two mechwarriors. Bondsman Plumb died in his first battle when his Rifleman IIC was shot in the cockpit by the Thor-"A"'s gauss-rifle. Mechwarrior Blade, who took on a Dragonfly and Fenris at the same time (and who killed the Dragonfly and was doing well against the Fenris) met his destiny when he was rendered unconscious by a blow to the head, and fell directly onto his damaged cockpit. Even with these losses, the dragoons won the battle and secured the jump-ship. The plan was now ready for implementation.
31) The 4th Dragoons were temporarily assigned to the planet Odin, there to await the arrival of a garrison cluster that would permanently quarter the world. Torc was not told of rebel mech activity, but became well aware of it when 4 lances of New-Tech IS mechs attacked the area designated as the future site of the Jaguar base camp. The Jaguar sentry mechs detected the force well before it could enter the target area. The 4th's second-line mechs were the only battle-line trinary yet unloaded, and Torc ordered them to engage the aggressors. 13 4th Dragoon mechs waited for and engaged the rebel Kurita mechs in the Crow's Foot hills. 4 lances of mostly heavy and assault mechs thundered into view. At very close range, the Jaguars opened fire. After a lengthy battle, the attacking force was completely destroyed, at the cost of 3 Jaguar mechs. No pilots were killed in this action.
32) Before the final stages of the plan could be implemented, an elite unit of mercenaries arrived in the space above the Dragoons station, boldly announcing their plan to recapture
the planet in the name of House Kurita. The Dragoons took position, ready for an expected combat drop. The Dragoons were surprised when the mercs, calling themselves the 'Black-Hole Bandits', landed a substantial distance away, in a uninhabited area of the continent.. It was obvious the mercenaries planned on fighting the upcoming battle on their terms.
Suspecting treachery, Torc ordered heavy air support as the OmniMechs advanced toward the mercenary-landing zone. This proved a wise decision, as four new-tech aerospace fighters blasted into view across the horizon. A fierce dogfight ensued, as the OmniMechs below fell into troubles of their own. The 'Bandits had grounded near a long-hidden star league era weapons and training facility, complete with hidden bunkers and mech-sized pit traps. The 'Bandits somehow had access to the facility's systems and these were operational. Additionally, the two days it took the Dragoons to reach the site had allowed the mercs to effectively plant mines and let their infantry and vehicles dig in.
The Jaguars, relishing a good fight after a long period of quiet, were in for yet another surprise. After a brief skirmish on the ground, the mercenaries mysteriously retreated to their drop ship, with minimal losses on both sides. The Dragoons lost a Hankyu OmniMech, a Batu fighter, and had several mechs damaged severely. The Mercs lost a light mech of their own (oddly enough called a Jaguar), a Bandit aerofighter, a Chaparral Artillery tank and a Long Tom. It is estimated that the data they removed from the site may well have been the real aim of the mercenaries, but this is purely speculation.
33) (Canyon of Death) In rout to a new base of operations, Torc received orders to deviate from his current assignment, to reinforce a Smoke Jaguar area under attack by an unknown Inner Sphere force. Torc ordered satellite feeds downloaded into the JumpShip's holo-tank, and realized the fast moving Inner Sphere mechs, viewable by their heat plumes from their fusion engines, were entering a long valley that ended in a box canyon devoid of cover of any type. The speed of the mechs and lack of forward scouts, as well as the encounter with the Black Hole Bandits, led Torc to believe the enemy had a hidden base somewhere in the valley.
Ordering the ship down close to the opposite end of the valley, the 4th assembled 10 second-line BattleMechs and a star of Elementals in the path of the approaching BattleMechs. 20 new-tech BattleMechs drew up short momentarily, then charged, trying to make for giant elevators that led into an underground fortress. Torc's suspicion had been correct. The Elementals of the 4th leapt into action, determined to seal the entrances and cut off the I.S. warriors access. A rude surprise met the Elementals, as the tunnel entry's each had a doorman, in the form of an SRM carrier.
Training paid off, however, and 3 of the SRM carriers were knocked out, the fourth destroyed when a nearby mech's engine went critical. The Elementals sealed the tunnels, while the majority of I.S. BattleMechs was destroyed at range by the Jaguar's marksmanship. The I.S. warriors made several mistakes. Notably their first charge was broken, not by Jaguar fire, but by the I.S. Commander's foolish attempts to feint a charge and withdraw, in an attempt to lure the Jaguars into charging. When all but 7 of the I.S. 'Mechs lay shattered, Torc agreed to allow the I.S. warriors a chance to duel for their freedom. All 7 1v1 duels ended in Inner Sphere defeat. Only a Vulcan and badly damaged Falcon escaped the slaughter by fleeing back down the valley. Clan Honor in the entire fight was followed to the letter. No Dragoons mechs were destroyed, though a blast from an SRM carrier struck Nova Cat Bill's Battlemaster cockpit with 5 SRM's, knocking him out for most of the fight. He did recover and engaged in one of the duels.
34) Suspecting there were more IS warriors on the planet, Torc requested and received permission to conduct recons of the surrounding areas. Torc borrowed a Nova OmniMech and joined 'Chuckle' Jones and Bondsman nova-Cat in their Hellcat and Mako OmniMechs.
Within an hour, an Inner Sphere company of BattleMechs ambushed the trio. Vastly outweighed, the three Dragoons engaged in a run-n-gun fight. Chuckles dropped a Nightsky BattleMech, as did Nova Cat in the fierce slugfest. Nova Cat was on the verge of defeating a Marauder BattleMech when massed fire dropped his 50-ton machine. The outcome was uncertain when a star of heavy Jaguar OmniFighters arrived, breaking the moral of the IS warriors and causing them to flee.
35) Remarkably, when the Dragoons made planet-fall on their new base, they found a old enemy already on site. The Black Hole Bandits were conducting another raid, and the 4th was hungry for revenge. The descent of the 4th's dropship was too close to allow all but the regular LZ detail Star of OmniMechs to perform a combat drop with minimal preparations. Star Commander Pyra's attack star engaged a rear-guard Company of the Bandits, chasing the Bandits to the edge of the merc's dropship's weapons envelope. About to halt the pursuit, the Jaguars received another surprise, as the Bandits did a remarkable mass formation maneuver and wheeled about on their pursuers, engaging the Dragoons at point blank range with overwhelming firepower and numbers.
Pyra's Cauldron Born received the brunt of the attack, collapsing from sudden, massive structural failure. Donell threw blast after blast into a Bandit Redlegger heavy mech, finally destroying it, before his own Storm Crow was annihilated in a withering crossfire. The other three OmniMechs were ordered by Torc to retreat, rather than fall in a usless attempt to destroy the attackers. The Bandits retreated to their dropship and fought their way through a wing of jaguar fighters before making their way safely out of system. The Jaguar warriors, their pride hurt at again letting the same unit slip through their fingers, took little consolation in the fact that they had stopped the bandit's mission from succeeding.
36) Two 4th Dragoon warriors attempted to win a place in the Trial of Blood-Right for the Howell bloodname, defeating over a star of aggressors in a grand melee before their own machines were defeated.
37) The orders from the Jaguar echelons came down…all currently available units on the Kurita border within one jump's distance of enemy worlds were ordered to conduct raids, destroying all assets of military value. On the planet Buckminster, the 4th first encountered the c-3 technology House Kurita developed. It was a sobering lesson. In short order Torc had ordered his unit into a horrible game of hide and seek with a Kurita company of mercenaries called The Dirty Dozen. Massed firepower, now remarkably accurate due to the C-3 properties, quickly blew the arms off Chuck's Rifleman IIC.
After the initial shock of the Kuritan force's accuracy wore off, the Jaguars threw their prowess into overtime, striking and slashing a mercenary's mech to bits, then going for cover to avoid the massed fire. Despite their numbers, a large hill and favorable terrain allowed the jaguars to outmaneuver the slower assault and heavy C-3 BattleMechs. When the smoke cleared, the entire C-3 Company was fit only for salvage. The Rifleman, though badly damaged, was still alive. The 50 ton Mako pilot, bondsman (now warrior) Nova Cat, bagged 5 kills in the engagement. Chuckle Jones destroyed 3 in his Hellcat, as did Mechwarrior Blarney in his Black Hawk. Torc broke 30 kills with his MadCat 'A' when he destroyed the fleeing merc commander's BattleMech. It would be a year later that the Dragoons would hear of the Dirty Dozen again.
