Starlance

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Great, these tossers were about as stable as the Espian government and they weren’t even trying to hide it. True, she almost expected as much from someone willing to do what they did, but it was still nice to know how well put together the Knights actually were, despite their quirks.

And apparently, the true Knights were shit talking back. Can do. Switching comms to a short-range open channel, hopefully she’d reach the Fists without somebody else outside of the map Hex picking it up. ”Hey, look, I get it. It’s okay to be jealous of our talent and style, I know we look stunning, but dressing up your rattletraps to look like our ‘Mechs before you go catch up on your war crime quota is a serious no-go. Cut that shit out before we stop telling the duchess to be nice to you.” It was a little unfortunate that the duchess in question was retreating, on fire and about five degrees from busting her ass when Marit said it, but the lunatics probably didn’t know who that was, so all was in order except the ‘Duchess is on fire’ bit.

Right after that, the Crusader decided to give her some attention, a flight of missiles scratching Archie’s paint. With the way an Archer’s cockpit was placed, from where she was sitting it looked like the missiles were about to fall down the back of her neck. A quick check revealed nothing broken, allowing Marit to get back into the mix unburdened. As far as she and Archie were concerned, the most effective weapon the Fists had so far was the noise coming out of their faces. Maybe if they kept the Firestarter guy talking for long enough, his own lance would switch sides. Furthermore, they basically admitted to their false flag shenanigans, so that was a plus. Spurring Archie forward to get as close as possible to minimize missile spread on target, she stopped uncomfortably close to the edge of the ravine, ready to lean back at the first sign of losing balance. Falling on her back was preferable to falling a hundred meters.

Then the symbols of Ziska’s TAG laser and NARC beacon appeared on Marit’s HUD, and so did a broad grin on her face. Temporarily forgetting the stricken Panther, the missiles eagerly locked onto the marked Firestarter, almost quivering in the launchers to be allowed to fly with purpose. Who was Marit to deny them? ”Dodgy fucker, aren’t you?” Marit idly asked with an audible grin, addressing the Firestarter and setting all three launchers to top fire mode to avoid the Panther and Catapult it was hiding behind, Ziska’s TAG making sure their accuracy wouldn’t suffer like it usually did with indirect fire. ”Dodge this, Piss-colored Clown.” She transmitted as she fired all of her ordnance at the Firestarter.

And fly with purpose they did, riding the beam of Ziska’s TAG home and tearing chunks out of the Firestarter’s torso armor and structure. Its right arm flew off, the left one barely hanging on by myomer and prayers before ultimately joining its sister. Thermals picked up a heat spike through the holes in the Firestarter’s mangled center torso, Archie’s sensors reporting serious damage to its engine with 92% certainty. She liked that number. ”Get fucked!” She cheered off comms. She owed Ziska a drink. Forget that, if she kept the spotting up for a few more sorties, Marit would buy her a whole bar.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

The mountain trek had been rough on Vigdis, the entire party having to adjust to her reduced pace, sometimes after less than an hour in that terrain. At one point she seriously contemplated asking J’eon for a ride, but daring herself to not insult one of their local guides, she gulped down a handful of the painkillers doc Feng had given her like they were red skittles and soldiered on.

Once they got on the boat, comfort ceased to be an issue for Vigdis. She didn’t have to walk, what more could she want? She’d lived in student AND military housing, in a pinch she’d fall asleep leaning against a running cement mixer and not even complain. Even sharing a confined space with someone with feathers wasn’t new to her, one of her roommates at university had been a furry. On top of that, the boat provided another distraction, Vigdis spending upwards of an hour on their first day on the barge watching the mages work the mechanism, examining it as closely as she dared approach and taking meticulous notes, muttering something about “transmission shifted under load”, “lamellar clutch”, “synchronizer gears” and “propeller” from time to time. The thought of the boat being essentially a giant child’s toy given what it was powered by was a little funny, but if it works, it’s not stupid.

”Aircraft are used when you need to move something fast. Ships and boats are more fuel efficient, cheaper to maintain, can carry bigger loads and their crews are more easily trained, so they still see frequent use on Earth. Mostly on big lakes and oceans though, river use is limited by dams in a lot of places.” Vigdis answered Kareet’s question, ”But Earth is the only planet we’ve colonized that has a lot of water on it. My home Venus, even the cities fly out of necessity, Mars’ hydrosphere is still in its infancy so overland trains made of self-propelled carriages are the name of the game and as far as I know no other colonized world is even capable of having liquid water on the surface.”

