Something Different Duty at a base like Gordo Alpha is normally less than exciting. We were there to protect the headquarters facility for Ramsau, a straggling collection of pressure domes and dish antennae squatting atop a low, rugged plain along the shores of one of barren mare. If we wanted something to look at, we could always go to an observation tower or suit up and go outside. Ramsau was always there, big and swollen and blue, with the white swirl of clouds and the blinding glint of sun on icefields that wrapped themselves across half the planet. When Ramsau was full, the Gordian night was lit bright as day, but with soft, cool colors reflected from the planet. By day, Ramsau would be half full, or a slender crescent, or a halo-rimmed blackness eclipsing the sun, depending on where we were in the six-day "day." But how long can you look at pretty colors in the sky before you start hating the drab gray sameness around you? We were on Gordo for a six-month tour. Six months of dull paperwork, dull watches, dull food, and the same, dull people, day upon colorless day. So when the alert came in from our watchpost above the mare to the west of the base, we leapt for our'Mechs with an eagerness that might seem strange to veterans who know the blood and death of BattleMech combat. No, we weren't eager to die. We were just starved for something--anything--different in our routine! --Lieutenant Daryl Hanson, as told to Wayne Tse-Lin, Senior correspondent of BattleTechnology's Tharkad office, October, 3027 GAME SET-UP Lay out the BattleTech maps as shown, or use a large sheet of blank hex grid paper. The terrain is different from that shown on the map, as described below. All terrain on the west map is open and clear. It is maria-type terrain, completely flat and covered by a layer of soft dust several centimeters thick. The east map is divided into zones, labelled "A," "B," "C," and "D." Area A is rough ground. In addition, the entire area is at Level 1. Area B is rough ground at Level 2. Area C is rough ground at level 3. Area D is at level 4 but is smooth and open ground. Defender The Defender is elements of the Headquarters Platoon of the Ramsau Planetary Militia, reinforced by BattleMechs from Company C, 1 st Battalion, of the Rasalhague Regulars. His forces include the following: Captain Dimitri Cherenkov: Veteran Dragon Piloting 5, Gunnery 4 MechWarrior Vincent Warbley: Veteran Panther Piloting 5, Gunnery 5 MechWarrior Katarina Wu: Veteran Stinger Piloting 5, Gunnery 6 MechWarrior Sol Armistead: Veteran Commando Piloting 5, Gunnery 6 The defender also has one hidden gun emplacement, mounting a heavy laser paired with a PPC. The building has a Construction factor of 95. The weapons have an arc of fire limited to 1200 and must be targeted together. Attacker The attacker is a special strike force composed of elements of the Star Warrior mercenary regiment, from Companies A and B, 1 st Battalion. Colonel Christopher Christie: Elite Wolverine Piloting 4, Gunnery 4 Lieutenant Vincent McCabe: Elite ShadowHawk Piloting 5, Gunnery 4 Lieutenant Melissa Lawrence: Elite Commando Piloting 5, Gunnery 4 MechWarrior Feodor Blanski: Veteran Griffin Piloting 5, Gunnery 5 MechWarrior Kathy Drake: Veteran Centurion Piloting 5, Gunnery 5 MechWarrior Stan O'Hanrahan: Veteran Stinger All BattleMechs begin the scenario in perfect condition. In addition, all 'Mechs have been serviced to permit them to function in a vacuum environment. The Defender notes his positions first. His BattleMechs may be placed on any hexes in zone D. So long as they are not adjacent to the edge of the slope (i.e., within one hex of zone C), they will be out of sight from lower levels and need not be placed on the board. In addition, the defender secretly records the hex number where his gun emplacement is located. It can be on any hex in zones A, B, or C. It is well camouflaged and is not represented on the board by a counter until after it has fired. The Attacker enters the board from the west side of the map, adopting any formation he desires. His forces are attempting to reach the top of the ridge slope represented by zones A, B, and C. Although they do not realize it until they are fired upon, their approach has already been noted by the Kurita defenders. The Attacker may not fire until he is fired upon. He must proceed in a general easterly course (at any speed and in any formation he desires), with the goal of reaching zone D. Once fired upon, he may fire normally and move as he sees fit. Victory Conditions Initially, the Attacker's Victory Conditions are to reach Zone D. If he can do so without being fired upon, he wins automatically. Once he is fired upon, however, his Victory Conditions immediately change to withdrawing from the battlefield. The Attacker receives 10 Victory points for every 'Mech he manages to exit off the west edge otthe map. He loses 5 points for every 'Mech he is