38) Things were quite for the unit for more than a year, when in late 3056, the 4th received a transmission from a unit calling themselves the Sons of the Dirty Dozen. This unit was later found to be composed of adult heirs of those members slain in the original engagement. The mercenaries dropped a formal clan challenge to the Jaguars, which were honor bound to agree to a battle. As was the custom, the Jaguars were allowed to pick the location of the engagement. Suspecting the mercs would have access to the highly dishonorable C-3 system, Torc adapted his strategy to allow his warriors victory. Some among the Clans have speculated even now that his encounters with IS trickery had tainted Torc. They use this as the reasoning for Torc's actions in the fight. Torc agreed to a battle against the IS mercenaries on the planet Viking IV, a large, airless planet with increased gravity.
Torc arrived on the desolate volcanic region of Viking IV two days before the Mercs arrived. The IS commander had almost let his grin slip when Torc told him he would fight the battle with two OmniMechs, two fighters and a star of Elementals. Torc held his composure. When the mercenaries arrived, they realized their error. The vacuum of the planet made hits by big-bore clan weapons extremely lethal. After making their way in close combat formation toward the volcano, the Sons were caught by surprise as two Sabutai, flying low on the deck, suddenly speared upward and over the IS formation, raining deadly cluster bombs on the grouped mechs. The bombs and raking attacks by the pair of heavy fighters whittled down the mechs by a third of their number, forcing them to guard every direction by backing up into each other, before return fire downed Jareth's fighter. Torc ordered the remaining fighter, heavily damaged, to return to its dropship.
Angered and perhaps a bit frightened at the sudden attack and its lethal results, Colonel Jimmy ordered his remaining mechs to continue the march. A lone Kraken appeared up near the Volcano's lip. The mech's stance seemed to lend it the appearance of boredom, something that angered the IS warriors, who all pushed their machines forward as fast as the greater gravity allowed. It was a costly mistake, as a Daishi lurched up from its location behind a mass of magma boulders. The surprised warriors immediately opened up on the OmniMech as long ranged autocannon fire from the distant Kraken chewed into their ranks. Unfortunately for Jaguar warrior Spiddle, the massed firepower proved fatal, as weapons fire destroyed his mech's faceplate, sucking the warrior into the void.
He did not die alone, however…before the rest of the mercenaries could reach effective range, the Kraken had destroyed four of their number with massed AC/2 fire. At this point, the remaining Elementals leaped up from their hidden positions, SRM fire and small laser fire breaching two more mechs fatally. Colonel Jimmy and his Marauder, the sole survivors of his first command, limped out of range and back to his dropship.
39) Elements of the Sons, know known to be at least a battalion strong, conducted frequent raids on the 4th's planet, tying up resources and making life generally hell for the Smoke Jaguar Clan. One of the few engagements that the 4th managed to force on the Sons took place in Deak's Wood. A fast attack star from the 4th went after a fleeing Sons company. The ensuing encounter was indecisive, resulting in the loss of a Wolverine-1C (who overheated and cooked off his ammo) and Puma OmniMech for the 4th's side. A PHX-1C Clan Phoenix Hawk had its MASC freeze as well. The Sons lost 3 C-3 equipped BattleMechs, including a Warhammer, Kommodo and Wraith.
40 & 41) Several raiding missions by the Jaguars followed in the next few months. Star Captain Torc engaged a 3025 tech garrison lance of 2 Marauders, a Warhammer and a Wolverine. Torc's MadCat 'A' destroyed all 4 of the enemy machines, mostly through long ranged snipping and movement fire. At the same time, the rest of the star (A Daishi, Battlemaster, Ryoken and Black Hawk) engaged a new-tech company three miles to the west. The entire company fell to the 4th's warriors, who suffered no losses.
42) The Sons returned yet again, but this time their new company was equipped with the highly controversial (and since illegal) Angel ECM. The IS Heavy and Assault company leaped on the Jaguar Star opposing them in a brutal woodland bash. The two Stalker IIC's, Warhammer IIC, Mako and Hellcat Omnis were badly mauled, and the Mako destroyed, in the ensuing battle. Chuckle ordered a retreat when he realized both he and the Mako's advanced targeting computers were being rendered useless. The Stalkers were little more than slow targets to the massed fire of the C-3 machines, despite the Stalker's massive individual firepower. Refusing to break the taboo on massed fire, the 4th's warriors retreated to preserve their mechs. The Sons had finally had a taste of victory against their hated rivals.
43) Both sides of the feud were eager and ready for another meeting, and it took place in Sumpter Heights, a high-class section of city on the Son's stationed world, shortly after the 4th was ordered to return to station. No quarter was asked and none given. Though only a brief fight fight as the Dragoons were returning to their dropship, still Star Captain Torc's MadCat was destroyed. Mechwarrior Gash died when his Crusader IIC fell before the firepower of the Son's massed vehicles. The Dragoons destroyed 5 vehicles before they departed the planet, and neither side could claim real victory. A passing mech picked up Torc.
44) Another six months passed before the 4th Dragoons set on the course that would permanently lead them from the Clans. Torc knew the stalemate with the Inner Sphere mercenaries would give the Jaguar command the leverage they needed to absorb the unit into other Jaguar forces. A hearing was scheduled, complete with formal regalia. The commander of the Dragoons was ordered to appear to here the charges. What happened shocked and angered the Jaguar tribunal. Torc sent an Elemental to the chambers in full Battle armor, with a hyper pulse portable view screen. The outraged leaders demanded Torc return to face now much more serious charges. Torc flatly refused, calling for a Trial of Refusal. The command officers went a step further, and declared a Trial of Annihilation vs. the now-Dezgra unit. A emissary from the Nova Cats was a guest at the expected tribunal, and he demanded the right to include elements of the 44th Nova Cat Cavaliers in the bidding. Amazingly, Jhin Metta allowed this, an act highly unusual for a people renowned for their misanthropic feelings for rival Clans.
Torc again surprised the tribunal, when he stated his forces were already in place and awaiting all comers…on Wolcott of all places. It is uncertain what was said between Torc and the Draconis commander of Wolcott…what words about honor or other promises were exchanged. Regardless, no Combine forces interfered with the Trial. (Students of war point out that Bushido, the warrior's code and strictly adhered to by the Wolcott commander, may have been responsible for lack on Kurita participation, but this is purely speculation.
Torc chose four places to meet the attacking 7th Jaguar Dragoons and elements of the 44th NC Cavaliers. The final location would be a fall back spot from the other battles where survivors would make a final stand. Above the Arctic Circle of that planet, Mechs of the 7th, led by a bold-bidding Nova Cat star commander, executed a dangerous combat drop in a blizzard. A star of mixed medium and heavy OmniMechs from the 4th were reinforced by two medium Omni's from the 44th NCC (a Warhawk, MadCat, Viper 2nd Line machine, a Stromcrow, BlackHawk, and two medium pulse/tc boats called a Lightning and a Radius, along with 20 Elementals.. The arctic outpost that was the site of this battle was in a snow-filled bowl at the end of the only road north. What the attackers did not know was the main purpose of the outpost was verite mining, used in the manufacture of jumpship sails. The end of the bowl was honey combed with mine shafts (we used the Ishiyama maps from the Solaris VII box set, and snow bog-down rules).
There is no ritual of Zellbrigen in a Trial of Annihilation. The 4th had used their understanding of Inner Sphere warrior tricks to make the place a deadly trap. The defending units were composed of a Warhawk, Turkina, Marauder IIC, Stromcrow, and a NightGyr, along with a full star of (25) Elementals. The biggest three machines were hidden in trenches cleaned out by mining equipment, up tot he waist level of the mechs. These trenches ended in thick copses of arctic vegetation. (Theses pines were sheltered from the wind, making the allowing the trees to survive. The trenches behind them were covered with plywood sown with mining explosives in their center. The major entrance to the mines was also rigged with explosives, enough to hinder entry. Inside the caverns, 4th Jaguar Elementals were hidden and waiting. Two of the Miner mechs, engines running, were placed into the town's center.
