>>380057
We are looking for an individual name, not a design name. Like in BT a pilot might call his Warhammer Mech 'Zeus', for the lightning-PPK connection, 'Black Knight' or 'Grashopper'.

>>[Should Marius go with Leanne's idea to celebrate or should something else be done?]
Party is OK, but only after the work is done, the camp is cleaned so we can get going fast without leaving things behind. Also generally limit the inebriation, nobody should drink past a buzz. Marius should remain mostly sober and keep an eye on the security. Don't forget to guard the prisoners.

>[Any new thoughts on questioning the prisoners?]
> torture and questioning
Torture in questioning is one of the most unreliable ways to go about it. It is even less useful when done by people who aren't even trained for interrogation. We don't have any people trained for interrogation, so no matter the method the results will be of low quality. Given that I prefer to treat them humanely, maybe try to build relations with them, get them on Marius side. They are corporate employees, not fanatics, so the fight was just a job. Maybe we can get Marius Lawyer to get their history? At least what's publicly available?
We are fighting a PR battle with HLF, too. I can't help but thinking that just killing them wastes a potential PR asset. We might be able to hire a professional interrogator later on, for example lease one from Raptor Security, too.

>[What should Marius titan heavy mech be named?]
Eye of Horus, Horus's Eye

1/2 Marius Wolfram!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/02/06(Mon)10:27 No. 384791 ID: 307b84
File 132855284143.png - (212.16KB , 750x550 , Interrogation_of_Rosaire.png )

>>379979
>>380057
Yeah I guess some festivities are in order. Better check with the engineering guys first- "HEY HOW LONG UNTIL THE REPAIRS ARE DONE?!" I shout in the direction of the people currently climbing all over the titan and get a barrage of responses back-
"MAYBE LIKE THREE HOURS?!"
"I THINK TWO!"
"IT'S FUCKED!"
"AROUND TWO TO THREE HOURS!"
There's a joker in there somewhere...
"OK Leanne we'll pop the corks in three hours, but we can't have people go over the top," I say. Leannes face lights up with a grin.
"Sweet! I'll let everyone know, maybe they'll get it done a bit faster!" She exlaims before effectively jumping up and running off, shouting out the good news for the world to hear.
"Rob."
Yeah?"
"Let's get Sylvia and think of what we're going to ask the pilots we caught." I say with a sigh. Really not looking forward to this.

>>380394
>>380644
>[Compromise?]
Between Robs experience, Sylvias reasoning and my skills we come up with a fairly good plan for playing the two captives against each other. It works. The Buraq pilot Raoul is some kind of Foundation-raised hardliner. He absolutely refuses to give away information, but he has the worst poker face you could ever imagine.

The Sunshine pilot is named Rosaire. and she's a lot easier to work with. Turns out she was a promising mech pilot when younger who quit because of the risks. Ten years on her husband left her and her two children. With no real education to speak of Rosaire turned back to piloting to support her family. She doesn't really hold any loyalty towards the HLF and gladly tells us anything as soon as we promise to reunite her with her children who are currently being cared for in the town of Braley. It's actually hard to believe her at first, but when we double check with Raoul it turns out he vehemently denies any true facts; his behaviour is very childish when he's not spouting insults. In the end we get our answers.

They were part of the HLF Verdia Third Company. They've been training quite intensely for the last month with hints of this upcoming assault trickling down to soldier level around five days ago. The operation was apparently led by Commander Romain Chabert, the official company leader. A bespectacled grey-haired type who rarely speaks to the troops and is usually only seen in the company of other overweight officers and HLF VIPs. The attack itself was a fairly simple rush. The majority of the company - 3 heavy mechs, 9 medium and 13 light mechs made a beeline for Zenit through Wolfram territory, pulverizing some installations on the way. Rosaire gathers that there was some sort of sabotage involved that prevented warning from being transmitted. On reaching the city they split into squads and hit our hangars and defenses using the element of surprise, there was some resistance, but our side was outgunned from the start and in being caught unprepared the Wolfram mechs and fortifications were quickly taken down by focused fire. Rosaires squad was then told to pursue a fleeing mech (Leanne) with orders to try leaving a recoverable wreck before returning to assist in pacifying Zenit. While chasing Leanne they spotted the incoming drone and reported it up the command chain. They were then promised a reward if the could find and take down an enemy heavy mech with some unexperienced noble child piloting it.

It also turns out the Buraqs missile launcher was empty because Raoul joined in the barrage on the Wolfram estates... That's the last nail in the coffin. Rosaire will answer our questions and could potentially testify against the HLF.
"I think there's no point in having him around. You agreed with Rob when he said Raoul is just going to try an escape, hurting someone else in the process." I say to Rob and Sylvia. We're discussing what to do with Raoul.
"I don't feel too good about this. Isn't there another way?" Sylvia says, frowning and glancing nervously around us as if checking if anyone can hear what we're saying.
"He is personally responsible for killing a lot of innocent people. He is basically a war criminal and a scumbag. I'll end him if you like." Rob says with a grim expression on his face. I'm in some way tempted to take up the offer, but I know that I have to do this myself.
"No. I'll do it. Help me bring him outside though." I say as a matter of fact, trying to steel myself.
"Sure..."

Ten minutes later a short distance from our camp I feel a strange sense of Déjà vu as I summon the cold feelings of sadness and hate inside myself. I reach out, push a plasma spitter pistol against the back of Raouls head and squeeze the trigger. With a cracking sound his head pops like a melon and he crumples to the ground, dead. I feel ill until imagine the fate that befell my sister, my aunts and my father. One down, many more to go.

2/2 Marius Wolfram!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/02/06(Mon)10:28 No. 384792 ID: 307b84
File 132855292770.png - (277.18KB , 750x550 , Party_hard.png )

When we get back most of the engineers already have cans in their hands and two guys are even rigging up a vapourizer. Not quite like the noble events I'm used to, but they seem cheerful. Time to do what I'm good at I guess.

I start walking around, talking to people and asking how they're doing. It's a good routine that father taught me and it keeps me busy. There are a lot of concerns about family and friends back at Zenit. I do my best to reassure them, telling they they should be ok unless they resist the occupation and that we'll try to find out more as soon as we can.

Some time later on we're made a fairly big fire. Rob and a couple of others are trying to cook cuts of meat on the fire using various methods while the rest of us sit around occasionally making fun of them when they drop things and mess up. I've probably had more drinks than I intended, but I've also shot more people in the head than intended this morning. Thinking about it that way helps a lot.

They've gone so far as trying to rig up an armor plate over the fire as some sort of griddle when Leanne sits down next to me. She's been running around a lot so I've not spoken much to her tonight.
"Hey Marius did you decide on a name for your titan?" She asks.
"Well I had a lot of classic mythological names in mind. Few people would have the education to understand the symbolism however so I've decided to name it Oracle. I think it fits a mech that is meant to see all and direct battles," I say.
"That's really deep..." Leanne mutters quietly.
""Do you think there's anything toxic in that metal sheet they're using to cook food?" I say trying to change the conversation away from mechs and work related things.
"No fucking clue. I have no idea about these things... There's something I want to tell you though... You know I never really got to thank you for you know, saving my ass and all that," She says, coyly holding her can of drink up in front of her face as she glances over at me.
"No problem. You just do your best from now on." I say, smiling at her. It's nice when someone appreciates the things you do. Then Leanne suddenly puts her hand on my leg, pushing up against me. I can smell alcohol and some other things on her breath as she hesitates with a husky look on face. "You're pretty cool, and I know you're really sad and I really like you Marius. I just want to you know, hold you and stuff..." She's clearly a bit drunk, not that it makes the way she's rubbing herself against my arm any less sexy. Too bad her attentions are in vain.
"Thanks Leanne, I'm glad to have you with us as well..." I say diplomatically. Any time now Rob will intervene and break us up. He's got the routine down pretty well.
"Wanna kiss?" Leanne asks me, pointing to her puckered lips as she leans forwards expectantly, her fingers squeezing my thigh. It's at this point something in my head puts two and two together. Father ordered Rob to keep me from causing any potential scandals by acting as a chaperone. He might disregard that idea now. Peering over Leanne's shoulder my fears are justified. I see Rob sitting over at the fire looking my way, giving me a sly little wink and a hearty thumbs up of all things! My most loyal knight has abandoned me to the proverbial wolves!
Then Leanne's soft, petite lips lock with my own as she pushes me down to the ground, where I find myself unable to resist...

