Long and fat with a wingspan of a little over eighty metres, the three converted Skymaster cargo planes dragged themselves through the air gracelessly, the aircraft hauled from Terra by a ComGuard in dire need of their prodigious cargo capacity. From this distance, there was no way of telling how they'd been modified, though she had it on good authority that they were now the fastest Skymasters in the galaxy; each plane's four turboprops replaced with best-in-class alternatives. Flying around them in a protective shell, the half-dozen sleek fighters escorting them seemed restless in their motions.
Incidentally, with that listed wingspan, the closest modern aircraft to that wingspan is in fact the Antonov An-225. I was initially wondering just how many drones a cargo plane like this could really be carrying if three cargo planes would really carry enough drones to swarm a clan landing force (silly me at first was thinking something like the C-130), but an An-225 can carry something on the order of 250,000 tonnes. That's with six turbofans rather than four turboprops, but these are probably superadvanced turboprops using the same Battletech materials sciences and engineering that makes mechs practical. That's a lot of fucking drones, even with one of those planes shot down.
Already, we've seen onscreen that the ComGuards have used vibromines to blow up ice shelves under clan units, baited them into ambushes with dead clanner IFFs, swarmed them in swamps with hovercraft, set up automatic inferno missile launchers, sicced them with an ultraheavy artillery/support platform, jumped on them with wild numerical superiority, and now they're probably about to dump several thousand disposable drones right on top of a clan advance
ComStar has pulled out every trick in the book they have access to here and are making it the clanner's problem.
He will likely go down as one of the Innersphere greatest Generals/Commanders. After all he hasn't really taken control of the fleets or ground forces himself with the likely exception of the attacks on Skandia. Ostergaard makes the overall strategic decisions like which planet to attack or defend, how many forces are needed for that task and how are those forces are going to be supplied. He likely has some input into the tactics used in those operations but mostly leaves that to his subordinates who are actually going to those planets while he stays on Skandia to coordinate the entire ORDI expeditionary force.
But nobody can deny he has been absolutely doing a amazing job his big picture look at the situation allowed him to take the Smoke Jaguars for a ride and push back the Wolves and other clans on several occasions. While he has had some operations that didn't go that well they pale in comparison to all the victories he has organized.
Professional militarys like there pistols to compact and adequate there a backup weapon not a main weapon, so don't see why our guys wouldn't have a updated design or something new that takes inspiration from the past ones.
Professional militarys like there pistols to compact and adequate there a backup weapon not a main weapon, so don't see why our guys wouldn't have a updated design or something new that takes inspiration from the past ones.
The pre-Gauss standardization weapons could possibly still be sitting in stockpiles and caches, with a big "break glass in case of conscription" label on them, or distributed to various national guard armouries, or even have been part of the arms sale to ComStar or the Free Republic.
Honestly, out of all the antiquated planes that could still be flying around, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the B-52. Those things are fucking immortal.
Considering that the Inner Sphere still uses Merkavas... well, it's more likely than you'd think.
The pre-Gauss standardization weapons could possibly still be sitting in stockpiles and caches, with a big "break glass in case of conscription" label on them, or distributed to various national guard armouries, or even have been part of the arms sale to ComStar or the Free Republic.
We do have evidence that we've been selling off stockpiles of 2nd Extrasolar War-era equipment to Canopus (presumably to arm their militia units) and still have plenty to spare to arm multiple regiments worth of militia (now National Guard) troops in the former Trinity League worlds.
I'm wondering if that might not start to become a little better than handing your planetary defense forces a Mosin–Nagant or an M1 Garand and telling them 'good luck', though, given the proliferation of Powered Armor is only going to increase from here.
We do have evidence that we've been selling off stockpiles of 2nd Extrasolar War-era equipment to Canopus (presumably to arm their militia units) and still have plenty to spare to arm multiple regiments worth of militia (now National Guard) troops in the former Trinity League worlds.
I'm wondering if that might not start to become a little better than handing your planetary defense forces a Mosin–Nagant or an M1 Garand and telling them 'good luck', though, given the proliferation of Powered Armor is only going to increase from here.
Presumably, the expected threat profile these units are likely to face is going to be primarily pirates for the time being, for whom PAL proliferation will be slower. And even then, I think surplus small arms munitions from the 2nd Extrasolar War, with the advancement of tech in the Inner Sphere, probably won't be completely obsolete in a conventional war for a while yet considering ORDI, who are the furthest ahead in PAL research and deployment, can't deploy fully PAL units yet as well. Of course, I think long term they'll need uparming, but I don't thimk they're that dire considering right now most of the militias here are likely basic anti-piracy defenses.
