Unity, Draconis Combine

Following the debacle on Caripare, the North Highlanders have been re-fitting their damaged forces, and joining up with the few 'Mechs that had remained on garrison duty on Unity. Undergoing equipment tests and training, the 'Mechs are scattered across Unity in lance- and company-sized units when their commanding officer receives a report of a large contact inbound from one of the system's Pirate Points. Such a signal can only mean one thing - a Clan WarShip...

In order to show that the Nova Cat's "cutting edge" on Caripare has not been blunted, Star Captain Natalie Winters has sanctioned a punitive expedition to pursue the defeated mercenaries. Bravo Nova have been assigned this operation, and are now re-formed as "Pouncer Nova". Their mission is to destroy the mecenary force once-and-for-all. They must seize an airfield to use as a base of operations from which to launch their attacks against the isolated pockets of mercenary 'Mechs. With their Elemental support, and a Star of OmniFighters, their mission is to succeed - or to die trying. The York class Destroyer/carrier will jump out-system and recharge both its Jump Drive and its Lithium Fusion battery before returning to pick up Pouncer Nova's BroadSword DropShip - if they have survived...

The Pouncers' first proper target was an Assault Lance from the North Highlander's heavy company. They were isolated from their DropShip, having been undergoing trials in a heavily forested area. The point to confront them was obvious - the main highway through the forest crossed a river only a few kilometres from the plains. In order to leave the forest, the lance would almost certainly have to cross the river at that point. The surrounding land was quite marshy, and small streams flowed into the river along most of its length. The few areas of high, dry ground were heavily forested, so the lance would be immeasurably slowed if it tried to force an alternative route through the trees.

Mechwarrior Freda suggested that the Star stood hidden in the river by the bridge - that way, they could take the lance by surprise when it passed. The Star Commander disagreed though - if the lance did break away from the road within a kilometre or so of the river, in order to find an alternate crossing place, the Star could be trapped in the river. No, they would wait for the Highlanders on the river banks. The Highlanders must expect something - after all, a DropShip landing troops was hardly something that a BattleMech would fail to detect, even in a forest. The Star was positioned a few hundred metres along the riverbank in either direction, to watch in case the Highlanders attempted an alternate crossing. As it turned out though, the Highlanders decided to meet the Clan 'Mechs head on, trusting in the armour and firepower of their lance.

"Pouncer 3 to Pouncer Star - enemy lance spotted - heading straight for us down the road!" Mechwarrior Freda flipped switches on her weapons board as she finished her report. The four large puulse lasers that comprised her Timber Wolf's armament swiftly came on line.

"Confirmed Pouncer 3. Hold your position," came the reply from Star Commander Kurt Devalis, "Pouncer Star, form up on 3 at the bridge." The Commander's Hellbringer began to approach from Freda's left, while the second Timber Wolf of Mechwarrior Duane moved up from behind and to her right. "Pouncer 3," continued the Star Commander, "I see a Banshee and a Black Knight - what else do you see?" Freda zoomed in on the approaching 'Mechs and ran them through her warbook. "I've got a King Crab and an Albatross alongside the two you ID'd" she reported, "plus a couple of jeeps on the road ahead of them."

As the enemy 'Mechs increased their speed, Freda urged her Timber Wolf forwards, targeting her pulse lasers on the Black Knight. "Pouncer 3!" shouted Devalis, "I told you to hold your position! Get back here now! Pouncer 4, mine that road!" Freda gritted her teeth and backpedalled her Timber Wolf, ducking slightly to the right so that the flight of Thunder LRMs from Andrew Devalis's Mad Dog streaked past her shoulder, spreading their cargo of mines into the road just ahead of the oncoming 'Mechs. Her sudden change of direction caused her pulse lasers to miss, although it did mean that the return fire from the Albatross and Black Knight also passed wide of the mark. A fair exchange.

"Set your sensors to EM" called someone over the comnet, and Freda automatically flicked the HUD to the Timber Wolf's electromagnetic scanners. They would be of great use in these conditions - the Assault and Heavy 'Mechs provided large EM signatures, and here in the forest, there was little that would interfere with the signal. Buildings could be a problem, but here there were just trees, and they provided no obstacle, making the enemy 'Mechs far easier to track than by visual sensors alone.

