Background Information Legion of Vega, Background The Lyrans were ready to crumble. When the 2nd Legion of Vega stormed the ridge where the Lyrans had gone to ground they would be hurled into the Great Desert of Tears. The Commonwealth's invasion of Vega had gone bad for them ever since the arrival of Theodore Kurita on world. One more great push and Steiner would have to pull her troops out for certain. Your company of heavy and medium Mechs guard the only escape route for the besieged Lyrans. Though you are supported by two full battalions of infantry and tanks, you know that to send them against Lyrans in full retreat would needlessly waste lives and equipment, especially if a show of force on your company's part would be enough to dash Steiner's hopes of escape. As the sun rises over the desert, and the ground temperature begins to rise, the rout of the Lyrans gets underway. Soon, your battle begins. Lyran Guard, Background You've failed in your attempt to capture the Combine world of Vega. Though in the early days of October, 3028, the Third Lyran Guard's capture of this vital center of Draconian power seemed but a matter of time, the unexpected arrival of the Coordinator's son has soured your victory and forced you to retreat. While the majority of the regimental combat team's Mechs battle on far to the south, the 2nd Legion of Vega prevents your forces from rejoining them and so putting an end to the counteroffensive. Now the Kuritans await the signal to rise up and hurl your forces into the continent-spanning desert at your backs, ending your last chance at salvaging the mission. If you cannot escape the Legion's trap, you will have to retreat. To the east lies the port city of Cochus, where it might be possible to hold out until reinforcements could arrive. Though only a company of Kuritan Mechs and two battalions of infantry and tanks guard that pass, you cannot risk taking that route until it has been thoroughly scouted. The unit closest to the situation is a company of medium and heavy Mechs commanded by Hauptman Alexander Gustov. As the sun blossoms on the horizon, the Kuritan Mechs burst from hiding and charge the ridge where the Lyran Guard has made its stand. Dreading the coming battle, and the inevitable retreat, you order Gustov to clear that escape route, hoping for the best. Game Set-up Lay out the BattleTech mapsheets in any connected pattern, since the battle will take place on a featureless desert plain. You may want to use the backs of the mapsheets to avoid confusion with the depicted terrain features. Defender The defender is the 1 st Company, 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Legion of Vega. These Mechs must be set up on the side of the map designated as east before the attacker's position is revealed. The area behind the company's defensive line is assumed to be defended by the 21 st Infantry Battalion and the 123rd Light Armor Battalion. Attackers cannot cross this line singly, and it would put them in range of too many tanks and small-arms to survive. Defenders retreating across this line are considered to have escaped . They will sit out the rest of the game. Command Lance Captain Rexel Euchart: Veteran, Charger Piloting: 2, Gunnery:1 Lt Jake Jinshi: Veteran, Warhammer Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Greg Patrick: Regular, Phoenix Hawk-K Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 3 Kriss MacMurdough: Regular, Cicada Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 3 Fire Lance Lt Abel Simpson: Regular, Crusader Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 3 Alice Katai: Green, Trebuchet Piloting: 4, Gunnery: 3 Genny Dricol: Regular, Dragon Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Randall Masters: Regular, Wolverine Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Recon Lance Lt Piros Andrakos: Veteran, Shadow Hawk-K Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 1 Min Matusutashi: Regular, Shadow Hawk-K Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 3 Wen Xouang: Green, Panther Piloting: 4, Gunnery: 4 Baxter Craddock: Regular, Cicada Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Attacker The attacker is Company C, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Lyran Guard. These units must set up on the west side of the map after the defender has been positioned Command Lance Hauptmann Alexander Gustov: Elite, Zeus Piloting: 1, Gunnery: 1 Lt Max Radford: Veteran, Wolverine Piloting: 1, Gunnery: 2 Janet Aston: Regular, Hatchetman Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 3 Laramie Cross: Regular, Phoenix Hawk Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 2 Fire Lance Lt Melissa Powell: Veteran, Rifleman Piloting: 1, Gunnery: 2 Robert Brown:Veteran, Marauder Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 1 Vivien Metzer: Regular, Griffin-S Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 2 Xavier Gordo: Regular, Hunchback Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Recon Lance Lt David Lowe: Veteran, Phoenix Hawk Piloting: 2, Gunnery: 2 Frederick Raptor: Regular, Assassin Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 3 Zelda Mbutu: Regular, Commando Piloting: 3, Gunnery: 2 Ross Napoli: Green, Commando Piloting: 4, Gunnery: 3 Special Rules The temperature on the planet's surface causes heat sinks to function at 67% of normal capacity. For example, a Warhammer with 18 functional heat sinks can dissipate 12 point of heat per turn. Though both sides have considerable reserves of Mechs and conventional forces within striking distance, it has been decided by mutual concensus that this battle will be decided by the actions of these two companies. No reinforcements will appear on the map at any point in the game. Victory Conditions The attacker wins by destroying all enemy Mechs or destroying 8 out of 12 of them by the twelfth round of combat. At this point, the rest of the Lyran forces who are retreating in this direction must either be able to past of the east unmolested, or must turn north for immediate planetary evacuation. If a sufficient number of enemy Mechs has not been destroyed, then C Company must retreat so they may reach the DropShips in time to escape. The defender wins by destroying all enemy Mechs or preventing the enemy's goals from being achieved. If defending Mechs outnumber attackers by a factor of 2 to 1 at any time, the defender may safely "call in the infantry and tank battalions", forcing the attacker to retreat automatically. Back to BattleTechnology 11 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1989 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com