Clan Wolf Mission : Burning Chrome

Mission Instructions

- Incoming Coded Message -- Kurultai Instruction Follows -
- Decode Claw Protocol - GALxAlpha 327th: 3rd
- Disseminate by need only -

Pup class probes have spotted Falcon's 7th Construction Binary setting up a SOLAR POWER ARRAY on the planet Evciler's southern continent, Messian.

We believe the Falcons intend to turn the area into a large forward dropsite for the entire Peregrine Galaxy. You are to destroy the SOLAR ARRAY at all costs and thereby prevent the enemy from setting up any major operations in the quadrant.

Follow your NAV sequence to the SOLAR ARRAY at NAV TAU, DESTROY it and proceed to NAV UPSILON for a dustoff. The Falcon is aware of our presence. This quadrant will be defended.

Objectives

Situations and Aftermaths

Angered by an unbroken string of Wolf Clan victories, saKhan Vandervahn Chistu had determined that the world of Evciler would become a graveyard for Ulric Kerensky and the Wolves' Tau Galaxy. To meet the Wolf Clan forces, Chistu deployed the 73rd Striker Cluster, the 6th Provisional Assault Garrison, and the 51st and 9th Garrisons. If such an overwhelming array did not succeed in destroying the Wolves, it would at least bleed them dry.

The southern polar continent of Messian was in the middle of its twilight months, and saKhan Chistu used the half-light and wintry landscape to his forces' advantage. In preparation for the battle, Chistu ordered his troops to paint all their 'Mechs and Elemental armor a dirty blue-white that the Wolves would find almost impossible to see. To avoid ammunition-resupply problems, Chistu ordered all units configured to use energy weapons, supplemented only by long-range and short-range missiles. Finally, he ordered the Falcon forces to dig trenches and 'Mech pits in which to ensnare the advancing enemy. This time, saKhan Chistu was taking no chances.

Clan Wolf's forces dropped onto Evciler's southern continent in the light of a ghostly dawn. The shadowed terrain played tricks on the warriors' eyes, and the southern pole's intense magnetic field rendered most of their BattleMechs' electronic equipment useless. Not even their holographic infrared displays could help the Wolf MechWarriors much in finding their prey; the constant eruptions of volcanoes and geysers through the snow and ice confused infrared sensors. Against such odds, the Wolves could only hope that fortune would favor them.

Aftermath

The Jade Falcons' ambush at Semore Chasm took the Wolves by surprise. The hidden Falcon 'Mechs opened fire on the badly rattled Wolves from all sides, costing them several 'Mechs. Victory eluded the Falcons, however; the shallow pits in which they had hidden weakened the ice on which they stood. The heat of weapons fire melted the ice and snow,  weakening it further until it cracked and sent several Falcon 'Mechs into the river below. The Falcons' sudden confusion gave the Wolf Clan forces time to rally and mount a counterattack. Several Wolf MechWarriors began to fire at the ice near the pits, sending  even more Jade Falcon BattleMechs and Elementals plunging into the icy river. The Star of Falcon 'Mechs still on its feet retreated southward, pursued by the surviving 'Mechs of the 1st Wolf Cavalry.

The battle ended after another twenty minutes of heated fighting. Two Stars of Jade Falcon BattleMechs and four Points of Elementals littered the frozen landscape. The Wolves had lost eight 'Mechs in the ambush, but only the Jade Falcons' misfortune had kept the cost from rising higher. None of the Falcon units that fell through the ice re-emerged from the river, prompting one Wolf MechWarrior to comment that some fates are worse than death.