The Highlanders had the same idea, but they were not to be so lucky. "There they go!" called out XXXX as a Summoner appeared briefly above the treetops, using its jump jets to clear one of the many tributaries that lined the edge of the river. "They're big targets, and some of 'em will probably run hot - try your EM or IR sensors!" Unfortunately, the entire lance switched to the first of the two suggestions. The heavy Clan Omnis did indeed provide a large target signature - but as was usual, the Hellbringer was carrying a complex mix of electronics, including a Watchdog ECM/active probe suite. The Star Commander had also brought his 'Mech onto the road in the centre of his Star, the better to coordinate the skirmish. As the Black Knight raised its ERPPC to fire at the Timbet Wolf on the bridge, the HUD image became a confused mass EM shadows and ghost signals as the ECM suite cut in, protecting the whole Star under its umbrella of interference. XXX swore to himself as his PPC blast missed once more.

Freda re-centred her crosshairs on the Black Knight and cut loose another quadruple volley of pulse-laser fire. This time her aim was far better, and her 75-ton equal began shedding large amounts of armour. The Wolf was getting a bit warm, but she could handle at least one more volley like that before there was any real problem. More Thunder LRMs from the Mad Dog streaked past her, scattering across the road slightly in front of the last volley, making the approach to the bridge difficult for the Highlanders. Across a small stream to Freda's right stood the second Timber Wolf in the Star, with Mechwarrior Duane at the controls. His 'Mech had not yet fired, waiting for an unengaged target among the enemy to appear. This duly happened, as a Banshee burst through the trees beside the bridge, Gauss rifle raised to fire. The first shots it fired were directed towards Duane's Starmates at the end of the bridge. Few of the Gauss and ERPPC shots found their mark though, and then Duane managed to catch the pilots attention. Duane's Timber Wolf shook as enemy fire impacted against the armour, but his aim was true as he returned the favour. His first ERPPC hit on the Banshee burned only armour, but the second cleanly decapitated the assault 'Mech, which shuddered slightly before collapsing backwards into the edge of the trees. First blood to him!

Andrew Devalis moved back over the hedge on the left side of the road. He had layed enough mines along the road by the bridge, and there was another enemy assault 'Mech coming around behind the woods. There... As he slowed his Mad Dog to a half-sideways shuffle, the Highlander Albatross broke cover and opened fire with its extended range large laser. Their first exchange did little damage to either party. Then, there was a brilliant flash of light, and Devalis was left temporarily dazzled. Blinking to try and clear his vision (and failing hopelessly), he was able to make out the damage screen between the spots in front of his eyes. Ouch! That last laser shot had hit his Mad Dog in the head! As the Albatross got nearer to the river bank, other weapons came into range, and it brought its LRMs and LB-10X autocannon into play. Having overcome his brief moment of disorientation, Devalis switched back to his visual sensors and stood his ground, triggering his LRMs as soon as they cycled, and keeping up a constant volley of pulse-laser fire. His Mad Dog began to warm up, but alternating fire between his large pulse lasers from time-to-time kept the heat from rising to high. As the Albatross advanced right to the edge of the riverbank in order to try and use the large pulse laser in its right arm, Devalis edged back until he was resting against the trees along his side of the river. He was certainly doing a lot of damage to the Albatross, but he was taking a lot as well, and he was almost out of LRM ammunition. He had fired off almost 200 missiles already. Even as he assessed the damage to his 'Mech, there was another series of thuds as autocannon rounds and LRMs hit him, and the status monitor for everything in his left arm flashed red. A quick glance at the armour status display showed that the whole arm was gone. "Well.. at least that's no more heat worries with the pulse laser gone!" he muttered to himself, before firing back once more. His last few shots had been striking sparks from the exposed innards of the Albatross's torso, and now there was a series of explosions, before the huge 'Mech suddenly sagged, the engine wrecked, then collapsed forwards, the beak-like head carving a furrow down the river bank and into the water. "Phew! Not a moment before time!"

Mechwarrior Simeon had been on the far left of the Star's position when the Highlanders had been spotted, and so he had the furthest to travel to enter the battle. Fortunately, his Summoner was equipped with jump jets, which would enable him to leap from one dry place to another, without having to wade through the marshy ground around the tributaries. As such, he was soon crossing the road behind Freda and the Star Commander, and moved up to stand near Duane on their right. There was an island in the river just a little further along, and his Summoner would probably just be able to make it in one jump. A few seconds to move to the other side of the island, followed by one more maximum-range jump, and he would be on the same side of the river as the Highlanders, where his shoulder-mounted "cluster-laser" would come into effect.

