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MVP Vote Results Player MVP: Anna Heimer (Jenner JR7-F) (Player – ilmucche). Gains 4XP! OpFor MVP: Cletus West (Commando COM-1D) Salvage Vote Results: All salvage handed over to employer. -- Eliminate Preston’s Prowlers - Intermission II April 7th, 3015 – DropShip Eagle Standard Dark thoughts swirled through Josiah Preston’s head as he ghosted through the darkened corridors of the Eagle Standard. A tide of unspeakable curses thundered through his mind, but none spilled out of his mouth. In his entire career as a mechwarrior Josiah had never sworn, not even once. Profanity was an indulgence of the feebleminded, for people who lacked the discipline to control their own emotions. It was a sign of weakness, and weakness was something Josiah would not tolerate. Josiah Preston did not fit the stereotypical depiction of a pirate. His build was slight and wiry rather than tall and rugged, and though he exercised frequently his body type meant he had a hard time putting on muscle. Despite a long career in the Marik Militia, he hadn’t picked up any prominent scars or burns. Even now, approaching his fifties, his features were disarmingly soft and rounded. He kept his greying hair and sideburns neatly shaved, and had an agreeable smile that could defuse an argument before it could begin. At a glance he looked like an ageing shopkeeper, or perhaps a kindly uncle. It was an impression that Josiah had been more than happy to cultivate. Emergency lighting flickered feebly underfoot as Josiah entered the DropShip’s Tactical Operations Room. Normally the beating heart of military operations, the damage to the Eagle Standard’s power plant had rendered it a hollow shadow of its former self. Without electricity, the room looked more like a ruined temple than a high-tech control centre. The twisted silhouettes of communications equipment and computer monitors loomed out of the darkness like ancient statues of unknowable gods, while the inert holotank resembled an obsidian altar, silently awaiting its next ritual sacrifice. The dingy state of the room mirrored the gloomy atmosphere that hung over it. The remaining members of Preston’s command staff sat around a large table near the entrance, their expressions ranging from stoically defiant to openly despairing. Arlene Sadler, the Eagle Standard’s raven-haired First Officer – no, Captain, Josiah reminded himself - gripped the edge of the desk, her knuckles white and trembling. To her left slumped the dishevelled figure of Senior Technician Magnus Broady, still dressed in his work slacks and smelling strongly of grease and lubricant. Next to him perched the thin, gaunt figure of Vidkun Withers, the stone-faced Chief Gunnery Officer whose cold blue eyes seemed to see everything and everyone all at once. On the other side of the table sat the Prowlers’ remaining mechwarriors. William Harris, Josiah’s trusted lieutenant, appeared calm on the surface, but Josiah could tell by the set of his shoulders and the slight crease of his brow that he was deeply concerned. Nathan Howell fiddled with his cigarette lighter, bouncing it on his palm and flicking the lid open and shut like a child playing with a favourite toy. Thabo Ngumo was nearly unrecognisable after his stint in the wilderness, weeks of hard living having shaved many pounds off his former bulk. Harathi Vraman looked tired and haggard, and twitched violently whenever someone made a noise. Josiah’s lip curled in disgust. True, their situation war dire, but the defeatism on display was revolting. He quickly crossed and sat down at the head of the table, doing his best to hide his disdain. As soon as Josiah sat down Sadler’s head snapped up. “What the hell took you so long?” She demanded, glaring at him angrily. “You order us all up here for a meeting, then turn up last? Are you taking the piss?” Josiah made a soothing gesture. “My most sincere apologies, Captain. I passed by the chapel on my way here and thought I should offer a quick prayer for our dead and wounded.” That was a lie. Josiah was a strict materialist, and had never believed in any higher power. However, Sadler and many of her crew were practising Christians, and pretending likewise had been an easy way to earn their trust. The heat went out of Sadler’s gaze. She looked down at the table and murmured, “Yes. I can see why that would take a while. I’m sorry, Josiah. I didn’t mean to lash out.” Josiah heaved a mental sigh of relief. Sadler was one of the few people present who wasn’t expendable. No one else had the skills or knowledge to pilot the DropShip back into space. That made her the one person he couldn’t afford to alienate. “No offence taken, Captain. The last few months have been stressful for all of us.” That was an understatement. Their time on Castor had been a series of unmitigated disasters, beginning with the failure of the Eagle Standard’s fusion generator during their descent. They had only survived thanks to the skill of Captain Sadler, who had somehow managed to make an emergency landing without the help of any of the DropShip’s automated systems. After a thorough inspection they had discovered that the fault was due to a pair of worn-out capacitors that had finally blown due to the stresses of re-entry. Josiah turned his gaze to the Senior Technician. “Master Broady, have you had any luck bypassing the damaged capacitors?” Broady’s shaggy grey beard wobbled as he slowly lifted his head. The old man had been working almost non-stop since the crash, and the stress of it showed on his face. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and when he spoke his words were clumsy and slurred by fatigue. “Plan B’s a no-go, chief. Tried ‘n tried, but there ain’t no way. Pitban 240 can’t power a Union. Like tryin’ to run a hovercar on lighter fluid. Not enough juice.” Josiah masked his disappointment with a sympathetic nod. Plan A had been to steal some new capacitors from New Villastellone, but that possibility had been thoroughly blundered away, first by Shaw’s reckless idiocy and then by Fox Lance’s general cowardice and incompetence. Plan B had been to hook the engine from Caroline Lee’s Sentinel up to the Eagle Standard’s grid and use it as a substitute power plant. Josiah glanced at Lee’s empty seat and felt a rare pang of genuine regret. The old commander of Fox Lance had been a talented mechwarrior, but she had cracked her skull on a bulkhead and suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage after failing to buckle her crash harness in time. “In that case, our choices are limited. The mercenaries have degraded our forces to the point where we cannot conduct offensive operations. With that in mind, I recommend that we fortify our position here and wait for them to come to us. The terrain favours us; the enemy has only one avenue of attack, and will find it difficult to disengage once they are committed.” Josiah put on his most confident voice. “We’ll draw them in, smash them to pieces, salvage what we can, then race south and hit the capital. We’ll grab what we need, plus some extra, then fix up the generator and be out of here before anyone realises what’s happened.” The mood around the table lightened a little. William Harris thumped the table in support, and Thabo Ngumo muttered, “drat right.” Only Vidkun Withers was unmoved. The Chief Gunnery Officer stared at Josiah, his piercing blue eyes glittering icily in their sunken sockets. “A bold plan,” he murmured softly, “but I wonder how realistic it is. You have at your disposal… four battlemechs, I believe?” “Five,” Josiah corrected him swiftly, “along with our remaining combat vehicles.” Withers shrugged dismissively. “From what I can gather, these mercenaries have at least two lances at their disposal. Most small mercenary outfits operate at company strength, so they may well have a third. Can five battlemechs and a handful of light tanks really defeat such an overwhelming force?” Josiah met Withers’ gaze, though it took some effort. The Chief Gunnery Officer was the only man who could make him feel nervous. His eyes seemed to stare directly into Josiah’s soul, scouring away all of his pretences and seeing him for who he really was. He was also fiendishly clever, having masterminded the mutiny that had allowed Josiah and Sadler to seize control of the Eagle Standard. In the months since, Withers had steadily built a rival powerbase for himself amongst the DropShip’s crew, and had made a habit of openly criticising Josiah’s decisions. Such defiance was both infuriating and a direct threat to Josiah’s leadership. If Arlene Sadler was the one person Josiah couldn’t do without, Vidkun Withers was the one he was most anxious to be rid of. “A fair point, Master Withers.” Josiah replied smoothly, determined not to let his irritation show. “Yes, we are at a disadvantage. However, there is a factor that you have overlooked. This vessel carries enough ordnance to level a small town. If we can bring its guns online-” “Out of the question.” Withers interrupted bluntly. “I know what you are planning, Preston. You think you can use that Sentinel’s engine to power the Eagle Standard’s weapons systems. Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be? We would need to bypass every safety protocol, jury-rig every circuit breaker. The slightest error could cause a fatal blowout. No. I will not gamble my gunners’ lives on such long odds.” A simmering rage began to boil inside Josiah’s veins. That jumped-up, underfed little prick! Why did he have to be so difficult all the time? Couldn’t he see that they needed every possible advantage? A sudden paranoia gripped him. Could this be sabotage? Had Withers perhaps worked out some kind of deal with the mercenaries? Amnesty for him and his men in exchange for undermining their defences, perhaps? It took a herculean effort of will, but somehow Josiah managed to keep a straight face. “We are all gambling our lives, Master Withers,” he replied, doing his best to sound sincere and forthright. “Many of my own soldiers and mechwarriors have already bet everything they had and lost. I am not asking your men to do any more than mine have already done.” Thinking quickly, he turned and addressed Sadler instead. She was the Captain, and Withers’ superior. If she gave the order, he would have no choice but to obey. “It’s your vessel, Captain. I’ll understand if you are reluctant, considering the damage it has already taken. But our backs are to the wall. The Eagle Standard’s guns could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Risky as it is, I don’t think we can afford to hedge our bets.” Sadler frowned thoughtfully. She was obviously conflicted, but Josiah’s logic was clear. “I see your point, Preston. Holding back now won’t do us any good. Vidkun, please make the arrangements.” For a moment Josiah thought Withers was about to protest. The muscles in his jaw clenched, and his brow drew down in a scowl, but after a moment’s silence he nodded. “As you wish, Captain. But I do not think it is wise.” “Noted.” Sadler sighed wearily, slumping back in her chair. She rubbed her eyes and chuckled ruefully. “Frankly, if any of us had any wisdom we wouldn’t be here to begin with.” Withers glared at Josiah. Josiah smiled back, savouring his moment of triumph. As he did, he decided that the Chief Gunnery Officer had crossed him for the last time. Traitor or not, it was high time the man suffered a tragic accident. With the matter settled, the conversation turned to tactics and battle planning. The lack of a holomap made things more difficult, but Josiah had ordered a survey mission to scout out their immediate surroundings, and the paper map the men had produced was accurate enough to plan out an engagement. As the discussion dragged on Josiah kept an eye on his men, hunting for any signs of dissent. Harathi was clearly reluctant, but he was also a coward who could be easily intimidated into following orders. The only one who might be a problem was Thabo. The man had a vicious temper, and being Dispossessed did strange things to a mechwarrior. Sure enough, about an hour into the discussion Thabo thumped the table. “I ain’t sitting this one out, boss.” He stated bluntly. “Those mercs made a fool outta me, and I ain’t gonna let that go, not now or ever. Stick me in a gunner’s chair, or in a tank, or… or something, I don’t give a poo poo! Hell, throw me a rifle and I’ll shoot ‘em up on foot!” Josiah held up his hands to forestall him. “You won’t be sitting this one out, Thabo. You’ll be taking Weyland’s machine. It might not be what you’re used to, but it’s all we’ve got.” Weyland was another casualty of the crash landing. Whiplash had severed his spine, leaving him paralysed from the neck down. He wasn’t dead, but his days of piloting a battlemech were over, and letting his old ride sit in the hangar would be an unforgivable waste. White flashed as Thabo’s wide mouth split in a grin. He nodded enthusiastically, his beady eyes burning with a furious desire for vengeance. “I’ll take it, boss. Man, I can’t wait for those fools to show up again.” -- Next Mission Briefing:  Map:  Player Mechs:  Players, please check your PM’s! Next mission will begin on Wednesday 14th! Scintilla fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Jun 11, 2023 |
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Jun 11, 2023 18:31
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good luck, Sterling Lance
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Jun 11, 2023 21:17
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some big long lanes of fire, but also a lot of hills on the side to use, should be a fun map! what are the cracked tiles along the water, swamp or something?
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Jun 11, 2023 21:58
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from the sounds of it that dropship gonna explode
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Jun 11, 2023 22:16
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Oof. Assaulting a dug in enemy position that has artillery support..
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Jun 11, 2023 22:52
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wedgekree posted:Oof. Assaulting a dug in enemy position that has artillery support.. sprint past the opening, spot for the treb, sprint away 
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Jun 11, 2023 23:07
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Warhammer checking in, mission looks great! Three of my favorite mechs, and a Blackjack (sorry Blackjack). I'm particularly fond of the big red cluster of marked fuel tanks sitting next to the Union. Also, drat that's some hype mission fluff. Compliments to the chef.
