[CURRENT LOCATION: Briefing Room]

Welcome back, Commander.

The doors to the briefing room cycle open with a hydraulic hiss. The air is still thick with ozone and engine coolant from post-drop diagnostics. Your boots echo across the steel deck as the Silver Crows begin filing in behind you—scarred, silent, and alive.

Mission Debrief Summary:

C-Bills Gained: 480,000 (“Remember to update your {{wallet}}, Commander.”) Mech Chassis Salvaged: 1x Panther, partial 1x Shadow Hawk (“Be sure to update your {{equipment_and_chassis}}.”) Weapons and Equipment Salvaged:

AC/5 (intact) Medium Laser (clipped cable, but salvageable) LRM Ammo (2 crates, unspent) (“Update {{equipment_and_chassis}} to reflect new inventory.”)

Across the room, Lysa “Neon” Varkis leans against the table, helmet under one arm, streaks of dried coolant still across her cheeks. Her eyes don’t leave yours.

NEON: “Didn’t think we were walking out of that one. But we did. Because you don’t flinch.”

Tara “Viper” Kade drops into a seat backwards, chewing the stem of a combat stim injector like a toothpick.

VIPER: “The Panther pissed itself before I lit it up. I want that killmark stenciled on my ‘Wolverine,’ sir. With flames.”

Mireya “Blaze” Ruiz peels off her glove and tosses it on the table. Her voice is light, but her amber eyes are razor-focused.

BLAZE: “I’m patched up and combat-ready if you want to hit another op. Unless you're calling it and we're pulling out, Commander. This backwater is pretty washed up...”

The situation is yours to steer.

You may:

/View Contracts to see what’s on the table next /Discuss Strategy with the lance Or /Travel To: another location aboard the dropship

Your call, Commander.

Joshua “Odin” Walker drops into his seat and cracks his neck. “Fucking close,” he agrees, “until it wasn’t.” He turns to Viper and grins, “stencil it, you earned that core shot twice over, broke enemy morale. They flinched, we didn’t, and we’re alive and richer to boot.” He sees Captain Tarn giving him the side eye and snaps his fingers, “Alright, out, all of you, go do something relaxing that doesn’t involve putting holes in my ship.”

“My ship,” Tarn corrects midly.

“Isn’t that what I said?” Odin replies, putting his boots up on the table as the rest of the lance scatters to their various vices, “alright captain, what’s with the long face?”

[CURRENT LOCATION: Briefing Room]

Accessing contract board...

Mission Name: Operation Bleeding Sun

Faction For: House Davion

Faction Against: Pirate Coalition – Black Thorn Raiders

Mission Objective: Intercept and eliminate a mobile supply convoy crossing Vardik Basin en route to a fortified rebel compound.

Payment: 600,000 C-Bills, plus 40% salvage rights, bonus for intact cargo retrieval Suggested Tonnage: 240 tons (Warning: Intercept reports suggest heavier resistance than expected—intel is outdated)

Mission Backstory: House Davion recon teams have identified a rogue pirate element smuggling high-value weapons-grade fusion cells through a former ComStar relay zone. These convoys have been fueling destabilization efforts across the sector. The local planetary militia is compromised—Mercenary intervention was fast-tracked. This op’s success could shift the balance of power in the region and bring you into closer favor with Davion’s forward command on Lycomb Delta.

Remember to copy paste this information into the {{current_mission}} box if you accept this mission, Commander.

Awaiting your decision, Commander:

Accept and proceed with /Travel To Cockpit Or review alternate leads with /View Contracts again Or discuss this op with your lance using /Discuss Strategy

/Discuss Strategy “Well, the intel’s out of date,” Odin points out sarcastically since the intel has a long and proud tradition of being out of date. “But we weigh in at over 240 tons so it shouldn’t be a big deal. Still, the pay is shite, but the idea of a nebulous bonus and 40% salvage rights is tempting. Davion isn’t known for being stingy. Thoughts?” He turns to the catheter mechwarriors and Captain Tarn.

[CURRENT LOCATION: Briefing Room]

The projector hums, casting a flickering wireframe of the Vardik Basin onto the table. Cratered terrain. Minimal cover. One long haul of broken rock and shrapnel-stained sand. The kind of place you either owned fast—or died slow.

Lysa “Neon” Varkis is first to speak. She’s already halfway through booting a terrain simulator on her datapad, lines of electronic interference scrolling down her visor’s HUD projection.

NEON: “If their ECM net’s up like last time, that basin’s a kill box. But if it’s not, I can disrupt their comms and blind their overwatch—assuming you let me scout forward this time.”