Freda fired again at the Black Knight, this time with only three of her large pulse lasers, letting some of the built-up heat bleed away. The Black Knight seemed to be having similar problems with its heat, firing the extended range PPC every few seconds, but only occasionally adding either of its large lasers. The pilot must be shaken as well - she had hit the Knight's head once already. She shuffled her 'Mech forward again, and cut loose another volley of laser pulses. The lasers spattered fire across the enemy's body, and then up into the head. This second set of hits on the already penetrated armour was too much, and the entire head evaporated, including the unfortunate pilot. The now headless 'Mech remained standing for a few seconds as the other pulse lasers cut away more armour, then it fell backwards onto the Banshee. Two pilots killed in the same way - in almost the same position...

As Duane turned away from the Banshee, he spotted a movement in the trees behind it. Branches swayed, then a massive King Crab strode around the edge of the copse. As the Timber Wolf manoeuvred to face it, there was a faint flash from one of the gun barrels that the Crab carried semi-concealed in its claws. Duane gasped as hid OmniMech was rocked backwards by the impact of a Gauss rifle slug. He fired his ERPPCs in return, even as he wondered what weapons this Highlander 'Mech had. The traitional King Crab carried a pair of AC20s - so it was probably a good guess that this one would carry a pair of gauss rifles instead. Seconds later, Duane's speculation was confirmed, as another gauss slug slammed into his Timber Wolf, followed by a laser and an LRM flight. He couldn't move around much - this area of the river bank was really just a small dry island at the edge of the river. But he would try anyway. As he carefully backed up, he kept up a steady stream of fire at the King Crab, switching back to his EM targeter at the same time. With his advanced targeting computer as well, it should improve his chances of hitting the 100-ton Crab, and he was going top need every chance he could get. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Black Knight go down, its head a smouldering crater, before there was a roar of jump jets, and Simeon's Summoner landed on the edge of Duane's island. Duane had taken a lot of damage to his left arm and torso - the armour was almost gone there, and yet was virtually unscathed on the other side of his Timber Wolf's body. He sidestepped into some partial cover behind a tree, to try and keep his left side safer. He needn't have worried though. Possibly assuming that Simeon's Summoner was about to attack him, or maybe just switching to the nearer target, the King Crab changed targets to fire on the newcomer, scoring several hits on the surprised Simeon. Well, an Inner Spheroid couldn't be expected to know that the Clan rules of engagement forbade a Clansman from firing upon a target that was already "claimed" by another, in this case Duane. Still, Simeon was now permitted to defend himself from the aggressor with no loss of honour, and this he did, with his extended range large laser and large pulse laser. Only the pulse laser hit, but it was on the Crab's head, and Duane knew that he would have to finish the fight quickly before Simeon took his kill. As the Summoner jogged past him, Duane locked his crosshairs onto the very centre of the King Crab's EM silhouette. He got one PPC on target, but the other missed, flashing between the Crab's arm and body as it shifted to follow the Summoner's flight path as it jumped to the island in the middle of the river.

Simeon's Summoner landed on the edge of the island, sliding down the bank slightly until its full weight came to bear and gave it a firm footing. He was leaning forward slightly, and this kept him almost out of sight of the King Crab, which returned its attention to Duane's Timber Wolf. Simeon jumped once more, this time only a short hop that took him to the other side of the island. One more should take him to the other side of the river, where he would be able to get inside the minimum range of the gauss rifles, and use his cluster-lasers. He was almost near enough to use them now...

Even as his finger began to tighten on the trigger, he realized that the King Crab was quickly walking backwards, to bring him back into an easy fire arc for both gauss rifles. Judging from the erratic signals they were picking up from the King Crab, the head hit had damaged its sensors, but the two rifles sent their two slugs slamming into the Summoner, showing that it was not completely out of action. The missiles and laser struck home as well, and one of the jump jet status lights switched from green to red. Simeon cursed. He had lost all of the armour and one jump jet on his right leg, and now the Crab was out of the range of his small lasers as well. He quickly swapped to his two large lasers, and hit the King Crab with them - but he was in more trouble than it was. If he tried to reach the other bank now, he would just land in the river. He knew, he had worked out the distances when they had first arrived at the bridge to set up their fight with the Highlanders. He could only just have made it with all his jump jets working, but now there was no chance. He ignited his jump jets, but this time he leapt back behind the cover of the island.

