The new recruits are now formally into the unit. I took
them down to the MRBC for a simulator battle, less to test their skills and
more to see how these three strangers would be able to gel as a team. I knew
that it wouldn’t be easy, given that they had never met before, had come from
completely different backgrounds and had ‘Mechs with rather radically different
capabilities. (Of course, the potential fourth lance member backing out at the
last minute only made things a that much harder for me)
I’d put them up against Mao’s Rifles. Mao owes me a
favour, and I think that he was hoping to get a victory over some rookies that
he could use to bump up his unit a little. From what I’ve gathered, he’s
hurting financially and his unit’s been taking quality hits, two things that
rarely end well in the mercenary world. Unfortunately, the battle didn’t go his
way, a fact made even worse by Mao’s using himself, his XO and one of his lieutenants
in the battle.
 |
| Mao's Rifleman |
I think I could best describe the results as “interesting”
more than anything else. Takahashi very quickly took control of the situation
and showed that the formal training he’s had (Definitely upper-crust DCMS) paid
off. Not only was he able to effectively run his lance and balance their
abilities, but he was quickly running rings around Mao’s men (Literally in the
case of that Uziel. Randy loves his
jump jets).
Things looked bad at first as Lee got himself hammered by
all three of them, but he recovered fast enough. I’ve seen first-hand what that
FL armour can do for a ‘Mech, and Lee was definitely getting his money’s worth (or
however he got that Vulture, more on
that to come) and came through a lot better then he should have. At first the
response was rather scattered, but then things changed in our favour.
Takahshi managed to separate the BattleMaster, battering it with his Akuma and definitely getting better than he got. That drew it out,
allowing all three of them to open up on it. They ripped its armour apart, but
it managed to keep standing. A second volley saw it go down, hard, however,
even if it cracked Takahasi’s shielding in the process. In response, Takahashi
put his Akuma’s foot through its
head. End of story.
Mao chose to surrender at that point, a decision that I
don’t blame him for. He’d lost his biggest ‘Mech with little to show for it, and
was fighting at a numerical disadvantage. If he’d pushed his luck, he and the Griff might have been able to bring down
the Akuma, but not quickly. I’ll
admit that I’m a little disappointed that the fight didn’t last longer, as I
wanted a better impression of the newcomers in action, but I’ll admit that I
liked what I saw.
Afterwards I introduced them to the base, the staff and
so on, got them settled in and bunked down. We held one of our little mixers in
the evening to get people talking and get the three of them introduced to those
that they’ll be fighting alongside. It made for some interesting observations,
let me say.
Takahashi is
definitely a Drac and a Noble, no doubts about it. He mainly associated with
the officers and Hadrian (the most obviously rich member of the unit) but was
for the most part very stern-faced and businesslike about it all. He’s
professional, stoic and the like, and not the sort for idle chit-chat. I’m not
saying that’s bad, mind you. Not what I’d do, but at the same time, if it works
for him then I won’t stop him.
Lee is pretty
antisocial, but not in the same way. Mostly he has mumbled, clipped
conversations and that’s about it. He makes a few short quips and tries to
engage to a limited degree, but he doesn’t want to go too far beyond the
introductions. I get the impression he’s hiding something about his past; he’s
rather vague about a lot of points, and a little evasive (Though I’ll have to
hear his space volcano story some day. Might even end up dropping an inadvertent
clue)
Randy is
definitely the most friendly of them, even if that’s a loaded statement. He pretty
much buzzed around the room, talking to everyone who he came near (yes, even Mr
Grumpy) and did his best to get himself known and get involved. He likes to talk, it seems, and also wants to
hear everything that everyone has to say, no matter how inane. He also drank
two (!!) of Bruce’s “Coolant Flush” cocktails. And not just the regular, he
took the double.
Ok, enough of that. Sleep now. We ship out to Hamilton in
the morning.
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