Posted 04 July 2012 - 09:00 AM

Cresting the ridge, the pilot looked down at the scene unfolding. Servos whining and parts clicking into place, he quickly glides his crosshair over the first enemy ‘Mech spotted.

And no matter how many times he’s seen this scene, he still pauses.

The tiny scout ‘Mech in the background, weaving between an Atlas, an Awesome, a Catapult K2, and a Hunchback, makes it seem almost easy. Like a dancer twirling between partners, the pilot is picking apart the leg of the Hunchback, which promptly ‘cracks’ under the damage. Her Cicada leaps over the Awesome, firing down into its head-area, throwing off the pilots aim.

“Targets in range, thank you Dagger.”

“Roger, all yours Hammer.”

His Autocannons are already firing and the enemy Awesome is suddenly bracketed with explosions all over its torso. Twin Autocannon/5’s and twin Autocannon/2’s of the JagerMech fire a slow “dakkadakka” staccato of slugs down range, and the Awesome shakes from the impacts. The pilots zoom lets him appreciate the damage he’s inflicting – it would seem small at first, but all four firing in unison quickly adds up in damage. Many people overlook the JagerMech this way, almost always to their own end.

The Awesome is clearly modified, looking to have an XL engine – and this creates an interesting opportunity. Shifting fire slightly left overtop of the right torso, a massive explosion abruptly rips out, sending its arm flying off to the side. It looks like it’s going to keep its feet, when a secondary internal explosion set off by the still on-going Autocannon fire sends it tumbling down. As the ‘Mechs turn to face their new threat, LRM’s rain down on the Atlas which proceeds to stomp into cover. The K2 is already behind a hill, leaving the poor Hunchback all alone. The four ACs of his 'Mech begin barking their ‘dakka’ growl as he swings his crosshairs over the Hunchbacks right torso – the idea being even if the ‘Mech somehow escapes, its weapon load will be considerably lessened. A sudden explosion seconds later tosses the arm off in an explosion of deja-vu reminiscent of the Awesomes fall. The 'Mech does miraculously make it to cover, but is now largely combat ineffective.

There's a saying among JagerMech pilots: "Don't roll your own boat" making a joke of the prolific amount of shell casings that tend to be at the feet of a JagerMech after even brief combat. The more serious part is a warning to not stay in one place.

“Sword, this is Hammer. Slightly damaged Atlas and K2 remain. The field is yours.”

“Roger that; thank you Hammer.”

He moves back to another hill, waiting for any opportunity to rain a hell of slugs on anyone foolish enough to pop out.

As a friendly Cicada in the distance pops up on his RADAR, he grins uncontrollably.

“Good to see you again Dagger. Ready for round two?”

“Absolutely, Hammer.”