Honestly, out of all the antiquated planes that could still be flying around, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the B-52. Those things are fucking immortal.
Considering that the Inner Sphere still uses Merkavas... well, it's more likely than you'd think.
Technically, I think it's a different tank that is merely named after the existing tank, rather than a design that's the same as the 20th century MBT, given Sarna says the BT Merkava Mk. I entered service with the Terran Alliance in 2294.
Pirates and mercenaries are likely to stay mostly invested into mechs as well, because it's easier to keep a company smaller and thus have a bigger payday for each individual member with less people and that it's much easier to move about and escape if needed as well.
Technically, I think it's a different tank that is merely named after the existing tank, rather than a design that's the same as the 20th century MBT, given Sarna says the BT Merkava Mk. I entered service woth the Terran Alliance in 2294.
So on the discord me and @Genolution spend some time creating some new variants for our main battletank the Shatterer. They are designed to give the tank some more firepower and where created just before the Outback intervention. Confidently I also had commissioned some art for the tank while we where discussing these upgrades. I hope you guys enjoy both.
It's just you as the inspiration I send to MattPLOG is nothing like the tank you mentioned here. You can see set inspiration art in the original post for the Shatterer (alongside a bunch of other vehicles). Here is a link to that post if you're curious: The Lords of Ruin -- Battletech/Killzone Crossover
Edit: Also expect a bunch more art soon I commissioned a bunch I only have to write the lore for quite a few of them.
For lore this Custom unit was created by using salvage from Clan mechs in a rapid repair job to get this machine back to the front lines to hold the line. It did it's job well and is currently being looked at by Helghan State Arms for research date.
Hel Knight Custom HEL-3CHR stats:
Code:
Hel Knight Custom HEL-3CHR
Mass: 100 tons
Tech Base: Mixed
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: All Eras (non-canon)
Tech Rating/Era Availability: X/X-X-X-X
Production Year: 2750
Dry Cost: 21.848.000 C-Bills
Total Cost: 21.905.000 C-Bills
Battle Value: 2.031
Chassis: Standard
Power Plant: 300 HelRad 1800HR Irradiated Petrusite Reactor
Walking Speed: 54 km/h
Maximum Speed: 75,6 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: HSA Standard S100-BM Standard Armor
Armament:
2 Hephaestus VC10D Irradiated Petrusite Beamer (Standard)
2 Pulsar Flash Helghan Medium Pulse Lasers
4 Solar ray MK2 Helghast Medium Lasers
2 Stahl-5 MML-5s
1 InvisiPro Mark I-M Shield Generator
Manufacturer: Helghan State Arms
Primary Factory: Zulim Taw, Fisher Industrial Center
Communication System: WarpComm HEL-L-10N
Targeting & Tracking System: Pharaoh RadLock
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 152 points 10,00
Engine: IP Reactor 300 9,50
Walking MP: 5
Running MP: 7
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: (CL) Double Heat Sink 19(38) 9,00
Heat Sink Locations: 1 CT, 2 LT, 2 RT, 1 LL, 1 RL
Gyro: Standard 3,00
Cockpit: Standard 3,00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA R: SH+UA+LA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 304 19,00
CASE Locations: LT, RT 0,00
Shields (Hardened) AV - 200
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 31 48
Center Torso (rear) 13
L/R Torso 21 31
L/R Torso (rear) 11
L/R Arm 17 33
L/R Leg 21 42
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H-Medium Pulse Laser (Standard) RT 4 1 2,00
H-MML-5 RT 3 3 3,00
Guardian ECM Suite RT 0 2 1,50
Shield Generator LT 5 3 5,00
H-Medium Pulse Laser (Standard) LT 4 1 2,00
H-MML-5 LT 3 3 3,00
IP Beamer (Prot.) RA 10 7 12,00
2 H-Medium Lasers RA 6 2 2,00
IP Beamer (Prot.) LA 10 7 12,00
2 H-Medium Lasers LA 6 2 2,00
@MML-5 (LRM) (24) RT - 1 1,00
@MML-5 (SRM) (20) LT - 1 1,00
So out of universe this version of the Hel Knight came about because I accidentally miss read the weapons loadout in the newest variant made by abominable. The standard version looks like this one but has fists and the arm medium lasers are instead located on the side of the arm.
