Lancer: Louder than God’s Revolver

[n0ble]

Act 1: The Pale Blue Dot

5020-Trass System

The city of Parad has seen better days, but then again you could say that about most of Trass-system at the moment. Sekkur’s been hitting the planet hard, it’s main civic centre even harder. What was once a planet of sweeping greens and vast oceans of cobalt blue water has become smeared over with blacks, muddled with browns and scarred over with the odd molten band, revealed in the slow turn of Edth. Or would when viewed from space.

As is the skyline before you burns a lurid orange, backlighting Parads towers, famed the system over for the white stone they’re made from. Once the towers spiralled high from the tiered walls of Parad, beacons of cooperation, of the drive to nurture and make better espoused by not just Paradians, but Edthia as a whole. Now they crouch low like the broken teeth, blunted down to jagged stumps by whatever munitions Sekkur used to take the city. There’s years and the fighting hasn’t ended. Intermittent kinetic fire rackets the periphery and interiors of the walls, finding odd harmonies with the sizzle of Armory Sol-fire through the air. If you squint and ignore the telemetry on heat emanations, you can even make out the flash of the lasers amidst Parad’s tiers. Survivors. Edthian-Parad holdouts against Sekkur. Reasons to fight.

Your battlefield is Parad’s eastern crossing. The wide spar of alabaster-like bridge has been stained all the colours of war, come together to chip and wear away at the white of the stone, so much so that the spar has turned from a reflective white to a jaundiced yellow-brown. Whatever mechanisms were built into the bridge for hydroelectric power have given up, sunk to the quagmire below the bridge where it’s gummed and blocked the river it spans with cabling and oils. In place of what should be a river, there is a thin film of water layered over mud: after taking the city Sekkur hunkered in for the coming long siege. It tracks. If the briefing from Staff Sergeant Cilla was any indication Trass’s descendants have always been better at holding onto things than taking them, and Parads water supplies are no exception. Another casualty, if you will. Sekkur has sunk containers and crates into the Northern side of the river, while they’ve clearly judged the souther section’s boat graveyard sufficient to hamper any advances. The bridge is a mirror of this: military vehicles, gutted civilian transports (notable for how they still run on disel-Edth’s focus on health notwithstanding) and the odd tank trap have come together to form a maze on-bridge.

The bridge’s custodians, your opposition against egress into Parad, stand the other side like some sort of alien menagerie that’s been half painted Sekkur red. There’s a wide, block-like mech that wields a shield almost as tall as it is wide and made from a suspiciously white rock. The Bastion is flanked by a dyad of Assault mechs with complementary yet opposite paint jobs on their right. To their left is another mech with a proboscis-like matter fabricator. The Barricade momentarily rises on a heptarcal skirt of legs-almost to a height equal to the Bastion-then lowers itself back down from the challenge it’s posed in your direction. Liquid print materials drool from the mouthpiece to pool on the ground in white clods. Behind the tetrarch, a crab like mech possessed of a column that towers from the mech’s thorax. The cylinder on their back is honeycombed. Little drones flint to and from the openings where they find charging ports. For a moment the sky is lit purple-bruised even-as the cylinder separates into four thick disks, each of which orbits the Hive in a single lazy pass before stacking back into a column. Each segments weeps drones and nano-cloud into their wake. The sun backlights the chassis arrayed against you, casting them as the silhouettes from some sort of Armoury recruitment poster.

You are the spear point. A ping from the Cilla, then the shrill notification: the time to advance is now.

Spoiler: Background & Terms

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Trass Sysyem has been at war with itself for some 7 years. Naturally, with 5 different civics each with their own goals and desires for what constitutes as “victory” in-System, alliances made between these civics are largely a matter of convenience crossed with the aims of any patrons one of these civilizations have. The fluid nature of this conflict, along with the fact that Trass is a fairly large solar system in terms of “diameter” (ie planets are months apart, a little over a standard year and a half to go from Holloway to Rahast/outermost to innermost) are what’s prolonged the conflict.