[CHAPTER 1 END]

Chapter 2 Start Steel Wars!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/02/14(Tue)10:13 No. 386680 ID: 307b84
File 132924318355.png - (390.59KB , 750x550 , Raptor_Security_Base.png )

One week later the Wolfram faction has settled in at the Raptor Security base. Marius and his legal aides have drawn up some very favourable working contracts where Marius retains full command of his mechs. The newly named Oracle has been repaired along with the Mike Hunt, the Ravager and the Buraq. All are ready to be refitted and equipped at short notice.
The three pilots Marius, Rob and Leanne have been summoned to a cinema-like briefing room. It is dark, with the only light coming from a large screen that shows a map of Verdia. Once it seems that all participants have arrived an officer dressed in a businesslike suit with rank markings on the shoulders steps up. He then proceeds to clears his throat with a load 'harumph' and the twenty-plus spectators in the seats quickly quiet down.

"All right people, we've taken on a few contracts. Most of you should know the drill for this, but we have a few new recruits. You may know them already. Say hello to Marius Wolfram, Rob Tranverston and Leanne Neill," the officer sweeps his hand towards those three mentioned who appear to be sitting together. The rest of the room briefly fill the room with various hellos and greetings before the officer continues. "We have three contracts. I will give you the rough outline and most of you will get to choose your missions within reason. Payment will obviously be split somewhat depending on the number of participants and tactical capacity. If mission requirements can't be met or your equipment is unsuitable then you may get shifted around, but we would prefer not to do that," the officer says, gesturing in front of himself while he speaks.

"Anyway, the first contract requires mostly stealth and firepower. The Verdia Union will be withdrawing almost all their defensive forces from a shore refinery. They very much expect that this information will leak out. We've been hired to move in covertly to trap and ambush any would-be attackers. Standard base guard duty pay, but a lot of set extra pay for combat and enemy takedowns." The screen image changes to show a map of a large shoreline facility and the surrounding area.

"The second contract is the odd one out. The client will somehow be causing a spacecraft to crash. They've not been to clear on the why and what, but they've given us a time and a very rough location for the crash. They have asked us to have a well-armed party retrieve something from the wreck. They also want to keep this thing very hush-hush and they're paying a fortune. They've also put some impressive bonus rewards in, mostly high-tech mech equipment and wepaons. Definitely worth it. I'll let you know the full picture if you sign up." The picture changes to show 'Confidential' in red text on a black background.

"Finally we're still looking for more people to join the Athkelage-Margrave conflict. Margrave are still paying us for support and anyone who wants in will be directly assisting their forces in battle. Pay is bad, but we did get some salvage rights. Big George has already managed to bag two somewhat intact mech captures to make up for the one he lost three months ago. If you want in on this job then try to be careful and play for keeps in true RaptorSec style. As usual we will want a percentage of any captured equipment..." The screen displays a number of images depicting mech warfare and maps and conflict timelines.

[Which mission(s) should be taken?]

[Select a character:]
[Marius - The inexperienced leader. Has a very broad range of knowledge and talents.]
[Rob - Highly experienced mech pilot. Highly rational and specializes in defense and evasion.]
[Leanne - Mildly experienced pilot. Very aggressive with exceptional damage compensation abilities.]

Marcius! Wooo, Marcius! There's no point in taking the absurdly huge command and control suite if we don't COMMAND AND CONTROL.

Marcus.

Ah, I think that the the command and control mech would be most useful on the third mission, so voting for that.

>the first contract requires mostly stealth and firepower
>move in covertly to trap and ambush any would-be attackers
This seems perfect for the Oracle. Pick out attackers with the grid sensor and drones and direct other mechs to intercept (or act as CIC for the other mercs if they don't want to be under your direct command).

>>386680
Mission one seems all but tailor-made for Marius. The Oracle is almost perfectly suited to detecting incoming forces and coordinating defenders in ambushing them. Let's take him on that mission.


If we could get a report on the state of Marius' finances and assets, that would be good. What happened to the salvage- was it enough to cover all the repairs we needed? Enough to turn a profit? How are we doing on money, are our personnel (not the mech pilots) sticking with us, all that. We need to keep careful track of our group's state if we want to recover our standing.

Marius Wolfram!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/02/17(Fri)09:26 No. 387323 ID: 307b84
File 132949957876.png - (65.93KB , 500x500 , Mech_Blueprints.png )

>[4 votes for Marius. Mission 1 got 2 votes / Mission 3 got 1 vote]

"We'll take on the guard and ambush mission" I say. Oracle should be perfect for this.
"That includes you Marius and your two subordinates?" The officer known as Michael Nguyen asks. I nod confidently, prompting him to continue. "Excellent. We should only need a few more applicants for that one then." Glancing aside at my comrades it looks like Rob approves of my choice. His arms are crossed with a content look on his face. Leanne on the other hand gives up a sigh, slumping back in her seat. I guess she's not looking forward to staying still and stealthy as opposed to secret ops or open warfare.

The rest of the room eventually make their preferences clear in a chaotic manner and with a bit of prodding from Michael the teams even out fairly well. We'll have 6 other mercenaries with us, but I'm not sure what kind of mechs they have. Probably fair to assume most will have lighter, less expensive ones. As we're dismissed and I head off for the mech bay I get the mail with the mission details.
- The facility itself is a massive, largely automated multi-refinery that processes ore from deep water mining operations as well as oil from offshore wells. Flammable and volatile materials is stored in giant tanks and they will be obvious targets.
- It is located inside a large bay that shelters it from the harsh storms and weather. The surrounding terrain is largely mountainous. Access is mostly done by boat or through an underground passenger and freight train line.
- We have around 4 days to prepare before moving out. We are then expected to take up positions under the cover of the frequent bad weather. We will be on site for no more than two weeks.

I majestically stride into the mech bay with Rob and Leanne in tow. Time to gear up for the mission.
"What do you two think about the preparations?" I ask Rob and Leanne.
"I want some big fat guns for the Mike!" Leanne says in a cheery tone She is clearly not too interested in the specifics, but excited at the prospect.
"We'll have a base nearby and it'll probably be a short high-speed engagement. Running out of ammo probably won't be an issue." Rob says. I get the feeling that I can probably make some good assumptions about our enemies equipment as well... Either way it is time to invest in some effective loadouts!

---------------------------
FUNDS:
21.3 million 'Verdo' Verdia dollars. Roughly 3.9 million has been spent on repair costs. Salvaged parts helped reduce the repair costs significantly.
Average cost of a new fully-fitted medium mech is normally around 6-10 million. The capture of the Buraq results in a net financial gain.

MECHS:
Oracle (Titan chassis) - Armed with 2x 'Thunderhammer MK4' gauss cannons, 2x swivel mounted pulse lasers, a streak missile rack (EMP loadout), a CIWS active defense turret and anti-infantry leg pods. Custom sensor suite integrated.

Ravager - Armed with a large laser cannon, a compact shoulder mounted particle projection cannon and a medium laser cannon. Has uprated armor.

Buraq - Armed with an arm mounted 'Hades' burst fire grenade launcher, a limited swivel shoulder-mounted medium 'HLF Raie-55' electrolaser and a revolver-type torso missile rack. Also has a reflective armor coating. Normally takes another arm and another shoulder weapon.

Mike Hunt (Devastator chassis) - Currently de-equipped. A solid medium mech type from the makers of the ravager. Normally has two arm and upper torso mounted weapons, but is very versatile.

PARTS:
2x 'S.U.N Emitter' wide angle long-recharge laser beam emitter
1x 'M5RAC Oerlikon Infinity' rotary 45mm autocannon
3x Medium laser cannons of misc. makes
2x Light laser cannons of misc. makes
---------------------------

>Equipment phase explanation - Mech custom loadouts will be determined in two stages.