Freda sent her Timber Wolf running forwards over the bridge, and Star Commander Devalis followed her. Freda wanted to get past the King Crab, to be in a position to stop it escaping down the road. She had forgotten one crucial fact though - the mine fields that the Mad Dog had layed earlier. She soon discovered the fact though, as several of the mines blew more than a ton of armour from her leg.

As the Timber Wolf staggered sideways, Freda struggled with the controls, and somehow prevented the 'Mech from toppling sideways over the guard rail of the bridge. Able to keep her forward momentum going, she took the Timber Wolf past the small copse behind which the King Crab had been hiding. The other Clansmen advanced more cautiously, taking to the grassy verge as soon as they reached the end of the bridge, to avoid the rest of the mines where they littered the concrete.

The King Crab turned from where it stood behind the trees, but traded only a few shots. They had little time for repairs, but several of the Highlander 'Mechs were still wandering about in small units. Rather than strike out to attack them immediately, the Pouncers needed to repair their 'Mechs. The Mad Dog had suffered the most, but it was the matter of a few hours to change out the damaged weapons and replace them with some from the spare stock carried aboard the Broadsword. It took longer to fix up the armour, and it was a full 24 hours before the Pouncers were moving once more. Even then, the Aerospace techs had helped with many of the simpler tasks that needed to be performed. Fitting new weapons pods and reloading ammo bays was the same on an OmniMech as it was on an Omnifighter, and without the aerotechs' help, the Pouncers would have been hard pressed to field all their 'Mechs in full operating order.

The Highlanders were trying to regroup, and they had to hit them now. Only two points of Elementals would be left to guard the airstrip - the Techs could pilot the captured Firestarter and other 'Mech well enough to make it look like the place was still defended to discourage attack. The OmniFighters would also help to bolster the defences. The Broadsword deposited the Star just over a kilometre ahead of the Highander's position. From here, they spread out into a loose formation, a line stretching about half a kilometer from end to end. Surveillance seemed to indicate that there was a lance of DCMS 'Mechs in the village they were approaching, and a number of armour units as well. This was in addition to the Highlanders. It would be a hard fight, but they had to go in now, before a second force of Highlander 'Mechs caught up. Leaving three points of Elementals to guard the Broadsword, Pouncer Star advanced to within firing range of the village.

The Highlanders had a strong force - a Grand Titan led the charge, 100 tons of heavy weaponry. Fortunately, most of it was very short ranged - as opposed to the superior Clan lasers and particle cannon. On the right flank, an Anvil charged forwards, accompanied by a xxxx, and followed by an Archer in the background. Several tanks could be seen rolling forward on the left flank, and the DCMS lance seemed to be happy to keep to the trees surrounding the village. They were probably older designs, not yet refitted with new weaponry, but the only way to be certain was to attack them.

Devalis and Freda sprinted across the field, straight at the tanks. Two light 25 ton tanks were approaching, and a volley of laser firesent clouds of fragmented armour spraying into the air. The return fire was wide of the Omnis, and they finished their sprint to the hill. While Devalis finished off his tank with a burst of laser fire, Freda slammed her Timber Wolf's foot down, crushing the turret of the other tank before it could fire on her, and grinding the hull into the ground with the full 75 tons of her Omni. Now the DCMS 'Mechs revealed themselves, a Shadowhawk and Panther opening fire from their concealed positions in the trees. The fire was pitifully weak, and both 'Mechs were obviously very old designs. It was a simple matter for Freda's state-of-the-art Timber Wolf to destroy both, while Devalis turned his Hellbringer's attention to the two 40-ton medium tanks that had been firing ineffectually in their direction.

The other Timber Wolf was engaged in a long range slugging match with the Titan, but had a far superior range. The Titan had already suffered severe damage before its own weapons were finally within range, and it eventually collapsed into a heap of wreckage.

The Anvil traded fire with the Summoner. Risking a shutdown, Simeon fired all of his weapons into the Anvil. He was certain that one or other of them would go down with this volley - and it looked like the Anvil would be the one. Unfortunately it was not to be. As the computer shut down the Summoner's reactor to drain off heat, the Anvil staggered, before regaining its balance. The Summoner stood helpless as the Anvil fired point blank into it.