Then she realized Kareet only mentioned rivers. ”How much of K-A have you explored?” Have they already had their own Leif Eriksson, Columbus and Maghellan or not?

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

The Crimson Fists finally started lumbering into view, Marit keeping one eye out of the cockpit and one on the list she had written down, making mental tickmarks. They were all there except the Warhammer as advertised, it having apparently been replaced by a Panther.

Ingrid’s entree was an unmistakable go signal, even if she wasn’t doing too well at least the large lasers found their marks The Duchess probably had her hands full getting out of the snow. Quickly waking Archie up and opening the missile doors, she had a lock before Betty was even done with her usual spiel. Walking forward to get all of her weapons in range and to give herself at least some speed to get out of harm’s way, Marit thumbed the trigger linked to the three launchers set to staggered fire and Archie joined the fight. It was marginally better heat wise and the actuators would thank her for subjecting them to three smaller recoil impulses than one large one in the long run. Plus having a steady stream of missiles landing around you and on your head was also a mighty bastard of a morale sink.

Like the Crusader, the unannounced Panther was a long range ‘Mech, but it would take a lot less punishment to bring down and she wanted to capitalize on their surprise before it got moving, making landing any hits like trying to catch a cat that didn’t want to cuddle. Over and above that, a solid hit from a PPC would do far more than getting peppered by an LRM salvo. Half the ordnance from the first launcher hit home, pausing her song with a quietly muttered ”Yes!”.

She frowned as the second ten-piece salvo became more lost than double heat sinks, landing nowhere near any ‘Mech, nevermind the one she was shooting at. Only then did she remember she was going to wait for Ziska to mark a target. If there wasn’t a sticky note with ‘Use TAG, NARC & brain.’ stuck to Archi’s dashboard by the next sortie, she would be very disappointed in her ‘Mech Tech and his crew.

Marit frowned even further as 12 missiles from the third salvo veered off and obliterated the mountain snow, but that frown turned upside down pretty fast when the Panther wobbled on its legs uncharacteristically despite only being hit by three missiles at the time, indicating something’s gone in the gyro. A piece of machinery moving at very high speed coming loose inside the ‘Mech while at the same time impeding the ‘Mechs ability to stay upright didn’t bode well for the False Knight. If Ingrid forgot her origin and went caveman in the heat of the moment, she probably could have sat the Panther on its ass with a punch with minimal effort coming at them as fast as she was, the thought making Marit snicker. Not bad of an opening, despite room for improvement, and the freezing cold outside kept even Archie nice and comfortable, though he’d start cooking if someone got close and she had to start splitting fire.

Knights of the Skies

Probably the longest running and definitely most stable game I've ever been in is three players and four characters. Also a modern military one, so personally I'd be fine with just the three of us and growing if more people come later.

Quality over quantity sort of thing.

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Archie had been kneeling down in sector Hotel 10, arms and hands positioned to shield the canopy from the falling snow. It would all melt soon after the fight started, but she didn't want to risk some pileup taking longer to do so and obstructing her view. But the lambs were late to the slaughterhouse. Took a lunch break after a hard morning of wanton slaughter or what? Talk about being late to their own funeral... Trusting the MHQ to let them know when the tardy psychopaths would show up, Marit left the radio running on battery power, took off her helmet and set the volume to max so she would hear it and in the meantime she unbuckled her straps and put her feet up, working her way through the user manual and humming a happy tune. The House Steiner 2S variant featured a pair of SRM-4 launchers? Because what's better for a missile carrier 'Mech than more missiles. Couldn't fault that logic, really.

The Colonel's message jolted her from her reading, eyes darting to the cheat sheet on the clipboard strapped to her thigh. She scowled when she saw the classes of the Crimson Fist BattleMechs. A Crusader, a Warhammer… Who took that sort of power to slaughter civilians? Even she'd accomplished more with less!
"I didn't mean it like that, sorry." She apologized lightheartedly and stroked Archie's dashboard with her hand. "I don't need a Crusader. I would absolutely mount its arms onto you if I could though."
Target two was... The Warhammer. Two PPCs, some lasers and an SRM-6 removed from the equation, replaced by who-knows-what. It likely didn't matter to her. Her target was clearly the Crusader, unless Ingrid said otherwise, Archie being the only 'Mech that could deliver a meaningful amount of ordnance on if it chose to shoot from behind cover. Or maybe they should all focus on the Hunchback and the firestarter to ensure they never get the chance to get close?