Well can imagine because of the clan invasion more helghan gear is going to end up on the market from stuff falling off the truck and people scavenging battlefields, and most likely repairing ones that others thought would be to much effort or making something from a combination of gear or mechs, because if there is one thing you can count on in BattleTech is that there is always people with skills and imagination that will make a broken rail gun or missile launcher somewhat work again and even more soldiers and mech pilots that will take the potential risks, because they are a risk taker or that there is really no other choices they have.
Background
Led by Khan Theresa DelVillar and SaKhan Aletha Kabrinski, Clan Ghost Bear forces on Lyndon took pains to avoid engaging ComGuard forces in the Ballard Badlands during the initial days of Operation Guillotine. Well-versed in the Inner Sphere's ways of war at this point in the Clan Invasion and willing to cede the initiative in exchange for a clearer picture of the battlefield, Ghost Bear forces engaged in a prolonged period of intelligence gathering using Donar Recon VTOLs. Flying low and fast over the rugged terrain to avoid ground fire and aerospace interceptions, the 21-ton machines were well suited to the role, with few shootdowns recorded by either side during this initial period and only a handful of crashes. Satisfied with the program's results, May 12th saw the Ghost Bears make their first move against the ComGuard, the Alpha, Beta, and Delta Galaxies led by Khan DelVillar, Loremaster Laurie Tseng, and Galaxy Commander Bjorn Jorgensson striking out before dawn.
Well-entrenched within the Ballard Badlands', ComStar forces consisting of the Second and Fourth armies under the overall command of Precentor Kishan Petrovska sought to use the rocky terrain to their advantage; VTOLs and jump-jet-equipped mechs forming the bulk of the armies' warfighting capabilities. Aware of the Ghost Bears' preference for heavy mechs, the morning of the twelfth saw Precentor Petrovska prepared to harry the Ghost Bears as they advanced through the winding canyons and buttes, and ComGuard units were deployed to that effect. However, while Precentor Petrovska was aware of the presence of Ghost Bear scouts thanks to the network of tripwire sensors deployed throughout the region, the ECM systems utilised by Ghost Bear Donars prevented them from determining an accurate count of Clan scouting elements, and Ghost Bear reticence ensured that ComGuard scouts could not approach close to the main body of the Clan's forces. As such, ComGuard forces remained unaware of the recent changes to the makeup of all three Galaxies in preparation for the Battle of Lyndon.
Battle
Before dawn on 12 May, the three Clan Galaxies advanced westwards from Mount Conner, an inselberg mesa, crossed Cottonwood Spring near Adamsville, about 80 km south of Tuba City, and turned northwest. Guided by information from scouting efforts, the Clan force diverted around the Badland's numerous hazards with ease, a hoped-for bogging down in the sandtraps that lay between ComGuard forces and the Clanner's landing zones avoided. Arriving at the edge of the ComGuard's artillery fire zone as the sun rose over the horizon, the Ghost Bear Beta Galaxy advanced northwest towards the victory point of Kachina. Meanwhile, Delta Galaxy under Galaxy Commander Jorgensson swung southeast towards the Chanamee desert, and Alpha Galaxy under Khan DelVillar continued westwards towards the bulk of the ComGuard defenders. Fielding a lighter-than-usual complement of mechs, the three Clan galaxies made good time as they ventured across the Badlands' inhospitable terrain, recon-variant Donars and light scout mechs sent ahead of the main body to pin down the exact location of ComGuard forces based on information gathered in previous days.
At 11:13 a.m. on the 12th, a wing of Clan reconnaissance mechs belonging to the Beta Galaxy encountered lead elements of the ComGuard's Second Army patrolling the sandy environs, a running battle immediately ensuing as the lighter Clan mechs used their superior mobility and range to harass the ComGuard as they retreated to the relative safety of their Forward Operating Base. Bottled up in a crescent ridge, the FOB and the troops within proved easy targets for Arrow IV missiles launched by Ghost Bear artillery mechs; a short bombardment walked in by the scouts cracked the base's defences in minutes. Surprised by the speed of the Ghost Bears' advance, the counter-attack by nearby Second Army forces proved insufficient to relieve the beleaguered FOB despite the mass disparity of the mechs involved, hit-and-run tactics used to pick apart the relief force piecemeal as precision-guided artillery strikes disabled its heavy hitters. Barely ninety minutes later, the intended relief force was encircled by the Bears' Beta Galaxy and needing reinforcements, the unit hunkering down within a series of wadis and a token force left behind to keep them in place as the majority of Beta Galaxy continued northwest.
