Army of the Southern Cross

[Sherwood]

"The attack on Anton-17 involved a number of fresh Battle Pods, including an Officer Pod. The defenders of the base were able to hold their own until air support could be vectored in to aid them, but they still suffered several casualties. That's one reason why there are so many mecha in this trip; we are the replacements to help bolster the weakened base."

He takes a look around, then goes on to say, "Ok, we need to be on the road soon. Make sure your mecha are ready to roll."

 

[Psychie]

Moira nods, then heads back to her rig. This lieutenant is confident that we will come under attack. I must be ready. She begins the pre-operation checklist, going over every system to make sure her tank is at 100%. As she goes over her rig, she uses her helmet radio to call out to her fellow tankers on the squad-only channel. "Looking over our route, there are several choice ambush spots that we need to be aware of; there is a bridge over a small river that is a natural choke point, and a valley between two mesas that could hide an attacking force with ease. With us running point, it will be up to us to spot these attacks before they can do any damage to the convoy."

Spoiler: Ammo Loadout

20 APFSDS
10 MPAT
5 Plasma
5 HEAT
5 Canister
3 Smoke

 

[Orikanyo]

"Copy that Moira, everyone, have your eyes open, scanners on and pray to whatever god you choose.Or all of them, it'll be a long drive." he spoke to his team before motioning towards the tanks. "Let us show them what our toy tanks can do." he finished off before climbing into his lovely Spartas, strokeing a tiny bit of dirt that flew up upon the side of the machine, that slightly covered the printed lettering that read "Hospitaller" upon the side.

"Battle pods hmm?" the sergant spoke over his Squad's comms. "Those with the standard cannon should focus upon sabot when engaging them, if they come with infantry support I shall rid us of them with canister shot or plasma, whatever takes me at the time, Adrian, do what you do best with that fancy laser cannon of yours, but do be mindful. I don't need to tell you the cost of more speed is less armor yea? Let us all get to Anton -17 intact and with no casualties. Our friends want a show, we should give them one."

"Lets make our journalist some new material yea?"

 

[Sherwood]

The convoy is finally assembled, and you are on the move only a few minutes late from the scheduled departure time. Your squad of hover tanks take the lead, and off in the distance, you can see a pair of Comanchero gunships spooling their rotors up to take off. As you slide out onto the road, you get a signal from the choppers. "Convoy, this is Raven flight. We are now on station, and have plenty of fuel to last the whole trip. Lets hope for a quiet time."

For the first full hour of time on the road, things are pretty uneventful. The highway is fairly well maintained, and there is a wide swath of open ground that has been cleared out from either side of the road to give the defenders on the road extra time to be able to respond to attackers laying in wait on the side of the highway. There is occasional contact made with locals using the road, some in motor vehicles and some in more archaic modes of travel; horse drawn wagons. Other than that, there is nothing to report.

It is in the last third of the trip that the convoy is approaching the two different locations that Moira has identified as potential ambush sites. The first is the bridge across the river. It is a fairly wide bridge if fairly short, and it is capable of supporting the trucks and mecha with ease. The two helicopters of Raven flight both advance and cross the bridge, looking for any signs of waiting surprises.

How far in front of the trucks and APCs are you?

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

"Aye, aye, sir!" Adrian saluted before quickly going over to his Myrmidon and the equipment brought up by the boys and girls of the supply shed.

He proceeds to add the camouflage netting on his Myrmidon, covering as much if his mech as he can; with his training in using camouflage equipment, he was able to create a decent "walking bush" effect for his Myrmidon, decent enough to blend in with the surrounding flora of Brazil. He then secures the radio pack and the sniper rifle on his person along with his other essential gear before entering his mech and doing some pre-ops check on its systems before engaging the engines.

"Let's get this show on the road! We got a base to save, enemies to put down, and some good men and women that needs their asses pulled out of the fire." He said through his squad's radio channel.