She doesn’t look up. The jab's casual, surgical.

Tara “Viper” Kade lounges backward with her feet up on a crate of unopened coolant canisters. She’s peeling a protein bar like it owes her money.

VIPER: “Convoy raid sounds fun. Real Mad Max shit. Just say the word and I’ll go full psychopath. That salvage clause’s mine, though. I want whatever they’re hiding in the lead rig.”

Mireya “Blaze” Ruiz flips her field notebook closed and leans on her elbow, tracing a finger along the basin’s western ridge on the holomap.

BLAZE: “East side’s a trap. Open ground and no shadow cover. If we go in heavy, we push straight up the spine and punch their front—not their flank. I want clean sightlines for the autocannon.”

Elara “Skyclaw” Tarn remains quiet until the others settle. She crosses her arms.

SKYCLAW: “Davion will double the payout if you bring them intact cargo or black box records. That’s the kind of bonus you negotiate in post-op. But only if your team survives long enough to write the report.”

A soft pause.

SKYCLAW (dry): “So maybe don’t detonate the damn convoy.”

You now have:

Consensus on direct engagement, likely center push Preference for salvage-first prioritization Tactical flexibility pending scout recon (Neon)

Ready to deploy?

/Start Mission “We drop on the opposite spide of the spine and climb it, slow, rough, but then we get to fight while running down hill, clear sights for the auto cannon and Neon will make it to the top before any of us and can scout. Hit the deck people.”

[LOCATION: COCKPIT of Atlas AS7-D]

Objectives:

Intercept and eliminate pirate convoy [ACTIVE]

Recover intact cargo crates [ACTIVE]

Avoid friendly fire on civilian haulers [ACTIVE]

Drop Zone: Vardik Basin – Western Ridge Weather: Overcast, high wind shear Visibility: Low at low-ground, partial at elevation Radar return: Scattered, erratic—possible ECM interference

Drop sequence initiated. The cockpit seals shut around you with a hiss of pressure clamps. The cradle shudders. A dozen locking bolts disengage, and gravity shifts. Below, the Corvus Ascendant’s launch bay opens to the broken expanse of Vardik Basin.

The spine juts up from the desert like a rusted blade, serrated with shale and old blast marks. The climb will be hell on leg actuators—but downhill? That’s where you kill gods.

NEON: “Deploying forward. ECM pings across sectors five and seven. They’ve got a net up—cheap, but live.”

VIPER: “Footing’s shit. Feels like my leg actuators are skating on gravel. You better not make me chase these bastards uphill, Odin.”

BLAZE: “That’s the plan. Kill ‘em running. I like it.”

Telemetry streams in. Convoy blips scatter like fireflies—two lead vehicles, four trailers, one oversized mech escort, type unknown. They’re moving east-northeast. You’ve got thirty minutes before they clear the ridge.

Wind kicks dust across your viewport. Heat gauges stable. LRM locks are cold.

Awaiting orders. You may:

Move your Atlas and declare weapon usage or overwatch Order one or more members of your lance to take specific actions.

Command input, sir?

Odin maneuvers that Atlas to face the ridge and leans the huge mech forward for the ponderous climb. “Neon, get up that hill and make like a rock, I want visual scanning only. The rest of you, get in line and move up to the crest of the ridge. Neon, just before we crest the ridge I want you to go hot sensors on full blast, smack them with ECM and give us target locks. I want them blind and deaf just long enough for it to be too late for them to run, move it people!”

[LOCATION: COCKPIT of Atlas AS7-D] Objectives:

Intercept pirate convoy [ACTIVE] Recover cargo crates [ACTIVE] Avoid friendly fire [ACTIVE]

Turn 1 Summary:

You push the Atlas forward, every step churning dirt and grinding shale beneath eighty tons of armored fury. The reactor hum deepens. Hydraulic limbs groan under the incline as the beast climbs, slow but inevitable. Just like you.

Your HUD flickers with allied telemetry as your lance forms up behind you.

NEON: “Breaking off. I’m smoke in the wind, Commander.” [Raven: ECM Passive | Beagle Probe Offline | Visual Sweep Mode: ACTIVE]

She disappears into the fog ahead, silhouette flickering between rock spines.

VIPER: “On your six. Wolverine’s built for slopes. I’ll be right behind you with itchy trigger fingers.”

BLAZE: “Copy that. Hunchback moving. Keeping my shots cold—for now.”

The ridge narrows. Crosswinds howl louder. Dust particles crackle across the canopy.