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Jun 11, 2023 23:25
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Dachshundofdoom posted:Warhammer checking in, mission looks great! Three of my favorite mechs, and a Blackjack (sorry Blackjack). I'm particularly fond of the big red cluster of marked fuel tanks sitting next to the Union. You have a really good whammer, too (no ammo to explode)
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Jun 12, 2023 00:07
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All right, rocking the classic hunch 4g!
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Jun 12, 2023 00:13
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On the bright side, 3/4 of our mechs like long range! The Hunchback is the only one who wants to be up close, but that AC/20 is very sweet, especially shooting at lights or mediums.
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Jun 12, 2023 00:21
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I'm pumped! Good hunting!Dachshundofdoom posted:Also, drat that's some hype mission fluff. Compliments to the chef. Also this.
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Jun 12, 2023 02:43
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The good news is that I'm in a fire support mech so ideally I won't be in the thick of it. I might be able to hang back and pepper the targets that you guys call out to me. Keep the medium lasers on standby for a closer range battle. Although I notice we're running with heavier mechs this time so evasion will be less important, though still important. It's funny to me how somehow I have the fastest mech when mine is a missile boat. The bad news is that we are dealing with an enemy with quite a bit of punch behind them and as mentioned above the position doesn't look amazing. But we'll make it work. We're quite tough ourselves afer all Also, I'll just repeat what everyone else has been saying I really love the flavor you've got set up here. It's great glwgameplayer fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Jun 12, 2023 |
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Jun 12, 2023 04:44
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glwgameplayer posted:The good news is that I'm in a fire support mech so ideally I won't be in the thick of it. I might be able to hang back and pepper the targets that you guys call out to me. Keep the medium lasers on standby for firing. Although I notice we're running with heavier mechs this time so evasion will be less important, though still important. It's funny to me how somehow I have the fastest mech when mine is a missile boat. It's still important to get move modifiers when you can, though you can tank a couple hits in a way a light mech really can't; but we don't know what the opfor has beside that DropShip
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Jun 12, 2023 04:46
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Captain Foo posted:It's still important to get move modifiers when you can, though you can tank a couple hits in a way a light mech really can't; but we don't know what the opfor has beside that DropShip True. The Trebuchet is the fastest as I mentioned so it actually wouldn't be too hard for me to get 2-3 evasion per turn if I keep moving. Which is good because my armor is also the thinnest.
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Jun 12, 2023 04:53
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glwgameplayer posted:True. The Trebuchet is the fastest as I mentioned so it actually wouldn't be too hard for me to get 2-3 evasion per turn if I keep moving. Which is good because my armor is also the thinnest. It’s also important because indirect fire isn’t even possible on the tabletop without a dedicated spotter (iirc) so you can’t stand behind a hill and lob lrms!
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Jun 12, 2023 05:06
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Dachshundofdoom posted:Warhammer checking in, mission looks great! Three of my favorite mechs, and a Blackjack (sorry Blackjack). Hey gently caress you man  Seriously though, I like this Blackjack variant and I usually mod the default Blackjack in the HBS Battletech game to this variant because it's so easy to manage. Jump+fire LLs, then jump+fire MLs/1 LL to stay at 0 heat all day. Very simple and straightforward to use. As the only Mech with JJs, I could also scale the mountains to the north of the Dropship to snipe in coordination with a push from the rest of the lance.
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Jun 12, 2023 06:21
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biosterous posted:what are the cracked tiles along the water, swamp or something? Yep, they are swamp tiles. They (probably) won't be a big factor in this mission, but moving through them risks the unit getting bogged down and stuck, and potentially even sinking in and being destroyed.
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Jun 12, 2023 06:41
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Good luck Sterling Lance! Keep those movement mods up and use half cover to make long range shots with your energy weapons against the Union. What's the height of the Union for LoS anyway? Does intervening lvl2 cut LoS vs a Union or only if you're adjacent to it? Once the mobile forces are done, popping out, firing a ranged alpha at the DS to overheat and falling back next turn to cool is probably the way to go if you can easily hide somewhere.
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Jun 12, 2023 06:49
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The intro sets the mood wonderfully, looking forward to this one.