Sekkur-a term used to refer to those people who live on Trass (the planet, not the system, second closest from the Sun). Ironically, Trass the planet is a death world completely hostile to human life outside a chassis/vacuum sealed hardsuit. Consequently, habitation is largely confined to the planets 2 moons (Ferrox & Gustthel), and the odd HA research station or survivalist holdout found planetside. Having largely consisted of Security crew members aboard the Vigil, Sekkur are a proud, readily militant bunch, and typically employ diplomacy aimed down the barrel of a kinetic discharger when it comes to negotiation. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on who’s sights your in) the Armoury has stepped in and done a great deal to bring Sekkur into the current age. Fun fact: The first casualty Trass the planet claimed was the system’s eponymous founder, despite what Sekkur contests regarding the history of their own origins. This foundational myth is largely responsible for the planets main purpose today: a shared proving ground. What better place for the Armoury to train prospective Sekkur Legionnaires?

Edth-5th planet from the Sun and, barring the underwater technopoli found below Holloway’s surface, host to the most advanced medical technologies in system. Sekkur has deemed this technology, and it’s operation, a huge priority for their war effort. Fairly unsurprising, given the knowledge of Union-sanctioned cloning facilities on planet. Edth has 3 continents, the capital Parad having been found on a river close the equatorial band of the western continent (Corod Major). The planet has 3 moons, one of which (Thelcra) has been successfully terraformed over the past 2 millennia into resembling something of a breadbasket for the system. Fun fact: the concentric walls and hightowers that make up Parad weren’t built by the first Medinin that fled Trass (the person)’s persecutions for a new life planetside. Parad is unique amongst cities in Trass (the system) in that it was found, not founded. There are rumours that some of the unique gene sequences not kept in Holloway’s vaults are on Edth-ostensibly because they’re markers for several rare genetic diseases in need of curing.

Spoiler: The Crunch

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This is a gauntlet scenario as per the Lancer core book-your to push through, secure the bridge and then continue on into Parad from there. The map isn’t up yet, but when it is you can find the roll20 link here

The enemy NPCs before you are:
1 Bastion
2 Assaults
1 Hive
1 Barricade

Your deployment zone is the bright green area you and the engineers occupy at the top of the map.
The area you need to reach and contest as part of the gauntlet scenario is the red area the enemies have deployed in.
Enemy reinforcements come in from areas that are Red on the North and South sides of the map.
Size 1 hard cover is Pink Assume that both you and the enemy have LOS for shooting over this cover to each other
Size 2 hard cover is Dark Blue
Size 3 hard cover is Orange

(This will all probably have more meaning once y’all can uh…actually see the map )

[Bitter]

Drifter

“Confirmed Cilla, Drifter moving in.”

Grabbing hold of his controls, Drifter performs one final check of his systems. Green all across the board.

The only flicker of something wrong was the data coming from the AI that Drifter has been putting together on-and-off over the last few years. The intention was for it to simply be a comp/con assistant, something to handle all the computational data that a hacking specialist pilot needs to handle. Over time it had become more and it was hard to dispute that the code strings being sent by the AI we’re worry over the coming combat combined with a desire to prove itself.

The implications that the AI had developed into a fledgling NHP we’re both worrying and not the kind of thing that Drifter had time to concern himself with now.

“We’ll be fine,” says Drifter, feeling only a little stupid for possibly talking to himself. “Just focus on managing the reactor output and watching for weak points in the enemy firewall.”

The output from the AI seemed to calm at that. Troubling.

At the deft touch of Drifter’s piloting, Vagrant moves forward to close the range with the enemy combatants.

[Rakaydos]

The Everest with the jet pack moved ahead, not waiting for the rest as it dashed toward debris to the south of the bridge.
"TAC HERE, MOVING TO FLANK, REQUEST DISRUPTIVE FIRE ALONG THE BRIDGE." The voice did not sound like a person on the radio, but entirely synthetic.

Move and boost. Explosive mine the square behind me.

[Caellath]

"You have all heard Cilla, let's get moving. I'm heading down the bridge to try and get a targeting solution on the enemies as soon as possible. Anyone who likes hitting their shots should stick close to me so I can share the spotting data."

"Prepare long range fire and anyone with indirects get ready, we're moving in." Wall called over the comms as the Willing Victim's joints groaned slightly as its pilot tested them.

[Awful]

"Spindle state green," crackled the delicate voice of Atys over the comms. "Cyclone cycled up and ready."

Despite herself, Atys was nervous. The familiar feel of tension gnawed at her guts and tingled her fingertips. This would be the first true combat - rather than simmed tests - the petite woman had encountered since their final fatal conflict with KAIROS.