After a long while, the 4th detected their enemy dropping, while an advanced the Viper and two Nova Cat machines came in to view at the far end of the valley, obviously the recon element. Several of the enemy machines became bogged down in the 15' drifts of snow, barely managing to make the camp. More than one fell on the slippery pavement. The snow had its desired effect of isolating the enemy units. The lighter machines were the first to come into range, attacking the miner mechs. Too late, they realized their error, as Blarney's Warhawk and the other two dug-in assault mechs opened up on the 7th and the 44th OmniMechs. Two ER PPC in the CT cored the Lightning with the opening salvo from the 4th Warhawk, and a bogged down BlackHawk fell in defeat without so much as firing a shot.
The 4th quickly withdrew down the trenches after blowing their explosives. Inside the caves, the mechs moved over a reinforced bridge, into the mech-sized mines. The 44th NC warrior in charge broke his bid nearly right away, calling in the Elementals that were crossed from the, last bid. In a short while, the enemy Elementals did a massed charge into the cave, the lip of which promptly detonated and landed on the enemy Viper. Before the Omnis outside could clear the rubble, the 4th slaughtered the 7th's Elementals. Only 15 still on Omnis outside the cave lived through the fight (see below). In the brutal fight inside the mines, the 4th's Elementals reeked havoc among the 7th's Omni's, that was busy firing at Jaguar mechs. The Viper was on the bridge when massed Jaguar fire destroyed it, dropping the machine into the ice covered lake, where it suffered a breech in one leg.
In the end, the 4th annihilated their attackers, losing but a single OmniMech. Blarney's Warhawk shut down, and the 7th's Ryoken targeted the cockpit, hitting with 6 ER Medium lasers. His gloating was short lived, when the 4th's Ryoken returned the favor, slogging the enemy mech with 2 medium pulses to the head ten seconds later. The Viper managed to rise from its watery landing spot and limped out of the cave, fleeing on hot jump-jet steam. The attacker had lost six OmniMechs and 20 Elementals. The remaining 15 accepted the bond-cord of the 4th. The 4th lost the Warhawk and 3 Elementals. The 4th's warriors began the long march to the last battlefield.
45) While the northern battle raged, another Trianry of the 4th Dragoons (composed of 5 heavy, 9 medium and one light OmniMechs) engaged two reinforced stars (4 assaults, 6 heavy and 2 medium OmniMechs and 10 Elementals) in a wooded valley near the equator. Torc had given orders the 4th warriors were to employ Com-Guard tactics of whittling the enemy down and then retreating, inciting a battle of attrition. The battle was a long distance affair, ending when the 4th, still in excellent shape, departed the field. Despite the on-site commander's opinion that the 7th was most likely going to lose this battle, Torc insisted the unit follow the overall battle strategy. Mechwarrior Vlosh's Grendel and Chucks Rifleman IIC both suffered cockpit destruction (Chuck took a Gauss and Vlosh a laser) The 7th lost a 100 ton Ranger, a Ryoken, Phantom and a Rifleman IIC of their own.
46) The third Trial location, and the bloodiest, took place at Razor Back pass (known in the 4th's archives as the Battle of the Bloody Pass). The 4th lost more of its Mechwarriors in this fight than any other battle in its history. 28 4th Dragoons Omni and BattleMechs and 119 Elementals warded the valley floor which the Razor Back Pass's southern section emptied onto. The 4th had erroneously informed the 7th it would meet them on the northern side, near the Pass's foothills. The 7th performed a high altitude combat drop, its warrior cursing when they saw the 4th retreat through the pass to the south. The 4th's outrider mechs stayed inside the pass to screen the 7th and the 44th attached mech's approach.
After the 4th moved into its position, their reinforcements brought their fusion plants online. The Sons of the Dirty Dozen had waited with their mechs powered down. Torc had contacted the mercenaries and explained the situation. Sensing the Star Captain's desire to bury the hatchet over old blood, the mercenary Colonel agreed, with the understanding his unit would be refurbished with Clan-Tech equipment from the 4th's stockpiles before the battle, and all after-battle salvage from the campaign. Torc agreed, and the mercenary company now warded the 4th's northern flank in the foothills above the valley. The C-3 skirmish lance of Phoenix Hawk, Huron Warrior, Wraith and Clint were hidden near the small woods to the direct north of the Pass's mouth, and the SRM and LRM carriers were hunkered down in improved positions.
The Dragoon's Elementals were likewise in cover to the direct south of the Pass. The allied force was not kept waiting long. In less than half an hour, the picket mechs came hurtling through Razor Back Pass, the light mechs of the 7th and 44th in hot pursuit. What followed can only be described as hell. The 7th Dragoon's Omni's nearly crushed each other in a savage effort to break through the narrow mouth of the valley and get at their hated enemy. Laser, PPC and LRM barrages hammered the 7ths mechs as they emerged, destroying several in the very mouth of the pass. These were driven into the ground as the assault mechs leapt out into open terrain.
Over 40 7th and 44th Omni and BattleMechs stormed through Razor Back pass that day, and an additional four were added later when the 7th's commander broke his bid. Many were custom designs never seen before (with highly unusual names such as Sun Crusher). (On a side note, Ryan (the enemy player) named every one of his pilots from Star Trek episodes. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed killing Wesley.). Once many of the 7th had made it through the pass, the Elementals of the 4th leapt into action, crippling 7th Omni's with leg and swarm attacks. One Hellcat warrior laced an enemy Fenris with pulses to the center torso. That machine nuked (using the Tac Handbook rules at the time, as it was brand new then) and the resulting explosion annihilated a Dragonfly, which in turn detonated and destroyed an enemy Thor. Both Hellcat pilots were hit with the shock wave but survived by being on its edge.
An undisclosed # of enemy mechs were destroyed that day (Damn it, I thought I had the total written down, but I think it was between 19-25. Anyway, I log kills the moment a warrior gets them, so the kills are factored into gunnery and piloting). The 4th's loses could hardly be considered light, however. The death toll included the following, nearly all of which were head shots over 5 rounds or so…god, with so much firing he couldn't HELP but roll a few 12's: Bill (Gauss to head), Mansbond (ER PPC to head), Jabba (large pulse to head, rolled a '3' location twice after getting 2 crits), Gimp (Gauss to head), Donnell (2 med. pulses to head), Prego (cockpit crit), Gallileo (Gauss to head), Drusus (cockpit crit). In addition, Star Commander Pyra lost her mech yet again, as did Mechwarrior Fozzy. The remaining mechs of the 4th and the Sons retreated in good order, though most had significant battle damage.
47) The Trial was to end in Denzal Air Station. Aficionados of Clan tradition will point out that bidding is highly unusual in something that's supposed to be all or nothing, such as a Trial of Annihilation. For the most part, this was true of the battles to this point, with the 7th keeping some Omni's in reserve for counter attacks. That left scarcely a Trianry's worth of 'Mechs in the 7th's Touman for the Trial. With what the 4th had left, and knowing the Sons were planet side, Jhin was forced to swallow her pride and ask 4th Commander what forces he intended to defend Denzal with. Though well within his rights to declare everything, Torc was tired of the Trial and the loss incurred among his fellow warriors, some old friends. To preserve as many of his command as possible, Torc declared a mixed 8 OmniMechs of mixed weight (including a refurbished LAM with Clan weapons), 4 aerospace fighters and a lance of Sons BattleMechs as the defenders.
The 7th and nearly wiped-out 44th responded with 9 Omni and BattleMechs, the majority assault class. The battle was one-sided, as the 7th and 44th were routed. One 7th Rifleman IIC landed on the runway, only to find it had been sown with command-detonated mines. The LAM proved invaluable, striking and retreating, throwing the 44th and 7th's warriors off balance. The 4th suffered the loss of a single Batu. The attackers lost a Daishi, Behemoth, Rifleman IIC, Thor and Marauder IIC. Unfortunately for the Sons, their commander was head-stomped by a Behemoth when the building he entered collapsed and sent him into a basement. As soon as Colonel Jimmy stood up, the clan machine kicked in his cockpit. Jhin realized the trial was over, and, filled with shame and vowing never to pilot a OmniMech again, she surrendered her command. The 4th and the Sons claimed the remaining 7th's assets. The 44th elements that participated in the trial were completely wiped out or made bondsmen.
