No replies to this topic

[crustydog]

Hail from the Crusty Dog!

Tukayyid is here, and I will be on the field - I have been recalled to duty and I will follow my orders in this regard. Just as ISEN has been recalled from Mercstar, I have been recalled to Mercstar.

But first I have a message to all of the RKA trainees. The other night, we spent a full night dropping in CW. All of the drops were attacks but one. All of the drops were victorious, but for one. The longships returned home full of treasure.

Your CW performance has shown a remarkable improvement over the past 16 weeks or so. You may not know what to look for, but I do, and I see it in you.

You followed your orders quickly and without complaint. The orders were seldom questioned. You were moving as a group, and not wandering off alone. You were also fighting as a group, in spite of being from mixed units, or untagged warriors. You were calling targets and focusing on objectives. When called upon to destroy turrets, you did that. When called upon to destroy mechs, you did that as well. You queued up in waves and did not wander inside alone.

Whenever I was destroyed, and sent back to the dropship early, you continued to fight on your own, calling targets and holding the line of attack. Yes, I decided the directions of the attacks, but you executed the orders with precision. When I began to change tactics to more complex maneuvers, with changes in mid-stream and on short notice, you adapted quickly and continued to perform. Under pressure many times, you never fell apart.

In fact, on numerous occasions, as a group on your own, you repeatedly outfought your opponents, and repeatedly came out ahead on the kill counts wave after wave.

In the one drop we did lose, it was against some of the best warriors in MWO. Yes we lost that fight - I knew we were very likely going to lose that fight - but you did not cower even once in that fight. You took the battle to them head on and in close quarters. You fought with courage like true Space Viking warriors. That team is famous for camping the dropships at the end of their fights. We never gave them that chance, and we did kill a good number of them. Those were some of the leading warriors in the Clans, in the best meta gear, fully optimized, with full modules.

They specifically praised your fighting courage at the end of the battle. They do not often do that.

Believe me when I say this, because I do know a thing or two about this, you are now some of the best available line regulars in the entire Inner Sphere. This is a remarkable achievement in so short a period of time, for you are now an army.

Victory in the last battle for Tukayyid, after days of fighting, actually came down to the final 10 minutes of the campaign. I was in the entire campaign, and I was there at the end of it all. I assure you I fought like hell the whole way through. I know you will do the same. You are now where I was this time at the last battle, and you are ready for this.

Remember your training and follow your commanders. It and they will serve you well. Remember to bring your Arty and your UAV's - you will need them, don't worry about the expenses. You are going to return from this campaign with massive earnings. Consider having some extra mechs available optimized for combat on certain maps, you will often have the opportunity available to swap mechs prior to dropping. By now, most of you already have your newly upgraded gear, the best technology the Inner Sphere has ever had.

I know that regardless of outcome, you will do very well, for you are the Space Vikings. On Tukayyid the rest of the MWO is going to see what you showed me only three days ago.

I have no doubt of that.

Victory or Valhalla!

CrustyDog RKA