Nous, for its part, showed none of its pilot's trepidation. The mech carried the bulky cyclone cannon without difficulty, the internal sensors reading a clean, steady charge.

Within its shell of code, the fragment NHP seemed to give a long, low chuckle. It waited, patient as ever: it waited forever and no time at all.

[Amaril]

Standing in the larger Sagarmatha's shadow, the Everest with the skull-patterned helmet makes for a mirror to the assault units flanking the shieldbearer. The cockpit isn't too different from that of Ash's old Type-I, probably rusting away in some scrap heap back home by now. Funny how even lightyears apart and thousands of years out of contact, humans will build the same machines to do the same things.

A moment's focus through the neural interface fires up maneuvering thrusters. "I'll keep the frontliners off your backs as long as I can."

[Llyarden]

"On it!" Siobhan replied to Wall over the comms, her voice as light and casual as though he'd asked her to pass the sugar. The massive rifle attached to her mech's back ratcheted up and locked into place over its shoulder, the barrel telescoping out as Pine Needle crouched, ready to fire or spring forwards in equal measure.

[n0ble]

The enemy Hive spins into live, its frame gambolling forward on a set of vaugley arachnoid legs. The spire atop its back remains steadfastly where it is, despite the speeds the mech reaches. The last bit of its movement is punctuated by a flurry of microjets inserted into the hulls of the Hive's legs: some spurt and send the Hive forward while others array themselves to counter thrust. Working in concert, the jets allow the Hive a relativley soft impact into the cover of an old tank trap. The honeycombed edfice atop its back spills open as it comes to a stop. Hundreds of micro drones spill forth to pinged location. They un-spool and drape burning hot razorwire between them while other, larger drones seed more of the small ones into the airspace on the bridge, their own apertures spinning with a drill like motion all the more menancing for how the drills "teeth" seethe with a molten glow.

Spoiler: T1-Hive

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On their turn the enemy Hive moved forward 5 spaces.
For their 1st Quick action: The enemy Hive Boosted 1 space forward into hardcover.
For their 2nd Quick action: The Hive deployed a Razor Swarm drone, as per the ability: The Hive deploys a burst 1 razor swarm in a free area within Sensors. Allied characters gain soft cover as long as they are at least partially within the affected area. Hostile characters start their turn at least partially within the area or move into it for the first time in a round take 2 burn. The Hive can deploy any number of razor swarms, each of which persists for the rest of the scene or until the Hive is destroyed.

[Caellath]

Wall moved the Willing Victim forward, the lumbering mech breaking into a slightly hurried jog before stopping just short of a piece of cover too small for it. It was a whole lot of dust and noise for such a short run.

"Just in case." he chimed in as he sent some computing power Spindle's way to protect her mech (and the targeting solutions of the very punchy gun it was holding).

Spoiler: Actions for the turn.

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Movement: 4 squares East.
Quick Action: Boost 2 squares East.
Quick Action: Bolster Spindle.

[n0ble]

Once hidden cannisters buldge and swell with print-fab materials, feeding it into and out of the the strange aperture on the enemy Barricade. Their strange dripping appendage forks a spray of print material into the machines rear arcs, some sort of in-built device causing the spray bisect into two lumpy piles. A paired array of mechanized arms snap out to the Barricades rear to sculpt and mould the dual piles into cubes that firm into a stone like consistency as they bake under the heat of the apertures. Whatever little flecks of material are still wet are caste off as the Barricade engages its motor servos and goes forward. Even before they boosts forward to the middle of the bridge, the extra support struts webs to the exterior of the mech's legs buckle and groan with its weight. The installed jets take over to relieve the strain on the structures before easing the barricade into a short boost-near halfway across the bridge. As they come to a hault, the abdomen of the Barricades chassis unfurls to reveal a glowing lance like apparatus. Little motes of dust collect and build around the brightening weapon, as though the Barricade is daring one of you to come forward with the priming of its gravition lance.

Spoiler: T1-Barricade

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As protocol, the Barricade used its Mobile Printer feature to extrude 2 Pieces of Size 2 Cover, each with 20 HP and evasion 5. Normally it would only be able to extrude one, but I gave it the Extrudite optional system which lets it put out 2.

