Mom's Tattoo - a Battletech Tale
"DRUMS"
=================================
Location:
Planet Satalice, GKT East Townships (Free Rasalhague Republic)
Mekaun Timber Reserve - location unknown
Forces deployed: Black Outlaws - "Sliver" recon lance (ENGAGED)
=================================
Drums.
Echoing hammers against the damaged hull.
Temel Partot was running, pushing full output on his damaged reactor, trees falling before him as he slammed into them. The impact of each wooden giant echoed as it sheared away. A trail of arboreal destruction lay in his wake.
Drums.
Drums in the cockpit. Each hammer marked the lengthening distance from certain death.
The thick forest was slowing his escape but he was panicking. He knew he was fleeing, out of control, but couldn't stop himself.
The trees stood against him as he powered his Jenner through the thick forest. Some trees he brushed aside, some he smashed to tinder as he powered through them. It was the big ones that hurt, stopped him dead, damaging his new ride... "Mom's Tattoo". His first mech, a Jenner JR7-D. Hell on wheels, very fast wheels... not fast enough.
This was Tamal's first mission, with the Black Outlaws, in his new Mech. A scouting mission to the townships east of the "Gorton, Kingsley and Thorpe" GTK Mining Complex. He had been sent out as part of "Sliver" company. A single, light lance to reconnoiter and report back.
The Black Outlaws were part of a two company force sent to Satalice. They were tasked to oversee and escort company assets off-planet. The GKT units were in the process of moving factories and equipment in the face of an impending and mysterious threat. Rimward planets had already fallen to the attackers.
Frightening reports of battlemech assaults, spearheaded by unknown machine types and silent pilots with uncanny skills, possessing advanced equipment, had reached the military offices of the Free Rasalhague Republic. Planets and industrial assets had started to fall at an alarming rate as the attackers pushed coreward. If reports were to be believed the neighboring regions of the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine were also falling back under this relentless assault.
The militaries of all known space were scrambling to save what they could. No one knew who the attackers were. The Black company had been sent here to assist and discover. They had discovered death.
The drums stopped.
Tamal powered the "Tattoo" clear of the forest and stumbled onto rocks. Pieces of damaged armor and shredded foliage fell from the hull. Coolant spilled from his damaged Jenner, steaming and popping as it covered the wet rocks. The "Tattoo" reacted sluggishly, legs damaged. Tamal adjusted quickly to the uneven terrain. A huge expanse of water extended out before him.
He checked his map display. Lake Mekaun. Shoreline extended to the horizon both left and right. He would have to go around. The Mining complex was on the other side.
Trapped.
Nervous fingers drummed on his panel. Tamal checked his location against satellite data.
His blind run had taken him 5 miles east of the GKT Mekaun Span; a large bridge connecting the GKT Mining complex with the mainland townships.
He was dead. There was no way he would make the bridge. His fingers tapped against his side panel as he considered his options.
Tap, tap, tap. Drums in the cockpit.
He would go for the bridge. Wheeling left he headed down the shoreline.
Panicked and focusing on keeping the ailing Jenner upright on the rocky ground he failed to notice the brief, sensor pulse on his battle display. Just a brief glowing readout.
Drums brought him to his senses.
Drums so loud and violent they shattered his eardrums. The deadly, impact of Autocannon shells against his armor.
But then .... it was too late.
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SPIDER'S WEB - Tales of Battle
Started by Spider, May 05 2012 09:27 AM
2 replies to this topic
#2
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Posted 05 May 2012 - 09:33 AM
Moms Tattoo - A Battletech Tale
"Movement 1.0"
=================================
Location:
Planet Satalice, Mekaun Forest Colony (Free Rasalhague Republic)
"Gorton, Kingsley and Thorpe" Mining Complex (Material supply for GM270XL Fusion plants destined Pheonix Hawk LAM production coreward)
Military Forces en route to help with relocation of factories due to attacks by unknown forces from the periphery.
Forces deployed: Black Outlaws - 3 Med Lance (CONTACT LOST)
BETA NOOBS - PRESENTLY ENGAGED
=================================
<OVERHEAT!! WARNING!! SHUTDOWN!! OVERHEAT!! WARNING!! SHUTDOWN!!>
SHUTDOWN ENGAGED .... HEAT LIMIT EXCEEDED
<TARGET LOST!>
Greyvanth "SPIDER" Bogdanovich considered pressing the OVERRIDE button, for a 3rd time... and reconsidered.
He wasn't that desperate yet. A core meltdown was no way to die.
Besides, the strange Jenner had been driven away by his Alpha strike, for now. It had retreated on its jump jets over the arch of rock to the west.
At least it looked like a Jenner. In fact, his systems had tagged it as a Jenner belonging to the Black Outlaws Mercenary group. It belonged to a merc named Temel Partot "Mom's Tattoo". Problem was, Temel never drove his mech like that, and besides...he was dead. The readout showed his confirmed death 2 weeks ago while he was scouting 20 miles from this mining colony. His mech, a Jenner, hadn't been recovered.
It had looked like a Jenner. SPIDER had seen it just yards in front of him. Same basic shape, weaponry and speed. But it hadn't acted like a Jenner. It had seemed ... magic.
He had first seen it fly over the ridge, on its jump jets, from the direction of the Comstar complex. But as he targeted it had seemed to vanish, then reappear sporadically as it flew towards him. Targeting it had been nearly impossible. One second it was in his sights... the next second it had side slipped, impossibly, a few feet away. He had wasted most of his AC rounds shooting at thin air.
