Skandia: May 19, 3035 What was the most unusual occurrance during the year of 3035? Something that happened every day' The Kuritans and the Lyrans fighting side by side, to defend those combative people, the natives of Rasalhague. And whom were they fighting? More Kuritans! The traditional oldstyle Kurita military, many of whom revolted when the Draconis Combine allowed Rasalhague to proclaim its independence.. Gunji no Kanrei Theodore Kurita dubbed these rebels ronin, masterless. The name stuck. The Ronin Wars are now ended. Pictures from this time, showing officers from House Kurita and House Steiner leading into battle the native troops they had been training, conferring together, even amicably debating military tactics; these pictures will be looked upon with disbelief. 'Mechs painted the bright colors of the Steiner regiments fighting next to the black and blood red 'Mechs of the Draconians may never be seen again. One of the most desperate of these joint missions happened on the planet Skandia, in the month of May. The ninety degree cliffs tower higher than a 'Mech can jump above a river canyon. The Midgard River is swiftrunning down the center. Here the Fire Lance and the Recon Lance of the Bravo Company, Third Tyr Regiment met a mixed Ronin unit which was determined to give no quarter. These fanatics refused surrender as unworthy of a warrior. The battle was long and bloody. None of the ronin survived. The survivors limped out the other end of the rift, to spend long weeks repairing 'Mechs and healing mechwarriors. Game Set-up: Place four BattleTech mapboards side by side lengthwise. The terrain is rough. The mapsides are 902 cliffs that are 8 levels high. There is a level one river running down the middle of the canyon. Defender Set-up: The Rasalhague forces are defending. They may be set up on the south end of the board, anywhere in the first five hexes. Fire Lance Commander: Takashi Hiro, Catapult Piloting: 1, Gunnery: 2 Fire Lance: Sven Lorenson, Archer Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 2 John Davidson, Vindicator Piloting: 5, Gunnery: 5 Mikial Silverton, Archer Piloting: 4, Gunnery: 6 Laura Micheaux, Phoenix Hawk Piloting: 5, Gunnery: 5 Recon Lance Commander: Elizabeth Rychek, Shadow Hawk Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Recon Lance: David Shane, Trebuchet Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 4 Kimi Ohara, Catapuft Piloting: 5, Gunnery: 5 Daniel Horgunse, Panther Piloting: 6, Gunnery: 4 Attacker Set-up: The Ronin unit, which is a mixed group, will come in from the North End. They can set up on the first three hexes. Heavy Lance: Miro Jiro, Warhammer Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Okama Hiro, Rifleman Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 4 Johnathan Saracen, Shadow Hawk Piloting: 4, Gunnery: 3 Lisa Trebounet, Crusader Piloting:4, Gunnery: 4 Jump Infantry Platoon: 21 men, armed with lasers Heavy Hover Lance: Condor Drive: 3, Gunnery: 5 Condor Drive: 5, Gunnery: 5 Condor Drive: 4, Gunnery: 4 Condor Drive: 4, Gunnery: 3 Victory Conditions: This is a classic showdown situation at the bottom of one of the deep rifts that Skandia is famous for. Whoever is left at the end of the game is the winner. Back to BattleTechnology 10 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1988 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com