"There go the 'Mechs!" God, I can't say how glad we were to see those metal monsters forming line abreast and trudging back the way we'd come. Our battalion had fought for hours against the Kurita 'Mechs in the rubble around the Port Royal spaceport and we'd not more than scratched their armor in a few places. Old 'Blood 'n' Guts' Martell, the Military Marvel, had called it right for a change. We were hanging loose in the city, our flanks exposed, our rear exposed... we had to git! Somehow, whatever cohesion the planetary defense forces had had before the retreat was completely gone by the time we got clear of the city. Highway 3 was a solid mass of vehicles... trucks piled high with kids and personal belongings, hovercraft draped with ragged-looking soldiers, light armored vehicles wallowing along with the flow like wood chips dragged along by the outgoing tide. The King Mountains were ranged ahead of us. We didn't think about it; we knew instinctively: safety lay that way. Only then the Kurita 'Mechs began deploying east of Port Royal. There were a bunch of them... a couple companies' worth at least, and they were coming on fast. If they reached the highway, they'd wade through the refugees like snarkhounds through aherclof grazels. The retreat would become a rout... and the rout would become a disaster. Twelve 'Mechs from the mercenary unit that had grounded a week before were nearby. When they started forming up, began to think we might have a chance... Excerpted from I Was There: Stories of Warriors and Their War Edited by William H. Keith, Jr. Exeter Press, Exeter Situation: Mid-day, April 5, 3028 Royal II The Kunta discovery that defensive forces had been withdrawn from the Royal system to participate in wargame maneuvers (Operation: Galahad'28) near the Liao border was a heaven-sent opportunity for them. It is uncertain just how they planned to exploit their gains in Davion space, but at the very least, a Kurita conquest of Royal would prove to be a painful thorn in Davion's side in the Draconis Marches. The Royal system stands astride the supply and shipment routes between the sector capitol at Robinson and the worlds of the Galtor Salient. Galtor III, long the focus of Davion- Kurita struggles in the area, would certainly fall to Kurita forces if the supply net to Robinson were cut. Acting swiftly, and by deploying their DropShips in a precisely-calculated, nonstandard Jump in-system, the Kurita forces were able to catch the Royal garrison by surprise. There was only infantry in the planetary capital of Port Royal when Kurita commandos seized the spaceport for the advance landings by Draconis DropShips. The classic 'Mech versus infantry firefight reduced much of Port Royal to rubble, and resulted in the ignominious retreat of the local infantry under General Martell. Defeat would have been transformed into utter disaster if the Kurita 'Mechs had been able to strike the infantry again, while it was retreating in column along an open highway east of the city. Air strikes had harassed the column throughout the morning of April 5. The Kurita regimental commander decided that a strike by two 'Mech companies would scatter the infantry beyond any hope of recovery, as well as allowing large quantities of military supplies to fall into his force's hands. Unfortunately, the Kurita commander had not counted on the presence of a single company of heavy BattleMech mercenaries, in the employ of House Davion. Game Set-Up Lay out the two BattleMech mapsheets as shown. All terrain printed the map is considered to be flat, open ground. The terrain marked on the map above is considered to be a ridge, consisting of high, open ground at Level 1. Defender The Defender consists of Company A, MacKenzie's Marauders: Command Lance Colonel Gregg MacKenzie's Marauder Piloting 3, Gunnery 2 Lieutenant Johnny Lee's Warharnmer Piloting 3, unnery 3 MechWarrior Patrick O'Hara's Crusader Piloting 4, Gunnery 3 MechWarrior Randolph Kreuger's JagerMech Piloting 4, Gunnery 4 Fire Lance Lieutenant Diana Vincent's Marauder Piloting 3, Gunnery 3 MechWarrior Jordy Blake's Marauder Piloting 3, Gunnery 4 MechWarrior Natalie Forester's Marauder Piloting 4, Gunnery 4 MechWarrior Daniel Cutter's Marauder Piloting 5, Gunnery 4 Recon Lance Lieutenant Sergei Matsutov's Valkyrie Piloting 4, Gunnery 3 MechWarrior Erik Christoferson's Valkyrie Piloting 4, Gunnery 4 MechWarrior Joe Larnonte's Stinger Piloting 4, Gunnery 5 MechWarrior Cindy Strella's Stinger Piloting 4, Gunnery 5 Attacker The attackers are elements of the First Battalion, 3rd Benjamin Regulars: First Company Command Lance Orion Thunderbolt Crusader Shadow Hawk Fire Lance Archer Archer Catapult (Kurita variant) Trebuchet Recon Lance Javelin Panther Panther Stinger Second Company Command Lance Dragon Archer Orion Dervish Fire Lance Rifleman Catapult (Kurita variant) Dragon Hunchback Recon Lance Panther Javelin Javelin Stinger All Kurita MechWarriors in this scenario are considered to have Piloting 4, Gunnery 4. All 'Mechs are in perfect condition. The Defender enters the board from the east side of the map. The Attacker enters from the west. The Attacker moves and deploys first. Victory Conditions The Defenders must hold off the attacking force as long as possible, while avoiding (if possible) their own destruction. The Attacker wins 1 point for every ton of Defender 'Mech destroyed or left abandoned on the field, plus 5 points for every one of his own 'Mechs he exits off the east edge of the mapboard before Turn 15. The Defender wins 1 point for every ton of Attacker 'Mech destroyed, plus 5 points for every turn past Turn 8 he prevents anyenemy'Mechs from exiting the east edge of the mapboard. Back to BattleTechnology 4 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. 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