The barricade then moved 3 squares.
For their 1st Quick Action: The Barricade Boosted another 3 squares.
For their 2nd Quick Action: The Barricade is holding a skirmish action to shoot the next PC that comes within range & LoS of its graviton lance.

[Amaril]

Matching pace with Wall, Revenant darts forward into the shelter of the crates on the north side of the bridge. His HUD marks the superheated razor wire with red warnings as the drone swarm starts spreading it, as if he couldn't have guessed it was something to avoid. "The one with the drones looks like trouble."

The barrel of the heavy thermal lance on No Redemption's shoulder mount glows faintly. Glancing across the bridge to where Willing Victim towers, Ash sends a data burst Wall's way, marking the targets from his angle.

[n0ble]

Theres a groaning sound as the Sekkur's Bastion raises their shield into a guarded stance, shielding the Assault mech directly behind them. The angle of their shielding makes clear who they protect the Assault from: Wall. What protection is given by the gesture-if not the sheer width of the Bastion's frame-is quickly lost to the Assault as the larger mech makes for cover of their own. The burned out hull of the Sekkur tank is sufficiently large to obscure the Bastion from view, though your able to see the barrel of their grenade launcher spin in preparation before the cover of the tank-carcass obscures it. Sensors pick up the slack, registering audio that indicates the Bastion is making ready to fire on whoever comes forward.

Spoiler: Turn 1-Bastion

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As protocol, the Bastion engaged its friendly interdiction field, giving themselves resistance & the Assault resistance as long as it maintains adjacency to the Bastion. This resistance is from damage dealt by Wall.

The bastion moved forward 3 spaces into hardcover, broke adjacency with the Assault as a result.
For their 1st & only quick action: the Bastion held an action to Skirmish with its rotary grenade launcher against the First PC that came within range. The weapon has arching so it can fire over the size 3 hardcover the bastion currently occupies.

[Bitter]

Drifter

As the team moves forward Vagabond moves forward with them, but at a faster pace. As the others start to drop off behind cover, Drifter pilots Vagabond on for another dozen feet before slamming to a stop.

Unlike the others, Drifter hasn’t hidden behind cover. Instead he plans to put down his own cover.

From a shoulder mount two balls of goo shoot out onto the bridge in front of him, expanding in moments into a solid defensible wall that Drifter moves his mech to huddle behind.

“In range of my big gun, give me a second to organise a targeting solution.”

[n0ble]

The first of the enemy assault mechs maneuvers forward into the Bastion's wake with little fanfare and even less noise. They slam a fresh clip of ammunition into their magazine en route, coming to a stop within their upsized counterpart's shadow. Their voice comes out tired, but even. "Cover acquired. Holding position." Like they might well be talking about the rain.

Spoiler: T1-Assault 1

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On their turn Assault 1 moved into adjacency with the Bastion-it has hardcover from the Bastion's Guardian trait. Additionally, it has regained resistance to damage from Wall because of its adjacency to the Bastion.

[Llyarden]

Jets fired from the Pine Needle's back, launching it towards the same cover that the No Redemption was behind, but as the jets disengaged, it dropped into a crouch, one hand reaching down to catch the edge of the bridge as it skidded forwards - and levered itself off the bridge entirely, disappearing amongst the wreckage.

Spoiler: OOC

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Quick: Boost 4 squares kinda ENE.
Quick: Hide.
Move: Move another 4 squares down the riverbank.

[n0ble]

The first assault's twin moves forward to occupy the narrow span of bridge afforded to it by the Barricade's width. They swing their assault rifle into position and square up alongside the Barricade in a manner that speaks of a readiness for violence: rather than seeking fire the Assault traces lines of fire in concert with and past the friendly mech it's saddled up along. The position looks familiar to the Assault mech, like they know it and take comfort from the fact that theres an ally adjacent to them.

Spoiler: T1-Assault 2

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On their turn, the second Assault Mech moved forward 4 spaces
For their 1st Quick Action: The Assault Mech boosted forward another 4 squares, bringing it into adjacency with the Barricade.
For the 2nd Quick Action: The Assault mech Prepared a quick action to skirmish with their heavy Assault rifle vs. the First Target to come into LoS and rang of the Heavy Assault Rifle.

[Awful]

Spindle

Atys breathed in, out, in, out, feeling the slightly-too-cold conditioned air inside her cockpit move in and out her lungs. Then she advanced, Nous' clanking footfalls taking her up into the freshly-deployed cover by Drifter.

