"Ranma 1/2: Mechwarrior Team Jusenkyo" Chapter 2
By: James "Phoenix" Jones
[Planet: Moraine -- Lyran Alliance: April 24, 3057]
< > indicates thoughts
{ } indicates conversations over comm systems.
For most of the team, the three days lapse between the issuing of the clan's batchall and the actual combat passed too quickly. However, for Ranma, it didn't pass quickly enough.
Akane was the first to notice how irritable he'd been since the challenge and his energy had finally gotten the better of him.
<Why _now_ of all times?> Akane asked herself as watched Ranma and Ryouga fight.
"Come on, Lost Boy, you can do better than that!" taunted Ranma as he slugged Ryouga in the arm.
"Damn it, Ranma! I thought we called a truce!" yelled Ryouga as he kicked at Ranma.
Ranma saw the kick and triangle-jumped off the wall to avoid it. As he landed he said, "We did call a truce. But this isn't fighting!"
Ryouga stopped and said, "Than what is it!?"
In answer, Ranma again jumped against the wall and sprang off of it toward Ryouga, his arm outstretched. The punch landed solidly on Ryouga's shoulder. "This is warm ups! It just looks like a fight!" said Ranma, as he landed a few feet away.
Ryouga stood up, rubbing his shoulder and said, "Well, if this is just 'looks like a fight,' then a guess you don't mind me using this!" As he concluded the sentence, he threw out one of his bandanna's.
The attack caught Ranma completely be surprise and he had no time to dodge as the heavy cloth impacted against his forehead.
"Why you!" Ranma screamed as he rushed Ryouga.
* * *
Yuta watched the "battle" from the window of the mess hall and sighed with contempt. <We don't need this right now.> he said to himself as he sipped his coffee.
Of course, in the back of his mind he was forced to admit that the team _did_ need the distraction. For the past three days, they had done nothing but eat, drink, and breathe simulated scenarios to prepare for the upcoming duel with the Falcons and they all had more than enough adrenaline to go around. Still, he couldn't condone them using up so much of their pent up energy before the actual fight.
"Yuta?"
Looking away from the window, he turned toward the door. Nabiki had her head poked through it and was looking around the room. "In here, Nabiki." he said.
"Oh, there you are." she said as she moved into the room.
"Have a seat."
"Thanks."
As Nabiki sat down, she smoothed out her jumpsuit and Yuta laughed. Of all the members of the team, Nabiki was the only one who ever complained about the jumpsuits, but she still kept it immaculately clean.
"And what is so funny?" she queried.
"Nothing." Yuta answered. "So what did you need?"
In answer, she handed him a slip of paper. "You said for me to let you know when that Clansman, contacted us."
"So?" asked Yuta as he unfolded the paper.
Nabiki gave him a dark look and said, "He contacted us."
"About?"
She rolled her eyes and "humphed." "You can be a real asshole sometimes, you know that?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, that clansman. . . what's his name. . . Herb, just contacted us with the duel location." she said.
Yuta didn't answer as he read over the paper.
Nabiki, taking it that she was no longer needed, excused herself and got ready to leave.
"Nabiki?" said Yuta, not taking his eyes off the paper.
"What?" she answered.
Looking up, Yuta asked, "What do you think Jusenkyo's chances are?"
<Huh?> She thought. "Well . . . um. . . I'm not sure I know what you mean."
"I mean do you think they can win or not?"
That certainly wasn't what Nabiki had been expecting. "Of. . . of course they can. I mean, they _have_ eliminated over nine clan patrols!"
"Those were unorganized, under-powered patrols." said Yuta. "This is a real battle, and I know that they'll lose."
"WHAT!?" Nabiki shouted. "What did you say!?"
Yuta stood and looked her squarely in the eye, Nabiki shrunk back somewhat but didn't blink. "I said that they're going to lose."
"Why!?"
"Look out there," said Yuta, motioning to the window, "and tell me what you see."
Nabiki usually didn't take orders very well, but decided to comply and moved to the window. "I see Ranma and Ryouga fighting." she said, "But that's nothing unusual."
"I know." Yuta replied. "That's why they'll lose."
"I still don't understand." said Nabiki, genuinely confused.
"They're supposed to be a team, Nabiki, and they are anything but!"
"So!? Lots of good 'mech contingents are like that!"
"I know, and 'mech contingents that can't work as a team end up dead before their time!"
"I don't have to listen to this, Yuta!" Nabiki said. "My sister is one of the best, and what she can't do, they others can! There's no way they can lose."
"There's always a chance of failure, Nabiki."
<Oh, that's it!> Nabiki thought. "Now you listen to me, _Colonel_ Mariner, just because you lost your nerve and decided that every battle is a lost cause doesn't mean every battle is! Those people out there are some of the best. I tell you they are going to eat those clan bastards for breakfast and spit out what's left of their bones. And if you don't like it, then the hell with you!" said Nabiki, almost screaming.
Yuta was about to retort, but Nabiki stormed out of the room before he had a chance. Sighing, he finished his coffee and left to tell the others about Herb's selection of battle location. <You're wrong Nabiki,> Yuta thought <they aren't "some of" the best. They _are_ the best.>
* * *
Yuta entered the mech bay just in time to see Ranma pin Ryouga to the ground. He laughed at the sight of Ryouga flailing his arms and legs in a vain attempt to get Ranma off of him. Quickly calming down he said, "Attention!"
At his call, each of the team members jumped to attention (Ryouga casting a dark look at Ranma) and stood waiting.
"Okay." he began. "As you all know, today's the first match of the honor duel with the Falcons."
A murmer ran through those present.
"I don't have to tell you that this isn't going to be like taking out small, under-powered patrols." Yuta continued. "This is going to be a major battle. I don't expect you to win, but I don't expect you to lose either."
As he paused, he noticed that the others where casting nervous, silent glances at each other. "However," he continued, "I do expect one thing out of you, and that's teamwork. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!!!!" they called in unison.
"Alright." Yuta said, removing the slip of paper form his pocket. "The battle is to take place at o-ten hundred in sector 44, near Nav Theta. You've. . ."
"That is the Glass Desert, correct?" asked Mousse.
"That's right and, as I was about to say, you have forty-five minutes. You've got your standard lance assignments, suit up and move out. Good luck!" said Yuta, throwing the paper to one side.
"Thank you, sir!" they called again as they rushed to their respective mechs.
Less than ten minutes later, they were ready.