And its targeting array! What kind of targeting computer must it have!? He had taken consistent and repeated headshots. The armor of his cockpit was in shreds. His armor glass view screen shattered. The majority of the armor on his 100 ton Atlas, "ZENITH", was hardly scratched. But the nerve center of the giant machine, the cockpit, the head, was all but cracked open by the Jenner's supernaturally accurate attack.
IT WAS JUST A JENNER!! .... and he was getting killed by it.
Fear twisted his gut. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, the abilities of the small mech would have seemed laughable, magical. He drove one of the most powerful mechs made in the Inner Sphere... and he had barely driven it off.
It was humiliating. The ATLAS was the king of the Mech world. The Jenner, a lowly scout mech. Yet here he was backing into an alcove, carved into the cliff side by a waterfall, to protect his back and gain some lateral coverage against the inhumanly agile mech. Water cascaded down over the giant Atlas. Drips of moisture found their way into the cockpit through the many cracks and fractures in the outer armor.
The rest of his Lance, the BETA NOOBS, had died earlier. Now SPIDER waited for death. Incredulous at its nature.
It came quickly.
<TARGET DETECTED> <MISSLE LOCK>
The Jenner arrowed over the ridge to the left. Skipping through the air in a strange jerking motion. It was impossible to target. It came to ground 30 yards in from of Spider's "ZENITH", pivoted and ran toward the ATLAS in its protective alcove. Lances of blue laser fire needled through the air and burned directly into the head of the giant mech, melting the remaining armor and glasteel protection. SRM missiles followed. The head of the ATLAS vanished. Greyvanth "Spider" Bogdanovich died screaming in frustration without landing a single shot.
The Jenner came to a stop in front of the waterfall as if taking a minute to look over its deadly handiwork, then turned and headed towards the Forest Colony Mine site.
"This is the Natasha. The SPIDER is dead."
"Movement 1.0"
=================================
Location:
Planet Satalice, Mekaun Forest Colony (Free Rasalhague Republic)
"Gorton, Kingsley and Thorpe" Mining Complex (Material supply for GM270XL Fusion plants destined Pheonix Hawk LAM production coreward)
Military Forces en route to help with relocation of factories due to attacks by unknown forces from the periphery.
Forces deployed: Black Outlaws - 3 Med Lance (CONTACT LOST)
BETA NOOBS - PRESENTLY ENGAGED
=================================
<OVERHEAT!! WARNING!! SHUTDOWN!! OVERHEAT!! WARNING!! SHUTDOWN!!>
SHUTDOWN ENGAGED .... HEAT LIMIT EXCEEDED
<TARGET LOST!>
Greyvanth "SPIDER" Bogdanovich considered pressing the OVERRIDE button, for a 3rd time... and reconsidered.
He wasn't that desperate yet. A core meltdown was no way to die.
Besides, the strange Jenner had been driven away by his Alpha strike, for now. It had retreated on its jump jets over the arch of rock to the west.
At least it looked like a Jenner. In fact, his systems had tagged it as a Jenner belonging to the Black Outlaws Mercenary group. It belonged to a merc named Temel Partot "Mom's Tattoo". Problem was, Temel never drove his mech like that, and besides...he was dead. The readout showed his confirmed death 2 weeks ago while he was scouting 20 miles from this mining colony. His mech, a Jenner, hadn't been recovered.
It had looked like a Jenner. SPIDER had seen it just yards in front of him. Same basic shape, weaponry and speed. But it hadn't acted like a Jenner. It had seemed ... magic.
He had first seen it fly over the ridge, on its jump jets, from the direction of the Comstar complex. But as he targeted it had seemed to vanish, then reappear sporadically as it flew towards him. Targeting it had been nearly impossible. One second it was in his sights... the next second it had side slipped, impossibly, a few feet away. He had wasted most of his AC rounds shooting at thin air.
And its targeting array! What kind of targeting computer must it have!? He had taken consistent and repeated headshots. The armor of his cockpit was in shreds. His armor glass view screen shattered. The majority of the armor on his 100 ton Atlas, "ZENITH", was hardly scratched. But the nerve center of the giant machine, the cockpit, the head, was all but cracked open by the Jenner's supernaturally accurate attack.
IT WAS JUST A JENNER!! .... and he was getting killed by it.
Fear twisted his gut. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, the abilities of the small mech would have seemed laughable, magical. He drove one of the most powerful mechs made in the Inner Sphere... and he had barely driven it off.
It was humiliating. The ATLAS was the king of the Mech world. The Jenner, a lowly scout mech. Yet here he was backing into an alcove, carved into the cliff side by a waterfall, to protect his back and gain some lateral coverage against the inhumanly agile mech. Water cascaded down over the giant Atlas. Drips of moisture found their way into the cockpit through the many cracks and fractures in the outer armor.
The rest of his Lance, the BETA NOOBS, had died earlier. Now SPIDER waited for death. Incredulous at its nature.
It came quickly.
<TARGET DETECTED> <MISSLE LOCK>
The Jenner arrowed over the ridge to the left. Skipping through the air in a strange jerking motion. It was impossible to target. It came to ground 30 yards in from of Spider's "ZENITH", pivoted and ran toward the ATLAS in its protective alcove. Lances of blue laser fire needled through the air and burned directly into the head of the giant mech, melting the remaining armor and glasteel protection. SRM missiles followed. The head of the ATLAS vanished. Greyvanth "Spider" Bogdanovich died screaming in frustration without landing a single shot.
The Jenner came to a stop in front of the waterfall as if taking a minute to look over its deadly handiwork, then turned and headed towards the Forest Colony Mine site.
"This is the Natasha. The SPIDER is dead."
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