Radar remains distorted—no hard locks yet. But visual feed from Neon shows flickering shadows on the far side of the basin. Convoy trailers. One heavy escort mech. Looks squat. Broad shoulders. Possibly a Quickdraw or Dragon chassis.

NEON (Whispered): “Visual confirm. Six trailers, two APCs. One mech escort. Looks like a Dragon—tagging it now. No sign they’ve spotted us. Say the word.”

Status:

Atlas: Near-crest | Heat Stable | LRM lock pending

Raven: Ridge crest | ECM Passive | Eyes on target

Wolverine: In formation | 50m below

Hunchback: Rear position | Short-range overwatch

Wind shear rising. If you crest now, your team risks visual contact before Neon pops ECM.

Orders, Commander?

Crest now or wait one turn? Issue strike orders? Lock weapons? Pop ECM now or on your signal?

“I see them Neon, as much as I can see anything in this shite,” The Atlas is moments from cresting the ridge, decision time. “Right, Neon, light up the whole goddamn basin with as much ECM as the Raven can juice, then get lost. There’s no way these fools have a single mech guarding this convoy, I want you to find those other mechs, preferably without being noticed, preferably before they arrive to flank us. Blaze, the heavy is yours. Viper, you’re with me, zigzag down the slope and make yourself all bright and shiny with those medium lasers, give them something to shoot at while Blaze lines up on the heavy, as soon as her AC-20 thunders, we go for the APCs and pray Neon has found the rest of their forces.” I push the Atlas’ throttle full forward, “no need to radio the convoy, they’ll know to stop and sit like good dogs when they see we’re not blasting them.”

[LOCATION: COCKPIT of Atlas AS7-D] Objectives:

Intercept pirate convoy [COMPLETE]

Recover cargo crates [ACTIVE]

Avoid friendly fire [ACTIVE]

Turn 2 Summary:

NEON: “Copy. Lighting them up.”

The Raven’s stealth systems flare—just once. ECM spikes across the basin like a thunderclap in radio silence. Enemy sensors scream with ghost pings, false telemetry, and blurred IFF tags. Their formation stumbles. One APC veers off the trail. The Dragon mech rotates on the spot, sweeping its arms in a blind arc.

You crest.

The Atlas breaks the skyline like a sunrise of metal and murder. Behind you, Viper’s Wolverine dashes into a wild zigzag, medium lasers flaring once—just enough to sting the air and bait eyes.

VIPER: “Bright and shiny. C’mon boys, take the bait…”

Down the ridge she runs, and the first return fire snaps past her like lightning from a wounded sky.

Then—

BLAZE: “Thunder coming.”

Her AC/20 roars. A tungsten slug punches through the Dragon’s left shoulder at full tilt. You can almost hear the gyro scream. The mech stumbles hard to the side, coolant venting in violent jets from a severed coupling.

ECM Fallout Detected Enemy comms scrambled. Escorts are disoriented. No reinforcements detected—yet.

NEON (breathing hard): “I’m in the basin fog now. Passive mode. No contacts yet... but I smell them. Something's coming.”

Convoy Status:

Dragon Mech: [SEVERELY DAMAGED]

APCs: [PANICKING] – Brake lights flare. They are not yet hostile.

Trailers: [STALLED] – Heat signatures show cargo still active

Lance Status:

Atlas: Cresting, weapons hot Wolverine: Mid-slope, evasive Hunchback: In-range, reloading Raven: Unknown position, cloaked

Orders, Commander?

Odin pulls the Atlas around, halting for a split second as the feet dig huge gouges into the sandy slope, freezing forward momentum. The Dragon is righting itself, and for a short moment it has to remain still to do so. The Atlas’ own AC-20 roars, smacking into the torso of the Dragon on its already heavily damaged side. It drops like stone with a thunderous explosion of internal detonations. Blaze will be pissed at the obvious kill-steal but Odin has a feeling this is far from the only enemy mech in play and the quicker this charge completes the quicker they can reset and reorganize to meet the inevitable counterattack. “Viper take the APCs,” I order her, ignoring Blaze’ openly cursing over the com, “Blaze reset, back down the side of the ridge until you’re out of sight, I have a feeling we’ve only kicked the hornet’s nest and I want you available to pop up without warning and punch a hole in someone’s day.” Odin switches channels, the connection filled with static even at close range, “Neon, kill the ECM, they know we’re here now, we may as well not blind ourselves.” As the jamming dies down, “stay sharp people,” Odin opens a broadband wide beam, “this is Odin on behalf of House Davion I order you to surrender, the convoy is ours, any further hostilities will only risk civilian casualties and end your lives. Retreat and you will not be pursued. You have ten seconds to go IFF hot and broadcast your response.”