* * *
Yuta watched from the control room as the mechs moved out of the hanger. As he watched, Yuta memorized each mech's movements as though it would be the last time he would see them. Each mech was like a second skin to the pilot, and (at least to Yuta) each seemed to reflect the personality of the pilot.
Able Lance was comprised of a Phoenix Hawk LAM, piloted by Ranma, Ryouga's massive Battlemaster, Shampoo's Victor and and Mousse's Archer. Akane's Shadow Hawk, Ukyou's Crusader, Kuno's Hatcheman and Kodachi's reconfigured Centurion made up the Baker Lance.
Yuta smiled as he remembered how the team had scoured battlefields for months to find some semi-operational mechs to rebuild that they could add to the mechs they already had. The salvaged mechs, although not in prime condition, had carried the team through nearly one-hundred sorties.
<I hope they carry them through this.> Yuta said to himself as he crossed his fingers.
* * *
The Glass Desert, as it was known to the locals, earned its name from the pure white sand that reflected Moraine's harsh sunlight, giving the entire landscape a glass-like sheen.
As the scene opened itself before him, Ranma flicked down the visor on his neuro-helmet in an effort to drown out some of the light. It didn't help much. Checking his Nav-com, he saw that they had reached their destination.
{All Jusenkyo 'mechs, halt.} he called.
{Are you sure this is the right place, Wild Horse?} asked Akane.
{If my Nav-Com's right it is} Ranma replied.
{If this is truly the sight of our battle, whither our esteemed opponents} interrupted Kuno.
{Be silent, brother dear} said Kodachi {My Ranma is trying to concentrate}
{Both of you shut up!} cried Ranma. {We need to keep an eye out for. . . }
Suddenly, a new voice filled the cockpits of the Jusenkyo team. {So, freebirths! You have decided to honor your superiors by appearing at our designated battleground}
Ranma was about to retort, but the insult caught in his throat as the Falcon mechs crested a sand dune. From the mixed reactions that he heard coming from the comm, he could tell his teammates shared his sentiments.
Eight omnimechs stood before them. Ranma wasn't sure of all the names, but he recognized a Mad Cat, two Vultures and a Masakari among them. The morning sun flashed off of the surface of each mech, giving the impression of a battle aura.
The Jusenkyo warriors could tell the mechs where veterans of numerous battles, but the morning light gave them the look of newborn titans.
{Whomever is in command of this "army" will address me now.} said Herb.
Swallowing hard, Ranma said, {I have that honor, Star Captain Herb.} Mousse had given Ranma a crash course in clan etiquette, but he still said the title sarcastically.
{May I have the pleasure of your name?}
{Ranma Saotome.}
{Very well Ranma Saotome, may I have the knowledge of which mech you pilot?}
{The Phoenix Hawk. May I have the knowledge of which mech you pilot?}
{The Timber Wolf.} replied Herb, matter-of-factly. {I believe you will know it as a Mad Cat.}
{Very well.} answered Ranma.
{Do you require a statement of the rules, Ranma Saotome?}
{Go ahead.}
{Any mech that has fallen may rise, providing that it has fallen on it's back. However, any mech that falls onto its "stomach" or any mech which shuts down, either voluntarily or from overheating, is considered to be eliminated. This, I believe, corresponds with your "tournament" rules, quiaff?}
{Yes.} said Ranma.
{Are you ready?} asked Herb. {Or do you simply wish to concede?}
Before Ranma could answer, Ryouga said {We don't admit defeat you clan bastard!}
A sound that may have been a laugh came over the comm, followed by Herb's voice {Very well then, freebirth. Begin!}
As Herb concluded, the twin LRM-20's that formed his mech's shoulders fired.
{All mechs break formation!} screamed Ranma. {Move out and attack the closest . . . } The command was halted as a volley of missiles from one of the smaller clan mechs hit his chest. Cursing, Ranma shoved down hard on his jump pedals and soared toward the enemy line. As he reached the zenith of his jump, he saw the others move to attack.
* * *
The volley of missiles from Herb's mech slammed squarely into Ryouga's Battlemaster, carving huge chunks of metal from the massive war machine.
Cursing, Ryouga pushed down hard on his throttle and forced his mech into a run. Scanning the battlescape for a target, he spotted a clan Blackhawk. Acquiring a lock, he triggered his PPC, grinning as the stream of polarized ions arched toward the target.
As he watched, the stream slammed into the mech's left leg, causing chunks of metal to fly away. {Take that you bastard!} screamed Ryouga as he triggered the rest of his mechs weaponry.
However, Ryouga quickly regretted the act. The LRM's that hit his torso had done more damage than he had expected, and his heat scale rose much higher than anticipated. Also, to his dismay, the Blackhawk jumped clear of everything but his SRM's and quickly sped toward him.
<Come on! Come on!> Ryouga thought, attempting to will his heat scale lower. As the clan mech closed the distance, Ryouga fired another salvo of SRM's but, to his dismay, the Blackhawk dodged every one.
Once it was in Range, the smaller mech opened up with everything it had. Twelve ruby darts pummeled the already damaged Battlemaster, many hitting him in the torso. As the barrage continued a computerized voice called out: "Critical Hit: Engine! Warning! Heat level: critical! Shutdown sequence, commencing."
Knowing he only had a few seconds, Ryouga fired off two blasts from his lasers. The second blast left its barrel just as the mech shutdown, but all either did was leave blackened strips in the otherwise white sand.
* * *
Akane maneuvered her mech to one side and eased it into a run toward a Dasher. Gaining a partial lock, she fired her autocannon. The shot went wide and her only reward was a couple of metal shards flying from its right arm.
In retaliation, the Dasher pilot fired both of the mech's SRM packs at her. Jamming hard on her jump pedals, Akane caused her Shadow Hawk to rise above the incoming projectiles. However, she forgot about the smaller mech's other weaponry. Suddenly, a laser blast slammed against her canopy, temporarily blinding her.
As she blinked hard to clear her vision, Akane failed to notice the rapidly approaching ground. The mech hit ground hard, giving her a powerful jolt. Even through the padding of her helmet, she could hear her leg actuators strain. For a moment, she fought to regain her balance, but the stress from the jump caught up too quickly.
With a groan, the leg gave out, pitching her mech foreward into the glistening sand.
* * *
Shampoo was no stranger to fighting clan mechs, but she had never had to fight a fresh omnimech in an Inner Sphere mech before. Without waiting for a lock, she leveled her autocannon and fired a salvo at the Masakari. The ultradense shotgun pellets slammed full force into the mech's left arm, tearing an obsence amount of armor from it.
