Clan Jade Mission : Rouge Chariot

Mission Instructions

---Incoming Coded Message ---
Kurultai GalxB_7th - Bronze level clearance
- disseminate by need only -

The battle on the Plain of Curtains is not going well. Wolf has hit our flanks hard. The 6th Provisional Garrison is surrounded. You must draw as much of the Wolf's 352nd and 3rd off the line as possible. To this end you are to strike a Wolf RESUPPLY BASE in the rear, deep inside the Great Gash.

After being dropped into the canyon, you must find the Wolf Resupply Base, locate the CORE HEAT SINK ARRAY, and destroy it. The destruction of the ARRAY will cause a heat build-up and a resultant core breach. Your personal survival will depend on your lack of proximity to the ARRAY when it goes critical.

Objectives

Situations and Aftermaths

Star Colonel Ravill Pryde was an ugly man by any standard. His close-cropped hair exaggerated the ungainly appearance of his abnormally large head, and his high, sharp cheekbones formed two hollows that held a pair of small black eyes. The Star Colonel's large smile revealed a few extra teeth most humans do not possess, but Ravill Pryde's gaunt body remained the most striking element of his looks. Thick green-blue veins bulged under the skin of his long, bony arms, and it seemed as if a heavy wind could carry him off the ground. Thick tufts of black hair covered his pale white skin and protruded from every opening of his coolant vest. Yet despite his almost sickly appearance, the Falcon Guards commander possessed an inner strength and cunning unmatched in his Clan.

Pryde was determined to use all that strength and cunning to ensure a Falcon victory on Twycross. The planet held a special place of contempt in the hearts of all Jade Falcons, and it remained a source of special disgrace for the Falcon Guards. The warriors of the original Falcon Guards had been bested on the desert planet by a single Inner Sphere soldier; their arrogance and hunger for glory had led them to ignore danger and embrace death here. Ravill Pryde did not fear death, but he did not desire it either. He was ordered to engage and destroy the Wolf Clan forces, and he intended to do just that. His forces would give no quarter and expect none in return. The bodies of Wolves would litter the sand of Twycross this time, and the Falcon Guards would finally shed their disgrace.

Situation

As expected, the fighting on Denizli had taken a heavy toll on Khan Natasha Kerensky's forces. The Wolf Khan had set a near-inhuman pace for her warriors, and they had begun to show signs of fatigue. The Black Widow chose her next target in an attempt to speed the achievement of her overarching goal--destroying as many Falcon units as possible. By targeting Twycross, site of the Falcons' most humiliating defeat, Khan Natasha hoped to goad Falcon saKhan Chistu into committing a large force of front-line troops to battle.

However, Chistu refused to fall victim to her scheme. In a show of disdain for the aging Wolf Khan, he assigned the Fifth Talon, Sixth Provisional Garrison, and the 18th Falcon Regulars--all inexperienced garrison units--to Twycross. Chistu wanted to do more than insult Natasha; he wanted to humiliate his opponent, and so he added the Falcon Guards to the list of troops. Their mere presence would show Khan Kerensky the seething contempt he held for her, and the shame of their predecessors' defeat might spur the Falcon Guards on to great success.

Aftermath

The battle on Twycross began on the Plain of Curtains, where fierce winds swept the shifting red sands and forced the Falcon and Wolf 'Mechs into close combat. The Wolves set up in a diamond formation, at the edge of the plain in front of the Great Gash. The 341st Assault Cluster stood in the front of the formation, the 3rd Battle Cluster and 352nd Assault Cluster formed the sides, and Khan Natasha's 13th Wolf Guards formed the rear.

When the Falcon 6th Provisional Garrison Cluster struck at the Wolves, the 341st quickly fell back, as instructed. That maneuver drew the pursuing 6th Provo into the diamond, and the 3rd Battle Cluster and the 352nd opened fire on the enemy's flanks, decimating the surprised Falcons. The Falcon's 5th Talon and the 18th Regulars approached more cautiously, however. As those units engaged the 341st, the Falcon Guards advanced to reinforce the attack. Heavy fighting ensued, and both sides took extensive casualties. Then the 341st broke off from the battle and passed into the Great Gash, quickly followed by the 3rd Battle Cluster and the 352nd. Meanwhile, the 13th Wolf Guards slowly retreated until they stood at the mouth of the Gash.

Khan Natasha had hoped to draw the Falcons into the Gash. She had stationed the 11th Battle Cluster along the sides of the Gash and planned to ambush the Falcon 'Mechs as they marched into the valley. The Falcons did not fall for the bait, however. At that point, Khan Natasha ordered the Wolf units to evacuate Twycross, and she remained behind to challenge the Falcon commanders to individual combat.

And so on December 7, 3057, Khan Natasha Kerensky of the Wolf Clan, the infamous Black Widow, died amid the blood-red sands of Twycross.