Simultaneously, OmniFighters from the Bears' Delta Galaxy began what would soon become a prolonged bombing campaign against ComGuard's airfields throughout the region. Intended to distract the ComGuard from the threat posed by the Bears' lighter-than-usual mechs by motioning towards an air campaign, early successes saw an unexpectedly large number of ComStar aerospace fighters taken out by their Clan counterparts and numerous runways extensively cratered. Seizing the initiative granted by this unexpected windfall, Khan DelVillar ordered Alpha Galaxy's 3rd Bear Guards to shift course from the Jasper Forest to Martha's Butte, the assumed-impenetrable hills between the two points easily traversed by the Cluster's mechs thanks to prior scouting and the unit proceeding to overrun several airfields and a supply depot before a response could be summoned. Shaken by the Clan's successes but far from out of the fight, Precentor Petrovska's response engaged the Clan raiding force shortly after midday on the 12th, zeal and a stomach for pain seeing the ComGuard succeed in pushing the Clanners back—multiple OmniFighters downed thanks to the presence of C3-equipped Partisan air defence tanks operating in close concert with ComGuard Aerospace Fighters.
With Alpha Galaxy thrown back and the Clan's aerial advantage at least temporarily diminished, Precentor Petrovska rushed to counter the Ghost Bear's southern thrust, Fourth Army units under Precentor Cathaláin manoeuvring to block Delta Galaxy's wide swing and engaging sometime after 4 p.m. Well-rested and well-equipped, Seraphina Cathaláin's machines proved well suited to the terrain in and around the Chanamee desert, the flowing dunes breaking up sightlines and offering ComStar hovercraft the perfect environment to practise hull-down fighting. Battling until shortly after the sun had set, the Fourth Army proved successful in halting Delta Galaxy in its tracks, though at a bitter cost in consumable materials. Worse still, despite efforts to maximise troop recovery, the treacherous terrain combined with the rapid pace of warfare saw numerous MechWarriors captured by the Ghost Bears and placed into a temporary bondsmanship pending the ultimate conclusion of the battle for Lyndon and the Inner Sphere.
As the second day dawned, Beta Galaxy Clusters ordered towards Kachina overnight launched a devastating assault on the desert city; the 304th and 332nd Assault Clusters comprised the tip of the spear, backed up by a reinvigorated airforce and the rest of Beta Galaxy's forces. Moving at speed and aided by precision airstrikes, the Clan attackers made good time through the city's tripwire forces, arriving at Kachina's outskirts a mere thirty minutes after the sun crested the horizon. However, despite the rapidity of their progress through the badlands, things did not go entirely the Ghost Bears' way. Intending to take the city in a single decisive blow, both assault clusters instead found themselves blundering into a FASCAM minefield hastily lain the night before by justifiably paranoid defenders and temporarily halting. Though eventually cajoled into pushing through the resulting hazard and into the city proper under threat of increasing enemy resistance, the lighter-than-usual mass of the Clusters' mechs combined with the density of the minefield and fire from the defenders saw numerous Clan warriors killed or injured. Regardless of these difficulties, the midday of 13 May saw Kachina firmly held by Ghost Bear troops, sporadic fire from the hills surrounding the locale notwithstanding.
Emboldened by news of the victory but not forgetting the ComGuard's strength, Khan DelVillar ordered Loremaster Laurie Tseng to hold the city at all costs before likewise ordering Galaxy Commander Bjorn Jorgensson to swing north towards the Mithril Metals Germanium Mine. Securing Jorgensson's cooperation after only a short argument, the Khan commanded that the Bears' Alpha Galaxy immediately move south towards the same target. Recognising the sudden course changes for what they were, Precentors Petrovska and Cathaláin quickly withdrew their troops from the Clanners' path and instead put into motion a series of long thought-about but rarely considered contingency plans—demolition charges placed throughout the four winding canyons that led to the Mithril Metals Mine and rearguard troops and fortifications brought to alert status. Working under the gunsights of those rare OmniFighters not engaged with their ComGuard equivalents or dodging ground fire, ComGuard saboteurs rigged scree-loaded slopes with tons of explosives and filled trenches carved some weeks before with jellied inferno fuel. Religiously dedicated to their task, the ComGuard succeeded in setting the last of their traps a mere half hour before the first Clanner scout VTOL appeared on sensors, a hasty snap-shot by rearguard units sending the helicopter crashing to the ground and signifying the start of the final battle for the Ballard Badlands.