{How you like that?} she screamed into the comm.
In answer, the mech turned laboriously toward her and fired all four of its ER PPCs. Shampoo, momentarily mesmerized by the arcs of blue light, barely activated her jump jets in time to move out of the way. As she heard the click indicating her weapon was ready, she fired another salvo at her opponent.
As she watched, she was again rewarded, this time by the sight of the mech's arm flying free of its body.
A scream issued forth from the comm as the clan mech fired its remaining PPCs. Shampoo activated her jets and jumped clear, right into the path of her opponent's LRM salvo.
The missiles slammed hard against her arm and the computer called out: "Critical hit: Weapon damaged!"
Shampoo swore under her breath and moved to fire a salvo of SRM's at the Masakari, but she never got the chance. Two glistening blue streams hit her squarely in the torso. Armor flew past her viewport as she fought to keep her balance. Cursing under her breath, she launched a salvo of her own into her opponent. The missiles plowed into the mech's leg, but the massive titan didn't even seem to notice.
Again, the PPCs flashed and again they slammed against the already damaged Victor. "Warning! Critical Hit: Engine! Shutdown sequence, commencing."
Cursing, Shampoo pushed the override, but the shutdown timer continued. <This is not over!> Shampoo told herself as the life drained out of her mech.
* * *
Ukyou cursed as she saw Akane fall. Turning, she urged her mech forward at the Blackhawk that had been fighting Ryouga. As her crosshair flashed red, she fired all four salvos of missiles at her choosen target.
The aim was true, but only about half the missiles hit the mech. As she watched, the mech's arm, along with most of its shoulder fell away. Ukyou allowed her self a small sigh of relief, and moved her Crusader foreward to close the distance.
Suddenly, the mech rocked back and forth from a sudden impact. Rotating her torso, Ukyou saw a Vulture moving toward her at break neck speed, its laser arms spewing blue and red darts straight at her. Ukyou jerked the throttle into reverse, but was forced to slow down as the missiles hit her torso.
"Warning! Ammo explossion imminent!"
As she heard the warning, Ukyou frantically flipped the jettison ammo switch. Nothing. She stared at her screen in horror as her missiles exploded. The blast rocked the mech fiercely, nearly toppling it. Looking at her screen, she saw that nearly all of her left torso had blown clear. Her left arm hung uselessly by her side.
"Warning! Critical Hit: Engine Critical Hit: Engine Critical Hit: Heat sink!"
{Somebody, Help!} she called, but no help came. The Vulture continued to fire its lasers in rapid succession. Most of the energy darts passed harmlessly by, but she felt the Crusader lurch each time one hit it.
Ukyou rotated her torso further to attempt a missile launch, but stopped as she was forced to dodge more lasers. Finally, she managed to fire a salvo of SRMs. Two of the missiles hit the Vulture, which quickly answered with missiles of its own.
She stared at the missiles, mezmorized. Thanks to her piloting skills, most of the missiles sailed by harmlessly. However, several slammed into her torso, many hitting the damaged portion. Already off balance from the ammo explosion, the mech toppled to the ground to the ground a moment later.
* * *
<What I wouldn't give to have my old Hellbringer back> thought Mousse as he waded into the fight. Spotting Herb's Mad Cat, he fired off both of his Archer's missile racks at the omnimech.
He had seen the others fall, and he mentally cursed himself for not attacking sooner. <No time to dwell on what is passed.> he told himself as he watched the missiles arch toward the Mad Cat. However, less than half of the missiles actually made contact.
Forcing his mech into a run, he strove to close the distance and take on the mech at close range. But, just like the others, he never got the chance. Mousse realized, too late, that Herb had replaced the standard small and large laser's in the Mad Cat's arms with ER PPCs. Two beams of blue light caught Mousse's Archer squarely in the hip, immediately slowing the mech to half its normal running speed.
<That shot was. . .> Mousse thought. <No! Damn it! He must have a targetting computer!>
In desperation, Mousse fired another salvo of LRMs but, as before, less then half of them actually made contact. Again, the Mad Cat's arms flashed blue, and again the stream of ion particles cut into the hip of the Archer.
Mousse stopped his mech dead in its tracks as he heard the hip unit begin to groan. Locking onto the Mad Cat, he fired every weapon he had in one continuous stream. The missiles, combined with the Archer's compliment of lasers quickly ate away at the Mad Cat's armor. As the automatic shutdown kicked in, Mousse was rewarded with the sight of Herb's left arm flying clear and his left LRM rack exploding in a dazzling array of flame.
* * *
Kuno had no time to see his commrades fall. Pushing hard on his mech's arm controls, he buried his hatchet in a Blackhawk's shoulder. Wasting no time, he immediately withdrew the weapon and fired his lasers, chipping away even more armor.
{Hah! All clansman cower before the visage of Tatawaki Kuno!} he called.
{Not all clansman, freebirth!} came the reply.
Angrily, Kuno swung his hatchet, again burying it in the Blackhawks's shoulder. {Then cower now!} he called.
{As you wish!} called his opponent. Suddenly, the clan pilot fired all six of the lasers in the mech's right arm directly into the Hatchetman's left knee. Kuno pulled the hatchet free, but couldn't stop his opponent from slicing his mech's leg in two.
As Kuno fought to maintain his balance, the Blackhawk fired its jump jets. As it soared into the air, its claw-like toe contacted with Kuno's jaw, sending the mech falling into the sand.
{I am not eliminated yet, clansman.} yelled Kuno, but even as he did so, he saw the Blackhawk level its arm at his cockpit.
{Concede, freebirth!}
Reluctantly, Kuno agreed.
* * *
As the Vulture launched another stream of LRMs at her, Kodachi thanked whatever god had inspired her to reconfigure her Centurion with jump jets. The bowlegged mech landed a few meters away and fired both of its autocannons at the Vulture.
The shotgun pellets hit the bird-like mech squarely on the left shoulder. A moment later, she saw fire burst out of the missile rack. Immediately, the Vulture turned toward her and fired its lasers.
Two of the ruby darts hit Kodachi's arm, damaging one of her weapons and causing it to jam. As she fired with the other, she called out for help. Her comm stayed silent.
Looking away from her opponent, she scanned the field. She gasped as she saw that only she remained. <Oh, my Ranma! You could not have been beaten this easily!> she thought. Turning back, she saw the Vulture postion itself to fire its remaining missiles at her.