48) Torc's next actions as commander were to send the 4th on raids into nearly every Clan's space, to collect troops and supplies. While constant battle would make his troops sharper than ever, this course of action might not have been the best choice for the unit overall, as some of the following battles will demonstrate. The first target of the 4th's cross-clan raiding were the Steel Vipers. Not a military strike, the water and food raid turned into one, though not with the Vipers. A mercenary unit calling them selves Black Halo was stranded on planet, waiting for an emergency pickup by a Leopard-class dropship.
Mistaking the 4th for Vipers, the 2 lances of 'Halo mechs immediately attacked the raiding Jaguars. The mercs were equipped with very powerful machines, including clan salvage. These consisted of a Thunderbolt, Marauder, Valkyri, Stalker IIC, Berserker, Phoenix Hawk IIC, Warhammer and King Crab (Gauss variant). The 4th's party was vastly outweighed, but the mercs had suffered combat damage from previous bouts with the 'Vipers. The 4th used a Black Hawk, MadCat 'A', Hellcat and Mako. Chuck bagged 3 enemy mechs as did Bondsman Nova Cat. Torc and Greer each destroyed one. No Jaguars were destroyed and the surviving elite mercenaries were offered bondsman status as well as a way off planet while being allowed to pilot newer better mechs. The mercs accepted, with little real options available.
49) The first of many battles against Clan Ghost Bear next occurred. There were still empty mech cubicles within the Jaguar's dropship, and the Bears were close enough to allow the 4th a raid for supplies and Mechs. Torc did not wish to make any particular clan come looking for a pirate band that was continuously raiding their territory. 31 Smoke Jaguars engaged 36 Ghost Bear garrison Omni and BattleMechs. Amazingly, the skills of the garrison seemed remarkable (the players insisted on having duplicate skills of my unit) Mechwarrior Tylonal's Warhammer IIC took a gauss to the head early on. That was the extent of the Jaguar losses. The 6th Provisional Garrison Cluster of the Ghost Bears retreated when they'd lost 9 Omni and BattleMechs, with at least one other fleeing with no weapons. The Jaguars were left with a large assortment of unmanned 'Bear mechs (two full trianries worth) to fill out their roster. (I have some great pictures of this battle on disk somewhere, with a miniature city and all).
50) Jumping into Clan Jade falcon space (and onto WEB RPG for the first time playing battletech with that program) the 4th ran afoul (fowl?) of the 89th Talon. Primarily a water raid, the 4th declared a Trial of Possession against the Jade Falcon defending star (three assault and two heavy OmniMechs including two of the new Turkinas, a Warhawk and two Timber Wolves). The Falcons had also placed minefields in key locations. 3 Jagaur assault 'Mechs (Warhammer IIC, Battlemaster 3W, Stalker IIC) and 3 medium's (Ryoken, Grendel, Fenris) closed across open terrain toward the dug-in 'Falcon positions. Immediately breaking Zellbrigen, the Jade Falcons fired their entire arsenal at one or two Jaguar mechs, at extreme range. This tipped the 'Falcon's hand, inadvertently telling the 4th the 'Falcon's C.O., though enthusiastic, was inexperienced. The Jaguar's ace in the hole were a star of Elementals that combat dropped onto the hill directly in front of (and out of sight) of the 89th's entrenchment's.
Seconds before the 4th finally closed to short range, the Elementals leapt over the hogback and leg attacked and swarmed the opposition. This tactic completely disrupted the 89th's cohesion. The jaguar Mechs thundered into range, and the shooting started in earnest. When the dust cleared, the 'Falcon star was gone. The 4th lost a Ryoken, but the pilot, Star Commander Reece, survived. The amazingly arrogant Falcons, though just defeated, offered to give the victors all their mechs, as long as they claimed no bondsmen. Perhaps because he was amused, Reece agreed to take 4 'Mechs and one pilot, despite the pleas and threats of the Falcon commander.
51) The Falcons challenged the 4th to a battle in a desert location, offering choice war materials if the Jaguars won, or ownership of some of the 4th's material and warriors. The Jags placed 2 assault, 3 heavy and one medium machine against 4 assault and 1 heavy Falcon Mech, reinforced with a star of Elementals and a hovercraft. The snipping in the rocky buttes and mesa of the desert made line of sight for more than one mech at a time nearly impossible.. the Falcon star got the worst of it in the snipping, losing a OmniMech, and Elemental star and a Hovercraft to the jaguars superior maneuvering skills. The desperate Falcon Commander challenged Torc (in his Timber Wolf 'A') to a duel against his Dire Wolf (custom with TC/Jump jets). Torc was defeated, at the same time blowing an arm and a leg off the Dire. Though technically a draw, Torc determined that the star and the 4th's Commander became Isorla to Clan Jade Falcon.
52) Despite their commander's status as bondsman, the Jaguars proceeded with the third and final battle against the remainder of the 89th Talon. In the city of New Leningrad, the 4th dealt the 89th a crushing defeat, the Dragoons stationing themselves on a hill overlooking the city, and blasting the approaching 'Falcons to scrap. Using the captured Hellcat from the Dragoons, the 'Falcons were surprised when the MASC froze up the first time the 'Falcon Mechwarrior tried to use it. Less than a quarter mile away, the Black Lanner of the same star also suffered the same catastrophic failure within seconds of the Hellcat's lockup. The 'Falcon commander conceded his force was outclassed and surrendered the remaining OmniMechs.
53) After a speedy return to Falcon space, the Jaguars made it clear there were several more targets they intended to strike on the Jade Falcon holding. Before they could follow through, a vengeful Falcon warrior, Star Captain Havoc Char, demanded a Trial of Grievance against the raiding unit. Still smarting at the loss of their commander to 'Falcon bondsman-ship, an angry Star Commander 'Chuckle' Jones agreed. The battle took place in a small wood far from any city. The 'Falcons brazenly placed two of their new assault-class Turkina's on the field. The 4th responded with a Hellcat and Thunder God. Twenty seconds into the battle, the Thunder God shatter Turrel's cockpit with a gauss slug. According to strict protocol, the Jaguar pilot waited for the other duelists to complete their fight. , Thirty seconds later, Chuckle's Hellcat vaporized the remaining center torso structure of the second Turkina. Havoc's headless mech was taken as Isorla.
54) With more than enough hardware supplies, the 4th next fought a Trial of Possession for water, food and other mundane necessities. Star Commander Atlas of the Jade Falcons piloted yet another Turkina, his wingman using a captured Wolf Clan Fenris. The Jaguars pitted Chuckle Jones in his Hellcat and Mechwarrior Greer in his Nova, respectively. Both Jaguars emerged victorious.
55) A small recon of the base where Torc was held as bondsman resulted in a brief skirmish between a Jaguar Peregrine and an experimental OmniMech know as a Mouse resulted in an easy Jaguar victory (and the subsequent redesign of the enemy OmniMech). Before the Jaguars could act against the fort, a mercenary unit known as The Spartans landed and engaged the garrison. They managed to defeat the remaining star , of which Torc was now a member. Both forces lifted off near each other, where radio communications (started by the Spartans, as they had debriefed Torc and learned the situation) were established and a deal was struck. The 89th Isorla Trinary was bartered for Star Captain Torc, in a deep-space exchange.
56) A raid for special cold-weather equipment resulted in angry words between a Wolf Clan commander and Star Captain Torc. The Wolves declared they would hunt the Jaguars, and the Jaguars declared they would battle in the Ice Delve Reaches, a frigid wasteland of crevasse and snowdrift. The Jaguars had several hours to deploy in the valley beyond the Wolf Clan's necessary approach. The arrogant Wolf Commander did not take into account the icy terrain in his bid, and his unit suffered for it. A very impressive Wolf Clan force attacked, comprised of 3 Dire Wolf's, FIVE Timber Wolfs, 2 Ice Ferrits, 1 Summoner, 1 Mad Dog, 1 Viper (Dragonfly) and 1 Storm Crow. The Dragoons, while significantly smaller in weight, were prepared. They were composed of 2 Peregrines (equipped with TAG), a Cougar (TAG as well), A Summoner, Stalker IIC, 2 Marauder IIC's, 2 Crusader IIC's, 2 Rifleman IIC's, 2 Storm Crows, a Night Gyr and a Khyribdus Artillery BattleMech.