>1st stage will be for asking questions and speculating about possible parts and weaponry. Raptor Security has a well-stocked armory and will happily charge employees full price for equipment. Raptor also has very good relations with most arms manufacturers on Verdia. If you can imagine it, they can probably get it. If suggesting something original then please explain roughly how it would work and if it has any particular advantages or disadvantages.
>A price list with final item descriptions will then be generated.
>2nd stage will be actually deciding on the sales and purchases as well as equipping mechs with the desired items. Do note that you have 4 mechs, but only 3 pilots at the moment!

>wide angle beam emitter
This means increased field of fire not a bigger beam diameter right?

There are three possible approaches: from the mountainous surrounding, from the sea and from underground.
I think we need to check the size of the underground rail in the mission details first. If that is too small for mechs to walk or be shipped as cargo, we can dismiss that approach.
Mountains and sea are good for indirect fire and high mounted direct weapons for pop-up attacks.

For weapons, missile deployable mines are good as an alternate load for Oracle's Streak missile rack. We should also take a look at missile systems for the Mike Hunt or the Buraq.
Also decoys, both mobile drones and simple drop decoys.

>>387353
Even if the tunnel is too low for mechs to walk in, they could still try and sneak a few tanks though. On the other hand, if we can see into the tunnel with our sensors we should be able to have them intercepted at the tunnel exit.

>>387323
I see two ways to maximize the advantage of the Oracle's build here. First, have everyone load up with potent long-range weapons, particularly indirect fire ones. Then invest in some extra sensor drones- even if the Oracle can't carry them all, since we'll be in a static position that doesn't really matter. Establish an awesome sensor net around the whole area, and use your mechs' indirect fire hardware to pound the hell out of anyone foolish enough to get near the base long before they ever have the chance to see you or encounter more than your expendable drones.

The second option is to emphasize weaponry which packs as much punch in as short a time as possible, probably at the expense of range and ammo capacity. The idea here would be to find ambush positions and get the drop on the enemy, trying to take the down in as short a time as possible- preferably with a massive first strike burst.

Of the two, I'm inclined to go with the first plan. It's got far less risk. So let's get some solid long-range indirect weapon loadouts that our mechs can use, preferably ones which can interface with and benefit from drone or Oracle sensor systems for improved targeting.

Are missile-launching submarines a thing we have to worry about?

we should look into buying some sort of long range artillery, something that can fire over the horizon. oracle lets us pinpoint ever enemy unit on the battlefield. combine that with some range artillery and we can keep our enemies under pretty much constant artillery barrages. something that can do in flight course corrections to take advantage of updated targeting information would be ideal. if something like that is too expensive to outright buy we might want to see if we can get hire an artillery company on a mission by mission basis.

>second option is to emphasize weaponry which packs as much punch in as short a time as possible
Well there are the thermobolt cannons that made an appearance in >>361252. Another is heavy autocannons and rocket launchers. Rocket launchers might have low endurance but they typically have high fire rates and do more damage per missile since they pack more explosive instead of guidance.

Marius Wolfram!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/02/29(Wed)10:25 No. 389571 ID: 307b84
File 133053995559.png - (261.93KB , 992x1498 , Weapon_Catalogue.png )

>[Apologies in advance for the long list!]

>>387402
Attacks from the sea are certainly a possibility. Warships have similar firepower to mechs, but suffer from a lack of cover. Submarines are mostly a threat because of the suprise factor, but once spotted they are easily destroyed with anti-submarine weaponry. Mechs walking across the seabed is also a threat...

>>387353
>>387374
Looking at the train specifications it is a high-speed low profile maglev system for transporting personnel and metal products. The tunnel is too narrow to fit any real mech, but tanks and infantry is possible. The tunnel is deep underground as a safety measure so any countermeasures would require preparation or intervention at the refinery station.

>>387431
Hiring artillery support is unfortunately not viable for this mission. We will be approaching off the roads and they would be too troubled by the terrain. However I will instead suggest to our Raptor allies that they could bring more long range and artillery weapons.

In the end i produce a list of key items that Raptor Security can supply in the artillery, missile, rocket, anti-submarine, thermobolt and landmine categories. I also look up the S.U.N Emitter weapons, apparently they're fairly valuable. Good thing we took them from that sunshine. Raptor even has rights to buy TeneoTech plasma cannons like the ones we considered for Oracle, but even a single one costs a fortune. As a measure of comparison this mission has a measly base pay of 250,000 for me, Rob and Leanne altogether, but we can expect a contractual payout based on threat level and size for any eventual enemy takedowns. The estimate is around 1,000,000 or more for destroying or incapacitating a dangerous enemy mech. We do not have looting rights. Spending a lot on equipment might still not be a bad long-term investment...

----=====================------

Aldarl Munitions Type 3c Autocannon
Description: A classic projectile-based mech to mech weapon, this compact and effective Type 3 autocannons delivers high-velocity armour-piercing cannon shells. It will outperform light lasers at close to medium range due to its rate of fire.
Advantages: Good damage, good rate of fire, easy to use.
Disadvantages: Less accurate and effective at long ranges, ammunition based.
Cost: 170,000

Aldarl Munitions Type 5a Autocannon
Description: The Aldarl Type 5 models were designed as medium mech primary armaments. They are reliable weapons that will steadily deliver destruction as long as the firing trigger is held down or the ammunition runs out.
Advantages: great damage, good rate of fire, easy to use.
Disadvantages: Less accurate and effective at long ranges, somewhat limited ammunition, annoying recoil.
Cost: 280,000

HMR33-S Howitzer
Description: The 33-S model mech artillery weapon can be fitted to any mech and is very suitable for both direct and indirect fire. A very popular weapon for support and sniper mechs.
Advantages: Extreme long range (max 25km), superb damage and penetration, plenty of ammunition.
Disavantages: Slow rate of fire, slightly difficult to use against close moving targets.
Cost: 140,000

HMR66-M Howitzer
Description: The 66-M is heavier than the 33-S, but otherwise does the same job. The larger shells are somewhat slower and suffers from decreased range as a result.
Advantages: Very Long range (max 11km), excellent damage.
Disadvantages: Slow rate of fire, difficult to use against close moving targets.
Cost: 250,000

HMR 99-H Howitzer
Description: The 99-H is a massive gun that delivers enormous shells. The relatively short range and tendency for ballistic arc makes this weapon more akin to a city-levelling mortar. Can just about be fitted onto a medium mech, but the weight is rather overwhelming, reducing mobility and may require bracing to fire.
Advantages: Long range (max 4km), utterly devastating damage.
Disadvantages: Slow rate of fire, difficult to use against close moving targets, limited ammunition.
Cost: 440,000

Q&H ML6 'Star'
Description: Missiles provide excellent value for money. This compact self-loading missile launcher adds excellent range and damage output to any mech.
Advantages: Extreme range, good damage.
Disadvantages: Needs to lock on for true homing capability, ammunition based.
Cost: 80,000

Q&H ML12 'Halo'
Description: A solid mech missile platform that can deliver a 12-missile salvo.
Advantages: Extreme range, good damage, difficult to counter.
Disadvantages: Needs to lock on for true homing capabilty, ammunition based.
Cost: 190,000

Q&H ML20 'Dawn'
Description: No one ever asks why you would ever want to fire 20 missiles at once. You just do.
Advantages: Extreme range, great damage, will overwhelm most defense systems.
Disadvantages: Needs to lock on for true homing capabilty, easily runs out of ammunition, heavy.
Cost: 380,000

Q&H RRL 'Tremor'
Description: This design is a variation on the Q&H missile system designs. The unguided warheads pack a significantly stronger punch, although the lack of guidance makes them hard to deploy against more mobile targets.
Advantages: Very powerful for its weight, good rate of fire.
Disadvantages: Bad against moving targets, ammunition based.
Cost: 130,000

HLF Industries 'Hades' burst fire grenade launcher
Description: By firing up to four explosive rounds at low velocities this grenade launcher provides excellent area saturation. Great at clearing light and non-mech targets from the battlefield. The burst fire is not to be underestimated.
Advantages: Widespread damage, great rate of fire, lightweight ammunition.
Disadvantages: Short range, slow projectiles, low armour penetration.
Cost: 220,000