Instinctively, she fired her jump jets again. Unfortunately, the clan pilot anticipated this. As Kodachi's mech soared upwards, the Vulture's torso raised up and the missiles fired along Kodachi's jump arch.
The missiles sailed over her and for a moment she thought she was safe. Suddenly, two LRMs slammed full force into Kodachi's mech just below her head. Off balance from the jump, the mech rolled backwards. Kodachi ejected less then a minute before the mech hit the sand head first.
* * *
Ranma had given up trying to issue commands and simply fired his laser rifle at anything that moved. He had successfully wounded at least three of the clans mechs, but he had taken more damage himself.
A Vulture presented itself before him and he fired at it. The blast missed the cockpit by less than a foot. Ranma cursed as he fired again.
The Vulture fired all its weapons at once. He managed to avoid most of the missiles, but the lasers chipped away a good portion of his armor.
<Why the hell didn't I convert and take'em from the air?!> Ranma thought as he fired at the Vulture again. The blast contacted the Vulture's knee, sending armor chunks flying. Spurred on by the hit, Ranma fired again; and again the mech's knee took the brunt of the damage.
Suddenly, Ranma felt the Phoenix Hawk lurch as something heavy slammed into his back. Then, almost before he realized what had happened, the mech hit the ground with a thundering "CRASH," and he found himself looking directly into the sand.
The battle had been lost.
* * *
{Thank you for the excerise, freebirths!}
Herb's voice blarred over the Mad Cat's external speakers as Jusenkyo team helped some techs load their mechs onto transports to be taken back to base. Ryouga and Kuno yelled back at him, but their voices were barely audible over the whine of the cranes being used to lift the mechs onto transports.
{We will return for _our_ new mechs in three days!} Herb's voice grated on everyone's nerves as the omnimechs stalked back to wherever the clansman called home.
Silently, the team went back to the task of loading the mechs.
Ranma, for his part, sat to one side fuming. <How could I have been so _stupid_!> he asked himself <I've fought against an omnimech before! It shouldn't have been _that_ easy for them to win!> Needing a release, he screamed at the top of his lungs. He had no idea what he said, but at the moment he really didn't care.
After a few moments, Ranma became aware of a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Akane looking at him, concern filling her eyes. Angrily, he jerked his shoulder out from under her hand. "It isn't your fault, Ranma." she said.
Ranma turned to her, his eyes flaming with anger. "And whose fault is it, huh!?" he asked. "If it isn't mine then whose is it!? I'm the one that's supposed to be in command and I panicked just as much as everyone else!"
"I know, but. . ."
"And you!" he screamed, not thinking. "You could have at least put up a little more of a fight! But no! Leave it to a tomboy to get taken out in her own jump!"
Akane's eyes snapped open at that and her face flushed bright red. "R. . . R. . . Ranma you Jerk!" she screamed. Pulling back her hand she slapped him, hard, across the face.
As Ranma raised his hand to his cheek, Akane stalked off, not looking back. Suddenly, Ranma's mind finally caught up with his mouth. <My god!> he thought <Why did I do that!?>
He moved toward her, but thought better of it and moved to help the others with loading the mechs.
* * *
Yuta watched as the mechs were unloaded and maneuvored into their respective places to be repaired. <This is not what I had in mind.> he thought. Of course, it _was_ what he had expected. Despite his teams prowess in combat, they never could fight very well together.
Sighing, Yuta walked over to Genma and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Okay, Genma." he said. "What's the prognosis?"
Genma wiped his forehead and repositioned his glasses, then answered, "_Not_ good."
"How bad?" asked Yuta.
"Well. . ." Genma began. "Ranma's Pheonix Hawk has the least amount of damage. Just some major denting on the rear and some heavily chipped armor."
"What about his conversion systems."
"They checked out okay."
Yuta nodded and asked him to continue.
"Ryouga's Battlemaster has some moderate engine damage and two wrecked heat sinks, but his torso armor is shot straight to hell; Mousse's Archer has some major hip damage and one of the lasers is severely damaged; Shampoo's Victor has less than half of its original torso armor, plus her AC has a damaged ammo feed; Akane's Shadow Hawk has some moderate armor damage, plus a wrecked left leg knee actuator; The left torso on Ukyou's Crusader is completely caved in and the left arm is pretty much useless. Also, I'm not sure, but we may have to put in a new engine; Kuno's Hatchetman has no left leg below the knee; and Kodachi's mech has a partially crushed cockpit."
As he finished, Genma looked up at his commander, waiting for a reply.
"Can you fix them?" Yuta asked.
"Probably," said Genma. "However, unless Soun and I get some help its going to take a hell of a lot longer than three days."
Yuta nodded. "Don't worry, Genma." he said. "I'll call in Tsubasa, he and his techno-junkies owe me a couple of favors. But, is there anything you _can't_ fix?"
"With the right parts and enough of Tsubasa's techs, I think that we can get them working." said Genma.
"Okay," said Yuta. "What do you need?"
In asnwer, Genma took a small piece of paper and wrote down several items. "This is what is needed to get all the mechs in working order." he said. "I can fix a couple of the mechs without these, but not _all_ of them. We also need armor material."
Yuta nodded and took the paper. "I'll see what I can do." he said after reading it.
Genma nodded and left to begin the long task of repairs.
Yuta wished he could help, but he barely knew heat sinks from AC ammo. Instead, he walked away and moved toward the mess hall.
* * *
As he walked in, he heard Ranma and Ryouga in another arguement. Looking toward the center of the room, he wasn't surprised at what he saw.
The two were standing a few paces apart, hurling insault at back and forth at the top of their voices. Yuta couldn't make out most of the words, but in effect it sounded as though one was blaming the other for the failed sortie.
Standing to one side, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.
"Yuta!" Ukyou screamed.
"What?" Yuta asked.
"Stop them!" she said. "They'll listen to you!"
"I doubt it." he replied. "I've been trying to make that happen since they got here."
"But. . ." Ukyou began.
"I said I wasn't breaking up any more fights between the two of them and I meant it."
"But. . ."
Ukyou was cut short as Nabiki suddenly popped up in front of her.
"Yuta," said Nabiki. "Somebody on the comm for you."
"Who?" Yuta asked.
"Somebody named Gosonkugi." she said.