The Jaguar light mechs took the highest terrain around and hunkered down in the deep snows, so that only their TAG units were in sight. The Crusader IIC's came to the battle loaded with Thunder munitions, which they fired from the safety of the other side of the mountains. Star Commander Pyra's Night Gyr, which was actually deep inside a crevasse, was also equipped the same, in the 'D' configuration. The lumbering Wolf clan mechs slipped and slid, several plunging into deep gorges and taking severe damage. One Dire Wolf actually performed an accidental charge 90 meters into the back of a Timber Wolf it was following. When the lead Dire Wolf mechs entered across the treacherous, 30-meter wide bridges, the Jaguars sprung their trap. Massed Thunder rounds rocketed up and over the frozen hills, to land among the narrow bridges, trapping the assault mechs with massive minefields, leaving the only ways out on either side unthinkable 30-meter drops. While the trapped Wolves were debating their next moves, TAG equipped light mechs spotted for the tandem ARROW IV rounds launched by the distant Khyribdus support 'Mech.
Seconds before the Wolf Clan commander shamefully called for retreat, a Wolf Clan Dragonfly ran afoul of a Jaguar Rifleman IIC, which cored the medium OmniMech's center torso with 3 large pulse lasers in a single volley. The Wolves retreated without inflicting a single point of damage on a Jaguar 'Mech.
57) The next stop on the cross-clan raids was more action in the Wolf Clan OZ. Torc wished to engage a Wolf Clan garrison unit in a trial for Mechwarriors to fill out the unmanned 'Mechs roster. Torc was somewhat surprised when he found a Ghost Bear Dropship deploying to the surface of the planet near the city of New Bien Ayush. It seemed the bears were going to fight a Trial of their own. Torc decided to risk entering the battle with some of the 4th's own units. The 'Bears initially brought the least amount of forces to the fray, though their warriors were all uncanny shots. These consisted of a Warhawk, two Executioners, a pair of Mad Dogs, a Timber Wolf, Hellbringer and a Summoner. The Wolves were defending the city against all comers, with 9 points of entrenched and hidden Elementals, and 2 Dire Wolfs, three Timber Wolfs, and a Summoner. The Jaguars attacked with a mixed force of OmniMechs and Elementals, consisting of a Dire Wolf, A Storm Crow, Nova and War Wolf (Mako), as well as a Night Gyr, Hellcat and Torc's Timber Wolf. Three Elemental points rounded out the Jaguar's Binary. Torc traded his 'A' variant for a 'S' Timber Wolf, favoring the jump jets over firepower.
The three forces approached each other cautiously, though once there was a line of sight, the daring Bondsman NovaCat risked an assault on the rear torso of the Ghost Bear CO's Warhawk, MASCing behind the assault 'Mech for a rear center torso shot. Though the assault OmniMech did not go do, its weak rear armor spelled doom for the Ghost Bear machine later on in the fight. The Mako got off relatively free despite his mad rush into the Bear formation. All participants agreed to a very relaxed form of Zellbrigen (i.e. each player agreed to fire at any one target with only one unit (discounting Elementals) of their force at any given time, though the player was free to let any unit on his side do the shooting). None of the forces was quick to engage the other two, for all knew that regardless of whoever struck first, the unengaged force would fall upon the mauled winner.
The battle unfolded thus: The 4th slowly worked its way east into the maze of buildings, where hidden Wolf Elementals ambushed them. The Wolf battle armor inflicted minor damage before the Hellcat and Night Gyr annihilated the buildings they were hiding in, destroying a point of Elementals. Torc kept the Dragoons close to each other so no stragglers would get separated. The Wolf commander slowly did a wide flanking maneuver from his position to the North, working east in front of the advancing Jag forces. The Southern force of Ghost Bears basically split his force, sending heavies up the middle to engage the approaching wolves, while the majority came northwest to engage the Jaguars inside the edge of the city. This proved to be unwise, in that in splitting his forces, the Ghost Bear commander made the classic mistake of fighting a battle on two fronts. Distance between the Wolves and Jaguars was sufficient to allow them to concentrate their fire on the now-greatly outnumbered 'Bears.
The initial thrust into the Jaguar zone resulted in the loss most of the heavy Bear mechs, the Jaguars driving the 'Bear force out onto a wooded ridge that overlooked the city. Torc felled the Ghost Bear CO with a jump to the ATM-boating Warhawk's rear, followed up by massed SRM barrages into the Mako-savaged rear armor. The Jaguars did not get away without loss, however. The parting shots of the Ghost Bear Warhawk destroyed Mechwarrior Greer's Nova. Across the city, the Timber Wolf of Wolf Mechwarrior Kyle removed the head of the Ghost Bear Summoner 'C', though the 'Bear also destroyed Kyle's 'Mech at the same time. Realizing that he'd made a gross error in tactics, the Ghost Bear Commander, Devon MacArthur broke his bid and brought down the forces from his last cut down. It was too little, too late. These reinforcements consisted of a Dire Wolf, a third Executioner, and a star of Ghost Bear Elementals.
A Wolf Dire Wolf challenged the Ghost Bear Dire to a duel, which the 'Bear accepted. To the bewilderment of both the Jaguars and Wolves, the 'Bear Dire turned its back to the approaching Wolf Dire, who promptly decapitated the 'Bear mech. Several of the Ghost Bear OmniMechs began picking up their downed pilots, and the 'Bears made a hasty retreat, though the Wolf Clan Summoner remained engaged with a 'Bear Executioner. The Ghost Bear warrior almost won the bout, when he targeted the building the Summoner landed on. The 40-meter fall nearly destroyed the Wolf Clan machine, but the Bear warrior did not have enough firepower remaining to destroy the enemy OmniMech. With a leap over the 'Bear machine seconds later, the Summoner brought an end to the duel with well-placed ER-Large laser shots to the Executioner's spine. Realizing that the cunning Wolf commander had deliberately avoided most of the fighting, Torc asked for Hegira as his battered forces departed. The Wolf commander knew that if he pressed the attack, he might well lose, and he heartily agreed.
When the smoke cleared, the Ghost Bears had lost 8 of their OmniMechs (5 to the Jaguars) and ten Elementals. Both the Jaguars and the Wolves lost a single OmniMech. The Wolves also lost three points worth of Elementals.
58) The Ghost Bear commander was still smarting from his defeat when the 4th announced its desire to fight for Bear assets. The Bears had learned the Jaguars possessed several Ghost Bear bondsmen, and agreed to battle for the return of the Bondsmen, as well as OmniMech blueprints for both the Hellcat and Mako OmniMechs. The Jaguars agreed to meet the Bears on the Great Glacier. It was not a particularly smart move on the Jaguar's part. The Bears fielded a star composed of 2 Ursus BattleMechs, a Grizzly BattleMech, and two Dragonfly OmniMechs. The Jaguars placed a Peregrine, Summoner, Mako and two Rifleman IIC's as their force. What should have been an easy Jaguar victory turned into a nightmare of sliding Jaguar machines. In contrast, the yet-again 'elite piloting skills of the Bears allowed them to stand where the Jaguars constantly fell. In fact, more damage was inflicted on the Jaguars by terrain than by Ghost Bear attacks.
Apparently the cold affected The Mako's targeting computer, for his Dragonfly opponent failed to move and the Mako needed mere 5's to hit the Bear machines center torso with five Medium pulse lasers. All but one missed their target. To add insult to injury, the Rifleman IIC piloted by Bondsman Marauder was lashing his enemy, an Ursus, with large pulse after large pulse laser. In desperation, the Ursus pilot fired his ER-Large laser at extreme range, annihilating the head of the pristine Rifleman with a freak shot (he rolled a 12 for crit check!). In disgust, the Jaguars retreated, losing a single Rifleman and several bondsmen, as well as a Mako and Hellcat which the Bears won in the trial. It was clear the Jaguars, with very limited mech resources, could not afford to throw away more machines in such a battle where terrain was deadlier than their Ghost Bear opponents. This was not the last time the Jaguars would encounter the bears at this location, however.