BTDS 'Battletoads' amphibious missile launcher
Description: Originally developed for warships, this launcher can fire 4-missile volleys with land/sea/air capability. The added super-cavitating underwater capabilities makes it a nightmare for submarines and smaller ships. Can even be fired from underwater.
Advantages: Incredibly versatile, highly programmable, extreme range, strong individual missiles.
Disadvantages: Does less damage for weight than other missile systems. Vulnerable to interception.
Cost: 180,000

LMN 'Lizardman' torpedo system
Description: The Lizardman add-on hunter-killer torpedo launchers are easily strapped to a mechs legs or waist. When given a target area the torpedoes are launched and will search the area for matching targets and destroy any that are found. The powerful warheads have been known to do damage to mech bodies and legs in river battles.
Advantages: Highly destructive against almost all waterborne threats, lightweight and disposable.
Disadvantages: Limited number, useless on land, must be fired within 10 metres of water.
Cost: 20,000 for a 4-pack launcher

Q&H Thermobolt Plus
Description: Fires long spearlike projectiles that react and superheat on impact. Quickly cools down causing the material to expand and harden. High tendency to cause crippling damage by jamming moving parts or overheating components. The sturdy design, good ammo capacity and continuous 120rpm rate of fire makes it a good anti-mech weapon.
Advantages: Crippling, high rate of fire, lots of ammunition.
Disadvantages: Unreliable damage, not very effective against non-mech and non-armoured targets.
Cost: 290,000

>>387353
Uniform Inc. 'S.U.N Emitter'
Description: A mixture between a laser and a searchlight, the S.U.N emits a variable large diameter cone of light over a period of slightly less than a second. It is primarily an anti-air weapon for eliminating aircraft, missile swarms and sometimes even incoming shells. Unfortunately the damage done to armoured targets is sometimes negligible and the emitters can take minutes to recharge and cool down.
Advantages: Excellent projectile intervention, lightweight, highly accurate, area damage.
Disadvantages: Very long cooldown, ineffective against most types of mech armour.
Cost: 180,000

Antlion drone mine
Description: Conventional mines are generally ineffective against mechs. The lower legs are almost indestructible and powerful short range wide-frequency radars can detect dangers under the surface. The antlion overcomes these issues by burrowing deep underground and waits until it senses the heavy footsteps of a passing mech. When one passes nearby the antlion emerges and attempts to launch its short-range missile payload at its back.
Advantages: Difficult to detect, effective static defense.
Disadvantages: Somewhat unreliable, requires soil to burrow, can be countered.
Cost: 40,000 each

TeneoTech 'T2 Nova' respiring plasma cannon
Description: One of the most feared mech weapons. This weapon sucks in metric tonnes of gas, ionizes it into a plasma state and compresses it into a ball only slightly bigger than a human head before expelling it in a briefly self-contained form. The difficulty and timing required to effectively deploy this weapon in combat means that it is usually only deployed on heavy mechs with highly skilled pilots.
Advantages: Incredibly damaging, does not require ammunition, variable rate of fire, good for annihilating mechs or large stretches of terrain.
Disadvantages: Heavy, extreme reactor drain, limited range, takes very long for a full charge that can only be held for seconds at most, loud charging turbine very noticeable.
Cost: 9,500,000

>[What equipment should be purchased?]
>[Which mechs should be equipped?]
>[Be inventive and have fun!]

One or more S.U.N Emitters seem like they would be useful for intercepting any surprise artillery barrages.

We NEED to get some Antlions and Battletoads. The names alone compel me already.

Also: Who doesn't want to FIRE THE SUN!?

I propose we turn the Mike hunt into a dedicated artillery mech. if we can provide lock on data for it we could use it to fire missile at any target on the battlefield(i'm assuming extreme range means in the 10s of kilometers). I propose we arm it with a pair of halo launchers(dawn launchers would be fun but they lack endurance) and a 'S.U.N Emitter to protect it from counter battery fire. we can leave the last slot open mission specific weapons, for example a Battletoads launcher would be perfect for this mission. including the Battletoads launcher this loud out would cost 740000. unless the ammo costs several times the launcher it is well within our price range.

I really like the Thermobolt for re-equipping Leanne's mech, her damage compensation abilities combined with the gun's ability to cripple the enemy in return should see her winning in long fights. Make sure she keeps one of the nice and reliable lasers we have on hand for the other arm too.

Oracle's EMP missiles were nice, but enemy missile countermeasures reduced their effectiveness more than I would have liked. I would like to have its fire combined with one of the larger conventional missile salvos to overwhelm countermeasure systems. ML20 'Dawn' would go well for an overwhelming first strike capability, but Oracle already has extreme range and damage with a low effective rate of fire in the form of the Gauss arms, so mounting an ML12 'Halo' on one shoulder and the EMPs on the other is my preferred outfit.

'Lizardman' 8 a 20,000 160,000 'Battletoad' 1 a 180,000 180,000 'Thermobolt Plus' 1 a 290,000 290,000 'Star' 2 a 80,000 160,000 'Halo' 2 a 190,000 380,000 'Hades' 1 a 220,000 220,000 'Tremor' 2 a 130,000 260,000 'HMR33-S Howitzer' 4 a 140,000 560,000 'Antlion' 10 a 40,000 400,000 ------------------------------------------ 2,610,000

Don't forget to buy reloads. And see if we can bring our supply train in and the 'Antlions' into the refinery by train if they can't make the overland track with us. And strap a 'Lizardman' to each of our mechs for the trek to the refinery.

My preferred load out:
Leanne in the 'Mike Hunt', armed with a 'Thermobolt Plus' and a ML6 'Star' in the upper torso, a 'Hades' in one arm, the 'M5RAC Oerlikon Infinity' in the other. If its just 2 slots in the 'Mike Hunt', the 'Thermobolt Plus' and the 'M5RAC Oerlikon Infinity'.
Rob in the Buraq, add a RRL 'Tremor' for the free arm and a 'S.U.N. Emitter' for the free shoulder.
Marius in the Oracle, replace the CIWS with a 'S.U.N. Emitter' and the two 'Thunderhammer MK4' with two 'HMR33-S Howitzer'. If it is possible to replace one 'Thunderhammer MK4' with two 'HMR33-S Howitzer', go for four howitzers.

>>389733
can we get a quick compare/contrast of the gauss cannons vs the howitzers? I did not mention them because I could not tell where one long range high damage slow rate of fire gun might have the advantage over the other.

From what we've seen, gauss canon looks like slow to moderate rate of fire, superb damage and penetration, plenty of ammunition, long range, direct fire only. So I think the difference would be the gauss canon is slightly faster with no close-in problems and no indirect fire option.
Official word will be appreciated.

Gasus vs Howitzer clarifications EvilPerson&MrBrush!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/03/02(Fri)11:33 No. 389876 ID: 25a3ee
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>>389753
>>389853
Oops. There's actually a mistake in the HMR33-S Howitzer listing. It should not have penetration as a particular advantage!

Gauss cannons could be considered low damage weapons, but they will ignore almost any armour types. Depending on the type and structure of the target there's a good chance to cause critical internal damage instead. The ability to reliably hit moving objects makes them good mech hunting weapons. Situations the gauss cannon would excel in would be on open terrain with line of sight, against highly mobile targets, against well armored targets, against aircraft. Rate of fire is 4 shots per minute.

The howitzers instead excel at large-scale explosive destruction. Situations the howitzers would excel in would be in areas with difficult terrain and cover preventing line of sight (can either pass over obstacles or outright annihilate them), against multiple small softer targets and against large or area targets. The rates of fire are better than the gauss cannons with the light 33-S managing 10+ per minute and the heaviest 99-S managing around 6 per minute.

>>389733
One Thunderhammer can easily be replaced with two HMR33-S Howitzers mounted side by side. The cumbersome in close combat aspect would also be greatly reduced as the heavy frame compensates for the balance issues in the lighter 33-S. Ammunition capacity would be around 100-160 rounds per gun.