----------------------------------------------

The whole ride was uneventful at the moment. In Adrian's mind, it both good and bad. Good for the fact that they got enough breathing room to prepare; bad because the enemy can do the same damned thing. When the convoy reached the bridge area and when updates from Raven Flight came in, he couldn't help but feel this might be the start of things heading down south real fast. He activated his comms and contacted Raven Flight, he needed to know how things are at the other end of the bridge. "Raven Flight, this is Myrmidon. How's everything looking at your end? Clear skies and sunshine, I hope?" He said lightly in the end, a means to ease the tension but his question remained.

After he said his piece, he switched frequencies and made contact with Sgt. Heinrich and his squad. "Sarge, this is Adrian, requesting permission to move ahead and reconnoiter the area ahead of the convoy alongside Raven Flight. More eyes up front may give us some time to react..."

 

[Orikanyo]

"Acknowledged, Adrian wait for the report from Raven flight and then proceed ahead, keep regular reports on possible hostiles or hazards." the man responded quickly, the slight sound of something spraying coming from the other end. It seems the doctor was sateing his bug spray addiction. "Don't engage if you don't have to, if you do, we'll know."

Switching through the comms he brought up the Lieutenant in the back. "Lieutenant, our Myrmidon will head forward to scout ahead once we gain a report from our air support, how has the back been? Any activity?"

 

[Sherwood]

"Raven-01 here. We have zero visual contacts. I say again, we have no targets on visual. Maintaining our position."
"Raven-02. Same for me. There is nothing to report. Everything looks clear to proceed."

Switching through the comms he brought up the Lieutenant in the back. "Lieutenant, our Myrmidon will head forward to scout ahead once we gain a report from our air support, how has the back been? Any activity?"

From his position at the rear of the convoy, the LT calls out, "Understood. I have no contacts either; everything here seems to be nice and quiet. Corporal Simms, you have that fancy SHORAD radar on your Defender; is there anything you can see out there?"
"Negative enemy contact. All my airborne tracks are signaling with RDF IFF codes. We control the air out here."
"Good to know. Sgt. Schnieder, take your squad across and see if you can flush any game for us. If things are clear, the rest of the convoy will proceed."

 

[Psychie]

Moira is almost disappointed at the lack of enemy activity, being anxious to try out the hover tank in actual live fire combat against real foes. "Sergeant, I'm all set to move out. The bridge is a double lane road; it can easily handle multiple VHTs going across at once. Besides, lets not leave our little brother out there without heavy support, right?"

 

[Orikanyo]

"Copy that lieutenant." he responded before moving to his squad. "Adrian, head on ahead, Eric and Moria will be up front of the back up group, Fia and I will be behind them. We back you up from a good distance away to keep your cover. You heard the reports but we should be extra careful regardless, by this time they'd be experienced in ambushes, We should take advantage of our presence as much as possible." hearing Moira's words reminded the man she was certain a martial person, loved her fighting it seems... or perhaps it was a Zentraedi thing?

"If that is acceptable, lets show these malcontents just why they should stand down!"

 

[Sherwood]

The five tanks move towards the bridge while the two gunships orbit above. Adrian's advanced sensors in his Myrmidon reach out with their ethereal touch, and surprisingly, find nothing. No sign of any enemy activity at all. Looks like a false alarm.

With the all clear, the rest of the convoy begins to cross over the bridge to safety on the other side.

Farther down the road, you are coming to the high pass between the two mesas that Moira's keen eye pointed out as another possible ambush site. Once more, the two helicopters begin to move ahead, but this time, they get a much different response. "This is Raven-01. We are getting some light ground fire from small arms from infantry. Whoop! There's a rocket! Hot zone ahead, guys."
"I'm getting lit up by targeting radar! This attack is being supported by mecha! Raven-02 opening fire with AP rockets."

From his Tomahawk, the lieutenant calls a halt to the convoy. "Hover tank squad, move forward and clear that area out. If you can flush out the enemy, we'll engage from back here with our particle cannons while we keep watch--"

As he is saying this, eight Regult Battle Pods along with six full sized Zentraedi in heavy infantry armor packing energy weapons break from the jungle to the front. At the same time, four suits of Male Power Armor and six more Regults burst out of cover to the sides and rear, including a pair of Recon Pods.