59) The battles taking place on the Ghost Bear planet were not the only fights the 4th were involved in at that time. Some of the 4th had jumped in-system for a guerilla raid in Kurita space. Slipping past light aerospace resistance, a reinforced star of the 4th's assault mechs landed near a Kurita mech repair facility, intent of purloining some good supplies. Unfortunately, the area was not undefended. What were initially thought to be elements of the 2nd Genyosha came looking for the Jaguars, and they were out in force. The Jaguars went to ground in a swampy valley, waiting to take the large attacking force by surprise. The surprise was on the Jaguars, however. Anticipating action, the 'Genyosha' commander came into the valley on the opposite end where the Jaguars expected them, behind the waiting Jaguar unit. To top all the bad news off, the Kuritans appeared well within their own weapon's firing ranges.
The Jaguars reacted quickly, however, and the first sign to the Draconis warriors that there were enemies about came at the expense of a Black Hawk KU losing its head when it took partial cover, followed within 5 seconds by a new Faith BattleMech. It turned out the 'Genyosha' was really a front masqueraded by the 5th Ghost regiment. They came at the 6 Jaguar assaults with a full company of medium, heavy and assault battlemechs of the newest designs, as well as seven squads of mixed Inner Sphere battle armor types. The fighting was hellish, with mortal blows reigning down on all sides. 4 Kuritan mechs were destroyed before the first Jaguar machine fell, including a head-shot King Crab with twin gauss rifles. The Jaguars had their backs to a swampy river, and were forced to make a stand in the midst of the swamp as the Kuritan mechs closed to point blank range where numbers had the advantage.
Bondsman Baker died when an enemy Salamander evaporated his already damaged cockpit. Flamer equipped battle armor brought down the Marauder IIC when they swarmed it and blasted the mech after it had fired its 3 hottest weapons. The Stalker IIC pilot received numerous head hits, rendering him unconscious most of the battle. When the firing stopped, a Jaguar Thunder God and Warhammer IIC wearily moved off, leaving behind two still-walking heavy mechs (a War Dog and custom 'Devious' battlemech) and many IS Elementals. Though technically a draw, it is estimated that the Jaguars would have finished off the two remaining badly-mauled Draconis mechs, only to be eventually pulled down by massed swarming battle armor. It is only speculation that the Jaguars might have emerged with a clean win, had the IS unit not entered behind the Jaguars, and well within I.S. weapons range. The Jaguars also fought with but one Jaguar mech targeting a single enemy, even when the fighting became desperate. In any event, this second loss in a row for the Jaguars cost the unit 4 of its priceless assault OmniMechs.
60) After regrouping, the Jaguars once again jumped to Wolf space, looking to re-supply with Mechs and Mechwarriors, at the expense of the Wolf Clan. A Jade Falcon Clan jumpship also already within the solar system. Sub-space communications revealed that the Wolf commander below was none other than the one in charge in the three-way fight at New Bin Alyus that took place several months before. Amazingly, the Wolf Clan warrior suggested the two units work to defeat the 'Falcons, and the Jaguars would retain half the salvage. The Jaguars agreed and dropped on planet, where the two units warily greeted each other and linked up to pursue the Falcons, who were waiting in woodlands a days travel north.
The Falcons were arraigned along the high ground in the wood-covered hills. These included a Turkina, Warhawk C, a Dire Wolf, Executioner, two Summoners, two Hellbringers, a Night Gyr and a Mad Dog. The 4th and the Wolves advanced on the Falcon positions. The Dragoons fielded two Storm Crows, a Dire Wolf and a Crusader IIC, as well as 4 points of Elementals. The Wolves had included two Dire Wolfs and two Timber Wolfs with mounted pairs of Elemental points. Long range fire dropped a Falcon Mad Dog, as the Dragoons and the Wolves leapt forward. Star Captain Reece maneuvered his Storm Crow close enough to finish off a wounded Summoner, while the Wolves took the fighting close to the Falcon's position. Amazingly, the entire Falcon force buckled and retreated after a mere two of their machines were downed.
61) After analyzing the success of Inner Sphere Armor swarming tactics against many clan units, and the 4th's own experience with these lesser combat vehicles, Torc was determined to add such flexible machines to his Inventory. The Jaguars entered Draconis space and made planet fall on a minor Combine world. Torc contacted the defending commander, offering a Trial of Possession for some of the Kuritan's vehicles in exchange for a Trinary of OmniMechs. Colonel Ten Roshi agreed to the exchange, if he could pilot his Devestator against a smaller Clan machine in a duel. To win so valuable a prize for his Coordinator, at the cost of a possible loss of 3025 technology tanks and hovercraft, as well as the honor of ritual combat, was too tempting a prize for the aging warrior. The bushido code was clearly followed by the Colonel, and so Torc agreed, sending Chuckle Jones to handedly defeat the elite Inner Sphere warrior in under thirty seconds. The Colonel graciously turned over the medium tanks and hovercraft, moments before committing seppuku. Perplexed and a little saddened, the 4th lifted off without incident.
62) There were still more slots available on the dropships of the jaguars, and Torc, annoyed with the recent loss to the Bears, targeted Altenmarkt yet again for a raid against his old foe, Star Colonel Devon MacArthur. After several months of prowling the Ghost Bear supply lanes, the 4th managed to capture and detain a merchant jumpship. From their databanks, Torc learned where a storehouse of mechs and vehicles were held, guarded by a phenomenally elite Ghost Bear unit (13 1G-2P warriors, 1 2G-3P, and their commander had 0G-0P), the Sanguinary Bears. This unit was charged with warding the supply cache, as well as running mock war-games with the 22nd Phalanx, Devon's unit.
The Sanguinary Bears accepted the challenge, sending three Assaults (2 Hellreaver customs, an Awesome IIC), six heavy OmniMechs (4 Timber Wolfs, 2 Mad Dogs), and six medium OmniMechs (Four Dragonflys (Viper) , one Ice Ferret and one Nova OmniMech) against a twice as numerous jagaur force. (BV's actually favored the Sanguinary Bears). The Jaguars fielded 2 Dire Wolfs, a Khyribdus, a Thunder God, a Warhawk C, two Warhammer IIC's, a Marauder IIC, a Rifleman IIC, Summoner, Torc's Timber Wolf, Hellcat, Night Gyr, Crusader IIC and a TAG equipped Peregrine. In addition, 15 points of Jaguar Elemental battle armor also came to the battle.
Though much better shots than the Jaguars, the skilled use of group tactics enable the 4th to maul the Sanguinary Bears in short order. The first OmniMech to fall was a brash Ice Ferret pilot who charged the main body of the southern-flank Jaguars. Chuckle Jones made short work of the medium 'Mech in an alleyway of the city. An enemy Hell Reaver repaid the compliment with a PPC shot to the Dire Wolf cockpit of Mechwarrior Sparky (one of the former Turkina pilots of Clan Jade Falcon). This action caused the northern Jaguar flank to come up short and use Elemental-based flamers to create smoke for Jaguar Mech cover, as the largest force of big Ghost Bears was pressing forward in the north of the city. Sparky's parting shots brought down one of the enemy Mad Dogs.
From that point on, until the arrival of the 22nd Phalanx, the Sanguinary Bears suffered heavy losses, losing at least one mech every ten seconds. The Jaguar missile boats again used the tactics they had leanered against the wolves on the Glacier. Thunder rounds fell all across the battlefield, wherever the Jaguars though it might slow down or break up Ghost Bear formations. Grant (a sibkin of Devon) foolishly ran into a building, which the Peregrine targeted with Arrow rounds from the rear-marching Khyribdus. Damage from earlier fire was enough to destroy Grant's Timber Wolf. Despite warnings to stop, Grant fled the battlefield afoot, only to be gunned down by a Jaguar Warhawk.
