Quoted By:
//GAMBLER: Hit SUCCESS. 3 DMG inflicted against CHRYSAN-RED HEAVY O.
//PILLOW: Wreck SALVAGED. VALUE: 45 MU
//STONEFISH: Wreck SALVAGED. VALUE: 6 MU
//SWALLOW: Hit SUCCESS. 8 DMG inflicted against CHRYSAN-RED ESCORT O
//SCARAB: MOVE TO 1-1.
//KANCHO: Hit FAIL. 1 DMG sustained. Mech DISABLED! Pilot EJECTED!
//EARTHLING: Hit SUCCESS. 5 DMG inflicted against CHRYSAN-RED HEAVY O. Target DESTROYED!
//OGRE: MOVE O.
//RUIN: MOVE SD2. SCOUT SUCCESSFUL. SHIN-RAI WILL NOT PERMIT ADDITIONAL SCOUTING ACTIONS.
//CORVID: Scout SUCCESS. DISCOVERED SHIN-RAI HEAVY SNIPER TEAM "七月".
//HERMIT. MOVE 1-2.
CHRYSANTHEMUM RED's last tank frame disintegrates in a hail of armor-piercing gunfire. The pilot ejects too late. Her armored control capsule emerges from the chestpiece in a puff of propellant before corkscrewing into the ground. You had not offered her the possibility of surrender, and she had not asked for your mercy.
Meanwhile, the last escort unit fights a losing battle against the full weight of your company. Several of the enemy mercenaries manage to break KANCHO's rushing advance, using their energy rifles to overwhelm the melee-focused DUELIST frame. The mech's ablative armor glows red-hot until a final shot slags both leg actuators sends the frame tumbling into the dense sand. Your overeager pilot ejects with only seconds to spare. Fortunately, your enemy's fortune is short lived - machinegun fire and rack-launched missiles tear through their formation as SWALLOW harries them further into the surrounding valley.
As your mercenaries move into the cleanup phase of your operation, several of them begin to skirt the edge of the depot for additional scouting.
As you wait for them to report, you note that RUIN and several other pilots had been communicating with the "SONS OF OLYMPUS" - the mechanized infantry unit which had now retreated behind the walls. Evidently, the unit had been offered a contrast similar to the one SHIN-RAI had offered you. Regardless, none of them had expected to fight a full vanguard assault unit without support. Their transports had been devastated by the initial assault on the wall, though their infantry had taken only modest losses.
Their commander whispers in a dust-burnt voice, her face obscured by the arc of a visored EVA suit. Like you, the tight rank-symbols adorning her combat rig have been neatly crossed out with black grease-pen. "Former Martian unit. 54th Active Recon."
"Former Orbital Vanguard Unit." You respond.
"Obvious. Require extraction. Will pay."
"Does your unit have combined arms experience?" You ask.
A tap against the visor. "Limited."
[GLOBAL VOTE:]
> OFFER TRANSPORT. +10 MU.
> OFFER FREE TRANSPORT. -10 MU. Reputation bonus with non-vanguard mercenary units.
> RECRUIT. -40 MU. Gain a permanent NPC mechanized infantry unit, capable of limited combat and granting small node-specific bonuses.