"Thanks, Nabiki." answered Yuta. "And don't worry, Ukyou, those two are too good of friends to kill each other." <I hope!>
Both girls turned back toward the fight and "humphed!" as Yuta retreated through the door
* * *
As he entered the comm room, Yuta sat down and flicked the voice switch.
{Talk to me.} he said.
{Yuta, this is Hikaru. What kept you?}
Yuta laughed and answered {Don't ask, Hikaru.}
{Okay.} came the reply, accompanied by a laugh.
Shaking his head and assuming a serious tone, Yuta said {Hikaru, _please_ tell me you've got some good news for me.}
{Bet you could use it, my friend. That girl I talked to said your unit was more or less wiped out.}
Yuta groaned, but didn't answer.
{Anyway} said Hikaru {I _do_ have some good news for you.}
{What!?}
{Okay, it's like this: I've got three new weapon systems for you.}
{New?}
{That's right.} said Hikaru {They're prototypes. Worked great in the R&D, but never been field tested.}
Yuta started at the words. Hikaru Gosonkugi was a freelance research and design scientist specializing in weapons and armoring methods. Not only that, but he also had access to a large stockpile of weapons and mech equipment. Of course, he wasn't above swiping equipment that the Successor States discarded or above taking new weapons to "test."
However, if it wasn't for him, the Jusenkyo team may have never gotten the equipment necessary to fix the mechs in the first place. Yuta, of course, was the only one who knew Hikaru had helped, because the young scientist _really_ valued his privacy.
{Prototypes!?} asked Yuta. {You didn't steal them did you?}
{_No_, Yuta! I didn't steel them. These are systems _I_ designed, but that I haven't sent to anyone yet.}
{Okay. So what's on the menu?}
{Three new balistic systems, all in missile form.}
{Let's hear it then.} said Yuta. His voice betraying an edge of curiosity.
Hikaru laid out a detailed account of the weapons as Yuta listened intently. The weapons were all old ideas that had been abandoned for one reason or another but, listening to his friend, he wondered why they had ever been discontinued.
{So when will this stuff be here?}
The comm stayed silent for a moment. {Let me see. . . if my chronometer is the same as
yours . . . it should be there in about . . . uh . . . twenty minutes. Give or take.}
{TWENTY MINUTES!!!???}
{Yeah, I sent them out yesterday.}
{Impressive, Hikaru.} said Yuta. {As always.}
{Thanks} replied Hikaru. {But you know what would really be impressive?}
{No, what?}
{What would really be impressive is if I could find a way to channel some of that. . . um. . . "ki" stuff that Ranma and Ryouga use into a weapon.}
{You mean if they could control it?}
{Well. . . yeah, I know it only works with strong emotions and such. But, I mean, think of the power in one of those things!}
{I don't know, Hikaru. I mean, thats a lot of power.}
{I know, I know, but I still think it'd be an interesting challenge. Anything else?}
{Yeah,} said Yuta, taking Genma's list out of his pocket. Slowly, he read the list to Hikaru.
After a minute, Hikaru said, {Hmmm. . . well, I have most of that, or I can get it at least.}
{I can arrange to pay for most of it.} said Yuta <I just wish I knew _how_.>
{Yuta,} said Hikaru. {Don't worry about the money. In case you forgot, I'm pretty well off _and_ I get paid well for my research. Besides, if it hadn't been for you, I might not be here right now.}
{Yeah, I know.} said Yuta. {But I still think I should. . .}
{Don't worry.} said Hikaru, cutting him off. {The new equipment will be there any minute. As to what you need, I'll ship out what I've got as soon as it's loaded up. Other than that, I can't promise anything. The only thing I don't know about is that new Crusader arm.}
{Well, Nabiki has some contacts that may be able to provide that.} said Yuta. {Just ship out what you can.}
{You got it, Yuta. Later.}
As the comm shut down, Yuta leaned back in his chair and sighed. <This is gonna take a miricle.>
* * *
[Planet: Moraine -- Lyran Alliance: Apr 27, 3057]
"When is Yuta gonna get here?" asked Ryouga.
"How should I know?!" retorted Ranma.
The team sat in the cramped briefing room of the hanger, each one figiting in his or her chair. Yuta hadn't used the briefing room in almost two years, and even then he had only used it on occassions of dire need.
Something was going to happen, probably something bad.
Everyone was on edge, even more so than usual. For the past three days, Yuta had banned them from the mech bay. He had even blacked out the windows in the mess hall. Everyone moved and argued to the same unanswered question: "What was going on?"
Akane sat off to one side, brooding in silence. She still hadn't spoken to Ranma once since the previous fight with the clans. <I hope this isn't anything bad.> she said to herself.
A moment later, the door opened and Yuta walked in. Stepping up to the podium in front, he called everyone to attention.
"Alright." he said. "I just got Herb's choice of combat area."
"And were are we to duel this time?" asked Kuno.
"The same place, Kuno." Yuta answered. "The esteemed Star Captain wishes to 'provide defeat upon a familiar plan of battle.' Or some such nonsense."
At this the room became a bustle of noise, which quickly quieted as Yuta pounded his fist against the podium. "We have two hours till the duel. So listen up." he said.
Silence.
"That's better." Yuta said, breaking the silence. "I know you've all been wondering what's been going on in the mech bay the last three days. Am I right?"
A murmer of agreement ran through them.
"Okay, before I start, I'll tell you all; Your mechs have been refitted and modified in a couple of new ways."
"Modified how?" asked Ukyou.
"We've switched a few weapons one way and added some new weapons."
"New weapons?"
"That's right." said Yuta. "An old friend of mine has generously provided us with some new weapons for this fight."
"What kind of weapons?" asked Ranma, trying hard to mask the excitment in his voice.
"Lights!"
As Yuta spoke the command, the room lights dimmed and a screen behind him lit up. On the screen was a cross section of a missile.
"This is the GOS-1A." said Yuta. "A duel system SRM-2 designed by Gosonkugi and dubbed the 'Blinder'."
Yuta pointed to the cross section and continued. "The head is filled with a system of magnesium flares. The flares fire ten seconds into flight. Each flare is the equivilant of 10000 watt Hologen light viewed at a distance of six inches. The flare will blind any opponent for up to one minute unless ultra-dark shielding on the Neural helmets is used. That's stage one of the weapon."
"Stage two," continued Yuta. "Is an upgraded form of inferno."
"Upgraded?" asked Mousse.