Pulling her feet off the dashboard and stowing away the manual, Marit reconnected her cooling vest, strapped herself back in and donned her neurohelmet. Leaving the reactor off until the last possible second, she strained her eyes toward where they expected the Crimson Fists to appear, having to look out the corner of the canopy past Archie's left hand. With no conscious thought from her side, the happy tune from earlier was replaced by a much harsher one with lyrics to match.

“Round them up, look into their eyes; They beg for their lives;
Killing ground; Even though you surrender;
Turn around; You will never survive;
Killing ground; As the battle of Fraustadt turns.”

Knights of the Skies

Still here if we're doing roll call.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

”...breathing mask, spare air tank, spare wristpad battery, tablet, two spare batteries, pain meds, crutches.” Vigdis went over her packing for the fourth time since she collected all the items. The engineer didn’t know how much walking they’d be doing or how long they’d be gone, but she decided to ask doc Feng for some weaker painkillers he wouldn’t miss too much and a pair of crutches just in case. The two air tanks should also last them a while if they rationed it well, even if all four would share the second one. Finally, she took advantage of the fact that one of her roommates had galley duty that evening and got enough ground coffee for about six portions. She’d spent most of the previous day explaining menial tasks to the working party so that actual engineers had more time to do the things that required a better understanding of the ship or the discipline and sought out the two children who were on board and entrusted them with caring for Fritjof while she was gone. Fortunately neither one was allergic to cat hair.

She didn’t like leaving the ship while the clock was still ticking, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t looking forward to getting out. She wasn’t much looking forward to traveling with Lambert, the woman not growing onto anyone as far as Vigdis knew, but between the Captain, Kareet, Nellara and Shirik there’d be plenty of pleasant company to counterbalance and there was plenty of time to be killed by continuing their talk with the Seeker. With the Captain announcing departure in 20 minutes, she spent five parting with Fritjof, ten going around the ship to say goodbye to people she worked with and ask for souvenir preferences if the opportunity presented itself and went to wait for Zey at the ramp. ”Good morning ma’am. Did our new friends get us a map so we know where we’re going?” She asked when the captain returned.

Knights of the Skies

@Slypheed

You flying some late 1960s/early '70s fever dream that's still half-classified aren't you? :p

Knights of the Skies

Character Sheets

Pilot

Name: Astrid Weiss

Callsign: Wildfire - Obtained rather unceremoniously when she stumbled during a squadron cookout, tipped the grill over and set herself on fire.

Age: 31

Born: 21/10/1994, Hamburg, Germany

Species: Human

Nationality: German

Appearance

Standing at 168 cm (5'5") and weighing 59 kg (130 lb) with a wiry build. Frequently seen looking like she just rolled out of bed.

Personality:
Outside of a cockpit, Astrid is a stout patriot with a sarcastic streak and a brain to mouth filter that works on a part-time basis. Heard sooner than seen, Astrid takes her extroverted nature and makes it everyone else's problem, especially her WSO who "...needs to get out of his damn comfort zone". Shaped by the fighter pilot culture, she sees her peers as a caste above others, something that usually shines through when she runs out of patience with someone.
Inside a fighter or during other life threatening situations, Astrid becomes quiet and laser focused, the letter being equal parts good and bad as she may fixate less important things when left without direction.

Personal History:
Born to a Bundeswehr Tiger pilot and a historian, there was little doubt of where Astrid’s path would lead. Names of superheroes and fairy tale characters meant little to her, her childhood heroes were the likes of Yi Sun-sin and Franz Stigler. It was the latter’s tale - and her father’s stylish uniform - that first paved the way to museums and airshows since 4, a nearby general aviation field for ultralight pilot’s license at 15 and a private pilot’s license at 17. She obtained a bachelor's degree in information technologies and finally joined the Luftwaffe at 21. Astrid was an average student in the classroom, but she led the class whenever she was in the flight seat and graduated to active status in 2016, flying the Panavia Tornado IDS.