The Oracle gauss cannons would have something like this profile:
Aldarl Munitions Thunderhammer MK4 Gauss Cannon
Description: This highly specialized weapon uses electromagnetic principles to fire relatively small projectiles at incredible speeds in nearly straight lines. It will punch through almost any type of armour.
Advantages: Very long range, high accuracy, incredible penetration.
Disadvantages: Very slow rate of fire, somewhat limited ammunition, heavy, requires frequent maintenance.
Cost: 3,750,000

We could go on about the differences, but we hope this makes sense.

In that case, I would support replacing one gauss cannon with a pair of HMR33-S Howitzers. Not both of them though. I would like to maintain the ability to quickly and reliably take out reconnaissance aircraft. The pay scale of this mission relies on the enemy walking into an ambush, and nothing we can get would be better suited to taking out a scout before it has a chance to report in than a gauss shot.

>>389879
Agreed.

Considering our incredible sensor suite, we ought to take maximum advantage of our ability to pinpoint enemy positions. The missiles do good damage, are quite accurate, and are have exelent range. They provide a distinct advantage, especialy to us, as the Oracle is likely able to lock onto a target without exposing itself at all, possibly even without showing up on enemy sensors. They may not be exessively flashy, but they seem the most powerfull ton for ton.

@ !ZhOnAuT5OE/OP: what is the Oracle's ability to provide a lock from full cover, and with minimal active sensors?

>>389882
Actually locking on wouldn't be possible. The missile systems need to fully acquire targets before launch.

However Oracle could fire or direct the firing of an accurate missile barrage at any known or predicted enemy locations. Then the missiles rudimentary target detection gives them a chance to adjust their flight path to perform direct hits.

>>390196
Hmm. Even that seems significantly superior to the howitzers, and presumably with drones deployed in conjunction with Oracle we'd have a chance at an actual lock (?). Given that we can presumably bring additional reloads with us to the site that we're protecting, so ammunition issues will only be encountered on a per-battle basis rather than throughout the mission, missiles seem like a better bet than howitzers overall.

Since underwater assault is a concern here, can we pick up some drones which can extend our sensor net in that area? Presumably we don't come with them by default, but they wouldn't necessarily even need to be deployed in our mech- they could ship in as support vehicles if necessary, so long as they can link up to the Oracle's sensor net.

Getting 3 Battletoads missile systems distributed amongst our mechs is probably enough armament against underwater attack, and if we combine them with multiple Halo or Dawn systems against land targets their superior programmability might let us mix in precision shots on key enemy systems with our attempts at devastating barrage. A few Lizardman systems can provide a similar supplement against aquatic assault.

Ideally those would let us eliminate incoming mechs or aircraft before they become a threat, but in case of missile barrage or shelling a SUN Emitter or two might let us protect our charge. Mix in a modest variety of more standard weapons for close-range against anything truly unexpected and I think we'll be good for this mission.

>>390222
My understanding is that missiles are not usually taken as arm weapons like howitzers. We can take both, and indeed, doing so has already been suggested.

I think what we are currently looking at for Oracle's loadout is
1x MK4 Gauss Cannon
2x HMR33-S Howitzer
1x Q&H ML12 'Halo' OR Q&H ML20 'Dawn'
1x EMP Streak Missile
1x S.U.N. Emitter
1x LMN 'Lizardman' torpedo system (may have to replace leg mounted anti-infantry pods)
0-2 Swivel Mounted Pulse lasers (However many we still have space/weight for)

For Leanne in the Mike Hunt, we seems to like
1x Q&H Thermobolt Plus
(arm?)
(upper torso?)
1x S.U.N. Emitter
1x LMN 'Lizardman' torpedo system

There is little consensus on other weapons so far. She asked for "some big fat guns," but she is very aggressive, so giving her long range, stand-off weapons like the howitzers would likely be a waste.

For the empty arm weapon, there are a couple choices. The HLF Industries 'Hades' burst fire grenade launcher would effectively cover the weakness against non-mech targets the Thermobolt leaves her with. The laser cannons we have on hand have the best reliability, and so would work well with her ability to keep fighting through (and tendency to take) damage.
Her spare upper torso slot could probably take a Q&H ML6 'Star' without complaint, or we could put one of our swivel mounted lasers there.

Rob has been discussed the least. It sounds like he will probably take the Buraq, but even that is up for debate. At this point, simply combining weapons systems from the two remaining mechs would give us a starting point of something like

1x large laser cannon
1x medium laser cannon
1x compact shoulder mounted PPC
1x swivel shoulder-mounted medium 'HLF Raie-55' electrolaser
1x revolver-type torso missile rack
Reflective armor coating (anti laser)

(none of which are things we have explicit descriptions of)

>>390222
I think the Lizardman works for underwater targets, too. The Battletoad missiles are just faster under water than lizardman missiles and can be fired far from the shore. But Lizardman don't take a weapon mount, they are strap on weapons. And for surface targets the normal mech weapons are just as good against them as against land targets.

For the howitzer missile comparation, I think missiles without lock guided into range for their own seekers to try won't be significantly more accurate than howitzer shells. But missiles are much more vulnerable to interception.
There is a possibility of obscuring the position of the launching platform when firing them without lock, which howitzers lack.
There is a possibility to fire MRSI salvos with a howitzer starting at about half maximum range. That is a single tube firing rounds at differing angles with differing propellant charges so that all of them impact at the same time and place. Not sure if that is allowed with the Mech howitzers here.

>>390253
My problem with this loadout is that it's not focused. Getting one of every weapon isn't what we need here, in my opinion- any weapon that we're planning to hit our enemies with we should have at least three of, preferably more. If we detect and target our enemies before they can detect and target us, then we should be prepping ourselves to take them out in one devastating barrage launched from a place they can't return fire to. We should be going with waves of ~80 missiles, or if we do go with howitzers we should get a handful of them, including some mediums or even a heavy.

We do need enough direct-range punch to take out anything that somehow gets close to us- but if we're doing our job right, nothing will.

I changed the loadout a little and will give my reasoning.

Leanne is an aggressive, in your face pilot. Remember she managed to get a light mech into physical combat while using a medium mech herself. The 'Mike Hunt' is her mech, she knows about it, so it will benefit from her damage compensation abilities the most. For weapons
* the Thermobolt Plus: a good antimech weapon with average range
* M5RAC Oerlikon Infinity: good against mechs and vehicle, comparable to the 5a AC, rotary means higher maximum rate of fire with increasing failure risks (mitigated by her damage compensation abilities)
* ML 6 Star: a bit of ranged punch for the fast enemy, light since the other two already are at least medium weight
* Oracle's CIWS: defense against infantry and missile attacks

Rob specializes in defense and evasion. That makes it highly likely he will move around a lot and take cover whenever he can. That's not really conductive to getting missile locks, so I think he shouldn't carry much missiles. I want him in the Buraq since that one already has indirect fire weapons and the Ravager is optimized for direct combat. For weapons
* the revolver launcher in the torso: I think this is an integral part, like Oracle's sensor suite. Lets see if we can get him EMP missiles for it.
* the Hades: can fire from cover, good against light mechs, vehicles, infantry
* 'HLF Raie-55' electrolaser: medium/good damage plus emp, outside cover that can buy the seconds to get to a better position
* S.U.N. Emitter: infantry, drone and missile defense
* Tremor: fast and good damage, makes a good combo with the electrolaser as the emp makes the target unable to react to the rocket salvo

Oracle:
* Replace the EMP missiles with a Battletoad. The Battletoad has more options and range.
* Replace the CIWS with a S.U.N. Emitter: The S.U.N. has better effect against missiles and drones, including flying scout drones
* Keep the lasers for additional power against vehicles, drones and infantry
* replace the two Thunderhammers with four 33-S Howitzers: Oracle has a detection range(without Marius directing) of estimated 15 km. I got the range by using the 15-20 min estimate at standard speeds (50 km/h, estimated) in >>364542. With the light Howitzers we can attack on the full detection range, Oracle's heavy frame counters the close-in problem and four of them hitting simultaneously will deal extra damage.
>The pay scale of this mission relies on the enemy walking into an ambush, and nothing we can get would be better suited to taking out a scout before it has a chance to report in than a gauss shot.
If you are talking scout mech, we'd need to knock out the pilot or power source to prevent a report. To do that with a gauss cannon, we need to be very lucky. On the other hand I think throwing a mech around with a howitzer hit has better chances of knocking the pilot out. If you are talking drones, Oracles air defense is still good enough for that. If you are talking real, manned flyers, they will come in low and fast. I don't think the gauss canon has a notable chance to hit them. But the Battletoad is listed for air targets and should provide enough distraction to prevent them getting close if it can't down them.