forced to leave behind (destroyed, captured, or crippled). The Defender wins 12 Victory Points for every enemy 'Mech destroyed or captured. He loses 5 points for every one of his own 'Mechs destroyed and 5 more points for every enemy 'Mech which escapes. The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the battle is the winner. Tactical Notes The Attacker may consider deploying one or several of his 'Mechs as a rear guard to buy time for the rest of the unit as it withdraws. (Pessimists may read "rear guard" as "suicide squad," but it is a legitimate tactical maneuver.) He must keep in mind, however, that he will have to escape with at least four of his 'Mechs to win, or else destroy two of the Defender's 'Mechs to have even a chance of winning. The Defender will win if he can destroy or cripple any three of the Attacker's 'Mechs, losing no more than one of his own in the process. Generally, the Attacker will have to carefully balance the urgency of his retreat with the need to engage and (if possible) destroy the Kurita 'Mechs in a fighting withdrawal, The Defender will need to deploy with an eye to cutting off the Attacker's retreat, hold his fire until the Attacker is far from the west edge of the map, and use concentrated fire at long range to cripple as many of the Attackers as possible. Special Rules The hidden gun emplacement has a CF of 95. The Defender may set it up in any hex of zones A, B, or C he wishes, but the arc of fire must be directed towards the west. The guns will be destroyed after the building takes 95 points of damage or when the guns receive a critical hit. A critical hit occurs if, on any turn when the building receives at least 15 points worth of damage, the Defender rolls 9+ on 2D6. This represents the possibility that the guns took a direct hit through the firing aperture or that the pressurized area housing the gun crew was breached by a lucky shot. After 10 turns, there is a possibility that the Defender will receive reinforcements. On the tenth turn, the Defender rolls 2D6, and continues to roll once at the beginning of each turn thereafter. On the first turn that he rolls 10 or higher, he can expect reinforcements to arrive during the next turn. The Attacker must be informed that reinforcements are approaching and that they will arrive on the following turn. (This news is communicated to them by their own sensors.) These reinforcements can consist of either (Defender's choice) 2 Shilone AeroSpace fighters or a number of additional Veteran BattleMechs and/or tracked vehicles totalling no more than 80 tons. These reinforcements arrive on the indicated turn from the east edge of the map. The moon Gordo is a vacuum world. Optional Rules Variant 01 03-B (on page 51 of this issue) can be used to increase the realism of this scenario. Situation: 1535 hours, October 7, 3027 Ramsau III-A Battle of Gordo Outpost Alpha Lyran plans to commence a major military push against House Kurita late in 3027 were to be initiated by a major raid in the Ramsau system, deep within the Solward wedge of the Rasalhague Military District. With the hydroponics facilities outside Sauton, Ramsau's principal population center, destroyed, it was hoped that the Combine's Jump-capable merchant and military shipping would be tied up transporting food until the hydroponics facilities could be made operational once more. The presence of the Kurita Command, Control, and Communications center on Ramsau's large, close moon, however, made the operation difficult. The moon, Gordo, and the planet, Ramsau, kept the same faces towards each other as they rotated about one another with a six-day period. Gordo appeared always to be in the sky over Sauton, while Ramsau was always in the sky above the C3 base, Gordo Alpha. For a major raid to succeed on Ramsau, an attack would have to be made against the Gordian base. If the base could be disrupted or destroyed, operations on the planet's surface could be carried out without being under constant observation by the Kurita high command. For this purpose, a special strike force composed of six BattleMechs from the mercenary regiment known as the Star Warriors was assembled and deployed aboard a Leopard-class DropShip modified to carry six 'Mechs at the expense of its fighter racks. The strikeforce was set down on the surface several kilometers away from the enemy base and over the curve of the moon's horizon. The approach was made on foot, across one of Gordo's maria-aflat,dark, dusty plain devoid of cover. It was hoped that surprise and the confusion of a nearby aerospace battle would enable the strikeforce to make its approach without being discovered. The plan was carried out flawlessly, at least in its initial stages. If the Lyran planners made any one error, it was in their unquestioning trust of the reports made by Lyran Intelligence. Back to BattleTechnology 3 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