"Firing for effect," Spindle radioed, and clicked the trigger. There was a heartbeats delay before the deafening crack-boom of the cyclone fired. To her dismay, though, the enemy barricader didn't fall, the ferrous slug cascading off the slope of their armour in a shower of sparks; bruising, but not deadly.

"Went off the plate," she muttered, and set Nous to crouch behind its cover. Damn it.

[n0ble]

The barricade takes the fire from the cyclone pulse rifle on the chin, so to speak, emerging from contact with the kinetic relatively unscathed for being shot with superheavy weaponry. "On me." The Barricade's voice booms out over the bridge, summoning a pair of cyclopean Assassin mechs to the east and west of the bridge. And in the southeast: a hulking biped mecha of a chassis not dissimilar to that of the Bastion-though in place of a grenade launcher and shield combination this one wields a massive, two handed maul of a proportion to match the newly arrived Demolisher's width.

The Hive once again spins up the tower edifice on its back even as code bleeds out from the stacked disks, egging the already existing swarms onward toward Vagabond and Spindle's Positions. At some unseen signal another razor swarm is deployed as the four discs separate from the shape of a tower, loosing more razor drones and their burning wire as they do. The Hive follows in the wake of the second swarm's formation, moving then boosting around the Barricade and into the hardcover of the gutted jeep.

Spoiler: EoT Reinforcments & T2-Hive

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2 Assassins & a Demolisher arrived as the Reinforcments for this sit-rep.

On the beginning of their turn, the Hive moved their already existing swarm 2 spaces as per their Motile Swarm optional system. They also recharged their ability to use Razor Swarm.
For their 1st Quick Action: The Hive used Razor Swarm to spawn Razor Swarm (marked as 2 on the map) within sensor range.
For their 2nd Quick Action: The Hive boosted into Hardcover after moving a full 5 space normally.

[Caellath]

Wall didn't like how the enemies were awfully prepared to meet him on his way down the bridge, but he honestly didn't have many options. After contemplating leaping down the bridge to find less dangerous cover amidst the muddy waters and containers, he decided against it and steeled his nerves. "Let's run the gauntlet." he voiced just as he had the Willing Victim start on a short sprint aiming to reach an enormous vehicle sitting a third of the way through the bridge.

It wasn't the first and it likely wouldn't be the last time Wall was running into waiting fire, but it never got easy. Sure it'd be a lot easier if he just turned off his brain, but you just couldn't give yourself that sort of luxury if you wanted to raise your chances of avoiding harm while sprinting into cover. It'd be easier to be suicidal rather than face the tension every time. Luckily for Wall, the tension paid off as the Willing Victim hauled its metallic ass as fast as possible, leaving several footsteps on the concrete and dodging fire from two enemy mechs.

Ultimately only grazed, Wall slammed his mech against the vehicle amidst a small cloud of dust, debris and shrapnel. "Drifter, hit them before they split." He'd barely even arrived at his point and he was already making his move: instead of opening fire he had all of the Victim's processing power working on providing targeting solutions to his allies, painting all of the three enemies within his Sensor rage with the digital equivalent of bright colors even as the mech's reactor began heating up above the norm thanks to him pushing it past factory limits.

Spoiler: Actions for the turn.

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Movement: Wall moves 4 forward, slamming into Size 2 cover and triggering two enemy readied actions.
Full Action: Full Tech: Lock On to Hive and Barricade.
Free Action: Leadership Die to Drifter to get his howitzer blasting on the bunched-up enemies.
Overcharge (1 Heat): Lock On to Assault 2.

[n0ble]

Some critical mechanism in the Barricade's feeder apparatus jams-gummed and clogged with 3d print liquids the device sputters and fails to output anything that could be moulded and cooled into cover. A frustrated chirp sounds from the Barricade as it engages the jets inbuilt into their chassis and zooms forward into the grey nano haze that suffuses the Razor wire. A bright discharge of light-the graviton lance-momentarily shears through the drone-fog and hits Falling Leaf, stripping a few outer centimeters from the main chassis. Sensors in the mech register a localized increase in gravity, one that adds enough that it becomes a struggle for Pine Needle to maneuver properly.