>>390949
I think I'll back this. I have a few quibbles, but overall that setup should do well.

>>390949
>If you are talking scout mech, we'd need to knock out the pilot or power source to prevent a report. To do that with a gauss cannon, we need to be very lucky. On the other hand I think throwing a mech around with a howitzer hit has better chances of knocking the pilot out. If you are talking drones, Oracles air defense is still good enough for that. If you are talking real, manned flyers, they will come in low and fast. I don't think the gauss canon has a notable chance to hit them. But the Battletoad is listed for air targets and should provide enough distraction to prevent them getting close if it can't down them.

I was talking about manned or unmanned scout fliers actually. Attack craft come in low and fast. Scout craft come in as high as they can, so they can be as far away as possible when they get eyes on target. The S.U.N. simply won't have the multiple kilometers of range needed to take out an airborn scout. Missiles are great for air targets, but they take many precious seconds to get there. It doesn't take long to say "multiple enemy mechs spotted, taking fire." A gauss shot would already be punching through the thing by the time a missile left the tube.

The Gauss cannons apparently have an effective range of ~11k, so based on those numbers, by the time the detection systems went off and we climbed into the seat, they would pretty much be in range. (This is a two week deployment, we should not count on being in the seat when the enemy shows up.)

Otherwise I will sign off on this. I should have included the M5RAC Oerlikon in the Mike Hunt's list, but I didn't notice that till substantially later.

>>391096
> high flying scouts
I am not sure if such flyers are common around here. Can we get background info on that?

>It doesn't take long to say "multiple enemy mechs spotted, taking fire."
I don't think you can avoid the message 'Enemy around here' by shooting a flyer down. When you start shooting you have no hope of concealing your presence any longer. Just the fact the flyer got downed is confirmation of enemy presence. By then you can only conceal details, like who, how many, where, what kind, etc.

For consideration, it's an ambush not only if the defender doesn't know an attacker is there. If the defender sees things but doesn't correctly recognize them for what they are, you are executing an ambush too.
That reminds me, someone asked for decoys a little earlier. If we can't buy some, how about asking Sylvia about making some from reflective foil, a camp stove or chemical heater and a battery pack?

Marius Wolfram!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/03/19(Mon)10:56 No. 394111 ID: 228285
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>All suggestions have been carefully considered, weighted and taken into account.

MECH LOADOUT

Oracle
4x HMR33-S Howitzers (both arms)
1x ML12 'Halo' missile system (shoulder)
1x BTDS 'Battletoads' missile system (shoulder)
1x Pulse laser (behind head)
1x S.U.N Emitter (nose)
1x LMN 'Lizardman' torpedo system (hip)

Buraq
1x 'Hades' grenade launcher (arm)
1x RRL 'Tremor' rocket launcher (arm)
1x Tornado-6 revolver missile system (torso)
1x Raie-55 Elecrolaser (shoulder)
1x S.U.N Emitter (shoulder)

Mike Hunt
1x Thermobolt Plus (right arm)
1x M5RAC Oerlikon Infinity (left arm)
1x CIWS turret (top)
1x ML6 'Star' missile system (torso slot 1)
1x BTDS 'Battletoads' missile system (torso slot 2)
1x LMN 'Lizardman (hip)

Mech weapon cost: 1,650,000
10x Antlion mines: 400,000
Total remaining funds: 19,200,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the end I make some serious decisions and place large orders. The engineering staff nearly have a fit when they find out that they have to completely refit Oracle in less than four days. They have less of an issue when I tell them they effectively get the following two weeks or more off work as we will not need field support. Taskmistress Sylvia takes the lead as usual and they swiftly get on with their tasks. One of the engineers question my initial loadout for the Mike Hunt and it turns out that "two arm and upper torso mounts" means two arm weapons AND two torso slots. I quickly tell them to add a Battletoads launcher and promptly have the person who wrote the report chastised for the terrible lack of clarity.

At the end of it I feel downright pleased with myself when I bring Rob and Leanne around the hangar to show them the completed mechs. We enter through an innocuous service door and the first thing that hits us is the overpowering smell of burnt metal, machine oil and solvents. The second thing is the majestic war machines standing in their maintenance bays. The fresh paintjobs beautifully reflect the powerful light coming from the myriad of lights that illuminate the massive facility. Surrounding them various complex cranes, specialized transport vehicles, equipment crates, thick shielded cables and even a few workers scurrying about doing the finishing touches.

"Holy shit! Mine is stacked with guns and missiles! Woohooo! Can I test fire it?!" I thought Leanne might be a bit excited, but she looks like she is about to bounce off the walls any moment now. She's holding up her clenched fists and looks like she just won the lottery.
"What kind of frankenmech did you turn that poor Buraq into?" Rob says with a smirk on his face as he idly rubs the stubble on his chin.
"I figured you guys would like it. The Mike should be causing some reliable damage with the defense turret keeping missiles at bay," I comment, but I'm not sure if Leanne's really listening at this point...
"I'm gonna go check this out up close!" Leanne shouts as she quickly takes off at sprinting speeds, quickly disappearing from earshot amid the rumbling machinery, leaving me with Rob.
"I'm glad you kept the Buraqs original missile system. I was worried you'd break up the reflective surface by installing something bigger," Rob says,
"Naturally," I say, carefully concealing my reaction. Arrgh! I hadn't considered that! In hindsight it's obvious. The revolver type launcher only has one exposed launch tube so it makes better use of the special armor coat... Now I wonder if I did anything wrong. [color=#D30015]"Reckon you can work with the Buraq then, Rob?"
"You know I don't think I've ever seen grenade, missile, rocket and laser weapons all together on one medium mech before," he says with a more serious expression on his face. "It's definitely versatile and suited for defense, but versatile setups require judgement under stress. I can handle it though; we had some real patchwork mechs back in the day; lots of salvaged parts and whatever guns we had at hand. Still for future reference you need to consider not just the weapons themselves, but how they work together. If you gave Leanne this sort of mech she would probably forget to adjust for speed and trajectories."
I sigh with dejection. Guess I'm still new at this mech thing... "Got it, Rob. Now let's get some practice done."
"Sure thing, let's suit up."


The next morning we simply mobilize outside the base and start moving in formation after doing some quick checks. The weather is nice and I'm a bit surprised at how smoothly it goes. All ten Antlion mine drones have been strapped to Oracles back using a makeshift container. They'll have to be deployed well in advance, but we should have the time for that. The Buraq also carries some placeable, cheap decoys that Sylvia whipped up. They won't fool anyone for long, but they might cause an inexperienced pilot to panic or make a bad snap decision.

Our Raptor companions have turned up with 3 medium mechs and 3 light mechs. I can see a fair few autocannons and missile pods so. One has even brought some naval sensor buoys that should provide some amount of underwater detection ability. There's no official leader, but inofficially the one taking the lead seems to be one of the medium mech pilots - Hobbins Valeour. I've spoken a bit with him at the base and he's pretty much a middle aged balding veteran warfighter who has been with Raptor for quite a few years. Not particularly intelligent, but a man with military leadership experience.

[Is there anything Marius should bring up or discuss with the rest of the battlegroup?]
[Any ideas for overall strategies? How should the element of surprise be handled? What are the priorities? Will the focus be on deterrence, drawing enemies in, preventing their retreat or something else entirely?]

