Wallflower Session 3: First Contact
Rise And Shine
The next morning, our pilots gather and check in. Pilot Lyn's analysis program of the attacks and back-projected movements are consistent with a single sniper team. Pilot Krell reflects about how steady the new recruits are with some satisfaction, even as they prep to pick up the final two mechs, and discuss the upcoming mission with Castor Fielding.
New Mech Smells
They finish breakfast, and depart for the Governors Farm and Kyle at the printshop. Kyle looks a little haggard, probably watched the mechs print all night.
Remember Why You Are Here, pilot Hannah Sen, is understated, geometric and sleek. It looks like a stealth bomber, moves like a mantis, and when idle, shows little sign of its internal armory. Dark, matte metal and small amounts of silver trim.
Conquest Of The Mind, pilot Jenna Lyndale, deploys with a dorsal mount howitzer, and several hive nexi for deployment of sparrow sized micro drones. The lack of weapons that need brachial appendages make the human-scale manipulators the only visible arms, leading to a mildly comedic appearance. The puce paint job, and overrall rounded appearance add to the effect.
Popping the hatches and clearing that New Mech Scent, the squad runs diagnostics and then depart for a rendezvous with Chief Engineer Fielding. The engineer has a large crew and several flatbed trucks loaded and waiting for the mech escorts. He hopes to get the Landing Bowls pumps installed, as flooding could damage them severely, but the distance and size of the pumps made the mission too risky without mech scale backup.
The engineering team greet the pilots with good cheer, and the colonial militia outriders mount up. The convoy forms up and rolls out, the multi-legged cargo trucks well suited for the underused road, and they arrive at Bowls without incident.
Landing Bowls are where medium or larger Orbit To Surface ships can land, and not tear into the ground and spread pollutants. They allow repeated landing within a short distance of Evergreen.
The engineers setup, and the pilots establish a perimeter. Forty five minutes into the mission, Pilot Krell reports first contact.
Contact
Olive black carapaces and antiquated drumfed kinetic weapons, bipedal forms. Some have the underlying metal and traditional armor visible, others seem entirely covered in biological material. The five visible enemies split into two groups, one charging down into the bowl to engage the pilots. Initial shots on both sides fly wide, with Walking Under Fire failing a shot with its mortar, and being pinned down by heavy fire from an enemy designated Spearfish-Alpha.
Conquest Of The Mind gets a scan off to establish combat capabilities of Spearfish, as first wave closes in on the pilots. One of the enemies on the bowl lip, designated Argus, spies Remember Why You Are Here attempting a covert flank and tags the mech with a phosphorous round. Grenades continue to fly from the forerunners, punishing pilots Lyn and Krell for digging their heels in.
Trying to take the pressure off, pilot Sen charges forward and engages with Spearfish in melee. Surprisingly, the bogey designated Anvil-Alpha interposed itself, and took the hit instead. It's biological armor bleeds, and pilot Sen changes target. A follow up with a heavy charged blade in a forearm mount cuts through Anvils armor, and it falls.
Conquest Of The Mind deploys its drone swarm and forces Spearfish to stop suppressing pilot Krell, who capitalizes by returning fire with a railgun, coring Spearfish. The pilots advance, the charge of the enemy force broken. Anvil-Beta, (tagged such by similarity in silhouette and capabilities) moves up to the wreck of Spearfish, and provides covering fire for Crunch-Gammas approach. Squatting down, Crunch-Gamma assists the pilot of Spearfish-Alpha up from the wreck.
Torch: Try to take him alive!
Zephyr: Permission to fire?
Torch: Just fire it!
Torch gave the order for Zephyr to fire on the tight cluster surrounding the wreck, but the round missed, and the op-for completed their fighting withdrawal. Unwilling to leave the engineering team unguarded, the pilots did not pursue, and re-established their perimeter. About thirty minutes later, the pilots receives a broadcast message from Serenity.
This is Serenity of Merricktown, to all listening. I am receiving reports of a large scale attack on Liu Maize outridings, bend of the river and eastward. Eight confirmed casualties, five injured, two farms torched. This message will repeat. This is Serenity of Merricktown