Amazingly, the enemy Nova repeated Grant's error. The 'Bear machine landed atop a building in the open, directly in front of a massed cluster of Jaguar assault mechs. The damage to the mech was compounded, when Chuckle's Hellcat did enough damage to the building to make it collapse, destroying the Nova from the high fall. Less than a minute later, the Peregrine pilot, Bondsman Smith, was vaporized in his cockpit by massed fire from enemy Timber Wolf 'A's. Their victory was short lived, as the Timber Wolf, bogged down on an isolated strip of pavement by surrounding mines, was cut down from massed weapons fire by the same group of mechs that waylaid the Nova. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Jaguar Elementals managed to pull down and destroy one of the many Ghost Bear Dragonflys. Chuckle's Hellcat received horrible damage from a waist-deep in water Hell Reaver, forcing the Jaguar Omni into retreat, but sufficient damage was done to the Ghost Bear assault mech to make is viable movement a deeper submergence. Jaguar assaults were closing in and minefield prevented the Ghost Bear machine from doing anything but going deeper in the water (to avoid another head shot or back shot).
Eventually the 22nd Phalanx arrived to extract the Sanguinary from the Jaguar deathtrap. 14 heavy clan tanks arrived, including 5 of the new MacArthur main battle tanks. In addition, a Hunchback IIC, Kodiak, Supernova and Rifleman IIC second line BattleMechs entered the fight. Their affect on the battle was short lived, however, as the Jaguar's own reinforcements appeared thirty seconds later, in the form of two Shadow Cats, a Stromcrow and a flight cluster/Thunder bomb laden Subatai and Batu fighters appeared. The Ghost Bears retreated, conceding the field, after a duel between Torc and Devon ended with the Hunchback IIC's leg missing, decapitated by the opening PPC burst from Torc's Timber Wolf.
The Jaguars lost two OmniMechs and six Elementals, but claimed a full trinary of OmniMechs (in addition to two Timber Wolfs, a Mad Dog and Hell Reaver that were salvageable from the fight) and trianry of clan vehicles. Regrettably, after carefully adjusting all the space available, the Jaguars only left planet with 15 tanks (including ten of the new MacArthur's) and eight of the 19 possible OmniMechs. Even though the value of OmniMechs in the Inner Sphere made them tempting, Torc insisted the 4th take some vehicles to increase the unit's flexibility on the long role ahead.
The Sanguinary Bears had lost seven of their machines (the above four mechs, as well as an Ice Ferret, Dragonfly (Viper) and Nova). Many of the other machines were heavily damaged.
63) Prior to lift off, Torc told Chuckle Jones he was in command, if Torc did not return. The confused Jones none the less obeyed when Torc ordered the Star Commander to proceed with the plans laid down so long ago. The Jaguars would depart Altenmarkt for Outreach within 48 hours, with or without Star Captain Torc. A short while later a Ghost Bear hovertank arrived in the Jaguar LZ. Torc entered the vehicle without a word, the confused Jaguars watching the machine speed north. Torc had agreed to settle matters with Devon MacArthur on a more personal, and permanent, level. The Hovercraft arrived on the Great Glacier, scene of the Jaguar loss in the ToP some months before. Foul weather had removed all signs of that battle, but Torc could see the Ghost Bear Hunchback IIC in the blowing snow, waiting for him to mount it.
On the other side of the Glacier, Devon MacArthur piloted his own clan Hunchback. The two warriors met on the icy slopes, Devon losing control several times of his mech, severely damaging it. Torc kept the high ground while the badly mauled Devon hid below in the crevasses, desperately trying to get in close so Torc could not inflict damage at range, where Devon's paper thin armor would spell certain doom. But Torc was not going to play the game. He rushed his Hunchback forward to engage the Ghost Bear, and end the farce. Torc's weapons fire annihilated the other machine, missing with one ultra AC 20 (on a 5!) but doing sufficient damage to the Bear with the remaining two bursts and the ER-Medium lasers. The return fire from Devon's machine scored three autocannon hits as well as a medium laser, but did not initially destroy the Jaguar 'Mech. However, the heat build up from losing a side torso and firing so many weapons caused Torc's remaining side torso ammo to detonate, hurtling him free of the cockpit in his ejection chain. (Mere seconds after Devon's own chair rocketed out of the Ghost Bear Hunchback's head).
The two warriors spent an uncomfortable night around a hastily lit survival-log fire in the ice caves near the glacier. Little was spoken between the two, though the Ghost Bear commander muttered a garbled warning to stay away from Ghost Bear worlds, before Torc mounted the hovercraft that would take him back to his dropship. The 4th Jaguar Dragoons left clan space, bound for Outreach, there to set them selves up as mercenaries, and forge a new life with a new name, in the war-strewn territory of the Chaos March.
64) After receiving a posting to resort world of Mizar after Outreach, Torc set to intergrading his new warriors into the unit. This was no small feat, with the attitude of many of his Clan warriors. Torc did not require them to abandon their warrior rituals, but neither did he force his new recruits to fight with an honor system foreign to them. This would be cause for some concern when Clan Wolf in Exile came to finish the job Operation Bulldog had started. Politics in the Inner Sphere led to a paradox with the Dragoons. On the one hand, Katrina had access to a powerful Clan unit, though she could never publicly approve of Clan warriors, Smoke Jaguar especially, residing within her realm’s borders. She would deny any knowledge of the unit, and shift blame if anyone accused her of harboring the enemy. She could not, however prevent the Wolf Clan in Exile and the 5th Ghost Regiment from landing on Mizar, without exposing her knowledge of the unit. Eliminating Torc’s command would remove any use of the unit as a political weapon against her brother (the failure of his Operation Bulldog, for example). Thus, Torc’s unit would stand or fall without help from the Archon, though there was some discussion between Torc and the leader of Mizar’s 2nd Commonwealth Guard, mainly the defense of Mizar from planetary invasion from ANYONE.
The Jaguar CO knew Khan Phelan’s forces were in rout, when Torc replied with a negative response to Khan Phelan’s offer to absorb the Dragoons without bloodshed. The wily WiE Khan responded even faster than Torc expected, when Aaron’s Armored Brigade, a small merc force, moved to seize the drop-ships of the 4th Dragoons in an effort to pin the Jaguars on Mizar. Elements of Captain Velana Marik’s star (her Black Hawk ‘S’, a Ryoken and Crusader IIC) maneuvering on war games, reinforced by Trinary Bravo Command’s Thunder God and a lance of the newly acquired Ghost Bear Macarthur main battle tanks and 4 Elemental points, raced to cut off the mercenaries before they reached the drop-ships. The opening shots of the Wolf-Jaguar War took place at the small warehouse center of Tiburon Station, a customs-inspection base.
The WiE-hired mercenaries stormed up the road toward the station with 8 new-tech battlemechs [Ed. Note: These were really custom mechs, as the Crusaders sported gauss rifles, the Wolverine had 2 ER-Larges, etc.]and 8 3025 vehicles (Marauder II, Highlander, 2 Crusaders, a Blackjack, Griffin, Wolverine and Dervish, as well as a Demolisher, 2 Ontos, 2 Strikers, 2 Harassers and a Pegasus). Fighting at range, Velana’s unit managed to do great damage to the Wolverine (which lost an arm), Crusader and moderate damage to the Highlander. Most of the Dragoon machines took a fair amount of damage, though only one suffered internal damage. The Macarthur tanks proved their incredible resilience as they closed, offsetting the mediocre weapons performance they suffered at range. The only loss of a mech occurred when one of the Macarthur’s tanks gauss rifle slug hammered the badly mauled Griffin, detonating its ammo over the merc machine’s XL engine.
The Dragoon elementals, riding on tanks and two Omnis, made it to the building early, and managed to destroy the Demolisher and one Ontos, losing two troopers in the attempt. Velana accounted for a Harasser, as well as badly mauling the Dervish (who retreated behind the main line), and ripped the arm off the Crusader. Knowing that the mercenary’s armor was paper thin on half their machines, Velana gave their commander the chance to withdraw. Being a businessman first, the enemy commander accepted, withdrawing from the station and leaving the drop-ships for another day. The Jaguars sent for a salvage crew for the Griffin.