>[Is there anything Marius should bring up or discuss with the rest of the battlegroup?]
Getting them linked into the Oracle's ISTAR network is the number one priority. Having an entire force able to view the enemies movements and coordinate 'blind' pinpoint strikes is more valuable than all your weapons combined.
>[Any ideas for overall strategies? How should the element of surprise be handled? What are the priorities? Will the focus be on deterrence, drawing enemies in, preventing their retreat or something else entirely?]
We get bonus pay for enemy takedowns, so luring them into an ambush would be preferable. The decoys, in combination with a few light mechs sitting in groups of decoys to provide harrying fire for verisimilitude could be used to lure enemy strike forces into concentrating in a location of your choice, ready for you to flank and bombard.
Get a map of the terrain (and undersea topography) around the shore facility, and sit down with Valeour to discuss strategy and possible tactics.

Oh, and if you have facilities to set up some sort of simulation, see if you can persuade another group of pilots to act as your OPFOR to test out your ideas.

>[Is there anything Marius should bring up or discuss with the rest of the battlegroup?]
Bring up Oracles custom sensor suite. See if their mechs can accept data and target feeds from Oracle as >>394138 suggests.
Inform them about the Antlions and the decoys. It is better if they can get used to their existence and possible uses now. Before they get used. In turn ask if anyone else has externals like your mines and the other guy's naval sensor buoys.
Look over the other mechs for weapons you don't recognize.

>[Any ideas for overall strategies? How should the element of surprise be handled? What are the priorities? Will the focus be on deterrence, drawing enemies in, preventing their retreat or something else entirely?]
The mission is protecting the refinery. That's something you need to keep in mind. While the employer wants you to reduce the enemy forces, that's a secondary objective in the pay schedule.
Deterrence is a bad idea. It just invites the other groups to work together to overcome your force.
Preventing their retreat should be a goal to keep details about your force secret from other groups. But you have to make them want to retreat in the first place. And never forget if the forces between the refinery and them look weak, they might retreat forward, through the refinery. And wreck the mission, too.
Drawing enemies in is equaly dangerous to the refinery. If they get too close, they might decide for a last push and damage the refinery even if you manage to kill the mechs in the fight.

My preferred strategy is to deploy the naval sensor buoys to warn of seaside attacks and fight enemy mechs mostly in the mountains. Nevertheless some units should stay close to the refinery.
Let's look over the map of the area look for bottlenecks, passes, places an force has to go through to get to the refinery. Then shape the paths to your advantage. A little avalanche to close a ravine here, some Antlions to make a pass look much more dangerous there, dam up a creek for a little unexpected lake or shifted place rapids a third place.
One goal is to channel the enemy forces into places we can attack from multiple directions. The other goal is to lead anyone working of the known map of the area into dead ends and dangerous situations.

When there is a seaside attack, you can use the Battletoads and the howitzers to support the group that remained close to the refinery. Oracle shouldn't be far away anyway since it carries primarily long ranged arms and the sensor suite is quite long ranged, too.

>>394111
>[Any ideas for overall strategies? How should the element of surprise be handled? What are the priorities? Will the focus be on deterrence, drawing enemies in, preventing their retreat or something else entirely?]
Pay is given in large part based upon combat and takedowns, so we have three basic tasks to maximize our payout:
1. Ensure that the refinery is untouched to ensure base pay and fulfill contract
2. Ensure that all enemy mechs meet the requirement of entering combat with us so that we can claim combat pay
3. Ensure that all enemy mechs are destroyed rather than escaping so that we can claim kill bonuses

A basic strategy to support all three is to assign all mechs to either an outer group or an inner group. The outer group is responsible for patrolling the various approaches from a few kilometers out and setting ambushes for enemy troops, ensuring that they are engaged and destroyed before ever reaching the refinery. The inner group stays at or very near the refinery and provides mass long-range fire support to bring down the thunder against anyone that the outer group is ambushing, and also serves as a secondary line of defense should an enemy somehow get past the outer group or decide to pitch missiles at the refinery from very long range. Drones should be deployed all over the place and both groups should pool their sensor data, obviously. Hopefully that will let long-range missile and howitzer fire be very accurate even lacking line of sight.

Pool all mission pay and divide it evenly amongst participants, so that there's no reason for people to worry about who gets what kills or being given one job over another. This might be standard already, but if it's not it needs to be because otherwise we have a vested interest in working partially against our teammates here in order to steal all the kills and make the most money, which would be terrible for our reputation but very good for our pocketbook. That's not a choice we want to have to make.

>[Is there anything Marius should bring up or discuss with the rest of the battlegroup?]
Run the above plan past Rob and get his review of it- he's more experienced and will be able to help eliminate any obvious flaws and make suggestions as to who should take what roles. Once it's polished up a bit, suggest it as the overall plan to the rest of the group and Hobbins Valeour in particular. Make sure to spin it not as "we should do this", but rather as "this is my suggestion; can anyone improve it or come up with a better idea?" We don't want to come off as trying to take charge because that would create resentment; instead we want to appear tactically minded and helpful.

Once basic plans are hammered out, engage in some radio chatter with the others and try to get a sense of personalities and build up some camaraderie. It's important to build positive relationships with those you'll be fighting alongside.

Marius Wolfram!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/06/18(Mon)10:55 No. 423827 ID: 0faf03
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We start talking while moving. Call signs are established. Apart from me as "Oracle", Leanne as "Mike Hunt" and Rob as "Rob" we have the following:

"Hobbinzero" - This is Hobbins Valeurs callsign. Raptor veteran. He pilots an agile medium mech with autocannons and standard missiles.
"Brockman" - The pilots actual last name and a friend of Hobbins. Doesn't speak much, but seems friendly. He pilots a defensive medium mech with a mix of direct-fire weapons and effective active defenses.
"Cruzifix" - Friendly and laid-back. She pilots a well armed long-range medium mech with howitzers, land/sea missiles as well as some direct-fire weapons.
"Six-Pack" - A macho asshole I do not like. Pilots a light mech with relatively powerful energy weapons and limited missile capabilities.
"Eliah" - Chatty intellectual. Possibly another noble refugee like me. He pilots a hit and run type light mech with a mix of long recharge direct fire weapons.
"PolluxShuttle" - A very confident new pilot. She pilots a missile oriented light mech with backup lasers. She is also the one who brought the naval buoys.

>>394191
"Everyone, I think we need to discuss our exact plans and strategies for this mission" I say
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Priorities here. I want to know how we're splitting the MONEY!" PolluxShuttle interjects.
"Exactly. I'm thinking we should agree on payment model 51C." Hobbins says in a commanding voice.
"No way man, then you can just sit back and let us do the work, that's no good..." Six-Pack comments. What follows is a two hour long discussion. Apparently Raptor Security has a large number of schemes and methods for determining pay. A company specialty I am told. I do my best to argue for splitting it as evenly as possible, but all the medium mech pilots strongly disagree as their mech maintenance costs and effectiveness is a magnitude above that of the lighter mechs. The end agreement is that 30% of the total payout will be split evenly while the remaining 70% is divided based on combat effectiveness and cooperation. This will be judged by a third party afterwards and should discourage outright kill stealing while rewarding success and adherence to the commonly agreed plan. So far said plan seems to be laying ambushes at bottlenecks in the terrain using an outer team with a artillery support team on the defense staying back. Consulting with Rob his suggestion is that we should focus on exploiting our long range firepower by hitting them hard as soon as they come in range rather than holding back for any reason.

When I smugly reveal the Oracles extraordinary abilities everyone is awestruck. I manage to reformat the data using some filters and share it with everyone over our network. It'll only show anomalies as dots to them rather than the deliciously addictive layer of spatial and compositional awareness. They seem overjoyed at being able to detect vehicles behind obstacles, but they just don't know what they're missing...

>>394140
We then start our strategy discussions and run some rough simulations and mock battles as we walk. The software we use is more videogame-like than a full environment simulation, but the manufacturer states that it is modeled based on real combat statistics and experience. There are a lot of arguments and cursing about lack of intel about the refinery and surroundings. We may have a lot of questions for the refinery executive contact we're meant to report in to while on site.