Orikanyo is up first

Order of Battle
Heinrich <====
Moira
Pods 1-4
Eric
Raven-01
Adrian
Zentraedi Infantry 1-6
Fia
Pods 5-8
Raven-02

 

[Orikanyo]

"Copied Lieutenant!" heinrich smirked, a slight chuckle rolling onto the squad comms. "Alright! lets Show these rowdy little shits what we are made of! they shall regret daring to oppose our might! Aiming for the infantry, thin those pod numbers and take down those power armors!" The immense machine began to shift and turn in place, raising it's large cannon high into the air towards the Zentraedi infantry.

Loading in a shell of plasma, the man took aim upon the group of opponents, before fireing upon them with the tank's searing payload.

"Let our cannons sing! Let them all hear of our arrival!"

 

[Sherwood]

Heinrich lines up his first shot with the main gun, and with a roar, it fires. The plasma shell explodes, catching two of the infantry soldiers in its blast, killing them both instantly. You now have the attention of the Zentraedi.

Psychie is up next

Order of Battle
Heinrich [1]
Moira <====
Pods 1-4
Eric
Raven-01
Adrian
Zentraedi Infantry 3-6
Fia
Pods 5-8
Raven-02

 

[Psychie]

Boosting her mecha up into the air, Moira comes down in Tank mode, getting her main cannon ready to fire. "Loading a silver bullet! Taking on the Pods!" She loads one of the sabot rounds, and takes aim at Regult 1. With a evil grin, she squeezes the trigger. "On the way!"

Spoiler: Ammo Loadout

19 APFSDS
10 MPAT
5 Plasma
5 HEAT
5 Canister
3 Smoke
Armor at Full

 

[Sherwood]

Moira's cannon shell flies straight and true, and it slams into Battle Pod 1, punching a hole straight through the thinly armored hull with ease. It wobbles for a moment, then explodes scattering debris everywhere.

The first three Battle Pods turn to face Moira, and as one they fire their twin particle beams at you. They will hit unless you dodge.

Eric transforms his mecha into its Battloid mode, and raises up his own main gun. While not as accurate in this mode, at least this gives him access to his massive defensive shields in case he gets shot at in return. He fires a sabot round at Pod 2, but the nimble machine is able to dodge.

Raven-01 begins a strafing run on the infantry, the pilot firing the chopper's autocannon while the weapons officer lances out with five of its armor piercing rockets. The rockets cut one of the soldiers in two, and the autocannon injures a second.

AldarisLordOfLight is up with Adrian, and Psychie needs to declare a defense action for Moira

Order of Battle
Heinrich [1]
Moira [1]
Pods 2-4 [1]
Eric [1]
Raven-01 [1]
Adrian <====
Zentraedi Infantry 4 injured
Zentraedi Infantry 5-6
Fia
Pods 5-8
Raven-02

 

[Psychie]

With a smile on her face, Moira kicks in her tank's jets to try and leap dodge out of the way.

 

[Sherwood]

The lightweight hover tank is able to easily evade the particle cannon fire.

AldarisLordOfLight is up with Adrian

Order of Battle
Heinrich [1]
Moira [2]
Pods 2-4 [1]
Eric [1]
Raven-01 [1]
Adrian <====
Zentraedi Infantry 4 injured
Zentraedi Infantry 5-6
Fia
Pods 5-8
Raven-02

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

Adrian threw out a string of curses when the first shots were fired. It seems that this trip would not be quiet at all. With the training that was instilled within him during training, he maneuvers his Myrmidon, which was still in tank mode, to a more defensible position at the side before he took out a terminal connected to the ECM Jamming Pods. "Alright, you tried to make our day shitty. You tried to give our fly boys an even shittier day. Let me return the favor..."

With just a few taps of the keys, Adrian began his electronic assault against Regult Battle Pod-2. "Commencing electronic assault..." He said with a grin on his face.

 

[Sherwood]

Adrian begins his electronic assault on the Battle Pod, causing havoc in its systems.