65) WiE entered the system of Mizar on January 3, 3063. Initial entry was uneventful, until the various Union-C drop-ships dispersed to their selected landing zones. One drop-ship, the ‘Lord Lupine’, was attacked and severely damaged by Smoke Jaguar Subatai and Batu fighters. The ‘Lupine’ managed to eject the drop-pod Omnis on board and soft-crashed in a swampy region near the equator of Mizar. Many of the personnel were killed or injured. Elsewhere, the Charlie Trinary of the 6th Wolf Guards successfully landed in the northern hemisphere. Expecting the Jaguars to guard the military training ground of Derrian Heights, elements of Trinary Charlie preceded east throw Digger’s Pass, following the trail of the fleeing Jaguar forces. A heavy blizzard blew in and socked the Pass in an icy fog, preventing contact between the two forces. Star Captain Garvey, one of the few WiE commanders to have faced the Smoke Jaguars in recent years, was in command of the WiE forces.
A fanatical hater of the Jaguar Clan since he’d lost an eye to them while fighting for the initial invasion corridors, Garvey drove the inter-trinary bidding dangerously low to ensure he would see action against the 4th. Garvey had no intention of retreating or surrendering, regardless of the battle’s outcome. Expecting the Jaguars to continue their eastward retreat, Garvey led his force into a deadly Jaguar ambush. The WiE consisted of two assault-class Kingfisher Omni-mechs, a Timber Wolf, Nova, Hankyu, Thor and Hunchback IIC. The 4th defended with a Hellcat, Night Gyr D, Peregrine, Rifleman IIC, Kharybdus Arrow IV mech and two Huitzlepoctle artillery tanks. The deep snow hid the Jaguar mechs quite well, though the FASCAM rounds the two tanks had laid down did not affect the battle. The Peregrine and Hellcat hid close to the trail they knew the 6th would come down, though the 6th managed to get closer than expected before being detected. Deep snow played havoc on all sides during the entire engagement, causing mechs to bog down and become much easier to target.
As the Wolf mechs closed, the Huitzlepoctle tanks and Kharybdus battlemech opened fire with Arrow IV homing rounds. The opening impact of half a dozen rounds took the first Kingfisher almost fully in the chest, 5 of the guided missiles striking home, with the last hitting nearby and causing incidental damage. The Kingfisher survived the initial bombardment, smoke billowing from its savaged center torso. The return wolf-mech fire cleared the woods the Hellcat was hiding in, forcing the short-range machine to retreat back behind the hill near its ‘Gyr companion. The Peregrine spotted in numerous LRM barrages from the same Night Gyr hiding behind a large hill, devastating the Hunchback IIC as it attempted to run in the deep snow. The Jaguar Rifleman’s large pulse-lasers savaged the Hankyu, blowing off a leg and arm, then jumped to cover. The light mech pilot ejected immediately, causing the loss of the sole Active Probe in the Wolf force. The Rifleman finished off the badly wounded Kingfisher, while the support mechs and tanks continued to fire round after round.
The sole lose to the Jaguars came when the green Peregrine pilot, flushed from his woods by Wolf fire, leaped for cover. The WiE Nova closed in, expecting an easy kill, only to be targeted by a hastily aimed TAG system on the Peregrine. The medium mech did not fare as well as the Kingfisher, being totally gutted by the artillery barrage. All return fire missed the Peregrine, save for Star Captain Garvey’s last PPC, which decapitated the light Jaguar mech. Since this was the same Peregrine that suffered the exact same fate on a Ghost Bear raid, the Peregrine became known as a widow-maker. The remaining mechs were quickly dispatched by combined Jaguar fire, including the WiE commander, who prophetically died when his Kingfisher had its cockpit crushed by the Night Gyr’s LRM’s. The Wolf in Exile Hunchback, 1 Kingfisher and Hankyu were salvaged.
66) Racing from their reinforced positions, 4 Jaguar Omnis (Night Gyr, Dragonfly, Ryoken, Black Hawk), reinforced by a heavy lance of the House Steiner 2nd Commonwealth Guards (Falconer, War dog, Rakshasa, Caesar) made an assault on WiE forces guarding the downed drop-ship. Two modified Donar recon choppers were assigned tank-busting and scouting duty (they packed infernos, which are far less effective under the Max Tech rules). The defenders had made contact with a lance of two House Kurita 5th Ghost custom tanks (100 tons, 2 gauss, 2 LRM 15) and their two elemental squads. WiE placed a Kingfisher, Mad Cat, twin Cauldron-born Omnis and a Vulture within hidden positions in the city.
The terrain consisted of an elevated city, accessed by a highway that ran across the open fields, through a willow-tree swamp. The Donar flew in first probing the swamp and laying down inferno rounds to generate smoke cover for the advancing Jaguar and Commonwealth mechs. Anxious to get at the Wolf in Exile defenders, the Ryoken and Black Hawk unwisely left their Commonwealth fire support behind, running down the highway toward the ramp that gave access to the city. One of the Donar did a fly by on the ramp, detecting the hidden power armor, and set their woods ablaze. On the other side of the battlefield, a hidden DCMS tank, its barrels jutting out of a building, cut loose on the other Donar, literally sheering it in half with dual gauss rounds [Ed: BOTH rounds hit on 9+’s!]. The pulverized Donar crashed and fell into the swamp, leaving nothing but an oily slick on top of the brackish, black water.
The Dragonfly and ‘Gyr were making their way into the swamp on the other side of the battlefield, though the Dragonfly was far quicker. When the Ryoken and Black Hawk were nearly at the ramp, the WiE Vulture and Kingfisher stepped from behind cover, blasting away at the Jaguar mechs. In a suicide recon, the remaining Donar went nearly vertical to scout the whole city, finding the rest of the WiE, but getting shot down by a laser hit to the rotor from a hiding Mad Cat. As it went down, the last Donar managed to hit the enemy mech with infernos. Highlights of the fight included the Vulture entering the water with stripped leg armor, and staying underwater. The ‘Gyr cored a Kurita tank with a double Ultra 20 burst followed up with pulse lasers and Streak SRM’s. The Kingfisher had its gyro destroyed, while its return fire hit the LRM ammo in the Ryoken, forcing the auto-eject to kick in, even though the mech was other wise in great shape.
One of the Cauldron-born kicked the leg off a Jaguar Black Hawk, just in time to see the arrival of the 2nd Commonwealth en-mass. When the smoke cleared, the Wolf forces fell back in good order, fighting their way out of the city. The Jaguars moved in and found only eight other Omnis on board. The Union was fit only for salvage. The Kingfisher and Mad Dog were also fit for repair. The DCMS tank was completely gutted. [Editor’s note: Though a victory, that term can only be used in the lightest sense. Thus, this battle is a draw for accounting purposes. Had the Auto-eject not been active on the Ryoken, it would have been an average victory].
67) The 2nd Commonwealth Guards receive a star of surviving WiE Omnis from the crashed ship, which were removed from the swamp with commercial Planet-lifter craft. Not having the facilities to repair the downed Jaguar and WiE mechs, Pyra ordered the monorail transport be used in removing the salvageable mechs. Shortly before they were finished loading the mechs, a star of Jaguar recon Omnis arrived to render what assistance they could. Suspecting a WiE probe of the Jaguar rail yard, Pyra had the light mechs of the 4th patrol the hill country around Swamp City, where they met and totally routed the expected WiE recon force. WiE fielded 4 Koshi, 2 Hankyu and a Dasher. [These averaged 2/3, with some ½ warriors]. The 4th’s star was composed of 1 Koshi, 2 Cougar, 1 Dragonfly and 1 Shadow Cat. [Averaged ¾, with one 4/5 warrior] In the classic over-watch maneuver, three of the Jaguar Omnis, geared for range, spent most of their time walking or standing still while the Jaguar Koshi and Dragonfly, configured for skirmishing, distracted the WiE. When the dust settled after a short, sharp fire-fight, a WiE Koshi an upper leg actuator to both legs, and another armless/weaponless Koshi managed to escape. No Jaguar ‘Mechs were lost, and 5 WiE warriors were taken as bondsmen.
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This clan STILL lives!
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CURRENT LOCATION:
Mizar, Skye controleld space in the Chaos March |
Adding captions makes my pictures more interesting.
HPG the Command Star |
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