From running the simulations we learn a few things:
- The missile firing Antlion drones are somewhat ineffective unless combined with a second threat like harassing mechs or sustained missile strike. Otherwise defensive weapons tend to destroy the drones as they unburrow themselves.
- Engagements against water surface and underwater enemies are almost always in our favour due to our missile and underwater capable weaponry combined with supreme detection ability.
- An overly numerous force including 15 or more fast light mechs proves surprisingly hard to contain. They can split up and simply rush the refinery while taking some losses. A somewhat suicidal move however.
- A full siege force of 3 heavy mechs with some support is likely to destroy the refinery with ease and destroy us as well if we try to block their path. We have problems with reliably piercing superheavy armour.
- A hypothetical strike force with exclusively medium mechs will suffer heavily from artillery, but is likely to force deadly engagements.
- If enemy infantry somehow get into the refinery buildings through the underground railway or by other means we probably can't do much about it with just mechs without causing serious damage.
- We can't simulate the psychological effect of assaulting through sustained artillery bombardment. Rob says he would probably disengage if he was spotted early and hit accurately at long range while others argue they would just try to rush to disable the artillery.


[Suggest antlion mine placement, decoy placement and force positioning using the map. The client has requested that nothing is deployed within 2-3 kilometers of the refinery as the workers may see it and leak the information to the enemy. The rough terrain and harsh weather makes concealment fairly easy.]
[The sensor buoys will automatically deploy to cover all sea shown on them map with sparser coverage for 10-15 kilometers more outside that area.]
[Any questions for the refinery contact person or fellow warriors?]

o 2012/06/18(Mon)14:03 No. 423861 ID: bdb3f8
File 134005338935.png - (611.06KB , 1550x1250 , mapguides.png )

Map marked with estimated maximum ranges based mostly on >>389571 and refinery exclusion zone. I'm a helper!






*Lasers, being light-based weapons, have theoretically infinite range. Their effectiveness is limited by targeting systems, and at long ranges minor differences in air temperature will deflect the path of the beam noticeably. Lasers on Oracle will likely have a longer effective range than most other mechs.
The harsh weather in this area is also likely to reduce laser damage at long range due to scatter.

By requesting we not deploy close to the base, that means initially, right? Being unable to move through the area to react to attacks from the north or south could be troublesome.

Hmm, the zone we are requested to not deploy into is rather similar in size to our estimated sensor range.
We should probably keep the oracle and other long-range mechs close to the left side of the non-deployment area so they can cover most of the area, with the mid ranged mechs around the north and south ends to be ready for indirect attacks and the short ranged mechs also near the west end so they are centrally located for when they need to move to attack. I think the antlions should be placed mostly near the track, as that seems like the festest approach and the attackers will probably not know we are preparing for them.

o 2012/06/19(Tue)14:27 No. 424125 ID: bdb3f8
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The mountains to the west limit approaches from that direction, though there is a mountain pass which could be attempted. Approaching from along the shore is unlikely because of the clear line of sight it would grant to any defenders. They will try to sneak in close through the mountains.

Since this is a long deployment, we cannot realistically have people spread out all over. We will deploy in three camps designed to be able to react to incoming threats. Light and agile mechs should be able to move to reinforce in the direction of combat as needed. Once battle starts, long range specialized mechs should move to high ground and prepare to provide supporting fire. Brockman's defensive mech will probably be called upon to provide missile defense for either his squad or the refinery itself as the situation progresses.

Oracle must be deployed centrally to make full use of the sensor suite, unfortunately that puts us out of the proximity to water required to use our hip torpedoes. It should not be a problem, we are well equipped for naval engagements otherwise.

Pollux is intentionally deployed with Rob in the hope that his experience will rub off on her youthful exuberance. Decoys placed with them in an effort to discourage the enemy from closing with the under-strength team.

Antlions are placed in valleys along the likely routes, in locations where our own missiles will be able to engage the enemy while the antlions are unearthing themselves, providing the suppressing fire they need to be effective.

A pair of decoys are placed in high ground on the inside of the mountain in order to give enemies approaching from the western routes something to worry about. If we had more forces or more specific knowledge of the enemy timetable, they would be excellent places to snipe enemy rear armor, after all.

If Oracle detects enemy forces using the underground railway, we should be prepared to collapse the tunnel to prevent them from getting through, possibly by rigging the antlions deployed along its path to detonate their warheads while still underground.

Marius Wolfram!ZhOnAuT5OE 2012/06/28(Thu)12:04 No. 427052 ID: e8be8d
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The march to the refinery takes several days. It's tiring, but we just enable cruise mode for most of it so we can talk or watch broadcasts on the move. As we approach the arctic regions it becomes obvious that the harsh weather estimates were rather understated. Several metres of thick ever present snow coat the landscape and even more is rushing down at a furious rate with the powerful winds throwing it around. Visibility is limited to a few metres and our searchlights can barely illuminate the ground right in front of us. Oracle doesn't give a fuck though. The massive, heavy legs barely need to compensate as tons and tons of snow are effortlessly kicked aside and crushed underfoot. My powerful sensors easily cut through the precipitation, giving me an excellent grasp of our surroundings and providing me with a solid sense of security despite the extremely hostile environment.

"Raptor Security to Arcticref One, requesting response." I call out for the Nth time into the snowstorm. Should be in comms range anytime now...
"Wha-? Yes. Yes we hear you. Where are you?" A surprised voice replies moments later, partially broke up by crackles. Guess that's our contact at the refinery then.
"We're about 50 kilometres out Arcticref One. We're going to deploy and set up defensive positions straight away unless you have any objections," I say.
"No no. Go for it. Our guys left the site only three hours ago like we agreed," our contact replies. He sounds pretty casual. Probably not a military man.
>>424076
"We were instructed to deploy away from the refinery. Does that order still stand if the refinery comes under attack Arctiref One?" I ask. The briefing wasn't too clear on that point.
"Right. That. Yeah we think someone on the staff here is selling us out so we just want you to keep a low profile. If any fighting starts or the jig's up then you can go where you want. Try not to destroy anything though."
"Roger that! We'll report in regularly, Arcticref One."
"Good stuff. Keep us safe!"

>>424125
After that placing the defenses is easy enough. The decoys are simply dropped off and the Antlion drones quickly burrow into the snow and proceed to slowly drill themselves deep into the frozen soil, ready to strike. We take our positions and get settled down for standby time in groups.

"Marius you've got a big inflatable sleeping module don't you? I'm coming over now! Warm it up for me!" Leanne hollers over the comms. She seems to have powered down the Mike right next to Oracle. Yes I do have a large heated sleep/camping module. Staying in a cockpit for weeks is hardly ideal, but why do I have a bad feeling about this...?

You have a bad feeling about it because you are on guard duty and don't want to literally get caught with your pants down. If you want to spend some time out of the cockpit, it would be best to do so when your mech isn't the only one that can see anything. Your sensors can be set to automatically detect things, but the time it takes to get back in the mech is much more valuable when the others are relying on you for targeting info.

By the way, can the refinery track your location when you message them?

I suspect you have a bad feeling because you noticed that one time when Leanne kissed you and tackled you to the ground. Probably making you a bit apprehensive about being in close quarters with her.

You should probably figure out what you want to do about her attentions. You are gonna be around her for a while. She probably has a bit of a hero complex from that time you saved her ass, but there are worse ways to start a relationship. Are you looking for someone more ladylike, or is a roughshod tomboy with no fear or decorum turning your crank?

I wouldn't worry too much about staying in the seat 24/7. With conditions this bad, you are going to be detecting enemy units like half an hour before they can engage anything. Lighter mechs won't be able to move at full speed, and without some sort of spotting, they would be firing blind until they could close to within a few KM. Don't get complacent, and be extra cautious if the weather starts to clear, but for now you should settle in for the long haul.

>>427057
Cant say anything better than this.

>>427198
Oh, right, I forgot to factor in the snow limiting enemy range and movement. I still feel a little paranoid this early in the mission though, and if you do leave you should make sure you and your allies can will be able to hear any perimeter alert, and you should definitely not fall asleep outside the mech.
Also keep in mind that this mission will be the first impression you give to both your non-house team members and to the auditors who will be determining pay division.