"That's right. I don't know the exact chemical composition." said Yuta. "However, according to the specs, the gel burns hotter and more intensely. Thus, it not only increases the heat, it also does a fair amount of damage. Unfortunately, the inferno also burns itself out more quickly."
"The second, the GOS-F90. Another SRM-2 system dubbed the 'Web'."
As Yuta continued, the screen changed. "This missile is designed to restrict a mech's movement. It does no damage other than that caused on impact."
"That stupid." said Shampoo.
"Jus. . . just let me finish." said Yuta. "On impact, a gel container stored behind the head ruptures. This gel adheres to the mech's body. It is basically a polymerized elastic material that constricts as it absorbs heat. If the gel works onto the legs, arms or torso joints, it can effectively cut a mech's maneuvorability in half. The effect, according to prelims, lasts for about five to ten minutes."
"So, basically it turns your opponent into a sitting duck. Right?" asked Ranma.
"No." Yuta answered. "The weapon systems aren't affected, that is unless you manage to hit one when you fire. Your opponent can still shoot."
Ranma was about to comment when Akane spoke up. "So what's the other weapon, Yuta?" she asked.
Again, the screen shifted. This time it showed a missile that resembled a hollow tube filled with nails.. "The last weapon is the GOS-SS1." said Yuta. "It's a multi-warhead SRM-4 delivery system dubbed the 'Hive'."
"Multi-warhead?" asked Ukyou.
"That's right, each missile is a carrier for ten mini-missiles." Yuta answered. "The head snaps off at a distance of 120 meters, or about fifteen seconds into flight. At that point, the missiles inside fire automatically."
"So basically you get ten shots out of one missile." said Ukyou.
"That's correct. However, you have to be closer than normal to use these effectively."
"How close?"
"Less than about 350 meters."
"Why?"
"Because there's no guidance system in the mini-missiles. There actual range is about 800 meters, but they're only effective at about 350 or less."
"Have these been tested." asked Akane.
"Yes, they have. However, these are _prototype_ systems. In other words, they are prone to malfunction."
"It figures." said Ryouga.
"So who's got these systems?" asked Ranma.
"Glad you asked." said Yuta.
Quickly, Yuta ran down the list of weapons that had been added and re-configured during the past three days. As he finished, he asked, "Any questions?"
The room stayed silent.
"Alright then." said Yuta. "I have something to tell you than."
"What?!" asked everyone in unison.
"We lost the last battle because you all panicked. Because of this, you all fought individually. And as we all know, that's how the clans fight best."
The room echoed with agreement.
"Good." said Yuta. "Now, I was up all last night talking with Mousse and Shampoo. All in all I think we've come up with a pretty good plan."
"What kind of plan?" asked Ryouga.
Everyone turned to face Yuta, who was now leaning over the podium with a smug grin on his face. "Here's what we're gonna do." he said.
* * *
About ninty minutes later, the Jusenkyo mechwarriors were once again standing on the same ridge they had been defeated on three days earlier. The sands had all but erased the traces of the previous engagement.
As they waited, the clan mechs once again crested the rise. This time, the Jusenkyo warriors knew what to expect and were not affected by the sight. As they looked over the mechs, they noticed that one of the Blackhawks had been replaced with a lighter Koshi.
{So, the freebirths have returned for a second taste of defeat} called Herb.
{Negative, Star Captain Herb.} said Ranma. {You're the one that'll taste defeat.!}
Herb laughed into the comm. {And who shall feed it to me? You, Ranma Soatome?}
{Maybe.} replied Ranma.
{Do you require a restatement of the rules, Ranma Saotome?}
{No I don't.}
{Well then. . . }
{FIRE!!!!!!!} Screamed Ranma, cutting of Herb.
As the scream echoed over the comm, Ranma, Shampoo and Akane fired two salvo's of their new Blinders. The missiles flew out true and as they neared the omnimechs, twelve _extremely_ bright flashes dotted the sky's. Even through the newly tinted helmet visor, the bursts left spots on the eyes of the Jusenkyo team. As they watched, fires sprung up from the skin of the clan's mechs.
* * *
For his part, Ranma targeted each clan mech individually and launched salvo after salvo of Webs against them. The missiles hit in various places, each one breaking open and spewing blaze white goo over the surface of mechs. Ranma stopped as soon as the readouts indicated two salvos remaining in each launcher.
Flying in low, he targeted a small Dasher. The crosshairs flashed red and he fired all of his lasers. The blast that hit, hit the Dasher's immobilized leg, sending goo coated armor flying. In answer, the Dasher pilot rotated his torso and fired his missiles. Using the aeromech's increased mobility, Ranma easily dodged them.
Taking careful aim, Ranma again fired his lasers. Again, the blasts hit the Dasher's leg. A moment later, the mech toppled to the ground.
<One kill down, one to go.> thought Ranma.
As he laughed, he turned to see his teammates crash into the line of immbolized clan mechs.
* * *
Kodachi moved in toward one of the Vultures. Without bothering to wait for a lock, she fired both of her AC/10s. The volleys hit the mech's center torso, tearing armor from it.
As the shotgun pellets hit, the Vultured fired blindly at her as it struggled against the webs. The darts of energy flew at her at incredible speeds. Most of the blasts flew harmlessly by, but many plowed into the Centurion.
Firing again, she blew a larger hole in the Vulture's torso, and laughed in triumph.
It was then that a volley of missiles hit her arm. Cursing, she fired again, but the shots went wide. {Mousse! Now!} she called into the comm.
In answer, Mousse's Archer fired a salvo of its own missiles at the Vulture. The projectiles hit the mech's right torso, blowing the missiles that were loaded in the launcher. {Now, Kodachi Kuno!} Mousse yelled. {We finish him!}
Kodachi leveled her AC/10s to fire, but the a blast from the Vulture's lasers slammed into one of them.
"Warning! AC ammo-feed damaged!"
Swearing, Kodachi leveled her second AC and fired. The shot hit the Vulture's left missile launcher, again blowing the already loaded missiles. Firing again, she continued to enlarge the hole in the Vulture's center torso. To her left, Mousse pounded the Vulture with his lasers.
Caught between the two mechs, the Vulture pilot fired his weapons in desperation
Kodachi laughed in triumph.
* * *
Shampoo ran hard toward the clan line. Spotting the Masakari, she hurried toward it. Beside her, she saw Kuno engage the Koshi. Rotating her torso, she fired her AC/20. The shot hit the Koshi and cleanly removed the mech's arm from its body.
{I leave rest to Kuno.} she said.
