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[Bill Bullet]

>>The following texts were found in a personal log kept by the mercenary Bill "Bullet" Chamber (hereafter referred to by his callsign) it details a series of actions carried out in the [[Classified]] System and it's 3 planets. Due to the highly sensitive nature of the engagements, some portions of the text have been deemed classified Level 10.<<


Aug 11, 3049
Steiner Space
Planet [[Classified]]

We deployed 2 mixed Lances that day for a recon in force. Alpha Lance was commanded by Lt. [[Name Omitted]] and Old Jack led Beta Lance. The set-up was pretty standard; Alpha Lance made up of two Assault Mechs and 2 Heavy Mechs, and Beta Lance containing 3 Medium Mechs and 1 Light Mech for advance recon.

The Steiner boys in Alpha were about as green as they come and I swear the [[expletive]] paint on one of the Catapults was still wet. Rookies from the [[Unit Classified]] all of them. Our contract was to provide "close and direct support to minimize casualties" aka, "Do all the dying so the Steiners don't have to." Crap job assignment but hey, babysitting pays good money if you live to spend it.

Beta Lance took the lead on the op, headed east towards the lake. Our orders were simple: Search and Destroy. Beta would find the enemy and then Alpha would move in to crush them. With 2 Atlases and 2 Catapults it should have been a cakewalk. Should have been.

I walked my Matilda into the lake, and was just about radio in when all hell broke loose. Out of the hills to the west, enemy IFFs suddenly blanketed my radar screen followed closely by the sounds of the Lt. ordering us to fall back and cover Alpha Lance's position. They had all bunched up in a depression between two hills and were getting pounded by LRMs and PPCs.

Old Jack ordered me and Twitch to circle around behind the enemy position while he and Kaz fell back immediately to lend support, their Centurions quickly turning and running hell for leather back the way we came. Twitch in her Jenner led the way, while I coaxed every ounce of speed I could out of Matilda. A few agonizing minutes passed as we rounded a series of cliffs to get into the hills behind our assailants. Closing in on the enemy position, Twitch poured on the speed, her Jenner leaving Matilda in the dust.

Suddenly I saw her Jenner fly up and over the hill ahead of me, chased by the azure lighting of 3 PPCs. I tore around the last corner and nearly walked straight into an Awesome, getting ready to fire another burst. At nearly point blank range I fired the AC/20 on Matilda'sshoulder into the back of the enemy staggering him and spoiling his aim. I then began alternating the Medium Pulse Lasers on my arms and the Small lasers in my torso as quickly as my heat sinks would allow, firing my AC/10 every time a new round was cycled in. Ponderously, the Awesome turned to face me, hiding his heavily damaged rear armor and taking the burnt of my assault on his heavier frontal armor. His triple PPCs fired simultaneously and I was momentarily blinded, though the alarms ringing in my cockpit told me that a Matilda's right side had taken the worst of it. When my vision returned, a quick glance at my damage schematic showed that the arm on that side had been blown completely off.

The enemy MechWarrior retreated behind a boulder waiting for his heat sinks to bleed off the excess heat and for his weapons to recharge. Knowing I had one chance, I throttled forward to close the distance and end this. The seconds turned into hours as I moved around the boulder, the Awesome coming into view as it swiveled it's torso to draw a bead on me. I waited till Matilda's left side had cleared the obstacle so I could bring the firepower of my last Medium Pulse Laser to bear. I waited too long.

In that infinitely long moment I saw the glow of the enemy's cannons and on reflex, twisted to the right as the thundering blast of pure energy slammed into Matilda, shearing off her left arm as if it was made of tissue paper. With a frustrated bellow, I slammed on the brakes and twisted my torso back to the left and fired my AC/10 once! Twice! Three times I fired, and as the third round smashed into the Awesome, it staggered like a drunk and toppled over, the enemy MechWarrior's cockpit a blackened, twisted wreck.

"Good shooting MechWarrior" I heard Old Jack's gravelly voice say over the radio. "Too bad you'll have to spend your bonus buying that Hunchback of yours new [[expletive]] arms!"

With a laugh, I turned Matilda back to base, the Dracs were on [[Classified]] and the fight was just getting started.

[Adridos]

Nice one.

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