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Jun 12, 2023 06:55
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Amechwarrior posted:Good luck Sterling Lance! Good questions! There will be a section in Turn 0 explaining how the DropShip works, but in short, it takes up 7 hexes and has a height of 5 for LOS purposes. Its guns are height 4, and their fire originates from the middle hex (1123). This means there are some safe hexes behind the hill centred on hex 1817.
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Jun 12, 2023 07:00
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anakha posted:Seriously though, I like this Blackjack variant and I usually mod the default Blackjack in the HBS Battletech game to this variant because it's so easy to manage. Yeah you do have the good Blackjack, I'm used to thinking of it as a medium cursed with AC/2s like some kind of smaller, sadder Jagermech. Regardless between your LLs, my PPCs, and the Trenchbucket doing its thing hopefully we can lure some of the enemy out of the ideal range of the dropship's guns and into Hunchback surprise range. e: Also I think Multi-Tasker on my pilot means I can split fire with less to-hit penalties, so even if something's up in my grill I can easily keep blasting other stuff in the distance with one PPC without heat troubles. Dachshundofdoom fucked around with this message at 07:42 on Jun 12, 2023 |
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Jun 12, 2023 07:38
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also is that farmland on the corner there? how long have they been planetside?
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Jun 12, 2023 18:18
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Space Kablooey posted:also is that farmland on the corner there? how long have they been planetside? Several months. It's not so much farmland as it is a vegetable patch. Eating Marik Militia rations gets old after a while.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:33
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Salvage: fresh tomatoes
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Jun 12, 2023 19:25
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Captain Foo posted:Salvage: fresh tomatoes 
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Jun 12, 2023 19:26
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Captain Foo posted:Salvage: fresh tomatoes I dunno. We're 2/2 on anime featuring mech pilots where tomatoes are bad luck.
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Jun 12, 2023 19:33
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Maybe they're LosTech attack tomatoes.
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Jun 12, 2023 21:57
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Should be a cakewalk! ... I've just jinxed it, haven't I?
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Jun 12, 2023 22:04
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painedforever posted:Should be a cakewalk! Are you also planning to retire and/or get married after this battle? 
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Jun 12, 2023 23:06
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jkq posted:Are you also planning to retire and/or get married after this battle? How many pictures of family members do the player characters have on them?
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Jun 13, 2023 00:11
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Do any of the pilots have a wife with a baby on the way
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Jun 13, 2023 00:35
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Slavvy posted:Do any of the pilots have a wife with a baby on the way Not yet. Funnily enough though, marriage and pregnancy mechanics are included in MekHQ, and characters can be listed as dependents.
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Jun 13, 2023 05:06
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Scintilla posted:Not yet. Funnily enough though, marriage and pregnancy mechanics are included in MekHQ, and characters can be listed as dependents. ... Why? I mean, I can sorta guess it's for like, generational stuff and roleplay but. It seems like a strange thing to include. I hope none of our squadmates end up biting the big one after staring longingly at a picture of their children, or we have to run a mission a man down because the mechwarrior is on maternity leave
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Jun 13, 2023 05:14
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Seems logical when one of the major polities is all about those sweet sweet eugenics
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Jun 13, 2023 05:16
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We're just giving Scintilla more ammo for when he needs to write a gut wrenching and brutal death scene. I can't wait.
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Jun 13, 2023 05:28
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glwgameplayer posted:we have to run a mission a man down because the mechwarrior is on maternity leave This happened to the 24th Lyran Guards. Sabine Steiner, their XO, went on maternity leave and the entire unit's performance tanked because the CO was one of those "good administrator, average strategist and tactician" while Sabine is a super genius.
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Jun 13, 2023 06:19
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Crap, I've just realised that the Blackjack 1DB isn't introduced until 3022. Screw it, let's just say it's a field refit that just so happens to perfectly match that model.
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Jun 13, 2023 18:20
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one of our techs has an uncle who works at ceres metal industries and told her about this new model they're working on
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Jun 13, 2023 18:36
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My uncle works at ceres and he says the new blackjack is gonna have two gauss rifles and armor like an Atlas and it'll be a LAM as well
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Jun 13, 2023 19:32
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biosterous posted:one of our techs has an uncle who works at ceres metal industries and told her about this new model they're working on
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Jun 13, 2023 20:17
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