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Chapter 39[]
Can you tell me where can we start over?[]
Nightlord Class Battleship, CJFS Emerald Eagle
Antares, Clan Steel Viper Occupation Zone
3061
"Well, two insults for the price of one, I guess." The Steel Vipers had a problem with letting Diana Pryde exist. They also had a problem with the Jade Falcons' decision to add a new bloodname-even though the Wolves had done so with an ilKhan who was already convicted by a Kurultai and deposed.
Whatever else, it meant that Henry's cluster was not going to be adventuring against Kowloon in the near term. Instead, they were detailed out with other Falcon forces to push back on the Steel Vipers and show the rust snakes who's boss. In this case, by removing the Steel Vipers from Antares.
"Star Colonel Henry Ngo, Redtails Cluster, Omicron Galaxy here, you can take this as a personal insult if you want, Star Colonel Thibideau, but the fact is, we are landing, you can either accept it, or die opposing it. You will lose, make no mistake about that, but you can lose honorably by observing Zellbrigen, or you can lose your asses by breaking it. You just have to ask yourself what you are going to bid to fight us."
The exchange went on for several minutes, during which Henry revealed that well over half his personnel were born in the Inner Sphere.
"Let us make it a twofer. You can bring your Friends, then it will be a fair fight." He added, mockingly.
It worked, the Steel Vipers bid down below any reasonable cutdown, and the Redtail Cluster gained Safcon to the battle zone.
After the verbal sparring match, Henry turned to his Executive officer, Star Captain Phillip Hazen. "Never underestimate arrogant people's ability to self-sabotage. I probably could have gotten them to bid away their 'mechs If we did not need this to be an unquestionable victory for the Clan. as it is, we will be playing on their field, by their rules, in a game they feel mastery over...and we are going to shove it up their tack-holes sideways."
"You really are enjoying this, Quiaff?" Phillip asked.
"Immensely." Henry said, "It is not every day I can get my enemies to bid away their best assets and strongest players based solely on their racist ideology and stupid bigotry...only to get to punish bigots for being bigoted. This is going to be special."
Note for the Author - Hegira War[]
For those playing at home...Antares Campaign, 3061, Jade Falcons versus Steel Vipers. In canon known as Hegira War
In the green corner, sporting a paint scheme with red highlights and the insignia of a Jade falcon with red tail feathers and a blue spear, is the Redtail Cluster.
Formed as a temporary organization in 3058 to train 'Sibbies' from the revealed illegal breeding program used by Marthe Pryde to bulk out the touman after losses in the Refusal war, and leavened with a mix of high-testing Solahma, Freeborn abtakha, and a few genuinely good Bloodnamed warriors from other units, the Redtail Cluster is assigned to the resurrected Omicron Galaxy, which is in turn commanded by Star Colonel Nathan Roshak.
CO: Star Colonel Henry Ngo*
5 elements:
Trinary Sweep (Light/fast medium Omnimechs and 2nd liner Battlemechs) Veteran/Fanatical
Trinary Strike (Medium and fast heavy Omnimechs) Veteran/fanatical
Trinary Hold (Nova Trinary, Medium and fast heavies with Elemental support) Regular/Fanatical
Binary Assault (Nova Binary, Heavy/Assault mechs supported by Elemental infantry) Veteran/Fanatical
AeroSpace Binary: 2 full stars (10 airframes and pilots) of Aerospace fighters. Regular/Reliable
(Unit Ratings are Clan scale, not Inner Sphere).
Redtail Cluster is trained to make use of both Clan, and Inner Sphere, warfare methods, and can configure on the fly between honorable single combat and massed fire tactics. Notably the Sweep and Strike trinaries are drilled in battlemech martial arts and 'improvisational' warfare, including the use of terrain features as weapons and the use of cover and concealment in motion.
Star Colonel Henry Ngo is a fast thinker who does his homework on potential adversaries before engagement-"Seeing with Falcon Eyes". This gives the Redtails an advantage to Initiative *(Initiative Banking special ability). His emphasis on constant training in maneuvering grants the unit off-board movement and a bonus MP in rough or wooded terrain, as well as PSR bonuses to physical attacks for the Sweep and Striker elements.
and in the snakeskin corner, weighing in at 5 full trinaries at Veteran/Questionable, with a great deal of experience in countering minor raiding forces and the occasional uprising, the Steel Viper 195th Striker...CLUSTER!!
Steel Vipers don't do 'dishonorable' things like physical attacks or combining fire, even when they really ought to. Instead they rely on their superb gunnery at long ranges and gruelling sibko training, and a wholly Trueborn lineup, to win their battles.
This is actually a pretty good system, at least, until you run into someone who's just as good at the range game, but better at closing distance and applying the pain at 'in your face' distances.
Due to a fairly long period of doing only small-scale raids, the 195th suffers a deficit when operating as a large formation (-1 to Initiative). they have access to slightly better gear, but extensively rely on long-range energy based attacks fired in open country. (notably, the trial isn't being held on a wide open plain. Henry managed to piss Star Colonel Thibodeaux off so much that the man chose a much rougher, more tangled, territory for the fighting-remember, never let the other guy piss you off in a bidding war!)
Steel viper units suffer a penalty to physical attacks including DFA, kicking, and punching.