{My thanks!} said Kuno as he burried his hatchet into the already damaged mech. Without waiting, he raised it again, and sent it crashing back into the Koshi's torso. Pulling the hatchet out, he fired his AC into the mech's torso. Kuno realized too late that he had just shot the mech's fusion reactor.
A moment later, the Koshi exploded in a brilliant light, blowing Kuno's Hatchetman was backwards. As his mech hit the sand, Kuno's head slammed against the side of the compartment. Immediately, the world went black.
* * *
As the Crusader closed on the Vulture, Ukyou kept a close eye on the radar. The moment the display read two hundred meters, she pulled hard on her trigger and fired two salvo of her new Hive SRMs. Three of the four missiles broke open as expected, Ukyou watched as thirty mini-missiles speed toward the Vulture.
To her surprise, nearly every missile slammed full force into the enemy. Huge chunks of armor flew off the Vulture's torso and one of its arms fell limply to one side. However, the mech stubbornly refused to die.
A moment later, the clan mech finally managed to break free of the webs and began to move toward Ukyou, all the while firing its lasers. The energy darts pummeled the Crusader, sending armor flying.
Taking aim, Ukyou, fired a salvo of webs at the Vulture, but the missiles hit the already damaged torso and the mech kept moving.
Suddenly, a bright blue stream flashed against the side of the Vulture. Looking to her left, Ukyou saw Ryouga's Battlemaster rapidly closing in on the Vulture. Caught in the mech-vice, the Vulture turned its attentions to Ryouga and fired its missiles.
Ukyou, seeing the Vulture turn away, fired another salvo of Hives. The missiles hit the left torso, tearing the arm completely off and blowing apart one of the LRM launchers. The Vulture turned back toward her, but was again caught by Ryouga's PPC. Locking on as best she could, Ukyou fired her lasers. The energy bolts punched through the destroyed left torso and entered the mechs center torso. A moment later, Ukyou saw the pilot eject as the clan mech exploded.
* * *
Breaking away from Ukyou, Ryouga turned toward the Blackhawk. Taking careful aim, he fired his new ER PPC. The particle stream hit the mech squrely, sending armor flying. The Blackhawk, its legs still bound by the webs, used its jump jets and spun to face Ryouga. As it did, it fired its lasers.
Easily avoiding the clumsy attack, Ryouga fired again. Every shot rang true. A moment later, the Blackhawk crashed to the sand, smoke pouring out of its torso.
* * *
Shampooo circled the Masakari, narrowly avoiding its PPC blasts. Rotating her torso, she waited for the crosshairs to turn red. The clan mech, still bound by the webs, was forced to rotate its torso to continue firing at her, but again it was having little effect.
As the crosshairs went red, Shampoo fired her remaining Blinders. Just before the missiles impacted the flares exploded in two sun-bright spheres in front of the cockpit. Over the comm, Shampoo heard the clan pilot scream as the infernos flared.
PPC bolts flared from the mech's arms, but Shampoo casually avoided them by moving to one side. Targetting the Masakari's leg, she fired her autocannon. The shot made contact, throwing armor in all directions. She was about to fire again, but stopped as she felt something hit her back. Using her jets to make a quick one-eighty, she saw a Dasher moving toward her. She had no time to react as the smaller mech rammed into her.
The Victor fell backwards and landed with a heavy crash. Looking up, Shampoo saw the Dasher looking down at her, slowly stripping her chest armor with laser fire. <That was a very stupid thing to do.> she thought as she raised her left arm and fired the AC/20 at point blank range. The shotgun pellet hit the smaller mech squarelyin the cockpit. Shampoo smiled in satisfaction as the mech's head was cleanly removed from its body.
* * *
Akane closed in on the Masakari. She had intended on helping Shampoo, but as the Victor went down, she realized she was on her own. Locking on to the clan mech, she fired a salvo of Webs. The missiles hit hard, covering much of the mech's rear in goo.
Locking on with her new Guass Rifle, she fired. The melon size sphere pouned the rear of the Masakari, tearing into the thin dorsal armor. It was then that Akane realized the goo on the mech's legs had broken off. Turning laborously, the clan mech faced her and fired its PPCs in one continuous stream.
The blue ion streaks criss-crossed the Shadow Hawks body. Armor that didn't fly away melted and ran down the mech's torso. A moment later, the mech's arm fell free and the cockpit armor began to melt. Repression the urge to panick, Akane fired the Guass Rifle again and again. The projectiles slammed into the Masakari's leg, on after another. Akane was so busy trying to keep calm, she failed to notice the Masakari had shut down from heat, but continued to pound its leg. A moment later, the mech's leg broke in half.
Akane let out a sigh of relief as the clan mech crashed to the sand.
* * *
Ranma flew over the battlefield, surveying the damage. The only casualties seemed to be Shampoo and Kuno. A radio message from Shampoo indicated that she was okay, but Kuno hadn't radioed in yet.
It was then that Ranma realized there were only seven clan mechs littering the field.
{Attention all Jusenkyo mechs! There's only seven clansman down! Where's Herb.}
The replies were varied, but no on knew for sure.
Ranma looked left to right frantically. Suddenly, he spotted the Mad Cat moving toward Akane's Shadow Hawk. Screaming into the comm, he dove.
* * *
Ryouga heard Ranma's call and pushed his Battlemaster into a run. Despite his mechs size and relative slowness, he closed the distance rapidly. The crosshairs turned red and he fired his ER PPC.
The ion stream hit the Mad Cat's leg, but Herb ignored it and continued toward Akane.
* * *
Ranma flew his aeromech at top speed. From his altitude he could see Ryouga fire at the clan mech. <No way are you gonna beat me, Ryouga!> Ranma thought as he watched the Battlemaster move past the wreckage of the Dasher, that he had taken out.
Without bothering for a lock, Ranma fired his remaining Webs, hoping to slow down the Mad Cat. He realized to late that he'd fired too soon and at the wrong angle. He watched as the missiles moved toward Ryouga.
Ranma reached for the comm switch, but hesitated. For some reason he couldn't tell Ryouga to watch out. The missiles impacted just behind the heels of the Battlemaster.
* * *
Ryouga felt the impact and pulled hard on the mech controlls, fighting to keep his balance. As he did, he accidentally pulled his missile trigger. A salvo of Hives flew away without any apparent target.
Slowing, Ryouga looked at his monitor to find were the missiles came from. Seeing the Dasher, he thought <So much for being eliminated when you fall.> Turning, he targeted the mech and fired his PPC again.