Astrid had been airborne when the asteroids hit, her squadron relocating away from expected impact sites. After landing, she and her WSO Gerhard didn't even have time to get out of the plane. Instead a refueler threw a bag with water, sandwiches and some maps into the cockpit and asked for current fuel status as armorers were outfitting the fighter for combat, something that would become an unfortunate trend during the Eltherian-Human War.

Astrid was forced to sit out the early stages of Operation Prometheus due to appendicitis, only joining the efforts once she'd been cleared by doctors and SaR found her MIA copilot, in Switzerland of all places. They continued to fly without incident for the remainder of the war, but their squadron fell victim to postwar reorganization and both were recommended for the Knights.

Personal Weapons/Gear:

• H&K USP Compact (9x19 mm)
• H&K MP7A1, taclight
• KM2000 combat knife
• Location-appropraite dictionary

WSO

Name: Gerhard Hauer

Callsign: Magellan - Awarded due to his atrocious sense of direction.

Age: 34

Born: 11/08/1991, Regensburg, Germany

Species: Human

Nationality: German

Appearance

183 cm (6'0") and 77 kg (169 lb) of German steel, easily mistakable for a gym rat out of uniform. Puts a lot of effort into his appearance.

Personality:
A studious, methodical type, Gerhard is never in a hurry, or at least appears that way. On the quiet side for a fighter jock, though no stranger to the odd verbal spat as anyone disparaging backseaters within earshot would attest, he's of the opinion that his extroverted pilot should "Shut up for a minute and make the zone comfortable."
His biggest asset is retaining his cool when things start moving fast, having in fact been paired with Astrid to reign her in when she starts going blood-knight in the cockpit and focusing on the wrong things. Strangely, he becomes more talkative in a fight in order to ensure everyone has all of the necessary information and nothing is skipped.

Personal History:
An aviation enthusiast since an early age, Gerhard's been building model kits with his father and older brother as soon as he could read the instructions. After obtaining a master's degree in meteorology at 23, he joined the Luftwaffe, seeing it as an easy way of getting the qualifications necessary to become an airline pilot. Although he completed pilot training in 2015, there wasn't enough demand for pilots and he ended up in the back seat of a Tornado instead.

In 2016, his pilot retired, freeing up the position he wanted. Much to his dismay, a rookie was instead put in that seat. Any bad blood was quickly put on hold by the asteroid impacts and the following alien invasion. Despite his desire to fly in front, the pairing of a more hot-headed pilot and a calmer WSO worked too well to be disrupted and Gerhard grew to enjoy his role with time.

When the start of Operation prometheus caught him with his pilot out of action, Gerhard had to make due with a different one. Unfortunately, an electrical failure disabled communications and navigation on the operation's first sortie, forcing them to RTB from their intended target near Luxembourg. It was then that Gerhard got his latest callsign, the aircraft somehow crashing in Northern Switzerland after running out of fuel. Although both pilots ejected safely, the ejection compressed the pilot's spine, leading to several herniated discs and requiring Gerhard to carry him, first until they found a stream, then downhill until they found a town whereupon they finally oriented themselves and arranged a pickup. Surviving the rest of the war without any incidents, Gerhard was sent to the Knights following his squadron's disbanding.

Personal Weapons/Gear:

• H&K USP (9x19 mm)
• H&K MP7A1, red dot sight, taclight
• KM2000 combat knife
• Garmin GPSMAP® 65s handheld GPS

Aircraft Sheet

Aircraft Name: McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D (RC) Hornet

Specifications

Modifications:

• Thrust-vectoring nozzles.
• Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System
• Large area cockpit displays.
• Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver antenna.
• APG-79(V)4 AESA radar.
• Integration with modern Western weaponry.

Colour Scheme:

Named after the operation that first saw German and American forces fight together, "Cowboy" sports an aggressor squadron camouflage styled after RF fighters, sans the red stars, and mandatory red leading wing edges and rudder. The left side of the nose below the canopy bears the names and personal callsigns of its crew as well as two pieces of noseart: A burning grill and a compass with "North" in all directions.

Preferred weapons:

• Cannon replaced with ATARS when mission-appropriate.

Knights of the Skies

Both of them are basically the first image that didn't have six fingers on each hand, wasn't cross-eyed or didn't have a broken mess of fighter-looking pixels in the background. AI still needs some time in the oven. XD