Arriving at the entrances to all four canyons almost simultaneously, the twin pincers of the Ghost Bear force engaged rearguard units of the Second and Fourth Army as the bulk of both fell back towards the mine. Taking up positions throughout the canyons, ComGuard units endured an almost impossible challenge as the Ghost Bear onslaught arrived—mechs, vehicles, and power-armoured infantry dug into positions throughout the stony maze. Though backed by artillery mechs and large numbers of VTOLs, the enclosed terrain and carefully placed traps saw a considerable number of Ghost Bear machines destroyed during the Clan's attempt to push through to the Mithril Metals mine, the fighting lasting well into the evening of the 13th. By 8 p.m., with the Second and Fourth Armies withdrawn from the battlefield and redeployed around the Germanium mine, the ComGuard began withdrawing what remained of its rearguard; demolition charges used to block one canyon after another until only one remained, its charges stubbornly refusing to detonate.
Well aware that an open canyon represented nothing less than a lethal threat to the mine's defenders, and with its saboteur teams not responding to radio calls, Precentor Petrovska immediately ordered a number of his artillery units to begin firing on the canyon choke point in the hopes of collapsing the slopes. However, to the defenders' grand misfortune, the artillery mechs assigned the task were intercepted and annihilated by Elementals while en route to their firing point; not a single shot was fired at the choke point before the last mech fell. Far from a fool, Khan DelVillar had foreseen Petrovska's solution even as her Warriors were battling the sabotage team preparing to detonate the charges and had ordered a full Elemental Star deployed ahead of them via Anhurs. A route through the capricious terrain taken intact and its surrounds and airspace secured against attacks by artillery and aerospace fighters, the night's remaining hours passed relatively quietly as the last skirmishes died away and both sides prepared for the coming battle.
At 5:30 a.m. on 14 May, seeking to both buy time and push the Ghost Bears back, the ComGuard launched a major assault against Clan warriors on the near side of the canyon entrance, a significant portion of the Fourth Army devoted to the effort alongside the majority of the ComGuard's surviving Aerospace assets. Engaging in a series of attritional attacks against a hill overlooking the site—Hill 401—ComGuard units initially enjoyed some success against the defending warriors before reinforcements from Delta Galaxy fought them to a halt around midday on the 14th. Aware that ever more Clan warriors were flowing through the gap, with the stalled attackers experiencing an ever-growing amount of Clan artillery, and with the Clan forced into a defensive posture for the time being, Seraphina Cathaláin ended the attack as quickly as it had begun and withdrew her forces back to the defensive perimeter ahead of the Ghost Bear' attack. Though neither side had been decisively wounded in the assaults, the decision by the ComGuard to trade lives for time had cost the Ghost Bears the opportunity to attack before late afternoon and left Galaxy Commander Bjorn Jorgensson and SaKhan Aletha Kabrinski wounded—the former temporarily forced step aside as a result of his injuries.
As the sun dipped low on 14 May, the wounded but proud Ghost Bear Galaxies descended on the mine with a ferocity akin to that of the Clan's totem animal, a veritable sea of mechs and elementals filling the plain that lay between it and the canyons leading to it. Supported by increasingly sporadic artillery barrages and airstrikes—the Ghost Bears' stockpiles finally starting to run dry—Clan MechWarriors and Elementals surged forward and slammed against the defensive perimeter. However, despite the ferocity of the Clanners' assault, the mine's defenders, entrenched and fortified within its labyrinthine approaches, held their ground with grim resolve. Already chaotic, the fighting soon devolved into brutal close-quarters engagements as individual units penetrated the ComGuard lines, mechs, vehicles, and infantry clashing amidst the rocky outcrops and blasted trenches. As twilight fell, Ghost Bear forces finally breached the mine's defences en masse. Exhausted but unyielding, select units led by Precentor Cathaláin staged a final stand in the mine's heart even as a significant fraction of both ComGuard armies withdrew from the battlefield entirely, their resistance lasting until the early hours of 15 May and serving to cover their comrades' orderly withdrawal.
At dawn, with the Ghost Bears in control of both victory points but badly wounded and his odds at retaking the mine estimated at 50/50, Precentor Petrovska, at the behest of Precentor-Martial Focht, signalled for Hegira—a battle-weary Khan Theresa DelVillar agreeing to allow the battered ComStar armies to recover any uncaptured personnel and withdraw from the Badlands to other battlefields. A decisive victory for the Clans as a whole and the Ghost Bears in particular, the decision by the Precentor-Martial to cede the battlefield to the Ghost Bears rather than attempt to retake the mine and force a draw saw the ComGuard exchange two strategic points for two mostly intact armies and a badly damaged foe; a bargain by some measures.