Spoiler: T2-Barricade

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The Barricade's Mobile Printer failed to recharge this turn.
The Barricade moved 3 spaces
For their 1st Quick Action: The barricade boosted forward another 3 spaces into the softcover of the Razor Swarm
For their 2nd Quick Action: The barricade fired their graviton lancer at Falling Leaf, ignoring the soft cover because the weapon is accurate. The Barricade hit, inflicting 2 energy damage and slowing Falling Leaf until the end of their next turn.

[Bitter]

Drifter

Staying in position, Drifter let’s lose with everything he has. Small mobile drones, his assault rifle and not least the massive Howitzer mounted on his mech’s back.

As the data and literal smoke clears, he spots clear indications of hits on two enemy mechs.

“That’s some damage done, but none out.”

[n0ble]

Talk from the Assassin rings out into the silence that follows the massive detonation. They're clearly speaking to the Assault that Vagabond has just savaged with their howitzer. It broadcasts on all comms, spilling out into the vaccancy between the newly arrived Assassin and TAC's mech. "Dont worry, friend." The Assassin begins striking to their right, banking sharply before gunning forward with installed microjets before seemingly bracing against the ground and gracefully launching themselves into the air. "Help comes from on high." The Assassin somersaults and lands palms to the ground first, spinning their legs in a wide circle that sees Vagabond and drifter knocked prone to the ground under the flurry of blows.

Spoiler: T2-Assassin 2

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Assassin 2 moved 6 spaces this turn.

For their 1st quick action: they boosted an additional 6 spaces.
For their 2nd quick action: To cap off being an absolute MADLAD the Assassin used their Leap ability: The Assassin flies 6 spaces in any direction but must land on a surface. When they land, characters adjacent to the Assassin must succeed on an AGILITY save or be knocked PRONE. Vagabond & Revenant both failed their Agility saves and were knocked prone. They must expend their standard movements getting up, but this does not count as actually moving and so will not provoke an Overwatch attack from Assassin 2. Spindle passed the Agility save and wasnt knocked prone.

[Rakaydos]

"WE CANT HAVE THAT, NOW CAN WE."
Behind the assasin, the flanking Everest rose on a pillar of flame, moving with the alacrity that was the chassis's signature. Diving after the assasin, thermal lance and assault rifle fire chewed into the lesser mech and the bridge below it.

Spoiler: actions

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Activate flight. Move 4
Inititive for boost 4
Barrage:
-Thermal rifle- hit, 9 energy
-Assault rifle- hit, 4 kinetic
Overcharge skirmish: Assault rifle- hit, 6 kinetic

EoT: 5 heat, flying, no cover.

[n0ble]

The Assassin topples over dead, seemingly following after Vagabond and Revenant to the ground though with thoroughly less motion about its frame. The Bastion registers this with a mechanical roar, boosting forward into the Barricade's wake as the defender's grenade launcher whirs out the mechanical chuffing of ordinance being displaced from its cylinders. The explosives burst around Wall with flashes of orange and red to match Edth's Burning sky, and though their armour takes some of the shrapnel more than is stopped finds its way through into the Willing Victim.

Spoiler: T2-Bastion

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The Bastion engaged it's Friendly Interdiction Field as protocol, they have resistance to damage from Revenant & Assault 1 has resistance to damage from Revenant when it has adjacency to the Bastion.

The Bastion moved forward 3 spaces
For their 1st Quick action: The Bastion boosted forward 3 additional spaces
For their 2nd Quick action: The Bastion Skirmished with their Rotary Grenade Launcher and hit Wall for 4 explosive damage, reduced to 3 after their armour.

[Amaril]

It all seems to go off in the blink of an eye. The first shot rings out, the shattering clap of Spindle's rifle; Ash sees the shieldbearer flinch before the howitzer explosion envelops the bridge in smoke and fire. He hefts his sword, ready to take advantage, and then he's looking up at the burning sky, HUD flashing alerts, the assassin standing over him. Before he can react, again, it goes down in another barrage--Wall? No, that was a thermal lance beam....

As No Redemption regains its footing, servos groaning, Ash glances over to behold his savior: the dog-man. He feels a twinge of regret for that name, even unvoiced. "Good shot."