The three heavy infantry target Heinrich with their particle cannons, and they will hit unless you dodge.

Silanon is up next with Fia

Order of Battle
Heinrich [1]
Moira [2]
Pods 2-4 [1]
Eric [1]
Raven-01 [1]
Adrian [1]
Zentraedi Infantry 4 injured [1]
Zentraedi Infantry 5-6 [1]
Fia <====
Pods 5-8
Raven-02

 

[Orikanyo]

Heinrich attempts to dodge the cannons.

"Do not let up! Show them our strength and Who they should fear!"

 

[Psychie]

Moira hears the enthusiasm of her new sergeant and grins. He is so gung-ho! Very aggressive in his actions. He could almost be Zentraedi himself!

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

Adrian laughed as he continued to type on the console. Who knew the doctor was this enthusiastic in battle? "Aye, aye Sarge!" He replied on the squad comms.

 

[Sherwood]

The sergeant works his controls and makes the VHT attempt to evade the incoming fire. One of the three attackers do manage to tag you in the main body with his plasma cannon, causing 20 points of MDC damage. Just a scratch to the heavy armor of the tank.

Silanon is up

Order of Battle
Heinrich -20 [2]
Moira [2]
Pod 2 jammed [3]
Pods 3-4 [1]
Eric [1]
Raven-01 [1]
Adrian [1]
Zentraedi Infantry 4 injured [1]
Zentraedi Infantry 5-6 [1]
Fia <====
Pods 5-8
Raven-02

 

[Silanon]

Surprisingly, things have been rather quiet for most of the trip to Anton-17 - time to adjust to the new environmental conditions, to the warmth in the cockpit, the all-present sweat covering her hands and the slightly increased temperature values on her screens. Even on the bridge, where everyone was on high-alert, no foe entered the reach of the team's scanners. It almost looked as if her camera footage would only ever be useful for someone trying to make a documentary report on local flora, fauna and living conditions.

Not any longer: From one moment to the next, the quietness turns into the noises of war as the scout ravens come under fire - and shortly after, the hover tanks engage in their first-ever skirmish against the malcontent Zentraedi. As her own mecha transforms as well, metal plates sliding into their new position to allow the main cannon to begin its work in tank mode, she makes sure to still catch the first few rounds fired at the enemy. "Third TAC, 1st platoon engaging the Zentraedi under command of LT Simms and Sgt. Schnieder - time's a bit more than four hours after arrival." Then, there's no more time to spare. Plasma burns through Zentraedian bodies, shells break through their, in comparison, light armor - and enthusiasm seems to flood through the veins of those engaging their targets. She's seen quite a few of those over-eager leaders, and usually has made pictures of their graves shortly after - but now, during battle, that's only in the back of her mind as her hands align the main gun with Pod 5 on the ground. "Backed up a bit, switched to tank mode - providing support fire for the squad, targeting the pods for now. Armor-piercing shell loaded and on its way - eight rounds remaining."

Spoiler

Going with the standard load-out, since I didn't declare anythign else - firing APFSDS.

 

[Sherwood]

The cannon roars, and the sabot round flies out towards Pod 5. You catch it unprepared, and the shell pierces its hull as easily as a knife through hot butter. This one doesn't explode; but it wobbles on its feet for a moment, then falls to the ground.

Pods 6-8 return fire at the reporter, trying to take you out of the fight. Two of the three will hit unless you dodge; the third fired wide and missed.

Raven-02 joins his wingman in attacking the infantry, finishing off the wounded soldier with the autocannon and firing a four pack of missiles into the next man.

Orikanyo is up, and Silanon needs to declare a defense

Order of Battle
Heinrich -20 [2] <====
Moira [2]
Pod 2 jammed [3]
Pods 3-4 [1]
Eric [1]
Raven-01 [1]
Adrian [1]
Zentraedi Infantry 6 [1]
Fia [1]
Pods 6-8 [1]
Raven-02 [1]

 

[Orikanyo]

Heinrich brings the cannon low and points it towards pod 3, firing a round of sabot upon it.

"Hurry now, we must aid the others!"