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My name is Silent Hunter. I'm 36 and married (to a wonderful wife). I've also been a gamer most of my life so when I saw the offer for 24 hours of FREE Premium time on this site I clicked it. Then I panicked that the time may have started to so I logged in to see if the timer had started and to my relief, I saw the 'Activate' button. My wife then asked 'You weren't thinking of playing the whole 24 hours of time if it had started, were you?'. And right there, the idea was born. Hell, I'm in my mid 30's and I haven't had a 24 marathon gaming session in a long time so why not try it again?
I went to the local shop and bought the kind of things that I'd need so LOTS of caffeine, snacks and sugar. I set up the PC on my most comfortable chair and settled in...
It was easy to begin with. Playing games with my clan and winning some and losing some but the energy was flowing like ER Large Lasers and that 24 hours seemed like child's play.
5 hours in and I had enough to fully kit out the Catapult that I'd saved up a few c-bills beforehand and was getting the hang of the new 'Conquest' mode. Unfortunately so were the opposition. Tactics and counter-tactics rose and fell but I tweaked my mech until I was happy that my 'Conquerer' variant was up to the task.
After 10 hours however I knew that I wasn't going to make it through the entire 24 hours without my face hitting the keyboard so I scheduled a pit stop at the 11 1/2 hour mark for a 'light nap' and a walk to keep me fresh. The 2 hour nap happened, the walk was reduced to making a cup of tea and kissing the wife goodbye as she went to work.
Needless to say, I jumped back into the saddle and kept going. I had a break every 3-4 hours for food and a the odd cup of tea and my fellow clan members were on hand for advice and support when needed (even if that advice was 'you're going to sleep for 2 days after this!').
My final hour was marked by my wonderful wife bringing me a big burger (the first hot food I'd had in the entire 24 hour stint) and giving my back and shoulders a quick massage before sending me back to the cockpit. That hour flew by!
The very last mission was an 8 warrior team assault match and my heart sank a little when I saw that the other team was made up of Legendary Founders! Needless to say, our Drop Commander kept us cool and we kept it together. I even managed to get the first kill by LRMing an Atlas in the center torso before we charged over the dropship wreckage and in to the fray. 2 minutes later my mech exploded as two of the other team flanked around us and pummeled me from behind. Lasers and missiles stripped my rear armour and chewed away at the Endo Steel structure. I then watched as the Greyhounds avenged my death by defeating the opposition and taking the day!
I got my Premium bonus to my C-Bills and XP and then went back to the mech bay where the counter had finished and was now once again blank. My mission successful. My bank account now healthier and 3 new mechs sitting in the mech bays (one of which now has a new paint job, the rest I'll do later).
It was a crazy ride and it was something that took me back to LAN and console parties with friends that went on until the last of us dropped.
Thank you Piranha and IGP for taking me back to younger times!
To everyone out there I fought with and against, thank you for playing!
To the Greyhounds Clan. I Salute You One And All!
See you all again after I've fallen unconscious for a while!
Silent Hunter
Mechwarrior