Through the clearing howitzer smoke, his sensors pick out more razor wire: another drone swarm. The skull helm swivels to point sockets at the controller, hiding behind its burnt-out car shell. "Yeah, that's not happening." Slamming on thruster controls, he rockets out from behind his container, skidding to a halt on the other side of the debris from the hive. The Everest plants its feet as the barrel of its lance begins to glow even brighter, vents blowing steam. "Revenant, going hot!"

The shot rings out, a crack of ionizing air. Filters shield his eyes from the blue plasma radiance, but it still leaves him squinting to see the results...a groan of annoyance registers through his comms. "No joy!" The drone controller is undamaged; the smoking hole bored through the debris between them doesn't even reach through to it.

[Llyarden]

"Going!" The loud crash of her mech's rifle fire revealed Siobhan's new position just beneath the bridge, as a heavy slug winged its way towards the grenade-launching mech. She didn't stay there for long, though, jets engaging again to launch her back onto the bridge, and she sprinted along the railing, springing towards the Hive with her segment knife before spinning, her mech drawing its pistol with its other hand and snapping off a quick shot towards the drone controller before vaulting back off the bridge and taking what little cover there was in the river behind one of the drifting cargo boxes.

Spoiler: OOC

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As her first Quick Action: Siobhan Skirmishes to attack the Bastion with her antimaterial rifle, for 6 to hit for 4 AP Kinetic damage.

As her second Quick Action: Siobhan Boosts back onto the bridge.

She moves 4 squares east with her movement action.

As a free action due to Initiative, she Skirmishes again to attack the Hive twice, first with her segment knife for 8 to hit for 4 energy damage, and then with her pistol for 1 to hit but with Reliable 1.

As a free action, she Overcharges for 1 Heat to Boost again back into the river.

[n0ble]

The Hive rears back under Falling Leaf's assault. The latter's tactical knife finds and pulls something vital from the Hive as they bank off the bridge and down into the muck of the river. The Assault closest to the Hive is quick to give answer to the offence, moving forward into cover with the same familiar discipline that saw it previously saddle up alongside the Barricade. Targeting reticules snap out to lock onto vital points on Revenant before a fusilade of kinetic fire from the Assault finds its mark on No Redemption's chassis, scoring deep gouges into the mech that are mercifully stopped before boring too far.

The first Assault mech, unwilling to abandon their position as sole defender of the still to be contested zone on the bridge, cuts north across the strucuture as they watch Falling Leaf land on the riverbed below. Absent adjacieny to their allies the Assault's aim is a bit less steady, a little less sure, but this does nothing to stop them from readying their heavy assault rifle. The weapon first aims over where Falling Leaf tumbled to the river, then tracks for possible egress points that could be met with kinetics.

Spoiler: T2-Assault 2, T2 Assault 1

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On their turn, Assault 2 moved forward 1 space into hardover and adjacency with both the Hive & Bastion. This activated its Rank Discipline optional system, giving it +1 accuracy on attacks as long as its adjacent to a friendly mech.
For their 1st Quick action: the Assault took the Lock-on quick action on Revenant
For their 2nd Quick Action: the Assault consumed the Lock-on condition on Revenant and fired their Heavy Assault Rifle at them. Consuming lock-on combined with Rank Discipline negated the hardcover revenant was sitting behind. The Heavy Assault rifle hit for 6 kinetic damage.

On the turn following Falling Leaf/Llyarden's Assault 1 moved 4 spaces north into Hardcover
For their 1st Quick Action: the Assault prepared an action to Skirmish Falling leaf when next they're in LoS
For their 2nd Quick Action: the Assault Locked on to Falling Leaf

[Caellath]

"We need the Hive mech down quick. Anyone got eyes on further enemy reinforcements?" The Willing Victim had just been rocked by explosive hits, but luckily neither the explosions nor the shock had caused any serious damage aside from fracturing shock plates and causing Wall's mech to shed crumbling pieces of pitch-black, spent ablative armor from its upper body area.

[Rakaydos]

"DEMOLISHER APPROCHING SOUTHEAST." The everest with the unpronouncible name hovered off the Willing Victum's shoulder. "THREAT LEVEL HIGH, SECOND AFTER HIVE."

[Amaril]

Ash sees the assault unit drawing a bead, but he can't bring his shield up in time, still stabilizing from his lance shot. Rifle rounds punch through his armor, rattling him in his cockpit. He grits his teeth. "Closing on the hive now," he calls out. "I can handle it. You all worry about the one with the hammer."