The Dasher exploded in a blinding light.
* * *
Ranma watched the missiles fly away from Ryouga's mech, relieved that he had managed to keep the mech standing. He watched for a second longer as Ryouga turned toward the Dasher. <Good, he'll think it fired.> thought Ranma with a pang of guilt. Turing foword again, he dove at Herb.
As he entered range, Ranma fired his own Hives. The missiles flew truly and as the broke, each one slammed against the Mad Cat's legs. A moment later, the mech pitched foword.
<Yes!> thought Ranma. <I got the kill record!> However, the thought was short lived. In a desperate move, Herb fired all his LRM at Ranma.
Pulling hard on both his control stick and throttle, Ranma tried desperately to avoid the projectiles. He veered left, but several of the missiles slammed into his right flank, sending the aeromech into a tailspin. Over the groan of the engine, Ranma thought he heard a scream come from the comm.
Ingnoring the comm, Ranma fought hard against the spin, but to no avail. The mech was hit the ground hard, but its moment kept it going forword. Ranma, being thrown against the sides of the cockpit, accidentally hit his conversion controls. As the mech attempted to go from its plane mode to its mech mode, it bounced around even more. It came to rest a moment later in its hybrid form, its nose buried in the sand.
* * *
As he crawled out, Ranma surveyed the damage to his mech. Both wings were bent at near-impossible angles and on leg had nearly broken in two.
<It'll never play the violin again.> he thought with amusement. <But, I got the kill record
at . . . least. . . > Ranma remembered the scream on the comm. At the time, he thought it was Herb but, thinking back, her realized it had been too high for the clansman's deep voice.
Suddenly, Ranma realized what had happened. Turning, he looked over the field. What he saw nearly froze his blood. Akane's Shadow Hawk was laying face down in the sand, huge tendrils of smoke pouring from its back.
Without thinking, he ran toword the mech as fast as his feet would carry him. As he ran, all thoughts of victory faded from his mind.
The Shadow Hawk was in shambles. <Please! Please, God, let her be alright!> Ranma said to himself as he climbed over the mech and moved toword the cockpit. He slipped and fell, standing, he felt a sharp pain, but ignored it and kept moving.
The back of the canopy had been torn completely open. Steeling himself, Ranma moved inside. As he did so, he sucked in a sharp breath.
Akane was wedged into the command bench. From his position, Ranma could see her Neural helmet had fallen off and was laying against the viewport. Moving to her, he saw her eyes were closed and a small trickle of blood was flowing down from her forhead.
As Ranma stared, all consious thought drained away. Reaching to his belt, he grabbed his radio and said, {Any Jusenkyo mechwarrior who can hear me! Call Yuta and tell him to get some medics out here _NOW_!!!!}
That finished, Ranma bent down and began to pull the straps away from Akane's body, taking care not to cause any more damage. As he tried to get her out, he noticed more bloode covering her chest and saw pieces of metal sticking out of her cooling vest. Over the radio, he hear Mousse say, {Ranma Saotome, Yuta Mariner says the medics have been dispatched, their ETA is ten minutes minus.}
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't respond. As the final strap came away, Akane's limp form fell into his outstretched arms. <My god, she's not breathing!> he realized.
Cradling her in his arms, Ranma moved out of the cockpit and jumped to the ground. Tearing open her cooling vest, he carefully pulled the shards of metal out of her chest. Unconciously, he began to perform CPR as best he could.
"Ranma!"
Ranma heard his name, but continued to alternate between pushing on Akane's heart and forcing air into her lungs. A moment later, he felt strong arms pulling him away from Akane. He struggled until he realized that it was Ryouga.
"Let Dr. Tofu take care of her." said Ryouga.
"But he ain't here."
"Yes I am." said the young doctor, appearing out of nowhere.
Ranma stared as the doctor and his assistant began to quickly examine Akane. Turning, Tofu nodded at the two boys and Ryouga dragged Ranma a little further away and propped him against the Shadow Hawk.
"You stay here, Ranma." said Ryouga. "I have to help get Kuno."
"But. . ."
"But nothing." said Ryouga. "You're staying here."
Ranma stared as Ryouga ran off, he wasn't sure but he thought he saw tears in his friends eyes. Briefly he wondered why. He stared dumbly into space for a moment, before he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Who. . .?" he began as he looked up to see Kasumi standing over him.
"Ranma." she said. "I need to treat you side."
"My. . ." he began. Looking down, he saw blood coming from a large laseration on his left flank. <Funny.> he thought. <I don't even remember being wounded.> As the adrenaline drained, Ranma collapsed against the Shadow Hawk and allowed Kasumi to pack guaze into the wound. "Will . . . will
A. . . Akane be alright?" he asked.
Kasumi looked at him. Her face was calm, but Ranma could tell it was a forced calm.
"Y. . .yes." she stammered.
Ranma said nothing more as Kasumi proceeded to bind the wound. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Akane being carried off on a stretcher.
************************************End Chapter 2
Well, here it is (The Beta of) Chapter 2 of Mechwarrior Team Jusenkyo. Hope you liked it.
The Ranma 1/2 characters as well as the character's Yuta and Mana are the property of Rumiko Takashi and the company that publishes them. Battletech and all related equipment (with the exception of the below items.) are the property of the FASA corporation.
NOTE!!!!!!!!!: The "Hive" "Blinder" and "Web" missiles used in the second battle are _NOT_ sanctioned by FASA. They are all weapons that some friends of mine and I came up with one day during school after we'd finished lunch. It was just a gag at the time and we have never used them in an actual game. I have no idea if these weapons would actually work, they were just some crazy ideas we thought were cool. I added them to give the Jusenkyo team a little bit of an advantage. If anything changes between this release and the next, it will more than likely be them. If I have offended anyone through their usage, I am sorry.
As per usual, all C&C will be gratefully accepted, but please limit it to story _content_. All flames will be read over, thought about, laughed at and promptly discarded.
Thanks for reading.
For those of you who play Mechwarrior II, but don't know the IS designations are, here's a list of name translations:
Vulture = Mad Dog
Blackhawk = Nova
Mad Cat = Timber Wolf
Dasher = Firemoth
Masakari = Warhawk
Koshi = Does not appear in Mechwarrior II
P.S. I've actually got game stats for the above new weapons. _IF_ anybody wants them, contact me at Phoenix@citynet.net and I'll send them to you.
1